#we got one with link loz a while ago

[incorrect-hs-quotes]

what up chat i am going through the inbox and i would like to make a humble request

when submitting quotes to incorrect homestuck quotes please. um. apply them to homestuck characters

hiveswap characters are fine (though we have also pointed people in the direction of hiveswap-specific quote blogs in the past) but like. jailbreak, bardquest, problem sleuth, psycholonials etc we dont really do cause to be frank most of us just arent as familiar with them. this also goes for quotes with ocs and trollsonas / kidsonas cause uh. We Dont Know Who This Is

please just keep that in mind when rollin up to submit something ok thx stay sillay

-mod dave

[selfless-lovers]

This one is for my youngest, who has wanted a Zelda starring Zelda since age 4. Some amazing people made a mod of the original nintendo game that swapped the Link sprite with Zelda. They would sit in my lap while I played it. The fixation was so strong that they learned to read using my DS copy of Ocarina of Time.

Ten years ago, we decided to make our own. The Legend, starring Princess Endy (aka Little Zelda, aka Lil Z), can still be found on YouTube. And we've made a couple of books since then too.

The love for this series has never diminished. My youngest is a teenager now, and working on worldbuilding for their own Zelda comic/zine. If I'm very lucky, there will be more LoZ content coming from the Legend themself! (If they want to share, anyway. I'm got gonna push.)

Happy Zelda Day, everybody 💜

[roy-dcm2]

All of the Ganons in the Canon

I am once again warning people that if you haven't played Tears of the Kingdom, I'm going to be Spoiling a few key details. Please turn back now.

The biggest revelation, in my opinion, has to be the fact that there are actual multiple versions of Ganon / Ganondorf in the Time Line of Legend of Zelda. We were approaching the Zelda Universe under the assumption that Ganon was always the same person, but "Demon King Ganon" that attacked the first King of Hyrule in TotK is clearly a different person from "Great King of Evil" Ganondorf from OoT.

I think we need to reconsider all the Ganons as completely different people.

"GANNON" the Prince of Darkness (Zelda 1)

Very little is known about this version of Ganon. He leads an army of monsters, he stole the Triforce of Power, tried to take over the world, and captured Princess Zelda. He was DESTROYED at the end of Zelda 1, and there is a threat of his resurrection in Zelda 2.

[Special note - the original LoZ novel says Ganon was a demon king revived from a thousand years ago. Ganon's cycle of rebirth was there from the beginning.]

"Mandrag Ganon" (A Link to the Past)

The second version of Ganon was called "Mandrag Ganon" by the U.S. instruction booklet. This version started out as a human leader of a band of thieves. It is hard to tell what exactly happened to him... did he automatically become a pig-demon when he entered the Golden Land, or did he transform into that after finding the Triforce. In the end he was obliterated by Link and the Silver Arrows.

Ganondorf, the Great King of Evil (Ocarina of Time)

The most famous version of Ganon. As the only male Gerudo born to the predominantly female tribe, he was made a leader. He performed several acts of terrorism, usurped power, and was defeated by Link and the Seven Sages. He had two endings, one where he was sealed inside the Sacred Realm, and another timeline where he either was executed, banished, or he got away.

"Mindless Beast" Ganon (The Oracle Series)

Ganon makes a brief appearance at the end of the Oracle games. He was resurrected incorrectly by Twinrova, so he came back with only the urge to destroy. He was once again killed by Link.

Ganondorf, the Master of the Forsaken Fortress (The Wind Waker)

While Ganon from OoT might be the same person as WW Ganon, they could be different people considering how different their faces are. WW Ganon has a flat nose, while OoT Ganon has a pointed nose like many Gerudo. WW Ganon is likely a Gerudo since he mentions living in the desert with a group of his own people. This might be the most sympathetic version of Ganondorf in all of the games. Unfortunately for him, he dies at the end of Wind Waker.

Ganon, King of Darkness (The Four Swords Adventure)

One often neglected version of Ganon is his appearance in TFSA. This version also began as a male Gerudo that was transformed by the Trident of Power, and the local monsters worship him. He was sealed inside the Four Sword at the end of the game.

"Dark Lord" Ganondorf (Twilight Princess)

The next most prominent appearance of Ganon was his role in Twilight Princess. He started off as a desert thief, and powerful sorcerer. He tried to invade Hyrule, but was caught and banished to the Twilight Realm. He returned many years later, leading an invasion from the Twilight Realm, but was killed by Link at the end of the game.

"Demon King" Ganon (A Link Between Worlds)

The Ganon that appears in ALBW is suspiciously similar to the one that appears in ALttP, but the previous version was destroyed by Link. This version says he had been sealed away, so it couldn't be the same one. In the end, the new Link destroyed his new Ganon again.

"Demon King" Ganon (Tears of the Kingdom)

The newest incarnation of the curse of Demise and probably the earliest in the timeline. He is also a Gerudo chief that rebelled against the first King of Hyrule. He killed Queen Sonia, was sealed for 10,000 years, and he was ultimately killed by Link and Zelda at the end of the newest game.

[shade-pup-cub]

Febuwhump 2024, Day 20: Wars & Legend (Time, Sky, Hyrule &Malon) - Truth Serum

Fandom: LOZ/Linked Universe

Summary: "What you don't know won't kill you" and "The truth will set you free" were now phrases Warriors wanted to never hear again, since what he didn't know was the reason for Legend dying and the truth was only the truth that he knew.

CW: Blood, injury, fist fight, Major Language warning, talk of death

Notes: I have a whole HC for Legend's era when it comes to a prince being born. It is described in "A Deity's Son" Chapter 10 (or you can ask here if you want)

“What crawled up your ass causing you to hate royalty?” Warriors had never gotten the chance to actually get to know the Vet one on one and now it was forced since they had been separated through a portal leading into Legend’s era.

Legend didn’t miss a beat as they walked. “We have been silently walking since we walked out of the portal thirty minutes ago and this is how you start a conversation with me?”

“Figured since there isn’t anyone else here to holler ‘language’, why not talk bluntly and in a way that gets across to you better?”

“Flattered…” Legend kicked a stone as he looked up to the afternoon sun. “I don’t hate all royalty. Zelda is the one exception.”

Warriors took note of the distance placed between himself and his companion. “And the

knights?” That made Legend stop walking. Warriors stopped just ahead of him, turning back around. The glare that met him was a masked one.

“Why do you ask that?” There was a shake in his voice.

“It isn’t that hard to figure out. You keep the most distance from me, then Sky, Wild and Time. All of us have some kind of ranking.”

“Time is for a reason not related.” Giving Legend a look to continue, he did. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“What kind of bullshit is that?” Wars chuckled in equal parts amusement and annoyance, catching back up with the younger. “Can you at least try to explain so I can understand and attempt to be less of a threat to you mentally?”

When not given a response, Warriors lightly grabbed Legend’s shoulder. He wasn’t expecting the angry fear or for him to flinch away. “Don’t. Touch. Me.” he snapped through his clenched teeth.

Taken back, Warriors now saw all the trauma signs. “Legend, what did they do to you?”

“Oh don’t act like you care when we both know knights don’t. They care about the glory that comes with victory and the power that comes with being ranked above the commoners.” His eyes searched him, subtly looking past him. “Now there’s Captains with the title ‘Hero’.”

“What about us?” Warriors knew the comment was more towards himself, than Wild, but that didn’t change how this conversation's tone had changed.

Legend scoffed, “Queen’s pets, always following orders. I bet you wouldn’t hesitate to lock up a child and beat them if she told you to or kill a baby, all because it was a prince and not a princess.”

“What are you talking about?” Warriors was confused by the words coming from the hero in front of him. What had he seen or been though? What was this place that they had just walked into?

Legend continued on, not a care for how he spoke or about who. Though he had no filter, what he said was uncharacteristic for him and he himself wouldn’t tolerate it if it was said about Fable. “What is your reward, Cap? Is it the ladies? Oh wait, no, it is a specific lady. You bang your Zelda, don’t you?” There was a laugh, but nothing was funny.

“What did you just say?” Warriors took several steps forward, closing some of the gap between them. There was no way he heard him right.

“You denying that after a hard battle, your warrior Queen does take you back to her tent and allow you to hike up her dress and p-”

Warriors didn’t let him finish that horrific statement. He decked him square in the jaw, making him lose balance a bit while holding his face. “You watch your mouth!”

“Oh come now Cap, you wouldn’t be the only one of us doing so. After all, Wild did get the exciting news from Flora.”

Wars got in another swing to the face before tackling Legend, landing on top of him. “How dare you speak so vilely towards any of them!”

“We are just pawns in their game anyway! We are used and abused for their gain, why not get a proper thank you?!” He grabbed the golden locks that were Warriors and pulled him off, giving him several hits to the arms that were covering the war captain’s face.

Being the stronger of the two Warriors had no issue fighting off Legend, making it back to his feet. When he looked into the violet eyes, he saw rage and how this was all an act and he fell for it.

“You piece of shit.” The rage turned to fear, but Legend wasn’t looking at the Captain. Seeing his eyes flick to the side, Warriors turned around and was met with the hilt of a sword. Last thing he heard was Legend hollering for him to get up as a boot stomped his face.

There was a not so dull pain taking over Warriors head as he came to. He tried opening his eyes only to shut them once more due to the bright light coming from the hole in the roof. Moving his hands to touch his right cheek and temple was a task and one that he couldn’t manage and not only because of how much pain he was in, but due to the iron chains around his wrist.

“Wars? Can you hear me?”

Mouth feeling dry as if stuffed with cotton, Warriors swallowed thickly with the taste of blood. “Leg?” His voice was hoarse and straining. “W-what-”

“We got taken, but try to rest. You took a few good hits back there.” The usual snark wasn’t there.

Not listening to the advice, Warriors gave it hell to sit up, grunting and groaning the whole way up until he was sitting with his back to the wall. The memories of what had happened filtered in, making him look at his fellow hero. Legend was picking at the threads of his tunic. “Legend?”

“Hm?”

“Are we- gods that hurt- are we going to talk about what happened or more so what was said?” He felt around his nearly swollen shut eye.

Legend pulled his knees towards himself. “I would rather not.” There was the reluctant vulnerability again showing through as he tried to protect himself in some kind of way.

“You didn't mean it, did you?”

“No. I saw the knights coming after we started walking and knew that it would be better off for you if we were fighting. They would side with you rather than me, but if we were just allies, they would make it worse for you. Apparently it didn’t work out how I wanted it to.”

He hadn’t come up with that on the fly and Wars wanted to know the truth. “There was honesty to the first part, wasn't there, about the knights?”

Legend curled up on himself more, head tucking to the side so he couldn’t make eye contact.

“Vet, I need to know what we are up against with these men. Please, tell me what is really going on here.”

Legend began to open his mouth when the door swung open, denting the wall as it smacked it. A taller- and not so knightly looking- man walked into the room with three others. “Look who it is boys! Good ole traitor Link. The one who kidnapped the princess.”

Legend was visibly trying to seem unfazed by the few entering the room. The failure to hide the slightest tremble told Warriors that Legend had dealt with these men before. “Still going with that lie are we? The princess has already told everyone what happened and you can’t get it through your thick ass, dumb skull.”

“Did you just call me stupid, boy?” The lead man squatted down, grabbing Legend by the front of his tunic and pulled him closer. “Did you forget what I said I was gonna do to ya if I caught you?”

Legend coughed dramatically. “Suffocate me with your horrible breath that smells of rotten teeth?”

Warriors let out a small snort, clearing his throat when eyes landed on him.

“You think you are so funny, don’t ya? You think this is a game?” A blade was presented and pressed to Legend’s face. “I told you I would carve you up and deliver you to your sister, unrecognizable.”

Sister?

“Or better yet, I’ll just deliver your head to your poor old granny.”

“Don’t you fucking dare go near her!” Legend’s outburst only got him a laugh and the blade breaking skin.

The man took Legend by the chin. A new emotion swept over the Vet after the next words left the foul mouth of their captor. “Who says we haven’t paid her a visit yet?” Regret.

“You like games, Link, let’s play one. If you win, I’ll let you and your friend go so you can check up on her. If you lose, you die right here. Whatcha say?”

“What happens to him if I lose?” Legend was looking right at Warriors.

“He can watch your body decompose until he dies from starvation.”

When Legend sighed, eyes closing in defeat, Wars was in disbelief. “Don’t you even think about agreeing to this!”

The man stood with another gleeful laugh. “How naive of you to think that he has a choice, but don’t you worry. You are the main player in this wonderful game. See, we found this new potion and it has worked wonders.” He pulled a small vial with a clear liquid inside of it from his pouch. “It is called a Truth Serum and it does exactly what you think. No matter what I ask, you won’t be able to tell me anything, but the truth.”

Ordering the three knights to keep post outside, the larger man rounded back on Warriors. “I think you will be the one to drink it.”

“Like hell I will be.” Warriors desperately tried to move away, but he was already against the way and he was still exhausted and hurting.

In a grip that was unnaturally strong, Warriors jaw was squeezed at its hinge. The chain from his wrist to the floor was stepped on to keep his hands down from reaching up and causing issues. Warriors didn’t relent, only tightened his jaw muscles to keep his mouth closed. Knuckles collided with his cheek, throwing him off balance. He was hauled back up by his hair, jaw nearly dislocated as it was grabbed again. Warriors still stayed strong.

“Tough guy, huh? Let’s see how tough you really are.”

Slow steps were made back towards Legend who was now trying to scurry away. The knife from moments ago was back out, but Warriors couldn’t see what was going on since the man was large enough to block Legend from view completely.

“Hold still or you’ll be losing an eye.”

Legend’s legs squirmed at first, but he began to kick around as he let out a scream. Warriors got up to his knees, pain radiating through his skull. He pulled on his chains as hard as he could as Legend continued to scream. “Leave him alone!! I’ll drink it, just leave him be!!”

The man stood with the knife in his hand, bloodied. “You had your chance, this is the price.” Stepping away, he showed how his work. A rather large gash starting from the left side of Legend’s forehead crossed down over his left eye, the bridge of his nose, curved above then over his cheekbone, finishing up at his jawline.

Warriors yanked at his chains again, trying to break free. “You bastard! You fucking bastard!!”

“Me? You could have complied, then his face wouldn’t look like that.” The man pointed his knife back at Legend who looked like he could pass out at any minute. “Wanna try again?”

Even with Legend shaking his head no, Warriors agreed to drink the potion so Legend would be left alone. Accepting the vile and knocking it back, Wars prayed the others would find them soon and that the game would end in their favor.

“Whatcha name?”

“Link.”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-three.”

“Where are you from?”

“Castle Town.”

“Really? Yet I have never seen you before today. Are you from this Castle Town?”

‘So we are in Castle Town… Keep talking dumbass.’ “No.”

“Explain.”

“I’m from a different era, traveling through time and timelines hunting monsters that have been infected.”

“Are you a hero like this boy claims to be?”

“Yes, Hero of Warriors.”

“Of Warriors are ya? You a soldier?”

“A Captain appointed by the Queen.”

“How interesting. How many others are there traveling with you?”

“Nine of us total.” Warriors really wanted to shut up at this point, but his mouth was running on its own the second a question was asked. He didn’t have a choice.

“Nine? Anymore soldiers in this band of so-called heroes?”

“Two more, though all of us could be qualified due to the fights the Goddess has put us through.”

“You know what, I know what your life or death question is gonna be now.”

Warriors swallowed so thickly that he was sure the other two could hear him. “I win by telling the truth, right?”

“That’s right.” The man stood right beside Legend, knife too close to his face again. “Final question: Would you even cause harm to someone of royalty, no matter their rankings?”

“Wars don’t answer!!” Legend cried out, but Warriors couldn’t not answer or lie.

“Of course not.”

“Tisk, tisk… That’s a lie.”

Legend strained against his chains. “He doesn’t know! How is he supposed to tell the truth if he doesn’t know the truth?”

The man laughed a full belly laugh. “And whose fault was it for not telling him, hmm? Looks like today is your last day.”

Warriors was confused by both men's words. He didn’t lie, he physically couldn’t. What didn’t he know? “I told the truth. We won!”

“But you have caused harm to a royal.” He grabbed a fist full of Legend’s hair. “You just didn’t know he was one of them. You should tell him, since you won’t be able to soon.”

Legend focused his eyes, locking with Warriors. “M-my full name is Prince Link Eugine Lon-Hyrule. Zelda is my twin sister.” He then said quieter, “I’m so sorry Warrior- AHH!!”

The knife that carved into the fear filled face, was jabbed multiple times into the lower chest of Legend. After the first two times, he stopped all noises, shock taking over. His eyes were wide, mouth hanging open. Warriors knew Legend was bleeding, but it was blending in with his tunic too much to tell how badly.

“ NO!!” Warriors tried getting to his feet, still thrashing at his chain. He couldn’t get to full height, but he still fought in vain to get to the now slipped to the side Legend.

“Enjoy watching him rot.” The man said as he walked out the door, closing them in their single grave.

“Legend? Legend! I need you to put pressure on the wounds. Come one, I know you can do it. Come on, Vet, don’t give up on me now. You still have some explaining to do. I want to know more about the last name Lon. Legend, please, please… Someone get us OUT OF HERE!!”

Warriors watched the tears fall from Legends eyes, into the cut along his face. His hands were trembling as they were held loosely to his chest and he was in a curled up ball choking on blood. He looked so young, no older than sixteen. Warriors thought about it, he didn’t even know Legend’s age. For all he knew, the vet really could have been sixteen.

Wrist bleeding from the iron shackles digging in deep, Warriors still gave it his all to get free. He owed it to Legend. His own hot tears ran down his cheeks as he saw Legend’s breathing slow to nearly nothing. His eyes were vacant as they looked right at Warriors.

“Legend… please.” It was no more than a whisper.

“Wars?!”

“Legend?!”

Voices… Warriors heard voices.

“Link?!” That was a familiar voice, but there was no way she was here.

“Cap, Vet, where are you?!”

“In here… IN HERE! We are in here, hurry!!” Warriors picked up his fight to be free with the sounds of the others getting closer.

The door to the room was kicked in by Time, sky and Hyrule following. Behind them was a gray haired woman that looked and sounded much like Malon.

“Link!” The woman said as she landed with Hyrule by Legend’s side.

“Help him! Please help him!” Warriors was in his own state of shock now.

Time cupped both of Warriors cheeks, trying to calm him down. “Hey, Cap, he will be fine. Hyrule is going to take great care of him, but I need to know if you are injured.”

“N-no.”

“Okay, what happened.”

“T-they- We- i-I… I didn't know. I didn’t know and they made me drink tru-truth serum. I didn't know. This is my fault, ‘m sorry!” Warriors hysterics weren’t going to go away until after Legend was awake and responding.

Time broke the chains holding Warriors hands, letting him collapse into his chest. “You two are safe, but we need to get you to the ranch sooner rather than later.” He pressed a Red Potion to his lips, partly forcing it until Warriors realized what it was.

The haze of the hysteria cleared, allowing Warriors to see and hear clearly. He was helped to his feet, most of his weight supported by Time. His eyes could see Legend’s chest moving again and he let out a choked off sound when the violet eyes blinked.

[grimdarkfandango]

riley's rec list 2023

oo-er alliteration, ladidah

AIGHT SO hello so I saw a fic rec list yesterday and was like. damn son I love rec lists. and then I read a fic off it and went DAMN SON I LOVE REC LISTS so guess what y'all are getting for 2024. it's a fic rec list! congratulations release the crocodiles

these are in approximately no order whatsoever. not all of these came out in 2023, but some of them did, and I definitely read them with my eyeballs then.

I'm not bothering with a readmore you know how to scroll happy new year

One Hundred Years Past by tciddaemina | BOTW/LoZ | Ganondorf/Link | 39k + sequels Link wakes up a hundred years early. It changes everything.

y'all I only read this two days ago and I am Ob Sessed. what if Ganondorf picked Link up like a feral stray in the desert. What if he dodged calamity with the power of dick and this twink he found. What if the second story in the series was designed in a lab to make me feral. What if!

Pinned and Needled by surveycorpsjean | One Piece (manga/anime) | Zoro/Sanji | 35k Sanji struggles with an injury that prevents him from cooking. Around the same time, Zoro starts to act strange.

[deep fucking inhale] SO. sometimes you are ambling at a slowish pace through a manga with over 1100 chapters and then an author you really like drops a fic for the couple you are rotating in your head and so you go 'hey cool let me just read that' and you don't even get half the plot references in the story but it's enough because then you read 700 chapters in A Week and now you're caught up and get to read it all over again and scream even louder

like a bird on a wire by tierfal | BNHA/MHA (manga) | Endeavor/Hawks | 8k The aftermath, and the undertow, and something like a sunrise.

we still don't know what the aftermath of the war will be [stares into the middle distance about the most recent chapter] so enjoy this hurt/comfort from after ch 390!! I just... love Hawks... it's about the devotion...

I'm realising of all of the recs here this one might need the most canon knowledge to make sense but. also. what if you read 410 chapters of manga and then talked to me about it...

Facade by Hazel_Athena | One Piece (manga/anime) | Zoro/Sanji | 32k Left with only three other crew mates, it’s a ready expectation that Sanji will start fawning all over Robin in his usual obnoxious way. However, that’s not what happens. Instead, looking wild around the eyes in a way only someone who knows him well would recognize, the cook doesn’t break stride until he’s firmly within Zoro’s orbit and can wrap both hands around his upper arm, clinging tight. “Hi, darling,” he chirps, his expression desperately conveying that Zoro needs to play along under pain of death. “Did you miss me?”

ZOSAN FAKE DATING MARRIAGE LESGOOOO

this is just so much fluff and also zoro being in PainTM and I love a good trope mmkay

Carry You Home (In My Teeth) by DistortedDaytime | Stranger Things | Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson | 51k All Billy wants to do is lick his wounds and sleep off a bad night. Instead, he wakes up to find his furrier half stranded in Steve Harrington’s laundry room.

Billy the werewolf! Eddie the vampire! Steve the Steve! I am cheating a little bit because I got to cheer this on first-hand as it was being written BUT also it's just really, really, really fun. And horny. And full of Billy's Issues. Plus some neat werewolf worldbuilding and my favourite type of Deus Ex Maxine.

Everything In Its Right Place by JustSomeGuyDontWorryAboutIt | Mandalorian | Din Djarin/Cobb Vanth | 12k In which Cobb Vanth is forced off-planet, roped into a rescue mission, and made to stew torturously in his feelings. Just because you’ve spent months fantasizing about shucking him from that armour like a Sorgan krill doesn’t mean he’s thought about you even once, he reminded himself. Don’t make this awkward. Just enjoy the company while it lasts.

I, too, think Cobb should get to tap that so hard they cause an interstellar incident about it. And that's after he charms the last remaining jedi into giving the kid back.

Same As It Ever Was by QuokkaFoxtrot | Stranger Things | Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson | 62k "Deja-vu? Like you feel like you've done this before, because-" "No!" Steve snaps, feeling everyone's attention snap to him. He lowers his voice, aiming it so that only Nancy can hear. "I mean I've carried Eddie's body back to the rift in the trailer. Twice." --- Sometimes it can take a while to become the man you want to be.

Sometimes a good friend slides you a link to a fic their friend has started writing with a 'hey you ship this, check this out' and then you lose your whole fucking mind, usually directly into the comment box, until the whole thing is complete. This is the time loop fic of DREAMS. This is the GOLD FUCKING STANDARD. This has, unequivocally, REWIRED MY GODDAMN BRAIN. This is, as far as I'm concerned, one of the best fics ever written. Run don't walk.

THAT'S IT HAPPY NEW YEAR

[rotisseries]

idk anything about loz but do you wanna explain how hyrule is old as balls

i would LOVE to explain why hyrule is old as balls!!! this applies to both hyrule as a kingdom and the land itself

ok so. first of all. all the mainline games technically fit into a timeline. now the timeline was made AFTER most of the games came out and its clearly not nintendo's no.1 priority when they make their games (it's not mine normally either. personally my preferred interpretation is that all the games are just different versions of the same hyrulean folktale? but the timeline is fun to consider) but nevertheless it IS canonical and amazingly they don't seem to really overtly contradict each other?? I haven't played a lot of the games so I don't know for sure but it works

anyway this is the timeline

orignally published in 2011 in the hyrule historia, this is a version where someone added breath of the wild, as nintendo stated it comes at the end of the timeline. now you may notice 3 splits. that's not really super important here but botw supposedly comes at the end of all of them equally. unlikely for the one on the far right, but again, unimportant rn)

first thing to establish before we really start getting into it, with the exception of a few games with direct sequels, all of these games have new incarnations of zelda, link, and ganon. (with the exception of twilight princess, the second game in the middle line, which includes the same ganon from the previous game) I haven't played every zelda game, but the ones that I have played present you with the story of the cycle as though it is far enough back that its a mixture of history and legend. everyone who would remember the last events is dead by the time there's a new cycle. so there's at minimum, probably 150-200 years between each new cycle, keep that in mind

now, I'm starting at breath of the wild and tears of the kingdom because I wanna work my way backwards. so, in breath of the wild, it's already been 100 years since the last time anything significant happened. we're already working on a timespan of 100 years. what happened 100 years prior is that link, zelda, and 4 champions were prepping for the next time ganon rose, and then he did but he got them off guard and they weren't ready and most of them died and link had to be put asleep for 100 years to get healed while zelda kept ganon from completely destroying the world in the meantime.

NOW before THAT, the hyrule of botw's LAST cycle was 10k years ago. that is a LONG fucking time already, it's so old that this hyrule is incredibly divorced from its history, the more significant lore of the triforce is little more than a symbolic royal family crest, and it isn't directly referenced at all. all that this hyrule knows is that 10k years ago was the last time ganon rose, and hero and princess defeated him, so they know that they're gonna have to prep for it again, I also can't actually remember but I think? this may also be the first generation in a while that knows of the legend at all, hence why they're the first to prep for it. so anyway, already, at the end of the timeline, hyrule as a civilization is at a minimum 10k years old, for reference, in OUR world, 10k years ago humans were still living in caves. earth was just coming out of the ice age.

now, the latest game, tears of the kingdom actually shows us this 10k years ago, it's shown to us as the early days of the kingdom with its first king and queen. BUT it's still at the end of the timeline. how do I know this? and not that it's possibly at the start? 1. that contradicts a fair amount of previously established lore lol. in tears of the kingdom you get show this dessicated ganon mummy that's been lving under the castle from 10k years ago. if that was the beginning of hyrule entirely then it means for the entirety of the timeline there's been 2 ganons in existence. which is kind of. um. not how it works. ("but what about the ganon they fight in botw?" you may ask. I get the impression that wasn't a real ganon but just a manifestation of mummy ganon's power as he attempts to break free so its not like. a new ganon incarnation)

so anyway, it doesn't work super well if 10k years ago hyrule is actually the first hyrule, and already in the lore the kingdom of hyrule has risen and fallen countless times, it's gone through lots of wars. so I'm thinking the most likely explanation is that hyrule from any previous games fell, all memory of it died out, and then a new hyrule eventually rose in its place, hence why the king and queen self identify as the first king and queen of hyrule. so, AGAIN, the hyrule at THE END OF THE TIMELINE. is already like. hundreds or thousands of years removed from all the previous cycles.

now we're gonna work our way back to the beginning. so, there's 3 different timelines shown on the picture, but only one of them, the middle one, can actually be canonically achieved in the game they split from, ocarina of time, so we're going up the middle line. it's also the shortest span of time, so we're counting hyrule's years at a most generous minimum here.

so, there's an unknown amount of time between 10k years ago tears of the kingdom hyrule, and the last game on the middle line, four swords adventures. got no idea how much time is there but it's probably a lot, bc, again, civilization falling and rising again.

moving on, now when looking into this more, while again, I'm very rarely given explicit and specific time frames, there's generally supposed to be a few hundred years between four swords adventures and the previous game, twilight princess.

now, at twilight princess. as previously stated, that is the same ganon (this is also the first ganon to appear, all games chronologically prior to ocarina of time feature other villains) as the game before it, ocarina of time. (majora's mask, the game actually listed right before it on the timeline, is a direct sequel to ocarina of time and doesn't have significant bearing on this count) the lore of ocarina of time involves a lot of time travel, and in this center timeline, and the achievable canonical ending of the game, link defeats ganon and then goes back in time to warn the hyrule leaders, and ganon is stopped before he can ever get started. he's set to be executed, but evidently they don't succeed, because he's back at it again in twilight princess (I haven't played either of those games so I don't know the specifics) I don't know how long ganon's life expectancy is (clearly a lot though. he still looks like a middle aged man), but twilight princess has a new link and zelda, so assuming ocarina of time link lived a long and healthy life, it's probably been almost a century at minimum. this is also likely the closest gap between games.

now, from ocarina of time to the game before it. there is a vague "countless eras long" hyrulean civil war. so that's another couple hundred years between oot and four swords (different from four swords adventures)

now from four swords to the game prior, minish cap, is another vague and indeterminate amount of time, but it's for sure a new zelda and link, so that's probably over a hundred years again.

AGAIN with the unknown amount of time, we go back from minish cap to skyward sword. skyward sword is the first in the timeline, featuring the first link, the first zelda, and the earliest form of ganon, an evil god called demise who curses link and zelda to forever be reincarnated and to keep having to deal with his ass. now, skyward sword takes place in, the sky!!

the lore of this game is that, an unknown amount of time, long ago, demise cracked open the earth (already full of prospering people btw. no mention of a kingdom though. but keep that in mind. these weren't hyrulean cavemen these were societies) and monsters poured out, he was looking for the triforce, which was passed down from the golden goddesses (hyrule's creation gods) and protected by hylia, another goddess of the land, the triforce is capable of granting any wish to the person who has it. hylia took the triforce and sent it skyward on a piece of land (to be called skyloft) with the remaining surviving humans (hylians. despite the fact hylians are categorically an elven race, they are referred to interchangeably with the term human in the zelda games) hylia then took up forces with the remaining land dwellers (bc there are other races and they just got stuck on earth. fuck those guys ig) and they fought a vicious war that finally resulted in hylia sealing demise away. peace was restored to the surface, but the humans were left up in skyloft because she knew the seal wouldn't hold forever. hylia knew she wouldn't be able to defeat demise again without the help of the triforce, but a goddess can't use the triforce, so she gave up on immortality and was eventually reincarnated as a hylian. the first zelda. the first zelda is literally a direct reincarnation of a goddess. all future zeldas share her bloodline. (funny thing about this is you're never introduced to a hyrulean queen, there's only ever princess zelda and her father, despite the fact their divine right of kings follows a matrilineal line)

an unknown amount of time after the imprisoning war, we're at present day skyloft. they have little memory of the surface and the imprisoning war. og zelda ends up getting thrown down to the surface, where she discovers that she's a goddess incarnation and what her duty is. she's going to purify herself at springs and shit, while link follows trying to find her. there's a bunch of shit that happens while link follows her, eventually there's some time travel where he follows her back to when the goddess had first sealed away demise, zelda tells him she's a reincarnation, hylia intended for the triforce to be used by a chosen hero with an unbreakable spirit (link!!), she ends up getting sealed into a crystal so she can be awoken in her own time, the works. he goes back, does some other shit, part of skyloft breaks off and comes crashing down, and link and zelda decide to stay on the surface. hyrule as a kingdom is founded sometime between this game and the next.

so. to recap. the end of the timeline is already over 10k years removed from the last cycle. and then there's a couple hundred to a thousand years from THAT to ocarina of time, where the timeline splits. THEN there's another couple hundred to a thousand years from ocarina of time to skyward sword, the beginning of the cycle. and at the time of skyward sword, which is the prologue to the FOUNDING OF HYRULE. the land is already a few hundred years old ABSOLUTE MINIMUM. and had thriving and complex societies with technology BEFORE humans ever even got sent into the sky. all this together I'm estimating around 15k years of thriving society. at 15k years ago our earth had just started warming after about 100k years of ice age. and they already had technology. hyrule is an OLD ASS kingdom and all the intelligent civilizations on its land are even older. what the fuck

[addoration]

fanfic writer 20 questions

i wasn't tagged but @zebsfloppyears invited anyone who wanted to do this to do so, n i was bored. hope u dont mind vienna!

1. how many works do you have on ao3? 79. i have 79 works. and im working on a long fic rn so i probably wont be uploaded another fic for a while to make that number rounded. its bothering me. 2. whats your total ao3 word count? 232,222 3. how many fandoms have you written for and what are they? 7 fandoms! most.. prolifically? if i may use that word.... for loz breath of the wild, and his dark materials. 4. what are your top five fics by kudos? 1. finding words enough - i legit dont remeber much of this but basically link is mute and revali speaks on his behalf. ppl seem to love it. rated G. 2. making cocoa for spencer reid - just a lil criminal minds family piece between rossi and reid, idk. bit of a character study! rated T. 3. magic might stain the air - my first merlin fic i posted (out of 2. lmao) but i really hate this one becaue i rushed it and i could have done so much better!!!!! rated M, beware tags. 4. snow on snow, snow on snow - i rllyy dont remember this one at all. lmao. link/revali pre-slash, rated G. 5. whenever we feel - we evaporate - i think? this was my first fic on ao3! and it's the first part of a lil aziraphale/crowley series that became dearly beloved to me but i never really got back to. rated T.

5. do you respond to comments? why or why not? i do now!! i didn't used to because i had an ocd thing about seeing the number go up when half of them were my responses, but thats an obsession that has since left me. i want to apologise to everyone who commented n didnt get a reply sdfghjsf i feel so awkward n i cant respond to comments made years ago now lmao. now i love responding to comments, its such a joy to communicate with my readers and thank them for their kind words!!!!

6. whats the fic you've written with the angstiest ending? i dont write angsty endings; the fics can get as angsty as possible but they must always end happily. sorry :/

7. do you write crossovers? no, i don't. they're not for me!

8. have you ever recieved hate on a fic? not hate exactly.... but i do recall one comment telling me they thought i had rushed the work and it was a bit sloppy (not in so many words tho). i totally agreed with the commenter but i was a bit :/ at reading that yknow

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind? i have been known to write smut occasionally, though i dont think i have a "kind" or a "brand".

10. have you ever had a fic stolen? not that i know of, but (as vienna said in their answer), it's not something that i think about or check for!

11. have you ever had a fic translated? nope! i welcome it though.

12. have you ever co-written a fic before? nope! in theory i would be open to it however i am probably very difficult to work with lmao

13. whats your all time favourite ship? such a hard question because it rlly depends what fandom im currently in, but. baruch/balthamos live rent free in my head. as do aziraphale/crowley, espeically my specific brand of them which is queerplatonic <3

14. what's a wip you want to finish but dont think you ever will? lmao if you had asked me a week ago, i would have said my current longfic, when you catch him, he burns through your heart, like a shooting star burns the skies but im actively up and working on that again, so. i guess something i dont imagine i'll return to any time soon is my series of harth/link fics, you hold my touch in you, simply because it's been a while now, and i dont imagine that such a minor npc as harth will be in botw's sequel, so... how will i rekindle my desire to write for them. idk! it's all up in the air though - i haven't necessarily abandoned any of my unfinished fics, theyre just on indefinite haitus.

15. what are your writing strengths? i would like to think that my poet's voice shines through my prose and therefore that my description is sufficiently good! lmao i have to sometimes physically stop myself from writing 5 paragraphs waxing poetic about the scenery. also honourary mention to dialogue. im pretty proud of some of the lines of dialogue ive written.

16. what are your writing weaknesses? hhghgh action. handling a big plot sensitively. ive been really struggling with making sure ive got hold of all my threads in my long fic. i dont think ive let go of any yet but im constantly paranoid that ive dropped one lmao. also i find action so hard!! the pacing of it, the choice of words, the making sure the reader doesnt get bored by not over or under describing whats happening! hhg.

17. what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in another language? if this means in the sense that a character is speaking a different language in the fic, then. i've seen it done a few ways. personally i ofc want to understand whats being said, so i like it best when the line is written in english but perhaps put in italics, with a tag saying smth like "they said in french/whatever langauge". ive also seen it done as typed in the langauge followed by the english translation in italics. either way works, i just don't rlly like it when it's completely untranslated!! even having like a lil dictionary in the end notes works.

18. what was the first fandom you ever wrote for? good omens lmao. i wrote fic before that but im not going into that, and i dont even think i could find it again bc it's lost in the depths of ff.net. i was also 13/14. so yeah :/

19. what's your favourite fic you've ever written? ppl dont really like this fic bc it's gen/not shippy and possibly also bc it was inspired by music, but. i have a real soft spot for my fic rose quartz and cool safflina. (botw, T) i wrote it while listening to la dispute's album panorama, and i think having the music helped me write with such a good flow. it's a very poetic piece, though. not for everyone. i also rlly like the great frost of 1684 (good omens, Gen) though neither of them are anywhere near my popular works' stats.

20. who do you tag? low pressure tagging @snidgetwidgeon, @itcantbe, @cyraclove, @unmaskedcardinal and everyone else who fancies it!!

[hilli98215]

I think we can all agree that 2022 has been one crazy year. From this year’s insane political landscape, to people forgetting COVID is still around, and let’s not forget our usual taste of fandom drama and insanity.

For me personally, 2022 has been a year of failure, triumph, injury, and family drama. There was the fact that my sister got her dream job in Orlando. I have a job as a teacher. My brother is still in Tennessee but went to California for the TCM film festival. My mom took a step back from teaching. And my dad has a new job that takes him to an office. A lot has happened and it's only been 365 days. Right?

It’s hard to believe that this year I went to see my first stage musical in years in 2022. I read over 15 books which include books for work and for fun. I’ve found my anxiety relief in diamond art. I’ve gotten into 2 new fandoms all while participating in a fandom that makes me happy. (These new fandoms being Linked Universe an LOZ AU that has given me lots of heart attacks because of emotions and Rise of the TMNT that I’m so happy I gave a chance). Let’s also not forget that I sprained my ankle earlier this year and I completely forgot until now. Insane right?

But most of all, this year reminded me that there are people out there who care about me that I now call dear friends and want to meet in real life. I was shown that I can still be myself in a safe space. I can spout ideas without being judged. I can write 9 fics (yes I did write that much this year. I am amazed too) and not be judged at the writing style I use. Or the pairing I write. Or the prompt I choose. If it weren’t for you guys, I would’ve left months ago. But now I have all of you to thank.

Normally I would make a list of mutuals I want to thank for helping me through another crazy year. But this time I don’t think I’ll make a list because it would be way too long. Probably around 15 or so.

Finally (I feel like one of my students here) here’s to 2023 that will be better physically, mentally, and emotionally.

[the-hero-of-jk-its-len]

A Flower by Any other name. - Chapter two: I meet the hero.

A.N: Hullo folks!! Len is back at it again, this fic has my head chained around it, oh well, the last one got a bit more traction than I expected, I'm hopping we get a few more people with this one too!! and to the people who followed after the first chapter, thank you!!

Reminder: Aster uses he/him pronouns!! You can exchange his name if you want and i won't mind, and also this isn't beta'd at all because I have no friends in the LOZ fandom.

Disclaimer: I don't own The legend of zelda (gods I wish), the linked universe au or any of the franchises and works I may reference in this fic, this is a work for fans by fans and all credits go to the respective owners.

Summary: Aster grows more, meets the hero and gets into plants.

Word Count: 1129

Warnings: none.

If I had to be honest, I kind of admired the original Zelda.

I may not have liked her very much while playing the games, but if I had to give her anything, it is that she was smarter than I ever could aspire to. I have no doubts that she took to studying ancient technology as soon as they appeared, how a six year old could do that is beyond me.

Which i exactly why I didn’t

Yeah, no.

Kudos to Zelda but I was barely any good with the technology of my world, I am definitely not getting involved with this technology any more than what I strictly need to guide Link in the future.

And talking of which, I have heard nothing of Link, not a whisper, I had assumed he had turned into an apprentice of knight early on, but instead I just keep finding myself bored more every day waiting for him to appear.

In the meantime, I’ve taken to botanics, mother the queen used to have a greenhouse, and after she passed I wasted no time asking for it. Father couldn’t argue towards taking care of her beloved plants, even if I had to have supervision.

Still, somehow, taking care of the plants here, it seemed bittersweet.

The oak was growing nicely.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Not much has changed since that day, the oak has grown, the plants have come and gone with the last five birthdays.

There has been a recent development though, namely, the blond boy carrying a sword in front of me.

Link o’Deya, the son of a retired Royal Knight, and the one who pulled the master sword out during the trials.

He looked… miserable, and I wasn’t sure I looked much better, both trapped into stifling clothes. I had no doubt the head maid had chosen herself when the king had called for Link in an scheduled audience.

The king spoke, but I have the feeling neither of us was actually listening. They shouldn’t expect a pair of eleven year olds to pay attention when my father’s voice is as boring as the words he says.

Either way, by the end of the audience, Link had been moved alongside his family to a new home in the city near to the castle grounds, where he was to present to the castle every other day in order to be trained.

And with that, I finally felt the story begin the dread of knowing that Link had started the ball rolling by pulling out the sword wasn’t lost in me.

The new flowers had arrived.

Apart from caring for plants though, there was something more I enjoyed and rarely got to indulge in working.

Baking.

Back in my first life, I had always had a charm for cooking and baking, so much so that when me and my friends finished our studies we all had pitched in for different areas of buying a small place we all ran together, I was of course, the cook.

But it wasn’t quite as easy to get away with entering the kitchen when you were the young master of a whole castle, it used to be harder when I was younger, admittedly, but nowadays, even as they fuss over me the maids and cooks mostly just allow me to do as I wish in there.

Which is why I was carrying a basket with bread that I had baked only an hour or so ago, fresh cheese, ham and butter too of course.

If I had learned anything from the movies of my first life, was that the best way to make friends was feeding people, and I was at least seventy four percent sure, Link would be hungry after training since early.

Well, that was an underestimation, the truth is, by the time I had gotten there the young boy was still waving his wooden sword around, trying to hit his teacher as efficiently as he could before he was ultimately back on the floor, trying to catch his breath as i got close.

“Sir Arys” I called out to his teacher, watching as he panicked for a second before he found my gaze.

“Young Prince,-” he knelt down in courtesy “- what brings you here your highness, isn’t this the hour at which you typically have your own lessons”.

He was right of course, at this hour i would usually be getting ready for my own swordsmanship lessons, though my lessons could just as easily be called dancing, the fighting style more similar to the one practiced in my past life, “Ah, I received permission today to skip in order to properly meet your newest apprentice”

And Link, who up until now I had seen trying to sneak his way out, had no option but to look back as the knight grabbed him by the shoulder “is that so! Very well then, I shall leave him you care for now my prince.” even then he looked at Link with a clear look that told him to behave.

Seeing his back face us and walk away I turned to the boy next to me, clearly as comfortable as I was in this situation, “I’m sorry for interrupting your lessons” he looked startled by the apology, as if he was expecting to be the one to apologize “I had thought, that by now they would be over and i could introduce myself over food…” At my words he finally locked eyes with the basket, and though he wouldn’t say anything I could see in his eyes the sudden hunger, so I smiled to myself and pointed to one of clear areas of grass nearby.

That day marked the first of many I would appear to eat lunch with Link, and more often than not after that to patch him up while he finished eating.

It didn’t take long before the castle was full of gossip on how good the relationship between us, the young prince and what was sure to be his knight in the future, was.

Which is why the day I wasn’t able to go, I wasn’t surprised by the maid that had guided him to where I was caring for the belladonnas in my greenhouse.

He brought the food this time around.

It was like this for the first few years, both of us preparing for the fate we were both to play, though for him, it was not because he knew of what was coming, but I did, and on my fifteenth birthday, my father sent me to the temple of time, and for the first time since coming to this world, I was in the presence of the goddess, the aura of the place sparkling, and warm, and-

Wait.

I’ve felt this before.

Where-

[kintatsujo]

LoZ AU- The Courage of Running Away Part FOURTEEN

You’ll see why this one took a while in just a second, I did that thing where I drew a whole ass scene again

Content warning for fantasy religions based loosely on Christian schisms

#AU August

#LoZ AU: The Courage of Running Away

So while Link is getting acclimated to Castle life and getting hugs from Marla and Tonbo (and also getting unofficially adopted by the royal family) Astramorus flies back to the Sky Temple with his loftwing. 

And he has a lot of time to think while he’s doing it; I don’t know how fast a loftwing flies but even so it would have taken some hours on Hera’s back and you don’t have anything to do up there but think about why you got blasted through a wall by a god-queen.  So he gets back and he’s feeling pretty fucking subdued when he hands Hera off to the Sky Temple commune’s gardener/bird caretaker, Maurice.

[Image description:  Astramorus, looking tired and still missing his hat, his hair a mess, is standing opposite a short and round mustached man with bushy eyebrows dressed in the same priestly robes, except that this man has his sleeves shortened to his elbows and is wearing thick gloves.  This man is holding Hera the loftwing by a lead, while she makes a particularly vacant happy face.  “NAYRU’S EYES, man, WHAT HAPPENED?”  Astramorus gives a very small smile, and after a pause, answers, “TURBULENCE.”  The man harrumphs skeptically, then says, “Well, LORD SERENUMBRA from the LORULEAN ORTHODOXY showed up three days ago and he’s been giving me ADVICE ON MY TOMATOES, so turbulence or OTHERWISE I’d appreciate you DISTRACTING HIM before I commit some WEEDING.”  Astramorus smiles.  “Ah,” he says in understanding.  “Yes, thank you for your PATIENCE, Maurice.”  End ID.] 

A note on Maurice, originally I was going to make him look like Gaepora OR Rauru and then Ice suggested basing him on Maurice-Belle’s-Dad and I liked that, so I blended the ideas a bit.  

I think I’ve mentioned that Lorule and Hyrule have different takes on the Hylia religion, haven’t I?

Basically since this Lorule is just the country south of Hyrule instead of a dark-mirror-universe world, Invid suggested that part of the idea might be that Lorule insists that Hyrule is wrong about which country the Golden Goddesses left the world from, and that the Triforce belongs there instead.  I kind of played with that a little further, and so now part of the thing is that their royal line is actually also descended from Hylia directly, except that at some point a sister broke off from (one or the other of) the royal family, founding the Hilda line versus the Zelda line.

And real quick here’s the Hilda of this story, which I promise is relevant:

[Image Description: Sketches of a tall, black haired woman with pale skin and blue eyes and extremely long pointed ears, dressed in a cape and dress of purple, dark blue, red and gold.  She wears a blue and green belt trimmed with gold and black gloves, and a diadem featuring a red gemstone and golden spread wings.  There is an inverted Triforce symbol on her sash.  She is also wearing black lipstick and red blush and eyeshadow.  A sketch to the side shows her making a decidedly less dignified expression with the note “All the finery and rouge is a desperate attempt to fool you into thinking Hilda is in her twenties but she’s only actually seventeen, same as Link.”  Another sketch shows her next to an old man with round glasses and priestly robes different to the Hyrulean priests, who only comes up to her chest.  She has her hands on her hips and is ranting at him.  A note reads, “Hilda TOL.”  End ID.]

Anyway the thing is that currently, the two churches are relatively peaceable with one another, they have joint gatherings to quibble about tradition and who should be allowed to have what sacred treasures and who has to bring the roast boar next time, and that is how a very young novice Astramorus ended up as friends with the man he would eventually match in equivalent rank, Lord Serenumbra.  Who gets a nice picture equivalent piece to Astra’s introduction because of symmetry: 

[Image Description: The same short priest from the picture with Hilda.  He has white loosely curly hair, circular gold glasses, a hat similar to Astramorus’s but in red, a dark red robe over a black underdress, both trimmed in gold, and is wearing a heavy golden neck piece with an inverted Triforce and golden wings framing a blue disc.  To the side are various comic panels; in the first, he has taken an extremely young Astramorus’s hand and is saying, “Let me be the first to CONGRATULATE you, my friend!”  In the second, he’s spread his arms wide while approaching Astramorus and Catena, Link’s mother.  “Let me be the first to CONGRATULATE YOU, my friends!” he’s saying, and Catena laughs, giving Astramorus a rough side hug that lifts him off his feet despite her only coming to his chest, while Astramorus gives her a gooey smile.  “TOO LATE,” she says, “I told my mum first,” and laughs.  In the last panel, Astramorus has collapsed limp into a chair at a dining room table, his hair in his eyes, his face wet with tears, propping his head on one arm as Serenumbra pats his shoulder from behind the chair.  “Let me be the first to say,” Serenumbra says, “How DEEPLY SORRY I am, my friend.”  End ID.]

This is awful but that’s currently my favorite picture of Astramorus.  

Serenumbra’s design is based on the priest and philosopher from ALttP and Link Between Worlds; the philosopher’s robes were red so I sorta priestified them.  The blue disc in the center of his neck piece represents the Moon Pearl from ALttP, which was actually red in the game but blue in some of the promotional materiel, and the blue was a nicer contrast.  The Moon Pearl was mostly important because it let Link run around in his human form in the Dark World but I always liked it because it was sort of weird and mysterious.  In Four Swords Adventures there’s actually a LOT of moon pearls and they let you make portals between the worlds.  There isn’t going to be a lot of world hopping in this AU, I just thought it was interesting context. 

Anyway here’s two old friends having a conversation, image description and a little more commentary plus some bonus poking at Astramorus at the end:

[Image Descriptions: Astramorus is entering a room with a rounded door and a coat rack on the wall.  “Seren?” he calls.  “ASTRAMORUS, are you QUITE all right?” Serenumbra answers.  He is sitting at a round table in the center of the room; there are two dining chairs, one of which he is sitting in, and opposite of him is a comfortable looking rocking chair.  “I came because I heard about your SON, have you still not found him?”  Astramorus, looking deeply pained, straightens some of his hair with one hand.  “I found him,” he says.  He settles into the rocking chair with a long creak.  Serenumbra is clearly shocked by his demeanor.  “Astra,” he says, concern clear in his face, “What HAPPENED?”  Astramorus stares at the ceiling while looking like death warmed over.  There is a panel fading from light to dark to indicate the passage of time, then we see that Serenumbra has a hand to his mouth in thought.  “So the queen refuses to see the DANGER here,” he says.  Astramorus has folded his hands together.  “She’s right about my SON, though,” he answers.  Serenumbra is quick to defend Astramorus to himself: “Well- he’s such a SOFT BOY, you wanted him PREPARED,” he begins, but Astramorus stops him.  “I pushed him too hard, too SOON, and with too little CARE.”  Astramorus lifts his hands and grins painfully, continuing, “WHAT was I DOING, trying to teach him how to FIGHT when all I knew was an ADULT’S routine?”  He puts a hand to his chin, still smiling.  “I must be the STUPIDEST MAN ALIVE.”  “Astra,” Serenumbra begins again, and Astramorus interrupts again.  “My wife used to tell me I WORRIED too much, did I ever mention that?”  He asks.  His face turns solemn.  “It was even one of the LAST THINGS she said to me,” he says.  We get a glimpse of young Astramorus and Catena together backlit by the sun; she’s wearing a blue version of the classical Link costume with a sword strapped to her back and plate armor on her shoulders, he’s wearing his priestly robes and hat.  She’s reached up to grab his face, grinning, while he’s put his hands on hers.  “And then she died,” Astramorus says.  He sits up, animate once more.  “What else could I DO but worry?!” he demands.  “You’ve studied the legends, same as I-” he subsides again- “That mark on Link’s hand may as well be a DEATH SENTENCE.”  He puts a hand on his face.  “And I’ve so THOROUGHLY FAILED him that now I’ve put the Royal Family in danger TOO.”  Serenumbra puts a hand to his chin, thoughtfully.  “WELL, you never KNOW,” he says, “Princess HILDA is more of an age with Link, maybe the Triforce of Wisdom will arise in the LORULEAN line this time.”  Astramorus laughs.  “That doesn’t change the SITUATION, Seren,” quietly adding “But also KEEP DREAMING.”  He then puts his hand to his mouth.  “How do I even BEGIN to atone?” Astramorus asks.  “Ahh, old friend,” Serenumbra answers, soothingly.  “If only Catena were still WITH us, she’d know how to ease the boy’s burden.  Why-she’d face down GANON HIMSELF if it came to that!”  Astramorus makes an intense face, as if he’s been suddenly burdened.  Serenumbra stands and puts a hand on his shoulder.  “Get some REST, dear friend, you still look TERRIBLE,” he says with a smile.  Astramorus is wringing his hands, staring forward.  End ID.]

DUMBASS BRAINCELLS ENGAGED.

I didn’t expect “Got pegged by his wife so hard that the mere invocation of her name knocked him back to his senses after over eleven years of fucking shitty behavior towards their son” to be on the bingo card for this character when I started this project either, but this is Draft 0.5 so anything can happen XD

Astramorus is so layered now what the fuck!  

[Image Description: Serenumbra, face full of concern, asks, “Astra, what HAPPENED?”  Astramorus stares at the ceiling like death warmed over.  Behind him are the words “HELLO DARKNESS MY OLD FRIEND.”  End ID.]

[Image Description: Serenumbra, face full of concern, asks, “Astra, what HAPPENED?”  Astramorus stares at the ceiling like death warmed over.  Behind him are the words “WELL FIRST OF ALL I FUCKING DIED.”  End ID.]

[Image Description: Serenumbra, face full of concern, asks, “Astra, what HAPPENED?”  Astramorus stares at the ceiling like death warmed over.  Behind him are the words “...my wife made this chair.”  End ID.]

Catena got into carving as a hobby during long trips but she started making furniture while dealing with nesting urges while pregnant, so imagine this little tank of a woman assembling a rocking chair for her tol noodle husband while ranting about her weird cravings.  

[yellow-faerie]

2021 End of Year Fic Review

Thank you for taggin me @wren-of-the-woods :)

How many stories did you complete?

According to AO3, 33! This does include a lot of oneshots and does not include any prompts I've completed.

What is your total word count for the year?

223 965, a number taken from AO3...and I still haven't posted all my Tumblr prompts yet so that number doesn't take into account everything...

Turns out I write a lot more than I thought I did.

What fandoms did you write for this year?

The Silmarillion, of course, and LOTR. A little bit of DSMP stuff and some Witcher stuff and I started an ATLA fic and I'm currently writing a LOZ prompt, so that's 5/6ish fandoms?

Did you write more, less of roughly about what you expected?

I honestly hadn't thought about it! Probably more tho as I mentioned above.

What's your favourite story of the year?

Ooh, this is a really tough one. Probably Fate and Flowers (I've talked about how much I adore Edhellos and how much fun I had writing this) or A Guide To Raising Elflings just for how self-indulgent it is.

What is your most underappreciated story of the year?

I'm not entirely sure how to measure this but by kudos, it would be There Are Many Reasons To Commit Treason which is understandable, considering I haven't really written for the ATLA fandom before (unless you count this fics first iteration) and I literally only just published it.

Biggest fanfic-related disappointment of 2021?

Probably that I lost interest in The Paths We Tread. My own interpretations had gone too far from what I was writing and it ended up being a drag to write rather than fun. Fate and Flowers was probably the last fic I wrote for that series that I properly enjoyed writing.

Biggest fanfic-related surprise of 2021?

That A Guide To Raising Elflings got as popular as it did? I was genuinely so surprised by how many people liked it and were leaving comments and kudoses and it has definitely been very nice indeed!

Something you look forward to working on in 2022?

Oooh, isn't this a question? I've got a lot planned and although most of these will probably remain as plans, I will outline what I hope to achieve (we can look back at this in the future and laugh to ourselves).

I want to finish A Guide To Raising Elflings, which I should definitely do this year, and I also want to finish All Good Things Come In Threes. I want to complete the Tumblr Prompts currently sitting in my drafts and when I've done that, I'm going to post another prompt list at some time, just because I love making them (and I want to try and finish uploading my finished prompts onto AO3 but I mimght end up doing that tomorrow). I also want to see where I get with There Are Many Reasons To Commit Treason.

As for fics I have not started (and these are a lot more up in the air), I've recently got into TMA so there's some fic there I want to write (I'm currently writing a murder mystery/bookshop AU inspired by the ominous leak we have at work); I want to rewrite my first ever AO3 fic (a Star Wars fic, if anyone's interested - although it is going to be rather different to the original); I want to participate in more prompt weeks than I did this year; I want to get on to writing a Witcher AU I've had falling around my head for a while; and I want to finally get around to writing a fic about an OC Link and Zelda.

And as for Tolkien fics, I have a few fics for my OCs planned and a fic where the oath was never sworn (you can see some of the ideas for it here). I think that I might also continue the Space/Sci-Fi AU I started ages ago, if I have the time.

Tagging @ladyslytherclaw @lothengriols @armenelols and honestly, anyone else who would like a go, just pretend I tagged you :)

[narsh-poptarts]

I came here to tell you that your art is amazing and AAAAA I love it so much!! Your Angry Sky honestly made my day

Also, I don’t know if you’re still doing the “ask me about Sky” thing but if you are...what are your thoughts on the silent realms? I don’t see enough Sky content related to them but to me they have so much angst potential??? And also are a proof that Sky didn’t have it easy at all during his adventure?? Idk I find them very interesting

aaaaaaa thank you so much!!!!! honestly every tag and every message yall send me just makes me so happy, i’m so glad y’all are enjoying it!!!! :DDDD

OH BOY THE SILENT REALMS!!!!!!!!!

YEAH you’re right!!! there’s not a lot of content there!! lucky for you, this is also another topic from Skyward Sword that I have thought extensively about, I have many many headcanons for what the Silent Realms are like.

okay first of all, the Silent Realms are a very unique kind of think in the LoZ series. The concept itself is repeated a couple times but the reasoning WHY is different. Usually link has to go through trials in multiple different games to prove himself and his courage or whatever in order to get the master sword or other such very important item. and then in Twilight Princess (it did come first but whatever) you have those light trial things? i don’t remember what they’re called but you collect the tears of the Light Spirits and they’re all trapped in bugs or whatever. So the basis for the trials or their main mechanic is not a new concept.

But! what is very interesting and unique is, like I said, the reasoning WHY Link has to go through these trials. in botw (this may be wrong, i haven’t played it), you have the trial of the sword, basically a big gauntlet to improve the sword and prove your worth, in addition to the “you must be this tall to ride” thing with your health. but that’s about the sword. in TP, the light trials are about restoring light to the land. they’re not even really trials, and iirc, there’s not,,, really trials for TP. i may be wrong.

anyways, what makes SS different is that it’s specifically about upgrading your spirit. the Hero’s Spirit. Link never has to prove himself to the sword because,, well, the damn thing is his companion. in the zelda timeline, he’s one of the first heroes ever so there’s not even a Hero’s Spirit to have because he hasn’t made it yet. same with the Master Sword. 

so therefore, no other Link has had to create or upgrade their Hero’s Spirit. It’s simply not a thing they’ve had to do because Sky did it all those millennia ago. One and done, cool and awesome. He has a uniquely different and alienated experience because he set the foundation. Probably feels alienated from the others because he never had to prove himself to the sword, and then because of the prominent upgraded spirit, got them easily and recognizably cursed (thanks Demise).

SORRY i realize i just went on a related-but-not-your-question tangent, but now to the actual Silent Realms themselves :D

so, in terms of what I think Silent Realms are like.... first of all: terrifying!!!! If my own playthroughs of them are anything to go by, Link is terrified out of his mind!!!! no weapons, no items, no Fi, you’re completely on your own, you have a time limit, and you’re being LITERALLY HUNTED. and god, that music when the Guardians wake up is actually a heart attack, botw guardians have NOTHING on these bad boys.

From the inside perspective, I imagine the Silent Realms are just that: silent. not dead quiet, not still, silent. There are no sounds in the Silent Realm, not even a ringing in Link’s ear. and also these trials are a test of the Spirit. the body stays behind. This is a plane somewhere within the overworld, a layer formed from many. There’s no air there. They’re spirits, and entities, they don’t need it.

And having no air is a little disorienting at first, hell being a spirit is a little disorienting at first, but Link finds it a little cool, not feeling the need to breathe and not being able to feel air move in his lungs when he does.

And when Link is safe, whether by standing in that first safety circle or by virtue of collecting a tear, it doesn’t feel calm. Calm is exactly the wrong word because calm is flying out on the open air with your loftwing. Calm is sitting, for just a moment, on a stool to regain some health (and maybe take a nap). Calm is not whatever this is. This is like sneaking through the sleeping dragon’s nest, or feeling the chill of a graveyard, or walking down a dark alley at night. Every inch of link is telling him something is very very wrong and he is in danger. and, to be fair, he is.

Now for when the guardians are awake, it’s like a bomb of adrenaline and panic goes off. He doesn’t hear anything but he can feel them coming, feel their presence just behind him, ready to take him down, ready to make him fail and start over. He is a trespasser, taking pieces of an ancient spirit and make it his own, and he is hunted for sport. every inch of him, every screaming inch of him is crying desperately for him to move, run, flee, desperately grab at the next tear, we don’t have time, we’re going to die. screaming screaming over and over, a pounding in his brain like war drums, a sharp, painful insistence out of desperation to survive.

He can’t hear them coming so every other sense goes into overdrive, and he can feel where they’re coming from. The screen in the game actually has pulsing rings at the edge of your screen to indicate that there’s a guardian off screen right over there (which is a very cool indication imo!) and their intensity indicates how close they are. it’s like this sense of dread goes into overdrive in a desperate attempt to keep him alive and he just knows by feeling it that “don’t go that way, you’ll die”

And dude, do you know what the official explanation is for when you fail? the wording they use is “your spirit will shatter”. Shatter!!! that’s gotta hurt!! what do you think it feels like to have your spirit shattered?? Luckily i think both for gameplay and the story itself, if you’re determined enough, you can retry as many times as you like.

but i imagine, for the sake of drama, getting your spirit shattered has Link shunted back into the real world, clutching at his chest in pain, heaving and crying as his spirit stitches itself back together piece by piece until he’s ready to try again. It’s not a pleasant experience.

and speaking of coming back, i imagine actually succeeding isn’t all that great either. the silent realms are silent. there’s no sound at all. coming back to the real world and suddenly getting hit with the sound of the wind and the birds and the ambiance and the sounds of your clothes and the sword and your heavy breathing and too much too much too much!! I imagine it’s very overwhelming. the silence is not a pleasant experience so Link is very glad to have sound again but it’s just too much at once.

you’re very correct anon, there is a lot of angst potential here. i’ve really wanted a Skyward Sword manga or something like that for so long because I really wanna know how the Silent Realms would be interpreted. 

also i’ve kinda got a fic idea were basically Sky has to end up doing the Silent Realms again while on the LU adventure because something something Hero’s Spirit is messing up and he has to reupgrade it. and it’s bad and traumatic and the other boys have to watch as each instance (there’s four of them by god) just leaves Sky an utter mess and they don’t know how to help and he won’t tell them what’s wrong either or what exactly happens in the trials to get him to react so badly when he gets back. i don’t have anything written down but basically “Sky doesn’t know his own limits and won’t ask for help” the fic.

also oh boy this is long, sorry

[dragestilwrites]

The Things We Lost

Rated G ~2k words LoZ: BotW Hurt/Comfort; Nonbinary Link; Link/Sidon

Link continues to struggle with the trauma of their hundred-year sleep and all the memories they lost in the process. How can they save Hyrule when they can't remember their own past? But Sidon will not let them suffer alone.

It was dark and warm outside, the air thick with humidity and the palpable anticipation of a looming storm. When had it gotten dark? How long had they been sitting in hollow silence? Had another hundred years disappeared in an instant? Link exhaled slowly as their external senses came back to them. The grassy earth was soft beneath them and the solidity of the tree trunk against their back was a reassuring comfort.

"Are you alright, Link?"

Of course. They had gone outside to sit by the pond while Sidon soaked for a while. How had they even momentarily forgotten they were spending time with Sidon? The thought tightened in their throat and knotted in their stomach. Every lapse in memory felt like another personal failure, and of all the things they could have forgotten now, Sidon was the worst.

"Link," Sideon repeated, "you're still here."

Sidon's cool palm cupped Link's cheek, and they instinctively leaned into the touch. They blinked and exhaled again, a sigh escaping with the breath.

"I'm sorry," Link murmured, unable to keep the shame from their voice.

"For what?"

They opened their mouth, but an answer didn't come. They knew it wasn't really about this little slip, even if it was far easier to tell themself that it was that simple than to face the bitter truth. 

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want," Sidon said, forever conscientious, forever attentive. Link knew he would see through an easy lie.

"I don't know," Link answered after a deep breath. "It's just...everyone knows who I am. Everyone remembers what happened a hundred years ago. Even if they weren't there, weren't alive yet, everyone knows. Except me. I'm the champion of Hyrule, and everyone is counting on me, but I can't remember anything."

"That's not true! You've retrieved the princess' memories."

"Maybe. But I don't remember them. It's like watching a performance. Even if I'm in them, it doesn't feel like me. I don't remember doing those things. Or all the things between the memories."

"I don't remember one hundred years ago very well either. I know it's not the same - I was just young, but I only remember scattered moments - watching Mipha train, seeing Princess Zelda for the first time, and..." Sidon trailed off, looking away for a moment. "Sometimes those memories feel strange to me too. It was a different lifetime."

"Why would you stick around me?"

"What? Why wouldn't I stick around?"

"If I had done my job right...Mipha, Zelda, the other champions..."

"You did everything you could, Link. How much more could you have given? You fought against Calamity Ganon to your last breath! And now you're back to fight him once again. Already you've freed my sister and the other champions from Ganon's influence and damaged him greatly in the process. What more could anyone ask of you?"

"I couldn't save them. I couldn't bring them back."

"They wouldn't want you to feel guilty after all you've done. Mipha wouldn't want that. They all knew what it meant to be a champion."

"But I lived! I'm here, I'm still here, and they're not. I should have-"

"Link!" Sidon surprised even himself with how swift his response was, but there was no taking it back. "Please, Link," he said, gentler now, "don't blame yourself for what happened. The only one to blame is Ganon. It's not your fault. None of this is your fault."

Link couldn't bring their eyes to meet Sidon's. Their fingers clenched around the grass and dirt beneath them. The tightness in their chest burned like a fire.

"You do know none of this is your fault, right?"

A silence grew between them, broken only by the faint rumbling of distant thunder and the soft patter of rain beginning to fall. Link wished the moisture on their cheeks was purely from the sky. But then again, this was hardly the first time Sidon had seen them cry. If they had any energy left in them for shame, they might've judged themself harshly for how quickly they fell into Sidon's arms when he opened them, but all they could feel was warmth and relief. There was nowhere they felt as safe as in Sidon's familiar embrace. Their breathing slowed and steadied as they relaxed against the prince's broad chest. Beneath their cheek, they could hear his heartbeat, and the intimacy of it all made their own heartbeat stutter.

"We should get inside before the storm hits. You Hylians aren't quite as waterproof as Zora."

A small smile crept onto Link's face, and Sidon could feel it in the shift of their lips against his skin. He felt a wave of relief. At least one of the storms had abated for the time. Still, despite his own words, he was in no rush to let go of Link. It took the bright flash of lightning and a sudden boom of thunder to spur him into action. He slowly released Link from his embrace and got to his feet. He offered them a hand, and Link gladly took it, pulling themself up. They swayed slightly as their body reoriented itself, and they realised it had probably been far too long since they had last eaten. Just another little tally against themself.

"Link, are you alright?" Sideon asked, arm wrapping protectively around their waist.

"I'm fine, don't worry," they replied, far too quickly to sound convincing, "just a little hungry. I think I missed a meal or two."

"Then there's even more reason to get back inside."

Link nodded, dusting themself off before following Sidon back into the house. The prince ducked low to fit under the doorframe, and Link habitually locked the door behind them. They began to head toward the kitchen, but Sidon stopped them, redirecting them to the table and pulling out a chair for them.

"Sit. I'll take care of you."

Link couldn't protest, couldn't honestly fight back when Sidon's words were so calm and certain. They nudgedd the chair to face the small kitchen before they sat just to keep Sidon in their sight. Had they ever seen Sidon cook before? Part of them wanted to ask what he was planning on making, but the other part of them didn't want to interrupt. They wondered if Sidon had watched them enough to know what was in their kitchen. They were interrupted as Sidon began to hum. The tune was unfamiliar, but soothingly spell-binding. They relaxed in their chair, eyes locked on Sidon as he set to work. From their position, they couldn't quite tell what he was doing, but they trusted him implicitly. It was shockingly easy to let their guard down around Sidon. They were more than happy to just watch him work.

If Sidon noticed his captivated audience, he didn't seem to mind. He knew what he was doing, even if it had been a lifetime since he had learned it. On his own, he rarely put much effort into cooking. Fish was just as good raw as cooked, but he knew Link needed a proper meal, something warm to fill their stomach. And he knew exactly what meal to make - a recipe simple enough for a child to learn and remember it, but satisfying and tasty. An eternity ago, Mipha had taught it to him, a meal for a tired champion, a meal he had made for himself on many lonely nights. Perhaps, even if they couldn't consciously remember it, the taste would be comforting and familiar.

"It's...it's not just the old memories," Link said, breaking their silence. "I feel like I'm always forgetting everything. I forgot why I was even outside before. What sort of hero can't remember whether they've eaten or not? Or why they're sitting outside? If I didn't have Zelda's camera storing those memories, I'd just forget them all over again. What if I forget everything again? What if I forget you?"

The last word came out quiet and pained, and it hung heavy in the air. Sidon set down the bowl he was holding and crossed the floor back to Link's side. He knelt down in front of them, settling one hand on their knee as the other brushed stray hair from their face and tucked it behind their ear. He took a breath to steady himself, feeling an unexpected weight in his chest at the pain in Link's voice.

"I know you won't forget me," he assured.

"You can't say that for sure. I forgot everything before - Zelda, Mipha, myself. What if I forget again? I couldn't forgive myself if I forgot you - but I wouldn't even remember that I forgot you."

"Link, you won't forget again. You...a hundred years ago you died. And I really don't understand how you were brought back, but that's when you forgot, right? Everything before then you forgot, but you've remembered everything since you woke up. You won't forget again because you're not going to d- nothing like that's going to happen again, I won't let it."

"Sidon, you-"

"Sorry, I'm sorry," Sidon said, shaking his head and glancing away. "I talk too much."

"No, you don't! But you...you don't mean that, do you? That you wouldn't just...That you would try to protect me?"

"Of course I mean it!"

"Even when I...when you know what happened before?"

"Of course," Sidon repeated, smiling softly. "Maybe it's hereditary then."

"Hereditary? What is?"

"Believing in the Hylian champion and vowing to protect them to the end."

"What if you regret it? What if she did?"

"Mipha? She'd never regret any time spent on you."

"How can you be sure?"

"The things she left behind. Her armour fits you perfectly. She taught her little brother how to make just one meal - a meal she learned for you. Mipha wasn't afraid at all when she knew she would be fighting by your side. She was glad to be able to help however she could."

"You really believe that?"

"I know I haven't had nearly as many moments by your side as she did, but I can't imagine regretting a single one of them. And she couldn't have regretted them either. Even now that you've given her peace she's trying to protect you with her grace."

Link fell silent again, but they moved one hand to sit on Sidon's where it rested on their knee. In the quiet, the sounds of the storm outside filtered in. Rain drummed heavily against the windows and the roof. Occasional thunder shook the walls, and everything hanging on them rattled. Sidon was half certain his heart was beating loud enough to be heard as well.

"I'm sorry," Link said finally.

"What for?"

"For...I don't know. You probably have better ways to spend your time than listening to me. You don't need me dragging you down."

"Dragging me down? There's nowhere I'd rather be. Why would I want to be anywhere else? You shouldn't have to deal with this all alone."

"I...thank you."

Sidon smiled, squeezing Link's knee gently. He took a deep breath to reorient and ground himself.

"I think I've let you distract me long enough from making your dinner. I don't want your memory of me to be that I let you go hungry when I said I'd take care of you after all."

"You really don't have to. I can make myself something. I don't want to be any trouble."

"You've cooked plenty of food for me. Really this is the least I can do. And if it's actually good food, well you'll just owe me a meal later, deal?"

"Thank you, Sidon, really. And...deal. I won't forget."

[muffintonic]

Alright, I think i’m done BOTW 2 spamming for today. Anywho, time for some thoughts in general!

1) I hated how the shrines in BOTW were so cold and dark compared to the bright and lively nature outside (I wish they had all looked like the Master Trials challenge where there were trees and stuff incorporated inside), so I hope if we’re forced to have dungeons they’ll be more like the Wind Waker ones. 2) I hope they don’t make us use the grappling hook or anything like in Wind Waker to move around the sky islands (I hated that mechanic). 3) I’m probably one of the few people who wanted less Zelda and more of the Champions in HWAOC since i’m only really attached to BOTW (and we saw a fair amount of Tetra in Wind Waker)/apparently Zelda’s been sidelined in all the other games, so i’m hoping in vain that we get more Champions material in BOTW 2. Also, Link could stand to have some more cutscenes centered around him as well (the few we got in some of the sidequests in BOTW were great). 4) I only really somewhat care about Riju and Sidon, so I won’t mind if the new gang gets sidelined in BOTW 2 (I still think Nintendo wasted the found family/band of brothers aspect on the dead characters--I love them so much and they’re all I want!! The problem is, they’re dead and I don’t really care all that much about their replacements!!! I dunno, maybe i’m hampered by the fact that I can replay the original champions’ memories whenever I want/read their diaries, but I can’t rewatch the new gang’s cutscenes AKA i’ve forgotten their characterization since they don’t talk to me much now that the game’s over). It’d be great if they have some weaving storylines in BOTW 2 that will get me more invested in them, but currently i’m not that interested. 5) Speaking of which, I know it’s 100% not going to happen, but goddang if I don’t want the Champions to have been returned to life. Nintendo totally squandered HWAOC by not making it a true prequel/canon to BOTW (the Champions Ballad confirmed that the Divine Beasts had trials in order to be synced to the champs, so the new gen use of them wouldn’t have happened without that + Mipha thought Link had changed in BOTW yet says in HWAOC that he hasn’t changed + some scenes like “Champion Revali’s Song” never happened at all/got replaced with alternative scenes that really changed some dynamics + basically all of Revali’s time-relative characterization from his diary/pre-100 years of solitude got thrown out + I feel like Daruk got totally sidelined), so i’m still craving that Champions content. Also, I feel like it’s totally unfair that Zelda came out of 100 years totally unaged while everyone else died. Life seems to really suck for people in the LoZ universe who aren’t chosen by divine powers. 6) They’d better keep it open world and non-linear. I can’t go back to being forced to backtrack/trudge through things, I just can’t. BOTW was everything i’ve ever dreamed about in a game (truly open world + non-linear + interactive + meaningful story + lots of outfits + beautiful landscapes) with Skyrim previously being the only thing that came close to what I wanted, so I really hope BOTW 2 doesn’t deviate too much from that. 7) I really liked Kass in BOTW, but i’m not sure what direction they’d go with him in BOTW 2/i’d be fine if he sat BOTW 2 out. I worked so hard to complete all his quests in BOTW so he’d go back home to his family, GODDANGIT, KASS. 8) Someone mentioned that since the first trailer had underground aspects, we’re probably going to be playing as Zelda with the Slate there, and I agree. They didn’t make a playable model for her in HWAOC for nothing. 9) I want to be able to stable the deer and bears and stuff, but I know that won’t happen. Being able to ride the moose and rhino things from the Hebra area probably won’t happen either, but I want to ride them!!! 10) I hope there’ll be at least a few new buildings and stuff in the towns/they’ve started construction on some areas in Central Hyrule, but I guess that’ll depend on how long it’s been in-universe since BOTW. Or maybe not, considering how there’s still Karson and Hudson even though Bolson retired from Bolson Construction--insta-towns like Tarrey Town could totally be feasible if they wanted! 11) I have one foot in the camp that believes there’ll be time shenanigans in BOTW 2. HWAOC totally threw me off with it being an alternate timeline, so i’m not sure whether we’re going to be experiencing that again or time travel itself, but I definitely won’t be surprised this time around if Nintendo goes that route again (and it would be super interesting to see the Link from 10,000 years ago). I’m not entirely convinced that the Link we see exploring the sky in the second trailer isn’t our Link, mainly because he seems to still have on the blue boxers from BOTW. 12) I also heard that maybe this will be the last LoZ game ever since something something Demise something Skyward Sword something something lore from games i’ve only vaguely looked into (i’ve only ever played BOTW --> Wind Waker --> HWAOC)??? If so, it kind of sucks that I came in just when they started making games with playstyles palatable to me (I had to look up every single thing when playing Wind Waker, but BOTW let me solve things according to MY logic/I missed being able to explore in HWAOC), but at least it’ll end on a super high note/I won’t experience later disappointment, I guess. If BOTW 2 involves breaking the reincarnation cycle for the Triforcers, I would be really surprised. (On a related note, Nintendo making Ganondorf good would also be a 100% shock to me, but it would be great to end on that as a subversion. Yes, I want them to bring back the semi-complicated Ganondorf from Wind Waker.) 13) I hope they don’t rush releasing it. I heard they pushed back BOTW originally (I got it in 2019), but it came out fantastic for it! I know COVID’s been affecting things, so I really hope they’re treating their staff right and are mindful of crunch. 14) I want even more outfits (there seem to be at least two new ones, if the variant of the Hylian Tunic crossed with Link’s Champion’s Tunic counts). Give me all the outfits!!! Also, I hope we get even more hair variations in addition to the hair down option (which is all i’ve ever wanted since I saw the mod that altered the Ancient Helmet). 15) I wonder if we’re going to get a bonus for having both BOTW and HWAOC save data. 16) I wonder if we’re going to be keeping the Champions’ skills. I’m going to miss being super overpowered, if not. 17) I hope Nintendo doesn’t cave in and make surfaces climbable in the rain. Having that limiter is more realistic and Link would otherwise be too overpowered with a super climbing ability. 18) I liked BOTW’s scattered music that got more noticeable in populated areas because it was fitting for the post-apocalyptical/nature aspect. Hearing your footsteps in an open field and the buzzing of insects was super nice and prevented me from getting music fatigue (which i’d probably experience since whenever I play BOTW it’s for 5-10 hours at a time). I hope Nintendo either keeps that or makes audio options. 19) I heard that BOTW 2 is going to be super dark or something, and i’m okay with dark, but not GRIMdark, so I hope it doesn’t go that far. From what we’ve seen in the second trailer it still looks beautiful, but I hope it doesn’t do that thing that some games do where after the midpoint/a certain story point all the scenery permanently changes to be dark and scary (that’ll seriously hamper post-game playability for me if so). 20) If they expand on the Zonai, that would be super cool! Doubly cool if the time travel shenanigans involve them/ancient Link being one! 21) I kind of want windstorms to be a weather feature. We had lightning, heat, and cold, but no wind! No, I don’t count the wind geysers and the occasional breeze in Tabantha. 22) I want a chest in my house to hold more weapons than just the gear mounts. BOTW only had enough mounts for the champions’ gear, but it also had rare items like the Kite Shield and Forest Dweller’s Sword that you can’t get anymore once you use them up! 23) I want to be able to stable my horses at my house. What’s the point of that little area if you can’t stable your horse there! 24) Speaking of Link’s house: where is Zelda going to live? If the castle’s not reconstructed, it’d be neat if Link adds an extension to his house for her. 25) I hope they open up part-time jobs (think Mabinogi) as an option to earn rupees. Having to hunt for Luminous Stone deposits or feed Trott to make money can be such a chore. I think some of BOTW’s minigames/sidequests might count as those, but those minigames were either frustrating if your goal is to earn money (since most of them cost money to play in the first place and the mechanics weren’t always easy), or didn’t earn that much in general. 26) I wonder if Kilton is going to have updated items since the monsters seem to have changed. 27) I want to be able to dive underwater (mainly so I can explore the beautiful reefs over at Lurelin). A dive meter like the one from Super Mario Sunshine would be cool. Also, it’d doubly be neat if you had a separate stamina wheel for swimming and could permanently upgrade your swim/diving stamina (the speed+ swimming items just consumed your stamina faster, which was a pain)! 28) It’s definitely too late for this, but it’s a shame that the Hylians have so many face/body/hair and outfit variations, but the Zora, Rito, and Gorons don’t. The Gerudo were kind of okay with the hair and body variations, but the other races seemed to have a serious copy-paste problem. I guess technically some of the more important NPCs (ones with quests/cutscene triggers) had different coloring, but they were severely lacking in clothing variation. Also, the only old Rito was the elder??? At least the Gorons and Zora had some old folks besides their leader walking around. Very weird, but I don’t think BOTW 2 can fix any of this. 29) I wonder how they’re going to do the final boss battle, considering how epic/cinematic the BOTW 2x battle was. What can top fighting (on horseback, no less) a giant, flaming boar made out of malice? 30) I wonder what the Yiga are going to be up to, considering how Ganondorf seems to be somewhat kicking in BOTW 2.

[spiritmaiden23]

PASTEL WITCH!!!! BUT ALRIGHT FOLKS!! NEW VERSE IN COMING or well, old verse in coming but I never really talked about in length! BUT WITCH VERSE AKA where I can throw Sky Zel into generic fantasy verse for those who don’t know LOZ lore too well or put her in other verses such as Genshin or Rune Factory!! Not much to say about her design, other than what tiny me is saying in the corner I really wanted cute pastel vibes :’) at first I thought about putting in her goddess dress designs too in her dress but decided to go with the dress we see in the beginning because it’s really god tier design!! Either way let’s get into the main points of this verse 

So basics! She’s the apprentice of the grand witch, Hylia, and one of her few apprentices that stuck around since Hylia is infamous for being strict and a very hard teacher. As such she doesn’t have too many fellow students she can bond with but due to Hylia’s incredibly hard teaching, Zel is a more than competent witch with vast knowledge on many spells and hexes. Hylia had a unique teaching style where she doesn’t really use a wand, using a wand is the recommended way of using magic for witches as it acts as a conductor of sorts for all that mana to flow out. Wandless magic is possible but very, very hard to control. That said in her lessons she more or less expected her students to preform magical spells with no wands and well you see why she doesn’t have too many students because that shit is hard!! And while Zelda can perform certain spells without wands, she prefers to use tomes and books as a makeshift wand of sorts due to the magic latent in the pages. It’s far more powerful than wand all while giving her just enough control over spells compared to wandless magic. She has pointed ears which... is not typical of witches really though not super rare as Hylia also has pointed ears as do several other witches. But without her hat, many would mistake her to be an elf. Which is why she’s always seen with it when out and about!   

Witches, also known as spell casters or mages, are beings born with a great source of supernatural and arcane magic latent in their bodiesin that regard they can be seen as incredibly OP but they do have limits to their magical abilities as mana exhaustion is something to be wary of should one use spells repeatedly with no stop to it. Mana blockage is the result of using magical powers too much, and it’s where the mage has a tough time using their magic with spells backfiring on them. It’s usually painful to try and use the magic in their bodies and it’s best to just let the blockage clear itself up. Certain spells require certain sacrifices and should one use too much of the Dark Arts they are at the risk of turning into an enchanter/enchantress and that’s no good since while very OP are pretty much mindless because dark magic has turned their minds into a blank space, the corruption of the spells corrupting their minds and souls more or less. Magic is a very unpredictable force and without skill or knowledge can do lethal and catastrophic damages to either the user or the world itself. And it’s best to keep in mind that with magic, there’s always a price when using it. Using up mana for spells is considered an insignificant and super minor price to the witches, so keep that in mind. Also, there is such thing as magical immunity/resistance to witch spells so :’) 

So with that little bit of world building out of the way it’s time for focus on Sky once again! So her familiar is a species known as Loftwings where they can shape shift to the size of a barn owl all the way to giant bird beasts we see in SS. The feathers in her design are from her Loftwing, Indigo as a small charm since their feathers carry luck in them! The feather we see in her hair is actually charmed to turn into one roughly the size of a broom where she uses it to fly if Indigo is nowhere to be found (probably like Kagura rides the feather in Inuyasha bc it looks mad cool). She has a close companionship with him and sees Indigo as her best friend. She summoned him during a summoning exam that all witches must go through since familiars are very important to a witch! She has the same familiar as Hylia. In fact, many regard Zel as a mini Hylia in the making since she’s an accomplished witch at such a young age and one of the few students who actually passed Hylia’s classes!

She’s all done with schooling and is now just trying to make it out on her own through her small potions business! She excelled in potions and mostly relies on her skills and talents to make the best of the best! She lives in a hut all the way out in the enchanting Faron Woods. It’s a small space that’s a bit of a mess, filled with books, loose papers with lots of writing on them, cauldrons of varying size piled up in the corner, a table with plants and bottles.... the only clean place of the house is her bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen really haha!! Her workspace is in the basement and is filled with plants of all sorts even eating mortals, and lots of potions bottles on the workbench! She likes to live away from people due to witches not having the best rep around thanks to many enchanters being around and many indulging in dark arts to get to that level but has a really high friendship with mortals!! She’s known for being a more outgoing than Hylia. She’s often gathering ingredients all over the place so you’re more than likely going to come across her forging for the weirdest stuff for whatever orders of potions come in. There’s no potion she can’t make! That’s her motto! 

Whispers: is actually the daughter of Hylia here but Hylia being World’s Best Mom abandoned her long ago due to circumstances which resulted in her becoming immortal by mistake whoops as such she was adopted by a wise old man named Gaepora. While Zelda is unaware of the fact Hylia Is Not. But welp, it’s not like she’ll be saying anything anytime soon. That said that doesn’t mean her treatment of her as a student was any kinder just because she’s her daughter, she’s still just as much as hard ass on anyone haha!! But being the daughter of Hylia, who’s said to have goddess blood running through her veins and now Zelda too, well... it makes sense why she’s so proficient at magic, no? But just because they both have goddess blood doesn’t mean that they aren’t just as suspectible to corruption should they turn to dark arts if either Hylia or Zelda were to turn enchantress the world would be super FUCKED!! Hylia is well aware of the fact while Zelda is not so ;v; 

CRIES HERE’S WHERE I’D PUT LINK’S ROLE IF I HAD A MAIN LINK TO CONVERSE WITH BUT ALAS!! So I’ll leave Link’s role open for any Sky Link rpers who wanna have fun at this verse!! If you wanna rp in this verse, I’m always open to plotting!! So far, I’ve got three threads going and I’m always down for more! That’s it for now with witch verse Zelda!! 

[savage-pillar-of-salt]

Hyrule No More

General concept: The heroes have been reliving their adventures with the group, and really need a break. The lost woods can get really tricky...

The linkeduniverse  by @jojo56830 is awesome, hopefully this is a nice contribution. I’m a fan of Time especially, and all the juicy angst you can get with him. See if you can guess my fav LOZ game by the end lol

Here is part 2

 The Lost Woods were a common occurrence on our heroes’ journey, different versions, all seeming to connect and weave in and out of the individual Hyrules. Most of the time when they found themselves in these woods, it meant they would leave them emerging into a new version of the land they all knew and loved.

It was a strange experience you never really got used to. Wind always would get a little queasy as the world seemed to bend around them, vertigo taking over for a second until, just as quickly as it had arrived, the feeling was gone. Then the trees would appear slightly different, the air would have shifted, similarly smelling but with variations. Wind could always tell when they were in his Hyrule; the smell of salt in the air from the sea was never too far off, though it wasn’t present here. Unfortunately he wouldn’t get a change to visit home just yet.

As the heroes continued walking through the woods, each attempted, as usual, to asses if this was their homeland, or somewhere familiar. The sooner they knew who to look to for info on the surrounding area, the sooner they could get a move on. With each passing minute, the Links continued to rack their brains to no avail. Twilight could not catch the distinct scent of his homeland, Sky couldn’t recognize the bark or the leaves on the trees, Four had never seen the kind of lower growing foliage on the floor of the forest. Hyrule and Legend quickly dismissed as their own, and Warrior waved away the notion that this was his due to the fact that they had never set foot in his strange world, he began to doubt they even could. Wild’s lost woods had gotten pretty dense but this was even hard to navigate for him. That left one, their leader. They all turned to Time.

“So I don’t recognize this place, anyone else?” Warriors asked, breaking the silence of thought in the group. With a chorus of no’s and head shaking he asked the oldest of the group, “Well that’s everyone but you, old man. Suppose that means we’re back in your Hyrule, suppose we should be getting on to Lon Lon Ranch then?” Time was silent, with a look on his face that was hard to place, cautiously he cocked his head to the side and took point, continuing the group forward.

This may have caught the attention of the others if they had not been walking all day, and the thought of getting back to Malon’s home cooked meals sounded like heaven to the lot of them, so dragging their aching legs, none of them noticed, assuming their leader was just being his typical, broody self.

A couple more hours of walking, and the forest still hadn’t let up, ahead of them was an enormous tree trunk, felled and hollowed out. A trademark of the lost woods, they acted as sort of pseudo bridges, and as ways to both the exit and a way deeper into the forest. Time stopped the group. “Something isn’t right,” he nearly growled as he held his right arm to the side as a sign to stop, and reached for his Biggoron sword, about to unsheathe it. “What? What is it?” Twilight got into a fighting stance and brought his sword and shield to a ready position. The rest of the group followed suit, praying another fight was not about to be on their hands right now. Seconds of silence felt like minutes, as nothing was heard but the wind howling, and the leaves shuffling along.

Time whispered to himself, “Is this really the exit?” as he stepped into the slowly and methodically, unsheathing his sword and holding it at the ready. The group followed, with Warriors taking the back. Time couldn’t shake the feeling, something in the back of his head was telling him this wasn’t right, something was coming, and it was bad. What was frustrating him was that he couldn’t pinpoint it. Then they all heard it.

“Hee hee hee…fell for it again, huh?”

A high pitched voice rang out from behind them, outside of the log. Standing there, back facing them was a skull kid, his head shaking violently side to side.

“What the-?” Warriors let out as he and the rest turned to see. The skull kid began to slowly turn, but before anyone could see more, a loud *THUNK* was heard as their entire vision went dark from the entrance suddenly being blocked.

“H-hey, uhh, what’s going on?” Sky rung out, “Everyone? Are you guys still there?”

“Everyone, call out” Warrior’s voice rang through the silence as sparks were seen while he prepared a torch.

“H-here,” Wind offered after a gulp.

“I’m fine,” Legend huffed.

“All good,” Hyrule and Wild each offered torches for light.

Twilight was up ahead with Time, both in silence, looking ahead.

“What just happened? Anyone want to offer an explanation?” Warrior asked as he walked to the two at the front, putting a hand on each of their shoulders. Looking ahead he saw it too, then checking Twilight’s expression of confusion, he felt a little better that he wasn’t alone in it. It was Time’s expression of horror that scared him.

Time slowly staggered over to the figure in front of them and knelt in front of it. Hands shaking, he gingerly touched the bark of the waist high tree sapling with a face in the center of the trunk, hollowed out and sad. The tree was almost doubled over in pain if you looked at it from the right direction.

“No….no, no, no, no. This cannot be happening,” Time told himself as he almost began hyperventilating, his hands now raking through his hair, nearly pulling it out in clumps.

“Hey, Time, are you okay?” Twilight rushed up to his mentor’s side and put a hand on his back. “What’s going on? Tell us, we can help, we’ll get through this together, like we always do.”

“No, no you can’t help. I can’t help, no one can.” Time stood, still breathing heavily. There’s no way out. No way out, but there’s always a way out. Where is it? He just has to find the way out, and this nightmare never has to happen, he can just move on like he did last time. Looking around frantically, Times eyes dart around the outing they currently find themselves in, a circle of grass with some tree stumps, and only one exit.

“Forward,” Wild’s voice told him the one thing Time didn’t want to hear. “If we want to leave...” he gulped, “We have to move forward,” his hand pointing past the sapling to the tunnel ahead of them.

Awkward silence plagued the group for a long time, Time never acts the way he is now. Not calm cool and collected, unstable. It was strange and no one really knew how to address it as their leader was continuing to breathe up a storm, Biggoron sword held, white knuckled, in front of him as he lead the charge through the now stone tunnel with water rushing through. It was like they were underneath a town, and were traversing through the sewer system. Finally they ascended a set of stairs, to see cog-work and moving parts strewn about all clicking and clacking. Then a loud *BONG BONG* rang out, freezing Time in place once again. He should have listened to that feeling in his gut, he knew exactly where they were. Absolutely the worst place to have been sent, but that feeling was persisting. The bad wasn’t over yet. What else was there? All Time could think about was those words he heard years ago from the first man he met here. A phrase that cemented in his psyche, which even alone was enough to give him nightmares.

“Hmm…” a stranger’s voice rang out in the tower behind the group once again. This one, though, Time recognized immediately. He forced himself to turn to see the owner of the voice. He hadn’t changed, hadn’t aged. His head still cocked at an angle, his hands clasped together, and an overly friendly smile on his face. It was as if he hadn’t moved from that spot in the years it’s been since Time was last here.

  “…You’ve met with a terrible fate, haven’t you?”