Fanfic / Displaced (The Legend of Zelda)

She hears Link swallow, then place his plate on the floor. For a moment, she thinks he might bridge the space between them, kneel before her to force her to look him in the eyes, take her hands in his own, tell her that she is actually doing quite well for a time displaced young woman who has just finished a century-long battle with demon, and whose admittedly-few friends are all long dead, and who hasn’t used her vocal chords or seen the sun in a hundred years. It’s a perfectly reasonable mistake to make. They are both tired and should really get some sleep.
Instead, he picks up his glass of milk with a clink, downs it in three, noisy gulps, and places it on the floor beside his plate. He then falls back on his bed with a sigh. He's just done with his meal. That's all.

A The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild fanfic by socksock.

The Calamity has ended. There are no more Blood Moons, the Guardians have deactivated, and Zelda has returned from her hundred-year prison in the castle.

What now?

Zelda wants to restore culture and technology to Hyrule. Impa wants Zelda to retake her rightful place as High Queen. The other rulers largely want to be left alone. And Link just wants to keep Zelda safe.

But no matter what Zelda decides, a hundred years of monster attacks don't get cleaned up overnight.

Can be found here. Has a sequel, How to Build a Bridge in Eight Thousand Easy Steps, which can be found here.

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This fanfic provides examples of:

• 100% Completion: Link is a little obsessed with completing all the missions and shrines and Champion Trials. When Zelda asks him why he has to worry about all that, he doesn't bring up the new powers or upgrade to the Master Sword—he just has to complete the missions. It also turns out that he's collected far, far more Korok seeds than needed to fully upgrade his inventory. Even though people think it's silly, it has amassed him a huge fortune, incredible skills and weapons, and more.
• Abhorrent Admirer: Kass' teacher was a poet who was in love with Zelda, but she only had eyes for Link. Zelda, on the other hand, insists that she was not in love with Link back then (even though they're in a relationship at that point in the fanfic), the poet was just too annoying. Apparently his primary method of encouraging her was by writing annoyingly catchy songs about her many failings, which the castle staff would be humming for weeks. It got bad enough that the King took him aside and told him that if he didn't stop writing songs about Zelda, he was going to have to find a new job.
  • The Hylian voe who propositioned Link while he was wearing his vai garments near Gerudo town latches onto Zelda pretty quickly at a mini festival being held at the Kara Kara Bazaar. She determines fairly quickly that he is simply latching onto her as a sex object and doesn't really care to know anything about her personally.
• Adaptational Badass: Paya. In game, she's timid and her questline is about her distress at losing a shrine orb. In this, she's a skilled Sheikah Ninja who is one of the top two or three users of ninpo in the village, and becomes Zelda's personal bodyguard (similar to Impa in Ocarina of Time).
• Anguished Declaration of Love: When Link and Zelda get into an argument about Link being "physically affectionate", she asks him what does he want, and Link responds in dramatic fashion:
  "I want to listen to you go on a rant about technology I don't understand, and I want to help you get gears and pulleys for your inventions, and I want you to use me for your experiments, and I want to help you bring Vah Rudania down the mountain and across the fields to move things around that don't need to be moved around. I want you to boss me around until I'm too old to argue with you. I want to cook for you, and I want to keep you warm every night in the house we live in together. I want to wake up every morning and watch the way your eyelashes flutter when you sleep. [...] I want all that, and if that's all you'll give me then I'll take it and I'll never say another word. But since I haven't been clear, let me spell it out: I want you. I want to know what—what your hips feel like in my hands! I want to know what it tastes like when you moan into my mouth. I want to know what makes your breath catch, and I want you to press me up against a wall and have your way with me, and—yes, Zelda-I want to kiss you."
• The Big Damn Kiss: In chapter 23, after a lot of build up and Link's Love Confession, he and Zelda share a passionate kiss.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: Throughout his adventures, Link got a reputation for taking on any job offered to him, no matter how big or how small.
  "That boy would move a mountain five feet to the left for 15 rupees," the people of Hateno joked.
  Of course, the kid had managed to buy a house at an obscene markup. Bolson had bragged about it constantly before he moved up to Tarrey Town with his new fortune. And Sayge from the dye shop said that Link once pulled a sapphire out of his bag and used it to dye his shirt blue, only to come in a few days later, saying it didn't suit him. So maybe there was something to taking every odd job that came across your path.
• Crazy Cat Lady: Zelda takes to collecting as many fireproof lizards as she can for use in fireproof elixirs. She's just being cautious because if they run out of elixirs in Eldin they'll die, but Link is worried she's being overly paranoid.
  Link: In twenty years, you're going to have a hut out here, just made out of lizards. You'll have some creepy, weird hat and sunken eyes, and you'll never go outside. And I'll come visit you and your lizard children, and you'll give me some quest about finding lost lizards or getting food for the lizards or something.
  Zelda: What nonsense.
  Link: Hyrule is full of eccentric people who've taken it a step too far. This is how it starts.
• Crazy-Prepared: Zelda asks Link if he has any wildberries, since wildberries are used as part of flirting in Rito culture. Her seduction gets derailed when she finds out that he has fifty-eight on him at that exact moment. Why? Well, why not?
  Zelda: Why are you carrying around that many wildberries? Where did you even find that many? Are you saving them for something?
  Link: No, I just pick them when I see them growing, or, you know, when people throw them at me.
  Zelda: You pick them up off the ground after they've bounced off your head?
  Link: Yeah.
• Cross-Cultural Kerfluffle:
  • The Gorons nearly start a war by referring to Gerudo as "tall Hylians," and then make it worse by respectfully calling them "brother." Zelda explains to the Gorons that Gerudo are an entirely different culture to Hylians, and she explains to the Gerudo that Gorons don't have a concept of gender due to being a One-Gender Race.
    Goron: We don't have a what now?
  • The Sheikah have been waiting a hundred years for the monarchy to be restored. No one else knows Zelda is a princess or cares. When the Gerudo and Sheikah are training together, the Gerudo don't understand why the Sheikah are so deferential to Zelda, or why the Sheikah are so insulted that the Gerudo aren't.
• Cuddle Bug: Link is very physically affectionate with people close to him, which mostly means Zelda. After he gives Paya a kiss on the cheek, embarrassing her, Zelda takes him aside and explains that not everyone understands that this is just his personality, and he might be misinterpreted as romantic. He calmly explains to Zelda that he was being romantic with her. It takes her a bit to recover from that revelation.
• Death Is a Slap on the Wrist: Link sustains mortal injuries fighting the Molduking but shrugs them off due to Mipha's Grace. He tells a panicked Zelda that he was also carrying five fairies. Defied by Zelda, who verbally tears him a new one anyway for being so reckless.
• Eskimos Aren't Real: When discussing the animals the Divine Beasts are based on, Zelda mentions off-hand that elephants are purely fictional. This is despite acknowledging that camels are real, though not native to Hyrule.
• Exiled to the Couch: When Link really enjoys being stuck in a hammock with Zelda, she swears that if he tries to get one for their house he's going to be sleeping in it alone.
• Fake Ultimate Hero: Captain Nell goes about Hyrule heavily hinting that he is the Hero of the Wilds, regularly fights hostile Guardians, possesses the Master Sword, and so forth. Link defeats him in about half a second when he wrongly believes Nell has kidnapped Zelda, and never even notices the imitation.
• Fish out of Temporal Water: Half the point of the fic is Zelda struggling to deal with a world that has moved on without her for a hundred years. Barely anyone remembers her family as anything outside of a legend, and those who do remember aren't interested in being ruled by her.
• Hyperspace Arsenal: Link has fully upgraded his bags, so he often just pulls out weapons bigger than he is. When Zelda gets her own bags upgraded, it turns out that he has enough Korok seeds to fully upgrade hers as well... and he still has a lot left over.
• Insistent Terminology: Link insists on referring to teleportation as "glowy-string travel," since it involves dissolving into countless glowing strings of light. Zelda, more reasonably, insists on referring to it as "warping."
  • When Link gets his Divine Beast, he decides to call it 'Rumble Bumble' due to how loud it is.
• Invisible to Normals: Most people can't see the Koroks; the only people confirmed to be able to are Link and Zelda. When Paya is watching over Zelda in the Great Deku Tree's glade, she thinks Zelda is insane for occasionally talking to thin air, but assumes it's the result of stress and doesn't make an issue of it.
• Love Revelation Epiphany: Zelda is flummoxed when Link tells her that he loves her and is sorry that he's not the same person that she used to love. This crystallizes her own feelings for Link in the present, but she never concedes that she loved him before the Calamity.
• Mundane Utility:
  • Link pulls out a Greater Flameblade—a massive, rare magical weapon almost as big as he is—and slips it under the mattress as a bed warmer. This isn't too far off from what players can do in the game.
  • The Divine Beasts get this treatment as well - Rudania is primarily used for road and bridge building, Medoh serves as a mail and cargo carrier, and Ruta/Naboris are involved with various construction projects. Zelda does use Naboris' heavy laser to obliterate the Yiga Clan hideout, so their destructive potential isn't entirely forgotten.
• Not the Intended Use: The Lost Woods magically misdirect any non-Korok, making it almost impossible to find the Korok Forest. Since Link can teleport there any time he wants, he brings Zelda and Paya to the Korok Forest when he needs a quick safe house.
• Overcome with Desire: The morning after they have sex for the first time (for a given value of "first"), Link is too flustered to make breakfast as he usually does, so Zelda gives it a try. This excites Link so much that they end up going at it again right there in the kitchen.
  The look he gives her takes her breath away, and he hasn't even swallowed the bite before she realizes with a dry swallow that they won't be having breakfast.
• Over-the-Shoulder Carry: At one point, Zelda jokingly asks Link to carry her because she's tired. At first it looks like he's going for a Princess Carry, but instead he does this.
  Link: What? You wanted me to sweep you off your feet like a princess and romantically carry you off into the sunset?
  Zelda: Technically, yes, that is exactly what I asked you to do.
  Link: And technically, that's exactly what I'm doing.
  Zelda: I'd hardly call this romantic.
  Link: You wouldn't? You're tired, and I'm carrying you even though I'm tired too. I'm a catch.
  Zelda: This is like you're going to drag me off to your cave and grunt at me.
• Poor Communication Kills: Zelda warps away from a kidnapping attempt, gets stranded on an island, rescued by a passing ship, and meets up with Rhondson at Tarrey Town. Rhondson hires her a bodyguard, sends her to the Great Plateau, and says she'll send a letter to Link. The problem is that her letter was so vaguely worded that it completely skipped over the "rescued" part; when Link caught up to them, he nearly killed her rescuers because he thought they were the ones who kidnapped her. Zelda is not impressed when she reads the letter.
  Link—
  Zelda was attacked in Hateno. She's being taken to the Great Plateau. You should get there when you've got a minute.
  —Rhondson
  Zelda reads it three times. When she finds words, they come out as an unfortunate shriek.
  Zelda: They rescued me and were bringing me here to keep me safe!  That was her idea!  Why didn't she say that?!  What was she thinking?!  This is the worst letter I've ever seen!  Goddess, she's horrible at taking notes!  We've just been doing guardian research for the last week!"
• Realpolitik: Riju gives a long speech about how insulting it would be if Princess Zelda had only visited the Gerudo last, without even a word beforehand, and that it's a very good thing that this Zelda is someone completely different from the princess because she can forgive a wandering scientist rather than a fellow ruler. This badass speech falls apart because she accidentally hit half of Zelda's Trauma Buttons, and she lapses into an Angst Coma. Riju is very apologetic after.
• Relationship Upgrade: In chapter 23, after they have an argument about Link's flirty attitude, he and Zelda admit their feelings for each other and seal the deal with a Big Damn Kiss.
• Rejected Marriage Proposal: Played for laughs in the sequel as Zelda isn't ready to make that commitment and is worried that Link is about to propose to her. However, all the actions she took as preparations for a proposal have totally innocuous explanations and Link just ends up confused when she tells him she's not ready to get married yet.
• Rightful King Returns: After a hundred years of Calamity there is no central authority left and Zelda is a mythological figure, so it would be very difficult for her to assert her rule over Hyrule - even if she wanted to, which she really isn't that interested in. Her attitude leads to conflict with the Sheikah, who are invested in a reinstatement of the royal family they are sworn to serve.
• Science Hero: After being freed from holding back an unfathomable evil for a hundred years, Zelda immediately goes back to doing the exact same thing she was before: Studying the ancient technology. She's definitely a genius scientist and engineer, and even starts adding extra rooms to Link's house with some basic architecture skills. Half of her work on the Divine Beasts is just designing the ladders and scaffolding needed to clamber onto them despite their odd positions.
• Sexy Shirt Switch: Played with. After they have sex for the first time, Zelda wakes up to find Link wearing "her" shirt. Link points out that it's his shirt, which she stole weeks ago.
• "Shut Up" Kiss: At one point, Link finds Zelda's rambling so cute that he has to kiss her.
  Link: You know I like to hear you talk, right?
  Zelda: I... yes?
  Link: Good. Because I'm going to kiss you now to make you stop, but that doesn't change that I usually really like it. Clear?
• That Man Is Dead: Link considers himself a different person since waking up in the Shrine of Resurrection even though he's got all his former skills and at least some of his former memories. He thinks his current personality is better and his only actual concern is that Zelda might prefer the way he used to be. He may be exaggerating somewhat; Zelda doesn't think he's changed all that much.
  Zelda: It's like...have you ever had a friend who you didn't see for a long time, and when you met them again they'd changed, but they're still the same? It's not as if they became unrecognizable. It's as if they grew up, as if they've had experiences without you.
• Their First Time: Up until chapter 48, Link and Zelda have refrained from having sex since Link believes it will damage Zelda's reputation; Zelda points out everyone knows they're a couple (some even think they're married), and already assume they're having sex and don't care. They proceed to do the deed.
• There Is Only One Bed:
  • When Zelda and Link first return to Link's house in Hateno, Zelda has about half a second of embarrassment that they will have to share a bed before they both collapse in exhaustion. From then on, it's not mentioned again, and despite all the improvements Zelda makes to the house she never suggests a second bed.
  • It's implied that Link and Zelda share a bed when they sleep at inns, but when the Goron inn gets overcrowded and all that's left is a single hammock, she's hesitant. Link just thinks the hammock is awesome.
    Link removes his boots and clambers into the hammock. For a second, she's convinced that it's going to spit him out onto the floor, but he manages to get settled. He's beaming like this is the best thing that's ever happened to him, and Zelda swears if he tries to get one for their house, he's sleeping in it alone and she's claiming his bed as her own.
• Trauma Button: Zelda has quite a few—turns out spending a hundred years fighting a seething mass of evil gives you a few issues. She's claustrophobic, and has a lot of trouble in Eldin because the heat and volcanic red reminds of the Malice. In Gerudo Town everything reminds her of Urbosa, and she passes out in the throne room.
• Undisclosed Funds: In the sequel, Zelda is able to force Hateno to participate in the reconstruction effort by fronting most of the costs herself. She has access to the full Hylian treasury (which no one managed to discover in a hundred years), so even though she refuses to re-establish the monarchy money really isn't a problem.
  Reede: I don't think you know how much these kinds of things cost.
  Zelda: And I don't think you know how much money I have.
• Vow of Celibacy: An informal one. Despite dating, Link and Zelda put some rules in place to keep themselves from going too far. This was Link's idea. Eventually, Zelda asks him why. He explains that he doesn't want to ruin her reputation; even though she's not claiming her throne, she is an important person leading the reconstruction. Zelda points out with some exasperation that everyone already thinks they're having sex. They live in the same house and sleep in the same bed at inns; of course everyone assumes they've gone all the way. At least one of their closest friends thinks they're married. No one cares.
• Wholesome Crossdresser: Link still has to wear his vai clothes if he wants to enter Gerudo town, and explains to Zelda that he's pretty sure everyone in the town knows he is a voe, and is only letting him stick around because he's at least demonstrating he isn't some macho, lustful stranger who couldn't care less about Gerudo customs.

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