#zelda knows what she wants

[jdetan]

A Gentle Touch

Link thinks about his relationship with Zelda as he lies in bed with her. Little does he know it's about to change forever. For the @zelinkcommunity weekly prompt: Gentle.

Link lay across from Zelda, quietly watching her sleep. Her chest softly rose and fell, she’d issue soft snores every few minutes, and if his position shifted, she’d reach over and pull him back in towards her. It had been a year since the Calamity, and Zelda lived with Link in their cozy Hateno house. Link wasn’t sure why Zelda wasn’t looking for a home of her own– she was well loved across Hyrule as the Princess who vanquished the Calamity. She could live anywhere she wanted… but she stayed with him, steadfastly refusing  any offers that came her way of alternate housing or even a different bed. The bed itself was small: big enough for one person, but with two people sharing, it necessitated contact. Link had offered to get a new bed or even make one, but Zelda had just smiled and said “This is perfect, Link.” before climbing into bed and gesturing for him to join her. They’d been sleeping together since the end of the Calamity– well, that was TECHNICALLY accurate, but they hadn’t so much as kissed. They shared the bed and held each other, each helping to fight off the other’s nightmares. Not that Link didn’t want more, of course: Zelda was so gorgeous it left him breathless: he looked at her like the goddess made flesh that she truly was. “Mmm…” Zelda groaned lightly, shifting her position slightly. “Link… you’re going to be just fine… please don’t die… I…” Tears began to well in her eyes as she began dreaming of the worst day of her life. “Shh, it’s ok. I’m here.” Link gently ran a hand along her cheek, a motion he’d found would calm her down- and brought him sheer joy, getting to lay a gentle touch on this perfect woman. “Mmm…” Zelda nuzzled against his hand, smiling softly. “Thank goodness, you’re alright…” She pulled Link in closer, resting her head against his chest. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you…” Link rubbed the back of Zelda’s head softly, smiling happily. He loved her– of course he did, she was, after all, perfect– he could only hope she had any feelings for him. Little did he know that he was about to find out. Zelda’s eyes fluttered open, her beautiful emerald eyes focusing on him as she woke up. “Hey.” She said, quietly, smiling at Link. “Hey.” Link replied, still gently stroking her hair. “Are you feeling ok?” “Yeah.” Zelda didn’t sit up, still staring at Link happily. “I had a nightmare, but it faded.” She yawned lightly. “How about you?” “Slept like a log.” Link chuckled. “Hopefully I didn’t wake you by snoring.” “You don’t snore. You sleep like a Sheikah.” Zelda's face was inscrutable as she scooted a bit closer to Link. “Hey, Link? You trust me, right?” “Of course I do. More than anything in the world.” Link answered, immediately. “Good.” Zelda said, and pulled him into a kiss. Link’s eyes went wide for a moment, until he decided to let a good thing happen and returned her kiss, running his hand along her back. After several seconds, they broke apart. “I’ve had feelings for you since before, Link, and… I can’t ignore them anymore. I want us to be more than just friends… if that’s alright with you.” Zelda looked away, blushing furiously. That had taken all the courage she had within her. “Zelda.” Link whispered her name, like a prayer. “Kiss me again, please.” Zelda turned back towards Link, smiling happily. “Nothing would make me happier.” Their second kiss was much less gentle than their first.

[puppyeared]

Wyrm on a string

[verflares]

(pre-calam) filling the compendium :-)

+ closeup and the aftermath

[rawliverandgoronspice]

Always a bit puzzled by people saying that anyone who wanted long-term consequences for TotK Zelda's sacrifice are "edgy".

I'm not even particularly in the camp that she should have remained a dragon forever (I think this should have been Ganondorf's fate, it would have been sooo much more impactful than to explode him and move on but anyway). To be honest, I wish the rules for turning back would have been 1) clear 2) active gameplay on the player so that it feels like it's something we have earned, and 3) not make her have amnesia about it and/or at least having her gain some crucial insight because of the experience.

(also: doesn't she crave knowledge? isn't that insanely mean to have her watch over every civilization and every bit of history ever and then take it away from her? kind of dislike how totk privileges the comfort of the player's feelings over what the characters would actually want or need tbh)

To be perfectly honest, I fully expected us needing to turn her back before engaging Ganondorf so we would fight him together, especially since Zelda as a compagnon exists in the game code already (though in a very subdued state). It feels very very strange to me that all of this mechanic of Sages following us existing and yet we never have the very climactic cool Zelda-staple moment of facing Ganondorf or Ganon together (OoT, WW, TP, ST and probably more that I'm forgetting all did this in some way --even BotW had Zelda more involved than in TotK). I'm not sure Mineru was a compagnon that was needed over Zelda honestly, especially given the kind of non-insight she gives us on the zonai (even if the idea of the mecha is cool, it really could have been Zelda using her zonai + sheikah knowledge to pilot one for us or something).

But anyway: yeah, even if this isn't what I would have wanted personally, I think wanting Zelda to remain a dragon is kind of arguably more respectful of her relationship to Link, in a way, that what the game ended up doing. When she enacted this sacrifice, Zelda decided to trust him to such a extent that she lost herself, reciprocated his trust in her and his devotion to her, and now the future of Hyrule exists beyond her and beyond what Hyrule once was, but she trusts them to follow through and be happy and she will watch over them from the stars moving on. It's fine if we manage to save her from that fate, but even if we don't, honestly this sounds like a beautiful story/tragic romance to me, if you want to read it that way. Tragedy doesn't necesserily involve edginess. Fictional pain isn't always mean, or out to get you.

[joshuamj]

been scribbling out some little comics for my EoW!Zelda Impersonates Link AU!

[ganondoodle]

okay, bc i have seen this argument alot now (and it also seems to be the view point of aonuma himself..) is that "zelda cant do everything link does bc whats the point then"

and i take personal offense on that bc its a stupid argument (in. my. very. personal. opinion.- not judging people for liking it. its a ME thing)

whats the point? its that its her. its still a different character, different in story, background, personality, but i WANT to play zelda and she can do everything link does, why does she have to be so restricted and be bend over backwards to find some new way to make her 'useful' when link gets to do basically everything no questions asked (the only thing thats hers is like .. sealing power and sacrificial maiden, which i find a little underwhelming to say the least), if theres no point to it why are there always modders that model swap link with someone else, and in that case it has even less impact bc its an artificial model swap with no changes to the story (which can and should still be different when its the vanilla game with a different protagonist... its still a different character), clearly theres joy in just the model being a different one- and that isnt even to mention the story possibilities, since, again, its stil a different character

if we ever (never ... i know who we are talking about here) get to play as ganondorf i want to him to be just as versatile and active as link is, if we got a point and click adventure game for him instead bc 'whats the point' id be disappointed too- you can find any sort of excuse/explanation for zelda to be singled out but the fact remains it tracks with how female characters are often treated, and that hits a very sore spot for me

i guess i am unfortunately one of those annoying people that want to see female characters be treated exactly the same as male characters, possibly bc i am myself afab but identify as agender and have a deeply personal dislike for anything 'traditional' feminine bc i cannot and never will be able to truly live as myself in real life, it influences all of my work, my work is as just as much as my opinion on this, very personal

and in line with my point about modding, i see theres joy in just beign able to play as her even if its like this, i get that, i also get it for the creative aspect (though that mechanic worries me even more for the future bc it really seems to be the path now that -freedom = good, linear anything = bad-) it is a different idea and its not like i cant see that value- im not trying be "right" either, just bc i have that opinion doesnt mean i need everyone to agree, its a very personal thing, if you like it good for you! not for me though, and i think both of that is equally valid

i just personally wish she was allowed to be just like link, fight just like him but be different bc its still her and not him in the end- to be physically/playstyle like jsut like him, but you know ... as her, i dont think shed stop being zelda if she could wield a sword just like him

i dont really know how to get my point/feelings across, i dont want to step too much into personal stuff nor spam people with something that ultimately doesnt interest me alot, im just saddened by it really

(EDIT: bc i forgot to add this on here again; this isnt as much of a problem as it might sound like here, just the main topic i wanted to talk about; why im so uninterested in it is MAINLY bc i dont trust them to write anything interesting/care about lore anymore after totk, im always on the more pessimistic side that thinks its most likely worse than id hope and i know even the past games arent perfect or super interestingly written, but now its much more just a general distrust, together with everything like the price ... im just much less hopeful and cant get excited until i see more of it, like im waiting for the game to get out and reveal that its just as much of a mess and money i regret spending- kind of fear)

[errorwarblesrr]

I feel like moments like these are important. It solidifies that after everything he has been through in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, he is still a child. In OOT, he really was a child trapped in an adults body.

He doesn't consider himself a grown-up and doesn't really understand what's going on in the Anju and Kafei sidequest. He isn't motivated by the stakes or to help two lovers reunite but rather to just help for the sake of it.

In Great Bay, there are, unfortunately, a bunch of weirdos. He looks at a Zora man weird, but I think rather than just finding him gross, he doesn't get it as seen in the Fish Wish sidequest. He finds them weird, but he doesn't have a full understanding of it. This showcases his innocence in the game.

Along with that, there's also a moment where Sakon the thief tries to take advantage of Link. He talks about Link's sword and how cool it is, gives advice, and compliments the sword again, asking to just see it. It's obviously suspicious to the player, but if Link says yes, Tatl immediately gets hostile and attacks Sakon to drive him away instead of letting Link hand over his sword. If Link says no but tries to talk to him again, Tatl will immediately become hostile at Sakon anyway. I feel like this can show how niave Link can be.

There's also when Link receives a Keaton mask. He doesn't really get the meaning behind it and doesn't think accepting it if it makes sense, but he does it anyway. This doesn't really further any points other than he really is just a niave kid going through the motions.

Point is Majora's Mask highlights how he is still a child at heart. He thinks and acts like one still after Ocrina of Time. He didn't just grow up when he was asleep for 7 years. After everything he's been through, he's still him: a child.

[asylumdream]

inspired by a post from @thatwavephenomenon that has Not left my brain about link not getting saved by Rauru and instead falling to the depths. Comentary version under the cut

[kaweeella]

It’s so funny to me that traysi, one of the few characters that link meets in Gerudo town during botw and recognizes him in totk, gets link to help her by offering to pay him with clothes.

[scopophobia-polaris]

Honestly could we throw out the idea that totk's story issue is that it isn't consistent with the lore of the older games but instead drops intresting world building from botw because it might have gotten actually dark

[blueskittlesart]

POST MORE SWORD OF FATE PLS IM BEGGING

i have very little in terms of actual art LMAO but i CAN explain the sword thing because i checked and i did in fact never make this plot point public. i struggled for a while with creating a villain for this story until i realized that. i put "sword" in the title of the game. of course it has to be about the fucking sword. DUH.

so i want SOF to deal very heavily with religion, specifically the way in which hyrule's religion forms post-sksw but pre-reincarnation. i've placed it on the timeline directly after sksw, making it the first actual reincarnation in hyrule. what this means is that there's no actual proof yet that the reincarnation thing is real and not just an insane bluff on demise's part, and so several key characters including link and zelda barely believe in hylia or demise at all when the story starts. my thought with this setting's version of ganon is that he's the polar opposite of the nonbelievers. The gerudo don't really exist as of now, but he DOES come from the desert region of hyrule--specifically, he was raised in a cultlike offshoot of the sheikah religion which interpreted the hylia/demise myth completely literally and believes that a doomsday is coming, heralded by the foretold return of demise. Because of this, he knows more about the cycle and how to set it in motion than basically any other character. Crucially, he and his people are some of the only ones at this point aware of the existence of the master sword.

ganon finds. a sword. a sword which he THINKS is the master sword. and this theory is only reinforced when the sword begins to speak to him about his destiny and the salvation of hyrule. unfortunately it is not the master sword and he ends up basically a pawn in the greater plans of what's left of demise & ghirahim within that sword, manipulated into attempting to revive demise and destroy the reincarnated hero and princess. he remains in denial until basically the very end of the final battle, completely convinced that he is the true savior of hyrule and LINK is the one being misled. ghirahim is a very good manipulator lol

[puppyeared]

The garment, worn by those in good standing with Hyrule royalty, has been reworked with the latest improvements, such as a new shoulder guard.

[waywardsalt]

with my phantom hourglass replay, there are two things i noticed;

a possible theme you could glean from the game is action vs inaction, and i think it's especially prevalent before you even leave mercay the first time, with oshus frequently urging link to not go after the ghost ship, then to just wait until the broken bridge is fixed, and seems reluctant at every turn while link and ciela are more than eager to go and do something about this problem, and the people of mercay in general talking about things and their problems but never seeming to act on their fears or desires, as well as the mention that due to the ghost ship, very very few people are still sailing around, while linebeck is one of the only people we see in the game actively going after the ghost ship and still sailing around. i might make a longer post just talking more about the action vs inaction in phantom hourglass but i just noticed it a bit and thought it was a bit of an interesting sort of theme you could find in the game.

linebeck moves so fucking much. i think he moves more than any npc in the rest of the game. not just in his intro cutscene where he is very animated, just in how much he moves when just standing in his little idle post, it's damn near distracting when the camera is focused on him, he moves a lot. i don't think i've really acknowledged how much he moves, and it really gives the impression that he's antsy or eager to get going, both of which fit him pretty well with how he acts.

[gensnix]

Me looking at the "lore" in the new zelda tears book

[bloomingbluebell]

man... rhoam's "redemption" in aoc really sucked, huh?

like botw SHOWED us, several times, how much pressure rhoam put on zelda to unlock her powers, despite her telling him, several times, that it wasn't working. he got angry and banned her from doing not only something she saw as useful, but something that she was clearly very interested in and passionate about because she "wasn't dedicating enough time to her prayers." yes, his diary expresses regret for it, but at the end of the day, if zelda saw that it wouldn't mean much to her. the actions rhoam took, and the way zelda grew up under so much pressure that she nearly died as a child in one of the springs (this is in urbosa's diary, iirc) mean so much more than his regrets and his intentions. it took him nearly 10 years to realize that he fucked up, and by that point it was too late. the calamity had returned, and rhoam had lost any chance he had at making things right with zelda.

meanwhile, in aoc, all that's there is some half-hearted scene in the temple of time that's supposed to make everything better? yes, aoc had a very different and arguably better outcome than the calamity that led to botw, but the damage was still done by rhoam. it's still the same hurts and abuse and trauma that he put his daughter through all because of the prophesized calamity.

[veggiecorner]

while Mineru's send off is a sweet way of ending totk, I think there should've been an ending similar to Skyward Sword - where Link finds Zelda overlooking Hyrule (or I guess Lookout Landing specifically), and she looks conflicted. Once she notices Link she thanks him again for everything and they sit around in their silence. Zelda then opens up about her time in the past, of how she saw Hyrule being established, the first royal family rule over the land, and the war that followed it. She realized that while the kingdom seemed strong and the people seemed happy, she decided that she doesn't want that for her current land now. She tells him that she now is secure in her decision to not make the same mistakes as her own father, or Rauru has done when ruling over the land. She just wants to help her people - but as equals. I think that would be a good way to show where the story will be in the future - and how Zelda (and Link cause lets be real that man is not leaving her especially after the dragon thing) will spend the rest of her life.