#throw sidon in there too

[jacqcrisis]

If people don't write approximately seven thousands fics about hot bod Ganondorf wrecking Link's whole shop, then...just... like what is even the point of all this, huh?

[birb-boyo]

Modern AU where botw/totk and AoC Link both exist, but they’re twins

Botw Link, kinda a slacker but he’s doing ok in his classes, mostly just likes hanging out with his friends all day every day

AoC Link, straight As, probably on the baseball team(have you seen the way he throws remote bombs?) has a select few friends

What do they have in common?

Plenty of things on the inside.

On the outside?

They’re both just whores for food(same here😔)

They also share some friends or at least just Sidon(that’s because they both knew Sidon, AoC-Sidon as child, BotW-Sidon as big boy)

They’d have an unbreakable bond too.

I feel like shit would go down with Calamity and Wild would be like, “nah, keep your rep straight, I got this”

Wild is also older because the 100 years thing, but not by that long.

Someone please draw this😭

[kaminocasey]

Sacred Woman (Part One)

Summary: You're the First Mate on the Meson Martinet, the ship that Sidon Ithano captains. A few years ago, you all accidentally found Kix, thinking he was the lost treasure of Count Dooku. Instead, you found an even better treasure. Now, you’re searching far and wide in the galaxy for the scientist who could possibly undo the progressive aging gene in Kix's DNA. You'll stop at nothing.

Pairing: Pirate!Kix x (fem) Pirate!Rader

Warnings: 18+ MINORS DNI; Violence, Attempted SA, Blood, Angst, eventual Smut

WC: 3.3K

A/N: I've been working on this since APRIL. I'm so freaking excited about this story! Parts of this were inspired/used from "The Crimson Corsair and the Lost Treasure of Count Dooku" by Landry Q. Walker (Free on Kindle Unlimited). Photos found from Pinterest!

Sacred Woman Masterlist │ TAGLIST FORM │ Sacred Woman Playlist

“Look at this, Blitz… A pretty little thing… walking all alone down this dark alley.” A slimy voice purrs and you automatically start to grab your knife out of your boot. 

One of the guys chuckles, obviously underestimating you. His mistake. It’s been a while since you’ve fought someone, but only because you’ve been doing your best to keep out of trouble. 

“She thinks that’s going to do something.” The other guy smirks, glancing at your knife. 

Normally, you’d give a guy a warning. But with these guys… this could’ve been some other poor woman walking down this back alley, so you won’t feel too bad when you inevitably have to slit their throats. 

You wait for one of them to touch you. You wait for them to make the move… 

“Come on, sweetheart.” The first guy starts to touch your jacket.

That’s all you need. You strike first, grabbing his wrist and bending it back, making him gasp in pain. His buddy is taken aback and stumbles back, startled. Good. 

“You bitch.” The one in front of you, growls and you smirk, pulling your knife up under his chin, trailing it down to his Adam’s apple. 

His snarl quickly turns into trembling fear and he automatically starts begging for his life. They always do… Except his buddy starts to grab for a blaster tucked in his jacket and you quickly throw your knife into his wrist, making him cry out in pain. Sending your fist into the first guy’s right jaw, you knock him right out. He drops with a satisfying ‘thud’ and you quickly slide over to the other guy, grabbing your knife out of his wrist and he starts to run away, leaving his buddy behind with no problem. 

A set of footsteps brings your attention back the other way as you raise your knife, prepared for another fight. You’re met with a tall Delphidian holding one of his hands up in a surrendering manner, the other hand holding a red Kaleesh helmet. 

“What do you want?” You ask him, not tucking away your knife. 

He smiles, softly. “I’m Sidon Ithano, the Crimson Corsair.”

“Is that supposed to mean something?” You lean down and wipe the blade on the shirt of the guy who’s still out cold and then tuck it into your boot again before standing up. 

“I’m a pirate.”

“Okay. And?” You ask him, still staring at him.

“I saw those guys starting to attack you and then tried to come help. But you clearly had no problem on your own, there.” 

You shrug. “Did you need something?” 

“I could use some muscle like that on my crew.” He smiles. 

You let out a huff of a laugh, tilting your head. “You want me to join your pirate crew?” 

He nods. “You’re a Mandalorian, are you not?” 

You stare at him, harder. You’ve not called yourself that for a few years now. There weren’t many of you left. 

“Used to be… How could you tell?” You ask, placing your hands on your hips.

“From your fighting. It was a Mandalorian style I’ve not seen in a long time…” 

“Right…” 

“So, what do you say?” He asks. 

You walk past him. “No thanks.” 

Who the hell is this guy? The Crimson Corsair… why does that name sound so familiar? 

“Do you have another purpose here?” He asks you.

You stop, staring ahead. How could he see through you so well? You’ve been on this planet for a few months, temporarily living in a cheap hostel, doing bounty work on the side. Quite a life, you’ve made for yourself, right? Your family would be so proud… 

It wouldn’t kill you to start a new adventure. Or maybe it would. But either way, you can’t help but be curious. 

You turn around, staring at the tall pirate. “When do we leave?” 

Five Years Later… 

“What do you think?” Sidon’s modulated asks you as you both stand over a dead Trandoshan.

The crew is still up in the ship and as Sidon’s first mate, you’re next to him at all times. He doesn’t speak a lot, except to you. He trusts you to do most of the speaking on his behalf.

“Well, it doesn’t look good.” You joke. 

The planet you’re on isn’t necessarily First Order run… but there is a presence here. You’re supposed to be picking this guy up so he could take you to a scientist who you’ve been searching for for two years.

“Should we leave him, Captain?” You ask.

“Do you think someone is leaving us a message?” He wonders, aloud, ignoring your question. 

“Could be…” You shrug in agreement. 

“But from whom?” Sidon murmurs, kicking the guy over onto his back. “There are very few people who know who we’re looking for.”

His eyes are missing, leaving burnt crispy edges behind. Ew. 

The truth is there could be any number of people trying to “leave you a message”. You have a lot of friends, and you have a lot of enemies. So to narrow it down is next to impossible. 

“Tell me what you think.” Sidon tells you, turning back to face you. 

He glances past you at some of the crew peeking out the hatch. When they see him looking at them, they quickly make themselves busy. 

“I think we should leave him.” You answer. “We’ll find another way…” 

He nods, considering it for a moment… calculating… “We’ll leave him.” 

You start to head back up toward the hatch, Sidon only a step behind you. But you feel him pause, so you turn to look at him as he still stares at the body, deep in thought. After knowing the Captain for the last five years, you’re pretty well able to anticipate his moves and thoughts. It feels like you’ve known him your whole life. 

“What-” You start to ask, but all of a sudden, violent blaster fire is raining down on you.

You and your captain run toward the hatch, with you yelling into your comm to start the ship. Only seconds later, you hear the familiar sounds of boosters and engines starting up. Sidon pauses at the closing hatch toward the culprit of the blaster fire and more than likely also the dead Trandoshan. 

It’s always a trap, isn’t it?

“All hands to stations.” Your voice carries throughout the ship. “I repeat, all hands to stations. We are under attack.”

As you make your way through the Meson Martinet, up to the bridge, you run directly into your medic, Kix. Kix is a clone who once fought in the Clone Wars and got kidnapped by Separatists and held in cryo for 50 years. You and Sidon, and the rest of the crew found him a few years ago, thinking it was the lost treasure of Count Dooku. Turned out to be even better than treasure. Though you’d never admit that to anyone. You have a soft spot for the man. He’s also who you were doing all of this for. That Trandoshan was supposed to take you to a scientist who’s supposedly able to undo the progressive aging gene in Kix’s DNA, which once affected all clones.

“You alright?” He smirks. 

You nod. “Yep.” 

“You find the guy?” He asks, falling into step with you as you head toward the bridge again. 

“Yeah, but someone else got to him first apparently.” 

“Dead?”

“Yep.” You reply, popping the ‘p’ sound. 

He considers this as you get into the lift up to the bridge. “Well, we’ll figure it out.” 

“Always so positive.”

“Only because I believe in you.” He grins.

You ignore the warmth spreading through your veins and to your cheeks. 

Get it together, you’re under attack right now, you chide yourself internally. 

When the lift doors slide open, you nod to the medic and approach Sidon. 

“Get us out of here.” Sidon commands Parth. 

“Yes, sir.” He replies. 

The Meson Martinet lurches upwards toward the atmosphere, shaking slightly from taking fire. Yours and Sidon’s eyes remain forward out the windows, until you see the vast blackness of space.

“Hyperdrive. Now.” Sidon commands.

The ship pauses ever so slightly before shooting forwards into the dancing bright blues of hyperspace. You can feel everyone visibly relax once Sidon sits down in the captain’s seat. You stand next to him, looking down at him.

“Where to now?” You ask him.

He gently waves you off, to let him think. With a nod, you walk away to the deck command. 

“Reset the coordinates.” You tell the pilot, Parth, a young Rodian, but also one of the best pilots you’ve ever seen.

“Where for, ma’am?” He asks, quietly.

You glance back at the pondering captain, who still seems to be deep in thought, before giving Parth the new coordinates. It’s a quick split decision that you make. If Sidon decides that it was a waste of fuel, then fine. But for now, you know it’ll be a safe place to go. 

As you walk through the ship, you do your duties of inspecting things, checking the cargo, making sure people are doing what they’re supposed to be doing, helping out when you’re needed. You’ve been Sidon’s first mate for the last four years. It was a hard job at first, but now it all seems to come natural to you.

Kix smiles and says your name from the open door of the incredibly small makeshift medbay when you start to pass by. Stopping to lean in the doorway, you cross your arms with your own soft smile.

You’ll never forget the first time you and Kix locked eyes when he woke up from that cryo-cycle stasis pod. He looked so scared and confused. It made your heart hurt right away, even though you did your best to hide that fact. 

“You don’t understand!” He yelled, his voice breaking as he shoved Reveth, a red twi’lek. “I’m a medic, and I learned something… something horrible… Fives knew. He’s the one who figured it all out after Tup… and it got him killed. But I kept investigating. They said it was a virus…” 

You see out of the corner of your eye Sidon gesturing subtly to Squeaky, a large Gamorrean, who’s surprisingly kind and funny, and Pendewquell, a tall Ishi Tib man who’s been on the crew probably longer than you’ve been alive. The two guys start circling to either side of the poor clone. 

“A chip in our heads. In all the clones’ heads! And an order. A command to betray… kill… and it comes from the Chancellor!” 

Kix had grabbed Squeaky’s outstretched hand and flung him into Pendewquell. The effort is obviously too much for him though and makes him stagger a bit but he keeps talking, quicker this time. 

“The Seppies… captured me. Interrogated me to find out who else knew.” He seems to be sweating and shaking. He looks so sad, your heart is urging you to go to him. 

Finally his eyes land on you and he starts to slow down. 

“I… I never had a chance to tell anyone else what I learned. I didn’t know who I could trust… But I wouldn’t tell them anyway.”

You nod. You’re sure your face is mirroring the heartbreak in this man’s voice. His eyes never leave yours as he continues. 

“So they said… they said they were sending me to someone I couldn’t keep secrets from… To the Sith… the cold… the freezing, burning cold…” He slumps immediately to the ground, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. 

You rush to him, holding him up. His body still freezing cold, you take off your jacket and put it over him.

“Stasis poisoning,” Reveth tells you quietly. “He was trapped in there for too long.” 

“No…! I can still save them. Skywalker…” The clone mumbles intently. “Get me General Skywalker! He’ll help. We can save… save the Jedi… save the Republic!”

“What’s your ID, trooper?” Quiggold, a large nervous Gabdorin, asks him.

“CT-6116.” He coughs. “Kix. They call me… Kix… sir…” 

And with that, he slips into unconsciousness. Reveth hands you a breather to place over his face. 

Kix. You can already tell you’re going to do anything to help this man. No matter what. 

You’d barely made it out of that cruiser alive. A bunch of old super battle droids had powered up and then the ship had started to sink. You’d gone to escape in the escape pods but there had only been one and Sidon pushed everyone into it and then pushed the activation switch, which had launched the crew at a high velocity through the Sea of Sand back on Ponemah Terminal, away from the burning and sinking cruiser. 

You’d stayed nearby for three weeks, camping out, scared to leave Sidon behind if he’d somehow made it. You weren’t ready to be a captain yet. You’d only been a first mate for a year. But supplies had started to run low and a desert planet was a really bad place to be without food and water. 

Kix had recovered, physically. He was of course in deep shock over all the history lessons you’d gently given him. 

You hear your name behind you and find Kix, who was after two weeks out of cryo finally looking a lot better. 

At least, physically. He still woke up every night with nightmares, so you stayed nearby him at all times in case he needed you. Everyone would cast you knowing glances and Q even made the mistake of making a comment, but you threatened his life and he apologized and promised to mind his own damn business. 

“Are you alright?” You ask Kix. 

He smiles that heartbreaking smile and nods. He’s incredibly handsome. Probably the most handsome man you’ve ever laid eyes on. And since you aren’t the type to sleep around or fall in love, this revelation of how Kix is making you feel makes you nervous.

Reveth and Quiggold walk over to you, intent clear on their faces. Well, mostly on Reveth’s. Q just looks nervous as always. 

“What?” You cross your arms.

“He’s gone.” Reveth tells you. You know she means Sidon. “And we might as well have sunk with him. We’ve lost everything. We’re ruined.” 

“I know… I just…” You look at the massive indent of where the cruiser was three weeks ago. “One more week. I mean maybe-”

“Maybe what?” She demands, clearly agitated. “Maybe the captain somehow tamed the giant worm and rode it through an explosive desert of sand and lava? Is that what you’re hoping for?” 

You shrug. Theoretically, if anyone could do all of that, Sidon could. But… you know deep down there’s more than likely no chance and that it’d be best for the crew if you were to pack it in and start to head back to the Meson Martinet.

Except right as you start to tell everyone to pack it in, yours and everyone’s jaw drops. In the doorway, stands the Crimson Corsair. Sidon Ithano. His cloak is in tatters and his red helmet is in desperate need of a polish. But here he is right now in front of you… alive.

“H-how?” Quiggold asks, clearly at a loss of words.

Hell, so are you. You’re so happy, you could cry. 

Sidon waves away the questions and instead tosses a metal cube to Kix. 

“What is it?” You ask him.

He looks from you to the cube. “It’s… it’s a Separatist cruiser’s memory core.” Kix tells you. “These were designed to self-destruct. But this one… it must have malfunctioned.” 

He looks up at you. “This cube carries a complete map to every hidden droid factory ever built by the Separatists. Secret bases. Weapons warehouses. Everything.”

Reveth passes by and takes the cube, whistling appreciatively at it. “This would’ve been impossible to decode fifty years ago. Now? Easy. We track down those installations… that’s our ancient buried treasure! We’ll be rich!”Quiggold whistles. “And we just happen to have an expert in Clone Wars-era military installations and their security systems on hand. Welcome aboard, Kix.” 

Kix turns back to you and smiles, making your chest tighten at the sight. You smile softly back at him. If he wants to join the crew, you’d be happy to let him. But if he’d rather go on his own, then you’d have to be okay with that, too.

“Would you like to join the Meson Martinet, Kix?” You ask him, trying to keep the hopeful tone down.

He looks around at the rest of the crew before settling his back on your own. “I’d like that very much.”

You try to ignore the excitement stirring in your stomach and instead cast your smile toward the alive captain.

“How did you survive? The fire… the sand… the giant worm?” You ask him, unable to help the curiousness.

“You know better than that, love. I’m Sidon Ithano… I don’t die so easily.” 

“You busy?” Kix asks you. 

You glance down the empty durasteel hall and then back at Kix, going inside the medbay, shutting the door behind you and leaning against the door, crossing your arms again. 

“I’m sorry someone got to that Trandoshan guy before we could.” You murmur. 

Kix was already showing some slight aging. Maybe that of a man in his mid 30s. The lines in his forehead form a little more each year, and his beard makes him look a bit older. In a good way. Distinguished. Rugged. Handsome. 

The thought of finding this scientist when it could be too late… 

“I’m not upset.” Kix’s voice is softer than it should be. 

He should be upset.

“I am, though.” You look up from the floor, staring at him, coldly. 

He opens his mouth to say something, but is interrupted by Parth comm-ing you to come to the bridge. 

“On my way.” You keep eye contact with Kix as you speak into the small device. 

You and Kix stare at each other for another moment as his brown eyes bare into yours. With a sigh, you turn to go. 

“If…” He starts, making you pause. “If we don’t find this scientist… it won’t be the end of the world.” 

You turn to glare at him. Maybe not the end of the world… but it would be the end of yours… 

“You’ll need to move on-” He tells you, but you don’t let him finish because you walk away, back up to the bridge. 

How could he say such things? Although, it’s not like he knows how you feel. He doesn’t know how you’d tear apart the entire galaxy to find this scientist. He doesn’t know the things you’d do to give him a good, long, happy life. But you can show him. 

When you reach the bridge, Sidon beckons you forward to him. 

“Concordia?” His modulated voice asks, his head tilted ever so slightly. 

You don’t have to be able to see that he’s quirking an eyebrow at you, curiously. He’s basically been prepping you to be captain since you joined the crew. He always tells you what a great leader you’re going to make one day. So, he’s not questioning your choice per se. But he is curious as to why. You know that.

You shrug. “There’s someone that I think could help us.”

“Incoming aircraft, identify yourselves.” A familiar voice says, and you raise your eyebrows at Sidon, waiting for his final okay. 

He thinks for only a few seconds before nodding. You nod once to him before turning back toward Parth and his command deck. 

“Vil,” You say your brother’s name, letting them know you’re not a threat. “It’s me. I need help.” 

It’s quiet for a long moment. Too quiet for too long. When finally…

“Free to dock. Wait to be boarded.” 

“Copy.” You sigh, then look at your crew. “On your best behavior, everyone.” 

You can feel Sidon’s curious smirk as Parth lands the Meson Martinet. 

“Don’t give me that, right now.” You shake your head, amused. 

“Aye, Captain.” He murmurs, teasingly.

TAGS: @twistedstitcher27 @rebel-finn @rexandechosandwich @madameminor @dumfanting @rain-on-kamino @corona-one @tecker @ladykatakuri @brynhildrmimi @the-sith-in-the-sky-with-diamond @zoeykallus @maulslittlemeowmeow @littlemousedroid @arctrooper69 @rexxdjarin @padawancat97 @hated-by-me @sleepingsun501 @idledreams @redheadgirl @themcuwriter @ashotofspotchka @sunshinesdaydream @crosshairsimp73 @ariadnes-red-thread @rosmariner @heyitsaloy @starstofillmydream @high-ct5555 @echos-girlfriend @sleepywych @nekotaetae @justanothersadperson93 @aconstructofamind @book-of-baba-fett @chopper-base @palliateclaw @501st-rexster @dead-poolz @nahoney22 @where-is-my-mind-tho @jediknightjana @erishimoon @witching3 @queen-of-many-fandoms @wizardofrozz  @burningfieldof-clover @rebelsriley

[breannasfluff]

[Lift] with Sidon as the sender and Wild as the receiver. Possible a reunion between the two after the chain gets dumped into Zora's Domain?

The portal brings them to just outside Zora Domain, much to Wild’s relief. Not only will they have a safe place to rest with real beds, but Sidon might be there as well.

Wild leads them into the Domain and greets the guards, then gets them settled at the inn. 

“Have you seen Sidon?” leads up him up the hill where there was once a lynel. Now, it’s a beautiful pool with Mipha’s statue at the top. It’s here he finds Sidon, talking to his sister’s statue.

“Sidon!” Wild scrambles up the watery steps, careless of the way his pants are soaked. “I’ve missed you!”

The zora prince spins, then shows teeth in a full smile. “My most cherished friend! You have returned!”

At the top, Wild throws himself against Sidon in a hug, although he can only reach his waist. The zora solves it, scooping him up into his arms so they can hug at a more comfortable height.

Wild nuzzles against his headfin, drinking in the faint smell of fish and freshwater. It’s not unpleasant and after so long around the prince it’s as familiar as the smell of Hyrule.

“I’ve missed you too, brave hero.” Sidon doesn’t put him down, just holds him close. Wild is happy to stay in his arms.

[galahadenough]

I keep thinking about Sidon, and how totk handled him. I really can't help but wonder if one of the higher ups at Nintendo stumbled onto a fic for which he was very much not the intended audience. Because while no individual thing feels like it's horrendously bad, when it all comes together something does seem a little... fishy.

First and most obviously, there's Yona. At the most basic level, that is a classic reaction to having too much shipping. Throw a fiancee into the mix. And her design is interesting. It ended up working for a lot of people, it seems, but the head shape is almost edging into a cartoony look in comparison to the other Zora, and there are no other Zora with that vivid of a color. And for me personally, the english verbal aspects (yes, yes; sure) was somewhat grating. Sidon is also a distinct color, though, and it could be an indication of royalty. But it is still such a vivid green. But she is also lovely, helpful, supportive of both Link and Sidon, and really stands on her own as a character. All of these things ended up working really well for her, but it makes me wonder about the intentions behind the design.

So, we have tick one in the fishy column. By itself it wouldn't really stand out to me, but it keeps going.

With every other sage, you find the sage and proceed to work together. It is such a feeling of companionship, and support, especially in a franchise such as Zelda that is built on solitary questing for the most part. With Sidon, he sends you off on your own for nearly every step of the way.

He sends you off to talk to Jiahto at Toto Lake.

He sends you off to find the king.

He sends you off to figure out Floating Scale Island.

Oh! Finally! He goes with you to check out the beam of light... but he stays behind when you go through the whirlpool to the Ancient Zora Waterworks. Nevermind.

He goes with you to Wellspring Island, but immediately suggests splitting up until you reach the Water Temple.

So this is fishy point number two for me. It doesn't really fit his personality and actions in the last game, and it feels very distinct from the other sages. By itself, not too weird, but we're doing math here.

The water temple feels kind of off to me too. With Tulin, you have the Stormwind Arc, a Rito myth and children's tale come to life with a thrilling ascent into the sky. With Yunobo you have the Fire Temple, a gorgeous monument to the history of the gorons, rooted in the very depths of Death Mountain itself, buried among the rocks and lava of the earth, feeling so symbolic of the earth the gorons come from. Even with Riju, with the game not quite committing to the contentious history that the Gerudo have due to their association with Ganon, you have this epic and ancient temple rising from the sand, a monument to the Gerudo's past, a part of their history consumed by the very desert they call home.

The water temple is... pretty enough. I might have been a bit more impressed if it were my first sage. But it's not that big and it doesn't feel very connected to the Zora. It's in the sky. They are fish. It uses the low gravity mechanism. Which is fun. But why?? Why here, why for the Zora who are built for water more so than running and jumping? There isn't even that much water involved outside of the vases you fill to dump on the muck. No rivers. Nothing very deep, nothing with currents, nothing involving large or natural sources of water. Just. Water facets. And weird Zonai (Zonai, not Zora) water bubble machines.

That makes fishy point number three, and in my opinion the worse point against it (tying with my next point, perhaps). A lot of this post is based on opinions, and things that could be explained away. But it feels wrong that this temple is so disconnected from the Zora.

Fishy point number four. The Mucktorok. It... I have no real issues with it existing in a Zelda game. It wasn't my favorite, and I can see how people could enjoy it. I've enjoyed hearing other's perspectives on it. It's goofy and silly. It's interesting, in a way. But it's placement in the game is what makes it feel like a deliberate snub at Sidon and the Zoras. It is the only boss that isn't cinematic. It isn't dramatic or epic, and it doesn't give a sense of danger as much as a sense of comedy. We've had enemies like that before, but they are mini-bosses. On top of that, from what I've heard, you don't even get a cool fuse weapon when you defeat one in the depths. That, to me, feels a bit deliberate.

My last point doubles as an idea for improvement, and is somewhat connected to my issues with the Water Temple. And that is Sidon's sage power. Outside of the temples I get the most use out of Tulin's ability. Then Yunobo. I don't really use Riju's ability often, but I can really see the use. But Sidon's ability really doesn't seem that useful. The shield feels like a worse version of Daruk's Protection due to the fact that you have to activate it by tracking down Sidon's shade (and I think it expires if you don't use it quickly enough?), and while not useless, I don't think a lot of people plan to be hit. And the water projectile probably isn't useless, but it seems like more trouble than it's worth when you can use an arrow, or just throw something.

Inside the Water Temple it feels even worse since that is where the ability is supposed to be showcased. I had so many splash fruit, and that was so much easier than remembering to talk to Sidon and waiting for his ability to reset. I think I only used his ability for the water spout wheels. Maybe a couple of times in the boss fight, but that felt more difficult than using the splash fruit, too.

My idea for improvement is a bit of a rework of the temple and a different ability. Sidon is shown to be able to manipulate water and currents, so his ability could be the ability to do just that. He could create a current that runs up or down a river (or through still water), the current could be a stream of water that rises up above the water, straight up or at an angle. That could be a method of travel in the temple. Instead of using those odd Zonai bubbles to travel it would be a Zora ability in the Zora temple. That would also give more of a reason to have more or larger bodies of water. You know. Having water in the Water Temple. And this is all without even considering adding some mechanic for going underwater, like is so common in Zelda games. But that is another option that would have fit so well.

I could see this temple being either in the sky or on/under ground. And this ability would be so useful outside of the temple. You could travel more easily in the water. You could use it to travel up into the air above water to get a boost up, and that could fill a little bit of the gap from the lack of Revali's Gale. It would be interesting, it would fit the character, it would be useful.

So that's five fishy points. That.. kind of got away from me, but it's been cycling through my head for a while now. And like I said at the beginning, all of these points feel fairly innocuous by themselves. It's just so many things that add up to the feeling that someone in the creators really didn't like Sidon. And that bothers me because I really like Sidon.

Despite this (not) small rant, I truly love the game and so many things about it. And the funny thing is, I don't think I would have gotten so worked up about it if I hadn't gotten the thought of some horrified high up Nintendo executive reading shark-dick porn stuck in my head. I still find that thought hilarious.

And with that, I'm off!

[asksidon]

Hi! I was possibly wondering where you do a prompt where Sidon cheers up his S/O who's struggling with insecurities because of stretch marks they have?

You hate that you have to push Sidon away whenever he wants to swim with you. You haven't let him cuddle or make love to you in ages, always giving some feeble excuse or another that revolves around headaches or fatigue. You don't want to admit the real reason, the one that came to you as you watched Tula and her friends in the water. You weren't trying to compare yourself or consciously looking for reasons to beat yourself up, but the longer you looked at their gleaming, smooth bodies, the more insecure you felt.

You're trying not to think of that unworthiness as you divide your attention between a book and watching him swim. He begged you to get out of your clothes and go into the water with him, but you made an excuse about not wanting to get your hair wet. He promised he would take extra care not to splash you, but you shook your head. "Go ahead," you told him. "I'll be right here."

He glides up a waterfall in the distance and takes his time exploring the area over there. You begin to worry; you know sometimes he patrols for monsters even during these pleasant jaunts, but finally he swims back to your area and lays on his stomach next to you. He avoids your gaze as he says, "Is it something I've done?"

"Hmm?" You close your book to give him your full attention. His meaning doesn't click right away, but then you realize he's taken your avoidance as unhappiness toward him. "Oh. Gosh, no," you answer. "It's nothing, Sidon. Really. I just haven't felt up to much lately."

"It's very unlike you. I can't help but notice that you're wearing long pants in the thick of summer." He gestures toward your legs. "You've been avoiding anything to do with wearing fewer clothes or being close to me for weeks. I can't recall anything I've said that might make you do so, but if I have, I hope you would tell me so that I can offer you my deepest apologies. I think you're beautiful, however, so I think it must be unlikely that I've said anything amiss -- although I admit, sometimes even my sensitivities can miss the mark at times --"

He's babbling now, and you want to tell him how perfect he is. That he hasn't done or said anything wrong. That it's because he is so perfect that you know he deserves someone better. Someone like Tula, who bears no visible flaws anywhere on her body. The Zora are not shy, and you've seen her. How could he want a Hylian like you when he could have someone like that?

"--I've really gone off my point now, haven't I?" he says, and you realize you've missed a bit as you were lost in your thoughts. "Anyway, all that to say, if this is because you are somehow feeling self-conscious, then don't. Because if I am not a complete beast for saying so, I've been absolutely craving you for the last several weeks, and if you won't tell me what's going on soon, I fear I may implode from my desire for you."

You see his face redden at this confession, and all of a sudden, you feel terribly silly.

You've never seen him throw any lingering looks Tula's way, and he only talks to her if he needs her to complete some kind of mission. Lately, he's been giving her low-hanging fruit to make her feel useful, such as preparing care baskets for his guards and reporting any gossip of monster sightings heard in the Domain.

"I don't even want to say what was wrong, but I'm cured now," you reply. "I think I just needed to hear that. All of that. I crave you, too."

He doesn't answer immediately, but you can sense that he's relieved. His blush fades as he rolls over onto his back.

"I don't believe you." You realize he's teasing you as you see the glint of mischief in his eye. "You'll have to prove it, I'm afraid."

"Only if you promise never to be shy about that sort of thing again. Why would you think you're a beast for saying things like that?"

"Some of the thoughts I have about you . . . hmm, I'd better not go into it," he admits, the shyness coming back into his expression. "Afraid I can't promise, but I'll try to be more expressive. Are you sure you can't tell me what was bothering you, truly?"

You go silent for a while, then sigh. "Stretch marks." You realize you'll have to explain as confusion marks his features. He's never heard the term before.

"What are stretch marks?"

"They're on me. On my skin, lower down. I've had them for a while, but just . . . watching Tula and her friends the other day, I guess I became more conscious of them. They're all so beautiful. The Zora women, I mean. I don't know how to . . . how to compete with them."

You can see he still doesn't understand.

"You're beautiful too, and I wasn't aware of any competition," he reasons. "In fact, you would win if I were judging because you are more beautiful than them, if I'm being honest. I suppose I would not be the best unbiased judge, though. You have a hold over me, Y/N. Something unlike anyone else has ever had. I wish I could give you a glimpse inside my mind. Actually, I don't. Because then you would see what a beast I am, especially when it comes to you. You are absolutely irresistible to me. Do you know that? Do you understand it?" He sits up. "Would you show me these stretch marks? You needn't be shy. We're quite alone here."

You take in a deep breath and stand before him, then strip down to the areas that have been stopping you from being intimate with him. You force yourself to look him in the eye as you've revealed yourself, and you trace your fingers over one of the marks in question. "There's one," you say. "And another."

He brings his hand up to touch them with you. "This is what you were worried about?"

You nod, a shiver running up your spine at his fingers on you, brushing you with tenderness.

"I've noticed them, but I just thought they were scars. Sort of like the ones I have." He sits back. "You must not compare yourself to anyone else, Y/N. Will you tell me next time you start to feel that way? I can't help you or show you the error of your thinking if you won't talk to me."

Slowly, you nod. "I know. I'm sorry, Sidon."

"No apology needed." He pulls you down into his lap. "Now, will you allow me to show you how utterly incorrect you've been these last few weeks? Perhaps you'll allow me to share some of my beastly thoughts with you, if you're feeling brave . . ."

[darthpastry]

Incorrect Quotes of the Kingdom Pt. 8 (ft. FNaF)

Link: I’m ambidextrous. 

Sidon: That’s what’s up my friend, love who you love.  —————————————————————

Gregory: I’m so glad we don’t have steel bones. 

Vanessa: What? 

Tulin: Could you imagine how much that would hurt during the summer? 

Link: Winter would be no picnic either. 

Gregory: Maybe we’d end up sticking to our bones.  —————————————————————

Michael: Look, I know what you’re going to say, he’s my dad and I should try to get along with him. 

Henry: No, he’s crazy and needs to go down.  —————————————————————

Glamrock Chica: I don’t want to talk about it. 

Roxy: Good! We don’t want to hear about it.  —————————————————————

Link: *to Rhoam after waking up on the Great Plateau* I have no memory of who I am or where I am, much less of you. However, I harbor a deep resentment towards you.  —————————————————————

Purah: You duping all these materials has had a negative impact on the economy. The rate of inflation is crazy—

Link: *visible confusion*

Purah: *sigh* Not stonks.  —————————————————————

Link: I threw a ball for my dog. I know it’s extravagant, but they look amazing in a tuxedo.  —————————————————————

Link: What’s this?

Tulin: A ball pit. 

Link: Incorrect, Gregory?

Gregory: A clown’s nest.  —————————————————————

Gregory: Hey, can I borrow your phone?

Vanessa: Yeah, sure. 

Gregory: *turns on airplane mode* BE FREE!

Vanessa: WAIT NO--

Gregory: *Throws phone out window*

—————————————————————

Random worker: What would you like?

Gregory: The souls of the innocent--

Glamrock Freddy: A bagel.

Gregory: NOOOOOOOOOOO!

Glamrock Freddy: Two bagels.

—————————————————————

Gregory: *holding a python* Guys I impulsively bought a snake, what do I name him  Vanessa: You did WHAT–  Michael: William Snakepeare.

—————————————————————

Link: Hey, Purah? Purah: Yes? Link: Can a person breathe inside a washing machine while it’s on? Purah: ... Purah: Where’s Tulin?

—————————————————————

Tulin: Here’s a fun Christmas idea. We hang mistletoe, but instead of kissing, you have to FIGHT whoever else is under it. Teba: Tulin, no. Link: *nodding* Mistlefoe. Teba: Please stop encouraging them.

—————————————————————

Zelda: I trust Link. Rauru: You think they know what they're doing? Zelda: I wouldn't go that far.

—————————————————————

Vanessa: We need a distraction. Michael: Is anyone here good at jumping up and down and making weird noises? Gregory: *in a whisper* My time has come.

—————————————————————

Vanessa: *driving Tulin and Gregory* So how was your day? Tulin and Gregory: *in unison* We almost got surprise adopted! Vanessa: What? Gregory: We almost got kidnapped. Vanessa: Oh, okay. Vanessa: *slams on the breaks* WAIT WHAT?!

—————————————————————

Daruk: Why are you on the floor? Link: I’m depressed. Also, I was stabbed, can you get Mipha, please?

—————————————————————

Link: Who thinks I can fit 15 marshmallows in my mouth?  Rauru: You’re a hazard to society  Tulin: And a coward. DO TWENTY.

—————————————————————

Gregory: *Screams* Link: *Screams louder to establish dominance* Zelda: Should we do something? Vanessa: No, I want to see who wins.

—————————————————————

Purah: I think we're missing something. Tulin: Teamwork? Gregory: Cohesion? Link: A general sense of what we’re doing?

—————————————————————

Tulin: Good responses for being stabbed with a knife? Riju: Rude. Gregory: That’s fair. Sonia: Not again. Link: Are you going to want this back?

—————————————————————

Zelda: You really put aside everything and came all this way for me? How did you even get here so fast? Link: Several traffic violations. Tulin: Three counts of resisting arrest. Riju: Roughly thirteen cans of energy drinks. Sidon: Also, that’s not our car.

—————————————————————

Link: Am I going too far? Rauru: No, no, no. You went too far about seven hours ago. Now you're going to prison.

—————————————————————

Gregory: I'm incredibly fast at math. Cassie: Alright, what's 30x17? Gregory: 47. Cassie: That's not even close. Gregory: But it was fast.

—————————————————————

William: .. .----. -- / ... --- .-. .-. -.-- [translation: I’M SORRY] Henry: What's that? William: Remorse code. Henry: I'm even angrier now.

—————————————————————

Tulin: If you were to vacuum up jello through a metal tube, well I think that’d be a neat noise. Riju: I beg to differ. Tulin: Then Beg.

—————————————————————

Buliara: You know, not every problem can be solved with a sword. Riju: That's why I carry two swords.

—————————————————————

Sidon: Please, I'm begging you go to a doctor. Link: I'm sorry is this OUR stab wound? Stay out of it.

—————————————————————

Roxy: Nothing in life is free. Glamrock Chica: Love is free! Monty: Adventure is free. Glamrock Freddy: Knowledge is free. Tulin, Link, and Gregory: *crash through the wall in a go-kart, wearing 8-bit sunglasses and shouting in unison* EVERYTHING IS FREE IF YOU TAKE IT WITHOUT PAYING!

—————————————————————

Mipha: Why is Revali so mad? Urbosa: *snickering* They took one of those “Which Character Are You?” quizzes Mipha: And...? Daruk: *shaking with laughter* They got Link.

—————————————————————

Zelda: You lying, cheating, piece of crap! Link: Oh yeah? You’re the idiot who thinks you can get away with everything you do. WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD! Zelda: I’m leaving you, and I’M TAKING THE DOG WITH ME! Sidon: *picking up the monopoly board* I think we’re gonna stop playing now.

—————————————————————

Purah: *Trying to fill out legal paperwork stuff* Were you guys born AMAB or AFAB? Zelda: Bold of you to assume I was born at all. Robbie: I personally was created in a lab. Link: I just straight up spawned lol.

—————————————————————

Vanessa: *watching the news* Someone tried to fight a squid at the aquarium today! Michael: *walks in covered with ink* Well, maybe the squid was being a jerk.

—————————————————————

Monty: Today is a day of running through hurdles. Glamrock Freddy: Aren’t you supposed to jump OVER hurdles? Monty: Whatever. Fear is only something to be afraid of if you let it scare you.

—————————————————————

Gregory: How do I deal with my enemies? Link: Kill them. Glamrock Freddy: That's a bit extreme, he needs a more passive solution. Link: Kill them only a little?

—————————————————————

Link: Oh just so you know, it's very muggy outside Zelda: Link, I swear, if I step outside and all of our mugs are on the front lawn... Link: *Sips coffee from bowl*

—————————————————————

Gregory: So, what’s for dinner? Vanessa: *staring at the food she burnt* Regret.

—————————————————————

Link: Lol heads up if you try to make a candle with food coloring, the food coloring will just sink to the bottom of the glass, and when the flame eventually reaches the bottom all the food coloring will catch fire and become one giant tall flame that you cannot possibly blow out and the glass will start to crack and then you'll throw your tea on it in a panic and then the extremely hot food coloring will boil and sizzle horribly and then the glass will shatter. Please take my word on this lmfao Riju: What did you do op? Link: A MISTAKE

—————————————————————

Rauru: Link... Link: Oh no, 'Link' in b-flat. You're disappointed.

—————————————————————

Cassie: Someone will die. Helpi: Of fun!

—————————————————————

Link: Sorry it took me so long to bail you out of jail. Tulin: Nah, it’s my fault, I shouldn’t’ve used my one phone call to prank call the police.

—————————————————————

Link: Just because I'm too short to reach the lowest shelf in the cabinet doesn't mean you shouldn't watch out for your kneecaps.

—————————————————————

Gregory: *Kicks the door down looking panicked* Vanessa: What did you do? Gregory: Nobody died! Glamrock Freddy: WHAT KIND OF ANSWER IS THAT?!

—————————————————————

Zelda: Hey, Sonia? Can I get some dating advice? Sonia: Just because I’m with Rauru doesn’t mean I know how I did it.

—————————————————————

Purah: We need to distract these guys. Link: Leave it to me. Link: Centaurs have six limbs and are therefore insects. Discuss. Gregory, Tulin, and Cassie: *Immediately begin arguing*

—————————————————————

Vanessa: You often use humor to deflect trauma. Michael: Thank you. Vanessa: I didn't say that was a good thing. Michael: What I'm hearing is, you think I'm funny.

—————————————————————

Rauru: Ganondorf, stop! This isn't you, you've gone mad with power! Ganondorf: Well of course I have. Have you ever tried going mad without power? It's boring.

—————————————————————

Glamrock Freddy: How did none of you hear what I just said? Roxy: I’ve been zoned out for the past two and a half hours. Glamrock Chica: I got distracted about halfway through. Monty: Ignoring you was a conscious decision.

—————————————————————

Link: Would you stab your best friend in the leg for 10 million gold? Gregory: You stab me, and then when my leg gets better, we buy a giant house. Tulin: You can stab me too, then we'll have 20 million. Link: Good thinking.

—————————————————————

Cassie: How petty can you get? Gregory: I once edited a Wikipedia article to win an argument I was wrong about.

—————————————————————

Link: Welcome, fellow idiots Purah: Hello, Link. Link: No, no, not you, you're not an idiot. Purah: You underestimate me.

—————————————————————

Link: If you can’t beat them, dress better than them.

[incorrect-koh-posts]

In your research, have you ever run across any reliable descriptions of Agnes de Courtenay, her brother Joscelin, or Sybilla?

I am sorry to disappoint you, dear anon, but - quite frankly: no. To my knowledge, no first-hand accounts of what they looked or behaved like survive. The problem is that neither William of Tyre nor Ernoul describe women in their texts; the only woman whose appearance William briefly comments on is Theodora Komnena, the Byzantine betrothed of Baldwin III.

As far as I've read, William only mentions Agnes of Courtenay in the context of the annulment of her marriage to Amalric; as one of Amalric's chief character flaws the chronicler mentions that the king was a philanderer who "is said to have abandoned himself without restraint to the sins of the flesh and to have seduced married women" (A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea, Book XIX), which, by extension, implies Agnes to be the 'betrayed wife' in the way she is so often depicted in modern fiction. William actually goes on to throw quite a bit of shade on her in his recounting of these events, emphasising her two incestous marriages:

"After the death of his brother, however, when Amaury claimed the kingdom devolving upon him by hereditary right, he was forced to put away his wife [...], for it was claimed that they were within the fourth degree of blood relationship, a fact which was later solemnly attested in the face of the church by relatives common to both. An annulment [...] was pronounced, therefore, and the marriage dissolved [...]. Amaury remained unmarried for a time, but Agnes at once united herself in the bonds of matrimony with the noble and illustrious man, Hugh d'Ibelin, son of the older Balian. [...] After Hugh's death and while Amaury was still living, Agnes entered into the same bonds of affection with Renaud of Sidon, son of Gerard. This alliance is said to have been not less illegal than her former relation to King Amaury. For Gerard, the father of Renaud, a blood relation of both as he certainly was, established by his sworn statement the consanguinity of these two [...]. A second annulment consequently followed [...]." (Book XIX)

Ernoul, too, goes on to slander Agnes in his Chronique, accusing her of being an "immoral woman" - which, as Helen J. Nicholson writes, was very likely a result of later political rivalries and "complaints about Agnes's influence over her son" (35).

Of Joscelin III of Courtenay, Agnes' brother and Sibylla's uncle, likewise no description survives. William of Tyre spent quite some ink detailing the deeds of Joscelin's grandfather and father, praising the character of the former but noting about the latter that he "was far inferior to his father in character [...]: a lazy, idle man, given over to low and dissolute pleasures, one who spurned good ways and followed base pursuits" (Book XVII). This Joscelin II (who died in captivity in Aleppo in the late 1150s) was the man who lost the County of Edessa first to the Muslim forces of Zengi 1144, then again to Zengi's son Nur ad-Din in 1146. Thus, Joscelin III, being Count of Edessa only by title, had effectively no lands to rule over and from which to gain income. But he came south to the Kingdom of Jerusalem after Agnes had married Amalric, and the king granted him some land and income around Acre (Nicholson 34). Like Raymond III of Tripoli, Joscelin was captured by Nur ad-Din during the Battle of Harim in 1164, and only released in 1176, and went on to marry a sister of Stephanie of Milly (who was the wife of Reynald of Châtillon). He also became the guardian of Baldwin V in 1185 while Raymond served as the boy's regent.

As for Sibylla, I shall give you Helen J. Nicholson's two cents on the situation because she writes about her far more succintly than I could:

"Unlike her father King Amaury of Jerusalem, her younger brother King Baldwin IV, or her cousin King Henry II of England, no contemporary who saw her described Sybil's physical appearance, so we do not know whether she was (like her father) tall, overweight, with an attractive face, bright eyes, an aquiline nose and yellow hair, or (like her little brother) simply attractive for her age, or (like her cousin) of above medium height, strongly built, with freckles and blue-grey eyes. We also do not know whether she shared any of her father's or brother's personality traits: whether (like her father) she spoke with a slight speech impediment, had a sharp mind and was able to accurately recall what she had heard, enjoyed hearing about history and was always ready to argue a point, or (like her brother) was good at riding, with a tenacious memory and a sharp mind, loving conversation, thrifty, but with a stammer. Sybil's contemporaries scarcely ever ascribed any emotion to her: only her tears of submission when she was humbling herself before Saladin to request the release of her husband Guy after the surrender of Jerusalem early in October 1187, and her tears of joy when she met Guy after Saladin released him in early summer 1188. Such tears were an appropriate emotion for a loving wife. [...]

The difficulty of establishing women's actual deeds and authority from contemporary narrative accounts, which insisted that respectable women should not hold authority of take an active role in society except in certain limited roles (typically as devoted wife or mother), is familiar to all historians who have attempted to study the history of women. The narrative commentaries on Sybil's career present modern readers with the additional problem that their gendered expectations were further filtered through the distorting lens of the complex political situation in the kingdom of Jerusalem. Those commentators who wrote after Saladin's victory at Hattin on 4 July 1187 and his capture of Jerusalem on 2 October 1187 also sought to assign blame or credit for these events and adjusted their accounts accordingly." (8ff.)

Works Cited:

Helen J. Nicholson: Sybil, Queen of Jerusalem, 1186-1190. Routledge, 2022.

Emily Atwater Babcock & A.C. Krey (translators): A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea by William, Archbishop of Tyre. Colombia University Press, 1943.

[myststone]

Secret Zelda Outfit and Amiibo?

Okay, so I was obsessing over the new art for Riju, Sidon, and Tulin (as one does) and I realized something strange.

The art looks different compared to the last wave, more “rough-around-the-edges.” Don’t get me wrong, still great, but less "stark?” idk

Look at these two pictures of Riju (our beloved):

The first image comes from the first wave, and the second image comes from the second wave. 

You can see the difference, right? The second image has its shading slightly different and less white accents. A post by @gaondoodles suggested that this was because they may have chosen to paint over the models, and that makes so much sense. Even the lighting from the second image looks like it’s modeled after the cel-shading style from the game.

And it’s not just for Riju, it’s the same for Tulin and Sidon, too.

And so this got me thinking, what about Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf?

This literally feels like it came from like a frame from in-game footage, especially when compared to the first image we got. 

But then

Zelda?

Ever since it’s release, her art’s always throw me off because it has less detail and cel-styled shading compared to Link’s:

And yeah, sure, Link’s the protagonist, but it’s called The Legend of Zelda for a reason. I know Nintendo wouldn’t do us dirty like that.

In addition, Link got much more art released than Zelda. So that begs the question, why? Because there’s got to be more art of her somewhere..

So what if it’s not released because it’s a spoiler?

What if Zelda will have a new form or outfit or something that is preventing them from sharing the art???

WHAT IF THERE’S AN AMIIBO OF SAID OUTFIT OR SOMETHING?!?!?

If you can’t tell I’m going into heavy debt because of this game.

;-;

[three-bunnies-in-a-trenchcoat]

"Hey, Zelda." Link gave the dragon a watery smile, sitting down and patting the fur next to him. "It's been a while, sorry. Penn needed my help with a story."

He blew a strand of hair away from his face, wrapping the wings of his glide suit around him as protection from the wind. "It's stupid that I'm doing this again, isn't it? I spent a year putting off fighting the Calamity, and now I'm just wasting time exploring the Depths and Hyrule again. I found Mineru three months ago, for Hylia's sake." He gave a weak laugh. "Although I don't think Josha would call it a waste. You'd like her."

"I know what you'd tell me– 'The Demon King dealt a great blow against you, Link.'" His voice shifted, mimicking her accent. "'Taking time to recover is not a waste, and if you throw yourself injured into a fight again I'll drag you back by the ear!'"

Zelda let out a low rumble.

"Yeah, yeah, I know you hate it when I do that." He sighed. "But I am nearly healed. Almost all of the gloom's effects are gone, my arm nearly always feels like it's mine." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, have I told you how the others are doing?

"Sidon and Yona are doing pretty well– the official wedding is coming up soon. Sidon's really growing into being king. Yunobo and the kids are doing good too, last I saw, but I haven't been over there in a while."

He rubbed the sages' rings with his thumb. "Tulin's been training pretty hard; I think Teba is getting worried. He reminds me a lot of Revali, actually, with that. I still don't remember much, but I do know that he was always training. Probably just to show me up, but still.

"Riju…" He picked at his nails. "I understand why she gave me access, but I miss being Link, Hylian vai, and not Link, hero of Hyrule and the princess's guard. I don't think most of them have connected the dots, but even if I do find my vai clothes again, it won't be the same. Now that they've seen me as a voe, they'd figure it out right away. 

"Is it… weird, that I liked being a girl?" He closed his eyes, leaning back against Zelda's mane. "It was… nice. I don't know how to explain it, but… I wouldn't have minded living in Gerudo Town. Being 'little Hylian vai' for more than just a few trips.

"What do you think Riju would've said if I told her that? Would she have allowed it?" He laughed bitterly. "I'm only telling you this because you can't understand me. Pretty messed up, right?

"I asked Mineru about draconification, if she had found a way to reverse it after all these years. She just looked at me. Probably would've talked me out of coming up here, if she knew. Seems like that type of person."

He sighed. "No more royal line, huh? I think Hyrule will be okay, though. They survived for one hundred years with the Calamity still hanging around, I'm sure they can find a new leader, especially with the groundwork you laid."

He smoothed a hand over her fur. "The kids in Hateno miss you. I haven't told anyone what's happened to you yet. Impa and Cado know, but only because I started crying when I saw your final memory, and they got– worried."

He ran his hands through his hair, dislodging the mask, and sighed. "Do you want to know something weird? I think I saw you before. Flying over Hateno, when the Calamity was still around. I thought it was just Naydra, but… it makes more sense if it was you. It was practically destiny for me to fail you again, huh?"

"Fuck. Fuck." He pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes. "I miss you. I miss seeing you wake up in a bed next to me, I miss hearing you and Purah talk about where the shrines went. I miss seeing you smile, hearing you laugh at my stupid jokes, watching you spend hours focused on your research."

Tears dripped from his hands, falling onto Zelda’s head, and she let out a low, mournful cry. A dam broke, and Link shuddered, resting his head in his arms as the tears poured out.

"I can't do this." He gasped. "I can't pretend everything is normal, when you're gone but you're right here and– and–"

His fists slammed down, but stopped before they could touch her head, instead gently smoothing out along her fur. "I hate this. I hate my arm, I hate how Tulin was forced to grow up, I hate how much Hyrule has changed, I hate how you had to give your life just to fix the sword I broke."

His voice broke. "You're always cleaning up my messes. You held back the Calamity, and now you did this. I should just– just go and find him, before all of this is in vain. Ha, who cares if I'm not ready? As long as that bastard goes down with me, I don't care. We all know I should've just stayed dead."

Zelda growled, long and low.

He wiped his eyes. "Probably just tired of me being up here, aren't you. It's not very comfortable, is it? It's not because you can understand me, I know you can't. Mineru made it very clear that even a moment of lucidity would be impossible.

"But… I'm still coming up here. Still talking to you, like as soon as I beat him everything is going to go back to being normal and fine, even– even though it's not. Even though you'll still be up here, forever. Just a dragon. Never Zelda again."

More tears replaced the ones he had wiped away. "It should have been me, stuck like this. I've always just been a failure, and I saw how strong you were, how your abilities started to grow. If I had– if I had just died fighting against the Calamity like I was supposed to, maybe then you wouldn't even have gone down there and he wouldn't have woken up!"

He sniffled. "Goddesses, what am I supposed to tell people? 'Sorry, Zelda turned into a dragon thousands of years in the past, and no, sorry, only like ten people in the entirety of Hyrule can see her, and yeah, sorry, it's all my fault again.' That's going to go over well."

Zelda growled again, tossing her head. 

"I'm sorry. I'll go now." He ran a hand over her mane, smoothing out a few windblown tangles. "...I'll visit you again before I go fight him. Say goodbye. I don't think I'll be coming back from that, and even if you can't understand me, you deserve to know."

He stood up, wiping his face one more time and securing the mask over his eyes, and leapt into the sky.

A low cry echoed from the sky above him, and Link's eyes burned.

[rawliverandgoronspice]

Just gonna throw out an issue I got with botw and totk, and maybe some else will recognize it too: All the more... love interest like female characters feel kinda simpery. Like if they're written to be romantic into Link or another male character, they'll be completely besotted by them in a very obvious way. Not saying they don't have any other personality besides that, but it's still a very big and noticeable part of them, all blushing and starry eyed. Example: Yona, Paya, Zelda, and kinda Sonia. Them being into a male character Sidon, LinkX2 and Rauru respectively feels like a really big part of how they're portrayed, it's like a personality cornerstone of them. Meanwhile the males, even if they are canon with the female character, Sidon and Rauru, just feel a lot more like their own personality and character still stands above their partner. (Though Sidon's writing is pretty weak in totk) But even other male characters with a slightly bigger role, eg Tauro or Kass, just don't get portrayed at all like they care abt romance, even if in Kass'es case he's married? It's only the named girls with a bigger role in the story, and who "fit" into the sweet cute girl trope. Kinda hard to explain, but it just feels like most of the girls are the exact same trope of "cute and small-femme" aka "easy waifu material".

I agree, and I'd extend your list to Mipha as well, which I kind of always felt very "??? okay" about (I think the fandom has done fun things with her and what's hinted of her relationship with Sidon is heartwarming, but her actual characterization is very very barebones).

But I also want to add that it's kiiind of a Zelda honored tradition --not a good one, but Ocarina of Time is straight up unbearable in that department imo: every cute girl that interacts with Link is so extraordinarily into him, and it's very effective in sending the message that the game is for a certain audience first and foremost (young boys). And even as far as BotW/TotK, characters like Paya and Mipha are written to be interacted with, not to be discovered; they're not written like characters you could project yourself onto but as receptacles to your own projection onto Link.

I agree that girls are defined by their romantic lives in pretty extreme ways (*banging my extremely bruised up gerudo pan once again*), and the rare "main" girls who do not behave like this (thinking of Purah, Impa, Riju, Buliara, Josha, Mineru, Cece) are all detached from romantic subplots --but it doesn't save a lot of them from the small-femme/easy waifu archetype.

(can I throw the Great Fairies into the pile of "female characters Zelda is weird about"? I don't know. I feel..... conflicted emotions about the Great Fairies, always have, always will. But. They exist.)

(I once pretended to be a Great Fairy to surprise a friend by wrapping myself in vines --I was clothed-- and then banged my knee against a tree stump when bursting out from behind it with the horrible laughter, it hurt really bad, anyway)

[frostbite-yinny]

You should get Rudy another bird

I remember reading this shit before going to the pub and I woke to this fucking video

<The camera shakes as whoever is holding it tries to prop it up properly. His voice barely audible above the loud chatter "No-no, like, you have Pokemon and pokeballs! Do you have- you have pokeballs right? I think I have a like a spare one-" Yinny, who is out of the frame cuts in "But that's not romantic enough EVERYONE can throw a pokeball at some pokemons head but, like, wrestling it down??? That's like so so so much more romantic" the camera finally turns to her standing in front of the pub door as the unknown cameraman talks again "Wrestling down a pidove is not that big of like, I can't fucking remember how words work, acknow-anklenow- ugh, like a big deal" "Have YOU ever caught one with your bare hands???" "Yeah okey fair enough, uhhh, I choose you, Yinny!"

With that, Yinny burst out the door. Camera barely managing to catch her bombdiving down, the dirty window making it hard to see her. The manical laughter the only thing that indicates she is even still there. A hand shots up. Holding up a very confused pidove clutched by the wings to make sure it didn't fly away.

The laughter of the cameraman shooks the camera until Yinny is back in her seat. Putting the pidove on the table with a heavy hand resting on top of it "You got any berries?" she questions as she pulls out a pocket knife, opening the blade with her teeth as the dark skinned hand pushes an oran berry forward behind the camera "You REALLY could just got your boyfriend, like, a makeup palette." he chuckled out as he held berry in place "Nah, he got his own like special brand he uses from from. I never seen that shade of blue anywhere before. Like, have I talked- you can close the video now thank you, like have I talked about him? He is, like, GREAT amazing even. He is just so so pretty and beautiful and handsome and like so nice and lovely and and-"

"Yeah the one with the blonde hair? Yeah you gushed like a school girl like-" "You gushed about your fiance proposing to you for like 45 minutes I deserve this!" "yeah but-" the male takes a gulp of whatever liquor he has in his glass as Yinny starts feeding the berry pieces to the pidove one by one "You also talked about how amazing your mom was for hours too!"

A pause as Yinny slowly looks up "I only talked about them?" the camera slowly lowers down as the still unnamed cameraman understand his mistake "There are still SO MANY PEOPLE- like Bane is- oh also Sidon is- im so proud and Amy is so cool and I don't give a fuck about their past and Brandy is SO COOL and OF COURSE ROSIE and her wife are so great and, they own- I don't remember what they own my head is buzzing they made me a cool jumper and TIX and their cafe is so good and they have so good food and and- okey so Bane, my house wife-" "You also have a wife???" "Platonic, also husband also we are like besties and like like he had pretty bad depression AND HE IS GETTING BETTER like he is going on walks with much less fight and smiles more and I SWEAR I heard him hum an emo ass song! Like he is getting better and it's very good but and also he has- Pokemon, his names Noctis, I love them both SO MUCH and also-"

The screen goes black.>

[ten-thousand-year-elegy]

A little update

Set myself a challenge to finish Book 2: Part 3, and...IT IS DONE! Updates will resume again shortly after this monstrous heap of words is edited and polished up ಠ ͜ʖರೃ (Emphasis on the monstrous) Thank you to everyone who has been waiting patiently, leaving kind comments, sending me fantastic theories and headcanons in DM's, etc. etc. Coming soon to your inbox: more obnoxious cryptic ghost whales, Kaiba & Zelda Science Bro Hours, Sidon and Ganondorf..."bonding," Yuugi and Midna throwing down, and lots of moths. Way too many moths.

[mamamittens]

Tears of the Kingdom really do be giving me the most random curve balls.

In no particular order and (hopefully) minimal spoilers.

Fuck what's under the Deku tree, yes, I do remember Ocarina of Time. Somehow this is worse than the fucking spider. Dicks.

The Yiga clan really put here doing the most istg but they're so fun. The chicken was genuinely fucking hilarious.

We really not asking where the giant Mecha animals went?!?!? REALLY?!?

RIP all the champions but Mipha, fuck them and their struggles IG!?!

Why y'all got me playing bob the builder with my own damn house but I can't pick colors or if there's a damn wall, like, what the fuck?! Who tf wants an open air bedroom when I KNOW WHAT LIVES DOWN THE DAMN HILL?!?

Y'all are nasty for drinking from these fucking wells. Arguably as bad as Kakariko village in Ocarina of Time.

How many TIMES IS THE CASTLE GETTING YEETED?!? DID IT OR DID IT NOT ALREADY DO THIS?!? TELL ME STRAIGHT NINTENDO ISTG

How tf did Sonia and Rauru have descendants?!? Like, goals, but... How?

Zelda •́⁠ ⁠ ⁠‿⁠ ⁠,⁠•̀ shoes really on the other foot now, isn't it?

ARE THERE OTHER ZORA DOMAINS?!? WHERE DID YONA COME FROM?!? DID THEY TRAVEL WITH BABY GUPPY SIDON OR DID THEY REALLY MAKE BABY YONA TRAVEL TO BEFRIEND THE ZORA PRINCE?!? THIS PLACE IS DANGEROUS AS FUCK WHAT THE HELL?!?

How many times do I gotta prop up a damn sign for you to learn how to make them right or at least stop kissing ass so hard to set 'him' down?

I know swallowing those snowflake gems gotta hurt like a bitch how did he never flinch?!?

Prime opportunity missed to have Link chow down in rock roast again, cowards.

Ganon really spent his downtime fucking with people right out the gate, man's a clear thespian and it shows.

WHO. THE. FUCK. IS THE HERO ASPECT?!?

I caught Ganon's horse in BoTW and named him Big Daddy and my stable transferred to this game too 🤭

Genuinely forgot about "Master Kouga's" quest until I ran into him a second time. What a dweeb.

Whoever thought up the depths is a dick and a sadist. Who. THE HELL. WANTED TO NAVIGATE LITERAL DARKNESS LIKE THIS?!? AND THEN ADDING LABYRINTHS IN IT TOO WHAT THE FUCK GUYS?!?

Gorons were really out here eating monster ass and getting high as balls

Why, oh why, did y'all Zora make possibly the most homoerotic metaphor referencing the last game and then suddenly introduce his fiance? I'm getting mixed messages are they gay or just friends? 🤨

I thought the owl elder died lmfao, RIP

Purah grew sick of my shit and it shows

Kiss ass doctor dude can go suck a bokoblin ball sack istg I wanna EXPLORE THE DAMN RUINS THE FIRST GO AROUND 😤

Is no one weirded out by the Purah pad?!? No one else has one but they all seem to know how it functions...

Fuck them hands, I'd throw mine but I deeply wanna social distance from their... Asses(?)

Tulin, baby, I love you but can't I decide what direction your gale goes? Namely up or ahead of me?

Speaking of which, what the hell happened to Yonobu's gift from BoTW?! It's not like, super different but it's not a shield anymore... ? Wack.

I appreciate how much everyone believes in Zelda but some of this shit she was definitely fucking with y'all and you should've thought a little harder about the sketch behavior. Iykyk

[asksidon]

Okok so let’s say that his SO has had a bad day. It is either a bad day at work, issues with friends, or whatever it is for sure is causing them to be in such a bad mood that they snap at Sidon over every minor inconvenience. What would Sidon do to: 1. Get their SO to talk about what is making them anxious, and 2. To make them feel better and relieve some stress.

The plan was to go shield surfing on a big hill a ways out from the Domain. You know Sidon suggested it to get your mind off your stress, but you halfheartedly agreed to go.

Sidon is already carrying both of your shields, while you carry a small backpack with a few things in it - water, elixir, snacks, and a few books just in case you camp out for a while as you tend to do when Sidon is itching to get away. He tried to carry the bag, too, but you wouldn't let him. You swerve away when he moves to try and take it from you. "I've got it," you say more harshly than you meant to.

And so it goes on for the rest of the hike to your destination. After the third time (a branch that tripped you up, causing you to snap at him again when he asked if you were okay), you can tell he is trying hard to hold his tongue. You take a deep breath but say nothing. The closer you wish you could be to him, the farther away you feel. And you don't know how to fix it.

"Maybe it would have been better if we stayed back in the Domain," you say quietly. "I have a lot of things I need to do."

"Not much farther to go," he assures you. "But if you really want to head back, I suppose we can." You can tell by his voice that he is holding back from something. Frustration? Sadness? Probably both. You don't say anything.

"Come." He changes direction for a small plain where you can take the shade under a tree for a while. "I feel like a rest," he says, but you have a feeling he's doing this for your benefit. He would deny it if you challenged him, so all you can do is follow.

You throw your bag down and grudgingly sit on the grass. Sidon pretends not to notice and examines a patch of small purple flowers peeking out of the green. He plucks one and offers it to you. You feel your stubborn exterior crumbling as he begins digging through the bag for the snacks. "Snacks fix anything," he once said, but he is silent now. He seems to understand that maybe you don't want to be fixed. And somehow, that makes you feel better.

As you spin the stem of the small flower in your fingers, the guilt comes. Aside from an occasional sigh, he has not given much indication of his own feelings. But then, he rarely does, even with you. That bothers you sometimes. "I'm sorry," you say. "I know I'm not much company lately."

He pulls an apple from the bag but only looks at it. He sets everything aside as he looks at you. "I don't expect you to entertain me, Y/N. I am an adult . . . most of the time." He smiles. "I can keep myself busy and generally require no supervision. If you ever don't feel like doing something that I suggest, you only have to tell me."

His eyes sparkle as the humor returns to them. You want to joke about the lack of supervision, but you're not quite ready yet. You do find, however, that you feel ready to tell him what's been bothering you. You start from the beginning, tell him everything, and he goes quiet while he listens.

“I know I should have told you all of this earlier,” you finish. “I don’t know why I didn’t. I guess it’s hard to think about. But I’m thinking about it anyway.” You realize you’re rambling and stop, and he places his hand over your own.

“Do you want to go home?” he asks you, but you shake your head. Not because you worry about disappointing him, but after all, you’ve realized you’d rather spend the day with him than be cooped up on your own.

“I’m ready to surf. And I think you do need some supervision,” you tease. “Remember, you ran into that tree last time and stirred up a Bokoblin camp while you were at it.”

He chuckles at the memory, his cheeks coloring faintly. “I had hoped never to be reminded again. Not one of my finer moments.”

“It was adorable, once I was sure you were okay, and after we made quick work of our assailants.” You grin as you stand and pick up your backpack, tucking the tiny flower into one of the pockets. “Let’s go!”

[marmorafarms]

Words from a hard of hearing person! (aka ME)

I'm hoh, and I know some ASL to help me get by when I'm with d/Deaf or other hoh people!!!

SO

Because people tend to draw Link signing, I need to tell anyone NOT FLUENT IN ASL (or other sign languages) something VERY IMPORTANT.

The grammar is in the face!!! Grammar and tone are IN THE FACE. Eyebrow movements actually tell you a lot about what is being said. So, when you draw Link signing, look into the facial expression that goes with the sign! I might try and draw something to highlight this and just give an example.

Also, just a fun fact, grammatical structure is different too! An example:

English: Hi! My name is Emma, what's your name?

ASL: Hi! My name Emma. Your name what?

I see people using ASL a lot for his signs, so DON'T GIVE LINK A FLAT EXPRESSION WHEN SIGNING. He needs to be expressive!

Also, d/Deaf and hoh people are very descriptive! This is more cultural and not necessarily needed, but we tend to be very blunt and ask lots of questions or give comments that the hearing community finds rude. So if you want to throw that in as well, that would be cool!

Also, a lot of people have sign names. These can ONLY BE GIVEN BY A d/DEAF PERSON. Hearing people CANNOT GIVE THESE. Or at least in my community this is true, I can't speak for every single community out there. It might be fun to give Link, Sidon, Yona, Zelda, etc. sign names! They're often based on attributes. Some people have a name that's "cat" or "curly hair" and things like that. It's faster than fingerspelling, and it's unique to the individual so it's often easier to know exactly who you're talking about!

Anyway, thought I'd share.

Happy drawing!!!