#then it's Link and Mipha fighting for their lives (but still fighting in sinc as though they're still together - they rely on each other wh

[creativesplat]

Zelda's Birthday. Worst day EVER.

I couldn't figure out what to draw for the MiphLink Week prompt 'Birthday' and then decided to just sketch out some rough concepts and ideas I had for the last day of their lives, that happened on the Birthday mentioned in the game.

[skyloftian-nutcase]

age of calamity prompt: mipha and link post water & fire mission? 👀

With all his strength, training, and the benefits of youth, there were few times Link truly ever felt absolutely exhausted. It had happened far more frequently in the last year, what with all the monster attacks making everyone feel like they were in all out war.

But now that war had actually arrived, Link learned a new level of exhaustion, born from a worry so deep in his heart and soul that he didn’t even know what to do with it.

When Ganon had taken control of all the technology they’d worked so hard to learn and utilize, it had been such a defilement that Link’s blood had boiled with rage while his heart froze with fear. His, Zelda’s, and Impa’s determination helped them push through, of course, and he’d hardly had time to truly register any of his emotions once they’d started moving once more.

He remembered the heart stopping terror as the initial realization hit him though. He remembered feeling his breath utterly stolen away in a dread, a knowledge that the capital was falling, he and Zelda were in danger, his family was in danger, the Champions were trapped—that Mipha was trapped, and, for one moment, he thought he was absolutely powerless to do anything about it.

But he wasn’t powerless. They’d gotten there in time, they’d saved Mipha.

But it had been close. Hylia, it had been close. She’d looked absolutely exhausted - if it hadn’t been for Terrako’s magic, for that man—Sidon, he reminded himself, marveling at how the little fledgling could turn into such a massive Zora—then Mipha would have… would have…

She’d barely had the words to even acknowledge him when he’d finally gotten there. And he’d had to rush off to save Daruk as well.

Now that all the Champions were safe, Link felt himself on the verge of collapse. Zelda was trying to rest, instead worrying and mourning. Link felt awful for her - despite all the lives they’d saved, after all, she’d still lost her father. Link’s own father had barely escaped Castle Town and was recovering.

But now their friends were together once more, Divine Beasts ready for a counterattack. They were all impatient to do so much, to fight back now, even Link, willing to push through his exhaustion and end this.

There was no way they could fight right at this moment, though. Even Link couldn’t. But what he did want to do was check on Mipha. He’d been with Zelda, trying to keep her company, and with his father, but his heart was aching and worrying for the Zora princess as well.

After all she was… she was his friend.

Goddess, he couldn’t really lie to himself anymore. She was far more than a friend to him, and he’d almost lost her.

Link dragged his feet towards the palace. Of the four locations they’d helped free from Ganon’s hold, Zora’s Domain was the most fortified and therefore the safest, so it is where the majority of them were staying to recover until they could plan things out better in the morning. Mipha had been whisked away by her people upon exiting Van Ruta, and Link hadn’t seen her since.

He was allowed easy access to the palace, having visited Mipha multiple times and befriended her family (or, really, King Dorephan had essentially adopted him, he was so charismatically extroverted). The older Prince Sidon was excitedly talking to the king, missing Link entirely for he moment and giving him a chance to sneak into Mipha’s room.

He knocked, clearing his throat nervously (he wanted to see her, genuinely, but going to her bedroom seemed… inappropriate). Initially he heard nothing, and he worried a little more, cracking the door and calling her name softly. Silence was the answer, and he finally peeked around the door to see an empty room.

Where was she? Her family wasn’t distressed at all, so she couldn’t be in worse shape than he thought, right? Did they even know she wasn’t in here?

Link walked into the room quietly, closing the door behind him, examining everything. Mipha’s jewelry was on her little vanity - she always wore it when she went out, unless…

The one time Link saw her without her jewelry was when they’d agreed to sneak out at night - she’d commented that at the least, the headdress was too noisy for such a venture.

Wait. Surely she didn’t…

Narrowing his eyes, Link moved towards the window by the shallow waters where she likely rested. Looking out, he could just make out the area they’d designated for triaging the injured.

He had a funny feeling he knew where she was. Link climbed out of the window, crawling along the side of the palace so he could avoid scrutiny, and then hastily made his way back to the medical encampment. He saw a flesh of red, and he followed it to…

His father’s bed. Where Mipha sat, hands glowing, slowly working on healing his wounds. For his part, Link’s father was fast asleep, having been just as exhausted as everyone else - it was why Link had gone to be with Zelda and comfort her, as he’d felt fairly useless hovering anxiously over the man.

Mipha seemed to notice the scrutiny and glanced up, jumping, startled. “Link!”

He was relieved to see her on her feet, so relieved. After their last encounter—goddess, she looked so much better.

But she was still tired. So, inevitably, the first thing out of his mouth was, “Why aren’t you resting?”

He wanted to kick himself. He should be thanking her for looking after his father, asking her how she’s feeling instead of just scolding her.

But he was scared, tired, and angry too - why didn’t Mipha ever let herself get a break?

The entire situation was crashing down on him, and he didn’t know wha to do with all the emotions he was feeling. He didn’t want to take them out on Mipha, though, so he tried to keep his mouth shut and was nearly mortified to instead feel his eyes stinging with tears of frustration.

The magic glowing over his father subsided, and Mipha hugged herself a little insecurely. “I… I’d already been unable to assist any of the other Champions. I was resting, Link, but when I saw so many injured coming in, I knew the others would need help.”

“You were unable to help because you’d almost died,” Link argued, his voice shaking. “Everyone almost died.”

Mipha swallowed, easily reading how close Link was to falling apart. She clearly was shaken as well—he could only imagine what it felt like to have been so close to death. He saw his friend bite her lip uncertainly, hands wringing in front of her. “T-they did. I… Link, I promised… I promised I’d protect you, and I almost failed.”

Link felt his breath get stolen away. She… he didn’t know what to say, only that he wanted to tell her over and over that this wasn’t somehow her fault.

“I knew,” Mipha continued quietly, and now her own voice shook. “I… I figured I would be the weakest Champion. I was prepared to die if it was to happen. But… I…”

Mipha sniffled, inhaling steadily to try and calm herself, closing her eyes. Link moved towards her in an instant, dragging her into a hug.

His mind and heart were screaming.

What kind of thing was that to say - I figured I would be the weakest Champion, was prepared to die—had Mipha truly expected not to survive the encounter with Ganon? Yet she’d pushed forward anyway, had promised to protect and heal Link—

He didn’t know what to say, what to do, how to feel. He was horrified and terrified and felt so awful for her, he wanted to hold her for the rest of his life and tell her over and over that she had done nothing wrong, that she was an incredible fighter, that he would protect her. Mipha was trembling in his arms, crying quietly, finally letting her own stress out, and Link found himself crying too.

Words came forth before he knew what he was saying, genuine and raw and desperate to be heard. “I love you.”

Mipha’s sniffles turned to outright sobs, and she slid her arms around him. Link rested his head atop hers, cheek pressed against smooth scales, tears slowly sliding downward.

“Link, I—I’m s-sorry—”

Please don’t be.

“We’re at w-war—and I—”

“I know,” he whispered.

He let her cry for a while longer, he let himself cry. He was too drained to figure out how to proceed, to worry about protocol or anything of the sort. He just wanted to be with her, to comfort her and let her hold him in return. He wanted this nightmare to be over, and for a moment, it was just them.

As their tears slowed, the pair slowly, hesitantly pulled apart.

Mipha spoke first, trying to get a hold of herself. “Thank you… thank you for saving me on Vah Ruta.”

Goddess, did she even need to thank him for such a thing? He countered, “Thank you for healing me so many times, for always being there. I… Mipha, I’ll always protect you. I promise.”

Mipha watched him a moment, smiling as a blush stained her white cheeks red. She looked down at her hands, suddenly seeming to remember her usually far more shy nature. “Did… did you mean it…?”

Link blinked, confused. “Mean—why wouldn’t I mean—”

“O-oh, no!” Mipha interrupted, waving her hands. “I mean—I know you would protect me, Link, we’re friends after all, and you’re a Hero and—”

Oh. He knew what she was asking.

Of… of course he meant it. He’d just… been not addressing it. Because… well…

They’d been friends when they were children. And he’d liked her a lot then too. More than any of the other Zora. He was attracted to her kindness, her compassionate heart, her silliness and desire to help. Before his little mind and heart knew what such a love was, he already loved her. Now that they were both older, that feeling had matured, and…

Link swallowed, grabbing hold of his courage. “Yes. I meant it. I love you.”

His words derailed Mipha’s stuttered rambling. The silence gave him an opportunity to continue, saying, “You’re not weak. You gave that blight everything you had. You’re an excellent fighter.”

“Link…” she muttered, clearly unsure what to say, but then she giggled, bubbly and emotional as it was, her eyes glistening with tears. “I…”

Link suddenly felt insecure, suddenly felt like maybe he shouldn’t quite have said everything he had. But he’d… she deserved to be comforted, if nothing else. But maybe he shouldn’t have said…

“I love you too,” Mipha finally replied.

…Oh. Oh.

Oh.

Did he… did she… they…

She actually said it?!

Mipha having some sort of strong feelings for Link had been somewhat apparent for a little while now. Her tripping over herself around him had been downright endearing, honestly. But given that she’d never admitted it, Link had figured it was because it was entirely inappropriate, or that perhaps her feelings were not the same as his. But her—she actually—

He… he really wanted to kiss her. Instead, he just felt himself blush.

A heavy sigh resounded from behind them, and both teenagers nearly jumped out of their skin.

Whirling, they turned to see Abel staring at them under heavy lidded eyes, looking exhausted and exasperated at the same time.

“Papa!” Link gasped, rushing to his father’s side, and Mipha was quick on his heels. “Are you alright?”

“I’m about as well as you appear to be,” his father replied, and he could sense the judgment from the man. He sucked in a cheek and bit on it, sheepish at being called out, but it wasn’t as if he’d had a chance to rest quiet yet. He’d wanted to check on Mipha, and then all this had happened.

“I’m so sorry, Sir Abel, I didn’t finish healing your wounds,” Mipha hastily said, moving to the other side of the bed to get a better view.

“Your Highness, that’s unnecessary,” Abel waved her off as respectfully as he could in his state. “I appreciate your singular resolve to heal everyone - you are a good person, and a testament to the Zora’s compassion. But I… have a favor to ask of Your Highness, if you’ll allow me this.”

“Yes, of course,” Mipha nodded eagerly, putting a hand on his shoulder. It was an automatic gesture, born from a kind heart, always eager to soothe, even if it was a little odd for her to be doing it to the seasoned knight. “What is it?”

“Rest,” Abel replied. It was disguised as a request, kind and gentle, but there was the slightest heaviness to his tone, one that Link knew intimately. This was a command, in the only way that the quiet knight could offer to a princess far above his station.

Mipha swallowed, mirroring Link’s sheepish reaction, and let out a small laugh. “A-ah. Well. I—I suppose I could use a little more rest, but the others—perhaps I can do so after I help—”

“You would be disregarding my request, then, princess,” Abel noted carefully.

Mipha’s mouth snapped shut. Link almost laughed - his father got her.

He’d have to remember that trick

Sighing heavily in defeat, Mipha bowed her head. “Well, I—yes. I’ll just—I’ll go back to the palace, then. Sir Abel, I—I’m sorry I wasn’t able to heal you fully before I go, but I—”

“Mipha,” Link interrupted pleadingly. “Please, don’t be sorry. You’ve done more than enough, I promise.”

His dear friend watched him before smiling gently, genuinely, lovingly. He smiled back at her, heart warming. They exchanged a quiet promise to continue their conversation later, and Mipha excused herself.

Abel sighed heavily again. Link glanced at him, worried. “Papa?”

“You two are ridiculous,” his father grumbled. “If Tilieth had been just as shy as me, you would have never been born.”

Link felt his cheeks scald with heat. “P-Papa!”

His father didn’t comment further, respecting his privacy, but he did yank him into a hug, holding him hostage in the bed with him until the Hero of Hyrule settled in his embrace. Zora’s Domain quieted as evening came, and everyone settled in to rest for the war to come.

Despite the dread hanging in the air, Link smiled, feeling lighter than he had in ages, heart full as Mipha’s words repeated in his mind, as he was safe in his father’s embrace.

I love you too.

[the-au-collector]

Linked Universe College Radio AU

Since I recently got some motivation to work on this one, I figured I would brain dump a little about my LU College Radio AU. It's basically a college/university AU but each of the main LU Links are somehow associated with their college radio station at Kakariko University.

Why radio? I was listening to The Oh Hellos when the idea struck me so each of the works are hopefully going to have titles taken from Oh Hellos songs. This will, hopefully, just mostly focus on the Links + the radio station but who knows? I added way too many characters to this braindump but oh well

The Links

Time

Staff coordinator for the radio station

Broadcasting professor

Usually gets stuck teaching the freshman and sophomores

Married to the zoology professor, Malon

Taking care of Twilight's dog, Wolfie, until Twilight finds a dog-friendly place. Acts like he hates it, but he actually loves it

Infamous for being a hardass

"Call me Time. Don't call me Link, that's my nephew. Don't call me Professor Lon, that's my wife"

Legend

Has done just about anything and everything

Knows everyone, but just because he's been here so long and has done so much

Has officialy been an agriculture major, a meteorology major, a humanities major, a fine art major, a fashion design major, and an engineering major in the past

Has finally settled with being a broadcasting major after doing the Jaded Boys radio show with Wild

Part of the Jaded Boys with Wild, then is part of Triple Threat with Wild and Hyrule

Lives off-campus with his current partner, Ravio

Also lives with Warriors

Used to date a girl named Marin from Mabe City. No he doesn't talk about it

Does not like driving. Or storms.

Has a cane

Even in an AU he can't escape the Koholint Trauma

Wild

Campus cryptid

Everyone knows him. No one knows what he's studying

(It's engineering. He, Purah, and Fauna are a terror to the school together)

Addicted to energy drinks

Never studies, always passes exams

Always socially overbooked

Has amnesia and bad scarring from a house fire

Was adopted by Teba and Saki after said house fire

Has a twin brother named Age. Most people think Age is older but Wild's actually older

Was the one who coerced Legend and Hyrule into radio

Lives in a house off-campus with Twilight, Age, Sidon, Yunobo, Mipha, and Revali.

Has committed arson before

Has gotten arrested for committing arson before

Twilight

Zoology major

Is the reason Wild's still alive

Used to be roommates with Wild in the dorms when they were freshmen

Took a gap year between high school and college

Has a dog named Wolfie

Regular guest on Triple Threat

Runs the Helpful Paws club, which is a club all about service dogs. Ilia helps run said club

Works on Legend's uncle's orchard during the weekends

Four

Computer science major

Technology director at the radio station (yes this position only exists because of Wild)

Friendly rivalry with Wild because Wild breaks everything

Shadow is his step-brother

Warriors

Fashion design major

Joined Legend and Ravio's lease at the last minute because of stuff that happened between him and his other roommates

Has a restraining order against Cia and doesn't talk to Lana

Is currently dating Artemis, a fashion merchandising major

Met Legend when Legend was doing fashion design. No one knows how they're friends. They fight all the time.

Legend forced him to make his own radio show when Wild roped Legend into doing the Jaded Boys. So now Warriors has a show called Wednesday With Warriors

Sky

Senior aviation major

Runs The Loftwings with his fiancé, Sun, and his best friend, Groose.

Has a bad habit of sleeping through his alarm

Currently taking care of his older brother's mouthy parrot, Crimson.

Also lives with Groose and Sun

Wind

Freshman metrology major

Super friendly

Cares more about the college experience than learning

Hyrule's roommate

After Hyrule starts doing Triple Threat, Wind gets the idea to do the Wind Waker podcast with Tetra where they sing sea shanties and tell pirate stories

Spirit is his introverted cousin and he's made it his goal to get Spirit to get out more

He also does the same with Hyrule

Hyrule

Freshman undecided major

Joins Triple Threat under Wild's insistence

Very shy

Grew up in a really small town

Wind's roommate

Is regularly forced out of the dorm by Wind but prefers to just wander around town and campus

Childhood friends with Dawn

Age

Wid's twin brother who is very different from Wild

Business major, accounting minor

Dating Mipha, a senior nursing student

Rarely goes to parties, but plays damage control when Wild hosts them at their house

Does remember his and Wild's past. Wild's amnesia caused a rift to form between them for a while, but they're working on getting past that now

Was also adopted by Teba and Saki

Shadow

Four's step-brother

Vaati's his dad, but he's cut Vaati out of his life now

Theater major with a minor in set design

Got his nickname from no one being able to see him onstage when moving props around

Everyone is convinced he has some sort of magical powers

A bit shy, and a bad boy

Dating Dot

Spirit

Freshman engineering major

His roommate is Niko

Wind's introverted cousin who's often dragged out of his dorm by Wind

Would much rather spend time with construction documents than people

First

Sky's older brother who's not around a lot since he's in the military (he's a doctor)

Married to a woman named Hylia

Has a parrot named Crimson that he's trusting Sky to take care of

The Zeldas

Lullaby

Works at Kakriko Univeristy as a broadcasting professor

An old flame of Time's, but they've both moved on by now

Usually teaches upper division classes

Fable

Legend's older sister who lives in Castle City

Already graduated with a business degree

Comes around for the holidays and drops in occasionally to see how Legend's doing

Flora

Constantly overbooked with school

Double-majoring in anthropology and history

Part of hundreds of different clubs and student organizations

Hard to get a moment alone with her at all

Has recently gotten close to Rauru and Sonia, who are both anthropology students

Fauna's twin sister. Flora's younger, though

Dusk

Political science major

Knows Twilight through Midna but since Twi and Midna broke up, Dusk doesn't really talk to Twilight anymore

Roommates with Midna and Artemis

Dot

Political science major and Four's childhood friend

Hopes to get into law school one day

Dating Shadow (her dad isn't too happy about this)

Lives with Aurora and Dawn and used to be roommates with Aurora when they were in the dorms

Artemis

Fashion merchandising major

Warriors' girlfriend

Used to also be his housemate, but after things happened with Cia and Lana she moved in with Midna and Dusk

Still occasionally talks to Lana

Sun

Senior aviation major and Sky's fiancé

Runs The Loftwings with Sky and Groose

Also lives with Sky and Groose

Appears to be very level-headed on the outside, but is secretly kind of crazy

Tetra

Ecology major with a minor in biology

Eventually becomes close friends with Wind

Roommates with Phantom and they get along like fire and gasoline

(seriously do not let either of those girls near a lighter... or boxing gloves)

Part of the Wind Waker podcast with Wind

Aurora

Senior political science major

She, Dot, and Dawn live together

Dawn is her younger sister

Is going to move to Castle City after graduation

Refuses to go home after having a horrible falling out with her brother

Dawn

Freshman early childhood education major

Wants to teach kindergarten and preeschool one day

Lives with her older sister, Aurora, and Aurora's roommate, Dot

Doesn't plan on returning to her hometown either

Childhood friends with Hyrule

Fauna

Flora's twin sister who's majoring in engineering and minoring in biology

Best friends with Purah and Impa

Closer to Age than Wild, but she's in a lot of classes with Wild

It is a horrible idea to leave her, Purah, and Wild alone in a room together

Has a cat named Terrako, who hates everyone except for her

Her father puts a lot of pressure on both her and Flora, but Fauna feels it the most since she's the oldest

Phantom

Freshman communications major

Tetra's roommate

She looks like any old upperclass girl but she is always ready to throw hands

Somehow becomes friends with Spirit

Hylia

First's wife who's a doctor at a local hospital

Keeps an eye out for Sky even though she knows he doesn't really need it

Will bring Sky and his friends food and snacks

Absolutely willing to drive Sky and his friends home when none of them can drive

Very motherly and open

Some Others:

Malon

Time's wife who's a zoology professor

Twilight has started a protection squad for her (all the Links are part of it. Even Time)

Everyone loves her

Ravio:

Legend's partner

Business major

Has a bird named Sheerow who poops everywhere

Despite this he is the cleanest one in the apartment

Constantly roping Legend into new business ideas

Used to run a shop out of his and Legend's dorm room when they lived in the dorms together. Legend's pretty sure it was against the rules. Ravio doesn't care

Acts greedy, but is actually living off his loans

Never goes home. He goes over Legend's Uncle's house for holidays now.

His younger sister, Hilda, often sleeps over and Legend and Ravio's

Has a horrible relationship with his father, Yuga

Sidon, Mipha, Revali, Yunobo:

Wild's housemates alongside Twilight and Age

Revali claims he's the only reason the house hasn't burned down

Revali is also one of Teba and Saki's adopted children, and had a bit of a superiority complex over being adopted first (he was there first) when they were kids. He's gotten better, but he's still a bit of a jerk to Wild. He and Age have bonded over Wild constantly giving them heart attacks

Sidon is a sophomore political science major who is super friendly, but has a hard time stopping conversations. Head over heels for his girlfriend, Yona. Is also super tall and often mistaken for being the older sibling

Mipha is a senior nursing student. Sidon's older sister, Age's girlfriend. If there's a medical emergency, chances are the Links are calling Mipha first even though they really should go to the hospital instead

Revali is a senior aviation major and hopes to join the air force after college to "get away from the filth" (meaning Age and Wild. He would never call Tulin filth)

Yunobo is a sophomore geoscience major. Works at his grandpa's coffee shop, Goron City Coffee

Urbosa, Daruk, Riju:

Urbosa is Riju's aunt and and mother figure to Flora and Fauna. She lives in Castle City, but often comes to Kakariko to give guest lectures. She's a businesswoman

Daruk is Yunobo's grandpa who owns Goron City Coffee. He often lets the radio host events at his coffee shop, and acts like a father figure for Wild's friend group

Riju is a freshman business major who wants to be like her aunt, Urbosa. Flora and Fauna see her as their younger sister.

Teba, Saki, Tulin:

Revali was adopted first, then Age and Wild

Teba is retired from being in the military

Saki teaches private singing lessons

Tulin is the Baby of the family and is in middle school. He is an absolute terror. Never let Wild babysit him, they will both get into trouble. Tulin is everyone's favorite and Tulin will use that to his advantage

Ilia:

Twilight's friend who helps run the Helpful Paws club

She has a huge crush on Twilight but doesn't want to overstep, especially after the bad break up with Midna

Rusl, Uli, Colin:

Twilight's family in Ordon who adopted him when he was about 8

Colin's just starting high school and is dealing with a lot of bullying, so he calls Twilight often for help

Rusl is a detective, but he's on paternity leave right now since Uli just had their daughter

Grandpa Smith:

Four and Shadow's grandpa

Took them both in after their mother died and Vaati went to prison

Four was usually a good kid, but Shadow was a little terror

Lives in Kakariko City so he gets to see his boys often

Cia and Lana:

Twins who both had huge crushes on Warriors

Cia got jealous when Wars started dating Lana

Cia is a psychology major, but now is largely known as the campus creep

Lana was a fashion design major, but changed schools after the drama with Warriors happened

Groose:

Sky and Sun's roommate and fellow host of The Loftwings

Proudly boasts that he's their best man

Also a senior aviation major

[rjhpandapaws]

Heroes that Live are Seldom Remembered

His first memory of Revali comes when the phantom of a king hands him a well worn paraglider. As he holds it and looks it over the scene around him changed. It's in a colder place and the hands holding out the paraglider go from fingered to feathered. Revali's expression is one of fold smugness. "You told me you wanted to know what it really feels like to fly. While no such feat is possible for a mere Hylian, gliding is a close second, and something I'm sure even you can handle." His words are harsh, as they always tend to be, but the kindness beneath them isn't lost on Link, it rarely is. He finds himself smiling as the scene fades around him. He is careful as he tucks the glider away. Faint though it may be a century later, Link can still feel the care Revali put into crafting this for him, and he has no intentions of letting it fall into disrepair.

He remembers more of Revali as he travels through Hyrule, and each memory he finds is more painful than the last. Early on in his journey it was a simple thing to do small feats of mental gymnastics and continue to believe they had been nothing more than close friends. But with each careful brush of ghostly feathers his denial crumbled away and was replaced with anger. Toward himself, toward the goddess, toward Ganon, and toward the blights that he had recently learned of. To everything that took away his future. They had plans, they had a future. They were going to live just outside of Rito Village so that Link could raise his horses and Revali could have the space that he so desperately craved. They would travel when the mood struck them, stay away for as long as they felt inclined. Link would retire from the nights once his service to the princess was up and they would live peacefully as former Champions going wherever the call of adventure lead them. They were going to grow old together. Until Revali grew too stiff to fly and Link had no hair left for feathers to be braided into. Instead Revali had died cold and alone thousands of miles away from Link, and Link had died in a lonely field in the arms of a princess who finally had the power to change destiny. Then he had woken up with nothing to his name except the slate and the feathers woven into his hair with the careful hand of someone who had known what they meant to him. He wore those same feathers around his neck now, tucked safely between his tunic and his chest to keep them from being destroyed.

Finally reaching Rito Village comes with another kind of pain that he wasn't ready for. The kind of pain that comes from the small intimate memories that come with spending so much of his time in one place. No matter where he looked there was always something to be remembered, there was no place safe from Revali's ghost. He was relatively sure the villagers thought him crazy when he stood on Revali's landing and let out a blood curdling scream of his own to rival that of Medoh's. Not to mention when he collapsed in tears immediately after, because not even screaming his loss and pain could make it go away. Taking back Medoh was bittersweet. Getting to hear Revali's voice outside of a memory for the first time since waking up, almost brought him to his knees again. He stayed standing because it was the only way to get his Revali back. What fuels his strength in the fight against Windblight is nothing more than anger. Every moment of pain he'd felt for his loss so far on his journey was poured into each blow against it. When it ended he felt blissfully numb up until he saw Ravali's ghost, then it was grief and pain all over again. The gift of his gale, something they had ridden so many times together was the piece that broke him in the end. What drove him to finally say something in response to Revali instead of just basking in his presence.

"This isn't fair..... I - I ..... Your gale should be yours, it shouldn't be a parting gift to me. Nor Mipha's healing, Daruk's protection, and whatever it is Urbosa will gift me in return for her freedom. None of this should have happened." His voice is ragged both from the weight of his emotions, and lack of use, "We had plans Revali. We had so many things we were going to do, sights to see.... When this ended there was so much we were going to do. And now it's just gone." The look he gets from Revali is a familiar one of exasperated fondness, and Link knows he is going to hate what Revali says next. "We both knew those plans were little more than fantasy Link. Something to make us feel like this fight was worth it. A reason to fight that might be bigger than our destiny to die." He sighs softly, "But we knew deep down it wouldn't happen. The heroes that live are seldom remembered. We are Champions, Legends in a sense, there was no life after for us, and I am sorry that after waking up you were lead to believe there was." Revali reaches for Link and neither one of them flinches when he doesn't make contact, "Just know that when this is over, I will be waiting for you like i always said I would."

The fight with Ganon is long and exhausting, and even before he lands the final blow, Link knows he won't be surviving it. He's too injured and has lost too much blood, but more than that, he doesn't want to. There is nothing left in this Hyrule for him. As Ganon dissolves into nothing, the weapon that had pierced through Link's chest does the same. He falls to the grass wet with blood, malice, and goddesses knows what else. Zelda's cries for him to "just hold on" fade into emptiness. He is content to bleed out in a field for the second time in his life.

When he becomes aware again Revali is looking down at him with a gentle smile, "You know she isn't going to forgive you for giving up for quite a while." It's said with almost a laugh, "But I'm sure she will come to understand how much you were missed." "I just wanted to be with you again." He presses his forehead to Revali's beak like old times and relishes in the contact, "I didn't want to keep you waiting another one hundred years."

Medoh is perched above Rito Village still glowing a serene blue. At night, it is said that if someone looked closely there are two spirits standing atop it's head looking out over Hyrule, one is a Rito and one is a Hylian. They're names have long been lost to time, but it is said that at one time they woke from the dead to save the world.

[avionvadion]

Sorry for the double ask but my curiosity is itching me. What instances of Zelink do you ship? Since you said you’re particular about your Zelink

Skyward Sword is the biggest, lol. I don’t really ship it in BotW, but in TotK I do. In OoT I’m too convinced they’re actually siblings, but in Twilight Princess they barely interact at all.

They just need to actually have chemistry for me to ship it. Like, they need to actually know each other. In Skyward Sword, they’re childhood friends. They grew up with each other.

When Link sees Zelda, he gets this absolutely adorable smile on his face and you just know he loves her. And after they get separated, every time they reunite, Zelda tries to run to him before Impa pulls her back. When she reveals she’s actually reincarnated Hylia, she says, “I’m still my father’s daughter. I’m still your Zelda.”

In BotW, sure, it’s said Zelda’s “love for her fallen knight awakened her power” but at that point in time it just feels kinda one-sided. She’s a dear friend of Link’s, but I don’t get the feeling he was in love with her.

Totk, though??? Where several years have passed??? When they’re walking together in the beginning, observing the ruins, and you can see them interact??? The way Zelda checks up on him and crinkles her eyes in a smile, the way Link takes the torch from her without her even needing to ask??? The way it’s hinted that they live together, and how Zelda’s diary says Link never leaves her side, so she had to have a secret study built in a well? How she has an extra hair tie for him in said well???

How Zelda hid his new tunic to surprise him, behind a puzzle of all things, because she probably knows he likes puzzles and wanted to challenge him a little??? The way she told Link to find her, knowing she wouldn’t be herself after she transformed, and was trusting him to help her remember???

Totk Zelink is just. It’s like an evolution of their dynamic in BotW. Zelda always cared for Link, but Link had been going through such heavy depression- it’s also more hinted that he had feelings for Mipha (at least to me)- and then he died. All of his friends were dead. He woke up a century later. Everything was left behind. He had no memories.

Link had to grieve and move on, and save what was left. He had to remember, he had to heal. And in TotK we get to see that healed Link. He moved on from the past. He moved on from Mipha. He found a future with Zelda. But now Zelda is missing. She doesn’t remember who she is. He has to fight and help her remember, just as she once helped him through his lost memories of her.

It’s. I dunno. It just feels like poetry.

I hope this makes sense, lol.

[otherworldy-insect]

Will you please draw your blights from your AU thing all your homies have been talking about them and I just want to see them pls

here!!!! it’s not rlly polished and kinda rushed (+ i don’t know if you want a full body version of them, im still trying to come up with a consistent design lol)

infodump and hcs about them under the cut:

you probably already know this already, but for people who don’t, the blights in this au are followers of calamity ganon. they are also not mindless creations of the calamity, just… evil guys (this is an excuse so i can make them a tad bit silly at times LMAO)

although they are followers of calamity ganon, they actually intend on bringing ganondorf back. however they don’t know about his status underneath the castle (which their children, aka the totk temple bosses learn about), but they do know that the calamity is a sort of “leak” from ganondorf’s power.

fun fact their names are based off of words in greek that i changed the spelling (except for raedhin/thunderblight, i tried using thunder in arabic… idk i might change their names soon)

raedhin and master kohga are friends (they both give off that annoying silly skrunkly gremlin vibe)

i already said it in a previous posts but kohlasi/fireblights design was based on a dog (since daruk is yk… scared of dogs. idk thought it would be funny but rlly sad too) now i kinda want to give him dog like behaviors like wagging his tail when he’s happy or smth (he has a tail btw!!!!)

they are all missing one eye from their fight with the champions. anhemis eye was shot, ahvesus’ was stabbed, kohlasi’s was sliced, and raedhin’s eye was electrocuted and rendered useless by urbosas fury. idk i wanted to find a way to fit their one eye thing or whatever into this au

anhemi is actually related to helmaroc king’s species.

ALSO anhemi’s “mask” is actually a patch of feathers, not a plate on their face. just for clarification

they all use sheikah tech bcuz their autistic (EVILLY AUTISTIC) and are nerds (EVIL NERDS)

they’re personalities are opposites of the champions, anhemi is old and calculating, ahvesus is unforgiving and apathetic, kohlasi is untrustworthy and unstable, and raedhin is underhanded and a coward.

but sometimes maybe uhh they can be a. uh. tad bit silly. idk 😭😭😭

as a parallel to mipha, who has healing powers, ahvesus is a weird venomous hammerhead looking mf. the weird “antennas” on their head are actually barbels.

oh yeah fun fact i forgot to mention earlier, their designs were based on the aoc blights cus i didn’t want them to look too similar.

they used evil magic or whatever so that they could live the 100 years it took before link could awaken.

anyways bonus doodle

[hylianmewmew]

maybe i do: ch 7 gay gossip and giggles

read ch 6 here ♡ read ch 8 here

Link didn’t wake up for nearly a full day after yet another helpless meltdown in front of Sidon. There was an awkwardness and vulnerability Link had always felt trying to open up to people. This, until now, was something only Zelda could do, make him feel safe and like he was going to be ok. But now Sidon was there too. This almost felt like a betrayal against Zelda, something that could break their tight bond. Yet Link didn’t see it like that. Sidon filled in a different shaped hole in his heart. A gaping wound that had gone unnoticed until the shark Zora had reappeared in his life. 

He now did believe that Sidon was a close friend before he had lost whatever memories they shared together. How could he not have been, Sidon was so friendly and loving to everyone, he was kind and gentle. Link had been so alone and lost in his own nightmare before feeling the urge to come to Lanayru. He still had solitude, that wouldn’t change. But the ability to even just observe the presence of other people around him was a comfort he didn’t know he needed. 

Sidon really was a great friend. Link knew they had fought together as champion and hero during the fight against Calamity Ganon but he thought that was it with their interactions. Link learned from Sidon that they had met when he traveled to the Domain with Zelda to meet with Sidon’s older sister, Princess Mipha. While Zelda, Link, and Mipha discussed their plans on fighting Ganon, Sidon would eavesdrop on the meeting in order to catch the trio as they exited so he could distract them from the stress for a little while. This often included long expeditions around the Domain and floating down the rivers. Link wished he remembered this, he wished he remembered so much of his past. The 100 year coma had wiped nearly everything from his memory. He had even less now than before he had fought Ganon. Like that bastard had sucked up all the treasured memories he had recovered. The effects of that battle still raged against Link both physically and mentally. 

Link shuffled into the living area, he felt like absolute shit. His head was pounding, his eyes stung from puffiness and saliva scratched his sore throat each time he swallowed. How long had he been asleep? This time he remembered what had happened during the flashback and by the gods he wished he didn’t. Link’s stomach grumbled so much it hurt, damn he must’ve been asleep for quite awhile. Sweet Hylia. Sidon. 

Sidon was curled up on the loveseat yet again. This time felt different, Link’s heart twinged with guilt. He remembered sobbing, with each breath the sobs racked his body, chest heaving in anguish. His eyes had stung from the mass amount of tears as he clung onto Sidon for dear life. He remembered fleeting images of Zelda flooding his mind, how much he had failed her. Both as her knight and her best friend.

But Sidon.

He didn’t seem to care about anything other than making sure Link felt safe. Sidon had stroked Link’s hair, his fingers running through it in an effort to soothe the Hylian as he let out every painful emotion his body had refused to let go of. And there lay Sidon, the best thing that had happened to Link since losing Zelda.

Sidon stirred, as if sensing Link’s awakening. He smiled softly, his voice still gruff from sleep. “Good morning sunshine, feel any better?”

Link blushed, his ears and cheeks heating up, but snapped his attention to the window. It was dark. He tried to connect the dots, it had been mid afternoon when they were in the stables. So maybe. Just maybe he hadn’t slept that long. Link had such bad insomnia and was a light sleeper, he was used to going longer periods without sleep or waking up exhausted. Surprisingly, despite the pains in his body and the visceral embarrassment he felt from breaking down for the second time in just a week. 

He turned his gaze back to Sidon, raising an eyebrow. “But it’s dark. Definitely not morning. What time is it? How long was I asleep?” He signed bluntly, stiff from aching pain.

This jolted Sidon awake, he slowly looked up to the clock on the wall. He didn’t remember when he succumbed to sleep, Sidon had stayed awake for at least a day, keeping an eye on Link, only leaving to grab more work as he anxiously powered through it all. “You were asleep for at least a day and a half. I stayed up for most of that but I don’t remember when I finally slept.” He pressed a finger to his lips in thought. “Regardless! I’m glad you’re feeling better!”

“Song. You sang a song for me didn’t you?” Link’s ears twitched, he remembered getting flashbacks about Zelda and his ocarina. It was gone, she was gone. His past, gone. 

“I. Yes! I hummed a– Zora lullaby to you…” Sidon rubbed the back of his neck, his face flushed teal. “Not like a child though! It’s simply. Well. I panicked when I saw you so distressed and soothing you with a lullaby. I apologize if that makes you uncomfortable.” Sidon slightly bowed apologetically. 

“No, it was,” He paused, “nice.” Link’s small smile lit up the room, filling Sidon with relief. Gods Link had an amazing smile.

Link shuffled to the kitchenette still groggy and pulled out things to make breakfast. He didn’t care what time it was, he wanted breakfast. He turned around and tried to grab Sidon’s attention, who was staring out the window deep in thought. Link snapped his fingers, slightly annoyed which made Sidon jump. “Food?” 

Sidon had recovered from being startled and nodded slowly, “But I feel bad that you always make the food. Can I help?”

Link shrugged and nodded, immediately turning back to the stove. He flipped the food in his skillet with such skill Sidon couldn’t help but gasp in awe. 

“Where did you learn to cook so well?” Sidon had grabbed one of the peppers that was sitting on the counter and began to chop. He struggled to cut the cubes small enough.

Link looked over and rolled his eyes before grabbing Sidon’s hands and guiding him through the right knife technique. He removed his hands from Sidon’s. “I used to sneak into the palace kitchens and beg them to teach me how to cook. After that, I just kinda picked it up as a hobby. I’ve grown to love cooking more than a lot of things. It makes me feel in control.” He didn’t really know or understand how he remembered to cook after a 100 years of being asleep. Muscle memory or something like that he supposed. 

Sidon’s head tail swayed slightly, Link peered over at Sidon making sure he had gotten the hang of chopping vegetables. He exhaled in amusement, Sidon looked more like a puppy than a Zora when his head tail swayed, almost like wagging.

As they sat down to eat, Sidon’s mouth slipped into a smile, “You’re incredible, you know that right?” 

Link choked on the bite of food in his mouth. Once he stopped choking his eyes grew wider when he fully processed what Sidon had said. “What?? I’m literally anything but that.” Link scrunched his face up, his ears had lowered slightly. He didn’t think he was deserving of such a compliment, he had lost a war, the fucking princess now queen of Hyrule and gods know what else since he’d forgotten nearly his entire being. “I’m nothing, I’m the worst person to have been chosen as the hero. Just because I can hold the master sword and spoke to Hylia does NOT mean I’m capable of living up to anyone’s expectation of the hero. I’m a failure.”

That admission broke Sidon, “Link please believe me. You’re exactly the hero Hyrule needs right now! You’re compassionate and work yourself so hard to be the best version of you, you can be. Sometimes working a little too hard. You’ve never turned down a request for help and you deeply care about the people of Hyrule. You protect your friends and those who need it. You are a hero, Link.” Sidon understood how it felt to not feel worthy of the position and title you were expected to hold. He never dreamed of having to be the king, the title of ruler was meant for Mipha, not him.

Link looked away from Sidon, instead focusing on his plate. He ate slowly, contemplating what he had done to deserve Sidon’s praise. All Link had done since coming to Zora’s Domain was cry and look like such a fool. He’s had multiple full scale breakdowns in front of Sidon. Yet the king found him incredible? It didn’t make sense, Link still found himself feeling so relieved at least someone didn’t find him a failed hero and a fuck up. 

Whatever the case, Link was finding it harder and harder to find Sidon anything but endearing.

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Sidon entered the drawing room, Yona was sitting at her desk writing something. She had been hyper focused on her project at the school, helping teachers develop a better learning curriculum for the children. Since the end of the Calamity, Yona had poured all her energy into helping not only the Zora, but aiding Queen Zelda in rebuilding their world throughout all the regions. She was incredibly devoted and had such an intense passion for helping others. It was for that reason Sidon gets along with her so well. They spend hours sitting together, brainstorming ways to better the Domain. As close as he was with Yona he just didn’t know how to spill the details on his love for Link. They had often talked about their future but weren’t quite sure what to do. They were both queer but in opposing directions of attraction. Their marriage had been to connect her people, who had lived outside the Domain with the people of the Domain by way of Sidon and his family. He knew she would be fine with it, and he had a sneaking suspicion she also was in love but wasn’t going to pressure her into telling him. Sidon also knew the Zora had no qualms with same gender relationships making his eventual coming out much easier. But the marriage, as a bridge between two groups of Zora if they divorced, what would become of the bridge contract. 

And what about Link? He had no idea what Link thought about him. What if Link had no romantic feelings when Sidon’s love had been unknowingly there all along. He was ok with staying platonic with Link if that’s how Link felt towards Sidon. Everything about this was new and terrifying. Sidon has had crushes in the past but they were fleeting, not much substance to them. Nothing like Link.

“Sidon, you alright?” Yona looked up from her papers.

Sidon swallowed the lump in his throat and just went for it since they were in private. “Yona, I HAVE A CRUSH ON LINK.” He said that a little too loud, the words just spilling out of his mouth. He couldn’t control his words.

To Sidon’s shock and almost horror, Yona burst out in a gleeful cackle. “YES!! I fucking knew it! Sidon oh my gods!” This left Sidon absolutely shell-shocked. Yona… knew? How? Was he that obvious? Also oh my gods Yona said the fuck word. Things were happening so, so fast. 

Yona clapped her hands before leaping up and running over to Sidon. “Oh, you must tell me absolutely everything! When did you finally realize? How long have you been crushing on him? I’m so excited!! I’ve been waiting for this day since pretty much when I first met you and Link. Oh Sidon! I was taking bets with myself when you realized how much of a big fat crush on Link you have.” She couldn’t even contain her excitement at this point which made Sidon want to hide in a hole for the rest of his life. Was he that obviously gay for Link? Clearly.

“Can we talk in our rooms? I don’t exactly want gossip leaking about this yet.” Oh my gods he said yet. Meaning he was already thinking about his and Link’s future and confessing to Link. Meaning… Yona was right. He had it bad.

Yona nodded curtly, “Of course, let me put away my things. I actually have something to tell you too!!”

 ⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Sidon pulled some thick blankets from one of the linen closets which were hardly used other than for Sidon and Yona gossip time. He made a little blanket nest on the floor for him and Yona so they could catch up on apparently a lot of gay shit.

“Ok! So my dearest Sidon. Spill!” Yona looked so thrilled this is what her evening was going to consist of.

And spill Sidon did, leaving none of his feelings for Link out of the picture. “One time, when he and the then Princess Zelda were visiting the Domain, Mipha forced me to show Link around by ourselves while she and Zelda talked about important topics that Link wasn’t needed for. Link taught me how to use Hylian sign so we could talk with each other. I have to admit, I was a terrible learner. But it made me feel so special. Here he was taking his own rare freetime to teach me how to understand him. I think it started then, I had never felt so– noticed in a way that wasn’t just as the little brother to the crown princess outside of my family.”

Yona shook him violently, “Sidon! You’re in so deep. I had no idea someone could be so gay!” Her eyes glimmered with intrigue, she was way too invested in this. He really had no idea someone could be this gay either. They talked for hours, laughing and spilling every gay thought they’ve ever had.

Yona grew quiet after a while, “I have a confession too. There’s this teacher at the school who’s in charge of the primary students' teaching plan. She’s stunning, and so so kind! I’ve started spending time with her outside of school and meetings. Her name is Fara and being in her company makes my heart sing! But I still think you’re gayer than I am.” She giggled at the last comment, making Sidon blush.

“I don’t think I’m that gay!” He exclaimed, Yona just gave him a side eye and playfully punched his shoulder.

[wizerdbattle]

Tell me some facts about your revival au please? 👉👈

Okay! Yay!

It takes place during the timeskip between BotW and TotK, which is how Yona and older Tulin/Purah are there. TotK lore mostly doesn't apply otherwise becuase I wanted the Divine Beasts and Champions and TotK... doesn't have those 🤷‍♀️

Zelda works as a travelling researcher and generally just likes doing odd jobs and such! So a lot of sidequesting because she deserves it. She and Link regroup often because they're hesitant friends after fighting Ganon together. Sometimes they spend more extended periods of time together if neither of them are busy.

Zelda has pretty much made peace with the Calamity and her relationship with her parents, but she still struggles pretty severely in her relationship with Hylia, and tends to question her self-worth as a result. She still blames herself for not living up to the Goddess's vision for her 🥲

Link spends most of his time in Hateno just living a quiet life. If he's not there, he's with Tulin or Sidon. He pretty much set Zelda up to work with Purah on research and sometimes passes messages between them.

Purah is committed to researching and working with old Sheikah tech, but she also remembers the Champions very clearly and misses them.

Link developed feelings for Mipha after having the flashback in Zora's domain. It's what prompted him to find the other memories of the Champions, and to try and learn as much as he could about her from her friends and family. So like a fairly innocent celebrity crush with a(n un)healthy side of intense guilt and grief. He'll get to understand her better, though!

Unfortunately I don't have too many facts for you about Mipha and the other Champions on account of spoilers 😭 and they haven't exactly been... doing a lot... since BotW ended :|

I will say that Mipha is tagging along because she really wants to see the Champions again! Obviously she still enjoys Link and Zelda's company as well but I think she wants to see the thing through because of a sense of obligation.

Mipha and Tulin's relationship has been my favourite non-canon one to write! I really like reading when people write Mipha as a big sister and I liked the idea that Mipha would be like Tulin's cool older cousin.

I don't have all of the story planned out but I do have all the plot beats for a later segment and something like an end ready! I'm very excited to get to that part. It's been rattling around in my head for pretty much the whole time I've been writing.

I might make a playlist?? Or something? Because I'm obsessed???

Once I'm further into the story I should have more facts for you! It's still a bit loose for now.

Woe! Low-quality character sketches be upon ye :]]]]

[championrevali]

Imagine that the champions didn't die during the fight, Link won but was very injured and brought to shrine of resuraction anyway. Revali could visit each day and tell him to just get up

At first all the Champions would visit, every day, waiting for this friend, their hero to wake up. They'd spend the day sitting around the pod, talking, playing games, waiting, praying for Zelda, poor girl trapped in the Castle.

Urbosa would be the first to stop coming. Not because she'd lost faith, but she was chief of the Gerudo, she had duties, people who needed her.

Daruk would be the second. Like Urbosa, he had too many responsibilities to be able to stay by the Little Guys bedside.

It would be Mipha and Revali for a while, but Mipha was the Princess, the heir of the Zora, with a father who was getting on in years. She had to prepare to lead her people. She'd still come occasionally, but it was obvious she'd lost hope her best friend was coming back any time soon.

Revali would stay there for a long time. Maybe he'd build himself a small cabin on the great plateau so he could be close by. But his village needed him too. Maybe they send someone for him, asking for help. Maybe the Champions stage an intervention. But everyone believes he should give up, its been a few years, Link isn't waking up any time soon.

He went home, begrudgingly. He still made the trip at least once a week, for years he would visit his Hylian, asking him to get up, save Zelda, save all of them.

But years go by, and Link still isn't awake. Revali can't fly halfway across hyrule every week anymore. Besides, he was made Elder of Rito Village, and he has way more responsibilities, too many to allow him to make the trip even if he could.

But he never forgets his Hylian. He sends a Rito scout out to the Plateau regularly, checking to see if Link is awake.

Over 70 years after Link is put into the Shrine of resurrection, Revali is nearing 90, the tail end of a Rito lifespan. He leaves a note for the Hylian, telling him off for making Revali wait so long, and telling him he knew Link would be able to fulfill his quest, and save them all.

Urbosa and Daruk had long since passed, their spots being taken up by their children, and it was now nearing time that their grandchildren woukd take over. Mipha, as the new Queen of the Zora, had passed the mantle of Champion onto her younger brother.

Perhaps it was sheer stubbornness to see Link again, help him defeat Ganon and save Zelda the helped Revali live another 10 years. But he knew his time was coming to an end. So he gave the letter he wrote nearly 10 years ago to his apprentice, a promising young Rito called Teba.

He passed a few days after that.

[amiharana]

Finally! Someone who thinks it wouldn't be a narrative mistake to bring back the champions!!

I've always seen people say that bringing them back takes away from the tragedy of their deaths, but we never got to know them enough for that to feel like a proper tragedy.

Like, they gave us one of the coolest concepts for a Zelda game story wise (Link having an actual team who are supposed to fight alongside him against Ganon instad of just people helping him along the way) and they kill them off before the game starts???

Bringing them back not only helps us to know them better but can actually improve on the tragedy thing. All of the champions have been dead for 100 years, a lot of stuff has changed and seeing their reactions to that change would be more interesting than them staying dead.

welcome to the party anon!!! i'm just selfish and i want the champions back!!!

honestly, the way the champions' presence was handled in botw in itself is a narrative mistake lol. if the point was teach link about loss and sacrifice, nintendo sure did a great job of showcasing that by. giving us absolutely nothing about the champions' importance in their respective societies. /s

ok that's a lie, i think they showed that profound impact of loss and sacrifice at least somewhat well with mipha and the zoras actually. since the zora live a long time, plenty of them are still alive from the time of the calamity such as muzu, who still held a lot of resentment and blame towards link for mipha's death, or sidon, who is always looking at mipha's statue when you interact with him at the zora's domain. the cutscene after you defeat waterblight, talk to mipha's spirit, and then position ruta to point at the castle has got to be one of the most heart-wrenching moments in the entire game. LIKE HELLOOOOO THIS PART RIGHT HERE MAKES ME FUCKING BAWL MY EYES OUT 😭😭😭 so even though we only get to know mipha for a short period of time, we could at least see and feel the effect of her death in her people and how she felt the effect her death on her people. this is a good example of portraying loss and sacrifice, for me at least.

but i can't say the same for the other champions, they don't seem to be as wrecked about their champion as the zora do. and that probably has to do with the fact that the other races don't live as long as the zora, so unlike them, the characters of other races that you interact with weren't there when their champions died. girl like kaneli probably wasn't even born yet when revali got his ass kicked ☝️😒 so for the other races of hyrule, all they get are legends and stories of these really cool people who died a hundred years prior. i know you guys aren't crying ur asses off everyday about errrr.. president theodore roosevelt dying a hundred years ago! you didn't know him like that, get out of your parasocial relationship with him!!! so in that regard, i understand the way that nintendo chose to handle the relationship between the other champions and the descendents of their people.

but ur so incredibly true for that anon. the zelda team chose to break so many traditional conventions in botw, and the addition of a group of chosen champions to pilot these technological marvels of mechanisms to fight an evil so intense that the hero actually needs that assistance for even a sliver of success has so much potential. i wish we got to know the champions of 10,000 years ago and the champions of 100 years ago. if i really got to know and love them, i would probably understand what it would be like to lose them and feel it.

[afriendlygoblin]

my thoughts on TOTK because i need to ramble about it somewhere and my friend hasn't finished it yet

SPOILERS

i'm gonna go through the main quests/parts as i completed them

1) the opening, Great Sky Island, Temple of Time and landing in Hyrule

it made me really really really happy to see that Link and Zelda were still around each other like this, exploring stuff together and all. the awakening cutscene gave me chills and really all i could think about was finding Zelda.

discovering the Great Sky Island was fun, though i was used to my comfort in BOTW so it was quite a shock to not have the paraglider and get one-shot by literally anything. but i guess that's normal

then i really liked meeting Rauru though i missed having at least a clue of what was going on. like in BOTW, the king tells you "alright, the world is shit because this happened, Zelda is over there waiting for you, now u do u". there i had this feeling of being absolutely clueless for the first few hours of gameplay and it was frustrating at times.

Lookout Landing was a heartwarming sight, seeing people rebuild and stuff genuinely made me smile. i did feel a pinch in my heart when i recognized that it was built on the very ground where Link swore his oath as Zelda's appointed knight. but overall it was great and i loved the concept of the new towers.

2) the Temples and Sages

i started with Rito Village and the Wind temple. i love Tulin with all my heart and i have to say i use his ability the most. the temple was a pain to access and the cold was annoying but i had a blast with the boss battle. didn't really use Tulin's help there because it was really easy to do on my own but i enjoyed having a supporter during the fight.

i was favorably surprised when i found out that Tulin's clone would accompany me forever. BOTW was a pretty lonely game. peaceful and beautiful but lonely nonetheless. also seeing Teba give his son the Great Eagle Bow made me emotional i admit. i wish there were more references to Revali (and the Champions in general) but eh at least he has a Landing named after him. also where did the Flight Range go?

next i went to Goron City. it felt strange to not instantly catch on fire but well, i was happy with no more elixirs and ugly outfits (not a fan of the fireproof set). the battle against the 3 headed monster in Death Mountain was awesome and it reminded me of how fun it was to yeet Yunobo around. speaking of which i was so relieved when i got him back to normal because that rock boi is precious and seeing him being mean was not cool.

the Temple was a bit annoying tbh, i got lost in the rail system so i just went and monkeyed around climbing everything and flying everywhere. the boss fight was also quite forgettable though i liked using Yunobo's ability more. again, there was zero mention of Daruk (that i remember) and Daruk's Protection has been entirely forgotten. i know the goal isn't to live in the past but i find it sad to see it pretty much forgotten about in some areas.

after that i went to Zora's Domain and had fun yeeting splash fruit at the sludge. i almost had a heart attack when i saw that the Mipha statue had been replaced but i was so thrilled to see it relocated to where the Lynel used to be. they really built her a splendid memorial and she can really watch over her people from there.

i had missed Sidon and his smile, and helping Yona bringing him back to his true optimistic charming self was really great. i liked that since the Zora live long lives, everyone remembered me (Link) more than in other parts of Hyrule. oh and Sidon's coronation had me smiling ear to ear because i was so proud of my fish brother.

i had so much fun in the temple and its weird gravity, sometimes i go back just to jump around and dive in slow motion. the boss fight was correct, though it was annoying to go so slow through sludge.

finally, i made my way to Gerudo Town. the gibdos surprised me but by pure luck i had a fire lizalfos horn weapon equipped so i was never in any real danger. i loved organizing the defenses of Gerudo Town and fighting alongside Riju's warriors.

i loved seeing how Riju had grown since we last saw her, she and Tulin were like my young niblings and seeing them grow made me so proud. again i don't remember any tribute to Urbosa but seeing Riju's dual Scimitars of the Seven was a nice touch so i didn't say anything.

the temple was really cool and the boss fight made me rage quit once or twice so i consider it to be awesome. i thought i was gonna throw my Switch against the wall but then i remembered Zelda needed me so i took a breath and went back to the fight.

overall i really liked this part of the game, seeing my old new friends was very heartwarming and having their clones follow me in my daily life made the game so much less lonely than BOTW was.

3) Tears of the Dragon

no. i am still sobbing, throwing up, rolling on the floor. no. seeing Zelda finding not one but 2 loving parental figures only to lose them 20 min later, Ganondorf's ascension, Rauru's sacrifice, ZELDA'S SACRIFICE ABZBZBFKGNDKDLS I WAS NOT READY. i didn't find the memories in chronological order so when i found the one that hinted what was going to happen to Zelda i rushed them all and stayed up until like 4 am to see them all. the final one tore me apart and i basically cried myself to sleep (not really but almost). i actually had to go spoil myself online just to put my mind at ease because like what if we could never get her back???

after that and the Master Sword quest, whenever i saw Zelda not too far from a tower i'd go see her and rest on her head for a little while while imagining Link talking to her.

i was at a point where i didn't really know what to do with myself, i still had Gerudo Town to visit but eh i was a bit sick of boss battles at the moment. seeing the memories remotivated me and pushed me to finish the main quests as fast as possible to get Zelda back.

4) the Master Sword

as eager as i was to just go and beat up Ganondorf, i couldn't imagine doing it without my trursty blade, and also the reason why Zelda sacrificed herself. so i decided to go see the Great Deku Tree so seek counsel. after a quick in and out trip to the depth, i found a dying tree in no shape to answer my questions.

Phantom Ganon handed my ass to me a few times but once i got his attack patterns right, it all went smooth like a baby's butt cheek.

getting the Master Sword from Zelda's head made me so emotional, i had just seen a fanart of that scene where Link let himself fall while crying and clutching the sword against his heart. that was how i felt it really.

5) the Depths and Fifth Sage

so after crying my eyes, heart, lungs and intestines out, i had to continue investigating to know where the hell Ganondorf was. that led me to the Depth, searching for all the abandonned mines and everything. on the way i had fun in the battles against Kohga, i had missed his ridiculous... him.

i'm not the biggest fan of the Depths but hey, you can find pretty awesome stuff down there so i do spend a lot of time farming Zonaite and throwing Brightbloom seeds around.

finding and assembling Mineru's construct felt a bit ehh. the shrine like puzzles to get the limbs were thankfully not too long but really all i wanted was to get over with it. funny enough i was fully prepared for a big twist like Mineru revealing that she was with Ganondorf and having to fight the construct i had just built myself.

what i got was even better. like mech fight??? hello?? that was awesome though it took me some time to get the controls down. but ah as a kid who grew up playing Solatorobo, riding the construct was just cbfkdkd SO COOL.

6) the Final Fight

i'll just focus on the battles because the way to get to the Gloom's Lair or whatever was just like yeah sure go off i guess. chasing Zelda through the Castle was just a delay of what i knew would happen underground and then i mostly dodged the monsters except the Lynel because come on who has time for that.

the. EPIC. BATTLE. AGAINST. AN ENTIRE. ARMY. my Goddess fighting hordes and hordes of monsters alongside my friends with the most epic music was just so euphoric and cathartic and just fullfilling ahhhhgg. when i saw the temple bossed coming back to life i was gully prepared to take them on with my friends but nope, the game had other plans for me.

and what plans oh bloody hell this FIGHT? THAT is what i call a boss battle. in BOTW, Ganon wasn't hard to kill. like it had taken me less than 5 tries i think, 3 of them being just to learn the fight's mechanics. but here? the first part i got quickly, after all it was just a one on one against a (large) human sized villain. the pace was slow, there was no music, in a word : a warmup.

then he activates his secret stone and turns into a human emo LED. alright sure. and then his health bar replenishes. AND KEEPS GOING. i was expecting it to just go beyond the screen border at this point. and oh the clones, how many times did i accidentally get killed by one of them. having my friends fight them for me was cool but too many times i ended up ignoring them and taking a lost bullet becayse of that.

then comes the real 1v1 againt the Demon King. THAT was the fight i'd been waiting for. the final confrontation between the Hero and Evil, the final battle that would- he can Flurry Rush? what do you mean he can Flurry Rush?? alright then, i'll just be careful, good thing i have a good shield haha HE CAN FLURRY RUSH MY FLURRY RUSH?????? HOW WHAT WHY WTF ah at least i can Flurry Rush his Flurry Rush that he Flurry Rushed from my Flurry Rush. McFlurry.

after at least 20 tries, tears and a break because my left index was sore from keeping my shield up, i finally got to deal a final strike. and then oh my GODDESS THIS PART

Zelda rushes to my aid and together we face that giant Demon Dragon. she soars, allowing me to dive and land right next to one of the Demon's weak point. i attack it, then bet blown off. Zelda gets me back and we repeat the maneuver 3 times. finally, i dive one last time to the Demon's head and shatter the Secret Stone.

no more Demon, no more Ganondorf, it really is over this time.

7) the End

is it? the sky is peaceful, as i, behind my screen, thank the princess for her help and tell her that we succeded, i start floating off of her head. Rauru and Sonia appear and somehow channel their magic through my arm.

and there she is. my princess. my Zelda. the one i travelled through Sky, Land and Depth to find. the one i've been chasing for (in game) months (days irl).

and she's falling. shit. so i dive as fast as i can, i extend my freshly restored arm and.... i got her! a perfect echo to the opening, an exquisite parallel, i took so many screenshots of this scene and i will cherish them forever.

then i watched the last cutscenes, my Zelink heart that was already screaming exploded when i saw Link gently put Zelda down on the grass. she wakes up, sees Link, looks around and... "you really did it" no princess, we did it together. "Oh Link... i'm home" AAAAAHAHBBFNDKDBBF I SCREAMED i really screamed and thank the Goddess that i live alone because it was again 4am and had i been at my parent's place, Zelda's smile would have been the last thing i'd seen before certain death (not that i would have minded). i wish i could hug my princess in that moment. yes, you're home. i promised i'd get you back when i saw your memories so here you are. and you're never leaving me again.

end credits, i use that time to process what i just lived. then i watch the post credit cutscene, shed a tear watching Mineru rest in peace and the new Sages swear their oath. everything's good now.

and then i'm transported back to Castle Chasm. yay.

Additional 1) the Gameplay

as an engineering student, i had been waiting for this game for so long (only could play it a month after release because of finals) and it didn't disappoint. well to be honest i was used to BOTW's controls and though they were similar here, i missed using the cross' top arrow to pick a rune. minor stuff like that. BUT WHO CARE WHEN YOU CAN BUILD CARS, PLANES, ROCKETS AND TORTURE DEVICES

i fully started enjoying vehicle building when i expanded my battery. from then on i was unstoppable, roaming around Hyrule on my Turbo Deadly Flying Tricycle that shoots fire and laser beams.

also i'm a pretty peaceful being but i have to admit that nailing a Korok to a cross and pulling it around with your horse like "do you have time for our Lord and Savior Korok Christ?" is really really fun.

Additional 2) the World

also i loved the additions they made to the stables like the Pony Points system. and ah finally i don't have to talk to this random girl to change my saddle.

i'm a sucker for fantasy sky island so i was so happy to see some in Hyrule sky. though i wish there were a bit more or at least some bigger ones. Great Sky Island was nice but then in other regions, aside from a shrine here and a dispenser there i didn't spend a lot of time up tthere.

Hyrule was at the same time the good old same and a totally new and foreign place. cities and villages were in the same place but they were so different. Tarrey Town had grown so much (btw fuck you Rail Car guy i built this place you should pay ME). Kakariko had its new Ring Ruins, Hateno had developped a mushroom frenzy... AND ZELDA HAS STOLEN MY HOUSE??? HAY PRINCESS YOU HAVE A CASTLE AT LEAST LET ME HAVE THIS oh? is that my hair tie? and... you're writing about me in your diary? oh so we live together... alright then all good! also seeing the photo from Champion's Ballad exactly where i hung it in BOTW brought a tear to my eye. no, our omd friends aren't forgotten. and they will always be home.

i'll stop there because i'm hungry and i've been rambling for an hour and a half but this game is just so so so good. the story touched me a bit less than that of BOTW for some reason but it did make me emotional af. i wish we had a postgame which solely consists of completing the secondary adventures and like... farming in Hateno Village with Zelda but eh, be grateful for what you have i told myself. i think i will go have a cutscene marathon starting with Age of Calamity now.

Additional 3) the Side Quests

while i ignored most of them (will get to them eventually no worry about that), i particularly appreciated the Monster Control ones and the Lurelin line. these quests really made me feel how important community and cooperation are in this game. because you have your own community of heroes with the Sages and also the researchers, people who are in the heart of the story but there you get to see other communities. the losers with a valiant heart, fighting silver moblins with mops and buckets as helmets, the exiled fishermen who lost their town but with your help get to rebuild their home etc. this makes this game whole because it reminds you that yeah, there are always epic tales of legendary heroes, dramatic tragedies and heroic sacrifices but there are also smaller, equally as important stories. there's the story of how anyone can rise up and fight monsters and there's the story of how to rebuild your home after it was totally destroyed. and you get to be a part of all these stories, big or small. and that's beautiful.

also i liked stealing Zelda's horse again. you took my house i take your horse, fair is fair.

[swordswoman97]

Tears of the Kingdom Theory

So as everyone who's seen the trailer recently knows the trailer shows Link fighting alongside Tulin and Sidon, presumably Riju as well as she also shows up. The trailer also shows Tulin, Riju and Sidon with tears similar to the one we see Zelda holding.

We also see the new champions holding their predecessors weapons, so Riju wielding the Scimitar of the Seven, Tulin wielding the Great Eagle Bow, Sidon seems to wield whether the Lightscale trident or a replica, and in the scene we see Sidon, Riju, and Teba together you can also see what seems to be the end of Boulder Breaker, Daruk's weapon suggesting Yunobu (or another Goron) will similarly pick up Daruk's weapon.

One thing of note though is that Sidon and Tulin don't have the tears in every scene we see them in, only that last one with all of them. And similarly Sidon isn't wearing the crown in the first scene we see him in and Tulin is only wielding a Falcon bow in several other scenes. While we only see Riju with the tear and wielding the Scimitar of the Seven, the other scene her in doesn't look like gameplay, almost like a reveal cutscene.

Now I've believed that we would have to return to the areas we reclaimed the divine beasts in in TOTK to help fix some new issues since we found out Death Mountain was full of malice, and this trailer just confirms it for me more, we see Tulin and Link in a storm fighting some giant ice bug, we see a structure rising out of the Gerudo desert and the desert seemingly sinking in giant sinkholes, and of course there's still Death Mountain full of malice. No idea what's going in Zora's Domain but considering in the scene with all the new champions Sidon is wearing his father's crown I can't imagine it's going well for Dorephan.

I believe that when Link goes to try to save the four races from their current threats, the new champions will accompany him, going on their own arcs eventually culminating in them picking up their predecessors weapons, and possibly gaining their predecessor's powers with the tears, or some new power since of course Yunobu already has Daruk's protection, he can already do that due to being Daruk's descendant (I believe his grandson to be specific) and I'll admit I think Sidon's arc would be better served by him getting a new unique ability that's only his considering a big part of his character in BOTW is the fact that both others around him and Sidon himself seem to regularly compare Sidon to Mipha, with Sidon not quite living up to his sister's role. Sidon isn't his sister, he's himself, and that's enough. Or perhaps it'll be a mix of both, those without the champion's ability will gain that ability and a unique twist on it, to make it uniquely theirs.

[ofgalaxiesandstars]

So the more I think about it, the more I have to wonder if perhaps the defeat of Calamity Ganon paved the way for Ganandorf to awaken.

I mean for one, there's no way the glowing red sludgey stuff you can find around Hyrule in BotW, the stuff that hurts Link if he touches it, doesn't have some sort of connection to the Gloom that Ganondorf is able to create and manipulate. Calamity Ganon honestly almost looks made of the stuff.

So who's to say Ganondorf didn't create the creature? Maybe despite being imprisoned by Rauru, his power was at some point able to manifest and expand exponentially as Rauru's body deteriorates. Calamity Ganon arising at all could just be another sign of Ganondorf escaping his prison.

And yes, maybe the imprisonment was meant to only hold for a specific amount of time, but maybe it only ended once Zelda returned to the sight with Link. Rauru would've recognized the two from information given to him by Zelda, so maybe he finally let his power give out after seeing that the ones who would defeat the demon king there and ready to fight.

Not sure if any of this really makes any sense, but honestly it's the only way I can think of for Age of Calamity timeline to not just... Be completely screwed. Because if Ganondorf will only awaken 100 years after the events of AoC, while Mipha would still be alive and in a fit state to fight, none of the other champions or the princess would be. Sure, Impa and Robbie have shown us that at least the Shiekah are able to live for over a century, but The Rito? The Gerudo, and the Gorons? Even if they did live to be that old, they wouldn't be in any state to fight. Which, wouldn't be too much of a problem considering Yunobo, Riju, and Tulin.

No, the problem comes with Link and Zelda. Zelda might not be too much of a problem, since her bloodline only needs to be passed down, so her descendants would be able to take her place. But with Link his spirit is specifically reincarnated to fight the evil that threatens Hyrule. So either Purah would have a new reason to create and perfect her de-aging machine-- which, I might add was still in the testing phases in BotW -- Link is dead and a new hero had to be born pretty quickly, or... Link just can't fight.

Not to mention the time paradox it would create if Zelda wasn't the one to go back in time.

I honestly find it fascinating to think about, because despite 100 seeming like a lot, it's actually not that long of time to pass before another disaster strikes Hyrule. In my brain it's in that sort of weird area of 'okay, it's a longer amount of time to pass than most sequel games, but not so long that it doesn't seem to cause problems'. Age of Calamity is honestly just a fun game to think about the aftermath, especially now that TotK is out.

Either way, I'm actually working on more little comics, both funny and serious, for 'what if' scenarios, so maybe I'll do a series on 'what if Ganondorf was freed early' xD

[silvermistanimelover]

Of Ghosts and Graves

Little backstory here. I was chatting on the LU discord about how the other Links usually have rupees hidden in their graves in-game, and normally they 'grave rob' in their games. Since I've got a story in the works called A Hero's Spirit wherein Wild is a ghost (but the Chain has no idea he's actually dead) I wanted to explore how he'd react to learning about this. :) So here! Have Spirit!Wild (but shhh... it's a secret to everybody) learning this little tidbit about the Chain. Also, the ghosts of the Champions and Zelda are with Wild, and he can see and hear them clearly. Wind can also see spirits, but only when he wants to.

Wild followed the heroes into the graveyard. There was a calming air about the place even as several crows eyed the trespassers with a wary eye. He smiled softly, nodding to a few spirits that were milling about, enjoying the afternoon sun. What puzzled him was the way a few of them glared at Twilight. Had he done something offensive here at some point?

"Are we going to grab some extra cash?" Legend raised an eyebrow as he helped Hyrule stand. Warriors was still supporting Wind as well, as the Sailor had managed to nearly break his ankle in their last fight.

"Not this time, but you can grab some if you want, I suppose." Twi hummed.

"Extra cash?" Wild frowned. He'd slowly gotten used to the fact that rupees just appeared out of pots and grass in the others' Hyrules, but he didn't see anything of the sort here. The grass was already trimmed rather neatly, though there wasn't much to show. In fact, the graveyard looked somewhat desolate despite the serene atmosphere.

"Well, this place has seen better days." Revali huffed, gently wiping some dirt from one of the headstones.

"Pardon me." An older hylian ghost approached the spirits. "Are you with that group?"

"We are." Zelda nodded, raising an eyebrow. "Is there something wrong?"

"That one." He gestured towards Twilight. "He's been known to dig up rupees from our graves."

Wild stiffened at that, and he noticed his spirit friends do the same. Suddenly, the group's talk of extra cash made sense in the worst way. "Twi?" He spoke slowly, doing his best to reign in his anger. He didn't want his Spirit Flames to come bursting out, after all. He waited until he had the rancher's attention. "You don't mean to tell me… that you rob the dead, right?" The edge in his voice had the group of heroes shifting with uncertainty.

"I mean, sometimes money gets tight." Twilight shrugged. "In Ordon, it's actually a tradition. People are buried with rupees so that when times get tough the future generations can have something to live off of."

Wild stared in a mixture of disbelief and disappointment. Everyone looked guilty. "Have… have you all done this?" He breathed when none of them met his gaze. "I can't believe you." His anger was starting to grow, and he noticed Mipha in particular looked just as furious. "If that's the tradition in your village, then fine. The dead have given you their permission before their time. But I highly doubt you've gotten permission from these people to rob their graves."

"Wild, calm down." Warriors reasoned. "It's just some headstones, it's not like they're using them at the moment anyways."

"That's not the point!" Wild snapped angrily. "There are some lines you shouldn't cross, and desecrating the dead is one of them!!"

"Says the guy who sets the whole damn forest on fire." Legend shot him a deadpanned look, but it quickly vanished when the Champion's anger landed upon him.

"A forest fire is very different than this! Have you ever once thought about how the spirits of these people would feel?! Maybe there's a damned reason why the Poes you loathe so much attack you on site! I would, too if you robbed my fucking grave." He took several deep breaths. It'd been a long time since he was this angry, but the entire situation had hit a nerve. Whether the tears running down his face were hurt, frustration or anger, he really didn't know, but Urbosa's warm hand on his shoulder was the only thing that was keeping him somewhat calm at the moment. "I can't tell you all how disappointed I am in you. And I hope that at least one of you has stayed away from something like this."

"Wild…" Sky quietly spoke up, but he didn't seem to know what to say. At the very least, Wind seemed to understand what Wild was getting at. Likely because the boy could see the dead, too.

"We're sorry." Time apologized at last. "I had no idea you felt so strongly about something like this, but we aren't here to rob any graves. We can obtain money other ways."

"Come on." Twilight's head was low and his voice was soft. It was obvious that he was beating himself up a bit after Wild's lashing, but the Champion really couldn't find it in himself to sympathize. He'd said nothing he hadn't meant, after all.

"Thanks, kid. I know you can't hear us, but thank you." The older spirit smiled softly at Wild. He let his gaze flicker towards the man for a brief moment, watching as the ghost's eyes widened in surprise before movement drew his attention yet again towards the heroes.

Wild clenched his jaw when Twilight approached a grave, but since the local spirits didn't seem put off by it, he kept his mouth shut. He carefully shoved the headstone back to show an old stone staircase. "It's down here." He sounded subdued as he spoke, and Wild ignored the small twinge of almost-guilt that wanted him to reach out and tell him it was okay. Because it wasn't okay. As a member of the dead, Wild had every right to be angry. After all, he was the only real voice of the spirits.

He paused when he felt a swirling of familiar magic. An almost bell-like ringing on the edge of his hearing was his only hint to what lay up ahead. As the group wandered down the dank damp underground path, Wild felt something in him relax. Tension left his body as they emerged into a larger chamber where a Fairy Fountain lit up the area. Hyrule in particular seemed to be quite relieved.

"Look." Twilight stated softly the moment he could get Wild alone. "I…" He paused, trying to find the words. "I'm sorry for angering you. You're right. I shouldn't've dug up the graves beyond Ordon. It may be a tradition there, but I suppose it isn't one here. I just never stopped to think about it, is all. But having traveled to other Hyrules, I know that cultures can differ even from just one area to the next."

Wild let out a deep breath. "I won't say it's okay, because it isn't. I'm not the one you should apologize to." He sent Twilight a significant look. "But you can start by returning what you stole. It's one thing if a spirit gives you something. But to go in and take it without permission is… It's actually a capital offense among my Zora, did you know?"

"Is it really?"

"The Zora honor the dead even above the goddesses." Wild explained, idly noting that the rest of the heroes were listening to the conversation as well. "And many of my good friends are counted among the fallen as well." He admitted softly. He'd avoided talking about his journey as much as he could because he didn't want to let anything slip. He'd explained only the bare basics about The Great Calamity, his amnesia, and that his journey took several years. He'd waved off his death and revival as recovering from an injury for a century under some Sheikah tech, and nobody'd bothered him with questions after he blatantly shut down Wind.

His admittance about the 'loss' of several good friends seemed to soothe any raw edges from the fight earlier. A light of understanding flashed in many of the heroes' eyes. "I just…" Wild continued softly. "I've picked up a lot of traits from many races across my land. And almost all the cultures, the dead are just something you don't mess with. Gravestones, markers, even the trees around the Sheikah settlements. The only free game are the weapons, and that's only because we needed them to survive, but we don't go digging up graves for them."

"I suppose there's a lot of differences between us." Hyrule hummed. "Nobody really cares about graves in my Hyrule. Partially because so many people are gone and those left behind are desperate."

"I always ask permission." Wind nodded firmly. "Most of the time, they say I can have whatever I need."

"Wait, you can talk to ghosts?" Warriors stared at Wind for a moment.

"It's from one of my journeys." The boy waved him off with a proud smile, as if he'd been waiting to say the phrase. Wild internally snorted in amusement. Knowing Wind, he was just excited to be able to parrot something he'd heard Time say once or twice. That kid really looked up to the Old Man.

"Look." Wild ran a hand through his hair. "What's done is done. All I ask is that you please don't do it again. And if you must, then don't let me know. Because if I find out you've done something like that while I'm traveling with you, I'll boycott the cooking pot for a week." His threat made several heroes shudder. "That aside, I'm going to go ahead and start on lunch."

If their sandwiches were a tad spicier than the group preferred, then nobody dared complain.

[awkwardspontaneity]

Until The Battle Is Won

BOTW Link x GN!Sheikah!Reader

Final part of Memories of You!

Previous

AN: Hey everyone!! This is the final chapter of this story. I wanna thank everyone for sticking around with my lousy update schedule ':). Anyways, I've loved writing this story and I'm kind of sad to see it end but also I love this ending so much- even though it hurts. So grab some water, maybe a snack, some tissues, and strap in. This is long and pretty sad.

TW: gore, reader death, descriptive injuries

Summary:  The final battle is here. Hyrule is in ruins as Ganon tears through every defense they had and now, the final champions must protect their Princess in the race to deliver them to their destinies.

It was dark.

Link was running through the forest, another hand in his as Y/n led the way. Their white hair was a beacon amongst the trees as he surged to keep up with their gazelle-like pace. He was focused on keeping up with the Sheikah warrior when he felt the hand slip from his. Link skidded to a stop, shouting for Y/n over the pouring rain. He knelt in front of Zelda, watching as she dug her fists into the mud beneath her. “How did it come to this? The Divine Beasts. The Guardians. They’ve all turned against us. It was... Calamity Ganon.”

Y/n had made their way back to the pair, carefully falling to their knees beside Link. He felt their hand curl around his, sensing the turmoil in him. It was all falling apart around them. They had worked so hard, faced so many trials, and made so many friends. And it was all for nothing. The fight was stacked against them, so much so that even Link was feeling the knot in his chest. They all felt helpless.

“Mipha, Urbosa, Revali, and Daruk…trapped inside those things...” the princess let out a heart-wrenching sob. “It’s all my fault!”

As Zelda cried into her hands, Y/n reached out to pull them back down, carefully pulling away the strands curled into her fists. When watery green eyes met red, the young Sheikah gave a pained smile. They linked hands with the princess and the knight, giving them both a firm squeeze. “I know it feels like we’ve already lost, like everything we’ve done has been for nothing. But we can’t think like that. We have the power of the master sword and the sealing light of the Goddess. As long as we hold our heads high and give this fight everything we have, Hyrule will survive this.”

“But I can’t use the sealing power!” Zelda pulled her hands away, fisting them in her dress to stop the shaking. Maybe if she weren’t such a failure, Hyrule wouldn’t be in danger. Her friends wouldn’t have to give their lives to face that monster. Why couldn't she do this one thing right! “I’ve tried everything and still I keep failing. Because of me they’ll die fighting the very beasts they were meant to pilot!”

“None of us can save them!” Y/n was looking down at the ground and, even through the rain, they could feel the tears sliding down their cheeks. “We can’t go back from where we are. We don’t have the time or the ability to save them from those beasts. So we must move forward. If we give up now… everything we went through…everything they are going through... it will be for nothing. And Hyrule will fall.”

Zelda surged forward, collapsing in her friend's arms. She clung to both as a sob tore from her throat. None of them could be strong. Not strong enough. Pressing his hand against Zelda’s back, Link reached out and placed a hand on Y/n’s arm. His voice was gruff, the stress and pain of what they were about to do- what they had already done, was too much for any person to bear. “All that we can do is keep fighting for their sake. We have to keep moving or we lose. We can win. We have to.”

He met Y/n’s eyes and they gave him a soft smile. They pressed their hand against his back and the princesses shoulder drawing both pairs of eyes to them. “No matter what happens, our friends will be by our side. Their wills become ours. And when you face down Ganon, you won’t be doing it alone. You’ll have the love and support of all your friends. All of Hyrule. So save your tears until the battle is won.”

Zelda sniffled, bringing a hand up to wipe at her cheek- not that it did much help with how muddy they had gotten from being on the ground. She wanted so badly to give into the crushing weight of everything that had happened. Just this morning she had held hope within her as she climbed mount Lanayru and now… she had lost everyone she loved. Her kingdom had fallen along with her father. All she had left sat here before her. Gazing at her with matching weight on their shoulders. They too felt the chains of destiny closing in around them. But they stood tall. These two bore the weight of the world without complaint and now, they placed their belief in her. The failure of a princess would not fail again. She refused to fail her friends. “Then we have no choice. We have to fight for them… and for each other.”

Y/n smiled at the princess, carefully pulling the trio together so their heads touched. “When this is over we can do as many crazy experiments as you want.”

Laughter bubbled up amongst the trio, smiles breaking through the tough exteriors they had adopted the closer Calamity had gotten. Each of them had suffered at the hands of destiny, and now they would face what could be their final battle.

Y/n choked back a sob as they thought of the sacrifices that had brought them to this point. The sacrifices they would need to make to save Hyrule. All they wanted was for their friends to be able to look over their homes with smiles. For the weights to finally be lifted from their shoulders and allow them to live their lives without the looming threats of their destinies. They knew the knight and the princess could never go forward after all that had happened since Calamity broke through but, if there was something they could do to protect those they had left, Y/n would do whatever it took.

Link watched his friends with a tightness in his chest. They were ready to face Calamity Ganon. He would protect them in the final battle and, when the time came, they would finally be free of the weight of Hyrule. He stood up, reaching a hand to the princess to pull her to her feet. Y/n placed their hand on his cheek, wiping with their thumb as he watched them. They gave a smile and he knew. They had confidence in him. He never viewed himself as a hero, no matter how many times his partner had called him one. But when Y/n looked at him it was like that pressure lifted. Like he really could defeat Ganon. And he would. No matter how long the fight lasted. To finally be able to spend his days doing what he wanted with the person he loved. To be free.

The trio took off again, heading towards the castle. Y/n stuck close this time so they could discuss battle plans with Link. They knew the most Guardians were in the fields near the castle so they would need to find a way past them. They couldn’t release the Guardians from the corruption so they would have to destroy them if they were spotted. The question was if they could destroy that many.

Y/n was starting to wish they had Robbie's anti-Guardian weaponry, even if they weren’t perfected.

------

The answer was no. They could not defeat the Guardians.

They had barely made it halfway through the fields before they were spotted. Once one Guardian had seen them, the rest followed. They were surrounded in seconds and, no matter how many Link and Y/n took down, it seemed like 5 more took their places. They were more than outnumbered. They were losing hope fast.

Y/n shot three bomb arrows into Guardians eyes, barely dodging blasts from two others. As the Guardians collapsed to the ground more followed. Mechanical limbs crushing their brethren to the ground with a deadly screech. They only cared to destroy the champions that stood below them. And it was starting to feel like they would.

Another blast echoed in Y/n’s ears and they felt the burn of the laser against their cheek. Too close! They knocked an arrow when the screech of metal sounded behind them. They barely managed to roll out of the way of a destroyed Guardian collapsing to the ground where they stood. They barely came up from the ground when they were knocked back down again.

“AHHH!”

Y/n could barely hear their scream over the shrieks of metal and the ringing in their ears. Flames crackled around them but the heat was nothing compared to the agony in their shoulder. They had been hit. Their skin still burned like thousands of needles pricking their way across their chest. They could feel nothing and everything at once. Like every nerve in their body was exposed and on fire. They couldn't focus, flames and metal blurring into one. It was over, wasn't it?

“-n… Y/n… Y/N!” Y/n felt the arms around them, a sob tearing through their throat as a hand brushed against the wound. Red eyes finally focused in on teary green orbs. It was only when their vision blurred did they realize tears were falling. The princess was crying too, shouting over the noise as the young Sheikah lay limp in her arms. Her hands slipped on the blood surrounding their shoulder and Y/n shot up with a silent gasp of agony.

“Y/N! You’re okay!”

Y/n stared at the princess in front of them. “Where’s Link?”

Zelda pointed to the center of the battle where the champion fought. Y/n shot to their feet, ignoring the pain that tore through them. They drew back their bowstring. “Whistle so he comes this way princess.”

She whistled as loud as she could and Link spun to the duo. His eyes widened as an arrow streaked past him and he took off. The champion slid behind the pile of fallen Guardians as the bomb arrow exploded. Dust and flames shot into the air creating a cloud over the battlefield.

Y/n ducked under the fallen Guardian with the others, heavy breaths escaping them all. It was only a moment. A single breath of time to plan their next move.

Link was the first to move, lunging forward to inspect his partner. He had seen them fall. Seen the princess holding them in her arms. And he had thought that was it. But here Y/n sat. Injured, but alive. And that was what mattered. That they were alive. He brushed hair away from their face with a shaky smile- honestly more of a grimace. He couldn’t find the words to explain his relief. How much he needed them and that he was happy they were okay, so he stuck with simple. “I love you.”

Y/n smiled back. They always knew what he meant, like they could read every thought in his head. They had felt it too. That moment of fear that they would never see each other again. But they were still here, giving him that goofy grin he loved so much. Despite their pain, Y/n was a rock- solid and unmovable. And they gave him hope. Y/n could smile at him and he could fight until his last breath. “I love you too.”

They sat in each other's arms, taking in the moment they had together. What could be their last moment with each other. Because Y/n had a plan.

“You have to go ahead without me.”

Y/n watched their friend’s faces morph to shock, then anger. Y/n knew they would fight the idea, but they had no choice. Even as their friends protested the idea, the Sheikah held up a hand. “If you and Zelda are to make it to the castle you need a clear path.”

“You can’t take on the Guardians alone!”

“It’s the only choice.”

“You said we fight together.” Y/n met Link’s eyes and they almost broke at the agony in them. They had never seen so much painted across his visage, the boy keeping a stoic face for the sake of his role. But here they were. There weren't enough words to describe the pain they both felt, physically and mentally. They were fighting on the losing side, and now they could lose each other? It was hard to see a point in the fight with so little left.

“Leaving you is my last choice… but I need you- both of you- to survive.”

“And what about you!?”

“I’M NOT THE CHOSEN ONE!” Y/n finally allowed the tears to fall. They didn’t matter. What mattered was guiding the chosen pair to Ganon. As long as Link and Zelda survived, they had completed their duty. Their life never mattered. It didn’t hold the same weight. Choking back their sobbing, Y/n tried to smile. They had their happy moments. Made friends. Fell in love. And now they had to fulfill their destiny. No matter how much it hurt. “Right now our destinies have to part ways… and I don’t know how long we’ll be apart. So I need you to keep fighting, even when I’m not beside you. Because together I know you can beat Ganon.”

“We shouldn’t have to leave you.” Tears were swimming in his cerulean eyes. The only thing that kept Link from crying was the promise he made. He wouldn’t cry until the battle was over. “I can’t lose you. You are my life… and I can’t live without you.”

“You can.” Y/n reached out, caressing his face in their hands. “You will… because I love you. I love you in this life, and the next, and every one that follows. I will stand by you until there isn’t a reason to fight and even then, I’ll stay with you. I. Love. You.”

Link surged forwards, pressing his lips against theirs. It was desperate. He needed to convey everything he felt in the few moments left. That they would stand together no matter what time they were in. They could be ripped apart or thrown through time, or even lose all their memories and they would still share this bond. As long as destiny brought them together, they would connect like perfect halves. They completed each other.

Link was the first to pull away, hands running through Y/n’s hair and over their face. It was like he was trying to memorize every detail about them. Like if he focused he could commit Y/n to memory. He needed to be able to find them again, even if it was only within his own thoughts.

“You need to go.” Y/n broke the trance, whispering the words neither of them wanted to hear.

They had to part ways.

Link pressed a final kiss to Y/n’s forehead before he stood up. Zelda lunged forward to hug the Sheikah, sobs escaping her. She squeezed so tightly Y/n had to bite their tongue to keep the whimper at bay as pain shot through their injuries. They would bare the pain for this moment with their friend. Pulling Zelda close to their form, Y/n whispered encouragement and thanks for their time together.

When Zelda pulled away, she wiped her tears before giving a grin. She may not hold the same belief in herself that the others did, but she would do what she could. She would hold onto the strength of her friends and use it as her weapon. Everyone had protected her for a reason. She would show them it was not in vain.

With their final goodbyes Link and Zelda took off, weaving through the corpses of Guardians. Y/n waited until they had reached the open fields before stepping out from their hiding spot and whistling. Mechanics whirred to life around them as Guardians rose to defense. Y/n drew back their arrows, white hot pain flaring as their shoulder stretched. This would be their final stand. They would give it their all, here and now, so their friends could go on.

The next few moments were a blur of exploding arrows, machines being crushed, and the blasts of lasers. Y/n couldn't keep track of how many times they had pulled back the string of their bow, loosing arrow after arrow in order to keep the masses of mechanical beasts focused on their being. They reached for their quiver once more, red eyes focused on the glowing eyes of the Guardians targeting them, only to come up empty. There were no arrows left.

There was no more hiding. All the Sheikah had left were the dual blades strapped to their side and the hope their speed would be fast enough to survive.

Y/n pulled out their blades, taking off towards the closest Guardian. They jumped up the front, thrusting their blade into its eye before flipping onto the next. The process of picking off Guardians continued as the Champion flipped and twisted their way through the masses of mechanical monsters.

Flipping off the top of a Guardian, the Sheikah noticed Guardians getting away from them. They had noticed the others! Y/n ran towards where their friends were and, in their panic, missed the giant arm heading their way.

CRUNCH

With a strangled cry, the Sheikah champion hit the ground. They tried to stand, curling in on themselves as they hit the ground again with a sob. There were too many. Y/n was exhausted. Everything hurt. So. Much.

Letting out a cough, Y/n felt a warm liquid trickle down their face. They could hear the Guardian closing in on them. The rest seemed to have lost interest when the champion fell, allowing this one to make sure it was for the last time. Propping themselves up, Y/n could see the red target on their chest. Mustering all the strength left in their body, they launched their sword at the Guardian. It struck the eye and, twitching in its failure, the beast fell. Unfortunately, this drew the rest of the Guardians back to the young Sheikah on the ground. Y/n fell back to the ground.

Thump.

Guardians picked their way over mounds of mechanical parts.

Thump.

Y/n closed their eyes.

Thump.

At least it didn’t hurt anymore.

BOOM!

Golden light erupted across the fields of Hyrule, extinguishing the flames and sucking the light from the Guardians deadly eyes.

It was warm.

Y/n smiled. Zelda had done it. She wasn’t a failure. She had unlocked her sealing powers and finally, Ganon would know defeat once more.

Y/n watched the clouds clear from the sky, stars beginning to light up the night. They supposed Ganon had pulled back from the golden aura. Maybe one day they could lay under the stars with Link. Swallowing the metallic taste of their blood the fallen warrior reached a hand up. They basked in the light of the stars twinkling above. It was like they were waving the champion up to their sides. As Y/n’s light faded, the stars grew brighter, blurring together into one light.

And with a soft breath, the Sheikah Champion allowed themselves to rest at last.

------

100 years later Link stood there watching over the fields of Hyrule. Calamity Ganon had finally been defeated. Zelda was safe as was Hyrule. The duo had made their way down from the wreckage of the castle, ready to begin their new adventure. They were free of their destiny, but the memories would follow with them forever. The Hylian Champion felt a tug and he spun back to face the castle. There above floated the spirits of his fellow Champions. Finally free from the corruption of Ganon and his malice beasts. But what stole the breath from his lungs was the spirit of the one he loved- Y/n- floating there with a grin on their face. Noticing him watching, they sent him a goofy wave, knocking their spectral arm against Revali. Link let out a snort. They never changed. Their lights began to dim as the Champions began to walk away leaving him to watch their final goodbyes. He smiled softly as he saw Y/n mouth ‘I love you’, a hand pressing against their heart, something he was quick to respond to. With one last wave, the Sheikah Champion faded away. And as Link watched the spirits of his friends- his love- fade into light, he let a tear fall quickly followed by more.

The battle was won.

[powdermelonkeg]

Hyrule Brochure: A Potential for BotW’s Future

Hyrule’s map in BotW is pretty sparse as far as cities go. Yes, it’s got more than any other Zelda game, but it also has like, 90% of its map being pure dead space.

So I decided to play around and make what I imagine Hyrule would look like, as far as cities go, if it were allowed to properly rebuild and not get totally wrecked by Ganon again.

Credit to Eragon2589 on DeviantArt for the free-to-use map icons. I love these little buttons so much.

So, these are the canon towns we get in BotW; Hateno, Lurelin, Tarrey, Zora’s Domain, Goron City, Korok Forest, Rito Village, Yiga Hideout, and Gerudo Town. I’m counting Yiga Hideout as a town because if the Yiga were a little nicer, it WOULD be marked one.

Adding the various stables on makes the place look MUCH less empty, but still; what can we do with this?

Well, I’ve spent the last several days locating all the significant ruins and landmarks, with one or two extra things thrown in, that I think would make this place much more populated.

Maps are free to use if you want them, btw. Have fun!

As a general rule of thumb, I want to make the towers and stables their own cities. The towers are a good landmark and beacon of safety, and the stables have all the building blocks to start building up a village.

If I’m particularly inspired, I’ll give some background on what the town is/does!

Starting off with the Rito! Their village has grown into a town, and the stable at its foothill is its own village now. I called it “fledgeling” because that’s where the Rito and Hylians would intermingle most, so the Rito aren’t exactly flying around here.

Beacon City is built around Tabantha Tower; the Rito have turned it into a sort of lighthouse, reflecting light off into the distance to help guide nighttime fliers home. Because of this, it’s a very popular stop for mail carriers, and where they go, development and cultural mixing follows.

Kaysa Town is built around Great Fairy Kaysa’s fountain; it’s a popular tourist attraction, and she gets plenty of offerings, so win-win!

For the Gorons, we’ve only got two more cities: Silversmith Village and Din’s Spire. Silversmith is built around the culture in the southern mines, and it has down-the-road access to the Goron Hot Springs. Din’s Spire is less of a town and more of a landmark, due to the sheer cliffs all around it, but the huge (and notably not in the burning death zone) hot spring lake makes it a popular rest stop for people on their way through.

I decided not to rebuild the northern mines; they’re pretty busted up and lava soaked, so my assumption is that they were abandoned either due to hazards or due to the ore being stripped out.

Korok Forest wouldn’t change much, besides the Royal Family declaring it a protected area. The Koroks don’t seem to have much interest in expansion, and they, as far as I know, don’t live in houses.

Gerudo Territory is MUCH more expansive than the others so far, and with good reason.

Gerudo Town itself is now Gerudo City, and the Kara Kara Bazaar has grown into a town. Canyon Stable has developed a village (mostly full of Gerudo husbands so they don’t have to travel a million miles just to see their families).

The Gerudo have control of one of the towers in their region, and the town built around it is Overlook Town. It mostly serves as a training grounds for young Gerudo warriors.

The City of the Seven developed when the Seven Heroine statues were recovered and restored; the town around them was built to honor them, and then it got a LOT of foot traffic from those wanting to see the legendary statues.

Tera Town rose up much in the same way Kaysa Town did up in Rito territory, centered around the Great Fairy Fountain.

Mesa Village and West Gerudo Town are both smaller Gerudo settlements; West Gerudo sprung up out of access to snowmelt from the Gerudo Highlands, and Mesa Village, because of its relative safety from Molduga and access to oasis water.

Finally, Gerudo Valley, in reference to Ocarina of Time. This town is a Gerudo-only zone, and is more a fortress than a town. It exists both to keep an eye on the Yiga and to gain control of the mountain pass, making people go through Canyon Village to get to Gerudo instead of avoiding Gerudo customs.

Speaking of the Yiga, they’ve taken two new spots for themselves; Gerudo Tower, which they’ve renamed Kohga Tower in honor of their late Master, and Banana Labyrinth, which serves as their highest security area. Imagine if you’d had to go through the LABYRINTH to get the Thunder Helm back.

Up next we’ve got the Zora. Truthfully, their territory spans as long as Zora river and WELL into the ocean, but these are the only cities that, technically, a Hylian with adequate gear can enter.

Mipha’s Landing is an above-water city built expressly for doing trade. It got its name from the late Mipha; since the tower reaches up into the sky, it was hoped that someday, her spirit would sit atop it for a rest and see all that her people had been able to do thanks to her sacrifice.

Lakebed Village is in Lake Hylia, and it’s actually a slowly-repopulating Lakebed Temple, from Twilight Princess. Meanwhile, Great Bay City is a port town above water and an aquatic metropolis below, full of music and dance and exotic wares.

And finally, Hylians.

Hoo boy.

I’ve split this up region by region but

THIS is how many living spots they’ve got.

Silver stars indicate military towns. Red stars indicate military outposts.

I USE THE TERM MILITARY VERY LOOSELY HERE. Hyrule, since it doesn’t interact with its neighbors, only has the Yiga and the various monsters to fight against. Anything labeled “military” means that it’s staffed by royal employ, meaning knights and Sheikah and the like.

Let’s start with Akkala. The northeast labyrinth has been converted into an emergency bunker, in case Calamity strikes and people need a safe place to hide. Not only is it difficult to break into, it also has a completely empty lower level that’s PERFECT for long-term seige.

City Tempest got its name for being near-constantly wracked by storms. Despite this, though, it remains a popular vacation spot for people who don’t mind a little rain; the Skull Lake and the giant flowers are worth it.

Valley Town rose up out of both East Akkala Stable and Robbie’s workshop. It doesn’t get too much foot traffic, but it doesn’t really need to.

Midna Village, I built where the ruins of Shadow Hamlet are. I figured it was a fitting name, and the area is almost constantly covered in the shadow of Death Mountain.

Four Brothers’ Base is a knight outpost that’s up extremely high, spanning huge bridges between the four Tingle isles.

Then Parapa Palace, in reference to Zelda II: Adventure of Link, was built in place of the Akkala Citadel and functions as a mini Hyrule Castle + Castle Town. In real life, monarchs would have several palaces to go between, kind of like how well-off people nowadays would have a summer home. So, I followed that trend! This is Zel’s summer palace.

And you guys know what Tarrey Town is. Although interestingly, as it expands, it goes vertical into the stone column it was built on.

Onto Central Hyrule.

Camp Rauru is training camp and lodging for new knights. Rebonae Village and Kasuto City were made out of the Wetland and Riverside stables respectively, though Kasuto (also an Adventure of Link reference) gets substantially more foot traffic due to being on the way from Castle Town to Dueling Peaks.

Outset Town got its name, lore-wise, from the fact that it’s the first bit of land Link from BotW visited after leaving the Great Plateau, and meta-wise, because it’s the starting point for Wind Waker Link.

Aquame City surrounds the Coliseum, which is how it grew to be so popular. The grand stage holds sparring matches and various other shows regularly, and it’s a pleasant boat trip from Castle Town to get there.

Saria Town was built out of the old exchange ruins, and it’s in walking distance of the ruined Sage Temple—which, at this point in time, would have been rebuilt—and its existence is both an AoL reference and an OoT one (but mostly AoL, I’ve kind of fallen in love with its map).

New Mabe is where you can find the new Lon Lon Ranch! The ruins there are actually called the Mabe Town Ruins in game, and they’re right by the Ranch Ruins!

Eldin’s pretty sparse as far as Hylian towns go. It’s got Gut Check Camp, where Sheikah train for endurance and elemental resistance, and Windfall Town, a place that sees a LOT of gemstones pass through, freshly mined. That includes rupee ore, mind you!

Faron Province is a little more spaced out, due to the nature of the region. Lurelin’s grown since BotW, becoming a trading bay; meanwhile Cora Lake’s Sheikah Tower has expanded into Parache Town, and the Highland Stable has become Malanya Village. Both of those locations are VERY fond of horses, and they’re a bit competitive, especially during archery season.

Ordona Hamlet is a tiny village tucked away into the middle of Faron. It came about due to the Lakeside Stable, and it’s named that because I am STILL salty that the Zeldevs didn’t put an Ordon Village reference in the game.

Eventide Outpost is more of a testing ground for boats than anything particularly significant, population-wise. The even tides that gave the isle its name make it an ideal location to work out the kinks in new watercraft (and occasionally, the lieutenant in charge of that base demonstrates how to launch a raft into the sky with octo balloons).

Hebra’s the most militarized area of Hyrule, and ideally, it functions as a reserve of men and tech in case Calamity rises again. If there’s anything that BotW’s era learned, it’s to never underprepare for Gann’s return.

Fort Lomei is a converted base, just like the Banana Labyrinth is to the Yiga. This one, though, is patrolled diligently by knights who use daily-changing codes, and it’s impossible to navigate without the locals’ help.

Fort Pikida is situated in that weird stone cavern-y area, and it’s a supply stach and Hebran monster patrol site. It’s the soldiers there’s job to make sure that the Lynels that like to roam the region don’t get too close to residential areas.

Hia Miu Outpost is a training spot for knights sent to the Hebra region; any new soldier to the area has to prove they can handle themselves by going into the Hia Miu shrine and taking on the Major Test of Strength Trial. (Fun fact, did you know that the X-test-of-strength trials reset themselves every blood moon?)

Snowpeak Fortress exists both because it makes a fantastic secondary base for the Hyrulean royals to plan, and because i am once again salty about the lack of Twilight Princess in this game.

Sturnida Resort is built around hot springs! It’s a nice spot for people living around Rito Town and Fledgling Village to take a vacation without having to trek all the way across the country to do it.

Snowfield City came from Snowfield Stable, and it’s the Windfall of Hebra; it sees a LOT of people coming in and out of the region, and the view of the northern lights you can get from there? You’d be hard-pressed to find a Hylian that didn’t have it on their bucket list.

New Tabantha was built on the ruined spot of the original Tabantha Village; you can visit there in-game! It’s a quiet town that raises highland sheep for a living, and its team won the Hebran Triathlon three whole years in a row.

Then, the Tanagar Restricted Zone. If you’ve ever been there, you know EXACTLY why it’s restricted.

Most of the Guardians inside have been dealt with, but the ruined temple remains a hazard testing ground for new tech. It’s off limits to everyone but those with the HIGHEST clearance; I’m talking a direct letter from Zelda herself.

The Thyphlo Secret Camp is exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a place for Hyrulean lieutenants to meet for top-secret missions, and it’s one of those places that you need to be SERIOUSLY high rank to even KNOW about.

Over on the edge of Lanayru, we’ve got New Goponga, built where the old Goponga ruins are, and the Crenel Garrison. The Garrison was built to take care of the Lizalfos problems in the waterways, keeping it safe for Hylians and Zora travelers alike. Goponga, on the other hand, is what Lurelin was in game; nice, friendly, and centered around fishery.

In Necluda, we’ve got New Deya where old Deya was ruined (I think BotW Link was born in old Deya!), Watchtower Village built around the lakeside of the Dueling Peaks tower, and then Dueling Peaks City, a HUGE trade hub that was once the Dueling Peaks stable.

Kakariko Village is now a Town, Hateno has grown into a full blown trade harbor, and a tiny village has started to form around the Hateno Tower, making Firly Overlook.

But what I most love is the City of Hylanay.

Back in the game, it was the ruins of the Lanayru Promenade. So I had the promenade rebuilt, then people moved in around it, and now, Hylanay’s basically Hyrulean Venice! I want to visit it.

On the Great Plateau, we’ve got Aboda Town, named after Spirit Tracks’ Aboda Village in reference to the starting point in each game. This Town has access to the original Temple of Time, but because of the nature of the isolated plateau, it doesn’t see a lot of new faces often.

Over around Thundra, we’ve got Tanagar Village overlooking the canyon, built out of the old Tabantha Stable. The village actually builds downwards into the canyon; people have windows carved right out of the cliff face!

Thundra Village is built into the rocky slopes surrounding Thundra Plateau and the Ridgeland Tower. Their houses are built in the shelter of the giant mushroom things that grow so well in the area, and they’re famous for their signature dish of escargot.

The Serenne Exchange is up north, encompassing both the old Serenne Stable and the Maritta exchange ruins. You can buy practically ANYTHING there; if ever there was a supermarket in Hyrule, it would be right there.

The Royal Lab was rebuilt out of its ruins post Calamity, and it’s directed by Purah, who still hasn’t cured her immortality yet. It’s not uncommon to hear explosions as you pass by that place.

And then Camp Rutile is a small observational outpost, meant to keep track of the activity on Satori Mountain. Supposedly, the mountain’s health reflects the state of the rest of the kingdom, so the researchers assigned there are tasked with monitoring it EXTREMELY closely.

And Hyrule Castle. It’s Hyrule Castle.

Now completely bolted into the ground! :D

If we put all these locations together, we get a very nice, very well populated Hyrule, with LOTS to see. This is how I would design the future of BotW’s Hyrule.

Thanks for reading!