lorelylantana

[lorelylantana]

People in the fe3h fandom, is there any underrated or overhated support you love?

[lorelylantana]

I feel there’s soemthing very disturbing about the relationship between Edelgard and feminism. I mean, here’s the thing; she’s meant to be diametrically opposed to Byleth. Whereas Byleth, who is male by default, ends up acting as a mother to the people of Fodlan at the end of their route, Edelgard instead was made to fill a role that has always been done so by a man in this franchise.

Let’s look at Silver Snow for a second. It’s the natural progression of Byleth’s story from a mechanical point of view. It’s the default, but beyond that the option to join Edelgard is framed as the player changing the story to the, as the devs put it, Conquest route. The teaching position that Rhea gives Byleth leads to them developing emotions, going from being the Ashen Demon to a beloved teacher. Rhea is also the character Byleth can form the strongest bond with pre-time skip, and just starting the bond rewards the player with Byleth’s paralogue and her shield. And, as previously mentioned, this leads to Byleth taking a feminine leadership role as the mother-figure who supports those in their care. And this happens after a lifetime with their father left them an emotionless killing machine ignorant of the world.

If anything, Rhea is the character linked with femininity.

Then you look at Edelgard. It’s not just that she’s repeating the same lines that we’ve heard from past male villains. The game says that Edelgard’s crusade comes from what her father told her, and when she runs into information that conflicts with her narrative she ignores it according to Hopes. Adding onto that, her father is said to be a puppet of Thales, the guy who experimented on her and is said to have manipulated Edelgard into going to war in the first place according to Wind and implied by Moon. We also see Edelgard view the reign of Nemesis, a cruel tyrant who was also a puppet of Thales, as a good thing because it was supposedly an age where man ruled man. And then there’s Hubert encouraging Edelgard to do whatever it takes to accomplish her goals even if it means working with her abuser. And all this comes together to create a female character who was given a traditionally male role in this franchise.

Edelgard comes across as this victim of toxic masculinity being pushed onto her, and it’s those influences that pushes her to go after Rhea. To believe that what Rhea teaches is wrong and that people need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and rely on their own strength. Edelgard rejects the idea of her using her power to protect and support her people, instead she sacrifices them for her own gain, she rejects that motherly role in contrast to Byleth, who follows in Rhea’s footsteps to bring the people salvation after Edelgard brought them hardship. Edelgard, on the other hand, goes on to invade other lands according to the Japanese script.

Then you look at how she goes after Rhea with the information campaign. She makes Rhea out to be the cause of all of Fodlan’s problems, and therefore any influence Rhea might have had should be forcibly removed from Fodlan justifying her conquest. There’s also the Western Church who want her gone because she’s not racist enough for them (and are being manipulated by the Agarthans), as well as Claude who is implied to be acting based on assumptions. In essence, Rhea is a woman in power who faces slander by those who want to remove her from her position and instead assert their own beliefs on how things should be run. You have Edelgard with her masculine influences, as well as Claude in Hopes who knows Edelgard won’t agree to peace but goes through with his plan simply because he wants to kill Rhea.

Consider also that Edelgard is linked to safflowers, symbolizing attraction, whereas Rhea is linked to white lilies, symbolizing purity, rebirth, INNOCENCE, and fertility (as well as the yuri genre). They can even symbolize everlasting love due to how they reemerge after each winter. White lilies are tied to women specifically in Japan.

If Edelgard is given the role of the villain according to the devs, then Rhea is the damsel in distress of the game, traditionally the hero’s love interest. Rhea is only able to be S supported at the end of the Silver Snow route, everlasting love after the winter route with Rhea being reborn after reuniting with Sothis.

Really, supporting Rhea comes across more as supporting women than Edelgard, especially since Edelgard is shown to lie and manipulate others.

[lorelylantana]

I’ve been having this thought lately about the experiments. The experiments on Lysithea were simply to create a human bearing two Crests, and despite her physical weakness and a reduced lifespan she was considered a success by the Agarthans. Yet with Edelgard, her having two Crests seems to have had the opposite effect resulting in her having great physical strength for no discernible reason. There is no evidence that there was a third set of experiments in order to perfect the process, so what is up with the difference between how Lysithea took to having two Crests and Edelgard?

Bloodlines might have something to do with it.

It was mentioned in the Japanese text that part of Count Vestra’s duties was managing the emperor’s harem, and it was Count Vestra who appointed Hubert to look after Edelgard in spite of her having 8 older siblings. House Vestra’s own personal battalion also wears Agarthan robes, which according to Azure Moon identifies them as not being part of the Imperial army. We also know that the Agarthans got to House Ordelia and experimented on Lysithea when they were put under Imperial supervision, and Hubert executes his father over what happened to Edelgard. All signs point to Count Vestra being the one who performed the experiments, and in all likelihood an Agarthan himself.

Count Vestra appointed Hubert to Edelgard around the same time the experiments on Lysithea were happening, telling the boy to never let anything happen to her. Thales makes it clear that Edelgard is supposed to bring salvation to the Agarthans. So the question becomes, why Edelgard?

I think this is where the harem came into play. While it helped contribute to the moral decline of the emperor himself, especially sparking the Insurrection via his attempts at removing power from the families of his concubines, the fact it was managed by someone likely from Agartha and how long Agartha has been working towards this goal, it feels like they were running a secret breeding program. Basically, treating the Imperial bloodline like dogs to be selectively bred.

“But what about Edelgard saying her parents met at the Goddess Tower and fell in love?”

Edelgard also says in the Japanese script that everything she said to Byleth was her trying to sway them into joining her. She’s effectively trying to gaslight them into believing there’s romance between the two of them (which would explain her fandom sometimes). That event is treated as something that happened long ago, and it’s established early on that no Imperial heir has attended the Academy in ages due to a falling out between Church and Empire following the Southern Church being dissolved. Ionius simply could not have been a student like Edelgard claims he was, and was simply lying to Byleth. Now that that’s out of the way, back to the topic at hand.

IAgartha’s attempts to create their own Kwisatz Haderack was seemingly based on giving someone two Crests rather than one. Nemesis got the Crest of Flames and was defeated by Rhea. But with Lysithea, it’s clear that any champion they may breed into existing wouldn’t be the physical powerhouse they wanted. Maybe a frail magical powerhouse, but Edelgard’s classes don’t take advantage of her magic stat. No Axe-Emperor also flinging fireballs because that would be metal as fuck and we can’t have nice things. But there’s something about Edelgard’s lineage that most others would not have.

Edelgard’s family is said to be descended from both Wilhelm and Seiros. Rhea, a Nabatean, is supposedly is one of her ancestors. This would also add an additional meaning to the version of history her Agarthan-puppet father fed her, that Rhea’s family rules Fodlan. Maybe not from the shadows, though the Imperial throne room is shown to be pretty damn dark. If the power of two Crests, taken from Nabatean blood, is too much for a regular person, what about someone whose blood isn’t fully human? Would their body be able to take it?

[lorelylantana]

Early mornings in Hateno.

[lorelylantana]

Hi! You may have found your own answer to this question since you posted this but I'm rereading the trilogy and have recently formed Theories so I thought I'd take a crack at these questions. Also I read the English translations so our names might be a tad different.

First I think the prophecies are only semi authentic. While the Count can't see the future, he can join his own Lodge under a different identity, which would enable him to write letters to his past self upon reaching the title of Grand Master. I think the 'secret writings' are a mix of information fed to him from the future and attempts to influence the lodge from the past. These writings are often observed as obscure and unreliable (One of the Count's prophecies is that Gwen will die for love, a thing she Does Not Do). When Gwen first meets the Count he asks what 'the magic of the raven' is, while we the reader know this includes the ability to see ghosts, the Count assumes in Emerald Green that this is a reference to her immortality, which he likely discovers after Lord Alastair's failed stabbing.

I think the question of the Chronograph is a much more intriguing question, and the mystery surrounding its origin and functions is likely the consequence of excluding women from participating in/collaborating with the Lodge. My current theory is that the Chronograph was created by someone from the female line of descent, most likely Cecilia Woodville or one of her female relatives.

First I'd like to rule out the possibility of the Count or Lodge inventing the Chronograph. Consider the language Mr. George uses when explaining things to Gwen;

"(. . .) The count himself used to travel every few hours as a young man, two to seven times a day. You can imagine what a dangerous life he lived until he finally understood how to use the chronograph." (Ruby Red, 133)

This to me suggests that the Count either found the first Chronograph by chance or, more likely, inherited his family's Chronograph with incomplete/damaged instructions. There's a good 20-100 years between the death of one time traveler and birth of the next one, which tells me that the earliest generations likely didn't see a need to pass on whatever knowledge or experience they gained over their lives to their children beyond an anecdote or two. It's possible the count interviewed them, however it's worth noting that the earlier generations weren't nearly as closely recorded as those who came after the Lodge's founding, so we can't say for certain how much they knew and shared with him.

Furthermore, if the Count and his Lodge truly understood how the chronograph worked they would be able to create their own and losing a chronograph would be a nuisance rather than a potential mission ending catastrophe. Even after centuries of study the Lodge can't replicate a chronograph, which goes against the assumption that the creator was a Lodge member. This is where the Count's misogyny starts to cost him. On top of being a straight up liar when it suits him, his views on women has caused him to make errors in judgement.

Let's take a closer look at how the Count describes his acquisition of the second Chronograph;

"' . . . But back to dear Jeanne. Did you have to use force? She wasn't very cooperative with me.'

'So she told me,' said Gideon. 'As well as the way you talked her into handing over the chronograph.'

'Talked her into it! She didn't even know what a marvel she'd inherited from her grandmother. The poor device was lying around unused, unrecognized, in a dusty chest in an attic. Sooner or later, it would have been entirely forgotten. I rescued it and restored it to its former glory. And thanks to the figures of genius who will enter my Lodge in the future, it is still in working order today. That is little short of a miracle.'

'Madame d'Urfe also thought you were prepared to strangle her, just because she couldn't remember her great-grandmother's maiden name and date of birth.'

. . . 'What's more, I[the Count] shared my chronograph with her in a truly fraternal spirit. (. . .) Sometimes a whole month would pass before she disappeared." (Ruby Red, 219-220)

The existence of multiple chronographs carries certain implications. Rather than assume the inventor had a near impossible memory I think it's safe to assume they/she created some form of schematic for reference. With this in mind it makes sense for there to be two chronographs, one for each time traveling family. If we consider that someone in the female line created the chronographs, it explains why the Lodge doesn't have access to the schematics or notes surrounding their creation. In denying access to women they lost the chance to access that information. Before the Count and his Lodge the chronograph probably wasn't a means through which to gather influence but rather a matter of convenience, the second one granted to the de Viliers family in good faith.

Given how quick the Count is to strangle Gwen I think it's safe to assume he did the same to Jeanne while interrogating her about her predecessor Elaine. The Count isn't subtle in his disdain and I think his 'popularity with women' is less to do with genuine admiration and more to do with how aggressively we socialize women to smile through there discomfort. I think Jeanne had the information the Count wanted but deliberately kept it hidden either out of spite or fear for Elaine. I think it's more plausible that her chronograph was stolen under threat of further violence.

Now let's address the idea that Jeanne is a 'poor time traveler' who rarely travels back in time. The Count is shown to be definitively incorrect when he says that women just travel less often. The fact that he says that Jeanne 'disappears' after months implies that he wasn't as free with his chronograph as he claims, but I still think she traveled semi regularly and her disappearance is a slip up through either extenuating circumstances or just not elapsing long enough.

"While observations of Count Saint-Germain led him to conclude that female gene carriers travel back in time considerably less often, and for shorter periods, than their male counterparts, our experience to date does not allow us to confirm his findings. The duration of uncontrolled time travel episodes has been shown, since observations were first made, to vary from eight minutes, twelve seconds(the initiation journey of Timothy de Viliers, 5 May1894), to two hours, four minutes (Margaret Tilney, second journey, 22 March 1894)" (Ruby Red, 160)

The Count's disdain of Jeanne de Pontcarre and women in general prevents him from connecting some dots. It's not that female time travelers do so less frequently and for shorter periods of time, nor was the chronograph forgotten in her house. Jeanne simply prefers to elapse at home in her attic. If we go so far as to assume that Jeanne has access to the notes/schematics left by the chronograph's inventor, possibly her great grandmother Cecelia, she may have made another one after hers was stolen and didn't tell the Count but if that is the case it isn't present in the book's events.

Who made everything?

Just finished a reread of the Edelstein Triolgie and something that was bothering was that I don’t know who actually like made the Chronograph? 

I’m not sure if I accidently skipped over the explaination but who actually wrote the prophecies and made the chronograph. We know the Graf made the organization but its not like he could see the future so how did he come up with all the propecies that happen? I get the whole Newton calculating their birthdays thing, sure whatever, but the rest?? 

I thought maybe there was someone like Tante Maddy in the past and he used them but idk. Also my only guess for the Chronograph is that either he went into the past and had all his smart friends to build it or like after he made the Organization build it. 

He did also talk to that one girl he impregnated all about everything he knew which included the whole “Stein der Weisen” meaning he had the Prophecies as a younger man? 

If anyone knows please help!

[lorelylantana]

Homecoming

A quick oneshot written as a companion piece to an art piece I made a while back, the version with the full work is hosted on Ao3.

Rating: E

How many days has it been since he held the sun in his arms? Felt the blessed weight of her secure in his arms as Link pulled her close enough to share a heartbeat? The scent of Silent Princesses drifting from her hair even as it dripped with water from Mabe Pond. Bit by anxious bit, Link felt the grief leave with every breath, lost to the breeze until finally he was at peace. 

Then came the fire. Delight at having her close turning to the darker desire meant for after night falls, running hot in his veins.

It didn’t take long for his pants to feel tighter. A sharp gasp swept through his hair, and he knew Zelda had noticed. One of her hands slid down his back and around his waist, but paused at the sound of hooves pounding on a dirt road. Link, briefly, felt conflicted. He of all people understood the desire to see Zelda after all this time, but if he let her go it would be hours before they were alone again, and he wasn’t ready to let her go. He’d noticed that his revived arm still wore Rauru’s rings, and the Zonai powers still lingered within him, so he called on them. It took all but a wave of his hand to bring one of his saved schematics to life. A wing fitted with enough fans to ensure a smooth take off dropped to the pond and Link took Zelda’s hand in his, dragging his fingertips from shoulder to wrist as he did so. 

“Come with me,” he whispered, burying his nose into her hair for a moment because he could. Then he pulled her onto the wing. It seemed she had some flight experience of her own, since she followed him with a grin instead of questions.It dipped a bit precariously, with both of them standing on it, but it held. Link took his stand by the steering stick but waited until her arms were firmly around his waist before taking off, taking to the skies just in time to hear the party from Lookout Landing catch sight of them flying away.

Link steered the wing south, away from their confused shouts. It wouldn’t take them far, but they would get far enough. Besides, Zelda’s laugh in his ear made it worth the risk. They should have just enough time to land in the Bottomless Pond. Even Epona, swift as she was, took a full hour to get from the Landing to the pond. Link could settle for an hour. The Wing began to blink out as they hit the water, giving him enough time to steer the shore and quickly detach the steering stick before the wing could dissolve. He turned and kissed her before his arms had a chance to settle around her, but Zelda was every bit as eager, pushing him down by the shoulders so they could kneel together before she climbed on top of him. She nibbled at his collarbone as she ran her hands all along his chest and stomach, savoring the indulgences they’d been denied for so long. It had been a few months on Link’s side of time, but his heart sank at the realization that she could have spent years in a foreign land before swallowing that cursed stone. He’d ask when he could bear it, but now was a time for soft touches and sweet reunions.

“This one’s new,” she mused as her palm ran across a jagged white line along his ribs. Link could feel her brow furrow where it rested above his heart.

“It was a Lyn-ah!” he choked back a goan as she sat back to get a better look at it, settling her hips over his in the process. He could feel her shudder above him, and his resolve shattered like a broken blade. He tried to let her do as she wished, he really did, but his lack of shirt made it all the clearer how overdressed Zelda was for this occasion. Unlike her previous dress, Link had no idea how to begin taking it off and didn’t want to spend any more time than he had to thinking about it. Oh well. If he couldn’t go through, he’d go under.

Link put his hands around Zelda’s waist (where they should be) before lifting her up. Hooking his ankles around the edge of the wing as leverage, he dragged himself down until his head rested between her knees. Once he got his hands under her skirt, pleasantly shorter than its predecessor, He drew his hands slowly up her thighs as she settled on her knees. Had she kept her panties, or did Zelda adopt whatever undergarments they used in Ancient Hyrule?

Neither, it seemed.

Zelda gave a nervous giggle at his hungry growl, moaning a bit as his hands tightened on her ass.

“I’d have to take them off to wash and-” she had to pause when he made contact, splitting her lips with his tongue, “I just got used to not wearing them.”

If the front of his trousers hadn’t been soaked already, that would have done it. He hummed against her as he licked, savoring the delighted shudder that ran through her. Her hands finally made their way into his hair, tugging gently just the way he liked it.

The added bonus to the Bottomless Pond was the reputation that lingered even as the quagmire faded. Stories of the old monster encampment were enough to keep most civilians far away. Link knew his princess well. Fond as she was of love out in the wild, Zelda preferred “a possible discovery to a probable one.” Still he was so focused on savoring the taste of her that it took him a few moments to realize she’d shed her dress. It wasn’t until she was shaking above him that he opened his eyes with a satisfied grin to look up at her. It’d been so long that his hips bucked into empty air at the sight of her alone, but it wasn’t long before he pushed himself up.

Link didn’t care if it was confidence or pure enthusiasm that led to Zelda taking the dress off, the sight of her bare chest was the only hint he needed. He nibbled at her breasts as she settled back into his lap and began to tug at his belt. Link let her sort out his trousers, determined to cover as much of her skin in kisses as he could. He wouldn’t rest until he’d given her at least two kisses for each day she’d been away. 

Still, Zelda was never one to sit idle, and soon enough his plan was derailed by her grip on his cock. He threw his head back at the shock of it, running his hand up her back as she got him at a good angle. His fingers slid into her hair as she sank on top of him.

At last.

Neither of them moved, his lips pressed into her shoulder. They just held each other for one, two, three breaths. Then she began rocking, and he braced himself on the one arm he was willing to spare. His other hand cradled the back of her head and her hands ran up and down his back. He kissed her neck, right above her secret stone, and she shuddered, highlighting her caress with a soft brush of her nails. It was her moan in his ear that did him in. He managed to get in a few more good thrusts in so they were both satisfied as they lay there together in the fading sun.

“Welcome home, “ he whispered in the honey gold of sunset, Zelda’s head resting on his shoulder. She hummed into his chest, idly running a finger along the scar she’d discovered as if to carve it into her memory.

“I missed you.”

[lorelylantana]

Soulmate AU where you can bend your soulmate's element in addition to your own.

Soulmates are pretty rare in this au, so Katara was shocked to discover a second element in the first place.

She's not sure how she feels about it, but she can't deny the fire's warmth during the South Pole's colder nights.

[lorelylantana]

🌚

[lorelylantana]

beans

[lorelylantana]

Omg thank you so much for drawing this! It really made my day to see art made from one of my fics! Noodle is adorable and I love how you expanded on the idea!

Here is some art for @lorelylantana story, Savageries of the Heart. This is of a species of snake called the Faron Python, with Zelda receiving one that she names Noodle, who is said be white with blue markings, which I believe is intention in order to link her to Naydra. I chose to expand on this and add two other morphs in the colors of both Farosh and Dinraal, since the breed is apparently a common pet.

[lorelylantana]

Here is some art for @lorelylantana story, Savageries of the Heart. This is of a species of snake called the Faron Python, with Zelda receiving one that she names Noodle, who is said be white with blue markings, which I believe is intention in order to link her to Naydra. I chose to expand on this and add two other morphs in the colors of both Farosh and Dinraal, since the breed is apparently a common pet.

[lorelylantana]

[gif] practice

[lorelylantana]

i don’t understand why the fandom claims sokka never had a chance to grieve kya’s death when he explicitly states in-show that, while he was grieving, katara stepped up to take care of him, her older brother who probably should have been looking after her, instead. and he says that he views her as more of a mother than their actual mother. the show straight up tells us that she is the reason he was able to heal, whereas she never truly had the chance to.

meanwhile, she is begging for anyone to listen to her pain for the entire show and doesn’t get that kind of help or sympathy from… anyone in the gaang until the southern raiders??? and it’s definitely not sokka. she literally only gets emotional support from haru and jet up until the s2 finale, and out of the 3 people who actually take the time to listen to her pain, 2 of them immediately betray her and the 3rd barely shows up ever again. sure, zuko makes amends, but while he’s doing that aang and sokka are guilting her into forgiving the murderer right up until the end of the episode, and the 2 of them don’t stop until she snaps at each of them. and fandom HATES her for it, as if she wasn’t driven to that point by an entire SERIES’ worth of having to take care of largely ungrateful people who never reciprocate that emotional or physical labor for her sake.

[lorelylantana]

we’ll be white-hot forever.

[lorelylantana]

Savageries of the Heart Chapter 10; Reminiscence

First-Previous-Next

Ao3

Chapter Rating: G Overall Rating: E

Impa shut off the feed with a sigh of irritation, sending word to the guards to transport Nohansen to a facility in Hateno so Zelda could deal with him at her leisure. After a few seconds passed in silence, Zelda decided to speak up.

“Right, with that settled, I propose that we extend this council meeting so we may begin any discussions that were,” Zelda cleared her throat, cheeks flushed, “postponed.”

It was quiet for a moment longer, and Zelda had worried she’d overstepped, but the Rito Warden on the opposite side of the table shrugged his shoulders. 

“We’re all gathered here anyway. Might as well make it worth the trip.”

The others nodded in a consensus, and Zelda caught a gleam of pride in Urbosa’s eye.

Impa swept a finger across the map, adjusting the point of view to settle above the entire continent. 

“In recent years it has come to our attention that the upper echelons of Hyrule’s ruling class have been infiltrated by Yiga clansmen in an attempt to sabotage not just the Kingdom, but the entire continent.”

“Why would a threat to the Kingdom of Hyrule affect the Zonai?” Zelda asked, brow raised, “forgive me for saying so, but my time in the Dragonlands has made it very clear that my Uncle has catastrophically underestimated you,”

“Us,” Link cut in, gently nudging her elbow.

“Us,” Zelda corrected, warmth fluttering in her chest, “the point stands, Hyrule’s isolationist policies have kept them out of international politics for as long as I . . .” Zelda trailed off, thinking back to the maps her uncle had pinned in her study, how he’d pored over them, paranoid at a threat that lurked across every border. 

“War,” Zelda breathed, shocked to her core. When her uncle had informed her of her upcoming marriage, she hadn't taken the necessity for Zonai military support seriously. It’d been peaceful since the Calamity, and Hyrule field didn’t provide any resources the other territories didn’t possess themselves, so she saw no strategic motivation. If what Impa said rang true, and someone was whispering in the regent turned king’s ear, that was another tale entirely. “They intend to instigate a war.”

“That’s the least of our problems,” Urbosa said, pressing a button to highlight all of the border outposts and the bridges surrounding the Kingdom. “Hylia river makes holding back any forces they send our way child’s play. Daphnes likely believes us to be more reliant on passage through your territory, and would likely build his strategy on the assumption that we’d want to avoid damaging any major thoroughfares. Depending on whatever narrative the Yiga fed him with, he might even think he can cross the borders without us noticing. Since the Railway’s completion, we’ve been able to bypass Hyrule Field in its entirety. In the event of an all out war with Hyrule, we’d blow all of the bridges and make sure they stay that way.”

“It would be simple enough to manage, even in the long term,” Mipha confirmed. Link nodded, but his brow was creased with worry.

“What worries us isn’t the possibility of conflict, but the timing. The Zonai have been unified for centuries, but there was a time when the territories were still separate. If conquest was the goal, the time for it passed generations ago. What the Yiga most likely want is division. They want to keep us from negotiating with the people of Hyrule, and more specifically, the royal family.”

“Negotiating for what?” Zelda asked. This time it was Impa who took the lead, waving in two Sheikah carrying some mechanism in their hands. They placed it on the table, and its six legs rolled aimlessly. Zelda gave it a closer look. It had the shape of an upturned pot, and she noticed what almost looked like an eye.

“As you know, Hyrule’s king grew paranoid after the Calamity, he was afraid our technology was too powerful, so he demanded that we destroy it. Instead we decided to retreat to Kakariko, and when he attempted to take military action against us, the Zonai intervened. We were able to keep some of our knowledge thanks to the protection they provided, but the majority of it was lost due to our main database’s location underneath Hyrule Castle. The Princess Zelda of the time helped wherever she could, but the king destroyed any scrap he could get his hands on. The best she could do was hide away the biggest cache of data with a seal of her own making, keeping her father’s hands off it. 

“For thousands of years, that seemed to be the end of it. We were able to regain most of our knowledge and we went on with our lives. It wasn’t until years ago, with the death of your parents, that we began to suspect things weren’t right.”

Impa gave Link a look, ceding the floor, he nodded and spoke, “My predecessor, Rhiannon, felt herself grow weak shortly before your parent’s deaths reached our ears. She didn’t like the look of it, how they both died on the same day and how she was fading in a way none of the doctors or monks could explain. She consulted with Lanayru at the Spring of Wisdom for guidance. They said she only had a few years left, and she needed to find her successor before Calamity rose again. She found me,” he drifted off, taking her hand.

For the first time since becoming Mother of the Dragonlands, Zelda felt ice pour down her veins. Chilled to the core. She’d heard whispers of Calamity's return, of course, she’d paid it no mind, thinking it was another one of her uncle’s games.

“I’ll admit all this techno stuff is a few steps out of my quarry, but what I do know is the Calamity is returning, the army we built against it hasn’t moved in an age, and they won’t be unless we get our hands on that data,” Daruk muttered. He was large, even for a Goron, and this room clearly wasn’t built for him, so the mere act of scratching the back of his head almost sent Link into the ceiling. Despite the gravity of the situation growing heavier, Zelda found herself grateful for her husband’s reflexes. Across the table, Urbosa nodded, looking Zelda in the eye.

“A princess created that seal, a princess can destroy it. But first, we need to take back Hyrule Castle”

It was a strange thing, to stand atop an ice capped mountain without so much as a shiver. It wasn’t natural, or maybe it was, and Zelda’s understanding of the world was simply wrong.

So, so wrong. 

Zelda wasn’t used to taking power for granted, yet here she was, looking out over her dominion as the sky brightened, one shade of blue at a time. After a moment’s hesitation, she stepped into the spring, waters warm and soothing as it caressed the skin of her ankles and seeped the fringes of her cerulean wrap skirt.

The first time she’d stepped into a sacred spring, she had faced the goddess like an adversary. An obstacle to overcome before she could at long last hold her head high with the assurance that she deserved a place in Hyrule Castle. 

What an insidious ploy, drafting Zelda to fight a war against herself.

Zelda shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. She didn’t come here to wallow in past miseries. She came here to brace herself. Walking through the spring up to the statue, she pulled herself onto the shelf and let her feet dangle into the water. Perhaps she should have been more hesitant to sit on what could very well be an altar, but she couldn’t bring herself to worry. Something in the back of her mind told her that the Spring of Wisdom was hers and she could use it as she pleased. It seemed all the continent’s hopes were placed on her shoulders, and she had no idea how to carry them. It would be one thing if her mother still lived.

 No.

It would be one thing if even a single text written by the women who came before her survived. But they were gone, and Zelda had to stumble blindly forward. Looking to preserve their future by grasping at a past that was ripped from her hands more than a decade ago.

Alone in a sacred spring atop an ice capped mountain, Zelda prayed. In the light of the rising sun, she desperately hoped for just one hint of wisdom from her ancestors. Not the histories written and corrupted by paranoid kings, but the princesses of legend that faced, and brought down, the evils threatening the land with their own hands.

Outside of the Spring of Wisdom, Link’s footsteps crunched into the snow. Zelda opened her eyes to watch him step into the water. 

“How are you?” he asked, coming to kneel before her, chin resting lightly on her knee. She took a breath, searching for words before answering.

“I feel set adrift and pinned down all at once,” she mused, “It is clear to me that Hyrule is corrupted, and I haven’t the faintest idea how to fix it.” Link’s hand curled over her knee, fingertips drifting over her skin.

“I’m the youngest Warden in Zonai history,” he said, a musical tilt coming into his voice when Zelda began running her fingers through his hair, “I was terrified stepping off the boat after Rhiannon’s funeral, because there were patrols to be organize and warriors to train and I hadn’t the faintest idea where to start. Maybe I would have felt better if I was from a different region, but being Warden of the Dragonlands means being Keeper of the entire continent, and that’s what suffocated me. It would be one thing to mount a defense here, where I know each forest, shore, and river like the back of my hand, but everywhere else? I knew next to nothing about them other than the short trips I’d taken. 

“I just panicked, so I ran. After a Warden dies, there's supposed to be three months of grace for their successor to take down a great beast before their claim can be challenged. I ended up tracking a Lynel into the mountains that very evening.”

He paused, and Zelda could feel him swallow against her leg. She scratched his head gently, trying to soothe him in whatever way she could. He took a shuddering breath, then began again. “I spent hours looking at its corpse, waiting for it to change me, somehow. I thought that completing the Rite to Ascend as Warden would make me feel calmer, more ready, but it didn’t. I was the same as I ever was.” He looked up at her then, and Zelda could see the calm, steady look in his eyes. “But I was enough Zelda. I was ready, even when I felt anything but. I think we need a little blind faith in ourselves when dealing with new things. There’s never been a Hyrulean Queen among the Zonai before you, so the challenges before you are unique.” Link gave her a grin that warmed her chest and put a small smile on her own face. “Just because there’s no one to guide you down this path doesn’t mean you aren’t ready for it. Follow your instinct, and the answer will come when the time is right.”

Zelda leaned back against the statue as she mulled his words over. It was a new concept, that she could be naturally suited for anything, but Zelda couldn’t shake the confidence she found in his warm gaze. Besides, she handled her duties as Mother of the Dragonlands well enough, could saving Hyrule really be beyond her reach? 

Link didn’t say anything more, just soaking in the warmth of the dawn with her, but she was content to fill the silence herself by humming a quiet tune as she used the serenity of the moment to pull herself together. Her hands moved out of his hair and skimmed down his neck, fingers tapping imaginary notes into Link's shoulder. The song behind her closed lips shifted, transitioning from her childhood lullaby into a song that struck her as familiar yet indescribably ancient.

Time passes, people move

Like a river’s flow, it never ends.

A childish mind will turn to noble ambition.

Young love will become deep affection.

The water’s clear surface reflects growth.

The final note had not left the confines of her throat when Zelda’s husband disappeared into thin air.

[lorelylantana]

Serenade of Water

Some art I did to pair with one of my fics Savageries of the Heart(Ao3).

[lorelylantana]

things that have stuck with me as a woc in (the zelda) fandom

Hey all. This post is mostly about the Gerudo and my own experiences in fandom as a Middle Eastern woman (will be using acronyms such as MENA and woc), because the longer I stay here the more insane I become. This post is mostly about a lot of horrible stereotyping, misogynistic, racist, etc. headcanons, and just downright horribly offensive comments I've witnessed that have stuck with me throughout my time here.

There are a lot of other problems in this fandom with a lot of other aspects of the games (the Zonai...) which I won't touch on, as the Gerudo resonate closest with me and I feel I have the authority to speak on these issues as I am MENA, and they are based on MENA stereotypes.

TW for racism, misogyny, xenophobia, abortion... it's just strange.

The most notable thing I've experienced during my time in this fandom is being spoken over, as a woc talking about woc issues, by white people. White people who were MY FRIENDS.

One instance that sticks out to me is when someone shared their art of Urbosa in a Zelda server. It was really sexualized, and her waist was EXTREMELY tiny. Below the art, the artist said, "her waist is snatched because she got an abortion." She didn't say this about the other characters she drew. Only the woc.

Do I need to elaborate on why that is a horrible, disgusting thing to say?

This really upset me. What upset me more, however, was that nobody spoke up. Nobody said hey, this is wrong, and what you said is gross. When I spoke about this with my friends, they continued to bash the art style or whatever and ignore the fact that what was said was disgustingly racist. Then, after repeating about 5 separate times the impact this had on me as a woc (because nobody was listening to me and the most action that was taken was hug emojis), I got asked: Are you MENA?

They chose to ignore the racism they were witnessing and then questioned my (already stated) credibility. To question my capacity to be upset, hurt, and angry. These were people I called friends.

This next instance was not me being spoken over, but it was... weird. In a Zelda server, someone shared their headcanons for their personal AU. One of these headcanons was:

The Gerudo stop aging until they meet their significant other.

The Gerudo stop aging until they meet their significant other.

This was to justify the person's pedophilic ship with Riju, which... yeah. Self explanatory. So not only that, but you are tying the life and worth of WOC to their partners which, in-game, are men. The Gerudo do not continue their lives until they met their partners. The woc do not continue their lives until they meet their partners.

Be real.

This person ended up getting called out (after MUCH convincing from me to do so...).

These are two specific instances that have stuck with me during my time in fandom, but now I'll touch on more general stuff.

The only way people speak about Urbosa or other Gerudo characters is sexually or violently. It seems we only have the capacity to say "yes mommy Urbosa step on me! Crush my bones!! Yes!!" which is actually extremely harmful. You can like the Gerudo. You can think they're sexy or hot. But you need to be more mindful about how you speak about them, because if the only way you can express your feelings about these woc is through acts of violence, that is a problem. Because you cannot see the Gerudo as characters beyond being man-hating lesbians to satisfy your own fetishes. By acting this way, you also contribute to the idea that Gerudo women cannot be feminine because they are brown-skinned. No other race in Zelda is spoken about this way.

The Gerudo are often attached to other characters, as mentioned previously. I think this is most commonly and easily seen with Urbosa. Whenever she is discussed, it is in relation to Zelda (mother-daughter relationship) or Zelda's mother (having an affair or whatever other headcanons there may be). It is rare that Urbosa is written on her own, outside of her relationships. Not like she has an entire society to run or anything.

Let's also not forget about the sexualization of Link in his Gerudo vai outfit. Yes, it's cute. Yes, it looks good on him. But so many of you borderline fetishize him wearing it. However, I don't think I know enough to speak on this specific issue, so I will stop there with that.

I will never forget the time I came across a post saying that the existence of Ashai, a pale Gerudo, is racist.

Here is Ashai. She teaches the dating lessons in Gerudo Town. As you can see, she is paler than a lot of the Gerudo.

However, contrary to the westernized belief that all Middle Eastern people are literally brown-skinned Muslims, the Middle East is extremely diverse. Middle Eastern people are pale, dark, brown, tall, short, Muslim, Christian, Jewish. We are not carbon copies of each other like this poster wanted the Gerudo to be. In fact, this same exact identical-ness is what made early versions of the Gerudo so racist. The one thing Nintendo did right was having a diverse range of skin tones for the Gerudo in BOTW, and by saying Ashai's existence as a pale Gerudo is racist, you erase all of that progress.

Race is not just in your skin tone. It's in your eyes, your nose, your mouth, your ears, your body. That is why, despite being pale, Ashai is Gerudo. Ashai is a WOC.

This post is not intended to stir up drama, because if you believe racism = drama, that is not on the poc calling it out.

If you are a white person who is friends with POC, this doesn't make you exempt from contributing to the harmful stereotypes or racism.

Sit down. Listen. And reflect.