Tired, Retired
(also found on SpaceBattles) is a crossover between The Legend of Zelda and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, in which Zelda, Link, and Ganondorf tire of the endless cycle of evil rising and being defeated, and so use the Triforce to escape their fates... and end up in Skyrim.
Tropes:
- Blood Knight: Ganondorf, now that he's free from the curse of Demise, has spent a good deal of his time getting into fights against absurdly large and dangerous creatures. In the first few chapters, he jumps off a rooftop to grapple with Alduin in midair, and later on he wrestles a giant.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: To Hadvar's dismay, Ganondorf joins the Empire as a way to get into new and exciting fights. And while the man is strange and gets distracted or pulls out bizarre magics, Hadvar still vouches for the Gerudo as someone capable of aiding the Empire greatly- even if he does things like try to recruit giants, or convert necromantic constructs into loyal Skeleton Soldiers who then independently join the Empire.
- Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Rather than being a hero, Link decides to become a travelling merchant in a silly outfit to see this new, non-Hyrule land. To that end, he decides to cut deals with local farmers to grow various plants he has in his pack- Nazeem is particularly interested in Red Safflina, which grants resistance from cold, an important attribute in a frigid land like Skyrim.
- Decomposite Character: The Triforce Trio and Jo’kir split up some of the actions and group associations available to Skyrim player characters. For example, Jo’kir of course is the actual Dragonborn, Zelda goes to Winterhold, Ganondorf fights Potema, and Link grows close to the Companions.
- Experienced Protagonist: Thanks to a spell by Zelda, she and Link have regained the memories of their previous incarnations, along with Ganondorf. This amounts to literal centuries of experience between them. For instance, Ganondorf is actually able to legitimately trouble Alduin when he attacks Helgen, even ripping out his tooth.
- I Am Not Weasel:
- Zelda and Link, being Hylians, are mistaken for Altmer, or at least hybrids of Altmer, a few times.
- Ganondorf is mistaken for being a Redguard at a few points.
- Link is mistaken for a werewolf a few times due to his helm incorporating a wolf's head.
- Intrepid Merchant: Link in this life comes from a merchant family and was going to inherit the family business before the whole "saving the kingdom" thing happened, so once he ends up in Skyrim he starts trying to become one. He's slowed a bit by the question of whether or not things like Red Safflina or Bomb Flowers can grow in Skyrim though.
- Magic Misfire: Zelda's first attempt at using Conjuration magic to summon a Flame Atronach goes wrong when she thinks of home to help visualize things better and summons a flame Chuchu instead. Now, her every attempt at summoning brings something from Hyrule instead of the intended target, mainly more Chuchus but one Lizalfos is very confused for the minute or so before it gets dragged back. Her current theory is that the first attempt created a channel of sorts to Hyrule, and now every time she tries her spell gets caught in that channel.
- Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: Rupees. In Hyrule, a green rupee is the smallest form of standardized currency and requiring tens or hundreds to buy things that are actually worth something. In Skyrim, a green rupee is an emerald the size of your hand, and Zelda is cautioned about using them lest she crash the jewel market.
- Outside-Context Problem: Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf are all from a realm outside of Nirn, and bring items and spells foreign to the inhabitants of Skyrim. Link in particular has this problem, as while he has tons of things that he'd like to make a business selling, like Bomb Flowers or Red Safflina, he needs to check to make sure that they can grow in Nirn first before wasting everything he has.
- Past-Life Memories: Link and Zelda have gained the memories and experiences of their past lives. Link has shown irritation at this at times, particularly when trying to remember his current life's grandmother and instead getting memories of his "Wind Waker"-era grandmother on Outset Island, who was very different.
- Pragmatic Villainy: When Ganondorf hears that an evil cult has sacrificed innocent people, he comments to himself that he doesn't do that... since it's harder to find people of the level of "Innocent" required by magic. It's better to just sacrifice ten times the number of soldiers or non-innocent, even if they're less magically potent.
- Real Name as an Alias: At one point Zelda uses "Tetra", the name of her Wind Waker-era's self, who she has the memories of, as an alias.
- The Tooth Hurts: When fighting Alduin at Helgen, Ganondorf manages to rip one of his fangs out. He later make it into a weapon.
- Wham Line: In Chapter 9 Kynareth meets a glowing figure that introduces herself as Hylia.
- What If?: The idea of the AU is that thanks to a spell by Zelda, she and Link regain the memories of their past lives and get tired by the Eternal Recurrance of it all, along with Ganondorf, and the trio decide to make a wish on the Triforce to send themselves (and Fi, though not the actual Master Sword) somewhere new in order to break the cycle, ending up in Nirn right at the start of the events of Skyrim.
