#you know me too well faron

[knighted-princess]

Get mutualed, idiot

Thanks! I am not dumb; I'm just socially awkward! (I took Algebra I in the 6th grade, so if I haven't lost my head yet, my brains should be around here somewhere!) Regardless, you are cool! Diving into this fandom with you has been such a blast!

So, I looked into my photo gallery and found a fun picture to share! (I hope my sense of humor doesn't scare you away!)

Anyway, I hope we get to have more cool adventures and conversations in the future!

[maiko-san]

The Chain + TP! Reader (1/?)

Linked Universe belongs to Jojo

Part 2 >

Plot : You are Twilight's childhood best friend, who like Twilight can turn into an animal, that is a crow. You just happen to follow Twilight into the portal in your crow form and meet the Chain.

( Fem Reader )

You and Link have been friends ever since you were kids, always went on adventures together. After the event of Twilight, Link had gone out on a quest to find Twilight Realm, to find Midna and usually he brings you along with him but this time he didn't.

You asked him why, 'It's too dangerous, (N/n). I don't want you to get hurt....' he said. You know he cares about you...but you know how to protect yourself. He has been acting differently, as if he's hiding something from you.

.

.

"I'll be going now, (N/n)" Link said, holding your hands. "Be careful, Link" you give him a smile as Link returns the smile of his own before pulling you into a hug. He takes a deep breath, burying his face into your soft hair and taking in your scent before pulling away. "Wait, before you go!" you said, grabbing his face and kiss his cheek.

This causes Link to turn red from embarrassment, "What's a hero without his good luck kiss?" you smile. Link coughs lightly as he plants a kiss on your forehead, "Love you" he whispered in your ears. NEIGH! Both of you hear a whining and turns to see Epona sticking her head through the window, "You want one too, girl?" you questioned. The chestnut horse nods as you give a kiss on her forehead. "There you go, my lovely" you said, rubbing your cheek against her.

Link smiles at the interaction as he opens the house, "Next time, I'll be staying home for a few days" he said, caressing your cheek before mounting Epona's back.

"Bye!" you said, waving at them as you watch Link rides away. As he disappears around the corner, you quickly go to your room and take out your drawstring bag.

"I'm going to follow him, whether he likes it— or not!" you said. You open the door and close it behind you, making sure to lock it. You make a sprint and jump, your body shifts and turns into a crow. Your bag shrinks along to make it easier for you to carry it on your back. It was a gift from Midna which she enchanted so it can shrink whenever you turn into a crow.

You fly high up in the sky to locate Link, it takes you a while to spot him and you finally see him along with....

A group of men.

You land on the tree branches and hide away from view, you observe the situation and you were shocked. 'Why...why do they look almost like him?!' you thought. All of them almost look alike, blue eyes, blonde hair well it's in different tones but the face!

Are they his brothers? Distant relatives. No wait— both of you grow up together and there's no way he has relatives. If he does, he would tell you!

'Doppelgangers?!' you gasped in your mind. Oh wait— he had told you about meeting people during his adventures. Are they the ones he was talking about?

You couldn't hear what they're saying but they're heading in the same direction. You follow them and make sure you check the wind's direction to avoid Link to pick up your scent.

The group stops as you perch on a branch, your eyes widen at the sight of a large swirling portal.

'Is this why he doesn't let me come?' you thought, it looks dangerous and your crow instinct tells you to stay away from it. You watch as they enter the portal one by one, the last one was a man in armour and has a scar over his right eye. He shares the most resemblance to Link.

He checks his surroundings as if making sure nobody is following before entering the portal. You wait a moment before you dive into the portal, you close your eyes and go through. You feel the breeze hit your feathers, you slowly open your eyes and see that you're no longer Faron Woods but instead an unfamiliar one.

'Where am I?' you thought. 'Urgh...I feel sick all the sudden' you cover your beak with your wing to hold back your breakfast.

"It feels great to be back" a voice said, you panic a little and quickly jump into a nearby bush. You take a peek to see the group up close, "Since we're at my place, lets gear up and start our search for Shadow" said the one in multi coloured tunic. "I want to pay my grandfather a visit before we go" he said. The group walks away and you quickly fly after them, you're not risking getting lost in an unknown place.

You follow the group from above and you can see a small house ahead, yet again you hide in the trees and watch them enter the house but others decide to stay outside and wait.

That would be your Link, a blonde with pink shades, a young boy, a dirty blonde with white cape and a man with a blue scarf.

"So, Twilight. What took you so long anyways?" questioned the one with the blue scarf. "I went to fetch some stuff from my house and talk to my friends" Twilight said. So, they called him Twilight instead of Link? Weird....

"Oh really? Then, what's that on your cheek then?" pinky said with a smirk on his lips. Twilight's hand touches the cheek and turns to look at the window to see lipstick on his cheek.

Twilight blush lightly, "Oooh~ our rancher has a special someone~" teases the scarf boy. "Wait what—really?!" gasped the little boy as he stared up at Twilight. "Do tell why you are keeping a maiden all to yourself, hm?" he smirked. "Oh hush it, Wars." Twilight said. "Haha, come on guys, stop teasing the rancher" smiles the one with the cape.

You hold back a snort as they tease Link or Twilight about his love life with you. The others come out from the house, "What's with the ruckus?" questioned the one in armour.

"Hey, Time! Guess what! Our rancher here has a girlfriend!" Warrior said, bringing Twilight in a headlock, pointing the lipstick mark on his cheek. "Oh—" Time was surprised and gave the rancher a teasing smile. "Malon would be delighted if she hears this" he said.

"Time!" Twilight shouted, face now burning from embarrassment. You watch the men laugh wholeheartedly, causing you to smile at it.

[ End of part ]

[ganondoodle]

was at my sisters house to watch the cats a bit and played some botw again after a long time, spent an hour running around phirone (faron) and checking out all the cool sonau (zonai) stuff and i felt a wave of sadness wash over me, those ruins there feel so ... heavy with story, with sadness of tragedy, with the thrill of the unkown, yet its revealed to be nothing in totk, i honestly dont feel like the sonau of botw and of totk are at all releated tbh, theres like, NO design overlap besides sometimes some dragon-like figures that feel more like they put them into totk just to have some connection at all-

the botw sonau ruins are all full of curves hewn into dark stone with red accents, theres swirls and snakes everywhere, appropriately withered by time and weather- it was already a stupid idea to replace the shiekah tech with literally another ancient highly advanced civilaztion, but then to not even make them look or feel at all connected to the little things that were there?? totk sonau is white stone and gold and green, its all extremely angular and clean cut, together with weird hologram shit that reads, somehow, as both unfittingly techy to everything else while also neither mechnical nor magical

its fucking bonkers, i know they put some totk sonau bullshit into some of the ruins in totk, like the main ones in phirone but like, especially in that case with the direct comparison its so jarring and artificial, and i hate the excuse of "hylians built those different looking buildings as a monument to the sonau", like we needed more shitty excuses for bad writing decisions- the ancient AND current hylian stuff aligns more with totk sonau stuff, why would they adopt a completely different style to built shit around actual sonau stuff that somehow also looks like it was abandoned like, 50 years, 100 years ago, not over TEN THOUSAND years ago, both the botw sonau ruins and the shiekah tech look more ancient than anything totk sonau

and what for??? i imagine more botw sonau style ruins and like, thats entirely possible, why make it sth utterly different and give it a shitty excuse?? its so unnecessary?? like okay make the wheels out of withered stone hanging together like clumps by invisible magic like how the iwaroks (the .. stone enemy) works- i still would like it sicne i dont like the whole building thing in botws world, but at least it would feel like truly magic bs and fit into the design of botw sonau (even though im still not over NOTHING ever hinting that they were one step away from spaceships hologram aliens, the refusal to work with the stuff they themselves have put into their games drives me up a wall, YOU PUT IT THERE! DO SOMETHIGN WITH IT!)

just to put some modern tech into it? was it worth it?? (no)- and there i could even go on about how much i hate the 'tech' design too, its too little mechanical to be called 'tech' but too modern tech like to call it 'magic', (a balance which the shiekah tech did tremendously well imo) i keep being impressed with how conflicting and incoherent design and story can be in this one single overpriced game

(the reason them making it so modern techy looking was so players would immediately know what it was apparently and i just ... doesnt that make it more boring? like instead of the shiekah stone(slate) they just put a flip phone with numbered buttons and all and give it a vaguely stone texture? instead of like, a guardian with its spider legs and strange creepy design, just put a fucking tank there??? (and like, in a way i feel like the fact that they still tried to not make it look too modern by putting that green texture on it and like, a face here and there, makes it WORSE, a bad cover up is worse to me than none at all, like a shitty explanation can make sth worse than no explanation at all *ahem* literally every interview they did >:C )

also i dont know how you could even design a fan so it doesnt look like a fan? you dont need to put in literal car wheels with suspension and all in there to make it clear its a wheel bc how would you even design a wheel so it doesnt read like a wheel???

since when did they get so anxious about players not understanding something?? the whole series was built on puzzles of varying difficulty, whats with the sudden loss in trust in the player?? botw was already pretty easy but in totk the whole game treats you like you cant think or remember sth for more than 30 seconds to the point it gets actively agonizing to play through- the same two sentences of unimportant info repeated and shown to your face over and over, both in story and gameplay- and even with their immediately readable design choices for the sonau 'tech' they made half teh shrines either sloggingly slow tutorials or one puzzle shrines that are dedicated to teach you how the obvious thing works when you really learn it all on the literal tutorial island AND its obvious from the start BECAUSE THEY WANTED IT TO BE OBVIOUS!! its fun to figure things out and try stuff, its no fun to have a step by step guide glued to your forehead at all times especially when its so obvious, yes thanks for teaching me that a literal fire hydrant spits out water!! wow! never thought about that! thanks for telling me it 5 times too!! (even if it annoys me that they can just do that when not connected to the ground .. would have been more fun to make puzzle with if they were,,), its part of why i felt like the game was so condescending or outright laughing at me-

why even try to teach me how a fan works over and over when like, there arent even any creative things you can do with it in a reasonable amount of time and its never needed or incentivised either bc the game just hands you the literal solution or at the very least give you the four parts or what that you need to make what you need, like pulling apart two bricks of baby lego in fornt of a toddler to see if they can put them back together once you hand it to them

and dont come at me with the "its for kids" argument, the old games were too and theres alot of stages of 'kid', they arent stupid either and nintendo should know that they have alot of adult fans too, it doesnt need to be dark souls and its allowed to have easy stuff in there but the fact that it never gets any more challenging is the problem, yes part of the fun in games can be making your own rules and messing around but it really shouldnt be controversial to want a 70 bucks game to offer a fun experience without you having to make it fun all on your own (i for one dont enjoy spending 30 minutes glueing togehter a tank with ear shattering lasers just to inefficiently beat up 3 bokblins i could just swing my sword at for a few seconds instead and are not worth the materials spend anyway)

in the end it would have been less immersion breaking and more fun if they straight up put a honda civic into the game you can summon anywhere at no cost (hmmmm where did they just do it before hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm) and transforms like a batmobile to fly around in rather than the weird sonau nuts and bolts hassle you have to put up with, costs stuff, can waste hours of your time and despawn as soon as you look away from it unless you want to make le funny tiktok videos i guess

its such a waste too bc the mechanic itself IS impressive, but its utterly missplaced in this game, it would have needed its own, truly own, game built around it, placing it in botws world is like dumping a bunch of knock off brand toys into a world that felt believable and meaningful turning it to feel like its really just a game for you to mess around in, never has a game felt more gamey to me and it SUCKS to have that magic pulled away like that, silly me for letting them make me care about it i guess

maybe its petty but as someone how really cares alot about design stuff, both visually and gameplay wise, it makes me furious to think about (as you can tell) .. also hyperfixation go brrrrrrr

(this is obviously my view on it, writing this to get it out, not to argue, i believe i have heard all the arguments already anyway and by this point all that is left is just insulting me directly lol)

[smilesrobotlover]

First|| <-previous next->

AO3

Chapter 8- A Soldier’s Visit to Faron

Link woke up to the sound of talking. He rubbed his eyes and looked out the window where the sun was shining through. He listened more carefully and recognized his pa’s voice speaking outside and he frowned. What was he doing outside? Link stood up and shuffled over to the window, looking out to see Rusl speaking with Auru. His pa’s arms were crossed, and a serious look was on his face while Auru had a more concerned expression. Rusl started speaking again and Link opened the window to hear him better.

“...I only wish I was stronger,” his pa said softly. Auru tilted his head.

“Rusl–”

“I know! I’m only human, I’m weaker than most of y’all but… I… he’s my son. I should be protecting him but… I can’t.”

Link frowned. Was he talking about him?

“Rusl, even a Hylian wouldn’t be strong enough to fight against a mysterious shadow monster. Be kinder to yourself.”

Rusl sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. “I know… I know… It’s just terrifying, you know? It’s terrifying to discover that you can’t protect your family. If that thing got closer to Ordon and took–” his breath hitched and Auru rested a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t think about that. The beast did not get to Ordon. It didn’t hurt Uli or Colin or Rela or anyone.”

“It did hurt Link though…”

“Well, fortunately it didn’t hurt him too bad, right?”

Rusl shrugged. “Not as bad as me… But I don’t want him to have the responsibility of saving me. Not again.”

Link’s feelings grew conflicted. Was his pa ashamed of having to be rescued by him? Link supposed he understood to an extent. Since becoming a father himself, he’s wanted nothing more than to protect Kori and Midna with his life. If Kori had to save him… he’d probably be ashamed of himself too.

“That’s what you get for raising a heroic boy, Rusl,” Auru joked, and Rusl gave him an annoyed smile.

“It’s not my fault he turned out that way.”

“Oh shut it, of course it is!”

“No it isn’t, Link turned out that way because that’s the way he is.”

“Colin and Rela are the same way though, I think it is your fault.”

“Spirits!” Rusl lightly punched Auru in the arm and the old man chuckled.

“Oh c’mere,” Auru pulled Rusl into a hug, which he melted into. “It sounds like you two went through a lot, I’m sorry.”

From Auru’s large frame and Rusl’s smaller stature, it almost looked like a child hugging his father from Link’s perspective. It made his heart ache for Kori.

He prayed to every deity on the planet to keep him safe from the shadow beast.

The two men pulled away and started to head inside, and Link pulled away from the window as well, letting out a sigh. He knew it wasn’t appropriate for him to eavesdrop on such a conversation, but he couldn’t stop himself. To get his pa to open up about things that bothered him was like trying to pry a deku baba’s jaw open after it closed. But Link didn’t know if he regretted learning how Rusl truly felt about everything. He felt guilty, sad, and mostly confused from it all. He almost wished he was the one to be attacked by the shadow beast, that way his pa wasn’t hurt and traumatized the way he was. Link had dealt with far worse in his life; it would’ve been no different.

He finally went to close the window until he heard shuffling beside him, and movement from the corner of his eye caused him to nearly jump out of his skin. A person was turning around on the bed opposite from the other one Link was in, and Link backed up in shock. How in Din’s name did he not notice this person? Based on the clothes, he recognized the person as Sheik, but when he saw their face, his heart stopped.

It was Zelda who was staring back at him with wide eyes.

“Oh–”

Zelda felt her face and her eyes landed on her discarded mark and headwrap on the floor, and a string of curses from her mouth left Link more shocked. He didn’t know Zelda was even capable of swearing. Zelda scrambled for the clothes and nearly tumbled out of her bed while Link remained paralyzed. She finally stood up, her face covered up, yet her stormy-gray eyes couldn’t hide her identity. How did he not know?

“You—” he started, but Zelda stopped him.

“N-no… no I—”

“You– you’re—” Link’s mind was racing, and he was finally able to string a full sentence together. “What are you doing in my room?”

“Th-this was meant to be my room! I didn’t– you– I–” Zelda let out another cuss word which felt like a punch to Link’s face. She never acted in such a way around him; she was always so proper and polite. He ran his hand through his hair and stared at the floor with wide eyes.

“I don’t believe it– oh Goddesses you–”

Rusl burst through the door, interrupting the two.

“Oh Sheik! Link! Glad you’re both awake!” He said cheerily, leaning against the door frame. Link and Sheik only stared at him in shock. “Ya know, Sheik. You scared the living daylights outta me when you came in last night. You poor thing—must’ve been exhausted!”

Zelda and Link continued to stare in shock, and Rusl frowned.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yes, everything is fine,” Zelda—or Sheik—said breathlessly, before moving past Rusl towards the stairs. Rusl stared back at her for a moment before looking back at Link, clearly confused.

“What the heck happened there?”

“I… uh…” Link bit his lip, wondering what he should tell Rusl. Zelda had clearly kept this identity a secret for a reason—was it right to tell his father? “Uh… I was just surprised to see Sheik in here, that’s all,” he finally said, laughing nervously. Rusl stared for a moment before laughing slightly.

“Yeah, he must’ve been awfully tired, huh?” He chuckled, and Link nodded, forcing a smile. The two stared for a moment, Rusl’s smile fading more and more as Link’s fake smile grew bigger. “Well, Telma has some breakfast for us so… you can… come down–”

“Oh! Yes! Sounds great! Thanks pa!” Link said a little too loudly, and marched towards the stairs.

Breakfast was painfully awkward. Link couldn’t help but stare at Sheik, who looked terrified. She would glance at him and Link would look away, only for him to go back to staring at her. The others didn’t notice the tension between them, instead they were chatting happily with each other, unaware of the recent discovery Link made.

Did they know? Did Zelda want to keep it a secret from only him? Or were they just as oblivious as he was before? His mind wandered to Ashei, with their conversation about Sheik before. Did she know? She seemed to know about Sheik not being a man, but was it because she knew that Sheik was Zelda? His mind was racing as he thought about it, not paying attention to the other’s conversations.

“… and she just picked it up!” Rusl exclaimed, his hands gesturing in front of Link’s face, interrupting his staring. “I tell you, that girl was born to fight. We should start teaching Kori some sword fighting too, right Link?”

Link glanced at his father, then at everyone else staring at him.

“W-what?” He muttered, and Rusl raised an eyebrow.

“I was just telling them about Rela, and her first sword-fighting lesson! Kori is ten now, I think it’s about time he started learnin’ too!”

“Oh! Yes, right,” Link quickly said, going back to watching Sheik. Rusl continued to stare at him, the others doing the same.

“Uh, is everything alright, old boy?” Shad asked, looking between him and Sheik.

“Oh—“ Rusl adjusted himself in his seat and pointed at Sheik. “He just broke into our room last night and scared me stiff. I’m sure he must’ve shocked Link this morning.”

Link saw Ashei worriedly turn her head to Sheik, who remained unmoving.

“Oh my goddesses, Rusl,” Auru groaned, “did you take the first room? Sheik is always the one in there!”

“Since when did we have room assignments?” Rusl argued.

“It’s an unspoken rule! Sheik takes the first room. I take the third one, Ashei takes the second and Shad takes the room across, and you and Link take the room in the back!”

“But they ain’t labeled!”

“That’s—ugh, boy…. That’s why it’s unspoken!”

Sheik got up abruptly as the two argued and left the bar. Link stood up as well and followed. He had so many questions for her, and he wanted answers. He found Sheik right outside the bar, and she didn’t look surprised to see Link.

“Link,” she started, and he stopped right in front of her.

“Zelda.”

“Don’t… ah…”

“Oh—right. Sorry. Sheik,” Link pursed his lips and the two sat in silence. Every question he had was gone in an instant. It almost saddened him—they worked well together during the twilight invasion, yet their relationship was never strengthened. Zelda wanted him to be a knight and to be a representative for Hyrule, but Link didn’t want to be stuck with nobles doing useless things; much less being some trophy for the people to gawk at. It put a strain on their relationship, and he didn’t expect to be speaking to Zelda ever again.

Then again, they’ve been speaking for a while now, yet he didn’t know.

“Sorry my pa took your room,” he finally said.

“Oh… it’s alright.”

Link smiled awkwardly and nodded. Sheik nodded back. There was silence again between the two, and Link cleared his throat.

“So… Sheik. What—um—why?”

“Why what?”

Link huffed and ran his hand through his hair. “Why? Why didn’t you tell us? Why are you doing this? I just… I’m curious…”

Sheik’s brows furrowed together and she looked down. “I just… wanted to do more for my kingdom.”

Link frowned. “But you’re the queen. You do more for Hyrule than anyone else!”

Sheik shook her head. “Not enough.” She sighed and sat on a box, rubbing her eyes. “During the twilight invasion, I felt… helpless. I couldn’t do anything for anyone. I was a prisoner in my own home, and all I could do was trust you. I just… I never want to be out of control like that ever again. I want to personally save Hyrule myself if it were to come to it. I felt that… as Sheik… I could do that. I wasn’t a queen anymore I-I felt more like… I don’t know… a protector. I feel like I can actually make an impact doing this.”

Link gave her a sad look and joined her on the box, staring at the door that led to Telma’s bar. “You don’t give yourself enough credit,” he started softly. “You did so much during the invasion. You… you kept Zant from slaughtering everyone in Hyrule. You saved my life and you saved Midna’s life at your own expense. You helped me defeat Ganondorf,” Link looked up at her, but she didn’t meet his eyes. “I couldn’t have saved Hyrule if not for you.”

“But… I couldn’t do more—“

“Goddesses, Sheik, I thought you gave up your life for Midna’s! I thought you died! What more could you have done?”

Sheik finally looked up at him. “I don’t know.”

“Good!” Link crossed his arms and sat up straight. “Now you know. You’re good enough!” Link felt his face flush at the corny message, and he turned away. The two were silent again; the sounds of laughter and bottles crashing were the only sounds heard. Link let out a sigh and turned to Sheik again. “I can understand though, wanting to do things yourself. I guess if I had to give orders and then sit there and wait for it to get done, I’d lose my mind a bit too.”

Sheik looked up at him, and though he couldn’t see her expression well, he did see a glimmer in her eye.

“I’m glad you somewhat understand,” she said.

Link hummed and nodded, and he pursed his lips. “So… why didn’t you tell the resistance?”

“It defeats the purpose of a secret identity, doesn’t it? I can't go around saying that I’m the queen when I… look like this,” she gestured to her outfit. “If they knew that I was not on the throne, they’d probably think me to be lazy.”

“Well, you’re not. You’re a good queen.”

Sheik’s eyes had more of a smile to them from that. “Thank you.”

Link gave her a smile. For once, they were having a pleasant conversation. No evil trying to destroy the world, no enemies needing to be defeated, and no heart broken from a love supposedly killed. They were just two people. Seeing Zelda as Sheik, he saw her in a different light. A simple woman who was trying.

“How did Kori come to be?” Sheik suddenly asked, and Link’s eyes widened. The resistance only met Kori a handful of times, and he didn’t think about how it would’ve affected Sheik. She and Rusl were the only ones who knew about Midna. Rusl found out about Midna’s return, but Zelda never did…

“Uh…. Well… I don’t know what you’re asking specifically but… Twili’s bodies aren’t too different from ours,” he mumbled.

Sheik’s face flushed slightly and she shook her head. “T-that’s not what I meant.”

Link cursed in his mind and laughed nervously. “Oh! Well… sorry.”

“No no, I should’ve been more specific. I meant… How is Kori here? Midna destroyed the mirror, there should be no connection to the twilight realm.”

“Oh… well…” Link stared at the ground, watching bits of dust move with the light breeze. He let out a sigh. “I have no idea. One night, Midna came to my door with Kori in her arms… and now he’s here.”

Sheik studied his face for a moment. “Is Midna still here?”

Link paused. Should he tell her that Midna visited whenever she could? Would Sheik feel left out if she knew that she only visited Link and his family? Did she even care? He didn’t know how close the two were during the invasion; he knew they were acquainted before he came along, but Midna didn’t seem to like her in the beginning. In the end, they were more like allies than friends. But was he wrong?”

“She… visits,” he finally said, and Sheik’s saddened look made him regret saying it.

“I see,” she whispered.

“I-I’m so sorry. I didn’t… you guys… I didn’t know you were friends and—“

“We weren’t,” Sheik said bluntly. “I suppose we never were.”

That stung slightly, hearing that about Midna. He wondered why she wouldn’t tell Sheik about everything, but he shouldn’t be surprised. If Kori never got hurt in the twilight realm, she probably would’ve never come in the first place.

“If it makes you feel any better, she never came back for me,” he started in a cautious tone, “she came back for Kori.” Sheik gave him a confused look so he elaborated. “I don’t know if you remember, but he has a scar up along his arm,” Link traced his forearm to show where the scar was, and Sheik watched carefully. “Apparently, when he was two, an advisor hurt him because… he was scared Kori would doom the Twili. There’s only one female Twili, and she’s meant to give birth to the heir, who will also be a female. But Kori… not only was he a half Twili, but he was a boy. And… They hurt him.” Link frowned. It was difficult saying it all out loud. The familiar rage that he thought he moved on from began to bubble in his chest, and he had to clench his fists to control it. If he ever met the Twili that hurt his son…

“So… you didn’t know about Kori?” Sheik asked, and Link nodded.

“She knew he wouldn’t be safe in the twilight realm, so she found a way back to Ordon. I still have no idea how she’s going back and forth though. She refuses to tell me, but I think she’s afraid of another invasion happening and… destroying the mirror to be a waste.”

Sheik nodded, but she still had a sad look in her eyes.

“Look, Sheik, she’s very secretive. Only my family knows and that’s ‘cause my pa knew her and… she’s never made herself known to anyone. So…. Yeah…. And she’s never left Ordon either.”

Sheik looked down at her fidgeting hands. “I see…”

Link frowned, the silence entering their conversation again. They sat for a long moment, until Link had an idea.

“You know, Sheik… I’m sure Midna would love to see you again.” She looked up, giving him a confused look. “If you ever wanna… I dunno… turn into Sheik and visit Ordon… We’d love to have you. I make great pumpkin soup.”

Sheik stared at him with wide eyes, before turning away with a small laugh. “I might… take you up on that offer,” she said softly, and Link’s heart swelled. They smiled at each other, and Sheik looked like she was about to say something, but they were interrupted by the door opening. Ashei poked her head through the door and gave the two of them a look.

“Is everything ok out here?” She asked.

“Yes, Ashei everything is fine,” Sheik said, giving Link a look. “He… sort of found out about… me…”

Ashei sighed. “I was afraid that was the case.”

Link glanced between the both of them. “So you did know about her?”

Ashei nodded. “Don’t know if you remember when we were investigating the rogue Bulblins, but our queen here got herself injured. It’s kinda hard to take care of an injured person with a mask covering their mouth, yeah?”

Link shrugged. “I guess so. It certainly explains a lot.”

Sheik nodded awkwardly and sighed. “It was difficult for me at the moment, but I am glad that I didn’t have to hide my true identity from at least one person. But now I guess it’s two people.”

Ashei made a face. “I have a feeling the rest of them will be finding out soon.”

An annoyed sigh escaped Sheik and she nodded. Ashei shrugged and gestured to the bar with her head. “Come on inside, yeah? We’re going to start planning.”

Link and Sheik stood up to follow Ashei inside, but Link stopped Sheik before they headed inside.

“You ready to save Hyrule again?” He asked, his fist hanging in front of her. She stared at it for a moment, then nodded, bumping his waiting fist with her own.

“I’m more than ready.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Kori! Pay attention!”

Kori looked up at Rela who had her wooden sword resting on her shoulder. She glared at him, one hand on her hip and one foot tapping impatiently in the Ordon spring water. Kori glanced at his own wooden sword, pouting at his aunt.

“Rela, I don’t wanna do this.”

“Shut it! You’re old enough to learn sword fighting, and my pa ain’t here to teach you. So it’s up to me to do it!” Her sword was swung to the ground and she held it up against Kori. “There’s a monster out there in Faron woods, so we need to be able to defend ourselves and Ordon!”

“Isn’t that why Colin and Beth and Talo are here though?” Colin and the others had been patrolling Ordon, searching for any dangers that could threaten their home. Kori didn’t quite understand what was happening; no one told him anything when he asked. His pa and grandpa left to castle town before he had a chance to think, so he was staying with his gramma, confused about what was happening.

“Colin may need our help if we are attacked,” Rela started to argue, marching back and forth as the sword swung in her hands. “If we’re able to help them, we’ll be heroes! Isn’t that what you want Kori? To be a hero?”

“Not really. I just wanna be a farmer,” Kori said simply. Rela groaned and rolled her eyes.

“Why are you being so boring?”

Kori felt a sting in his heart, but he ignored it. “I’m not being boring! I just… I just wanna play with my toys!”

“Well too bad! Now, block this attack!”

Kori gasped as Rela swung her sword at him. He quickly brought his own up and staggered back as she hit it. He glanced at his sword, then glared at Rela.

“Don’t hit it so hard!”

“You need to block better! Stand your ground!”

Rela swung at him again and he squealed as it smashed against his own. Rela got closer to him and he started to run away, but Rela quickly stopped him.

“Don’t be a coward! Face me!”

“Rela, you’re so much bigger than me! I’m scared!” Kori pleaded, but she only charged at him again. She knocked into him and he fell backwards into the water. He gasped and looked up to see Rela swinging down onto him. He quickly brought his own sword up and was barely able to block it. Scrambling to his feet, he clumsily blocked a few more attacks. Kori grew more focused with each attack, planting his feet so he could stay unmoving in the sparring. She hit his sword a few more times until Kori slipped up, and Rela’s smacked his arm. Kori squealed in pain and dropped his sword, holding his aching arm.

“Ooooow! Rela! You hit me!” He cried, tears forming in his eyes.

“Oh you’re fine. This is why we train with wooden swords, so we don’t end up killing each other!” She took a step forward, her arms crossed. “If it were the real deal, you would’ve lost your arm.”

Kori huffed angrily at her. “I’m telling Gramma!”

Rela’s eyes went big, her tough demeanor dropping instantly, and she quickly jumped in front of Kori as he went to leave the spring. “N-no no no! Please don’t tell my ma! I’m so sorry Kori!”

Kori ignored his aunt’s begging, trying to push past her.

“Wait! Kori! We can play with our toys now, ok? We can do whatever you want! In fact—here!” Rela grabbed Kori and put her sword in his hand. “You can hit me back! Just please don’t tell my ma!”

Kori glared at her as she kept grabbing his arm, then he bit her hand. Rela shrieked and pulled her hand back, giving Kori a horrified look.

“You bit me!”

“Well you said I could hurt you back!”

“I said you could hit me back, not bite me!”

Kori crossed his arms and turned away. “Well you wouldn’t stop grabbing me! I’m tired of playin’ with swords! I’m going back home!”

Kori marched through the water, feeling Rela’s glare at the back of his head. He suddenly felt water splash onto his head, and he gasped as his clothes and hair got fully drenched. He spun around at Rela and snarled at her.

“What? You were wet anyways,” Rela said.

“That’s it!” Kori screamed as he charged at the Rela, and the two started to grapple and become tangled with each other. Rela was much older and stronger than Kori was, so she easily pinned him down, but he kept biting her hands which caused her to pull back.

“Stop biting me!” She yelled.

“Well stop pulling at my hair!” Kori yelled back as she tugged at his hair. The two wrestled for a while longer until they were interrupted.

“What are you two doing?”

The kids stopped and looked up at Uli who was glaring at the two. She was panting and her hands were balled up, a fire in her eyes as she watched the two kids. The two quickly scrambled to their feet, staring at her guiltily. Uli relaxed a little, then glanced at the bridge past Ordon worriedly.

“You kids aren’t supposed to be out here,” she scolded, walking towards the two.

“We’re still in Ordon,” Rela sassed, but she quickly straightened herself out with a glare from Uli. “I-I mean… you said we had to stay in Ordon so… we are still… here… in Ordon.”

“No, you’re staying in the village itself. We’re not gonna be out by the spring or by Kori’s house, ok?”

Rela and Kori glanced at each other.

“Why?” Kori asked, trying not to sound rude or sassy.

“Because it’s too far from the others. If something were to happen, no one would know. Now come on,” Uli gestured to the village with her head, and Kori and Rela quickly followed.

“I hope you two have done your chores,” Uli started as they walked past Kori’s home, “it’s pretty early in the morning, is it not?”

Rela gave Kori a worried look, then looked down guiltily. “Um…. We did some…”

Uli sighed. “Why did you do some and not all?”

Rela huffed and jogged in front of her ma. “Because! I know there’s a monster out there hurting people! It attacked pa and Link! I just want to make sure me and Kori are strong enough for when it attacks again!”

Uli stopped and gave Rela a sad yet proud look. “Rela, it’ll be fine. Your pa and Link are taking care of it, while Colin and the others are protecting Ordon. You don’t have to be responsible for our safety.”

“But—“

“I know you’re excited to use your sword techniques your pa taught you, but it’s not enough. For now—just—focus on your chores, ok?”

Rela pouted and glumly walked to her house, her head hanging. Kori stood by his gramma, leaning his head against her leg. She chuckled and ruffled his hair.

“Did you do your chores today, Kori?”

Kori pursed his lips. Rela had lied about them doing some of their chores. They actually did none of their chores. But unlike Rela, Kori was a horrible liar.

“N-no… we didn’t do anything,” he mumbled, but then quickly added, “I mean, I didn't do anything! Rela did though!”

Uli gave him a soft smile. “You don’t have to cover for Rela, dear. I know she was lying.”

“Oh…”

Uli let out a loud sigh and rubbed her head. “Go and do your chores dear, luckily there’s not a whole lot for you to do since you’re not at home right now.”

Excitement swelled within Kori and he nodded. He heard his gramma giggle as he ran to the home, barged into his room, and ran past Rela who was grumbling to herself. He quickly picked up his area in his grandparent’s home, plucked the weeds in the gardens, and collected the ripe fruit, though there wasn’t a lot. There wasn’t much else for him to do—he couldn’t help Fado with the goats since he was too small, and he couldn’t clean up his home since he wasn’t allowed in there. So he started to wander around Ordon, watching the villagers go about their day. He couldn’t help but focus on Coro, the man who started staying with Fado. Kori had rarely talked to Coro before, and the man’s carefree attitude and animals that hung around enticed him. But Kori was too shy to approach the strange man—he didn’t know how Coro would react to him.

The best way for Kori to learn more about Coro was to sneakily follow him around Ordon. It was always easy for Kori to stalk the humans in Ordon; their round ears didn’t pick up on sounds like his and his papa’s did, so he followed the man around for a while without being noticed. He watched Coro simply sit by the pond for a long time, talking to his funny bird pet who chattered to him back. Smaller birds floated around his head, and even nestled inside it, and the cuccos trotted around him. Kori wondered if birds generally liked him, and how he could make birds like him as well.

Kori’s stalking didn’t go unnoticed forever, however, and Coro spotted him hiding behind a bush. The two made eye contact, and Kori ducked for cover, but it was already too late.

“Uh, hello,” Coro called out awkwardly, and Kori shyly popped up from the bushes. Coro smiled gently and gestured for him to come closer. “No reason to hide, tiny guy.”

Kori looked behind him and shuffled over to the strange man.

“Hi,” he greeted quietly, and the parrot resting on Coro’s knee squawked a greeting back. Kori jumped at the sudden sound and Coro chuckled.

“Trill, you don’t need to be that loud,” he said.

“Sorry,” the bird squawked, not any quieter than before. Kori giggled slightly and held his hand out to Trill.

“Careful, he might peck at you,” Coro warned, and Kori drew his hand back, giving Coro a guilty look. Coro reached up and gently grabbed the smaller birds in his hair and offered it to Kori. “These guys are much nicer.”

Kori smiled and offered his hand again, and the tiny bird peeped, hopping into it. Kori giggled at the tickling feeling of its tiny feet against his palm and gently stroked its little head.

“That one is named Chickie,” Coro started to explain, “he was born not too long ago.”

Kori’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yep! His family is here somewhere,” Coro started digging around in his hair, pulling out different tiny birds from the nest on his hair and showing them to Kori. He made a whistling sound and the birds floated over to Kori and landed on his arms and head. Kori froze, feeling the tiny talons lightly digging into his skin. Coro chuckled again. “They’re friendly! Don’t worry.”

Kori grinned and watched the birds hop around, giggling as they tickled him when they moved.

“Yeah, Trill here is nice enough, but you need to be careful. He can be a little aggressive if you freak him out,” Coro explained, petting Trill gently. “He’s had so many people steal from him, he has to be aggressive, you know?” Kori nodded seriously. “Apparently, a few years ago, some green guy kept stealing his lamp oil and red potion, no matter how many times he fought back! Can you believe that? What kind of horrible person steals from a bird?”

Kori nodded again. His pa always taught him to not steal, so he knew to take that very seriously. One of the birds flew back to Coro’s nest-hair so Kori allowed the others to return as well.

“Um, thank you for letting me hold your birds,” Kori mumbled, and Coro grinned.

“Of course! It’s easy to be scared of animals, especially birds, but I always think we should be more understanding of them. It’s best to learn young, anyway!” Coro lifted the smaller birds to his hair and gave Kori a look. “So… if you don’t mind me asking, tiny guy, what exactly are you?”

Kori thought for a moment. “A Twilian.”

Coro frowned. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that. Well, it’s nice to officially meet you, tiny guy.”

Kori nodded excitedly. “My name is Kori.”

“I’m Coro.” He offered his hand to Kori and he gingerly took it, letting Coro shake their hands. Coro pulled away and went back to petting Trill. “Do you like animals, Kori? I assume that’s why you decided to follow me.”

“Oh! Yeah, I love animals.”

“What’s your favorite animal?”

“I love kitties.”

Coro smiled warmly. “I think I saw kitties by Sera’s shop, did you see them?”

Kori nodded, but a sense of dread entered him when he thought about Sera. He hadn’t seen the kitties in a while.

“That’s good, they’re so cute and tiny,” Coro continued when Kori didn’t say anything. “But I’m more of a bird person myself. I forget how great the cuccos are here in Ordon.”

Kori nodded again and looked around him, spotting Rela who was stomping around the village. They made eye contact and his aunt began to angrily stomp towards him. Uh-oh.

“I think cuccos are misunderstood creatures,” Coro continued to ramble, not caring if Kori was paying attention or not. “As long as you respect them, they respect you. That’s why you should always treat animals with respect. Because respect is a two-way path and—”

“Kori!” Rela shouted when she got close enough and put her hands on her hips, glaring at him. “What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be doin’ chores?”

Kori glanced at Coro who was still rambling about animals. “I got them all done! There wasn’t a whole lot since I’m not at home right now.”

Rela huffed and said a bad word under her breath. “W-well, help me with mine so I can get done!”

Kori scrunched up his face. “I’m not gonna do your chores! You have to do them yourself!”

“But what will you do? You’ll be sooo bored.”

Kori gestured to Coro who finally stopped talking and was observing the two kids. Rela squinted her eyes and faced him fully.

“Weren’t you the guy who came here crying like a baby?” She sneered.

“Yes,” Coro said simply. “And if you saw what I saw, you’d be crying like a baby too.”

Rela seemed surprised at the response and she turned away, her arms crossed. “Well, Kori needs to help me with my chores so we can hang out—”

“No I don’t!” Kori shouted.

“Yes you do! You still need more training!”

Kori groaned. “We’ve been training all morning! I don’t want to do that!”

Coro glanced between the two. “Training? For what?”

Rela gave him a look but once again faced him. “Training to protect Ordon of course!”

Coro’s eyes widened and he nodded slowly. “Ok.”

“So I need to get done as soon as possible so we can keep training and—” Rela’s eyes widened and her hands shot up to her head. “Oh no! The swords!”

Kori raised an eyebrow and Rela suddenly grabbed his hands, pulling him away from Coro.

“H-hey, wha—Bye!” Kori called out to Coro, and the man waved back. “Rela! What’s going on?”

“I left the swords at the spring!” Rela cried. “They’re gonna get ruined in the water! And pa will be so mad if he finds out I left them soaked!”

Kori tried to pull free from her grip, but she was too strong. “But we’re not supposed to go to the spring!”

Rela stopped and spun around to face Kori. “We won’t be gone for too long, ok? We’re just gonna grab them and come right back! But I need to get those before they’re ruined forever!”

Kori frowned but was immediately grabbed and pulled behind Rela again. The two sprinted towards the spring, Kori feeling more and more anxious as he looked around the forest. Every bone in his body was telling him to leave and that he wasn’t supposed to be there. But he continued to follow Rela, not wanting either of them to be left alone in these woods. They made it to the spring and Rela sprinted to the water, grabbing the soaked wooden swords.

“Thank the spirits I remembered these!” She said, relieved. “Hopefully they’re not ruined…”

Kori stared at the wooden swords and sighed. “Can we go back now? We’re not supposed to be here.”

Rela rolled her eyes. “Ok, yes we can go.”

The two kids started to leave the spring, but Kori heard a strange noise. He frowned and turned his head to hear it better. It sounded like the trotting of a horse. He found himself wandering closer to the bridge, and he spotted something walking towards him and Rela.

“What is it?” His aunt asked, but Kori was frozen. Whether it was of fear or anticipation, he didn’t know, but he couldn’t move his eyes off of the moving figure. As the figure got closer, he recognized it as a rider on a horse, and he got filled with excitement.

“PAPA!” He shouted, running across the bridge and towards the horse. But as he got closer, he realized that the horse was not Epona, and the man riding the horse was neither his grandpa nor his papa. He stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the strange man with wide eyes, and the rider stopped, the five other horses and men stopping as well. The man stared back at Kori, his green eyes observing him. Rela caught up to Kori and quickly got in front of him, glaring at the man.

“Hello,” he greeted, “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“What do you want?” Rela spat, and Kori was surprised at her hostility towards an adult.

“Easy now, me and my men are just investigating some disappearances,” he explained. He hopped off his horse and took off his helmet. The man had brown hair that stopped beneath his chin, and Kori noticed his delicately pointed ears that labeled him a Hylian. His tan brown skin made his emerald eyes stick out and his mustache was curled up in a gentle smile. He bowed his head slightly with his right hand over his heart. “My name is Hoz, I am the captain of the Hylian guard. I just have some questions I need to ask the villagers near this area. May I speak with the adults there?”

Rela puffed her chest and crossed her arms. “You can speak to us.”

Hoz stared at her for a moment, then glanced at the soldiers behind him. “Uh… I’d prefer to speak to an adult. Where are your parents?”

Rela frowned. “We can speak just fine!”

Hoz began to look around, noticeably uncomfortable. “Right, well, is your village just down the trail?”

“I’m not telling you!” Rela yelled.

“Yes,” Kori answered softly. Rela spun around and shot him a glare while Hoz smiled warmly.

“Thank you. It’s quite a long walk isn’t it? Would you kids like to hitch a ride on my mount?” He gestured to his large speckled horse, but Rela quickly shook her head.

“My parents told me I shouldn’t ride with strangers.”

Hoz chuckled and bowed his head again. “Understood.”

“Hey now! You can’t go to the village!” Rela hopped in front of him as he started to move, pointing her wooden sword at him. “We’re on high alert right now! There’s somethin’ out in the woods, so me and Kori are here to keep it safe! You got that?”

Hoz’s eyes widened at the wooden sword and he gently redirected the sword and started to walk forward. “I promise we mean no harm to your village—”

Rela repointed her sword at him. Hoz took a deep breath and moved it again.

“We’re just investigating some disappearances and—” Rela insisted with her sword once again, and he gave up on moving past it. “Whatever information your parents may have will be useful for the protection of Hyrule.”

Rela squinted her eyes and Kori heard the soldiers behind Hoz groan.

“Will you just move, you little brat?” One of them called out, and Hoz shot them a warning glare.

“Listen, we don’t have time for this,” Hoz sighed, rubbing his eyes. “You said there was something in the woods, correct?”

Rela squinted her eyes, not saying anything. Kori walked up to Hoz and the captain glanced at him.

“I think my papa was attacked by a monster,” he said softly, and Hoz’s eyes went big.

“What monster?” Hoz asked, kneeling at Kori’s level.

Kori shrugged, staring at the ground. He heard more footsteps and he looked up, noticing Colin jogging towards the group.

“What’s going on?” His uncle asked, eyeing the soldiers with a threatening glare. Hoz stood up and gave him a slight bow, looking relieved.

“Hello my good sir, my name is Hoz. I am the captain for the Hylian guard.”

Colin's eyes widened and he nodded. “R-right, of course,” he turned his attention to the kids and grabbed Rela. “What are you doing out here? You’re supposed to be in the village!”

“I left the wooden swords in the spring!” Rela defended herself, gesturing to them.

Colin rolled his eyes and turned to Hoz. “I’m so sorry about my little sister and nephew, they’re not supposed to be out here.”

Hoz waved his apology away. “It’s no trouble. I’m just glad that…” he gave Rela a look, then cleared his throat, “I’m just glad that I can speak with an adult.”

Rela made an offended noise and Colin pushed her behind him.

“Of course! What do you need?”

Hoz straightened his posture and cleared his throat. “These men and I were requested by Queen Zelda to find information on disappearances that have been happening throughout Hyrule. I just wanted to ask if you knew any information on this.”

Kori watched the gears in his uncle’s head turning. Were these disappearances what Barnes was talking about? Colin ran his fingers through his hair and nodded.

“Yes, actually I think I do.”

Hoz’s eyes widened and his polite demeanor dropped instantly. He ran up to Colin and grabbed his arm. “You do? What did you find?” Colin leaned back slightly and Hoz quickly jumped back. “A-apologies. I just… I’ve been searching for a while and haven’t found anything.”

Colin smiled nervously. “I understand.” He glanced at Kori and Rela, then looked up at the captain. “My pa and brother were attacked by a monster a couple of nights ago.”

Hoz stared for a moment, almost looking disappointed. “A monster? Is that it?”

“It‘s not an ordinary monster,” Colin looked back at Kori and Rela again and stepped closer to the captain, speaking so softly that Kori could barely hear him. “Do you remember the twilight invasion, with the black beasts roaming Hyrule?”

Hoz’s eyes widened. “I do remember. They stormed the castle. I could’ve lost my life if Zelda had not surrendered.”

Colin nodded and Rela gave Kori a confused look, hoping he knew what they were saying. Kori almost wished he didn’t; black beasts roaming Hyrule… it sounded terrifying.

“My pa and brother were attacked by one in Faron woods a couple of nights ago. It could still be here, or it could’ve moved around,” Colin continued, looking around at the trees nervously. “But it’s what’s taking these people. I don’t know what it’s doing to them, but it can’t be anything good.”

Hoz nodded and smiled at him, resting his hand on his shoulder. “Thank you, young man. For once, we actually have a lead now!” He turned around to his men and nodded, gesturing to Faron. “We’ll investigate these woods, the rest of you should remain indoors—“

“No no no, wait,” Colin moved in front of Hoz, stopping him in his tracks. “I don’t think you should go hunting for it. It’s… it’s dangerous.”

“I know,” Hoz said, “I fought several of them and I don’t think I ever killed one. They were always revived before my very eyes.” Hoz glanced at the children. “But I think me and five other men can handle one.”

Colin shook his head, once again stopping the captain. “My older brother fought and killed hundreds of them. He couldn’t even defeat this one. It’s more dangerous; you need a plan.”

Hoz frowned. “Who is your brother may I ask?”

Colin fidgeted slightly and pursed his lips. “He—he’s the hero of Hyrule, sir.”

Hoz stared blankly, then he let out an exasperated sigh. “Alright.”

“I’m not lying!”

“I didn’t say you were lying,” he quickly defended, but his tone didn’t convince Colin. Kori’s uncle gave him a glare, clearly using his taller height to try to intimidate the man, but the captain didn’t waver. “Look, I know a hero of Hyrule existed during the twilight invasion; who else would’ve saved Hyrule if not?”

“Then what’s your issue?” Colin pressed, and Hoz finally began to shift uncomfortably.

“I–I… It’s nothing,” Hoz let out a sigh and looked around. “Show me where this monster was spotted. Me and my men will take care of it.”

Colin pursed his lips, the gears turning in his head as he thought of what to do next, but he finally relaxed and started moving towards Faron Woods.

“It was by a house in front of the caves where it was first spotted,” he started to explain, Hoz following on foot. Kori glanced at Rela who started walking with Colin, a determined look in her eye as she clutched her wooden sword. “It moved around as my older brother and pa fought it though, so I can’t promise it’s still there.”

“That’s quite alright, we can make do,” Hoz said, an excited gleam in his eye. The group was silent as they marched through the woods, and they stopped right outside a house. Kori had seen this place before, but he never visited it. He wondered if Coro lived here.

“Well… Uh… here it is,” Colin said awkwardly, gesturing to the home. “Faron Woods in general is where it was, but this place is where they found it.”

“Fascinating,” Hoz muttered, his eyes fixated on the home as he walked towards it. “Men, look around and let me know if you find anything.” He turned to Colin. “You may return home if you wish. We’ll handle this.”

Colin sighed and nodded, turning to Kori and Rela who stood watching. He began to nudge them back towards Ordon, keeping them from moving away from him.

“You two should’ve gone back home,” he scolded, his hand never leaving Kori’s back.

“But I want to help fight a monster!” Rela protested, but Colin shook his head.

“Trust me, Rela, you are not ready to fight this monster,” he said, a nervous look in his eyes. “I don’t know if these guys will be ready to fight it either….” Colin’s voice trailed off and he stared at the grass with a thoughtful look in his eyes. Rela grumbled and crossed her arms, glaring at the grass as well. Kori only stared ahead, spotting the Faron spring coming into view. But as he got a better view, he noticed something that made him freeze in fear.

A large, black creature stood out from the bright, colorful spring. Arms hung awkwardly on its back as it paced the holy waters, and it turned to the group, with its yellow teeth being the only visible facial feature. Kori felt Colin’s hand grip on his shirt, and he was slowly pulled backwards away from the beast.

“What are you doing?” Rela yelled, annoyed, but Colin shushed her, his eyes never leaving the beast. She squirmed in his hold and Colin gripped her tighter.

“Rela, stop moving!” He hissed, his voice shaking slightly as they backed away.

“Let go of me!” Rela began to shout louder, and Colin quickly put his hand on her mouth. The black beast began to move closer to them, moving just as slow as they were. Rela squealed as she was muffled, but it turned into a gasp when she noticed the monster. The beast got low, and Colin let go of the two, shoving them back towards where Hoz was.

“RUN! NOW!” He shouted, and Kori’s adrenaline spiked, causing him to sprint. He fell behind Rela quickly, and he felt like he wanted to sob, but Colin kept nudging his back. He heard crashing behind them, but he didn’t dare look. He saw Hoz who looked startled at the sudden action, and Kori gasped as he tripped over his own skirt. He felt Colin lean over him protectively, hugging him close to shield him from the monster. Kori twisted his neck to look behind him, and he saw the beast snarling down on them, black spit pouring out of its mouth. He curled into Colin who had his sword drawn, but his uncle was shaking uncontrollably.

“Good goddesses!” Hoz exclaimed, his own sword being drawn. Kori heard the men let out a battle cry as they charged the creature, and Colin finally scrambled to his feet with Kori in his arms. He was looking behind his uncle as he ran, and saw the black beast swatting away the soldiers as if they were annoying flies. Some of the soldiers who were hit got back up and ran away, soon leaving Hoz alone to fight the beast.

“Get back here, you cowards!” Hoz yelled as he dodged a swipe from the creature, and Colin reached Rela who was crying. He set him down next to her and gestured to the house.

“Hide yourselves in there, ok? I’m gonna go help him,” he said quickly before giving the two a quick hug. Kori felt himself freeze up again as he watched Colin run towards the monster distracted by Hoz. He didn’t know what to do; he was too scared to move. He just wanted his papa.

Rela grabbed his arm and ran into the home, trying to move the boxes in front of the door while Kori stood there shaking. She shifted the home around to the best of her ability, straining to move the heavy boxes to the door.

“Kori, help me!” She cried, but Kori couldn’t move. Rela was only able to move a couple of boxes to the door, with a chair under the handle, and she finally pulled Kori into a cupboard, hugging him close as they stared wide-eyed in the darkness. Kori heard the muffled shouts of men along with roars from the monster. He cried quietly with his head against Rela’s, the sounds becoming agonizing to his long ears. It felt like hours that they were in the cupboard, fear of being found making Kori feel sick, but it eventually went silent. He glanced up and stared, straining his ears to hear something, anything. But it was silent.

“What is it?” Rela whispered, her voice shaking. Kori continued to listen, and he screamed when he heard loud banging on the door. Rela slapped her hand on his mouth and the two whimpered and shook as the banging continued. Kori curled further into Rela, trying to keep himself from sobbing. There was one more loud bang, then a crash of Rela’s makeshift barricade, then groans from two men.

“Rela? Kori?” The two heard Colin call out, and they scrambled out of the cupboard, ramming into Colin’s legs. Colin melted to the floor and hugged the two, a sigh of relief escaping him. “Thank the spirits,” he muttered in Rela’s hair.

“W-what happened?” Rela asked after pulling away. “Did you kill that monster?”

Colin sighed and shook his head. “No, but we led it away.”

“One of my men distracted it further into the woods,” Hoz continued to explain, staring anxiously out the door. “Glad to know that they’re useful for something.”

Colin gave him a look and stood up. “Shadow beasts are terrifying, give them more grace.”

“They are terrifying,” Hoz growled, stepping further into the home. “I fought them when they first invaded the castle ten years ago. I know how they work and what they are. But it is my duty to protect Hyrule, and it is their duty as well!” He turned away in a huff and looked outside again while Colin remained quiet. “I will not give them grace. If they didn’t want to be soldiers of Hyrule, then they should’ve stayed in the comfort of their home.”

Colin sighed and stood up. “Well, we’re not safe here. Let me take my sister and nephew back to Ordon, and I’ll help you chase after it.”

Hoz’s eyes widened and he nodded. “Very well. These young ones do not need to see such action.” He gave them a sympathetic look.

“Yeah, I saw a shadow beast when I was about nine,” Colin muttered, ruffling Kori and Rela’s hair. “It’s terrifying… I know it.”

Hoz hummed. “Yet you still came to my aid when my own men abandoned me.” he let out a chuckle. “You are the bravest man I’ve ever met.”

“O-Oh! W-well… I don’t know about that,” Colin laughed nervously, beginning to nudge Kori and Rela out the door.

“No, without a doubt. Your courage exceeds most of the soldiers of Hyrule! Have you ever considered joining the guard?”

Colin let out a sigh and drew his sword, watching the trees with unease as Kori and Rela stuck to his legs. “L-look, there are more important things right now.”

“Right,” Hoz cleared his throat and walked out of the house, his own sword drawn. “Let’s get these children home, then.”

The group quietly walked through the woods; despite it being light out, Kori couldn’t help but feel the danger of a shadow lurking in the corners. He kept his eyes sharp, looking for anything that moved. They reached the Faron spring and Kori hugged Colin’s legs tighter. It was uncomfortably silent, but from a distance, Kori heard the sounds of screams. Hoz seemed to pick up on it as well, and he looked around him, a worried look on his face. Colin and Rela seemed none the wiser, however, and they continued onward. A snap of a twig filled the air, and he felt Colin tense as a horse burst through the entrance with a distressed whinny.

“Penelope!” Hoz called out, and stopped her from charging, attempting to calm her down. But right behind the horse, a soldier came running before falling to the ground.

“C-captain!” He cried, and he screamed as he was pulled away. “Help me!”

Hoz ran to him, but he slipped from his fingers as the large shadow beast lifted the squirming soldier. Kori gasped when he saw other soldiers inside its abundant hands—one having two uncomfortably squished together. The shadow beast observed the soldier, but its gaze turned, and it fully faced Kori. Though it had no eyes, he could practically feel its gaze burning through him. He whimpered and hugged Colin tighter. Were they going to die?

The shadow beast dropped the soldier in its hand and charged at Kori. He let out a scream as Colin grabbed him and Rela and attempted to dodge the beast. They were successful in not being trampled, but the beast’s hand snagged Kori, and he laid in between the monster and Colin. He was frozen while laying on the ground, too scared to move and too scared to cry as the beast faced him again. It went in for another charge, but Hoz scooped Kori up and ran out of the way. Kori didn’t comprehend that he was being lifted onto the horse that charged through, and the captain dragged Colin and Rela to the horse as well.

“Young man, get to Castle town, tell Queen Zelda and King Edmund about this. I’ll hold it off.”

Colin climbed onto the horse with Kori in front and Rela behind, and he frowned at Hoz. “I can’t just leave you!”

“You must protect these little ones.” Hoz turned to see the shadow beast recovering from its second failure. The soldier it dropped earlier charged at it, and Hoz turned back to Colin. “What’s your name, young man?”

“I—Colin, sir.”

“I’ll never forget your courage, Colin. Now go! Tell her Highness about this!” Hoz hit Penelope’s behind and she took off running. Kori turned behind him to see Hoz draw his sword, facing the shadow beast with his one remaining soldier, the others remaining in its hands. Kori faced the front and let out a sob, wanting so badly to go back home to his stuffed animals with his papa and mommy holding him. Colin’s arms wrapped around him and he gave him a small peck on the head.

“It’ll be ok, Kori,” he said, his voice shaking as the horse ran through the woods, the trees looking like a blur of green and brown. Kori closed his eyes, praying to the light spirits and goddesses of Hyrule that he’d soon be waking up in his home, with this nightmare behind him.

[hugsandchaos]

Proper Introductions

Summary: Proper introductions to the group leads to Danny getting a new wardrobe and a sword.

Credit for the armor design goes to @nerdypear4!! Thank you so, so much for allowing me to use your design in the story!!

Word count: 3,258

“So what’s your name?” Wind asked. He and Wolfie walked on both sides of the new member. The early afternoon sun shone through the branches and made the stranger’s dark hair and Wolfie’s dark fur look a little funny when they passed under those spots. The stranger looked at him with eyes a shade of light blue that reminded Wind of ice. He couldn’t be much younger than some of the others, but he was definitely a little bit older than Wind.

The three heroes, four if you count Wolfie, were heading back towards the rest of the group with their newest temporary member in tow. The stranger seemed to snap out of some sort of trance and glanced at him.”My name’s Daniel, but pretty much everyone just calls me Danny. What about you?” He asked. His odd bag on his back made a slightly funny noise as he walked, probably just the contents inside, like that weird red bag from earlier. He’d tightened the straps earlier to prevent it from moving around, so it was practically hugging him. Wind had seen big bags before, but that one was odd.

Wind almost said “Link”, but managed to stop and correct himself.“Well, we all have the same name, so we go by nicknames based off our adventures. I’m Wind, and I have a lot of questions.” He said.

“Me too. You go first.” Danny said. For a split second, the corners of his mouth moved upwards in a smile.

“First, why are your ears round?” Wind asked. Up ahead, Sky and Hyrule both froze and were going to turn around to silently scold Wind. They didn’t know why, either, but for all they know, it could’ve been something he’s had since birth and didn’t like talking about. Yet Danny only looked surprised for a split second before answering.

“Uh, I think the only explanation I can give is the fact that I’m a human.” He replied. Human. The three of them remembered that word. Sky was constantly mistook for one on his adventure, and Twilight mentioned that he grew up in a village full of them. It was also him to explain that probably the only physical difference between them was the fact that humans had round ears while hylians had pointed ears. Not everyone paid attention to that detail, so it wasn’t a surprise that Sky was mistook for one.

The two older heroes continued ahead, with Sky leading them. Wind briefly eyed that part of Danny, not really paying attention to the path ahead.“So you’re not a hylian? Huh.” He said, taking on a more suspicious tone than he meant to. He fixed his expression and smiled.”Your turn.” He said, turning back to look ahead.

“Cool. Where are we?” Danny asked. They all took a step over a fallen log, and both Danny and Wind paused to make sure Wolfie hopped over okay.

“Faron Woods, my world.” Sky replied.

“Never heard of that place, but okay.” Danny said, turning to Wind.”What’s your next question?” He asked.

The young hero had lots of questions, and it was a little hard to pick the next one. He ultimately decided on one Hyrule would probably ask him soon as well.“You were stitching up your wound earlier. Are you a doctor?” He asked.

Danny shook his head.“No, I’m far from the real thing. It’s just that... It’s just something I picked up, I guess?” He said with a shrug.”One of my friends is a doctor, and I was curious about a few things, so I asked a couple questions. Next thing I know, he’s teaching me how to treat my own wounds incase he’s not around.” He explained.

“There you guys are!”

Wind and Danny looked up towards the front of the group. Legend was walking towards them looking a little relieved and annoyed at the same time. When he noticed Danny, however, his expression hardened into a glare.”Who is that?” He asked. Danny stopped mid-step for a second, but then continued as if he never stopped. It lasted barely long enough for Wind to notice. Danny opened his mouth to respond, but Sky spoke first.

“Let’s meet up with the rest of the group first. This is important.” He said. Legend gave Danny another glare, but didn’t argue and turned around to walk with them the rest of the way. After ending up in Sky’s world, but on the ground instead of the sky, he led them to some ruins that would provide some cover if they decided to camp there since some of them were nervous about making repeated journeys up and down.

After getting back to the rest of the group, Sky immediately went to explaining why the kid they brought back with them was now a member of the group. Danny glanced nervously between all of them and tensed up a little with the several pairs of eyes on him as Sky spoke.”The sword said that he’s from another world,” was how he started the conversation. No one even got a chance to ask who Danny was or what he was doing following them.

“What?” Time asked, taking on a more serious tone than normal. He glanced over at Danny, who briefly froze before shrugging his shoulders.

“I hardly know what happened myself. I was just walking through the woods and it opened up from underneath me! Then it just spat me back out somewhere over there.” He explained, pointing back the way they came with his thumb. Either he was acting less upset than he was or talking calmed him down somehow, because he grew less tense when he told his brief story. Wolfie stood next to him, occasionally glancing at his side. Probably eyeing the bandages underneath his shirt.

It was confusing how the boy had gotten comfortable with Wolfie so quickly seeing as he wasn’t freaking out over him being so close, but they weren’t going to ask that. Not yet, at least.

After a moment of silence and shared glances, Four approached him.”I’m Four. Do you remember anything besides the portal? A black lizalfos, maybe?” He asked.

“Danny, and no. I don’t even know what a lizalfos is, but I think I hit something on my way down, before I hit the ground in front of whatever that red, ugly thing was.” Danny said, briefly introducing himself before getting to the point. That response was... worrying.

The fact that he didn’t know what a lizalfos was, and apparently hadn’t seen a bokoblin before a few minutes ago, didn’t sound good if he was going to be traveling with them. Unless his world just didn’t have those, but still had monsters. That thought brought a bit of relief to the group. While it would be a neat thing to have a world with no monsters at all, as surprising as that sounds, that could mean that Danny had no experience fighting them. That would be pretty bad.

He didn’t appear to have any weapons or shields on him, unless they were in his backpack. He didn’t seem to have any armor on, either. Unless he knew a thing or two about using weapons, but just didn’t have them. Sky opened his mouth to speak his thoughts of lending him a sword and teach him if need be, but Danny interrupted.”Thanks again for the save, by the way.” He said, glancing at the group’s furry companion. Wolfie huffed and nodded, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards slightly.

“Wolfie helped you?” Four asked. Sky’s face fell a little. He would wait until Danny explained, but he hoped it’d be quick. Danny looked back up at Four.

“Yeah. Not gonna lie, I thought he was a husky because of his fur color.” He replied. Before anyone asked anything else, Sky took the chance to get their attention again and cleared his throat. Four and Danny both turned to him, along with everyone else.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I think we have a more important issue here. Daniel, have you ever faced a monster before?” Sky asked. Danny hesitated before answering, looking thoughtful before shaking his head.

“No, not really. I don’t think I’ve even seen one until now.” He said. The atmosphere changed drastically, and the silence that followed his answer was a little heavier with the realization that he was basically defenseless. No armor, no weapons, and no knowledge of monsters?! The decision seemed obvious, especially as they glanced between each other. Danny seemed to come to a similar realization as his expression shifted to worry.”How many are there?” He asked.

“A lot.” Legend said, reaching into his bag. He rummaged around before pulling out a tunic and undershirt. He walked over to Danny and handed them to him.”Here, these will give you better protection than that shirt and coat.“ He said. Danny seemed a little surprised and very quickly glanced up at his face, then back at the clothes, before reaching out and accepting the not-so-negotiable offer.”Do you have any knowledge or experience with bows, swords, or other weapons?” Legend asked.

“Thank you. And as much as I don’t want to admit this because of how you’ve all reacted so far, no. In fact, swords and bows are hardly used in my world. Not a lot of people to learn from.” Danny said. Everyone else pretty much guessed the first part would be the answer, but the bit about swords and bows not being used much in his world was a surprise. As much as it caught them off guard, the logic behind why he didn’t know how to use those weapons made sense.

“What about your bag?” Warriors asked.

“I don’t really recall packing a weapon, but I’ve forgotten when I have or haven’t packed something, so maybe I did.” Danny replied. He held the tunic and undershirt close to himself while he slid one of his arms out of the straps, then allowed it to slip down his other arm and caught it with his hand before it would fall off completely. Danny knelt down and placed the bag on the ground, supported by his leg.

He grabbed the dangling piece of metal and pulled it up the side, then over it. The bag opened up and he looked inside. After rummaging around, Danny looked at Warriors.”Yeah, no. I don’t have any weapons.” He said, closing his bag back up and standing up with one of his hand lifting it up by one of the straps.

Wild reached into his own bag and walked over to Danny as he searched the seemingly infinite space. He soon pulled out some chainmail and a piece of armor. He wordlessly placed it of top of the tunic and undershirt given to Danny by Legend.“Oh, thank you. Are you really sure this is necessary, though? Is it that bad that I shouldn’t walk around in my normal clothes?” Danny asked. Wild nodded and pulled out a sword from his bag. It was probably one of the swords he’s taken from dead monsters and gave to Four to fix up.

Danny was careful when he took the sword from his hand.“Okay. Again, thanks.” He said. He turned his head towards Time when he noticed him coming towards him.

“We’ll teach you how to use a sword. Here, these will give you better protection against rough terrain than those.” He said, handing him a pair of boots and pants he forgot to drop off at the ranch.

“Uh- Thanks. I appreciate it.“ Danny said.

If his world was really as harmless as it sounds, then he had done a fairly good job staying calm, but he was starting to freak out. Wolfie nudged his hand seeing his uneasiness starting to creep onto his face and Time backed away.

“Teaching you should be easy! There’s nine of us.” Wind said, hoping it would help. Danny opened his mouth, probably to thank them again, but then he paused with an odd look on his face.

“Wait...” Danny looked from one member to the other. Time realized Wind’s mistake as the human’s eyes finally fell on Wolfie. There were currently eight hylians, not nine. He was worried about Twilight’s secret being blown for a second.”A wolf using sword? I shouldn’t find that funny, but it kind of is.” Danny said. Some of the other members looked at Wolfie.

Sky was the one to change the subject again.”You can go into the ruins to change, but the rest of us should probably introduce ourselves first.” He said.

“Oh, right. I guess I’ll go first.” Legend said.

~~~~~(Small Time Skip + POV Switch)~~~~~

After everyone introduced themselves, Danny was brought into the ruins and left in a small room with no windows. After he had gotten changed, he folded his clothes and put them into his bag, then took a moment to just sit down and think for a moment. One minute, he’s walking through a forest hanging out with some Shades that approached him, the next, a dark portal with purple rims opened from underneath him and he fell through without enough time to react.

Then, he lands next to a weird red monster, gets cut by it, saved by a husky who’s apparently a wolf named Wolfie — and Danny himself isn’t good at naming, but seriously? Wolfie?? —, and now he’s apparently going with a group of people who have the same name so they use nicknames like Legend and Four because they’ve gone through a dark and purple portal before and they think they can get him home?

And they’re giving him armor and sword lessons?! It’s amazing how much can happen in just a few hours.

‘This is bad.’

Danny dug into his backpack for his phone. He had to contact someone back home quickly if he couldn’t get there himself. Who’s going to protect the town? What if his parents called the cops? What will he say when he returns? He went to his contact list and immediately tried calling both Tucker and Sam without thinking. It didn’t even ring. The young halfa noticed the service bars. They were gone. He internally scolded himself for not coming to that conclusion sooner. If he was in another world, he should’ve guessed that he wouldn’t be able to call anyone.

Danny took a deep breath and checked his text notifications. He hadn’t received any. Again, it was probably the clear lack of cellphone reception. He put it back into his backpack, but quickly pulled his hand out when he felt something cool and squishy brush up against his fingers. He grabbed onto both sides of his backpack and held them open so he could see inside.

Two black eyes blinked at him from their spot nestled between his notebooks and clothes. Danny’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth to say something, probably shout, but he was luckily cut off by a knock.

”Hey, are you okay in there? You’ve worn armor before, right?” Wind called out.

“Yeah, just a second!” Danny shouted back. He glanced between the door and the little shade in his backpack, then the door again.”No, I haven’t worn armor before!” He corrected himself. He looked down at the shade, who tilted half of its body in a way akin to a confused head tilt. Its core vibrated and sent a message to his own.

Confusion. Fear. “What’s happening?”

Danny wasn’t in ghost form, but he could still understand them. He lowered his voice to a whisper.“I’m still figuring it out. Look, you have to stay in here, okay? We don’t know if they like ghosts or not.” He said. The shade tilted back to its normal position and sent him another message.

Understanding. Worry. Patience. “Okay. I will wait.”

Danny smiled a little and zipped his backpack up with the shade inside. He went to put it on his back, but it felt a little funny with the armor on. The armor was a little snug and didn’t screw up with his binder, nor was it exactly itchy. It was breathable and surprisingly okay to move around in. It was new, but not bad. He picked up the sword Wild lent to him on his way out of the room and back to the main room of the ruins. Why they thought ruins were a good place to change, Danny will never really know. Sure, they provided walls, but still.

He immediately took notice of someone standing next to Time and Sky. Danny was pretty sure he wasn’t there before. He was probably the second or third tallest out of them and looked like he was wearing a dark pelt or something. Wind was right next to the door and raised a hand, which got the guy’s attention.”Twilight, come meet Danny.” He called. The one Danny hadn’t properly met glanced between Time and Sky before walking over to them. He seemed friendly, but appearances can be deceiving. That was a card Danny also had to play until he had a full grasp of the situation.

As he came closer, Danny took notice of something. Two somethings, actually. One of them was that the guy had the same marking on his forehead as the wolf, except in black instead of white. The second thing was that the pendant in his necklace looked almost the same as the rock Danny had noticed when he was petting the wolf’s head.

Was he... No, he was probably just looking too deep in a shallow lake. He just got here, he shouldn’t jump to those kinds of conclusions. Where was the wolf, anyways?

“Oh, hey, you and the wolf have the same markings. Are you two friends or something?” Danny asked. He wasn’t sure why he went with that instead of introducing himself, but that’s what happened. Twilight, the name Wind had called him, nodded and kept his smile.

What was that brief look for, though?

“Yeah, he helped me out on my adventure. Saved me from a fate worse than death. The mark just appeared after a while. Speaking of the wolf, I heard about how you were calm when he approached you and was a little surprised. Most people would attack a wolf approaching.” Twilight said. Danny felt the need to explain himself and shrugged.

“I don’t know if this part was mentioned to you yet, but I thought he was a dog. Besides, he was nice and helped me find my bag after taking down a red, ugly thing that was going to kill me, so I figured it was safe to trust him after I was told he was actually a wolf.” He said. Wind moved next to both of them and caught both of their attention.

“Twilight’s probably the nicest in the group, but he’s a great fighter, so he’s going to be sparring you.” Wind said. Danny’s eyes widened and he almost took a step back. He glanced back at Twilight, who was obviously a bit bigger than him.

He must’ve looked as anxious as he suddenly felt because Twilight spoke up.”Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll be fine. We’re going to switch between defense, offense, and then we do both at the same time. It’ll just be to see how strong and fast you already are, and we’re going to wait until your injury’s much better.” He explained. Danny nodded. He noticed Wild practically appear next to him and offer him a wooden shield. As much as he didn’t want to, Danny accepted the shield with a “thank you”.

(I worry that it might be rushed or not very good, so if you have anything you think needs pointing out or constructive criticism, or any kind of feedback really, that would be really, really appreciated!)

[cutthroatcarnival]

Revered Deity, Unknown Hero (1/10)

This is a special one! Thank you @bokettochild for allowing me to write a fic using your God of War!Warriors idea! It was super fun to write. :)

Read chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Find it on AO3 here!

Divine and Draconic Differences

The skies were clear and the weather was pleasant as the heroes congregated outside of Wild and Flora’s Hateno home. It was peaceful, a nice and welcomed reprieve from the era before.

Wind, a still growing teenager, was overflowing with energy, tugging around an equally as eager Hyrule, to explore everything possible. He had his spyglass out, sweeping across the vast land of the Wild Era. Every so often, he’d hand his spyglass over to the traveler to allow him a go.

His telescope was focused on a chasm far out, watching the remaining wisps of gloom fade into the air. Mesmerized by the red-purple, he didn’t fully register the white-blue on the edge until it had blocked his view.

“Wild! What the fuck is that?!” Keeping his focus on the serpentine creature in the sky, he heard Wild approach his side with the familiar sound of him activating his slate’s scope mode.

“That’s Naydra, one of the dragons.”

That… didn’t look like a dragon. Dropping his spyglass from his eye, Wind fixed Wild with a stare. The scarred hero stared back.

“Don’t look at me like that. There’s three dragons, they’re all servants of the springs. Naydra happens to be the servant of the Spring of Wisdom, which is,” he grabbed Wind’s shoulder and spun him around, pointing to a mountain peak covered in snow, “right on that peak over there.” Wind moved his gaze to the mountain peak, following Wild’s finger. He could see the vague shape of pillars.

“Huh… so you have dragons too? They look different from mine.” Wind began walking back to the rest of the group, who had been listening in on the conversation, no matter how hard they tried hiding it. Wild took a few seconds to decipher the information, and ran to catch up with the sailor.

“What do you mean “you too”? I didn’t know anyone else had dragons!” Wind shrugged.

“Like I said, mine are different, like Valoo. He was a sky spirit I met during my first adventure. And the only one that didn’t try to kill me.” He plopped down next to Warriors, who offered the young hero one of the apples he had.

“Still! Does anyone else have dragons?” All hands went up except for the smithy, who looked utterly confused as he mouthed dragons over and over, eyes swirling different colors.

“In my defense, all of my dragons wanted to kill me.” Hyrule exclaimed, being seconded by Time, Twilight, Warriors, and Legend.

The five heroes delved into further conversation about their draconic enemies. Wind wiggled into the group, chattering about the gleeoks he fought. Wild chimed in about having to fight gleeoks as well, explaining about the King Gleeoks residing in hard-to-reach locations.

“The dragons I know serve Hylia.” A few grimaced at the mention of the goddess, but the dislike was outweighed by the curiosity of Sky’s dragons.

“The three of them were assigned to watch over different provinces of the Surface. They also protected the sacred flames, and held parts of the Song of the Hero.”

Wild was immediately upon Sky, spitting out questions with very little breaths between, all centered on what they looked like, if they had any powers, and anything of the sort.

“Of course they have powers, they guard and protect the Triforce. Even the gods wouldn’t be able to reach it with them guarding the key to it.

Gods and Goddesses were a touchy subject. Some were openly hostile towards them, others in the middle, and some revered them. Yet, the topic always raised an interesting thought; just how many are there?

“Do you think there’s more than just Hylia?” Came Four’s voice, eyes shining a curious violet.

“There’s the light spirits in my era,” Twilight rested his chin in his palm, “Ordona, Lanayru, Eldin, and Faron. They protect the regions they share names with.”

“Oh, and the Golden Goddesses! They’re the ones that submerged Hyrule!” Wind piped up, leaning against Warriors, who grimaced as the sailor’s sharp elbow dug into his thigh.

A soft hum emitted from Time, who had been running his fingers along his markings, a pensive look across his face. Wild bounded off of Sky, and settled next to Twilight.

“I know of one! Legends talk about a Fierce Deity… they say that if one dons his armor and mask they gain godlike power.”

Time gave a sharp inhale, and his fingers dropped from his face.

Others shook their heads, either not having any other gods, goddesses, or deities in their time, or having the same ones as someone else.

“Not anymore.”

Eight heads turned towards Sky, who had found a stick and was whittling absentmindedly, a stormy look across his face. They all shared a few glances- curiosity, and a little bit of fear.

‘Not anymore’?

“Oh! There is another- the Deity of War.” Hyrule broke the silence, fingers tying blades of grass into circles while his gaze rested on the other heroes.

“Isn’t that the same as the Fierce Deity?” Twilight cocked his head.

Legend scoffed.

“Many think that, but”, he stood up and turned so he was facing all eight heroes, “they are different. He’s the Deity of War, exactly as his name implies; a powerhouse on the battlefield, calculated and quick. The Fierce Deity doesn’t focus on war, he focuses on ferocity, on power, on courage. It’s in their names, it really is that simple.”

The veteran launched further into an explanation about the two, pointing out the similarities and differences, both surface level and deeper. Pointed ears all upright, revealing without words how invested they were in this newly learned-about deity.

Wild shot up out of his seat and ran to the house, slamming the door open, sounds of rustling and clanging could be heard, and the heroes remaining shared concerned glances. The current era’s hero came racing back out- not bothering to shut the door- with a book in his grasp.

“Legends Throughout the Ages” read the title of the book in intricate gold. The book itself seemed to be in good condition, missing the normal wear and tear they had seen on other things in the champion’s era.

“I know about him! Flora was talking about some books she had found in the castle,” he thumbed through the pages, “and she thought I would like this one… Aha!” Wild smoothed the book to lay flat on pages marked with blue fabric scraps.

On the pages were long paragraphs of stories and legends of the deity, exploring where he originated from and what eras his legends came from. Taking up a sizable portion of the right page was an image.

“Hey, he kind of looks like Warriors!”

Wind grabbed the book from Wild and pranced back over to the captain, who only raised an eyebrow at him, his now finished apple set off to the side. The sailor raised the book next to Warriors and basked in the ‘oohs’ when they realized that their youngest was right.

The picture and the captain looked nearly identical; only differentiated by the gold and blue markings on the deity’s face, blank eyes, and the color of the armor- a vibrant gold- and the tunic- a pale cream.

Snatching the book, Warriors scanned over the page, lingering on the photo a little longer.

“I don’t see it.”

That caused an uproar, as Wind and Wild both pounced on the captain, claiming that he was wrong and everyone could very well see it, while Hyrule just looked at the captain like he had grown a second head. The others groaned quietly.

There goes the relaxing day they were hoping for.

[let-dawn-break]

Sit with Me - Twilight X Reader Oneshot

Pining 🌲 Fluff 💖 - Inspired by First Time - Hozier

Kneeling down into the tall grass, your hand wavered over their tips as you watched them sway in the breeze that the dusk brought. You loved the light that the sunset brought the most. You knew he did too.

He came back different from his adventure.

You could see the way he had grown. If not for the scars that littered his body that you could see plain as day, then the still exhausted look in his blue eyes when he turned around for a moment and thought no one could recognize it. Or the way his jaw seemed just a little bit more jagged from the fading scars and ache in his heart - the way he had to consciencely unclench it when he remembered that Ordon was just a little safer than the other places he had ventured off to.

He came back a man, after being a boy for such a long time. It broke your heart that his transition had to be so sudden… but there was nothing you could do now - not when he walked down the path from Faron Woods to his treehouse, eyes softening and smile coming to grace his face as soon as he saw you.

It made butterflies kick up into your stomach, and you fought them down, hoping your lopsided smile wouldn’t give too much away. You stood from your crouched position on the floor, dusting your hands on your tunic hurriedly as he came bounding up. "You sure took your sweet time." You sassed him with a growing grin as the leftover boyishness in his eyes bubbled right up. "I thought you were gonna spend the night at the springs."

"And miss this?" There was a certain sweetness to his voice that caused you to roll your eyes, holding back the warmth in your cheeks as he began to climb the outside of his treehouse, helping you up the vines and ladders until the both of you were perched on one of its thick branches.

For the first time since he left on his journey, he was watching the sunset with you again. It's been about a month since he'd returned - and sure, you'd talked plenty, hung out here and there, but ever since you'd come to Ordon, you'd only been watching it with him... Every other day right here. On top of his treehouse, shoulder to shoulder.

When he was gone, when things had gotten chaotic and bleak and lonely... You would climb up here on your own, hoping that you'd be the first to see him from so high up. The first to run to him and welcome him back home. You weren't the first, but you were definitely the on who clung to him the closest when he returned. Everyone in the little village could see that.

After all, you only really love him when you lose him. Luckily for you, he wasn't gone for good. But by the goddesses, you sure felt like one of those days you'd just be devastated with the news that he'd wandered into a dungeon and just... never came out. It really put you into perspective. All the feelings you'd been denying for who knows how long finally bubbled forward. Especially after he'd taken off to save Ilia...

You were so worried that she'd have feelings for him instead - her father seemed to be just fine with having him as a son-in-law... but when you'd jokingly mentioned it to her, she'd very much denied the notion... It looks like after her father had suggested it for so long, she'd been sick and tired of it.

What a lucky streak you'd had.

Now if only you could stop cucco-ing out and just tell him. How many chances did you have so far already since he'd come back? At least once for every single day! And you were still speechless, red faced and cringing at your own rehearsals of your confession.

What a headache.

"Are you ok?" Link placed a hand on your shoulder, and you jolted up - his hand pulling away like you'd zapped him at your near flinch.

"I - uh - yeah!" You waved your hand, hoping to wave away his concern as well. "Just fine! Doing great, hahah..."

He frowned, obviously not believing your horrible lie. "You've been stiff this whole time... What's wrong?" He didn't say it outright, but you could hear the hint of pain in his voice. He thought he did something wrong.

Oh goddesses - "It's - you didn't do anything wrong..." You muttered, groaning as you ran a hand down your face, biting the inside of your cheek as you mustered up your leftover courage. "It's just that - I know you haven't been gone for... that long, but it felt like forever! It felt like I'd be waiting up here for you to come back home for months! I get it, you were saving the world and all that, but... I dunno..." Your gaze drifted to the floor far, far below you. "I just wanted you to come back home safe."

While your fingers were digging into the three bark, jaw tight, and gaze burning holes into the dirt far below, you felt his arm snake around your shoulders and pull you close and into his side. When you looked up to see his face, you saw that there was a small, teary-eyed smile as he held you close.

He laughed, watered down with emotion but still cheerful all the same. "Hah! Sorry I worried you." He said, nuzzling the top of your head with the side of his. "But I made it back safely, didn't I..? I came back to Ordon - to you." He would always come back home to you.

When he pulled away your eyes were wide, lips in a tight line, and blood rushing to your face indefinitely. "Goddesses, I love you." Your mouth blurted it out as soon as you had thought it - and your hands flew up to your mouth to cover it dizzyingly quick. Damn it! So much for all your stupid confession rehearsals.

Both of you stared at each other for a moment, wide eyed and in disbelief at the words that had been spoken. You barely noticed it, but you were holding your breath too, watching his face for any micromovements that would give away his reaction.

And hey, at least if you fell from this height off the tree, you might lose the memory of this utterly embarrassing moment.

"Really?" He finally spoke, breathless and with shock still evident on his face. "S-say it again, I -" He swore he must have been hallucinating or dreaming or - or something. He grabbed you by the shoulders and stared intensely at you, prying your hands away from your mouth with one hand, desperation slowly bubbling into his eyes.

If you mean it, say it again...

Your cheeks were bright red, and swallowing your thick embarrassment, you said it again. "I... I love you." You meant it, but it didn't make your face burn any less, especially not when he pulled your hands away from your face even more and dove in to press his head against your neck, wrapping his arms around your chest in a tight hug.

You could hear a muffled "I love you too," from his spot in the crook of your neck as he speckled kisses along your skin, despite your squirming.

"L-Link!" You scolded him, smacking his back as he continued to pepper your skin with kisses. "Link! Stop it! It tickles!!" You cried out, only for his fingers to twitch along your sides until he made your laugh ring out loud.

Goddesses, you loved him, and you were so lucky to have him back home safe and sound.

[notgonnaedit]

Ordon

Summary: When the Chain is sent through another portal, they end up in Twilight's home

Focus Link: Twilight

A/n: Art is mine. I played the Wii version of TP, so I'm gonna use that map as a reference, but Twi will have his clothes from the HD version

Master list

Twilight groaned as he landed face first in the dirt.

Traveling by portals was always risky, never knowing what time you'd end up in, and a mouth full of dirt was not the greatest introduction to a new time.

"Great, where are we this time?" Legend grumbled as he dusted himself off. 

"No idea." Hyrule said. "But this forest is massive!"

Twilight examined his surroundings. They were standing in the middle of a forest. Tall trees surrounded them, and by the looks of it there was a faint, almost buried tile that lined where they were standing.

"Look at that tree!" Wind exclaimed.

Twilight turned around to see a Titan of a tree hanging over a cliff, the only way to reach it was a hollowed out root. He turned again to see a small shop manned by a colorful bird. If that was there, and that was over there...

"I think we're in my Hyrule." He said aloud.

"Are you sure?" Time asked as he looked around.

Twilight nodded with an energy he never showed. "I'm positive."

"Do you have a place we can stay?" Warriors asked.

Twilight nodded. "My house is about ten miles away, we'd better hurry if we wanna get there before dark."

He started walking south. Legend looked at Wild, who shrugged. Wild knew Twilight the best out of all of them, except Time. They followed their companion through the woods.

"I've never seen him so upbeat." Wild said. "He must've really missed home."

Legend nodded. "Can you blame him? He's been away for who knows how long and death was knocking at his door a few weeks ago." He shuddered at the memory of Twilight laying injured in bed. He was so pale and weak...

Meanwhile, Wind was bombarding Twilight with questions about his home.

"How big is your Hyrule? Will we get to see the goats you told us about? Are there kids in your village?"

Twilight chuckled. "Pretty big, yes, and yes, though they're much younger than you."

Soon they came to a large dip in the woods.

"What is this?" Sky asked. In all his travels, he'd never seen such a strange geographical area. The closest thing he could compare it too was the Sealed Grounds back in his time.

"There used to be a lake here from what I'm told." Twilight said as they walked through it. "But after the Twilight it was covered in a poisonous fog. It took years to disapate."

"What was your adventure like?" Four asked. "You never really talk about it."

Twilight grunted lightly and Time stepped in.

"He doesn't have to talk about it if he doesn't want to."

"No, it's fine." Twilight said. He memory of the day he was pulled into a divine plot made shivers run down his spine. It was a reminder of the day his best friend lost her memory, and of the day his companion left him forever. "It was a fairly normal day in Ordon, except that I was to deliver a sword to the Royal Family..." He told them his story. Everything from Ilia's memory loss to racing Yeto down the mountain. 

Eventually they reached Faron Spring as the day started to turn to evening.

"Let's rest here." Twilight said. "We still got a while before we'll get there."

Hyrule splashed his face with the Spring water as everyone sat down.

"Is this the Spring where you learned you were the Chosen Hero?" Wild asked.

Twilight nodded. "He told me that the tunic I wear now was the one my ancestor wore in his journey." He glanced at Time who was observing the tall stones.

Warriors stretched his back. "The weight of these bags is killing me!"

Legend rolled his eyes. "Well, maybe you shouldn't have volunteered to take them, tough guy."

Twilight walked over to where the horse grass grew and picked it.

"What are you doing?" Four asked.

Twilight didn't answer as he brought the grass to his lips and blew. A gentle melody echoed through the wind, carrying it's song to the right ear.

"That's Epona's Song." Time said turning to him, a look of bewilderment on his face. He already knew that Twilight was his decendent, but his Hyrule was much different, so it had to be at least a century. Yet Epona's Song had survived just the same.

Just as he said it, a chestnut mare with a white mane cantered to Twilight, who stroked her nose affectionately.

He said to the group. "She can carry your loads for you."

Warriors gratefully attached his bag to Epona's saddle, as did the others.

"It won't hurt her, right?" Wind asked. He wasn't used to horses.

Twilight smiled. "No, she's a tough one."

"We should keep going," Four said. "Unless, we wanna set up camp for the night."

"No, thanks." Sky said.

Twilight's continued to lead the way through a cave, lantern in hand. "Be careful of the rats." He said. "They usually run away but sometimes they bite."

Eventually, they came to a long rope bridge where Twilight smiled. "This is it, after this we'll have entered Ordon Province." He pace quickened as they went.

"He's really excited." Wind noted.

They came across another Spring that Twilight slowed when he saw. He stared sadly at the peaceful scene. All of his worst memories had happened there. But then he saw something near the back of the spring and brightened.

"Why'd we stop?" Hyrule asked approaching his distracted comrade. It was then he noticed the young woman, around Twilight's age. She had short peachy blonde hair that fell just past her chin, and pale skin that seemed to glow faintly. Her back was turned to the group, but they could tell she was very beautiful.

Twilight took a step forward. "Ilia..."

The girl turned around, revealing her sage green eyes and petal shaped lips.

"Link?" Her face broke into a smile as she ran to Twilight. He ran to her as well and they embraced in a tight hug.

The others stared at him feeling puzzled. While most of them assumed this was Ilia, Twilight's childhood best friend, Time and Warriors had a feeling something else was connecting them.

The two friends pulled apart suddenly, and Ilia's smile turned to a scowl.

"Where have you been?! It's been three months, I've been worried!" She looked at Epona, who was standing near the Links. "Epona isn't hurt is she? Link, I swear, if you hurt her—"

Twilight chuckled lightly. "Relax, Ilia. Epona's fine, I'm here now. I've been traveling, with them..." He turned to look at his brothers. Most of them nodded in greeting, but a couple (Wind and Wild) smiled and waved vigorously.

Ilia looked at them curiously. They all shared the same build. Lean and strong. But they all looked different. Most has blue eyes like Link, but one had dark brown and another grey. One thing was for sure, they were all connected.

"I see." She said softly. 

Twilight looked between his best friend and his brothers, speaking to both. "How about we go to my house. I'll explain it all there."

~~~~~~~~

Time watched Twilight and Ilia catch up as the younger hero led the way to his home. The two had a strong bond, no doubt about that, but there was something else he noticed. A look air of protectiveness had surrounded Twilight. Sure, he was always protective of his friends, but with Ilia it had increased.

"Is this your house?" Wind asked as they came to a tree house in a clearing.

"Yep." Twilight said as he tethered Epona. He walked to the ladder and started to climb. "And the village is just down that way." He pointed to a fence that lined a pathway to the South. He climbed to the top and opened the door. Ilia followed him and, with a shrug, so did the others.

"Not too shabby, Rancher." Legend said as he looked around Twilight's home. 

Wild looked at the pot on the fireplace and his stomach growled. He looked at Twilight. "Can I use that? I'm starving."

A chorus of agreements rang through the small home.

"Sure." Twilight said as he removed his wolf pelt. "Ilia, are you staying for dinner?"

She smiled. "Of course. You owe me an explaination."

"So how long have you been friends?" Warriors asked as he examined the pictures on the wall. There was one of what looked like a younger Twilight and Ilia fishing together.

Twilight shrugged. "I dunno. I've known her as long as I can remember."

Over by the fire, Wild was making soup with Ilia's assistance. The girl smiled softly. "I remember."

All eyes turned to her, including Twilight's.

"My parents were away in Castle Town." Ilia explained. "I couldn't have been older than three, so I was staying with Rusl and Uli. Rusl went out hunting one day, but he didn't come back with any game. He came back with a boy around my age. He said that he found him with a golden wolf protecting him, and took him home."

Twilight glanced at Time, who was sitting in a chair. "Must have been sent by the gods." He said.

Four nodded. "They didn't want their Chosen Hero dying at such a young age."

"Yeah, that must be it." Twilight said a bit nervously. He remembered the Hero's Shade last words to him. How he learned that the stal that stood before him was his ancestor. But even more chilling was the fact that the very stal sat before him in the body of a man. Twilight wondered what had happened to Time that made him become the ghoul that couldn't move on without passing on his skills. That's couldn't fully die.

~~~

After dinner, Twilight opted to walk Ilia home, but she insisted to wait until tomorrow to show his face in the village, as to not cause everyone to wonder where he'd been.

"I'll at least take you to the entrance."

Ilia smiled as Twilight opened the door for her. "If you insist."

They left the others to settle in and get ready for bed.

"I knew about Ilia." Wild said. "But I thought he had feelings for Midna." 

They all recalled Twilight's story, and how the snarky imp had really been a beautiful princess.

Wind nodded as he got in his sleeping bag. "He sure sounded like he did."

"That was years ago." Time said wisely. "He may have changed his heart."

Warriors chuckled as he copied Wind's actions. "Well, whatever he feels, Ilia definitely likes him."

~~~~~

"So all those boys are you." Ilia said. "But from different times?"

Twilight scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, pretty much. But some of us might be related."

Ilia nodded. "Like you and the one missing an eye."

A startled gasp escaped Twilight's mouth. Ilia smiled. "Oh, don't act so surprised. I saw the way you looked at him after I mentioned the Golden wolf." She quieted and looked at Twilight's shadow crystal that hung from his neck. "Was he the Stal Warrior you told me about?"

Twilight nodded. Ilia was the only person in his time that knew of his quest, other than Zelda of course. "He's my ancestor, Ilia." He said. "But he doesn't know..." He trailed off. He didn't want to tell the Old Man about his doomed fate, but should he? He was brought out of his thoughts by a warm feeling against his hand. He looked down to see Ilia holding it with two of hers.

"It'll be fine, Link. If he's anything like you, he'll be okay. I know you can handle it. After all, you handled it so well when I lost my memory." She looked up at him with kindness. 

"That reminds me..." Twilight said. "Did the doctor say anything?"

Ilia sighed. "You know how Doctor Orville is." She said, no doubt remembering how he treated Ralis. "He wanted an immense fee just to tell me most of them will come back on their own, if at all. I remember most everything, except for in-between when I was taken and when Telma took me in."

Twilight gazed down at her sadly. She was so pure and kind, she didn't deserve any of the hardships she suffered. She was so strong and resilient, even when she didn't know her own name, Ilia was determined to help the dying Zora prince. 

Twilight pulled his friend into a huge, which she gladly accepted. 

"You might not remember everything, Ilia. But I'm glad you remembered me."

Ilia pulled away from the hug, her eyes slightly misty. "Thank you, Link. I'll see you tomorrow." She turned and jogged to the village and Twilight moved to go inside.

He found his friends on the floor in sleeping bags, except for Time, of course. (Twilight let him take his bed, but not without some arguing from the elder, but the younger insisted.) 

"So..." Warriors said with a smirk. "Ilia."

Twilight looked at him with his best wolf-stare. "Don't go near her, Captain."

The soldier immeaditly shook his head and held up his hands in surrender. "No, no! I didn't mean it like that."

Sky smiled at him knowingly. "He's talking about you​​​​ and Ilia."

Twilight took off his wolf pelt on his shoulders. "She's my best friend." He moved to untie the Ordon cloth around his waist.

"Are you sure she isn't more than that?" Legend hinted as he lay back with his arms behind his head.

Twilight took off his tunic and chain mail before taking off his boots. "What do you mean?"

"Hylia, he's dense." Wind whispered to Wild, who rolled his eyes.

"Ya like her!" Wild said bluntly as he sat cross legged on top of his blanket.

Twilight shook his head. "You got the wrong guy, Champion."

"Oh please, we saw the way you looked at her." Four said with a smirk that everyone seemed to be wearing.

"And the way she looked at you." Hyrule said. "Right, Old Man?"

The oldest of their group had an unreadable expression asTwilight laid down and pulled his covers around him.

"I think," Time started as he climbed the ladder to Twilight's bed. "That you all need to go to bed, and let the Rancher figure out his feelings for himself."

The group grumbled their good nights and went to sleep. But Twilight stared up at his ceiling, trying to make sense of what they had told him.

~~~~~

The next morning, the Links were aroused by and unfamiliar voice calling to them. Well, unfamiliar to all but one.

"Link!" A young boys voice shouted. "We know you're home! Get up!"

Legend rubbed his eyes angrily. "Who is that?" He grumbled.

Twilight got up and opened the door. He smiled when he saw the familiar sight of Talo, Malo, Beth, and Colin all standing in his yard.

"You couldn't have let me sleep?" Twilight asked jokingly. "Hold on, I'll be down in a minute."

When he went back in, he found everyone getting themselves around, well, all except Sky. That boy could sleep through anything.

"Who was that?" Time asked as he joined everyone.

"Village kids." Twilight answered fondly. "They do this every so often. Ilia must have told them I came home. I'm actually surprised they let us sleep in this late.

Hyrule looked out the upstairs window at the sun. "Its, like, eight in the morning!" While he may struggle with iliteracy, the Hero of Hyrule was no stranger to telling the time by using the sun or moon, as any traveler should know.

Twilight got dressed in his casual attire, but not the outfit his counter parts were used to. He wore a sleeveless white shirt with green embroidery, baggy dark green pants that reached past his knees, a blue cloth around his waist tied with a smaller orange cloth like usual, and a green sleeve tethered to his shirt on his left arm.

"Wake up, guys." The Rancher said. "You can't see the goats if you're asleep."

Wind immeaditly perked up. He got dressed twice as fast as the others and was at Twilight's side in a moment.

Strange clothes for farm chores." Warriors noted remembering how Twilight helped at Lon Lon Ranch in his usual attire.

"It's traditional Ordon clothing." The native told them as he walked to the door. The others followed him, all in their day clothes. Even Sky had awoken and was groggily climbing down the ladder.

"Link!" The kids all said as they ran to Twilight, jumping on his back and hanging off his arm. The Rancher didn't seem to mind at all. He laughed with delight as he hugged one particular blond boy.

"Link, Mom and Dad are waiting to see you!" Colin said. "And Rose so close to learning how to walk." He looked over Twilight's shoulder and a confused look crept across his face. "Who are they?"

Twilight turned to see his counter parts standing behind him. He really didn't want to explain how time travel and the Hero's Spirit worked.

"They're–er– travelers. I met them while I was traveling myself."

"Oh." They seemed satisfied with his answer. 

"You should probably head to the ranch." Malo said in his monotonous voice. "Fado has barely been able to keep the goats in check."

"Yeah!" Talo said. "Rusl and my dad had to go into Faron Woods to find one last week!"

"You guys!" Beth scolded. "Link just got back and you're already giving him chores!"

Twilight chuckled and took Epona's reins in his hand to lead her. "It's fine, Beth. I was just about to show my friends here the ranch anyway." He turned to his caravan. "Come on, y'all. The Ordon tour starts now."

~~~~

Ordon Village was just as Twilight had left it. Calm, quiet, and quaint. The lake to his right was just as clear as ever, and the hawk grass on the earthen collums were staying in the gentle breeze.

To the left sat Fado's house, and even farther was Rusl, Uli, Colin, and Rose's house. 

"Link!" Ilia waved from where she was talking with Uli by the bridge. She was holding one year old Rose on her hip.Twilight smiled and made his way over to them.

One thing Twilight had missed was Uli's smile. No matter what he was feeling, she could always make him feel warm inside when she smiled.

"Oh, Link." She said wrapping him in a hug he gladly returned. "We've missed you so much!"

Twilight felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to see Rusl standing there, his own face shining with a welcoming smile.

"Good to have you back, son." He said.

Twilight felt his chest swell with pride. Rusl and Uli had taken him in until he moved out at sixteen, a year before his adventure. They treated him as one of their own, and Twilight always considered them to be his parents and Colin and Rose to be his younger siblings.

In the background, someone coughed. Twilight pulled away from the two and turned to his group.

"Oh, sorry, guys." He said. "I forgot to introduce you."

"Who are you're...friends." Rusl hesitated on the last word. He wasn't quite sure how these people knew Link. They varied in ages and height, but they all had the same aura that Link did.

"These are my friends." Twilight said to his parental figures. "We just call each other by nicknames. That's Traveler, Captain, Sailor, Champion, Smith, Veteran, Chosen, and the Old Man. Guys," He turned to his group. "This is Rusl and Uli, and their daughter Rose. They raised me as their own, and Colin was here just a minute ago..."

Time held out his hand to shake. "Nice to meet you." Rusl took it and nodded. Time already liked him. They did a fine job with his decendent.

"Can we see the goats now?" Wind said a bit impatiently. He might be a hero, but he was still a kid.

Ilia chuckled. "You're friend might be right, Link. I'm sure the kids already told you about Fado. You know how my father feels when you aren't helping with the ranch."

"Then why doesn't he have Link run it full time, and Faso helps?" Rusl asked.

Uli chided her husband. "Link has more important things to tend to in Castle Town with you. He can only stretch himself so thin." She turned to Twilight. "I don't mean to talk about you like you're not here."

Rose started babbling from her place on Ilia's hip. The young woman held her up to eye level. "Do you wanna see Link? You want your big brother?" She handed Rose to Twilight, who gingerly took the baby.

"Hi, Rosie." He said to her smiling.

"Ink!" She babbled happily. While she couldn't quite say Twilight's name yet, that didn't stop her from trying. Just then, Colin came up with grass stains on his clothes. The other village kids tailed behind, and went to their own parents.

"Colin, what happened to you?" Uli asked as she took in his state.

"Taking wanted to play sumo and I said I didn't want to, so he tried to make me. But I beat him."

"Good job." Rusl and Twilight said in sync. Ever since Colin saved Beth from the Bulbins, Talo had stopped bullying him. But there was always the occasion when Talo went to far.

The other Links watch in amusement at the family. Wild was wondering why his companion had never mentioned his family before. But that nice moment was interrupted by a call from the north.

"Heeeyyyy! A goat got loose!!!"

A blue, horned beast ran down the path. The group got in battle stances, not knowing what else to do. The goat was coming right for them. But Twilight handed Rose to Uli and ran across the bridge. They watched in wonder as their friend grabbed the goat by it's ringed horns and threw it to the ground. It got up, shook its head, and walked back up to the ranch.

"I should probably go see how Fado's doing." Twilight said as he dusted his hands off.

Ilia giggled. "Probably. You should go now before anymore get loose."

Twilight took Epona's reins once again and led his companions to his job.

"You're sure you don't have any magic items?" Legend teased. To be fair, Twilight had grabbed a thundering beast and threw it to the ground like it was nothing. It wouldn't be unusual for Legend to be slightly jealous of his beastly friend's strength.

Twilight chuckled. "Just my crystal."

Four noticed they were in a stretch of the path where no one is around and he took that as an opportunity. "Does anyone here know about your–you know–other form?"

"Just Ilia." The Rancher said shortly.

"You seem to really trust her." Sky said in a tone that could be considered a teasing one.

"She's my best friend." Twilight said for what felt like the umpteenth time.

"Yeah, but you didn't tell Rusl and Uli, and they raised you." Warriors pointed out.

"Ilia saw things she couldn't explain. I told her everything so she wouldn't think she was losing her mind." Twilight's tone was somber. "It's hard enough knowing there will be some things she'll never remember. I wanted to give her some peace of mind."

The group fell silent at his words. They knew he was just trying to protect his friend, but they still felt there was some unspoken feelings amidst.

"Well, we're here." Twilight said as they approached the open gates of the ranch. Ranch didn't cover it. There was a fence along the South side, but the pasture was bordered by small cliffs on all sides. There was a barn on the west side, and it's doors were open.

There was one man in the center of the pasture, and he was inspecting a goats hoof.

"Fado!" Twilight said approaching him.

Fado looked up from the goat. "Link! You're back, and you brought Epona!"

Twilight laughed. "Yep, I figured you needed the help.

Fado scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, I sure do. I need to check for sickness today so I gotta round 'em all up in the barn. You think you can do that?"

Twilight smirked as he mounted his horse. "You bet." He turned to his friends. "Y'all better stay back while I herd them. They can get aggressive. Hyah!" He took off on Epona in a canter.

Wind watched in awe as Twilight herded the goats into barn. He made it look so easy. "He's really good."

Time felt a swell of pride. Malon would be proud to watch their decendent handle animals with such skill. He could hardly believe that the same boy who was riding around, was barely breathing a few weeks ago. Whatever that shadow did had messed him up, and Time shuddered to think what might have happened if the Traveler's life spell hadn't worked. Time thougtt about how much Twilight talked about Ilia. He had painted a perfect picture of her, from her green eyes to they way her nose scrunched when she laughed. It was clear to the man that they had feelings for each other, whether they knew it or not.

Wild, on the other hand, was confused. Twilight had talked about Midna like an old heartbreak that hadn't healed. But when Twilight was around Ilia, he smiled like her very presence was his reason for anything.

By now, all the goats were in the barn being checked for sickness and disease by Twilight and Fado.

"How did you know of their sick?" Wind asked as Twilight examined a goats mouth. Four, Time, Sky and Wild had gone back down to the village. Wind, Legend, Hyrule, and Warriors stayed out of fascination for the goats.

"You check their mouth, and if their spit is yellow, they're sick." Twilight said as he patted his goat's back. "But this old girl is as healthy as they come."

"You never mentioned the smell." Warriors said distastefully.

Legend rolled his eyes. "It's a barn, Captain. What did you expect?"

"I don't mind it." Hyrule said. In his time, there was very little livestock. Most towns were scattered and maybe had one or two cows.

~~~~

Back in the village, Four and Time were talking with Rusl while Wild was playing with the kids, and Sky was talking with Ilia.

"Link said you were a blacksmith." Four said. "Do you mind if I use your forge to repair this?" He held out a broken sword, no doubt Wild's.

Rusl took the sword and inspected it. "Hmm, it will take skill. Are you up to the task?"

Four squared his shoulders. He was used to people underestimating him. "Sir, I've forged swords in the fires of the volcano of my home. I can handle a forge."

Rusl laughed at the boy's attitude. "Go on ahead, lad. I believe you."

Time chuckled as the Smith ran off with the sword.

"How about you?" Rusl asked. "How do you know Link?"

Time hesitated. "I'm just a traveler."

Rusl shifted. "Are you by any chance his family?" He continued when Time didn't respond. "You have the same eyes and air of confidence. I wouldn't be surprised if you were his father, but I feel like Link would've mentioned it by now."

"Let's just call it a coincidence." Time said. "Ilia told us that you found Link in the forest?"

Rusl nodded. His eyes were distant, like he was reliving a memory. "I was hunting and I came across a wolf. But not just any wolf: its coat was gold, like the sky at sunset. In fact, it kinda looked like the color of your hair. Anyway, it stared at me. I was afraid to kill it because it might've been a spirit or god, so I just stood there, watching it.

"It wasn't long before the leaves in the bushes rustled, and a little boy, a toddler, wrapped his arms around the wolf cheerfully. The wolf stared at me with its one red eye, and I somehow understood. It wanted me to take the boy, it couldn't take care of him forever. 

"I remember looking at the boy's hand and seeing the symbol of the Royal Family. It wasn't until years later that I leaned that the boy, our Link, was the chosen hero. I never saw that wolf again, but I had a feeling it was sacred."

Time knew he needed to have a talk with Twilight later. "You said the wolf had one eye. Which eye was missing." He knew he was crazy for thinking it, but he had to know.

"I think it was missing it's right eye, but I could be wrong."

That was all the confirmation Time needed. He wasn't going to talk with Twilight anymore. There was a reason he didn't tell him, and Time was scared to know.

~~~~~~~

That night, everyone was once again settling down in Twilight's home.

"You're home is a lot like mine, Rancher." Sky said as he lay down. "Tight-knit, friendly people. It kinda makes me miss home."

"We'll get to your home eventually." Four assured him.

Twilight sat at the table with Time. The two hadn't spoken since Twi finished helping at the ranch. Both were scared to speak to each other.

Not being able to bear the awkwardness, Twilight went to his door. "I need to check on Epona." When he was outside, Twilight inhaled a deep breath of the night air. He found it cleared his mind better than anything. 

He climbed down the ladder only to find that Epona wasn't there. Twilight scanned the area and sniffed the air. Ever since Faron had turned him back into a man, he had some side effects. Such as, his hair was wilder and courser, and his senses were always on high alert. They weren't as strong as when he was in full wolf form, but they were strong enough to come to the conclusion that Ilia had taken Epona to the Spirit's Spring.

Twilight smiled to himself as he headed down the trail. Ilia had been doing this for years, and tonight was no exception. He reached the Spring and found Ilia standing in the center, stroking Epona's face. She looked ethereal in the moonlight, her peachy hair had a silvery glow, casting a fairy-like look on her face.

"Oh, hi, Link." She said smiling. "I'd thought I'd wash Epona for you, since you probably never had a chance to in your travels."

Twilight smiled at her. It felt so nice to hear his name for what felt like the first time in months. "Thank you, you're right. She could use a good wash."

Epona nickered, causing a light laugh to pass between the two friends.

"I've missed you, you know..." Ilia said. "I was starting to wonder if you were ever coming back, even with your letters, I..." She trailed off. 

Finally, Twilight understood what his counter parts were talking about. Ilia cared for him in a way no one else did. She'd listened when he told her about his journey. The nightmares he still had, the interesting people he met. And Midna... How Ilia listened for hours about how he talked about Midna when the farm girl cared for him herself.

He stared at her. Her pale skin shimmering in the water's nightly glow.

"Ilia..." Twilight started as he moved to close the distance between them. "I..."

"Stop." She said. "I know what you're going to say. I know you love Midna, and I'm not her."

Twilight took her hand gently, his calloused palms caressing her soft ones. "Ilia, you've always been there for me. To scold or to cheer me on, you always wanted whats best for me. I was so upset that Midna left, I forgot that you were always there for me. I was a fool not to see it sooner. Ilia—"

Ilia reached up and kissed him. Twilight stood there dumbfounded for a moment before he leaned into the kiss, his hands holding hers.

When they pulled away, their foreheads were almost touching. Twilight was sure he looked like and idiot with his goofy grin and spreading blush, but Ilia didn't seem to care. She just smiled up at him and said, "Took you long enough."

[bahbahhh]

currents

the true story of mipha's grace.

NPC POV | Miphlink and Zelink | multichapter | rated T

also on Ao3

As promised in celebration of 500 followers on tumblr: A thematic successor to desire path and thank you for listening in which we are getting zelink from a NPC POV as well as a metaphor through nature. I wanted to give Mipha some love because I often seen (and have done this myself) her placed in a negative or shallow light with respect to Link and Zelda's relationship in botw. I also believe deeply you can love someone completely and not be meant for each other and that is okay. Follows Mipha's diary entries/Champions' Ballad. Suggested listening: What Was I Made For - Billie Eilish thank you to @zeldaelmo for beta reading this <3 you are tremendous!! And a shout out to @mistresslrigtar who took a little sneak peek for me (:

Chapter 1

notes: mipha's diary entries 1-3

They say the Divine Beasts are meant to resemble ancient creatures native to their region of origin. Mipha knows rivers flow all over and the sea is vast, but she’s never seen anything like Vah Ruta. She stands in the company of her father, King Dorephan, and others in various positions of leadership among the Zora in the belly of the ancient machine. They gather in shallow water that surrounds the main terminal, which has remained dormant since the excavation from the lake depths, having a preliminary discussion about pilot nominations. Allegedly, the Princess of Hyrule has been quietly making rounds across the realm, asking for “Champions” to operate the Divine Beast in the prophesied battle against the Calamity. Zora’s Domain is to be her last stop. 

“This is the mighty weapon of the Zora?” Trello, captain of the Zora Knights, asks flatly.

“Capable of drowning legions of enemies and freezing the water in the air into boulders of ice it can hurl like a trident, or so the Sheikah researchers say,” Seggin replies.

“It doesn’t resemble any fish I’ve seen. Jiahto, were you able to locate anything in the texts?” Muzu asks. 

“We once had a hunting group bring back fish with a nose like a sword from the Faron Sea, but this machine’s nose is flexible. There were seals, albeit mammals not fish, that once lined the Akkala island cliffs. Like those found in the Gerudo desert, these had similar tusks and were round in shape, but they balanced on flippers and lacked the ears and proboscis,” the Zora researcher says. “That is what this type of nose is called. Commonly referred to as a trunk.” Jiahto is Mipha’s least favorite member of the newly appointed Royal Council. “Undignified, if you ask me.” 

“I think it’s cute.” Mipha says, gazing up at the carving of the Sheikah eye in the stonework. 

“Cute?” Jiahto balks and then continues,“I heard the Goron’s Divine Beast is shaped like a fire lizard and the Rito’s an eagle. This familiarity will give them an advantage in their mastery, for sure. Our pilot needs to be wise enough to understand the ways of this mysterious creature.”

“I believe it is called an elephant.” Mipha lifts up her finger. 

“How do you know that?” Jiahto’s fin’s fold tight against his scales. Imagine that, someone with knowledge he doesn’t yet possess! 

“I asked the Sheikah.” Mipha shrugs. 

“It is cute,” her father agrees. He flashes a big black eye down at her and she smiles. Jiahto is also his least favorite member of the Council.

Muzu speaks up,“Just because it is unfamiliar, doesn’t not mean it is impractical. I’m sure our fins and gills are very curious to Hylians, too. And yet, look who they call upon when there is trouble in the waters?”

“And they will call upon us again. Very soon.” Her father looks over his shoulder through the openings in Vah Ruta’s walls. “According to the Sheikah, the Divine Beasts require someone worthy enough to control them. So while we might make our selection, I believe the Divine Beast will make the final determination.”

They begin to discuss among themselves. Jiahto favors a wise choice, and offers himself. Trello, a strong choice, and recommends one of his knights. Seggin, seconds it should be a knight, but recommends a different Zora. Muzu wonders if they should conduct trials for nominees to prove their worth. Dento, another Council member and a blacksmith, seems content to listen and occasionally grunts disapprovingly to stir up more debate. 

Her father has drifted away from them quietly, a feat seemingly impossible for someone so large and yet, he goes unnoticed toward the terminal, with his eyes still fixed on the Domain. Mipha moves to join him. 

“I fear the arrival of the Princess will bring tremendous danger to our home,” he says quietly.

Mipha sets her hand on his arm. It pains her to see him worried, but this is not a wound she can heal. It is the price of Kingship. “Father, if the prophecy of Calamity Ganon’s return is really coming true, could she also be seen as a symbol of hope? That she brings not danger, but a solution?”

Her father finally pulls his gaze away from the Domain and smiles at her. “You have grown into a wise Zora, my daughter. Seggin also tells me you are quite ferocious with that Lightscale trident. You will be a powerful, sensible, and beloved leader for our people one day.” 

Mipha squeezes her father’s arm, pride swirling in her chest, and steps back toward the terminal. There is a sudden shutter through the Divine Beast, a song of churning gears echoing through the chambers. The terminal blinks to life, a cool, inviting blue spreading across the intricate carvings. Mipha feels the machine’s eye on her somehow, like the spotlight of the moon, and it is the most seen she has ever felt in her entire life. It doesn’t feel like a choice, like favor. It feels like destiny. All at once, the secrets of Vah Ruta wash over her. She knows how to raise the trunk to bring the rain, how to blast beams of ice from the tusks, how to aim a mighty beam of burning light straight across Hyrule. If she were to lift her feet now, she is sure Vah Ruta would walk with her. All of this becomes her, like it’s been there all along, in a single pulse of blue light into the next. 

“Me?” Mipha whispers, bringing her hand up to trace the silver across her chest. 

“Absolutely not!” Muzu lunges forward and pulls Mipha back by the shoulders. Seggin is there too, with his weapon brandished, like the terminal might sprout hands and attempt to grab her. Dento and Trello jump in front of her, making a shield with the bodies. Even Jiahto is there, so agitated by the terminal's sudden glow, that his normally blue scales look purple.

“But-” Mipha starts, trying to find the words to describe to them what just happened, but Seggin cuts her off.

“It will pick someone else,” he commands loudly toward the terminal, his voice echoing off the walls.

“You are meant to be a healer!” says Dento.

“A leader!” says Trello.

“But maybe I can-” Mipha tries to pull her arms free from Muzu’s hold, but his hands are ironclad against her scales. Her father stands before her horrified, the spines of his fins flared, eyes wide on the terminal. She can see a strange conflict ripple across his face. He says something in old Zora, so low and guttural that she feels it vibrate the metal beneath her feet. She doesn’t know what he says and the terminal doesn’t answer. It just glows. She hears Muzu gasp. 

Her father waves his hand and the council starts to corral her back away toward the exit.

“Father, please, I can help if you just–”

“Danger is coming to Zora’s Domain. We need you here, Mipha. Your duty is with your people,” her father says. “It will pick someone else.” 

Behind him, the terminal blinks once and then dims. 

…

“But aren’t all Zora strong swimmers?”

Mipha looks down at her younger brother, his eyes crinkled up at her with an eagerness she finds most delightful, and takes a deep breath to prepare herself for the lengthy, repetitive explanation it often demands. Only eight springs have passed since he hatched, and although he is strong, he is still too young to join his peers in the Dive. Mipha offered to advise him individually in effort to evade more interrogations from the Council about what occurred on Vah Ruta the day prior and now finds herself standing on the banks of Ruto Lake just after dawn, teaching him the ways of the water which are best learnt after at least noon. 

But Sidon is excited and thankfully no longer crying, and very ready, so here they are. 

“Yes. But being a strong swimmer does not guarantee safety. Water is indefinitely wild. Misleading. Dangerous when it wants to be. To be a Zora is to know all the secret languages of water.” 

Sidon sticks out his chin. His tailfin, which hangs the length of him off the back of his head and folds on the ground behind his feet, sags with disappointment. “O-kay.”

Mipha pats his shoulder gently. She isn’t so far removed from her own Dive and those innocent years prior not to remember how he is feeling. The agony of waiting. The constant yearning to be bigger without comprehending what you are asking for. What you are wishing away. “You are a strong swimmer. And you will be a smart one, too. The very smartest once you know how to identify the different currents: undertows, rip currents, riptides–”  

“There are different currents?” Sidon interrupts.

Mipha shakes her head. “Yes. Depending on what kind of water you are in – a river, a lake, a bay – what time of day, the status of the tide.”

“But does it really matter if you are a strong enough swimmer?” Sidon tilts his head so dramatically that the black feather on his headpiece nearly touches the ground.

“See these tiny waves here?” She points down to her feet as a small rush of clear water washes over her toes. Her fins flex against the chill. “No matter how big or how small, the water pushed by a wave needs a way of traveling back out to the larger body of water. In this case, the lake. A rip current isn’t part of the waves lifespan like an undertow is–”

“Wait, they aren’t the same thing?” Sidon gasps.

“A rip current doesn’t pull you under, it will pull you out. A rip current is created when the water a wave pushes up onto shore finds a fast opening back out. Usually a beak in the sandbar floor. This creates a narrow path of very strong water and will pull even the strongest of swimmers away from the shore. It is especially dangerous near open water like the sea, but they can occur in any body of water with breaking waves. If you are Zora, you know how to spot and beat the rip current.”

“Beat the rip current?” Sidon makes a fist and pumps it excitedly.  “How do I do that?” 

“In time, in time.” Mipha wipes the sleep from her eyes and suppresses a yawn. “First you need to learn to spot it.”

“So what’s an undertow, then?” 

“Think about when we’ve been bodysurfing in Necluda. That feeling when the wave sort of pulls you right up under the crest of it? Right before you catch and can ride it all the way up onto the beach? An undertow is the pull of a wave right before it crashes down.”

Sidon fans his arms out like he’s flying or floating. “It’s so fun!”

Mipha sets her hands on his and eases them back down to his sides. “Yes, surfing is. It is important to know how you are having that fun, though. And what to do if the waves and that undertow grow too strong.”

Sidon nods and sets his brows low. He does this when he’s ‘thinking extra hard’. It always makes Mipha smile.

“What about a riptide?” 

For some reason, Mipha’s eyes turn upward. The moon is pale against the bright morning sky, on its way down to the horizon where it will sleep and rise again with dusk. Her eyes land on the southern wall of the reservoir where just beyond, Vah Ruta stands dormant in the center of the lake. “A riptide, well, a riptide is similar to a rip current because they can pull you out from the shore, but a riptide is much stronger and fixed.” Mipha glances up. “Riptides are connected to the tide. To the moon. Whereas rip currents are created, can pop up and disappear...riptides just are.”

“Like the ten-year storm?” Sidon asks.

Mipha smiles. “Just like that.”

…

Like clockwork– like it’s written in the very stars that shine over Zora’s Domain itself, dating back to time immemorial even to the mighty Zora, the Lanayru Region has been plagued by torrential rainfall in the wet season once every ten years. 

It’s funny, to say there is anything other than a wet season for a province completely surrounded by and defined by water, but everything from the flora to the fauna know this rhythm and pay due respect. For despite its necessity to every living thing in all of Hyrule, an overabundance of water will mercilessly and swiftly drown anything that underestimates it. Even the Zora. 

Thankfully, flooding hasn’t been a problem for the Zora since long before Mipha’s great-grandfather’s grandfather was even born. The reservoir, marking the ancient intersection of Zora architecture and Hylian engineering, contains the most destructive torrents when the heavy rains come. The waters around the Domain still swell though, and the gentle river named for Mipha’s people whips like a powerful tailfin across Hyrule. It replenishes every shallow stream, every thirsty lake and pond and marsh along the way, even reinforcing the protective gully around Hyrule Castle itself with enough water to sustain life for the next decade. 

Muzu says the Zora River is the vein that connects Hyrule’s heart and brain. He’s never clarified which is which, so Mipha likes to imagine her people are the heart of Hyrule.

That means that when waves that started around her feet finally crash against the stone walls that cradle Hyrule Castle, Link hears the echoes from inside the knight's quarters there, and it sounds just like her heart beating.

The distant struggle of her people during these storms is memorialized by the stone monuments that surround her home. It is the duty of a Zora King to recast the tablets during their reign, adding new wisdom in reflection and relevant current events to the chronicle. The monuments of the past kings are transferred to the waters under the Domain and set into the crystal pillars with luminous stone. Muzu says this is why the Zora live longer than any people in Hyrule. Not only do they record events, but they learn from the past, bear witness to how it is retold, and use that wisdom to literally reinforce the framework of dominium they call home.

The significance of the Dive ceremony is twofold. The first involves a collective review of the old monuments under Zora’s Domain. Every Zora swims as deep as they can – no one has ever claimed to find the bottom. A millennium or so ago, it is said Zora from the Lanayru Sea, the same group her father’s family came from, traveled to the Domain and a Zora almost as massive as her father now, with teeth like a saw blade, dove into the darkness, not emerging again for over ninety minutes, and still could not find the bottom. 

Secondly, it is a significant milestone for the youngest Zora who dive from the East Reservoir Lake into the waters surrounding the Domain to formally join the community.  Only after the fall, when they’ve chosen the water and not the sky, are they said to be blessed with the long life of the Hyrule Zora.

Mipha remembers fondly when she completed the Dive. A Zora isn’t eligible to make the Dive until their fins are fully matured. She’s given up trying to understand how Hylians age. Something about candles and sugar bread makes them taller and stronger. For the Zora, it takes wet seasons, sometimes five, sometimes fifteen. The ten-year storm always comes when it's meant to. Clockwork, stars and all that.

But what else felt written in the stars that day, along with the rain that fell from the sky in sheets (she’d overheard Seggin say it was pissing rain that storm in particular), was it was also the day she met Link. The Zora aren’t secretive when it comes to their traditions. Their history is literally written in stone for any traveler to study. The terrain surrounding the Domain just creates a natural barrier, like the volcanic mountain that surrounds the rock-people’s city to the north or the miles of shadeless desert around the Gerudo to the south. Most travelers prefer easier paths. 

Nevertheless, Mipha’s father’s father began sending out official invitations to witness the Dive to each region leader every ten years. For a long time, no one came. The journey for the Gerudo is long and dangerous especially when you account for the fact the request requires them to travel in weather they are unaccustomed to. The weather also keeps the Rito away and the Sheikah prefer to remain hidden despite rumors the Hylian King took a Sheikah advisor shortly after the royal Princess was born. The Goron are happy to stay on their mountain, but always send their signature “rock roast” with well-wishes for strength. The Hylians in the outskirts of the Central Hyrule, those that cling to the warm waters in Faron or line the cliffs facing the Necluda sea with giant windmills rarely stray from the main roads that all lead to Hyrule center, especially with the recent rumors of the monster populations increasing. 

So it came as a bit of a surprise when a modest-sized group of them from Akkala, albeit the majority soldiers from the citadel there, appeared on the Great Zora Bridge, soaking wet and eager for shelter and good company. Their newly appointed captain, a fisherman turned soldier, had intercepted the invitation on route to the newly founded Ancient Technology Laboratory and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share his admiration for the Zora with his regiment. He claimed to have interacted with many during his years at sea and credited one group in particular with saving his life when his ship capsized during a storm.

Mipha’s father was ecstatic to share her Dive with the Hylians. He expanded the feast, opened the dry guest chambers, and personally escorted the Hylians up the mountainside, stopping to read each stone monument to them and answer any curious questions. From what Mipha recalls, there weren't many, but she was also distracted by the captain’s profoundly energetic four-year-old son. She didn’t even know his name, a detail somehow lost amongst the bustle of adults enjoying deep conversation and the constant pattering of rain. She resorted to calling him ‘little boy!’ and was so busy keeping him from slipping off the cliffs or irritating a hidden, otherwise non-hostile octorock, that she almost forgot what they were climbing for until they were at the top and her people were waiting. 

As she looked over the edge of the reservoir and gazed upon the dark and distant waters below, she was overcome with the feeling this was more than just a flying leap. She knew what to expect – the sensation of her stomach floating in her belly, her eyes becoming so wind-whipped that she teared up, the rush of cool air across her fins when she finally hit the water, but for Mipha, daughter of the King Zora, the late Queen’s living shadow, with fins fitted for nobility and braced for elegance, the ceremonial Dive was more than formally joining her community. It was the abandonment of her juvenility. A mysterious transformation that never made much sense to her, as if by some ancient magic sparked by the speed of her fall and the embrace of her Domain, she would emerge from the waters and be suddenly mature. Responsible. Boring. 

“Little girl?”

Mipha turned and spotted the Hylian boy, blond hair slick against his pale skin, his eyes so prominent on his face that she was able to see they shined bluer than the  sapphires on her newly placed silver gorget.

“I’m not a little girl,” Mipha corrected him. “If you were paying attention instead of trying pester that poor octorock, you would have heard completing this Dive means I’m an adult.”

The Hylian scrunched up his face and moved his hands in front of him intentionally. 

Mipha frowned. He sighed and cleared his throat a few times, as if suddenly unable to find his voice in his throat. 

“Oh, do you speak with your hands?” Mipha asked. 

The boy shook his head eagerly. 

“And sometimes you speak out loud?”

The boy gestured in a way that implied that was correct. 

Mipha softened a little. “I'm afraid I don’t know too much, I only just started my study on foreign languages as a part of my training, but…” She signed the letter slowly and spoke. “M-I-P-H-A.”

The boy’s face lit up. He looked up at her with those sapphire eyes, big and round and filled with wonder, like she had used magic to heal a hidden wound. “L-I-N-K.”

“Link?”

“Yes.” He found his voice and laughed. 

“Right, well, it’s nice to meet you, Link.” She felt her cheeks fill with warmth and was thankful for the camouflage of her crimson scales. “So no more of this little girl or little boy business!”

He tilted his head curiously. 

“You really weren’t paying attention were you. The Dive, becoming an adult, all of that?”

Link shook head disbelievingly and lifted his eyebrows. 

“I will be,” Mipha insisted with her hands on her hips.

He waved his hands about himself flippantly, implying ‘me too, eventually’.

“You are still very much a kid, I am afraid to say.” Mipha said.

Link suddenly took a step closer and used his hand to measure their heights. She was a good half a foot taller than him at least. He peered past her over the edge of the cliffs and then back at the adults–Hylian and Zora alike, lost in their chatter. 

“Will you still look like a kid? When it’s done?” He asked. 

Although magic was known by the Zora, the manipulation of water by some, healing art by others, there was no natural sorcery that could age the body rapidly. Everyone she’d ever seen complete the Dive looked the same after. “Yes, I think so.”

“So what changes?”

Mipha thought for a moment, wringing her hands together, not wanting to speak out loud her fears of maturity and duty. “I suppose nothing.”

“Okay, so you’ll come play with me some more when you are finished? Please?”

His father came then and fetched him back to observe. And her father was there with Muzu and Seggin and the other Elders, giving a speech about tradition and honor and ceremony. He spoke at length about his daughter, a Princess, and his hope for her path, the promise of her stature, but when Mipha leapt forward off the side of the cliff, all she could think about racing Link around the home sculpture, skipping rocks across the Bank of Wishes, and learning as much as she could about Hylian sign language. 

And when she finally emerged from the waters, that’s exactly what she did.

…

“But which one is the most dangerous, sister?” Sidon tugs at her pectoral fin, pulling Mipha from her thoughts. 

“I’m sorry,” Mipha says, shaking her head. “I was adrift in thought. What now?”

“A riptide, a rip current, or an undertow. Which is most dangerous?”

“If you can’t recognize when you’ve been caught in one, they are all, my dear Sidon,” Mipha says, her eyes drifting back toward the reservoir. Years have passed since that day. And while the friendship that grew from their first meeting allowed Mipha to hold onto her adolescence a little longer, she and Link had indeed grown up. Seven of his Hylian years were spent primarily in her Domain, and during them, they both grew taller, his voice (when he used it) became deeper, and their days filled with less play and more training for war. The Calamity prophecy came from the west followed shortly by a call to arms from the Hylian King. Link was a tremendous swordsman, so it came as no surprise when his father was summoned from Akkala to the castle, Link left as well. 

They wrote letters for many years. Mostly, Link lamented about the poor quality of food, longing for slices of raw salmon and blue crab legs and dried seaweed with salt. He mentioned there was talk about making him a soldier and then sometime later, rumors he was being considered for the Royal Guard after he returned from the hostile Great Hyrule Forest unscathed and wielding a sword with a blade like moonlight. But he also reminisced about their time together freely, how she taught him how to swim and he taught her how to parry and the time he tried to jump off the reservoir and broke both his legs. Mipha had fetched him from the water, healed him, and refused to speak to him for a week. 

He also said even though it is not permitted, if they make him a Royal Guard, he’ll still wear her earrings. She never found out how that fared. He hasn’t returned her letters in a year. 

“Mipha?” Sidon slips his little hand into hers.

“Sorry, sorry, what was the question again?” Mipha shakes her head. The silver charms that adore her fins jingle like bells. 

“Someone’s coming,” he says.

“What?” Mipha looks over her shoulder. Above them, halfway across Luto's Crossing, is a lone horseman decorated with the colors of the Hylian Royal Family. And although she hasn't seen him in five years, she knows she could recognize his silhouette even if it had been a hundred. For a moment, she forgets about what happened inside Divine Beast Ruta. She forgets about the Council and duty and destiny. 

She cups her mouth with her trembling hands and shouts: “Link!”

The horseman stops. His face finds the sunlight. His jawline is sharper and his skin is tan, but his eyes still shine like sapphires. He lifts his hand up above his head and signs her name. 

Mipha takes off running.

[baileys-writing-desk]

When a parent needs parenting

Lanayru works himself to exhaustion, and Eldin is not pleased.

[Misfits of the 3 Dragons]

AO3

“ZINGA-DINGDING!”

The Thunder Dragon flies over Skyloft, a few people waving to him from the Knight Academy’s balcony. Although Link and Zelda no longer live up here, the locals have gotten to know him a little from his frequent visits. It is quite nice to be around people…something he was deprived of for centuries.

“Mighty Thunder Dragon!” a young boy calls out. “Sing for me!”

Lanayru groans quietly, aware that his strength is beginning to fade. The fatigue from being so active the last few days has finally gotten to him. But it would be a shame not to please the boy…and so he slows his glide down slightly and opens his mouth to sing.

The sweet melody of the Song of the Hero, the same song he performed for Link all those years ago, fills the air. He tries to ignore how it takes some breath out of him, and his spinning movements through the sky are flimsy and uncoordinated. His deep, booming voice still echoes through the clouds and makes its way to the young boy’s ears.

“More! More!” the kid chants. “Sing another song!”

“Now now, dear. I think you’ll have to wait.” A woman puts her hand on the kid’s shoulder…most likely his mother. “Mr. Thunder Dragon, you don’t look quite right. You should go home and rest.”

Well…shit. Of course this lady noticed. Lanayru floats on his back and lets his eyes droop closed.

“Mr. Thunder Dragon?” he hears her ask, but he is too absorbed into the calming feeling of resting at last.

“Lanayru?”

He snaps his eyes back open. “Ah, yes…my apologies.”

“What’s wrong with him, Ma?”

“Overworked, I assume,” she answers. “Gully, go see your father. I’ll be right with you.”

The boy turns to jog away, giggling, and mutters Lanayru’s signature line repeatedly:

“Zinga-dingding!, zinga-dingding!, zinga-dingding!, zinga-dingding…”

Gully’s voice fades off into the distance, and Lanayru brings his focus to the mother. He chuckles slightly, but she only frowns.

“Please go, Mr. Thunder Dragon. Go lie down, I’m serious.”

Lanayru scoffs. Besides the hero Link, he never likes to take orders from someone a fraction of his size. But this woman seems persistent. A little too persistent.

“…Fine, I guess…”

“Good. You can come back when you’re better, okay? Gully will love it.”

The Thunder Dragon grins, giving her a thumbs-up with his claw, before pushing himself forward through the clouds. I can’t look that tired, right…? His condition must appear even worse than he thinks…surely the lady was right. He does need to lie down.

“Tell the boy I’ll be here tomorrow,” he calls out, most likely loud enough for her to hear.

Leaving Skyloft behind, he continues straight until he approaches the yellow beam cutting a large hole through the cloud barrier…the one Link and his sword spirit created at the start of the hero’s adventure. Squinting from the incredibly bright glow of the beam, he dives down into the skies over Lanayru Desert. His former home. The air warms up, sunlight beating down onto the sand, but Lanayru doesn’t mind too much. He can handle the heat just fine.

His body continues to weaken from the effort of flying, like a robot slowly running out of power. But he pushes on, past the dry sands of the desert and into the grassy area beyond…closer to his current home. The tops of trees become visible soon, and he starts tilting his glide down to meet their level.

You’re almost there, he assures himself. Almost there.

He wonders how Faron would react if she found out about all this…the Water Dragon would definitely not be happy. Especially since she’s always on his ass about caring for his own health.

As he reaches his large forest clearing, the place where he normally resides, he finally slows to a stop. A few LD-301’s scurry around, carrying various materials like sticks and pinecones, but his eye is quickly drawn to something else. Or rather, someone else, lying right on the grass of his sleeping area, the sun brightening the oranges and reds of his body…

“Eldin?? Wh-what are you doing here? I told you—“

Oh.

The Fire Dragon’s eyes are closed, and his breaths are deep and even. He’s asleep.

In my territory??

As Lanayru lowers himself to the surface, taking a seat on the grass in front of Eldin, he rubs his temples with a groan. Too tired to yell at his brother and push him around for breaking several rules, he simply nudges Eldin on the shoulder, digging his long pointy nails into it to wake him.

“Hnngh-ahh!!” Eldin gasps, eyes snapping open. “Wha…?” His gaze meets Lanayru’s. “Oh…guess I dozed off, I’m so sorry—“

“No need for an apology, fire boy. I’m not pleased with you, but I’m letting this one go.”

“Wait…really?” The Fire Dragon yawns, rubbing his eyes before squinting at Lanayru. “Hold on, something’s not right…oh, you look awful.”

“Well, thanks a lot,” Lanayru mutters. First the Skyloft woman, and now Eldin…Although he figures that is most likely true, if he does indeed appear as worn-out as he feels.

Eldin’s brow furrows. “Lanayru…have you been overworking yourself again?”

…Shit.

“What? No, of course not! I—“

“Nuh-uh. I can literally tell by looking at you, Lanayru. I know how much you like to zip through the air and do your singing and take Link for rides and all that…but you got a limit, old thunder man. Ho! You like to think you’re invincible! But you’re not.”

“You…do remember what happened to me, right?” Lanayru asks, arms folding across his chest. “All those years ago?”

“Of course. Yeah, you nearly lost your life then, but you don’t seem to have learned! You’re a bit weaker than Faron and I, that’s just how it is, and so you need more rest and more breaks.”

“…Ugh, I know…” The Thunder Dragon tries to ignore the dull aches throughout his large body.

“You are so darn stubborn. Like you’ll admit to your tiredness when you’re parenting us, but not now?”

“That’s because you and Faron exhaust me so much more…” he mumbles. “You two act like five-year-olds sometimes and it takes a lot out of me.”

Eldin gapes at his brother. “Five-year-olds?? Since when have we acted like—“ He pauses, seemingly in thought. “You know what, you kinda have a point. But what you’re doing now isn’t much better.”

“…Stop it. Just…stop it.” Lanayru’s head begins to throb at Eldin’s booming voice. “I’m fine.”

“Totally not fine! Can’t you admit to neglecting your own health at least once? Isn’t that how you fell ill in the first place??”

“…I don’t know, Eldin, it was so long ago, I…I don’t really remember how it happened.”

“Well, I can bet ya it was from your stubbornness, thunder boy. Cause ya know, you claim to be the Mighty Thunder Dragon and all…but that almost killed you. And Hylia blessed us with eternal life, Lanayruuuu.”

He scowls at the way Eldin whines his name. It would have killed him had Link not intervened…he knows that. Eldin knows that.

“I get it, okay? I was really bad…but not anymore. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Well, if you keep this behavior up, I will.”

Lanayru breathes out a long sigh, a light fog beginning to fill his aching head. Maybe Eldin is right…perhaps he is too stubborn. But the last thing he wants now is to admit it.

“Mrmmm…” he mutters. “Your call, fire boy. I won’t change…”

Eldin’s face begins to blur, darkening at the edges, and Lanayru feels his head loll slightly. He snaps it back up, blinking several times to focus once more. But it’s beginning to get harder now.

No. Don’t fall asleep, Lanayru. Not now—

“Haha, someone’s feeling reeeeally sleeeeepy,” Eldin teases, cackling. He reaches a claw forward and waves it back and forth in front of Lanayru’s face. “Veeeryyy sleeeeepyyyy…”

“Shut up.” Lanayru pushes the claw away, his lightning bolt ring clinking against one of Eldin’s. “Maybe if you go away I’ll sleep.”

“Nope, can’t trust you! I’m not leaving til you’re out like a light, thunder man, because you’ve been at this too long. Link can wait.”

Eldin rises up from Lanayru’s sleeping area, floating behind him with another laugh. Soon Lanayru feels the Fire Dragon’s warm claws pushing up against his back. He is much larger than Eldin, and normally he’d be able to resist it…but this time he doesn’t have the strength; he lets his brother shove him down onto his back with a thud.

“Now, do you want a bedtime stooory?”

Lanayru glares at him with all his might. “No.”

“Or maybe I’ll sing you to sleep with the Song of the Hero.”

“Nnngghhh…no.”

At last, he lets his heavy eyelids close as his body sinks into the warm grass. “Don’t…need that…”

But Eldin doesn’t seem to have listened. Soon the Fire Dragon’s mighty but calming voice fills Lanayru’s ears, a bit more higher pitched than his own. The Song of the Hero indeed.

It is this melody, one they each know all too well, that lulls the Thunder Dragon to sleep.

[genshinemblem564]

Chapter 2: Prelude

Two weeks later, all of the search parties sent to Hyrule had landed ashore. There is really only one shore in Hyrule, but having arrived at different times, none of them had run into each other, and several, for one reason or another, had split up. Itto and Shinobu evading capture for stowing away, Bennett, Fischl, and the adventerers decide to, well adventure, and Xiao is the lone wolf type. The Sumeru Akademiya were the last to arrive at Lurelin Village.

Meanwhile, you were sitting under a tree near the Dueling Peaks thinking.

(Y/N): It's obvious this is Hyrule before the calamity. The question is, which one?

Looking at your sheikah slate, as if it would give you an answer, you sigh. You get up, gather your things, and begin heading towards the Great Plateau. Never having seen it before the calamity, you could only hope it was open to the public, as while housing the temple of time, the walls surrounding it suggest it to be similar to a fortress.

Unknown to you, a battle was unfolding near Hyrule Castle Town, where a blond knight finds a small pale guardian. Given the large monster force, most soldiers were called back to the town to protect it, meaning if there were any at the plateau, they weren't anymore. You make your way inside and find where the tower would be, only it wasn't uncovered. Without any mining gear, you were about to cut your losses when the ground started to shake, and the tower burst from the ground. Thinking quickly, you decide to grab the side of the tower, taking shelter from the falling rocks beneath one of its ledges. Once the tower comes to a halt, you calm yourself from the heart attack you had from nearly being crushed, then start climbing. These towers were a lot easier to climb than the games suggested. Their walls' design resembling that of a ladder.

You reach the top and slide your slate in the slot, confirm that the map has been added, take it back, and climb down. You then go through the process of downloading the runes onto the slate. When you're finished, you decide to "take some notes" so you can pass as a foreign researcher. You needed some kind of excuse for having a sheikah slate.

Meanwhile, a group in the southern forests of Faron was conducting actual research, which would be cut short.

Tighnari: So? Did you find anything?

Kaveh: Nothing that hints to this towers purpose.

Faruzan: There was a slot at the top, but without the corresponding piece, it's not much use.

Wanderer: Then let's go already. Correct me if I'm wrong, but our trip has an actual purpose to it.

Everyone was put off by his attitude, but couldn't say anything, as he was correct.

Back with you, you had just exited the magnesis shrine, having saved it for last, not wanting to spend too much time around sheer cliffs. You also didn't complete them, not having a use for the goddess orbs.

(Y/N): Alright, that should do it. Now, the next closest tower should be at Lake Hylia. Even if I'm not exploring every inch, having a map of the places I will be is going to be helpful.

Meanwhile, the princess and her group were returning from the Hateno Tech Lab. As they were approaching the halfway point, Zelda heard a strange noise come from her sheikah slate. Curious, she takes a look at it to find a map being updated.

Zelda: Huh? What is...

As she investigates, she realizes her location is marked by a yellow arrow and notices a second, blue arrow. As she taps the slates screen, she is greeted with a prompt. The princess was so enamored by this sudden development that she was deaf to the call of her retainer. Being too curious for her own good, she accepted the prompt and was enveloped in a blue light. When the light faded, the princess was gone, leaving her group panicked.

___________________________________________

Sorry, but this felt like this was going to drag on if I continued to where I wanted this to end, and I know it's not much given how long it took, but I still hope you enjoyed this regardless.

Also, this is a minor thing, but does anyone know why they were going through Tabantha to reach Hateno? The game specifically says Hateno, and they're traversing the Breach of Demise. It doesn't ruin the game for me. It just really bothers me.

[newtabfics]

Okay I thought of something cute, reader makes Tauro his favorite dish, my headcanon is it's Crab Omelet with Rice since my boy is from Lurelin, and you know how in anime they put a heart shape in ketchup on the omelet🥺 just thought it would be really cute and domestic, there isn't any Tauro fanfics out there so I appreciate you soooooo much, thank you💕

I am so sorry this took as long as it did but I do hope you love it because I had to really think how I wanted this to play out.

Omelet Heart. A Fluff Fic

WC: 634

Triggers: none unless you count Tauro misunderstanding how to ask people out.

"I got it," Link said as he bounded into the home. he held up the parchment with the recipe for the Sheikah woman to see.

Her eyes lit up excitedly as she said, "Awesome! Thank you so much! Just uh, one last thing. You'll be willing to try it out right? Like the test to make sure I do it right?"

the hero eagerly nodded and Y/N quickly got to work. He helped her, giving tips for mashing the tomato and giving the rice the perfect fluffy texture it deserved. when they realized she was short on crab meat, he quickly offered some from his personal inventory, allowing her to finish the experiment.

they both froze as they stared at the omelet. While Link's mouth watered from the scent alone, he couldn't deny that there was a giant heart drawn on. this earned a playful smirk from him, making her stammer out, "Let me explain at least! It's not for you!"

"Then should I not eat it?"

At his laughing jest, she scolded him. Her sigh escaped as she looked away. "Tauro,' She said with a flush. "He's been missing his home of Lurelin lately. He was really relieved after hearing someone not only helped drive out the pirates but restored it to its former glory, too! He wants to check in but has been unable to make the trip himself. He was telling me about the food he'd eat there and brought up this recipe I asked you to get and...well..."

"I see," he said with a smirk as he eyed the heart. "So you were thinking about him because you love him."

She groaned softly, head dropping. "Is it that obvious?"

"A bit."

"Then why hasn't he noticed," She muttered in a dejected tone. He frowned at that as she shook her head. "Eat up. Don't let it get cold. also if there's anything I should change, uh..."

Link ate up, giving advice on the seasoning and some extra information. She blinked, taking all this in as she nodded along.

day turned to dusk as Y/N's heart hammered. She carried the lunchbox to the Ring Ruins. Following the trail of researchers, she finally found Tauro near glaring at the ancient writing. All around him were scattered charcoal transfers from the ruins in Faron.

Y/N cleared her throat, startling out of his thoughts. "Y/N?" He muttered.

"I brought some f-food."

Tauro smiled big at the offering and nodded, taking it carefully. "Thank you. Your cooking is always a treat."

She watched him with hot cheeks as he quickly took a bite before really looking at his meal. The heart decorated on the rice warmed his heart as he tasted the familiar flavors. With a moan, he said, "This is wonderful." He gave her a playful look. "I love the heart."

"Y-You do?!" she squeaked before shaking her head. "Wait. I nee-need to focus." She took a deep breath and finally looked to him. "I want…to be more than what we are, Tauro. I want to be your partner. We've been around each other a lot, sharing meals and spending late nights talking. I feel safe and happy with you." She gulped thickly as she looked at her feet nervously. "I'd like to be more than your friend."

"I thought we already were," he chuckled out, amused by her shocked expression. "I don't spend nights talking to anyone. I didn't think it needed to be said, Y/N."

"It most certainly does need to be said, you airhead!" She huffed, cheeks dark now as he laughed. "C'mon. That's not funny." She sighed as she fidgeted. "You…really thought we were already dating?"

"Yes. But I'll be sure to make up for it. Want to stay and eat this with me?'

[sword-is-bored]

Save a Horse…

Pt 2

(Only ONE of you asked but I always give back. Part one here!)

(Link x Reader)

After the embarrassing interaction (Y/n) decided to avoid Link as best as she could. However, she would steal glances to the farm. Sometimes she would catch him doing his duties. When she saw the farm boy look up, she quickly looked away. Ilia continued to hang out with him, she never stopped. (Y/n) felt that maybe with her words her sister might be a bit embarrassed. No, apparently not. Ilia had tried to get (Y/n) to join them many times before. “Come on, you’d really like him! He’s funny and sweet. I know you find him cute.” And (Y/n) truly does find him cute, but after embarrassing herself she couldn’t imagine looking him in the eye again.

(Y/n) had gotten a present from Castle Town from her father. She was excited to try and use it, a clay ocarina painted with flowers on it. She decided to play by Orodon Spring, hoping the spirit would enjoy the melody. The melody wasn’t pretty, but she managed to play something. A monkey from the forest decided to see what the young girl was playing. (Y/n) noticed it and rested the ocarina in her lap. “Hello.” She murmured, watching as the animal approached her. (Y/n) reached her hand out to pet it, and immediately the monkey reached out and grabbed the ocarina. It was ripped from her hands and the monkey ran into the forest. “Hey!” She called, standing and running after the monkey. It went out and around the spring, (Y/n) racing to catch up.

Talo and Malo were walking together and watched as (Y/n) ran into the woods. They looked at one another concerned, it was almost dark. Monsters would be coming out. The children ran back, calling for Ilia and Link. “(Y/n) went into Faron Woods!” Talo cried out as Link came to see the commotion. “Why?” He asked. “I don’t know! She was chasing a monkey!” Link grimaced and ran inside his home, grabbing his sword and shield before jumping onto Epona and riding into the woods. The sun had almost set.

(Y/n) realized that her ocarina might as well be gone. She was lost, it was getting dark, and she was getting cold. (Y/n) tried to find her way out, but realized it was impossible. In a fit of despair she sat down and began to cry. It was getting cold, and she wasn’t prepared to be in the woods. “(Y/n)?” Her name rang through the trees. (Y/n) looked up and quieted down. “(Y/n)!” Louder this time. It was a voice she was unfamiliar with. “Hey, (Y/n).” A light appeared, and Link’s head poked out from behind a tree. “I found you.” He said, holding a lantern up to see her better. (Y/n) sat, shivering and in tears. Link sighed and held out a hand to her. (Y/n) stared at him, eyes wide. “Come on, let’s get you home.” (Y/n) didn’t want to take his hand. The embarrassment flooded her rationality. Link tilted his head, and smiled at her. He realized this.

“Oh come on, let the cowboy take you on a ride.” Her face turned pink, and (Y/n) looked away. “I’ve been told I’m a thoroughbred.” Her face turned a violent shade of red, and she looked down. Link sighed and crouched down. He listened to his surroundings, keeping aware of any monsters. “If you’re going to be stubborn, I’m going to have to force you home.” (Y/n) continued to look in her lap. “Sorry I ran into the woods. And sorry you had to come out here to get me. And sorry for what I said while you were working on the ranch.” The words tumbled out of her mouth. Link smiled and let out a soft laugh. “It’s alright. I’ve gotten those comments a lot. Besides, I don’t mind when they’re from you.”

(Y/n) looked at Link with wide eyes. “Really?” Link smiled and nodded. “Really. Let me take you home, please.” He said, holding out his hand again. (Y/n) took it this time, and stood with Link. “Come on, before it starts to get dangerous.” He led (Y/n) to Epona, who patiently awaited the two. (Y/n) blushed seeing Epona. “Uh, I thought we were going to walk back.” She mumbled. Link smirked and tilted his head. “What, you too afraid she can’t hold us? I promise she’s strong.” Link helped (Y/n) up onto Epona and jumped behind her.

(Y/n) was incredibly aware of Link pressing himself into her. His breath on her neck and his thighs and chest pressing against her. His arms caged her in. (Y/n) was not prepared for Epona to begin moving. Link gently tapped Epona on her side and she began to trot. Link pulled (Y/n) closer, mumbling something about keeping his balance. (Y/n) was fully pressed into Link, practically grinding against him as Epona moved. The ride felt like forever until they arrived in town. Ilia saw (Y/n) and ran to greet her. “You’re safe! I’m so glad! Thanks Link.” She breathed, holding her arms out to her sister. (Y/n) felt like she couldn’t move. She was comfy, and really didn’t want to leave the rock hard chest that was supporting her. “She rode the cowboy, I don’t think she wants the ride to end.” Link teased. (Y/n) squeaked and jumped off of Epona and into her sisters arms.

[ganondoodle]

you know what i just saw some more of that weird ass reward for getting all shrines in totk, and tbh im still so

what is that?? there are no dog like sentient species in this version of hyrule?? the most is the sonau themselves but they got no tails??? i dont think anything in this hyrule has a tail like that? and sonau legs are pretty normalish human too areant they? they dont even have proper claws, just veguely longer fingernails- i guess there are the statues in the underground that kinda look like it (they dont got tails either tho do they??) but like ,,, theres nothing you can learn about them right? its never mentioned or even hinted at despite there being so goddamm much of the sonau still just up and functioning- their lil "material deposits" in the depths arent even withered beyond some plants growing on them, all their 'tech' (isnt it just .. magic tho? where the mechanism actually? its usually just some stone animated by green swirlies ... but ill mention that in another post) just runs perfectly like it was made yesterday

where does that thing come from?? and its supposed to the the HERO FROM THE TAPESTRY???? huh????? and its decked out in sonau clothing head to toe with clear gerudo refs too?? that so weird bc youd feel like there would have been some mention of this, especially considering that that thing is on the tapestry and impa(was it her? or purah?) RECOGNIZES ITS THE HERO FROM THE TAPESTRY???? like, CASUALLY even?? like a well known fact ?? did i miss some big lore part somewhere that talked about that dog gerudo sonau thing?? and if its on the tapestry that means it wasnt that long ago really (i mean ... all the sonau shit is still pretty much fully intact so arguing that they came and went in the time between totks past and botws past isnt that plausible either imo ..??) o how come you never see anything from that and yet its somehow completely known for them, and you cannot tell me she saw the abstract version of the hero and then looked at that armor and went thats the same bc two colors veguely matched or what?!! also given that its fully clothed in sonau stuff .. like the arms are literally raurus bracelets .. thingies, but then the sonau where supposedly a complete and unknown mystery until it suddendly came all raining from the sky and revealing its been there and EVERYWHERE the whole time apparently? with the most we knew was some flimsyly made stereotypical barbaric armor set in faron in botw? which i guess is also fully undone by totk since it shares absolutely zero in desing to the 'actual' sonau stuff we got in totk

and if it where some sort of descendant from the mix of kids rauru and sonai kinda .. must have had (unless they did away with zeldas bloodline stuff too .. which .. why even call it zelda anymore at this point lol) then again, where did those features come from (like the tail and red hair, the strange googly eyes? is there a mix of goron in there too??) and how was it then not documented or seen anywhere else?? youd imagine the mutant kids of the first tragically dead king and queen of this hyrule would be known in some way .. that is assuming it was that, but given the weird features no other species has still is ... it just doesnt add up

(i had the awful thoguht for a second that it might supposed to mean the gerudo came from that but .. the gerudo are already there LITERALLY the 1:1 same as in the present, just like all the other species ... which is also disappointing as hell, like seriously? not even different feather colors for the rito? literally the same clothing for the gerudo as in botw but white with golden stuff instead?? some vaguely different zora features? idk ? anything? also the hero would never be gerudo, we know only evil comes from that *explodes*)

if its supposed to be a mystery then they absolutely failed in making it any interesting or intriguing but still something that feels like its part of the world, like botw was very good at giving you mysteries you wanted to talk and theorize about that still felt organic, harmonic with the world, but in totk its all either boring answers or just ... completely out of nowhere and just kinda stumps you (in a bad way)

*sighs* yet antoher ramble rant, this game could have had it all, it was right there on the plate in front of them all they needed to do is grasp at it, why wouldnt you ..

totk will never not frustrate me huh ಠ_ಠ

[smilesrobotlover]

skord skord?

Ah yes, another overhated Zelda game that is in my top three. I’ve played this game on the switch and I will say, it’s so much better than the Wii, so if you haven’t played it yet, try to play it on the switch.

Anyways this is one of the few video games that have made me cry. The story is so good and it makes me SUPER emotional. The Link is probably one of the few Links with so much personality poured into him, his relationship with Zelda is super sweet and fun, and the characters and world of skyloft is incredible. The side quests for gratitude crystals is not only wholesome but gets you closer with the residents, so it feels like an island where you grew up with these people. There’s so much to do in this game and I just… AGH I adore it to DEATH.

Groose is easily one of the best characters in Zelda with his incredible development. He’s so complex and insecure about himself and seeing him work through his issues in the game and become good friends with Link is so incredibly wholesome to me. Impa is a strict but sexy awesome character who’s entire story and character is insane to me.

And Fi… she is such an overhated character. Link in this story is super animated and full of personality meanwhile Fi is cold and distant, and these two complement each other so well. And even though she seems to lack personality, she has some moments here and there where she’s being a character, and those moments are amazing. Her saying goodbye to Link affected me more than Midna because you could just feel the bittersweetness. This character is with you through every game with the master sword. And despite not feeling emotions, Fi was happy with Link, and she truly cared about him, just like he cares about her. And I sob everytime. I love Fi she’s one of my favorite companions ever and I wish she wasn’t hated on so much because she doesn’t deserve it.

And let’s not forget Ghirahim, one of my fav characters of all time. He’s such a fascinating and well written villain who rivals Link perfectly! And most bosses in this game are relatively easy to me. But Ghirahim is one of the few bosses that is very hard. He’s not one of those villains that talk a lot of crap and then die in five seconds. He’s a challenge! You’re definitely inexperienced and he’s clearly just toying with you in the beginning! He actually works hard against you in this game instead of sitting around, and the final battle with him, he is truly giving his all, regretting not killing you in the beginning. When he said “what are you?” To Link after being defeated is INCREDIBLE. There was actually a character analysis about him and Groose so I really can’t talk about their characters without talking for five years lol. But yeah, Ghirahim is a GOOD character. And he actually succeeds in what he’s doing! He revives his master! That’s how you know that he’s a genuine threat! Gosh he’s so good

Now for the flaws, alas. The sky isn’t the best? The loftwings are underutilized (Link’s loftwing isn’t even named :/), the world is very small and limited (except for Lanayru, they put all their good ideas into there fr), and there’s a lot of fluff. Like hunting down the song of the hero is just unnecessary to me. Faron is an idiot for not trusting you despite saving her life, then Eldin is just, completely forgettable, and Lanayru is fine. I just don’t like the song of the hero part that much. But of course when you unlock it, that cut scene is incredible.

Another thing is Demise. He sucks. He’s such a boring character to me and he’s way too easy as a final boss fight. Like you see Ghirahim giving his all and then demise just dies immediately 💀💀 but the final boss is the most cinematic boss fight ever so that def is a plus. And I also don’t like the introduction of Hylia. She makes the lore so much more boring and confusing and I wish she didn’t exist. Same thing with demise. Having them there was… a choice that was made and doesn’t answer any questions about Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf. Heck, Ganondorf really shouldn’t be included with them. Sure he’s a reoccurring villain, but he’s the same guy everytime, he’s never reincarnated like Link and Zelda. Unless you want to count that as Ganon but I don’t like that whole idea. Idk, it complicates the lore a bit and I can understand why people didn’t like that.

But otherwise a fantastic game that impacted me SO much.

[bigsoftmarshmallow]

Immediatelt proceeding the "Why Not Faron" ask: It's funny that they seem to be thinking it's either new home or Hyrule.

Because it could just as easily be new home... then Hyrule!

At least, she never implied that he could only have either/or. XD

"Moorkhvoy! (Silly/funny husband (but saying that he's such in a charming or endearing way)!) I'd never ask you to give up your dream! This isn't a demand that you back down. Though, I wouldn't object. Simply a suggestion that you postpone until the Gerudo has been settled into this potential new home."

"It would benefit your plans all-the-same. After all, more resources & a steadier food supply also mean more fuel for your warriors. 'An army marches on its stomach,' yes? And a steadier, clearer path for future generations can translate to more warriors. There will still be struggle as the jungle is rife with monsters, but many are the same sort that live here.”

"It's also not as though we'd be moving to an entirely different continent. We'd be no farther from Hyrule's stoop than we are now. Just... perhaps a bit steadier on our feet, hm?"

"If you wish to stop, then I shall support you in that as well. However, only if it is what you really & truly want, not only for me & your people, but also for yourself."

"What I seek is you overall happiness & health. And your ambitions are important to you. So, they are important to me as well."

Supportive wife, happy life. Happy Warlord... Um... Happy Dark lord? IDK.

I love that she's like "Sure hun, we can settle there and still go for Hyrule. But, you know, if youd rather just... not... I'm happy too :)" Use that wife blackmail! Use the side eye! Guilt the man into just staying home and behaving himself. Wife powers!

*********************************************************************

Wind Waker Ganondorf

Reaction and Thoughts: Wind Waker Ganondorf listens carefully, his mind processing the strategic advantages of the suggestion. He appreciates the practicality and foresight of the proposal. The idea of securing resources and strengthening his forces before making a move on Hyrule resonates with his tactical nature.

Response: Ganondorf's lips curl into a small smile, his eyes softening slightly. "Moorkhvoy, indeed. Nemma, you are wise and your counsel is sound. Securing a stronghold and resources would indeed benefit our plans. Very well, let us explore this new home, strengthen our position, and then we shall march on Hyrule with even greater might. Together, we will see our dreams fulfilled."

Ocarina of Time Ganondorf

Reaction and Thoughts: Ocarina of Time Ganondorf initially feels a pang of irritation at the thought of postponing his conquest, but your words soothe him. He values strength and foresight, and your argument about resources and stability strikes a chord. His ambition is undeterred, but he sees the wisdom in your suggestion.

Response: Ganondorf nods, his expression thoughtful. "You speak with wisdom, Nemma. Settling our people and securing resources will indeed fortify our efforts. We shall prepare in this new home, and when the time is right, Hyrule will fall to us. Your support strengthens me, and together, our destiny will be fulfilled."

Twilight Princess Ganondorf

Reaction and Thoughts: Twilight Princess Ganondorf is intrigued by your suggestion. His pragmatic nature sees the value in a strong, well-fed army. He also appreciates your support and understanding of his ambitions, feeling a deeper connection to you.

Response: Ganondorf's eyes glint with a mix of admiration and determination. "Your insight is invaluable, my love. We will secure this new land, ensure our people are strong, and then Hyrule will be ours. Your loyalty and wisdom are my greatest assets. We will build our future together, one step at a time."

Hyrule Warriors Ganondorf

Reaction and Thoughts: Hyrule Warriors Ganondorf is initially skeptical, but your argument about resources and a stronger army makes sense to him. He values strength and strategy, and your support reassures him of your shared vision.

Response: Ganondorf chuckles, his deep voice filled with approval. "You are right, my cunning wife. Strengthening our position first will make our conquest of Hyrule inevitable. We shall settle this new land, grow stronger, and then Hyrule will be ours for the taking. Your wisdom is a guiding light, and together, we are unstoppable."

Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf

Reaction and Thoughts: Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf feels a moment of frustration, but your words calm him. He sees the logic in your argument and values the support and shared ambition you offer. The idea of a stronger base and resources appeals to his strategic mind.

Response: Ganondorf's expression softens, his eyes filled with appreciation. "You are right, Nemma. Securing a new home and resources will only strengthen our position. We shall prepare ourselves, and when the time is right, Hyrule will be ours. Your wisdom and support are my greatest strengths, and together, we will achieve our destiny."

Demise

Reaction and Thoughts: Demise is initially annoyed at the idea of postponing his conquest, but your words about resources and a stronger army make sense to him. He values power and strength, and your argument appeals to his desire for dominance.

Response: Demise's eyes glint with a mixture of approval and determination. "You speak wisely, Nemma. Strengthening our forces and securing resources will make our conquest of Hyrule even more certain. We shall prepare in this new land, and then Hyrule will fall before us. Your support and wisdom are invaluable, and together, we shall dominate."

In each case, the respective Ganondorf or Demise appreciates the practicality of the suggestion and the unwavering support from his beloved. The idea of strengthening their position before moving on Hyrule is seen as a strategic advantage, and your shared vision and loyalty deepen their bond with you.