#link survived in botw is because she was the one to tell zelda how to save him. and youll have to live with that

[science-lings]

honestly I’m so disappointed in the fic I wrote doing poorly (with not even a single comment at this point) when I thought the ideas it’s based on were so interesting. So I’m going to rant about it here.

So the fic (this one) is based on the parallels Link and Zelda have in common with the dynamic mythical duo of the Dragon and the Phoenix. Zelda isn’t just literally a dragon, but also symbolically, she’s powerful and divine and the king of the land and all it’s people. Her mythical counterpart is Link as the phoenix, the creature defined by it’s ability to be reborn through flames, and if Link is known for anything in botw/totk it’s dying (and almost dying) and somehow surviving. They’re the queen of the skies, and Link can fly as well as any Rito and is even the only one to be able to keep up with the sage of wind himself when gliding straight into a hurricane of a snowstorm. 

The best part of all, is that due to the nature of the two divine beings, they’re also the symbol for being the peak couple. So not only do the parallels make sense, but also in a shipping lense. 

They are the embodiment of the power of love which is the whole heart of both botw/totk. In botw it’s implied that Zelda’s power is unlocked because of her love for Link, and throughout totk you can see how obvious Link’s devotion to her was. He gave her a home and was never seen without her, he follows any trace of her all across the kingdom, and the first thing he asks anyone, despite them having more urgent problems, is always ‘Have you seen her?’ Especially when the evil they fight against is referred to as the embodiment of hatred who uses goo named ‘malice’ and ‘gloom’ which seem to be as opposite of Link and Zelda’s love as you can get. 

So you have a feminine guy (?), with an odd relationship towards death, who has to continue to rise from the ashes on multiple occasions, who flies through the sky like a bird and tames the wilderness like he was made for it, and you have a regal woman with inconceivable power at her fingertips, but will still sacrifice it all for love, who saved a world of people and is hailed as a hero, who is loved and a protector of all under her care. Like tell me I’m crazy for making this kind of connection.

[karakulialiny]

After everything he’s done, he’s finally had a guilty conscience...

But it mostly concerns Link from other people’s mock comics. To Link from my AU the so-called ghosts of the past will have other claims.

Let me explain, I've seen a lot of comics where BotW/TotK Link was portrayed as careless idiot, that can only create chaos. But my friend @pichichustudios went even further, and she decided to draw a reaction of Links from previous games to what Wild had done. And when I saw that, I thought, what if they had met him in person? They’d probably start gaslighting Wild, just like those parents with their "I worked three jobs at your age and you’re too lazy to make your bed".

{Previous drawing] [Next drawing}

What follows is just my thoughts. If you are not interested, then you don’t have to expand the post.

And after reading all these comics, I thought: why do I even love this character? This pyromaniac and korok sadist. Why am I shipping him with Zelda? If they’re together, they’ll obviously have a kind of toxic (or at least one-sided, which isn't good either) relationship because of Link’s lack of romantic feelings towards her.

But then I did a little analysis and it all made sense (if anything, these are just my headcanons).

The thing is, Link has a little bit in common with characters like Sponge Bob (from the classic seasons) and Shaggy (mostly because of his love to food). He is a naive, good-natured and hyperactive young man who has a rather small life experience and is accustomed to doing what more authoritative people tell him. Then he saw the harsh realities of this world and had to literally survive. He then went into a coma, after which his brain was almost completely cleared. Because of this, all the stories about his past seemed like legends to Link. The sad backstory of the Champions did not cause him much emotion, because he no longer remembered exactly how it happened. The photographs only partially restored Link’s memory, and he was unable to recall the full picture of the events. For the same reason, he did not have very romantic feelings for Zelda: he just forgot how he met this girl and how good it was together. I think that after the events of BotW he just got to know her again.

These posts are perfectly explain the relationship between Link and Zelda in BotW and TotK.

About his antics? He just took every opportunity to show his true nature.

About the Master Sword? I guess, this comic will explain it much better.

About the fairies, one of which Link ate in the top left picture? He's probably believed to Beedle, who told him that eating fairies will make anyone invincible.

And about koroks? Well, I think Link just got mad at them after spending a lot of time collecting 900 of them and recieving a piece of golden turd as a reward.

So, I don’t mind Link being a goof, but let him be kind one (like the same SpongeBob), not a mean jerk who causes troubles and doesn't feel sorry about it (like mid seasons Patrick).

Let's say this is an improved version of my Linktober 2022 entry.

[aiyexayen]

Tell me about xichen/yanli and also about link fucks? 👀

both excellent choices if i do say so myself :chinhands:

behold! an excerpt from xichen/yanli, which is an au where they met as children and i have no idea where it's going to end up but it's going to be very sweet:

Summer in Yunmeng is hotter than anything Lan Huan, newly confirmed zongzhu of Gusu Lan, has ever experienced before in his life. Even the cool, damp breeze drifting up from the lazy river to brush across his face can't stop the sweat from gathering in the creases of his new robe. He's shaded from the sun and it seems to do him no good whatsoever. Wistfully, Lan Huan takes in the unfamiliar atmosphere--the scents of strange foods; the sounds of strange training drills; the unruly shouts of disciples chasing each other from one end of the pier to the next, half of them tumbling over each other to plummet into the water--and thinks of the fan his mother gave him. It's never had any use to him but he would have gladly brought it if he'd known about the heat. In his mind's eye he can see precisely the shelf it sits on in his room, so far out of his reach. He sighs. Hopefully A-Zhan is nice and cool wherever he is right now. Hopefully he's not missing his gege too much. Hopefully-- "Lan-gongzi," a soft voice from behind him startles him out of his thoughts. Lan Huan jumps and tries to cover it up as he turns, drawing himself up with all the calm he's practised. It must not work because the girl giggles when she sees his face. "Can I help you, guniang?"

and then link fucks, which was actually going to be my fic for polyship week day 3 (bed-sharing/long-distance relationships/outsider pov) but i did not even come close to finishing it in time [gets out the clown makeup]. it's a post-botw fic about zelda travelling around with link and slowly realising that he is fucking basically all of hyrule on the regular.

excerpt:

The strangest of Link's new quirks, however, occurs at night. They navigate the land bit by bit, from inn to encampment to stable, and each time Link acquires only one single bed. And, well, they never once share it. The bed is only for Zelda. At first she worried and fretted, thinking perhaps Link was working with too few resources to spare any for himself in the absence of her sponsorship (Zelda, in fact, has no earthly possessions to her name, which is one thing that ought to be strange and is only strange in how she doesn't care at all). Link must be nobly consigning himself to sleep on the ground outside. They certainly make camp where they need to, but when the relative luxury of a real bed is available they should take advantage of it! Her fumbling attempts at making it clear to Link that she did not mind sharing her bed with him, that it did not need to be a point of awkwardness or rank or fealty, and further, Hylian gender-based propriety is exhausting and she had not practically grown up with her mother in the Gerudo desert and survived the collapse of the kingdom of Hyrule just to follow-- Well, in any case, her attempts fell flat. She was met simply with amusement and Link's assurance that he was never without a place to sleep. "If I run out of options," he promised cryptically, "I will remember Zelda's offer."

wip ask game

[a-pale-azure-moon]

Random TotK Thoughts #2

I've gotten a bit further, having completed one regional phenomenon, found a few more dragon's tears, and done some sidequests and exploring. I am having so much fun!!!

Specific things under the cut just to be safe.

-Something I forgot to mention in the first post, but how awesome is it that your horses carry over? I love that the devs included this little bonus. I spent so much time catching horses in BotW just for fun, so it's extra nice having all of my favorite ponies around for another tour of Hyrule.

-Where did Zelda find that gold horse though? How does a gold horse even exist in the first place? It even looks metallic with the way light refracts off of its coat. Bizarre. xD

-Penn's "Soar Long!" is the best/worst catchphrase ever.

-The journey up to the Wind Temple was great. Just climbing higher and higher, using the islands as "stairs" to reach the eye of the storm. I can't say I was very impressed with the dungeon itself though; it's an improvement over the Divine Beasts in terms of design, as it feels like it has its own identity rather than just repeating the same aesthetic as the shrines, but the puzzles and layout were very basic and once again, the goal was to activate five things. It's still a downgrade from a more traditional Zelda dungeon.

-I did like having to fuse a giant icicle to a broken handle though. That was a neat idea. And the Colgera boss fight was good and very fun, if a bit easy. I'd rate the whole sequence as like, a B overall, i.e. good but still has room for improvement.

-Tulin is cute as heck and his skill is useful. His headshots are even more useful (except when the enemy falls off an edge and I lose the drops, which has happened a lot). I've still found myself missing Revali's Gale a little though. :/

-I killed my first Frox in the depths on my mission to get Autobuild. It was almost completely dark since I hadn't found the next Lightroot, so it took me a minute to notice the ore deposits on its back. I kept shooting its eye and wondering why it was barely doing any damage, lol.

-Imagine my surprise when I ran into a Yiga down there, and then when Kogha showed up. I like how this is a "logical" way for him to have survived his confrontation with Link back in BotW. And that he's still an idiot who's easy to beat.

-Did Link just give Zelda his house in Hateno? (Also, I appreciate that the photo from the Champion's Ballad is still on the wall. Another nice little continuity touch.) Interesting though that the table is set for two but there's only one bed....

-After I visited Robbie at the lab and got the shrine sensor (finally), whom did I see casually flying by but Naydra! And man....I'm so psyched that you can actually land on the dragons now. I hitched a ride on her for quite awhile, and it helped me reach a couple of towers and scout for some other points of interest. And I harvested a few of her parts too, of course.

-I was surprised to discover that she goes into the depths (I assume Farosh and Dinraal do as well). I almost fell off when she started diving and then I realized we were entering a chasm. Neat!

-Also, I love how her body undulates as she flies, and she makes this soft purring/growling sound too. It's the little details like this that make the game world feel so real and immersive.

-Knowing now that Mineru tinkered with the Purah Pad in the distant past, I'm getting a headache trying to figure out if Sheikah technology derived from Zonai technology, or if it's actually the other way around because of time travel shenanigans.

-Also, you can't tell me that Zelda, the massive history nerd, didn't take at least one selfie with her great-great-great-great (etc) grandparents and many, many pictures of ancient architecture and technology while she was in the past. Somewhere on the Purah Pad is a hidden file filled with hundreds of photos that she took. Change my mind!

-I have a mighty need to know how Rauru and Sonia met and what their courtship was like. This two second interaction in Memory #2 begs for elaboration.

(She hit him with a closed fist! The look he gives her just sends me, and then he rubs the spot afterwards like it bruised.)

-I like how Sonia's reaction to Zelda is basically, "I'm taking her home with me and adopting her."

-I'll confess to my idiocy that I didn't immediately notice that Rauru has three eyes; I thought its lid and lashes were part of his facial markings (tattoos?) until I looked more closely. Does he keep it closed by choice or does it only open as a reflex in certain situations? I'm guessing the latter since Mineru's third eye is closed as well.

-It's funny to me that he literally has hair down to his heels and his sister's hair is cropped so short it's almost unnoticeable under her ears and visor. xD

-Also, bless the animators for actually using Rauru's magnificent ears to show some of his emotions. The way they twitched in Memory #3 made me grin so much.

-I think I've figured out what the major plot twist of this game's going to be. It can't be a coincidence that Mineru mentioned a forbidden power of draconification and that there was a dragon that flew right next to the Great Sky Island to allow Link to descend to Hyrule, can it? Hmm...

[intobarbarians]

zelda and mipha are interesting foils not because of their relationships with link, but just as princesses living on in the memory of their people. all of zelda’s accomplishments in her lifetime, her curiosity and her compassion, are completely overshadowed by her inability to access her powers. she fears her perception across hyrule is that she is a failure. her father reinforces this by forbidding her to do anything that isn’t mastering the skill that will defeat ganon, which absolutely no one can tell her how to do.

meanwhile, mipha is lauded among the zora for her bravery and her skill with the spear. she’s remembered as a prodigy, their kind-hearted princess who was martyred trying to stop the calamity. she’s so beloved her father even hopes that she was simply trapped in ruta, still alive and able to be rescued, rather than killed.

mipha’s family and friends mourn her into the present of botw. they erect a statue of her. her loss is as fresh as when it first happened. she has not yet passed into legend.

very few people alive remember meeting zelda, in part because hylians don’t have as long a lifespan as the zora, and also because she worked so much on her training she didn’t interact as much with her people. traveling around in botw, she is most often referred to as the princess, sometimes a beautiful one. many people feel indebted to her for fighting the calamity, but they don’t know her. she’s a vague idea people have, a historical figure they can put away in their minds.

except there’s link. he doesn’t remember zelda at first, but he can free her. she’s not dead! she’s still fighting. she’s /alive/.

in totk, so many people know zelda! she’s been traveling hyrule to help rebuild. she gardens. she teaches. people describe her as compassionate because they have experienced it firsthand instead of from their textbooks.

and there’s a lesson here about how important it is to live. mipha is adored, but her spirit was laid to rest. she piloted ruta and completed her duty. the zora no longer have any questions about her death. she is at peace, and life can go on.

zelda, in surviving, can keep building her legacy. she can tell new stories, experience new discoveries, make new connections. the princess of the old stories is being rewritten every day into the neighbor, the teacher, the princess of today.

no matter how great the sacrifice, how loved you are at death, it’s in living you have the most power.

[minty-mumbles]

BotW after the Calamity

I think they settle in Hateno, simply for the fact that Link already has a house there. They live together for a while. People draw their own conclusion about that, but they don't really care what people think. They need each other, especially in those first few years, just to remind each other that their 100 year battle is over now.

Zelda took of the job of being Hateno's mortician at some point. Probably because people kept asking her to pray over their dead relatives- since she's a descendant of the goddess- and that eventually bleed into helping with the body itself.

Since the kingdom is in shambles, there are very few people who actually have the time to learn and practice medicine. Zelda, who's always been really into biology, and already deals with bodies a lot, becomes the de facto local doctor. She's is the one who people go to for medical help, because she’s the one with the best understanding of human anatomy in the town.

Link starts tutoring kids in swordpaly. Children in Hateno, and other places he travels. Because I like to think he keeps traveling often not really one to be tied down to a certain place.

Along with that he takes up a couple kids a year as personal students. They live with him and he tutors them. Subjects range from fighting, wilderness survival, cooking, to applied physics (That's a new headcanon of mine as well- He can figure out how much force he's going to need, in which direction, to get where he wants to go with the stasis rune. If Zelda is the Bio nerd, Link is the physics nerd) Anything that is applicable and relevant to what they're doing that day. Zelda also swings by, because she eventually moves to one of the hoses that Bolson built just down the hill. She teaches the students biology, history, and shiekah tec. He doesn't end having any kids, but his house is constantly filled with former students swinging by for a spar, his current students, Zelda, Paya and Purah, Bolson, the champions if they have time off from running their respective towns. I also like the idea that he might take on boarders. Possibly travelers form Gerudo town, who are looking for work/a husband- they can stay with him. Or random travelers or merchant who are staying for just a few days, and need somewhere to stay while the inn is full. His tutoring is highly sought after, so he could charge a high rate, but his prices are actually very low- he charges for housing them only, and board/tutoring is covered by the kids helping out around the house, hunting for food for dinner, helping him cook, all while they are learning how to do these things. He's a little bit of a tough love teacher, but his students all love him, and all turn out to be very helpful, competent members of their community after they leave.

One of his favorite things to do is right when the kids get there, he takes them to the Great Plateau, and leaves them there for, like, a week. He's like "If I did it with no memories and monsters still running around, you can do it too." It always teaches the kids a lot. (He checks up on them every night, of course, not that they ever see him)

He always has the ultimate "When I was your age, I had to walk up hill to school! both ways!" kind of stories.

Student: "Oh, man, my day was weird."

Link: "Oh, really? Let me tell you about the day I defeated the reincarnation of evil-"

[embyrinitalics]

Hey, just as a bit of a brain-teaser/prompt, if you're feeling up to it, based on that recent reblog of BOTW Link in Ancient Armour on horseback, could you do a small one-shot of TP Link absolutely BOLTING across Hyrule Field on Epona towards Hyrule Castle after hearing/thinking Zelda has been attacked/hurt in some way? Idk I just feel like TP vibes paired with that scene would be absolutely divine. Hope you're doing well! Cannot tell you how entertaining your MM streams have been lately.

— Control —

Being Captain of the Queen's Guard was both a responsibility and a privilege—one usually bestowed upon a seasoned knight with the respect of his men and an impressive record to recommend him. So it surprised everyone when a ranch-hand from the backwater southern reaches showed up out of nowhere—lanky, awkward, baby fat still in his cheeks—to claim the position. No one had expected him. And there had been growing pains; challenges to his authority, or very public errors as he muddled his way through castle politics and the unfamiliar etiquette that kept the city afloat.

Control, the queen had told him, an encouraging smile in her eyes. To survive in this place, you must show control.

Link took those words to heart, wanting to be useful to his queen and country and do right by her besides. All things considered, earning the respect of his skeptics didn't take terribly long; he had seen enough suffering and sacrifice and bloodshed to know what it was to be disciplined. He had to admit it felt strange, though, to mute joy, or sorrow, or pride, the way he might rein anger. But that was the way of things here. People hid what they were, and anyone who let themselves be seen was flaunting weakness.

He did have more to rein in than most. Not only because he tended to wear his heart on his sleeve, but because he had a creature living in him that had no concept of restraint whatsoever. Sometimes the Wolf would claw its way out, drumming his fingers during tedious meetings or narrowing his eyes when they ought to have been unreadable. But he always beat it back down, cognizant of appearances. Cognizant of the chaos a wolf on the loose in Castletown could cause.

It all crumbled when a messenger from the Castle burst into their training camp just outside the Great Bridge of Hylia, red-faced, panting, drenched from the rainstorm, with a sealed letter clenched in his fist.

"The queen," he managed, breathless, holding the message out for him. "There's been an attempt on the queen."

Read the letter, the knight in him said. Weigh your options. Don't be rash.

The wolf said, Run.

He'd burst out of the tent, thoughtless and reckless and burning with feeling, and set the horse call in his teeth and blown so hard the signal was shrill and unintelligible. Epona knew it anyway, tearing out of the temporary stables to meet him as he yanked a torch out of its sconce and carrying him out into the night before the clamor behind him could slow him down.

The rain and the muck were awful, drenching them both and sucking at her hooves. But she could feel her master's fury, the way all the parts of himself he normally kept under lock and key were radiating off him now in waves. He knew he was driving her too hard, the foam dripping from her mouth whipping up to paint his shoulder and her neck frothing white under the torchlight. He thought of running as the wolf; but even exhausted, Epona was faster.

They spotted him from the watchtower and called to bring down the bridge. He drove her through town, through the castle gates, and slid off the saddle before she had a chance to stop. Her legs were trembling, her nostrils flared and barrel swelling with each labored breath. But the grooms would see to her.

He tore into the atrium and down the halls, every breathless demand of Where is the queen? met with stunned gestures and choked out, garbled answers. He weaved up into the towers, and finally burst into her private library, where she was sitting up late in front of the fireplace with a book in her lap.

She seemed... fine.

She looked up at him—and then, slowly, her features marred with a gentle scowl. He must've looked as much a mess as Epona: soaked through, shaking with adrenaline, hair matted with rain, wind, and sweat, and too out of breath to cobble together a sentence.

She demanded, "Did you read my letter?"

"No," he admitted, panting, and raked a hand through his drenched hair. "I didn't. No time."

She sighed. "I told him to make sure you read it."

"Then you're—?"

"I'm fine."

The Wolf seemed to ripple out of him with his sigh of relief, his legs suddenly the consistency of jelly and his eyelids so heavy he could've put his head on her couch pillow without a thought of lifting it until the morning. His breath puffed out of him a few more times, that, the fire, and the patter of the rainwater dripping off his tunic the only sounds in the condemning silence. He finally moved, sliding down to the floor on his hip with his back to the furniture and dropping his forehead to her knee, still panting. This position would be neither dignified nor appropriate if there were anyone around. But it was late, and he couldn't imagine anyone following him up here after the scene he'd made. And even if they had. To Twilight with propriety.

He swallowed once, muttered, "Good."

Slowly, softly, her fingers found their way into his hair, across his scalp, and it sent soothing jolts of electricity down his spine. It made all the tension fall from his shoulders.

"I should scold you," she hummed, but when he lifted his eyes she was smiling at him. "But it was very sweet."

He untangled one of her hands from his hair to bring it down to his mouth, pressing a kiss to her palm.

"Scold me later," he suggested, and dropped his face back into her skirts.

She traced the long line of his ear while he caught his breath. Imagining the wolf, swishing his tail. It made her lip quirk.

He was very sweet.

On ao3 | inspired by this art by @rrliiion

[ketchupkio]

I wanna know about the other heroes (besides Wars and Legend) in this au. You got any headcanons for them?

You didn't mention anyone specifically so I'm just gonna talk about some of our OCs (and mention Hyrule) >:3

Odyssey!! I haven't said a damn thing about him, so now's as good a time as any!!!! He's from the era after Wild, about 250 years after Wild's adventure(s) and... Sidon is still around??? Fish man old as hell now. Odyssey is dating both his era's Zelda (Legacy) and Ganondorf (Hope). Gods like their era started out as an original project for a dnd style Zelda game (narrative only lol I'm not making a whole game OR campaign) but yeah he adventured with Legacy and Hope the whole quest!! It took a long ass time and spanned the entire continent of Hyrule and BEYOND, hence why he's the hero of odysseys. He was my first actual loz OC lol I love him. Spunky lil bastard. Very capable, doesn't look bookish but his hyperfixation as a kid was heroing so he researched a lot and taught himself survival, swordsmanship, archery, etc. He and his partners fought Demise and beat the shit outta him.

Fae, my beloved! She's non binary, sapphic as hell, probably has a crush on her Zelda, and Cinder is her... not-legally-adopted-but-might-as-well-be brother. Fae is my baby, Cinder is Mizu's, so she'd be the authority on him but lemme tell u a little about my favorite nb lady. She's a witch! She learned a shitton about magic on her quest so she's a green witch now that lives in a cottage in the woods... well she has to take care of her big brother now so she and Cinder travel. She's from somewhere between TP and BotW because you know how great fairies are only in the cave of ordeals in TP? Yeah there was something keeping them there! She had to go into the fae realm and break the curse(??) on the fairies and magically unclog the places where fairy fountains transition from growing in the fae realm to growing in Hyrule proper. So that's why there are great fairies in BotW! Lol they all know her when the chain visits Wild's era. She's amab so she was once named Link, did the whole hero thing, didn't like it. She held herself too much to what she thought a hero was supposed to be and not what actually made her a hero. She carries a sword but prefers combat magic. Frequently feels like she's the only one with some actual goddamn sense in the chain (what a bunch of b o y s ugh). BEST friends with Hyrule. Enby solidarity.... even tho she gave Hyrule gender envy, oops. She makes her own hrt potions!! (then immediately teaches Rule how to make their own when they express interest lol)

Questions about Cinder should be thrown at @mizuriii at mach speed but I will say a lil thing. He's from Termina.... before Time's quest. Aaaand he also fought Majora. And had the FD mask (see forehead marks). He.... didn't do too well on his quest and he's not very confident in himself/his abilities. He doesn't feel like a hero even tho Fae assures him he is one. Hims a sweet baby. The other members of the chain.... intimidate him, to put it lightly....

Ty for asking!! This got long so I think I'll stop it here

[c-aureus]

How I think Hyrule would respond to Zelda's return, after the end of BotW.

Wall of text incoming.

TL;DR: I think they'd be very cruel.

Please remember that these are all only my interpretations and opinions, and should be treated as such.

A while ago, I made a post saying that I do not believe that Zelda or Link should be in any way 'happy' after the end of BotW. Imo, they've both lost too much for that, and I worry that the sequel will not give this grief or loss the focus it deserves.

Now, I plan to expand on that, by explaining my interpretation for how i believe Hyrule would respond to her after her return, which would only further compound their misery.

Now, I'd like to preface this by saying that I actually like BotW Zelda as a character a lot, and that I'm very sympathetic to her.

However... well.

The consequences of her failure are simply too big to ignore imo.

Firstly, as a general overview: Zelda was the ONLY person capable of stopping Ganon. Without her Divine sealing power, there was simply no way for Hyrule to survive Ganon's assault, no matter the preparations, or skill of the warriors. The best example of this is the Champions and Divine Beasts. They were all the best of the absolute best, and yet none of them were able to survive Ganon's assault, simply because they were not Divinely favoured to succeed, the way that Link and Zelda were. Even despite their incredible skill, prowess and dedication. There are other examples too, notably the fall of Hyrule's military outposts, and the annihilation of central Hyrule's civilisation and infrastructure.

To put it simply, with Zelda's power, they won. Without it, all of the preparations were for naught, and everyone would die. Zelda herself even says as much in a cutscene in AoC.

(Also, as a side note, in all of those levels in AoC where you relieve the Akkala Fortress, Great Plateau, and Hateno fort, remember that in BotW, they all fell, and the soldiers would have been slaughtered.)

So, in light of that...

The fact that Zelda only unlocked her power after it was already too late means that I don't believe that the shattered remnants of Hyrule's civilisation would be kind or sympathetic to her.

Link and Zelda were literally born by divine influence to protect Hyrule from Ganon. And, well...

Again, my point comes down to the fact that Zelda only unlocked her power after it was too late for the Champions, Link, and thousands of other Hyruleans who had either already been killed, or who would later die in the aftermath.

Now, again, I'm HIGHLY sympathetic to Zelda here. Indeed, she had lived her entire life with this Sword of Damocles hanging over her.

However. The sword fell.

And, crucially, Zelda avoided it, whilst it went on to kill literally thousands of others. They all died for Zelda's failure, whilst she herself survived.

Furthermore, those 'lucky' ones who did survive had to live in BotW Hyrule, which, if I'm being honest, is an absolute wasteland. So, so much was lost in the Calamity, the land was overrun by monsters, and even the tiny remaining pockets of civilisation suffer. I could go on for hours about how infrastructure, agriculture and trade were all annihilated, but I'll try to refrain for brevity's sake.

The long and short of it is that Hyrule is fucked.

I think my worry about this comes from BotW's post credit scene where Zelda tells Link that she thinks that if everyone works together, they can rebuild, and make Hyrule better than it was before.

And, this line really annoyed me. Because, quite simply, Hyrule has simply lost too much to rebuild. Infrastructure, agriculture, trade, population... Hyrule would be reeling for generations after Link and Zelda's death. To expect any kind of quick recovery is just... foolish beyond words.

(Another side note: I'm extremely grateful to AoC showing just how developed Hyrule is pre-Calamity. It helps give scale and scope to the devastation in BotW even more.)

So, Zelda's naive optimism here annoyed me. However, far more than that, there is another issue that this overlooks:

Namely, I cannot fathom why anyone in Hyrule would want to follow her, or would accept her as their sovereign.

Now, this is going to get extremely cruel to Zelda, and that saddens me, because I like her. This is just what I think the realistic response would be to her, given the circumstances, because people are cruel and like easy targets of blame. There are many examples of this kind of blaming behaviour in history, if anyone wants to look, lol. So apologies in advance:

BotW tells us through the memories that Zelda's reputation is AWFUL Pre-Calamity. Rhoam says that the people call her 'Heir to a Kingdom of Nothing' etc.

Now, perhaps poor parenting aside, this gives more context. Do you really believe that the 'lucky' few survivors of Central Hyrule would be kind, given that Zelda fulfilled their terrible expectations in the WORST possible manner?

No. I believe that that generation, which already disliked her, would spend the rest of their lives cursing her failure, and the death and destruction that came as a consequence. And, they would pass that down to their children and grandchildren.

This comes to another point: Zelda is (for the most part) out of living memory. The only thing Hyrule knows of her is her failure to prevent the land from being devastated. Furthermore, the 4 tribes of Hyrule might even have a decent cause to blame her for the deaths of the Champions.

(Cause and effect are tricky, but well... people are irrational. Maybe if Zelda had unlocked her power straight away, the Champions still would have died. However, perhaps they could have held on long enough for Link and Zelda to force Ganon to recall his Blights to protect himself, as he does in BotW if you attack him without liberating the Divine Beasts. Who is to say? The point is, people get hung up on these kind of 'what ifs', as I am doing right now, lol.)

I'd like to make a special mention of the Zora here, who not only have Zelda (and all of her failures and inadequacies) in living memory, but are also xenophobic towards Hylians.

We see how they blame Link in BotW, after all. I think that they would feel similarly to Zelda, who is 'technically' more deserving of blame.

From a Zora-centric perspective, Zelda may as well have stolen Mipha from them, to make her take the fall for Zelda's failures. She literally set Mipha up to die, she sacrificed Mipha on the altar of her own survival, etc.

To elaborate: Princess Zelda personally requested Mipha, the beloved Crown Princess of the Zora, to become Champion. Despite Dorephan's hesitance, he allows it. Then, Zelda fails her, and Mipha dies in the Calamity that Zelda failed to prevent, but also that Zelda manages to survive.

Like... as harsh, cruel, and unfair as this is to poor Zelda... do you think that the Domain, which is STILL mourning Mipha a century later, would just... wave that away?

Now... how much Zelda is truly to blame for the Calamity is another matter, one that I will explore in a post hopefully shorter than this one. Suffice to say, I have many opinions, and some of the conclusions are perhaps unkind to her, which only further justifies my interpretations of Hyrule's blame, and Zelda's guilt and grief.

The point is that... Hyrule would see an easy target to dump their grief on. And I I don't believe they would just let it go.

Furthermore, Zelda has no political influence anymore. She can't force anyone to listen to her, or obey her commands, since all of that was destroyed in the Calamity. Moreover, with Zelda's reputation being that of colossal failure, I doubt that anyone in Hyrule would wish to submit to her, to give her the chance to fuck everything up again.

God. I feel really horrible typing all of this out, lol. And yet, I genuinely believe that this would be the reaction to her. So, if in the sequel, everything is being rebuilt and everyone is totally happy with Zelda, well...

I'm gonna be very upset. Because, in my opinion, if all of Hyrule just forgave Zelda's failures, and ignored their disastrous consequences, that would be extremely unrealistic.

As much as this headcanon hurts, and would hurt me to see, I'd be very vindicated by it, lol.

If anyone has any opinions, feel free to let me know.

Just please keep everything civil lol. This is only a random person on the internet's opinion.

[auratold]

🧱 & 🌎 & ❌ (for Zelda!) // 🌱 & ❌ (for Lucina!) // 💛 & 🎵(for MC!)

I can not tell you how excited I was to answer this, given the questions and being able to touch on three different muses. That being said this is going to be a long one so I am going to go ahead and stick this under a cut!

[ 🧱 ] how would you describe your muses’ morality? what are their core values?

Zelda's focus is primarily on doing what is best for her kingdom, which is part of why she struggles for much after botw. Hyrule has survived so long without the overarching monarchy, so what right does she have to impose them to such. Would taking the throne and reviving the monarchy truly benefit the people, or not? Prior to the calamity, Zelda wanted to reign justly and fairly, with her people's best interests at heart. Even if there were people who believed she would fail them and not awaken her powers, Zelda had vowed to herself to continue to do what she could for them- until the end.

[ 🌎 ] are there any aus you have for your muse? what are they like, and how is your muse different in them?

I do not have any actually! However, if there were any aus I would explore I guess it would be a modern one!

[ ❌ ] is there something your muse struggles with that they might never overcome? what is it? why do they have so much trouble with it?

Self-worth would be the biggest, a struggle that persisted for her before the calamity and afterwords. Before the calamity, she greatly feared failing her people and disappointing her father by never unlocking her powers. This feeling only grew in intensity when Link appeared wielding the master sword and her father insisted he be appointed her knight. Here was the one with the spirit of the hero, master sword at hand, and ready to face Ganon. Meanwhile she, with the blood of the goddess, had made no progress in her training to unlock the power to seal Ganon away. After Link defeats Calamity Ganon she struggles with her self-worth in a different way. Her powers are there and she has played in role in saving Hyrule, but with the kingdom so self-sufficient what purpose does she have now?

[ 🌱 ] what themes are relevant to your muse?

This is going to sound so cliche but hear me out- hope is the biggest theme for Lucina. I have rped her for years, and this has always been a prevalent point, and not because of the 'hope will never die' line. The future Lucina comes from is so incredibly grave, and while I haven't posted these hc's onto this blog (I need to carry them over from her old blog) the fall of Ylisse was incredibly devastating. For most of Lucina's life, she has experienced war. She lost both her parents to it, her parents' friends slowly fell in battles one by one and her kingdom progressively shrank. Through it all Lucina had to keep herself together for her friends and her people. She was to be their exalt after all, and as she carried Falchion she would be the one to land the Fire Emblem. I often point to the fact that when Ylisse fell, Ylissetol burned. No one survived the fall, despite their efforts, and they nearly lost a few of their own. Jumping back in time was truly their only option. Even as the events leading to their ruined future are altered, as the children are found, and the shepherds remain whole, Lucina remains a symbol of hope. In a way, they are living symbols of survival, of the possibility of having a brighter future.

[ ❌ ] is there something your muse struggles with that they might never overcome? what is it? why do they have so much trouble with it?

Lucina has never been good at taking care of herself. Canonically she overworks herself to exhaustion, hides injuries, and gets an overuse injury. I hc that when she joins the Shepheards she is in a state of sleep deprivation, has not been eating well enough for some time, and is near exhaustion. She is the type to push and push until she can't. As the princess, she places a great deal of responsibility onto her own shoulders. Lucina would do anything, give anything, to prevent her future from coming to pass again. She can not bear the thought of losing another person.

When all is said and done, she struggles with finding her place in a time she does not belong to. The idea of leaving her parents is one that cuts her to the core, but Lucina knows she can not stay in Ylissetol. Their Lucina is the heir, their Lucina if this land's princess and will be it's exalt someday. No matter how much she loves them and doesn't want to leave, how would they explain to the court, people, and young Lucina herself who she is? She does not belong in this time, but she has to find a way to live in it. It's the price they all will pay for a peaceful future.

[ 💛 ] how empathetic is your muse? how compassionate are they? is this something people expect from them, or are people surprised when they find out how compassionate or empathetic they actually are?

Mc is a very empathetic and compassionate person, its part if why she clicks with the RFA so quickly- and part of what made her the perfect target for Mint Eye to use in their plan. She cares so greatly for them all, truly wanting to help each and every one of them and excited to help coordinate another party. She feels for Yoosung and his loss, for Zen insecurities, Jumin and how closed off he is, Jaehee and how she overworks herself, and Seven with how he will do anything to protect the people he loves. She genuinely wants to help them all (including V and in verses where she knows who they are Rika and Saeran). 

[ 🎵 ] is there a specific song or songs you associate with your muse? why is that?

Ironically I can not name any specific ones yet! I can say that when writing her I do often listen to oh wonder, daughter,florencerance + the machine though!

[corpsentry]

WHEN THE WAR IS OVER AND I AM LYING AMONGST ANGELS, WAITING FOR YOU TO FIND ME: a spoiler-filled addendum

because i buttfucked the timeline harder than nintendo and That’s Mildly Concerning ao3 link

q: what the fuck is this a: this fic is the answer to the question, ‘how can i reconcile the events of breath of the wild and age of calamity into a coherent narrative?’.

q: what the fuck happened a: age of calamity was a dream zelda had while partying in ganon’s apartment for a hundred years.

q: [you point a nerf gun at my head and smash my knees in with a hammer concurrently] what the Fuck happened a: link has a line near the end of chapter one which goes something like ‘my mother used to say dreams are the memories of people from another world’. this is the core concept of the story. while age of calamity is a dream to botw zelda, who saw it unfold over the course of a hundred year nap, it’s also real. in my incredibly fucked up version of things, it happened- just not in the same universe as botw. when botw zelda settled in to drink cheap beer with ganon for a hundred years, her consciousness drifted across time and space to the age of calamity timeline, where she proceeded to live out someone else’s life for a few months. are the other characters in aoc aware of this? link is. at the end of chapter two, when he pleads with zelda to ‘rebuild the old world with [him]’, he falls out of character. he betrays the real purpose of this timeline and his place in it, which is to salvage what botw could not.

q: what the fuck is up with the space-time continuum thing a: inspired by the multiverse theory (note that i know nothing about multiverse theory apart from the fact that there are multiple verses), i decided it would be fun if i added a third dimension to the botw/aoc pair. the inhabitants of this third universe are aware of the existence of multiple worlds. they are also aware of the prophecy of calamity ganon’s return, but for the purpose of this essay it does not matter if calamity ganon will rise in their world. the primary concern of zelda in this third dimension is whether she can engineer a universe where link does not die. as she says in chapter two, there are a thousand possible outcomes, but only two fulfill her requirement: the outcomes that constitute botw and aoc. we can assume she went to enormous lengths to uncover these universes, as described by impa, who says with some disbelief ‘you destroyed the space-time continuum for a boy?’. zelda destroys the space-time continuum. she moves through timeline after timeline, tweaking dialogue and moving the hour-hand ever backwards, and at the end of it all, for all her suffering, what does she actually achieve?

q: okay so what the fuck is up with the scene where link kisses zelda and is like i had a dream where i died and then nothing happens a: first of all, you’ll find this scene near the end of chapter two if you’d like to take a second look at it. as for who exactly this zelda and this link are, it’s unclear. maybe after botw zelda woke up, the original aoc zelda and aoc link lived happily after the war. maybe the zelda in the third dimension missed a positive outcome in her thousand-bullet-pointed list. maybe this, too, is a dream someone had, while lying in a field of flowers somewhere. your call.

q: rabbit???????? a: the story about the rabbit is a framing device. first introduced at the end of chapter one when link tells zelda a story on the bridge at night, it eventually comes to parallel botw zelda’s experiences, but in reverse. the rabbit is happy in her reality. she has a dream where everyone she loves is gone, becomes immersed in it, and is eventually saved by the voice of some-god-or-another. zelda is not particularly happy in her reality (botw). she has a dream where everyone she loves survives, becomes immersed in it, and is pulled out of the dream by some-god-or-another. the important thing to note here is the second rule the rabbit lays out in the story, which is that you, as the dreamer, can’t tell anyone that you’re dreaming. self-awareness is a sin in these lands, but the greater and far worse sin is to attempt to share that self-awareness with someone else. this is why link is so adamant that zelda not finish speaking at the end of chapter two, when ganon is defeated and they are standing on the balcony. he wants her to stay. he’s in love with her. he doesn’t want her dream to end because in a way her dream is his dream too; they want the same things (peace, living champions and family, each other). unfortunately for him, zelda has to leave the aoc world behind, because even a hundred year nap has to end, and so she says what she has to say, she says it feels like she’s dreaming, and she wakes up.

q: please explain, in plain english, whatever the hell goes down in chapter 2. a: chapter one is a relatively straightforward retelling of the first four story chapters in hwaoc. chapter three returns the reader directly to the botw timeline, where link shoots a glowing arrow at ganon’s ass, killing him instantly. chapter two is the glorious fuck that lies in between. in short, it splices the events of aoc and botw together with overlays and meta commentary from the third universe mentioned above, where zelda is trying to engineer a happy ending, and the ambiguous fourth one where link is the one who sees the dream. i made use of several batshit devices here, but the most prominent one is, i hope, the encore. the [ENCORE] is initially used to signal that a scene will be set in the botw timeline. it makes its first appearance before botw zelda and botw link’s journey down from mount lanayru, which, as we know, does not take place in aoc. this is played straight up until the halfway mark or so, at which point i swap out ENCORE for encore and finally ****** (still says encore though). this distinction is lost altogether once impa begins dragging link’s body up to the great plateau. up until now, ENCORE and [these brackets] have been used to distinguish the botw timeline from the aoc one, which is not an encore and is not in [these brackets]. the next segment, concerning the battle on the great plateau, flips them. now impa and co’s funeral procession is ‘real’ and the charge zelda leads to the temple of time is ‘fake’. i wonder why.

q: ‘the lights are BLUE or YELLOW or PINK’. explain. a: what’s a play? a pretense. what does it take to pretend? actors. what is zelda doing? dreaming.

q: fourth wall breaks. explain. a: the interview segments are an homage to the seven thousand articles about age of calamity i read before playing age of calamity because this game was effectively my reason to live for the months of october and november. sooga talks about google maps because he’s dead (possibly dlc?) and dead people have the right to say fuck-all. every device in this story was implemented for a vaguely coherent reason. and then i fucked it up for fun.

q: what is the state of zelda and link’s relationship? a: in the botw timeline i imagine they’re involved with each other even before calamity strikes. in the aoc timeline i imagine they’re working their way towards something, but several important trigger events in botw don’t take place in the aoc timeline and the stakes overall feel significantly lower, so i’d hesitate to say their relationship develops to the same degree it does in the botw timeline. this is all personal conjecture, so you’re free to disagree.

q: why does the last line sound like a hannibal lecter line? a: [dab] god’s plan

q: why does zelda say there are a thousand possible outcomes, and only one where link lived in chapter 3? a: the first rule of time travel: don’t.

this is everything i can think of off the top of my head that might have confused people, but i did unfortunately write this thing so if there’s something else that made you go ‘the fuck?’ please don’t hesitate to drop me an ask or a line in the replies, i’d be happy to help. also, if it isn’t clear as day, i have a lot of fucking feelings about both of these games, so if you want to talk lore, theories, or just miscellaneous zelink fuckery, hit me up. i’ll go sleep now. take care everyone.

[writingstarling]

Is it just me, or do y'all also want a story scenario that instead of Princess Zelda, we have Prince Link?

Like, their roles are still the same. Zelda incarnate of goddess Hylia and Link the Hero of Hyrule. But imagine instead of Zelda being exposed to royalty all these times, it's Link that gets that treatment since the day he was born and Zelda being the once nobody but suddenly has magical powers. And in every story we know how Link's task other than defeating Ganon or whatever evil is to rescue or protect Zelda right?

Now, hear me out. Imagine having this prince who's used to being waited on, whether he wishes so or not, suddenly being tasked to find this girl named "Zelda" from all those legends he's heard of and then rise up to being this big hero while as well protecting and working together with a girl he's never met that holds no social status in her name other than her legend.

Imagine the shock of it all when the royal family decided to name this son of theirs "Link" in honour of the Hero or smth and have their son become it without prior knowledge whatsoever. Since it has always been Zelda that's in royalty after all. Imagine looking at this prince that has no idea on what's happening suddenly having to face off an incarnate of a god of evil and protect someone when he himself is used to being protected all his life.

I honestly really want to see him struggle and rise to be the Hero his name is so famous for. I want to see him learn how to wield a sword like how SS Link first did. Someone who didn't need this knowledge and skill suddenly have to train himself to be the best at it??? Link learning basic life skills from Zelda, the angst of him doubting in himself like BOTW Zelda did, the feeling of discovery and just the joy of accomplishment he's going to feel everytime he manages to defeat a Bokoblin on his own or just managing to light a campfire without any advance tools or help.

I just want for once Link to be the clueless prince in all this without having a role swap between them. I want to see him being this Prince that has been protected all his life learn how to actually be independent and stand on his own. Even better, learn to protect others not just using his name, but physically sacrificing himself for his people.

Why am I specifically referring to only Link in all this? Because Zelda has actually been in a position where her name holds no privilege. SS Zelda wasn't someone worthy of much noting in her society before everyone discovered she was the incarnate of a goddess. (She was also a pirate, but technically being a captain's daughter is still some form of royalty to me)

But Link has always been this nameless child that rised up to be a hero. A nobody that swooped in and saved the day coming from all sorts of places. The only time Link was truly acknowledged from an early start was in BOTW, other than that, no one really blinked at Link with much acknowledgement to his name.

I wanna see Link struggle like BOTW Zelda. I wanna see him learn basic skills and feel this overwhelming accomplishment from managing to cook up this recipe that Zelda taught him. I wanna see him being scared of everything going on around him, but having the courage to face everything still. I wanna see Link, after having his heritage revealed to him by having that symbol on his hand like TP did or smth, spend casual time with Zelda other than just swooping in or knowing her just because he has to save her all of a sudden. I want a relationship between them like what SS and BOTW had.

I wanna see this prince strive to train himself and become worthy of the Master Sword. I wanna see this prince that has always had everything handed to him on a silver platter work his ass off to be worthy of his legacy. I wanna see him grow from a seemingly fragile prince into this strong, dependable young man that is on par to his ancestors before him.

And on the side, I wanna see his parents being supportive of him. Not just because of the calamity closing in and them having to rely on their son to have him save them all, but because they truly love and cherish their son and want him to fulfill his destiny. They might have not named him that on purpose, but they sure are gonna support him to the best of their abilities.

Link needs to learn how to wield a sword? The captain of the guards is gonna take some time off to train the prince.

He can't seem to figure out how to do what the trainer tells him to?? The king tries it out and when he succeeds he's gonna try to teach Link how to do it himself.

Link has been training exceptionally hard even in harsh winter??? The queen's gonna work hard too and knit him some gloves (or at least, try to).

Link is feeling unworthy and depressed because he's been unable to master the sword???? The king and queen take time off from their duties to comfort their son.

Just, let me see soft familial relationships. Don't always just omit their parents or make them a sort of ass (looking at you here, BOTW Rhoam). I want good parents that raised good kids. That are supportive of them and what they love.

For Zelda, I'm pretty content with one who's like SS Zelda. A normal girl merely enjoying life suddenly bombarded with a destiny to help seal away an evil incarnate with a boy who's supposed to be an incarnate of a legendary hero. A boy who wields a sword worse than her. A boy who doesn't know a lick about how to survive on his own. A boy who is still wandering through the dark in all of this, same as her. She herself still doesn't understand the extent or how to use her powers, and no one to teach her. The least they could do for each other was to be of solace for one another when things are getting tough and one needed comforting. To hold each other's hand through it all. To not be alone in the dark.

I want all the potential fluff and angst I can get from this AU. They're both scared for they don't know of their destiny until the time is short and the burden of it all is far much too large for their shoulders. But they can lean on each other. Better yet, they also have people supporting them.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

I wish I can write this on my own, but my writing skills have been failing me these past few months so I really wish someone would take this up and write it.

PS: if someone really did write this out, please, please, please, ping me. I desperately wish to read it.

[pastelsandpining]

The Greatest Gift (Freebie)

The twelfth and FINAL prompt in 12 Days of Christmas by @zelink-prompts​!! Thank you so much for all the support! Happy Holidays!

Prompt List

Words: 2917

Summary: Very fluffy. Link pops the question. Proposal fic. Can’t get any better than that folks

BotW Post Calamity Zelink

Zelink-mas 2020  l  Masterlist 

There were many words that could describe how it felt to have Zelda back by his side. He could call it wonderful, magical, amazing--just about every word in the book. None could fit better, however, than natural. Natural was how it felt when she’d appeared before him, glowing in a gold far richer than the ores beneath the surface could ever produce. Natural was how it felt when she smiled at him, striking his heart with an arrow of warmth he’d forgotten how to know. Natural was how it felt when he hugged her, holding onto her as if his life depended on it. And natural was how it felt to love her, like he’d done it a thousand times over and would do it a thousand times more. 

It felt natural to celebrate every little thing with her, whether it be her new haircut, or a holiday, or an advancement in the reconstruction of Hyrule. It felt natural to follow her back into the heart of the kingdom, where he would spend the rest of his days as her knight attendant because the thought of not being with her made him feel empty. Everything he did with her, even if it meant to just exist within her presence, felt so incredibly familiar and natural, and perhaps that was why they fell into a rhythm so quickly.

Perhaps that was why most nights, Link only fell asleep after Zelda did. He liked to see her curled up underneath the covers, tucked into his arms, with the peaceful expression of a sleeping goddess visible in the silver moonlight. Perhaps that was why he found every reason to accompany her wherever she went, so that he could see the way she lit up and smiled when things were working out. Perhaps that was why he took his job so seriously, even now, simply because he liked to be around her. 

Admittedly, it’d be problematic if he didn’t like to be around the very princess he was courting. That would never be an issue though, even in times like these, when she was trying to use him as a test subject for her new, trial-and-error elixirs.

“You know I trust you with my life,” he said, holding her wrists as gently as ever. “But I’m not putting that in my body.”

“I promise you’ll be okay,” she replied with a pout that almost swayed him. But Link stood his ground and shook his head, chuckling softly at her antics.

“You’re ridiculous, Zel.”

“I know what I’m doing, Link. I wouldn’t willingly feed you something that could harm you.”

“Uh huh. And what’s the elixir supposed to do?”

“Well, if all goes according to plan--which it should, it would boost the natural defense of a person against any sort of attack or condition.”

“You’re brilliant, but I’ll still have to pass.”

Zelda huffed, then uncapped the vial and brought it to her lips. Link was quick to snatch it from her hands and cap it again, shaking his head.

“Nope,” he said, “We’re not doing that either.”

“Then how are we supposed to know whether or not it’s effective?” she argued, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“I’ll find you a volunteer,” he replied, which she knew was code for I’ll be your test subject later, and it was enough to satisfy her into smiling. “Can I make our dinner now?”

“It’s all yours, sir knight,” she answered, handing the slate over and lifting her hands up in defense. 

“Thank you, Princess.”

It was far from the first time he called her that, and it was a proper title anyone could use. But Zelda still smiled with a pink on her cheeks, and Link could do nothing but watch her. Watch the way crinkles formed by her eyes when she smiled, and the way her freckles became more prominent in the sun, and the way her golden hair bounced when she moved, and the way she furrowed her eyebrows whenever she was confused.

“What?” she asked.

“You’re beautiful,” he said, like it was the simplest thing in the world. She ducked her head and laughed, and he smiled in return.

“So you’ve said, many times,” Zelda replied, giving his arm a gentle shove.

“And I’ll keep saying it until the end of time. You’re divine, ethereal, gor-“

He was fairly certain the kiss was solely to stop him from talking, but he was happy to return it nevertheless. 

She tasted sweet, like the berries they’d eaten for a snack earlier in the afternoon, and if sunlight had a taste, he imagined it would also taste like her.

“If you don’t get to cooking, I’ll take the Slate back,” Zelda warned with a poke to his chest. 

“Alright, alright,” he replied with a laugh. He truly enjoyed cooking, but not even that could keep his mind off of the girl besides him, who was busy scribbling away in a journal. His thoughts always drifted to her. Her, and his love for her, and just how much they’d survived together. 

And without thinking about it—well, it’d been on his mind, but he didn’t think before speaking:

“Would you ever want to get married?”

“Yes,” Zelda replied, too quickly and too casually for him to think she’d really heard him. He looked over to her with furrowed eyebrows, but she was staring right back with wide eyes, like she couldn’t believe it either. It took Link a minute to find his voice. 

“Are you serious?” he asked in a voice just barely above a whisper.

“Are you?” she asked.

“Yes,” Link said with a nod, reaching for one of her hands. “Of course I am.”

“I— you do mean us, right? You would want to marry me?” 

“Yes. Without hesitation.”

“Is this..?” 

Link shook his head quickly.

“No! I mean, no, I just— I kind of want to.. plan something..? I mean, the princess of Hyrule deserves a grand proposal.”

Zelda’s cheeks were as red as a rose. He could imagine he looked very similar, with the way his heart was racing. 

“You better not,” she said with a smile. 

But he did. He spent the next few weeks planning a perfect proposal. It didn’t have to be a surprise, but he did want it to be special. Zelda was special, in so many different ways. She was so very special to him, and he wanted to convey that, but he was stumped. 

Link didn’t want to put her on the spot in front of their friends or a crowd of any sort. He didn’t want to pressure her with grand gestures or gifts, but what else could he do? 

He’d written and scratched out so many ideas. 

Should he bring her to the Sanctum and make it the place of a happy memory instead of what it had become? Should he take her on vacation to Hateno and ask in the privacy and comfort of his house? Should he be clever about it and slip the ring into a book, or a journal, or on a guardian piece? Should he have a friend help him?

He tried asking said friends on their opinions, but he had pretty limited options. Riju was a child, and she’d take pleasure in sending him straight to a Voe and You class that he did not want to participate in. Yunobo didn’t seem like the type to talk to anyone, much less do something as outgoing as propose. It didn’t feel right to ask Sidon, even if he would give good advice. His best bet was Teba and Kass, or any of the families he’d come to know in Hateno. 

Kass had suggested a song, but Link didn’t think he had a musical bone in his body outside of an appreciation for it. It would be a decent last resort, if anything. 

So the days came and went, and he remained clueless, but the ring, carefully crafted in Gerudo Desert with diamonds and sapphires and emeralds, stayed in his pockets. Just in case.

“Could you pass the sugar?” asked Zelda from beside him. Hylia’s Day had come around again and three years after their first celebration full of friends, they were spending the day in solitude. He was trying, key word, trying to help her bake a fruit cake. The kitchen staff were hesitant to let them, but he managed to convince them.

Link used it as an excuse to hug her from behind and place the sugar in front of her.

“You’re ridiculous,” she said, but turned her head to kiss his cheek anyway. 

“Careful not to use too much,” he warned, giving her a gentle squeeze. “It’ll be too sweet.”

“If I can put up with you, then I think I can handle a little ‘too sweet’.”

“I can’t tell if that’s a compliment or an insult.”

Zelda snorted and dumped the measured sugar into the bowl. Link hid his grin in her shoulder. He loved the way she laughed, and the way her nose scrunched up when she did. 

“There. Now I can stir them all together, right?” she asked. 

“Clever girl,” he replied with a kiss into her shoulder. She threw some flour into his hair, and he shook it off all over her shirt.

“Oh, you just wait until this is in the oven.”

“Is that a threat, my princess?”

“Absolutely.”

Though she didn’t need help pouring the cake batter, Link set his hands over hers and did it anyway. It was nothing more than an excuse to touch her, but she clearly didn’t mind. 

“See? You’re a professional,” he said as he took the trays and slid them into the oven. She’d burned herself once, years ago, and he never let her touch it since. 

“I can give up the crown and turn the castle into a bakery instead,” she replied, leaning against the counter with crossed arms. He shut the oven and set his hands on either side of her, trapping her where she stood.

“We could be Hyrule’s most successful sweet shop. Specialty is fruit cake, made by and for the former princess herself.”

“Maybe we’ll just run a side business.”

“Ah, Princess and army general by day, bakers by night.”

“Exactly.”

Link laughed and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Zelda brought her flour covered hands up and stuck them onto his cheeks. 

“Why do you insist on starting a food fight with me?” he asked with a sigh, before sticking his hand in flour and dragging a finger down her nose, leaving her with a flour streak of her own. 

“You’re cute when you’re covered in flour,” she replied before ducking out from under his arms and darting away from him. When he turned to grab her again, she tossed a handful of flour in his face. “See?”

“Princess of Hyrule, Daughter of Hylia, spends her day assaulting her escort with flour,” he said with a huff, then turned back to the counter to scoop up some flour of his own.

“Are you seriously pouting over it?” she asked. Now that she’d moved closer, he spun around and dropped the handful onto her head.

“You know me better than that,” he replied with a grin. Zelda let out a sound somewhere between a gasp and a scream, and Link took the opportunity to make a mad dash across the kitchen and out of her reach.

Maybe they should’ve cleaned up the ingredients when they were done, because Zelda grabbed an egg and chucked it in his general direction. He ducked, then darted to one side of the table. She took the other and mirrored every move he made with a grin of her own.

“Your aim is getting better,” he teased, nodding towards the splatter of egg on the wall. “But I will again offer training-“

“If you hadn’t ducked, it would’ve hit you!” she defended.

“A lovely Hylia’s Day gift that would’ve been. Egged by my princess.”

“I think it’s fitting!”

“I got you an empty kitchen and a day to try whatever you want, and you egg me!” 

“Because you’re an egghead!”

“Unbelievable. She’s the Daughter of Wisdom and the best she can come up with is egghead.”

Zelda sputtered a response, then made a break for him. Instead of running in the opposite direction, like any sensible person, Link jumped clean over the table and waved with a smile.

“Ugh! Show off.”

“I could teach you,” he offered.

“I’m perfectly capable of jumping over a table on my own!”

“Prove it.”

Zelda glared at him, but it was filled with a playful love that made it hard to stop smiling. She pulled herself up onto the table with all the grace of a goddess blood princess, then scooted across it to meet him.

“Very impressive,” he teased, grabbing her by the waist to pull her close. She only rolled her eyes and stuck her fingers into his hair, effectively spreading more flour. 

“High praise coming from you,” she said. Link only hummed and tilted his head to meet her in a quick kiss. 

“Come on, let’s clean up a bit,” he replied as he scooped her up off of the table in a bridal hold, and she leaned her head against his shoulder.

“Yeah, we probably should.” But she’d tilted her head up and was pressing kisses along his neck.

“Are you trying to distract me?” he asked, glancing towards her with a lifted eyebrow.

“Now why would I do that?” 

The warmth of her breath tickled his neck and, well, it was certainly working. He almost wanted to forget about cleaning their mess and instead give his full attention to Zelda, but his foot hit a pile of flour on the floor.

The wind was knocked out of him immediately upon impact with the floor, but no harm had come to Zelda, and that’s what mattered. He tried to laugh through the pain.

“Are you okay?!” she asked as she scrambled off of him and helped him sit up. He nodded, but she checked him over anyway. Only when he could breathe again did she relax, then burst into a fit of giggles. “You’re an idiot.”

“I’m being bullied by the love of my life,” Link said with a hint of exasperation as he dropped onto his back. Zelda leaned over him with a smile as soft as a cloud. 

“Am I really?” she asked, running her fingers through his hair again.

“Of course,” he replied with a smile, lifting a hand to rest on her cheek. “You’re my sunshine.”

Zelda scoffed and shook her head, but Link took her free hand and pressed a kiss to her fingertips. Even covered in flour, she was absolutely divine. And she looked so happy that his heart could burst. He decided there was no moment he loved her more than when she was smiling at him, with a warmth in her eyes and a sweetness in her smile that was reserved only for him. He loved her most when she was happy. He couldn’t keep the smile from his face and the words from his mouth.

“I love you,” he said as he sat up, cupping her face with both hands. “So much. You are everything to me and I want to do all I can to make you happy, for the rest of our lives.”

“Link,” she replied, her voice choked full of emotion. 

“I want to marry you, Zelda.”

Even though they’d had this discussion before, there were tears building in her eyes. She looked like she didn’t know what to say, so Link took the opportunity to dig into his pocket and pull out the velvet box. And right there, on the floor of the castle kitchen, covered in flour, Link opened the lid and revealed the ring. Zelda burst into tears and, goddesses, when she nodded, he let out a watery laugh. She tackled him backwards, burying her face in his shoulder, and he hugged her close.

“I love you,” Zelda said, and repeated it probably a hundred times over. 

“I love you,” he answered, pressing a kiss to her head.

“Can we have fruitcake at our wedding?” she asked in a wobbly voice. Link laughed again and if he could hold her closer, he would’ve. 

“We can have whatever you want.”

And a few hours later, when the future queen and Hyrule’s army general stepped out of the (now clean) kitchen covered in flour, hand in hand and glowing with a happiness that suggested they’d seen Hylia herself, no one questioned it. But their engagement was no secret, because the ring on their princess’s finger had the castle staff whispering excitedly to one another mere minutes after the couple was gone. 

That very night, as Link watched Zelda fall asleep in his arms, he could swear he felt King Rhoam smiling down on them, and he thought he could hear Urbosa’s laughter echoing on the wind. 

They would celebrate tomorrow, he decided. For now, he would be grateful for how their solitary Hylia’s Day had gone. 

He must’ve been the luckiest man in the entire world. 

“I’ll take care of her,” Link whispered into the night air, a quiet promise to all those who cared about her. She didn’t need his protection, but goddesses, she’s all he could’ve ever wanted. 

To have the pleasure of falling in love with her over and over again, perhaps that was the greatest gift of all.

[violet975]

Random thoughts.

So i replayed BOTW a while ago for the first time and decided to write down some of the random thoughts that i get while exploring Hyrule, here they are.

… A lot of these things gave me some fanfic ideas and I hope that they will do the same for someone more competent.

It's realty in character that the response to being asked why you took the man's torch is either to bludgeon things to death with it or to be a pyromaniac.

When the tower pedestal shines, Link instinctively leans back for a second before diving right back in because curiosity kills the cat.

The message from the slate/tower is to watch out for falling rocks which either means that 

1: zelda is writing them (and has a fair bit of free reign still).

2: the ancient Sheikah could see the future.

3: Ai to the likes of Fi.

Ganon kinda reawakens when the towers are up so maybe he was resting and building a body until he was interrupted here, which could be why his form later is such a hodgepodge of the Blights?.

Link is not too naive since he kinda clamps up in his answers to the totally unimportant old man.

Did Link briefly make eye-contact with the camera when he got the spirit orb!?

Link is a bit freaked out in his "How did you know!?" Response cas now he knows something major is up when the old man directly mentions the spirit orb.

Again, in character that you can choose to be an impatient brat with the "paraglider please?" Or inquisitive when Roam points out the slate.

Either run out of temper with the "that wasn't the deal!" Or be resigned with "so I need more now?" When the old fart sends you off to the other three shrines.

Ohh, another adrenaline junkie option with the "got it!" Over climbing the tower for a good view or a Deadpan "are you joking?".

"Or so i heard quite some time ago.. I do not know if it actually works as such" so they did not get teleporting to work before? or he just didn't learn how it was done.

So the monks, according to how the Triforce signs they held, apparently associate Power with Magnesis, Wisdom with bombs, Stability with stasis and Courage with cryonis?

The monks dissipate into green specks like Ganon’s soul does under the castle!

I'm not into men but damn if Link doesn't look good in the Warm Doublet.

Oh. My. God, he was King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule!!!!!

Link is such a dumbass, you get to ask Kass "are you a ...bird?" As if the man isn't standing right in front of you. No shit Sherlock! What next, is that a recorder?.

OhhohoHO! You either say "no(, i have not heard of them)" or "Ancient songs?" As if you do not initially realize why they are thought to be ancient which either is old memories warring with the now world or Link not realizing what impact The Calamity had on culture.

Another flat-faced sarcastic remark everyone!

When Manny mentions that his job is checking for beauties/sus people you can either be a dumb dunce and ask about the said beauties or a little menace with "sounds though".

Manny is an Incel, talks a big game and puts himself on top of a pedestal alongside being demanding and a creep.

Does Hateno not have a goddess shrine? Just the ~Evil~ one?

There is a pair of rusty knights sword and shield by the leftmost part of the walkway of Fort Hateno. Some knight probably died laying there, watching out over the field of guardians having been/being purged by Zelda.

A traveler (Chelessa) is interested in history and wants to question Impa about it, and is on her way to do so in fact. . Describes her personality as very pleasant, that must be wrong.

The Yiga know exactly how Links first waking moments played out so either they have extensive knowledge about his character and the setup of the Shrine Of Resurrection or Ganon was watching in on Zelda's call and relayed it to a minion in the clan.

"Hero boy" - derogatory.

Arrow in the eye of the bridge at the entrance of Kakariko, the Yiga are petty and I love it.

Piano's (the painter) hair bun thing that is styled like a pencil has paint on the tip... this man painted with his hair.

So the great fairy Cotera makes it sound like she will enchant your gear because you rejuvenated her, not because you bring the materials to do the enchanting.

The levels of enchantment seemingly depends on physical closeness to the Fairy (blow< indirect kiss< kiss < sex)

She can not enchant beyond Lv 1 without her sister's help, so they share power?

Paya specifies that they have watched over the Orb since the grandmother of the grandmother of Impa, that's 9 whole generations of long lived Sheikah! roughly 1000 years of recorded history!

Again with Link being a dense Shonen protagonist with "where is it?" Or a sly bastard with "really, though?"... maybe so that she would want to prove it ;) 

…”I'll answer you some day, just not today!”

Either Paya is just not ready for that or she is so nervous that she did not think about the fact that her own grandmother was in the room when she said it!

“Served the royal family in secret” so it's not common knowledge that the royals have a village of Magic ninjas!? No wonder it took a damn demon to topple it instead of rebellion or infighting... probably has been like this since the old old king banished 'em.

"The royal family was destroyed, and the members of our tribe scattered."- okay so it was probably some Sheikah that either thought the royal family was completely extinct and either fled or, according to this next bit- "Sadly, there were some who swore allegiance to Ganon at that time. They joined together as the Yiga Clan, seeking out all who opposed Ganon... cutting them down, one after another." 

So from that we get to know that not all Sheikah deserters became enemies (unless the Sheikah dislike defectors enough to hunt them down) and others who either joined an existing opposing group or simply up and created the Yiga clan that then aligned itself with Ganon... probably under either the belief that Hylia's line was extinct and that it was join or die or because they wished to spite the goddess and her followers.

I actually like this way more because it makes no sense that the Yiga could survive before the Calamity when the Royals would have an entire damn country and anbu black-ops to hunt them down with.

"Master link, now that you are awake, you are surely the most formidable opponent standing against them!" Either hero worship or the Sheikah are freshly out on capable warriors with Ninja magic tricks, probably the latter which would explain why the world isn't infested with Lynels or why hynoxes haven't just trampled every settlement.

"No doubt they will come for you, employing whatever underhanded methods they can device" 

oh come on! Do not tell me that i'm stuck with the goodie two shoe ninja clan!? Underhandedness is your bread and butter! No wonder you served the royals in secret because you and them by proxy would have been a laughingstock otherwise!!!

"The great fairy Cotera... few remain who know that this village was built under her watchful eye." So the village is fairy new and the Yiga came about before Kakariko or it is old and so well protected that they can't get in... at least not easily.

"The mysterious power of Cotera is that of sacred protection..." so the Great fairies are linked to either Hylia or the gods, good to know.

So it’s not that Cotera “-would be happy to help” but, instead “i can't think of any reason why she wouldn't be happy to help you”. so either she only directly helps men or the earlier "you can put your trust in the great fairy" means that she judges more favorably for the chosen hero.

"I heard that the weather is going to be beautifully tomorrow... to bad you won't be alive to enjoy it"

So they have weather accurate~ich prediction? through magic or old time methods?

Again: Hero boy - derogatory... It's a common nickname for Link within the Yiga.

The lush green shrine could tell that a buck was on it, so the platforms are most definitely scanners.

A travelers sword by a campfire at the foot of mount Lanayru, so someone either took a swim and died to the Lizardfo, dramatically quit or got killed in their sleep.

Love the effect when you have metal weapons on the ground and swing a ThunderBlade!

You automatically reflect the Octorock's rocks, goes faster if you do it manually.

There is a hollowed out part of a hill/mountain with a lot of fic potential to the North-West of the Sword by the campfire.

Located where the lines meet if you draw a line to the right from Rabia plain and up from Trotter's Downfall.

Koko of Kakariko has been deceived by my cunning and slight-of-hand. 

Yes, Sagessa (woman by the lake of the Dueling peaks stable), there is, in fact, something "quite romantic" in Link's "endeavor" to save Zelda, thank you for noticing!

The chests inside the shrines can only (non-violently) be opened by use of the Sheikah slate so why not steal a few? prefect safe-keeping for more stuff to keep in Links house.

Dunce moment everyone! 

The Yiga traveler tries to seduce Link and you either go with "OK..." so he either has no damn idea about what is going on or is just not good with women? 

Orrrrr you go with a straight "I refuse!" cas you see through their ruse and want to rub their face in the dirt!

According to Mina the Hylian, taking out two Bokoblins is considered as great martial caliber which both she and her traveling companion could not do while decently armed.

Best way to deal with a guardian scout when you have weak weapons: hit with electricity, switch weapon, hit 2-5 times, switch to electric, repeat.

When you first enter the area around Hyrule Castle, smoke Ganon throws a fit until Zelda slaps him away. 

This either means that Zelda canonically gets a larger workload from there on and out or that the both of them push harder against each other every time you get close.

According to Zelda's diary, Link was assigned as her guard after the champions had been appointed.

How Link was focused on her yet did not voice his thoughts apparently "makes my imagination run wild!". Either romantic or dense.

Link admits to staying quiet because of the pressure of being the boy chosen by the sword. 

King Rhoam mentions that he decided to honor THE royal family's traditions by naming his daughter Zelda, and that he is "not a man accustomed to frivolous musings". 

Basically confirming that he is not the parent of royal blood.

They probably knew about The Calamity for a good while cas the page after zelda's naming speaks of the fortune teller, probs 3-8 years since Zelda was described to already have vast interest in the relics.

Pikango gets up at 10 past 5, I spent the night watching him and Beetle sleep.

According to all known laws of aerodynamics, Rito should not be able to fly, is Revali's gale then just an absurdly strong variation of some kind of sky Arcanum that all Rito possess? Do all the races possess one as Well?

Slimes ate the Bokoblins in the tree base at the center of the west Hyrule fields.

Savelle is a helpful guy without a pension for violence.

Munk Shae Loya is just flexing on all the other Munks, those old farts need to sit down while he's been squatting on one leg the last 10'000 years.

Chork of the Tabantha Bridge Stable is drunk.

Toren is either naive or a simp for the Faireys.

If you have the Hylian hood equipped with no weapon while riding at max speed then your cape will flap.

"Sweet boy..." "...I see now that my first impression of you was correct. You most definitely are pleasant to look at." 

So link has some kind of presence/soul-thingy that appears pleasant to mystical creatures? Might be the spirit of the hero or this link in particular.

The Fairy Kaysar makes Link blush! No player input needed! We’ve found one of his types!... either that or he's just shy.

The fairies almost never use normal materials to enchant, it's always either monster parts that don't dissipate or things that grow in magical arias.

The Sheikah towers are sturdy as all hell, the Tabantha tower did not even get a scratch from a giant fucking pillar falling on it.

Okay, am I just crazy or is a Lizardfo and a Moblin holding a class for 5 bokoblins just to the left of the Tabanta fairy fountain!?

Lester, the wise curry rice guy at Rito Stable, describes Link as sunny boy, another point to the soul/aura theory thingy.

Phontos laughs to hide the pain.

According to the story that Kass sings. 

Calamity Ganon was the result of sealing the enemy at its source.

It fought not only the spawn of the Goddess and the bearer of the Spirit Of The Hero but also the army of Guardians and the Champions that piloted the Divine Beasts for quite some time, as implied in the "and the guardians protected them throughout every hour".

So what i get from this is that the attack 10 000 years ago was the first sighting of what we know as calamity Ganon. 

It was also far stronger than the one that attacked 100 years ago which implies that that one was either a rush job or that Ganon bounds had been tightened, both of which would drive him to seek out other methods like corrupting the Guardians.

...And the Guardians are apparently powered by the ancient blue energy which was, time-line wise, first shown when the Golden Goddesses created the world.

No wonder that Ganon was capable of doing this since he most likely is running on fumes, spite and the power of the Triforce which likely is made of/channels said energy.

According to the rumor mill, you need the blood of the Hero in your veins to wield the Master Sword, if this is accurate then that means that Fi is sentimental or that Link has magic blood.

Wildberrys are fucking massive.

Genli (the salmon child) is a cunt, one kid was crying about someone Vah Medoh killed and then Genli is all like "no don't stop it, if you do then i have to go to class again!", She would fit right in with today's youth.

Monk Akh Va'quot has the best position so far, he is just done with your shit.

"You adventurers are Crazy" -> "you're right"

You get nothing if you melt all the ice by the Tabantha tower! You lose! Good day sir!

Monk Daka Tuss got bored during his self-inflicted quarantine and started stacking his arm bands.

Tula (the bathing Zora) said "wow either you are a Hylian or hideously deformed"

Phura has vandalized and mounted one of the spirit frog statues above her door.

Okay but the fucking noice that comes out of Bolson when you buy everything!! It's as if you just walked up and twisted his nuts with the power fit to shield block a Lynel’s charge.

Is the flower by Link's bed a Korok version of a Silent Princess?

The monsters of Hyrule are show to have interest in consumption based on three accounts. 

1: the Bocoblins and the Moblins by Hateno bay steal cattle. 

2: Hynoxes carry around warriors foodstuffs. 

3: Moblins (or at least the ones by the camp near the Serenne stable/forgotten temple) have a resting animation where they dig through the dirt and stuff something down their goblet.

...not to mention that nearly every camp has a bit of meat roasting by the fire.

Koyin has joined the fan-club!

God, the Naydra snowfield is fucking loaded in chill-shromes!

Stasis is perfect for looking for ingredients in forests, just open it, look around and bam! No more hidey hoe.

Why no shiny text for hylia's statue!?

I really do not like that they changed Naydra's colors when the malice was removed, they were so cool and then bam! White! White is not the color for ice and cold!

When praying by the spring of wisdom you are facing Hyrule castle, the same with courage and power if my memory serves me right.

...The master Torch

The Katona Aug shrine is just fucking mini-golf, how is that meant to prepare the hero?! Imagine how that Monk goes to the afterlife and has to look his fellows straight in the eye and admit that he was so lazy that not only did he make the hero play golf, not only was he so lazy that he made the Hero play mini-golf, but that he was so lazy that he did not even make a course! It is literally just a straight line!

Robie wants to see Links scars to verify that he is who he says that he is, Robie was likely one of the ninja that took Link to the shrine of resurrection.

Oh and Robin has two interesting sketches in his lab, the first is a detailed graph of a Sheikah tower so those were likely known about long before Link activated one (the one closest to Robin would be the one covered in malice and guardians so he could not have gotten enough detail from that one).

And the other is a sketch of what I believe is either a tier 2 or tier 3 guardian scout. Now, how can Robin know how that looks if only Link can/could enter shrines?

The Sheikah shrine that has the Barbarian helm is located at the end of the Sinai maze, did they just plop the shrine down there and steal the treasure of the ruin to later present to the hero?

There is one usable room in the citadel.

There is no compendium slot for the malice eyes that litter Naydra, Hyrule Castle and the Divine Beasts.

You can change the element of already elemental slime, not just the neutral kind.

Those head-spitting fuckers inside the divine beasts! They are partially reanimating mobs! So it's not that the Blood Moon is the time where Ganon is at his strongest, it's just where he chooses to revive everything.

The edge of duality can also be found in the shrine at the top of the dueling peaks.

[kittmoon]

we need to talk about eggbot.

MAJOR HWAOC SPOILERS AHEAD. There are no pictures in this post so you should be able to breeze past the paragraphs and read it later when you want to. ⚠️

Been a long time since I’ve put a theory together. This’ll be patchy but stick with it. I’ve organized it with questions, you’ll see. Hopefully this’ll make my musings easier to understand:

Firstly-

Did eggbot travel back in time?

Kind of. He definitely traveled to the past, the question is WHICH past.

I’m going to state right here, right now, that I don’t believe that eggbot alone changed the timeline by himself. In fact, I believe that there are two separate timelines - maybe several - and eggbot chose one to go back to, one that wasn’t the one he was from.

We need to discuss both timelines that are presented:

Timeline One (T1):

Link receives the Master Sword around 12 years of age. He has it by the time he is appointed as Zelda’s knight. Zelda doesn’t like Link for a while. Link dies, the Champions die, Zelda fights Ganon alone, jumpstarting the 100 time skip to the BotW game.

Timeline Two (T2):

Link is Zelda’s appointed knight BEFORE he receives the Master Sword, aka ~16/17/18 years of age (They don’t say this explicitly, but the King has certainly taken notice of Link, and Link accompanies the Princess literally everywhere). He and Zelda are on relatively friendly terms with one another (although Zelda is still insecure in reflection of Link’s success, we never see any animosity). Eggbot is present. Link and the Champions survive, with the help of allies from the future of TIMELINE 1. Calamity Ganon is defeated. There is no 100 year timeskip.

But what if these two timelines are actually the same timeline, and in Age of Calamity we just don’t see certain events that are confirmed to have taken place (ex. Zelda’s Resentment)?

This is a fair question, and this is what I thought too, until we see that Link hasn’t received the Master Sword yet. Not only did it say in Masterworks that he received it early, but we also have Mipha. In her diary (Champion’s Ballad DLC for BotW)(T1), she states that the Sword has changed Link, and that when he comes to visit her after many years he is no longer the same smiling child.

We see this same visit happen in Age of Calamity. Mipha states clearly that it had been a long time since she’d seen Link, except he doesn’t have the Master Sword in this section of Age of Calamity. These are the same event, happening in 2 different timelines, the difference being that Link has the Master Sword in one instance (T1) but not in the other instance (T2).

So. It is clear to me that there are at least two separate timelines. How these timelines split to begin with, I’m not sure, but we know that eggbot didn’t cause some of these changes, like WHEN exactly Link pulls the Sword. Eggbot arrives in Link’s life when he’s nearly twenty, so if he had been meant to pull the Master Sword at age 12, then it would have happened already. With me?

(here’s a video by Nintendo Black Crisis in case you’re not, he’s better at explaining things)

Okay then, Kitt, so are you telling me that eggbot didn’t travel back in time, but instead stepped into a different timeline and went to THAT timeline’s past?

yes

Wait what the fuck why would it do that tho

Honestly? A bunch of reasons. Maybe it wasn’t possible for eggbot to travel backwards through his own timeline, but in a desperation to save Zelda, he traveled back to a different timeline, to save some fragment of Zelda. Maybe he tried going back in time but he slipped up, instead hurtling into the past of a different timeline. That’s for fanfiction writers and theorists to work out.

Here is what I am definitively saying:

These are two separate timelines.

Eggbot’s goal was to help Zelda.

Eggbot exists in both timelines, but only affects any of the events of the Great Calamity in Timeline 2. We know this because there are two eggbots, and Baby Zelda created an eggbot in both timelines.

Eggbot did not travel back in time. Instead he traveled to a different past. Whether he knew it was a different past is up for debate.

Any interactions in T1’s PAST, aka the memories in BotW, are NOT in the same timeline as T2. Therefore, and this is a side note, any interactions that fuel ships are probably in separate timelines and probably shouldn’t try to be sewed together in a canonical manner. But like. That’s just for theory purposes. If you want to write fanfiction or create fanart where it’s all a singular thread go ahead honestly I’d be here for it

Here’s what I Definitely Do Not Know:

How eggbot did this.

How Baby Zelda created a time traveling robot (seriously what the fuck).

Anything about Zelda’s mother or her involvement in this.

Why Link is literally an emotionless lump even before he gets the damn Sword.

Whether Link actually managed to digest any of those rocks?? I do not know

Anyways. Feel free to jump on this if you want!! Literally even if you completely disagree I am totally open to talk about this let’s have a fucking gander

[spiritmaiden23]

soft beatboxing as i mourn over the loss of my headcanon banner even if it was ugly. good morning! here’s some quick headcanons! since i have to go in around 12 and don’t really have the time to respond to threads because most of them are on the long side (short ones ye tho but... we’ll see!) 

The Isle of the Goddess, aka Skyloft, is actually bigger than what we see in game with various other islands surrounding it that are like smaller villages when compared to Skyloft. But Skyloft is considered the “main square” of all the other islands due to the fact that Skyloft has everything in it including: big ol’ shopping center, bath house, boarding school, plaza the light tower, the big giant ass hylia statue, and even larger residential area then in-game and other places you’d typically find in larger towns. Things like blacksmith, restaurants, medicine (if not found in the bazaar that mostly sells potions), tailor etc etc are usually found in these other islands. Similar to the Lumpy Pumpkin! The skies aren’t as barren as they are in game because of the various other islands. Zel in her previous life made damn sure to provide everything she could for humanity up in the skies... (i refuse to believe that all of the residents we see are just... the only people, population for sure dwindled a little thanks to demise and his forces however it bounced back up hence hylia making other islands). I’d like to think that /some/ humans remained down in the surface. The sheikah being one of the many, their tribe pretty darn huge compared to OOT and there is sheikah tech but not as advanced as we see in BOTW just yet. There are bandits that fight to survive due to the influx of monsters or people neither good or bad but still know their ways around the lands. Also, there are other lands outside of Hyrule unaffected by the war, so more humans exist in those lands for sure! 

Since moving down to the surface, Zellie adores bathing in the hot springs that the Goron have so graciously shared with fellow skyloftians. Sometimes, she does stay a little too long where she gets very red and a bit dizzy but no worries, she cools down drinking cool milk tea (yet another delightful drink  she’d found when living on the surface). There have been instances where she sometimes pass out though hjsadbaskhb. It’s a way to unwind from the craziness like moving other islands back to the surface since there are some who are hesitant to leave the skies, keeping watch over the Triforce, and just trying to crave her own path in her new life as a mortal goddess. It’s a fact that she’s come to accept and no longer denies or doubts the fact as she did during her journey. 

That said, it’s not wrong to call her Hylia and if one were to know her name she’ll respond to it but she prefers Zelda because it’s a name that she’s grown fond and attached to. Therefore, she’s yet to tell other skyloftians that she’s the goddess reborn, instead taking some time to live in normalcy even for a short bit. Eventually she does tell them of her origins. Her children carries divinity in their veins, as such anyone born from her bloodline are aware of their godly origins, BEFORE, knowledge of that became lost to time (aka Minish Cap) where it’s now just known that the royal family has a mysterious power not common of other Hylians. In the royal archives, the truth exists only there. 

The kingdom of Hyrule is not established until way after her time, hell Hyrule wasn’t even named Hyrule for a while either. They would just call it the surface and leave it at that. With society not fully restored since some islands are taking time to leave the skies there was just not enough thought put into naming the lands. Though some would call it the Lands of the Gods. 

She wants five hundred kids JFKDSBHFJDSB this sounds like a joke but no she honestly wants that happy domestic home with lots of kids. And become that grandma who gives you milk and cookies and tucks you into bed while telling stories of the old days. Who knows who she’ll marry in the future one things for certain, she wishes for marriage.

SHE... DOESN’T LEAVE THE TRIFORCE OUT IN THE OPEN LIKE THAT HWEOH. She’s well-aware how it draws out the hidden greed in one’s heart and knows all too well the many wars that will come out of it. She’s sealed it away using her powers, not in the Light Realm since that doesn’t come until far later but in a place where it’s not easy to find. The knowledge of the Triforce does come out, however, and there have been attempts to kidnap Zel for the location of it... or for her powers once it comes to light that she’s a god. 

Zelda does miss the days of living up in the skies, but it feels right to be back on the surface and prefers life down there. The lands she’d love since her days as Hylia and will continue to love. Back in Skyloft, though she adored it with all her heart, she’d felt... bored. As though she were meant to do something important. Becoming a knight wasn’t enough. The voice she hears calling down to the surface was one that she’d wanted to respond to despite intentional waving it off. She feels complete watching over the Triforce and spending her days on the earth, exploring the lands to map out certain places with Link by her side. However, she worries whether or not Link misses the skies and since he doesn’t really talk about it much she doesn’t know what he wants.

Speaking of, she always, always wants Link to make his own choices after dropping the ball in using him back when she was Hylia. 

She still cleanses her body by praying to the gods and soon starts a pilgramage of her own visiting the springs to pay respects to them. She often goes when different solstices passes by. Of course, the big three have their own seasons (Spring for Farore, Winter for Nayru, Summer for Din, Fall for the spirits of the realm). Though praying in the water with that white dress during the winter time is hell. At the very least, she can wear other clothing she just can’t dunk herself in them when going through the spring waters because that holy dress does have something to itSo :’)))) it’s a tradition that gets passed down in the royal family, hence why ALTTP Zel does this and hell BOTW zel too.

For fun plot thread reasons, there are other stronger demons that have been sealed away. The seals aren’t as strong as Demise’s seal was since they don’t surpass his level. As such, some of the seals are waning away so anytime y’all wanna explore this :eyes: 

There are other temples spotted around the surface! Some housing those stronger demons, others springs, and others ancient tech or writings left behind by the humans. Some temples, are crumbled down due to neglect of care with how long it’s been but there’s still something inside. Other tribes aside from the sheikah have no clue what the hell those buildings are meant for but I’m sure Goroko loves exploring them :’)))

Light magic is neither good or bad much like the Triforce, it has no morality. It can hurt anyone regardless of where you stand, however the monsters are weaker too it. She can do the usual healing, cleansing something or blessing weapons, sealing away enemies and smitting people. I’d like to add more but perhaps next post this one has gone on too long.