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TLOZ:BOTW in a nutshell (spoilers)

The main plotline of the video game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017) alone -- with no sidequests, exploration, minigames, or collections -- takes ~50 hours. So, roughly, 2 old-fashioned US TV seasons of 22-26 episodes or 3-4 epic Peter Jackson movies. Here's that plot, summarized:

( Massive spoilers )

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TLOZ in a nutshell (okay, an enormous nut's shell, but still)

(

batdina, this is to your address. ~grin~)

I realized today that when I started engaging with The Legend of Zelda (TLOZ) in a fanfic kind of way, and mentioning it here, I did it with no overview or explanation, as if you all either necessarily already knew or wouldn't care to know. Please let me remedy that now! :-D

The Legend of Zelda is a Tolkien-inspired Japanese RPG video game franchise with 21 main-series games and many spin-offs since it appeared in 1986. I played the first game on a relative's console in, I think, '89. A live-action movie is coming in 2026; I'm anxious. (At least it must be better than the regretted '89 cartoon.)

The different games tell different tales. They combine puzzle-solving, combat, and exploration gameplay to unfold a story and theme. To grotesquely and unfairly oversimplify, Ocarina of Time is about nostalgia and loss and consequences; Majora's Mask is about fate and loss and meaning; Tears of the Kingdom is about community and loss and rebuilding; Twilight Princess is about identity and loss and choice; Link's Awakening is about reality and loss and truth...

The usual setting is the kingdom of Hyrule and its surrounds. The usual leads are Link, the hero, representing courage; Zelda, the princess, representing wisdom; and Ganondorf, the villain, representing power. The most important macguffins are the Master Sword, aka the sword that seals the darkness, and the Triforce, a sacred embodiment of the energy of divine creation balanced as courage, wisdom, and power. Most Hyruleans are ordinary humans, if usually with pointy ears, dividing themselves into sub-groups by region or culture. There are also several other sentient species. This universe has technology, magic, divinities, and demons.

While some of the games are direct sequels to others, most happen hundreds or even thousands of years apart, and so are both fully-functional standalone stories and intricate parts of a complex canon web. The games have not come out in chronological order. The timeline is controversial; it begins in unison, splits into three AU lines, and then those three lines eventually reunify.

The various Links, Zeldas, and Ganondorfs -- and other recurring characters -- throughout the games may or may not be reincarnations or descendants of each other even within the same timeline. All Zeldas are descendants of the goddess Hylia (Skyward Sword). We have had blonde, brunette, and red-haired Zeldas. Only one Link is known to be a descendant of another Link (Twilight Princess); we know of once that there were two Links alive at the same time (The Minish Cap). We have had blond and brunet, tall and short, child and adult Links. Every Ganondorf so far has been born to the Gerudo people, at least one century apart, with a similar build and coloring.

All* mainline TLOZ games are well-regarded in the gaming community, nominated for or winning awards as well as usually selling well. A few are universally considered masterpieces. These days, most fanficcy fans are into Breath of the Wild, its sequel Tears of the Kingdom, and their two non-mainline spin-offs, Age of Calamity and Age of Imprisonment, which wrap non-TLOZ gameplay around TLOZ story cores.

Thank you for joining me on this tour. I appreciate it! :-D

* Okay, okay, maybe not so much Tri Force Heroes, Four Swords Adventures, Spirit Tracks, and Phantom Hourglass. But I think that Spirit Tracks is underrated.

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Fannish options & enthusiasms | November 2025

Here are some recent fannish things I've happened to see and would like to share!

Spotlight: This Halloween, I helped a friend hand out candy. She lives in one of those fancy neighborhoods where every lawn is decorated and kids roam in hordes. Among the costumes, I saw: ( list of costumes )

Ficathons, fests & communities

Create & engage
- smallfandomfest accepts prompts through 11/21; claiming and posting runs to 1/31.
- ushobwri ("you should be writing") has its annual November community support social.
- in-universe-fest celebrates unusual fanwork formats and approaches through 11/22.
- pokeprompts holds the 15th annual Pokéxchange. Sign-ups close 11/14; assignments by 11/19; due 12/17.
- The "Leaf and Lore" Discord server hosts a month-long Tolkien writing challenge where you set your own goals; they close the server on 12/13.
- toothpastejuice hosts a "Rarest of Rarepairs" prompt meme through 1/25.
- withinadream hosts a challenge for works based on "the viral Craigslist ad offering to be a disreputable fake date to an interested party's family Thanksgiving dinner" through 12/01.
- minutia_r hosts a poetry promptfest (no end date).
- purimgifts, the annual exchange featuring characters "who are at least one of: women, Jewish, or persecuted (preferably by evil viziers)," has sign-ups and nominations 1/02-08; due 2/23.
- pinchhits is a forum for pinch-hits in exchanges. For example, seasonsofdrabbles is seeking pinch hitters.
- whenisitdue tracks many more events than I note here!
Enjoy & share
- rec_cember is a month-long recommendations event (with sign-ups).
- fancake (themed fanfic recs); November theme: "mystery & suspense"
- gensplosion (gen fanfic recs)
- het_reccers (m/f fanfic recs)
- fanart_recs (fanart recs)
- recthething (fanwork recs)

Sidelight: I'm continuing my first Breath of the Wild playthrough. I've freed three divine beasts, and I'm still loving it, but I'm beginning to get down to quests with which I'm struggling enough that I just have to walk away, hoping to come back later. The "Blue Flame trial" requires a precisely timed arrow shot that I can't seem to make; it feels impossible. And the stealth section of the Yiga hideout is frustrating, having to start all over with the tiniest misstep. I do have the "Champions' Ballad" DLC to look forward to when I get that far.

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AO3 works tags meme

Meme picked up from

senmut: From your AO3 Works page, look at the tags and find the answers to these questions.

Find me at

Brightknightie

1. Under what rating do you write most?
To my surprise, "General Audiences" (68) only barely edges out "Teen and up" (66). Interesting. (There are also 5 "Mature;" I remember just 2 of those off the top of my head.)

2. What are your top 3 fandoms?

Forever Knight (TV 1992) (88)
Highlander: The Series (18)
Dungeons and Dragons (Cartoon) (8)

"The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms" will match D&DC soon. I should perhaps choose to keep them neck-and-neck.

3. Which character do you write about most?
Historically and altogether, of course it is Nick Knight (58). That's too obvious and predictable.

4. What are the 3 top pairings you've written?
My most frequently-written FK pairing is Nick/Natalie, HL Duncan/Tessa, and Sailor Moon Darien/Serena. (These are not the top three overall, but listing just FK all the time feels dull and distant.)

5. What are the top 3 additional tags?
This is the question that makes this meme most interesting, as I would not have guessed, though I really should have if I'd thought it through mathematically:

Post-Canon (27)
Historical (24)
Flashbacks (16)

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Posted: "Gerudo Spirit, or Three Last Untold Tales" (TLOZ:TOOK)

I've posted that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom piece: "Gerudo Spirit, or Three Last Untold Tales (Before Age of Imprisonment Arrives)" (PG, gen, ~2K words). The jossing commences Thursday. ;-)

It's a progression of three ficlets. First, Kotake and Koume (villains) reluctantly participate in a show of fealty to those who had defeated their unprovoked attack. Later, an elderly woman (original character) arms the remaining soldiers of her home village, which has rebelled against the Demon King. Finally, Ardi (hero; the recently revealed canon name of the Sage of Lightning) reacts to the news that her people's last free settlement has fallen.

Alone, the scenes lean into grievance, guilt, and grief. But with the context of the rest of Tears of the Kingdom, I believe that they are necessarily hopeful, too. We know what Rauru, Zelda, Ardi, and the others do; we know that the darkness, though it must be endlessly defeated, does not prevail.

♥

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Could Rauru be Link?

I have not seen this lore theory anywhere, but it occurred to me within the past week or so, and, and surely -- surely! -- I'm not the first to think of it. Before Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment drops on Thursday, let me ask:

Could Rauru be a Link? That is, in the era of the founding/re-founding, could Rauru be the embodiment of the spirit of Hylia's Chosen Hero?

He's certainly done the work of Hylia's Chosen. He is courageous. He's defeated the monsters, brought peace to the surface peoples, supported (and loved and married) his era's blood descendant of Hylia who carries some fraction of her sacred power... and gave his life to bring down the Demon King in his era, passing on his wisdom and power to a future Link to finish the job in another era.

He sure looks like a Link ... in every way but being a Zonai named Rauru rather than a Hylian named Link, and not bearing Hylia's sword (or any sword; he's a magic-user). But not every Link gets that sword. And, until 2017, every Link could be renamed by the player.

(Or maybe Rauru is a male Zelda and the source of Hylia's blood in the royal line, but that's a very different and less likely lore/timeline theory.)

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Heads-up to old-school XF fans

feroxargentea would like to spread the word that the AO3 is archiving all the fanfic from the 1990s paper-and-ink X-Files fanzine "DTA" (Dreaming the Answers).

If someone whose fic was published in DTA wants username/contact info updated, added, or removed, or doesn't want her/his fic archived, please reach out to them. More info here and also here.

I worry about the huge gulf between what was normal to do with wallet names in decades past and what is safe today. Look at any vintage kids' comic book, and you will find not just the full names but the full street addresses and ages of small children printed in the letters columns, just like the full street addresses of adults on letters to the editor in newspapers. No one would do that today! The '90s and '00s were a time of transition between an old reality and this current one.

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signalboost

No Kings Day on Saturday, October 18, 2025

This is my fannish space; I rarely mention non-fannish things here. I'm going to share one now:

If you can, tomorrow, Saturday, October 18, 2025, please consider attending a peaceful, patriotic, pro-America, "No Kings Day" gathering. To easily find a grassroots local event near you, try this map: https://www.nokings.org/#map .

You don't have to do anything except show up and be present with your neighbors. Let's thwart the gaslighting and reassure each other that, indeed, we are the majority, this isn't the way things are supposed to be, and constitutional values still matter.

Thank you.

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TrickOrTreatEx seeking more pinch-hits

trickortreatex has posted a new list of needed pinch-hits, which some of you may be interested to know includes Forever Knight (TV) and The Lost Boys (movies). Check it out.

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fest:hlhshortcuts

HLH_Shortcuts sign-up deadline is 11:59pm Central Time Saturday night

If you're planning to sign up for

hlh_shortcuts '25, you have ~10 hours from when I'm writing this. I got my sign-up in this morning.

At this time, the sign-ups summary and requests list show 15 players, with 15 requests and 14 offers for the main TV series, 4 and 5 for The Raven, and 8 and 5 for the movies. (If you're into the comics, novels, cartoon, or other subsidiary properties, just say so; someone else is likely to be, too.)

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HLH_Shortcuts 2025 "Dear Author" letter

Dear

hlh_shortcuts author,

Thank you for sharing your Highlander love and creativity this year!

TLDR: My personal tip-top favorites are: gen; PG-13 and below; first through third seasons; Duncan, Tessa, Richie, Darius; Duncan/Tessa; choosing the hard right over the easy wrong; choosing to care and to hope; the power of friendship; history, whether as setting or reference; grief and bereavement; fighting the good fight; and the immortality fantasy as hyperbole/metaphor for real life. I also enjoy many other things, so it's fine if none of these click for you!

No need to read on unless you really want to. This post is long. :-D

( Likes, dislikes, crossovers & character-specific prompts )

Again, thank you! Whatever you love best in HL, celebrate that, and I'm sure to enjoy it.

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Thundarr the Barbarian is finally getting a comic book

Thundarr the Barbarian (cartoon, 1980-81) will get a comic run, for the first time ever, starting in January 2026. This news broke at least as far back as June, but I saw it (at least to remember) only yesterday. Here's the CBR article. The publisher is Dynamite Entertainment, with writer Jason Aaron and artist Kewber Baal.

promo image

This cartoon re-ran for many, many years on Saturday mornings; I met it around '84, probably, and I loved it. I own a print-on-demand copy of the DVDs (its only kind of DVDs). I hope that this comic run will be all it should be; I'll probably dip my toe in with high hopes.

Yet I also feel caution. Two years or so ago when my beloved Dungeons & Dragons (cartoon, 1983-85) got its first comic run (from IDW, not Dynamite), the initial arc of stories was fun, though I had quibbles, especially with the too-obviously copy/paste-panels art, but the second arc made the sad mistake of trying to move on from what made the original series great. It casually, off-screen, gave the kids swords, breaking the prime no-offensive-weapons directive of the network censors that had forced the original series to tell stories in other ways and had shaped the characters and the audience. It also brought in a parade of name-brand guest stars from modern Forgotten Realms properties without making them really serve the D&DC story, which the original series had done with its much more occasional red-box NPCs.

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HL characters to not forget this year

hlh_shortcuts '25 sign-ups are open through this Saturday, October 11. Last year, I flat forgot to request/offer Grace, and Randi was accidentally glitched from the tagset (or was that two years ago?), but I just now checked and they seem (haven't submitted yet to confirm) to both be available this year, yay! (Thank you, mods.)

I would like to not regret missing characters this year. So I'm pre-compiling a list of all my possibilities (may not use them all, but these are my candidates). If you're interested, let me know of any characters you think I might want to request or offer who are not yet here...?

( List )

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TrickOrTreatEx seeking pinch-hits

Some of you might possibly be interested to know that

trickortreatex is currently looking for pinch-hitters for The Lost Boys (movies) and "Buffyverse" (TV), among other fandoms. Due October 24. Minimum 300 words (yep, 300). Read their post.

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Fannish options & enthusiasms | October 2025

Here are some recent fannish things I've happened to see and would like to share!

Spotlight: I'm continuing to play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and (of course) loving it. I'm mid-game-ish now, facing vicious white Bokoblins but only my third red-maned Lynel, having maxed my stamina wheel but only half of my hearts, triggered all the Divine Beasts quests but freed only one, and am single-handedly juicing Hyrule's economy through the purchase of bomb arrows. ( Read more... )

Ficathons, fests & communities

Create & engage
- hlh_shortcuts, the annual Highlander exchange, has sign-ups through 10/11; due 12/15.
- yuletide_admin, the massive annual small fandoms exchange, has sign-ups through 10/24; due 12/17.
- smallfandombang, the small fandoms big-bang, has author sign-ups through 10/31 and author sign-ups through 11/01.
- ladiesbingo, a bingo challenge for relationships between women characters, runs from September through March.
- austenexchange is hosting a prompt-fest through 12/16 to celebrate Jane Austen's 250th birthday.
- janeuary-month is a daily-themes Jane Austen fanworks event throughout January '26.
- latetreatbonanza is designed to help motivate folks to finish late gifts, with a collection, deadline, and reveal. Works due 12/24.
- communal_creators, a community for mutual encouragement among creators, runs its current round through 10/15.
- pinchhits is a forum for pinch-hits in exchanges. For example, tardis_festivities and rarepairexchange are seeking pinch hitters.
- whenisitdue tracks many more events than I note here!
Enjoy & share
- fancake (themed fanfic recs); October theme: "uncommon settings"
- gensplosion (gen fanfic recs)
- het_reccers (m/f fanfic recs)
- fanart_recs (fanart recs)
- recthething (fanwork recs)

Sidelight: I've removed Doctor Strange from my comic shop pull-list and replaced it with the upcoming Nova series. Doctor Strange's current author focuses on Stephen as a detective, which is classic and welcome, but has relocated him away from his stomping grounds and supporting cast, which isn't. I am only tangentially aware of Nova, but Jed MacKay will write this series, and his writing single-handedly brought me back to reading monthly comics, so... Fingers crossed!

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GameStop sale on FunkoPop and amiibo

GameStop is having quite a sale on assorted toys and toy-like accessories. I haven't been in a GameStop in forever, but when I stumbled across the news, confirmed on their website, that they had marked some TLOZ amiibo down to $5.99 (from the usual $15-40), I wrestled with myself for a few days and then let myself swing by after work on Wednesday... "swing by" in the sense that they have closed so many that the nearest was actually twenty minutes away in even good traffic.

At this particular shop, the discounted sale merchandise included shelves and shelves much taller than me jammed with a wide assortment of Funko Pops, "Buy 2, Get 1 Free."

The amiibo selection was ever so much smaller, of course, and had no TLOZ amiibo that I don't already have (not that I have that many! they had only two). They'd likely sold out days before. This is probably for the best! If they had had the Guardian amiibo for $5.99, as shown on their website (normally $35+), I would have bought it to use in BOTW for the precious ancient-tech goodies drops as I play, but then I would have had a villain toy to deal with. ;-)

On the up side, I am duly reminded not only that physical GameStop stores are a thing, but that a big part of their business model is second-hand stuff. Good to know!

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Looking forward to HLH_Shortcuts '25

In case anyone here missed the news elsewhere,

killabeez announced

hlh_shortcuts 2025, the annual Highlander fanfiction exchange on the AO3. I'm glad to have it to look forward to. I loved to read it for years before I began writing for it, and since I started writing for it, I've written some things that I'm very satisfied with.

Sign-ups will be October 1-11, with assignments out by October 14, and submissions due December 15. As usual, the first story will be revealed on December 20, as the winter solstice is Duncan's birthday, and subsequent stories will be revealed a few per day as long as they last, to be followed by the author guessing game.

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Seasonsofdrabbles summer '25 reveals

seasonsofdrabbles has revealed its creators (very short anon period for very short fics). I wrote these two:

"Even the Smallest Possibility"
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
(G, gen, 100 words; Link, Revali; Minish | Picori legend)

"Reasons to Visit the Library"
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
(G, gen, 100 words; Link, Zelda; King Rhoam's secret study)

The folks who wrote so nicely for me, as previously posted, are now known to be

kay_obsessive ("Legacy") and

samifer ("Refuge"). Many thanks to them! And also thanks to

senmut for generously beta-reading for me.

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Fannish options & enthusiasms | September 2025

Here are some recent fannish things I've happened to see and would like to share!

Spotlight: I don't subscribe to Netflix, so I assumed I was going to miss out on K-Pop Demon Hunters. But then they released widely in cinemas for one weekend only and I happily got tipped off in time. I liked it even more than I thought I would! K-Pop isn't my genre, but thoughtful magical-girl adventures? Well, yeah. Imagine that the original Sailor Moon manga and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show had a daughter and appointed High School Musical her fairy godmother. K-Pop Demon Hunters is joyful, hopeful, and deeper than it looks. It's a packed 90 minutes, with nothing missing and nothing to spare. (And I really enjoy "What it Sounds Like.")

Ficathons, fests & communities

Create & engage
- trickortreatex, where every gift is a "trick" or a "treat," has nominations through 9/08, sign-ups through 9/18, due 10/24.
- yuletide_admin '25 is underway. Nominations through 9/26; sign-ups through 10/24; due 12/17.
- fandomgiftbasket, a gifting fest a la Fandom Stocking/Trees, has sign-ups through 9/05 and reveals 10/12.
- fandommixtapeex uses songs as exchange prompts. Nominations through 9/09, sign-ups through 9/21, due 11/16.
- fffx, the "Five Figure Fanwork Exchange" (10K+ words), has sign-ups through 9/07; due 1/24.
- aspecex is a fic exchange themed on asexuality/aromanticism. Nominations through 9/17; sign-ups through 9/20; due 10/07.
- no_true_pair's 8-Character Challenge somewhat resembles Into A Bar, but everyone gets matched with everyone via distinct prompts.
- 10itemsorless is for ships with >10 works on the AO3. Sign-up through 9/06; due 10/25.
- 1character is a challenge community in which you claim a character and a prompt set and write 50 one-sentence micro-fics.
- fandomwithbenefits is a low-commitment, no deadlines, monthly challenge/interaction community.
- drabbleonficathon is a prompt-meme challenge. Prompts close 10/01; fills open now and indefinitely.
- dreamwars is a community for all Star Wars.
- vampiremedia is a community for all vampire media.
- seasonsofdrabbles has released its summer event and will de-anonymize the works today.
- pinchhits is a forum for pinch-hits in exchanges. For example, wipbigbang is seeking pinch hitters.
- whenisitdue tracks many more events than I note here!
Enjoy & share
- fancake (themed fanfic recs); September theme: "food & cooking"
- gensplosion (gen fanfic recs)
- het_reccers (m/f fanfic recs)
- fanart_recs (fanart recs)
- recthething (fanwork recs)

Sidelight: Those who enjoy the ongoing Aurora webcomic by Red of Overly Sarcastic Productions (online | hardcopy) might like to know that Red is currently selling a pack of 4 character pins (Kendall, Alinua, Erin, and Falst). Shop the OSP store. Red's custom pins are always limited time, limited stock (though occasionally some do come back for deals around US Thanksgiving time, I wouldn't depend on that). I plan to put Kendall and Alinua on my work backpack.

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Seasonsofdrabbles work reveals

seasonsofdrabbles released its summer game today (356 works in 199 fandoms). I received two The Legend of Zelda works, both thoughtful, exquisitely poignant, and very much to my taste:

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
"Legacy"
100 words, G, gen; Hero's Shade | Hero of Time | Golden Wolf
The author offers a different, compelling source for the Hero's canonical regrets than fandom often assumes.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
"Refuge"
200 words, G, gen; Malon & Link
The author shows, from Malon's perspective, what her farm and friendship offered Link in his darkest hours.