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bokettochild · 2 months

Note

For the febwhump:

Day 10 with little legend in ALTTP and killing a knight for the first time?

Okay, so Legend wasn't really talking (shock and grief do that, it's okay) so this is Fable's POV. I hope you enjoy it!

Rating: Teen

Wordcount: 4,985

Summary: Death is familiar to the little girl who will one day be queen. To the boy she had to ask to be her champion, not so much.

Zelda has never particularly thought about death before.

Sure, mother and father were betrayed and killed by a dear friend, and she knows this, but it’s just as much a fact of life to her as the stones of the castle and the swords in the hands of her grandfather’s knights. Death exists and she’s seen it, seen public executions held for terrible criminals and traitors to the crown, but even to her tender years these things are simply part of life. The people who die are always faceless people who don’t matter anymore, and she’d never known her parents anyway, so why should she mourn for them?

She’s heard the castle staff call her a ‘cold little thing’, but in a world where her destiny is to wait for the next escape of a demon she or her descendants must face, how can they blame her? Especially since most of the staff don’t seem to like her much anyway, or Grandfather. She gets the idea that the king of Hyrule isn’t liked at all by most people, but she doesn’t know why and she’s long since given up asking. The knights only assure her with their loyalty and the servants excuse themselves under the pretext of having chores to attend to.

It’s alright, she doesn’t really care what they think. She doesn’t really care about them either.

That is, until suddenly her maid is dead and she’s being hauled down to a dungeon by soldiers who now do not swear their allegiance with charming smiles, but who march, stone-faced, to lock her up, despite her demands to know what’s going on, what they think they’re doing, and what on earth is wrong with them. She can feel it, a heavy magic settled over them, and she doesn’t blame them for their actions, since she knows they aren’t in control, but that doesn’t make it any less terrifying when she’s tossed into the cold stone cell and left there, locked up like one of Grandfather’s prisoners. Calls into the darkness for answers go unheard, and as the night drags on, all she can do is wish, wish, wish for someone to please just answer, to get her out.

Maybe the servants wouldn’t call her a cold little thing if they could see her curled up in her cell, pretty dress ruined and golden hair dirty, sobbing her eyes out into her skirts, but they aren’t here. She doesn’t even know if they’re alive. She doesn’t mourn them either, although there's some distant idea of sadness that their families might not see them again and that they don’t deserve to die just because of whatever it is that’s happening. Still, death isn’t a very present thought in her mind until at last, she manages to catch wind of what’s going on.

Aganim, her father’s old friend and counselor, who’s been serving her grandfather for some time now, has betrayed them, has taken control of the minds of their knights, and now intends to re-open the Sacred Realm, which her ancestors sealed, in order to- like so many other foolish, foolish people- try and obtain the Triforce. To do it, he must first gain the power of the seven sages and the princess herself, and based on what little she knows of dark magic, she’s rather sure he’s not just going to ask them all nicely.

She needs to get out, desperately. She needs to get out before Aganim uses her magic to open the way to the realm where Ganon is sealed! She needs to get out before he kills her, using her like an offering, just like what almost happened to the Spirit Maiden all those thousands of years ago!

Her wishes and cries to the heavens grow more and more desperate. A call to anyone, just anyone, to please just come and help her!

“Who's calling to me?” The answering voice startles her, makes her pull her head up and look around, trying to see the person speaking. The voice sounds almost like her own, but tired, so tired, and somewhat confused.

She feels the same. She hasn’t been able to rest all day, attending to her studies, and now she’s spending the night in a dungeon, away from feathered pillows and heavy blankets and any small semblance of warmth. She wants out, but here, at last, someone’s heard her.

“My name is Zelda,” she says back, wishes back. She doesn’t think there’s a person here with her, just a voice.

She’s heard those favored by the Triforce can gain strange power, but being able to send and receive thoughts isn’t something she’d been counting on. Still, she’s not complaining, and she’s not going to question it either, just as long as she can get out of here and back to someplace safe.

Oh heavens, is grandfather safe? Will Aganim do anything to him? He doesn’t have powers to use and he’s not much of a threat these days, not without anyone to back him up. Will the wizard maybe let her grandfather go? Just lock him up or hide him or not let him do anything? Is he under control of the wizard too, like the knights?

“I’m Link,” the voice answers, still confused, still tired, still sounding too young to do her any good.

She’s no adult herself, but everyone else is. Still, maybe he can tell someone? Maybe he can send help? At least someone can hear her, she’s not going to give up just because they sound like they’re her age! “Help! I’m Zelda! I’m trapped in the castle dungeons! Please, send some help!”

Like a ribbon slipping between her fingers, the presence she could feel answering her; the warmth and light and ray of hope, slips away, no voice answering in return. She slumps down onto the stone again, sobbing. It’s not fair! She hasn’t done anything wrong! She doesn’t understand! Why is this happening? Why would her father’s old friend do this to them? Why isn’t anyone doing anything? Why is the only one to hear her a child?

Just a boy. Just some kid out there who probably doesn’t know how to get around in a castle or how to deal with a knight or a wizard. Just a kid, and she knows, she knows, kids never get listened to! No one listens to her, and she’s the princess! So why would anyone listen to a random kid? Especially one who tries to say that the princess is in danger, when most people don’t like royals to begin with, and anyway, no one’s going to believe that sort of thing! As far as anyone outside the castle probably thinks, she’s all tucked up in her big bed, just finished with dinner, and drifting off to sleep. Who’d bother to check and see otherwise? Especially if it’s only at the behest of a child!

Maybe some people think she’s cold, but the sobs that ring through the dungeons sound terribly awful to her, and it’s enough to make her cry harder, because try as she might, the sounds and sights of crying just makes her cry, no matter how much she fights it. Her own tears echo back off the stone, like the wailing of some tortured soul, and her mind flies off to what and who might have been here before her.

What sorts of people have lived in these dungeons? Died in these dungeons? Where there ever any little girls like her? Did they die down here? Did they escape? Did they have mums and dads to try and get them out, to hold them, or did they get left down here like she is? Just sobbing and crying with no one to hear them until they died and did whatever dead things do.

The old books say that dead things are monsters that wander around, long and thin with ghastly smiles, and attack heroes and knights when they come too close. What if that sort of a dead-monster is down here? Gibdoes, she thinks they’re called, or is it redeads? Whatever they are, she doesn’t want them to be down here. She’d much rather be alone and forgotten than be found by something so awful.

Except she won’t be forgotten, her mind whispers, and it’s not such a comforting thought as she wishes it was. Aganim knows she’s here, and he wants to keep her here until he’s ready to sacrifice her, split her open and make her blood spill to give power to his spell.

She’s seen heads chopped off before, but they were far away and not important. She didn’t care who they were, because it didn’t matter once they were dead and she couldn’t do anything about it anyway. Will other people think about her that way? Will it not matter? Impa will care, and Grandfather too- if he’s still okay, if he finds out, but who else will care? The knights who are nice to her are now mean and cold, and the servants never liked her anyway. The thought of being forgotten is worse than the idea of turning into a dead monster and trying to eat people- or something, but she’s all out of sobs and her eyes hurt from crying.

It doesn’t matter anyways, no one can hear her either way.

Or, rather, she thought so, only there’s the sound of feet in the hall. Feet that patter softly and do not thud and thump like the heavy boots that knights wear or swish and shuffle like the wizard in his great heavy robe. No, they creep slowly across the stone, slow and unsure, like a deer coming slowly out of the trees. They move quietly and quickly, but hesitate, and that alone tells her it’s not a rambling, long dead evil that wanders the halls, nor a servant or soldier who knows this castle. It's not feet she knows, but foreign feet are her best chance of getting out, so she pulls herself up, wipes away what’s left of her tears, and moves to peek through the bars of her cell and out into the hall.

She cannot see anything but stone. Whomever crafted these cells had no intention of allowing the occupants to see what was happening anywhere save just in front of the door.

She can still hear though. She can hear the quiet, unsure tapping of boots. More importantly though, she can feel, and that delicate, evasive ribbon of hope drifts back into her hands, a light presence making itself know in the darkness around her, like a candle coming alight befgore her tired and puffy eyes.

The boy.

Link.

She isn’t sure why he’s here, alone, but at least someone is trying. It’s more than she supposes some people would do, and at least he listened to her, which is far more than most people have done! His steps are wary, but she calls out, with her mind, like before, rather than her voice, urging him closer, telling him that’s he’s close, almost there. Just a little further and he’ll be here and maybe, just maybe, they can figure out some way to get this prison open, or at least she can tell him what’s going on so he can tell someone else.

If the Sacred Realm is unsealed, Ganon will be set free, and the people of Hyrule are not prepared for that. They need to send warning- she needs to send warning, needs to tell someone and get the word out, to give something to her people so they know that things aren’t as they seem, that they’re sitting on the edge of a precipice, too close to the fiery hell before them. Her history books talk about a time when Ganon won, when he ruled their kingdom. She doesn’t want that for them, especially because she’s heard grandfather say they’ve only just recovered from that war. They can’t take it again. Hyrule needs peace. She doesn’t think peace is likely, but maybe they can stop too much of the world from being hurt by the evil magic, if they stop Aganim before he can do anything more.

The feet stop.

She can hear breathing now, soft and rattling somewhat, like her own does as she tries so hard to look through the bars of her prison. Has he been crying, like she has? Come to think of it, if she, locked up and also away from anything else in here, is scared, how must it be for some common boy who’s probably never been in the castle? Or the dungeons much less? For all she knows, he might have been here before, to visit someone or say goodbye before an execution, but still! He’s got to be at least a little scared too.

She tries reaching out, listening again. His voice had been tired then, but she’d heard it, heard it from far away (because she knows there aren’t any little boys in the castle; she’s the only one her age). She could hear it then, so he, like her, must have been able to catch ahold of her thoughts, sent out like a wish to the stars she can’t see from in here. That means maybe she can reach out and hear his!

Except that the sound of a loud clang makes her jump, startle back and fall over, unable to see what it was that made the sound, but well able to hear what’s happening, and tell that it’s very close indeed. There’s a scuffle, a gasp that shudders before there’s panting, feet skidding over stone and another loud clang.

It sounds like the executioner’s axe on the stone of a courtyard.

“Shit!”

It’s him. It's Link. That's his voice, breathing and panting and gasping as she hears another clang, this time the blade screeching off of stone.

Desperately, she moves along the bars of her cell, trying to see out, trying to catch a glimpse of what’s happening. She’d call out, but Grandfather always told her to keep quiet if she hears things that worry her. Enemies might be close and she should never make it known where she’s hiding, because that puts her and anyone with her in danger, and princesses should not put people in danger if they can help it. So, she keeps her mouth shut, and her ears open.

Light feet dart, this time without hesitation, a hiss of breath that maybe carries soft words on it sounding, as well as the rasping of a second voice, breathing within something. Breathing within something heavy and thick, making it echo. It sounds like a knight, one with one of those very big and scary helmets that Grandfather makes them take off if she’s around, so she can see their real faces instead of the cold iron ones.

She hopes it’s not a knight.

The sound of an axe hitting stone, yet again, says it might be.

Link’s voice is panting, feet darting. She hears a hiss of steel, a sword drawing, and then there are a series of very loud blows. There’s yelps and shouts from Link, but nothing from the heavy, echoing breather, just the slam of an axe, again and again.

She can’t do anything. She can’t help or watch and she can only hear the awful sounds, the cry of pain from what she thinks has to be Link, and the clang, clang, clang of blades on stone, on armor, or on each other. She can only sit. Only sit and hope.

No, she can pray. Grandfather says that her lineage, that mother and grandmother and all of them, that their prayers mean something extra special, because they have power from the heavens. When bad things happen, even if he won’t let her know what, he always tells her to pray. Pray for their people and the kingdom and for him, so he’ll do what he should, or can figure out what to do. She always does. Impa takes her to the little prayer rooms in the castle, or sometimes down to the church, and she offers prayers between her studies and her meals until Grandfather tells her that things are better again. She may not be good at a lot, but she has lots of practice praying, so even though the cell floor is so dirty and the clanging of weapons is nothing like the deep ringing of bells, she still kneels and prays as hard as she can. Prays until she hears a scream and a shout and heavy thud.

The clanging stops.

She keeps praying. Please let Link have won. She doesn’t know how (unless maybe he’s a squire? Yes that could work!) but she needs it to be him who won. She needs to know that the only person who can hear her call for help is indeed the one who’s still standing, because she doesn’t know if she can handle having hope stray so close only to be torn away at the very last of seconds.

Soft, gently scuffing boots creep across the floor again, heavy panting, like a fawn just escaped from a hunter, peeking out to see if it’s safe once more.

“Link? Is that you?” She doesn’t get up, keeps her hands folded, she’s got to be ready to start praying for help again if it isn’t.

The voice that answers back is gentle candle-light and warmth, although it shakes and stammers. “M-Miss Zelda?” She doesn’t have time to get up before feet move closer and then there’s a boy standing in front of her. He’s short, maybe her height but probably a bit shorter, with messy pink hair hastily tucked under a green cap. His eyes are wide and blown out in the darkness, but the lantern in his hand makes them dance a bit too, almost red. Red to match the blood that spatters up and across his front, covers his boots and still touches his hands and the cloak wrapped up around him. “Are you okay?”

She blinks. Is she okay? Why is he asking that? She’s the one who just sat in here, praying, untouched, and he was the one that fought...whatever it is that he just fought. “I’m alright. Are you? You’re covered in blood...”

He winces, looks away, doesn’t look down and instead his flickering eyes dart all over everything else, as if desperate to not think about the fresh crimson all over him. “I’m okay.” And then, a moment later. “It’s....it’s not mine.”

His tunic is ripped a bit on one side, and she can see where damage has been done, but she doesn’t challenge him. Boys are funny, Impa says, and if you tell them they’re wrong they pout and throw a fit and won't listen to you anymore. Link’s the first person who’s listened in a long time; she doesn’t want to lose that. Instead, she just nods, doubtful, but doesn’t say anything. It’s not like either of them can do anything about it anyways. She can’t heal and there’s nothing she can offer him either.

He glances at her, and she recognizes abruptly that his eyes are terribly vacant. He’s there, he sees her, but he doesn’t seem to register anything else, just stare at her dumbly, like he’s not all inside his head.

“Did you happen to see a key somewhere?” It’s sort of a reach, since she doubts that the wizard would make it that easy, but the flickering crimson eyes turn back again towards the way he’d come from, and she can see him shudder, revulsion briefly marring his otherwise rather pretty features.

He nods. “Yeah.” There’s no waiting for her to say anything, just the setting down of the lantern in his hand, an old thing but well-tended, and he moves back out of her sight again. There’s some shuddering and catching of breath, rustling and clanking, and a squelch she supposes might be blood. He’s back again a moment or so later, slower than before, but holding the keys. They’re also covered in blood. He’s got more on him too, but his dull eyes are focused on the door, on unlocking it and pushing it open, and she’s quick to stand when he does.

She will not stay any longer, not now that there’s a way out. She’s not sure which of them took the other’s hand first, but as she tells him where to go, he leading the way with the light and with a still dripping sword on his back, and she following, it doesn’t matter. She follows past the fallen corpse of what she recognizes as the royal executioner, through the halls that run rampant with rats, trudging through sewers and mire and muck. The ground underfoot squelches, making her stomach churn. The quickly cooling blood that smears over her hand from Link’s own only makes it worse, and she fights back the urge to pull away. She has to stay with him though; he’s her only hope and only protector, there’s no other way out and she can’t do this alone.

They walk and walk, and she’d never realized before how many traps and dangers lay between the castle and the many hidden exits it possesses. The tunnel is cold, is wet, is damp, and once they exit again into the outside world, she finds it’s much the same. Rain beats down, lighting flashing overhead and thunder booming in their ears as they dart across the open spaces of Hyrule Field. Now out of the castle, she’s not sure what they ought to be doing, but she follows him. She’s never allowed outside alone, but he’ll know this land well, he’ll have lived here. He’ll know enough to hopefully know a safe place for them to hide. Still, it’s terrifying. She’s never seen the world flash like this, never slipped and tripped and made herself this muddy before. Link wraps her in his cloak, eyes still blank and distant, hands deft and fumbling, and while it’s warmer, by just a bit, it smells terribly of blood. Still, it’s better than nothing.

In time, through the rain, she can make out a familiar structure. Almost like a second home for how often she’s been there; the church rises up before them with it’s spires and glittering windows, bells chiming twice and twice only, just as they’re hurrying up towards the doors. She knows they’ll be unlocked.

They are.

Link pushes them open with some trouble, more than they require at any rate, but it��s only then that she realizes that he’s shaking. Not from cold, she doesn’t think, otherwise it would have started far earlier, he would have been shaking when he first came to her, because he was soaked then too, wet and spattered in muck from the sewers as well as the blood. No, now he’s shaking so violently that she finds herself reaching to take the lantern from his hand the moment they're inside the dimly lit sanctuary.

“Princess Zelda?” The familiar voice of the church Father catches her attention, making her turn from her companion to face the man. It’s two in the morning by the ring of the bells, and she can’t fathom why he’s awake, but there’s a candle burning and the smell of incense in the air, familiar and, like Link himself, an assuring presence that makes her heart stop the pounding in her chest, settling instead with a heavy sigh and soft cry she didn’t know was still left in her.

The Father hurries towards them, and while she’s always been taught to be reverent, she can’t help but throw herself into open arms, shaking and trembling herself as his hand soothes her hair, warm, creaking voice- ancient as the trees she thinks sometimes, sounding in words she doesn’t bother to hear.

They’re brought in and given warm blankets, and the bell-ringer appears to offer them warm tea, which she drinks slowly while the Father sits between them. Relief is a strange thing, a foreign thing, but she accepts it the same way she’s been taught to accept her other confusing feelings, sitting and listening to her heart and letting her mind spin until it finds itself too tired to keep on spinning. Soft prayers and the sound of rain fill her ears, and when at last she’s got a handle on herself again, she turns to look at her savior.

Link is still shaking, arms wrapped tightly about himself and eyes vacant.

She reaches out, not with her hands, but with the thoughts in her head, like before, and this time there’s no sudden noise to disrupt it. Link’s thoughts are far more jumbled and spinning than even her own.

‘-didn’t mean to, I didn’t! I- oh heavens, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to, I really didn’t! I- he's dead, I killed him he died and I- I- oh heaven help! I didn’t want to! I didn’t-” he’s shaking, teeth gnawing his lip and eyes slipping closed. ‘We’re safe, we’re safe, we’re safe. I got Miss- Princess Zelda is safe and I got her here and I didn’t end up crying and I didn’t let her down. God, she must have been so scared, I know I was, let her be okay? It must have been awful being locked up in there! I- I couldn’t-” he’s shaking his head, hands plucking at is sleeves, at the blanket. Even with the rain, there’s still bits of blood stuck about his nails and the cuffs of his sleeves, and he seems acutely aware of that fact. His mind spins so much she’s dizzy just listening, hearing him worry first for her and then be washed over with regret at killing, only to them have his mind drift to death and watching people die and-

Zelda is struck with the sudden realization that Link, unlike herself, is not accustomed to death. She’s seen it enough times that seeing a body only brings disgust and discomfort, but sadness does not wash over her to see an enemy laid low. She’d only thought to avoid the pooling blood as passing the slain knight outside of her cell, but Link is actively experiencing regret for ending said knight’s life.

“Link?

The Father turns at her words, but the boy does not, instead rocking slowly as too fast breaths escape him.

“Link, dear boy, can you hear me?” It’s such a relief to release it to the Father and let him try to get the attention of her savior, the man turning fully towards the curled up little boy, one hand settling on his shoulder.

Link does not respond.

The father’s hand slips to rub across trembling shoudlers, steady, soothing motions as his voice, warm and soft, continues. “I do not know what brought you here at this hour, but you are safe here, my son. It is alright.”

“M-Miss-”

“The princess is alright.” The Father assures. “She is safe here as well, and no one will hurt her.”

There’s a small sob from her companion and she can hear his thoughts, the raging swell of the becoming less and less an effort to hear, instead pushing back against her, pushing out and demanding release, pouring into her own mind with terrifying clarity. Pain, anguish, regret, fear, guilt, overwhelming sadness. The ever-present thought of “be strong for her, she looks so scared” makes something inside her own heart twist up and her own breath catch.

“You got me out,” she murmurs, because speaking aloud seems almost wrong in the silence and peace of the otherwise empty church, “thank you.”

Dull eyes fall, Link burying his face in his arms with a sob that has tears pricking at her own eyes all over again. Shre’s always been weak to tears, a fault that Grandfather has warned her must be controlled, lest it be used against her, but she can’t help but cry along with the boy beside her, even as the Father comforts them.

Maybe she’s used to death, but he isn’t. More so though, he’s the one who swung the blade. He had killed a man, killed for her and soiled hands that no doubt had never caused harm further than a fight with friends or other such mischief that common children are allowed to get up to. Blood is new to him, terrifying still, not something he was raised watching be spilled, not something he expects.

His clothes are soaked with it. Even though a potion was given to him, prompted slowly to his lips and choked down dumbly, he’s got his own blood and that of the fallen knights both spattered over him, staining his clothes. It’s not only theirs though, because her peeks into his thoughts grant her visions of a man, in the same dungeons as they had been, wounded and bleeding out, of this same boy, only moments before finding her, finding said man and pleading, fighting against the flow of blood, of tears on his face and hurt in his heart. He’d lost someone just before coming to her. He’d been blank even before killing, forcing himself onwards to help her, guided only by the final words of the dead man in the sewers. He’d wandered and been chased, had faught a foe three times his own size, been forced to thrust a sword that’s too big for him into the heart of a man after just seeing the effects of the same.

Death is following this boy, biting at his heels tonight, and the more their thoughts bleed together in her head, the more the weight of what has happened hits her.

He’s killed for her, and with the knights taken over and the only ones on her side being the Father and this boy, she might have to ask him to do it again.

#alttp #a link to the past #linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu legend #lu fable #ketto writes #asks and answers #febuwhump #febuwhump2024 #tw death #tw blood

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isasan347 · 9 months

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Ok new headcanon incoming:

So since alttp link and albw link were smashed together to create legend, their games are only like 7-8 years apart.

So. In alttp there are the seven maidens and in albw there are the seven sages. And I had a thought about one of the sages. Gulley.

Hes Said to be (like everyone else) a descendant of the seven sages/ seven wise men and theoretically the seven maidens.

What if. Because gulleys like 6-7. and legend went through alttp at about 9-10 years old and albw with 16-17.and considering that he seems to be pretty close to the blacksmith family. What if gulleys mother. Was one of the maidens that legend rescued? Because that would make gulley the descendant of one of the sages/old men/maidens.

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gloriousmonsters · 3 months

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Yknow something else that rly grinds my gears about TotK's storyline. So in most Zelda games there's always the "King Of Hyrule" w/ no mention of the queen even though there's always the implication that sacred power of the family is matrilineal. This is even made explicit and is a plot point in BotW, and obviously the assumption is that they got this power from SS Zelda's bloodline.

BUT THEN TOTK COMES IN AND IS LIKE "um actually they got this power from a man. The sealing and light power is from Rauru and Sonia has time powers instead. btw we're gonna stick her in the fridge while we're at it. So yeah this power that only manifests in the royal women that is passed down from mother to daughter and is said to be the goddess's power is actually from a man, not a woman you stupid fucking idiot."

It's just. Whyyyyyyyy

even MORE belated reply, but YEAH--it's honestly just very weird to me how Raaru and Sonia are treated like Zelda's New, Cooler Parents and her powers being split between them feels like part of that, even though it makes... very little sense (are you saying that if we just did some intermarrying with the Zora and Gerudo sages the next Zelda could have Spirit/'''''''lightning'''''''*, water, light, sealing, AND time powers? We are rapidly entering Lightlark territory and that is the worst possible place to be).

But yes, suddenly introducing 'there was a man from a different, Even More Superior race behind the powers that have been solely characterized as belonging to Zelda and associated (though I have very mixed feelings on SkSw) with the Hylian/Zelda's patron goddess' feels pretty damn sexist, especially paired with how Sonia's character is pretty much 'Wife, who is also Motherly' with a very child-of-nature, barefoot and Primal design, because women are Primal unlike men who are smart and science and have robots dont'chaknow. Paired with, yknow, taking away Zelda's pants and her main scientific/technical interest and putting her in a white dress so she can cry and be pure of heart and a sacrificial maiden. It's pretty awful, especially since while BotW is awful about some women, Zelda's character is one of my favorite things from it because she got to be a little less traditionally feminine and had scientific/technical interests.** It's another case of 'it's not just you fucked up, but you fucked up SO badly it's hard to comprehend' in TotK's story and characterization.

*someday, i will reach a kind of peace with Spirit being taken from the Gerudo to be given to the NEW Super Godly Race that they Sinned against. it is not that day and will not be for a while

**Nayru, Zelda's patron/associated goddess before everything became the Hylia Show, is said to be the goddess of science as well as magic in ALttP's lorebook <3 so Zelda being a researcher/scientifically minded feels especially right to me

#replies #totk critical #it's an old song and we're gonna sing it again

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syntheticspades · 9 months

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so im watching my brother's playthrough of a link to the past, right?

at the end of one of the dungeons, the blue maiden claims link is "the last in the bloodline happens to be the chosen hero."

we knew oot link canonically had children. alttp link canonically doesn't.

#loz #legend of zelda #a link to the past #alttp #loz alttp #alttp link

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journalsouppe · 8 months

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A LINK TO THE PAST!!!! I love and adore this game so much. I love and adore my little pink son he's so sweet despite witnessing some fucked up things. This is one of my favorite spreads, I love the color combination I chose plus the stickers are really cute :').

I bought two different sticker sheets: The pixel inventory stickers are by Comstock Cafe The chibi/character collection is by Pashmakshop

Writing typed below!

Rating: 8.5 Played: Fa 2022 Port: SNES Switch Online

Comments

I am so glad the switch has save points

I love that Ravio is dressed as dark world link, also glad I played ALBW first!

Harder to figure out in between dungeon objectives

I love how this is the game that is the origin of human Ganon

The game is a lot more cryptic than intuitive

Flute boy is so dark but also so interesting

Moldorm was so annoying

oh Link is the last of the Hylian knights

yay new decrease damage armor! idk why the hat isn't also blue

i think turtle rock island was at the lake in ALBW ... interesting

when you start the game, why do you start with 1/2 health?

I'm still surprised the 7 sages were originally the 7 maidens

i hate ice dungeons T-T

the design of ganon's tower is really cool

omfg the mirror shield is so big it covers most of link's face

i like the bunny beam

you can see all the insp ALTTP had on OOT

i think the blue and red mail should be farther apart (play time wise)

omfg the lynels are terrifyingly fast T-T

LMAO vulture recap

THANK GOD NO DEAD MAN'S VOLLEY AHHHHH

Ganon's tower is SO LONG

oh? talking directly to the triforce essence? interesting

UNCLE ISN'T DEAD? AHHHHH

Sumary:

I can see why this game is so popular, it revolutionized the Zelda franchise. It is still a pretty cryptic game at times, but it was a lot of fun and very charming. There was amazing character and world designs, the artists absolutely killed it. I love how this game was the origin to a lot of things for the future: human Ganon, the ocarina, the dark world, the lost woods (although it was technically in zelda 1), ahhh it's so cool. I'm glad ALBW changed and improved on many things, giving more depth to the dark world, but I will say both have their fair share of annoying bosses. I hope Nintendo will continue to expand on the dark world in the future, especially because it's never been 3D. What a very charming game, I think I might replay it in the future since it's such a short game. I'm excited to finish the rest of the 2D games!

#journalsouppe #bullet journal #journal #tloz #legend of zelda #loz #the legend of zelda #zelda journal #a link to the past #alttp

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thebleedingeffect · 9 months

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oh i am so about to become an unskippable cutscene. ok so

my zeldaverse concept is that they all get stuck in the time AFTER the golden goddesses made hyrule but BEFORE hylias creation. each zelda has a varying amount of time since their adventure ended (i.e. totk zelda has been back home for a little less than a month. st zelda is in the MIDDLE of her adventure. sheik only sent link back to her time a week ago. its been 9 months since midna left tp zelda. zelda i zel's adventure ended 5 years ago and her great aunt from zelda ii ended one year ago. etc etc). the idea is that they all wanna get home, so they decide to try and use the triforce, but none of them know which one would be Worthy of it (as in having power wisdom courage). they go to termina [sksw zeldas idea. shes reaaaally trying not to let on shes hylia but still wants to be helpful] bc the fierce deity is their best shot at knowing which one can do it. FD (who appears as their links to each one of them respectively as to "present as something theyre more familiar with." ie botw zelda sees botw link, tp zel sees tp link, etc etc. they end up changing into malon for sheik bc hes still got baggage over link and impa and anyone else so FD chooses someone he barely knows instead.)

anyways FD tells them that all of them are capable of it if they focus in but their best bets are sheik, botw zelda, tetra, and hilda + albw zelda if they do it together (one from each branch of the timeline. kind of). so the gang splits off to find the triforce and erm yeah 🕺💃

also theres two oot zeldas. one for the adult timeline (sheik) and one for the child timeline, who never knew the horrors of war and got to know oot link unlike sheik. oops.

anyways herez my names wooooo (also they all chose them themselves hehe)

BOTW/TOTK - Coreulea (part of the scientific name of wild blueheart tulips which are the closest visually to silent princesses irl, so. shes named after her fav flower...)

OOT (ADULT) - Sheik (later Sage. this zelda awoke as the leader of the sages while the other oot zelda did not have to.)

OOT (CHILD) - Coda (the part of a song where you go back and repeat a portion you've already played before. get it. Coda says she wants something music related and Sheik is the one to suggest the name to her.)

MINISH CAP - Stonie/Quartzie (what her link calls her! used to think it was mean but shes rlly missing him so ..)

TP - Archer (bow of light. prefers to be called 'the archer' specifically if possible, lol)

ALBW - Hilda and Hue (like color. like painting. Hue liked the alliteration of their names hehe)

ALTTP - Maiden (describes herself as a maiden in game. theres more to it but ohhgh thatd require a lot of analysis and this is already so looong)

ZELDA I - Ura (in the og game u had another mode called ura zeruda after u beat the game which literally translated to "other zelda." its a little joke abt how many zeldas there are! she chose it bc its her real first name; zeldas only her middle name!)

ZELDA II - Somnia (from "insomnia." also the name her family uses to differentiate her from her great great niece. she thinks its pretty, if a little on the nose, but she cant blame her relatives for being that uncreative when shes been dead for 100 years, took the money they gave her to not claim the throne, and ran off with her boytoy lmaooo)

WW/PH - Tetra. she wanted a silly nickname too though so they will also respond to Captain

SPIRIT TRACKS - Spectra (like spectral! shes still a ghost here and has a good sense of humor abt it!)

SKSW - Lyre (another name for harp and sounds like "liar" because shes got a bit of a track record for not being entirely truthful about who she is ,,,,)

bonus zeldas who dont appear but i love them anyway:

80S CARTOON - Fresh/Freshie (MY DESIGN GIVES HER SCRUNCHIES AND LEGWARMERS💥) (AND SHE TALKS WITH 80S SLANG OK SORRY)

CDI GAMES - Gamelon

Mario Kart - Chassis [pronounced chass- ee] (Link's pitstop captain! no thats not how mk works. no i do not care <3)

SSBU - Hitbox

ok cutscene over. thank u 👍

YOOOOOOOOO your zeldaverse concept sounds so cool!! I've never even thought of the idea of time travelling to after the golden goddesses created everything but before Hylia's creation! :O that's such an interesting time period, I've never really thought about all that.....

Also them going to the fierce deity is so cool cause I have so many questions!! How does sksw Zelda know of the fierce deity? Does she have memories of him during her time as Hylia? Does fierce deity recognize her? If he does, does he willingly keep her secret from the rest of the Zelda's as he's correctly guessed that she's hiding it? How does the fierce deity correcting know of just who would be the most familiar to present as and does he know of all the Link's?

There's just so many questions and it's so funnnnnn to think about!! Also I like how he says that all of them are capable but Sheik, botw Zelda, Tetra, and Hilda are the most capable of wielding the full triforce... while sksw Zelda is right there... HMMMMMMMM........ sksw Zelda I have questions for you but I fear if I speak any of them out loud you'll combust <3333 love her though <333

The choices for all the Zelda's is so fun and cool to! I've never really thought about including both oot child and adult! I can most definitely see that being a major source of pain and angst for Sheik and I'm just super curious about Coda would react to that :o also I'm just a fan of such Zelda incarnations such as MARIO KART and SUPER SMASH BROS being involved in the middle of this.

idk that's just great to me, peak vibes, ideal even, CDi is also here SJSJJSJS

also?? These names are so so damn cute?? Genuine question, would you be okay with me using some of them? They're just that damn good but I totally understand if you would rather me not! I'm particularly in love with Coreulea for botw Zelda and Lyre for sksw Zelda <333 that's so so good and fits them so well, what da Hell.......

Also just to respond to your other ask here- I'd love to hear you talk about their personalities!! Lowkey I'm so happy that you decided to include spirit tracks Zelda, she's so underrated and amazing I love her a lot :((( and Spectra as her name?? That's so, so, I'm having a moment that's so damn CUTE

#this whole zeldaverse idea sounds so fun and I love the mix of Zelda's going on here!!#the inclusion of 80s cartoons zelda is GETTING ME!!!! SHE WEARS LEG WARMERS !! cultural ICON #captain is also such a good nickname for tetra. yeah she's most def Captain I've decided it now #I know you said that you doubt you'll do anything with this but just know that I think its vry cool <33 zeldaverse I lovvveeeee yoouuuuuu #thebleedingeffect talks

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karama9 · 5 months

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Happy Birthday to two great games

Especially since they share my own, so I got wonderful games released on my b-day twice. Not to mention the ones that were released just a few days before.

Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past are pretty much my favorite Zelda games. I played both without the benefit of extensive walkthroughs and stuff on the internet and the challenge of having to figure everything out was really good for that time in my life (I HAD time back then).

ALTTP was my first true Zelda game, I only sort of dabbled with the original two because I never owned them, and basically I've been obsessed with Zelda ever since the little pink haired dude got woken up by Zelda's voice in his head, on a stormy night in Hyrule. I finished it so many times, and I'm working on a novelization! I know, I know, SUPER original idea. But Holy Crap Two Cakes right?

Ocarina of Time is also one of my favorites because it expanded the universe and the lore so much, and it was just such an awesome game to play. The story, the gameplay, the exploration, the ability to muck about with nothing to stop you except Navi's constant pleas to get back on track... and I didn't even mind the Water Temple that much. Ironically, the one that kind of stops me when I play through again is the Shadow Temple, I just plain don't like it.

ANYWAY!

I have no art. Here are some stories instead:

For Ocarina of Time:

For A Link to the Past:

And I'll just paste this here too... it's part of Moving On, but this scene is just the Hero of Legends making his wish.

Moving On, extract from Chapter 1: A Link to the Past

Link clutched the Triforce to his chest, eyes closed tightly.

He didn't know what to wish for: Ganon had done too much harm, and Link suspected some of it couldn't be fixed, even by the Triforce: his uncle was dead, and so was the King; the maidens' souls had been freed, but their lives remained lost, even the Princess's.

What was there left to wish for? Ganon had already taken everything. Even the mystical Golden Realm was gone, the reflection of Hyrule's hopes and dreams turned into a nightmare by the demon.

There were many things Link wanted and could have wished for, but they were all so selfish he couldn't bring himself to do it. He wanted his uncle back, he wanted the maidens back. He wanted all the guards Aghanim had made him kill to be alive and themselves again, and to forgive him. Above all, he wanted the Princess back. He wanted her to look at him like that again, like she had when he had saved her, as if he was the sun itself. [...] He'd happily settle for her just to be alive again, even if she never again so much as stood in his presence.

If he were to wish for any one of those things, however, wouldn't it mean giving up on the others and on everything else Ganon had soiled or destroyed? He couldn't pick one wrong to right, he wanted it all: he wanted ALL the harm Ganon had done to be undone; he wanted everything back just like it was before Ganon had gotten his paws on the Triforce.

As soon as the thought formed in Link's mind and before he even realized he had effectively made his wish or dared to hope such an all encompassing wish could be valid, the Triforce started shining, so brightly as to hurt Link's eyes right through his closed eyelids. It shone brighter and brighter, and Link had to fight back the urge to let go of it to cover his eyes with his hands. He turned his head sideway as far back as it could go instead, but it didn't help: the glow of the Triforce was filling the whole room.

Then, as suddenly as it had started, the glow was gone. Link opened his eyes warily, afraid the Triforce may start shining again. It was still in his arms, but it was back to normal and thankfully stayed that way. Link looked around instinctively for any visible effect from his wish, and gasped: through the door to the room where they had fought, Ganon was scrambling up, whole and seemingly unhurt. Link's eyes went from the Demon to the Triforce and widened.

The Triforce had granted his wish, all right: everything was back, just like before Ganon had claimed the Goddesses' artefact… including Ganon.

Link's eyes went back to the pig and met the beast's own. He stuffed the Triforce into his tunic and took out his bow and arrow, expecting Ganon to charge at him. The Demon did no such thing, however; he hissed, and before Link had even had a chance to shoot a single arrow at him, he vanished with a puff of smoke.

Link's breathing accelerated. Just like that, Ganon had escaped and it was anyone's guess where he'd resurface and what he'd do - and whatever it was, Link felt it would be his fault. He clenched his teeth, re-sheathed his sword and took out the mirror that had the power to bring him back to the Real World; the first thing to do was to let the King know Ganon was loose. After that, assuming he didn't get thrown in the dungeon, Link would happily do whatever was asked of him to fix things.

As Link looked into the mirror, the room around him faded and was replaced by the castle's inner court and the sound of deafening cheers.

Link had never felt LESS deserving of cheers. He ignored them and looked around frantically, looking for the Princess; he found her standing next to her father, beaming at him. Link's heart skipped and for one glorious second, he was happier than he would ever have thought possible.

Then, reality came crashing back.

"Your Majesties," he said, addressing both of them, "he…"

"Come inside," the King cut him off, setting off towards the entrance to the throne room. "Close the door behind you," he added without turning around.

Zelda and Link followed him.

"He doesn't want a panic on his hands," Zelda explained in a whisper as they walked, "and since you obviously have bad news…"

Link nodded without meeting her eyes.

Zelda closed the door behind them once they were inside, shooing the few who had followed away with an apologetic smile.

"Firstly," the King said as he sat on his throne, "Link, I must express my gratitude, and I hope to do so properly once you have told me your news and we have dealt with it. You need to know that nothing you might tell us will change the fact you have single-handedly saved not only my daughter and myself, but the whole of Hyrule."

"He's back," Link blurted out, barely hearing him. "Ganon. And he ran off… I messed up, I really messed up. I'm so sorry… I didn't realize, I was just thinking, and the Triforce did it…"

He collapsed to his knees, shaking. He could still hear the cheering outside and it was making him feel worse. Here was everyone, so happy that all was well…

"Young man, are you saying Ganon is still alive?" the King asked.

Link nodded without raising his eyes. He felt a hand on his shoulder and the next moment, Princess Zelda's face was inches away from his own, looking serious but thankfully not angry. His heart automatically started hammering in his chest.

"Is he in the Dark World?" the Princess asked.

Link nodded again.

"Light World," he corrected. "I think. I didn't look outside, but…"

"What about the Triforce?" she interrupted him.

"I got it," Link said, pulling it out of his tunic. "But Ganon ran away, he could be…"

Link didn't finish his sentence, having suddenly lost his train of thoughts: the Princess was smiling at him. He swallowed and made a valiant – if doomed - effort at reassembling his thoughts. Zelda got up from her crouch and pulled him along so that they were both standing again.

"The only place Ganon can possibly be is the Light World," Zelda said gently, still smiling. "Remember, even with his power increased by the Triforce, he could not escape from there – that is why he needed the maidens: he wanted to use them to break the seals and thus escape his prison. Now that he has lost the maidens and that the seals are back to the level they were before Aghanim captured them, Ganon will not be able to escape the Light World, at least for a while."

Link sighed in relief and nodded to signify he understood.

#The Legend of Zelda #long post #Ocarina of Time #A Link to the Past #Happy Birthday to both #my writing

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elstreem · 1 year

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Worked on one of the Zelda design concepts I had (which was really just focused on the hair buns, so the dress isn't all that creative :b) But now that I worked on it, I'm not sure if it works as a Zelda design.

Also new signature because I've been using the one I had for the longest time and I think it needed updating...

wips below

I changed up a lot of stuff from the initial rough sketch, though I still hope one day to draw a Zelda with hair buns and a crown, similar to the sprite used in the Oracle games. The 2nd sketch leaned a bit more towards ALttP Zelda's maiden dress though, so to make it a bit more unique I changed the skirt, but it kind of ended up looking generic.

#not sure if I even tag this as zelda

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fourswords · 11 months

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in canon i accept that four swords adventures is placed after twilight princess in the child timeline because fine whatever i can't really dispute that but realistically i think four sword adventures would make a lot more fucking sense if you placed it after four swords and just had that reincarnation of ganon time travel back from the child timeline into the force era because. i mean. gesturing incoherently at the entire deal with vaati and the four sword sanctuary and oot/mm/tp happening before that AND the deal with the palace of the four swords in the fallen timeline. because yes yes i know four swords did not exist when alttp was released and this is the legend of zelda we're talking about but THEORETICALLY. given the information we have NOW. there is NO reason for the fallen timeline at that point in time and the child timeline to have. like. a differing place where the four sword rests. because if the four sword at the end of four swords is sealing vaati then. if one attempted to move or tamper with the four sword. vaati would. be released. and there is no vaati present in the fallen timeline. yes ganon was sealed into the four sword at the end of fsa but honestly that provides more of an explanation for the dark versions of the links in the palace of the four sword than anything else. if maybe that ganon's life force faded after time but his dark magic remained and contaminated the four sword to a certain degree (bolstered by the fact that the ganon of the fallen timeline was already wreaking havoc with HIS dark magic. the barrier created by the maidens around the four sword could potentially have failed in that timeline as the result of the sacred realm being turned into the dark world. so they built a palace around that bitch in the false hope that it would provide the barest minimum of protection or smth).

and that's not even getting INTO the whole mess that is oot/mm/tp (tp definitely less so but oot definitely).....like if there was an extra sword laying around that could have stopped ganondorf/ganon that was easily accessible in the four swords sanctuary. that the royal family knew about. would that not have been hypothetically easier to acquire than the master sword. even if it wasn't actually easier thanks to the barrier left behind by the maidens if you KNOW where a magic sword capable of killing/sealing away evil is and your first thought is not "let's figure out a way to get past this barrier and get this powerful magic sword that is Very Much Within Reach" but "ay yo link can you do this complicated quest to break into the sacred realm instead" (yes i know this is a video game i'm talking about and it was necessary for gaming purposes) then like. what's even happening at that point. there is no knowledge of or worry about vaati or the four sword sanctuary whatsoever. this is entirely normal on its own except when you consider the fact that four swords adventures starts with zelda + the maidens needing to check the seal on the four sword because shit started happening across hyrule and their first thought was "fuck what if it's vaati what if it's the seal." which is NOT really the first thought someone from a timeline that has seen ganon defeated twice over would think. they would be more likely to think it was ganon again. it's what someone from the force era where vaati has been a very real and present threat would think. i feel like i'm going insane i could write a thousand page thesis on this i genuinely think four swords adventures should be placed after four swords in the timeline. i do not think i can accept it as canon actually i changed my mind while writing this post

#I DIDN'T MEAN FOR THIS TO GET THIS LONG.........#txt

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retrogamerj · 1 year

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Sacred Reviews: The Legend of Zelda: Parallel Worlds Remodel Review

A new edition of Sacred Reviews is up, and we check out an infamous Zelda: A Link to the Past hack called Parallel Worlds to close the winter. Originally, a user named SePH developed an ALTTP hack called Tower of the Triforce in 2003. He/she eventually scrapped it due to the game being glitchy and nearly unplayable. That is when he/she reworked the concept and then teamed with another user named Euclid to produce Parallel Worlds in 2006. The hack has seen a few revisions not only from the original team but from other modders in the community. The Remodel Edition (version 1.1) was edited by two users called PuzzleDude and qwertymodo in 2012. It was an attempt to address the many issues that plagued the design of PW. The Original and version 1.0 were notorious for their unfair difficulty where the environments and enemy/trap placements were the issue. Now, the first time I heard of PW is when a YouTube user named Mutahar from SomeOrdinaryGamers narrated the legend of Zelda Bootleg Creepypasta. In that edition of Haunted Gaming, he was playing the first version of Parallel Worlds while narrating the story. That is where I learned about these hacks and was blown away by the differences some of them had from the Vanilla game. PW is also the perfect seasonal game to play as the theme involves an Icy World akin to the Dark World. While this alternate Hyrule might be in a spring season, the hack mostly revolves around the harsh winter conditions of the opposite realm. The plot is about Link (who’s a treasure hunter) gets contacted by Zelda to release her from a prison in Hyrule’s Guardhouse. Upon rescuing her, he learns she along with six maidens come from a different world who each have knowledge of a place called the Parallel Tower. The Hylian King named Draegor has already captured six maidens and has a plan to solve the tower’s puzzle for his evil intentions. The Legend of Zelda: Parallel Worlds Remodel Review

#The Legend of Zelda #The Legend of Zelda Parallel Worlds #Super NES

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bosmermage · 3 years

Photo

The second part of my progression of Zelda fashion series this time with the Downfall Girls, design descriptions under the cut.

Part 1: here

First off yes I know FS and FSA are design swapped from what they are in canon. No I’m not changing it because a) I like the progression from MC better this way and b) that’s how I draw FS+ Zelda and I’m attached to it now, sorry. And yes this is a modified timeline, here the downfall timeline splits from the game over in Minish cap instead of from Ocarina of Time with FSA being a direct FS sequel.

Four Swords - happens in this progression a single generation after MC. FS and FSA Zeldas are part of the same dynasty as MC. After MC more fanciful dresses come into fashion, modelling the First Interim Period. Now the aprons are belted on with a matching fabric to the trim as the metal girdles from before have fallen out of fashion. Cloaks that are long are back in, and to increase the practicality they are fastened at the shoulder of the dominant arm to keep the dominant arm free. I made her purple because I think she deserves to wear the prettiest colour.

Four Swords Adventures - is a direct sequel to four swords, although I did steal the original Four Swords Zelda design to base this dress on - again because this is how I draw FS+ (the manga) Zelda, and now I’m attached. I like this progression because it takes us from the simple, plain dresses of MC to a slightly more exaggerated version of that type of dress in FS pulling on the fashion of the interim period: and then by FSA a couple generations later we can see how that style is being rejected by the current generation. The overgown takes its neckline inspiration from the dress of Zelda I, the waistline moves up and the skirts become much fuller and less A-line than before, while the length drops past the floor. Cartridge pleating at the waist is common as we see the overgown begin to pack in as much fabric as humanly possible. Up until and even after Vaati attacks this is period of never before seen prosperity. The Sealing War - The time of the Fallen Hero, and my first set of fleshed out ocs. I’ll explain the fashion first so you can skip the ocs if you want. Here, you can see with the tiara, is the 3rd Dynasty shift. Fashion is primarily inspired by military dress, and it became fashionable to wear a white linen smock as an top layer instead of just the under layer, with a pair of trousers tucked into your boots beneath. A gambeson, though much thinner than our real world counterparts thanks to protective enchantments, became common outerwear for nobility, with unpadded and unenchanted vests being common for the lower class. The crest our noble lady is wearing is based off the Red Shield from ALTTP since these two ladies are part of the same dynasty. As for my ocs, my Link was betrayed by the dynasty this lady belongs to and killed so that he couldn’t aid the previous dynasty in battle. Of course, Link only seems to reincarnate when the great evil does so this was, ultimately short sighted of them. But, they did find the reincarnation of Zelda, who had reincarnated as a weaver’s daughter, as well as the master sword, and she is the Zelda pictured above. She was given the master sword and tasked to work with the maidens to seal Ganon away after he had broken free from the seal the four sword had on him. This worked yes but the dynastic struggle had evolved into a civil war and then Ganon had struck while the iron was hot, so while Zelda was able to seal him quickly, Hyrule was left in ruins.

A Link to The Past - ages have past but the military elements are still seen in the dress of the royals. Instead of full armor though, this Zelda is only wearing ceremonial pauldrons and would wear a overly fancy rapier for formal occasions. Her dress is full at the sleeves and hem, but it’s still short enough to show her boots so as to remain a little practical (although the bodice style limits how useful the dress would be in a fight..) A Link Between Worlds Zelda isn’t here because I literally have no notes, her design fits this progression perfectly and I didn’t want to crowd the already wide document with a pretty much unchanged design. Legend of Zelda - Marks the final dynasty shift in the timeline. This would be the dress I think she would wear in the time after the game, between this game and Adventure of Link. I really liked the 80′s style dress the original Zelda had in the concept art, I decided to revamp it though by mixing it with a more 1820s flair. I kept the short bob hair of the concept art and the very simple necklace-tiara because they’re both very iconic to the character but also because I think they fit the image of a princess of a country recovering from the apocalypse much better than something more fancy.

#hcs #my art #fs #fsa #alttp #redesign #this ones also a long one #this time featuring ocs #i hope that looking at these images all together gives a real sense of progression #like you can see where each design was drawing inspiration from previous decades

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old-notoyamato · 3 years

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This is something I wrote hit by the inspiration. Idk how to tag it because I wrote it with LU Legend in mind but work with the original alttp Link. Read it as you want.

TW: There is a corpse in the room. Literally. Nothing graphyc but this is about losing someone, mourning and how the traditions changed after Link wishes upon the triforce.

His uncle had told him that he had to sleep before the trip to his grandparents' farm, where he would be living from now on. "It's not that I want to get rid of you, Link," the knight's smile was clearly false. For him it had only been a bad dream, for the young man, several months of his life. (He was afraid of what he saw when he looked into my eyes) "But the country atmosphere will suit you better. Wouldn't you like to spend time with the grandparents and their animals?" Link had looked evil in the eye but he was still a child and he had no say in his life. Not entirely. He could decide not to sleep and sneak out in the middle of the night to go to the castle. To talk to her again. To say goodbye.

Taking a sword and shield with him was a reflex action. The night hid its dangers and he could not allow anyone to stand in the way of his mission: human or monster, though sometimes they were unable to tell each other apart. His footsteps stopped at the gate of Hyrule Castle before he took the path to the right. It was not safe to enter through the main gate. (I was neither knight, nor nobleman, nor hero to do so.) The secret passage was the only option, the one he felt safest with.

Getting around the castle was child's play (Ha) but that night it was easier than he remembered. He had encountered no one to hide from, no knights on guard, no maidens sneaking out of a room. All was an overwhelming silence that made his heart shrink. Something had happened and in his mind there was only one person. He had to find her, make sure that everything was all right, that she was safe (although my instinct told me to run, for that is the mind of a prey).

Something had guided his steps, for he did not enter any other room, he did not check that he was not somewhere else. He was there. There was nowhere else. The sacrificial throne hall. The most important place in the castle. And there she was. With her back to him, in a simple white dress, in front of the red velvet platform that had started the countdown (A dead end entrance).

"Thank you for coming, Link. I didn't want to disturb you but I was under the impression that you would come..." She hadn't needed to turn around to know he had entered the room, to recognise him. He stopped at a safe distance. He was only a boy but he had seen too many corpses already (I had seen my only family up to that point die in my arms) to know that the body lying on the platform had expired its last breath.

"I came to say goodbye... Zelda" He still struggled to pronounce her name, to show that closeness to someone he had heard more than seen, imagined more than shared. "Tomorrow I'm going north... Far away, to live on my grandparents' farm."

"The north... I'd like to visit it someday. To meet your grandparents" (I hope you'll forgive me, because although we went north it was too late to meet them) Link could hear in the silence the sound of handwork, of branches brushing against each other, of leaves being moved by the princess's hand.

"Of course... Zelda" The sound stopped and the princess turned so that she could look her hero in the face. Her blue eyes, the colour of the sky on a clear day were dulled by the red of sadness. There were still traces on her cheeks of the path that tears had created. (You were a child but you already carried a weight that was not yours to carry on your shoulders).

"..." The princess's fingers clenched tightly around the half-made crown she was working on, the words unable to leave her chest. "It was a few months ago, when Aga... the wizard took power" A lump materialised in the boy's throat. They had not spoken of what had happened, for to everyone it was a bad dream. The wizard's name had disappeared from Hyrule's memory, the hunger and hardship were only nightmares. The kingdom of Hyrule had always been prosperous, flourishing after the Hero's victory over evil more than 300 years ago (Better that way, I never wanted the glory or the title of hero).

"We were in this very room" Zelda turned to look back at the body "The wizard was right where you are" That comment made Link step forward. He wasn't like the mage, he wasn't here to hurt and use her, he was here to protect and support her. "I was preparing my father's body for the first time" And with that comment Link paid more attention to the body, seeing for the first time that it was the former king of Hyrule. He had only seen the king once, once he had recovered from his wounds and he had only commented on how children like him were the future of Hyrule (He didn't need to know that I had brought the future to the kingdom).

"...Why the flowers?" It wasn't the right question, it wasn't even the time to ask but even if he had fought to the point of exhaustion, in some respects he was nothing more than a child. "Tradition is a weapon to defend yourself, food to replenish your strength and a mask to go unnoticed" Even before his adventure Link was no stranger to death. Life in Kakariko was difficult, famine and disease made it hard to go on and that ritual was something everyone knew about, even the children.

The princess was silent before replying, "You... We... They.... Things have changed. Even death is no longer the same" Her voice sounded broken and the young man could only take another step forward, until he stood beside her, but not too close, a distance between them that made Link feel worlds away from the princess, while his eyes stared at the velvet, not looking up. "The maidens were alarmed when I offered to perform the ritual, as if I didn't have to know anything about it. And I really don't. The first time I armed my father for battle, and now... It seems he is prepared for the most important audience of his life: his best clothes, his beard combed and groomed, and some flowers as a final gift..."

There were no more words though and Link felt like a coward for not being able to move, not even to look up. He knew the princess was crying, though her voice didn't break when she spoke again "Why does it hurt so much if I've already lived through it? Why is it worse this second time if this time it was peaceful and painless?"

(Because you were crying for what you have lost again, because you had a small glimpse of happiness and it was taken away from you. Because you were afraid of the future, of not being ready. Because in spite of everything, you were just a child who demanded to be the adult you were not yet ready to be, even though you had lived a nightmare come true. Because we didn't know the consequences of what I had unleashed.)

#linkeduniverse #linked universe #lu legend #alttp #alttp link #fanfic #not a big fan of tagging the original but it works both ways #tw: corpse #tw: death #heavy topics #my work

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