#go zero

[mirthfulmoonshine]

LoZ: Ternary Ages △ Gerudo Worldbuilding

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾Gerudo Chieftain, Rutimala Dragmire𖤓 ⋆⁺₊⋆

Mentioned in this post, Rutimala was the Gerudo chieftain prior to Ganondorf's ascent to the throne. She is hailed as a Heroine of Endurance, not THE Heroine but is regarded as capable and affluent in this power.

Lady Rutimala Dragmire is matrilineally the chieftain. Her mother was Saranne, daughter of Koati, daughter of the previous king, Naboris. Rutimala has one sister, Pani, who fled the desert as a young teen and was never seen again.

Her grandmother, Koati, is related to Kotake and Koume. The witches tutored Rutimala in the arts of magic and diplomacy. Rutimala is highly skilled in lightning magic and concentrating this lightning into beams, orbs, and towering shields. She is proficient with the sword and loves Molduga hunting. She is equally endeared to shield making and talisman crafting.

The role of the Gerudo chieftain is by blood but also by merit - the fitness of someone's ability to lead can be challenged by another and trials of physical, emotional, intellectual, strategic, and magical strength are held to see who is fit. Rutimala challenged her mother's rule and usurped the throne.

Rutimala had relations with one Lurelin Hylian man, named Efste. Through him, Rutimala had her first two children: Dahri and Pashato. She stopped seeing him consistently as tensions with Hyrule escalated. Like many Gerudo mothers and chieftains, her escapades on the battle field did not stop at the prospect of being with child, bearing children, or rearing children.

Her second partner, another Hylian, was a member of Queen Zirda and King Rhoam's court, Captain Calateous. Calateous and Rutimala met on one of her diplomatic missions to Hyrule and their one-time affair led to her being pregnant and eventually having the next king, her third child and son, Ganondorf.

Rutimala's best friend was Palu, the Gerudo Va'Qai - or spiritual leader/head priestess. Palu, like her daughter soon would, fought constantly with Kotake and Koume and eventually put a wedge between the two witches and Rutimala in decision making processes.

The chieftain raised her children attentively and lovingly, holding the three of them to high, terse standards and shielding them well from the prying eyes of her people. She spent intentional time with them all, raised them in all she knew, and encouraged their natural talents.

Though she loved her daughters, Rutimala had a special spot for her son. Knowing he was to be king regardless of his birth order, she took special care to teach him diplomacy, languages, and a variety of arts: dancing, music, weapon making, storytelling, and star mapping.

She assigns Dahri to be the royal architect and Pasahto to captain of the royal guard.

Rutimala is one of the few who was densely skeptical about Riar'svah's presence in the Gerudo royal palace, wary about her potential sage-hood and isolated upbringing in the Spirit Temple in the Highlands. She forbade the Va'Qai from diplomatic meetings, war planning, and the innermost of the palace. Ganondorf would later undo these decrees.

Her diplomatic missions to Hyrule continued for some time, littered with skirmishes and battles in-between. Rutimala strongly disliked Queen Zirda, increasingly so after the Queen's proclamation that the Demon King has been born amidst the Gerudo. Rutimala counters pushes for a unified Hyrule and addresses their steady trade as being good enough.

As Hylian soldiers press closer to the desert borders, even bothering/harassing/attacking/pillaging some Gerudo wanderers, Molduga hunting parties, border patrols, and pilgrimages to the Spirit Temple, Rutimala declares Gerudo a hostile nation to Hyrule.

Escalation led to war. Rutimala is killed in a battle in the borderlands. She is fatally wounded by Zirda and dies in the rush back to the Gerudo fortress. Her death leds Ganondorf to being crowned king and for he, his two sisters, and the entire Gerudo Empire to declare a vindictive war on Hyrule.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾ Gerudo Coronations | First Blood 𖤓 ⋆⁺₊⋆

Based on/inspired by this post - Gerudo coronations are for kings or chieftains. There are no regents in Gerudo governance and only those of the matrilineal line, successful challengers, or a male can be crowned. However, there are two exceptions:

In the case of twins, the throne is left vacant and the twins rule together. This applies to both vai and voe, based off the legend of the Twin Kings.

If the current ruler is killed and an emergency ruler is placed in charge. This ruler must be approved in a unanimous vote by the Gerudo council, a rapidly formed council of governance made of: siblings of the leader, leader's spouse and/or children, the elder witches, the va'qai, the captian of the royal guard, the royal architect, and one citizen

Ganondorf is crowned king after Rutimala's death. Mourning of a leader cannot begin until a new one is crowned.

Gerudo custom states that the end of a leaders coronation is to shed their own blood, usually on a ceremonial scimitar. This is a sign of fidelity and a promise of sacrifice and loyalty unto death for the Gerudo people. The blood of the ruler is then smeared onto the statues of the Heroines and Sand Goddess as a prayer for protection over their life.

Gerudo coronations are eight days long - consisting of feasts, observances of vigils, pilgrimages to the Spirit Temple, and tests for the leader. Each day is dedicated to a Heroine's trait and the last day is for the unification between the king/chieftain with the Sand Goddess so that the ruler can receive their divinity (think Egyptian Pharaoh)

Skill - the leader must hunt and kill a Molduga, leading a party or not. The Molduga is harvested and used to make the leader's new armor, cook meals, and provide a special oil for candles and fire. Weapons are polished and all meat is processed on this day.

Spirit - Spirit Temple pilgrimage. The Gerudo people pray and bless their new leader with gifts of food, gems, dyes, and fabrics. Fervent prayer, blessing of children in the new era, and greenery is collected and the fortress is decorated in rich flora and greenery.

Endurance - The leader holds a 24 hour vigil and fast, seated on the steps leading to the palace. The Gerudo people spend all day cooking, cleaning, and preparing their homes for a night of vigil where chants, songs, and music are preformed.

Knowledge - The leader is finally permitted to sit on the throne and begin delegating and mapping out their plan of leadership. On this day, the history of the Gerudo is orally shared across the empire. Facades, graves, mosaics, statues, altars, and temples are cleaned thoroughly and tended to.

Flight - the royal palace is fervently cleaned out, reorganized, and decorated with new tapestries, plants, gems, and metallurgy. Gerudo will sleep with windows unbarred or uncovered to let wind in and the wind catchers of the city are opened fully. It is seen as cooling off the town in preparation for...

Motion - A large fireside feast for the empire is held, paired with music, dancing, and feats of magic. The leader makes a grand social appearance and declares sisterhood/brotherhood with their people. They sit, feast, dance, play songs, and sing alongside their people as if they were a commoner.

Gentleness - A day of rest. The leader sits on the throne and the Empire sits in gentle silence, with little work to be done. Mourning starts today for the previous leader if they have died.

The Day of the Sand Goddess - This is the day the leader slashes their palm before the Gerudo people and receives the golden, unique crown/tiara that sits on their head, often woven into their hair. The leader is finally allowed to wear black, the color of royalty, and their hair is cut short, signifying the start of their growth as leader. The leader will then spend the night in prayer, vigil, and fast at the Spirit Temple alone.

[rocketbirdie]

don't worry about it

[mochasucculent]

Was looking at refs and since Viktor has two different leg braces I was wondering, do we think he wears them simultaneously?? The refs don't perfectly line up perspective-wise so it's hard to tell but parts of the one he wears during the Hexcore scenes look like they could maybe line up with the brace that he wears over his clothes, but also some parts really don't and look like they'd be super uncomfy. Also HOW does he take these on and off. Experts weigh in

[mllenugget]

The exact opposite of being doomed by the narrative

I discovered this game while playing with a group of friends on Halloween, and I must say it was quiet immersive because we each wanted different things so we always had to argue together on what to do before the Voices would Took 3 days to complete a single run

[clouvu]

Obsessed with their friendship 🫶

[berrysquared]

I JUST THINK THAT SINCE JOEL HAS ANOTHER FREE BILLBOARD HE SHOULD PUT OLI ORIONSOUND ON IT

bonus (it was me, I put him up there)

[platypaws]

pnf revival challenge day 14: Backstory!

Hosted by @howtonerdoutovereverything! ✨

if I had a nickel for every time I projected my day’s issue on a prompt and all that haaaaaaaaa guess how my hike went today

[salmonlyster]

please dont take this too seriously

[mirthfulmoonshine]

ᨒ Gerudo Kings

I've been musing about in my head for a bit now given I've been making some long posts about my LOZ lore and it's gotten me thinking a lot more about past Gerudo kings.

Canon makes it pretty clear that kings are treated almost like gods or divine occurrences, worthy of instant respect and submission according to their governmental structure. Being such special oddities of Gerudo nature, it got me thinking about how immortalized their kings are in the Gerudo oral and historical tradition. I personally think the Gerudo practice ancestral veneration and a major part of that is looking to their once a century leaders and keeping them closely bound to their pages, stories, art, songs, and nomenclature of history.

I think the Hyrulean Civil War and the introduction of Ganondorf does a massive blow to the legacy of the Gerudo kings, leading to fear, apprehension, and dread to surround the long hundred year stretch between kings. Prior to this, Gerudo kings had statues made in their honor, bluffs and cliffs named after them, and multiple structures dedicated solely to the king and his predecessors. Whole underground chasms were filled with oasis water, abundant with mosaics, statues, and offerings to these great kings - spaced permitted only to be glanced at by the royal family and are shut off until the next king arrives.

These special chambers and iconography was near eradicated with oral tradition and nomenclature being the sole survivor. The boar, a powerful symbol associated with the king's sovereignty, has now become a visage of evil, thievery, violence, and internal strife.

But as for those lost kings? I like thinking of some - my own LOZ version of Mewni.

Naboris Dragmire | Wisdom's King

First Gerudo king to wield a piece of the Triforce, that being Wisdom.

Son of a Gerudo stone/gem carver and a Hylian merchant.

First Dragmire in the kingly/chieftian lineage; he receives his name from his aptitude for lightning magic, seen to be a gift from the dragon that roams the outskirts of the desert.

A masterclass strategist, tactician, and warrior lay atop a measured heart. He is regarded as one of the best kings of Gerudo history due to his fierce protection of the land, its culture, and its people.

Succeeded by Chieftain Koati, his daughter. His wife was chieftain consort Jiel'sav.

Oseir & Ocire | The Twin Kings

Identical twin kings born to a young Gerudo priestess. Unknown father.

Oseir was an avid musician and Ocire was an expert archer. The two were very artistic and inclined to beauty, being the lead architects behind the beautification of the Fortress.

They ruled in unison as one, creating new councils and roles in governance to better improve its function: royal architect, scribe/historian, etc.

They exported dyes and fabrics, diversifying the Gerudo economy and designed the pathway out of the Gerudo highlands, connecting the desert with Hyrule proper.

Neither would marry or have children

Succeeded by Chieftain Heemar.

Dorav | Guardian of the Highlands

Bloodiest Gerudo king prior to OOT Ganondorf. Waged brutal wars against all external groups. Pillaged and destroyed trade, had all foreign men killed on sight and women/children sent back with bloodied remains. His policy was ruthless and indiscriminate.

Despite his rampant violence, Dorav was deeply devoted and compassionate to this people, valuing their needs above all else even if it meant war. His reign would see the construction of the Seven Heroines and the reinforcement scaffolding and watch towers littering the canyon and desert at large.

Master Molduga hunter.

Married twice. First wife died of disease. Second wife outlived him.

Succeeded by Chieftain Nautelle, daughter of his first wife, Iviba.

Le'Onon | Prince of the Sand

Born to the Va'Qai Faseera, Le'Onon did not make it to adulthood and his mother did not make it through the loss.

Despite never having made it to the throne, Le'Onon and his mother are venerated highly, especially by expectant mothers and Gerudo vai on pilgrimage through the desert along trade routes.

Succeeded by Chieftain Sulaa'ju.

Maybe one day I'll make a larger lore post for this and compile my ideas together but alas here we are for now. ོ ༄

[artbymesa]

Playing Mass Effect for the first time in 2025 and This is basically what Shepard did, right

Am I missing something

[fictionadventurer]

The Lord of the Rings is so full of goodness. It's good on a literary quality level, but it's also just crammed full of good things written by a guy who understands goodness. It's good on a literary level, good on a moral level, good in its appreciation of so many different kinds of good things. You've got the vastness of ancient myths and the homely coziness of small towns and casual heroism from the most ordinary people. It knows a hot bath is good, an ancient legend is good, giving up everything and everyone you've known in a desperate attempt to save the world is good. So many different layers of what good is, and it understands and appreciates all of them. Very few books are to-the-core Good the way that this one is.

[bixels]

Important: Ghibli's first butch masc woman.

[rejoiceinsilverlight]

the suit isn't complete until martha kent says so 🗣🗣🗣

[disformer]

ITS BEEN SO LONG!!! Posting what I’ve finished from the Texaid comic I’d been chipping away at in my free time :,)

Atm i’m not sure if id be comfortable finishing this or posting the unfinished pages, and i’ll go into why a bit more under the cut, but for everyone who waited… thank you, you are so patient like the cobra 🥺🫶

Texaid is so beloved and important to me, and i don’t think that’s news to anyone who’s followed me for any length of time. I always come back to them, and even leaving a project like this on hiatus for so long I still felt pretty comfortable leaving this on the burner bc I knew I’d be back.

And with my work sometimes I do have to take fandom hiatus breaks! But I got a slightly confused dm from a friend at one point that said ‘hey man, did you know everyone’s crediting your designs to someone else in the fandom’ and ???? it was true!

And I know how obnoxious it is to see an artist get on their diva shit and claim design elements, but it’s important to know that, at the time, I was one of like three people posting texaid, and the other two were Japanese artists on twitter.

My redesign has my fingerprints all over it; those big circular rotaries on his shoulders? A mistake! I got my references mixed up at one point and just kept rolling with it because it was funny! His pointy teeth and nose and boots and fingers and eyebrows? I’m bad at squares! I was doing everything in my power to avoid drawing squares!

And people have asked if they can use my redesigns in their own au’s in the past, and i’ve always said no (especially in regards to texaid) and that’s because they’re personal to me. My vision of Texaid is something I projected a lot of my own personal romantic past onto, they were my first nsfw art, my first real emotional outlet after getting kicked out of home for being trans and was starving in a flop basement. Vortex’s design was cooked up out of the primordial soup of my brain at a time when I was at my most raw. Texaid doesn’t belong to me, but i redesigned them for a reason, and that was to distinguish the fact I was representing something personal.

So to come back to the fandom and see my boys and the dynamic i drew with the serial numbers filed off, with zero acknowledgement of my influence or even crediting another artist entirely… I feel really bloody hurt. Especially after watching the way this fandom viciously ran off an artist of colour for much less prolific art theft.

It kind of feels like y’all don’t care as long as you like the content. And idk if i want to keep posting in a space like that, where my niche vent art gets repackaged into something more marketable, and I go unacknowledged.

So yeah, might be the last time I post my texaid stuff publicly! If they’re that important to me and I get this upset when theyre cribbed, and if i feel like yall can’t rly be trusted, then Im just gonna keep it in dms with besties. Thanks for hearing me out xoxox

[belobogindustries]

PHAETHON

[vulturemask]