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blue-likethebird · 8 months

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Reusing the memory system from botw for the tears of the dragon storyline in totk was such a terrible decision on so many different levels that it’s honestly kind of impressive.

While the botw memory system had flaws of its own, there was one small but significant thing that worked in its favour: botw’s memories were largely separate from the main plot in the past, and have absolutely no bearing on the story being told in the present. Aside from a few specific instances (ie the calamity striking, the ceremony, Link and Zelda becoming closer) the memories are all self-contained moments that emphasize character development over driving the story. Because there’s no major narrative throughline between them, it gives players more freedom to discover in any order regardless of how much they’ve progressed through the main quest without running the risk of stumbling across a memory that ruins something else later on in the game.

(This got long so the rest of my analysis is going under the cut.)

The biggest change between the memories from botw and the dragon’s tears from totk is definitely what kind of information these cutscenes relay to you as the player. Botw’s memories are primarily snapshots of small interpersonal moments that hold very little significance to the greater narrative taking place in the past. Totk’s memories are the greater narrative. With only one major exception -that I’ll touch on in a sec-, every cutscene in the dragon’s tears shows a crucial moment of story development with no time left to explore the characters driving that story forwards. There’s no organic moment revealing, say, a quirk of Rauru’s that Mineru finds annoying, or Sonia’s sense of humour, or any of our literal Main Villain Ganondorf’s motivations for going to war with Hyrule. If there’s any moments of character focus they only happen in ways that advance the plot (meaning the only real character focus is on the characters totk wants the entire universe to orbit around, namely Rauru and Zelda), and as such it’s harder to bring myself to care about what happens to anyone.

To illustrate the point I’m trying to make here, compare the memories of the champions Link regains during the divine beast quests to the conversations with the ancient sages at the end of each temple. The memories make passing mentions of the ongoing preparations for the calamity, but the real purpose of those scenes is to showcase who the champions were as people before their deaths and give us a reason to mourn them, even though we know at the start of our journey that they’re all long gone. In contrast, the conversations with the ancient sages are all about the events of the imprisoning war and their promise to Zelda that their descendants will come to Link’s aid in the future, very obviously copy pasted for each of the five times that cutscene is brought up (which is a particularly egregious moment of bad quest design but that’s a rant for another time) in such a way that none of the 5 incarnations of that cutscene reveal anything new about the ancient sages as characters, to the point where none of them even show their faces. I care about Daruk because the game shows me that he cares deeply about the wellbeing of his fellow champions and brings out the best in others. So why should I care about the nameless, faceless sage of water? What’s there to move me about their struggles if my only interactions with the sages are a series of exposition dumps? If the game can’t give me a reason to sincerely care about its main characters, the whole rest of the story is meaningless.

(As an aside, I get the feeling someone on the dev team caught on to the issue I’m describing here, because the tea party memory sticks out like a sore thumb from the rest of the dragon tear cutscenes. It’s such a jarring change of pace to have the otherwise plot-heavy dragon’s tears come screeching to a halt for a scene where Sonia sits down with Zelda to have a cute little tea party and talk about absolutely nothing of significance that the whole thing almost seems like it was hastily tacked on to the story later. Given that the next (chronological) memory sees Sonia fall victim to an unceremonious death by chiropractor, it feels like someone realized that Sonia really doesn’t do or say much in the scenes before she dies and threw together the tea party scene so players would have at least one moment to look back on fondly when she’s fridged. But I digress)

The story told in the dragon’s tears is a highly linear one. But the open-ended nature of botw’s memory system remains, meaning that these tears can be found and viewed in any order. At first this doesn’t seem so bad, since the first two tears you’re likely to find if you follow the game’s intended path are also the chronological first and second of the memories you can discover through these geoglyph tears. But after those first two, the game kinda gives up on guiding you towards these tears in a way that flows well with the story they wrote: the closest tear geographically to the two the game initially guides you towards correlates to one of the penultimate scenes of that entire storyline, while the next scene chronologically is found almost halfway across the map. As such, it’s all but guaranteed that you’ll spoil yourself in some way without using either a guide or the (somewhat unintuitive and never fully explained by the game) little map in the forgotten temple. Finding memories in order didn’t matter so much in botw because the scenes you could find still worked well as standalone scenes before you discovered every memory and pieced together the full picture, and the game is never trying to surprise me about the characters’ fates at the end of this storyline: hell the first memory you’re guided to shows the calamity striking. But in contrast, viewing a dragon’s tear at the wrong time can completely ruin the story they’re trying to tell in those cutscenes. During my playthrough, for example, the first tear I found after the game stopped guiding me to them showed Ganondorf removing Sonia’s stone from her dead body. At this point I had known Sonia existed for all of like an hour, so every subsequent appearance she made was ruined for me by the fact that I already knew she was nothing but cannon fodder to be killed off for the sake of another character’s pain (Rauru and Zelda a-fucking-gain). I expected to be pissed that it was so easy to spoil myself, or maybe sad in passing that a character with her potential was so underutilized, but instead I just felt… tired. I wasn’t even halfway to the first settlement and already I was completely numb to the story the game was trying to tell.

But the worst was yet to come. And oh boy was it ever a low point for storytelling in the Zelda series. Remember how I said up above that the memories in botw had no connection to the story in the present? Let’s just say the same cannot be said for the dragon’s tears.

It’s May 2023. I’ve just finished the sage of wind questline. I still have hope that the story the game is trying to tell will be good. Deciding that I’ll go to Goron city next, I head towards the Thyplo skyview tower to expand my map, catch a glimpse of a nearby geoglyph from the air, and glide over to check it out. This geoglyph shows me a memory that not only recaps the entire dragon tear storyline, but also ends on a bit of foreshadowing about Zelda’s fate that’s about as subtle as a brick to the fucking face. By exploring -the thing the game claims it prioritized above all else in the design of its world and quests- I’d once again been hit with spoilers for a major story detail.

My main objective in this game is to find Zelda. It’s the only driving factor behind my journey towards all these different regions. The current big mystery I’m supposed to solve is why Zelda’s causing so much hell for the people of Hyrule. I now knew exactly where she was and what the deal with her appearances in other parts of Hyrule was, and I’d found it completely by accident by doing something the game says over and over again that it wants me to do. Unlike with Sonia’s death, this time I was a mess of emotions. I was pissed the fuck off that this open-world game had punished me twice already for trying to explore. More than that, I was disappointed that a game I had been so excited to play, from a series I had so many fond memories of, had let me down like this. With every subsequent quest where the sages and I chased a Zelda I knew was fake to our next objective, and every NPC wondering where she was that I couldn’t tell the truth to, that disappointment grew. The entire rest of the main story was ruined for me before I had progressed past 1/4th of the regional quests and a third of the dragon’s tears. There was no more sense of anticipation or mystery. I finished the rest of the game with a bitter taste in my mouth and haven’t touched it again since.

Do I think this story could have been good? Honestly, I don’t know, and by now I don’t really care either (that’s a lie. I care so so much and that’s probably why I hate totk as much as I do). But it’s all irrelevant, because like Cinderella’s stepsister cutting off her own heel so she can cram her foot into a glass slipper that’s never going to fit, totk is sabotaged by the devs’ insistence that everything fit itself into a world they custom-made for botw. This isn’t a new formula that the series is following, it’s Nintendo slapping a new coat of paint on an existing skeleton, and I’m not optimistic to see what this particular approach has in store for the Zelda series. Especially not at the price they’re charging for it.

#bluebird.txt #salt of the kingdom #totk critical #long post #totk salt #totk spoilers #apologies to my followers for the long-ass whatever this is #I do think about things that aren’t how much I hate this game I’m just in a mood lmao #negative #it’s fine if you disagree I just had to put my thoughts in words

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luna-lovegreat · 7 months

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Twilight and Legends relationship

...I love it

**in this post there's a lot of stuff I didn't notice before. I'm gonna resist the urge to write an essay on each point, and attempt to leave most of it up to the reader's interpretation**

Ok ok there's a ton of stuff here, starting with early character scenes

They're like the rest of the chain: They fight together and talk. Legend is close to Hyrule, and Twilight to Wild and Time.

We see some things Twilight and Legend have in common. One is their dislike of Hyrule knights, and-

As seen in the Gerudo clothes scene, both Twi and Leg like to mess around with pranks and have a lot of snark... wonder what would happen if they worked together

But there's something really important about how Twilight views Legend:

I wasn't aware this was before looking closely at their interactions but... Twilight didn't originally like Legend. This is shown a lot later on- in his facial expressions and words towards Legend. But from the start he didn't like him much, and here's why:

From the start, Jojo says this- Twilight judges Legend's actions as too harsh since his mannerisms come across as picking on someone. (Also Sky you are so so pure and cute 10/10 most huggable Link)

Legend is abrasive because he's had so many adventures- he's hardened to the point of being sharp. But it's wonderful that that character can still be so loved- his heart is good (hero duh)

Twilight has always been a big brother. It makes him well loved (rightly so). Jojo says he knows people can change- for good or bad. But because of his past Twilight doesn't like people picking on others "not even a little". It's complicated- we see it affect Twilight's attitude towards Legend a lot.

Anywho moving on to the plot

Wolfie, Aka twilight

Dark mirror stuff happens, and Legend finds out Twi's Wolfie- as we all know. But he can't just. Acknowledge it of course. He's gotta probe and tease, asking pointed questions (snark snark snark)

And in his attempts to be certain about the Wolf stuff, we were blessed with:

Bunny Legend

Welp. That investigation did not go as planned.

Animal forms:

Bunnies are soft, but Legends actions are not. He is guarded and sharp yet his form shows how sweet his true heart is

Wolves will love/protect their family yet are fierce, they have fangs and will fight. The root of who Twilight is is his kindness and family

Also (sarcastic) good job to Four and Wild for being SO SUBTLE with their emotions when Legend's asking questions hinting he knows Twi's secret

Legend: asking questions about the secret shhh

Four and Wild: Are having a freaking heart attack about it

Twilight: starts ranting about goats

...

Once Twilight gets over the shock of Legend like. Absorbing his crystal. He... well, looking at the harshness in his face and words, this is where Legend's attitude and his past with Colin being bullied biased him against Legend.

Look at his face in each panel through the progression- Twilight is more and more confused thinking legend is not who he thought he was...

And Twilight certainly sympathizes/relates to being hurt by losing someone he loved (in whatever form the relationship took)

And WHY is it always girlfriend trauma with these boys of COURSE it's girlfriend trauma that brings them together NOT SHARING A SPIRIT AND LOVE OF SWINGING GLORIFIED METAL NO THEY HAVE TO BOND OVER RELATIONSHIPS GONE WRONG

Twilight then thinks well that's a good reason to be pretty changed because from the start Jojo said he'll always understand people changing...

So they go, and make legend human again (with pink hair) and Legend is... surprised. And grateful...

Another few defining moments:

Legend's dialogue thanking him is the real start of them connecting like in Leg's original character description "the most reliable, you want him on your team"

And again Twi's face, Twilight is looking at Leg differently throughout this- contemplating to be honest. Considering...

And remember when I said these two both like to prank? Well the second they have a shared experience and get back to camp they immediately team up and start barraging Warriors with snark

Heaven help the chain when these two are on the same side

Legend has never been close to people outside of the few he's accepted as his (love him and hyrule's bond). After this? Twilight's one of his people. There's much more expression of caring and closeness towards Twilight- something we don't see with many.

And then, well, Twilight nearly dies. And Legend, he cares

Bunny boys puppy dog eyes are gonna kill me someday

Twilights pretty injured, he really doesn't see/remember all these moments showing how much Legend wants to help

And then we have this moment

this moment

Matters so so much

Look at Twi's face. Look at his surprise, realization, and acceptance- this is when he realizes- when he sees how much Legend cares for him

Twi woke from his deathbed for his family

and then in the next few updates it's really cute- he just is barely recovering and legend is just... beside him. Staying by his side

Animal forms later development:

Legend's bunny form is soft- but he is still not totally soft. Looking at Legends actions and facial expressions towards the others, while he's definitely closer to Twi now, he's still the snarky boy we know and love.

Twilight's Wolf form is loyal and loves family: Once he knows legends heart? Full on pack love.

And WHY were they so very intent on petting each other

Legend: I'm gonna go try and pet the wolf since I think he's my dude yes good plan

Twilight: I KNOW THIS IS WEIRD BUT IVE NEVER PET A RABBIT BEFORE LET ME TOUCH YOU

...

Here's a few random parallels of them to chew on because I love parallels (them snarky snarking each other, then some brother love parallels)

The thing with these two is their character bonding and whatever is not all sweet and lovey like some of the others. They have some REALLY sweet caring moments with each other. But snark plus snark equals double snark, meaning them together is the weirdest mix of kindness and teasing you've ever seen

And although at the beginning they were pretty harsh towards each other, it makes their getting closer and learning their similarities all the better.

#lots of food for thought #I was surprised to notice Jojos words and Twi's expressions showing he didn't like Legend at first #maybe the progression is the best part #they are so close and care so much #but the pranking???#literally the second they get back to camp after bonding they start messing with the others #the snarkiest boys what mischief will they commit #they're terrifying together #if legend hyrule and wild are the terror trio maybe these two are the terror duo #maybe legend being friends with anyone is just terrifying #loz #linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu #lu twilight #Lu legend #I love them so much #now onward! to homework!#ugh college

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flowering-thought · 11 months

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Ganon brainrot won in my heart so here we are-

Please know that this version of Ganaon is influenced by BOTW and TOTK as I never got the chance to play the older games and I'm hopefully going to purchase TOTK soon (I'm a broke bitch so I look at spoilers in envy and awe). Also note that due to the complicated timeline of the games I'm going to say that Zelda has traveled back maybe 10,000 years because as of right now there's no telling how to fit it into the timeline for sure-

Not gonna lie I wanna do more of this, maybe a part two?? Should I do a part two?? I want to do more but I didn't want to make it too long-

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

WARNING - MINORS DNI

AFAB reader and reader is described as feminine and chubby/plus sized.

Yandere themes, obsessive behavior, hints at stalking

Yandere Ganondorf x Archeologist Reader

Zelda and Link. Two people you had come to know well as you had helped Link grow used to life in Hyrule after waking from his 100 year nap.

You were an assistant who occasionally helped Purah but also looked for things to research on your own when you could.

And when Link had saved the kingdom from Calamity Ganons grasp? You had grown close to Princess Zelda, who shared many interests with you. You two got along quite well, having fun and sharing research with each other and having long conversations about the past and the link between technological advancements and a declining birthrate.

And with Link? You appreciated the times when you could just relax. You would both sit by the fire and relax or you would tell him stories to pass the time.

Before Link had managed to defeat Calamity Ganon you would empathize with the struggle of not remembering his past, of the emotions that came with the weight of the world on his shoulders. And you would help him find ways to find happiness in the small things, even talking with him and having conversations to make things seem less stressful than they were.

So with Link and Zelda by your side with ruins of the ancient past? What would you have to worry about? Zelda is knowledgeable about ruins and Link is strong enough to help either of you if something were to happen.

But things don't always turn out how you want them to be huh?

Walking up to what looked to be a corpse deprived of light and dehydrated to the point it was practically a standing mummy, a hand attached to its chest and a spiral of light emitting from the contact.

And as though it were fate, that hand detached, a stone falling with it. A part of you felt as though you weren't supposed to be here, you took a step back, behind Zelda and Link, your eyes fixated on the mummified corpse.

As if you had walked into some tale of horror, the cracks of bones could be heard from the body, it slowly moving in what could only be described as terrifying.

Just as it opened its eyes Link blocked the first attack, and you grabbed Zelda's wrist, ready to run with her if need be. And the shattering of the master sword echoed through the chamber.

"The sword that seals the darkness? Such a fragile sword cannot defend you from me." He stated, a raspy voice speaking out.

"Zelda.. And you who carries that sword are Link." He continued.

The conversation did not last, another attack carried and both you and Zelda are knocked into the abyss. And even if it would be your death, you did not let go of Zelda, knowing that you'd rather be together in death should you die from that fall.

But all you saw was a burst of light before you inevitably passed out, your consciousness fully collapsing as the world around you changed.

And then there you were, in a field in Hyrule, both you and Zelda lain among the grass for a certain King and Queen to find you.

Zelda was the first to awaken to their voices, explaining who she was to them before they explained their own title.

And just before Zelda could gasp, you awoke. You held yourself as you woke up before fully awakening and looking around frantically for Zelda.

You didn't mind the strangers as you crawled over quickly to check for wounds, "Are you okay? You didn't get hurt?" You asked.

And upon realizing where you were, and looked upon by strangers, both you and Zelda explained what had happened to the young King and Queen as they brought you to the peak

Of course what followed was being brought to the founding kingdom of Hyrule, Rauru and Sonia treated Zelda like their daughter, smiling and making sure she was well fed.

They had claimed that both you and Zelda were distant relatives despite you saying you were not a part of the Hylian royal family. But they stated it would be better to claim that for now.

And while they treated Zelda like their child, when it came to you they were gentle as though you were someone they loved. You did not have powers like them and so they made sure you had a guard with you at all times.

Often times you would be found by the pair with Mineru, both of you enjoying different topics and you found immense enjoyment from learning everything that the Zonai technology could offer.

Sometimes you would actually fall asleep in Minerus office, and you could have sworn one time to hear Sonia and Rauru conversing as your head was supported by a lap and your hair pet gently. It was such a warm and gentle feeling so you eventually drifted back to sleep only to wake up in your chambers the next day.

And then, the one and only Gerudo King known as Ganondorf made his appearance.

Far too many times had you seen the depictions of a monstrous beast called Ganon, and upon hearing the name in another form you could feel shivers roll down your spine.

You stood next to Zelda, deciding to take your mind off of the King and look to his group, finding the differences in the attire of the past and future was fun to you rather than thinking about the anxiety that came with meeting Ganondorf.

And while you gazed at his group, Ganondorf had been staring at the stones for a time, noticing Zelda had one so he assumed that you would as well. And as soon as he noticed you did not have one he should have brought his gaze back to Rauru but he couldn't.

The way those robes fit on your figure, your soft looking features and that gaze of intelligence and warmth in your eyes had him nearly move his head to look right at you. But of course he knew better than to make his interest clear right in the throne room.

He couldn't keep his eyes off you, even when he and his group of warriors were escorted to different chambers to rest he had your face in mind. And before he was escorted to the separate nicer chamber he would stay in for his standing in the Gerudo tribe was the highest, he pulled two warriors aside and told them to keep an eye on you in secret, to learn more about you.

"And what kind of information on her would you like us to gather?" One asked, prepared for whatever her king would ask of them.

"Everything." He stated, turning to follow the Hylian maid who stood quite a bit away.

And so for an entire week, while observing many schedules of those who had the secret stone, he would try to find the places you tended to wander in.

He learned of the foods you prefered, how you spent a lot of your time either in the garden or the library, snacks such as fruit you often snacked on. He also found out the size of the robes you wore, getting a messenger to send that information back to the tribe to prepare you clothing. And he also tried his best to search into your orgins, but even most servants of the palace did not know where you came from.

It was frustrating that oftentimes you were with a member of the royal family or in places he couldn't get to without arising suspicion when it came to trying to get close to you.

Until finally, you were in the garden, only a single guard standing a couple of feet away as you sat in the grass and with a sketchbook open drew the different kinds of plants in front of you.

He found it beautiful. How your fresh flowed around you in the grass and your hunched form taking in the details of nature.

A part of him thought it suited you. But another thought how much better you would look smiling at him and waving him over.

But alas he had to make the first move.

So that's what he did, he stepped into the garden and made a light cough, the guard startling and immediately formed a stance while you turned to face what was only a pair of legs till you craned your head up to look at him.

You stayed completely still out of shock, till Ganondorf tilted his head a bit, wondering why you merely stared.

"Am I truly that shocking to see my lady?" He asked, a small smirk adorning his face. You nearly wanted to run but at the same time a part of you didn't want to create problems for Rauru or Sonia or even possibly Zelda so you decided to be neutral and scoot over a bit.

"Not as shocked as you would think, sit down and maybe I could see your face without needing to break my neck." You said, hoping that maybe he wouldn't be too interested so you wouldn't have to be too on edge.

But much to your surprise you heard a loud chuckle and next thing you knew had the King of the Gerudo sitting next to you in a garden of flowers.

You couldn't stand the awkward silence so you decided to form a conversation with him instead. "So how is your stay? I hope you're finding things enjoyable?" You ask, fumbling with the pages of your sketchbook, the notes written between the pages among illustrations and dried flowers and plants.

Ganondorf took in everything. How lovely your face looked up close, how tiny your hands were as you held that book in hand, and how your fingernails would get under a page to flip to another as you tried to make conversation.

He wanted you. He knew for certain then and there that he wanted you. It was love at first sight yes. But it wasn't the kind that he would throw away everything for until this point.

Now he understood the tales of foolish people throwing things they had worked hard for away for love. But it's a good thing Ganondorf is a greedy man. He'll have you first even if it means abandoning his first plan. He can always create another.

So as his mind processed these thoughts he gave a hum of confirmation before gazing down at you, "Do you know anything about the desert?" He asked. You would never know this was a conversation to prepare you for the harshness of the desert when he would eventually find a way to sweet talk his way into taking you there.

But unexpectedly you nodded and smiled, "Yes! While during the day it reaches its hottest point at noon, and its coolest point at midnight. But the sunsets and sunrises in the desert are breathtaking!" You started, smiling as you opened another page to some of the flora and fauna you've observed in the future.

"See I love how things can still manage to survive, it's so interesting how they form their own ways of survival and manage to thrive. Just like people do!" You stated.

"And how clear the sky looks at night when you're in the desert, it almost looks like an endless sea of stars. It does get cold at night but I've never been one to grow cold easily." You add, a bright smile on your face only keeping the man stunned in place.

How positive you were when he had only seen the negatives of his homeland. The vast desert is dry and harsh. He hated the Hylians who had taken for granted their habitable home and yet here he was, in love with a Hylian even before you would confess of your love for the desert.

You went on about how to build the most efficient homes, how staying near an oasis is the best move, and how white paint or tiles would help reflect the sun off the roofs. How different muds and rocks and soil can affect how to build a home there. And how you enjoyed the feeling of warm sand on your feet.

It took you at least an hour of talking to realize he had listened intently for a whole hour.

It left your face feeling hot and putting your book to cover your mouth and nose, hoping to cover up whatever blush had formed on your cheeks. "Sorry, here I am drawling on and talking your ear off." You muttered, avoiding eye contact but also realizing that looking at his well-toned body was a bigger mistake as you felt your heartbeat rise and then looked to the scenery to try and calm yourself down.

Ganondorf only chuckled, smiling as he set a hand on your head and gave your hair a little ruffle. "It's okay little Vai, I quite enjoy listening to you talk." He claims, getting up before looking down once more, "We should talk again." He adds.

And with that he walked off, leaving you slightly bewildered.

Unknown to you, that guard had reported back to Rauru and Sonia at the end of the day after making sure you were safe in your chambers.

The next day Rauru and Sonia would pull aside Zelda and Mineru while you were in one of the libraries researching.

"What do we do? Why on earth would he take an interest in Y/n?" Zelda asked, her hands held together in anxiety.

"He should have been targeting one of us. Someone who holds a secret stone. Y/n doesn't even have a stone!" She adds.

Mineru and Rauru sat silently in thought while Sonia put her hand over Zeldas, "Do not worry. I don't think he has the intention to hurt her." She claims, her calm voice carrying Zelda out of all the thoughts of you becoming hurt.

"But that doesn't mean he doesn't hold other intentions with her." Rauru says, looking slightly agitated as his gaze stays focused on the table.

"She wouldn't betray us. That much is certain. So if he doesn't seek to harm her or get information out of her, what could it be?" Mineru asks out loud, her question plaguing the thoughts of all four of them.

And they all knew only time could tell.

And unfortunately for them, Ganondorf would come to find you often, growing closer to you and making you feel comfortable around him. And due to that, coming up with a new plan to propose to his tribe and the warriors who followed him was easy.

He would take you as his wife. A surefire way to ensure a "peace treaty" between the Gerudo and Hylians. And your knowledge of the landscape and ways to improve their housing would prove useful for keeping his people safe, many warriors agreed with this plan as the longevity of their tribe mattered to them more than stealing a stone.

If they managed to strengthen their tribe with knowledge you could lend then they could form a better plan to take over Hyrule.

So with the support of his warriors, he asked to meet with the Hylian court, including you.

And it was tense. When you stepped into the hall, you could have sworn Sonia was on the edge of yelling and Rauru was bewildered. Zelda took notice of you and immediately brought you close to her and went closest to the thrones to keep you within reach.

You had made it late so you didn't know that Ganondorf had just announced his wish to marry you.

"Are you insane? You propose such a thing to keep the peace between our people?" Rauru asked, his voice commanding an answer from the brazen Gerudo King.

"But it is not unreasonable. I understand that Y/n is a distant relative yes? Not only is she of noble lineage she is also intelligent and capable of helping my tribe prosper. Would it not benefit both you and me? You would have my word of peace and know that your relative would be in capable hands and protected by my people as she would become one of us by wedding me, trying our people together." He concluded, looking straight at Rauru.

You were shocked at the information, never expecting to be proposed to by such a man. Yes, he seemed to be kind to you but how would you know he would keep his promise of peace? The history you read was different from this!

You felt overwhelmed as Rauru and Sonia went on about rejecting and Ganondorf would try to talk about the benefits. It took you a minute to collect yourself so you could speak.

"That's enough!" You yelled. You hated all the attention turning to you but this was your life. You were not going to allow anyone else to choose anything for you.

"Give me a couple of days. And I will reply to your proposal Ganondorf. Please allow me that." You stated. Rauru and Sonia wanted to object, and Zelda held onto your hand desperately.

Ganondorf smiled, giving a nod before speaking, "I hope you will give me good news soon my lady.".

After the meeting Rauru, Sonia, Zelda and Mineru profusely asked you to reconsider saying anything but no. That this was insane and that you don't know any of his intentions. It took at least an hour of their constant pestering for you to hole up in a library with snacks and comfort items.

You quite literally locked them out and spent your time reading to try and find any wisdom to help you.

Eventually you came across an old scroll, your body wrapped in a blanket and a few grapes in a bowl nearby while you read what this scroll had to say.

"Time is a complex device. One that has too many layers to have one conclusion. Some say time is final, that the past cannot be changed, and nor can the future. But some say that one single element can change that. The outcome is split into multiples and time divided. Should you find yourself at a crossroads and the future you envision challenged, take the chance for there is no telling if the future is sure. And if changed with a sure future, know that while things around you may change, you will not."

And with that you had decided.

You had bathed and gotten dressed and called a meeting to answer Ganondorfs request. And Rauru, Sonia, Zelda, and Mineru looked as anxious as can be.

And with a couple of words, fate was changed.

"I accept your proposal."

#yandere x reader #yandere x you #soft yandere #totk x reader #yandere totk #yandere tears of the kingdom #ganondorf x reader #yandere ganondorf #yandere #yandere x y/n #yandere legend of zelda #legend of zelda x reader

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linderosse · 6 months

Note

Hi! I love your art and your Wisdom AU. I have a question about it. Are you still keeping Legend and Fable siblings after Jojo said they weren’t related in the Q and A, or are you sticking with Linked Universe canon?

Thank you!!! Glad you like it!

Hm, I haven’t seen this Q&A! Can I get a link to it? :)

The reason some Zelda fans believe ALttP Link and Zelda are related is this:

Those are the dying words of Link’s uncle. Some English fans (Edit: choose to)(Edit: nowadays) believe the end of this sentence was supposed to be “sister,” since nothing else really fits (I’ve heard “soulmate” (Edit: or “destiny”) as an option, but it seems strange for Link’s uncle to be telling him who he’s supposed to end up with). Thus the headcanon of ALttP Link and Zelda being siblings.

The Japanese text is even more ambiguous, since it reads something along the lines of “You are the princess’s…” This means the line was probably meant to say something like “You are the princess’ only hope.” Unfortunately, this version doesn’t seem to work as well with the English translation, while the “sister” line still works with the Japanese text. The intention is different from the way some fans choose to interpret it. :)

To complicate matters further, the remake (2003) removed the line from that scene, although the line is still present elsewhere in the game— Blind the Bandit disguises himself as Link’s dying uncle and repeats the same lines, and he says the original phrase (Edit: ending with, “You are the princess’…”). The devs are definitely aware of the original line. (Edit: And they’ve fixed the translation, lol.)

So there’s the background info!

Now, on to the main part: regarding following LU canon. The truth is: I am already changing a few things from Linked Universe, the most important of which are these:

Legend and Fable are siblings

Tetra and Wind are not Phantom and Spirit

Shadow and the Four Swords manga are canon

Time and Wind (and other relevant characters) remember Hyrule Warriors

Why am I making these changes for my AU?

Discussed above!

I’m much more of a Spirit Tracks fan than Jojo seems to be :). And when considering the Zeldas, Phantom is markedly different from Tetra in both personality and skills. I’m sticking to LoZ canon over LU canon here. Phantom deserves to be her own character!

I’ve been a fan of the FSA manga for a decade and a half now, so it has long affected the way I see the Zelda series. I also love Shadow and Four’s history— it adds a unique twist to the classic Zelda formula. Shadow is therefore canon in Wielders of Wisdom and the parallel LU story, The Secrets We Keep. Expect Shadow’s backstory to play a role somewhere in the combined Wisdomverse :)

I’m new to the Hyrule Warriors fandom, but I love the connection it gives Warriors with Time and Wind— and other characters :). This is also going to be addressed in The Secrets We Keep. Check that out for more info!

Many of you who write/read fanfics for LU have seen these ideas before. Interpreting canon in different ways has always been an integral part of the Zelda fandom, because canon is itself can be contradictory. That’s one of the things that makes this fandom so fun <3.

And the most important thing is that these changes fit the story I want to tell better.

I’m going to do my best to stick to LU whenever possible, but I want to tell a fun, engaging story, and sometimes that will mean taking a different path: sometimes following LoZ canon more closely, sometimes interpreting things my own way :).

So, to answer your question: I will probably be keeping Legend and Fable as siblings. It’s a popular headcanon among fans. I believe the story I’m telling for Fable works better with other romantic interests for Legend. And I want to stress that he and Fable are just as fiercely loyal to each other.

That said, I definitely don’t mind if you believe differently! I don’t really emphasize romance anyways, and I’m not here to police the fandom. Please feel free to read the references to Legend calling Fable “sister” as friendship, or just ignore it, or whatever you wish! I don’t mind who you ship with who.

Only preference is: please don’t ship the Wielders with each other, since they’re canonically related by blood and spirit :). Other than that, anything goes as far as I’m concerned.

Anyways. This got really long, didn’t it?

I wanted to answer the question as thoroughly as I could. Please feel free to ask more questions, or stop by my quiet little art streams and ask me live if you want an immediate answer! I will always do my best to respond :)

You can find all previous responses under the tag: #lin responds !

#lin responds #wielders of wisdom #linked universe #the secrets we keep #lu wielders of wisdom #lu the secrets we keep #lu fable #lu legend #lu tetra #lu wind #lu spirit #lu phantom #lu wow

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captainn-hook · 2 months

Text

Character analysis on Prince Sidon (BOTW vs TOTK)

One thing I love about totk is how the game addresses Sidon’s trauma.

In botw you see how desperate he is for his father’s approval, it’s like Mipha set an impossible standard for dying not only for her domain and her people but for the whole kingdom of Hyrule. In their father’s eyes, she’s the perfect child, not only in personality but also in the way she’s honoured her family. Sidon sees how his father thinks of her, and although the king doesn’t do it consciously, he always put her on an impossibly high pedestal, and Sidon grew up believing that he HAD to meet that expectation, and that he would never, no matter how hard he tried.

When Link tames Vah Ruta and they both go to see the king, he tells his son:

“As your father, I am proud of you for fighting the Divine Beast alongside Link. You have grown much recently. I know you will be a worthy heir when your time comes.”

Then Sidon bows his head, as if he’s overcome with emotions because his dad tells him he’s proud of what he’s accomplished. King Dorephan isn’t a bad guy, don’t get me wrong, but the grief of losing his daughter (in this case, he thought she went missing and had been in the DB for 100 years, he didn’t know she died) made him sort of lose sight of Sidon’s achievements in those 100 years because he was so racked with worry and guilt. So although the king isn’t a bad father, he fails to reassure his son that he doesn’t need to do anything to make him proud (even though Sidon had definitely done stuff to make his dad proud over the years).

(Btw im pretty sure tripple digits in age is considered teens or early adulthood for Zora, so he’s still pretty young, I imagine around Link’s age if he were Hylian)

But that’s about all we get in botw.

So now we move on to totk. And oh boy do we get a load of Sidon angst. Some people might disagree with me but having read between the lines of what Lady Yona talked about (and just WHAT she actually said) in the first half of the water temple quest (before we find it, when we’re up in Mipha court), it really is angsty.

She’s aware of the fact that his sister’s death affected him a lot and still does despite knowing that her spirit moved on, and it (at this point) has started to affect their relationship.

Yona and Sidon have a disagreement before/after the battle with the Sludge Like, where they argue about him going with Link to this pillar of light that has suddenly appeared. It starts with Sidon saying: “Lady Yona! It is far too dangerous for you to be here” in reference to the sludge, but she has none of that.

She tells him that she wants him to go to the pillar with Link, and that: “For a long time, I have been concerned that you are holding yourself back and not acting as freely as I would have expected.” This has some credit because it’s mentioned somewhere how they were both childhood friends, and the Zora live long lives so it’s safe to assume their childhood is prolonged, which means that they’ve known each other for a very long time. Yona knows how he acts and behaves, his mannerisms and his fears, and that’s why she wants to push him to face them.

She tells him that if he goes with Link they’ll be able to overcome this problem, but he hesitates. She notices, asking him what is troubling him, and he hesitates again to speak what’s on his mind. This is when the Sludge Like comes in, and after the battle, the conversation continues.

Sidon hurries back to Yona and says: “Thank goodness. Lady Yona, if something had happened to you... I...” and there’s where it becomes clear just how terrified he is of losing her. He doesn’t finish the sentence, though, he changes the subject and tells her that she should go back to the domain in case more monsters show up. She tells him that he should focus on what Link said and that he can leave the court to them (Yona and the others that came with her). Sidon replies with: “W-well... Of course it would be best for me to accompany him. However, I cannot leave you alone in this dangerous place!” He’s ignoring what’s best and instead focusing on the safety of his betrothed, because of course he would! A monster just showed up and it took both Link and Sidon to take it down, imagine if neither of them were with her, what would happen? What would he do if she got hurt? And then the following dialogue happens (you dont need to read the whole thing, you can just skip to the bold parts):

Yona: “Did you not entrust this task to us already? We will not be on our own for long. We shall be just fine.”

Sidon: “But…”

Yona: “Sidon, my darling... I truly appreciate that you worry so for my safety. It speaks to the kindness in your heart.

But you are the prince of the Zora. One day, you will lead the people of your beloved domain.

I can see right through you, whether you want me to or not. You are yielding to the fear of losing someone you love again.

You must overcome your past and face whatever the future holds with courage.”

Sidon: “But... I...”

Yona: “Enough is enough! You are not acting like yourself! You must leave this place to me!

Sweet Sidon... Do not get lost in the past. You must keep moving ever onward. Just follow your heart, as you always do!”

Sidon: “Like my old self... Like I always do...”

Yona: “It is all right. I swear it. I am not going anywhere.”

Sidon: “I see... And there it is, clear as day... I was giving in to my fear of once more losing someone I love... I… I…

You are right, Yona! I will not give in to this fear! Nor forsake my trust in you! I leave this place to you, my love.”

[skip]

Yona: “All this time he was clinging to regret over being unable to save his precious sister, Mipha... My poor, tormented Sidon.

And to think he was unknowingly paralyzed from taking action because he feared losing me as well...

Yet he has overcome this trial and placed his faith in me. At last, the Sidon I know and love has come back to me.”

During this conversation, Sidon hesitates more than once and you can see it starting to irritate Yona because she knows the potential he doesn’t see in himself, because it’s not just fear of losing a loved one, but it’s his own insecurity from not being able to save Mipha.

He doesn’t care that he was very young and wouldn’t have been able to anyway, he just cares that he couldn’t. In his eyes, he failed to save his sister. And I’m not going to go too deep into this point but it’s clear that she was playing both older sister and mother, because we can assume their mother died a while back (she’s never mentioned and it’s just the two of them and their father even as far back as age of calamity if you want to include that).

What I’m saying is that with technically both the loss of his mother and his sister, it’s safe to assume that he feels some sort of responsibility for not being able to help, even if he was too young to do so, his disregard for the age he was at the time shows how much weight was left on his shoulders after Mipha died.

He never expected to be the heir to the throne, the sole survivor of his family (along with his dad), sure he’s a prince and princes have responsibility, but Mipha was always going to be in the spotlight (not that I’d imagine him jealous of this, it’s simply just a fact, and I think he might have actually even been comfortable with that), she was always going to be the Zora Champion and then Queen one day, so to have all of that suddenly dumped on him after the calamity as a literal kid would’ve undoubtedly had its effect on him.

Yona understands this, she tells Link, knowing he’s probably caught on, how he was “clinging to regret over being unable to save his precious sister, Mipha...”.

She has to reassure her love that she’s okay. “It is all right. I swear it. I am not going anywhere.”, she comforts him because she knows he needs it, he needs her to say it to him because that’s the only way he will believe she is in fact okay.

But his character develops. Sidon realises that in fearing for Yona, he has made her feel as if she isn’t trusted. He recognises the position he’s put them both in, him worrying relentlessly and stressing out about his loved ones because of his trauma, and her having to watch him fall down this never ending rabbit hole and being unable to do much about it because all he tries to do is shelter and protect her, even when it’s unnecessary.

But she does what she can anyway, and it pays off, because he comes back to reality and understands that although there will always be the risk of losing her, he knows that she is more than capable of taking care of herself. He knows of her strength, it was just hard for him to see the situation from her point of view. But she pushes him to do so, and he betters himself for her.

I think he’ll always have some small hint of this trauma response hidden away, but after this discussion, he’s got a firm hold on it, and is willing to control his fears for the love of his life so that they can start to build a life together without the sense of utter doom and despair over his past looming over them both.

I’m glad the writers did this, and didn’t just make them seem like this perfect couple with no issues, it shows a real and healthy relationship, and it shows that Sidon isn’t this perfect person and that he indeed has faults of his own.

That’s my take on it, anyway.

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breannasfluff · 8 months

Text

Early Riser

AO3 Link

It’s five a.m. when the chain stumbles out of the portal. Well, actually it’s four minutes past five and counting seconds, but Time’s pretty sure no one cares about that. It was somewhere in the middle of the second watch when the portal appeared on the opposite side of their campsite.

Warriors, who was on watch, bore it with the grace of someone used to terrible hours in the army. Those that were woken up were in…less useful states. Wind was mostly asleep standing upright. Legend’s glare could light rain on fire and Hyrule’s arm around his waist might be the only thing restraining him.

Four drooped against Sky, who was also mostly asleep. Maybe he’s gained the ability to sleepwalk; Time wouldn’t put it past him. It takes him three slow blinks to claim the era. “We’re in Skyloft.”

Time doesn’t point out that this is obvious as the predawn light is lighting up the clouds. A cold wind bites at his fingertips; no wonder the chosen hero wears so many layers up here.

“Why is it so early?” Wild burrows into Twilight’s arms—ah, he’s trying to get into the wolf pelt. His successor isn’t magnanimous enough to give it up but wraps Wild up in his arms.

“Aren’t you made for early mornings?” Legend glares around Hyrule. “You’ve got a shit sleep schedule.”

“Just because it’s bad doesn’t mean it’s a choice.”

“Sleep, asshole!”

Time sighs and says, “Language, vet. I know it’s early.”

“Self-righteous piece of—”

“Legend!”

His only answer is a feral hiss. The vet is not pleasant without coffee in the morning. Time turns his attention back to Sky, who’s still staring blankly. “Where can we go this early?”

“The market—” a yawn interrupts him. “The market is setting up by now, so we can hang out there. Or we can try the Academy.”

“Which is closer?”

“Market.”

Time waves Sky forward, then leads the way when the hero doesn’t move. “Market it is for now.”

The cloth walls of the market block out the chill, although it’s still dim inside. They congregate in a corner, still yawning.

“Good morning! Oh, look at you all! Link! I’ve missed you!”

Time drags his attention to the approaching girl who has, frankly, far too much energy for this time of day.

“Hey, Zelda.” Sky yawns halfway through and slumps into her hug.

“Aww, who’s a sleepyhead?”

“It’s like, dawn. That’s when people sleep, Zelly.”

“Nonsense! This is the perfect time to get up and get going for the day! Smell that crisp air?” She takes a deep breath to demonstrate. “We just need to get you all moving, you’ll see.”

Legend’s moan is full of so much pain that Time whips around. Did he miss an injury? Did something happen after they landed?

The vet does look physically ill as he says, “Oh no, you’re a morning person!”

Hyrule pats his shoulder. “It’s okay, Legend. Remember, Sky has to deal with her forever.”

Zelda makes a face, then makes another when Sky only sighs sadly instead of defending her. He nuzzles her shoulder. “I’ll bear the burden. Learn to sleep through it.”

She steps back abruptly, letting Sky fall to the ground. “Well. Some of you don’t appreciate the benefits of a good morning.”

“Zelly! Why?” Sky rolls on the ground, arms wrapping around her ankle. “Do you have no pity for your hero?”

Legend steps forward, possibly deciding Sky needs backup. “It was the middle of the night when the portal came! Do you know what’s important? Sleep!”

“I like waking up early,” Twilight pipes up.

“Shut up!” No less than three glares are turned on him, and one from the champion still leaning into his fur.

Zelda senses an ally and zeroes in the rancher. “You get it, right?”

“Yeah. I help out on the ranch so there’s no late mornings for me.”

Wild, unwilling to be pulled into the discussion, leaves the protection of Twilight’s fur and barrels into Legend and Hyrule. They easily absorb him into their group and slump against each other.

Time watches the group drift around, blinking slowly. Zelda and Twilight’s conversation grows more animated and starts to pull in those heroes who are at least functioning. Good, they can take care of themselves.

Leaning against one of the tent poles, Time lets his eye slide half shut. It was the middle of the night when he got up. Safe in Skyloft, he can afford to be a little lax. Actually, the Academy has that great bathhouse. Maybe an early morning bath?

It’s too bad Malon isn’t here. Or if they had a bathhouse like that in their era. Large pools of water…steam from the fire…yes. Just the two of them alone. He could help her wash that beautiful red hair.

Time shuts his eye fully, losing himself to a drowsy fantasy of warm water, soft hands, and carefully detangling hair. Maybe he can rub her shoulders; Malon pushes herself too hard on the ranch.

After the bath they could get breakfast…maybe ride on a loftwing…

“Time!”

He jerks and whacks his head on the pole. Zelda is grinning at him. “You awake, hero?”

“I was thinking.”

“Mmm. With your eyes closed.”

“That’s the best way to think.”

She rolls her eyes, but gestures. “Come on, let's head up to the academy. You can either stay up a bit for breakfast or go back to sleep.”

The word sleep has the magic effect of motivating the other heroes to brave the chill morning air. They troop out of the market and up the hill to the Academy. Sky keeps Zelda tucked against his side; cape wrapped around her shoulders.

Time smiles to himself as he watches them. They aren’t like he was with Malon, but that’s okay. What they have is pure and sweet. When he first started courting Malon…well, he was a mess. It’s a miracle she put up with him, much less agreed to marry him.

“Good morning! Oh, Link, it’s good to see you! And friends! What a delightful surprise this morning!”

A booming voice breaks him out of his thoughts and inspires groans from the heroes.

Legend goes back to practicing his fire-setting skills through glares. “Of course, Zelda’s dad is a morning person, too. Sky, your kids are cursed.”

Silently, Time has to agree.

#flufftober2023 #alt-morning person #linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu flufftober #breannasfluff #mywriting #lu time #lu legend #lu sky #lu sun #lu wild #lu twilight #lu hyrule

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tw1l1te · 2 months

Text

The Final Promise₊˚✩⊹

Chapter 13

Linked Universe x reader

Warnings: Dorks in love, SMUT, NSFW, 18+ MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

₊˚✩⊹

“I think my Zelda would like to know.”

“Yeah, I know, she’s an expert on Hylian history, but this is, like, unheard of, even for a fanatic of history like me.”

Wild looks out onto Hyrule Field, the wind starting to pick up a bit. You and the Chain were making your way towards Hyrule Castle, which was less than a day’s walk from your location if you didn’t stop for inns or camp.

“...Are you not freaked out by this? I mean, your entire destiny and 'hero’s purpose' relies on the balance of a triforce… not a tetraforce.”

Wild shrugs, “I mean, I wouldn’t consider myself a blind follower of Hylia, or whatever was set in stone for me, but it is strange.”

You nod, you knew some of the boys weren’t too keen on the idea of Hylia and her ideologies. After all, almost everything they’ve been through was directly from her prophecy.

“You think the castle has spare clothing or something? I can feel my entire body chaffing from how torn up my clothes are.”

Wild smiles, “You… do know you could’ve just asked me for some spare clothes, right? We’re the same height, practically.”

“Yeah, I know, but I feel bad. I don’t like taking stuff from you guys.”

“I’m offering.”

“Still.”

By the time your group made it to the gates of Hyrule Castle, it was downpouring. You could feel the clothes sticking to your skin, your bones practically shivering. You felt terrible for Twilight, his pelt probably made his clothing ten times heavier.

“Din’s tits, I’m freezing.” Legend mumbles, wringing out his tunic on the floor. His bangs were stuck on his forehead, the pink hue turning brighter when wet.

Zelda suddenly enters the room, eyes widening at the state of your party.

“Oh goddesses! Link, what happened?”

“We were caught in the storm, came out of nowhere. Do you have any spare clothes and blankets?”

She nods, ushering him to follow her.

Four walks up to you, sitting down on the carpet next to you. You don’t say much, but the silence is comfortable. You look around the large room, the walls lined with shelves that reach the ceiling, each filled to the brim with ancient Hylian literature. The wall in front of you had an ornate fireplace, a godsend in your freezing, wet clothing.

You look over to one of the velvet couches, Time and Twilight sitting down and ridding themselves of their heavier armor. You don’t realize your staring until Time makes eye contact with you, causing you to appear very interested in the fireplace. He smiles to himself, busying himself with polishing his chestplate.

You look over at Twilight, noticing he’s still in his soaking pelt.

“Oh for the- Twilight get that wet pelt off of you, you’re gonna freeze or die of stinkyness.”

“I don’t think that’s possible.”

You give him a look.

“Okay okay, here. Don’t put it too close to the fireplace though.”

You nod. You set it out flat on the stone floor, making sure it wasn’t too close to the embers, but close enough that it would dry relatively quickly.

“Y/n! I’ve brought some spare clothes for you, Link mentioned that you needed them. You can change in the room down the hall, first door on your left.” Zelda smiles. You thank her, taking the bundle of clothes to the other room while the boys get warm and comfortable.

Closing the door behind you, you shed your layers, wincing at the cold nip of the air on your bare skin. You quickly change to avoid someone walking in the room, bundling up your wet clothes to warm in front of the fireplace.

You can already hear some of the boys talking as you walk back into the main room.

“Goddesses, you smell like wet dog, Twi-”

“One more dog joke and I swear-”

“Oh, hey Y/n!” Wind exclaims, making everyone shut up.

“Hey, squirt, you guys all warming up?”

He nods, pulling you along so you could join the circle. Before you sit down, you lay out your wet clothes in front of the fire, making sure your panties are somewhat discrete so you don’t get any comments from the others. Not like they would say anything anyways.

Time, Wars and Twilight were all on the couch, armor and outer layers shed. Hyrule, Legend and Four were elbows deep in some card game, a few rupees and trinkets in the middle used for gambling.

Sky was wrapped up in a blanket, reading some book that he picked from the shelves. Time was looking into the fire, embers reflecting in his eye.

You sit in between Wind and Sky, placing your chin on Sky’s shoulder to look over what he was reading. You couldn’t read Hylian, much less Ancient Hylian, so you were just there for support.

“Whatcha readin’?” you softly ask, eyes glued to the writing on the pages.

“Some love story about a knight and a girl. Quite a long story though, so I definitely won’t finish it.”

The evening continues, the only sound being the fire crackling and some of the boys talking. At some point, Zelda brings dinner for you and the Chain, pulling Link away again to talk about something. No doubt about your discovery, but you choose to ignore the strange feeling in your pit for now.

After finishing your dinner, you climb onto the couch in Wars’ spot, as he joined the enticing card game on the floor with the others. You were in between Twilight and Time, already feeling the call of sleep. Before you doze off, you feel someone drape a soft blanket on top of you, your senses drowning out the rest of the waking world.

“Do you think they know?”

“Know what, Pup?”

“Our… attraction towards them.”

The Chain’s banter and games have since died down ever since you fell asleep, Wind cuddling to Hyrule on the floor.

“I think they know, in some sense. Not fully.”

Sky sighs, deep in thought. He suddenly speaks up, eyes on the fireplace.

“I think we should tell them, before something happens or if they leave. Assuming from what everyone’s been saying, it seems like we all feel the same towards them.”

The Vet scoffs, “Yeah and we’ll scare them away.”

“What makes you think that?”

“How would you react if 8 men told you they have the hots for you?”

Sky blinks, he has a point. It would overwhelm you.

Time clears his throat, “Although I agree with the Veteran, I do think we need to be honest with them. We would be hypocrites if we lied to them or made them believe an illusion.”

Nods go around the group, each one lost in thought.

“From what you told us, Old man, it seems like they already have romantic interest for some of us and have hinted towards the others. I don’t see why we shouldn't tell them some time soon, perhaps at the Winter Festival.”

Wild looks at you, eyes soft.

“I care for them so much. So so much. I’m just so scared of losing my friendship with them. They mean the world to me.”

The Old man nods.

“They mean everything.”

You wake up with a jolt. You don’t feel panicked, so you didn’t have a nightmare. Weird.

You tried going back to sleep, but after tossing and turning for what felt like an eternity, you decided to get up and move around a little. You tiptoe out of the room, leaving the door propped open for when you decided to return.

Walking down the hallway, you hum quietly a song from back home. It makes you homesick, but it makes the castle feel less eerie. Trailing your fingers along the stone walls, you look up to see very interesting paintings.

They were portraits of each era’s hero and princess.

You chuckle, this was so unlike them. Each one was resembling their appearance in game, only with minor differences. Time was younger, which was so strange to see after spending over a year with them. Twilight didn’t have his markings, Legend’s hair wasn’t pink, and Wind still wore his green hero’s garb.

Their past lives. Lives that aren’t forgotten. Lives that still loom over them.

Suddenly, your vision is blocked. Someone is behind you.

“What the-”

“Shh. You don’t want to wake the others, do you?”

“Time?”

He just sighs in relief. You turn to look at him, his face just barely being visible from the lanterns lighting the hallway.

“What are you doing up? You know Zelda’s guards take watch, right?”

“I know, I couldn’t sleep. I presume you’re in the same situation, no?”

You nod, suddenly hearing footsteps from the opposite end of the hallway. Not wanting to end up being caught in a misunderstood situation, you grab Time’s wrist and run to a small alcove just at the end of the alcove, hidden under a heavy tapestry.

“Sorry, I-uh didn’t wanna deal with him.” You whispered, panting slightly from running.

Now that you can focus, you realize the alcove is way smaller than you thought. Time was practically caging you in, feeling his breath on your forehead.

“I’m not.”

“Wh-”

He propped you up on one of his knees, his hand pulling you in by your neck, interlocking his lips with yours. This kiss felt desperate, like he had been waiting for days, weeks. Well, you suppose he has.

You pull away panting, looking at where you thought he was based on his breath, “What’s gotten into you? Needy all of a sudden-”

He shuts you up again, pulling your hips closer to him until there was practically no space between the two of you. At some point he starts kissing downwards, inhaling your scent in the junction between your neck and shoulders, exhaling reverberating through his chest. The action in itself felt possessive, dominating. It was addicting.

“Can I…”

“Please.”

Without a word, he continued mouthing over your exposed skin, still carefully holding you on his lap like he did oh so many moons ago.

He slid one hand slightly under your tunic, warm hands pawing at your skin.

“You’re so warm. So soft.”

He slid his hands back down, flipping you around so your back was to his chest. His hands dragged back under your tunic going upwards to your breasts. Thank god you hardly ever wore a bra anymore.

He rolled your hardened buds between his thumb and pointer finger, you whimpering slightly when he tugged lightly on each of them. His palms firmly cupped your chest while he played with your nipples, chuckling lowly in your ear.

“You like that, hm?”

You just whimpered loudly in response, light grinding on his legs. He shushed you quietly, reminding you of the guards just down the hall.

He kept one of his hands on your chest, trailing the other down to your trousers, unlacing the cord that held them up. He slowly started rubbing small circles over your clothed heat, teasing you.

“Time, stop teasing-ah!”

“Say my name, darling. Please.”

“Ti-”

“No. My name.”

He tilts your chin up, the highlights of his eyes being the only thing you can see in the dark alcove. You can almost make out his half-lidded gaze drinking in your form.

“Link. Link, please- fuck!”

He slips two fingers under your panties, rubbing sensual circles over your bundle of nerves.

“Good girl. Such a good girl. Be nice and quiet for me, hm?”

You nod, biting your lip as he continues his touches. He then slides his fingers into you, stretching you open with his thicker digits. When was the last time you’ve been touched like this? Almost two years-

Time nudged his fingers deep in you, hitting the spongy spot that made you keel over in pleasure. He licked the shell of your ear, cooing at your desperate noises, like music to his ears.

In just a few moments, you can feel the knot in your lower stomach tightening, your head starting to feel dizzy from how euphoric you felt. Time was like a drug. Addicting.

“L-link I’m so close oh my god-”

“I can tell, my little Mouse. You going to cum all over my fingers? Such a dirty girl.”

With a silent scream, you buck your hips up, cumming all over Time’s fingers. He firmly held your hips in place, not letting you go, pushing you over the edge. He slowly pulls his fingers out just as the overstimulation sets in, a pathetic whimper leaving your lips from the emptiness you felt.

You panted, calming down from your high. You reached up to brush your fingers through Time’s hair, his forehead slumping onto your shoulder.

“This was-hah, not what I was expecting for tonight.”

He hummed, pressing a firm kiss to your shoulder.

“As much as I would love for us to continue, you need to sleep. We can continue where we left off… another time, if you’d like.”

You pause.

This wasn’t a one-time thing?

Smiling to yourself, you mumble “I’d love that, Link.”

You press a kiss to his lips, taking a few extra moments to savor his musk and the warmth of his chest. Once you pulled away, you fix your tunic and pants, brushing through your hair to seem less disheveled.

“Goodnight, Link. I’ll... see you later.”

“Goodnight, Y/n.”

₊˚✩⊹

#yandere linked universe #yandere linked universe x reader #linked universe x reader #linked universe au #final promise au #linked universe smut

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smilesrobotlover · 3 months

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Warning, this is a pretty dark one towards the end. A lil spooky if you will

Chapter 5- Something’s in Faron Woods

Zelda was exhausted. With the new problem of disappearances, her workload doubled. She was getting several letters from people claiming that they knew who was causing these disappearances, or people who claimed that they got caught and escaped. She was then dealing with the economy of Hyrule, then their relationship with Labrynna, then schoolwork for her daughter, and then trying to provide for the army. She’d barely gotten any sleep, but she supposed it would be fine. She’s had sleepless nights before, this would be no different.

She was eternally grateful for the resistance’s help, since she couldn’t do much on her own with the disappearances. She sent Ashei and Shad to help Hoz on his investigation, she requested Auru to ask around since he couldn’t do much in his old age, and she sent Rusl and Link to investigate Kakariko, knowing that Link’s wolf abilities would be useful. And she requested this all under her alter ego: Sheik.

She remembers when she first disguised herself as Sheik and went to help the resistance. They were dealing with straggling Bulblins who rebelled against their king. Sheik showed up to assist, and the resistance were rightfully distrusting towards her. It was difficult since Sheik wasn’t exactly a bubbly and kind person, but after a few years with her giving them correct information on situations, they started to trust her more, and she was grateful for that. It was nice doing more for Hyrule that she wouldn’t be able to do as queen, but it had made her twice as busy, and she almost had no time to do anything. Even spending time with her own daughter was severely limited, and even though she wished she could do more with her, she just didn’t have time. And she wasn’t willing to give some of her workload to Edmund.

They’d known each other since they were kids. her father was attempting to have an alliance with Labrynna and they saw each other often. They had a good enough relationship then, Edmund was very polite and kind, and even when they reunited he still was, but she couldn’t bring herself to trust him. He was never outwardly terrible, but she knew that if she gave him even an ounce of power, he would take it all and control Hyrule. She’d seen it with her father, she’d seen it with Zant, and she’d seen it with Ganondorf. All kings taking power from queens, why would Edmund be any different?

Despite her refusal to let him help her, she was exhausted, and sometimes she wished she could get help, but until she found more people she could trust, she would have to make do. Of course, it wasn’t easy to hide how she was feeling from everyone, and when she nearly fell asleep during a boring meeting, they all grew concerned for her well-being.

“My queen?” The representative for the Zora spoke up when she nearly fell over on the table, and she rubbed her face, sitting up straight.

“I’m alright,” she said quickly, and she glanced over at Edmund who stared at her with his brows pinched together.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m fine, just a little tired is all, we all get like that,” she waved their concerns away and looked down at the papers in front of her. She honestly didn’t remember what was being discussed, but she quickly skimmed over the details and caught up as much as she could. As soon as the meeting was over, she got up and left, with Edmund trailing behind her.

“Zelda?” He called out for her, and she groaned, turning around to look at him.

“Yes?”

Edmund let out a huff and put his hands on his hips. “What have you been doing?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean. You look awful. You’re rarely eating, I hardly ever see you, and you’re never in bed when you’re supposed to be.”

“Maybe I don’t want to sleep with you,” she said coldly, but instantly regretted it. That was an inappropriate thing to say, and a hurt expression flickered across Edmund’s face. He looked away and ran a hand through his hair, frustration apparent in his face.

“Goddesses, Zelda. I— I didn’t want this arranged marriage either, but I’m trying to make it work for our kingdom’s sakes! It’s been ten years, why can’t you do the same?”

Zelda faced him fully and looked down, biting her lip. “I… I apologize for that comment, Edmund. It was rude of me.”

Edmund’s glare softened slightly. “So, what’s going on? Is it the disappearances?”

Zelda pursed her lips. “It’s fine Edmund–”

“No, it’s not fine. You’re clearly overworking yourself.”

Zelda turned away and let out a frustrated sigh, spotting the nobles and representatives getting closer to them. She grabbed Edmund’s arm and led him away to somewhere more private.

“It’s fine Edmund,” she reassured when they were tucked away in a corner, “these disappearances have been a lot of work to deal with, but it will pass. Besides, I have help from friends and Hoz to get to the bottom of this.”

Edmund stared at her for a moment, his brow pinched together. “Ok, so you have help,” he finally said after a moment of contemplation, “why don’t you let me handle the next meeting so you can… I don’t know… get some rest.”

Zelda’s heart spiked and she shook her head. “No, I do not need help.”

“Oh, so you’ll get help from Hoz and friends that I’ve never heard of before, but not from me, your husband?” Edmund’s voice raised a little, and Zelda sucked in a breath.

“It’s not your responsibility—“

“Yes it is! We’re supposed to have a partnership! We’re supposed to work together to keep our kingdom allies! That is why we got married! Why can’t you trust me?”

“Maybe it’s because you have no respect for my kingdom! Maybe it’s because you berate and criticize my people and my army! Why would I let someone who hates my kingdom try to rule it?” Zelda snapped. Edmund stared at her, surprised at her angry tone. She always spoke in a controlled tone, never letting her anger get the best of her since it was improper. Zelda took a deep breath and quickly composed herself, not wanting to escalate the conversation anymore. “Edmund, can we discuss this later? I have a meeting to attend to.”

“That’s what you say everytime I try to talk to you about it,” Edmund scoffed.

“Well I don’t have time.”

Edmund was about to say something, but he glanced up behind Zelda and his glare softened.

“Amber!” He greeted, and Zelda turned around to see her daughter walking towards them.

“Hello, mother and father,” she said when she walked up to them, her hands clasped in front of her. “I finished my studies and I wanted to catch you when the meeting ended!”

Edmund gave Zelda a look and he relaxed his posture. “Well, you caught us in time, my dear.”

Amber grinned at Edmund and gave a small curtsy to Zelda. Zelda nodded her head and forced a smile. The two stared at each other awkwardly, and Zelda looked down.

“I’m glad to see you, Amber,” she finally said, and forced another smile. “I take it your studies are going well?”

“Yes, mother.”

“Right…”

Zelda looked away and Edmund sighed.

“Why don’t you tell your mother what you’ve been studying, Amber?” He encouraged, and Amber’s eyes lit up. Zelda cringed internally, wanting so badly to stay and listen to her daughter, but she simply had no time…

“Well, I’ve been studying the founding of Hyrule, and I find it quite fascinating! I read that Hylians descended from the sky and made land here, creating alliances with the many species already living here. I just can’t imagine living in the sky! I heard that they flew on birds! Big birds that they would ride on and–”

“Amber,” Zelda cut in, forcing another smile, “I think it’s wonderful that you’re interested in history. I have a meeting I must attend, but you continue on with your studies.”

Amber’s expression fell which made Zelda’s heart twist in pain, and she looked down. “Of course, mother, sorry to keep you.”

Zelda couldn’t force another smile, and she simply walked away, trying to ignore the guilt creeping up on her. Goddesses she wanted to stay, she wanted to stay and to talk with her daughter. She wanted to ignore the meetings and to actually rest her eyes. But she couldn’t, there was too much to do, and she didn’t have the time.

Zelda couldn’t help but glance at the two when she turned the corner. Amber was still facing away, but Edmund was staring at her, and where she expected anger, there was nothing but sadness in his eyes.

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

Link watched the field around him carefully, sticking closer to Rusl this time around. Kori was no longer riding with him, and was inside the cart playing with his new toy, meanwhile Colin sat behind him on Epona. Talo was riding his own horse on the other side of the cart, grateful to no longer be alone on the trip back home. Link was also glad that they were with Talo as well, learning more about the strange disappearances have gotten him nervous. Rusl tried to make sense of it all, explaining how the scent probably got messed up, but Link supposed he couldn’t truly understand how bizarre the whole thing was. The scent wasn’t replaced, nor was it lost, it just vanished. The fact that he didn’t know why this was happening, or where to continue looking, chilled him to the bone, and he was anxious to get back to Ordon and out of the open field. Colin picked up on his nervous energy, and he rested his hand on his shoulder.

“Are you alright, Link?” His younger brother asked, and Link shrugged.

“I dunno, I just don’t like the open field,” he answered simply.

“I heard you and pa were investigating some disappearances, anything going on with that?”

Link sighed. “I don’t know, I tried to follow the missing people’s scent and I found nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Absolutely nothing. The scent just ends. Pa thinks that the scent was replaced or lost but… I honestly don’t think that’s the case,” he ran his fingers through his hair, letting out a breath.

“What do you think the case is?”

“I’m not sure, the only explanation is that the people got taken to… a different world or something,” Link felt the heat creep up to his cheeks as he said it outloud. The idea of different worlds wasn’t far-fetched to him, the temple of time literally took him through time to when the temple stood tall and proud, and the twilight realm was a world he could never forget. But to get to these places were nearly impossible, especially the twilight realm, so the idea that these people somehow getting taken to anywhere like that was ridiculous to him. Colin only hummed.

“You sure they’re not dead?”

“I’m sure Colin, I would’ve smelled it. Once we get home I’m gonna try to look further into it.” By the goddesses he was not going to let something like this continue. He was the hero for Din’s sake, he still had a responsibility to Hyrule. Link glanced over at the carriage to see Kori and Rela poking their heads out from the carriage, smiling at the nature in front of them. A protective feeling surrounded him as he watched them. He was going to make sure that his family, especially Kori, were never going to experience a dangerous Hyrule ever again.

They reached Ordon when the sun began to set, and everyone let out a sigh of relief as they got off their steeds or out of the cart.

“By the goddesses, it’s nice not being attacked every five seconds in the field,” Talo commented, stretching his arms after he got off his horse. Beth and Colin cheered in response as Link led Epona to his home, patting her neck and giving her a treat. Kori ran up to him and patted Epona’s snout.

“Thanks for getting us here, girl!” He said, and Epona lowered her head to nuzzle his chest, which Kori giggled at. Link smiled at the two and left them alone together as he went to help Rusl with unloading the cart. The kids stayed back talking and playing with the horses while Link and Rusl went to their home. When they opened the door, Uli set down her sewing project from the couch and met them at the door in seconds.

“You’re home!” She cheered, and gave Rusl and Link a hug. Rusl chuckled and pecked her on the lips.

“Hello, darlin’,” he said when he pulled away, and the two smiled at each other for a moment.

“How was it? How’s Renado?” She asked as they pulled away to put their stuff down.

“It was fine,” Link answered, plopping down on the couch. “Renado seems pretty overwhelmed, but otherwise it was ok.”

“What did Kori get?”

“A stuffed cat he named Jasper,” Link answered, stretching his arms above his head. Uli tilted her head and crossed her arms.

“A stuffed cat? If I had known that he wanted a stuffed cat, I would’ve made him one!”

“Yeah, kids are weird like that,” Link said with a chuckle, rubbing his eyes. “The moment they see somethin’ they want at the store, they ask for it even though you can make it at home.”

“It’s more special from a shop!” Rusl chimed in, leaning near the fireplace. Uli raised an eyebrow and smirked.

“Are you saying that if I made it, it wouldn’t be special?”

Rusl’s eyes went big and he turned away. “Of course not… that’s… you know what I meant!”

Uli gave a quick laugh. “I know what you meant darlin’, I’m just messing with you.” Rusl glared at her and she simply giggled teasingly at him. She turned to Link and her teasing manner dropped slightly. “Well, I heard you two were investigating some…. Disappearances,” she started, “were you able to find anything?”

Link looked at Rusl and shrugged. “Not really.”

“We didn’t find anything useful at least,” Rusl added quietly. Uli frowned.

“Are you going to continue investigating?”

“Well, I kinda have to. Kori wants everyone to return home safely for his birthday,” Link said with a small smile on his lips. Uli grinned and ruffled his hair.

“He’s a sweet boy. He reminds me of a certain someone.”

Link looked down bashfully and rolled his eyes as Uli began to dote on him. Kori was a sweet boy. So gentle and kind, despite being a little mischievous at times. He couldn’t take all the credit for it of course, or really any of it. Midna raised him by herself for his first two years of life, and even though she's not with them all the time, she’s impacted his life in more ways than one. Goddesses he missed her. He wanted to tell her everything about Kakariko, he wanted her advice, her comments, her support. He just wanted her here…

Uli clasped her hands together and sighed after a moment of silence. “Well, where are the kids?”

“Dealin’ with the horses. I think they’re a little stir crazy.”

Uli smiled and gestured at the fireplace. “I have some soup cooking if you wanna drag our little ones over here?”

The smell of the soup cooking above the fireplace hit his nostrils, and he wiped some drool that suddenly appeared on his chin. Uli let out a hearty laugh and ruffled his hair.

“I’ll go get them ma,” Link chuckled, slightly embarrassed, and jogged out the door to find Colin, Rela, and Kori.

The three were excited for the hot dinner when Link told them, and they quickly put their things away as the sun set behind the horizon. Kori wasted no time showing Jasper the cat to Uli, explaining the complex backstory he gave to the plush, and how it connected to Billy the goat’s backstory. Uli listened intently, and Link let out a laugh. He always talked her ear off, but she always listened. Link wondered if he was the same way when he was younger.

“So, I take it Midna didn’t go with you?” Uli asked when Kori finished his story. Link shook his head.

“No, she had other stuff she needed to do back home.”

“What does she do anyways?” Colin asked, his spoon full of soup inches away from his mouth. Link shrugged.

“Stuff.”

“You always say that,” he said, sipping the soup from the spoon. Link shrugged again.

“Y’all weren’t supposed to know about her existence anyways. If she wants to tell you what she does, then she will. It’s not my business to tell you.”

“Fair ‘nough.”

“Well,” Uli started, standing up, “I already ate, but I can dish up some food for the rest of you.”

“Nah, I got two strong arms, I can do it myself,” Rusl said with a smile, grabbing a bowl and hunching over the pot.

“Nonsense! You’ve been traveling all day,” Uli began to argue, and the couple began to fight over the soup. Colin and Link exchanged a look and smirked as Kori and Rela jogged over to the fireplace, trying to break up the battle for service between the two lovers. When Uli finally admitted defeat, Link got up to the pot to serve himself and Kori, smiling at his ma who returned to her sewing project. But as he began to walk across the room, he stopped, his ears twitching. There was a sound, it was distant, and out in the woods, but as it got closer, the sound became more apparent.

Screaming.

Soon it got loud enough for Uli to hear it too, and they both looked at each other in fear. Kori stared at the two, hearing it as well.

“What is that?” He asked, and the whole family grew quiet, hearing the sudden screaming. Rusl got up, grabbing his sword and gestured for Link to follow him.

“Stay here,” Rusl said to Colin and Uli, who were about to follow him. Uli walked towards the kids while Colin reluctantly stayed by the doorway, and the two swordsmen marched out of the house. As they got closer, Link was able to spot three figures huddled together. He recognized mayor Bo’s large frame next to Jaggle, who was consoling a hysterical Coro. Bo looked up as the two men got closer, and he let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank the spirits,” he said, stepping away. “I was just about to come and get you two.”

“What’s happenin’ here?” Rusl asked, staring at Coro who looked to be a mess. “Why were you screaming?”

Coro raised his head and stared at the two. “S-something’s out in the woods!” His voice shook as he said it, and he was shaking in fear.

Link frowned, feeling dread and fear creep up on him. “What was it?”

“I– I don’t know! I don’t know!”

Rusl rested a hand on Coro’s shoulder and kneeled down. “Take some deep breaths for me, ok? Think about what you saw and try to explain it to us.”

Coro swallowed and took a deep breath. “Ok, you are all gonna think that I’m insane, but I promise I’m not! I know these woods, I’ve seen all sorts of plants and animals! But I was putting my things away f-for the night, and I heard somethin’ behind me and… I saw a black creature staring at me!” Coro wailed and buried his face in his hands, and Rusl gave Link a look. “It tried to kill me! I swear!”

“Did you have a light to see this… black creature?” Jaggle asked skeptically, and Coro gave him a glare.

“I didn’t hallucinate it if that’s what you’re implying! Trill saw it too!”

As if on cue, Coro’s bird, Trill poked out from his hair, staring at the men. Link expected him to begin chatting, but he was uncharacteristically silent as the men observed the bird.

“Can you… Uh… describe the creature again?” Jaggle asked, and Coro let out a frustrated huff.

“I know it sounds ridiculous, but it was a big, black creature with long arms! It almost swiped at me but I didn’t wait around! I thought something was off about the forest, Trill came to me a few days before talking about a bear, so I-I thought that he just got spooked! There hasn’t been a bear in these parts in ages so I assumed he saw a wolf! There’s been wolves around here right? But this wasn’t a bear, I don’t know what it was but it was no bear!”

Rusl, Jaggle, and Link all glanced at each other as Coro continued to ramble, and Rusl scratched the back of his head. “Sounds like you had a scare, Coro. But let’s think about this, it could’ve been a tree or something. They look scary at night, right?”

“Trees don’t try to swipe at you!” Coro yelled.

Jaggle glanced at Rusl and sighed. “You can stay with us if it makes you feel safe, we’ll be sure that the gate is locked extra tight, but–”

“No! You need to find that thing, now!” Coro grabbed Rusl and shook him slightly. “A gate won’t stop it if it found us! It’s too big! Don’t you remember what happened ten years ago? When a green monster burst through the gates and stole all the kids?”

Rusl’s expression grew dark, and Jaggle pulled Coro away.

“Now you need to calm down!” He yelled. “It’s gettin’ late, and it’s too dangerous to go out at night, we’ll hunt down whatever it was you saw tomorrow—“

“Jaggle,” Mayor Bo interrupted him, staring at the entrance, “perhaps we should find whatever Coro saw.”

“What? Bo are you crazy?”

“I don’t want anything attacking us at night when we’re most vulnerable,” Bo explained, his hands raised defensively. “We at least need to be prepared for something!”

Jaggle opened his mouth to say something but Rusl stepped up. “He’s right, it’s not dark yet, me and Link will check it out, the rest of you will make sure nothing happens to Ordon.” Link looked at his father in shock, but he avoided his gaze. “We’ll find whatever scared you, I don’t want anything to attack us at night either.”

Coro looked relieved and nodded. “Thanks, sorry to bother you folks–”

“It’s fine,” Rusl waved his apology away, “me and Link will investigate, Colin, Talon, and Beth will look after the village in the meantime, if it ain’t a bother.”

Jaggle let out a loud sigh and shrugged. “Don’t think Talo would be bothered at all.”

“Good. There’s still some sun left, once it gets too dark, me and Link will return, ok?”

Jaggle seemed more comfortable with that and nodded. Rusl nodded back and turned to head back to the house, with Link reluctantly following.

“Are you sure this is a good idea, pa?” Link asked softly as Bo led Coro to his home. “We don’t have a lot of time before it gets too dark.”

“We’ll be fine, Link. I take it it’s nothin’ serious,” Rusl said, but he didn’t seem too confident in his own words. “Besides, if something is out there, I don’t want– I don’t want another attack on Ordon.” Rusl’s voice grew quiet, but he didn’t turn to look at Link.

Link pursed his lips, but said nothing. When the two reached the house, Rusl quickly explained the situation to Uli and Colin. Uli protested against it while Colin grabbed a sword, determined to protect the village. With enough reassurance that they were going to be ok, the two bid their farewells, collected their swords and torches, and headed into the woods.

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

The forest was quiet save for the rustling of the leaves as they blew through the wind. The moon was full, which thankfully gave him and Rusl more light to work with. The sky was a deep purple, making the forest much darker than what Link would like. Sure there was some sunlight, but it wasn’t enough to investigate. It was uncomfortably silent between Link and Rusl, both listening intently to whatever could be out here. Link’s eyes were darting back and forth, his heart beating against his chest as they got closer to Coro’s house. He’s never liked the dark, but after the twilight invasion, he’s grown to hate it. Anything could be hiding in the shadows, watching him and his father as they walked by. It made his hair stand on its ends. Rusl seemed to be more relaxed than him though, a determined look on his face as he observed the trees illuminated by his torch and moon. When they reached Coro’s house, Link lowered his breathing to hear whatever it was Coro saw. His sword was raised in front of him while Rusl looked around the house. The silence was deafening, and the night air sent a chill up Link’s spine. He studied the ground around the house for a moment before looking at Rusl, who put a hand on his hip and sighed.

“Do you see anything?” He asked, and Link shook his head.

“I haven’t seen anything unusual, but something isn’t right.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I—I don’t know, something in the air isn’t right.” Link pursed his lips as he watched the trees around them. There was a good chance that he was just spooked, but the feeling of dread wouldn’t leave him. Rusl clicked his tongue as his head turned behind him.

“What do you think Coro saw?”

Link shrugged. If it was anyone else he wouldn’t be so worried, but it was Coro that got scared. He wasn’t scared of anything. Even when he saw Link as a wolf he seemed calm, even when monsters were right outside his home he didn’t care much. The only time Link has seen Coro frightened was during the twilight invasion, when shadow insects were crawling all over his home. A sinking feeling rested within his stomach as he thought about the missing people, but he shook his head. There was no way that there was another twilight invasion. The only Twili that were left in the world was Midna, and how she was able to be in this world was a mystery to him. No, it had to be an animal or a tree or something. Coro wasn’t afraid of anything, but everyone gets spooked every now and then.

“He probably saw a bear,” Rusl said softly, his brows pinched together.

“If it was a bear, then we should head back and hunt it tomorrow. It’s too dangerous to be out here at night.” Bears were rare in Ordon, but they showed up occasionally, and Link had heard too many horror stories from Rusl about them that he knew that they were a serious threat. But regardless, the idea of Coro seeing a bear scared Link less than any alternative. Rusl pursed his lips and stared at the ground.

“I’m not seeing any footprints though,” he muttered, kneeling on the ground and tracing his hand across the ground.

Link looked over his shoulder, the sudden feeling of dread overwhelming him as he stared at the darkness. Something was out in Faron woods, something dark and evil.

“Pa, we should go,” he said, trying to keep his voice from quivering. “We can lock the gates and look for it tomorrow, but we’re at a disadvantage here.”

“I know, Link. But it’s not too dark yet.”

“It’s dark enough for this to be dangerous!”

Rusl stared at the ground blankly for a moment, before looking up at Link. “You think he saw something out in these woods?” Rusl asked, and Link tilted his head.

“You don’t believe him?”

“I-I’m not sure. I’m not seein’ any footprints or anything around here. Nothing was by his house, I think he saw the shadow of a tree or something, but… I don’t want to take any chances.”

Link frowned as Rusl went back to staring at the ground. He didn’t want to risk a potentially dangerous monster attacking Ordon either, but Link knew that they wouldn’t last against a black creature at night. He looked behind him at the entrance to Ordon, shifting his feet nervously as he felt eyes on him from all sides. Rusl picked up on his nervous energy, and he stood up, eyeing the house.

“I’m just gonna look around some more, then we’ll head back, ok?”

Link nodded and watched as his father marched to Coro’s home. He lingered near the trees, watching them intently as if something would grab him. It was silent for too long, and he occasionally glanced over his shoulder to check on his pa, who was barely visible from the torch he was carrying. It was getting too dark, his patience was wearing thin, and his anxiety gnawed at his insides. He couldn’t wait out here any longer, they needed to head back now.

A snap of a twig caused Link to jump ten feet in the air, and he had his sword drawn out defensively in front of him as he glared at the darkness in front of him. His heart beat furiously against his chest as he strained his eyes to see what was lurking in the dark.

Was it a monster? A bulblin? A lost traveler? Several possibilities ran through his head as he searched the woods in front of him, fear nearly paralyzing him so much he couldn’t even speak. Another sound was heard, along with rustling, and something dark emerged into the light Link’s lantern emitted. Link jumped, yelling out as soon as he saw it, and when it was fully in the light, Link saw that the creature that spooked him so badly was a fuzzy rabbit, staring at him as its nose twitched. Link stared in shock, his breathing quick and his heart beating a mile a minute.

“Link?” Rusl called out worriedly, and Link heard his pa jogging towards him.

“I—it’s— a r—“ Link let out a sigh of relief as the rabbit hopped away, and he started giggling. Loud.

“Uh, Link?” Rusl sounded much more concerned as Link doubled over laughing.

“I—it’s a rabbit— a rabbit,” Link wheezed out between giggles, and Rusl raised an eyebrow.

“Ok…?” Rusl gave him one more look before returning to the house, his head shaking in confusion. Link let out a breath and stared at the ground lit up by his lantern, feeling slightly more relaxed. He picked up his lantern and stood up, but as he got on his feet, the light moved further into the darkness, and that was when he saw it.

A black hand, clearly human shaped, standing out in the lit up grass. It quickly disappeared into the darkness, but Link was able to see it. He felt his blood run cold as he shot up, his sword shaking in his trembling hands, the relief gone in an instant. Did he imagine that?

The feeling of dread began to overwhelm him, and he spun around to his father.

“Pa—“ he was interrupted by a familiar shriek. A shriek that paralyzed him to the bone. His body trembled as his heart beat so hard against his chest it felt as though it would burst. His senses were clouded, he couldn’t see, he couldn’t hear, he couldn’t feel. All he knew was fear. Until the strong paralysis went away.

Link gasped as he was able to move again. His head felt light, his heart continued to race, but he felt conscious again. He looked around, shocked that he himself was left untouched. His lantern was left on the ground, standing upright, still emitting light enough for Link to see. The sky was black now, the moon emitting barely enough light for Link to see beyond the lantern. He shakily picked it up and looked around him, his heart sinking into his stomach as realization hit him.

Rusl.

The other light that came from Rusl’s torch was put out, and Link’s father was nowhere to be seen.

“P-pa?” Link called out weakly, tears pricking at his eyes when he was met with silence. He ran to Coro’s house and searched the ground, but there was no sign of Rusl, all except his torch which was laying on the ground. Link wasted no time turning into a wolf and sniffing the torch, but he was only met with the eye watering scent of smoke and fire. Goddesses, how could he find him?

Link noticed some scuff marks on the ground, and he saw the footprints. They weren’t human, there were no toes and they were much too small, but he knew that whatever they belonged to, it was what took Rusl. Link took off running, using his wolf senses to see in the dark. The footprints went into the dark caves, and Link plowed through, luckily remembering where to go from traveling through them hundreds of times. He ignored the rats and keese that tried to hurt him, and he emerged from the other side. At the end of the cave, Link spotted something glimmering in the moonlight. Rusl’s sword. Thank the spirits.

With no smoke to cloud his senses, Link was able to pick up on Rusl’s sent. It led deeper into Faron woods, through the thick trees that used to hold poisonous gas. Link sprinted through, the feeling of deja vu of hunting down the missing tailor and Goron making him more and more anxious.

Please don’t be too late.

Link was so focused on running that he barely noticed that he actually passed the scent, and he skidded to a stop, spinning to where the scent stopped. The scent didn’t seem to end abruptly the same way the tailor and goron’s did thankfully, but the feeling of dread kept any feeling of relief shining through. The creature was here, and it was watching him.

Link growled at the darkness in front of him, and he heard something shuffling. A dark mass silhouetted by the moon revealed itself, growing more and more until it stood up straight, and Link felt his heart drop.

It was a shadow beast, but it was different. Its skin was black as the night, blending into the dark trees around it, all except the red Twili mark on its chest. Black tendrils jutted out of its body, mostly from its head. Two arms were laid awkwardly on its back, instead of a mask there was a mouth that snarled at him with yellow teeth, and it was huge. Bigger than any shadow beast Link had seen. How…?

The creature snarled and rested on its two front arms, the arms on its back hanging menacingly. Link’s growl got more low, his fear replaced by fury. This thing did something to Rusl, and he was going to make it pay.

A hand suddenly swiped at his side, and Link was barely able to move before it hit him. He barked and jumped at the beast, biting into its shoulder as hard as he could. The beast shrieked and threw Link off of it, slamming him into a tree. Link sucked in a breath, scrambling to his feet as his back ached from the impact. He shook his head and snarled at the beast. It snarled back. He moved back and forth, trying to figure out where to begin on fighting this thing. If it was similar to a shadow beast, then fighting it shouldn’t be too difficult.

Link charged at it again, sinking his teeth into the shoulder of the beast. It let out a cry, but Link continued biting, ripping it apart with his claws and fangs. Eventually he was thrown off again, but before the beast had time to recover, Link jumped at it again, this time aiming for the stomach. Link went much deeper into the soft flesh of the torso, and he was able to rip a good chunk of it out. The creature shrieked in pain as it slammed its fist down onto Link, but he dodged just in time. The beast hunched over, holding its stomach in pain as black goo fell out. Though this creature was much bigger and stronger than a shadow beast, it was simply too easy to fight.

Link went to charge again but the beast made a strange noise that stopped him in his tracks. It stayed on all fours, hunched over, gagging. Link could only watch as it gagged, his confusion holding him in place. He only came back to reality when the beast began to vomit, and soon he saw a hand flailing around from its mouth. Rusl!

Link quickly turned back into a Hylian, reaching out for the hand. He felt relief when Rusl’s hand quickly gripped to his own, meaning that Rusl was still alive and conscious, and Link pulled with all his might. The beast remained still as Rusl was slowly pulled out, and Link’s father let out a gasp as his face emerged from the mouth.

“Pa!” Link yelled out, and Rusl struggled to pull his other arm free from the throat of the beast. His face was covered in the black goo that poured out of its stomach, covering his eyes and hair. As Link pulled him out more, he noticed the teeth of the beast ripping up his clothes, but he didn’t stop pulling.

Rusl’s other arm was pulled free, and it flailed towards Link’s arm, and he weakly hung on as he was pulled out the rest of the way. But just as he was free, the beast suddenly bit down on Rusl’s leg, and Link gasped as Rusl’s grip went limp and he was pulled away from him.

“PA!” Link screamed as he was dragged away, and the beast snarled at him, leering over Rusl as if he was its prize. It scooped up his pa in one of the hands on its back and it took off running, deeper into the woods. Link cursed under his breath and turned into a wolf again, ignoring the pain that shot through as he transformed. He took off running, following the beast through a gate to where Coro’s bird’s shop was. Link pumped his canine legs, and was able to catch up to the beast and Rusl. When he was close enough, he bit down on its leg, attempting to drag it to the ground. The creature shrieked and spun around, ripping its leg from Link’s mouth. The beast snarled at him as Rusl hung limply in its hand, blood and black goo dripping down his feet and hair. Link barked at him, but he didn’t move. The beast backed away from Link as he tried to wake his pa up, its back arching like an agitated cat as it growled at him.

Link made sure he was merciless this time around. He attacked relentlessly, aiming for the arms resting on its back, trying to get it to drop Rusl, but its grip was tight around his father, so it never let him go no matter how hard Link bit into its arms. The beast smacked Link a few times as he attacked the arms, but he fought through the pain, fiercely biting and scratching the beast. Link had severely underestimated this creature, with it not giving out anytime soon. Shadow beasts normally would die after having their throats ripped out or being clawed to death, but it seemed that this thing was invincible. He didn’t know why, but it was stronger than any Twili creature he’s ever fought.

Link was smacked against a tree again, and he staggered slightly as he got on his feet. He was growing exhausted, he felt like he was doing the same thing over and over again to no avail. Though he’d just ripped part of its stomach out, it didn’t seem to be bothered by it. What was this thing?

The creature snarled at him again, having a more confident pose as it faced Link, and all he could do was growl at the thing. He didn’t care what happened to him, he just needed to make sure Rusl was safe. The beast charged at him, and Link braced himself, but it suddenly stopped, shrinking back into the shadows, making strange noises that sounded like pain. It looked up at the sky and to Link’s surprise, it dropped Rusl and sprinted away, leaving Link alone with his father. He quickly turned back into a Hylian, staggering at the sharp pain in his back, but he stood up, pulling out his sword. He ran to Rusl, standing over his father protectively in case it returned, but it did not.

Why did the thing run away? It was winning, it wouldn’t have dropped Rusl like that. The sun rising in the sky answered Link’s question, and soon the forest was lit up. Relief swept over him as he was able to see, and he knew he was safe. For now at least. It seemed that the—Twili beast— hated the light.

Link relaxed and put his sword away, exhaustion beginning to overwhelm him, but he couldn’t rest, not yet. He looked at his father who was still unconscious, and he turned him over. His entire body was covered in black goo, and some of it mixed in with blood from small cuts on his skin, possibly from the creature’s teeth. His leg looked the worst, with a bite mark circling around his calf and shin. It had stopped bleeding it seemed, but dried blood mixed with black goo made it look much worse. Rusl was breathing, though it was shallow and sounded wrong. Link hoped that his ribs weren’t bruised or broken, he wondered how tight that thing held onto him. Link took a deep breath and shook him gently, brushing his clumpy hair out of his eyes.

“P-pa?” He whispered, shaking him a little harder. Rusl seemed to be reacting to being shaken, so Link tried harder. He needed medical attention, and his mind thought of the spirit springs. He remembered fairies appeared at each one after he faced a trial from the great fairy, he wondered if they were still there. “Pa,” he repeated, a little louder. Rusl’s blue eyes began to flutter open, and he stared at Link confused.

“L-Link?” He croaked.

Link smiled a relieved smile and started to help him to his feet, but Rusl stopped him quickly, hissing in pain as he held his side.

“Somethings wrong,” he rasped, sinking into the ground. Link frowned and looked him over. His ribs must’ve been broken.

“C’mon, pa. We gotta get to the spring. You’ll feel better.”

Rusl stared at him, wheezing and holding his side painfully, but he didn’t stop Link from helping him to his feet. Rusl leaned heavily on Link’s side, and the two slowly walked to the spring. It felt like hours until they finally made it, at some point Link had to pick up his pa to carry him the rest of the way, despite his protests. He set him down in the spring water, immediately feeling comfort in the warm water. Rusl let out a sigh of relief as he rested in the water, but the relief melted into panic as he looked at himself.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Link asked, calming down his father.

“‘Don’t want to dirty the spring.”

“You’re not gonna dirty the spring, the spirit’s light keeps it clean,” at least he assumed, the water never seemed to get dirty no matter what was put in it. Rusl relaxed again and stared at himself, his brows furrowed. Link began washing the goo and blood off of himself, helping Rusl occasionally. Rusl was uncomfortably silent while the two cleaned themselves off, and Link wanted to bring up what had happened, but he couldn’t bring himself to talk about it either. After Link finished washing out his wounds, he stood up, limping towards the bushes to see if any fairies were hiding. Luckily he found two and he returned with them both, noticing Rusl staring at him with his brows furrowed.

“Some fairies,” Link said, handing them both to him.

Rusl silently opened his palm where one fluttered onto his hand, and it healed up his bleeding leg and bruised ribs. He let out a sigh of relief and stared at Link who still held the other one.

“You need another one, pa,” Link pressed, but Rusl shook his head.

“You’re hurt too.”

“Not as bad as you.”

“I don’t care, my leg is healed, you use it.”

Link was taken aback at his intense tone, but he was too tired to fight back. He held the fairy gently in his hand and it floated around him, healing up his aching back. It rested on his head when it finished healing him, and Link let out a sigh of relief. Fairies were wonderful creatures.

The two sat in silence, staring at the crystal blue water they were in, soaking in the sun as it rose higher and higher in the sky. It didn’t feel like they were gone all night, but with Link’s tired body, he supposed it made sense.

“Link,” Rusl broke the silence, continuing to stare blankly at the water. “We need to tell the resistance about this as soon as possible.” Link stared at him for a moment, and he opened his mouth to say something, but Rusl continued. “That… thing… it has to be responsible for the disappearances. We need to tell them about this.”

Link nodded. “We oughta tell them when we all meet up then—“

“I’m not waiting until the date Sheik set, we need to tell them now.”

Link stared at him for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, ok, I agree. I’ll send a letter, then we can move out tomorrow.”

“Link—“

“We move out tomorrow, pa. We need rest though, we’ve been up all night. Besides, we gotta tell the folks around Ordon to stay away from Faron at night, ok?”

Rusl glared at him for a moment, but it softened when he had no rebuttal. “Yeah, ok. We need rest.”

Link nodded. He was no stranger to staying up all night, but as he’s gotten older, it’s been much harder to deal with. He stood up, his legs feeling weak as he walked around, and Rusl followed, being careful on his newly healed leg. Link stared at his leg for a moment, then faced him.

“Are… are you alright?”

Rusl stopped walking and looked up at him. “I’m… fine. Thanks to you. Are you ok?”

Link pursed his lips and nodded. “I’ll be fine, pa.”

Rusl’s gaze softened and he wrapped his arm around Link’s shoulder. “Let’s head back then. I bet everyone is worried sick.”

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jxsterr · 7 months

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the craziest thing about this quote i find is, again, not only is this Not touched upon in the game in the slightest, but how totk actively goes against this. i find it genuinely odd how going back in time to see her ancestors is “what changed her mind”

because if we think about this. right. with the fall of the kingdom after the calamity and the destruction of the castle and the castle town, zelda choses to put her people first and channel all of her energy into rebuilding the World rather than rebuilding the Monarchy. she chooses to rule amongst her people rather than Above in a fancy castle, something which the npcs in totk illustrate works so much better because of how much they love and adore her. zelda has so much more influence over her people and can help and do so much more as a princess on the Ground without any royal escorts breathing down her neck telling her what is and isnt a good idea. which directly shows that hyrule as a kingdom is stronger and much more united without an official monarchy. because people come together at the disappearance of link and zelda to find them, they build lookout landing specifically for it and work together to keep each other safe through the motivation of finding their heros because they’ve actually been given the chance to know them rather than a figurehead of them. in botw nobody really knows how to protect themselves, only a few travellers brave it in the wild and the majority stay comfortable in their towns until monsters start trying to intrude, but then in totk, after zelda’s Direct influence, they band together to protect one another AS WELL AS link and zelda. the people want to protect them because of how personal zelda’s help is

she has more power as a wandering princess than stationed in a castle!!!!!

pre calamity we know that realistically most people wouldnt have even known what she looked like, nor what she wanted for the kingdom or even her character since it was constantly getting smeared by gossipers around the castle, which would inevitably spread around. she was hidden behind doors in the castle as True Royalty and thus struggled to have any real impact on the world like she so desperately did. she tore herself to shreds trying to awaken her power just so she could help her people because there was nothing more she was allowed to do to help. and you’re telling me she would willingly choose to rebuild the monarchy and the kingdom as it was beforehand knowing that she can do so much more to help without the constraints of royalty??? doesn’t that just disregard all of her character development?????????

god knows if any of this makes sense

#jester rants #fujibayashi is getting on my nerves #legend of zelda #loz link #loz zelda #tears of the kingdom #zelda and link #link #princess zelda #zelda tears of the kingdom #totk spoilers #totk #loz analysis

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ganondoodle · 6 months

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im pretty sure i mentioned all these things before but its too late to start drawing anything and each time i see someone talk about totk i just get sad and frustrated again

literally by FAR the biggest problem about totk is that it REFUSES to connect to botw in any way beyond reusing the same map and character models, and even taking the things botw had established and ruin them entirely

ancient hero? BAM weird sonau dog thing that remains completely unexplained and out of nowhere eight heroine myster- BAM just some guy long gone sonau peopl- BAM here they are and they have zero connection to the ones of botw mystical dragons gracing the skies with their presence- BAM probably some dude who ate a magic pebble once strange mystical nature god you could rarely encounter in one specific spot and the area was made to feel utteraly unsettling but also divine- BAM now hes everywhere and only serves you as a shorthand for man pointing at cave the strange energy all shiekah tech was powered with with certain locations being ones where alot of it was concentrated including beneath hyrule castle clearly stating that somethings up with that- welp theres evil guy donw there but he has zero connection to all that lol

the whole shiekah tech thing, i just- WHY???? LIKE THAT??? there was so much stuff in botw that seemed deliberately placed that there IS more to it and now it all vanished and nothing of that mattered??? i saw a video of someone comparing certain places directly and on some where towers literally broke away tons of debris where just like .. sanded back down like nothing ever happened???; the fuking mechanism of how the towers and shrines and the pillars around the castle worked AND WHAT THE BOTW BOSS ARENA WAS ACTUALLY FOR?? its all gone and replaced with dirt; tHE ANCIENT FUCKING FURNANCES UTTERLY GONE AND REPLACED WITH ROCKS HUH???? so nothing of all that talk about their mystery and mechanism mattered???? the luminous stoens and its connection to spirits and how concentrated spiritual energy might have been what powered the tech- like you could connect things, and they made SENSE, so much sense that that seemed like it was intentionally setting up- only for it all to be just GONE?? to literally say lol it all vanished and that we shouldnt worry about it- like what the FUCK (and it also AGAIN doesnt make sense in itself bc WE SEE GUARDIAN PARTS in the towers, and some parts of them too are made of clearly shiekah tech stuff so it cant all have vanished- all their mystery doesnt matter bc idk it just works i guess lol and its not even called shiekah tech at any point either its just there and also not lol-)

(and even the smaller things like .. where the fuck does link live if everyone treats him like a goddamn stranger in the town you had to buy a house in botw for it to not be demolished and now that house is there but its not yours and noone knows you??? sth i personalyl found strange too that dumsda, the guy you help build an entire town, taburasa, had a very specific talking quirk i loved, and its all just gone in totk too, he talks like any other person all of the sudden

also at the end of botw finally being reunited with zelda and giving you the taste of being in the game WITH her at the same time in the intro to totk- WOOP away she goes! shes your pretty prize at the end and nothing more, what a way to disrespect her and her character..)

imagine if majoras mask didnt have the opening like it has and it otherwise stayed the same and they tried to tell you that its a direct sequel happening exactly where ocarina of time happened in the same world, zelda who?? ganondorf who??? things seem weird and off? lol dont worry about that :)) that would be weird and not make any sense at all now would it??

... sorry going on another rant again, ill just never be able to accept everything from botw didnt actually matter, and despite what some people might say, its pretty hard to ignore totk bc i LOVE botw, and as much as i hate it, they are connected in canon, even if it makes no sense

#ganondoodles talks #zelda #totk #ganondoodles rants #i know im jsut repeating myself at this point #but some things just #i CANNOT understand why they did it like this #where the hell did kashiwa go man #i miss that funky bird #was he too much associated with botw and so it had to be done away with bc all botw things BAD??#what i would have given for seeing the titans now enshrined as temples to honor their service and their champion #to have broken shiekah shrines in the depths #old research labs with unreadable text but clear hints to how they made the guardians cores #the yiga rediscovering their lost heritage #..#i could talk about so much stuff again and again but i have done that about most thigns already #this game grinds my gears #sand in the maschine #ouch urhg ack gah

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tashacee · 2 months

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Hello! Asking the question here because you told me to LOL

I was wondering, if a stranger than normal portal took one set of Links to the world of another set of Links, and maybe mixed them up, how long do you think it would take to figure out something was up? What do you think the different reactions of Apect AU seeing Mask AU? Especially since we know that Aspect Links now have experience with thinking someone was an evil double but turned out to not be?

SO I love this so much and i am SO happy you sent it here THANK YOU Okay so this was going to be a standalone but now I've decided it's a sequel to Aspects of a Mask

Aspects of a Mask 2 - Twilight Boogaloo

The two chains, unbeknownst to each other, come through their portals into the same woods. And unbeknownst to each other, they set up camp only a few hundred feet from one another.

It's the middle of the night when, unbeknownst to each other, the Twilight's of both Chains realise they really need to pee. So they both wave to their respective Warriors', who are on watch, and tootle off to take a whiz. And unbeknownst to each other, they both get a little turned around in the darkness, the result of which is that they both end up returning to the wrong campsite.

Neither notices and they both settle back into their bedrolls, wriggling a little and each thinking vaguely that it feels slightly... different.

Whatever. Probably just tired.

The next morning, neither notices immediately. The Mask!Chain think that Twi must still be tired and that's why he's not speaking as he shaves. The Aspects!Chain also notice nothing at first, because the Twilight they've ended up with may be able to speak, but he actually is really tired and is very slow getting up.

Predicatably, the thing that gives them each away is Wild. Wild is the outlier in each Chain, the thing that makes them really different at first glance.

For the Mask Chain, Bean creeps up to where Twi is tiredly pulling a comb through his hair. He needs a favour, and he trusts Twilight more than he trusts anyone.

"Twi?" he says quietly. "Can you help with my ba-"

That's as far as he got. Because Twilight jumped a mile in the air and turned around in shock, eyes wide as he took in the mask. Because he knows this Wild, he met him during that weird week where he joined his chain. But... as far as he knows there hasn't been any weird portals recently.

Well. Weirder than usual.

Mask!Wild also stares at Twi, eyes flicking to his neck in recognition.

"...you." he breathes. "But- how-"

Twi shook his head, looking around in shock. As he looked, he realised more was different than he had realised. Nearby, Hyrule was chatting quietly with Legend and across the camp, Sky was reading a book.

He wasn't in Ordon anymore.

In the Aspects camp, something similar happened to Mask!Twi but.... perhaps less.... calmly.

Because Aspects Wild also had a request for his good good buddy Twi, but was less nervous about asking for it. Instead he saw how Twi was still lazing in his bedroll and decided that the best course of action was to jump in beside him. Because of course.

From Twi's point of view, he was relaxing and having a lazy morning, when all of a sudden something very large and very fluffy was pouncing on top of him.

Twilight shrieked. And of course, not expecting any kind of sound from the rancher, Wild also shrieked.

"ORDONA'S YELLOW POLKA DOT BIKINI WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCKING FUCK?!" Twilight screeched

Wild stared at him. And then he yowled. Around him, all of his Chain drew their swords and leapt to their feet, ready to fight this bizarre imposter.

"Aw, Faron's tits, I'm out!" Twi hissed and did the only sensible thing he could think of - he got up and fled.

He didn't get far. Because over in the MUCH calmer Mask!Camp, Bean and Aspects!Twi had explained what was going on (as well as they could understand it) and were coming through the woods in search of their counterparts.

And so in his desperate flight, chased by Aspects!Wild and the rest of the Chain, Twilight ran straight into... himself. And immediately stumbled and fell onto the ground. He looked up. Saw the him-but-not-him.

"Balls." he whispered, staring up at him.

Thankfully, the misunderstanding didn't take too long to clear up after that. When the Bean and Aspects!Wild saw each other they immediately ran into a hug, and the Aspects Chain were all delighted to see Mask!Wild again.

Bean was more than a little flustered introducing his Chain to them all, and they were all more than a little astounded to meet their counterparts, the two Twilights especially. They weren't sure why they had been brought together, not at first.

That only became evident when they all joined together in one camp, both Wilds cooking, both Skys strumming their harps, all of them happily relaxing and getting to know one another.

Because they hadn't been brought together for a battle or for training. They'd been brought together, purely and simply, because they had all been through a lot. And they all deserved a break. And awkward meeting aside, a break was what they were going to get.

#it me #replies #hero’s aspect au #hero's aspect #mask!wild #finding family #my writing

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shinobi-addiction · 3 months

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LU Links love interests headcanons as someone who only experienced some of the games through Youtube play-throughs and Wikias:

Time: Malon. I honestly never saw something between him and Zelda. They make good friends, but I think Time/Malon mesh better. Technically, the betrothal to Ruto was the accident of a 9-year-old boy.

Warriors: I don't think his game was really made with love interests in mind, but I love the idea of him and Zelda being in a queerplatonic relationship. But I'm also okay with him being single. It's really a toss-up which I headcanon honestly.

Twilight: I feel like his heart will always have a place for Midna honestly. But he and Ilia grew up together and they were probably planning to marry for a long time, like one of those chilhood "We're going to get married when we grow up!" deals. You know which ones.

Sky: Zelda. Absolutely no question. I can stretch it to include Groose without hesitation, but Zelda is definitely his first love.

Wild: Don't punt me with tomatos, but I don't see the Zelink in BotW or TotK. I feel like Wild has no real reference for romantic love after the Shrine of Resurrection. I don't think the memories really showed more than the extreme protectiveness they have for each other as princess and protector. He will blue-screen if asked if he likes Zelda in that way because he just doesn't know.

Hyrule: I don't think wandering through a desolate Hyrule really leaves room to find romance. I feel like his Zeldas would like him more than he likes them.

Legend: His first love will always be Marin. However, living in close quarters with Ravio definitely caused some feelings for both parties. Ravio was the one who suggested "for tax benefits".

Four: I'll admit I haven't seen his games in their entirety, but he and Zelda are quite cute together.

Wind: Tetra. Although he will deny it, saying it's only because she's his captain. Both of them are teenagers and will realize their feelings in a few years.

#linked universe #linked universe headcanons #lu time #lu warriors #lu twilight #lu sky #lu wild #lu hyrule #lu legend #lu four #lu wind #these are all my opinions #but please note im coming from an asexual lens #so i kind of cant see most things other fans do #that being said ship who you want and lets be happy together in fandom

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luimagines · 1 year

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Oooooh, another one! What about the reader accidentally letting out which one is their favorite? Because they have a bit of a crush on them? ❤🧡💛💚💙💜 take care, ily ^^

..... Anon, I adore you and your brain. I'm doing this.

Masterlist

Immediate Reader! Boys under the cut!

It was a pleasant day all things considered. You were lost in your own thoughts as the group traveled.

You could hear them talking and teasing each other and vaguely you could see them rough house with each other. But nothing other than that registered.

You kept your head down and you kicked a stone ahead of you. It bounced off of other rocks and rolled through the dirt until it came to a stop.

One of the boys calls your name. “Hey! We have a question.”

You don’t look up and kick another rock. “Yes? How can I help you?”

“Which one of us is your favorite?”

Hyrule

“My favorite Link is the Traveler.”

Said Link’s head snaps up in question and his jaw drops. “...Really?”

Some of the other sighs and nods their heads in understanding.

You trip over yourself. It was not you intention to actually answer their question.

“I get it.” Wild holds his hands up in surrender. “I would argue that point but I get it.”

“He is pretty great.” Sky adds on. “He is definitely worthy of that spot.”

“Yup.” Wind nods. “I can’t even be mad.”

Hyrule’s face slowly turns pink. He looses his nerve to keep his head up, alternatively covering his face with his hands so that he doesn’t have to look at everyone.

You let out a small breath. The attention is off you for now. This is fine. Better than fine, actually. Besides, Hyrule deserves it.

You nod along, happy to have started this train of thought. “He’s the coolest out of all you.”

He squeaks.

You bite your grin like your life depends on it. He can’t know why you’re saying this. He can’t get even the slightest hint of your true feelings.

“He is a hero in his own right and we’re glad to have him as our brother.” Warrior claps the poor boy on the shoulder, nearly sending him face first into the soft earth beneath him.

Hyrule coughs and stumbles but he manages to let his hands fall just below his eyes. “...Thanks...”

You snap your head pointedly in the other direction. Hyrule is completely beet red from the tips of his ears to below his neck and under his tunic. It’s cute. He’s cute. He’s so cute!

You can hear him clear his throat and bashfully look up at the others. “You guys are pretty cool too.”

“But you can do magic~” Legend claps the other shoulder of the Traveler. “And none of us can do that.”

Hyrule groans. “That’s not true! you all have your ways of magic-”

“Ah-ah! With weapons and tools.” Legend amends. “You don’t need that.”

You grin, feeling your own happiness be buoyed by Hyrule being recognized for his talents.

“Not to mention his innate talent of picking a direction and it being the right one.” Twilight continues. “He has incredible sense of direction.”

“So naturally, our friend has a lot of reason to think he’s the best of us.” Time says and adds a cheeky wink. “I can’t complain with that.”

Four grins and skips ahead to bump your hip with his. “So are these the reasons you like him then?”

Your grin drops, your blood going cold in your veins.

Four’s grin widens, bordering on a knowing and malicious mischievous smile. “Can you name something else then?”

You turn to glare at the short boy but Hyrule catches your eye. For once, it’s to your chagrin. He looks up, almost hopeful and whatever you have to say.

You grit your teeth. ”Of course I have other reasons to like him.”

Four pokes your side and seals his fate. “What are they then?”

You step on his foot “on accident” and shrug. “He’s already embarrassed. I don’t see why I have to make it worse even if what you all said is true.”

“But what is it?” He says quietly, stopping you from storming off away from the snickering boys and their knowing smiles.

You stop and barely contain yourself from sagging. He looks so endearing. You have it within yourself to curse your fate. How are you going to dig yourself out of this one?

Warrior

“Warrior.”

Warrior actually trips on his feet and spins toward you.

“My condolences.” Legend snorts, firing the shot easily.

“Hey!” Warrior spins to him instead of acknowledging what you said. You take that as your escape and try to speed up your walk, trying to make your way to the front before anyone can look deeper into your subconsciously very honest answer.

“Wait- where are you going?” Wind calls after you.

You realize belatedly that you had disregarded any sort of subtlety in your attempt to escape the awkward conversation to follow. You cough and almost trip on your feet again but you manage to play it off. Until your voice cracks. Shush. It’s fine. “Nowhere don’t worry about it.”

Warrior makes an effort to jog up to you. He catches up to your fairly easily.

You wince and try to keep the grimace off of your face when you feel his hand on your shoulder. You can’t school your features fast enough when he appears in your vision.

He has a blinding smile on his face. “Are you serious?”

You can feel the blush slowly appear on your cheek even as you nod. You don’t want to seem rude and break eye contact. You were doing so well these past few weeks. This is not how you wanted to let him know.

“Of course they mean it.” Sky laughs somewhere behind you. You vow to get revenge on a later date. “They answered incredibly fast for it to be anything other than an honest answer. They’ve thought of it before.”

That seems to only goad Warrior further. “Really?”

Well, you think to yourself, at least he seems happy about it.

Warrior then has the audacity to giggle as the information process. “Well then... Aren’t I lucky?”

You snort and roll your eyes. You try to walk further ahead and get to the safety of Time- the one who to disperse shenanigans by being in his presence. You think it’s because Time is in his hero mode more often than not but you can appreciate the safety of being by his side. The boys won’t bother him too much. You should be in the clear if you can reach him.

“They’re running away.” Twilight remarks. “I wonder why.”

Now you spin around. “Shut up Twilight!”

Warrior only seems to beam. “Yeah, shut up Twilight.”

“You-” You turn to Warrior again but he looks so incredible pleased by this that you have to bite your tongue. “Don’t encourage them.”

“Aww... but aren’t I your favorite?” He leans close to your face.

Your face burns a bit brighter. “Nope. I never said that. You heard nothing.”

You turn and power walk away again. Warrior is fast on your heels much to your chagrin. Why, oh why, did your own tongue betray you?

Warrior actually grabs your wrist, gently slowing you don’t from your near sprint to safety. Time turns around at last to witness all of this. You plead your eyes. Save me, you tell him, get them to stop.

The menace in disguise smirks and raises an eyebrow only to turn around again. The illusion of safety shatters. He’s as bad as the rest of them.

Warrior is still laughing under his breath. “Oh come on, I can’t be all that bad, can I?”

You bite your lip, taking the chance to hold his hand. To your surprise, he takes the initiative to lace your fingers together and pulls you a little closer to his side. “N-no.... you’re not.”

“Good.” Warrior looks pleased with himself. “Don’t think too much on it. But if I had to say one thing.... You look cute when you blush.”

Now you hide your face in shame. You’ve been found out.

Four

“Four, of course.”

“Of course?” Twilight raises an eyebrow. You realize your mistake too late.

Four on the other hand, look like the cat that caught the canary. “I told you.”

You gawk and turn to look at the blacksmith, horrified by the implication of his words. Were you that obvious? Was he able to tell the entire time? Oh this is bad. This is very very bad.

Sky groans and run his hands through his hair- but it’s Hyrule who ends up coughing up a small bag of rupees.

You gawk some more, a small part of you daring to be offended. “You gambled on my answer!?”

Four turns to you with a grin. “I don’t gamble. I’ve made an investment.”

You clench your jaw and look away, trying to be as serious and collected as possible, not wanting to catastrophize just yet. “I take it back you’re no longer my favorite.”

Four actually looks concerned for a split second. “Wait. Please-”

“Who’s your favorite then?” Sky grins, leaning into your space. He has another cheeky smile on his face and you swear he’s more perceptive than anyone gave him the right to be.

You glare at him from the corner of your eyes and shrug, trying to appear nonchalant. It would work if you hadn’t picked up speed as well. “Wild is.”

Wild laughs in the background while Four runs up to catch up with you. “Oh come on we both know that’s not true.”

He’s joking but you feel like messing with him for a little moment. “Nope. I don’t even know who you are. What’s your name again?”

Four’s face drops. “Hey now.”

You turn to Twilight who’s watching with the biggest- if badly hidden smirk on his face. “Do you know who this is? Why is this sassy child left alone? Where are his parents?”

Twilight snorts and tries to clear his throat of the sound. “I have no clue.”

“Twilight, not funny.” Four glares.

You keep going forward, not sparring him a glance. Maybe if you keep this up it’ll die and then you can ignore that this ever happened. “Crazy. The wind almost sounds like it’s talking. Weird. Do you hear anything Warrior?”

Warrior raises an eyebrow and shakes his head. He’s not blind. Four may be oblivious but the smith isn’t blind either. Most of them know at this point that you’ve sweet on him. Warrior didn’t think you’d react this way, but then again he didn’t think you would answer so honestly to begin with. Now he can se that it wasn’t intentional. “No clue.”

“Oh come on! No you too!” Four all but shrieks.

You nearly crack a grin at the sound of his voice but you don’t give up. If anything you start walking faster once more.

“Hey!” Four calls after you, picking up speed as well. “Stop! Where do you think you’re going?”

“Away from this.” You answer.

“Oh so now you can hear me!” He yells and it breaks you.

You start laughing and take off running. You don’t even know where the group plans on going but you’re going to get there first.

Four tackles you.

You also shriek and try to fight him off. Four puts his arms by your head and pouts. “....Say it.”

You blink and only start to laugh harder than before. “You’re insane! Are you serious?”

Four blushes and looks away for a moment before meeting you head on once more. “Say it.”

“...No.” You grin.

Four frowns before he smiles and starts poking your sides. Your laughter starts to ring out through the forest.

“Who’s going to tell them?” Legend raise an eyebrow.

“Don’t you dare.” Wild chastises the other boy. “I still have money it.“

“You and me both.” Sky says quietly.

Sky

“My favorite person is Sky.”

“Awww...” Sky responds delightfully. “You’re my favorite person too.”

“Sky.” Four puts his hand to his heart. He dramatically takes a step back in mock betrayal. “You lied to me. I thought we had something.”

Sky grins and crosses his arms, intending on walking ahead of the group. “We could have, Smithy. But I like them more than you.”

You cough, trying to not choke on your own spit. You can feel your face burn up a bit even as Sky continues to tease and jest with the other boys.

Luckily, the attention is off of you for the time being.

You take a breath and calm down. You straighten up your tunic and fix your hair and smack your face enough to hopefully knock you out of the funk you’ve found yourself in.

That was too close for comfort.

You wiggle a bit, shaking your hands by your side before you stand straighter and hold your head up high. This is fine. So what if he knows. It’s not like you were lying. It’s was just the implications of your massive stupid school crush on the boy who holds the sword that seals the darkness. Hylia’s Chosen Hero.

You’re fine

You are not fine.

He’s incredibly intelligent. What if he figures it out? What if he doesn’t figure it out? What if someone else figures it out? What if they tell him before you can?

“Are you ok?” Time pokes your shoulder gently. “You seem a bit pale.... but also incredibly flushed.”

Time stops you from walking and puts his finger tips to your cheek first, before dropping them to under your jaw and lastly up to your forehead. He frowns. “You’re not getting sick are you?”

You put his hands down. “No, no, I’m ok. Honest.”

Sky managed to catch wind of that though. Before you could even register that he moved, he was already in front of you. “Are you feeling sick? You are a bit warm. Do you feel dizzy? Nauseous? Do you need to take a break?”

You can feel your face heat up more as a consequence which only spurs Sky on to keep looking you over. He frowns and ends up pulling you closer so that he can get a better look at your face.

It’s suddenly very hard to avoid eye contact- I wonder why. And yet, he’s being so incredibly gentle with you. So genuinely worried that you may be ill.

You’re heart is pounding within your rib cage. It threatens to jump out of your chest entirely. It even tries to escape through your throat, only to try dropping to your stomach the next.

Time clicks his tongue and takes pity on you. He pulls Sky away. “I know what’s the problem.”

Sky swerves to him. “You do?”

“You do?” You gulp. There’s too much going on. Your anxiety is spiking and your blood pressure is doing parkour on the charts and you think you’ve stopped breathing a while ago.

“They need to take a moment to rest.” Time gently puts his arm around your shoulders. “They’ll be fine. If they would take a nap it would be batter but we can take a break here. It’s around the time we should eat something anyway.”

Sky nods and looks back at you. Time stops him again. “Can you let the Champion know that they need something special to get their energy back?”

Sky’s eyes widen and he salutes the older man. “On it!”

Time grins and leads to a spot to sit your down. You gulp again, not wanting to face the Old Man. “...So... You know the problem?”

“Of course, love sickness is no laughing matter.”

“Oh my god, kill me.”

Time laughs and ruffles your hair. “I won’t tell him.”

“...Thank you.”

“Yet.”

“I take it back.”

“I’m kidding.”

“Are you?”

“Am I?”

You glare at him and punch his arm. Time only laughs louder.

Twilight

“Twilight is.”

Twilight doesn’t say anything but you can see him puff his chest out a bit in pride as he clasps his hands behind his back.

Wild rolls his eyes and drops his arm around your shoulders. ”Ok... fair. But who’s your second favorite. We have to settle a score here.”

You deadpan, borderline glaring at the boy next to you. “Wolfie.” You drop his arm. “Get off of me.”

Wild splutters and flails his arms round, trying to regain his mental footing. “You’re joking- You can’t be serious.”

“I said what I said.” You try to save face. You stare ahead, not wanting to give the boys the satisfaction of a reaction. “Twilight is great- actually, I take that back. Wolfie first, then Twilight. Wolfie wouldn’t ask me stupid questions.”

Wild actually seems to despair at your words. He whines a bit in the back of his throat. “Come on, work with me here. Tell me you’re kidding.”

Four is laughing. Silently. But he’s laughing. Now you’re sure you’re missing more information that you thought you were.

Twilight for his part is blushing but grinning from ear to ear. The look is cute on him and you try to not stare. You cough, clearing your throat and turning back to Wild. “Is there a problem with my answer?”

“Yes.” Wild sags forward like a puppet with cut strings. “But I can’t tell you what.”

“Nope.” Twilight interrupts and wraps his arm around Wild, lifting him up easily. “You’re answer is perfect Darlin’, don’t worry about it,”

You’re eyes widen, zeroing in on his bicep as it flexes to compensate for the weight of the other boy. You don’t want to pay too much attention.... but the sight is very magnetic.

You gulp a bit and tear your eyes away. This is a dangerous game. Your own cheek burn up a bit and you look down to the ground. You smile though. He called you Darlin’. “I won’t then.”

Twilight takes two steps forward and only then turns to look at you once more. “They made a bet.” He tells you. “And they didn’t expect your answer. Just Four.”

You snap your gaze to the smith. He has a splitting grin on his face. Four waves.

You pout but wave back. Four laughs louder.

Twilight seems to miss the meaning of your exchange but he laughs quietly as well. “Don’t take it to heart. You know we care about you.”

“I can’t believe this.” Wild groans. Twilight puts him back on the ground, gently hitting the side of the younger boy’s head. “I could have sword-”

“Hush.” Twilight ruffles his hair and pushes the champion forward. “I’m the favorite. So what?”

“Yeah, so what?” Four is giggling like a mad man as he slide up next to you. “I was right.”

“I lost that bet.” Wild sighs.

“You did.” Four place both of his hands behind his back. “You can pay me later.”

“I hate all of you.” You whine.

Four snorts. “Except Twilight.”

“....Shut up...”

“I know whyyyy~~”

“Tell him and I smite you, Smithy.”

Four smirks. “I wouldn’t dare. But getting you see you tell him yourself would be a treat.”

“Not happening.”

“Yet.”

“Ever.”

“We’ll see.”

You start power walking away. He’s too perceptive for his own good. You’ll take this to your grave if you have to. Just like telling... he’s your favorite... Oh my god, you might actually blurt it out. You despair similar to Wild. Four is plotting now and Twilight is going to be hit in the crossfire.

Wind

“Wind is my favorite.”

The pirate perk up and cheers. “Yeeeeaaahh!!!! You can all suck it!”

“Easy Sailor.” Warrior rolls his eyes. He’s not surprised, if a bruised in his ego considering Wind instantly rubbed it in.

Wind grins and runs up yo you, taking your hand and lacing your fingers with his. “I am the favorite.”

You cough and blush a bit. You didn’t necessarily want him to know that but he looks happy and you’re telling the truth and he’s holding your hand. So you don’t feel like complaining.

You only hope tat your palms don’t start to get sweaty and that it bothers him.

“I am the favorite~!” Wind sings, swinging your arms back and forth dramatically.

Legend groans loudly and gently knocks the back of Wind’s head with his wrist. “Ok. We get it. You win.”

Wind giggles, unbothered by the act. His cheeks go a bit pink and it travels up to his ears. It’s cute. “I win and you lose.”

You begin to blush, squeezing his hand a little tighter. You didn’t think it was that big of a deal. The other boys seem to be in a similar boat than you.

They roll their eyes and act annoyed, but some of them seem very happy by it. Whether it’s because Wind is happy by it or not, you’re not sure. But you can see the way the sneak little satisfied and pleased smiles when they look at the two of you.

Wind lets go of your hand suddenly and it feel cold. He swings his arms around your shoulders and pulls you closer, nearly throwing you off of your feet. He has a bright smile on his face. It’s lovely.

“Since I’m your favorite it means that you’re on my side, right?” He grins conspiratorially.

“Wind, what are you planning?” Twilight looks over with mock disapproval.

“Nothing.” Wind cries out, shaking you a little bit in the process. He turns to you with the same grin. “Right?”

You nod, not trusting your mouth to not betray you once more.

Wind’s Cheshire Cat grin gets impossibly wider. “See! Nothing to worry about.”

“There’s always something to worry about.” Warrior laughs. “Especially when you say it like that.”

“Quiet you.” Wind points a finger at him before turning to you again. “So you’re on my side right?”

You giggle and nod along. You don’t know what he means exactly, or what he’s planning, but you know that you’re going to be side regardless. So there’s no point in lying to him.

Wind cheers again and laughs. “Good!”

You hum and hug the arm that wraps around the front. You knew that Wind could get excitedly easily but this wasn’t what you were expecting.

“And you know what?” Wind proclaims loudly for the whole group to hear. “You’re my favorite too. You’re much cool than the Captain or Time.”

“Hey-!”

Time just smiles.

Wind sticks his tongue out. “It’s true.”

Time laughs under his breath. “I concede.”

“I don’t!” Warrior cries out. “I’m cool!”

“You’re not.”

You laugh louder and miss the look on Wind’s face. He looks prouder in this instance than the last. As if he was trying for that all along.

Time

“Time.”

“Yes?” The man in question turns around and looks at you. It appears that he wasn’t paying attention either.

“Oh.” Wind calms down. “Well that’s no fun.”

“It explains a lot though.” Legend scoffs. “Those two are more similar than anyone of us are going to admit.”

“What are you boys talking about?” Time raises an eyebrow.

“They say you’re their favorite.” Twilight provides with a mild deadpan expression.

You don’t react nor do you say anything. You didn’t expect yourself to have your guard lowered to that extent. You can feel a faint blush bloom across your features.

You knew that you had admired him. Time was strong, kind and determined in ways that seemed to seamlessly take your breath away. It was nothing major and you were sure it was going to die away like the stupid school yard crush that it was.

If you weren’t looking up before, this time it’s completely intentional.

Time looks over to you and smiles. “Is that so?”

Your blush deepens. “It’s nothing.”

Time smirks and turns back around to keep the group moving forward. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Ohhhhh no. You don’t like that. Nope. That spells trouble. He already has something planned.

Time chuckles under his breath and winks. At least, you think so.

You didn’t even notice when you looked up to see that. You’re head snapped up for all you knew.

Warrior catches your reaction and nudges your shoulders with his elbow. You unfortunately glance his way and he bounces his eyebrows suggestively.

You shove him away. He laughs.

Within moments you think the matter is dropped and you go back to minding your own business. That is until... he starts walking next to you.

“I’m your favorite?”

You trip over your own feet. Time catches you by the arm and pulls you back onto your feet. “Easy there. I can’t have you falling for me, now can we?”

You cough and straighten yourself the best you can. “Nope. That would be... unwise... and painful... and dumb.”

“Aw, I can’t be that bad.” He gently flicks the side of your head. You’re too flustered to really fire back any lines. You still can’t believe that you admitted to him being your favorite as quickly as you had. Should you lose your nerve, you could do a lot of damage.

“No... I suppose you’re not.” You flick him back. It hurts you a bit more than it hurts him. You had flicked his arm guard but the sentiments are still there.

“In that case then maybe you can answer some questions of mine.” Time replies easily enough.

You’re guard goes up about as much as you can handle when it comes to this man. Which is to say that if he asked you to jump into the river you doubt you would have any second thoughts.

You gulp and nod, putting your hands behind your back. “What is it?”

“If I were to do this-” Time leans over and gets into your personal space, just shy of brushing his cheek to yours. You’re heart starts pounding. You’ve completely stopped breathing.

He doesn’t say anything else and you’re both stuck in that position for a while until he pulls away, satisfied with whatever conclusion he came to. “Interesting. Thank you for your answer.”

You gulp for air. “Bu-but I didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t have to.”

And then he walks away.

Wild

“I love the Champion.”

Wild trips over himself for a second before he stands up and sends the most blinding smile your way.

Your face explodes into a blush and you smack you hand over your mouth. You clear your throat and smack your cheeks a bit. Hopefully, it looks like the smack gave you the pink cheeks instead of your own emotions betraying you.

Wild starts walking straighter with what you would only call a ‘pep in his step’. Warrior snickers from your right side, throwing his arm around your shoulders. “I can’t say that I’m surprised.”

“Captain, please-”

“You are sweet on him.” He winks at you.

Your face darkens without your consent and you cross your arms. You want to cover your face but you have the littlest inkling that it would be more incriminating than if you just let it run its course.

Wild begins to giggle incessantly. He bounds up to you and can feel your neck begin to lose inches. He gets right up to your face and Warrior laughs behind your back. Warrior lets you go and you’re left alone to deal with the Champion. While every one else watches.

Wild gets a little cheeky and pokes your cheek. “Interesting choice of words.”

By the gods- Someone just pitch you into the sun already. You nod. “Yup. Uh-huh.”

Wild then wraps his arm around your shoulders. “Nice. Noted.”

“Oh my god.” You clear your throat and hang your head in shame. “Yes. I said it. what of it.”

Wild picks up a bit of your hair and you can feel him twirl it around his finger. “Do you mean it?”

“You’re impossible.” You huff and look away even though you make no move to pull away from him. “Of course. You’re my favorite. That’s that. Don’t make me change my mind.”

Wild grins and pulls you closer. You can feel your hip hit his and his grip get tighter around. “It’s ok. I love you too.”

“Huzzah.” You try to say as monotonely as possible. “I feel so relieved. Happy day. This is the best day of my life.”

Wild giggles. “You’re so mean.”

You feel yourself softening up. “Now we both know that’s not true.”

“Kiss and make up somewhere else please!” Legend calls out, interrupting your moment together.

Wild actually pulls away from you for a moment and glares at the other hero. “Jealous?”

“Not really.” He shrugs. “But it’s a bit much to forget about the rest of us while we’re here.”

“You started it.” You point out and accuse the other boy. “You asked the question and I gave my answer. This is your fault.”

Sky starts laughing. His shoulders shake and you can see the amount of effort it takes for him to keep silent. You deadpan and let your shoulders drop. “Sky... you’re the worse.”

He laughs a little louder.

You miss the looks Hyrule and Twilight send to Wild but he becomes indignant and pointedly turns your way and kisses your cheek making you freeze on the spot.

“There. I did it. Screw you both.” Wild growls.

You blink and give up on trying to keep your dignity. Your hands fly over your face and fall into a squat. The group stops to let you have your moment.

Time rolls his eyes. The heart of youth... He doesn’t envy it.

Legend

“It’s Legend.”

“Oh snap, really?” Wild turns his head to look at you.

You take a moment to let the comment sink into your head and then you turn to him, offended on Legend behalf. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Yeah, Champion. What is that supposed to mean?” Legend walks up to him and glares at him. It doesn’t do much considering the other hero is considerably taller.

You take the moment to get away and leave the situation before the tension rises and it inevitably leads back to you.

“Wait! No no nonono nono. Hold up.” Four calls after you. “Where do you think you’re going? I want to know why he’s your favorite.”

You cringe and stop mid-step. “Do I really need a reason?”

“Yes-” “I mean-” Legend interjects. “Of course you don’t.... But I wouldn’t mind hearing it.”

You turn to him. A part of you wats to feel betrayed but then you see his face. He can’t even stand to make direct eye contact with you. He keeps his head down as he scratches the back of his neck. He kicks the dirt from under his boot with his toe and his cheeks and ear are delightfully pink.

To everyone else that is.

You can feel your face heat up similarly and cough into the back of your hand. “Well... What am I to say?”

Time takes mercy on you. “Nothing.”

He smiles and walks up to you to put a hand on your shoulder. He spins you around and pushes you forward by the small of your back, keeping you from looking back to where the rest of the boys are congregated. “They owe no one an explanation and you shouldn’t expect one from them either.”

You sag your shoulders in relief. Thank you, Old Man Time.

You feel as if you can walk in silence now and not have to worry about anything. With Time��s intervention on the matter, it’s been set to rest and no one would dare bring it up again without your approval.

And you don’t plan on handing it out any time soon.

At least, that was your idea. You’re about an hour from the break when you can feel someone slide up to your side. You stick your courage to the sticking place and lift your head to peak at who it might be.

It’s Legend and butterflies instantly fly through your stomach up to your throat. You try to cough and send them on their way, but a few stubbornly hang on.

Legend mistakes this as you try to get his attention and you clamp your mouth shut in horror. “So uh... About what you said... you didn’t even think twice about it.”

“Nope.” You blurt out, cursing the butterflies as you go. “I don’t need to.”

Legend nods and smiles. He takes a moment to look at the other boys. They are trying and failing to hide that they are ever so curious about your conversation with the boy next to you. Legend takes it as a need to be quieter so he leans in and whispers. “Do you want to know a secret?”

You lean in as well, happy to humor him and ready for a change in conversation. You whisper back. “What is it?”

You can feel more than see the way Legend breaks into a grin. “You’re my favorite too.”

You snap your head up, unable to hide the blush on your face. You cover your mouth with your hand but nod. “...ThAnks...”

You clear your throat some more. The butterflies are now messing with your voice. No one is going to be able to take you serious after this.

Legend takes the reaction in stride- dare you say pride- and shrugs. “And thank you.”

“...Of course.”

#linked universe #linkeduniverse #linked universe x reader #this might be shorter than I intended #and for that I apologize

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