#LoZ holidays

[musical-chan]

Starfall Wishes

I created a holiday for a discord prompt! Welcome to the winter holiday of Starfall. Every winter, thousands of stars fall from the sky. The people of Hyrule believe these are blessings from the Golden Goddesses and celebrate the occasion with food, decorations and festivals. Set in the era of post-OOT/MM and written in my Father of Time AU, join Link as he discovers what Starfall is for the first time.

I'm honestly very happy with this holiday I created. I think it has a very Zelda-Universe flair and I hope to use it again in other fanfics. I hope other people enjoy it as well!

[bahbahhh]

There's a grief that can't be spoken

There's a pain goes on and on

Empty chairs at empty tables

Now my friends are dead and gone

Les Misérables

[nolongerapileofashprobably]

Botw/Totk Zelda is so precious to me. She’s been through SO much.

From being the heir to the throne, her image tarnished by the fact that despite daily rigorous training, she is unable to access the sealing power that is her birthright. Her mother died before she could be taught and her father was not magical in any way, so all he could do was continue to order her to train. When she tries to expand her research in order to help in some other way, since her magic is stubbornly kept locked away, she is berated, constantly gossiped about, and is referred not as the Princess of Hyrule, but rather the ‘heir to a throne of nothing’. No one had faith in her. No one believed in her.

King Rhoam couldn’t understand and had to act as a King, causing Zelda to suffer even more. These are the reasons Zelda doesn’t like Link in the beginning. Not only can she not figure him out, because he won’t say anything, but she thinks he despises her. And she can’t stand to think about how Link accomplished his goal as a mere preteen by being chosen by the sword. Whereas she has struggled daily to access the sealing power.

And then she finally realizes Link’s own determination matches his own and his dedication is one she can relate to with her own life. So she apologizes. She gets to know Link. She asks why he doesn’t speak much and he trusts her enough to confide in her. They bond through the shared fate to seal away the darkness. And then get to know each other as just Zelda and Link.

It’s the first time either of them can truly relate to someone and they find comfort in each other.

So while she did have the support of the Champion’s and Link, all of whom see her commitment and how much she truly wants to help and despised herself for her inability to access her power, Zelda is still trying to handle the rest of the kingdom and her father’s scrutiny. And that’s an insane amount of pressure on someone who already has an entire kingdom worth of pressure already placed onto them from birth. Imagine knowing that your kingdom not only talks down on you but has no faith whatsoever in you. And it just bogs you down as you hate on yourself and continuously blame yourself for shortcomings not in your control.

That’s what Zelda was going through. And guess what? Link failed. The Divine Beasts failed. Zelda failed. Everyone. Failed.

And the reason was because Ganon had far more influence and power than they anticipated.

People go and paint Zelda as a privileged know it all who is completely stripped of any flaws in ToTK— which is completely ignorant of the canon events. It’s an opinion founded on the fact that Zelda’s development in this game is not focused on the flaws of a teenage girl with the weight of the entire kingdom on her twicefold. Instead, ToTK is focused on Zelda’s growth as a leader which is a concept some people cannot understand, as they are stuck on the flaws Zelda worked on as she matured and embraced her new life (aka she isn’t miserable and stuck in the past).

Zelda is a leader who has, in the span of half a decade, put in place new survey teams, a new military, an education system, and drew in more people to repopulate the desolate land of Hyrule. It’s implied that the Sheikah tech was completely cleared from the land for fear of it being manipulated again (if you go on top of Hateno Research Lab the Guardian is legitimately chained down rather than just placed atop the building with minimal support). Zelda traveled and visited the land of Hyrule, met with various people and began to relearn her kingdom through the sparse population that still existed.

Zelda went around Hyrule and did what she could to strengthen the culture of Hyrule and truly make it a kingdom rather than a loosely strung together ghost of a kingdom. She placed monuments with silent princesses. A flower now described as: “This lovely flower was said to have been a favorite of the princess of Hyrule. They were once feared to have gone extinct, but it's not uncommon to spot them growing in the wild.”

And to have a kingdom that actively adores Zelda, who has grown so much as a person and tries so so hard is finally having her effort seen and appreciated by all. Zelda is loved because the entire point of totk is to show us Zelda having everything this time. She was adored by the people. She was finally in a place with herself and her people that she never had before. She had Link, who never left her side and made themselves a home in Hateno (this isn’t even a shipper goggles moment, this is the basic interpretation of the original game and canonical evidence).

Zelda, even back in the past, was given a supportive father figure and a teacher who also represented a mother figure. She continued to be her nerdy self and research Zonai tech, finally gaining the answers of the Imprisoning War that she so adorably gushed about when they found the ruins beneath the castle in the beginning of the game. Her research wasn’t put down nor her theories dismissed. It’s everything Zelda was deprived of in botw. Everything.

*spoilers for totk ending below*

And that’s the reason her sacrifice is so devastating. Because she chose to give up her life, her mortality, everything she has fought to achieve, just to ensure Link, who she has complete faith in, had the Master Sword to finally rid their Hyrule of the darkness. Zelda made that choice thinking there was no possibility of her coming back.

So to completely dismiss Zelda because she is saved by the two parental parents is absurd? Zelda made a choice that would end life as she knew it just to save the home she built back.

There’s also people blaming Zelda for not putting Ganon and Ganondorf together but the thing is that she did have a theory? And she did speak out about her uneasiness of Rauru reaching out to Ganondorf? Which, btw, is an echo of OoT Zelda warning her father of Ganondorf’s evil intent, only for it to be ignored by the king (who dies for his mistake). That sounds familiar, right? Because it should. The Zelda universe is pretty much founded upon reoccurring factors each age that ultimately lead up to a catastrophic event or other tragedy.

Yes, this is rather dull when you look at it from a broad perspective— but that’s the case with a ton of media. It’s in the details and the differences that draw us into the fictional universe of Zelda. People don’t need to love it— nor do they have to abide by these reoccurring factors. In fandoms and such, you can explore different possibilities, swapped roles, darker circumstances, softer fluffier moments, and so on. That’s the beauty of fandoms.

But warping stories and character actions to fulfill a narrative completely opposite of what the canon implications (and actual facts in some cases)… it usually serves the purpose of hating a character. Now, everyone has the freedom to do this. That’s 100% true. But the insane amount of takes I have seen, particularly regarding Zelda in ToTK, led me to write this post that explores her actions and developments from a pretty strict canonical perspective. Obviously, I am biased and not everyone will agree with me. That’s okay.

I simply find comfort that my interpretation of Zelda in ToTK is supported by the narrative, development, and all the characters (including Link). Because everyone adores Zelda. They all see how much she cares and it’s even said by Manny in Botw that everyone is thankful and grateful for the Princess, because she’s the reason everyone (atp) is still around. Zelda is adored by the survivors not only because she kept the Calamity at bay for a century, but also because she spent time and got to know them.

Which is why it’s so hard for everyone to believe that the puppet Zelda causing mayhem was intentionally being malicious. It’s completely out of character. And because of Zelda and Link’s travels between games, they all know who she is at heart. And that is a healing, compassionate Princess who just wants to know the people of Hyrule once again. This isn’t to erase Zelda’s flaws. It deliberately shows us the stark difference between Hyrule before the Calamity and after it. One looked down on her and made her feel incompetent.

This one now cherishes her and sees her for the hard-working girl she is.

It’s all about giving a character everything they were deprived of and then ripping it away from them. It’s a new sort of growth for Zelda’s character. And yet, she has not lost who she is: a nerd who must ramble about her findings. (To link specifically, but like we all know that)

And that is why I absolutely adore her. She’s phenomenal.

[zoroshark]

Happy Holidays

[redundantz]

Happy Holidays ~ ❄

[ancient loz au]

[chaendeulleo]

Little Echoes of Destiny winter/holiday themed illustration ❄️

+ a small preview for the epilogue

[asterias-corner]

yall… I’m going to be so autistic holy shit

[pirateprincesscowboymermaidshark]

Guys I have legend of Zelda: breath of the wild and I’ve hardly played it. Give me motivation and hype it up so I play it while I’m on holiday

[dandyleyen]

Twitter post | Zelda is caught up in the snow falling around them. Link is caught up in her.

[peachssodapop]

Happy Valentines! There was a post of a bunch of cute Leap Year drawings (X) had to redraw one as zelink (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)

[kinglyqueenly]

life COULD be a dream

[nedeii]

[nolongerapileofashprobably]

Zelda actively fought against Ganon for a century and used the minimal energy she had to watch over Link

Like that girl is so dedicated and her unwavering faith in Link is just so so precious

[midonamiqui]

(Late, very late I had exams okay) Zora May

Prompt : Wholesome

They're hanging out in TP Zora Village ! (Sidon was very impressed with all the giants fossils surrounding the area, meanwhile Ralis found the way he's diving absolutely mind blowing)

That's the counterpart of this drawing I did earlier.

[chimpukampu]

Packing all the TOTK Zonai earrings orders so it'll be ready for shipping after New Year 🥰

[mistresslrigtar]

Happy Winter Solstice! Many thanks to @thisgeekyweek for this adorable Hallmark-inspired picture! 🥰

Chapter Six is available HERE. Enjoy this cheese and cliché filled ending.

Excerpt:

“Why are you here?” Link nervously pulled on the ends of the green and yellow haramaki he’d donned in place of the pea coat when he returned to the village.

“You invited me, remember?” Zelda cocked her head, a shy smile playing on her lips. The movement drew Link’s focus to a delicate gold tiara nestled in her auburn tresses, reflecting the flickering flames of the candles.

“I invited Hilda.” Why would Zelda want to be with him? Despite what Rusl had counseled, Link wasn’t sure he could believe she’d choose a ranch hand when she could have anyone in the kingdom she wanted.

“We’re the same person, Link. My name is the only thing I lied about.” Zelda knew Link was obstinate and strong-willed, but so was she. She’d get through to him one way or the other. “Spend the Winter Solstice with me.”

Many thanks to @cjracingpnf for betaing this piece. It was so much fun working with you!