I think it'd be interesting if at some point the royal family just decided to name their kid Link and some random ass Hylian family decided to name their daughter Zelda with the mindset of like “eh, if we do this our kids for SURE will not have to save the world", because they don’t want their kids to deal with that hardship.

Then the universe just laughs at them and still makes their Zelda and Link the ones that have to save Hyrule. We’d have a funky little role reversal where we get to follow Zelda either as a Knight or a swordsman (swordswoman ?) or just an average Hylian, meanwhile Link is the Prince of Hyrule.

LoZ AU- The Courage of Running Away Part THIRTEEN

Don’t worry this is not the bad luck post!!  That’s the next two

#AU August

#LoZ AU: The Courage of Running Away

[Image Descriptions: Still coming off the previous scene, Queen Zelda puts a hand to her forehead and sighs heavily, dragging it into the statement “What a MESS.”  A heavyset middle aged Sheikah woman rushes up from further down the hallway, a thin youth with a Sheikah Eye on their clothing trailing behind her.  “Zelda what in the WORLD,” she says, but it’s more a statement than a question.  “Impa,” Queen Zelda greets, “Excellent.”  She seems weary.  “You have more experience with boys, set this child up with a room while I figure out how to apologize for trying to murder his FATHER.”  She puts a hand on her daughter’s hand, still on her arm.  “Dove, go with Auntie Impa and Link, stick to Gray for a while.”  Princess Zelda, jaw set, nods.  Impa makes a strangling motion with both hands.  “ON GODS, Zelda,” she says.  Link stares in astonishment. Outside the hole in the wall, King Aldway says “I suppose I’LL just go find someone to CLEAN UP THIS MESS.”  Queen Zelda starts, as if only now realizing he witnessed the entire debacle.  “ALDWAY!  Oh darling, I’m SORRY, I’ll walk with you!”  She puts a hand to her chin pensively.  “You’re supposed to be GENTLER with boys, right?” she mutters, and then goes to join him, as Impa puts a hand to her face in exasperation.  Princess Zelda wraps her arms around Link in a hug.  “Here,” she says.  “You look like you NEED one.”  Link is startled and blushes, while Impa and the youth look on with sad but fond expressions.  End ID.]

Impa has been many women at this point; from old to young, rail thin to “someone on Capcom’s LoZ team has a real THING for extremely round MILFs.”  She’s been Zelda’s nanny, her de facto mother, her servant, and her best friend.  This Impa is about Queen Zelda’s age and one of her literal job descriptions is “not taking the queen’s bullshit,” hence their dynamic.  She is also still very much a ninja because I wanted very badly to draw her doing ninja things.  Her son, Gray, is more or less Sheik as his own identity; I am having my Zorlda cake and eating it too.  (”Zelda” is short for “Griselda,” which means “Gray Battle Maiden,” so he’s even named after her.)

[Image description: Impa standing on a pole with a bust of Gray and a sketch of him interacting with Princess Zelda to the side.  Impa is heavyset with a round face.  She has red eyes, white hair pulled into a half ponytail, dark thick eyebrows, and light skin.  She is wearing a cream colored jacket with loose sleeves and red trim, belted shut over a black dress, the hem of which stops just below her knees.  She is wearing black boots with a split toe and black arm guards.  Her hands are on her hips.  Gray has the same red eyes, light skin and white hair as his mother, thin black eyebrows and a black mark of makeup under his right eye.  His left eye is hidden by one of his bangs.  His hair is in a bun and he is wearing a blue sleeveless turtleneck.  In the sketch with Princess Zelda, both he and she have been mussed, with feathers in their hair, and he looks embarrassed.  “It’s not what it looks like!” he’s saying.  “Really?” asks an unseen speaker, “Because it LOOKS like you two have been PILLOWFIGHTING.”  Gray says “Okay it’s EXACTLY what it looks like.”  Princess Zelda is grinning.  “I’m winning,” she says.  There is a note that describes them as “Basically siblings.” End ID.]

It’s not EXACTLY that Gray is supposed to be Zelda’s bodyguard; he’s only seventeen himself, but he’s been her de-facto babysitter and chaperone around town for the last two or three years and he thinks of himself that way.  

I was a little concerned when I hit on this idea of his character design versus Ghirahim, but I think I’ve sorted it out so they look sufficiently different!

That said no I don’t know what’s up with his eye.  There’s a sketch somewhere in my hand-written notes where Impa’s asking if he thinks he’s the hidden princess (as a more direct reference to OoT, you know) so maybe he just thinks it looks cool.  

Also I have at least one vote for Gray as Link’s love interest, not that love interests for anyone are a high priority in this AU.  XD

Anyway, so obviously Impa and Gray and Princess Zelda work on getting Link settled.  There’s a few days where he kind of finds his way around the castle, gets apologized to by the guards that were at the door when Astramorus caught up to him, worries about what his father might be up to, and has some Genuine Serious Talks with the queen about things like the last few things Astramorus was saying and about his mother.

”He must mean the Gerudo Prince,” Zelda says of Astramorus’s warning.  “Dinravi’s been calling me auntie since he could talk, I’m not worried about him, I’ve been paying reparations to the Gerudo for most of my reign, but this talk of a demon....I’ll look into it.”  

And of Link’s mother, she says, “You jumped off a sky island with no idea where you’d land and you’ve been saving people left and right and endearing yourself to everyone you meet ever since.  You’re pretty much exactly your mother’s son.”  

And speaking of endearing himself to people, Marla and Tonbo finally catch up, just like Marla promised:

[Image description: Marla has her arms fully around Link from behind and is thoroughly squishing him into her torso protectively, looking over his startled face at Queen Zelda, who has a hand to her mouth and is trying not to laugh.  “You’d better be TAKING CARE OF HIM, Missus Queen Hyrule,” Marla says, “This is the SADDEST BOY.”  She kisses the top of Link’s head.  “RIGHT Tonbo isn’t he the saddest of boys?”  Tonbo answers dryly, “The very saddest.”  Link grins, close to tears, looking tired.  “I missed you guys too,” he says.  End ID.]