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[zelda-without-a-licence-plate]

Ocarina of Time: The Sacrimonial Elegy

Chapter 5 up now!

It is raining. The stone walls are slick from it. It washes away everything but the wreaths of fire that enshroud the parapets. The moat swells and rises to swallow a gasp and the last whisper. Poison-purple smoke pours out the doors of a grand temple and stains a child’s fingers red. White flames overtake the summer-green prairies and winter-blue forests. A bell tolls, the one-too-many clangs sinking into the earth and splitting it open. When the world cracks apart it does so with the cry of a man. "A true friendship; a feeling in the heart that grows stronger over time. The passion of friendship will soon blossom into a righteous power and through it, you will know which way to go." -Sheik, LOZ:Ocarina of Time A complete retelling of a beloved piece of Zelda history, this not the Ocarina of Time you know, but it is the Ocarina of Time you love.

Link was sweatier than he had ever been before in his life. He’d been prepared for the land outside the forest to be colder than he was used to, not how hot it would be out in the open fields, with nothing between him and the sun. Navi made him take breaks to drink water often, and kept misting the back of his neck to keep him cool. The bag of dirt was heavy, which didn’t help his fatigue, either. Navi knew how long it could take her to fly across Hyrule field, but she admittedly wasn’t sure how long it would take Link to walk . Longer than they’d thought, apparently. Link thought about taking off his cloak, but he also didn’t want to stop to rearrange himself.

After a few hours of walking, Link heard an unfamiliar noise. A jumble of rumbling, clopping, and wooden rattling, behind him. “To the side of the road, Link,” Navi prompted him, and Link trotted away from the middle of the lane onto the grass. He looked back, and saw coming his way a large wagon, on large wheels, being pulled by a large horse, and steered by a large man. Link stopped, staring at the giant, majestic animal in awe. Its head was easily the size of Link’s torso, its powerful, muscular legs alone as tall as him. Its dark brown coat shone in the sunlight, and its gray mane and tail flicked side to side as it walked, the fluff around its hooves swishing with every huge step. It was way, way cooler than the fish. Probably the coolest thing in the entire world.

Navi ducked under Link’s cloak as the man tugged on the horse’s reins and brought the wagon to a stop. He smiled down at Link, and a kid sitting in the back of the wagon with the rattly wooden crates poked her head over the side. Wow, humans really do look like kokiri , Link thought. If that kid’s dress was green instead of pale yellow, she could absolutely pass for a kokiri. Her skin was a darker shade of brown than Link’s, and she had dark red hair. The man looked like if a kokiri got huge and then sort of turned into a raisin. He had brown hair, but less on the top of his head than on his upper lip, which was weird. His skin was lighter than the kid’s, unevenly tanned and spotty from the sun, and he had distinct lines at the corners of his eyes. “Hey, kiddo,” the man said with a deep voice that sounded like it was used to laughing, “Need a ride somewhere?”

“I’m going to Castle Town,” Link replied. The man nodded with a friendly smile.

“So’re we! Why don’t’cha hop in, give yer feet a rest? We’ll take ya the rest of the way.”

“Okay, thanks!” Link climbed onto the seat next to the man, who helped him up, lifting the bag of dirt in easily. Link settled in with the bag on his lap, relieved to give his arms a break from lugging it and his legs a break from walking. The man made a clicking noise with his mouth, flicking the reins to tell the horse to start moving again. Link looked curiously at the stubbly hairs all over the man’s cheeks and chin, and the fuzzy-looking hair all over his arms. Was that a grown-up thing, or a Hyrule thing? “You’re a grown up, right?” Link asked the man, who let out a loud bark of laughter.

“Haw! Yeah, kid, I sure am a grown-up! Why do you ask?”

“I’ve never seen one before,” Link said. A human one, anyway-- he did already meet those zora, but they were smaller and looked more different . “It’s my first day in Hyrule.”

“They don’t got adults where you’re from?” The kid leaned forward, somehow managing to keep her balance with the cart’s clunky movements. Both she and the man had twangy accents.

Link ignored Navi poking him in the side. “Nope.”

“What about your parents?”

“My dad was a tree.” An old tree, but not the same thing. The kid looked at him dubiously. 

“How can your dad be a tree? That’s crazy! Were you adopted?”

“No, I’m a kokiri.” Navi pinched him. “Ow, Navi!”

...

Read the rest of the chapter over on ao3! ✨🤘🧙‍♂️👇

https://archiveofourown.org/works/50185630/chapters/160592836

[zelda-without-a-licence-plate]

Just finished Echoes of Wisdom. Good ass game

[zelda-without-a-licence-plate]

what if i told you I (mod anon) have been working on some zelda mods lately. looks at Nintendo. legally. I am using my own games and that is not sarcasm. now what if i told you I am considering sharing them online so you too can play with them (on your own games).

[zelda-without-a-licence-plate]

super fast (and by super fast I mean this took 2 hours) Urbosa redesign concept from the other day

[zelda-without-a-licence-plate]

long time no see! was working on a lot of oc stuff. got in the mood to draw Malon :) she's my sweet potato pie my everything... <3

[zelda-without-a-licence-plate]

Chasing Dragons, a botw megafic

Chapter 29 'If you're Wile E Coyote, and I'm the the roadrunner, then who's piloting Vah Medoh!?' is up now!

...

The warriors are gone when Link steps out of the roost, but a few paces down the walkway now stands a rito woman, her soft lilac feathers raised from stress. She must have been waiting for him, her eyes trained on the curtain, because as soon as he emerges she jolts and rushes towards him. Slight tremors in her hands suggest she’s been losing sleep, and her eyes are intense as she towers over Link. 

“I’m sorry,” she says, “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation… or I suppose I could have, but I didn’t. Is it true? You intend to stop Medoh, with Teba’s help?”

Link nods, and her eyes lower. “I was afraid so… But if the elder trusts you, then so do I. My name is Saki, Teba is my husband. If you want his help, you will have to catch up with him; he’s already planning on fighting Medoh again. I tried to convince him not to, but he wouldn’t listen… once he’s made his mind up about something, there’s no reasoning with him. He has a true Rito’s pride, after all… and a true warrior’s heart. Kaneli is right, you will need his help. But…”

Link waits for her to go on, and she gives a heavy sigh. “It was a miracle he made it back unscathed the first time, and I’m afraid we don’t have miracles to spare. The truth is, I wish I could forbid him from fighting Medoh, and forbid you from seeking him out, but I understand the reason for his determination. Medoh must be stopped. So I will tell you where my husband went, only if you do one thing for me.”

“Of course.”

Saki demands, her gaze fierce, “Tell him that if he does anything foolish and gets himself killed, I’ll never forgive him. I need my husband, our children need their father -- not a martyr.”

Link meets her eyes, and says softly, “I will.” Saki deflates, the brittle tension leaving her all at once. 

“Thank you,” she exhales. “Come, I will show you the way.”

She leads him a few levels down away from the clusters of roosts towards the middle of the spire. They pass several rito on the narrow walkways, but the large, open platform that they arrive at is deserted. Painted on the wood of the landing is the same symbol woven onto Link’s paraglider. The landing extends from the central pillar further into the open air than the rest of the structures around it, and the wind is harsher. The ruby circlet only does so much, and Link tries to rub some warmth back into his fingers. 

“This is Revali’s Landing,” Saki says over the wind as Link follows her towards the outer railing. “From here you can see…” 

Link doesn’t hear her. 

Even at the cresting point of spring rolling into summer, Stonespire was brutally cold. Fine snow from the earlier storm still dusted the rest of the rito settlement, imprinted by uncountable bird tracks and likely to melt away before sunset, but the main landing was clear and empty. The thin layer of snow had already been blown away by the roaring winds created by Vah Medoh during Revali’s earlier dramatic display. The sky was only just beginning to clear, blue appearing behind grey clouds in patches. Link looked around for the willful hunter he was sent after. He could have sworn he saw blue feathers flash by just a moment ago…

...

Read the rest of the chapter over on ao3! ✨🤘🧙‍♂️👇

[zelda-without-a-licence-plate]

Ocarina of Time: The Sacrimonial Elegy

Chapter 4 up now!

It is raining. The stone walls are slick from it. It washes away everything but the wreaths of fire that enshroud the parapets. The moat swells and rises to swallow a gasp and the last whisper. Poison-purple smoke pours out the doors of a grand temple and stains a child’s fingers red. White flames overtake the summer-green prairies and winter-blue forests. A bell tolls, the one-too-many clangs sinking into the earth and splitting it open. When the world cracks apart it does so with the cry of a man. "A true friendship; a feeling in the heart that grows stronger over time. The passion of friendship will soon blossom into a righteous power and through it, you will know which way to go." -Sheik, LOZ:Ocarina of Time A complete retelling of a beloved piece of Zelda history, this not the Ocarina of Time you know, but it is the Ocarina of Time you love.

Even on the brightest of days, the Lost Woods were dim and gloomy, so even though Navi assured him that later they’d be doing it a lot, it was impossible to use the sun’s position to navigate through the Lost Woods. Link relied on Navi to know the way to the edge, which was probably the only part of the woods he’d never explored. He was supposed to go to Hyrule Castle and find someone named Princess Zelda. (Link thought Princess was a kind of weird name). Even though the castle was almost straight north from the forest, they were going northwest, which would bring them to the bridge that went over the river curling around the Lost Woods, and the road that winded through the plains of central Hyrule. 

Link didn’t know there was a big river right outside the woods. And when he asked Navi what the plains would be like, she told him to think of the biggest grassy clearing in the forest he knew, then to picture that clearing as big as he could imagine it, too big to be able to see the trees around the edge, only the sky. Then, she said it would be even bigger than that. Link had a pretty good imagination, so if it was bigger than whatever he was thinking of, then it must be… really, really big. 

Based on Navi’s descriptions, it sounded like everything outside the forest would be big. The plains, the rivers, the mountains, the castle, the towns, the people. It made Link a little nervous. How much bigger? The Great Deku Tree was the biggest being he ever knew. What if Princess Zelda was that big? Then again, he was a tree. Apparently, human kids looked just like Kokiri. And Link was the third biggest Kokiri-- second, if he tried to argue that Mido’s small height advantage didn’t matter because Link was wider-- so then, how much bigger could the people outside the forest really be?

They reached the edge sooner than he thought they would, and Link could only spend a tiny moment being disappointed they didn’t run into his friend on the way out, because as soon as they breached the trees, he stopped thinking about anything.

For the first time in his life Link saw the entire sky at once. It was so huge, and so blue, and the sun was so bright. There were the things he imagined, like the green grass growing as far as he could see, but there were also things he never imagined, like the way the wind blew confidently, and rustled Link’s hair and cloak and made all the distant grass ripple like a babbling brook. And, unlike in Link’s imagination, it wasn’t just grass forever until there was nothing. There were more trees, tiny in the distance, and even beyond that were big, sloping hills, and beyond that , mountains. Link felt the sun on his face, and took a deep breath. So this was the world… now, Link was a lot more excited than nervous. It was bigger than big , and now Link was part of it. He felt like if he spread his arms wide and reached , he could fill it all up full. 

“Well?” Navi asked from his shoulder, pleased. “What do you think?”

...

Read the rest of the chapter over on ao3! ✨🤘🧙‍♂️👇

[zelda-without-a-licence-plate]

no there isn't sorry this is my fanart I just like to say that for the bit 😭

pov you are watching ocarina of time: the animated series on vhs bc you were feeling nostalgic for your favourite cartoon from the nineties

part 1 / part 2

[zelda-without-a-licence-plate]

Chasing Dragons, a botw megafic

Chapter 28 up now!

...

Link thought encountering two Divine Beasts would mean he’d be ready to face the ones to come, but no. Even seeing Vah Medoh in the distance before couldn’t have prepared him for being under it now. The Divine Beasts are all so unique that each one completely redefines the concept of majesty . The great avian machine circles over Stonespire, letting loose another sky-splitting cry. Its mighty wingspan casts a shadow over the lake and its powerful motors, even from so high up, whip up turbulent winds that whirl around the valley. The setting sun haloes it, and it appears darker than the others. The purple glow of the malice puppeting it is only visible in pulses and spurts in gaps in the distant machinery, and in the spraying sparks and flashes of light that look like shooting stars. Other than that, it’s a dreadful silhouette prowling the sky. Trailing behind it are streaks of dark purple smog, billowing out from its ‘beak’ and the spaces between its wings and its body, only adding to its unique foreboding presence.

The ground-level panic continues as Medoh gives off an echoing rumble that Link feels vibrating in his teeth, until the Divine Beast curls back around towards the snowy peaks to the immediate north. He sees the rito flying from pillar to pillar, a flurry of feathers and fearful distant squawks, but they keep their flight paths tight to the structures. Only when it becomes clear the danger has passed do they settle. The whole valley is tenser than it was just moments before. The perfect serenity of the pictoresque autumnal scene is broken by the reminder of the threat of destruction that looms over their heads. 

Link’s heart races, breathless from the brief but powerful shot of adrenaline. He nudges Nyx back into motion and they speed down the steep hill towards the stable, where the commotion is still dying down. It seems that with each Divine Beast he comes to tame the danger gets more and more urgent. Link doesn’t have any details yet on how exactly Vah Medoh poses a threat to the Rito in its possessed state, but the fear he just witnessed is undeniable. There will be no time to waste. 

Based on the view from above, Link thought this stable was just more sprawling than the others he’s seen, but as he reaches the bottom of the hill he realizes the stable is flanked by a small market on one side, and a logging mill on the other. The market is no more than a handful of wooden stalls occupied by merchants-- some travelling, some local-- and their wares. He passes one vendor selling sacks of grain, a brightly-feathered rito woman selling a whole host of textile goods, and other sellers of products and resources that must be hard to come by in the Tabantha region. As he steers Nyx through towards the stable, Link spots a familiar teal plumage he hadn’t expected to see again so soon. Off to the side, a tall gray-and-brown rito merchant stands huffily, while Kass appears to be in the midst of a heated debate with none other than Beedle. Link dismounts, leaving both his animal companions by the counter.

...

Read the rest of the chapter over on ao3! ✨🤘🧙‍♂️👇

[zelda-without-a-licence-plate]

Ok look!! If my dad didn’t want me to become a lesbian, he shouldn’t have let me play Twilight Princess as a kid!!! That was on him!!!

[zelda-without-a-licence-plate]

Pov: you are re-watching ocarina of time: the animated series and your favourite character, Skullkid, shows up. exciting!

first / prev / part 3 / next (in progress)

(this is actually supposed to take place in between the first and second 'screenshot' in the previous part but eh. I already wasn't drawing them in order it's hard to also post them in order)

[zelda-without-a-licence-plate]

I. CANT BELIEVE. I FORGOT TO POST DARUNIAS FINISHED REDESIGN ON HERE. I DONT SEE IT ON THE BLOG ALREADY SO I MUST HAVE FORGOTTEN...... AUGH....

ANYWAYS sob here is Darunia's official redesign for the OOT rewrite full notes and thought process below the cut:

All my goron designs involve giving them less cartoonish and caricature-like features and proportions, so of course that was the first thing I tackled here. I made him very square-and-solid looking. I wanted him to have an appearance that read both as very dignified and also very personable. One should be able to tell at a glance that he is someone who commands a great deal of respect and is worthy of that respect, while also being approachable and trustworthy. Simultaneously larger than life and down to earth. His expression is stern, but with an undertone of warmth. In the original game, Darunia seemed to me like a character who wasn't really meant to be taken seriously, but for our version we want to give the opposite impression. When Darunia speaks, you will listen. I intend for him to be a character that commands respect both from the other characters around him and from the audience as well.

Aside from that, his defining characteristics remain, especially his beard and hair which are what make his silhouette most easily distinguishable. Rather than changing very much I mostly just added more, like his accessories, clothes and tattoos. Many people in the past have pointed out that the gorons, in oot especially, have many elements that appear to be based off various cultures from across the African continent, but again, especially in oot, that was done rather insensitively. So I also decided to look to the west African region in particular for some inspiration for my Darunia redesign. I ended up using mostly references from Ghana after searching through a few different sources, and the traditional clothing there influenced how I dressed Darunia, like with the brightly coloured and patterned cloth of his waist-wrap thing and his sandals-- which from now on I have decided to draw all gorons wearing sandals. The cloth Darunia wears is not fully patterned like those from Ghana since I played around with a few different patterns before settling on this, but in the future I may try drawing something more 1-1.

His tattoos are also based off the Adinkra symbols. Researching the Adinkra symbols was very exciting and interesting for me, and there were many that were perfectly suited for the things I had planned. I didn't want to just copy them directly, so I made slightly altered versions of some of the symbols with their original meanings. My hope is that anyone familiar with the Adinkra symbols would easily recognize them as the source, and be able to tell which fantasy versions are derived from which real ones, with or without the meaning listed alongside it. The ones I referenced for Darunia specifically were the Dwennimmen, meaning humility and strength, the Akoben meaning vigilance and wariness-- which is depicted on his necklace-- the Nkonsonkonson meaning unity, or brotherhood, and the Aya meaning endurance and resourcefulness. The anvil symbol, the one representing Temna/creation/ingenuity, is one I invented imitating the existing symbols' style. I chose these for their meanings, which I feel represent Darunia's character well, and seem like the kinds of things he would value and choose for himself to wear.

The red tattoo sleeve framing the goron ruby is meant to represent streams of lava flowing down the mountainside. This one single element gave me more grief than any other part of the redesign, I went though so many drafts of just that one tattoo and it was what caused this redesign to take so long! Though now that I have emerged victorious from the bloodstained battlefield (clip studio paint), I am very pleased with the final result!

Also, you may notice that the ring on his left thumb looks remarkably like the game's power bracelet. That's because it is the power bracelet! If you'd like, you can wait until we reach that part of the fic to learn what the deal is there, or if you're feeling impatient and don't mind some light spoilers, you can read Darunia's character profile for our rewrite here on world anvil, which is one of the few I've actually completed lol

[zelda-without-a-licence-plate]

Um. She HAD to slay sorry

[zelda-without-a-licence-plate]

Um. She HAD to slay sorry

[zelda-without-a-licence-plate]

Ocarina of Time: The Sacrimonial Elegy

Chapter 3 up now!

It is raining. The stone walls are slick from it. It washes away everything but the wreaths of fire that enshroud the parapets. The moat swells and rises to swallow a gasp and the last whisper. Poison-purple smoke pours out the doors of a grand temple and stains a child’s fingers red. White flames overtake the summer-green prairies and winter-blue forests. A bell tolls, the one-too-many clangs sinking into the earth and splitting it open. When the world cracks apart it does so with the cry of a man. "A true friendship; a feeling in the heart that grows stronger over time. The passion of friendship will soon blossom into a righteous power and through it, you will know which way to go." -Sheik, LOZ:Ocarina of Time A complete retelling of a beloved piece of Zelda history, this not the Ocarina of Time you know, but it is the Ocarina of Time you love.

They left the torched remains of the nest, all the eggs inside reduced to ash, veins of venom incinerated, all deep below the ground. The Kokiri emerged from the tunnel stained with sweat, dirt, and what Mido would insist were not tears. Their bodies were heavy from exhaustion, but their souls were light from the relief of their success as the little band of heroes fanned out into the clearing. 

“Great Deku Tree, we did it!” Mido exclaimed as they turned to face the Father of the Forest. The Deku Tree didn’t respond, only remained silent and still. It was like even the leaves on his branches were no longer affected by the breeze, the absence of their consistent subtle rustling with the minute movements of the Deku Tree unnerving and jarring. It was a sound they never even realized could go away, and now the clearing was eerily silent. 

“Great Deku Tree…?” Saria called out, her voice wavering from anxiety.

Nothing.

Navi flew slowly up close to the Deku Tree’s face. His face was like stone, and his bark had lost the colour of life, appearing now fragile and ashen. “He’s… gone. I’m sorry, children…” Navi said, her words barely audible. 

A heavy silence fell over the young forest spirits. The air was sucked out of their lungs. The whole world was holding its breath. 

Link felt frozen, the storm of emotion roiling in his chest twisting down through his belly and down his legs, wrapping around his ankles and anchoring his feet to the earth. His throat felt too tight to breathe properly, and what weak breaths he could take trembled as they passed his teeth. His hands clenched to fists at his sides, so tightly they shook, and his shoulders tensed, so deeply it was painful. 

Saria approached the Deku Tree with halting steps, sitting down and curling up against one of his massive roots. Her back was to them, and Link couldn’t see her face, but she was quivering like a sapling battered by high winds. Link had never seen her sad like this before. He had never felt sadness like this before. He didn’t know what to do.

...

Read the rest of the chapter over on ao3! ✨🤘🧙‍♂️👇

[zelda-without-a-licence-plate]

jolene, jolene, jolene joleeeneeee

im begging of you please dont blow up my shiiiip

[zelda-without-a-licence-plate]

some winter Kokiris! Link and Saria all cozy and ready to play in the snow :)