Triforce Swap AU
Details and close ups below
Introducing
Zelda, Holder of Power
-Princess Zelda was raised from birth knowing she was Hylias chosen, the holder of the Wisdom triforce and that one day she would awaken her powers and save Hyrule from ruin.
Yet no matter how hard she tries nothing seems to work,,, that is until the discovery of...
Link, Holder of Wisdom
- Found in a small hylian village is a farmhand with extraordinary powers. Link is quickly brought to the castle and proven to be the wielder of the triforce of Wisdom.
Taken from his simple calm life and forced into a rigid rulefilled whirlwind of politics and scheming.
Link and Zelda hate each other, feeling as its the others fault that their life was uprooted, their future altered.
Yet, they are the only ones who can really understand what the other is going through.
Hate triumphs over understanding when Zelda realizes Link must have stolen the triforce of Wisdom. Determined to take back what is rightfully hers she hunts him down.
Link barely escapes and heads for the only place not in alliance with Hyrule.
The Gerudo desert seems like a harsh and unlivable place from the outside, only useful for its abundance of rare minerals. Which the Hylians have been trying to get for a long time, their efforts being stopped both by their lack of desert experience and...
Ganondorf, Holder of Courage
- The charismatic head of the Gerudo military. He finds a injured hylian in the middle of the desert, half expecting the man to be an ill prepared spy, brings him to Gerudo town just in case.
After many misunderstandings and reveals Link and Gan become close.
Aaaaaand thats the basics!
More to come soon hopefully >:3c
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Okay I have another tiny insignificant grievance with the zelda fandom, the Triforce of Power isn’t evil. It doesn’t magically corrupt whoever is holding it and make them a monster. Wanting power, valuing it, is not evil. I know the trope is always that power corrupts and sure that happens, but whenever I see like a triforce swap au where when either Link or Zelda have the triforce of power, they’re suddenly barbaric assholes or scummy rulers or something and it’s just an infuriating trope to me. Just because they have that piece of the triforce they’re suddenly nothing like the characters they’re based on and are just someones evil little ocs.
Power isn’t inherently evil. Wanting power isn’t evil. Wanting to be important and strong and able to do things you struggle with is not evil. It depends on the person it’s given to and their reasoning for wanting it. Ganondorf was evil because of his intentions with the triforce, he didn’t just magically turn into a maniac when he got the triforce of power. I mean in oot it’s mentioned that he was very bad before he even got to Hyrule Castle. He was blocking up important caves and feeding princesses to fish gods way before he even got near the triforce. He wasn’t some kind and gentle chief of the gerudo before the evil piece of the triforce got to him.
Anyway that’s a lot of rambling for something that doesn’t matter at all whoops.
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Triforce swap au in my brain that the TOTK trailer has only magnified:
Power! Princess Zelda awakens her power when trying to heal some wounded soldiers. Her joy turns to horror when she realizes that it’s the wrong triangle and flees the castle in fear.
Wisdom! Link is a cocky but incredibly gifted battle strategist. His plans are so effective he rarely has to use the master sword strapped to his hip.
And a Gerudo mother carries the bits and pieces of the triforce that remains from her baby boy the Hylians slaughtered.
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Thinking about a “triforce swap au” where Link end up getting the triforce of power and being the bad guy, but I do not specially want him to take Ganondorf role.
Well of course he have Ganondorf role but I do not want him to have the same archetype of “proud, charismatic dark lord” but a different flavor of bad guy.
In a way he wouldn’t be too different from his botw/totk version, a survivor who can stay days in the wilderness without drinking and eating much (unless he need to heal fast), who constantly wander all around Hyrule and fight the toughest of monsters for sports.
But instead of being a nice, heroic guy who show up at random places to help people with their random request he is a freaking unhinged, feral and terryfing cryptid who show up at random places to be a menace to anyone and everyone including himself some time.
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The Split/Swapped Triforce Theory
The Link we see in Breath of the Wild, and now Tears of the Kingdom is different to his previous incarnations in many ways, and I’m not just talking about the colour of his tunic. Every other Link that we’ve seen through the series starts their adventure with no expectation of being a great hero, of saving the land from evil. No, they set out to rescue a sister, or some children from their village, or their best friend, or a princess calling out for help. It’s only after they set out that they inevitably have to make a decision— does it have to be them that’s the hero? Couldn’t they step aside, and let someone else, older and more experienced take charge? Once they’ve rescued whoever they set out to save, or someone else has arrived to help, why keep putting themselves in danger? Even if destiny says they have to be the one, that doesn’t mean they’re forced to play that role— but each of them still chooses to, proving their courage.
The Link of Breath of the Wild never gets that moment. He’s young when he draws the Master Sword for the first time, years before the return of Calamity Ganon. He isn’t set out on a quest to protect someone he cares about, but instead given the title of hero immediately, and assigned as Zelda’s personal guard. He grew up knowing what was expected of him, and even when he wakes up in the Shrine of Resurrection, his memories lost? One of the first things he’s told is that he is the light that must shine upon Hyrule, and his first glimpse of Calamity Ganon comes alongside Zelda telling him that its freedom will mean the destruction of the world, and that he must hurry. This version of Link is never given that choice that every other version of him makes at some point, never given the choice to be the hero— and is it really courage to fight when you’ve been told your whole life it’s what you’re meant to do?
Though the Zelda series, the three pieces of the Triforce have been present since the second game, which introduces the Triforce of Courage, and at the same time ties Link to it for the first time. The Link we see in the Adventure of Link gained the Triforce of Wisdom by finding its scattered pieces, the Triforce of Power by defeating its previous holder. The Triforce of Courage however, he is chosen to find when the symbol of the united Triforce appears on his hand, travelling through seven palaces and facing his own dark reflection to earn it. This connection only grew stronger in Ocarina of Time, the fourth game in the series, after the Triforce splits when Ganondorf, someone with an imbalances heart makes a wish on it, transforming the Sacred Realm into the Dark World and cursing the temples of Hyrule, the Triforce of Courage is eventually revealed to rest within Link’s body. Further games only reinforced the link between the hero and courage, with the Link of The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and A Link Between Worlds all carrying the Triforce of Courage at some point. A pattern was formed— Power with Ganondorf, Wisdom with Zelda, and Courage with Link.
The Triforce is never mentioned in Breath of the Wild, but we do see it. While its true nature and name have been forgotten over the ages, the inherited sealing power that lies within Zelda. We see it as she defeats Dark Beast Ganon, her hand outstretched as it manifests before her, a burst of light— much like the one we see in Skyward Sword when Link wishes away the Imprisoned— blossoming out and obliterating the Calamity, once and for all. In the true ending to the game, she says her powers seem to have dwindled after holding back Ganon for so long (in Japanese the specific term she uses is ‘withered’), but importantly, she doesn’t say that they’re completely gone, only that they’re less than what they once were. We’ve seen this happen before, as mentioned above— the Triforce can split into its three parts, with the one who touched it acquiring the part that represents what they desire the most. But is Wisdom what the Zelda we see in Breath of the Wild truly desires? Let me remind you, that her defeat of Dark Beast Ganon isn’t the first time we see her access the power of the Triforce. During the defence of Fort Hateno, she accesses it for the first time, the symbol of the Triforce shining on the back of her hand as we’ve seen it do time and time again for other wielders— yet only after she steps between Link and the laser of a Guardian, unarmed and powerless… in an act of courage, which is followed by her leaving to face Ganon alone after Link falls. Where this version of Link was never given the option to choose to be courageous, this version of Zelda, despite being told her entire life that her role was merely to seal the beast once the hero had defeated it, was the one to stand up and make the choice to face Ganon head-on, keeping him contained by herself for a century. If the Triforce she held did split into its three parts, the one that fits her best, the one she would desire is the Triforce of Courage.
There are still two more pieces of the Triforce left though, one for Link, and one for the corpse-like Ganondorf we see in the trailers for Tears of the Kingdom. When we look at Link in Breath of the Wild, we see surprisingly few references to courage in association with him in the base game (and those references come from characters familiar with the stories of previous heroes), even when they might be expected, such as before or after completing a combat trial in a shrine, but we do see some interesting references to another third, from the Goddess Hylia, the original protector of the Triforce herself. When Link exchanges spirit orbs for a heart container or a stamina vessel, what does she say? “I shall grant the power you seek.” When Link faces the dragon Naydra, corrupted with malice, she asks him to “Show what [his] power can achieve!”. Even in his childhood, he had ties to the concept, defeating adults in combat as a young child according to Mipha. In the eighth memory of the ones he recovers a century later, we see he’d defeated a large group of monsters, including multiple silver lynels, presumably alone, and with only mild wounds. Even when we play as him, Link is constantly breaking even high-quality weapons with the strength of his blows. This link with power can also fit in with the changes to the Zelda formula, and the introduction of an open world. Breath of the Wild is a game that’s all about freedom, about having the power to choose where you go and when, rejecting the linear paths and restrictions that previous incarnations of Link faced. Even in the first Zelda game, the full Triforce of Wisdom was required to face the final dungeon. Instead of being forced to proceed in a predetermined path, this Link is the one with the power to break free from the expectations of his past and the boundaries that held them back, exploring on his own terms. To this version of Link, the Triforce of Power would represent his freedom from both his past role as a knight, something that caused him so much stress he stopped talking, and from the fears that hold back the other people of Hyrule, of the monsters that infest the kingdom‘s roads and the many ruins he explores.
Finally, we get to Ganondorf. We’ve only seen a little of him from the handful of trailers for Tears of the Kingdom, but of the many questions and mysteries surrounding him, this theory can answer at least one— why now? Why is it only after the defeat of the Calamity that he seems to be ‘waking up’ or ‘breaking free’ from the place he’s been sealed away in since 10,000 or more years ago? If the Triforce indeed split when Zelda used it to defeat Dark Beast Ganon, we have our explanation— with a piece of the Triforce returned to his body, he’s been able to slowly recover his strength. If Zelda has Courage, and Link has Power, that leaves Wisdom to him, which seems to be reflected in his actions. Previously only acting as a near-mindless beast, with little in the way of strategy other than targeting the technology that defeated him the last time, this version of Ganondorf has good reason to value wisdom, and accordingly, we see him attempt to take out the three things most likely to foil his plans as soon as he can— Link (and his sword arm), Zelda, and the Master Sword that has been his downfall again and again. Even the monsters we’ve glimpsed in the trailers seem to be more organised, and strengthened by his malice. Even his appearance seems to mirror this change, as we see him dressed in golden jewellery and a loose robe , rather than the dark armour of most other appearances, or the thick formal clothing of his Wind Waker version. This gives the impression that, unless he regains one of his previous forms, this version of Ganondorf will likely focus more on his skill as a sorcerer than physical combat to fight Link, as somewhat of a contrast to his Twilight Princess version, who fights physically, only using his magic to possess Zelda and transform into Ganon. He also seems prepared to heal and boost his servants to help them achieve his goals. This falls in line with what little we know about the Triforce of Wisdom from seeing the versions of Zelda that have held it. Admittedly, this is the weakest part of this theory, just because we haven’t seen much of Ganondorf or his abilities in Tears of the Kingdom yet.
In conclusion, Breath of the Wild was all about breaking the conventions of a Zelda game to make something new, and if Tears of the Kingdom wants to achieve the same, shaking up the holders of the Triforce would certainly be one way to do it. Purely talking from a mechanical viewpoint, Link learning to use the Triforce of Power could act as a replacement for the Champion’s abilities in the previous game— a known ability of that piece is to bring the wielder back from a mortal wound, stronger than before, which could serve as a replacement for Mipha’s Grace to give an example. We could even see something as cool as Zelda wielding a reforged Master Sword— after all, she was the one who heard the voice inside the sword. This all relies on Nintendo being willing to take that leap and change things up even more and I’m not sure they’d be willing to do it.
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Your post about how fans view the triforce of power is on point. It's like they forget Impa was originally supposed to wield the Triforce of Power.
I guess im just so tired of the whole 'power corrupts' concept. Like it's not mandatory for anyone who gets any sort of power to suddenly turn into an asshole, you either start as an asshole in search of power to be and even bigger asshole to more people, or the power trip brings out your true colors.
Good people can have power and stay good, I'm just so tired of the triforce swaps being used as a reason to make ganon 'good' or Link/Zelda 'evil'. This doesn't just go for the triforce of power btw I think it's annoying when the triforce of wisdom is used to make a character a little meek nerd or courage making a character a himbo.
Like, the Triforce doesn't affect a character's personality, just make ocs like a normal person. It's bs to completely change the fundamental parts of a character because you misunderstand how the triforce works. At that point it's not Link or Zelda or Ganondorf anymore, it's just Lonk or Zerbda or Hagonforf.
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Was going through my files and stumbled on some old doodles of a triforce swap au i never finished
In this one, Gan’s got the triforce of courage. He both lost his parents and realized he had the triforce at a young age. He’s told it’s his quest to save Hyrule from the tyrannical Princess Zelda. He’s stubborn and determined to prove that he can be a hero and that he can do this by himself...
Until Gan meets Link, a history and archeology nerd scholar. After meeting Gan and realizing he’s a literal child trying to go out and save Hyrule alone, he says “No. Absolutely not.” and joins him. Gan didn’t exactly invite him along, but eventually he begrudgingly accepts his help. He also likes to steal the snacks Link carries around.
Not much for fighting, Link mostly helps Gan by using his knowledge about Hyrule’s history and heroes past to help with navigation and solving the temples’ riddles. It’s only later that he realizes he has the triforce of wisdom
Zelda’s the princess of Hyrule who has turned to abusing her political and religious powers. She shows a different face to the rest of Hyrule and claims that she’s blessed with guidance and power from Hylia like her ancestors. But really, she’s turned her back on Hylia and is instead grasping for the triforce of power to fulfill her goals.
(in case you don’t recognize it, this is the meme on gan’s scroll) (ID under the cut)
[ID: Two pages with a series of sketches of an AU Link and Ganondorf. Link is a young, Hylian adult here with long ears, glasses, and a sleeveless vest worn over a button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Ganondorf is a young, Gerudo child wearing a short-sleeved shirt and often seen carrying the Master sword.
On the first page, Link and Ganondorf are seen outside an ancient temple overgrown with plants, outside what looks to be a sealed doorway. Link is reading from a thick book saying “I think if you play a specific song, it will open...” He turns to look at Ganondorf who is fruitlessly kicking at the door and says “...or you could just kick it, sure.” The next doodle shows an injured Link, slumped against a wall. Ganondorf stands in front of him, holding his sword in one hand and throwing out his other hand protectively in front of him. The last sketch shows Link and Ganondorf around a campfire. Ganondorf is sprawled out, fast asleep under a fairy- patterned blanket. Link has his shoes off, peacefully reading from his thick book by the light of the fire.
On the second page, Link and Ganondorf are seen, resting on a log. Link looks down at a scroll draped over his legs. In one hand, he holds a sliced apple. Without looking up, he holds out a slice to Ganondorf who begrudgingly takes it. The next sketches show Links bewildered face saying “Oh dear Hylia, you’re only 10?!” Ganondorf looks up at him stubbornly saying “Actually I’m 11 so shut the fuck up.” In the last sketch, Ganondorf holds out a scroll for Link who looks at him curiously. Unfurly the scroll, the meme attached above is seen. The meme is a screenshot of a facebook group. The name of the group is “As u can see i am only 11 and u are gay”. The icon image is a poorly drawn Knuckles with sunglasses on, and the header image is a car poorly photoshopped to be crashing into a building and exploding. \end ID]
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