#the one who told of the return of Calamity Ganon

[soniclozdplove]

Another mini theory I have

Remember how the original events of BOTW pre-calamity were kicked off by an unnamed prophet telling the King of Hyrule that the Calamity sealed 10,000 years ago would be released? Well, guess who just so happens to be present 10,000 years ago and went around telling all the Sages an enemy that they'd just fought a war against to seal away would be released in 10,000 years only to be fought back by a swordsman named Link. Zelda. I don't think we ever really were told it was Rhoam who was told the prophecy and 10,000 years is a long time for a prophecy given by word of mouth to be distorted into a completely different form...

[weepingtalecowboy]

Fanfic prompt: the blood moon rises but unfortunately shadow and the chain miss each other by a day

So he gets left behind in Wild's Hyrule gets in a fight with a hinox

And the Yiga hear of a massive explosion in a forest and immediately go there in case the hero is there

But instead they find a toddler who has absolutely no trouble with massacring the hinox population (because the blood moon brings back monsters stronger and that would apply to shadow)

The Yiga soldier decides that he will be smart that one time and retreats to tell his master about the situation

And kohga gets interested because another hero has appeared

From nowhere and he is all by himself with the other heroes missing

Then he decides to make a grand entrance

But then regrets it because that darkness coming off the kid

Is a sort of darkness he has only experienced once before

The day he encountered the calamity In all its glory

With the calamity gone nothing should have such powers anymore

Whoever that child was he was the closest thing to the calamity in decades (blood moon aside)

So the entire Yiga clan immediately starts warshipping shadow and invite him to their humble hideout

And shadow decides that they are definitely evil but also if Vio managed to play the role of a villain then he could do it even better

And makes it his mission to be the best overlord they could have ever had and give those weirdos a redemption arc

But quickly sidetrackes when he finds out that he is at full power

The Yiga see their new lord pull out a bomb and bomb an entire crater in the desert

When he shapeshiftes into a perfect replica of kohga and crawls up a wall with shadow power

They quickly learn that he very well could be the next calamity

They then at some point awkwardly ask him where he got such power

When he told them that he is ganon's secret love child

They don’t even doubt it and change their suits to purple

The races of Hyrule main while are in genuine fear because the Gerudo heard a massive explosion in the Yiga's hideout

The Yiga stopped eating bananas and began Making evil root beer (?)

And the hinox population has moved to the desert

And they are wearing purple

So obviously the world is ending

When the chain appears back they hear that the calamity returned from the dead and is causing massive destruction but most importantly the chain sees the entire world think that the world is ending

Just because the Yiga stopped eating bananas

And arm themselves for the apocalypse and the potential end of the world

Because what did dink do to make the Yiga willing to drop their addiction

When it turns out to be shadow four was ready to hit him for the stunt

[ganondoodle]

still thinking about how even just the decision to basically act like the shiekah tech never existed is just ... so baffling to me

bc again you could have done all the sonau tech does with shiekah instead, and they were perfect to be explored more in a sequel, why wouldnt you grasp that potential, the literal building blocks for more??

if you are that tired of shiekah tech .. dont make it a fuckign sequel to the game prominently featuring it???? totk doesnt take place generations after botw in which things could have changed drastically, its just a few years afterwards??

you want to reuse the map and get rid of shiekah tech? ok fine take LINK into the past then and the focus is for you to find a way to return; do some neat twist where its revealed that link was the one who sealed gan bc he couldnt defeat him without zelda or something if you dare (they wouldnt)

want less work than that and still reuse the map and get rid of shiekah tech AND reuse characters? ok then make it some alternate universe thingy like majoras mask in which everythign is the same but also isnt, its weird and creepy how characters you thoguht you knew suddendly dont act like themselves, shiekah tech doesnt exist, malice is now miasma, etc, it would give reason to why you feel so much like something about this world is familiar yet also very wrong

as far as im aware every "sequel" we have had so far were either generations apart from the first one, some alternate universe or a different location altogether- in all of which its plausible that things are different, things seem weirdly familiar but also wrong, or that another continent just works different from hyrule

but totk does none of that, its supposedly just a few years after the first game, same world same character, but its BUILT like some strange jumbled mess of stuff from botw and new stuff out of nowhere that just .. doesnt fit, but feeling a strange sense of otherness, a déja vu of something you know but it acts off, like an imposter, thats NOT intentional and it shows, its a mess of botw stuff, from stuff that people missed from the old games and entirely new stuff; i dont doubt it CAN work but the way it turned out is like a mix of 3 different puzzles forced together and being told 'see it fits!' even tho you can clearly see the pieces dont look right in these places

again it feels like a sequel that desperately wants you to forget the first game happened, that anythign from it mattered at all

and that isnt really ... the sense of a sequel? why insist on it being one when it only creates problems? is it marketing?? just like it was marketing to call age of calamity a telling of what happened before botw but then it wasnt that at all and that is still the sole reason why i dislike it? bc i was lied to? totk is like 10000 times worse than that, its a main title and doesnt even have the excuse of yeah its basically an excuse to play all your fav characters in fun ways and the game beign well aware that being its main appeal; what is totk appeal? a toybox with botw aestethic and none of the flavor?

(on a sidenote; the sonau tech doesnt even .. matter? in botw at least calamity ganon was made of shiekah tech parts and him overtaking other tech is a big point, the sonau tech doesnt serve anything but .. idk minerus useless mech? gan doesnt even aknowledge it, he doesnt care, all it is is toys for the player, not link, but the player. the monsters mining the tech materials? what for? gan doesnt give a damn and they dont work for the yiga either??)

i said it before but it gives me the feeling that the way botw invited you to theorize, to look beneath the surface, the way it intrigued you and laid the groundwork for so many interesting things without denying anything.. was accidental? or perhaps put in the game without the directors noticing? i cant stop thinking about them saying sth like "after botw zelda wondered if the kingdom of hyrule needed to keep existing the way it had been before the calamity, but then totk happens" bc it just feels like they realized too late that botw naturally led into questioning the status quo and they scrambled to fit it back into a flat and boring road we have seen so many times before (or even worse really) with totk

zeldas character naturally leads into her questioning and reexamine their history and set of rules? we gotta teach her a lesson of why she is importante god given monarchy girl that has to keep it bc what if evil brown man shows up again for no reason

maybe im grasping at straws here but looking at it this way the sonau .. make more "sense"; the shiekah were a group that was under the rule of the royal family, and misstreated before (oh no look soemthing interesting) so they dont lend themselves well to be used for teaching zelda that lesson- the sonau however are tailored really to be just that; they are a supposedly godly race from the literal sky that founded this version of hyrule, that had tech even more advanced and better than the shiekah, she gets put in the past to meet the perfect god king of goodness personally, also his very fridgy wifey that zelda later replaces in a way, shes put there and treated like family and then gets to see just how evil that evil big man from the desert is, sonia is falcon-punched to death solely so zelda can feel obligated to take over her role, have her new, better 'family' hurt by gan; similarly so raurus sacrifice, look what a noble and good king he is, he payed the ultimate price to lock that evil man away, now zelda you cannot let their sacrifice go to waste, rebuild that divinely good kingdom like it was!!

and even though they go so much out of their way to put the cart back onto the rails of black and white-good and evil in an even flatter way than the old games, it still doesnt feel right, at least to me, it still feels like zelda shouldnt have gone along with all of that, it feels like even her character from botw was walked back entirely, except for the intro, it made her feel like a stranger to me-

because this is a sequel, i know this zelda, she wouldnt act like that after all that shes been through, this feels ... off

and it all just insulting to anyone who cared about botw more than surface level, or the zelda lore in general, i dont even care much about the timeline, but theres alot of lore and themes beyond it that felt ignored, especially so given that .. its a damn sequel, non AU, not generations apart, directly part 2-

but its not.

it even feels very "corporate", put zelda in a dress again, people liked that, put crazy abilities in the game to flashbang people with how insane it is even if its not the best for the gameplay or the story, put a new asthetic into it out of nowhere bc its 'new' and act like its been there the whole time, put gan in there bc people miss him and find him sexy even if his role is just as flat as that of an evil cloud monster-

*sigh*

you know, i saw a post that said aoc was like a bad fanfic (affectionate) and totk was like a bad fanfic (derogatory) and tbh thats like one of the best comparisons/summaries i have seen ..

[butterpony100]

Ok ok listen

I love sidlink

But I also love Yona

The solution: Poly.

AU TIME BABYYY

It’s mentioned that Link and his father visited zoras domain previously when he was younger. The gist of this au is that around that time, Yona was also visiting the domain and meeting sidon for the first time, and the two would be told about how they would get married one day. Well I think the two of them absolutely clashed on their first meeting, with Sidon being reckless and a bit slow witted while Yona being a lot more careful and forward thinking. Then they both individually meet a tiny link in their own circumstances and, like kids do, both declared that they wanted to marry link instead. All of the adults were like “ehhhhh age difference makes this hella weird” so they convince the kids to instead make promises bracelets to signify “friendship”. The lil bracelets are styled like normal zora jewelry with a scale from both sidon and Yona, along with a sapphire to signify link. They keep in touch and get along well over the years until the calamity and Yona and Sidon never actually find out what happened to link. After a while, they both forget his face and name, with only the gem on their bracelets to show that they had another part of them. When link wakes up, Zelda was forward thinking enough to leave the bracelet with his belongings in the shrine of resurrection since ya gurl knew how important it was to him (zelda is aroace fight me on this if you dare) when he wakes up he knows the bracelet is important but just can’t remember what for. He wears it anyway. Eventually he arrived at zoras domain on his quest for the divine beasts. Sidon vaugly recognized him, but didn’t mention anything until his father confirmed it. He was originally excited until learning of links amnesia. Obvi he’s disappointed, but he hopes that links journey across hyrule and meeting with the champions would help restore him memories. He leave link with a kiss on the forehead as a promise and a prayer for the three of them to be together again. After link leaves, Sidon obviously sends for Yona who had about the same reaction. Link continues his journey slowly regaining his memories until ganon is finally defeated. There, meeting with zelda again and the darkness over hyrule finally being cleaned, a lot of his memories return to him. Ofc he spends time helping zelda get adjusted but the moment he has some free time, zelda turns around and is like “look, I know for a fact your dying not go see your boyfriend and girlfriend, I survived in that castle alone for a hundred years, I can last like a week.” (Zelda is the goat). And then link giddyly hops on a horse and heads to the domain where he reunited with Yona and sidon. From there they re-establish their relationship and over the 7ish time skip between BOTW and TOTK, they all get engaged. (And then TOTK happens uhoh) AND THATS ALL I GOT RN SORRY FOR THE ESSAY OF G A Y

[yanderes-galore]

I'd like to request a romantic concept for Zelda from BOTW if that's okay!

At first I was stuck on how to do this but I think I have an idea after some research! This takes place before Calamity Ganon returns.

Wrote this late at night as I could not sleep so I apologize for errors! (Nothing's wrong I just took a nap mid-way through the day and my sleep schedule broke)

Yandere! Princess Zelda (BOTW) Concept

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Unrequited love, Fear of loss, Angst, Manipulation, Overprotective behavior, Abuse of power, Trauma, Minor jealousy mention, Isolation, Dubious relationship.

Zelda's story is a tragic one.

From a young age she was told her destiny.

She's meant to awaken her sealing powers to seal away the Calamity.

She's never wanted this destiny but she cannot fight it.

Despite this she occupies her time with research.

She researches how to use ancient technology to help fight Ganon, she puts together her Champions, she's even appointed Link as her night.

BOTW Zelda as a yandere has so much angst potential I've noticed.

She's shown in memories to be frustrated with herself and those around her as she's scared of failure.

She doesn't like that she can't awaken her powers.

She always fears the worst... especially with the incoming evil.

She most likely met you when she was young.

You were both friends at a young age... even before she had to commit to her destiny.

Zelda always thought of the warm moments you'd spend together and holds you in high regard.

You were someone she could run to if she didn't want to face her responsibilities.

You're always one to give her comfort, even now when she's in distress.

You supported her research and often did what you could to help.

Simply being someone Zelda can turn to, a childhood friend that manages to soothe her worries, is enough to make Zelda hold you close to her heart.

I imagine Zelda would've fallen for you a long time ago.

She's just never had time to properly tell her feelings to you.

She always drowned herself in research and prayer.

Zelda isn't a very violent yandere either.

I imagine her being a very quiet yandere for the most part.

She is observant of what you do and what others around you do.

While she is nervous to tell you how she feels due to the stress she's going through, she doesn't like the idea of letting you go either.

Zelda often has you accompany her on research trips.

She loves hearing your voice as she snaps pictures and does tests.

Occasionally Link accompanies you both for protection.

Zelda often asks how your life has been while she toils away for destiny.

She listens carefully to see if you're interested in anyone.

If she notices someone sounds too close to you, she does some planning behind your back to distance them from you.

It's selfish but she feels she wants to reserve a spot for being your girlfriend.

Even if she can't confess now.

You can almost notice the distaste in Zelda's tone when you admit you're closer "than you should be" to someone.

"Oh, I see... how nice."

Zelda is envious of anyone who is close to you.

She wants nothing more than to confess her love to you.

She wants to make wonderful memories with you... yet she has to worry about awakening her powers.

Honestly, the fear of Ganon may make Zelda's obsession worse.

As the days tick down she begins to feel like a failure.

She begins to lose hope and fears the worst.

Even more so when she thinks of you.

She wants to protect you from Ganon.

She feels if she doesn't... she could lose you forever.

Before she even gets to confess.

Honestly the fear itself may push Zelda to confront you.

You notice how she looks nervous on one of your research trips but think it's just because of her destiny.

The princess may then pull you aside and tell you how she feels.

She loves you... has for a long time.

She wanted to tell you now as she was worried she may never be able to.

You most likely may say yes to her confession.

You've known her for a long time and trust her.

It's then Zelda allows her actions to vent her worries.

It's then she allows herself to hold you and kiss you.

She feels more grounded and safe when you're in her arms.

She still worries for Ganon's return, yet she's happy she at least said something.

By this logic she should be able to awaken her divine powers now.

Yet this doesn't happen until later.

Your relationship is a bit messy due to Zelda's anxiety.

She still has to prepare to defend Hyrule... and now she feels she needs to find a way to protect you.

She hopes her powers awaken yet she also feels she should appoint someone to watch over you.

Zelda is a very protective yandere, especially due to her role.

So much could go wrong... she wants to be prepared.

When she's stressed she pulls you into private to lay in your embrace.

She keeps her feelings private from her father and focuses on you.

Now here's the angst....

You know what would really break her?

In the game we can see she found her powers due to her love for Link and did everything she could to protect him.

When Calamity Ganon awakens and your life is threatened.

Perhaps even to near death like Link.

She'd want to do the same with you.

When her plan starts failing, she never leaves your side.

She asks Link to protect you too and plans on the go.

Things go wrong when the Divine Beasts go rogue... the Guardians grow corrupted... and Hyrule begins to fall.

Her home collapses around her and all she feels she wants to do is keep you safe.

This may seem unrealistic but Zelda would want to look for a way to keep you protected after Link falls in battle.

Fi has already told her to put Link in the Shrine of Resurrection.

Maybe Fi senses the care the princess also holds for you.

It's much stronger... and intense with different motives.

Perhaps Fi tells Zelda there's a way to seal you away until Link returns?

Zelda would definitely try to convince you to allow this.

The princess promises she just wants you safe, she fears she'll lose you... so sealing you away would be the best way to do so.

Zelda understands you're scared.

But it's either this or you die.

Zelda wouldn't be able to continue on if you died.

If she let you die....

Even if you resisted Zelda would still find a way.

This isn't in canon but imagine if there was some sort of spell or other shrine Zelda could bring you to in order to seal you away.

Honestly even if you weren't together she'd still do this.

Zelda is a very soft yandere.

She'll manipulate others away from you but still cares for your safety and happiness.

She'd lock you away for your own safety no matter if you wanted it or not.

The idea of locking you in a safe space brings her comfort and a sick feeling of... ownership?

She feels happy knowing nothing can take you from her.

She'll have you locked away in safety while she holds Ganon off until Link saves Hyrule.

It brings her some sort of comfort to know you'll be untouched.

Then there's after the day is saved.

I won't go too into this as we may be getting into TOTK territory with this but...

Zelda may have some trauma after BOTW due to the past 100 years.

Her obsession may get worse once she sees you outside the shrine/spell bound area she put you in.

By this point she'll never want to leave your side again.

When Hyrule castle is rebuilt she may just lock you away again.

She felt so much more at ease at the thought of nothing coming into contact with you.

Zelda is a yandere who gets worse by trauma.

By the end of BOTW she thinks locking you up will ease her anxiety.

Locked away she can freely kiss and hold you... and you'll be safe.

After BOTW... your girlfriend has changed.

She thinks you'll be better off as a prisoner in some fancy yet comfortable room.

A pretty cage is still a cage...

But to Princess Zelda... it's a sanctuary made with love for her dearest to be kept safe.

"We've been through so much already, haven't we? I promise I'm just taking care of you like I did a century ago."

[mistresslrigtar]

DTIYS for @bahbahhh's 1200 follower prompt

As always, there's a song that inspires my writing. Today I share an oldie, but what a goodie.

Where Do I Begin - love theme from "Love Story"

Where should I begin? 

The story of our love is older than the Calamity. My memories of when we first met are foggy at best, but it wasn't pleasant from what she related to me. She told me once my silence drove her crazy, and apparently, my excuse was that wielding the Master Sword was the root cause of my quietude. I was a liar. That may have been the reason before she entered my life, but if she had any effect on me then as she does now, the truth is, she left me tongue-tied. I must have known then what I know now, that she was the only one for me. 

Sometimes, I imagine those star-crossed lovers felt as I do now when they realized their time was running out. 

Does it seem strange to you for me to think of them as entirely different people? It shouldn’t. Neither one of us was the same after one hundred years. I had no memories save the ones she spoon-fed me, and she was no longer the naive girl who had held Calamity Ganon at bay, waiting for me to awaken.

Ah, that’s difficult to think about. 

The guilt that consumes me knowing I wasn’t strong enough to save her then or now, is insurmountable. She’d had to fight alone. All those naysayers, including her father, who belittled her, were proven wrong. Without her, Hyrule would have fallen one hundred-ten years ago. Without her, Hyrule would have collapsed when Ganondorf returned from the dead. 

Without her, I’m nothing. 

People call me the savior of Hyrule when, in all honesty, I had very little to do with it. Hyrule’s salvation floats, unseen above our heads, endlessly circling, searching for what she’s misplaced. 

Something of her spirit must remain. I refuse to believe Mineru’s last words, that my Zelda’s mind and soul are forfeit to the cosmos. If that were so, she’d never have swooped in and saved me from the jaws of the Demon Dragon.

Why’d we go beneath the castle? 

If I could take it all back, would I, knowing what waited in the depths? Perhaps we could have lived to the end of our days in blissful ignorance. Had the children we’d only just begun to talk and dream about. We deserved that, didn’t we? We’d already sacrificed twice for Hyrule. 

This isn’t how it was supposed to end. 

I try not to curse Hylia, but my heart has hardened, and faith seems unobtainable. Zelda wouldn’t like knowing I feel this way. She’d had faith I’d save Hyrule and had sacrificed her mortal soul to ensure my success. 

I had faith—in her. Now, I’m lost in a void of moments when we lived and loved for a brief while. How can I move on? When all the best of me was lost when she sacrificed her beautiful soul in the hope that I’d triumph. 

The cost was too steep, Zelda.

It’s been over five years since she fell into the chasm, disappearing in the blink of an eye. I never saw her again, the love of my life and my only reason for being. I can’t escape her memory. Her ghost remains everywhere I go, to haunt me by day and my dreams by night.

I can’t stand to linger in Hateno longer than necessary and never set foot in the house. It takes all my willpower to descend the ladder to her well to collect the few brightblooms that sprout there. 

The home I began building in Akkala (back when I still had some hope that she’d return to me) is a complete lost cause. I haven’t visited there since the end. Seeing the empty study and gallery I built for her is too much to bear. The last letter from Hudson asked what I intended to do with the home. I told him to repurpose it into a school for Tarrytown. 

She’d like that.

Shielding my eyes, I look to the sky in search of her. There she is–the Light Dragon. She drifts above me, her legs endlessly swimming in the air, and the crystal green eyes I love so much gaze back at me.  

She’s still the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen, and I’ll always love her whether she’s a human or a wyrm. There’s an old song that asks the question, how long can love last and be measured? Surely not by the hours in a day or a lifetime even. My devotion to her transcends time, space, and physical form. I’ll chase her, search for her, and cherish my Zelda until the stars burn away. 

It’s my turn to rescue her, even if that means I die trying. I’ve scoured all of Hyrule and the Sky Islands, searching for a way to reverse her terrible fate. There’s only one more place that remains. If the answer to the riddle of how to save her is anywhere, it’ll be in the depths.

I’ll spend the remainder of my days searching for a way to save her. Because in the end, it’s always only been for her.

“Link!” Tulin’s voice, carried by the wind, breaks my reverie. 

Glancing over my shoulder, I see he’s heading toward me. He nearly knocks us down with a bear hug when we collide. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him, and as he backs away, I realize he’s as tall as me. 

He sees that I’ve noticed and smiles, turning his head. “Check this out! My braid is long. Kind of like yours. Looks cool, right?”

Yeah, it does, Tulin. He reminds me so much of Revali without any of the pomposity.

He’s the one I’ll miss the most and who will understand the least why I have to go. He’ll want to follow me if I tell him, and I can’t have that. He belongs here, in the sky, touched by the sun and moon. I can see his future, and it’s bright. 

Before I go, I must spend these last few days with him, building brotherly camaraderie and making memories. Hopefully, he’ll fondly reflect on our time together and forgive me for leaving. 

Pulling out my paraglider, I put on a happy face for him. 

Race you!

[izunias-meme-hole]

Can we just talk about Ganon in the Era of Wilds? Primarily his surprisingly large presence in all three of the games in this era.

Okay first off, we have this thing.

This is the first time Ganon has been mentioned in this era, and its as a rage beast. Aside from that, Calamity Ganon basically won in BoTW and while it isn’t actively chasing Link, its monsters and malice are spread across the entire land, the Blights, literally extensions of itself, guarded the divine beasts, and it also had a dragon under its control by just infecting it with malice. As for its origins, its hinted and established that this thing WAS a man before it just became a force of nature. So yeah, this thing has an unbelievable amount of presence, but it never once felt like a fully functional creature. It just felt like a desire to destroy Hyrule with no ambitions.

As for Age of Calamity and its altered timeline, Calamity Ganon was stationary, due to lacking its full power after a piece of it time traveled with a guardian, but it had an agent if it’s will.

Astor is supposedly the oracle who told the Kingdom of Hyrule that Calamity Ganon would return in BoTW, and he’s also a servant of Ganon’s will for one reason alone; the power that comes with it. Astor was doing all that he could to ensure his “Masters” return thoughout this entire game, even going as far as manipulating the Yiga. And he did all of this, thinking that he would have a place at his side. Oh how wrong he was…

Calamity Ganon this time around is actually being a manipulative entity, preying on Astor’s detication to him, and his desire for power. Once that was done, it literally ate him and returned in a more humanoid form than before.

Despite not having a more physical presence than it did before, the entire story revolves around preventing its return and a terrible future, and it sees Astor as a way to ensure that EVERYONE dies this time. Still, despite being less of a beast in this game, Calamity Ganon still doesn’t reach an all time high as a villain, primarily because it still is just rage and desire to destroy.

So far, Calamity Ganon, while lacking in any type of personality, it so far has a large presence in both games. But what if I were to tell you that this thing was a small part of a greater power that has been sealed away for generations?

Surprised? Well, then let me introduce you to the overarching antagonist of this entire trilogy.

Meet Ganondorf Dragmire I, Gerudo King turned Demon King during Hyrule’s Founding, the first canonical incarnation of Demise’s hatred, and the origin of The Calamity.

Despite being a recently introduced incarnation of Ganondorf, he somehow manages to weave himself into the narrative of this game and the previous two so well. He’s been sealed away by King Rauru underneath Hyrule Castle for literally generations after his attempt to destroy Hyrule and rule a hellish “survival of the fittest” landscape built on its ashes. Still, as the years went by, his power slowly leaked out of the seal and somehow formed Calamity Ganon, which acted upon his desire to destroy Hyrule and none of his other ambitions. In other words, The Great Calamity was indeed nothing more than the rage and power of this old corpse, and Ganondorf himself was literally a vegetable, only being kept alive via his own Malice, which eventually converted into its more controlled state, Gloom, once the seal on his power began to break.

Then we enter Tears of The Kingdom the exact moment he is revived. Then within seconds he destroys the Master Sword and nearly kills Link with the Gloom, and throughout the entire game he’s busy rehydrating underground in an ecosystem made of Gloom, while also being active through a copy of Zelda, several monsters, and literal copies of himself that scout the area as HANDS with EYEBALLS that will DRAIN the life outta you.

Y’hear that? THESE THINGS COVER THE LAND!!

Ganondorf’s presence as just himself is a step up from Calamity Ganon, yet it also hammers in that Calamity Ganon was just a mere piece, and extension, of Ganondorf rather than the real deal. The writers pulled a Vecna on everyone by establishing this.

TL;DR: BoTW and AoC basically introduced a mindless beast, dropping bits and pieces of its origin, and then ToTK fully introduced the man behind that this beast.

I hope that I’m explaining my thoughts clearly on this matter, because holy shit Ganon’s been around 24/7 this time without actually going anywhere!

[master-kohga-dating-sim]

Faces Of Eons

more for Sakiru, this is kind of a follow up to Return. here we have Sakiru meeting the main silly guys of the AU :3

(for @bugger-loz's dungeon boss AU, Dark Disciples)

Word count: 1268 Characters: Sakiru, Astor, Original characters (the blights and temple bosses), Kohga and Sooga (briefly) Warnings: None

The four stood there in silence, facing Sakiru and the apostle with exaggerated expressions ranging from bewilderment to annoyance. Not knowing what to say, Sakiru stood there and studied their features.

There weren't many collective similarities between them. They were all different shapes and species- a thin and lanky gerudo who appeared to be a man, A built and stocky goron, a tall-statured zora, and a barrel-chested rito. All of them were flicking their eyes between Sakiru and the robed man.

After a minute of silence, the apostle spoke. “I told you that the Demon King’s alchemist turned himself into a construct.”

“I… guess that is a construct… but you at least could’ve told us what that meant! We weren’t exactly expecting a full on robot, ya know?” “What were you expecting?” He threw their hands in the air. “I don’t know, but it damn well wasn’t that!”

The apostle sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Enough. The point is that he’s here now. You may call him Sakiru. That was the name that he took in life.”

“Sakiru,” The rito murmured under his breath.

The apostle turned his head to Sakiru. “I wanted you to meet these people. These are the ones who call themselves The Blights, followers of Calamity Ganon. Each of them serve as their respective element.”

He gestured to all of them, one by one. First the gerudo. “Raedihn is the blight of thunder.” The rito. “Thyelli is the blight of the winds.” The zora. “Ahvesus is the blight of the waters.” The goron. “And finally, Kohlasi is the blight of fire.” He crossed his arm over his chest and bowed. “I am the prophet of doom. You may call me Astor.”

Sakiru looked from Astor to the blights. “...That’s not all of them. What do you mean?”

Astor stood up from his bow, masking his confusion with false confidence. “I assure you, that is all four of them. Each counteracts a certain person, a general in our enemy’s army. Every single one is accounted for.”

“But what of light? What of spirit?”

A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, but he still kept some of that confusion. “You’ve been down there quite a while, you must not be up to speed. There is no ‘spirit’ that you speak of. The light, Princess Zelda, is opposed by the calamity itself.”

Before Sakiru could ask any questions, Ahvesus cut through with a sarcastic laugh. “Look, prophecy man. We don’t have all day. This isn’t exactly, you know, time for a little history lesson.” They hissed that part through gritted teeth. “So can we please get to the point?”

Astor nodded. “Of course. Right this way, Sakiru.”

He opened the wooden doors and let them out. The quiet of the room they were in seemed infectious, the bustle of the outside going silent in nearly a second. The strange masked men clothed in red suits stared at them and shuffled out of their way to clear a path.

While they walked, Sakiru perked his mechanical ears up. He noticed two men in the crowd: one of them significantly taller than the rest of them, the other jumping around and waving his arms in the air. “Sooga, lift me up! I wanna see em!”

The tall man named Sooga picked him up by the armpits and lifted him to about the height of his chest. The other man, wearing a more extravagant mask and noticeably more stout than the others, put a hand at his forehead to shield his eyes from sunlight that wasn’t in the underground hideout. “Woah! What in Ganon’s name is that? Is that the alchemist guy that Astor was talking about?”

The man stopped speaking and demanded to be let down when Sakiru looked at him. Before he could fully squirm out of his position, they entered the next room.

Just like the one that they met in, this room had no masked men in it. There were three mounds of blankets and cushions, along with a wooden tub of water clearly separated from the fabrics. As they walked in, Astor jingled the jewelry in his hair.

The four beings in the room perked up, intrigued by the noise. They were… babies. A gerudo girl, a goron pebble, a zora fry, and a rito hatchling. They crawled a little closer to Sakiru. Fascinated, but wary of danger.

The Blights looked at each other and waited for one of them to say something. Thyelli took that responsibility. “...These are our children,” she said. “Moruka, Gohrra, Gyba, and my son, Colgheri. You… can imagine why this is so important to us.”

“I see…” Sakiru rasped as he kneeled down. Gyba got a little closer and reached out. Her little fingers grasped one of the zonaite prongs at the end of his arm. She giggled as he raised his hand a little bit, lifting her a few inches off the ground. 

The other kids joined their friend to meet the newcomer. Ahvesus picked up their child as they waddled over. “This is war. If anything goes wrong… yeah, not risking it. We can’t fight and take care of them at the same time.”

“What about these masked men? There’s plenty of them.”

Astor scoffed. “Sakiru, let’s just say that I wouldn’t trust those buffoons with a dog, much less children. The Yiga are a bad influence, and I doubt they’d feed them anything but bananas. We only work with them out of necessity.”

Ahvesus wiped off a bit of water that Moruka spit in their face. “We need our futures and legacies to be protected, unless the calamity doesn’t go entirely to plan. Since you have no counterpart, could we rely on you?” Sakiru picked Gohrra off of the floating pieces of his arms. “For fellow disciples of darkness, I will do what I can.”

-

“What do you mean, ‘no spirit’? What happened to the fifth sage?”

Astor and Sakiru were alone now in the quiet of the night. Everyone else had gone to bed. The only sound accompanying them was the wildlife in the highlands.

“I found out about you through the stone archives in the temples I’ve unearthed. I’ve seen depictions of the ‘sages’ you speak of, but I assure you that there were only four. Perhaps something has been lost to time.”

“But you spoke of Princess Zelda, I remember her… It can’t have been that long.”

“Interesting. It seems there really is more going on here than I imagined…” He turned back to him. “But it really has been that long. Based on the age of the archives, you’ve been in that temple for at least ten thousand years.”

“T- ten… ten thousand years…”

Sakiru couldn’t move his arms. His whole body seized up. His heart stopped beating in its jar.

“It’s a lot to take in, but-”

He cut Astor off. “Ten thousand years…! Ten thousand-! TEN THOUSAND YEARS!”

And with that, he threw his glass head back and looked up towards the sky. From his jaws, brought from the air itself, he let forth a cackle like he had never laughed before. Such a deep and throaty noise that didn’t travel through his severed neck, not coming from jarred lungs that never filled with air to create it. All through the night, he laughed and laughed up towards a sky full of stars that he didn’t recognize anymore.

Rauru was dead. Mineru was dead. Every single hylian under their command was now the dirt that his zonai feet walked upon. It didn’t matter. He did it.

He was immortal.

[jheselbraum]

Totk Ganondorf is a departure from other versions of both Ganondorf and Ganon in that he is not a disruptor to the status quo, at least not thematically.

Like, oh no he wants to destroy Hyrule? It was already destroyed, that's the status quo that got changed between botw and totk by Link and Zelda. Ganondorf lifts Hyrule Castle during his big ol earthquake, sure, but he also returns Hyrule Castle to both the state that it was in during botw (red glowy, surrounded by malice) AND to the state that it was in pre-calamity for that one sequence. What about in the ancient past? The civilization of Hyrule didn't exist, the Zonai civilization had been in that region for thousands of years, and it's the Zonai that Ganondorf primarily focuses on.

Totk Ganondorf is fate. This isn't the first time a Legend of Zelda game as presented the villain as tied to fate but Majora's Mask was pretty literal with it all things considered. But the moon falling in majoras mask is presented as just as inevitable as totk Ganondorf's assault on Hyrule, he's fucking fate. He's specifically the fate that fucked Zelda and Link up initially, and there's thematic importance in Zelda's ultimate plan to stop totk Ganondorf. At no point after Link touches down in Hyrule again is he ever truly alone, it's only when Link goes to fight Ganondorf that he loses the ability to summon sages. In fact that happens twice, Link tries to fight Ganondorf alone twice and both times the sages show up anyways to bail him out. Technically this happens three times if you count the opening sequence.

Totk Ganondorf is literally stuck in the past, lost in nostalgia and continuing a war that he doesn't have to and that's why he thinks he can lure Link into a false sense of security by appealing to his sense of nostalgia, because obviously Link's life was super hunky dory when the castle Looked Like That, everything was great and he didn't have an anxiety disorder and Zelda specifically was super friendly and niceys to him during that time. Obviously Link has nostalgia for that era in the first place.Totk Ganondorf is the old way of doing things, he expects Link and Zelda to be working to restore Hyrule Castle when in reality they live in fucking Hateno and never fucking touched the castle until the seal on Ganondorf started weakening and spitting out gloom everywhere.

He's the old Zelda formula. With Ganondorf back we get temples and sages as well, we get bombflowers and like likes and visual callbacks to Ocarina of Time and I think we've collectively forgotten that botwtotk Link and Zelda are a Link and Zelda that are from a different Legend of Zelda game than breath of the wild and that they lost their original Legend of Zelda game. They know the exactly what Ganondorf is and they know their prophesied role in stopping him, they know the loz formula. They also know that following that formula got them all fucking killed.

Ganondorf thrives when Link follows the old Zelda formula of clearing temples, unlocking sages, and going to fight the demon king alone regardless, and Zelda thrives when Link realizes that teamwork makes the dream work to the point where her millenia spanning bond with the ancient sages pays off and, unlike the calamity, there is no expectation that whoever goes to face the demon king will have to do so alone and that's why Zelda and Ganondorf are foils. Totk Zelda represents the new ways, possibly the new Zelda formula since. It's Nintendo. There's gonna be a formula. But at the very least she represents a kingdom that doesn't give a rats ass about fate and prophecy and sending children into battle alone. When we unlock each secret stone, the cutscene we get isn't some divine instruction, it's the previous very mortal and not divine at all sage saying, in essence, "hey I told my friend Zelda that we'd help her friend in the future can you do that since I've been dead for 10,000 years?" And the one time it isn't the sage in question is Mineru who, you know. Is the sage from 10,000 years ago.

Rauru is ancillary, Sonia is ancillary, Link is ancillary, dialogue between Ganondorf and Zelda or lack thereof is fucking ancillary.

The real fight is between Ganondorf and Zelda and it's over what kind of Kingdom Hyrule is going to be moving forward: Ganondorf's where everything 100% dictated by fate and inevitability and an incredible fucking loneliness or Zelda's cool new Hyrule where everyone is the most free from fate and prophecy that they've ever been and the ones that aren't are not alone and have the support of not just their communities but the rest of the world too.

[ordon-shield]

The Split/Swapped Triforce Theory

The Link we see in Breath of the Wild, and now Tears of the Kingdom is different to his previous incarnations in many ways, and I’m not just talking about the colour of his tunic. Every other Link that we’ve seen through the series starts their adventure with no expectation of being a great hero, of saving the land from evil. No, they set out to rescue a sister, or some children from their village, or their best friend, or a princess calling out for help. It’s only after they set out that they inevitably have to make a decision— does it have to be them that’s the hero? Couldn’t they step aside, and let someone else, older and more experienced take charge? Once they’ve rescued whoever they set out to save, or someone else has arrived to help, why keep putting themselves in danger? Even if destiny says they have to be the one, that doesn’t mean they’re forced to play that role— but each of them still chooses to, proving their courage.

The Link of Breath of the Wild never gets that moment. He’s young when he draws the Master Sword for the first time, years before the return of Calamity Ganon. He isn’t set out on a quest to protect someone he cares about, but instead given the title of hero immediately, and assigned as Zelda’s personal guard. He grew up knowing what was expected of him, and even when he wakes up in the Shrine of Resurrection, his memories lost? One of the first things he’s told is that he is the light that must shine upon Hyrule, and his first glimpse of Calamity Ganon comes alongside Zelda telling him that its freedom will mean the destruction of the world, and that he must hurry. This version of Link is never given that choice that every other version of him makes at some point, never given the choice to be the hero— and is it really courage to fight when you’ve been told your whole life it’s what you’re meant to do?

Though the Zelda series, the three pieces of the Triforce have been present since the second game, which introduces the Triforce of Courage, and at the same time ties Link to it for the first time. The Link we see in the Adventure of Link gained the Triforce of Wisdom by finding its scattered pieces, the Triforce of Power by defeating its previous holder. The Triforce of Courage however, he is chosen to find when the symbol of the united Triforce appears on his hand, travelling through seven palaces and facing his own dark reflection to earn it. This connection only grew stronger in Ocarina of Time, the fourth game in the series, after the Triforce splits when Ganondorf, someone with an imbalances heart makes a wish on it, transforming the Sacred Realm into the Dark World and cursing the temples of Hyrule, the Triforce of Courage is eventually revealed to rest within Link’s body. Further games only reinforced the link between the hero and courage, with the Link of The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and A Link Between Worlds all carrying the Triforce of Courage at some point. A pattern was formed— Power with Ganondorf, Wisdom with Zelda, and Courage with Link.

The Triforce is never mentioned in Breath of the Wild, but we do see it. While its true nature and name have been forgotten over the ages, the inherited sealing power that lies within Zelda. We see it as she defeats Dark Beast Ganon, her hand outstretched as it manifests before her, a burst of light— much like the one we see in Skyward Sword when Link wishes away the Imprisoned— blossoming out and obliterating the Calamity, once and for all. In the true ending to the game, she says her powers seem to have dwindled after holding back Ganon for so long (in Japanese the specific term she uses is ‘withered’), but importantly, she doesn’t say that they’re completely gone, only that they’re less than what they once were. We’ve seen this happen before, as mentioned above— the Triforce can split into its three parts, with the one who touched it acquiring the part that represents what they desire the most. But is Wisdom what the Zelda we see in Breath of the Wild truly desires? Let me remind you, that her defeat of Dark Beast Ganon isn’t the first time we see her access the power of the Triforce. During the defence of Fort Hateno, she accesses it for the first time, the symbol of the Triforce shining on the back of her hand as we’ve seen it do time and time again for other wielders— yet only after she steps between Link and the laser of a Guardian, unarmed and powerless… in an act of courage, which is followed by her leaving to face Ganon alone after Link falls. Where this version of Link was never given the option to choose to be courageous, this version of Zelda, despite being told her entire life that her role was merely to seal the beast once the hero had defeated it, was the one to stand up and make the choice to face Ganon head-on, keeping him contained by herself for a century. If the Triforce she held did split into its three parts, the one that fits her best, the one she would desire is the Triforce of Courage.

There are still two more pieces of the Triforce left though, one for Link, and one for the corpse-like Ganondorf we see in the trailers for Tears of the Kingdom. When we look at Link in Breath of the Wild, we see surprisingly few references to courage in association with him in the base game (and those references come from characters familiar with the stories of previous heroes), even when they might be expected, such as before or after completing a combat trial in a shrine, but we do see some interesting references to another third, from the Goddess Hylia, the original protector of the Triforce herself. When Link exchanges spirit orbs for a heart container or a stamina vessel, what does she say? “I shall grant the power you seek.” When Link faces the dragon Naydra, corrupted with malice, she asks him to “Show what [his] power can achieve!”. Even in his childhood, he had ties to the concept, defeating adults in combat as a young child according to Mipha. In the eighth memory of the ones he recovers a century later, we see he’d defeated a large group of monsters, including multiple silver lynels, presumably alone, and with only mild wounds. Even when we play as him, Link is constantly breaking even high-quality weapons with the strength of his blows. This link with power can also fit in with the changes to the Zelda formula, and the introduction of an open world. Breath of the Wild is a game that’s all about freedom, about having the power to choose where you go and when, rejecting the linear paths and restrictions that previous incarnations of Link faced. Even in the first Zelda game, the full Triforce of Wisdom was required to face the final dungeon. Instead of being forced to proceed in a predetermined path, this Link is the one with the power to break free from the expectations of his past and the boundaries that held them back, exploring on his own terms. To this version of Link, the Triforce of Power would represent his freedom from both his past role as a knight, something that caused him so much stress he stopped talking, and from the fears that hold back the other people of Hyrule, of the monsters that infest the kingdom‘s roads and the many ruins he explores.

Finally, we get to Ganondorf. We’ve only seen a little of him from the handful of trailers for Tears of the Kingdom, but of the many questions and mysteries surrounding him, this theory can answer at least one— why now? Why is it only after the defeat of the Calamity that he seems to be ‘waking up’ or ‘breaking free’ from the place he’s been sealed away in since 10,000 or more years ago? If the Triforce indeed split when Zelda used it to defeat Dark Beast Ganon, we have our explanation— with a piece of the Triforce returned to his body, he’s been able to slowly recover his strength. If Zelda has Courage, and Link has Power, that leaves Wisdom to him, which seems to be reflected in his actions. Previously only acting as a near-mindless beast, with little in the way of strategy other than targeting the technology that defeated him the last time, this version of Ganondorf has good reason to value wisdom, and accordingly, we see him attempt to take out the three things most likely to foil his plans as soon as he can— Link (and his sword arm), Zelda, and the Master Sword that has been his downfall again and again. Even the monsters we’ve glimpsed in the trailers seem to be more organised, and strengthened by his malice. Even his appearance seems to mirror this change, as we see him dressed in golden jewellery and a loose robe , rather than the dark armour of most other appearances, or the thick formal clothing of his Wind Waker version. This gives the impression that, unless he regains one of his previous forms, this version of Ganondorf will likely focus more on his skill as a sorcerer than physical combat to fight Link, as somewhat of a contrast to his Twilight Princess version, who fights physically, only using his magic to possess Zelda and transform into Ganon. He also seems prepared to heal and boost his servants to help them achieve his goals. This falls in line with what little we know about the Triforce of Wisdom from seeing the versions of Zelda that have held it. Admittedly, this is the weakest part of this theory, just because we haven’t seen much of Ganondorf or his abilities in Tears of the Kingdom yet.

In conclusion, Breath of the Wild was all about breaking the conventions of a Zelda game to make something new, and if Tears of the Kingdom wants to achieve the same, shaking up the holders of the Triforce would certainly be one way to do it. Purely talking from a mechanical viewpoint, Link learning to use the Triforce of Power could act as a replacement for the Champion’s abilities in the previous game— a known ability of that piece is to bring the wielder back from a mortal wound, stronger than before, which could serve as a replacement for Mipha’s Grace to give an example. We could even see something as cool as Zelda wielding a reforged Master Sword— after all, she was the one who heard the voice inside the sword. This all relies on Nintendo being willing to take that leap and change things up even more and I’m not sure they’d be willing to do it.

[alicewritingstories]

Febuwhump Day 4: Obedience

CW: Implied abuse of power

AO3

---

"And stop following me!"

Zelda's indignant scream made Link take a step back, but when she turned on her heel and marched away again between the leaning ancient columns he hurried after her, falling into his usual place a couple of steps behind. She knew he was there; she sped up a little, but he kept up easily.

He couldn't just stop following her. He knew that and so did she, though he couldn't explain to her and he knew she wasn't interested in his explanations anyway. He was her guard, her appointed knight. Not something either of them had asked for, but that didn't make any difference. He'd been ordered to stay with her; what could he do?

He kept walking, running through the words he wanted to say. He understood what it was to live under an unbearable pressure, with everyone staring at him every moment, expecting great things that he didn't think he'd ever be able to do. He had drawn the sword on his back from its pedestal as soon as he laid his hand to it, but he hadn't known what it would mean; how it would change his life. He'd been a child - gifted, to his father's delight, but a child - but the sword had torn him from his family and brought him here, following Zelda, expected to fight a monster that not even the whole army of Hyrule could hope to overcome, with the eyes and hopes of the kingdom on him.

He didn't entirely understand what Zelda was going through as she tried again and again to unlock her power when he had had his forced on him, but he wanted to help. He wanted to talk with her. He wanted to listen and comfort and reassure her that there was someone who didn't think she was just a failure. Someone who saw that she was trying her hardest. Someone who at least knew how it felt to see disappointment in the eyes of the people who looked at him. In her case because she couldn't unlock a power that should have come easy as breathing, in his because he was small and thin and in no way what anyone expected of a hero.

But he couldn't talk to her. His life was ruled by the king's orders, even more than hers was. He didn't think the king would do any harm to the chosen wielder of the Sword the Seals the Darkness; he needed Link able to raise that sword against Ganon. But his family didn't have that protection and while nobody had ever threatened them he didn't want to find out what his disobedience might cost those he loved. Even if there was nothing else to fear, he didn't want to make his father embarrassed or his mother upset or get his little sister teased.

So he obeyed and hoped that one day this would be over. Zelda would unlock her power and be happy. Together, they would defeat Calamity Ganon. Then it would be over and he could lay down this sword and go home and tell Mipha that he returned her feelings and… and live.

But for now, he had orders to obey. Stay with the princess. Protect her. Remain silent and respectful at all times. Especially, if you can't talk without stuttering and tangling up your words, don't talk at all.

No matter how much she took her frustration out on him, he was obedient. Close, attentive, silent.

He didn't mind staying with her and protecting her - she deserved that much - and he could keep silent as his father and the king had told him. He was already too small, too thin, not the hero the kingdom expected. He didn't need to prove anyone right by opening his mouth. He couldn't be tall and charismatic and articulate, but he could be loyal. He could be obedient.

And after all, what choice did he have?

---

(Loosely) continued on Day 13

[spaceless-vacuum]

Ok so I read how if Zelda knows all about Link's yandere tendencies and how she's all for it, but what if they're both yanderes for Reader?

I have several small fics in progress that involve these ideas but I think that this is a really fun deal to play around with. Especially if the darling isn't that easy to get to. Having a Hylian darling who can easily be swooped away to share under the safety of the castle is really fun but I favorite ones where the darling isn't so easily taken. If you wanted me to talk about how the two of them interact with each other sharing a darling that’s cool as well but for now here's this.

So to start I love the idea of a darling who's royalty or a noble from a different nation. The dynamics of how the three would have to interact through the lens of civility and politics. God I love it so much. Link being praised for his skills and resting himself as a hero by taking care of problems around the kingdom. Using the praise he gets to curry favour so he can get closer to you.

What? Don't you want the hero to guard them? He's the best you've got might as well use him.

Zelda plays into this. He stays by your side and reports back to her while she gathers information and starts to formulate ideas for how to get you into her kingdom for a change. All they would need to keep you there is to extend a formal invitation, something to keep the two places together. Who could deny such a request made by such an impressive princess after all?

The hard part is figuring out how to keep you there. Messengers could only be stalled for so long and the lie of a troubled road delaying your return can only keep your nobles happy for so long. If you're just a noble from a small house then it's not a big deal. However for people who are higher up and have more sway things like this are a more delicate matter.

Yet her highness isn't just here for pleasantries. If the hero and princess have returned that can only mean one thing and that's possibly facing an inevitable collapse.

I can so see the two of them taking you to Hyrule a before the tragedy (Twilight realm, Ganon, calamity, or whatever else hit) and having you never return home because of it. Maybe they told you that either you died. Why would anyone come to look for you? The worst came to fruition and now that everyones done mourning they've all forgotten about you. Not a single soul is coming to your aid.

This would only work assuming they could keep you safe while the storm hits but I have a feeling that it wouldn't be too difficult for them to plan something out. If the castle isn't safe they can send you anywhere else and have you guarded by the greatest warriors. Just stay away from where the fires are and you'll be fine.

Not to just talk about royalty but imagine if you were part of a nation waging war against Hyrule or at least on their enemies list. Kidnapping is bad but if they're your enemy then it’s just ransom! Them placing a huge price on your head, and sending back a duplicate. They not only get to bleed your nobility's pockets dry as a way to make you repay the damages your country has done but it will also double as a way to keep you even after filling their end of the contract.

Zelda watching you plan and offer any help you can to the war effort. She's both challenged by you and in awe as you hold your ground as people talk over you and chatter about issues that don't currently need your attention. She waits patiently as you throw out excellent ideas only to have them all shut down. Meanwhile she's controlling several heads of states and making sure you're discredited and seen as someone who can't be trusted. She's placing evidence for after you leave to make sure even if you get back to your homeland it'll be in disgrace so there's no nowhere to run.

Taking the field in battle and having Link absolutely decimate you. You think you could handle yourself in a fight against a bunch of common soldiers only to be relentlessly targeted by the best Hyrule has to offer. Watching helplessly as he just won't stop chasing you into swathes of enemy soldiers. He’s rushing across the front lines and enemy fortifications just to make sure he can have his hands on you before you can rush away. Everyone is horrified and shocked as he just sweeps the floor with your people only to find you and drag you to a secluded spot where Zelda can pick him up.

Both of them pick you up and carry you away to Hyrule. Your whole life is flipped upside down. No you can't go outside because they don't need an enemy making plans and trying to sneak away. Yet that doesn't answer the questions as to why you're still here if they don't trust you.

Man this scratches an itch in my brain because of the tension of the reader not wanting to give up their country or homeland but also it's so hard when you're being swooned by these two gorgeous individuals, and by god they know it. They have access to everything they need to make you talk but they never seem to focus on that. Rather the interrogation in a large comfortable room with lots of snacks and refreshments is far too comfortable to hold any real threat. Sure Link is standing in the corner but he seems to be antsy. He looks away and blushes whenever you turn around to focus all your attention onto him so it can't be helped when you notice that it isn't so bad here.

Yet you can't relax because these are the hostile enemy! The bad guys! Yet this tea is really good.

Plus it's hard to ignore how bad it can be since they control everything now. Maybe this is all so they can drive you deeper into misery when they act on their inevitable betrayal. Even if they never tighten the rope too much there's so many complex layers to this idea and I adore it. Sadly the war is messy so they can't tell you anything about it. Which just means you need to lay a price on how far you're willing to go for them to tell you anything; which is a double edged sword because how can you know if any of it’s true!!

Gah the concept is so interesting to me!!!

I think that's it for now but come back at any time and I’ll rant to you more about these two.

[sokkas-first-fangirl]

Was King Rhoam really trying to make a power play for the throne before the calamity hit in your LoZ series? I will admit a lot of his actions do seem to be defying ancient religious traditions and he was sending Zelda away for so long, but it seems very illogical of him to try and claim the throne from his daughter.

Permit me to ramble, because rambling about Rhoam outside of Link’s angry POV is so fun. Man’s so contradictory, even to himself

Anyway…

Rhoam is tricky. He didn’t intend to step down until at least Ganon was defeated, but he didn’t intend to enact a coup either. He did not plan to be a rebel or traitor in any way, and would never see himself that way.

One thing about Rhoam: he’d been raised to be a King, or at least a partner to the Queen, in a position of immense influence and power. His parents groomed him for it and told him, again and again, that it was his destiny. He never doubted this. This was his duty to Hyrule, this was how he served his country and a grand purpose: he would be a strong, traditional and firm King. He would protect Hyrule and ensure peace lasted, even with the looming Calamity. He would be a powerful King, a good King. (Or so he hoped. So he saw himself as when he was alive.)

Then Hespera died suddenly and his grand destiny and duty to Hyrule had an expiration date. Now he was not the King Consort, now he was the King Regent.

Ghost-Rhoam may admit to himself that “destiny” didn’t get him or anyone around him anywhere good, but he still believes in destiny and duty. As he said to Link the last time we saw him, Zelda wasn’t the Queen…except she should have been. She was 17. She should have been crowned had she returned home.

Rhoam genuinely wants to protect Hyrule and believes he can best do so by staying on the throne until Ganon is gone. As Princess, Zelda can travel to sacred sites multiple times a year, even many times a month. But as Queen? Not so much. He’s not the only person in that mindset either. His supporters and those neutral to him believed it to be the sensible option. His naysayers believed he was simply power hungry. (Rhoam’s growing temper problems and arrogance over the years did not help these rumours in the least.) Depending on your POV of him, you can view his plans in multiple ways. It’s his abuse of Zelda and dismissive attitude to those around him that cause everything he does to be doubted- and is it wrong to doubt him? Depends on how you see him

Really, what Rhoam should have done was sit down with Zelda and talk to her. Explain what he was thinking and why. But alas, Rhoam wouldn’t be Rhoam if he did that. He never really took Zelda seriously. He saw her as an irresponsible, selfish and lazy girl, who simply wasn’t trying hard enough. He believed she lacked a sense of duty to Hyrule and thus would be a lacklustre Queen, especially right now, until she’d “grown up” and, in his eyes, proven herself via her magic. It didn’t cross his mind that she’d try and exert her right to be crowned now. She’d never even hinted at it before. Zelda herself accepted that it was unlikely she’d be Queen until she sealed Ganon away. Frankly, until Naydra and the Triforce of Wisdom gave her that hope and burst of confidence, she didn’t intend to stand up to Rhoam (and the court) in such a manner

To summarise: Rhoam is a mix of motivations, some honourable and some not. He should have addressed the rumours against him somehow. He should have spoken to Zelda and planned with her. His legacy in the Luminous AU is one of verbal abuse and manipulation (which is true) and contradicting rumours. The only POV characters left are people who either didn’t know him or hated him, and maybe that would have been different had Rhoam simply…worked on himself and his pride, instead of assuming things would go his way, that he could force things to go his way. If he wasn’t so focused on his destiny, if he took Zelda seriously, if he wasn’t so focused on the crown…who knows? Maybe he’d be remembered as the honourable, stern but fair King he once wished to be. Because outside of our POV characters, who has ever brought him up? As Link told him, no one cares about him anymore. The younger Rhoam, the man who married Hespera and had so many grand plans, would be horrified by what he turned into. He’d always had a pride problem, but never one so large until he lost her.

Had Zelda and the Champions made it home, things would have been messy, even if Rhoam didn’t intend for them to be

[soralinklokidottirofmirkwood]

Imagine being a Hylian and being teleported into Middle Earth.

Age: 12

This takes place during Zelda Breath of the Wild and The Hobbit an unexpected Journey to BotFA.

Being Link's little sister.

Looking like a younger female version of him but with longer hair in a low braid (think of TP, HW and SS Zelda), wearing a silver necklace version of the triforce around your neck, blue nail polish on your nails (the Gerudo did them), a feminine version of Link's outfit, pierced ears, having your own master sword, hylian shield, and a horse named Ash.

Link, Zelda, and the other warriors are very protective of you.

Being the youngest warrior.

King Rhoam telling you "if their was a fourth piece of the triforce you'll represent kindness."

You being born with powers like Zelda.

You and Sidon being very close with him looking younger but is actually older than you.

Link going to extreme mesures to keep you safe during the great calamity even if it means locking you in an under ground safe house.

You always finding ways to escape and help much to everyone's disapproval.

Before you departed to stop Ganon Zelda gave you a spare Shikaslate, Mipha gave you a part of Mipha's grace, Urbosa gave you a part of Urbosa's furry, Daruk gave you a part of Daruk's protection, Revali gave you a part of Revali's gale, and Link giving you a dyed white version of the Hylian cloack and the bow of twilight.

Even though you were all prepared it was all in vain the night Ganon won, when a bright light appeared after a guardian got ready to attack you.

Waking up in an unfamiliar forest with your horse Ash, not sensing Zelda's power and nobody in sight.

Finding a town of strange short people with big hairy feet "I don't think we're in Hyrule anymore boy." you told Ash petting his mane as he neighs in agreement "At least we might find an inn here.” You said trying to stay positive.

You two going into the town and getting strange looks (you couldn't blame them though, who wouldn't stare at a strange random girl walking into your village) but the children didn't seem to mind and asked to pet Ash.

Meeting Gandalf after he dropped his money pouch, you being the sister of the hero of time returned it to him

"excuse me sir, you dropped this." he is surprised by your appearance "thank you little one." he said taking back the pouch.

Meeting Bilbo when you saw him struggling with his groceries "ohh here you are sir." him thanking you but he thinks your an elf dual to your ears.

Offering him help with the heavier load.

You two making conversation during the walk he gets the courage to ask if your an elf "are you an elf by any chance?" You explaining to him that your not from around Middle Earth.

When the company came they at first didn't react well when they saw your ears, But frowned when you told them your age.

Bilbo and the dwarves thinking it's a bad idea bringing you along.

"Gandalf she is too young, even if she is perfectly train it's to dangerous for a child." Thorin said sternly, "I.. I agree with him I mean she's just a child." Bilbo said stuttering, "she's practically a baby." Nori said, "too young." Dori said, "aye she's barely of age." Balin said earning a nod of agreement from Dwalin, "she reminds me of my Gimli." said Gloin earning a nod from Oin, "she'll get killed out there." Fili said earning nods from Kili, Ori, Bofur, Bifur, and Bombur,

You proving them wrong by challenging Kili to a shooting contest he and the others are amazed with your bow and arrows (the bow of twilight with the elemental arrows) and skills.

In the morning you and Bilbo road Ash across the Shire in hopes of keeping up with the company "WE'RE GOING ON AN ADVENTURE." both of you shouted (you being the most excited).

You turning the trolls into stone with your powers when you and the others almost got eaten "by my beard, you are stronger then I thought my child." Gandalf said tapping a troll statue with his staff.

You and Ash being fond of Radagast the Brown "he reminds me of the Koroks back at home." You told Ash making him neigh in agreement.

In Rivendell the elves thought you were an elfling.

Lord Elrond nearly had a heart-attack when he saw your piercings "you have been tainted little one."

You telling them of your age (big mistake) "you are just a baby."

But they are curious about your shikaslate.

"what an odd device." you explaining Technology and Hyrule to them.

Attending the white counsel meeting and Lady Galadriel senescing your powers "I sense great power within you little one." the elves being amazed with your powers as you demonstrate them.

Before leaving you asked the elves for a picture "thank you so much. I hope to see you all again." they are really heartbroken to see you go.

showing your fighting skills in Goblin Town, "well, well, well look what we have here boys, an elfling.", you beating up the Goblin king until he grabs you by the hair.

Nearly giving the dwarves, Bilbo, and Gandalf a heart attack twice.

Helping Bilbo save Thorin when Azog came.

"That kid is gonna be the death of us one day." Fili says every time you give them a scare.

You making friends with the Eagles.

Thorin giving you a hug but also a lecture on how stupid the stunt was.

Beorn being amazed with your skills with his animals.

"My bunnies seem to like you, little bird." he said reminding you of Urbosa "Keep your chin up little bird" and getting a flashback memory of your first time in Gerudo town.

You asking to get a picture with him, he is of course confused and amazed about the Shikaslate.

Saving the dwarves from being spider food in Mirkwood.

The woodland elves finding you adorable and of course thinking your an elfling.

"Legolas they have an elfling." a red head she elf (Tauriel) said alerting a male elf who reminded you of an older version of your big brother.

"did you filth kidnapped this child?" He asked picking you up and cradling you to his chest.

You blushing from embarrassment and pleading not to be treated like a baby "can you please put me down? I'm not a baby."

The elves chuckled with one saying "they always think they are older than they are, it's quite adorable."

Legolas carrying you the whole time and bouncing you in his arms (much to your embarrassment) "Hylia please help me."

In the palace Thranduil can sense your not from Middle Earth and your powers, "you have great potential in you little one." he said staring at your triforce necklace.

You thinking that he's bigger then Daruk 'Dang he's bigger then Daruk.' you think as you see he is bigger then Legolas his son.

Your weapons getting confiscated.

At night you have a nightmare of the night Ganon won.

The next morning your left in Mirkwood because the dwarves and Bilbo think you'll be safer there.

You vowing to never make Thranduil angry after he decapitates an orc and banished Tauriel for disobeying him.

Thranduil telling you to stay in the palace after he and most of the guards left to help the people of Laketown after Smaug died.

You knocked out the guards staying with you and ran to Dale.

Meeting Bard's children and falling for Bain 'Wait am I getting a crush? Ohhh Hylia if Link was here he would kill me.'

Legolas lecturing you about leaving the safety of Mirkwood the moment he saw you.

Bard being Fond of you and letting you stay with his children in Dale.

You getting closer with Bain, Sigrid, and Tilda until the war.

Your rebellious side coming out and going into Erebor in hopes of talking some sense into Thorin after the dragon sickness took over.

He slaps you (angering everyone) after you defended Bilbo from his wrath.

After he overcomes the sickness you helped defeat Azog on the frozen lake.

After Thorin, Fili, and Kili are healed you are happy that everyone is well.

Being supportive of Kili's and Tauriel's relationship (I ship this if you don't leave and don't judge).

You hearing the goddess Hylia "you have done well young one, now is the time to go."

Not wanting to leave but you know you have to go home but before leaving you asked everyone to join in for one last picture.

You, The dwarves, Bilbo, Gandalf, Beorn, Thranduil, Tauriel, Legolas, Radagast, Bard and his children posing while a guard takes the picture.

You being sad but happy to finally be home.

You’re happy to see Link and Zelda well and alive but sad when you found out that the other champions didn't make it during the great calamity.

Link telling you of his adventure (laughing that he dressed as a girl to get into Gerudo town) and you telling them of yours of course they had a big heart attack from the danger but had a good laugh with the fact that the elves thought you were a baby.

Getting shocked that it's been 100 years since the great calamity meaning "I've been in Middle Earth for that long?" Zelda being amazed that you traveled to another world.

Hanging the pictures you took in your own room in yours and Link's house in Hateno village.

Hoping to go back one day and hopefully bring Link and Zelda with you to see your friend.

[fragmentedlegends]

More worldbuilding goodies (can't stop, won't stop):

The Fortune Teller that Astor became involved with was a 24-year-old Gerudo woman with long, red hair kept in tiny braids and gray-green eyes. She was both curious and miffed at his arrival and immediately sought the cards regarding him. She told him, "You have some nerve encroaching on another prophet's territory, Farm Boy. Let's see how you fare."

Farm Boy is what she called him for some time, both mockingly and endearingly

She began learning the art of Tarot reading from a very young age when she began her traditional travels across the land, and joined the Cult of Ganon around age 20 when she realized that her life was going to go in one direction—marry, have babies, die. She yearned for more and turned her hope toward the return of The True King of Gerudo, who would finally knock Hyrule down from their throne

When Astor started climbing the ranks of their cult, she decided to make an ally of him. This is when she began teaching him the art of Tarot reading. She was a strict teacher and demanded perfection. It was through these lessons that the two began to connect, seeing many similarities in each other

Once Astor had a solid handle on Tarot reading, she gifted him a robe, stating that it was time he stopped looking like the farm boy he is

When she left the Cult of Ganon following a reading which warned her that she would not survive its dangers, she took to offering her services across various regions as a traveling fortune teller

When the Calamity struck, it was more horrifying than she was truly prepared for. She wanted the resurrection of a King and instead received a Monster. The event shook her to the core and caused her to change her entire life's direction, turning to Hylia and her people's old way of life for solace

Her name was Muava

Bonus

Astor still has the robe she gifted him among his possessions and a book that was gifted to him by The Captain, another fleeting but impactful entanglement of his. Perhaps he's a little sentimental after all.

[jarino]

Ghost Towns: Masterpost

Ravaged by Calamity Ganon, Hyrule is a shell of its former self. Link must make sense of his scattered memories and become the hero he once was. Along the way, perhaps he’ll find comfort in the prince of the zora, and find the strength needed to persevere.

Status: Complete

Total word count: 39,445 words

-------

Chapter 1: Awakening (2656 words)

Link has awoken from a century long slumber. He’s told he must save Hyrule, but is he up to the task?

Chapter 2: The Domain (2732 words)

Continuing on his journey, Link meets Impa and the prince of the zora.

Chapter 3: In Her Memory (1643 words)

For the life of him, Link can’t remember any of the zora, not even their beloved princess. Imagine his surprise when he’s asked to try on the armor she made for him.

Chapter 4: She's Gone (1556 words)

Sidon and Link take on Vah Ruta together and Link gets to see Mipha one last time.

Chapter 5: The Life of the Party (1519 words)

Sidon throws a celebration in honor of Link. Meanwhile, Link comes to a realization.

Chapter 6: Flight of Fancy (2280 words)

Link journeys west, intent on helping the rito. He encounters a few snags along the way though.

Chapter 7: Birds of a Feather (1691 words)

With Teba’s help, Link attacks Vah Medoh. After, he is introduced to Teba’s son.

Chapter 8: Swimming in Feelings (1432 words)

Link takes the time to go swimming with Sidon and catch up.

Chapter 9: On the Mend (1608 words)

Link visits Purah in Hateno to fix the Sheikah Slate. Later, he comes across another memory.

Chapter 10: Wildest Dreams (2066 words) [NSFW]

After having an unexpected dream, Link returns to Lanayru to see Sidon.

Chapter 11: Scarred (1689 words)

Link makes his way to Akkala. After speaking to Robbie, his doubts begin to compound.

Chapter 12: Night Terrors (1518 words)

After waking from a nightmare, Link seeks out comfort from Sidon.

Chapter 13: Blazing Heart (2145 words)

Link has a revelation about his feelings for Sidon. Later, he makes his way to Goron City.

Chapter 14: Wounded (1961 words)

Link takes on Fireblight Ganon. After, he encounters a masked stranger who gives him trust issues.

Chapter 15: I Thought I Lost You (1706 words)

Sidon finds Link in a state close to death. His friend is almost lost to him, but a miracle keeps him alive.

Chapter 16: Reflection (1896 words)

Link searches for the Master Sword. Later, he begins the trek to Gerudo Town.

Chapter 17: Box of Chocolates (1978 words)

Link assists Riju in recovering the Thunder Helm and taking on Vah Naboris. After, Riju helps him.

Chapter 18: Double-Edged Sword (1520 words)

Returning to the Domain, Link spends time with Sidon. Intending to cheer him up, Sidon suggests that they spar.

Chapter 19: With Shaking Knees (1521 words)

After seeing a traumatic memory, Link rushes to the Domain in search of Sidon.

Chapter 20: Together Again (2312 words)

After taking on Calamity Ganon, Link and Zelda reunite.

Chapter 21: End of an Era (1799 words)

Link and Zelda take the time to unwind after everything they’ve been through.