Mirrors
by bladespark is a The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time work that explores the concept of Zelda being transgender. Zelda is referred to with she/her pronouns while living as "Zelda", but for simplicities sake this page uses he/him pronouns and refers to him as "Sheik".
The stoy is told through the POV of Sheik. Most of the story is Ocarina of Time told through Sheik's eyes. The last few chapters cover what happens after the game up until just after Sheik's coronation.
Not to be confused with the Beauty and the Beast fanfic also called Mirrors.
Mirrors provides examples of:
- Alternate Universe Fic: Zelda is a transgender man. Link also isn't sent back in time after he kills Ganondorf.
- Ambiguously Bi: It's never specified if Link is bisexual or whether he just just likes Sheik no matter what.
- Childhood Friend Romance: They only talked a few times before Hyrule was overthrown, but Sheik mentions that Link was both his childhood friend and childhood crush. The feelings are mutual.
- Death by Adaptation: To become a sage, your physical form must die (though Sheik got around this by metaphorically killing Zelda). This is a popular fan theory, however it's never been confirmed.
- Gender-Blender Name: Downplayed. Sheik's legal name stays "Zelda", but he uses "Sheik" in his day-to-day life.
- LGBT Awakening: Sheik fully realizes he's trans after being forced to disguise himself as Sheik for several years.
- Not His Sled: Link convinces Sheik to let him stay. This means the Child Timeline was never created and it's also unlikely that the goddess' will flood Hyrule.
- Parental Substitute: Impa was the closest thing to a mother that Sheik had. Before Impa leaves to become a sage, Sheik even tearfully calls her "Mother" for the first time.
- Slash Fic: Sheik and Link are attracted to one another and end up together after Hyrule is saved.
- Trans Relationship Troubles: Sheik worries that Link won't love him after he comes out as a trans man. However, this is subverted as Link doesn't care.
