#also so much of botw's plot was about her unlocking her goddess powers

[qualiacumque]

broke: zelda should have stayed a dragon in totk

woke: zelda shouldn't have been made a dragon in the first place

[thebreathofthewild]

i very much prefer the story of breath of the wild to the alternate timeline we got in age of calamity. not because i’m a timeline purist, i don’t really care much whether it splits off or not, but what DOES matter to me in a story (next to the plot itself) is mainly characterization, relationships and theme.

my main issue with age of calamity’s story isn’t just what they changed... it’s what they DIDN’T change, which then didn’t fit with the new stuff they’d written.

breath of the wild’s story is, in my mind, far from perfect, but it has a consistent, vibe, flow, and a character arc for princess zelda that i believe. more than an individual arc, it’s also a relationship arc with link. the development of that relationship is a key driver of the plot.

in age of calamity... despite reaching the same conclusion - that zelda saves link, her love for him activates her power - that development is absent.

i rewatched all the memories from botw and its like. bro. age of calamity can't even begin to compare. their relationship in botw has an arc.

every scene they're in together serves a purpose to establish a new relationship status or milestone. zelda goes through a Bunch of emotions about link: first quiet resentment, then Louder resentment at how he’s doing better at his role than she is at hers, then full-on ANGY, then admiration, mixed with guilt and regret for having lashed out that way to someone who would save her anyway...

from then, she humbly tries to be nicer through tending link’s wounds. she allows herself to be more playful and goof off with him, then Actually Opens Up about her insecurities - displaying true vulnerability when they're caught in the rain together. we know from zelda’s diary that link also shares his own troubles with her, and that she was trying to get him to open up was well. 

then, zelda’s excitingly sharing more hobbies (ancient tech) and hoping that maybe, just maybe, her research can substitute her lack of powers. in the same scene, link gets to witness a true relationship milestone: a parent yelling at your friend/gf in front of you. then zelda shows Even More vulnerability as she has a meltdown about her fears & insecurities at the spring of power in front of him (knowing he's there & not afraid to show him). at this point, she even allows herself to be angry at her dad, instead of solely blaming herself. 

then she gains further appreciation for link teaching her how to handle horses (and says she’s trying to be a bit more empathetic to the horse, as a metaphor for her being nicer to link and more selfless in general), sharing her faint hope for mt lanayru...  then that hope is crushed, and zelda decides to stay by link’s side (instead of urbosa hiding her) regardless of danger.

the calamity strikes. they flee together - which leads to zelda having a total beakdown, as the others die and link’s the only one she has left. the mix of guilt, despair and grief becomes too much, so she leans on him, both physically and emotionally, and he is always there to comfort her. 

THEN, finally, zelda has reached a point of loving link enough to be able to save his life, knowing he will do the same someday. which he does, and in the epilogue, she acknowledges both the pain of the past and how (because him remembering her is what unlocks this ending) he is a big part of the reason why she can accept herself now, even with her power fading & her role fulfilled.

that's an ARC, baby! 

i have my problems with botw as an overall narrative (especially its muddled messaging on whether zelda should be forced to have this traditional role), but i cannot fault how carefully they built the zelink relationship step-by-step without taking shortcuts. in these brief snippets, you see just enough to understand how zelda went from almost hating link to truly loving him.

by contrast... here’s the AoC zelink arc, despite having 3x the cutscene runtime: zelda feels quietly insecure, but doesn’t take it out on link. link saves her, as a bodyguard is supposed to. they exchange glances. they don’t talk / bond. link saves zelda again. they exchange glances. they don’t talk / bond... they flee together. then she saves link out of “love.”

that’s it. that’s literally it. 

AoC-zelink go from two (2) Meaningful Glances to zelda activating her powers, because of a bodyguard she has not spent one real second bonding with. 

link saving zelda was a turning point for their relationship in botw, yes - but here’s the key difference: it was a starting point, not the end destination. it made zelda re-evaluate how she saw link, because she was a dick to him first. THAT prompts her to try to understand someone who was kind and selfless despite how poorly she treated him. which leads to many scenes of them bonding more.

so, hot take: the real, original sin here which almost all of these issues grow from, is that they didn’t let zelda be flawed in age of calamity. 

because age of calamity-zelda was never a jerk to link, she has no reason to go out of her way to be nicer and get to know him when he saves her anyway. that’s just standard bodyguard stuff, and that’s all it’s allowed to be. they don’t share private moments of vulnerability. they don’t share at all, really.

because of this, their relationship - which became its own, organic thing in botw - is never allowed to grow. it stays knight & princess without any real flavor to it. 

i think this could be avoided if age of calamity-zelda was as strong of a character as botw-zelda was. neither is like, a literary masterpiece, but there’s a clear contrast. both are insecure and want to stop ganon, but... that’s all AoC-zelda is allowed to be, until she’s suddenly a Perfect Badass Goddess with no personality other than shouting “for hyrule!”

botw zelda didn’t just have that central insecurity. she has hobbies, she goofs off, she gets angry at people, she starts out with a huge inferiority complex towards link. she can be selfish and rebellious and clearly likes research more for its own sake than its ability to stop the calamity. she becomes nicer over time and more compassionate (unlike age of calamity, which treats it as given that she was always “boundlessly” compassionate), but that’s where she got because link was nice to her, not where she started out. 

and all of this fits into theme. age of calamity is a power fantasy in a notoriously over-the-top warriors franchise. its all about self-empowerment and looking good while kicking ass. breath of the wild is about exploration, slowly piecing together what happened 100 years ago and moving past grief into hope for the future.

i’ll put it this way - botw zelda had an arc to become a better person. aoc zelda only ever became a more powerful person.

[wolf-pearl]

A brief explanation on all of your AUs

I-dude-fam- that's, that's a lot of AUs. So, so many AUs. I'm currently planning on making a massive text post for just my eternatus centric AUs. Do you want crossover ideas too??? You know what, I'll just start throwing AUs out here and if you want crossover concepts as well you can tell me. Buckle up, it's long post time.

Legend of zelda. Set in the downfall timeline, focusing on the hero of time. After being defeated, the goddesses bannish his soul to termina expecting his soul to be destroyed by majora. They didn't expect for him to not only defeat majora, but also absorb both majora's and the fierce deities essence. Now Link has crawled his way out of termina and has 3 things on his mind: tormenting ganon, killing ganon, and then picking a fight with the goddesses. Everyone is terrified.

Another one about majora's mask; majora is actually the goddesses of time, who has been driven mad by a curse.

Loftwings are still around post skyward sword. (I like loft wings, ok?)

Fandom: Loz. Setting: unspecific era. When link is born a shadow link manifests at the same time. The two view eachother as brothers. Through a series of events the two get adopted by a nice lade and are happy for many years. Events Happen^tm, Shadow's memories are wiped, Link is nowhere to be found, and somhow shadow has the triforce of courage. He doesn't know this. All he has from his past a a locket he can't open. He ends up living in the forest near where the master sword is. Shadow meets a young princess zelda, they become friends, one day zelda gets attacked by a boss monster, shadow draws the master sword to defend zelda. Now shadow is being forced to save the kingdom. Oh, btw shadow is a shy flustered mess and Fi is back.

I have been on the "fierce diety is a good dad" team since the first time I saw him, so you bet I have a gazilion AU ideas that all boil down to FD adopting link.

Speaking of fierce deity, AU where fierce gets revived in botw hyrule pre the calamity. He doesn't remember anything and takes of mercenary work. He's just a chill teen with a big magic sword who can casually kill boss monsters. Hyjinx insues.

Zonai fierce diety????

That one idea that started out a a plausible theory but then spiraled out of control into AU territory. No I'm not explaining that here, that would take way too much time. What I will say it the goddesses are evil and demise, majora, and the fierce deity were once a single godess that got shattered.

2 player botw. This was inspired by something I did with friends and will someday make a post about. When link wakes up in the shrine of resurrection, there's someone else in his head. That someone is majora. Both have lost their memories. Two chaos gremlins in one body, hyrule is not prepared for what is to come. Majora acts as Link's guide, as despite losing all of their memories Majora still has the extensive knowledge of a god. Also majora is dead set on restarting the post office in hyrule.

Botw au: the chosen hero is a shadow link. He is here to help zelda unlock her powers, be snarky, and vibe check both the calamity and the king.

Alright that's enough loz AUs, lets do other fandoms.

Detroit become human: connor is an android dog, was built much earlier, and saved Cole's life.

Skyrim: miraak was freed from Mora by a bigger scarier unidentified god. Said god gives miraak one order: protect the last dragon born.

Harry potter: through a series of events, Malfoy actually becomes friends with Harry, and both Snape and the Weasley family are petitioning to adopt Harry. (Seriously, what was Dumbledore thinking when he left harry with the dursley family???)

A few Pokemon AUs:

Due to a miscalculation and misunderstanding, team rainbow rocket abducts the galar champion thinking they are the villain of the region. The champion decides to role with it, plotting to destroy team rainbow rocket from the inside out.

Opal is actually a legendary pokemon who got turned into a human. Thus why she is an absolute cryptid.

Some traner/champion manages to find all of the legendaries/mythical pokemon that exist due to evil scientists and adopts ALL OF THEM (ie mewtwo, genesect, type:null, ect)

This list could go on and on, but I'm going to stop myself here.

[dipshitcoyote]

Breath of the Wild Daemon!AU

Ok so! I’m working on an actual fic using these concepts and this version of the BotW world, but I thought that maybe some of you might be interested in my ideas so here! I’m putting pretty much everything under a readmore, because this is copypasted from my planning document, which got very long and doesn’t even have anything to do with the plot of what I’m writing ^^’

Enjoy!

Link’s daemon is a Hyrule Field Mouse (lol get it) named Firielore (fih-REE-ehl-ohr), Firi for short. From Fi, Ciela, and Farore. They settled early, when Link first drew the Master Sword. Historically, the Hero most often settles as a wolf, but other forms are not unheard of and he isn’t the first Hero to settle as something more unassuming.

Pre-Calamity, most people, even other knights, thought that Link and Firi’s behavior was odd. Neither of them ever spoke (Link is mute, but Firi can speak and just doesn’t), and Firi was just as stoic and inexpressive as her human. As a mouse daemon, she was always on his person, usually on his left shoulder as was uniform for smaller daemons of knights and soldiers, but was rarely seen out of that position except for when she would turn to increase their field of view or leave him briefly to scout stealthily around corners/over boulders and the like.

Relating to the issues that make him canonically selectively mute, Link’s lack of self preservation re: his Duty translated to Firi as well. Things like stretching their bond too far for too long for the sake of getting the scope of a situation or enemy, but not letting the pain show externally where someone else might be brought to their knees with it. Other things like Firi using herself as a distraction, running from Link’s arm to the Moblin’s to divide its attention and leaving them both exposed to give Link a chance to strike. The monsters don’t know the difference between hitting a daemon vs. its Hylian, and that makes the contact less bad, but not insignificant. There were rumors throughout the castle that Link and Firi had been separated traumatically or that the Master Sword allowed them the distance, but both are untrue- their bond was no different than any other Hylian, they just pushed it further in the name of duty.

Link and Firi’s character development (in the memories) is subtle just like in canon. Through the Yiga attack she is always on Link’s left shoulder, even when they and Zelda are just traveling. On the hill with the Silent Princess is the first time she’s not there- she hops off his shoulder when he crawls forward to look at the flower and she moves closer to it. After Zelda’s failure at the Spring of Power, Firi touches Zelda’s daemon to comfort him, just for a moment.

Firi had and has (Impa gave it to them with the Champion’s Tunic) a small set of custom armor for protection, but rarely wore/wears it; she’s fast enough that any attack that would possibly hit her in battle would probably kill Link as well. On the battlefield she would either deftly scurry around Link and warn him silently about attacks from behind, or slip into a small armored pouch that existed to protect her in one-on-one combat unless an opportunity to assist presented itself. In the present, she doesn’t participate in battle the same way she would 100 years ago (with the aggressive distraction and the like), moreso providing Link extra ears and eyes in a fight.

Post-Calamity, she is considerably more physically active, but she still doesn’t speak out loud- except very occasionally to Link himself. I.e when they first wake up in the Shrine of Resurrection, Link hears Zelda’s voice first and opens his eyes to Firi sitting on his chest, also saying his name. However, she’s still a very quiet daemon, especially considering that Link communicates via signing and it would be considered acceptable for her to talk for him. In Post-Calamity Hyrule she’s more outgoing towards other daemons and will greet them physically if appropriate.

Zelda’s daemon, Hylayrune (hih-LAE-roon), Layrune or Rune for short, is unsettled until the moment she awakens her power, when he settles as a Snowcoat Fox (Real life equivalent: Arctic Fox). His name comes from Hylia (all Zeldas daemons’ names start with ‘Hy’), (La)Nayru, Hyrule, and rune/ruin. Before he settled, he took atypical forms for the sacred princess’ daemon that were more representative of Zelda’s scientific pursuits, such as bugs (usually a bee), frogs, and lizards. Almost always, the Princess settles as a bird of prey (often owl, occasionally eagle or loftwing), or in some cases a small dragon (as the three dragons Dinraal, Farosh, and Naydra are said to be the daemons of the three Goddesses, with Hylia’s being most often depicted as a golden dragon or occasionally a huge, golden Loftwing).

Rune’s late settling, and his preferred forms before settling, were a huge cause of anxiety for him, Zelda, and their father. This is all tied into their self-doubt about awakening their sealing power and being able to fulfill her duty as the sacred princess, but it’s also personal for the King. His daemon is a Mountain Crow, which though known to be clever and resourceful are seen as a bad omen, even a curse, within Hyrule. It puts stress on his regime, and the idea that his daughter prefers frogs and lizards over forms that have become symbolic of the royal family and the sealing power is deeply troubling. Rune takes “appropriate” forms only at official appearances and ceremonies, and even then, usually a more wild hawk over an owl, eagle, or dragon.

Other characters:

The Old Man/King: Mountain Crow (real life equivalent: Raven)

Urbosa: Islander Hawk (with kind of a more desert coloration. real life equivalent: Harris Hawk)

Riju: Unsettled, usually a Sand Seal bc they love them

Impa: Blue-Winged Heron (real life equivalent: Great/Little Blue Heron).

Beedle: Hylian Retriever (A golden one, fight me)

Other random stuff/past Links:

- The Princess traditionally settles when she first unlocks/uses her powers, and the Hero traditionally settles when he draws the Master Sword. There are some exceptions, like the Hero of Twilight being old enough to have already been settled, and the Links in games without the Master Sword settling in other ways.

-Hero of Time and Twilight both had Wolf daemons. Their wolf forms are kind of a combination of them and their daemons’ appearances. Time had a lighter colored wolf and Twilight had a darker colored wolf.

    - BUT Hero of Time’s daemon is usually a mouse as a child, when he’s unsettled, alluding to past and future heroes.

    - The mouse thing (here and for the Hero of the Wild) comes less from personality and more from the feeling of facing an enormous dungeon boss as Link, like a mouse about to fight a lion.

-Both the Hero of Wind and Four Swords/Minish Cap Link also had mouse daemons.

    - For Wind this is because of the mobility he needed re: moving on a ship (also kind of like a ship rat? Disclaimer: I’ve never played WW)

    - For Four Swords/Minish this is because he shrinks down and is pretty much the same size as his daemon (she’d have to shrink a little bit too but not as much) and I just think that’d be really cute

-I’m not sure what Skyward Sword!Link’s daemon would be. Not a loftwing because it isn’t possible for anyone but a Goddess or a sacred princess (with Goddess blood) to settle as one, but I’ve never played SS so I can’t really say. It would have to be small enough to ride on a loftwing with him, or a bird of some sort- probably all of the people in Skyloft settled like that, now that I think about it. Maybe a beetle?

-Link from the original games probably has a wolf daemon, as well as LttP/LBW Link.

- Spirit Tracks!Link has a white dove daemon and she rides on his head like the birds in the game and its adorable

-Ganondorf always has a boar daemon in any iteration. When he transforms into Ganon they merge, similar to Wolf Link, but grotesquely instead of dissolving together in Twilight.

-Only the Hylians, Sheikah, and Gerudo have daemons

    -The Sheikah have mostly same-sex daemons, with opposite-sex daemons being about as rare as same-sex daemons among the Hylians and Gerudo. No one’s quite sure why.

    -The Zora have sort of a connection to their jewelry and weapons, but not necessarily a physical one. More of a literal “put your soul into your craft” type thing, which is why Zora armor is the way it is and most of the Zora have specialized livelihoods like sculpting and smithing.

    -The Gorons don’t have a physical Thing, they have a special brotherhood with other Gorons. It’s why you rarely see Gorons traveling too far from Goron City, and almost never alone. They can be alone, like a Zora can be without their craft and affects, but it negatively effects them after a while.

    -The Rito have their songs; though not all of them are musically inclined, its a cultural thing and not a physical requirement. Kass would be considered very spiritually aware and expressive, whereas Revali would not, but a non-musician Rito doesn’t suffer for it. There would only be an issue if there were no bards among the entire Rito race, and the songs faded from memory.