#sheikah scientists

[benilos]

Juju kicking Asa in the balls is the funniest thing ive ever written in my life

[merriclo]

yeah yeah totk fell short in its story and the entirety of the sky area but also what the fuck is up with the zora’s sewer system? am i the only one who’s concerned about this?? i’m no expert but surely that’s a terribly designed sewer. why in the world were we down there

[legendofzoodles]

Wild: Ancient Sheikah researchers, can you lick the science? 

Zelda (biologist): Sometimes needed, sometimes dangerous. Sometimes, it licks you.

Paya (psychologist): Best not.

Purrah (computer scientist): Nothing else has make the code work, so you might as well try.

Symin (chemist): Dear Hylia NO! DON’T!

Robbie (roboticist): The tingle of blue energy on your tongue is how you know it’s working.

Jerrin (astronomer): ...If your dedication to lick Uranus is what gets us to another planet, then so be it. 

Wild: Good to know.

[mx-legend-of-faye]

Totk Zelda is a scientist and engineer in her own right and this is a hill I’m willing to die on.

Now, with that said, I think it would be really cool if she made a gun. Totk gave us zonai cannons, so it’s possible that engineer/scientist Zelda would find a way to miniaturize them and make them handheld.

And imagine if post botw she had made a gun with sheikah tech. Totk could’ve started very differently:

Link, pointing at dehydrated Ganon: Hey Zelda, what’s that over there?

Zelda: Oh shit, basement must be haunted.

Link: Huh??

Zelda, ready to field test her new gun: Basement’s haunted.

Ganon doesn’t stand a chance. My girl will shoot his dehydrated ass point blank, because Zelda is awesome and badass like that.

[flutefemme]

Bringing this fanfic back to life, now that grad school is FINISHED!!!

“You know, Purah,�� Zelda’s lips upturned into a coy sort of smile. “I may only be fifteen, but even I can see that Robbie would be a good fit for your research team. He’s a bit…unconventional, I’ll admit–”

"Ridiculous. He’s ridiculous! He’s arrogant, irritatingly smart, and I can function just fine without him, princess. I don’t need an assistant, especially him. Let him start his own lab.” Purah scoffed as she set down the spherical relic.

“Purah, don’t be silly. You know that if it’s an order from Father that there’s no other alternative. Believe me.” the blonde girl sighed. “You should at least give him a chance. I’ve met him. I watched his project presentation on the guardian power system. You cannot deny he is a prodigy in his own right.”

Chestnut eyes narrowed. “Did Impa put you up to this?”

Technically Speaking is a deliciously fun, Pre-Calamity, banter-filled story told from the eyes of my two favorite Sheikah scientists. Get a unique look into an unusual love story that spans lifetimes.

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Congratulations on the followers! Or, well... congrats to them for following someone awesome. XD

A prompt: Link (any of em), a butterfly, and "I could never think that about you."

It was a quiet evening in the royal gardens. Sonia was playing with her brother in the distance, allowing Link a moment to simply relax and smile and watch them. It was... nice. Peaceful. He hadn't seen his children in two days, with as worn thin as he'd felt lately. He'd hated himself for not simply dragging his pathetic self out of bed, but instead, Lady Impa had checked in on him and finally convinced him to leave his room after a couple days. He was thankful for it, and ashamed it took her help to get him here.

Movement caught his attention, and his gaze settled on a nearby flower. A butterfly was landing on it, wings gently moving back and forth as it balanced on the petals. It was lilac in color, with red markings on its delicate wings. One of the rarer breeds, only seen in Kakariko until they were introduced to the gardens. It reminded him of home from long, long ago.

He wondered how and why they had been brought here.

When he heard footsteps behind him, he glanced quickly, tensing, recognizing the cadence of the steps, the swishing of a skirt along the grass.

Zelda moved carefully, perching herself on the space beside him on the bench. Neither said anything for a while, listening to the laughter of their children.

Surprisingly, Link broke the silence first. "I thought you had a banquet you had to attend."

"It's in honor of the veterans of the war," Zelda answered. "I thought it best that you be there as well."

So what, you're here to retrieve me? Order me to go?

"Besides," Zelda continued, glancing at him almost worriedly. "That isn't for two days, remember?"

Oh. Was it? It wasn't as if Link knew what day it was anymore. Not really. They all blended together. His measurement of time was based on meetings with Impa or the royal scientists about progress on the Sheikah and their affairs. He'd only just started trying to get more involved with it, and it was... exhausting. But he was trying. Aside from that, all his time was spent with the children.

When I'm not being a useless lump, that is.

Link hummed to acknowledge the queen, but he didn't bother making eye contact. This conversation was becoming draining quickly. What did Zelda want?

"Link."

Feeling annoyance grow in his chest, Link sighed and closed his eyes a moment before looking at her. Zelda's face was neutral, the previous worry gone. She was searching for something in his gaze. It was a familiar expression, one he often saw in the throne room.

What was she looking for, he wondered? She definitely wanted something out of him. Zelda never spoke to him or came to him unless she wanted something.

"I..." the queen was strangely hesitant with her words, and that did garner his attention. "I know... I know that you hate me. That you think I'm a monster. But I... am thankful for your help. For everything you've done."

...Wait, what?

Where had--what?

Where had this even come from?! Why was she--what??

"Are you well?" Link asked abruptly, turning a bit to face her more fully.

Zelda's expression grew sincerely puzzled at his remark, and then somehow became somber before she sighed and tried to look calm again. "I--yes. I'm fine."

This had to be a trick, right? Why was--she never thanked him for anything. Or, well, she'd thanked him during the war plenty of times. They'd been friends then. But ever since their marriage, requests and petitions became orders, gratitude became expectations. Link was just someone for her to utilize. He knew that. They both did.

What was this all about?

His stomach churned uncomfortably, guilt gnawing through the biting frost of resentment. His words lodged in his throat as his mind and heart fought for the right thing to say in this situation, distrust and concern mixing in a confusing concoction that poisoned his ability to speak.

Eventually, Zelda rose, a little less gracefully than she usually would. Link reached out, his hand grabbing hers to stop her from leaving, catching both of them off guard.

"Your Majesty," he automatically said as a placeholder, a means of trying to fight the mental block stopping him from speaking. What did he even want to say? What could he say to that? "I..."

The guilt won out, or perhaps some desperate desire to be acknowledged. He didn't know if this was compassion or simply him being pathetic, a positive response to a positive remark. But... still... "Zelda... I could never think that about you."

The queen glanced at him, eyes a little wider, perhaps even caught off guard.

Did she truly believe he thought she was a monster? He'd met monsters. Zelda was no Ganondorf, nor Ozen. She... she was just...

She was just doing what she thought was best.

"Monsters are selfish," Link continued. "You're trying to take care of Hyrule. I... I respect that."

Despite whatever anger and bitterness he held toward her, he could at least say those words genuinely. They were true. It was part of the reason he'd agreed to marry her, whether he loved her or not. They'd both wanted what was best for Hyrule, what was best for the Gerudo, what was best for those they did love dearly. And if they had to sacrifice their happiness for it, they were willing to do so.

Sacrifice. Zelda was willing to sacrifice for others. She was willing to sacrifice everything.

"You're my queen," he said quietly. "And you... always will be."

The queen, whose words held all the power in the world, was speechless. As the two monarchs stared at each other, hurt and brokenness a chasm between them, the lilac butterfly flew between them, carrying that last vestige of home with it into the darkening night sky as their daughter ran over to greet them.

[dragkbluire]

It's finally here!!! I can't feel my hand anymore xd But I promised it and here it is.

Hero of the Wilds (Post LU/ What if)

-He now is a Sheikah too and he learned their techniques but still he keeps some things from the Zonai. Also he is still a knight and uses some of the armour.

-Sheikah tech was destroyed because people thought it was dangerous (thanks to the guardians) and only the scientists kept some machines but with Zonai tech they could create a new kind of tech.

-His right hand was too damaged to the point he could barely move it. Purah made him a glove using the new tech that lets him move his hand and have the functions from the Sheikah Slate / Purah Pad / Ultrahand - Fuse.

-He has the scars from when he fought against the guardians and now he has marks from King Rauru's arm.

-His design was based on the Champion's Tunic (both new and old)/ Knight's Armour / Amber Earrings / Archaic Tunic and some hints from Monk Maz Koshia. His main colours are blue, green (trying to show that Sheikah and Zonai now are one) and golden brown (like a representation of the Golden Goddesses and that after all he is still just a hylian.

-All the colours I used are in the chibis, some of them are recycled and others used in layers like multiply or add glow.

Extra: PNG with and without effects

I hope you like it!!

[minty-mumbles]

Whumptober Day 16: "Don't go where I can't follow" (Pt. 1)

Summary: Hyrule and Wild are time travelers trying to run away from their past. They seem to be doing a pretty good job at it until they stumble across a family they don't want to leave behind. They end up leaving anyway, but unlike every other time they've left people behind, the Lon family doesn't seem content to stay in the past.

AN: This is fairly tame as far as whump goes. Mostly just emotional whump, but there is some human experimentation/slavery in the flashbacks

Read on AO3 | Part 2

~~~

“Hyrule, are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

“The apple we sent forward in time is sitting in front of us.”

“Yeah.”

“Wild, we sent this forward in time a month ago.”

“Mhmm.” 

“The spell worked?”

“It worked. Hyrule!” 

“Wild! We did it!”

”Oh my gods! Are- are you-”

“The apple is still fresh! There’s no sign of rotting.”

“Are- are you feeling okay though? Not feeling woozy or anything?”

“My magic feels just fine. The spell was completely reliant on that magical battery. All I had to do was set the magic going in the right direction, and let it run. It didn’t drain anything from me at all. What about you?”

“You know I’m fine, ‘Rule. I don't have the power needed to do something like this. All I’m good for is fine-tuning. If the spell had been operating off my power, it wouldn’t have even worked in the first place.”

“...”

“I wonder what those stuck up Sheikah scientists would do if they knew?” 

“Probably try to take credit for our work. Two teenagers with magic invent a fictional time travel spell before they can? They would kill us.”

“Not funny, Hyrule.”

“I wasn’t really joking.”

“...”

“Wild, do you know what this means? Now that we know the spell works, we can leave! Well, we need to get our hands on another battery. Preferably one that won't run out of power and explode like the last one did, and who knows how long that’s going to take, but-!”

“But afterwards we can leave! We can travel back to before this gods-forsaken building was even built and just walk away. And I don’t think it’ll take us long to get a hold of a strong enough battery.”

“What do you mean?”

“I swear, you need to start paying more attention to the scientists, Hyrule.”

“That’s kind of hard to do when I’m nearly unconscious every time they finish their… experiments. It’s hard to listen to their conversations if I can’t hear anything.”

“Right, sorry.”

“It’s okay. What were you saying?”

“They found a new artifact. They’ve been testing it for a month and still haven't found the limits of its power. They think it might be regenerating the power on its own. Supposedly it’s a combination of ancient Sheikah tech and magic. They’re calling it the Sheikah Slate.”

“A self-regenerating power source? That’s almost too good to be true.”

“Yeah. So…. How long will it take you to steal it, ‘Rule?”

“Just point me in the direction of the room they’re keeping it in, and I’ll have it to you within twenty-four hours.” 

“...“

“Wipe that grin off your face, Wild!”

“Why shouldn't I be happy? We’re finally getting out!”

~~~

Wild and Hyrule.

Hyrule and Wild. 

It had always been the two of them. They were brothers. Maybe not biologically, but they had suffered and survived together, and now they were doing more than surviving. They were living. 

They traveled together, always one step ahead of harm and one spell away from safety. They were filled with a longing to explore the world, and neither of them had a reason to ignore that longing, so they simply didn’t. 

They had a thirst to see, to know, to experience, and they had the power to do all that and more at their fingertips.

It was kind of ironic that the time travel spell turned out to be so simple in the end. Hyrule provided the force behind the spell, the Slate provided the raw power, and Wild did the fine-tuning to get them exactly where and when they wanted to go. After casting the spell hundreds of times, it was second nature to them. They could slip through the fabric of time with less effort than a sewing needle slipping through loosely woven cloth.

The Slate had been a blessing from the gods. They never would’ve escaped that laboratory. Not only did it provide a steady source of power that never seemed to run dry- no matter how often they jumped through time- it was also able to store items and money within it. It made their lives so much easier. 

The two of them had been everywhere and everywhen. All over the world, in all different time periods. Sometimes they traveled back to the time when humans were nothing more than apes living in the trees, and spent weeks living off the land. Sometimes they stopped in busy cities to enjoy the rush of the crowds. Occasionally they would wander into a library, pull the first history book they saw off the shelf, then travel to the time period the book was about. 

The entire world was open to them, and they could do whatever they wanted to.

Well, mostly. There were some limitations.

They couldn't change the past. As much as they wanted to, they couldn’t stop wars from breaking out or plagues from spreading. They also couldn’t go back and prevent their own personal tragedies from happening. Doing that would cause their pasts to change too much, and they might end up not existing in the first place. 

Neither of them were exactly eager to cause a paradox, so neither of them tried to play the hero, and they stayed away from times and places they’d already been to before. 

They also couldn’t travel beyond the late 2200s. That was when functional time travel technology had finally been discovered, and then promptly outlawed for normal citizens. They’d learned that the hard way when they’d nearly been arrested in 2311 for illegal time travel. 

Getting arrested was the last thing they needed. Wild said that he could think of plenty of governments that would love to get their hands on two of the most powerful mages in the world. Hyrule squawked in protest at being called one of the most powerful mages, but there was no refuting that Wild was probably right. 

There were very few mages left by the 2200s. Wild and Hyrule probably were the strongest ones left by that time. Any mage that was still living a free life after magic was outlawed would be too weak to be noticed by the government. (Well… technically magic was never completely outlawed, but it was only legal if you were using it in the service of the government. It was a nice way of saying that if you showed any signs of having magic, you were taken into state custody and you stayed there. Forever.)

To their relief, the pair had never seen any other time travelers before the 2240s. They didn’t know why, but they weren’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. As long as they stayed in time periods before then, they were safe from the government, or anyone else for that matter, coming after them.

The fact that time travel was only discovered in the late 2200s offered them a bit of smug satisfaction. They had figured out time travel first, and they did it long before anyone else had. Nearly a hundred years before anyone else.

On top of that, the scientists obviously never cracked the secrets of magical time travel. Their time travel was purely technology-based. When Wild realized that, he gloated for a whole hour. Even Hyrule had smiled with a sense of sick satisfaction. Those scientists never got anything useful out of them. 

Good.

~~~

There had been a time Before. There had been a time when they hadn’t known each other. There had been a time when they’d had loving families and normal lives ahead of them. Wild had lived with his mom, dad, and little sister. Hyrule had been cared for by his mama and aunties and countless cousins.

Then it had all fallen apart. 

They were both young when their magic came in- only five or six years old, by their recollection. It had started slowly, as it always did. Little sparks would dance across Hyrule’s fingers, and Wild’s eyes would glow an eerie teal in the dark. 

Small, harmless things that marked them for slaughter. 

Wild’s parents hadn’t been brave enough to fight for him. 

They hadn’t wanted to face the consequences of harboring a magic user, even if that person was their own son. They had their other child to worry about, after all. They couldn't risk having his sister taken away from them as well.

So, at the young age of five, mere days after he had started showing the fit signs of magic, Wild’s parents had given him away with little fuss. It was one of Wild’s earliest memories. (Which was saying something, since he didn’t remember much of his childhood.) 

His parents both wore sorrowful expressions that day. Wild remembered being confused, but not commenting on it. His parents had been acting strangely for a while, after all. They had woken him up early, gotten him dressed, and handed him a backpack filled with some of his clothes. Then they had taken him to their living room where an official-looking stranger had been waiting. 

Wild hadn’t known what was going on at the time, so he had watched silently as his parents had signed the necessary paperwork to transfer custody of him over to the state. 

That had been the last time he had seen either of them. He hadn’t even gotten a chance to say goodbye to his little sister.

Hyrule’s mother had been braver. Hyrule had been her only child, and she was not so willing to give him up. 

When she’d seen him use his magic for the first time, she’d screamed and cried in despair. Her reaction had frightened Hyrule so badly he’d ran away and hid under his bed. The two of them had left their house soon after that, selling it to one of his aunts. 

They moved out to the middle of the woods and learned how to grow and hunt most of the things they would need so they didn't need to go into town as much. His mama had started homeschooling him.

His mama had tried so hard to keep it a secret. She’d done everything she could have done. And it had worked for a time. The pair of them spent three years living in seclusion, but it wasn’t enough in the end. 

Hyrule never learned how the secret got leaked. Maybe one of his cousins had figured it out and blabbed. Maybe one of their neighbors had seen him doing magic in the woods one day. Hyrule didn’t know. 

In the end, it didn’t matter how it had happened, only that it did. Their little cabin was raided, and Hyrule was forcibly removed from his mother's care, and made a ward of the state.

That was how the two met at the age of nine, causing their fates to be changed forever.

~~~

It was rare for the two of them to stay in one place for longer than a month. They both had itchy feet, and nothing seemed to hold their interest for very long. Usually, they arrived, saw what they came to see, and then grew bored and moved on. 

No one expected them to stay, no one expected them to go. No one expected them to do anything. After years of being observed and examined through a microscope, it was a novel feeling to blend into the background.

It was even easier to blend in during the earlier time periods. Back then, people hadn’t looked twice at strangers wandering into town with no documentation. The pair had tried to rent an apartment in the 1980s once. That hadn’t turned out well when they realized neither of them had any paperwork. Like, say, a birth certificate, driver’s license, or any kind of identification. 

In general, it was less of a risk in general to exist in the 1800s or earlier, when no one had cameras or access to the internet, and no one cared if they ran into two teenagers living in the woods. 

It was also easier to earn money if they needed to. 

The pair didn’t shy away from stealing if it was necessary, though they were careful to try to only steal from people who wouldn't miss it too much. However, when they decided to stay in one place for a while, they typically tried to find a steady source of income instead. 

After they had spent so long wandering, they had both picked up a wide variety of skills. Neither of them were true masters of any one trade, but they could perform the basic tasks well enough to serve as assistants in most kinds of workshops. They could work in the fields, tend livestock, butcher animals, harvest, hunt, and fish. They knew enough to do the busy work in leatherworking, baking, stonemasonry, shoemaking, and all other sorts of crafts.

Wild had learned how to fletch arrows, which was always a talent in high demand in the eras where people still used bows. Hyrule had studied under a cartographer for a few months. They both became proficient with swords, bows, and spears. They learned how to use their bodies as weapons if needed. They even learned how to fire guns, even if they were rarely in a time period where guns existed.

Fighting was the topic they’d studied the most diligently. They learned and relearned until they didn’t even need their magic to defend themselves anymore. Not as long as they had weapons in their hands. (The phantom feeling of the weight of the magic suppressors on their ankles was ever-present. Never again would they be that helpless without their magic.)

Growing up with a basic understanding of modern medicine put them miles ahead of even the most educated doctors in the 1500s. Having a basic understanding of what germs were would do that, but Hyrule had taken the time to translate that modern knowledge into a form that could be applied using the materials that were available in the pre-modern era. He also, thankfully, learned how to use that medical knowledge in a way that wouldn't get them hung for being witches when he provided a miracle cure to some disease or injury. 

If they really needed to, they could even find a small city and become street performers or put on a show in a tavern or pub. Hyrule had slowly taught himself how to play the ocarina and flute, and Wild could sing. They didn’t even have to make up their own songs. All they had to do was play music from the modern era, and the foreign rhythms of the songs drew attention to them automatically. The amount of money you could get from playing an instrumental version of Britney Spears’ Toxic in 1432 was truly a wonder.

In short, there was always something they could do to earn some money if they wanted to. 

~~~

Wild sat on the edge of his bed and watched dispassionately as the new kid sobbed into the tiled floor. Wild’s feet didn't reach the floor, so he idly swung them back and forth as he observed. His fingers, restless and still numb from the freeze spell he’d been forced to cast over and over today, fiddled with the edge of the soft blanket he sat on top of.

A small part of him wanted to go help the boy, even if he knew it would be pointless. Wild had been here for years, and he’d seen plenty of other kids come and go. Some of them were quiet when they entered the room for the first time, nodding to Wild and putting away their meager selection of clothing in the dresser they would share with Wild while they lived here. Those were the ones who had already been in state custody for a while.

Then there were others, like this boy, who were forced into the room by the guards. Sometimes they screamed, sometimes they cried, sometimes they clawed at the door desperately, like wild animals. Those were the ones who had just been dragged away from their families. 

Wild knew that trying to offer comfort never actually helped. Nothing he could say could make it better, and some things he would say could make it a whole lot worse

The boy was one of the ones who simply cried. He hadn’t even bothered to stand once he had been shoved into the room, instead lying defeated on the floor. 

The boy looked sweet, with thick brown curls and freckles covering every inch of available skin. 

He was probably right around Wild’s age too, which was somewhat of a rarity. Sometimes his roommates were as young as five, sometimes as old as fourteen or fifteen. Having a roommate his own age would be nice.

Wild wondered if the two of them would get along. It was always a hit or miss as to whether he would get along with his roommate, but as long as the boy didn’t try and kill Wild, then it would be fine. 

Eventually, the boy’s wails died down into uncontrollable hiccups. Soon even those faded, leaving just uneven breaths, and Wild realized that the boy had fallen asleep. Wild wasn't even sure if the boy knew there was someone else in the room. Probably not, or he wouldn't allow himself to fall asleep and leave himself so vulnerable to Wild. 

Not that Wild would hurt him! But the boy didn’t know that.

When the boy had been quiet for a few minutes, Wild hopped down from his bed, walking closer to get a better look. The boy was really a mess. His face was covered in tear tracks and snot. His shirt and shirts were dirt-stained and torn, and he wore no shoes, his feet calloused and muddy. A magic suppressant cuff was secured tightly around his ankle. The blue light that indicated the device was turned on was blinking steadily. 

Wild reached down to try to move the boy into a more comfortable position but hesitated. The dirt that covered the boy made Wild twitch and reconsider touching him. It wasn’t anything like the clean and sterile environment he’d been surrounded with for the last four years. He couldn’t figure out if he liked it or not. 

It didn’t matter either way. 

Tomorrow, the guards would come and get the boy and take him to the washroom to get clean. The boy would become just as sterile as everything else in here, whether the boy wanted to or not. The scientists didn't like it when the person they were studying was dirty, and they would no doubt want to take a look at the new addition as soon as possible. 

The ruined clothing would be replaced tomorrow too, and Wild hoped for the boy’s sake that the guards would give him some socks and shoes. The tile floor in their room got cold even in the summer.

Wild wondered if the boy was cold, laying on the tiles. He shuffled over to the bed opposite his- the one that this boy would be sleeping in from now on- and dragged the blanket off. With a flourish, he draped the blanket over the boy. 

The blanket was large enough that it seemed to swallow the boy whole. Or maybe the boy was just small.

Wild climbed back onto his bed and resumed his previous position, watching the boy with a burning curiosity. 

He wondered what his name was.

~~~

Even Hyrule and Wild sometimes grew tired of it all. They would grow bored of the constantly changing scenery and want to rest for a while. Whenever they felt the urge to stop and smell the roses for a while, they would find somewhere to settle for a while. They would find lodging with a family kind enough to open their home to them or work for their room and board. They would put away the Slate and, for the most part, stop using their magic.

They met people, made friends, formed bonds, and inevitably broke those bonds when they left.

They never knew how long they would stay. Sometimes it would be a month, sometimes as long as a year, but in the end, they always had to leave. They were driven ever onward, both by their own restlessness and the knowledge that they never truly belonged anywhere. They couldn’t look backward, couldn’t dwell on the past.

(They were both painfully aware of the irony of that statement. Time travelers who couldn’t afford to think about the past. What a joke.) 

Sometimes they did the familiar song and dance of telling people they were leaving. They would break the news to their new friends that they were leaving, and listen as they were begged to stay. 

Most of the time they tried to avoid that heartbreak. Most of the time they left silently in the middle of the night and left behind no hint that they ever existed. Maybe it was cruel to leave without a trace, and leave behind those who cared about them, but Hyrule and Wild had done this many, many times. It would always be difficult, no matter how they left. Leaving quietly spared them a bit of the pain, so they didn't have to see the pain their departure caused. 

Sometimes Wild wondered why they bothered interacting with other people at all. It would be easier if they didn’t. It would spare them the heartache. Yet somehow they ended up making connections again and again. Hyrule said that everyone, even traumatized time travelers, needed human contact. Wild personally thought that was bullshit.

(Yet, he never protested when they wandered into a town and decided to stay for a while. Because in the end, they were both lonely.)

Hyrule never forgot the names and faces of the people they’ve met. Before they started time traveling, it had been Wild who had the better memory regarding people, their names, and their faces. It wasn’t like that anymore. Now, it seemed things like that slipped out of his mind easily. 

Sometimes Wild asked Hyrule to tell him stories about the people they’d befriended. It was always a toss-up if the stories would end with them laughing and happily reminiscing, or sitting close together, drenching in misery as they ached for forgotten friendships.

It was difficult. Difficult to form connections knowing they would have to end, and difficult to break those connections when the time came. 

There were times when it became too much. Times when they wanted to stop for a little while, but didn’t want the burden of human connection. At those times, it was easier to find a nice, uninhabited forest to make their home for a few weeks. 

Having lived in the woods for a good part of his childhood, Hyrule was already more than comfortable doing that. Wild took a bit longer to adjust but once he did, he was as at home in the woods as Hyrule was. 

As long as it wasn’t the middle of winter- and it never was, for them- the woods offered them the perfect place to enjoy the freedom that came with being wanderers

~~~

Today had been a bad day so far, and Hyrule didn’t foresee it getting any better. 

He’d woken up sluggish, inexplicably tired despite the fact that he’d slept like a rock the night before. The rest of the morning hadn’t been much better, for no perceivable reason. Everything had proceeded like it always did in the mornings.

One at a time, the guards had escorted Hyrule and Wild to the washroom to shower and get ready for the day. Once they were both back in the room and dressed, Breakfast had been brought to them by the guards. 

They’d given pancakes with maple syrup and a side of fruit and a few slices of bacon for breakfast today. The pancakes and maple syrup usually would’ve excited Hyrule- he had an infamous sweet tooth- but today he could hardly muster up a smile at the sight of it. 

Wild noticed his lack of enthusiasm and sent him a concerned look, but Hyrule had shrugged it off and kept his gaze firmly on his plate for the rest of the meal. He didn’t want to worry Wild for no reason. He doubted he was actually sick, so there was no need to say anything and there was nothing Wild could do if he did.

After they ate, their plates and utensils had been taken away. Wild and Hyrule had more privileges than most mages in this research facility did. It was a perk that came with being two of the residents that had lived there the longest- eight years for Wild, and four years for Hyrule- but they still weren’t allowed to keep the dull plastic knives they were given to eat with. 

A shame. Hyrule would have loved to keep one of them tucked under his mattress with the rest of his contraband items, but the guards always double-checked that all of the utensils were returned after every meal. 

Then they were left alone for a half hour or so, as was usual. It was a tense period of time as they waited to see if the researchers had anything planned for them today, or if they got to spend their day inside their room, entertaining themselves. 

When the guards returned, Hyrule was the only one called out of the room. Wild was left sitting on his bed, face passive as he watched Hyrule leave. The only reason Hyrule could tell the other boy was both relieved he hadn’t been summoned and a little worried for Hyrule was because he’d known Wild for so long. 

Wild had a habit of going stone-faced whenever one of the guards or scientists were around. Hyrule couldn’t blame him for that. The two of them had already gotten enough of their privacy taken away from them. They didn’t need to give the scientists a front-row seat to their inner thoughts and feelings as well. 

Hyrule followed the guards at a sedate pace, not able to muster up the energy to move any faster. (He was careful not to move too slowly, though. He knew from experience that the guards wouldn’t hesitate to drag him if they felt he was moving slowly on purpose.) A familiar feeling of anxiety bubbled in his stomach. He wondered what he would be made to do today. Hopefully, it wouldn't be anything too strenuous. 

He was taken to one of the standard testing rooms. There were several of these rooms in the building, and Hyrule was well acquainted with all of them. They all looked the same, with white cinderblock walls, a concrete floor, and one wall being made entirely of a one-way window so the researchers could observe him. The only furnishings in the rooms were a table and chair off to one side which were bolted to the floor and a speaker tucked up in one of the corners of the ceiling. 

Hyrule, used to this routine after so many years, went and took a seat in the chair. As always, one of the researchers came to take his blood pressure and listen to his breathing. They did these sorts of physical exams before every test they performed on him, and it was so routine that Hyrule barely registered when it happened anymore. 

Soon, the researcher was done jotting things down on their clipboard and exited the room. Hyrule sighed and slumped in his seat a little. All he wanted to do was curl up in his bed and sleep. Maybe when he got back to their room, he could ask Wild to read aloud to him from the physics textbooks they’d been given. Learning about momentum and friction usually put Hyrule right to sleep, even if Wild loved it. (For some weird reason.)

That was the one upside of being a mage, Hyrule thought sarcastically as he stared dully at his reflection in the window across the room from him. Once the government found out you had magic, you never had to worry about school ever again. They were given textbooks and notebooks to keep themselves entertained when they weren’t needed for experiments, but they weren’t actually expected to know any of the material. Which was good, because Hyrule couldn’t imagine having to take exams on this stuff. He never managed to stay away for more than the first chapter of that stupid physics textbook-

A sudden noise crackled through the overhead speaker, startling Hyrule out of his thoughts. 

“Alright, Hyrule. We’re just going to be doing some energy tests today. Standard stuff, okay?” When he registered the voice and what it had said, he breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that voice, and he was glad that this scientist would be the one running his tests today. 

There was a constantly rotating staff of researchers that Wild and Hyrule interacted with on a near-daily basis, but there were three main scientists who seemed to be in charge of the facility. The one they saw the most often was a positively ancient man with a rather eccentric personality. Every time Hyrule saw the man, he grew more and more surprised that he hadn’t passed away from old age yet. The second was a severe-looking woman in her mid-forties who never spoke to them unless it was to give them an order. Both Wild and Hyrule agreed she was the worst to deal with.

The last, and the one who was apparently overseeing his tests today, was a young woman in her twenties that Hyrule suspected was an apprentice of sorts to the other two. (Probably a replacement for when the old man finally kicked the bucket, Hyrule thought snidely.) Hyrule didn’t know what her name was, though Wild probably did. He was always better at paying attention to and remembering details than Hyrule was. 

Everything about the third scientist was soft. From her voice, to her mannerisms, to the way she treated the two of them. Hyrule rarely got a chance to look at her- or any of the other scientists- but when he did, he thought that she even looked soft. She had a rounded face and softly curling white hair that fell to her shoulders. Her face was faintly familiar, and every time Hyrule looked at her, he was reminded of his mother. 

He hated her for that, a little bit.

“Hyrule? Are you ready?” Hyrule blinked, the woman’s voice startling him back to reality once again. He hadn’t given any form of acknowledgement to her previous statement, he realized. 

‘Yeah, I’m ready,“ he confirmed.

“Okay, great!” The bit of warmth in her voice made Hyrule want to melt into the floor. He pushed that urge away. “We’re going to bring in the first artifact now. I’ll run you through the procedure as always, but I know you’re a pro at this by now, so we should get done pretty quickly.” 

She was right- testing magical artifacts, figuring out what their purpose was, and trying to find a limit to their power was one of the most common things they had him and Wild do. It was usually an easy and painless job, as long as the magic cast on the objects was inherently harmful. (if it was- well, that was a different story.)

Hyrule turned his gaze toward the door. Like clockwork, a man wearing a hazmat suit wheeled in a cart with an ancient-looking wooden box sitting on it. That must be the first item he’d be working with today. Once the cart was in the middle of the room, the man approached him with a familiar device in his hands. Hyrule, still on autopilot, lifted his leg, allowing the man to wave the device over this magic suppression cuff, deactivating it. 

Instantly, Hyrule felt a wave of relief wash over him. His magic, which the cuff had been suppressing, swelled up within himself. When the cuff was active it squished his magic down. Hyrule could still feel it, but he couldn’t access it. 

Hyrule didn’t know how the cuffs worked. All he knew was that he hated everything about them. Being unable to access his magic was like one of his limbs had been paralyzed. He knew it was still there, but he wasn’t able to make it do anything. 

When the researcher was done turning off the cuff, he shuffled off to the side of the room. Hyrule knew he would wait until the tests were done, and then reactivate the cuff before Hyrule was let out of the room. The only door out of the room would remain locked until then.

Testing was the only time the suppression cuffs were turned off. They had to be deactivated to allow Wild and Hyrule to use their magic for the tests. The scientists were always careful to only turn the cuffs off when they were locked in a secure room with a locked door, and under constant scrutiny.

They were a little bit stupid, in Hyrule's opinion. It didn’t matter if he was in a locked room and under constant watch. When he had his magic, he could simply unlock the doors, or force the guards to turn their attention away from him. When he was finished with whatever he needed to do, he could walk right back to where he’d been before, and no one would be any wiser.

Honestly, given how adept both Wild and Hyrule had become at making themselves unnoticeable, it would be stupidly easy to get out of the facility, 

The only reason they stayed was the fact that they knew they’d gotten off easily. Some mages got shipped off to use their magic to fight in wars. The fact that the two of them were only in a research facility where they got three healthy meals a day and a comfortable place to sleep wasn't something to be overlooked. Hyrule knew they wouldn’t be as lucky if they tried to escape and got caught a second time.

They’d seen what happened to mages who managed to escape from research facilities and then were caught again, and it wasn’t pretty. What they needed was a guaranteed permanent ticket out of here. So far, they’d come up empty.

The overhead speaker crackled to life once again, the scientist speaking the first instructions, and Hyrule heaved himself to his feet.

Gods, he hoped the scientist was right, and they would be able to finish early today. 

He was so tired. 

~~~

When Wild and Hyrule stumbled across the Lon family’s house, they hadn’t been looking for civilization, and they certainly weren’t expecting civilization to find them, but that’s exactly what happened.

Neither of them realized their feet had found a well-worn path until they were stumbling out of the woods. The trees surrounding them slowly transitioned from naturally planted oaks and maples and pines to neat rows of apple and pear trees. The pair slowed as they walked through the orchard, confused. They knew there was a town within a day’s walk of here, but they hadn’t expected to find any civilization in this forest. 

Soon, the trees fell away, turning into a large field with a house and a barn tucked away near the edge of the woods. A garden filled to bursting with vegetables lay near the house, and a paddock with a few horses and goats stretched out as far as they could see into the field.

It was a large property and very well taken care of, especially for this time period. Wild and Hyrule exchanged glances, smiles creeping across their faces. 

“Hyrule, when was the last time we ate fresh pears?”

“Couldn't tell you.” Despite Hyrule’s short answer, they both knew what the other was thinking. The owners of the house wouldn’t miss two or three pears, especially if they didn’t see Hyrule and Wild take the fruit. No one was outside, and if they were quick they might be able to take some and leave before anyone came out of the house or barn.

In no time at all, Wild had climbed up into one of the pear trees and was tossing the fruit down to Hyrule. He had just thrown down the third one when a shout sounded from behind them.

“What the hell are you two doing?!” 

“Oh, shit!” Wild yelped, nearly falling out of the tree as he was startled. He managed to turn his fall into a somewhat controlled descent, landing awkwardly next to Hyrule, who’d already turned to face off with the person who had yelled. 

 A boy, maybe a few years older than them, was stomping across the field from the direction of the house. He had strawberry blonde hair and was wearing a red tunic, and he looked pissed.

Wild and Hyrule winced, glancing at each other. 

Busted.

“Those are my trees! The pears only just started to ripen, and you come in here and try to take advantage of my hard work? Oh, no, absolutely not.” As the boy stomped closer, his anger seemed to drain out of him. Wild could feel him examining the pair of them, and taking stock of their dirty appearances and slightly-too-thin bodies. By the time he had drawn to a stop in front of them, he seemed to have deflated. 

The teen didn’t look irritated anymore, but the pity in his eyes was almost worse. 

Hyrule and Wild liked their lifestyle, even if it maybe wasn't the best for them. It was better than the alternative. They might have gotten three square meals a day in the research facility, but they would take their freedom over that anytime, even if it meant going hungry occasionally. 

If anyone wanted to pity them over their appearance, their usual reaction was to leave. There was no reason to stick around where they would be drowning in that sticky sweet emotion known as pity. It wasn’t like anyone could stop them from leaving, anyway.

Then the stranger seemed to make up his mind, and the pity vanished from his face, being replaced by an expression of irritation. Wild couldn’t tell if the teen was actually irritated or if he was putting on a mask to hide his true emotions.

He didn't get the time to figure it out, because in no time at all Wild and Hyrule were on their knees in the garden, pulling weeds. Neither of them were quite sure how they got there. The stranger- apparently named Legend- had steamrolled any of their protests. He insisted they helped as a repayment for the pears they took. 

Since they had nothing better to do, they hadn’t protested too much. 

After they were done in the garden, Legend offered to let them clean up using his family's bath house. When they were hesitant, he insisted, saying that since they were only so dirty because he had them working in the garden all afternoon, he should let them bathe. 

When they’d finished and returned back to the house, there were steaming mugs of tea waiting for them. By the time they were finished with the tea, there was a pot of stew bubbling over the fire. Legend wordlessly shoved bowls of thick venison stew into their hands, refusing to meet their eyes.

Wild narrowed his eyes at the bowl suspiciously. Had it been drugged, or poisoned? Why was Legend being so weirdly nice to them and giving them food? There must be something wrong with the soup. Wild quickly flicked his magic out, testing the food, looking for anything wrong with the stew.

Just as quickly as he sent it out, his magic withdrew into his body and settled calmly within him, curling up contently. There was nothing wrong with the stew, so Wild reluctantly ate. It was a bit flavorless, but still filling.

He missed how Legend’s eyes narrowed in his direction for a moment when he had used his magic to test the soup.

After they had all finished dinner- awkwardly and in silence- it was already dark, and rain was pattering softly against the windows of the house. Neither Wild nor Hyrule made an effort to excuse themselves from Legend’s house, as neither of them were eager to go out in the rain. They would continue abusing Legend’s generosity for as long as he would let them. 

Surprisingly, Legend’s generosity extended further than expected. He offered them his family’s spare mattress, dragging it out from the storeroom and leaving it in the living room, close to the fire. He huffed a gruff goodnight and retreated to the second floor of the house. Wild got the impression that Legend half expected the pair of them to have left by the time morning came. 

The mattress was small. It clearly wasn't made for two people, but neither of them minded. They were clean, full, warm, and their magic was giving them no warnings of danger. They were more comfortable than they had been in a while, no matter how cramped the bed was. 

They were more than used to sleeping curled around each other anyway. 

Wild was ready to drift off to sleep like that, curled around Hyrule and warmed by the embers in the fireplace at his back. Hyrule seemed to have a different idea, though, his voice breaking Wild from the content haze that had settled over his mind.

“I think Legend is a mage.” 

That certainly caught Wild’s attention. Wild stiffened, anty semblance of sleep being yanked away from him. He hadn’t even considered that as a possibility. Was that why Legend was being so kind? Because he knew they had magic and he was trying to be kind to his fellow mages who looked down on their luck?

“Why would you think that?” He asked.

“I can just feel it. When he looks at us… It feels like he's actually seeing us. The real us. And he doesn't feel like a normal human. It’s not exactly the same as the other mages we’ve seen, but I’m pretty sure he has magic.”

Wild didn’t respond, and eventually, Hyrule drifted off to sleep. There really wasn’t anything more to say about that. Either Hyrule was right or he was wrong. Either Legend had magic or he didn’t. 

It didn’t really matter. The two of them would be gone soon, anyway. 

When they woke the next morning, they found Legend sitting at the table, waiting for them with another pot of tea. 

So they had breakfast with him and then helped him with chores around the house. The next thing they knew, Legend’s father and brothers (all five of them) had returned from whatever errand they had been running the previous day. They had been surprised to return home to find three people in the house when they were expecting only one, but it had all been smoothed over easily.

Before Wild and Hyrule knew it, they were being offered a place to stay. As long as they earned their keep, they could live with the Lon family as long as they wished. 

Hyrule was insistent they would be leaving soon, though Wild had his doubts. He didn’t say anything to Hyrule, but he knew how easily staying one day turned into staying two, then a week, and then a month, and then longer. He suspected they would be living with the Lons for much longer than planned.

So they did. A few weeks into their stay, they came back to the house to find their mattress moved into what had previously been a spare room. They had become a permanent fixture in the house now. Dread slowly crept through Wild when he realized that. 

The Lon family was kind. They got along well with Wild and Hyrule, even if there was more teasing exchanged than kind words. Now the Lon family thought that WIld and Hyrule were going to stay. 

And Wild knew they couldn't.

They could never stay anywhere.

But a few weeks turned into a month. Then a month turned into half a year, and the leaves had long since turned to bright golds and brilliant reds and then fallen from the trees, and there was a fire burning in the hearth more often than not.

Wild and Hyrule both knew they should leave and spare themselves the heartache of growing close to someone before eventually having to leave them. 

But they didn’t.

~~~

Wild let out a jaw-cracking yawn, tucking his head under Hyrule’s chin. The two of them were curled up together on Wild’s bed. It was a bit awkward to cuddle like this, given that Wild was half a foot taller than Hyrule, and the bed was made to only fit one person, but they made it work. 

The pair of them didn’t sleep in the same bed every night, but it wasn't unusual. For the most part, the only friendly physical contact they could expect to receive was from each other, and sometimes they needed more than a brief hug. Some nights, it was an overwhelming sense of loneliness that drove them together. Some nights, one of them would wake up shivering with fear from a nightmare, and crawl into the other’s bed.

And some nights, like tonight, one of them would come back from testing and be too tired to even support their own weight. 

Usually, it was Hyrule who was subjected to the more draining experiments. He was the more magically powerful of the two, after all. Recently, however, Wild has been receiving more attention from the scientists. 

It was leading to more situations like this, where Wild was left lying prone on his bed, barely able to muster the energy to speak. Just as Wild usually did for him, Hyrule gathered all the blankets and pillows from his bed and took them over to Hyrule’s. After he got Wild comfortably situated, he climbed into the bed after him.

It took nearly a half hour of laying in silence for Wild to gain the energy to speak. “They’re becoming more and more interested in my time magic. I think they’re starting a new project.” His voice was muffled, spoken into Hyrule’s shoulder.

“I’ll be honest, Wild, I really don’t care about what the scientists are working on.”

Wild huffed. Hyrule could see he was irritated. It made Hyrule curious- normally, Wild didn’t care anymore than he did about the experiments the researchers were doing. If he was trying to tell Hurue about them now, when he was obviously exhausted, it must be something important.

“I think they’re trying to figure-” Wild was interrupted by another large yawn. Hyrule was about to tell him that he could tell him tomorrow, but he needed to go to sleep now, but Wild finished before he could. “They’re trying to figure out time travel.“

Hyrule frowned. “That’s not possible. Magic can do a lot of stuff, but time travel? There’s no way…”

Wild shrugged. ‘I dunno. I can slow time down a little bit. It’s not out of the question that if we combined our magic, we could stop time for a little bit. And that’s pretty close to time travel.“

Wild fell asleep soon after that, but Hyrule was kept awake, ideas swirling through his head.

Time travel?

Hmmm….

~~~

There was no doubt in Wild or Hyrule’s minds that the Lon family was a coven. 

There was no other reason for seven mages to be living together, especially when most of them weren’t even related. (Everyone knew that Twilight was the only one of Time’s gaggle of children that was biologically his. Everyone knew that the man cared for them all equally anyways.)

Covens were groups of mages who had bound their magic together. The process of joining a coven made your magic more powerful. It came with the side effect of tying your soul permanently to your coven mates. If they died, it would feel like part of your soul was being torn out. But many found the risk was worth it for the increased power, and the promise of family. Because if nothing else, your coven was your family.

There weren’t any covens left in the time period the two had come from. After magic had been exposed to the world, and all mages were being hunted down to serve their governments, groups of mages congregating together became too dangerous.

The two had run into a few covens while they had been traveling. Some of the covens were generous to who they perceived as two covenless young mages with no guidance. Priceless knowledge could be learned from them. If Hyrule and Wild stuck-around long enough to be taught, that is.

Some covens were more secretive, barely acknowledging Hyrule and Wild also had magic. Neither of them could blame the covens that choose to disregard their shared magic. Even before magic had been revealed to the world, mages were secretive. (After seeing what happened when magic was finally revealed, Hyrule and Wild knew they were right to be.)

So, when the Lon family hadn't breathed a word about magic to them after they had been living there for six months, Hyrule and Wild knew better than to bring it up themselves. Both parties knew that the others were mages, but neither spoke of it. If the Lons didn’t want to bring up their magic, Wild and Hyrule certainly weren't going to do it either. 

Hyrule had been the first one to pick up on the fact that the family they were staying with was magical. He’d told Wild his suspicions the first night they’d stayed in the house. At the time, Wild hadn’t cared. But the longer the pair stayed with the family, the more convinced Wild became that Hyrule was right. 

There were the little things that were just unnatural enough to be noticed. The garden was too well kept for how little time the family spent tending to it. Somehow the flowers continued to bloom and the grass remained lush and green long after the autumn frost had started to set in. The food the family had available was too high quality for this time period, especially for people who lived in the woods with the nearest town being barely more than a village. Somehow the house was kept spotless, though neither of them ever saw anyone cleaning.

Then there were the bigger things. Hyrule had caught both Wind and Four having full conversations with no one, speaking into thin air as if they were talking with spirits. There was the strangely tame wolf who only seemed to turn up around the house when Twilight was gone. There was the chest full of enchanted masks that Time kept under his bed. 

There was all that- the big things, the little things, and all things in between- and then there was the fact that Wild was quite sure the family could see past their glamor magic. 

Normally, the magic they surrounded themselves with disguised both their clothes and their modern mannerisms. It translated their words into something understandable to those who were listening. 

Although the coven had welcomed Hyrule and Wild into their home, they’d stared for too long at the pair's strange outfits. Most people’s eyes usually slid off their modern clothing without even seeing it in the first place. It was the same with modern terms and slang words. When Wild had slipped up and mentioned “texting” to Wind, the boy should have heard “writing a letter,” or something similar. Based on Wind’s confused face and the conversation Wild later overheard where Wind asked Warriors what a “text message” was, that hadn’t happened.

It was plain to see that the coven could see straight through their magic, but it was also plain that the coven was ignoring it, purposefully not mentioning their strange behavior, clothing, and language.

There was no way their host family actually understood why Wild and Hyrule acted so strangely- time travel wasn’t the first thing that popped into people’s heads when they saw someone acting strangely, even if they did know about magic. It was more likely the family thought that they were foreigners, and were using their magic to try and hide that fact.

Still…

Through their silence, the family had made it clear that they knew about Wild and Hyrule’s magic. It also made it clear that they weren’t going to bring it up. 

And if they weren’t going to, then Wild and Hyrule wouldn’t either.

~~~

“Hyrule, I think the tests are getting worse.”

“...”

“See, this is what I mean. Half the time you return from testing, you’re unconscious. It makes me look weird, talking out loud to no one like this.”

“...”

“I don’t know how much longer either of us can live like this, Hyrule. You can barely stay awake in the evenings, and I… I can’t remember what I did yesterday. My memories just keep slipping away, and it gets worse every time I get taken for experimentation. We need to find a way we can get out of here. Permanently.”

“...”

~~~

There wasn’t a singular moment that made Wild decide enough was enough. It had been coming for a while, that creeping feeling of dread that told him they had to leave soon if they wanted to be able to leave at all. They’d already become attached to this family so if they didn’t leave soon, they would never leave.

He knew it would already hurt more to leave this family than any other. Wild would miss cuddling near the fire with Wolfie, would miss cooking dinner every night for more than two people, would miss the loud camaraderie and the quiet companionship he had found in this house. 

But they had to leave. They didn’t belong here. 

Wild had had enough. He was leaving. And where he went, Hyrule went. 

It was an early spring night, nearly nine months after they had arrived. The whole family was gathered in the main room of the house, each absorbed in their own tasks. Hyrule was curled next to Legend and nearly half asleep. Wild was sitting on the floor in front of the chair Time was sitting in. His legs stretched out in front of him to put his feet near the warmth of the hearth, and Wild would almost say he was content, except for the little fact that he knew this peace couldn’t last.

He could tell Hyrule wasn’t happy when Wild shot him that look. The look that said, “I’m done, I can't do this anymore, We have to go.” Hyrule glared back at Wild and then closed his eyes, ignoring Wild on purpose. 

Looks like they would be talking about it later, then. (Not that they could talk about it now, given that they were in a room with seven other people.) Wild leaned back against Time’s legs. He looked nonchalant, as if the exchange the two had didn’t happen, but there was tension in him now, because now he knew they were on their way out of this house and the lives of its inhabitants.

It turns out “later” means that very night, after everyone else had gone to bed.

Hyrule might have been acting like he was unhappy with Wild’s decision, but he knew just as well as Wild did that it was time to leave. They barely had to exchange words before they were both packing up the belongings they were going to take with them. 

They left behind most of the things they had gained while they were staying here. They wouldn’t need most of it, and they didn’t want to steal from the Lon family. They had been so kind to them, they didn’t deserve to have the two of them steal from them. 

Soon, everything they were going to take with them was packed up. They stood shoulder to shoulder in their room, looking down at the bed they’d been sharing for the last nine months.

Eventually, Hyrule turned to Wild. “Ready?‘ he whispered.

“Yes,” Wild lied. Neither of them moved for quite some time, neither wanting to make the first move to leave.

This time, it was Wild who broke the silence. He shuffled over to their mattress, lifting it up and pulling the Slate out from under it. They hadn’t needed it while they’d been staying here, but now they had a use for it again. “Do you think we’ll ever find a place we’ll want to stay forever?”

“I doubt it. If that was going to happen, it would have happened already.” Hyrule murmured back to him, not meeting his eyes.

“You’re probably right.” Wild flicked the Slate in the direction of their belonging, sucking them into the Slate to be safely stored away until they needed them again. 

With that, they turned to each other, instinctually getting into position to cast their spell. Wild could see Hyrule’s grip on the Slate was so tight his knuckles were bone-white. He didn’t look up, knowing if he did, he would see tears trickling down Hyrule’s face. 

“Now,” he whispered.

In a shower of blue sparks, the two disappeared, gone from the lives of the Lon coven forever. 

[cara-the-yiga-footsoldier]

Everyone's favorite sheikah scientist~! :D

[benilos]

Asa wasn't quite as tall as Ahava and Jameela, but he was tall enough that all the trio could see upon entering the inn was his crimson-clad asscheeks swaying side to side as he leaned on the reception desk. Around his waist was a much too large coat tied in a knot, creating something akin to a skirt over the crimson, skin tight leggings cut with diamonds along the sides. The tip of his heeled boot clicked against the floor as he continued to chat up the innkeeper, who had noticed the trio's arrival and winked, whilst Asa himself remained none the wiser to Juju's stealthy approach.

Juju tiptoed behind him, the innkeeper keeping Asa's attention very well as she positioned a leg upwards. The other women said nothing as Juju's shin shot out directly between Asa's legs, gaining no sound from the man other than the very loud thud of his forehead colliding with the wood of the desk as he attempted to process the assault. He did not say a word, only remained in the slumped position for a moment while the innkeeper cackled loudly.

[imaginethezeldaverse]

Hello! I don't know if you write for the more obscure characters in Botw/Totk but I figured I'd ask just in case ☺️ Could you please write something about Tauro, Purah, Sidon and Zelda dating a Sheikah s/o who's chronically ill/disabled? It'd be great if you could make them specifically have weak bones and be really short too, and they're often upset how people keep babying them because they might fracture or break something. But if you want to keep it more open-ended that's fine too!

Thank you so so much, you're probably my favorite Zelda blog on Tumblr! Your writing and ideas are always like *chefs kiss* 😘! Have a good day and drink lots of water!

Whenever people tell me I'm their favorite anything it literally shocks me because there are SO many fantastic zelda fic blogs on here that I feel are vastly superior - but I thank you nonetheless! 🥰

I'll write for pretty much any character - I just keep romance and nsfw content for adults. So I'd be happy to!

Tauro, as well-mannered and good-natured he is, is amongst the mass where he needs to be reminded that while you are disabled, you aren't incapable of doing normal things. He tries his best to remember that, but his rambunctious and steadfast nature leads him to be righteous and helpful, even when it's not needed. Plus given his height, he always just assumes that people tend to need help to reach things in tall places if he's ever around. He does try his best to be sensitive to your needs and wants, however, tapping his hand to his chest when he catches himself doing too much. Instead, he makes an effort to remind himself to wait for you to ask him should you need anything. Very affectionate, otherwise - he enjoys making you smile and wrapping his big ol' bear arms around you (albeit, he's careful not to actually squeeze you too hard because he does NOT know his own strength) and is very attentive on the days that you specifically don't feel well and your body leaves you in a weaker state than normal.

Purah, being the research fanatic and accomplished scientist that she is, is already aware and well read on your illness. That, however, has never stopped her from being absolutely smitten with you. Where she is boisterous and outlandish, there is a careful resilience to you that she keeps close to her heart. She sees your frustration often with the townsfolk who treat you with unnecessary delicacy, and while she understands the "good-intent", she feels as you do: chronic illness should not beget differential treatment. When you express your frustrations, she's an open ear always. Purah is never one to explain why the people of your community act this way that leans in their favor, but rather why their attitudes should not portray you under a fragile light when you are anything but. She empathizes with you greatly, knowing exactly what it's like for your own people to treat you like you're something you're not (her experiences with de-aging left quite the mark), but she assures you that you've always got her on your side.

“I’ve never much like everyone else…and neither have you,” Purah muses, tapping her recorder in her hand. She lifts her glasses, her crimson eyes blazing in your direction with admiration and sincerity, “I guess that makes us a cut above the rest, now doesn’t it?”

Sidon is about as bubbly with you as you can imagine. That sharp smile completely alight when you're with him. His height difference compared to yours doesn't bother him considering he towers greatly over just about everyone he meets, so as long as you don’t care (which he secretly hopes you don’t!) then all is well. When he learns about your chronic illness, he’s at first admittedly worried, but he sees how much you value your independence and doesn’t push you to do less than anything you’re up for. Sidon, having learned his healing capabilities from Mipha, will actually offer to “bathe” with you whenever you’re not feeling especially strong, letting the softness of his magically imbued water immerse your body and take any pain or pressure off of your form for a while and bring you some ease. You don’t take him up on it often, half because you don’t feel it’s always necessary, and half because you don’t want to impose - though of course Sidon would refute you ever being an imposition upon him. He chooses his words very carefully, making sure to give you the impression that he’s willing to do whatever you need should you need something from him, but without overstepping and making you feel incapable.

“You’ll never be without, my darling,” Sidon whispers, taking your hand, those slit-pupiled eyes softening as he brushes back a lock of your silver-white hair, “But I will never claim to know you better than yourself.”

Zelda has always been a ball of curiosity, that’s one of the things you love about her. She has an awfully curious mind, so when you explain to her about your chronic illness for the first time, she of course asks you a lot of questions. You laugh thinking about back then, how she felt terrible for borderline prying into your life though she wanted to know everything about you at that time. You remember assuring her that it was fine, and it made you incredibly grateful that Impa had introduced you before she stepped down - it allowed you two to get close. The times that you’ve gone to town together, Zelda takes notice of how people tend to treat you akin to porcelain: delicate, fragile, some even giving off the impression that you’re a lost cause because of your Sheikah heritage. Combined with your stature (with Zelda herself being on the shorter side of an average Hylian’s height), it’s enough to infuriate you both. You two tend to bounce off of one another: shes sticks up for you when you feel like someone’s unnecessarily babying you, and you put your two cents in whenever someone is overly cautious and hovering due to her status, even after proving herself beyond capable. Ultimately she too understands your plight of people looking at you differently because of who are you or what they know about you. She recants the days when her father treated her as helpless and small, hyper focused on keeping her in line rather than letting her be her own person. She takes your hand, intertwining fingers with yours and lending you a genuine smile.

“But we are not weak. We are not frail or easily broken. I am not defined entirely by my title,” Zelda kisses the top of your hand before gently covering it with her other in an endearing move, “And you are not defined by your illness.”

[sombersummerskies]

A Sage's Regret: Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Mired in Muck

Word Count: 6157

CW: None

Want all the chapters? -> Masterlist

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Cool air blew past you, your legs hanging over the edge of the island cliff. You watched the clouds float by below. You ran your fingers through the grass, which you’d noticed was an odd golden-yellow color while up here in the sky. The shadows around you swayed as the tree you sat beneath moved back and forth in the breeze. You take a bite out of an apple (a golden one, which you’d found while scavenging this same sky island) as you ruminate over the events of the last few days.

After recuperating in Lookout Landing you assisted Purah and Josha in the activation of the new Skyview Towers. Purah had designed them using the old Sheikah technology, these would be the replacements of the old towers, collecting map data and changes in the land of Hyrule. She had made them with good timing as well, they would be powerful enough to map the data of all the new sky islands as well.

The process of this data collection, however, was an entirely difference experience. With the Sheikah Towers, you simply had to climb to their peak and then scan the pedestal. With these new Skyview Towers you would be, for lack of a better explanation, launched into the air. The first time you experienced it you’d been caught completely off guard.

Purah had given you a new paraglider and you stepped onto the platform. Suddenly robotic arms had shot out of the ground, no doubt repurposed from guardian parts. They’d grabbed you and attached a spool of cord to your belt which plugged into the Purah Pad. Before you could react you were launched into the air, a good thousand feet at the very least.

It had been terrifying, yet, simultaneously quite beautiful. The land of Hyrule had always been full of gorgeous sights, and seeing it all from so high up in the sky was thrilling. You’d been able to collect the data, giving you a detailed map of Central Hyrule and its sky. Then you soared down through the air, using your paraglider to make a somewhat graceful landing in the front of the laboratory. Purah had been thrilled, and you promised to continue activating each tower to fill out the map.

You sigh as you pluck a blade of grass from the ground, rolling it between your fingers. Far below you on the ground, you could see a gaping hole in the land. A deep dark chasm with a steady stream of gloom pouring out of it. Apparently multiple of these had appeared all over the land during the Upheaval. You had worked with Josha and the scientist Robbie to explore one of them.

When you’d lept into your first chasm it had made your skin crawl. The walls of the rock were covered in a thick layer of gloom, and the descent was long- miles beneath the surface of Hyrule. You’d landed in a place called the Depths, an entire layer of the land that had been previously unknown.

You had worked with Robbie for a handful of hours, discovering Lightroots which would illuminate the darkness. The cavernous depths were expansive, full of flora and fauna which were brand new to you. Long-bodied fireflies and purple rosebuds which would burst into puffs of smoke on impact. You’d pocketed a fair amount of this material for use in battle in the future.

Unfortunately for you, nothing in the Depths seemed to be something that would aid you in your search for the princess. Robbie unlocked the camera rune on the Purah Pad for you, and you allowed yourself to wander for a few hours. But when nothing showed up that would help you understand Zelda’s disappearance or the Upheaval, you returned to the surface.

It was then that Purah informed you of what was being called the ‘regional phenomena’. Days after both you and the princess had disappeared, four of the primary settlements around Hyrule became impacted by disastrous new problems.

To the north, the Goron had halted all of their mining operations and Hylians in the volcanic region were reporting food which was making the Goron act strange. To the west, the Rito were suffering from a severe cold snap, and a blizzard had been swirling above the Hebra mountain for two weeks now with no signs of stopping. Then to the south, the Gerudo were fending off a seemingly permanent sand shroud, where the locals reported that new monsters lurked in the desert.

What Purah had told you about the Zora in the east had you the most concerned, however. Sludge had begun to rain down from the skies, and it had contaminated their rivers and water sources. Beyond that, the sludge seemed to be killing off the wildlife and poisoning the Zora that came into contact with it.

You couldn’t even attempt to kid yourself, you were worried. The water of Zora’s Domain was a lifeline for its people, and if it had become polluted you weren’t sure how long the Zora would be able to withstand against it. You had immediately thought of Sidon, the concern for him ebbing in your mind. How was he handling the disaster? Had he fallen ill as well?

It’s why you found yourself sitting atop this cliff. The map on the Purah Pad says that you’re in the North Necluda Sky Archipelago. From this vantage point, you could look down at Hyrule, and when you flicked your gaze to the northeast you had a perfect view of the Domain. The palace stood proud among the highlands, but the sight of mud and sludge raining from the islands above it made you feel sick.

As your eyes trailed across the pristine architecture of the domain you couldn’t help but think. Would you even be wanted there? After the engagement and your subsequent fallout with the prince, you weren’t sure if you could handle seeing him again. The emotions were still too fresh, too raw in your heart.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” you mutter, flicking the grass away, “there are people in need. Can’t just sit around and wallow in my shame.”

‘Besides, I have a feeling that investigating each of these phenomena can help me find the princess.’

You toss the core of the apple aside and look down and the land below you once. If you were to glide north it would be a straight shot to the Lanaryu Wetlands, and from there you could travel on foot along the Zora River to reach the domain. You would need to be sure to cook some elixirs as you traveled, unsure if the sludge would have an effect on your body as well.

‘No time like the present.’

You push yourself off the cliff and soar through the skies.

…

There were new monsters.

In Lookout Landing, you had been warned of this. Ever since the Upheaval there had been reports all across the land of previously unknown beasts. Some of which matched descriptions in ancient texts, but hadn’t been seen in thousands of years. You could only assume that when the mummified man lifted the castle and his gloom infected the land, it had brought new enemies along with it as well.

Some of them were easier to handle than others. Certain camps of Bokoblins would have a bigger, meaner-looking Boss Bokoblin that tagged along with them. While their size was intimidating, they were just as stupid as their subordinates, and could easily be disposed of with a few well-timed hits. Flying monsters named Aerocudas soared through the air, and there had been multiple times where you’d been gliding and one had attempted to dive toward you. Luckily they seemed to be as weak as Keese were, a single arrow to the head being enough to take them down.

Your first encounter with an Evermean had given you quite a fright. You had been traveling south through Hyrule Field when a tree suddenly uprooted itself and began barreling toward you. After the initial scare, you were able to quickly fend it off by using fire fruit to light it ablaze. In many of the new caves lurked a new creature called Horriblins, gangly-looking beasts that crawled along the walls and would throw stones at you. They weren’t too smart either and their attacks could be easily dodged.

Not all the new foes were so simple, though. Disgusting things called Like Likes hung from the walls, their fleshy bodies could contort and their mouths would open to reveal several rows of teeth. They’d attempted to swallow you hole multiple times. The tricky part of fighting them was that you had to wait for them to reveal their weak point, a glowing orb in their mouths which acted as a tongue. Once that was struck you could get rid of them, they were more of an annoyance if anything.

When passing Lake Hylia you had taken a small glance at the long bridge and witnessed a new horror. It was a dragon- but it was nothing like the majestic creatures that flew in the skies. No, these were Gleeoks, multi-headed dragons that could spit flames, ice, or electricity. They were massive and terrifying, and you knew immediately that you would not take a chance getting near one until you had regained more of your strength.

Currently, you were just past Inogo Bridge, attempting to continue your journey to Zora’s Domain. At any other time, you may have paused at the bridge to fondly reminisce about when you’d first met Prince Sidon. When he’d leapt down and excitedly requested you aid his people in taming the Divine Beast. From the very start, he had been so charming.

However, you didn’t have time to reminisce- rather, you were currently staring at the river in disgust. The once pristine blue waters had turned to a gross, murky brown. Globules of the sludge were scattered about, blocking sections of the road and dripping down the side of the mountain range.

“Shit…” you grumbled, staring at the path before you, “how am I supposed to get through any of this?”

You make an attempt to carry on. You grimace as your boots sink into the muddy sludge, the substance slowing you down and inhibiting your ability to walk. ‘If I can just make it to the cliffs I can get enough of a vantage point to glide above the road,’ you think, trying to make a plan.

Just as you round the corner of the road and begin to walk uphill, there’s a sudden shriek.

It sends a shiver down your spine, freezing your blood in your veins and making you whip your head around in a frenzy. The screams persisted, causing your ears to ring in pain. ‘What is that-’ you attempt to question, but your eyes quickly find the answer.

In front of you, gloom begins to pour out of the ground. The mass of black and red swirls and bubbles, causing you to stumble backward in shock. You watch in horror as the gloom grows in size and something- no, multiple things begin to grow out of it. Long limbs, each taller than you, jut out of the gloom. You quickly recognize these as grotesque arms with hands as they continue to form.

Your heart pace had quickened. What were you even looking at? You had never seen anything like this before, not even during the Calamity when malice had infected the land. You attempt to take a quiet step back, thinking that you can get away without drawing their attention-

You thought wrong.

Each of the hands turns, and you realize they each possess a large eye in their palms. The eyes glow menacingly as they zero in on you, locking onto their target. There’s another shriek, this one loud enough that it feels like it blows out your ear drums. Then, they lunge.

You attempt to turn and run, your feet moving faster than your mind. But the sludge that covers the road slows you down. You’re entire body feels chilled, the hairs on the back of your neck standing up straight. Everything within you is willing you to run, to move, to sprint, anything-

There’s a tight grip around your waist and you’re yanked backward. You screech, kicking and fighting as the hand pulls you toward the puddle of gloom. You can feel the strength of your body slowly being leached away. You’re wide-eyed, feeling like an animal of prey caught in the maw of its predator.

The hand drops you and you scramble, attempting to crawl away to safety. Then another one grabs you- this time wrapping its fingers around your throat. You cry out as you’re slammed into the ground, your windpipe being squeezed of precious air. The rest of the hands wriggle and writhe, each of their bulbous eyes staring at you as you’re held captive against the dirt.

It was toying with you- as if sapping you of your energy and tossing you around was some kind of game. What in Hylia’s name was this thing? The sense of terror and doom it filled you with reminded you of Calamity Ganon- a beast you never wanted to remember again.

You’re panicked, your own hands clawing at the ground in an attempt to escape.

You’re frantic, eyes darting in all directions as you look for any means to assist you.

You’re desperate, every ounce of strength you’d worked so hard to regain is being stolen from you yet again.

The pain in your neck is impossible to ignore, the hand’s grip tightening more and more. Your nose flares, attempting to breathe- but it’s not possible with the way you’re being asphyxiated. You had to act, and it had to be now.

With a strangled grunt you lift your right arm, willing forward the power of Ultrahand. It begins to glow green and your eyes flicker about- looking for something, anything, which you could use to fend for yourself. There were some rocks scattered about the edge of the river, and though it wasn’t much you would have to make do.

The power surges in your arm as you try to focus on the rocks. Your arm shakes as you latch on, fingers outstretched. When you finally grasp the rock with your ability you scream, twisting your arm and launching the projectile directly at the hands. You manage to strike one in its eye and all the arms flinch in return- including the one that had its grip on your neck.

As soon as its hold loosens you scramble away, running on pure adrenaline as you head straight for the water. If you couldn’t run with the path blocked by sludge, you would have to swim instead. You drag your body to the water and submerge yourself, not caring about its state- you’d rather swim in a polluted river than be grabbed by one of those hands again.

You paddle away towards a rock that juts out in the center of the river, far enough from the shore to be out of their reach. The hands attempt to follow you but hiss as soon as they come close to water, shaking in anger. You watch as they stalk along the river’s edge before eventually, thankfully, they give up. The gloom dissipates. The hands are gone.

You greedily take in gulps of fresh air, raising a hand to touch your neck. The skin is tender, no doubt bruised after the encounter. That’s something you would have to worry about later. Warily you turn your head to look at the path in front of you once more.

‘I’ll need to find another way to get to Zora’s Domain.’

…

After some thought and planning, you decide that you’ll take a more roundabout approach to reaching the domain. You’d retraced your steps across the Inogo Bridge and headed north instead, deciding to hike up the side of the mountain. It would take you to Upland Zorona, and while more strenuous than walking, there was significantly less sludge blocking the way.

It took you a fair few hours to climb to the highlands, although your new Ascend ability was a massive help along the way. You also spotted another Skyview Tower atop the mountain. Getting more map data seemed like a rather good idea, you figured it would likely help you solve the problem with all this sludge.

Luckily scaling up this way also meant the amount of monsters you came across was minimal. A few Aerocuda had to be shot down and a handful of non-threatening Chuchus were easily sliced through. Nothing as horrific as those Gloom Hands. You wanted to keep it that way.

Finally, you reach the plateau of the highlands. You approach the tower, which seems to be surrounded by thick, muddy sludge. It was covering the door as well, which would prove to be a problem for you. You had no way of getting rid of it. Just as you approach the stairs to investigate, a feeble voice calls out.

“... help… please, help me…”

You whip around and search for the source. Your face drops when you realize that there’s a Zora trapped beneath the sludge, unable to move. But as you rush over to them you realize that you know that voice, and you recognize those dark grey scales.

“Bazz?” you ask, hurriedly rushing to his side, “Bazz, can you hear me?”

He attempts to lift his head but is unable to turn and look at you. He wheezes, voice weakened, “this filth fell upon me so suddenly… I could wash it away… if only I had some water…”

‘Water… where the hell do I get water,’ you think, trying to find a solution. You knew that if you kept walking through the highlands you would find Toto Lake, but there was no guarantee that the water would be clean. Besides, you didn’t want to leave him, every second he spent in the muck was another second he was being sapped of his energy.

As you look around for something, anything, that could help, a bushel of fruits catches your eye. A small plant that bore several odd-shaped fruits that were green and blue. You sprint over and grab one of these fruits, pulling it off the vine and shaking it gingerly. You could hear a sloshing sound from within the fruit as if it were full of… water.

You throw one to the ground experimentally and watch as it bursts into a wave of cool… refreshing… water!

“Bazz!” you call out, running back to the Zora captain, “Bazz, I’ve found something.” You lob another of the fruits on the ground beside him. The relief was palpable as it burst and washed away the mud that he was trapped beneath.

He slowly pulls himself up and off the ground, rising to a sitting position. You noticed that his scales were still stained by the brown filth of the sludge, but otherwise, he seemed like he was going to be alright.

“You saved me,” he says gratefully, chest rising as he struggles to breathe in, “how shameful that this should happen to me, captain of the guard. Unbelievable… after the Upheaval, all this filth suddenly began falling from the sky… it sullied the waters around here and in Zora’s Domain. Everyone is at their wit’s end because of it.”

He lifts a hand, carefully touching the gills on his side before he continues, “that is why I set out to investigate the surrounding area myself. To think I would fall prey to falling sludge myself… just thinking of it makes my scales bristle… my gills still feel so unclean. If you had not sprayed me with water, I shudder to think what would have happened to me…”

You offer him a smile, “well, I’m just glad I was able to get here on time. Will you be alright? Do you need my help to get back to the domain?”

The captain shakes his head, “no, no. I’ll just need a short break. I wasn’t trapped for very long, luckily.”

He looks up at you and you notice him hesitate before he speaks again, “... how have you been, Hylian?”

You know what he’s really asking about. He’s not wondering how you’re feeling today, he’s wondering how you’ve been holding up ever since the engagement. “Fine,” you answer, though you know it’s a lie, “I’ve been… fine. I’m more concerned about all of the Zora. I’ve come to help with this sludge problem.”

Bazz nods before suddenly jolting with a gasp, “this is going to be such a shock! Everyone thinks that you’re missing still- you must go and share the news right away! Oh, Prince Sidon will be so happy to hear- and the princess, is she alright?”

His smile fades when he notices your downcast expression. You shake your head, “no… Zelda is still missing. I… we are still looking for her.”

“I… see,” the captain mumbles, “well, in any case, it is good to know that you are safe. The domain will welcome you with open arms as always.”

This statement makes your heart swell with warmth. You give him a nod and a goodbye before turning your attention back to the Skyview Tower. With your newfound knowledge, you use one of the fruits, a splash fruit, to clear the sludge from the doorway.

Once you tap the Purah Pad to the pedestal you ready yourself for the launch. At exhilarating speeds you’re pushed up and into the sky. What immediately catches your attention is an array of large islands in the sky and the sludge that falls off the edge of them. No doubt, that is the source of the Zora’s predicament.

The tablet in your hands captures its new data, the screen showing you a new map of the region. Once the map is filled out you disconnect from the cord and pull out your paraglider, floating freely through the air. You set your sights on the domain and soar downwards, determined to solve the mystery of this phenomenon.

Once your boots land on the smooth floor of the Great Zora Bridge, you’re able to further assess the situation. Even the water which flows through the palace has been tarnished, polluted by the mud from the sky. The beautifully carved architecture of the domain is stained as well, just as Bazz’s scales had been.

As you approach the plaza you can see some Zora lingering, but not nearly as many that would usually be present. Guards lean against their spears, exhausted, and the children are nowhere to be seen. As you pass through the gateway you see a group of three Zora women who you did not recognize. They seem deep in a tense conversation.

“Ugh… I am so sorry,” one of the women, a Zora with deep burgundy scales, apologizes, “everyone has been treated now, but we have used up all of the splash fruit.”

The woman beside her, a Zora with violet scales, speaks up, “there were more injuries than anticipated. Please accept my apology…”

The third Zora, one with green scales whom the previous two were both facing, shakes her head politely, “you have nothing to apologize for. You did what had to be done. Most importantly, I am grateful that everyone is alright. Now, if we could only do something about that statue.”

The green Zora turns, and her eyes light up when she notices you standing there. You’re caught off guard momentarily, her golden jewelry and adornments immediately signifying she is someone of a higher ranking. Her features are kind and her long fins sway as she addresses you, “hmm? You there, are you a traveler? I am sorry that I did not notice you until now. I was focused on a matter of great importance. Zora’s Domain is in troubled times at present due to the sludge falling from the sky. Things have finally calmed down, at least for the moment. However, this palace remains covered in muck.”

She sighs gracefully as she turns to face the centerpiece of the plaza, “such a shame, as this particular statue is so incredibly important to the Zora of the domain. We were just discussing how we need to wash away the sludge. I apologize that I cannot provide a great deal of hospitality- but please, do make yourself at home here.”

You immediately notice that she speaks as if she’s not from here, talking about the local Zora as if they were a different group. This makes sense to you, as you’re certain you would remember having seen her before, with her uniquely shaped fins and accessories. A thought nags in the back of your mind… could she be…?

‘Now’s not the time to focus on that,’ you chastise yourself.

When you turn your attention to the statue you’re perplexed. Even when covered in sludge you could immediately tell that this was not the statue of Mipha that you were so accustomed to. It was taller at a different angle. Luckily, you’d pocketed some of the splash fruit from the highlands. You angle your arm and toss the fruit, watching it wash away the mud.

Admittedly, your jaw drops when the statue is revealed to you.

It’s an intricately carved depiction of the prince, his arms outstretched and his head held high. You cursed yourself for thinking that even in the form of stone he was undeniably handsome. That wasn’t all, however, because also carved into the stone was… you. Dressed in the Zora armor, riding on the back of the prince. No doubt the artwork was taking inspiration from when you and Sidon had worked together to stop the Divine Beast’s tantrum.

Your jaw tightens as you stare at it. This had to be some kind of a joke. A mockery. After everything you’d endured, you come back and you find this. A statue honoring the bond between you and a man who you weren’t even allowed to have- all because of an arranged marriage. You’re ashamed at the way it makes you seethe internally.

Behind you, one of the Zora women gasps, “the sludge!”

When you turn you see that it’s the woman with green scales. She excitedly walks over to you and beams, “I see you managed to wash it away! That statue is a symbol of hope for the Zora… it is very precious to us. Thank you so much for cleaning it up! In truth, that statue depicts the majestic forms of the pair who saved the cherished domain in the past.”

You smile, but in your mind, you want to do nothing more than slap yourself in the face. Of course, there was no ill intent behind the creation of the statue. The whole of the Zora people wouldn’t punish you in such a cruel way. You were simply projecting your insecurities.

The burgundy Zora grins, “that is right! Beloved Prince Sidon of the Zora and his very best friend… Lady _____, the heroic Hylian swordswoman!”

You can feel your entire body freeze up at the statement. None of the women seemed to have realized who you were yet- and in all honesty, you wanted to keep it that way. It was embarrassing enough to be staring at a statue of yourself. Not to mention, the words ‘best friend’ made you bristle and wince.

You’re almost surprised when you look at the green-scaled Zora and see the faint grimace on her face as well.

If the burgundy Zora notices your expressions, she doesn’t make mention of it, continuing to grin and clap her hands together, “it is simply wonderful, is it not? How I would love to meet her someday.” Her eyes focus on you and your shoulders tense as she examines you. “Say, you have a similar stature to the Hylian hero. Similar eyes as well… oh my, and you are also a Hylian… and you carry a sword…”

‘Oh no.’

She continues, eyes wide, “... wait. Could it be…”

Very hesitantly you raise your head and sheepishly smile. The three Zora seemed to be coming to the same conclusion, and there would be no use in hiding it. “Ah, yeah,” you mutter, crossing your arms, “that’s me. Hello.”

You had never felt so awkward in your entire life.

“You’re _____? The swordswoman of legend?!” she practically squeals.

The violet Zora clears her throat, narrowing her eyes at her companion, “ahem! Please remember to mind your manners, Chroma!”

The burgundy Zora, Chroma, bows her head, “oh! Um… please accept my apology.”

The green Zora nods her head, and in her eyes there’s a look of sympathy that you don’t quite understand. “Yes, please pardon our rudeness,” she nods, placing her palms together, “I am quite surprised to learn that you are the Hylian knight. I have heard mention of you nearly every day since I first arrived at this domain. I am…”

She hesitates. You can see her eyes dart away before she sighs and continues, “I am Prince Sidon’s fiance. My name is Yona.”

It takes all of your willpower to not visibly react to this information. You keep your mouth shut, lips pressed into a polite smile. She had to have known exactly who you are, exactly who you once were to Sidon. You couldn’t imagine the prince ever hiding that information from her.

“Ah,” you reply after a moment of tense silence, “it’s nice to meet you.”

“I am truly honored to have the opportunity to meet you,” she continues, “I had heard that you were missing along with Princess Zelda. If I may ask, what brings you here?”

There’s no point in keeping anything to yourself. You explain everything to the trio. The expedition beneath the castle, the mummified man, falling into the chasm. You detail your journey from the sky islands, to Lookout Landing, and now to the domain. The three women seem to be in awe of your story.

Yona shakes her head solemnly, “to think that such a thing took place beneath Hyrule Castle. And now you are traveling the kingdom to investigate.”

The violet Zora, who introduces herself as Khira, responds, “so your search for Princess Zelda is what brought you to this domain?”

Yona hums before saying, “in that case, feel free to investigate the area around the domain as thoroughly as you see fit. Oh! I have an idea! If you do not mind, I ask that you please go and meet with Sidon. I am certain that he would be delighted to see you. He can be found at Mipha Court, which is at the peak of Ploymus Mountain.”

You’re unsure how to respond. A voice in your head wants to say no, that you’re not ready to see him again. At the same time, there’s another voice, pleading to see the prince. You’re saved from having to speak up when Khira looks up instead.

“Lady Yona, it is time. I fear we must be going now,” she says.

Yona nods, casting one last look at you, “forgive me, _____, but I must be on my way. However, should you need anything during your stay, please do not hesitate to let me know. I am determined to be of assistance to you the best I can.”

You watch as she walks away, conflicted. You couldn’t bring yourself to be mad at her. You had once thought that if you should ever cross paths with Sidon’s fiance that you would be furious. But she was so kind, even before knowing exactly who you were. There was an undeniable pain in your heart as you’d conversed with her, however.

A pain that might never go away.

With a huff you turn and look up, eyes finding the peak of the mountain. The location of Mipha Court. The location of Prince Sidon.

You couldn’t run from your feelings forever. It was time to meet him again.

…

With no Zora armor, you were unable to swim up the waterfalls that surrounded the palace. You’d have to find a way to get to the mountaintop on foot instead. You were beginning to regret giving the armor back to the prince.

Luckily you had the travel point at the Skyview Tower. After teleporting there you’d been traversing along the highlands, fighting off Bokoblins and Lizalfos as you hiked to the peak. As you fended off these foes your mind was swirling with thoughts.

How were you going to greet him? How could you avoid a disastrous encounter? Do you pretend that nothing happened? Keep him at arm's length? Give him the cold shoulder? Every scenario you ran through in your head seemed awful.

By the time you were walking along the edge of Toto Lake, you were groaning to yourself. Every part of you was tense, nervously anticipating the conversation that was to come. Your thoughts were so loud in your mind that you almost didn’t hear a sputter from the lake.

You stop, staring at the murky water. A steady stream of sludge was falling from the sky above, keeping the lake thoroughly polluted. You stay quiet, ears strained to listen for the sound once more.

Something- no, someone, coughs from beneath the muck.

You quickly jump into action, wading through the water and searching for the source. “Hello? Hello!” you call out, “say something so I can find you, please!”

No response.

Your heart pounds in a panic. All you could see was mud and filth. You reach your arms into the sludge and reach around in a desperate attempt to find them. When you had found Bazz, he at least had enough of his face and gills exposed to be able to breathe. Whoever was stuck here was completely submerged.

When you’re unable to feel a body you begin to lob splash fruits. But it feels as if it’s in vain, for every mound of muck that’s removed, more sludge falls from the stream to replace it. “Please,” you say desperately, “please, who’s here- please-”

That’s when you spot it.

A small teal limb sticking out of the sludge.

You lunge forward and reach into the muck, grabbing onto the body. With all your might you heave backward, arms strained as you work against the strength of the sludge. You grit your teeth and pull harder and harder until suddenly the mud lets you go free.

With a yelp you fall backward into the shallow water, holding a frail body in your arms.

You look down and realize that you’re holding a young Zora, a little boy, with teal scales. He’s still covered in quite a bit of the sludge so you grab another splash fruit, breaking it and allowing it to wash the majority of the mud off of his body. This reveals a pattern of stripes along his long fin.

With a grunt you hoist him up and carry him to the edge of the lake, laying him down in the grass to further assess him. You press your ear to his chest and listen, sighing in relief when you hear his heartbeat. It’s faint, but it’s there. The boy breathes shallowly, face contorted into a look of pain.

You quickly realize why. There’s still sludge trapped in his gills- and you had no way of removing it without risking harming him.

‘Shit. I have no idea how long he was stuck there. Where are his parents? Is he poisoned- is he-’

There’s no time for questions. You need to find help and you have to go now. You lift the boy into your arms and begin to sprint. Luckily, even for a child, he’s rather small, if he could stand he’d likely be at about the height of your knee. You jog through the highlands, making a point of avoiding the scattered camps of enemies.

Your breathing quickens as you run up the slope to the mountain peak. Surely there must be someone who could aid you- a soldier- a nurse- a healer- anyone.

You cradle the boy to your chest. He was far too young for this- too young to suffer such a cruel fate. You had to cure him- you had to. “Help!” you yell as you approach the court, “help us! Please!” Your throat strains as you exert your vocal cords, but you couldn’t care less.

When you finally reach Mipha Court you don’t even have the chance to be stunned by the change of scenery. What was once a flat plateau, the home of a dangerous Lynel, was now a beautiful pond with a silver fountain. You immediately noticed the handful of Zora running to aid you, all clearly alerted by your screaming.

As you move forward to explain, that’s when you see him. Radiant red scales, glittering silver jewelry, golden-yellow eyes brimming with concern.

Prince Sidon.

~~~ <> ~~~

Here's a drawing I made of the young Zora boy so y'all can have a better idea of what he looks like (plus a doodle with Sidon for scale)!

The little Zora boy is going to become a recurring character, so I thought having a full design would help the readers imagine him better! He's teal (I thought it would compliment Sidon's red), and has design elements based on tiger sharks (his stripes) and reef sharks (the dark fin tips). I think he's a cutie :)

So! This was a lot for one chapter, sorry if it's overwhelming aha. We got Yona, the little Zora, and seeing Sidon again all in one go! Hope y'all enjoyed it tho :p

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[ladyrijus]

The vague time-skip between Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom is so interesting to me. People say it's been seven years as a homage to Ocarina of Time. Others say it's more like three to five.

Personally, I think it's a lot more, and the reason why, is because of 1) Purah's aging and 2) Link's "Tony Hawk" status.

Now, I get it, the two don't seem exactly related, but ask yourself this one question: How exactly did Purah age herself?

In Breath of the Wild, we learn through her diary that she tested the beta rune for anti-aging and it did its job a little too well. So well, that she considers making its counterpart, an aging rune. Notwithstanding all the ethical implications of age manipulation, Purah could have very well aged herself over the course of a few years, if we include the time it took to research the rune, plus the testing of its functionality.

But what if she didn't?

I know you're reading this with doubt. It's Purah. She's going to do it. Hear me out.

In her diary, Purah wrote that she had accidentally reversed 70 years of her life over one night. It led her to fear that she would become a newborn baby. She had every right to be scared. All that she has learned in her lifetime, gone, just like that. Can you imagine, then, how daunting the prospect of aging oneself would be? What if she accidentally aged too quickly, with a deteriorated mind that could no longer keep track of all that she has learned and discovered? Even worse, what if she goes too far and dies? The Sheikah are no exceptions to death. With anti-aging, the risk was having to relearn everything from birth. With aging, the risk is not being able to learn at all. Mad scientist that she is, she wouldn't take those chances. Even the strongest calculations would still show a margin of error that is too high to look over. She's not invincible.

So let her age naturally. What does that tell us?

Disregarding her mental age of 124 (the oldest of the Sheikah, ignoring all Sheikah monks), Purah was physically six years old in Breath of the Wild. If we assume her form in Tears of the Kingdom is equivalent to the form of her 24 year old self in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity...

18 years have passed.

There's a lot to be said about how Zelda and Link don't look like they've aged at all, but that's not the important part. The important part is that Link, Hero of the Wild, hasn't had to save the world in almost two decades. Look at yourself from eighteen, twenty years ago and look in the mirror. Do you recognize yourself? Maybe, maybe not. But the differences are striking, aren't they?

I think that's it. That's why the people of Hyrule don't recognize him.

[legendofzoodles]

Flora is feral 

The Sheikah researchers have this mad lab scientist thing going on, but Flora is an unhinged field work scientist. 

Before the Calamity she was out there making her appointed knight try to eat a live frog, like it was a completely ok thing to do. We’re not shown what happened after that so either she gave up, Wild gave in and ate it or Flora doubled down and ate it herself. 

She’s the type to have no chill when it comes to research, with the dedication to be out in Hyrule Field at the ass-crack of dawn, wading through tall grass and flinging a net around to catch summerwing butterflies.

I had this image of her attendants standing by with towels as she emerges fully clothed from Lake Nabi holding a single Hyrule Bass and starts writing on her clipboard while muttering about a sudden boom in the population. 

Post-calamity Flora would be an entire force of nature. 

I’d like to think that before all of Hyrule is noted of her return there would just be multiple sightings of her doing weird shit in the wild and she’d become somewhat of a mythical creature. Like a Rito seeing her in an unnatural and high position atop a cliff taking pictures of mountain goats only for them to circle back and find she’s disappeared. 

Adding the fact that she’s technically over 100 years old would make her a certified cryptid. A feral scientist, with a hundred years worth of theories to explore. 

[skyward-floored]

BOTW DARK LINK AU????? iam looking at you so intently right now that sounds awesome

*shuffles feet* it’s pretty self-indulgent... plus it’s botw aftermath but I thought it up before totk was even announced so it probably doesn’t even make sense anymore which is why it’s an AU and there’s a billion botw AUs out there and in comparison mine seems dumb but I’ll shut up now because I’m rambling.

I assume you uh, wanna know what the gist of it is 😅

So yeah. It plays a lot into how some of the Yiga are just as interested in the old Sheikah tech as the Sheikah are, and during botw, after repeated assassins fail to kill Link, and Link kills Master Kogha, they realize that the only thing strong enough to get rid of the Hero is... himself. This theory is only strengthened after Link kills Calamity Ganon, so the handful of Yiga scientist people get to work on their Ultimate Link-Killing-Machine.

So they get ready, they’re all prepared, they steal some of Link’s blood and use a mix of dark magic and technology to make a dark Link to go after and kill Link, but... due to circumstances, Zelda’s dormant magic gets mixed up in things, and the Yiga really aren’t the greatest at technology, so the clone they make ends up being sort of sickly, and kind of... not a mindless killing machine. Pretty innocent and sweet actually.

So they decide to start over and get rid of him, except Link happens to be in the right place and right time and saves him because this guy has his face??? That’s weird???

And they’re buddies and there’s a whole quest thing and Dusk (that’s the clone’s name eventually) has both malice and goddess magic making him up so he’s kinda unstable and the malice could take him over if they don’t find a way to purify him so yeah. It’s a fun time

[mistresslrigtar]

I have seen tons of posts about how united Hyrule seems to be be in TotK, and supportive of Link’s endeavors. And I can sort of get behind it, but there is also an almost lackadaisical feel to the NPCs. The castle is floating in the sky and they know something catastrophic has happened, but none of them really seem all too bothered by it. They all are going about their business, like pieces of rock aren’t constantly falling from the sky and could crush them at any minute.

They are all somewhat sympathetic to Link’s plight, but at the same time all of them tell him they are simply too busy with their own problems to really help. but they have extreme confidence in his abilities and know he can do it.

Everybody has the “You’ve got this!” Link attitude, now please go deal with your demons somewhere else while I do my laundry or run for mayor.

Purah practically tells him - “Zelda is in the castle, but I am too busy doing my own thing, so go do what you do best Link. You’re the only one who can get into the castle anyway.” Top Sheikah scientist and she can’t figure out how to get to the castle….

Nobody seems all too worried about Link or Zelda and that makes my heart hurt for the both of them. It’s no wonder all Link can focus on is rescuing her because she’s truly all he has left. Nobody else seems to even give a damn.

Just my ramblings on a Sunday morning after completing the Regional Phenomena main quest and feeling like Link did all this work helping everyone else out, but no one can take the time to show him the same consideration.