Also got this positively adorable snapshot of Zelda Bowsmith and Heavyheart while window-shopping in Global Store. they're mirroring each other 🥺 its like a little dance! striking a lil pose !

I know far too much about obscure LoZ lore for my own mental health.

Clue!!!! my mutual clue!!! how are you enjoying botw?

Ahh I haven't actually played it yet !! Right now I'm playing a link to the past through Nintendo online + watching a playthrough of links awakening!! Their both really really good fun (though I've opened a walk through for altp because older games mechanisms are so hard for my poor brain to understand sometimes) botw IS on my list of one of the first zelda games I want to buy for myself and play though!! It looks sooo so good and fun, I'm really excited to dig deeper in the series :]

So Red since you are a fan of Zelda what’s your thoughts on the Zelda Timeline

On the one hand it's dumb to try and retroactively apply a timeline to a series that definitely wasn't designed with it in mind, but on the other it is extremely fun to find connections between the games that DO demonstrate continuity, so I think the current state of absolute chaos is ideal

Alternate Hero/Guide Rant

So I've been thinking lately of parallel universes and the question "what if this was changed", yada yada, and I thought of something having to do with our guide.

What if, in an alternate era/timeline they took the place of Link?

Like the Chain still has their normal dynamics, same meeting, etc., but in swoops the reader (the heroine/false hero?) and they are unlike any link/hero in the timeline.

Some background for their Hyrule might be that their entire Hyrule is in ruins, like completely. Think Totk but 100 times more destroyed. Yeah. Essentially, their Link mysteriously disappeared, monarchy was left in utter chaos and the country essentially destroyed itself. I think your backstory would take place 5000-10,000 years after Wild's, so you would be the most latest "Link".

One of the main deviations between yourself and the Chain is that you didn't fight Ganon/Ganondorf/Demise; you fought Hylia in the flesh.

In terms of triforce? You don't have any pieces because your Link gained them all and left shortly after that. Conspiracies say it had a more sinister motive, but you have a different idea of what happened.

Zelda was killed around the same time Link disappeared, essentially destroying whatever foundation of Hyrule was left. The different nations of Hyrule had a 50-year war and eventually, everything was so destroyed that everyone went into isolation, closing off from each other.

A religiously-motivated eruption of chaos occurs, spurring your quest to eliminate Hylia and her existence. Despite not having any relation to the royal family, Link, or Hylia's prophecy, you have the memories of each hero, which is unheard of with the Chain. Only Zelda's have previous memories, meaning you're some weird anomaly.

A bunch of shit happens, whatever, boom you're in Wild's Hyrule. THe Chain notices you almost instantly, mostly cuz you're wearing hero's garb, but none of theirs, meaning... you're a Link. Or so they originally thought.

That's all for now.

Let me know if y'all would like to see a full fleshed-out fic of this! :3

First chapter of my series, I think, from Linked universe x reader

But first of all, I'll list a few things here

All Linked Universe characters are romantic partners

But one thing before reading the story!

Here you will be a girl, want to make this gender change fit into the story, as well as:

You are a heroine of your hyrule (I'll leave the stories to you) but you don't have the spirit of courage!

Your link is a prince! So he has two sides, being the son of Zelda, the triforce of courage and wisdom .

You will be a closed person at the beginning, because you are not intimate with the current, then only later will you show yourself

That's why, and my English isn't perfect! So, good luck

<prototype -ep list - Next>

𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕿𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖊 𝕻𝖗𝖔𝖒𝖎𝖘𝖊𝖘 𝖔𝖋 𝖆 𝕳𝖊𝖗𝖔(𝖎𝖓𝖊) 𝔈𝔭.01

"I see it now... looking like death itself, that's what I see... it's not a gaze I saw in ancient heroes, no!... This is a look of pure rage, no, it's not that!... it's as if she simply has not a shred of mercy or kindness in her face, this gaze isn't of a brave hero as it has been in many years and reincarnations, no!... This gaze is that of a killer..."

The kingdom of Hyrule was thriving, having recovered from all the chaos it endured. Villages and markets were bustling once again, and all the realms lived happily, reminiscent of their best times. Queen Zelda was currently preparing to pass her throne to her heir, her son. It would take a while since she planned to hand over the crown on his 20th birthday—a day you wouldn't want to miss, as it also marks the birthday of your only friend.

Unfortunately, you don't know how you can return. As you look around, you see those who call themselves heroes engrossed in their tasks. You move about, not quite remembering how you ended up there, surrounded by a bunch of blonde boys from different timelines. Despite being accustomed to being in a place full of men and even training with them, it feels like you don't belong to that group.

Everyone there is a hero, with stories, swords, and the soul of a hero—brave, something you're not. Sure, you saved your Hyrule, but that was because you were the last one standing in that shattered land. You had to do something; the land was in peril, your friend was in danger, and you couldn't let him go with it, not after you promised. You're just a mere key, lacking the soul of heroism, without a side of the Triforce like everyone else, not even a tattoo on the back of your hand.

"Hey! (Name), right?" Turning your head, leaning against a tree, you look to the side and see a boy of shorter stature compared to you, dressed in blue and carrying a compass or something similar.

"...yes?" Your voice sounds somewhat flat and even a bit cold, but you can't help it, not when you've been with them for less than a day.

"Well, Wild wants me to grab some things. Would you like to help?" He seems nervous, you can tell by his way of speaking and posture. Stepping away from the trunk, you simply nod your head, following the boy as he enters the forest.

Wind occasionally glanced at you, walking a bit slower as he began to walk beside you. He couldn't help but notice the two covered sword sheaths on your back, but he refrained from asking, aware it might be intrusive.

"Ah... what was your Hyrule like?" The boy attempted to start a conversation, nervous and unable to discern whether you were angry or something else. With a closed appearance, your expression remained unreadable, and he couldn't quite gauge your feelings, likely because you hadn't fully acclimated to them.

"Normal..." You speak in a voice that's somewhat normal, though low, not quite a whisper. Wind frowned, and you maintain your gaze forward. Clearly, you were a Hyrulian, given your pointed ears, but Wind couldn't quite determine if you hailed from a different Hyrule. Simultaneously, your clothing was and wasn't that of a hero; he couldn't quite figure out what you were.

"Ah... I see." Wind then averted his gaze, noticing a bush of fruits. He motioned for you to follow as he approached the bush.

"These fruits look edible, don't they?" He asked while picking one up and examining it. Unbeknownst to him, you also grabbed one, sniffing it. Detecting no strange odor, just a sweet scent like edible fruits, you opened your mouth and took a bite.

"Maybe someone knows what fruit this is. I think we should check other things before—" Wind glanced to the side, watching you grab a cloth bag and fill it with fruits. "Carry...? Don't you think it might be poisonous?" He said while observing you take one and eat it. You shook your head in denial, handing one to the boy, who looked somewhat scared and suspicious.

"They're not poisonous. The leaves are like any other, they smell sweet, and despite their appearance, they're sweet." You spoke while looking at the fruits and collecting them. Glancing back at Wind, who had a bead of sweat on his face, even though his expression was somewhat stoic, you saw that you were looking at him, expecting something. Not knowing what to do, Wind sighed before cautiously biting into the fruit and realizing they were indeed sweet.

Rising, you took the two cloth bags filled with fruit and placed them in the side bag you carried. Wind observed as you looked up.

"Did Wild ask for something specific?" You looked at Wind, awaiting a response."Ah... no! He just asked me to see if I could find something, maybe mushrooms!" He nervously explained, eliciting a noise of understanding from you. You walked ahead, and the boy hurried to catch up. He watched as you, a bit further ahead, handed a fruit to a white rabbit. Upon spotting Wind, the rabbit darted away with the fruit. He observed as you stood up from your crouched position and continued walking.

"B-well! How are you feeling?" Trying to initiate another conversation, he was met with a buzz.

"Normal..." He only realized he had returned to the camp when he heard the others talking. He paused, still confused about the entire situation, and walked over to Wild along with you. You handed over the bag filled with fruits, mushrooms, and plants, along with a large water container.

"When did she get this that I didn't see?" Wild didn't even have time to react and say thank you before you left and returned to your place leaning against a tree, gazing into the forest, never at the others. Wild looked at Wind, who just shrugged and sat down with him.

"Anything?" Wild asked as he opened the bag, examining its contents and grabbing a fruit. "Nothing, b-but she said these fruits are good!"

"Of course they're good!" Wild said as if it were obvious, starting to cut the mushrooms he had. From a distance, Time observed as the girl gazed into the forest, appearing thoughtful. Sky looked at Time, beside him, and also observed the girl.

"What do you think they have?" Sky asked, looking at Time, who had a stern look, sighing as he cleaned his sword.

"I think they're just not at ease. They've just left their home; let her get used to it gradually." With that, they both put the matter aside. Fiddling with your belt, where the two covered sword sheaths were, you felt a twinkle and sensed the small gift you carried.

"It's okay..."

Been loving all your posts about this au! Was wondering if you had any thoughts about how the chain reacts to fake Wild/Phantom Ganon running around? When I played the game it was really obvious that it wasn't actually Zelda. Do they pick up on that?

I’m so glad you’re enjoying this.

I haven’t thought to much about puppet!wild.

But there are three ways you could play it.

The first is them seeing puppet!wild once they arrive in totk. If the see puppet!wild first before making it to Lookout Landing they could be tricked into an ambushed leading to a lot of questions about what is going on with Wild and them looking for Flora for answers. I think it would be easy to trick them as they have just arrived in this timeline and are excited to see Wild again. This is the only way I can see them getting tricked.

Or you can have them encounter puppet!wild after the find out about Dragon!Wild. As they travel around they here these wild stories about Wild. How people have seen him recently and he’s doing all of these crazy things. They know it can’t be Wild. They’ve seen his dragon form. But there are some members of the group who think that maybe Wild is projecting his Spirit to try and help the people but because he’s a spirit he just can’t communicate right.

They argue the idea around. Wind is a big believer of spirit Wild. Twilight, Hyrule and Sky hope that’s true but don’t want to put their hopes to high. After all it’s better then any other alternative. Time, Legend, Four, and Warrior can smell a rat. They don’t know what these visions of Wild are but they don’t trust them.

Their first real encounter with puppet!wild would be when they are trying to help the Goron. Tulin says he saw Wild when they are searching for the Arc but none of the chain saw him. No it’s not until Goron city that they see the puppet and they all agree that it can’t be Wild. He would never behave in that manner. So that lead to the question. What is it?

They hear a rumor about Wild being captured and go to check it out. They know it’s not really Wild but they want to know what that thing is. When they find it, it hurts way more then they thought it would. The person in the cage is obviously not Wild. He doesn’t stand like that, he doesn’t talk that. And he would defiantly recognize them. So just who is this? They open the cage only for the yiga to reveal themselves. The fight is over before it began. There’s a lot of pent up rage in the group over what has happened to Wild. And to have the yiga mockingly use his face to try and trick Flora. Ya the the Yiga didn’t stand a chance.

So mystery solved it’s the yiga trying to help Ganondorf. Except why is his outfit different. The Yiga had him in his champion tunic. But the version they saw up on death mountain was wearing something completely different. Different members of the group hold different levels of suspicion.

Then after they find four of the sage, they know there’s more. There’s always six to seven sages, Wild appears at the castle. The boys are super upset. They know it’s not Wild. But why are the yiga taunting them like this. Legend wants to end this and rushes up to the castle. Warriors and Twilight are hot in his tail along with the others.

Once they’re up there puppet!wild leads them into trap after trap. Until the throne room. When they find out that it’s not a yiga in a costume but Ganondorf himself using Wild’s image to cause chaos across hyrule. The boys are furious. How dare he. He’s the reason Wild’s a dragon and now he’s slandering Wild’s name and memory in his timeline. It won’t stand.

The third idea can be tacked onto the front of the prior idea. But it depends on how much power Ganondorf had when trapped. I think the boys have caught glimpses of dragon!Wild ever since they separated from him. They’ve seen him in multiple timelines before making it to totk. If Ganondorf has enough power maybe he sent his puppet!wild up sooner. Maybe the puppet has been working with dark to try and kill off the chain. Maybe the boys have been chasing Wild’s shadow ever since he left. He’s been moving around like a ghost. The catch him in the corner of their eyes but when they turn to look he’s not there. Everyone just thinks they are missing Wild and hallucinating him being around but in actuality puppet!Wild is following them.

I personally think idea two is the best but we have options to mix and match

My Top 5 Favorite Zelda Villains (outdated)

Number 1. Ganondorf/Ganon - Honestly after so many years, Ganondorf still holds up as a villain. Ganon was the biproduct of a curse created by Demise to ensure that his hate is reincarnated just so he can destroy Link and Zelda’s descendants, and Ganondorf himself was born as the only male in a desert that belonged tribe to warrior women known as The Gerudo, eventually ending up as their king thanks to Gerudo traditions. Ganondorf had a huge presence in Ocarina of Time, manipulating you into locating the Triforce and immediately took over Hyrule during your time skip. In Hyrule Warriors, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and A Link To The Past, he adapts in some form either that be because of genuine character development, an ego increase, or a desire for revenge. However in Breath of the Wild, the end of all three timelines, he fully succumbs to Demise’s curse and uses his hate to create an entity known as Calamity Ganon. In short, Ganon started out as an intelligent and ambitious king, a man to be exact, but eventually he turned into a beast fueled by hate. Then in Tears of The Kingdom he returns, and not only so we learn that he DIDN’T succumb to Demise’s curse after all, we learn that 1,000 years ago, he reincarnated and began to EMBRACE it becoming the new Demon King in the process, and he came back to life to continue his reign. Overall Ganondorf is a surprisingly versatile and interesting take on a evil king, combining power with intellect, tragedy, anger, class, and pure EVIL which is why he’s the greatest villain in gaming history and fiction in general.

Number 2. Majora - When Nintendo was making Majora’s Mask, they KNEW that they couldn’t just make Ganondorf the villain again, so the developers cooked up a pretty great and just as iconic substitute. A batshit insane and mysterious mask that wants to hurl a moon into the planet and cause chaos! Majora is basically a childish eldrich abomination, and much like Ganondorf, he appears rarely throughout the story, yet we see the damage he’s pretty much caused to the land of Termina. Overall this insane cryptic is deserving of the number 2 spot on this list.

Number 3. Vaati, The Wind Mage - The king of underrated villains. Vaati could easily be compared to Ansem/Terranort from Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2. A young, ambitious, and curious apprentice explores the darkness in the hearts of men, becomes power hungry, and then becomes an insane creature of darkness. He’s also the only major Zelda villain to canonically appear in 3 games, a feat not even Ghirahim has achieved. Also I find it hilarious and sad that he basically went from “I need power” to “Hmm, I shall kidnap maidens and the Princess.” Bro really became lustful after he got his ass bear and lost his mind! In all seriousness though, Vaati is a Ganon tier villain, and I wouldn’t mind seeing him again. Such a shame that Nintendo ignores thie guy.

Number 4. Yuga - Yes, I know this guy is Lorulean equivalent of Ganondorf. Yes, I know that he hijacked Ganon instead of it being the other way around, but if I’m being honest… Yuga is a breath of fresh air when it comes to the classic timeline games, both as a concept and as an actual character. A Link Between Worlds is nowhere near perfect, but Yuga was an excellent villain, purely because he’s basically Ganondorf without the status as royalty, muscle to back his mind, commanding appearance, or the overwhelming power he’s known for. Yuga is a simple sorcerer and an “artist” who looks like a clown. The only things they share is they’re both manipulative, cunning, ambitious, and pure evil. In short, Yuga is a perfect subversion of Ganondorf, while still carrying that same sense of danger, and in terms of 2D Zelda villains he’s great.

Number 5. Ghirahim - The only Zelda villain who won succeeded in carrying out his plans, and it had serious consequences for the rest of the series. Ghirahim as a character is vain and flamboyant, but he is not a pushover in the slightest, which makes sense since he’s the literal sword of Demise! Still the fact that he did indeed free his master is impressive, and the best part is that is feels earned. What a magnificent bastard.

⚠️ToTK Spoilers⚠️

Totk's claims and timeline bs are making me bash my head into a metaphorical wall. Rauru and Sonia can't be the "founders" of Hyrule. Not the original kingdom. Re-founders maybe, but the original kingdom doesn't make sense.

Ganondorf already exists. The entirety of the Gerudo people already have a bone to pick with Hyrule.

Demise was the enemy in Skyward Sword. The Gerudo didn't even exist yet.

"It's before Skyward Sword."

Oh, so we have a chicken and the egg then? Who came first, Ganondorf or Demise? I say Demise, as the timeline and context clues suggest, was Ganondorf's predecessor. That Ganondorf is the reincarnation of an angry god of evil.

So by that logic, with Ganondorf's presence in the ancient past as proof they're not the first, so what the fuck? Why no triforce iconography in the ancient past? Why? The dragons were there, weren't they? And nothing happened to them between the eras, so...?

I think the triforce symbol temporarily became a taboo. After the imprisoning war and the chaos that we know happens with the first Calamity, it stands to reason that somewhere in there they brought back the symbol. Why? I don't know. Morale? Bragging rights? Connection to the historical kingdom of Hyrule? Who knows!!

But this is still AFTER the previous games. It has to be. Unless they intend to retcon everything, that is. Even then, they never have before, not with a successful, main title.

I suppose a weak argument could be made that Totk's ancient past is after Skyward Sword and before Ocarina of Time. Even then, you have the issues of "where is the triforce"; "when did the Zonai descend"; and "why is Ganondorf there?" Is Sonia the daughter/granddaughter of the goddess? Where are the signs of the people of Skyloft? You know, the people who had the triforce? Whose clothes were distinct.

You know what? Fuck it. If the Zonai came after, it's plausible to theorize that the evolved and built their constructs before making first contact with Hylians post-Skyloft era.

Where am I going with this? I don't know! But there's a good chance they left a bunch of Remlits around Skyloft. You know what else is furry and from the sky? Zonai.

Remlits evolved over thousands of years and became to Zonai. BOTW Zelda is more closely related to

than she ever was to

For reference, Rauru and Mineru:

They're evolved Remlits.

So yeah. There. That's it. Send post.

unnnghhh, I just need to get this out of my system before it gets stupid.  I promise, it is a -very- silly and light criticism of current totk discourse revolving around the three Goddesses, Din, Nayru, and Farore. Honestly I shouldn’t even be negatively affected by just some fun theories being thrown around, but clearly I’m bothered by it for some reason. And I can likely explain why. (This isn’t to stop fun fan theories from being made or me being an old codger and saying NO to fans, because that’s completely rude. If those developments are genuinely exciting to you, I getchya.) 

Current talk is that at least in BoTW and ToTK, the dragons that are roughly named after the three goddesses (not my assumption) (and are referred to as she) by the Goddess statues, are Zonai who consumed their stones. So at least in this universe that BoTW and ToTK decides to be in, these goddesses were mortal in some way or somehow turned their secret stones into the triforce or... something along those lines. I don’t inherently like this line of thinking, for a few reasons. Sort of the same reasons I don’t inherently like the idea of Zelda basically being the Virgin Mary figure in skyward sword and onward. It’s just opinion, and shouldn’t affect your fun times. And for some dumb reason it bothers me and I just want to explain why. The Golden Goddesses, Din, Nayru, and Farore, were not sideliners when it comes to the entirety of Zelda lore. They made the world, full stop, and possibly other worlds that also appear in the Zelda series. They -made- the kingdom of Hyrule, and left the Triforce behind after their creation was complete. They have no official appearance in any game (these are not the oracles), but their hand is -felt- in certain ways. Even if their presence is subdued, they still call the shots on their creation. Just like them, their respective Triforce Pieces represent their philosophy. Din is most comfortable in their Power. Nayru has ageless Wisdom, and Farore gives courage to all she holds dear. Together, they represent The Legend of Zelda’s whole philosophy: As one, they are perfect, working in tandem. Apart, they are still powerful, but become imbalanced and that imbalance throws the world into chaos, as it has time and time again since the Triforce’s original separation in Ocarina of Time. The Goddesses Themselves continue to have namesakes within the series, which is where the Dragon’s names in BoTW and ToTK will become more familiar. At least since Twilight Princess, the Light Spirits that protect the world of reality from shadow, are named subtly after their creators. Faron (Not Farore), Lanayru, (Not Nayru), and Eldin (not Din). They bear the responsibility of protecting creation and the Sacred Realm from the shadow the Twili created, and naturally were eventually banished to the Twilight Realm due to their sacrosanct acts. This is, as far as I remember, the first time we hear of these names. They were created by Din, Nayru, and Farore, but they themselves are not the gods incarnate, and never were. They simply had a purpose, and carried their namesake due to who mothered them into existence.  Now, again, I don’t really subscribe that much to a timeline, and never really have regardless of the “Official” timeline existing. BotW and TotK feel wildly different in terms of what is included in them. We at least know there are *stories* of the Hero of Time, the Hero of Winds, the Hero of Twilight, etc, etc. or they are at least vaguely mentioned in ancient rites and likely moldy tomes that haven’t seen the light of day in thousands, if not tens of thousands of years. Most of this ancient era has come and gone, to the point where the Sheikah tribe of old developed frickin computers with magic powers, and by the time THAT was featured in BoTW, it was already ANCIENT Sheikah tech. But with the events of ToTK, I’m completely complacent in thinking this could be a completely different -universe- then the actual “Official” timeline.  Much like how Termina exists, It’s not really difficult to imagine several different Hyrules existing in many alternate realities, dimensions, planes, what have you. And just because the Zonai exist does not inherently mean the Triforce and the Goddesses don’t also somehow exist in this set universe. I don’t believe the Goddesses would suddenly decide to become Zonai, when perhaps they are the ones who created them anyway, much like the Hylians, the Gorons, the Zora, etc. And even if there are multiple Hyrules, The Goddesses literally made it. I doubt, in any timeline, plane, reality, dimension, that fact would somehow be different, as they are literally the ones responsible for its actual existence. The Zonai, after all are said to be -descended- from Gods, and are only seen as gods themselves due to how these Gods GIFTED these guys with Secret Stones.  This of course, brings us to the dragons in question: I do understand where people believe these three dragons could be the Goddesses. Though the Zonai consider the process of Draconfication forbidden, I don’t really think it’s as forbidden as we think it is. Where I differ from the current discourse, however, is that I don’t remotely think Din, Nayru, and Farore were somehow Zonai, and partook of their sacred stones and it became the triforce. This just doesn’t make sense with the very little we have to go on, for a lot of  reasons. 1, we have to presume Din, Nayru, and Farore already exist, and have existed for Milennia. Otherwise, the Kingdom of Hyrule -would not exist-. Neither would the Hero, Neither would Princess Zelda, Ganondorf, etc.  However. I have a theory that the Dragons are the God forms of the Zonai. Though they are a bit goat like, they also share... quite a few draconic traits on their own, no?Sharp teeth, hair that more serpentine dragons have from Japan and China. They came from the literal sky and wished to bring their bounty to the races of the land. The Zonai -revere- dragons and dragon kind. The Secret Stones themselves obviously don’t just turn Zonai into dragons, as we can see from Zelda consuming hers. I presume, that these gifted Secret Stones likely come from the God-like dragons that the Zonai likely descended from. When swallowing a stone, you are inheriting the power of presumed God-hood as defined by the Zonai. You become immortal. You lose yourself. Because mortals and Gods are profoundly different. Now, whether or not Dragons are capable of becoming mortal on their own is a good question I can’t answer, but I suspect the Zonai have -way- more relation to the concept of the dragons then they do Din, Nayru, and Farore. The same goes for the Dragons that are already within Hyrule: Dinraal, Naydraa (Wtf that isn’t even close to Nayru), and Farosh.. These guys have way more in common with their other namesakes, the light spirits of twilight princess, then they do with the actual Golden Goddesses. And they presumably also share something with their Light Spirit Namesakes. They are guardians of the springs of Power, Wisdom, and Courage respectively. However I picture this relation to be more of these dragon gods wishing to protect creation from ages long past. Perhaps these Dragons never became Zonai. Perhaps these dragons are Zonai who wished to fulfill a purpose in protecting these springs. But being the Golden Goddesses themselves? I highly doubt it. There is plenty of room within the Zelda universe to have the Golden Goddesses remain as such, and to have other gods and spirits fulfill myriad roles deemed important to the Cycles.  If anything, I would say the Zonai are an interesting addition to the many races of Hyrule, and their story is a more compelling one, when viewed in a lense that encompasses their relationship to dragonkind. Not God-kind. Or... at least DragonGod Kind. I also feel like viewing it this way is -way- easier to swallow then somehow relating the Secret Stones to the Triforce. These are their own unique goodie. ToTK, more or less, is a lesson that the Triforce has already taught many times, but through a different lens. Might and Power can obviously come from many different things in Hyrule, and a DragonGod’s essence? Well.  How could Ganondorf, one who seeks power with relentless force, resist?  In her Wisdom, Zelda chose to seek this power to protect her Kingdom from the plague she so feared.  And Link, once again, is the edge of the sword, stuck within the power struggle. Yet his courage and valor lead to the destruction of the Demon Dragon.  I don’t know about you, but the Goddesses are definitely watching. And not as dragons. 

With Ganondorf being like Ganon from Zelda 1, would.... That technically imply that Zelda was sent back to WAY before then? And inadvertently started the entire curse and every incarnation of Ganon was just a stream of consciousness from TOTK Ganondorf? Then it would make sense for Ganondorf to deteriorate and become more mindless because dehydrated Ganondorf is loosing more and more of himself with every incarnation, ending in Calamity. But then shouldn't that make TOTK Ganondorf more terrifying? Instead of a cold and calculated ruler and warrior like in the final fight? He should have been more desperate and "greedy" with his attacks then all slow and menacing you know? Like instead of attacking Link once or twice he just comes swinging and doesn't let up because TOTK Ganondorf is just the physical form at that point with just anger and Demise in him. RIIIIIGHT?!!!?

I felt moreso that Calamity Ganon was reminiscent of Ganon from Zelda 1 because, for one, BotW was created as a reimagining of what they had hoped to achieve with Zelda 1. Zelda 1 was essentially what could be achieved with an "open world" concept with the limitations that the NES has. This piece of official art really speaks to that mindset.

Secondly, both Ganon and Calamity Ganon are monsters that have destruction on their minds. If you look at the story of Zelda 1, it is implied that the entirety of the world was in chaos apart from Hyrule, which had been protected by the Triforce, and that Ganon had arrived with his monsters to steal that power and plunge Hyrule into the same chaotic world from which he came from. Calamity Ganon fulfills a similar role in that all he wishes to see is Hyrule plunged into chaos and despair. In Creating a Champion, in reference to Calamity Ganon, they directly state that he was once Ganondorf who, consumed by hatred and his lust for power, eventually degraded into what we know as Calamity Ganon because he would not give up on resurrection and returning. So, Calamity Ganon's origin story speaks to what the official timeline had set up for Zelda 1's Ganon, that he was once a man that, after several defeats and resurrections, had degraded into a beast that only sought power and destruction. Then we get TotK Ganondorf and he really throws a wrench into all the parallels that BotW established. If we have to go off of strictly what we saw in TotK's story, I would say that TotK Ganondorf hasn't really degraded at all. He seems pretty mentally sound (well, as mentally sound as Ganondorf gets), with the same physical and psychological capabilities that he had before his sealing. In other words, he feels like the same person he was in the ancient era. This is sort of implied when Rauru seals Ganondorf and he tells Rauru: "Thousands of years will pass in the blink of an eye" which tells me, at least, that Ganondorf was essentially unconscious the entire time, preserved in stasis to the point that he did not feel that passage of time. In the most recent interview, Fujibayashi and Aonuma did refer to the "time paradox" that TotK created in terms of the Wilds era. Additionally, in Ganondorf's compendium entry, we learn that the release of the Calamity 100 years prior caused enough damage to the castle that it weakened Ganondorf's seal which tells us that Calamity Ganon is a separate entity. We keep getting told that the story is up to us to interpret so you want to know what I think? I think Calamity Ganon and Ganondorf are just two separate Ganons that were created due to time paradox fuckery.

How do you think each of the Links die?

Hmmm....

Good question!

Let me start at the top and work my way down, yes?

Sky

Two ideas here for this one

Sky dies peacefully at home. Zelda outlives him by a few years so she's there at his side when he passes. It's been a long life and one full of adventures they've shared. He's old, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren are helping build up Hyrule. He's at peace, ready to go on to whatever Hylian's believe comes after death.

Sky doesn't die. The settling of the surface is a torrid affair and Demise's forces still haunt the land of Hyrule. One monster in particular threatens the villages and settlements and Sky undergoes a second quest to gain the power to defeat it. He accomplishes this, but in order to defeat the monster he must achieve a power beyond Hylians, and loses himself somewhat to it. he becomes the Fierce Deity and is sealed away by the Sheikah.

Four

This is sort of canon.

Four doesn't die. After the events of LU, Four returns to their Hyrule and lives a peaceful life with minimal excitement and chaos (just enough to keep things interesting but not enough to make history). They get bored of the peace and start trying to keep themselves busy with things outside of adventuring and smithy work, leading to them doing more and more research about the Shadow World. An experiment gone wrong (either to resurrect Shadow or just to try something new) results in their corruption and Dot is forced to seal them into the Palace of the Four Sword, where they remain. In the Adult Timeline they drown when the world is flooded. In the Child Timeline they go on forgotten and undying. In the Downfall Timeline they are found by a child with pink hair and a too big sword.

I like to say Legend will one day rescue them and they will live out the rest of their days in peace, but that's just me :)

Time

We all know Ganon killed him in the Downfall Timeline, so that counts for something

In the Child Timeline, Time will return from LU and he and Malon will live in peace for some time, having children and tending their farm. Eventually however, Hyrule will go to war again, and Lullaby will call upon the Hero to save Hyrule in it's time of need. Time will protect the land, but becomes gravely injured. He never makes it back home, but instead succumbs to his injuries in the Lost Woods. He swears the last thing he sees is Saria, and his heart is full of regret that he didn't make it back home in time to see some important event in one of his childrens' lives (say, his eldest daughter's wedding when he promised to walk her down the isle).

Twilight

He lives out his years looking out for the common people of Hyrule and it's provinces. He's a beloved hero to all and at peace with life. When he dies, it's as an old wolf wandering the country alone. An unfortunate young archer looses a wild arrow into the woods and the Hero is gone in an instant.

The people of Hyrule never know what happened to their hero and they all assume he just disappeared one day.

Legend

Despite everything, Legend lives to old age and is able to help Hyrule recover and enter it's Golden Era. According to canon it is likely that he settles down with some person or another, since Hyrule is his descendant, but I won't say who it is. I'd like to say Legend passes peacefully but I doubt it. It's likely that in his age he succumbs to an illness and is still fighting in his last days. He dies in a peaceful Hyrule built up but with the knowledge that it will crumble after his death to become the world he'd seen while traveling. I'd like to say he makes preparations for when Ganon returns, looking out for the heroes to follow, and along that road is when he falls ill. He returns to his home to recover, intending to place the Master Sword where Hyrule can find it, but dies before he can. The sword is buried with him, never to be found by the hero to follow.

To make up for not being able to finish his final task, Legend's spirit remains in Hyrule until he meets the next hero. He can't give the boy the Master Sword, because it's been buried, but he does make sure to arm the young hero before he passes, thus fulfilling his final quest.

Hyrule

Two theories for this one as well

Hyrule suceeds the throne of Hyrule (it's said that the one who wields the full Triforce will be the next king) and rules the land faithfully with the help of his Zeldas. He does what he can to restore the kingdom like his ancestor before him and rebuilds the world into something closer to what we're all used to seeing of Hyrule. Unfortunately, I get the feeling that Hyrule dies before he reaches old age, likely in a fight with monsters seeking his blood to resurrect Ganon. The monsters use his blood to bring back not just Ganon, but the Calamity himself, and the night of the Blood Moon stands as a reminder of the hero's death, named for the blood spilled to bring back the demon.

Alternatively, maybe Hyrule dies from an illness or injury back at the castle and safe from Ganon's followers. I doubt it unfortunately.

Wind

Two takes on this again

He's a bit young so it's weird to think about how he dies, but I think it's likely that Hyrule doesn't know itself. After founding the kingdom again on new land, he and Tetra build it up as best they can. When they get on in age though, Tetra releases the kingdom to the hands of her daughter and she and Wind go out sailing again. No one knows what becomes of them, but their are legends around the islands of their deeds that assure those left in Hyrule that however they died, they did it while chasing adventure on the sea they love so dear.

Alternatively, Wind lives on long enough to see the adventures of Spirit Tracks (because Niko, his friend from a child is an old man in that game so I refuse to believe Wind is ST Link). He stays out of it, mostly because he trusts this new hero to complete his task, child or no, and maybe he seeks out ST Link later once it's all over and they can bond. In this scenario, he probably dies of old age, living in peace and offering advice and stories to the people of Hyrule. ST Link is with him in his final moments and he's laid to rest by the sea.

Warriors

Two theories

Warriors is, in my hc, the Hylian God of War, so by definition, he would be unkillable and kind of unable to die. What happens to him? I don't know, but I do know that I have a certain headcanon involving dragons where he might become one of those after long enough

He's the Hero of the first Calamity. When Ganon was resurrected in Hyrule's world, the remerging of the timelines by Cia brought the Calamity to Hyrule and Warriors was the one to face it. Unfortunately, the only way to truly defeat the Calamity was to seal away Ganon beneath the castle of Hyrule, and someone had to be there to make sure he stayed while the seal was cast. As suggested by one of my lovely Anons, Warriors was the hero to stay behind and seal Ganon, and his is the hand we see keeping the Gerudo King down in the BotW 2 trailer.

Wild

Heck if I know honestly, can this kid even die still?

*leans in closely* tears of the Kingdom does not ruin the lore of the Zelda timeline, it takes place more than 10,100 years after the events we see in the memory cutscenes meaning the Zonai period itself is more than at least millions of years after the events of a game like Skyward sword it is more than possible to believe that Rauru is the first king of Hyrule bc a civilization could be destroyed and reborn over and over again in the chaos of Ganodorf's destruction. Tears of the Kingdom is not retconning the events of Skyward Sword or any other game,

totk theory?:

(with other timeline stuff mixed in, for flavor)

everyone prepare your tits i went on a whole ramble in two diff discord servers and i need to share my thoughts

[VAGUE TOTK SPOILERS AHEAD]

SO. This all was started by me watching a theory video. In it someone said something about TotK being a closed loop (in reference to the time travel)—which I didn't agree with.

My reasoning, copied straight from my original ramble (with edits for grammar to make it easier to read):

The glyphs were supposedly made by ancient ppl after watching the dragons tears. But, they only appeared after Zelda time traveled

And, iirc, before the sword is sent back the light dragon is there. BUT she doesnt have the glowy light trails on her head yet.

Then I realized all that kinda falls apart bc tanondorf recognizes Zelda prior to her time traveling. BUT I can fix this.

Tangent time. I know this sounds really off-topic but I promise it eventually loops back to the original topic.

So, earlier today I was playing Hyrule Warriors (Definitive Edition) with my sibling, and we were talking about Ravio's weapons being called "rental hammers" and how it would be funny if, afterwards when he went back to his own time, he put those hammers up for rent for stupid amounts of money because, quote, "they have blood from the enemies from the era of the fallen hero in their grains" because he couldn't get it out when he cleaned them and decided, fuck it. I can make bank from this. THAT turned into a conversation about Hyrule Warriors' non canon status, and I said something along the lines of, "if Hyrule Warriors was canon it could solve the timeline convergence problem."

My reasoning for that:

It literally has all three timelines. its the whole fucking plot

^ though they dont stay together, it easily explains references in BotW. and the rock salt thing*

(*The "rock salt thing" is the fact that BotW's item description for rock salt references Wind Waker and basically says salt deposits like this exist bc of the Great Sea, despite this Hyrule. not being underwater. which raises some questions!)

And speaking of the rock salt thing–

I also posed the idea that, if you still dont want to consider HW canon for fun, you could just explain it by the Passage of Time. And just time in general.

THIS theory's explanation:

After Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass (both the same Link) is Spirit Tracks. Spirit Tracks takes place 100 years after WW and PH, and both of those games are like. pretty important to it

Spirit Tracks does not take place in the ocean. (For the most part at least. I don't know much about spirit tracks.) Instead, it's in "New Hyrule", which was founded by the previous hero and Tetra.

^ Basically they found a big ass fucking island (aka. a continent) and were like Yeah this looks like a good place to reinstate the monarchy.

So, even though Hyrule gets flooded in the adult timeline, we still end up with a Hyrule on land in that same timeline.

Slight topic change. BotW (and by extension TotK) is at the end of the timeline. At least 10,100* years after whichever game was most recent, and then some more to account for the first appearance of the Calamity. (Now. I personally am a fan of the theory that the events of 10k years ago actually took place before Skyward Sword (and these events are the Imprisoning War talked about in that game) but for the purposes of this theory we're ignoring that possibility.) (*More on this later.)

That's a lotta fuckin time. A lot can change in that amount of time.

Who's to say all three timelines didn't eventually end up in the same place? Kinda like the evening out of chaos states or whatever, I dunno I'm not a physicist.

And then. this is the part that circles back ok. Hylia, who is the Goddess of Time, just smushed them all back together into one because fuck it man, they're close enough.

I explained this by saying basically, that-

"Time doesnt work like that" as an argument for anything Zelda related is nullified by the simple fact that Hylia is the Goddess of Time and Nayru has significant power over time as well, and since they're both deities they can do whatever the hell they want with it. If Zelda, who is only channeling the powers of the Goddess Hylia via her blood, which—I don't know how goddess-turned-mortal blood works but this is probably a reasonable assumption—is diluted over tens of thousands of years, can go back 10k years, easy peasy lemon squeezy, then Hylia her-fucking-self can do as she pleases.

So the end conclusion to this one is that time can in fact work like that if an ultra powerful goddess of time wants it to.

And thus we circle back. (omg just like time travel,)

Now. All of this is to explain this idea: TotK is a closed loop, but only kind of. "What the hell do you mean by this, Cat," you might be asking. Well. It's simple.

Zelda's presence (in the past) and effects (on the future of that past) are guaranteed; her actions are not.

And what do I mean by that?

I mean that Zelda is guaranteed to time travel, and she is guaranteed to lead to the sealing of Ganondorf via Rauru's hand. This is to ensure the survival of Hyrule as it is in order for this Zelda to get to the point of this time travel in the first place—likely influenced by Hylia or other goddess to be this way so things stay stable. If this Ganondorf were to succeed, then. well. Hyrule would be screwed, because he"s kinda fucking overpowered with the secret stone.

(Now is "later".) (By the way—I don't know the full lore of TotK, but I'm pretty sure this all has to happen before the first Calamity. I would assume that the Calamity only existed as it did because this Ganondorf was under the castle; that's why the Calamity comes from/starts at the castle every time. so. Zelda actually would've gone back a good bit more than 10k years. Cool!)

Now. Whatever Zelda does to make that happen and whatever she does after doesn’t super affect the survival and state of Hyrule, for whatever reason. So, those actions are not guaranteed. Hence the whole dragon and Master Sword thing—the first set of bullet points in this post.

Oh yeah, and the light dragon also doesn't exist until Zelda time travels. That, or she's up above the clouds with all the sky islands, (which is probably the case, given the carvings behind the rocks in the intro section,) but I like the idea that, while that explanation is true for her, to everyone else she just appeared in the sky—similarly to how the glyphs have history but weren't present or documented till the Upheaval.

So, yeah. TotK is a sort of closed loop and that big sentence up there is what I mean by that. I bow dramatically, the crowd goes wild, etc etc.

...Mmm. Grumping, spoilers for Tears of the Kingdom and Sonic Frontiers behind the cut. Tl;dr Sonic Frontiers wins, for me.

Gotta say, it's still super jarring having gone from a Sonic the Hedgehog game that seems to be a love letter to series lore and a largely successful foray back into stories that take themselves seriously to a Legend of Zelda game that doesn't even give a shit about a consistent story with its direct prequel starring the same characters and hard-reboots/shoves into alternate timelines various things from earlier games in the series.

I don't know, I still have story to go, but I know the broad strokes of how it shakes down. Tears of the Kingdom is all right, and I'm having fun with it, but it's mostly in superficial "ooh nice puzzle" and "haha I wrecked those enemies" ways. Pound for pound, hour for hour, I enjoyed Sonic Frontiers a hell of a lot more, even if it arguably has jankier gameplay and is undoubtedly much shorter.

I felt respected as someone who wants to participate in the game's world, characters, and story by Sonic Frontiers in ways I don't by Tears of the Kingdom. The Sheikah tech evaporating is bullshit, no one recognising Link is bullshit, retconning Ocarina of Time is bullshit. Frontiers definitely had some pretty out-of-nowhere plot revelations with massive implications for Sonic's world, but they were delivered in a way that, like, fucking respects everything that came before.

It is really saying something that "the Chaos Emeralds were brought to Sonic's world by aliens who later evolved into Chao while their spirits possessed totally-not-Koroks and that's why Chaos is the way he is" is more graceful than the Zonai. Who are just kind of. "SURPRISE Hyrule was partially founded by anthro kirin also fuck you one of the linchpin games in the series never happened."

There is much that isn't bullshit about Tears of the Kingdom so far, and from all accounts the endgame is very not bullshit, but... eh.

I don't at all hate the game, and the actual game part is fun with a few mildly amusing and/or cool character moments, but for me that's all it really has going for it, tens of hours in. Which has historically not been a good prognosis for it finding a place in my heart.