#symin botw

[sokkas-first-fangirl]

“It’s…” His voice died and he shuddered. Something was wrong. He didn’t know what, but something was wrong. He felt nauseous and the air felt too hot. It felt like something heavy was pressing down on him.

“Linky?” Purah’s voice was sharp with panic. Link could smell sulphur. “What’s wrong?”

“Don’t you feel that?” Link asked, panicked.

“Feel what?”

Through the window, Link could see red sparks in the air. Wisps of black smoke rose from the ground, floated through the air. The clouds were turning red.

“That,” Link gasped. He pushed past her and Symin, and ran to the window.

The moon was full and red as blood.

*

Purah tinkers with the Sheikah slate and has a few surprises. Link tries to process his new memories and fails, but at least he strikes a deal for a house. Dorephan receives news of the Yiga and the blood moon looms over them all.

[sunset-peril]

Successors - Chapter Eleven - A Way to Rewind Time

 *Ten Years Later* 

 ~~~

“Oh, Symin! It’s finally ready for testing! After all these years!” An elderly Sheikah woman, who clearly had been beautiful in her prime, called out in child-like excitement. “Think of the possibilities should this work!” 

The remaining survivors of the Calamity had reached ages where even the more longed lived races could no longer serve their kingdom. Her wonderful experiment, whom she’d toiled over for the better part of seventy years, was nearly complete. The ability to rewind biological clocks… It hurt her how something so disruptive and damaging must come into being in order to finally bring peace to all and let healing finally begin. Her aged body grabbed an exact replica of the Slate which Zelda had sealed away with Link. 

His progress had been slow, yet steady. She could see the young king’s vitals just fine, but she wondered… would he be back in time? Would she, her body worn ragged by almost one hundred and thirty years, still be here when he did return?

She could feel Zelda’s struggle and agony in the last time they met up on Mount Lanayru. She was in so much pain… It was truly a miracle that Zelda still held on. 

She knows he’ll make it back to her… all the agony she’s experiencing, it's not just for Hyrule you know. Even more than Hyrule… the fight’s for the baby. Her little princess… She fights through her agony every day just so she’ll get to meet her daddy.  

Those words of Impa’s rang through her head whenever doubts about Link crept back. 

Zelda knew he would make it. Zelda knew he would come before it was too late and undo it all.

All of the continual suffering at least. The lives lost on that night were never coming back; there was no magic undo for the Champions, Link’s family, the Royal Guard, King Rhoam or any of the other thousands of lives who were extinguished. 

Whether she was here or with Hylia when he came was of no consequence. This was just an added measure to help Her Majesty. 

The replica Slate pinged on the Guidance Stone. 

The rune was installed. 

“Let’s do this, Symin! Can I get a click and a snap?!”

With a snap of his own, Symin booted the rune and directed its rays at Purah’s body. Only slightly longer than a few seconds had passed before adverse reactions developed and Purah fell unconscious. There would be time for analytics later.

After an entire day’s sleep, Purah’s full-body fatigue was only slightly less than extreme.

“Symin! What’s this young lady doing here?” Where there once was balding, there was now floor-length hair; and smooth skin replaced deep wrinkles. “I-it’s me! The age-reversal has already taken effect! Quick, let's determine just how many years I’ve regained!” 

She quickly noticed, after a few calls of his name, that Symin was still asleep. Instantly, she went to kick him upright to document this scientific achievement. Everything that the lab could test was tested, and the results startled.

Purah was now in her early fifties. Over seventy years overnight. She had rewinded her life more than her body had currently lived. After a morning of accomplishment, concern set in that she would find herself as a newborn the next morning.

Thankfully, the rate of rewind had slowed greatly. The next morning, she met a version of herself she hadn’t seen in about ninety years. She was thirty again. She had rewound all the age her body had received since continuing her research following the Calamity… There was so much loss that happened in that time, to see that self again was overwhelming. 

She’d had a Gerudo assistant and Link’s late sister Sydnei the last time she lived in this body. Esosu had passed long ago, and though Sydnei’s funeral was only about two years ago, it still sealed the fact that this body was not supposed to be seen again. 

The first thing to do with this newfound energy was not to mourn, oh no, but to science! 

There was so much science to use this energy on, energy she hadn’t had in decades. She quickly decided on the Sheikah Sensor, who had an expansion done when she was eighty.

All the Slate Tech would go directly to the coming hero, onto the Slate he inherited from his wifey. All the work would be worth it if said tech helped him free Princess Zelda.

People who knew the truth were dying. The Queen was once again just a princess. She was trapped in the past just like Purah now was.

The next day she was twenty. Exactly a century ago. This body witnessed the Calamity, smelled the blood and felt the ashes. 

Maybe Ganon was stronger then than he had been ten thousand years before. Or maybe he was expecting us to do what we did…

Regardless, the blood spilled on that night… there was so much. It was unrestrained in its might and reach, merciless to the screams of innocents that had never so much as laid a hand on him.

There were no words that ever existed who could describe the complete destruction of the Great Calamity.

The Champions were lost, the Castle and its inhabitants were lost, Zelda herself was lost… 

But one hope was recovered. The body of young Prince Link was recovered one hundred years ago from the plains surrounding Fort Hateno. 

His wounds and blood loss were extensive. The chance of him making it through the night was nothing, as his breathing and heart were stopped.

He was so young, so courageous, his death racked her even now. He was the youngest ever Imperial Guard, one of the first Liberated Wolfbreds, eventually he became the Matriarch’s Personal Guard; but all these things just led up to his greatest accomplishment as Princess Zelda’s beloved. There was no enemy that would frighten him away from defending his pregnant wife and the kingdom they set to share.

And that courage cost him everything.

He had everything on paper to defeat Ganon gloriously, but his efforts collapsed into tragedy.

The Sheikah Researchers and the Royal Family have been closely bound since ancient times, and the devastating loss hurt them just as much as it hurt the family he left behind.

Shortly before his passing, a chamber known as the Shrine of Resurrection was discovered on the Great Plateau on a cliff overlooking the kingdom and Temple of Time. 

It had never been tested… there was no guarantee. 

But it was the only chance at saving his life.

It was all they could do. 

Purah’s age continued to regress over the course of two days, finally stopping at the age of six. Her ability to wait patiently was gone. She wanted Link back  now . She wanted to jump on and kick him until he woke up. But Symin wouldn’t assist her, so she turned her time to developing a way to undo the process. It was finished within a day, but the Guidance Stone and its blue flame had flickered out. 

Attempts to restore them failed, and Purah was stuck waiting. Research was halted, and her days were now limited to sunlight and gas lamps. In only a few days, Purah’s entire life had managed to be uprooted. 

She expected that’s what happens when you force nature to do your bidding..

At least now she knows a little more about how the princess has felt these past one hundred years.

Except what clouds her mind and prevents her from fully acknowledging this learning was that she’d disabled her support of the Royal Family through trying to help save it…

And that now the years of research she’d prepared for Link to use was unreachable.

She’d blown his second chance before it had even begun.

Edited - 04/14/2024 

[mistresslrigtar]

Champions at Play

My latest one-shot written for the Residents of the Wild digital 'zine that was just released! Many thanks to the mods for giving me this opportunity!

Snippet:

Today, a frazzled Professor Symin does his best to be heard over the cacophony of his young students' voices. His latest lesson plan, that he thought would lead to animated discussions and speak to his students' creative sides, has proven to only incite them to heated debates. As a matter of fact, he wonders if his idea to produce a school play reenacting the defeat of Calamity Ganon will ever come to fruition, and is beginning to rue the day he ever introduced the notion to his students. 

He blows an errant lock out of his eyes that has fallen from the kanzashi that usually holds his neatly top-knotted white hair in place and tries to regain order. “Students! Please!”

Read the rest on AO3

Zine features art by @lunarchibistry!

Many thanks to @zeldaelmo for betaing! It’s been so long I bet she doesn’t even remember! 🤣

[blocodibujo]

50 Days until Tears of the Kingdom releases!

Here’s drawing 11/60: Symin

[lunarchibistry]

This past week’s previews!

I’ve started a Patreon, raising money to afford an apartment for me and my family. It’s been a rough 3 months (the first 2 living in a car), but it’s only getting tougher if I can’t bring in any income. Yes I’ve tried loads of different programs but have been denied by every single one. It sucks but that’s the reality I’ve been facing.

Signing up for my Patreon, means you’ll get so much content and far more dedication from me. I plan to go the extra mile and offer lots of raffles, polls, tutorials, monthly prints, brushes I plan to make, and whatever else I can think of along the way. Hell, maybe I’ll even drop my fan fic I’ve been writing. Either way, what I offer is definitely worth it and will be lots of fun! I thank you ahead of time and promise to give it everything I’ve got!

[nolongerapileofashprobably]

How am I supposed to cope with the fact that it is HEAVILY IMPLIED if not practically canon that Link and Zelda lived together post botw

Link can still sleep in the bed.

The table is set for two 🥹

Zelda had to have a separate room built for ‘privacy’ and Link’s hair tie and is found there. Why would she need privacy if she lived alone? Plus having to hide his new champions tunic in the throne room??? Can’t hide it in the house if they both live there

Zelda even states that Link hasn’t left her side since they were reunited 🥹 kill me I’m so fucking emotional about this

It’s referred to as ‘Zelda’s house’ but in Japanese I believe in her diary she just calls it ‘the house’ (again, I’m not positive but localizations have applied ownership where the Japanese version lacks it)

Symin says “oh! You’re back in town, link!” And then “if you’re here alone then Princess Zelda must still be missing” which implies Link does still live there and that he’s literally always with Zelda (which we been knew)

Remember that while the side quest for the house was optional, it would have been torn down if Link didn’t buy it. It’s still there. So it’s safe to assume that canonically, Link did the majority if not all the side quests in botw.

Like fuck this I’m so fucking upset Link spent years by Zelda’s side, is referred to as an ADULT, and now they’re separated AGAIN. I’m. Im fucking emotional. This is everything I wanted from the sequel which is a pretty clear indication that zelink are together like what the fuck Nintendo. What the fuck.

[bahbahhh]

begin again

a lot of change happens in between Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. let’s fill in the gaps. zelda pov | zelink | totk spoilers | multichapter | rated T zelinkweek2023 | @zelinkcommunity [ ao3 ]

Chapters: [2 ] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

The Calamity is gone. The remaining leaders of Hyrule gather for a Summit to determine the future of the kingdom, starting with how to repurpose all the Sheikah Technology. Zelda is among them, and while everyone still calls her Princess, she’s not sure she wants to lay claim to an old throne. What she really wants is to move on. She wants to continue her research, to prove her worth beyond her bloodline, and to spend as much time with Link as she can…which sounds an awful lot like what she wanted a hundred years ago…

[ A story set between BotW and TotK, containing many spoilers for TotK as it was born from my need to explain many of the changes we see. A tremendous thank you to @zeldaelmo who volunteered to beta read this before she knew what she was getting herself into. I am immensely thankful for your eagle eye and your patience. ]

chapter 1

for the prompt “yearning”

Zelda doesn’t have a bed. 

She thinks about this lying on the spare one in Purah’s study. She’s staying with Purah for the Hyrule Restoration Summit, which is what they are calling the first official gathering of Hyrule leaders since the fall of the Calamity, and the more she thinks about it, technically speaking, it's a cot.

It’s not unlike the one she uses when they are in Kakariko, albeit a few inches shorter, like everything else customized for a child in Purah’s lab. Zelda has to lay at an angle to fit and even so, her feet dangle over the edge when she straightens her legs. Symin offered her his bed, as Paya had in Kakariko, and like there, Zelda declined. 

When she traveled a century ago, families were forced to give up their entire homes to host her. Royal quarters were permanently built in Kakariko, Rito Village, Gerudo Town, and Zora’s Domain. Due to the hostile environment surrounding Goron City, the Gorons agreed to travel to Akkala Citadel whenever there was official business with the Royal family which, in addition to a military fortress for the Hyrulian armed forces, acted as a second residence for her family. Another bed.

But that was all before. Akkala Citadel is in ruins, all the Royal quarters have since been repurposed by their respective domains, and Zelda will never ask anything more of the people of Hyrule so long as she draws breath.

Still, selfishly, and in the safety of her own thoughts, she yearns for the comfort of a real bed. Nothing extravagant, no need for anyone in Hyrule to forfeit their comforts on her behalf. Just somewhere she can readily count on for rest when sleep decides to visit. 

That’s what Link says: a visit of sleep. 

They are alike in this way. Their internal clocks recalibrated in the prolonged absence of waking, such that their bodies don’t readily cue the need for sleep. In the beginning, it took her weeks just to register the sensation of fatigue again. She stayed awake for two full days after the final confrontation on Hyrule Field before collapsing abruptly during the climb up to Kakariko’s western entrance. Link had to carry her the rest of the way. She slept for ninety-two hours straight. 

When Zelda finally awoke, someone was smoothing her hair out of her face. Another sensory experience she needed to register again: touch. Not toxic oil on her skin, claws of shadow raking down her spine, or darkness pulling so tight it feels like it might become one with her. Actual human touch. 

She hoped it might be Link in a delayed return of her affections for a heartbeat, but when she opened her eyes, it was an old Sheikah woman at her bedside. Zelda’s expression must have soured or pulled with confusion, because the woman began to laugh. Laughter. Warm and inviting and familiar. The sound vibrated inside Zelda like a bell. She gasped, set her hands on either side of the women’s face and felt a sudden and painful ache that has accompanied every subsequent realization of her losses. 

She will never age like she was meant to. With the people of her time, with the people she loved.

And after a century in stasis, she is on the verge of being completely left behind.

“Now, it’s not that bad, is it?” Impa teased.  

Zelda didn’t answer. She wept.

It has gotten a little better in the months since she returned to her physical form. She’s started to suspect Link is “visited’ by sleep out of preference more than necessity. But really, he slept for a hundred years, so she can’t blame him for rejecting a more traditional sleep cycle. She, on the other hand, was frozen. Not sleeping, not waking, just there—like gravity itself. Holding everything and everyone in place, unnoticeable until she wasn’t, when the Calamity would slip free of her grasp, swirl about the castle, and remind Hyrule of the horrors that awaited them if she failed again. 

Zelda smudges a tear against the side of her face and turns onto her back. Regardless, she can’t help but feel like having a bed, a ceiling overhead she recognizes, and the freedom to get up and roam down to a kitchen for a slice of fruitcake when the night is still young, that she might be visited by rest more willingly when she wants it. Needs it.

Like tonight. 

“So, what you're really talking about is wanting a home,” Zelda tells herself, a habit formed in the decades of solitude. Sometimes, in periods of dormancy or resignation, the Calamity would growl back at her in a tone that was almost human. But for the most part, she started talking to herself in and out of days and throughout the years until her sense of time too was a thing Hylia claimed in penance for her failures. 

“That’s not accurate,” she chides herself and flips onto her stomach. Blaming the Goddess is a bad habit she is trying to change. When she finally unlocked her Powers, suspended in divinity, the closest to holy she’s ever been, the Goddess didn’t even answer her then. It was just the sound of her own voice, echoing back at her from inside the Calamity. 

A bed. Something simple and fixed, like the one Link has in his house right on the outskirts of the village. Zelda’s caught glimpses of it when they’ve stopped there to replenish supplies; nestled against the wall on the second floor, beneath the only window so natural light kisses him awake when he finally decides to rest. He has a small dresser for linens and travel spoils, and a bedside table that is home to a painted vase from Rito Village he often fills with fresh flowers. 

She wonders which flowers are watching over him right now. Has sleep visited him? Or is he rolling about his sheets, worrying about the Summit, trying to break old habits, or craving something warm from the cooking pot down the stairs?

If he is awake, it is likely the latter. He would be able to sleep on a night like this. The air is cool. Everyone at the Summit knows him personally; is indebted to him in some way, although he carries no ledger. He is known. Respected. Tomorrow is just another day. Sleep will visit.

Zelda’s role in all of this is yet to be defined. While news of Calamity Ganon’s defeat spread quickly, there was no whisper of the lost Princess’ return at first. Rumors focused on the disappearance of the shadow around Hyrule Castle and then later, turned into formal requests for Link’s presence in the aid of investigating the Divine Beasts sudden malfunctioning. No one asked about her.

And it was nice. 

For a brief moment, she fantasized about cutting her hair, burning her dress, and letting Zelda disappear with the embers into history. Maybe she would accompany Link as a traveling scholar under another name? Or join the Sheikah and train with the weapons she was forbidden to touch a hundred years ago?

Impa, however, had other plans. She suggested Zelda travel with Link to investigate Vah Ruta so the Zora could verify her identity. They found her old travel clothes, Link presented her with a descendant of her horse, Storm, and the dreams of obscurity ceased. The Zora instantly recognized her, adding credibility to the announcement of her return and soon, her identity grew heavy with an unspoken claim to a throne that needed rebuilding.

No one has officially said anything, but there is a generous amount of speculation surrounding tomorrow and the opportunity to reestablish a centralized and unifying governing body. If they asked it of her, she would have no choice but to accept, right? It is the duty tied to this life. This title.  

Maybe she could convince them of her usefulness as a scholar? She no longer has any restrictions on time spent researching. She could help the Sheikah redesign their technology. Perhaps to aid in the great restoration…if she could just get the Divine Beasts up and running again, they would prove so useful in the rebuilding! 

This part of her, shunned by her family and now forgotten with them, could be the key to proving her worth beyond a head to carry the crown. She will show them. She has to.  They don’t seem to know what else to do with her, otherwise. Rarely does anyone use her name, even after they realized who she is.

They all call her ‘Princess’.  

Except for Link. 

Zelda turns onto her side and inspects the empty sliver of cot beside her. She runs her hand across the weaving and thinks about how she used to be able to visit Link. When the Calamity was dormant and her Power was still new and untaxed, she would separate a part of herself from Hyrule Castle and ride the wind to the Great Plateau. She watched the seasons turn by Link’s side in the shrine until the Calamity would wake and pull her back into herself like a rubber band. This went on for decades. 

When he finally woke up and the shrine’s toll for restoring his life was realized, Zelda felt her strength begin to waver. She is not aware of a word that accurately describes the feeling of being forgotten by the person you tethered your heart to; to have it remain connected to that person and witness it drift behind them, becoming more of a dark cloud than guiding light.

Her love for him burned for a hundred years. Somehow, in the depths of a living, breathing, rageful hell, it grew. It grounded her within the swirl of eternal darkness, the unyielding burn of malice, the mourning of time. As his memories of their kingdom, their comrades, and of her, returned to him, his reckoning of it all remained indistinguishable. 

The last six months between them were uncomfortable. He never outwardly answered her question on the field. He extended his hand and led her away from the castle. He was gentle yet reserved, closer than the three paces he once stood as her appointed knight and still somehow further than when he sunk into the glowing waters of the shrine and she stepped into the center of the darkest night.  Did his love die with him on the field that day? Was it left in the spot where he bled out, where flowers now grow? Has one unknowingly ever made it back to his bedside table? Could he recognize it now? 

Did he want to? 

She glances over her shoulder quickly, half expecting him to be there like he always was all those years ago, appearing out of thin air, as a part of her as her own shadow. 

But there is no one else in the room. Her shadow is empty. Her window shut. 

Zelda turns her attention back to the empty spot beside her and begins to imagine the weight of his arms around her. The sound of his sleep. His breath on her face. The cot is small, like his bed, but in the way she imagines they might fit together, it would be enough for sleep to find her. Even on a night like this. 

But there is no one else in the room. 

Just her and a bed, that's not even a bed, that doesn’t belong to her. 

—

Sleep doesn’t visit her. 

Zelda eventually gives up and pours her energy into drafting up a proposal on how to repurpose the Sheikah Technology. The Divine Beasts will be a tremendous asset. Vah Ruta can create new water reservoirs. Vah Medoh can mass transport supplies and people across Hyrule. Vah Rudania and Vah Naboris will be essential for maneuvering the harsher terrains of each region. 

She is confident she and Robbie could reprogram the guardians and assign them different purposes. She will recommend they remove all of the mechanics for combat, save for a select few machines that will be assigned to aid in monster defense.

Their greatest challenge will be finding a new power source. When Zelda obliterated Calamity Ganon from the realm, her Light purified every non-living thing it held influence over; every pool of Malice evaporated instantly and every guardian -earthbound, skyward or decayed- from the North Akkala Beach to Daval’s Peak stopped working. Robbie has yet to find a working ancient core and hypothesizes Zelda “nuked the network”. Whatever that means. 

The Sheikah Towers and shrines remain functional, so once they isolate the remaining source of power, she is confident Robbie and Purah will be able to design and power up new cores. 

 If only she had access to the old blueprints in her study…

On her way down to the main floor, she scribbles a note about returning to the castle upon acceptance of the proposal. She folds the pages carefully and tucks them into the small leather satchel Link gave her. Purah assumes ownership of the Sheikah Slate whenever they come to Hateno, so Link presented her with a satchel enchanted by the koroks so she can carry multiple items outside of the Slate on her at all times. Link has an identical one. 

He jokingly calls it an ‘adventure pouch’.  

Purah, Symin and a few others are already buzzing about the lab. Purah has the Sheikah Slate in the Guidance Stone, a tear drop of crystal blue bouncing between the stone and the Slate every few seconds. Zelda always thought it was interesting that information takes the shape of a teardrop. Was it intentional by the Sheikah who created the technology all those years ago? Or is it just the natural form of data? Of memory? 

There is so much for them to learn.

“Good morning, Princess!” Purah says without looking up from her work. Zelda decided earlier this morning, just as the sun started peeking through her window, not to fight the title of Princess anymore. She would help them rebuild the kingdom, sit on a new throne if they asked it of her, but she would have a hand defining the responsibilities of the title. 

“Good morning,” Zelda answers. 

Purah rapidly flaps her hand in Zelda’s direction. Zelda moves into the spot beside Purah, who is balanced on her knees on a pillow in order to sit level with the table. There are sketches of the Sheikah Slate, looking very much like a six year old drew them, along with an unflattering portrait of Symin, and handwriting Zelda won’t even attempt to decipher. 

“I think I can duplicate the Slate,” Purah says, snapping her fingers.

Zelda grins. She imagines each region having their own Slate. The possibilities for research, for communication. How quickly Hyrule could share information…the problems they could solve! 

Link pushes open the door to the lab. Zelda imagines how his shoulders might relax the more Hyrule becomes connected. His burden would finally be eased...then maybe…

“Good morning!” She practically bursts. 

Link waves and crosses the room to the cooking pot. Symin starts explaining what he is cooking and Link casually dumps the entire contents into the fire. Symin sighs in relief and pulls out a notebook. Link produces the ingredients one by one from his pouch, displaying each carefully so Symin can copy the recipe. A dozen eggs, Hylian tomatoes, assorted mushrooms, a handful of greens, and a tiny bottle of Goron spice. Zelda’s mouth waters before he even starts cooking. 

She watches Link demonstrate how to slice the tomatoes before setting Symin to work, involving Symin in the salvaging of the meal and in doing so, lessening the blow of his failure. It is a change in Link’s behavior she has loved witnessing: he is eager to share his knowledge after awakening from the shrine; to spread it generously with everyone who asks for his help. In this way, he is teaching Hyrule how to need him less in the long run, a step forfeited a century ago by the pressure he felt and the structure of the role assigned to him. 

Hero, knight, swordsman; whatever title he is to carry moving forward, she will protect his freedom to define it as well. 

They eat quickly and head down the hill toward the village together. Hateno is the chosen location for the Summit because it has the largest settlement of Hylians, who, as a whole, have been without formal leadership for over a century. Central Hyrule was initially considered given the proximity for all participants, but the general consensus is six months of calm is not enough time for anyone to meet comfortably in the shadow of the castle. 

“I heard this is the first time King Dorephan has left his domain in two hundred years,” Purah whispers to Zelda as they turn the corner down the split in the road to Hateno Pasture. A farmer named Dantz offered up his land, which borders Lake Sumac, to host. The water provides an added measure of comfort for the Zora. Zelda spots King Dorephan sitting close to the shore with several elder Zora and Prince Sidon.

There are a handful of Hylians mingling with leading members of the Sheikah, Rito, Gorons, and Gerudo. 

Purah and Symin split off to join Impa, who is sitting in the shade of a nearby tree with Paya. Their movement pulls the attention of the crowd in Zelda’s direction. She watches recognition ripple across the group. The conversations soften and then die off completely at the mere sight of her. Just like old times. 

Zelda flexes her fingers. 

Suddenly, there is a hand in hers. She jumps, glancing to her side where only Link stands. He’s looking right at her, the same way everyone else is, but she doesn’t feel the weight of the crown on her shoulders in his gaze. He squeezes her hand and nods her forward.  

“Right. Okay, then,” Zelda whispers.

Link leads her around the crowd so she can make introductions before the Summit starts. She is already known to the Sheikah, who are represented by Impa, Robbie, Purah, Symin, Paya, and Cado, and the Zora. Prince Sidon embraces her and compliments Link relentlessly. 

It is Zelda’s first time meeting the Goron Boss, Bludo, who introduces Zelda to a young Goron named Yubono and emphasizes he is a descendant of Daruk, as well as the Rito Chief, Kaneli. He is joined by a Rito warrier named Teba, and his son, Tulin, who begs Link to go shooting with him later that day. Link offers the fledgling a thumbs up and then gestures like, you want to go now, quick? 

Teba scolds them both. 

Her favorite introduction is the last one. Chief Makeela Riju, who insists Zelda calls her Riju, informs Zelda the Gerudo sun has missed her and personally invites her to come meet her pet sand seal. 

There certainly is a lot of personality, but Zelda feels certain the proposal will appease them all equally. The fact Link’s hand has remained in hers the entire time only boosts her confidence. Should she request the floor immediately or wait to see if there are region-specific needs she can weave into her proposal? She wants to emphasize the importance of each region’s involvement. 

“I think it’s time,” Impa makes her way out of the shade with the other Sheikah and takes the spot closest to Zelda. “that we begin again, don’t you all agree?”

“Well said. The Zora recognize the start of the Hyrule Restoration Summit,” King Dorphean says. 

“As do the Rito.” 

“And the Gerudo.”

“The Shei-kah!” Robbie throws his hand in the air and postures. 

“Gorons,” Bludo grunts.

“The Hylians have elected four representatives: I, Reede of Hateno Village, Elder Rozel of Lurelin Village, Hudson of Tarrey Town, and Traysi for the Stable Association. We recognize the start of the Hyrule Restoration Summit.”

“I officially call this meeting to order.” Impa claps her hands together and sits. She thanks everyone for traveling and for the village of Hateno for their hospitality. She summarizes the objective of the meeting as a gathering of the people of Hyrule in preliminary discussions about plans for a massive restoration following the purge of Calamity Ganon. She explains the forum will be open, but organized, in order for accurate minute keeping. Everyone motions in favor of detailed records. There are too many nameless ruins, too many stories and lessons lost to time scattered across Hyrule.

“Since there is no old business to attend to, I suppose it might be best to open the floor up to hear any initial recommendations for the restoration?”

Link raises his hand. 

He so rarely speaks out loud that the anticipation of it commands the attention of the entire Summit immediately. It might be her imagination, but Zelda swears the wind stops, too.  

“Let the record show the Hylian Champion and Hero of the Wild, Link, has the floor,”  Impa dictates and gestures for Link to continue. Zelda fishes her proposal out from her adventure pouch and folds it in her lap. Whatever he says, she’s assuming he will have some brilliant suggestions on how the former trade routes can be optimized or offer insight into the state of Central Hyrule for an exhibition, it will provide the perfect opportunity for her to follow. 

Link turns and smiles at her as he rises. It’s small. Relaxed. The kind of smile that’s only meant for the space between two people. Which means it is meant for her. 

She smiles back. 

With her plans for the Sheikah Technology, which will no doubt be strengthened by Link’s expertise, they can face this new Hyrule together. Self-chosen, this time, not forced by fate and the responsibilities of an old kingdom. 

Her heart flutters so rapidly at the thought, it takes her brain a moment to register what he actually says:

“I propose the first step in the restoration of Hyrule should be the destruction of all Sheikah Technology.”

[skyloftsword]

Funny interaction I found

So uh... apparently BotW in its entirety is summarized in TotK really well. Talking to Symin around night when he's upstairs and asking him about the Calamity lets you see this.

Symin also comments on the fact that Link knows the events perfectly.

[syndxlla]

best friends don’t look at each other the way we do

A low stakes, high reward and self-indulgent Zelink fanfic. Canon-compliant, takes place between BOTW and TOTK

Chapter Two: You’re Safe

Read Chapter one here

Song: Sick of Losing Soulmates by Dodie

Summary: Link introduces Zelda to their new home in Hateno, and Zelda begins to face the reality of what her life has developed into.

Warnings: PTSD, body-image, mentioning of scars, passing out

Word Count: 4.9k words

Author’s Note: This shit is so sad I promise its going to eventually get happy haha.

It’s late afternoon when they get to Hateno, just when the sun is starting to low hang in the sky. The gate is quiet, probably because it was their day of worship. Little kids who usually play tag on the main road were praying to the Goddess in their houses, and farmers who practically work in the field studied their devotionals in their kitchen. Link hopped off of Epona when they got into town, guiding her and Zelda through the back road, past the Bolson homes, and over the old wooden bridge to his house.

He leads his horse to the old stable, and then helps Zelda off of her by lifting her at the waist and gently placing her onto the ground. Zelda looks around at her bearings while Link removes the bridle and saddle from his steed, refilling her trough with some water from the well.

“Well… this is it.” He presents the building with his arms open, as if it were a mansion. Zelda doesn’t say much, she just observes the structure with her hands held together, arms bed at the elbow. He leads her through the front door, waving his hand around the dust and coughing once or twice. “I haven’t been home in a while.” He awkwardly smiles. It’s dark and dank there, so quaint. “It’s no palace, I know. But I could afford it, and I really needed a place to store all my extra junk.” Zelda walks up to the weapon displays, seeing the weapons of their dead friends. lined up one by one.

Link drops his equipment, placing the Master Sword on the table, which had nothing on it but a few knife cuts and a dead flower. He moves to open a window, which creaks loudly as he pushes, startling Zelda. “Sorry, sorry.” He sniffles. The window allows the light to pour in, the sun getting slightly golden. He turns to see her staring at the portrait of all the champions that Link hung not six months ago—when he was here last. He moves towards her, nervous and apologetic. She’s so hard to read.

“Look, I know it isn’t perfect. But it’s got a bed, a kitchen, and a bath, and we can clean it up.” He places a tentative hand on her bicep, standing behind her. She looks around. “If you really hate it, we can get a room at the Inn downtown, or we can go up to Purah and Symin’s-“

“It’s perfect, Link.” She stops him and turns around. They’re about the same height, so their eyes meet perfectly.

“What?” He was talking it up out of embarrassment, this place is a dump.

“It’s perfect. Anywhere is better than that throne room. And I wouldn’t want a castle, I’ll be happy here.” She smiles, and if Link didn’t know any better he would pull her in for a tight hug. He doesn’t think they’re that close yet.

“Really?” He asks. She nods.

“It needs some cleaning up, and as much as I love your tributes to the Champions, I think we should return these weapons to their people. I think we should give them a proper burial. Finally put those four to rest.” She explains, sounding like her old self again. “You and I will never move on if we coexist with these.” She admits, and Link agrees.

They stand quiet for a moment. The dust settles. “I‘ll draw a bath for you, if you would like.” He says. “I can start on some dinner, too.”

“That would be lovely.” Zelda smiles.

They have to catch a frog that was sitting in the wooden tub before Link starts bringing in water from the well, and as they chase the bugger, Zelda hears Link’s laugh for the first time in a hundred years. His real laugh, not a polite chuckle or a distant giggle as she watched over him from the Sanctum, but an actual, full-body laugh as he chased the frog. Her entire demeanor softens as she hears it, her heart racing. He rarely laughed when he served as her Knight, and it would always be because of something Mipha said. His laugh now sounded joyous, safe. She needed to hear it.

She looks at the warm bath, Link taking time to heat the water with coals underneath before she gets in. He goes to yank the screen closed, leaving behind a towel, and some soap made out of goat milk from the farm up the mountain. He explains to her that he’s gonna take care of some things outside of the house while she’s getting clean. That he won’t leave, but he’ll get out of the house so she has total privacy. He rambles about taking care of Epona and then picking some endura shrooms for dinner. With a toothy grin he teases about maybe finding a truffle.

“Just yell my name if you need anything and I’ll come running.” He says as he places some folded clean clothes on a stool for her. “Tomorrow we can go to the general store and get you some new clothes. For now you can wear these. The trousers might be a little big, but the shirt is from when I first woke up and I was a skinny little thing. The ghost of your dad actually gave it to me.” Link laughs, clearly happy to have a companion. “I’ve bulked up since then.” He jokingly flexes his bicep and Zelda giggles.

“Link-“ She tilts her head, almost scolding him.

“Alright, alright, I’m going!” He leaves, and Zelda can’t stop smiling. He’s come out of his shell so much. A hundred years ago he never spoke, and mainly communicated through sign language. She wondered if he even remembered his signs. The two of them would speak frequently through them. He taught her the entire language, it took the full year they spent at each other's side, but by the time all the divine beasts were being piloted she was almost fluent. She misses that. Sometimes he would sign things to her as she stood behind her father, trying to make her laugh and get her in trouble. It worked one too many times.

And he really had bulked up, even from when she knew him first.

She shakes her head, reminding herself that she mustn't think like that. Not about her closest friend. She sighs, truly alone for the first time in a century.

She looks down at her hands, dirty and frail. She kicks her sandals off and her feet are so sensitive to every feeling. In fact, every part of her skin feels hyper-sensitive to every sensation. She takes a deep breath, she had forgotten what it was like to breathe in. She does it ten times. Zelda then touches the water with her hand, sighing at the feeling of it. She forgot what water even felt like.

The princess stretches, and then goes to take off the white goddess gown. She freezes, not being able to bring herself to do it. Her hands start to shake, and she frowns.

“Pull yourself together, Zelda.” She mumbles to herself. She then pulls the dress up over her head, dropping it to the ground and leaving herself naked. Along with the dress, she feels like she pulls off a piece of her identity. She was truly relieved and thankful the fight was over, especially because it felt like it would never end, but she’s terrified of what comes next. She wore that damned dress for one hundred and three years. And as easy as it went on, it came off. It came off along with her jewelry, the bracelets and necklace. She stands there in complete vulnerability, heart racing.

A lump forms in her throat and she pushes it down. Looking at the white rags on the ground. She carefully steps into the basin of water, gasping as she sits in it. It takes a moment for her to control her breathing. When she doesn’t, she sighs and settles into the water, her heart relaxing. She closes her eyes and then dunks her head underwater, letting all of her long hair get wet. She blows bubbles out of her nose, and runs her hands up and down her skin. She resurfaces, tilting her head back to keep the hair out of her face, and then wipes the water off of her eyes.

Baptism. She thinks. Washing away her sins, and restarting.

She cries exactly three tears. She isn’t sure if it’s because of relief or anxiety or exhaustion and excitement or all of the above.

She sits there for a long time, not moving. It feels good to be in the water, she feels comfortable and safe. She tries to bring herself to move but can’t, maybe her muscles were finally settling into exhaustion. She just sits there, not even really thinking, just existing quietly.

It was simultaneously silent and blaring loud all of the time inside of the trance-like-state she lived in while sealing away The Calamity. Her heart rate finally relaxes, and her eyes even droop for a moment. She has to repeatedly remind herself that she was safe. Maybe one day she would be able to believe that. The water started to get cool, and so she finally moved. It was nice to experience real peace for the first time maybe ever.

Zelda reaches for the bar of soap.

She scrubs away a century of dirt and grime, and it comes off with very little effort. The soap is soft, she appreciates that it came from the locals, and that Link had it at all. He isn’t half as put-together and tidy as he was when he served as her knight. His hair is longer, and it sticks out in all sorts of directions. He’s missing a chunk of cartilage from his right ear, and he’s more scarred, especially on his face. Zelda hopes that isn’t the result of carelessness, she couldn’t bear the thought of Link being put in danger even though he is the most capable person in all of Hyrule. But ever since he nearly died in her arms at Fort Hateno decades ago, she can’t stomach it. She watched in pain and disarray as he threw himself at every monster, every challenge, unfaltering and unafraid.

When she gets out of the bath, she starts to shiver, her body still not used to regulating its temperature again. Zelda quickly dries herself off and gets dressed. The clothes are even a little big on her, and more revealing in some places than she would have ever worn in her past life. She shrugs, and pulls the screen open.

Just as he had promised, he wasn’t in the house. She glanced around, taking in the surroundings even more, trying to get her bearings again. Link doesn’t have much, and what he does have looks mostly like junk. Zelda wasn’t sure how long she was going to be here, but her guess was a long time. It’s not like she has anywhere else to go anymore.

Knowing that Link won’t bother her until she goes looking for him, Zelda takes this as an opportunity to snoop. Not out of malice, but simply because she wants to know more about this new Link, and she’s too afraid to ask still. In her heart, he’s the same devoted and stoic Knight of few words, but she knows deep down that’s not who he is anymore.

In the corner of the room, there’s a work table, one with an old bow on it. She walks to it, examining the weapon. There’s a series of knots on the body of the bow, some Rito and some Gerudo. He seemed to be practicing on the bow, not using it for any combat. There’s a broken-up ruby on the desk, too. Zelda turns around, the front door is open, but she can’t see him. She continues her exploration.

The kitchen is lovely, nicer than anywhere else in the house. Clearly Link had spent some time fixing it up. There were dried herbs on the wall, and a few pieces of paper hanging up with recipes scribbled on them. His handwriting has not improved since she first knew him.

She notices all his different pairs of shoes by the door, he must store his extra clothes that he doesn’t use very often here. She’s never seen him in anything other than his Hylian boots, but here there were a pair of Shekiah sandals, Gerudo Voe slippers, and a pair of snow boots. His feet were big, she picked up one of the shoes, examining it. She noticed there was more wear and tear on the left shoes than the right, implying that he preferred his left side. She sets the shoe down and looks up the stairs to the loft. She peers out of the door again, making sure he wasn’t nearby. She didn’t want to invade his privacy, but couldn’t help her curiosity. Besides, Link has never been that private anyways.

Zelda creeps up the stairs, and when she gets to the top she nearly collapses. She does not have the strength for stairs yet. All there was in the loft was a single bed, it was a double size, though, and a dresser. On top of the dresser was a vase. It was full of flowers that Link had surely picked. All of them were beautiful still, and most importantly, all of them were silent princesses.

Zelda’s favorite flower. She swallows back a tear, walking to them. A few had wilted already, she wondered when he picked them. If he hadn’t been here in nearly a half a year, they couldn't have lasted that long. Or could they? She wasn’t sure. In her youth she never dared pick any because of how rare they were. Are they still so rare? Do they have prolonged longevity? Her mind started rising with questions, and her heart started racing out of excitement, the way science and asking questions used to make her feel. She picks them out of the vase, examining them in between her hands and even smelling one. The scent was diving, and she sighed as she exhaled.

She freezes after processing what the flowers were, what they could have stood for. Did he really collect all of these for her? She shakes the ridiculous idea out of her head. What a silly, schoolgirl thought to have. She sets the flowers back.

Zelda wastes no more time snooping, and instead decides to step outside. It was golden hour now, and the warm sun felt incredible on her skin. She took it in for a moment, savoring every single human moment she experiences because she never thought she would get them again.

She savors the feeling of the grass against her bare feet, wiggling her toes with joy. She can’t help the smile that grins across her face. Her skin tickles with it, the feeling still incredibly sensitive. She giggles a few times, and then turns around the house where the stable was, in search for her friend.

A shirtless, toned and sweaty Link tosses a bale of hay into a pile, lifting it high over his head with ease. His biceps flex as he tosses it, his skin slightly sun kissed from the work, and his hair somehow even more disheveled than before. He discarded his shirt on the fence, letting it hang out next to the undershirt he wore, and some chainmail. His chest glistens in the sun, sparkling from the light peppering of sweat over his pectorals. He’s scarred to high-heaven, old cuts and gashes healed with scar-tissue that stretched along his muscles.

Zelda’s face goes bright red when she sees him, immediately turning around to go back inside, but that’s when Link sees her.

“You’re finished!” He chimes cheerily, jogging over to her. She turns around slowly and painfully, her entire body tense because of the sight. Of course she had seen him shirtless, he was practically naked as the day he was born when he woke up in the Shrine of Resurrection, but she was watching him through lense that made it feel more detached, less real. And before the two of them were sealed away from the outside world, she had never even dreamed of seeing him in such a state. They were both too uptight with their titles. Oh how the times have changed. Even if she had seen him partially-nude, it was never this close, never this…detailed. She could smell him, the scent of hard work and horse-hair displayed in the most appealing aroma of a man she could think of. She makes a special effort to look at him directly in the eye, not daring to look anywhere else. The cherry on top? Link had no idea what he was doing to her.

“I-It was lovely,” She stutters over her words like a fool, She takes a shaken breath and then chooses to sign “Thank you.” She forces a smile, was he going to remember.

Link smiles wide and immediately signs back “You’re welcome, I’m happy you know how to sign, too!” And then he dropped it as fast as he picked it up, he used to rely on it so heavily but he doesn’t need it like he used to. He continues speaking verbally: “I’m glad! I’ll go drain the bath! Hudson and Bolson made this fancy contraption that dumps the gray water into a big ole bowl under the house!” He articulates with his hands, showing just how big the bowl really was. Zelda’s heart dropped a little, she was sad he didn’t remember that he was who taught her their special language. But at least he remembered.

She looks at him, pulled into his elaborate explanation of the water invention…his skin looked so soft, so inviting. “And then it drains into a monster camp down the hill! They drink it or something and everyone’s happy! It’s really quite clever, you know.” He smiles a wide, toothy grin. Zelda had never seen him get so excited about anything before the calamity. She was struggling not to fall apart out of embarrassment as he talked, though.

“Fascinating… I would like t-to see it.” She smiled politely, hoping she doesn’t look as foolish as she feels. “D-do you have a comb?” She asks.

He smiles and nods.

Inside of the house, it started to get dark. Link lit the few oil lamps and candles inside, but it was still dim.

Upstairs, Zelda groans frustratedly as she attempts to braid her hair. She looks at her reflection in the old mirror sitting on the dresser. No matter how hard she tries, she can’t seem to get the plaits to lay the way they’re supposed to. For whatever reason, she is incapable of being able to braid her hair in any way. She can’t seem to remember, and no matter how hard she tries, the hair just won’t knot correctly. Link heard her frustration, and out of both curiosity and a desire to protect her, he steps away from the dinner he prepares, and treads up the stairs carefully.

“Zel? Is everything okay?” He asks gently.

“I’m fine!” She sighs exasperatedly. Link stops in his tracks, not wanting to bother her, but still being concerned. She was clearly not fine. He observes the situation, and sees the problem. He walks towards her, not wanting to upset her further, but wanting to be helpful.

“May I?” He asks, gesturing to the comb he let her borrow (that he “borrowed” from Riju… she still doesn’t know he has it).

She sighs, “No.”

Link is a little taken back by that.

“I don’t need your help.” She swallows, looking at herself in the reflection, a frown plastered across her face.

“Okay.” He nods and turns to go. Accepting her wish. “Dinner is ready, come down whenever you feel like it.” He says over his shoulder before continuing. She watches him, frustrated with herself and embarrassed that she can’t do something so simple anymore. When he walks down the stairs and is out of sight, she lets go and silently drops a few tears. Only a few, and she quickly wipes them away. How pathetic she thinks to herself.

She stands up, taking the comb and walking downstairs.

He plates the food he made, whistling a distantly-familiar song as he did so. Zelda sits with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders at the table, watching him, now he has a shirt on, finally. It wasn’t his blue tunic, however, it was a soft, emerald green tunic. She didn’t recognize it. It was big on him, like it was supposed to have chainmail and an undershirt, too. Either that or Link was just too small for it.

“What is that song?” She asks.

“Hm?” Link turns around with the bowls in his hand, “Oh, I’m not sure. It came to me in a dream once.” He whistles it again, down middle up, down middle up. It was the song of forests, and fairy children, but neither of them knew that. “Here, it's vegetable cream soup. I know it’s not the most glamorous mela but I was able to get the ingredients in town while you bathed, and it's filling.” He sets it down in front of her and she looks down at it. He then sets his serving across from her, and sits. The two looked at each other, neither knowing what to say.

How do you save the world and rid it from the most demonic and ancient of evils one day, and then the very next you’re sitting across from another eating a vegetable soup?

Link digs in first, purposefully eating it with one of his two spoons instead of swallowing it down like a shot. Zelda was a princess, after all.

Zelda stirs it around a bit, but brings some up to her lips, sipping it. She hums, “That is incredible, Link.” She says, and takes a bigger bite. “Where did you learn to cook?”

“Your dad taught me a lot, actually.” He says, “Back when I first woke up and he wasn’t really your dad.” Link takes a few more bites, trying to satiate his hunger but not pig out in front of her. “And then I just picked skills and recipes up from stable to stable. I really enjoyed it, actually. It gave me a hobby that didn’t have to do with strategy and how to kill the most bokoblins with the fewest arrows.” He shrugs, “By the wayLin, I can kill six bokoblins with two arrows and an acorn. I’ll show you sometime.” He speaks nonchalantly.

Zelda laughs at it and he looks at her with a puzzled look.

“I’m serious!” He defends himself.

“I believe you!” She smiles, “That’s what makes it so funny! No one would stand a chance against you.”

“Awe was that a compliment?” He teases and she laughs more. He succeeds at his attempt of cheering her up. “Don’t start giving me compliments, Zel, you know how my ego handles them. That has not changed in the last hundred years.” He jokes with a lighthearted air. She smiles, the two feel warm, and comfortable inside.

Could you really truly feel happy after an event like what they went through yesterday?

They both believed so.

They believed it because of the other.

Link finishes and stands up, “If you don’t want my help, I understand. But I would be happy to braid your hair for you. It’s not a problem.” Link says in a voice so gentle fairies would come to him. “And if you don’t want me to, that’s okay too. My feelings aren’t hurt.” He turns to the kitchen, leaving the choice up to her.

She sits in contemplation for a moment.

“I’m so embarrassed that I can’t do it.” She sighs. “I used to before the calamity,” the word feels like cotton in her mouth. “But I tried and I just… can’t. My fingers don’t remember how to.” She pushes the emotion down.

“Hey that’s okay!” Link places his bowl in the basin, “I had to remember how to jump when I woke up.”

She smiles, “you’ve recovered so much. I’m glad.”

He turns, “You will, too.”

She wanted to believe that.

“You taught me how to sign”. She signs to him, “Do you not remember?”

Link frowns, “I don’t, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Zelda sighs, “It was our special thing, none of the other champions could sign. Not even-“ She catches herself and doesn’t finish the sign.

“Mipha?” Link spells out her name, there wasn’t a sign for it.

“Yes…” Zelda responds verbally, a little ashamed.

They look at each other, youthful eyes who have seen horrors connect with each other.

Zelda picks up the comb and holds it out for him. He smiles and moves behind her.

He takes the comb and runs it through her long, golden hair. “Your hair grew while you were sealed away.” He says as he holds the soft hair in his calloused hands.

“What?” She asks. “No it did not!”

“Whatever you say, but I think it did.” He hums, parting it and then setting the comb down before beginning the plaits. “What do you want?” He assumes her classic hairstyle of the braided crown, but she lifts her hand to stop him when he starts braiding by her ear.

“Just one braid, all of my hair in it, please.” She asks.

Link nods and lets go of the strands he had in his hands, moving to a different part of her head to restart. He’s always been a very talented braider, even before the calamity. He does it fast, and he is very gentle with her scalp as he does it. When he gets to the bottom, the hair tapering, he realizes he doesn’t have a hair tie to secure it with. Instead of making her hold it while he looks for one, or having to restart, he pulls the blue one out of his hair, and ties Zelda's hair with it. He drapes it over her shoulder and walks away to close the window by the kitchen, his back towards her.

Zelda notices the blue, and looks up to see his hair loose and messy.

Her heart does something because of that.

“I would like to go to bed, I think.” She says. “Would you like me to sleep down here?” She asks.

Link turns around, puzzled, “No?” He furrowed his eyebrows, “I want you to sleep upstairs.”

“I thought that’s where you slept?”

“Nope, I mean I do. But not now, not when you’re here.” He shakes his head. “I can sleep outside with Epona, I sleep better that way anyways.” He shrugs. She looks at him with a blank stare, “What! The bed is clean I assure you.” He chuckles, so charming it’s stupid.

“No that’s not it.” She sighs, “You would sleep with an animal instead of inside?”

“Yeah… Do you not want to sleep in the bed?” He cannot comprehend what she was implying.

“No! I mean yes! I mean no!” She drops her head into her hands, “I would like to sleep in the bed, yes.”

“Great! I’ll sleep outside.”

“Link!”

“What?”

“Just… sleep inside, it's safer.” She suggests.

“But-“ He pauses to think about her words, folding his arms. “I do not understand? I am happy to sleep outside.”

Zelda chuckles, exhausted with his thought process. At least that didn’t change. “Fine. But really, I do not want to take your bed from you.”

“Please do! I don’t need it.” He pushes.

“Okay, okay.” She goes to stand up, but when she does, she completely collapses to the ground, hitting the wood floor hard.

Link wastes not a single second before running to her, calling her name. He kneels on the ground next to her, rolling her onto her back, and supporting her head under his hand.

“Gods, are you alright?” He asks, but she isn’t answering. “Zelda!” He calls her name, and she doesn’t answer, so he calls louder and louder, placing both of his hands on her face to try and wake her.

Link swears, and he grabs her hand to check her pulse but he’s so shaken up that he can’t feel anything. He leans his malformed ear against her lips to see if she is breathing, but that was the ear that he lost his hearing in a year and a half ago when fighting Windblight Ganon. He places his hand on her chest to feel, not caring that he was touching her in a place that he never should, just thinking about her safety. It’s rising and falling but shallow, and he quickly must consider mouth-to-mouth, grabbing an elixir that was too far away, or yelling her name one more time.

He chooses the latter.

He yells at her again, the loudest this time, at a volume that he never used, not even in battle. With a gasp for air, She finally comes to, her eyes opening but hazy and confused.

“Oh my goddess, you’re awake.” He gasps, pulling her against his body, cradling her against his chest. It felt like she was out for an eternity. “Thank Hylia.” He holds her tight.

“Link?” She asks, her voice weak. He squeezes his eyes shut, keeping her close.

“Shit please don’t scare me like that again.” He says, his voice quivering. He pulls away from her and she looks up at him, her eyes welling with tears. “It’s okay, it’s okay I got you.” He holds her again, “You’re safe.”

You’re safe.

—

Chapter three

[sokkas-first-fangirl]

Link and Mipha, kissing. Link and Mipha, dancing. Zelda, dancing with the little Zora child on her feet. The giant blue Zora, leaning down to speak with the woman who had Link’s face and hair. Urbosa, dancing with Zelda and the little blonde girl.

Mipha, carrying the Zora child with a proud beaming smile. The bird-creature (Revali?) ruffling Link’s hair while Link tried to fix the jewels slipping from his hair. The little blonde girl and Zora child, fast asleep at the banquet table. King Rhoam, looking stern. The stone giant (Daruk?) lifting Mipha and Link up to hug them both.

Oh, Link thought, and it came flooding back.

*

Purah gets to work on the Sheikah slate. When she unlocks the camera, a very important memory returns to Link.

A memory of a wedding...

[wouldyoustilllovemeifiwasawyrm]

10 First Lines Challenge

Rules: Share the first line of your last ten published works or as many as you are able to, and see if there are any patterns!

Thank you @spices28 for tagging me! bc I already did this one, I'm going to go back even farther and grab some lines from those fics.

It wasn’t unusual for the children to get overwhelmed.; nor was it unusual for them to cry. My Turn to Grieve (Post-BOTW Zelink)

She didn’t know exactly what to expect on her first visit to Ordon. Snipe-Hunting (TP Zelink)

Water tumbled in the fountain in the center of the palace courtyard far below. Excuse Me, Princess (1986 Cartoon Zelink yes it's a good ship I will die on this hill)

To say that this wasn’t part of the plan would be the understatement of the millennia. So Am I (Original Zelink)

Symin brushed the day’s lesson from the chalkboard. Little Knights (Post-TOTK Zelink)

Sand shifted under his feet, his boots sliding into the dunes as he trudged through the desert. Shattered Mirror (Post TOTK Zelink)

Luminous stone rose in tall, carved columns and archways, glowing even in the cracks between the tiles under their feet as they walked along the long bridge to the heart of Zora’s Domain. Would You Still Love Me If I Was A Wyrm? (Post-TOTK Zelink)

Travelers whispered of a legendary weapon; a sword powerful enough to seal away evil. Lost Woods (BOTW, just Link)

The evening sun begins to dip below the tree line of the western woods. Brightblooms in the Well (Post-BOTW Zelink)

He’d been in this place dozens of times in this life; he blushed to imagine how often he had been here, standing on this floor, in his previous one. Cleaning Up (Post-BOTW Zelink)

Incredibly, it's a perfectly even split between introspection and setting as my first lines. I guess maybe my self-perception that all I do is setting is perhaps untrue.

Tagging @louwhose @wolfsong6913 @sparklyhyperbole @hurricane105 @jdetan @zeldastrife @runecatwrites and uhhhhh heck do i have more writer followers that I haven't tagged??? if you're a writer and you follow me, do this meme so i can read your stuff.

[mistresslrigtar]

Written for @hurricane105 for @zelinkcommunity loftwing letters24! Happy V-day, hurricane! I hope you like this post-BotW slice of Hateno life Zelink story. Have a fantastic day☺️

Sowing Seeds of Love

Summary: It's an annual tradition in Hateno for women to offer gifts of appreciation to those they care about on Sowing Day. Little does Zelda know that the gift she gives Link expresses more than platonic affection. Will she realize that perhaps he means more to her than she has dared to realize?

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The pouch slung over Zelda’s shoulders shifted with each step, bouncing against her hip as she walked through Hateno village. Periodically, she couldn’t help but reach inside to ensure the small, white box tied with a satin blue ribbon was safely tucked away. It was a Sowing Day gift for Link she’d chosen at the East Wind on her way home. The store’s merchant, Pruce, had assured her that it was a traditional Hateno custom for women to give appreciation gifts on Sowing Day.

She’d picked a sand seal plushie for Purah and a potted tomato plant for Symin to give tomorrow when she saw them. Zelda’s heart fluttered with memories of Urbosa as she thought of the gift she’d chosen for Link: three rich chocolate truffles imported from Gerudo. They were a delicacy Zelda had always enjoyed, and she hoped they would also bring joy to Link. 

Crossing the bridge to the home she shared with him, Zelda could hear the faint sound of him tending to their small garden at the side of the house. 

“I’m home!” Zelda called as she headed inside. 

Pushing the front door open, the sweet, honeyed fragrance of apple blossoms permeated the air. A vase, filled with the blooms Link must have pruned that day, sat in the center of the already set table. Zelda pulled the box out of the bag and placed it in the middle of Link’s bowl before making their dinner. In the past year, Link had taught her some basic cooking skills since, pre-Calamity, Zelda had never had to cook. She hummed happily, feeling lighter than she had in ages as she peeled and chopped a swift carrot and hearty radish to add to the stewed meat she’d left to simmer all day over the fire in the hearth. 

By the time Link came in from outside, the stew was ready. Zelda placed it, sliced bread, and rice on the table while Link washed up. She took her seat and waited expectantly for him to join her. 

“It smells good, Princess.” His mouth curled into a bemused smile when he saw the package in his bowl. “What’s this?”

“A Sowing Day present for you.” Zelda sat forward in her seat, returning his smile. “Open it.”

Reaching for the end of the ribbon, Link untied the bow and lifted the lid on the box. Zelda’s stomach roiled anxiously as his expression changed from delight to shock to confusion. His brow furrowed, and he blinked several times, clearly processing the unexpected gift of truffles nestled within the waxed parchment. This was not the reaction she’d expected. 

Feeling self-conscious, Zelda stumbled over an explanation. “Urbosa always brought these for me when she visited. They’re my favorite. Don’t you like them?”

Link’s expression softened, and he gave her a shy smile. “I do. They’re my favorites, too.” 

Despite his smile, Zelda couldn’t help but feel she’d somehow upset or disappointed him. “Did I do something wrong?”

Link shook his head slightly and cleared his throat, a hopeful glint in his blue eyes when he looked at her. “Do you know what it means to give chocolates on Sowing Day?”

“Pruce said women gave gifts to show their appreciation. I bought Purah a plushie and Symin a plant. With your sweet tooth, I thought you’d like Gerudo chocolates.” Frowning, Zelda pulled her brows together when Link’s smile faltered, and the brief light in his eyes faded.

“Ah, I see.” Link nodded politely. “Thank you, Princess. We can enjoy them after dinner.”

He set the box aside and spooned rice and the creamy meat soup into their bowls. Zelda’s cheeks flamed, realizing she’d missed something significant regarding her gift, but she was too embarrassed to press Link further. They spent the remainder of the meal discussing how they’d spent their day. After cleaning up, Link declared he was tired from working in the garden all day and departed to the room he’d fashioned for himself in the lean-to behind the house. Zelda spent the night sleeping fitfully, wondering if she’d misinterpreted Link’s response to her gift.

The following day, Zelda rose, intending to ask Link again if he was all right, but found a hastily scrawled note on the kitchen table that he’d gone hunting and would be back later that evening. Sighing, she gathered her satchel and headed to the Ancient Tech Lab. Along the way, she greeted her fellow villagers with a friendly wave and nod. Once past the village proper, Zelda fretted over Link’s odd behavior as she trudged up the winding path, and the rising sun warmed the top of her head.

The clang of a hammer rang in the air before the building came into sight. Cresting the hill, Zelda saw through the open front door ten-year-old Purah standing at her lab table, fully absorbed in pounding a rectangular piece of metal. Spare circuits and wiring were spread over the surface, that wasn’t already covered with pages of schematics. As usual, Symin cataloged his specimens at the back of the room.

“Good morning, Purah and Symin.” Zelda smiled, pulling out the gifts she’d brought them. “Happy belated Sowing Day!”

Purah’s eyes lit up when she spied the sand seal. “Check it!” Grabbing the stuffed animal from Zelda, she ripped it at the seams and pulled out the stuffing. “I love it, Princess! This is just what I needed for my next project!”

“Ah, Princess Zelda, you shouldn’t have.” Symin’s cheeks pinked when he accepted the tomato plant.

“It’s the least I could do for all you two have done for me over the past year.” Their reactions were exactly how she’d hoped Link would have responded yesterday. Biting her lip, Zelda pulled her research journal and the Sheikah Slate out of her bag before stowing it beneath the lab table.

Ever observant, Purah instantly pounced on Zelda’s melancholy. “Is something on your mind this morning, Princess?”

Zelda shook her head as she laid the items on the table. “Oh, I was just thinking about Link. I gave him chocolates for Sowing Day, and he acted strangely.”

“Oh, snap!” Purah pushed her red glasses down her nose and leaned in, peering owlishly at Zelda. “You did what?!”

Taken aback by Purah’s reaction, Zelda flushed. “I gave him chocolates, as a gift, but he was… confused.”

“I bet he was!” Purah's snicker fueled Zelda’s blush. “Giving chocolates on Sowing Day is a romantic gesture!”

“It’s true!” Symin chimed in from his corner, cheeks reddening in sympathy to Zelda’s sudden plight.

“Romantic? I didn’t know that…” Zelda’s mind reeled as she processed this disturbing information. She’d grown to admire Link, but the thought of romantic love had never crossed her mind until now. Recalling the hopeful gleam in Link’s bright blue eyes, Zelda’s heart skipped a beat, and butterflies erupted in her belly. Had she confused platonic love for true love?

“Looks like our princess unintentionally confessed her love!” Purah gleefully clapped her hands and grinned mischievously, tearing Zelda from her reverie. 

Zelda’s cheeks flamed further, and her breath hitched in her chest. “Purah, please! I don’t even know if he feels the same!”

Emitting a most unladylike snort, Purah’s grin widened. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you. Right, Symin?”

“It’s clear he’s smitten,” Symin agreed.

“What am I supposed to do now?” Zelda didn’t know how to face Link when he arrived home that evening. Just thinking about seeing him again suddenly made her heart race with nervous anticipation.

Purah tapped her finger against her lips, contemplating the question. After a moment, her eyes brightened, and she waved her pointer finger flamboyantly in the air. “Actions speak louder than words. I say, lay one on him.” 

Zelda gasped, shocked by Purah’s proclamation. “Are you suggesting I kiss him?!”

Purah shrugged. “Why not? Link may be courageous, but he’ll never make the first move. It’s up to you.”

As it was, Zelda could hardly focus on her research for the remainder of the day as visions of what kissing Link would be like consumed her. Finally, she gave up making any progress and headed home. However, as she was passing East Wind, an idea came to her, and she took a detour to purchase a few cooking supplies. The knowing smile Pruce gave her as he wrapped up the goods made her cheeks burn. It seemed an affliction she couldn’t shake today.

At home, Zelda prepared her recipe in the cooking pot outside their house, and sat by the fire occasionally tasting and idly stirring the contents. 

When Link arrived a while later, he paused a few feet from Zelda. Dropping the boar slung over his shoulder, his nostrils flared, sniffing the rich scent filling the air. “That’s… a lot of chocolate.”

Zelda lifted her head to meet his steady gaze. “It’s a fraction of how much I think I may be in love with you.”

If the confection she’d made weren’t already tempered, Link's bright smile would have done the trick. Standing to close the distance between them, the taste of chocolate was still on her lips when Zelda kissed him.

End Cut Scene:

After Zelda left, Purah turned to Symin, a mischievous glint back in her ruby eyes. “If things turn out how I suspect they will, I can’t wait to see what Link gives the Princess on Harvest Day!” 

Her expression turned thoughtful as she eyed Symin. “Speaking of, what are you getting me for Harvest Day, Symin?”

Purah cackled delightedly at the crimson flush coloring Symin’s cheeks that perfectly matched the setting sun.

Author’s note: I loosely based the Sowing Day/Harvest Day Hateno tradition on the Japanese Valentine’s Day/White Day tradition.

[weirdmageddon]

got these tags on my last post and wanted to discuss them @tealfruit

i disagree with some of this. in breath of the wild, the dragons despawned through a vortex to the sky. the sky islands aren’t visible. if this vortex is the same barrier that keeps the sky islands hidden from below, the light dragon was above this the entire time.

what caused the upheaval—the sky islands to break and fall and the cloud barrier to dissapate—was present-day dehydrated ganondorf raising the castle, which further weakens his seal. the events of botw’s gameplay was not yet at that point since totk takes place a few years after it.

i don’t like the disappearance of the sheikah tech, but that wouldn’t logically follow that it just disappeared with time travel, since that would put the events in the time between zelda going under the castle and arriving in the past in jeopardy, and there’s a lot that happened. there’s very solid evidence the sheikah tech wasn’t erased from history. link is still alive in the present (or future, from zelda’s position). if she changed the past so where there was no sheikah tech, link wouldn’t be alive (or if he would be he’d be old as fuck, like 120+ years old biologically). because he was born along with zelda over 100 years before the present-day totk gameplay. (i guess zelda had her own sort of stasis holding calamity ganon for 100 years). if there was no sheikah tech, the calamity would have gone differently. link wouldn’t have been near-killed by guardians and put into the shrine of ressurection. that’s why he’s still youthful since it sort of put him into a stasis. but the calamity had to have happened and sheikah tech not been changed by zelda’s time travel since the story of the calamity 100 years ago are still in the game, taught by symin, and link is still a young man. the loop is fine.

it’s just that we dont know exactly where the sheikah tech went in those 5 or so years between botw and totk, but it was always there earlier on the timeline. there’s an easier explanation and it’s that it was just cleaned up and repurposed after learning from mistakes with the calamity. sheikah technology has a storage function so i think it’s possible the shrines and divine beasts were stored in data or parts physically deconstructed. they served their purpose for training the hero with trials and destroying calamity ganon in the end. zelda says at the end of botw that vah ruta stopped functioning and you can see vah medoh in the distance shut down with no lights as well. link was really the only sheikah slate user, so it’s not like ordinary citizens were using fast travel.

we know that guardian parts were repurposed for attaching the wire to a person to scan the area’s topography, and link’s shocked reaction when seeing them for the first time implies he definitely has some guardian trauma, meaning zelda’s time shenanigans didn’t change the course the sheikah technology aside from possibly inspiring the sheikah slate in the first place. the purah pad is obviously based off the sheikah slate, but zelda was sent back in time with the purah pad. that’s why zonai locations have sheikah travel gates when activated, since mineru worked them in when she studied the purah pad in the past

purah and robbie designed, and hudson construction built, the sheikah skyview towers that we see in totk. it’s likely that they were remodeled to be more resilient to ganon’s dark magic. the people of hyrule clearly wouldve learned from their mistakes and probably didn’t want to risk having outdated tech lying around that ganon easily corrupted. but at the same time they wanted to build on them and keep their conveniences, in fact i remember reading in purah’s diary that it’s on the table for the purah pad to be a product for ordinary citizens in the future

[exceedinglygayotter]

Before TotK came out I was thinking about how many people were probably going to write the logical continuation of all those “the champions came back to life after BotW” fics by writing fics where they’re around for the events of TotK, but after having beaten the game I’m honestly not sure how that would even work, narratively speaking. Nearly every part of Breath of the Wild is intrinsically connected to the Champions, while TotK is so totally disconnected from them. TotK was so dead-set on moving on from the Champions that combining the two just feels unnecessary and contrived, even for a fanfic.

The Divine Beasts aren’t just gone, they’re completely absent, without even a hint as to why they’re missing. If it weren’t for Symin mentioning them during the history lesson you could almost argue that they’d been retconned. Mipha’s mentioned by name a few times, Urbosa only in Riju’s diary, Revali only on the sign for Revali’s Landing, and I don’t think Daruk’s name is said once. Daruk’s Protection is also just missing despite Yunobo having it in the last game, as is the scrap of Daruk’s Champion cloth he wore around his neck.

And from a narrative standpoint, the new Sages make the Champions mostly redundant. That’s kind of the point of them, they’re the successors to the Champions -- even their mechanics are echoes of how the Champions worked in BotW. If you tried to have them both be in the story of TotK you’d end up with Link having four companion characters, and then another four companion characters who do basically the same things. It’s not impossible to still give all of them distinct and interesting narrative roles, but I feel like most people who try to write something like this would just make half of them stay behind and not do anything while the other half sticks with Link. Which, y’know, works, but it’s not really a great solution.

The only ways I can think of to really make this idea work well are to totally rewrite the plot of TotK, or write Age of Calamity fanfic where the Upheaval in that continuity happens a century before it does in canon (which would still require rewriting most of the plot of TotK due to almost none of the same characters being around and Hyrule not being ruined yet.)

I guess you could lean into how out of place they are, how the entire world kind of moved on and left them behind a century in the past, but that only works if they get resurrected after TotK happens or right before it, since if they come back right after BotW then they’ve already been adjusting to that world for several years by the time of the Upheaval.

Honestly I’m probably just going to be writing fic that ignores TotK entirely. I can’t really imagine any stories I want to tell with these characters that would be improved with the addition of the events of TotK.

I might just be unimaginative and a bad writer though, who knows. There’s probably going to be a load of people who will have a go at the idea and do it really well, and I look forward to seeing those.

[mylonelydreaming]

All Co-Habitation Evidence *TotK Spoilers*

I'm going to hide all of this behind a read-more if you would like to remain unspoiled on everything like npc interactions, towns, quests, etc. Which I do have to talk about when it comes to this topic. Now, without further ado:

The bed in the house is the exact same as BotW, and unlike other beds in the world, you can freely sleep in it. If we open up both botw and totk, the bed is the exact same one from botw. Meaning that at the absolute minimum, Zelda has been sleeping in Link's bed. However, if you go up to the bed, Link can still sleep in it. There are very few beds that are free in this game, and the only other beds you can sleep in is obviously communal beds, such as those at lookout landing for those who are sick, injured, etc. You cannot normally sleep in another person's bed.

2. Link's hair-tie, Zelda's diary and the Champion's photo.

If you have completed The Champion's Ballad DLC, and correctly transferred your save, then the photo will still be there. But more importantly, the house has a new addition. Behind the house is "Zelda's secret well" that functions as her new study. In that well, you will find one of the volumes of her diary, hot-footed frogs splashing around, and Link's hair-tie in the corner of the room. Link never took that hair-tie off in botw (only when wearing the ancient helm), so it's a bit suspicious that it's down here of all places.

Not only this, but if you read the volumes of her diary, both the one in the well and on the desk near the bed, there are a couple of things that stick out:

Firstly, Zelda had Bolson build the well because she needed somewhere to focus alone. If she was living by herself, this makes no sense (and, in japanese, rather than "my house" it's simply "the house" here).

Secondly, Zelda states that Link is always by her side. To the point his clothes have become worn. So as a gift she made him a new tunic (and she "can't wait to see the look on his face" when he gets it, just saying).

and third, she had to hide said gift in the castle, otherwise he would find it in the house.

3. The School and Symin

During the time-skip, Zelda founded a new school in Hateno, where she became a teacher. Due to this, a child who misses her visits the house at around 12-2pm and calls it "Ms Zelda's house".

However, if you talk to Symin, he has this to say:

So, clearly, this is not Link's first time here (which should be obvious, how exactly did Zelda get to Hateno and the house in the first place after botw's ending? Link brought her there). He even asks Link why he came back to the village alone without Zelda. Additionally, if you go upstairs and read the "School Notes" it says this:

It talks about the opening expedition under the castle happening soon, and reiterates Link being by Zelda's side. Interestingly, in that opening sequence Zelda says she is glad she didn't leave the Purah Pad behind. Meaning she's glad she didn't leave it at home.

But wait, there's more

There is a side-quest at the school where Link becomes a teacher / substitute teacher. When you finish the quest, one of the children says this:

They say they already thought of Link as a teacher figure even before this quest. To add onto this, there is another child who wants to become a hero and is "always on the lookout for baddies".

4. Manny

Manny is an interesting case. At first, like some other npcs, he seems to have been entirely memory-wiped to be approachable for brand-new players who didn't play botw, but then he has the following to say:

So, first of all, he doesn't call the house "Zelda's house" and instead calls it "the house the princess was staying at"

Secondly, he asks Link to "keep the naive, new-in-town act" to a minimum.

Third, Manny has another dialogue, he wants to "check every well" in town to find frogs for Ivee (because, similar to his quest with Prima in botw, he thinks that's what she likes). But after he says this, he seems to realize he should not have said that in front of Link, saying "Uh oh, no coming back from that one" in the smaller text as though he knows Zelda's well is off-limits. Combined with him calling the house "the house the princess was staying at" he seems to know something.

5. Two Place settings, etc

The house has two places set, two towels, etc. And just in general a lot of things for supposedly one person. There is also a bigger kitchen, and let's be honest with ourselves here, who is more about cooking and actually good at it, Zelda or Link?

Under the stairs in totk

VS botw:

Now, for this next section, I have to talk about things regarding another town in the game, a quest and a mechanic many have not unlocked yet. Continue to read at your own peril (I would hide it under another read more if I could)

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The Tarrey Town House

During TotK, after we wake up and leave the sky islands, we can complete a quest to unlock the ability to build a brand-new "Dream Home" in Akkala, close to Tarrey Town.

The quest involves baby-sitting Hudson and Rhondson's child, Mattison, who, if you'll recall, did not exist yet in botw. In totk, she is starting to gain independence and appears to be around 5 or 6 years old:

I doubt Link was sleeping rough for several years (and Zelda would never be okay with that). Anyway, Link babysits her, goes up into a hot-air balloon with the family, and then has to watch a tear-jerking scene between Mattison and her parents as she has come of the age young gerudo girls have to go to Gerudo Town and stay there until they get older and are ready to venture the world.

It is only after completing this quest, a quest completely about parenthood, that you are offered the "Dream Home" by Rhondson.

Additionally, an npc at the nearby stable has this to say:

So, the in-universe implications of the dream home is that it is a family home, something you only buy when you plan to marry someone or start a family.

Adding onto this, the dining table in the dream home has four seats instead of two. But there's also an interesting comparison to make with the Hateno house. The Hateno house had two seats and two places set, this house has four seats, but is clearly only being used by one person:

In other words, Link is living by himself in a house meant for a family. Which is depressing to think about, but in the context of the game makes sense.

But there's something else. In the new house pieces (including a study you cannot use yourself), all the photos on the wall are of Hateno Village:

Why would Link hang photos of Hateno in his new home, if it was not important or nostalgic to him? (and, as a minor detail, the same yellow flower is in both houses, presumably Link's favorite flower)

In conclusion, it's clear from all the evidence that not only were they living together in Hateno, but the brand-new house actually has it's own implications behind it (and further proves that Hateno was and is important to Link).

Oh, and there is also one last thing, in the japanese version of the game, but I can't mention it here because it is an even bigger spoiler than all of this combined. It'll be an addition to this post later

[axewchao]

Decided to turn a couple of my OCs into Zelda races!

Why? Because I know for a fact that I can't just draw Dal n' Rev all day. One day I'll branch out, and that means I need more practice with everything else Hyrule has to offer =w=

'Specially the Zoras. Those damn fish... head... tail... things =_="

I'll be sticking their mini-bios under a readmore :3

Makani

A Gerudo journeying across Hyrule. Blessed with fire magic, she left Gerudo Town to learn how to properly control said power, mainly via fighting as many monsters as she can. She hopes to one day return to the desert and challenge the legendary Molduking. Has an affinity for baking, and has considered establishing her own bakery somewhere pleasant and pretty.

While Makani has a number of goals on her mind, one she struggles with revolves around her eventually finding a voe. She doesn't want to just... have a kid for the sake of adding to the next generation, then waltz off to continue pursuing her own desires like her mother did. She wants to find a husband and start a loving family, but still has dreams, and only has so much time to do either. Subconsciously, she feels like she's being rushed to pick one thing and stick with it forever, which stresses her out.

Dusty

A Goron traveling with Makani. He considers Makani his sworn sister because of the matching heart-shaped marks (okay Dusty's is a rock) on their necks. Like his name implies, he's known for leaving large trails of dust clouds whenever he rolls around. He uses this to his advantage when fighting monsters; blocking their vision with dust, then striking from behind. He can also use the spikes on his back to scale up various walls.

Dusty is particularly fond of crashing into things. Monsters, large rocks, ore deposits, you name it, he'll crash it. Like most other Gorons, he doesn't like the taste of gems, but still collects them to make easy rupees. After hearing about the powers each gem can hold, he's kept one of each type for himself, as he's now debating over whether he should just attach them to his weapons and call it a day or keep more and have them converted into jewelry later. That "diamond circlet" thing sounds pretty badass, after all...

Tuno

A young Zora that was found washed up on the shores of Hateno Beach by Symin some time prior to the events of BotW. Rather than let the child swim back out to the unknowns of the sea, Tuno was instead brought to the Domain, where he was taken in by Laflat. Much like Link, Tuno never says a word, but can communicate with other Zoras by wiggling his fins.

Tuno has abilities similar to that of a puffer fish, in that he can puff up his tail and raise a set of spines to stab/scare any would-be assailants or threats. However, unlike puffer fish, he isn't poisonous in any way. He rarely puffs up, both because he's difficult to scare, and because it looks embarrassingly silly. The one thing that does scare him, however, is Octoroks. It's possible that some kind of Octorok had terrified Tuno in the past, maybe even drove him away from the sea entirely.

Tuna

A Hylian boy who lives at the Woodland Stable. He's Tuno's best friend, and the two are as close as siblings. Tuna often wonders if it's possible for a person to turn into a Zora, and likes to daydream about what his "Zora form" would look like. Prefers playing with the horses rather than actually tending to them, and is often begging his parents to let him start his riding lessons.

For reasons unknown, Tuna is prone to falling ill on the night of a blood moon, often left bedridden by sunset. He's become a sort of alarm at the stable because of this, where if anyone is wondering when a blood moon will rise, they just check on him. If he's feeling dizzy, that means one's coming. He'll recover the following morning without fail, but this doesn't stop his parents and fish bro from worrying about him.