ID: A digital drawing of Deret Beshelar and Cala Athmaza from The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. Deret Beshelar is on the left, dressed in faded blue robes and a red baldric with silver embroidery on it. He is shorter, with pointed ears, and pale skin and hair. His arms are crossed and he is looking at Cala with a disapproving expression. Cala is on the right; he is wearing a muted blue outfit with a maroon sash, and a red baldric embroidered with silver. He is taller, with pointed ears, glasses, and pale skin and hair. He is looking at Beshelar with a calm expression, one hand resting on Beshelar’s shoulder. The other hand is at Cala’s side. end ID.
me: what if we subverted the imperialism trope with zelda realizing that rauru is the aggressor in the equation because 100 years is not enough time to wash away her diplomatic skills and she just knows that the gerudo people would not be hostile if not for a justifiable reason. sure, it takes a while for her to gain ganondorf’s trust just based on her association with rauru and sonia, but he does end up trusting her somewhere down the line and fills her in on what’s happening. she’s absolutely horrified. as a result, she works alongside ganondorf to seal away rauru by gathering the sages and convincing them to protect their respective domains from conquest. but here’s the twist: what if link still gets mentored by rauru’s spirit at the beginning, and thinks rauru is a benevolent king? imagine zelda’s last words to him in the final memory, nothing but a frenzied “link, do not trust the king of darkness!” but he doesn’t know which king: ganondorf or rauru, because the gloom has corrupted ganondorf’s body and rauru, who had unsettled him since the beginning. but then he realizes it’s rauru, and it’s deliciously ironic since rauru’s power is light but as always, every light has a shadow.
totk enjoyers: hold my beer i’m gonna fucking crucify a korok
Guys, guys! Do you know the novel THE GOBLIN EMPEROR by Katherine Addison (Sarah Monette)? Well, the honor of making the Spanish cover fell onto me, and I’m so happy to finally share it with you!
(And the author loved it and I’m about to explode of happiness)
