#flamulaspeaks

Like we all know Auntie Talia basically raised rafayel after linkon timeline Lemuria's fall and trained him in professional opera singing back in Verona.

So you think abt the first time she met MC and gave Rafayel a look tm

Saw how he looked at her like she hung the stars, how he caught her by the waist when she stumbled in the heels she wore for the gala they met her at, how her dress perfectly accentuated her body and brought out the color in her eyes (of course Talia knew Rafayel commissioned it, recalling the message she got from her nephew a month prior requesting the name of that one tailor), saw the way he helped fix his 'bodyguard's' hair - smoothing down flyaways and repinning the bun in place with a sparking hair stick with 3 dangling pearls.

Oh yes, Talia knew maybe even before Rafayel himself was able to admit it.

And of course she planned to use her years of rafayel expertise to get back at him for all the the gray hairs he tried to give her.

The first time she heard mc call Rafayel 'fishie' I just know her face broke into a devious grin.

Aunt Talia: "Oh, MC, dear, has Rafayel been a good fishie? Thank you for caring for my nephew, I know he can be a handful"

Rafayel, red faced and scandalized: "Auntie, never call me that again."

Aunt Talia: "Oh? But I heard you call yourself that earlier. *imitates Rafayel's pouty expression and voice* 'Cutie, come sit over here, your fishie is lonely'

Rafayel: *covers his red face with his hands, slouching down in despair* 'noooooooooo, cease. Nope! Didn't happen!'

They're so down bad.

They're so husband coded even when they try to deny it.

Do y'all think Caleb ever made cute bento boxes for MC when they were younger?

Like when rhey were in middle/high school.

Like did the whole hot dog squids, cat or dog themed omurice, shapes cut out of carrots and other veg?

Going on bento blogs to get ideas for recipes to make tasty lunches for them both bc he has to make sure the girl he watched die and revive countless (and kinda reset) times is well fed and nourished enough to grow up strong and healthy enough that no one else can put her though that again ((as if he'd ever let anyone dangerous get close enough to his meimei or hurt her again))

Ok so i've written a bit abt Xavier, Rafayel, MC, and Caleb, but what about Sylus and Zayne?

Im thinking pre-calamity when its all the champions running about, Dragon!Sylus is the Goron Champion and God of Annihilation!Zayne is the Gerudo champion. I'm playing with Zelda lore a bit with this au and Gorons are now more draconic and, while the gerudo are still overwhelmingly female, the occasional man crops up; more like a 1/1000 births chance vs 1 every 100 years. Being male doesn't automatically make anyone king unless born to the royal family, but there is the superstition that a male gerudo will bring about destruction so they're often raised strictly through community efforts to avoid misfortune (((If you've seen Genie Make a Wish on netflix, it's similar to how ever member of the community works to raise the FMC to be a productive and positive member of the village in spite of her sociopathy and violent urges through kindness, patience, and redirection)).

Now on to the juicy bits~

Champion Dragon!Sylus is the Goron Champion. Gorons are more fiends/dragons in this AU. They seem a little monstrous and intimidating, but like most people in hyrule, they just wanna do their own thing. Gems, Ore, and spices are a common export from the region so merchants are often coming and going. Most Hyrulians rarely interact directly with the Fiends of the Goron region aside from traveling merchants. Yes, Beedle is in this au bc how could i not and Beedle is tight with some fiends, notably Sylus. Now Sylus here is interesting bc he's not 100% fiend. I haven't checked the dragon myth in a minute so bare with any inaccuracies.

Sylus in this AU is Half Fiend. He has a more human appearance mixed with his dragon attributes. Since most people outside of a select few blessed by the goddess Hylia herself have ever even seen a dragon, so to both fiend and human alike, Sylus is unnerving. Sylus had a rough childhood, his mom (the fiend half) died when he was young and his horns, tail, and claws often scared away normal humans, thinking him a monster. He did interact with MC a few times as children thanks to Josephine traveling to the Goron region for gem components for her experiments. Around the Goron stable, MC wandered off and stumbled into a cave where she found kid!DragonSylus. She befriended him, saying she liked his horns and tail, they were cool! and they ended up playing together. Having another kid not run screaming from him and treat him with kindness made Sylus want to grow up and want to be better and happier than he was at present. As time passed, he got stronger, confident, and smarter. he was able to amass wealth and power thanks to a traveling merchant that cared more for coin and insects than Sylus' appearance and also began tinkering with various materials and mechanical things. Given the resources, he likely would have had a lab like Robby's in BOTW. As an adult, Sylus has a mechanical bird be constucted using some Sheikah tech remnants and named him Mephesto. He modeled it after the crows he and MC chased around the Goron Stable as kids.

Upon meeting back up again as adults, they're surprised to see each other and actually don't recognize each other at first. While Champion!Sylus definitely likes MC, in this particular AU he can see how MC looks at Prince Xavier and how Prince Xavier stares at MC when she isn't looking and understands who has won her heart. He develops a soft spot for MC and joins their cause. He uses the excuse that 'who would buy my gems during this calamity? My business would be ruined ha 💸ha 💸 ha 💸' While the group is in the Goron region, he often encourages MC to go for what she wants, and after the Sword that Seals the Darkness chooses her, they have a long conversion again about what MC actually wants to do, not what the fates demand of her. She vents to him that this is all so much and she never planned on being the hero, but now that its come to this, she wants to help, she wants to protect the people of Hyrule with her power. Sylus ends up quickly developing a soft spot for her and wants the best for her, even if that means leaving the knights if that's what she actually wants outside of duty and familial/the king's expectations.

For those who don't know, a major world building thing in WHA is that all magic is derived not from spoken or preformed spells, but from drawn sygle. Technically anyone can learn magic, you just need the right symbols and special ink, but not everyone should bc people are people and some propel are horrible.

Xavier - basically prince charming, and call backs to Le Petit Prince, the rabbit on the moon, Chang'e myth, etc.

Zayne - elements from Snow White ((man befriended a squirrel at the hospital and had a certified Disney Princess Moment (tm) in the spring banner)) and the Ice Queen (duh) and Rapunzel (basically locked in his tower in the forseer myth)

Rafayel - mermaids. The little mermaid, siren myths, selky mythos actually fits him really well, lowkey kinda reminds ke of the crane bride or fox bride myths from east Asia.

Sylus - dragon. Beauty and the beast. But mainly dragon. I really need to read through his dragon myth >_>

So as a baseline, Prince!Xavier has a rivalry with all the Champions just going on in the background, but mainly with HebraChampion!Caleb and ZoraChampion!Rafayel bc they've basically had crushes on Hero!MC since forever.

MC and Caleb were taken in by Josephine when they were young after escaping their village that was attacked by the Yiga Clan. They found eachother amid the chaos and Caleb, being older child, grabbed her hand and they ran off into the night escaping the raid. Josephine was an almost retired researcher [along the lines of Pura or Robby] and took the kids in after finding them wandering the road between stables. They grew up a little codependent and with Caleb having a need to protect MC no matter what, wanting nothing more than for them to live peaceful lives and never need to raise a weapon to anything, even if she can outpace him in a sword fight and knock his larger frame back on his ass. He went to Hebra as a teen to learn their archery techniques and, as a tinkerer, he wanted to test out some new gliders he had modified for better areal combat. So imagine his delight and surprise and horror to find that not only is his beloved MC in Hebra looking for him, but she's brandishing a sword longer than she is tall and wearing a ROYAL GUARD UNIFORM ACCOMPANIED BY PRINCE!XAVIER???? The prince that still hasn't awakened his divine mythic powers!?

Then there's Rafayel. Raf is the Crown Prince of the Zora people. I'm thinking his personality would be like he is in God of Tides, and Raf has had a crush on MC since they both were young. Josephine took little MC and Caleb on a trip to the Zora Region for [glow stones I forgot what they're called in the game] for her research. Caleb stayed close by, playing with other Zora children, but little MC got distracted by something and wandered off into the woods of the Zora domain. She ends up by the electrical Lionel and comes across little Rafayel. She helps him escape the Lionel and they end up hiding in a waterfall cave nearby until the Lionel wanders off. They become fast friends and - after they are found by local adult Zora and lectured by Raf's parents and Josephine and Caleb - end up playing together often until Josephine takes the kids back to Heteno Village. Raf had a crush on MC ever since then. So imagine his own surprise and delight at seeing her again except she had a giant sword stapped to her back and is accompanying Prince!Xavier!

Meanwhile Xavier doesn't have any longstanding connection with MC, so why is it that the bond those 3 share leaves a pit in his stomach? Why is it that he feels something grabbing his heart when Caleb throws his arm over MC'S shoulders or when Rafayel teases her? He shouldn't even be focusing on this rn he has a duty to his people and his father to awaken his divine powers. The Calmaity could occur at any time and here he is, feeling petty over his knight having friends.