#because zelink vibes

[sweeteastart]

Happy pride month !!

For the occasion, I wanted to draw some Fanart with my headcanons :)) As I am quite new in the LU fandom, I don't have a lot so do drop your own in comments or reblogs, I would love to widen my horizons ♪♪☆ !!

[zeldas-hair-pins]

Thinking about them again so here’s a sketch idea

Ref under cut

[roz-boz]

THIS.

Also, for as much as I love all the war crimes against koroks memes, let’s be honest, in canon he probably adores those little creatures.

I mean, it's explained in game he can see and talk to them because he has a pure heart (so adorable honestly), and he was a kokiri in his past life! He most definitely has the best time whenever he's around them, which I find heartwarming to be honest.

I’m all for headcanons but it’s so funny everyone decided Link is a jackass idiot who runs around naked and sets stuff on fire when in reality he isn’t that way at all.

Yes, as a player you can talk to people naked and set stuff on fire (it’s hilarious to see the NPC’s reactions) and it’s so great the game lets you play like a gremlin if you want!

BUT—within the story and canon—Zelda describes him as noble. That is heart is good and true. In the games, the people of Hyrule come to him with their problems and he solves them. He’s figured out a zillion shrine problems (he’s far from stupid!). He’s good with animals. He takes his role of protector seriously. He’s a sturdy pillar and truly a wonderful person.

[realm-of-zelink]

💙 Realm of Zelink Polls! 💚

Starting with them because they're a very popular Zelink and first chronologically! ^^ If Skyward Sword has zero fans then I'm DEAD!!!

[olderthannetfic]

It's been more than one and a half years since Tears of the Kingdom came out, and I still can't get over how smug and rabid non-shippers got about the "canon" evidence for/against certain ships. But also, how ironically rabit they themselves were about shipping.

Like wow you talk shit about women and their ships and eww how gross that you'd force two dudes with good chemistry to fuck. Meanwhile you guys have been having the dumbest "IT'S CANON!!!" ship-wars about Link with any of the girlies. Bro, if I see another video essay proving that "ZeLink is canon" or "PayaLink!!!" Or whatever... Idk what I'll do but come on, you're just like the fujo girlies.

I think what made me extra eye-rolly was the pettiness about the canon Sidon/Green girl-ship. "Haha your fave ship can't exist." The ship girlies: Continue shipping SidLink. "HOW DARE YOU!"

I think the reason I'm a bit pettier about that one, is that they are so mad about women shipping SidLink that even when you give genuine concrit of the female characters they try to blame it on your shipping. Like me? I don't care that canon created the green girl, I don't care if canon confirms or denies my ships. But my shipping doesn't mean I can't criticise and have issues with characters who feel forgettable and boring, and that became my criticism with several of the girls in this game because they all felt like there was this "Waifu bait" vibe to them.

Anyway long ramble little substance. TotK was kind of a let down in terms of characters. Loved Ganondorf, the gameplay, but dear Lord the story was mid and several of the characters were forgettable and boring.

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[balo-badartist]

I'm just curious... what's your favorite zelink and why? and what are the ships you dislike?:-)

Hii!! ^w^ I adore OoT Zelink because I love doomed romance (Idk why but I headcanon that Zelda dies young 😭), and the story of Ocarina of Time enraptured me even though it was Totk that got me into the fandom. Also my fav characters are the Fierce Deity (if it wasn’t obvious ahaha) and Sheik, so that tracks >v<

And I don’t mind any ships, but what I can’t stand is when non Zelinkers invade Zelink spaces (this only really happens on Twitter and Insta from what I can see?) I see this ESPECIALLY with Malink people, and they always try and argue saying Malink is canon for some reason, and genuinely, there really and truly isn’t enough evidence to say Malink is even remotely canon. Saying that it is relies heavily on confirmation bias. And Zelink for sure is not canon, but Nintendo gave us a lot more Zelink food than anything else implied. The non-canon comic is *chef’s kiss* and in it Link outright ignores Malon because he’s so focused on Zelda. Idt Nintendo would allow the comic to be published like that if Malink was canon ahahah. But I just find the arguments really unnecessary and tiresome imo!

Sidlink people are always cool, and I can vibe with Midlink ppl bc I ship Midzelink 🥰 But Malink people are oddly determined to try and say it’s a canon ship, which is quite goofy imo ahahah 😂 Malon as a character is wonderful, although she’s rather empty and isn’t important to the narrative, so she lacks dynamism and depth. (I prefer Peatrice in terms of a romantic “rival” for Zelda, bc at least that has a bit of ground! 😆☺️) Midna and Sidon are so precious and are actual fleshed out characters, you know? But I enjoy all kinds of ship art! It’s never Malink artists that are the ones starting arguments, it’s always a random man for the most part 😂 And they’re sometimes very aggressive too- so if I had to say there was a ship I disliked, it would be Malink, probably 🤣

I yap about all of this as a Zelda nerd who loves interacting with the community, not as a way to try and make digs at anyone! ^w^🫶🏼💞💞

[amelias-calamity-quintet]

Meet the Quintet

It's been a minute since I've done one of these and I can't find the original, so might as well redo it! Also, I've recovered some art so I can include that.

As a side note, the art I'm including is from a banner I did back in 2017 and is outdated in a lot of specifics. I will include it at the bottom for reference, but the style choice I made was to use the same palette for the whole Quintet, though that does not end up being accurate to their descriptions in the works. I will include details in how not beneath the pictures.

Goddess of Secrecy (GoS)

Link: Secrets

Zelda: Truth

GoS is a quintessential style adventure if there ever was one from me. This started as me wanting to smash the timeline back together in 2012, and ended up with a 13 dungeon romp touching on most of the series. Link gets woken up by a bird, and it is kinda non-stop from there. This work also is a slice of my journey of becoming a writer. While I plan to polish it some more, there is something nice in letting it be a snapshot of where I've come from.

GoS is honestly the hardest for me the synopsize. Do you know what the Zelda franchise is? A fourth Goddess getting tossed in there complicate things enough for ya? That's GoS in a nutshell. That is underselling it a lot, but it is the main draw. While it does some fun things, the foundations are pretty basic. But that makes a great springboard for the rest of the Quintet to build off of!

The Zelink in this is very slow. They get as far as a first kiss and some minor handholding. It starts off with Zelda being enamored with the idea of the legends and the romanticism of "my hero" and all that, but ends with the like "oh wait, that means we've got a war to fight." It is very first high school crush in the middle of the apocalypse. The epilogue does imply that they have a kid together, but I also see interpretations where they drift apart after the initial everything is at peace again phase and are just life partners or good friends. I personally see them as a very subdued couple.

This one is pretty accurate! Zelda is not that thin and her hair is likely a little darker (I believe it's described as honey blonde at one point), but they were supposed to be pretty iconic to the standard set up. GoS Link has a unique Master Sword was more of what set him apart. Otherwise, heights and appearances are how I picture them! Gap is not proportionate, but the 5'4'' and 5'10'' notes are correct!

Mark of a Hero (MoaH)

Link: Sayre

Zelda: Robin

The epic! MoaH is gigantic, a 9 book long series in the works, likely with a prequel. I originally called this one a D&D AU, but have since taken it out to avoid confusion on suggesting that it's like, set on the Sword Coast or something. It does aim to invoke the vibes of a D&D game; the batshit planning, the inner-party banter, a lot of references. And then also is a Zelda game. This one follows a duo in their late 20s as they fake being the Hero & Princess only to end up with, oops, you flew a little too close to the sun there, didn't y'all?

I've said before that GoS & MoaH in particular share a connection, and it is the strongest in the Quintet. GoS is to The Hobbit what MoaH is to Lord of the Rings. And I mean this more than just one is the adventure prior to the other. If GoS is the "there's a magic invisibility ring because I said so" book, the MoaH is the "yeah, but why." Part of this has to do with just the space MoaH has to explore, but it also has to do with the tone. GoS is a fun, light-hearted adventure fantasy. MoaH is a far more grounded high fantasy epic. It is still fun, but it also takes more time to explain and explore the world.

This is a very adult Zelink relationship. While there are no sex scenes in the book, there are a lot of sex jokes and there are implied sex scenes. The two are very interested in each other, but this relationship has to stand for nine books. And that relationship grows. It starts off with the will they-won't they in book one, and then some honeymoon phase in two and three, but Zelda is also very blatant with Link that if their relationship is going to work, then they have to work out what kind of partnership they have (king or consort, since typically Hyrule is ruled by equal monarchs in my settings). They're going to have fights, they're going to talk about long term relationship plans, it isn't just about flirting (though they do that a lot), it is also about the kind of lasting relationship they want.

Largely accurate in general design. Link has dirty blonde hair in the fic, and his guildmark would be higher up, it is lower here to be visible in the the concepting. He is taller in this one, this was a design detail to highlight his being older and that's a character point for him. Notes are not accurate though by how much. He is 5'9 and she is 5'7. But clean shaved, yeah, this is about right.

Zelda is described in work as being plus-sized ("having visible weight") since she's both a noble and a mage. She also has green eyes. Otherwise, designs are accurate.

Restoration Age (RA)

Link: Tech

Zelda: Glitch

We're starting to get into genre experimentation here. RA is a modern setting, but very unlikely to be how you're expecting it. Every modern AU I've read for LoZ always has Link as some bodyguard/elite soldier type. And while that has its merits, I wanted to do something different. I also wanted to write a modern setting without guns. Not that guns don't exist, but that they're not used. It was this basis that I started concepting RA.

You ever seen War Games (1983)? You're on the right track. Magic supercomputer gets woken up and is threatening to reset Hyrule back to the middle ages. This one has 80s-90s teen adventure blockbuster written all over it. Link is a college student who just wanted to go visit an old stomping ground one last time with his bud Dwarf, oops, kickstarted the apocalypse! Now he and Zelda are having to balance rushing the quest to keep the computer from totally "restoring" the kingdom while also not doing that because who in their right mind agrees to work with the evil magic supercomputer?

Zelink in RA is very stressed college students who are, again, in the middle of the apocalypse. It is based on teen blockbusters, there's gonna be a cheesy relationship. This one is still early in, but I see them having a very "can we go back to our quiet gamer lives yet" relationship where they both want to be introverts but the world might be ending, so they can't.

Designs are accurate in rough. Link is, again, actually shorter than Zelda, but otherwise, all good. I would honestly flip their height so he's 5'5'' and she's 5'8''.

Zelda on the other hand is not in a lot of the physical features. Again, green eyes, hair is not accurate color. Zelda is a natural brunette in this one, but when she meets Link, she's bleach blonde with pink tips with only a little of her roots showing. This grows out through the story. Also fuller figure, I just didn't know how to draw body types at this point. These two have the Triforce marks like GoS & MoaH.

Cinders of Life (CoL)

Link: Moss

Zelda: Sunbeam

Of all the OLs currently in my line up, this one I think will be the black sheep. In no small part the original version of the work was a lot darker than the current version aims to be (to be fair, as of writing this, there is a content warning on the work that will fall off with another round of edits, but it is still a grim setting.) Post-apocalypse and dystopian both do apply. This is a Hyrule were Ganon "won" (he came back after the last duo died and so there wasn't anyone to stop him) and the plot is picking up several hundred years into the aftermath.

That said, this is a hopeful story. It is about the resilience of youth. Link is a plant mage and Zelda has some pretty overpowered light magic commands, and the two of them are off to restore the four Great Fairy fountains with the help of the Queen of Hyrule. It is very two optimistic young people walking through a bleak backdrop trying to make the world better. They are regrowing gardens to affect the dungeons underneath the earth, the primary mechanics are very much about growing something out of ruin. But I understand if this one is going to be a skip for some folks.

There is not explicit romance in CoL! They do start at ten for this, and while I know there are kids who experience romance that young, I'm writing this duo as particularly young as to emphasize their age in contrast to an early plot point spoiler that I haven't written yet, so romance feels counter to that. I do leave it open for interpretation that something could happen post-quest, but at the very least, they are close friends for their whole lives because no one else understands that thing it is that they went through quite like the other. I personally see that going Zelink after they've had time to heal, but it isn't planned to be explicit in text.

This set is hard. I honestly came back to CoL and said, this Link probably isn't white. His nickname is Moss, and so I imagine he has curly hair, and it is described as brown. I am hesitant though because it's making the Link in the worst setting the POC one, and that feels iffy to me. There's a part of me that thinks GoS Link also isn't white, considering the nameless plotline accidentally ended up with a felons' rights conversation I didn't realize I was gonna stumble into, and I do like the idea of not having this Link be white as to avoid implying with the narrative of the "oppressed white class" considering Ganon does appear vaguely Gerudo for part of the work, but it's still in debate for me. Race is not a huge part of CoL (unlike MoaH or RA where it does get brushed against) in setting, Ganon and the Queen are the only Gerudo at the start of the work and the Hylians are all of different complexions, but it's just. Mmm. We're thinking about it.

Zelda is mostly accurate. Again, green eyes and her hair is a little darker than this pale shade. She may also have a darker complexion, but previous notes for the same thoughts. Also, neither of them have the Triforce mark.

Day After Destiny (DAD)

Link: Dad/King

Zelda: Queen/Mom

We're back to standard high fantasy! Woo! This is a second quest for this pair. After being called to fight in the Ash Uprisings (named after monster ash), Link and Zelda married and "got busy." Twenty-ish years after the end of the war, they now stand to peacefully inherit the throne from Zelda's parents and begin their own rule. And then the plot kicks in and their kids get kidnapped, oops!

This one does kind of assume the "good king" trope. There is some playing with it for sure, but the basis of the story is on the tin. If the duo got married, they would be royalty, and a lot of the game design mechanics for this one put it as like, an RTS? So having them be the top commanders of the kingdom is just the set dressing to make that work. Narratively though, this story focuses more on the idea of both fighting to make a better world for the next generation and also the burden of war. It regularly talks about the escapades of the Uprisings between the main party but also the weight that event holds on them now and the idea of having to face it again. They obviously do, it's their kids, but it's definitely explored what the costs are.

Considering the premise, yeah, DAD's Zelink. It's an adult Zelink, but a much more tempered version than MoaH. They've had five kids and now they've got a kingdom to rule while they save said kids. Their bombastic romance filled youths are gone, though the romance definitely isn't. It's just not as loud. I feel worth prefacing because of timeline with ages given in the story that Link and Zelda waited on this one to have kids not because of any transposed marriage beliefs from our world, but because they wanted time to heal before they tried raising people.

The heights, they are flipped! Short Link all the way, baby.

Otherwise, pretty accurate. They're both starting to gray. Link's hair is probably darker, and he for sure has a beard by now. Like, a well maintained one, but he's got a beard.

Zelda is fuller figured (she has had five kids) and once more, green eyes. They also don't have the Triforce mark.

A Taste For Adventure (aTfA)

Link: Farmer

Zelda: Sugar

This one is still in the works! But figured I mention it cause I am planning to write some sampler chapters and. Y'all, this one's not going to be very serious. It's a farming sim Zelda idea and like. All the dungeons are gonna be flavor themed and the evil food wizard's theme is dubious. Like. I love it, but there's a reason I'm not changing the Quintet to include it. This is the Triforce Heroes of my collection, it's going to be a very silly premise.

But yes! Right now the idea if that Link finds a gourmand magic sheep? Debatably sheep in a dungeon and takes it to Zelda, who sends him off to all the dungeons for plot that is not yet determined. Stop the evil food wizard. Something like that. Like I said, it's still cooking! But this work will absolutely be an excuse for me to talk about food a bunch. I know the boss mechanic is going to be feeding them some fancy dish to cure them of the dubious food magic's influence.

Link is slated to be a farmer, but because I think having the plot wait on the seasons to change for food growth would be very slow, there will actually be very little direct farming in it. Probably some magic farming in the dungeons, and he will have a family back home on the farm to do some passive farming for him while he adventures, but the novelization will definitely cut a lot of the farming sim elements of the concept for the sake of a fun story.

It's gonna be very fluffy Zelink, I know that much. Her nickname's Sugar because he's for sure got a drawl. Zelda's going to have a dungeon and her theme is Sweet, like. I don't know to the degree, but it's gonna be fluff for sure.

Heights unpicked, but Zelda is of course taller. Since this one isn't colored in, Link likely has a dark blonde hair color with ginger highlights, so it leans red. Definitely freckled and heavily tanned if not just a darker complexion.

I wanted Zelda's dress to be like those ballgown cakes where they stick the Barbie in it. Her hair is braided too like braided bread (not very well pictured here). Look, she has a dungeon and the theme is Sweet, she's going to be extra poofy princess-y in this one for it. I'm going to say strawberry blonde to go with the sweet theme too, but we'll see on the final details once I get to it.

[kbluebirdart]

I don't think every Princess Zelda gets to meet Link in her lifetime— because of the royal tradition, they name every princess in the hyrulean royal family Zelda.

except for the ones who particularly are incarnated at around the same time(that also means smth bad is going to happen in Hyrule lol), they are special and are destined to meet. In most cases, I feel like they will be good friends for a long time, what happens after that? it remains a mystery.

Good thing that some Zelda games DID hint at the potential for them to become lovers, like SS, ST, botw/totk, (and even more, than I may not know yet. like zelink from the fallen timeline?? maybe? pls let me know if you know smth!)

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Link and Zelda in Eow (spoilers warning)

they are strangers to each other and have zero interactions outside of destined roles, only bounce by destiny

but look into the details in the game...

without Link's rescue, she wouldn't be able to mend the rifts across Hyrule and save her father, her people, and him.

She keeps hearing about Link on her journey.

She still keeps the cloak despite no longer needing it for disguise after rescuing everyone in the Hyrule castle. Apparently, She can also wear his cloak afterward. the game intently to remind her of him.

The parallel of how they free each other!

Impa and Lueburry are siblings. he supports Link and Impa supports Zelda in their journey and continues to do so at the end of the game, So in this case, I think Link and Zelda might keep in touch at some point after the post-game.

One thing I'm sure that Zelda would never forget about Link and so does he, They are each other's life saviors, after all. The same vibe as botw/totk Link, If it weren't for Zelda, he would’ve died. Link has continued to be very loyal to Zelda and has never left her side since. and so does Zelda...she would've been trapped in the castle or stay in her dragon form for eternity...

But yeah, what exactly happens between them after post game? All left to us to imagine. because Nintendo would say so. I enjoy it nonetheless!

[k1tty5]

hello :D please tell me more about your mezalian (is that how you spell it??) smalletho I will forever be indebted to you

(they are gorgeous I love them sm)

hey hi !! it would be my pleasure … (and I’ve been spelling it mezalean ??? but i have no idea LOL. there might be a canon spelling but i havent watched joels esmp1 since… probably since it ended. i will have to check sometime)

apologizing in advance because i will probably get very ramble-y!!

ummm. Oh god. How to start. Lets see. WELL. In this silly little au (i guess it has become a bit more than just me doodling designs LOL) in my head they have like this sort of zelink dynamic? obviously without all the zelda lore & stuff, just that kind of … okay forgive me I haven’t brushed up on my zelink lore for a good many years but. Like the princess and her personal knight that doesn’t really talk much sort of thing.

this made more sense in my head. But yeah. They have the vibes of zelink ? At least if i remember zelink right, I have a really bad memory :’) not exactly the same, i do think etho talks to joel (whereas if iirc link never really talks) - especially after getting to know him a bit - but just. they have the Vibes. You know?

I reckon Joel’s definitely very into sculpting in this au, maybe dabbles a little in painting - I imagine mezalea to be very heavy on art and expression in general. think you’d especially see lots of pottery and textiles all around the place. He probably also has an interest in some form of like. um. whats the word. Some sort of … fighting. lmao. Specifically thinking of fencing, i had this idea in my head that he’s watched Etho practice outside the palace at some point and is just absolutely fascinated and enamored. by both the practice and etho himself haha.

and for etho… talented swordsman? he is Not washed. i dont really have many ideas for his character in this au To be completely honest, mostly just of his personality. Although, I alsooo think he’s probably not actually from mezalea? I like to draw him with those pointy elf ears, and i think mezaleans are just humans. I cant remember if thats canon or not but um. mezaleans have human ears, so i’d imagine etho’s probably from like.. rivendelle? Is that. What it’s called. The elf guys? Are they elves??? Goodness I cant remember. Grimlands would make sense too since i THINK they’re kind of like. technical engineer guys? but i dont know what species they are um so ,,, yeah,,,,

i think joel’s probably a bit put off by etho at first, mostly just because he’s not super enthused about the idea of a personal guard, but also because the guys a bit odd, you know? but he’s also probably suuuper intrigued by him. he wants to figure this new guy out, and when they start talking a bit more, i think. They are both incredibly charmed by the other. head over heels? possibly.

most of my ideas of this au are just little scenes that are cute and silly but dont follow any main plot. I would love to write some one-shots of some of the ideas i have in the future, but as of right now im experiencing a bout of creative burnout and am busy with the holidays - spending time with family, so… not right now lol!

hopefully this is what you wanted,,,, i tend to get very ramble-y when talking about literally anything, so i do apologize for that haha, i am Not good at explaining things in simple ways, as i’ve said many a time before.

[skyloftian-nutcase]

In regards to that ask about Legend, I've always liked the idea of him being Fable's half sibling or something, because it is a different Link/Zelda dynamic. I also think Legend wouldn't really be interested in relationships after the whole Marin thing. It does get tiring when Link is always paired with Zelda.

That being said, what are some of your favorite Link/Zelda dynamics? Or who might a Link be interested in instead? Sky and Sun are the only ones I can't see with anyone else, and I know you like Mipha/Wild. Which if I had actually taken my time with BoTW I probably would too, but I don't know enough of the story there to really have an opinion

There are some who like the whole “Link & Zelda are destined to be soulmates no matter what and that means romance all the time,” and if that floats your boat, sure. But I do definitely prefer variety. Also I could make a really cursed observation about Zelink through the ages based on the reincarnation that’s mildly implied, but for the sake of my lovelies who adore all the Zelink, I won’t 😂

I’m probably just gonna sound like I’m repeating myself from other asks, sorry, I haven’t played all the Zelda games so I can only truly speak to the ones that I have, but I’ll throw in my two cents for the ones that I’ve at least seen play through snippets/vibes I get from LU/ideas I liked.

Skyward Sword: They’re definitely, 100% in love, and they are adorable. 10/10 pairing

Minish Cap: They’re childhood friends to my knowledge, so it could go either way, I think. They’re so young in this game, I can’t say what’s gonna happen to them. Definitely would stay friends though.

Ocarina of Time/Majora’s Mask: It’s so complicated. I can see Adult timeline Zelda having an attraction to him, having hoped and prayed for his return to see a handsome young man appear. I can see Link physically being attracted to her while not entirely comprehending what that means because he’s still nine, and I can see than becoming an issue when he does naturally grow a little older. I can see Link being unable to separate the Zelda in the “nonexistent” timeline he fought alongside from the Zelda in his current timeline, who didn’t have to endure the same trials and therefore isn’t exactly the same, and I can see that messing him up too. So I feel like they’d be friends at best, have a professional relationship with maybe some fondness being likely, or cold and distant at worst. It seems most likely that they’re friends but Link keeps her at an arm’s length… by Majora’s Mask he seems to keep everyone at an arm’s length, tbh.

Twilight Princess: Eh. They could be friends, they could become lovers, it could work. But there definitely isn’t enough in the game to say for sure with the latter option. Link very clearly finds her beautiful based on his reaction to seeing her the first time, but he also had the same reaction to Midna lol, boy just goes :O with every pretty girl he sees. 😂 I think he had more chemistry with Midna but he also had time to develop that relationship, and since she’s gone that’s a sadly moot point anyway. But most likely, I think he’ll either end up with Ilia (he does seem to genuinely care about her, and you can see she has some strong feelings for him… you can make them a sibling dynamic or romantic, I haven’t played through the entire game yet so I can’t say for sure, but I can see them getting together) or someone completely different, despite his restlessness at the end of the game, he seems very much a guy who would settle somewhere quiet and have a family eventually. He’s very domestic and gentle and stuff ☺️ And honestly it would be interesting and fun to see the quiet, regal, stoic Queen Zelda get invited to middle-of-nowhere country village to wind down, or for her to invite Link to the castle and his kids sneak along and cause chaos or something 😂

Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass: I’m pretty sure Tetra and Link found New Hyrule together, so it’s heavily implied they’re a thing. From what I’ve seen they have cute chemistry together, so I’m down for it.

Spirit Tracks: I’ve barely seen anything about this game, but given Zelda is the companion for this one she at least is one of the likelier Zeldas to be in a romantic relationship with Link. Dunno 😅🤷🏻‍♀️ everyone seems to think they are, so I guess I’ll go with it

A Link to the Past/Link’s Awakening/Oracle games: I honestly really like the implication that Zelda and Link are siblings. It’s very different from the others and could have so much potential for either fun or angst! Or both! Link obviously has feelings for Marin, and I do think he’d definitely need a break from romance after Koholint. I can’t say he’d never be interested in another relationship after that, but definitely not for a while.

A Link Between Worlds: 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️ not a clue, never seen an interaction between them

Four Swords: Also not a clue lol

Legend of Zelda/Adventure of Link: I mean, clearly they’re at least friends if Link’s still helping her out six years later, that’s all I’ve got 🤷🏻‍♀️😂

Hyrule Warriors: Ugh. This game lol. They give each other lovey dovey looks, so sure. Why not. At least make Zelda interesting if you’re (general you, not specifically you) gonna write it though. Idk. Honestly, them being war buddies is awesome. But the way this game portrays Zelink grinds my gears so I usually struggle to get beyond that. Link honestly should probably just be left alone after he has Cia’s creepy self stalking after him while simultaneously trying to kill him (girl did not know what she wanted, nor did she know what clothes were). Of Link’s options, he definitely wouldn’t want Cia, Lana would be sweet and loving and kind but he probably couldn’t get beyond her being a part of Cia (RIP poor girl, I really do like her and she genuinely loves Link), and Zelda would be ok. Both Zelda and Lana could be war buddies with Link, which is fun. I don’t think Link/Lana could happen because Cia, and I can see the war and politics after the fact impeding Link/Zelda. LET LINK JUST FIGURE HIMSELF OUT DANG IT HE’S A TRAUMATIZED WAR VETERAN WHO HAS BEEN SEXUALLY HARASSED.

Age of Calamity: Link/Mipha all the way! It’s heavily implied in BotW canon that they were a thing anyway, and here they get the chance to actually live! And be together! As such, I feel like Link is a very caring friend to Zelda, and I also think a strong friendship/siblinglike relationship between Zelda and the Miphlink couple would be adorable (and very beneficial for diplomatic relations between the Zora and Hyrule). I know in botw Zelda had a crush on Link prior to the calamity after he rescued her, not sure if that’s the case in AoC because I haven’t finished the game but it seems less pronounced. Either way, a crush isn’t the same as a strong friendship changing into a romantic one. Also I had this idea that Zelda, being the scientist she is and far more interested in just helping rebuild her kingdom (and perhaps not knowing how to cope with being alone when the guy she crushed on is married), announces some kind of competition or presentation for eligible bachelors and Link and Mipha are facepalming and Link (and Urbosa) is 100% gonna vet all the men by glaring at them from behind the queen and Mipha’s gonna be the Vibe Check girl (Daruk thinks they’re all nice, mostly; Revali is like “keep me out of this nonsense” but will low key stalk all the bachelors to make sure they’re up to snuff)

Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom: Given the fact that these two traumatized beans only have each other for points of reference/mutual understanding of their trauma and entire viewpoint, they very likely get together. I have a hard time with it only because people are so insistent on botw Zelink that they completely disregard Mipha and ship Link with Zelda before the calamity as well, which I do not. But honestly, botw/TotK Zelink is fine with me. Though TotK keeps it so vague sometimes, I feel like you can reasonably imply that maybe they haven’t gotten together yet by that point but they’re very close to doing so. Or it’s early in their romantic relationship.

Echoes of Wisdom: TBD! They haven’t interacted much yet from where I am in the game (Gerudo Desert), but considering (MILD SPOILERS) they didn’t even know each other until he rescued her, it’s gonna take a lot to convince me they’re gonna fall in love. Also, it’s hard to tell how old they are with this chibi style but I get the vibe they’re on the younger teenager side? Nothing’s set in stone for relationships at that age.

…I think that’s all of them?

[mailrebel]

10 people I’d like to get to know better

Thanks for the tag @pelicanpig! I made a new post because, as you guessed, long reblog chains make me ill 🤣

Last song: "Elastic Heart" by Sia

Favourite color: Blue! Like a bright blue or sky blue 💙

Last book/fic: I read fics way more often than books these days and OH MAN I have stumbled upon an incredible one recently. "In a Cruel Dawn" by Weiila. The premise is that OOT Zelda is the sleeping princess who Link saves in Zelda II. I'm only halfway through but so far the characterizations are incredible, as well as the drama and angst. Highly recommend!

Last movie: Clash of the Titans (2010). I am super salty that Perseus and Andromeda have almost no relationship in this film at all lol. They have serious Zelink vibes and I want to ship them!!

Last show: I'm watching the anime known as "Monster" right now. Such a gripping story. Tenma is one of my favorite protagonists of all time 💯

Sweet/spicy/savory: Spicy food. I love setting my mouth aflame for reasons unknown 😂

Relationship: Single! But I would like to be married and have kids someday haha ❤️

Last thing I googled: "Steal away meaning". I do this constantly while writing. Google the meaning of words/phrases to make sure they mean what I think they mean lol.

Current obsession: Zelink? Idk, that's kind of a boring answer I think 😂 How about fandom events? It feels like I've been participating in so many the last few months. And I've got three more coming up! Why do I do this to myself? 🤣

I'm looking forward to: Home ownership 👀

Hmm...people I'd like to get to know better. I'm definitely not tagging 10 lol, but how about @dubiiousfood @abbyz-elda @onewingedsparrow @flutefemme Share some personal lore with me if you want to! :)

[demiboydemon]

Trying to write zelink smut but I just wrote the word ‘bulge’ and it made me think of the bulging discs in my neck. This has completely messed up the vibes needed to write porn. Perhaps when my neck is better, I will be able to write ‘bulge’ again without feeling icky. But probably not because it’s not a very sexy word to begin with.

[yiga-hellhole]

We already discussed this but tp zelink

oh i'm a hater. i am wretched. TP zelink is the zelinks out of ALL of them that works the least for me. they have no chemistry, they don't even seem to like each other much, and they have nothing in common. it feels like an insult to the characters to me because in every depiction of it i see they barely act like their actual selves. this zelda is dedicated to her job as queen and is a refined, born diplomat, while this link is wild at heart and a simple soul who could never be chained down to the formal life of a prince consort. similarly, zelda is far too attached to her pretty satin gloves and her job to give it all up and be a farm girl. it's just smacking barbies together because they're both hot blondes. and i definitely smack barbies together frequently just because the characters look hot together, but i at least want them to stay in character for the whole business!

zelda is an incidental goal for link in TP. first and foremost he wanted to save the children from his village. sure, he probably felt bad for her locked up in the tower, but midna always had the highest stakes in rescuing zelda because they seemed to have a history (looking at their comfortable banter and how deeply midna cares for her).

the only way it'd work, and this is a LONG SHOT, is if you removed midna because she gravitates all the chemistry towards herself. and removing midna is like removing the moon and the stars from our night sky. AKA it sucks. that, and, this is just vibes, but TP Zelda feels like a lesbian to me. a lone ruling female medieval royal older than 16 and she's unmarried? she's definitely postponing marriage for a reason. i wonder why...

i have nothing nice to say about it sorry. i don't see it happening at all and i hate it. any other zelink i'm either charitable about or genuinely like the dynamic, but this one i have active beef with. they don't have to be together in every single game!!! it's obnoxious and repetitive!! BAH!

[sheikfangirl]

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!

[shadowlinktheshadow]

ok fuck it im finally gonna write down ramble about the similarities between castle in the sky and spirit tracks rhghghrr

case #1: the characters

in my very private and running around inside my mind headcanons, I see a lot of close things between pazu and link

pazu is a sweet boy (maybe even naive) who helps those in need (like every protagonist) hes a very dedicated worker in the mines, and loves machinery

same could be said for link, who never talks in game but shows his shyness and and also sweet nature. (perhaps this is only around zelda,) you could take the fact that he doesnt even want to get up at the beginning of the game to take his exam because he dislikes the job, but this is where my headcanons come in. in short, hes a child genius and a perfectionist and works himself a little too much, and gets really eepy. so yes he loves machines (trains) as well

oh, and they are both orphans. (link is a bit difficult because hes usually always some type of parentless/guardianless child but anyways-)

and even other than personality and hobbies, their looks have similar parts too

of course, theyre not carbon copies of each other (such as colors being different) but the gloves and, especially to me, the cap is the one that sticks out. like. no other zelda game has him wearing a hat like that

(I just realized the gloves r the same color holy shit 💀) ((bruh and the posture lmao💀💀))

now I dont have much to say about sheeta and zeldas similarities (sorry) but they are both royals (well 1 of royal descent)

case #2: character relationships

spirit tracks zelink is what is keeping me alive so heres some similarities

I love love love the "hopeless romantic commoner falls in love with literal princess (she loves him back)" trope. which, pazu and sheetas relationship is a little different, but the vibes are the same

both couples? pairs? are so innocently in love with each other (maybe link shows it more) but just look:

they are so rhghghrhHRHFHFJJ HISS HISS HISS 💜💜💜💜💜😭😭🔥🔥💜

and finally the catching part in the movie

now you may ask "oh totk link caught zelda something something skyward sword falling blah blah blah" (im joking pls dont hate 💀) but this catch is different than those

they arent both falling, bro is already on the ground

you know who else is on the ground?

THIS BITCH

pazu may seem more.. graceful in catching sheeta compared to link, but (according to my dad) the whole joke of link dropping zelda comes from this movie (I havent finished it so idk) but I do know pazu struggles under the weight of sheeta after all the magic stuff goes away 😂

case #3: minor stuff

so I havent watched the entire movie yet, but heres some other things I saw

birds

they r both doves...... interesting....

though different, they also both play an instrument (link plays a panflute and pazu a trumpet)

also the design similarities in the robots and the phantoms, but ive run out of photos and time so that's kt

thanks for coming to my tedtalk (to the 3 people that will see this 💀)

[ladyhoneydee]

Lipstick or Fruitcake vs. Fruitcake– I gots to know!! (Also I REALLY want to ask about the bodyguard AU because that is a trope that I just LOVE but I'm sure you'll get a bajillion asks on that one too 😅 so I shall behave myself)

Ooh, you gave me options, so I'm going to go with Fruitcake v. Fruitcake because I know you enjoy cooking combined with zelink, hehe!

I have no snippets to share, but here's the basic gist:

Since 2017, there has been a gulf in the BotW fandom: just what did Nintendo mean by "fruitcake"?!?! Some look at the word and think immediately of the Christmas classic with the dried fruits or sticky candies inside--the one that many of us are raised with the idea that they are...kind of gross? Others look at the image and think it's simply a white or yellow cake topped with fresh fruit. Two very different vibes.

I have decided to take this debate and turn it into worldbuilding. Because who's to say that the dish called fruitcake 100 years ago looks and tastes the same after one hundred years of apocalypse and economic collapse?

And more importantly: when an excited and starry-eyed Link cooks Zelda the dish he's learned as "fruitcake", will she even like it?