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flowering-thought · 10 months

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Ganon brainrot won in my heart so here we are-

Please know that this version of Ganaon is influenced by BOTW and TOTK as I never got the chance to play the older games and I'm hopefully going to purchase TOTK soon (I'm a broke bitch so I look at spoilers in envy and awe). Also note that due to the complicated timeline of the games I'm going to say that Zelda has traveled back maybe 10,000 years because as of right now there's no telling how to fit it into the timeline for sure-

Not gonna lie I wanna do more of this, maybe a part two?? Should I do a part two?? I want to do more but I didn't want to make it too long-

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

WARNING - MINORS DNI

AFAB reader and reader is described as feminine and chubby/plus sized.

Yandere themes, obsessive behavior, hints at stalking

Yandere Ganondorf x Archeologist Reader

Zelda and Link. Two people you had come to know well as you had helped Link grow used to life in Hyrule after waking from his 100 year nap.

You were an assistant who occasionally helped Purah but also looked for things to research on your own when you could.

And when Link had saved the kingdom from Calamity Ganons grasp? You had grown close to Princess Zelda, who shared many interests with you. You two got along quite well, having fun and sharing research with each other and having long conversations about the past and the link between technological advancements and a declining birthrate.

And with Link? You appreciated the times when you could just relax. You would both sit by the fire and relax or you would tell him stories to pass the time.

Before Link had managed to defeat Calamity Ganon you would empathize with the struggle of not remembering his past, of the emotions that came with the weight of the world on his shoulders. And you would help him find ways to find happiness in the small things, even talking with him and having conversations to make things seem less stressful than they were.

So with Link and Zelda by your side with ruins of the ancient past? What would you have to worry about? Zelda is knowledgeable about ruins and Link is strong enough to help either of you if something were to happen.

But things don't always turn out how you want them to be huh?

Walking up to what looked to be a corpse deprived of light and dehydrated to the point it was practically a standing mummy, a hand attached to its chest and a spiral of light emitting from the contact.

And as though it were fate, that hand detached, a stone falling with it. A part of you felt as though you weren't supposed to be here, you took a step back, behind Zelda and Link, your eyes fixated on the mummified corpse.

As if you had walked into some tale of horror, the cracks of bones could be heard from the body, it slowly moving in what could only be described as terrifying.

Just as it opened its eyes Link blocked the first attack, and you grabbed Zelda's wrist, ready to run with her if need be. And the shattering of the master sword echoed through the chamber.

"The sword that seals the darkness? Such a fragile sword cannot defend you from me." He stated, a raspy voice speaking out.

"Zelda.. And you who carries that sword are Link." He continued.

The conversation did not last, another attack carried and both you and Zelda are knocked into the abyss. And even if it would be your death, you did not let go of Zelda, knowing that you'd rather be together in death should you die from that fall.

But all you saw was a burst of light before you inevitably passed out, your consciousness fully collapsing as the world around you changed.

And then there you were, in a field in Hyrule, both you and Zelda lain among the grass for a certain King and Queen to find you.

Zelda was the first to awaken to their voices, explaining who she was to them before they explained their own title.

And just before Zelda could gasp, you awoke. You held yourself as you woke up before fully awakening and looking around frantically for Zelda.

You didn't mind the strangers as you crawled over quickly to check for wounds, "Are you okay? You didn't get hurt?" You asked.

And upon realizing where you were, and looked upon by strangers, both you and Zelda explained what had happened to the young King and Queen as they brought you to the peak

Of course what followed was being brought to the founding kingdom of Hyrule, Rauru and Sonia treated Zelda like their daughter, smiling and making sure she was well fed.

They had claimed that both you and Zelda were distant relatives despite you saying you were not a part of the Hylian royal family. But they stated it would be better to claim that for now.

And while they treated Zelda like their child, when it came to you they were gentle as though you were someone they loved. You did not have powers like them and so they made sure you had a guard with you at all times.

Often times you would be found by the pair with Mineru, both of you enjoying different topics and you found immense enjoyment from learning everything that the Zonai technology could offer.

Sometimes you would actually fall asleep in Minerus office, and you could have sworn one time to hear Sonia and Rauru conversing as your head was supported by a lap and your hair pet gently. It was such a warm and gentle feeling so you eventually drifted back to sleep only to wake up in your chambers the next day.

And then, the one and only Gerudo King known as Ganondorf made his appearance.

Far too many times had you seen the depictions of a monstrous beast called Ganon, and upon hearing the name in another form you could feel shivers roll down your spine.

You stood next to Zelda, deciding to take your mind off of the King and look to his group, finding the differences in the attire of the past and future was fun to you rather than thinking about the anxiety that came with meeting Ganondorf.

And while you gazed at his group, Ganondorf had been staring at the stones for a time, noticing Zelda had one so he assumed that you would as well. And as soon as he noticed you did not have one he should have brought his gaze back to Rauru but he couldn't.

The way those robes fit on your figure, your soft looking features and that gaze of intelligence and warmth in your eyes had him nearly move his head to look right at you. But of course he knew better than to make his interest clear right in the throne room.

He couldn't keep his eyes off you, even when he and his group of warriors were escorted to different chambers to rest he had your face in mind. And before he was escorted to the separate nicer chamber he would stay in for his standing in the Gerudo tribe was the highest, he pulled two warriors aside and told them to keep an eye on you in secret, to learn more about you.

"And what kind of information on her would you like us to gather?" One asked, prepared for whatever her king would ask of them.

"Everything." He stated, turning to follow the Hylian maid who stood quite a bit away.

And so for an entire week, while observing many schedules of those who had the secret stone, he would try to find the places you tended to wander in.

He learned of the foods you prefered, how you spent a lot of your time either in the garden or the library, snacks such as fruit you often snacked on. He also found out the size of the robes you wore, getting a messenger to send that information back to the tribe to prepare you clothing. And he also tried his best to search into your orgins, but even most servants of the palace did not know where you came from.

It was frustrating that oftentimes you were with a member of the royal family or in places he couldn't get to without arising suspicion when it came to trying to get close to you.

Until finally, you were in the garden, only a single guard standing a couple of feet away as you sat in the grass and with a sketchbook open drew the different kinds of plants in front of you.

He found it beautiful. How your fresh flowed around you in the grass and your hunched form taking in the details of nature.

A part of him thought it suited you. But another thought how much better you would look smiling at him and waving him over.

But alas he had to make the first move.

So that's what he did, he stepped into the garden and made a light cough, the guard startling and immediately formed a stance while you turned to face what was only a pair of legs till you craned your head up to look at him.

You stayed completely still out of shock, till Ganondorf tilted his head a bit, wondering why you merely stared.

"Am I truly that shocking to see my lady?" He asked, a small smirk adorning his face. You nearly wanted to run but at the same time a part of you didn't want to create problems for Rauru or Sonia or even possibly Zelda so you decided to be neutral and scoot over a bit.

"Not as shocked as you would think, sit down and maybe I could see your face without needing to break my neck." You said, hoping that maybe he wouldn't be too interested so you wouldn't have to be too on edge.

But much to your surprise you heard a loud chuckle and next thing you knew had the King of the Gerudo sitting next to you in a garden of flowers.

You couldn't stand the awkward silence so you decided to form a conversation with him instead. "So how is your stay? I hope you're finding things enjoyable?" You ask, fumbling with the pages of your sketchbook, the notes written between the pages among illustrations and dried flowers and plants.

Ganondorf took in everything. How lovely your face looked up close, how tiny your hands were as you held that book in hand, and how your fingernails would get under a page to flip to another as you tried to make conversation.

He wanted you. He knew for certain then and there that he wanted you. It was love at first sight yes. But it wasn't the kind that he would throw away everything for until this point.

Now he understood the tales of foolish people throwing things they had worked hard for away for love. But it's a good thing Ganondorf is a greedy man. He'll have you first even if it means abandoning his first plan. He can always create another.

So as his mind processed these thoughts he gave a hum of confirmation before gazing down at you, "Do you know anything about the desert?" He asked. You would never know this was a conversation to prepare you for the harshness of the desert when he would eventually find a way to sweet talk his way into taking you there.

But unexpectedly you nodded and smiled, "Yes! While during the day it reaches its hottest point at noon, and its coolest point at midnight. But the sunsets and sunrises in the desert are breathtaking!" You started, smiling as you opened another page to some of the flora and fauna you've observed in the future.

"See I love how things can still manage to survive, it's so interesting how they form their own ways of survival and manage to thrive. Just like people do!" You stated.

"And how clear the sky looks at night when you're in the desert, it almost looks like an endless sea of stars. It does get cold at night but I've never been one to grow cold easily." You add, a bright smile on your face only keeping the man stunned in place.

How positive you were when he had only seen the negatives of his homeland. The vast desert is dry and harsh. He hated the Hylians who had taken for granted their habitable home and yet here he was, in love with a Hylian even before you would confess of your love for the desert.

You went on about how to build the most efficient homes, how staying near an oasis is the best move, and how white paint or tiles would help reflect the sun off the roofs. How different muds and rocks and soil can affect how to build a home there. And how you enjoyed the feeling of warm sand on your feet.

It took you at least an hour of talking to realize he had listened intently for a whole hour.

It left your face feeling hot and putting your book to cover your mouth and nose, hoping to cover up whatever blush had formed on your cheeks. "Sorry, here I am drawling on and talking your ear off." You muttered, avoiding eye contact but also realizing that looking at his well-toned body was a bigger mistake as you felt your heartbeat rise and then looked to the scenery to try and calm yourself down.

Ganondorf only chuckled, smiling as he set a hand on your head and gave your hair a little ruffle. "It's okay little Vai, I quite enjoy listening to you talk." He claims, getting up before looking down once more, "We should talk again." He adds.

And with that he walked off, leaving you slightly bewildered.

Unknown to you, that guard had reported back to Rauru and Sonia at the end of the day after making sure you were safe in your chambers.

The next day Rauru and Sonia would pull aside Zelda and Mineru while you were in one of the libraries researching.

"What do we do? Why on earth would he take an interest in Y/n?" Zelda asked, her hands held together in anxiety.

"He should have been targeting one of us. Someone who holds a secret stone. Y/n doesn't even have a stone!" She adds.

Mineru and Rauru sat silently in thought while Sonia put her hand over Zeldas, "Do not worry. I don't think he has the intention to hurt her." She claims, her calm voice carrying Zelda out of all the thoughts of you becoming hurt.

"But that doesn't mean he doesn't hold other intentions with her." Rauru says, looking slightly agitated as his gaze stays focused on the table.

"She wouldn't betray us. That much is certain. So if he doesn't seek to harm her or get information out of her, what could it be?" Mineru asks out loud, her question plaguing the thoughts of all four of them.

And they all knew only time could tell.

And unfortunately for them, Ganondorf would come to find you often, growing closer to you and making you feel comfortable around him. And due to that, coming up with a new plan to propose to his tribe and the warriors who followed him was easy.

He would take you as his wife. A surefire way to ensure a "peace treaty" between the Gerudo and Hylians. And your knowledge of the landscape and ways to improve their housing would prove useful for keeping his people safe, many warriors agreed with this plan as the longevity of their tribe mattered to them more than stealing a stone.

If they managed to strengthen their tribe with knowledge you could lend then they could form a better plan to take over Hyrule.

So with the support of his warriors, he asked to meet with the Hylian court, including you.

And it was tense. When you stepped into the hall, you could have sworn Sonia was on the edge of yelling and Rauru was bewildered. Zelda took notice of you and immediately brought you close to her and went closest to the thrones to keep you within reach.

You had made it late so you didn't know that Ganondorf had just announced his wish to marry you.

"Are you insane? You propose such a thing to keep the peace between our people?" Rauru asked, his voice commanding an answer from the brazen Gerudo King.

"But it is not unreasonable. I understand that Y/n is a distant relative yes? Not only is she of noble lineage she is also intelligent and capable of helping my tribe prosper. Would it not benefit both you and me? You would have my word of peace and know that your relative would be in capable hands and protected by my people as she would become one of us by wedding me, trying our people together." He concluded, looking straight at Rauru.

You were shocked at the information, never expecting to be proposed to by such a man. Yes, he seemed to be kind to you but how would you know he would keep his promise of peace? The history you read was different from this!

You felt overwhelmed as Rauru and Sonia went on about rejecting and Ganondorf would try to talk about the benefits. It took you a minute to collect yourself so you could speak.

"That's enough!" You yelled. You hated all the attention turning to you but this was your life. You were not going to allow anyone else to choose anything for you.

"Give me a couple of days. And I will reply to your proposal Ganondorf. Please allow me that." You stated. Rauru and Sonia wanted to object, and Zelda held onto your hand desperately.

Ganondorf smiled, giving a nod before speaking, "I hope you will give me good news soon my lady.".

After the meeting Rauru, Sonia, Zelda and Mineru profusely asked you to reconsider saying anything but no. That this was insane and that you don't know any of his intentions. It took at least an hour of their constant pestering for you to hole up in a library with snacks and comfort items.

You quite literally locked them out and spent your time reading to try and find any wisdom to help you.

Eventually you came across an old scroll, your body wrapped in a blanket and a few grapes in a bowl nearby while you read what this scroll had to say.

"Time is a complex device. One that has too many layers to have one conclusion. Some say time is final, that the past cannot be changed, and nor can the future. But some say that one single element can change that. The outcome is split into multiples and time divided. Should you find yourself at a crossroads and the future you envision challenged, take the chance for there is no telling if the future is sure. And if changed with a sure future, know that while things around you may change, you will not."

And with that you had decided.

You had bathed and gotten dressed and called a meeting to answer Ganondorfs request. And Rauru, Sonia, Zelda, and Mineru looked as anxious as can be.

And with a couple of words, fate was changed.

"I accept your proposal."

#yandere x reader #yandere x you #soft yandere #totk x reader #yandere totk #yandere tears of the kingdom #ganondorf x reader #yandere ganondorf #yandere #yandere x y/n #yandere legend of zelda #legend of zelda x reader

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wayfayrr · 2 months

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I offer the idea of soft times with sage

Braiding hair, just cuddling with each other and overall spending time with one another.

- 🍄

(It’s been a bit lmao, college kicked me in the shins)

sorry it's been a while since you sent this, I relate with uni being a bitch though :')

I'm gonna use this ask though to put it out that I'm no longer going to be writing for Sage, however I won't stop writing totk link altogether - instead I've been creating a link that's more inline for how I see his character and for how I'm comfortable to write <3 I've been calling him Tears so far and I have to thank a lot of my mutuals for chipping in ideas with a special mention to @glowyskull for coming up with some of the best headcanons I think I've ever heard (the last three are courtesy of them) <333 @h4wari, @mushroomwoods, @sketchyspook here's the boy you were waiting for!!! (thank you all for your help too <333)

and without any more hesitation here he is!!

✦ he got the nickname tears for a reason, anything and everything will set this boy off. he's a true crybaby and will certainly use it to try and win your attention from the others. It's not always cause he's sad though, sometimes things can just get overwhelming

✦ his memory can be a bit spotty, unlike wild he rushed through his previous quest, not that he's all that fussed about missing those memories - making new positive ones are more important to him

✦ like his counterpart, he's got a couple of different nicknames, tears is the most prominent however architect does tend to show itself fairly often. messing around to see what different kinds of contraptions he can make is one of his favourite pastimes, one he'll happily share if given the chance.

✦ wild and him have been assumed many times to be identical twins, seeing as his stint in the shrine of ressurection put a halt to most of his aging processes. not that he doesn't bring up his actual age every now and then for a little shock factor

✦ thankfully they're easy to tell apart, seeing as tears discovered how to dye his hair and paint his nails quickly into his second quest, leading to his hair forever being stained with a multitude of different colours while his nails change colour nearly every other day

✦ his cheeky side is still very much there though, ready to make the dumbest puns you've ever heard and to not stop till you're laughing no matter how hard you cringe at them when he starts.

✦ one of the most affectionate links, willing to do basically anything you ask him to and even things you didn't. give him the smallest hint you like a certain food? what do you mean it's a little suspicious he suddenly has all of its ingredients for it - he simply wanted to try it himself, can you tell him if it tastes right?

✦ He hates to see anyone crying, especially his significant other, nine times out of ten it’ll end up with him crying at your side but he’s always there at your side to cheer you up. If you can’t bring yourself to speak about whatever is upsetting you though? Luckily for him a simple kiss of your tears is enough to show him the memory that hurt you. Thankfully it also goes for the happier ones.

✦ Your smile and praise is something he simply lives for, headpats being his favourite way to receive it, leave him alone with belongings for too long though and when you come back he’s standing next to them with a blinding smile having fused a lot of them to each other or to something he thinks would be useful for you to have. Granted the journal flame thrower combination might not have been his brightest moment.

✦ the same desire can come out in other ways though, such as giving you different nicknames with his personal favourite calling you his sundelion. Sometimes he really shows how much he likes that nickname by making you flowercrowns as surprises. Granted every now and then he takes it a little too far, telling you you’re all he needs to heal from the gloom instead of taking any real treatment.

Tending the fire is probably one of the easiest and most calming tasks I could’ve been given today, it’s nice to have something to zone out with after a whole day on the road. Not that I can complain about it though, we didn’t run into any monsters or other threats and travelling was calm. Who’s trying to get my attention by tapping me on the back though?

“[name]? Mind if I come sit with you for a bit, I'd like to get to know you better if that's alright.”

“Yeah of course Tears, If we’re going to be traveling together for a while it makes a lot of sense too.”

This man is a sweetheart I can tell, just from saying yes to him he’s already got the most coy smile on his face; it’s like his face is practically glowing from it when he sits. Shuffling closer to my side almost like he’s asking if it’s alright for him be be this close, with the way the firelight is illuminating him is making me question if the warmth on my face is really from the fire or not now. Just distract yourself with something before you get any redder.

“Oh? You’ve got something in your hair, one second-”

The moment I plucked the stick out of his hair he froze up, his cheeks flushing before relaxing.

“Are - are you good? Sorry I should’ve asked first.”

“No, no, no it’s alright I just… didn’t expect it?”

“Yeah I know, next time I’l-”

“Actually would you um mind playing with my hair? I ah never really get the chance to relax like this.”

Well isn’t that simply adorable, I would be heartless to say no to such a request. Besides, I know wild has some of the softest hair possible so the chance to play with it? No way am I going to miss that if all that visible dye hasn’t fried it to bits.

“If that’s what you want then I won’t say no.”

“Really?”Is he - no he can’t be, or maybe… is he so starved of affection that he’d tear up over something this small, the more I think about it, it does make sense. Playing with his hair is so relaxing I almost missed the fact that he was starting to tear up more, all I can hope for is that they’re not from him being upset.

#Hi shroom!!!!#It's good to see you <333 #thought I'd take the chance to do this here sfgvfdsbg #moss✦writes #link x reader #linked universe #linked universe x reader #totk x reader #totk link x reader #Tears #should I be confident and make him his own lu tag?#heck why not fgvfdgvb #Lu Tears

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pinkalmondcake · 9 months

Text

I can't

Totk link x reader part 1 of 2

Masterlist

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Contains totk spoilers! But please enjoy this two part mini series my sweets~

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warnings: blood, heavy angst, totk spoilers

‧͙⁺-ˋˏI can't'ˎˊ˚⁺‧͙

3k+ words

The torch's flames danced along the stone engravings of the ancient, Zonai walls but it was the way the shadows flickered upon the crevices which caused the skin of my neck to prickle in anticipation and my fingers to tighten themselves around the Purah Pad. A shiver following soon after.

"I don't think we should be down here, Zelda...", I said, watching the way Link's and hers fingers glided upon one another as she handed him the torch with such delicacy that it made my heart twist around itself, a reminder of what had happened...I gently shook my head at that, hoping to rid my chest of the pain that it brought upon me. "We have to find out what is happening, y/n. I have a feeling we're close to discovering something remarkable!", her smile was wide with excitement as her eyes flickered in childlike curiosity.

I gave her a small, smile back, feeling the way her eagerness of a new discovery waiting to be exposed reflected itself into me, allowing my own bubbling apprehension to seep through, "I know, I'm just worried we may not be as prepared as we think we are." Zelda's eyes cast themselves over the aged engravings while I handed her the Purah Pad as I continued, "I just...have this feeling that there's something not right here." Her brows furrowed in thought while she raised the Pad, readying it for a photo before turning to smile at me from over her shoulder, "You're just a bit anxious, y/n. I promise we'll be fine." I inwardly sighed in defeat as I nodded at her, "You're probably right." She hummed in agreement.

My heart quickened its pace at that, feeling the way Link's eyes stared at me from the corner of my own as I now stood beside him. I tried to steady my breathing at that, feeling the way the awkwardness between us drooled into the deafening silence that lingered around us. "Can...can we talk about what happened?", I softly murmured in fear I'd break what we had even further than it already was.

I flinched at the silence that followed while Link deeply exhaled, his silence tearing through the strings that held my heart together, my own exhale slipping past my lips, "I see. Well, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry and after we're done here, I'll be taking the other half of my things from your place, I should've already done that a while ago to be honest."

I felt some tears fill the corner of my eyes as I lowered them to my gloved hands before carefully treading away from his side towards Zelda's instead, hearing the way she began to talk about the murals and their possible connection to the royal family while all I could do was keep the trembling of my lips at bay, hoping that a sob won't slip past them - Zelda's smile towards the murals being brighter than the twirling flames of the torch.

My eyes widened, suddenly feeling her fingers intertwine with my own, "y/n! Link! Look at this!" She quickly dragged me behind her, "Do you think they all depict the same legend?" She gasped, pulling us into a halt while Link's torch flames flickered from the movement, "This engraving... it's similar to the statues we saw earlier! A depiction of a Zonai! And these figures...they look like Hylians!" Her fingers slipped from my own as a blackened flake floated past my eye, "This mural suggests that the Zonai had descended from the heavens."

She quickly handed me the Purah Pad before making her way to another engraving, her eyes slightly widened as her fingers reached out towards it but were too afraid to touch the cold, aged stone, "My ancestors...it was said that they were born from a union with Gods who had descended from the heavens. And these murals tell a similar story, and if they are accurate, then the Gods mentioned were the Zonai! They must have forged a relationship with the Hylians of that time to establish..." Her eyes turned towards us in excitement, "the Kingdom of Hyrule!"

My eyes glanced over across the next mural, feeling some sort of apprehension fill my stomach as my eyes stared at the figures...the one seemed to have been taking something from the other. "Hey, Zelda, take a look at this", I called, temporarily forgetting the pain that numbed my skin while she came towards me, her eyes flickering to my own before glancing towards the stone of the mural, "He seems to be stealing an incredible power from the young Kingdom..." I tore my eyes to look at Link from over my shoulder, feeling them widen while my chest only tightened. "Something isn't right", I whispered to him, "we need to leave Link. We have to!" "-And then this shows the Demon King!", Zelda's voice rang through the shadows, causing me to look at her unwavering curiosity, "if this creature depicted here really does represent the Demon King then...incredible! This mural must be the great war recorded in the royal histories!"

My chest slightly tightened at the way her voice only louden with every sentence, "This is the Imprisoning War and the events that led up to it!" She turned towards us with a jump to her step and a large satisfied smile spreading across her lips, "Link, y/n! This is a huge discovery!" Out of excitement, she quickly grabbed the slate from my hand and ran towards the murals, "I need to fix the order of the photos I took! This is beyond remarkable!"

I felt my fists clench itself as I cast my eyes towards the rocks that covered the rest, feeling the way Zelda's tone suddenly dripped in a hidden disappointment, "It looks like the rest of the murals are obscured..." Zelda placed the Pad back into my hands while Link handed her the torch, my eyes watching the ominous, black ooze slipping through the air. "Just what is this place? Maybe we'll find more answers ahead. Let's keep moving for now." "Zel...I really don't think we should", I said as I placed a hand upon her shoulder, "it feels like we shouldn't be here." "We won't go too far, we'll need the team if we do, so don't worry too much, y/n", she gave me a soft smile as I felt Link's fingers wrap around my wrist before silently bringing it down to my side while I lowered my head with a nod, "Alright."

With that, Zelda raised the torch, leading us towards the darkened corridor which lies dormant in the shadows of the walls. A slight pressure began to fill the air, causing its icy bite to graze across the skin of my neck while the walls of the passage narrowed, "The gloom grows heavier here", Zelda whispered.

Subconsciously, my fingers began to reach for Links, feeling the warmth of his skin to glide against mine, but only for me to flinch away as his fingers started to intertwine their way around between my own.

"Sorry", I mumbled, watching the small steps as we made our way down the small stairs towards the curving corridor. I frowned, "How much deeper does this go?" Zelda glanced over at me with the same thought, "I don't know. But whatever it is, I think we're getting closer to the answer with every step."

The darkness leaked its way across the walls, the stairs never seeming to come to an end while we could only carefully mind the loose rubble that rests against the shadows - until my breath suddenly hitched, "We're here."

A trail of a vibrant, glowing green flowed through the darkness of the sanctum as it slowly formed letters of what appears to be some sort of distorted Gerudo writings, "Ominous", I mumbled at that thought, watching the way the glow twirled in an ascending twirl. Link came to a stop beside me, causing me to glance into the dim blue hue of his eyes. I quickly turned to Zelda as she spoke, "What is this place?", before making her way down the first step.

My shoulders tensed and my stomach knotted, my feet treading down onto the stone of the ground - my eyes scanning the area with hidden fear. "What is that?", Our Princess suddenly questioned, causing me to turn my gaze towards the object that rests against the chest of a decayed corpse - the object being nothing but a disfigured hand. My breath quickly hitched at the sight of the reddened gloom pouring out of the ashy, withered body.

Link's hand wrapped around Zelda's arm, pulling her back as the arm slowly dimmed before coming to a limp position and falling off the corpse towards us with a slight creak. I watched the way the colour paled, turning into an ashy green, only to cast my eyes to Link's hand that was firmly wrapped in Zelda's own.

"Huh?", Her voice echoed through the wavering flames as she released his hand and reached down towards a small stone, curiosity filling her emerald eyes as she touched it with a slight flinch to her hand. Gently, she picked it up, and with a frown, I noticed the white glow that radiated from it, a mysterious aura surrounding itself around us.

In the corner of my eye, I saw a twitch in the shadows, the creaking of aged bones echoing through the blackness as the corpse struggled to move - my eyes widening while I tried to take a step back, but with a wavering inhale - the body collapsed.

Silence.

Within a blink of an eye, Link shoved me behind him after unsheathing the Master Sword, his fingers intertwining with my own as its head snapped towards us - eyes seeping in red stared into my own with a humour and wonder that was filled with nothing but the sinister swirls of evil. I blinked in fear.

Suddenly, red, seething gloom splattered across the walls and ceiling, spreading itself in hatred as Link's name fell from my trembling lips. His sword shimmered in a brightened blue, but it was too late. I reached for him, feeling the way Zelda's hands kept me back while my tears could only fall.

"Stay back", he seethed, his arm withering from the scalding touch that spread across his skin. "Link!", I cried, watching the way he clutched at the burnt skin as my eyes found its way towards the decayed corpse - only for them to widen as the gloom slithered towards him once again.

And out of reflex, he slashed his sword down against the flickering tendrils.

I could only watch the way it shattered and splintered from the act, my eyes trailing towards a piece that sliced itself across the tendon, covered cheek of the being, causing its blood like gloom to seethe from its touch. A deep inhale was taken in.

I ran towards Link, wrapping my arms around his torso as Zelda called his name. I rested my head against the crook of his neck, my fingers tightening their hold upon the thick material of his champions tunic - a harsh reminder of the duty that comes with it, causing me to raise my head and glare at the thing that stares at us.

"Was that the sword that seals the darkness? A blade that so easily shatters against my power cannot save you from me."

Its body slowly rose with every seething word that spilled from its mouth, its reddened hair mimicking the form of the tendrils of the leaking gloom.

"Zelda...you who carries the fragile sword...and you, a girl who has no place in this world are Link and y/n."

I felt Link's muscles tense beneath my fingertips, my own following after as all our eyes widened at the living corpse who brought its haunting stare back to our own, "Rauru placed his faith in you." Its body turned to us, a sickening smile spreading across what remains of its mouth while its head tilted back in mockery, "and was that all you can do?"

"How do you...know our names?", Zelda's trembling voice bounced off the hollow walls that circled around us, my fingers tightening themself around Link before reluctantly letting him go - but his free hand only reached to grasp my own, intertwining ours together in fear.

A sickening, bloodied red slithered across the chamber and towards the pillar that extended into the shadows while a haunting cry filled the now illuminated dark as the sound of rock grinding against rock deafening us.

And with that, the ceiling began to slowly rise, the rubble descending down towards us, a wavering breath spilling my lips, "The castle...he's pushing the castle into the air...how..?" My eyes widened.

The ground beneath the corpse's feet crumbling from the overwhelming pressure of its power - the walls itself caving in as Link collapsed himself into me with a quiet groan, "We have to get out." I nodded, turning to Zelda, "Go! I'll help Link out of here!" "y/n", Zelda began to reach towards us but I pushed her hand away, "Go Zelda!"

Her breath hitched. My eyes widened.

The rubble beneath her feet cracked with a sickening crunch as Link pushed himself out of my arms, struggling to reach for Zelda while her feet shook beneath the loosened stone. "Link!", I screamed, watching the way a largened stone came crashing down towards us, and out of instinct, I pushed him towards Zelda, his eyes widening while his fingers struggled to reach her - her torch falling from her hand.

His teeth seethed together, his tears spilling from his eyes as his burnt and blackened arm stretched out towards the Princess he was sworn to protect no matter what, but now...now he was failing, failing his duty to her once again. A realisation of the situation spilling across his face as my screams rang through his ears.

'Link. I can't take this anymore. I've tried, I've really tried, but no matter what I do, she'll always be your first priority and I know it's not your fault or hers. But you crossed the line, a line you promised you'd never break - no matter what! For Din's sake, she's taken our house! Our home! Yes she's my friend but hell, if it were a life or death situation and you had to choose between me or her. You'd chose her Link. And don't you dare try to deny that! I can't. I can't do this', he watched in silence, he watched the way your lip quivered with every word, he watched the way your tears spilled from the pain that swelled within your chest - just like it did his own. His heart hurt.

It hurt like it never did before.

And he hated it. He hated every second of it - especially the words that fell from his mouth, "...I have to do what I must to ensure her safety. She is the soon to be Queen of Hyrule and it is my sworn duty to protect her and watch over her. No matter what."

You closed your eyes, pinching the bridge of your nose as you leaned against the railing of your shared bedroom, "...Link. What is there to protect her from...why must Zelda take our home. Why are you allowing her into our relationship space when there's other ways to keep an eye on her." Your voice was soft and filled with hurt and confusion. He watched your brow furrow at that.

"I feel safer knowing she's here. In a place I know."

Your lips twisted in thought, your eyes sharp as they met his own, "And us? What about our place? What about the time for us? There's...it's like we're not even together anymore."

His eyes glared into yours, his fingers tightening themselves into a fist, "Don't say that. You knew what it means to be my partner. You said you understood it and that you would understand why I must do certain things to ensure the safety of others." His voice wavered, seething in an uncontrollable anger that began to lurk its way into his mind.

"I do, but it wasn't like this at first you know", you said, your arms folding themself across your chest, "I first noticed it with the way her eyes would follow you, how they were filled with the exact same emotion as mine are when they're staring at you. Link, she's in love with you and has been for over a hundred years.

And it only recently dawned upon me that I'm the outsider here - the one that's keeping you from the fate that's been written in both your souls and stories."

His heart raced, his eyes widening from the way your voice cracked after every word as you tried your best to keep yourself in control while you continued.

"I can't be with someone who makes me feel like a second option. I can't be with someone who makes me guess the role I play in their life. I can't be with someone who's been promised to another through the ties of their souls. I can't be...I don't want to feel like a shadow that's just waiting for you to come back to the light, but only for me to follow behind you - never far but never close", you closed your eyes.

"What...what are you saying? Are you...", His throat tightened, "are you leaving me...?"

You gave him a soft, sad smile and a slight shrug, "You're not giving me much reason to stay."

His lip quivered as his eyes casted down to the wood of the floor, his brows deepening their frown while his lips turned downwards, "I'm staying at the inn tonight, but when I come back tomorrow at dawn, you along with all your things better be gone because I can't be with someone who can't understand me, that doesn't even allow me to have a choice in anything! I swear, if you come near me or talk to me during our excavation beneath the castle I'll..."His words trailed off.

"You will what. Kill me?", You seethed, your words lacing in poison, "right, like I meant anything to you in the first place and don't even bother going to the inn when you can sleep in your bed tonight. I'm leaving anyways and have been planning it for a while now. And if you had even noticed or spent some time with me, you would've seen that half of my things were packed already, waiting by the stairs for a reason to leave - like the one you've just given me."

His watery, blue eyes widened in realisation, his throat caving in on itself at the reality that just fell upon him, "y/n, I-"

Your sobs tore through his words, "I need to start packing."

"...Please", he began, his voice wavering in fear, in fear that you'll leave him too. Forever. His heart, his world, his everything...gone because of him - the ring in his pocket suddenly weighing as heavy as the heart that fills his chest.

"Please just let me pack..."

And with that, he trailed down the steps - his sobs silent unlike your own as he pried open the door, hesitating before shaking his head and stepping out, his fingers reaching for the silver ring that was waiting to be slipped onto your finger.'

"Link!", I screeched, the weight of the rubble crashing my leg as the ground beneath me separated, the darkness suddenly swallowing me whole.

His eyes widened as they glanced over his shoulder, seeing the way my blood splattered through the air...hearing the way I screamed for him while I struggled to reach out for him. His chest tightening as he too, slowly began to fall - the ring he's kept in his pouch these few days was now slithering down the corner of his eyes.

'Please y/n...no, no...I can't!'

Zelda's fingers barely brushed against his own, but his eyes widened at the feeling of something grabbing ahold of his wrist, forcing him back as he watched a golden light slither across Princess Zelda's form before vanishing along with her while I smiled at the sight of them making it out alive. A sense of relief and comfort fell upon me as I closed my eyes, "I love you, Link."

And then darkness fell.

PART 2 IS ON MY WATTPAD, LINK IN MY PINNED POST~

#lu sage #sage x reader #link #legend of zelda #loz link #link x reader #link x you #loz #link loz #breath of the wild #tears of the kingdom #tears of the kingdom spoilers #totk link x reader #totk link #angst #hurtful

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thezoraprince · 5 months

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Positivity - BotW/Totk x reader

“Haven’t been active on tumblr for a while because of work, but I hope you’ve been doing better! I really enjoy reading all of the zelda content you make and seeing the other funny posts you have on your regular blog too, and I know it’s hard to keep up with mental health so I just want to say that you do have support from people here like me :) If you’re up to it, I think a request I want to make is different zelda characters simply making positive reinforcements or comments towards their s/o’s since everyone seems to be mentally tired and maybe it can be a little helpful to read positive content. Please take care of yourself, taking a break even for a little bit can be good.” - @reva-rose

hi hi!!!!! thank you so so much! i’ve been doing a bit better. i’ve definitely been neglecting my blogs though… whoops!!!

i meant to post this one when you sent it, and then completely forgot about it :’)

go me…

i hope you’re doing well, my sweet friend!!! and i hope you enjoy <3

SIDON: (do we even need one for him? he's the most supportive out of ANYONE canon wise, and because i have so many hcs on Sidon... i'm just pulling actual quotes...)

“You can do it!”

“You’re the best!”

“I believe in you.”

“Stay strong.”

BAZZ:

“Hey, you’re great.”

“Have I told you just how much I adore you today?”

“I cherish the time we spend together.”

“I'm always here if you need anything. Anything at all.”

RIVAN:

“Wow, you’re amazing!”

“I love your personality.”

“Spending time with you makes me feel so happy.”

“You can do anything you set your mind to.”

MIPHA:

“You’re quite wonderful, you know?”

“No matter what, I’ll always be here for you.”

“You’re so strong.”

“I believe in you.”

YONA:

“You’re doing such a good job.”

“I’m always here to support you.”

“You can do it!!”

“Don’t worry, I’m right by your side.”

DARUK:

“You’re great!”

“No one could compare to you, y/n!”

“Yeah! You got this!”

“You’ll always have my support.”

YUNOBO:

“You’re so kind and wonderful.”

“There’s no one like you, y/n.”

“You’re so amazing. I’m so lucky to have you.”

“You’re so important to me.”

REVALI:

“No one can compare to you, y/n.”

“You’re perfect just the way you are.”

“I have your back, and you know that.”

“Don’t let anyone tell you you’re less than what you are. They’re just jealous of you.”

KASS:

the only thing i have to say for Kass is that he would write you the most BEAUTIFUL song and perform it for you when you’re feeling down / off / out of it / etc.

#botw x reader #loz: botw x reader #tloz: botw x reader #botw #totk #totk x reader #loz: totk x reader #tloz: totk x reader #sidon #bazz #rivan #mipha #yona #daruk #yunobo #revali #kass

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kokiriofthevalley · 3 months

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My silly little Link headcannons

hii again I'm very bored rn sooo

again for Zelda, it's only the major ones, sorry obscure link fans

also wtf is this gif I found 😭😭

Skyward Sword

✯has the biggest crush on his Zelda bc they're so close

✯like it's VERY obvious how they feel about eachother

✯His fav flavour of ice cream is Oreo ice cream but he also loves toffee and vanilla too

✯He can talk but he prefers sign language (dialect of sign language may vary on preference ((like ASL or BSL or LSE, ect)) ) and talks to save time in an emergency in case the other person may not know sign, but DOES sign if they do

For this one, I thought about the cutscenes where he's explaining something (like the current location or condition of Zelda) to another character and we can see his mouth moving.

✯no because if video games existed in skyloft, i just know that he's playing stardew valley and papas freezeria. I can feel it in my BONES

✯Definitely woke up under his bed once and hit his head on the bedframe

✯him and Groose have insult battles but then they get ice cream together after

Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask

✯somebody get this poor boy a therapist and a hug PLEASE

Twilight Princess

✯it felt natural to him when he transformed using the Zora mask in mm, because both the models for adult link and Zora link are the same size

✯mute

✯i think he played the ocarina like a recorder (aka with no experience at all) and did each note individually and the magic of the ocarina of time was probably like "there is NO WAY that I'm letting this kid tarnish my reputation goddamit" and made the songs sound nicer after he had played all the notes

✯forgot once that he was a kid again and walked to Romani ranch to get some chateau Romani and was genuinely surprised when Cremia said no

✯Had more of a genuine connection to Midna, but still had a friendship with princess Zelda

Wind Waker

✯felt a strange familial connection to the hero of shades when he met him and made link want to find out who the hero of shades was

✯does NOT like how short he is when he transforms into a wolf

✯Best poker face in history

Breath of the Wild

✯Gives Aryll piggybacks when she wants

✯would gladly eat his grandma's soup for the rest of his life

✯His grandma gave him the recipe to her soup when he left to discover the new Hyrule

✯Has the most major and unhidable (that's not a word but who cares) side eye in the history of time

✯If the events of WW didn't happen, I think he would have grown up to be a cartographer or he would REALLY like making his own maps

✯sorry to get all angsty but I don't think he wanted to kill Ganondorf. I just don't. I don't think either of them wanted to kill eachother. I feel like Link feels guilty about it because it's so obvious that it was only self defense after the triforce was touched by king Daphnes and it literally drove Ganondorf insane

Tbh I'd go crazy too if something I had wanted so badly got taken by another person even tho I literally got SEALED IN ANOTHER FUCKING REALM FOR A LONG AMOUNT OF TIME for it

Again sorry for no totk for this one pls no spoilers

✯Gets ambushed by Yiga so many times that he knows their names

*Yiga poofs into existence* "IM HERE TO KILL YOU LINK, IN REVENGE FOR MASTER KOHGA!!!!"

"oh hi jerry, nice weather eh?" -link

✯After he saved princess Zelda, he took a nap that lasted 4 ENTIRE days

✯not even the sound of kass' accordion could wake his ass up

✯very obvious but if he wasn't a knight, he would be a chef. Not sous chef. He would be head chef.

✯His hands are probably rough as hell from all that Hero Of Hyrule™-ing he has done

✯despite being able to lift heavy objects, his arms are still noodles

#tloz #ocarina of time #oot #tp #twilight princess #wind waker #ww #zelda #the legend of zelda #link #ww link #skyward link #skyward sword #mm #majoras mask #zelda headcanon #headcanon #headcannons #link headcannons

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sheikfangirl · 12 days

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Positively adore your art!! Thank you for sharing it!! Also, would you happen to know of any fics that sort of resemble your art style or ones that inspired it? I’m right there with you I love the basic vanilla vibe and I have been trying to find a decent fic to get into before I finish totk

thank you!!

Thank you so much for your kind words for my art

🙏 I greatly appreciate!🙏

I have a confession to make dear friend! I hadn't read fanfictions in several years but beating Totk made me go FERAL for Zelda material and explore what's been written since BotW came out.... oh boy the rabbit hole is deep!

There is a lot of good stuff out there but I have read so many fanfics in a short time that the whole thing is a blurry mess in my brain. BUT! There is one in particular that really stood out and left a lasting impression on me: Displaced written by socksock https://archiveofourown.org/works/21128084/chapters/50279321 It was originally written in 2018, before the release of TotK so there are some small and harmless inconsistencies that can easily be ignored because, duh, it was written BEFORE totk. I particularly liked this fanfic because it has all the qualities I'm looking for!! Also several key moments and general ideas in that story are extremely close to my own headcanon to the point it almost scared me. The story focuses on Zelda trying to find her place in post-calamity Hyrule. The characters are very well written and credible, Link's personality is player behavior accurate (MORE OF THAT PLEASE!!!!!!!!) and obsessed with completing his quests backlog and I thought it was amazing. Damn i love a player accurate Link!!

It's a wholesome slow burn romance, lots of humor, it's sexy, does not take itself too seriously but can be very emotional at times. Also, I was amazed by one scene in particular....I don't want to spoil anything for you, but the Big Damn Kiss moment is *CHEF KISS*: the setting, the tone and the resolution HSGDKJS, I would've slow clapped if i could've (I was holding my phone lol)

Reading that scene, I thought to myself : F*** YES! This person gets it hahaha !!

My own Zelink Big Damn First Kiss moment shares a lot of similarities with that fic so, Im going to say it now: when 'll post the Zelink first kiss i'm currently crafting, be sure to know that Socksock and their fic Displaced did something in the same general vibe FIRST! They are awesome. I hope i answered your question haha Have a great day!

#zelink #legend of zelda

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the-carnival-of-time · 1 year

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Now available on Patreon

These are available for either a one time purchase of $3 or for $1 per month, you can have access too all backgrounds (includes other games)

You can subscribe for $5 for more personal requests, alternatively you can also DM my main or send an ask here with background requests, which I will add to Patreon at regular prices. I'm able to adjust both resolution and dimension, so an image size is recommended for best results

I will still happily take Tumblr post requests. To make requests you can take the same steps as DMing main, sending an ask, or you can also reply to this post.

Games: OoT 64, MM 64, OoT 3D, MM 3D, WW, WWHD, TP, TPHD, BotW, TotK. I'll do my best to make it regardless of how challenging. Like if you want a combat GIF I'm ready. I'm likely take all requests but some may take more time than others.

Temporary haitus to be expected in the future as this blog runs on queue

#updated 3/3

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rawliverandgoronspice · 11 months

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Okay so this has been on my mind for awhile and I wanted to get my thoughts out there. Regarding the topic of Rauru and Ganons relationship, I feel like rauru has kinda been bashed? people seem think that rauru in memory 6 (I believe) had a bit of a god complex, and that he was disrespectful. I feel as if rauru kinda had a right to act the way he did.

Rauru had wanted to become Allie’s with the gerudo. Not necessarily because he wants them to serve him but more for resources. Or more likely knowing Ganon he was attacking hyrule. The reason why I suspect this is because during the molduga incident rauru and Sonia seem to be very familiar with theses types of attacks. So it’s likely Ganon had ordered monster attacks on them before. Likely the attacks were getting to much for rauru and Sonia to handle; on top of establishing hyrule, rauru sent out messages for Ganon to join the kingdom in order to stop the attacks. Or another reasoning is that the gerudo were likely suffering. Ganon has been shown to not always prioritize his people. And knowing from past games the gerudo desert doesn’t have much resources. We can kinda see this in Totk they seem to only have hydromelon and voltfruit (I highly doubt that the gerudo had men at the time bringing them food from hyrules fields). If you’ve talked to rauru on the sky islands you’ll know that rauru is actually a very sweet and sympathetic guy, so I believe this could be a possibility.

Moving forward to raurus attitude during their meeting.Now rauru wasn’t exactly the nicest during the meeting, but I don’t really blame him. Rauru probably annoyed that ganon has been ignoring his letters and putting his people in danger. Also Ganon was very sketchy during that entire meeting and was rude in his tone.

Why did Ganon bow? Ganon and rauru are not equal, yes they are both kings but rauru has massive amounts of power and has a much larger land mass. (and zonia are kinda gods) but I don’t think the reasoning for Ganon bowing is because he less than or non equal to rauru. More like he was apologizing and giving rauru respect for the countless times he’s ignored him or tried to kill him.

More of raurus tone in the meeting Again I think he was really fed up with Ganon and rauru seems very non confrontational (he apologizes in the sky islands that the constructs attack link, and ask link not to be angry because they can’t understand) rauru likely wanted it to get into ganons mind not to attack the kingdom again because rauru had a lot of Allie’s and power and will attack Ganon if he pulls a stunt.

Ganon vs the gerudo. This part is a little off topic but, lots believe rauru is low key kinda racist towards the gerudo. But if this was true why was gerudo sage working with rauru? I don’t think that the way rauru acts is how he acts to all gerudo. The sage of lighting very obviously doesn’t like Ganon. The reasoning could be my first point. And later on after the imprisoning war the gerudo still stuck with hyrules side.

That’s all I have for right now, sorry if it’s all jumbled up I tried to make it coherent. Anyways I appreciate you for reading this :3

-🔺

Hi, thanks for the lengthy ask!! I'm sorry for the lengthy answer this beckoned, but I think this conversation is pretty important --even beyond Zelda and this specific case. We're talking themes and tropes and framing!!!!

I will try to reply to all of this in a way that kind of threads through several layers of why people have been bashing Rauru, me included. I will try my best to explain why I dislike this character, and try to parse out why I am this miffed by Tears of the Kingdom's storyline overall.

The long story short is: I don't dislike Rauru as a person (I mean, I also would tbh), I dislike him because of what he represents.

I think the waters did muddy a little in the "discourse" recently, and it's a good thing to take a step back and re-explain where I'm coming from (me personally, not going to speak for anyone but me here).

Also, before jumping in: this is not a condamnation on anyone who enjoys this story or these characters, nothing is unproblematic, it's fine, everybody does what they want, all of the things. I like the game and I keep playing the game in spite of being harshly critical of the ideas pushed forward. Also: it's fine to digest this and come back later (or not at all) if that feels like a lot, or if some of these ideas don't immediately click. But it's also partially why I think it's important: this game is aimed at a young audience, and one who might not have all of the keys to decipher what's going on, which is why I think it's quite irresponsible (which is the charitable interpretation) on Nintendo's part.

Anyway. Too many words underneath the cut.

The Story

So, first of all, I want to say that I believe you completely and fully read the situation as Nintendo intended it to be read. This is the text of the game (aka, the story taken at face value). You picked up on every single safeguard put into place to have Rauru and Sonia act in the most justifiable way possible, and have Ganondorf, on the other hand, act as a duplicitous, power-hungry and downright insane as they could have made him. In the reality of their universe, and only taking into account what is given to us through the narrative, trusting it comes from a neutral place and isn't influenced by anything, everything you said is 100% correct.

Rauru and Sonia WERE acting in self-defense, and were even kind not to turn their incommensurable power against the invading army.

The kingdom Rauru built as a demigod IS a paradise and they WERE very generous to invite neighboring nations to bask in their wealth and its technological and natural blessings (and the results of their extensive mining and why are there killer robots everywhere if this world was such a peaceful paradise uhh let's not ponder about this too much). That Ganondorf was too prideful and envious to accept IS a sin that rests solely with him.

Rauru IS a brave hero that sacrificed himself to seal the invader that killed his beloved wife.

Every single Sage IS extraordinarily devoted to protect both Rauru's lineage and their own lands, and gleefully pass down that duty to their ancestors --all thanks to Zelda, heir of that blessed royal line who returned to the past and made them promise to fight alongside Link to seal the Evil once more.

The gerudo WERE (apparently) oppressed, as they decided to fight under Rauru's authority freely (so against their own chief??) and, also, must make amends for having put Ganondorf in this world in the first place? ( I think we are already starting to see some contradictions --were you always victims or did you start this conflict in the first place? what is your place in all of this? why don't we ever get to know?)

This IS the story of Tears of the Kingdom. A story of a great sacrifice that happened in the golden mythical past (confirmed as unquestionable truth through the archeology motif), done by benevolent godly figures of royal blood and immense power they would never abuse, giving their everything to bring Light into a broken world corrupted by the degeneracy of Evil, echoed by the devotion of nations who swore fealty to that divine being and must now renew their vow in the present to defend their lands and Hyrule at any cost. Also, the impossible and magnificient suffering of the princess, whose tears lead to a trail of truth into the very land, informs the current population about why they're fighting now; she's at once a hero of the past and a martyr in the present, completely incapable of acting on her own, carrying with her the blade that will slay the crushing and violent sway of Evil for good and bring eternal peace into the land (Evil who uses her own appearance to cause chaos and violence against her own people --the blasphemy!!). The title of the game reflects this too: the Tears of the Kingdom are hers. Zelda is the kingdom here, and her pain/the pain of that mythical past is what is centered.

Also Ganondorf IS green so it's not racist okay let's stop right here and unpack all of this mess, because BOY oh boy oh boy oh boy.

oh boy.

The History

Now comes the time to point out the obvious, but that bears being repeated: this is a fictional story. It's a story crafted by a very powerful game company set in Japan. It's a story crafted by a huge number of people, who debated for years how to best tell it, why, and what for. Every single choice made in the narrative is purposeful, has been weighted against other options, and was picked over what could have been virtually anything else. Again, I want to state that I don't know if any single person took these decisions, probably not entirely, and it's even possible Nintendo didn't realize (I doubt it heavily tbh, but I'm sure there are people in the team that didn't get it or didn't see the issue), but a certain kind of story was crafted in the end, and it's the one we got.

One word that has been tossed around a lot as far as TotK's story goes is ✨ imperialism ✨, and I want to pause and take a second to analyse exactly what we mean by that and why I think it's painfully relevant here (and, honestly, I think another word would be very very relevant here also, but it's the kind of word you keep for after you're done with your argumentation not to scare off the unconvinced audience --but, to anyone who reads and might have picked it up already, yeah.)

In our real world of Earth 2023™, we have seen quite the number of extraordinarily powerful nations becoming gradually larger, engulfing neighbors, breaking apart, and leaving the buds of new future empires behind them. Hell, there's a number of them existing right now, even if they don't call themselves empires and don't have literal emperors at their head anymore (though Japan does, and it is important here). Of course, no nation, especially nations striving for expansion, worldwide legitimacy in culture and power, and their own understanding of "greatness", would ever call themselves anything but enlightened and justified. After all, the Roman Empire brings aqueducts and infrastructure to the lands they conquer, China unifies disparaging regions struggling under constant barbaric attacks, France and Spain converts local populations of the "New World" and save their souls from eternal damnation (wow thanks guysss), the British Empire brings industrial revolution uhhh everywhere please don't ask what was the cost, Africa sure loves everybody ripping their culture and lands apart and were so super glad to receive whatever "civilization" is supposed to mean when their literal people were being pillaged away to keep on building said empires using their blood as mortar, the URSS protects neighboring nations from the Evil Capital/West, fascists want to purge the world of anything they consider impure, the US brings freedom to the world and the whole world is grateful forever!!!

Everyone always has an excuse, and everyone is always kind of semi-mandated by God (in the largest possible sense; divine responsibility would perhaps be more appropriate, it's kind of the idea that with great power comes responsibility, while defining what responsibility means and inflicting their conclusions to conquered lands to squeeze even more value out of them) to do whatever the hell they want to others, claim their lands, their bodies, their minds, their culture --and demand gratefulness on top of it all to avoid having to feel bad.

There is a large body of fictional works that are dedicated to boister the image of the Empire. Every single empire has a number of them; their goal is often to mythologize, in some form or another, the story of their expansion. It often flattens every nuance, paints the actions of the empire as the natural order of the world and its opposition as morally malignant, their leaders are charismatic, benevolent, powerful and self-sacrificial. Often, it invokes previous empires to cast the current one as inheriting a grace that was tragically lost and must be restored through war, hard work, and healthy natality --I'll dip into the forbidden comparaison but Nazi Germany loved its greek myths of Sparta and Athens (and modern day fascists still do), or the Napoleon Wars so they could retell the story of their own empire by invoking a legacy of moral diligence and ethnical greatness being restored. But the pattern is often very similar: we used to be Great, a tragic event due to both external invasion and internal corruption precipitated our golden age into chaos and degeneracy, and now we must fight off current day corruption to restore the Glory of the old times we lost --all of this under the benevolent gaze of our leaders, whose mission is a direct or indirect intervention of divinity into mortal lives. It is righteous and glorious to fight/die for the nation (and its leaders) and protect it from the uncivilized, who are inhuman and exist solely to trick us, corrupt us, attack us and assimilate/destroy us.

Are we starting to notice some similarities here :) :) :)

The Narrative

There's two conversations running in parallel here.

The first one is the least important in my opinion, even though it's the one we tend to focus on a lot as theorists/enthusiasts/enjoyers of media: is Rauru oppressing the gerudos, and does that inform Ganondorf's actions?

Honestly? Textually? Probably not.

There are arguments to be made (and that deserve to be made) about the insane power imbalance, there are a lot of suspicious aspects that deserve to be picked apart like the address and deference of Ganondorf towards Rauru, the whole mining thing that I don't see being discussed much but could be a huge part of it --there are ancient mines in the gerudo region after all; since when? what's the history here?-- the strange masks the Sages are to wear when Zelda, as a direct descendant, isn't wearing any, etc etc. Lots of other posts have been made about the million tiny red flags that litter the game, but I think that if we take the game at face value, they barely matter. I would love them to have been placed with intent (and they maybe were as a desperate attempt by an employee trying to inject grayness back in the equation and if that's the case I SEE YOU random gamedev and I love you and you did the best you could <3), but to me that's more a case of wishful fan thinking (including mine tbh) that any concrete argument that the story is secretely about Rauru being imperialist and this costing him everything. There are some hints of a more nuanced world (the Horned God, the Bargainers, that some NPCs are invested in monsters are creatures worthy of study and awe --tho almost all of them ridiculed in some form), but these demand that you go out of your way to collect them and make the connection yourself. Can this even qualify as subtext? As in: the story under the story? As much as I wish this was the case, I don't think so. We can't make the case that it's a simple story for children that isn't trying to say anything grand while also demanding people to make insane mental gymnastics on their own, without any help on the game's part, for it not to be a blatant endorsement of imperialist thinking.

(especially not the kind of game that repeats 3 different times back to back that Sidon didn't talk to Yona because he was afraid to lose her like he lost Mipha --honestly what's up with this writing I don't get it, BotW didn't act like its players' brain was this unplugged, ANYWAY)

The story is about Ganondorf being duplicitous and monstrous and destroying the beautiful kingdom of the past, and us preserving our modern day kingdom from its corrupting influence by recruiting allies and friends in that fight. We are given a plethora of situations that paint him as inhumanely cruel and chaotic, and none that breath even the suggestion of a critique towards our heroes. He's evil: we must stop him.

Now comes the second conversation, and one I think is more important: is this entire storyline built off imperialist tropes that were created to oppress and exploit marginalized populations in real life while justifying the violence inflincted upon them?

In my opinion, yes. Undeniably so.

I am not so much invested in Rauru being racist towards Ganondorf; I am invested in the real life Nintendo videogame being racist towards the idea that Ganondorf represents: the scary foreigner that will lead to the fall of civilization if we let him in.

(and perhaps this was Rauru's hubris all along: to believe he could let a scary (male) foreigner in and then trust him to remain docile.... a little too much. And then he reaped what he sowed.

checkmate liberal.

This makes an uncomfortable amount of sense and I kinda hate having made the connection tbh)

This is especially true when it's the second time around that this exact storyline is represented, and I believe it to be much more insidious this time around --because now, gerudos are our friendssss and feel great shame and personal responsibility towards that aspect of them that once rebelled. Meanwhile in OoT, a majority of them were onboard with Ganondorf as their leader and explicitely did not want to be assimilated in the kindgom (Nabooru being specifically painted as one of the exceptions). I go more in depth about all of this in this pre-TotK post about gerudo culture. We had plenty of conversations about orientalism and islamophobic representation in videogames since; it was A Thing at the time, the turn of the century was particularly egregious in that regard. But It's not 1998 anymore, and I personally believe it's pretty inexcusable to rethread that same ground beat by beat without batting an eye at any of its implications (especially since they have done better since; even Twilight Princess, who gave him very little grace overall, dared to criticize hylians through Midna, Zelda and even Zant --and Wind Waker towed the line rather beautifully between the part of him that was human and the part that was monstrous, and the tragedy of these two cancelling each other out constantly). I was expecting much, much better than what we got --I didn't even dare to imagine they would just double-down on that aspect and make a worse version of Ocarina of Time to reintroduce the character.

This is also partially why I'm so uncomfortable with the green skin situation: can you imagine how this scene would have felt like, with the single brown-skinned guy having a central role in the game kneeling in front of a white old man with a droopy mustache (which was Rauru's first iteration in the series, and the one I always keep in mind when having these conversations) and his blonde wife, and Zelda being "hmmm he's evil for sure"? And then he 100% is, with no justification or reason beyond an urge to consume the entire world --even this, which is not uninteresting, remaining completely unexplored in a 150+ hour open-world game that decided to focus on everything under the sun EXCEPT Ganondorf's motivations and his relationship to his own people? Can you imagine how obvious of a racist caricature Ganondorf would have been just by keeping his skin a normal brown (not to pretend he's not already super coded as Foreign in every possible way)? The man is intimidating, uncomfortable to be around, he's greedy and power-hungry, he's insane, he comes for our lands and our women and oppresses his own and also corrupts everything through either infiltration or literal disease. Also he's uhhh the Devil, for good measure.

As much as we can rationalize and embrace these parts of who he is as fans, there's no ignoring how icky this entire situation really is.

So, to tie everything together.

There are three readings of this game competing in my head.

The first one is: the textual interpretation. Rauru is self-sacrificial and a victim, Zelda is deeply brave and an icon of the empire's longevity and deep-rooted history, Ganondorf is utterly inhuman and must be destroyed at all costs. What the game says it is --and what it is.

The second one is: the critical interpretation. That this story sounds awfully convenient for the prosperity of the Empire (here the empire being Hyrule), paints Zelda, the current leader, in a weird fanficky way by literally sending her back to the past with her super cool ancestors and allowing a military victory in the present while also being a martyr to the cause and being much more of a symbol than a person, and nobody even bats a fucking eye in the direction that Hyrule might have been questionable in any way --everyone is so happy to be a vassal, see? Let's not unpack why the king of the zoras prefered hiding himself than facing the consequences of what would happen if Zelda really did attack him out of the blue (this plot point is insane, but its potential is too good so therefore it's illegal and immediately dropped). Let's not unpack the absolute insane amount of abuse false Zelda gets away with by virtue of acting as the princess of a sacred bloodline (but she's nice, right? because that's how you want to make a sure a ruler won't hurt you: praying they will be nice). There are enough red flags to doubt this world, its reality, the complexity of these people's inner lives. The rejection of the notion that any sort of flaw or problem could exist within the system makes it borderline dystopian in my opinion (especially when compared with BotW's Hyrule, which had problems who led to its own downfall and were the fault of nobody but their own actions as Ganon is portrayed more as a natural event than an actual, malicious person), and this is the first reason why I don't like Rauru: the entire world revolves around this goat-kangaroo-furry man's chiseled navel. Everyone is, quite literally, a faceless tool in the glorious and tragic story of his lost empire (or they're women here to become sacrificial objects serving the fights of men; or they're Ganondorf, who's a non-person and an antagonistic object lacking any interiority or humanity, and the narrative being completely uninterested in that), and only his bloodline and his vision for the future really matters. Not that Rauru thinks like this --but the game does. And so, it's hard for me not to see him as either the most narcissistic person ever if we accept him as the narrator of this story, or a flat propaganda machine built for an even greater cause (Hyrule, the Empire).

And then, the third one: that Nintendo would put out a game that is so deeply embedded in imperialist and orientalist language and tropes, so invested in its traditional and patriarchal values, so uncurious about the Other and so critical of it while refusing to look inward, is not neutral (yes even if the game is super fun and has other great qualities, I do believe this game is a monumental achievement in game/level design and in optimization/tech art while also being a trainwreck in quest and narrative design). This rethoric is not neutral, especially when addressed at the West at large --especially right now, with such a global uptick in traditionalist values overall, and Japan not exactly being spared. I won't pretend to be knowledgeable enough about Japanese history and culture to pick up all the little nuances of what is going on here, but I know enough to recognize that such stories do play out a certain understanding of this country's history, its fears and its difficulties to reconcile with its own (very recent) past as a colonialist empire --both the terrors it unleashed on others and the terrors that were unleashed upon it as it was dismantled. Instead of exploring that subject, every potential for nuance and conversation and self-criticism is slammed shut immediately, often at the cost of their own characters and the depth of their quest design/writing. The unearthed past agrees with its current understanding of itself; there is nothing discovered that leads to being questioned and reconsidered. Everything wrong is the fault of a single, corrupting entity that can be identified as Foreign and Other. There is a literal Heaven (zonai and civilized, Rauru's) and Hell (monstrous and corroding, Ganon's). None of this is neutral. Especially when infused in a game targeted for a young audience lacking context.

So I hope this very verbose answer helped a little to parse out what is being criticized at which level! Thank you for giving your thoughts, and I hope mine were clarifying to a degree.

I understand it can get a little confusing; but a lot of the urge not to take this scene at face value is born from the knowledge that nothing is ever that simple in real life, that these sort of self-serving narratives often hide horrific amounts of systemic harm underneath its perfectly curated presentation, and that, well. Some Zelda fans, especially the older generations that were invested in these characters and their re-imagining, expected Nintendo to be less..... like this.

And the wake-up call stings a little more than we would have liked.

(again obligatory disclaimer that I'm not saying TotK is Bad or should be Cancelled or that you're Bad for liking it --but it's still important to explicitly talk about how themes like these are being utterly glossed over when I don't think they would have been if they'd come out of a new IP, and not with the huge nostalgia cloud that envelops The Legend of Zelda and has people being extremely uncomfortable at criticizing the ideas the series can sometimes champion --though the series never veered in that direction nearly as hard before in my opinion)

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