Could I ask for general headcanons about Ganondorf? How do you see Ganondorf since we all know he kinda lacks a backstory and all🥲 (FOR MOST GAMES)
Could be how he acts when he's not just being his usual villain self, his habits, a day with Ganondorf basically.
Thank you! 😊
-🍼
Anything for you bae. This is heavily inspired by Hero's Purpose by Major Link on YTB. I use "Ganon" as a nickname, not referring to his beast-like form. 1,7k words
𝑮𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒓𝒇 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝑯𝑪𝒔
The curse of the demon affects Ganon just as badly as Zelda or Link. The three of them are doomed to repeat their wars and fights over and over. None are free from it.
What's different for Ganon's perspective is that he's ultimately the bad guy. He's the one that "starts" the fight, everytime. Eaten by bloodlust and revenge heavily influenced by the demon Demise's malice, he's the one destined to provoke carnage and destruction. Ganon's sole purpose as King of the Gerudo is to save his people, to give them a chance to live more comfortably, the same way the Hylians do. But this goal is impossible to obtain by peaceful means, because he is also a vessel for Demise to make the world submit.
The curse comes back every 100 years (most of the games), and a Gerudo king is also born born by that time. Ganondorf will always be the vessel of Demise, the same way Link will always have the spirit of the Hero and Zelda be a somewhat incarnation of Hylia or have a strong connection with the Goddess.
But what is it really like to live with someone else's goals in your soul, + have the pressure of leading an entire population? All of this, only because you are unlucky enough to be born.
It's very interesting to imagine Ganon knowing about the curse in enough details to understand the origin and what can be done to get rid of it. Him learning about it would be the core reason of him possibly seeking redemption and REAL peace with Hyrule, as long as they cooperate and allow use of the Triforce. It's not something he can do alone.
𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆
When speaking about his childhood, Ganondorf mentions being a "young and lost child". This can be explained by a multitude of factors like: the heavy responsibility thrown onto him for as long as he can remember, the lack of adult male figures in his entourage, feeling misunderstood... His situation is so unique, no one can relate or give proper advice. He feels left to himself. He was always a smart kid, but it was often overshadowed by the women leading him, training him to be a fitting leader. He kept to himself a lot, rarely seemed to have any childish fun. He felt like an instrument from the very beginning, an empty shell. The only thing filling him being Demise's awakening power, he had no place for his own spirit.
Teenage years are a touchy subject too. That would be the period of his life where he is the most influenced by Demise. He cannot think for himself, he wants to rebel against every expectation that people put on him. That leads to him leaning on the urges of the demon, because he really believes that's what he's meant to do and want. In his late teens, some of his personality truly changes, his closest advisors and soldiers start to be wary of him and his decisions. He's more cruel, shrugs off important aspects of his role as King, he has no pity or mercy.
Entering adulthood, he's a bit more mature, but not necessarily in a good way. Ganondorf finds himself stronger, as a King and as an individual. Ideas of domination still take up all his senses, Demise grows at the same rate. This is the Ganon we see in OOT, willing to trick Hyrule and cause its destruction to become all powerful. He makes mistakes, he is the result of years of conditioning from his greed and his malice. He believes there is no turning back, and so he has no choice but to keep his plans going no matter the cost. He won't let anyone stand in his way, and will seek revenge on those who do.
It's in adulthood that Ganondorf learns the truth about the curse. At first, he is sceptical as anyone would if they learned they whole life was a lie, but he isn't stupid. He isn't stubborn enough to feed himself more falsity and keep going as if he didn't find out about the whole cause of his misery. He takes some time to process the information, trying to make sense of it. Ganon realises he is just a pawn, just as much as he believed the Hero and the Princess were. To his core, he isn't any better than them. He is possessed by greater power. Even if he did proceed as planned, he would ultimately not be the one in control. Demise would. His theory has proven itself true the first time he tried to resist his urges: the urges of destruction, violence and death, led by malice. Demise reacted, hurting him and others in the process. It took him a while to even take the upper hand on his malice. He had fed it too much during the course of his life, and it was catching up to him now that he wanted to back away.
But even if he had everything under control, who would believe in his potential good heart?
𝑹𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔
Let's put ourselves in a peaceful context lol...
As acquaintances, Ganon is not necessarily friendly. You either take one path or the other: gain his respect or have a death wish. He keeps any conversation formal and brief, as any royal would with anyone he doesn't know.
You could become friends if ever you prove yourself as an advocate of the Gerudo. If you share common interests and goals, he might as well get to know you and your potential.
From there, a sincere friendship can take place. The change can easily take you aback at first. From a professional relationship to genuine, warm greetings and invitations... He's still intimidating, but the knowledge that he is on your side is reassuring. He wraps his strong arms around you, having to bend to meet your shoulders and back. Firm but careful, he makes sure to keep you comfortable around him by keeping his strength in check. He invites you over to his... place? palace? as an official guest with the excuse of "political and economical matters". In reality, Ganon only wants to spend time with you, chatting about whatever is going on in your lives and what you've been busy with recently.
The more it goes, the less he can hide his true intentions. He slowly realises why he wants to be with you all the time, he CRAVES having you by his side. It's strange to him, but not foreign enough to leave him clueless with a racing heart. He has a... crush... on you. He doesn't see the actual feelings as something to express to you, not yet. It would be impolite and rushed. No, Ganon needs to ask for your hand and heart with decorum and pride. Unfortunately, it kind of ruins the whole romantism of it all. You might feel as he's asking as a need to take over you, control you, get something from you. Your reluctance hurts him. He doesn't know what he's doing wrong, he genuinely thinks you are not interested in him. An awkwardness between you two settles, and it takes a while for you to get rid of it. It only comes back to normal when he does realise (with the help of his advisors or other trusted relatives) that his wooing methods weren't appropriate.
The official courtship starts after he confessed to you without any filters or ceremony. It's one of the rare times where you witnessed Ganon showing uneasiness. He faced you, didn't (tried not to) look away, but he shifted his weight between one leg and the other. The declaration itself wasn't spectacular, in theory... But it felt so unreal to see the strong, capable, fearsome Ganon opening up about something so vulnerable and human. You accepted his feelings. How could you not? He was utterly adorable, for once.
I can't choose whether or not he would take his time before actually marrying you... But either way, you knew each other long enough as friends to communicate correctly. After you marry, not much changes except you living with him, probably in the Gerudo desert with his people. He is not against visiting your home country or town, but it really depends on your level of security and the amount of people there. He doesn't want to show up somewhere and scare people when he's just trying to relax, even if it is funny... He's more chill around you. For the first time of his life, he's not under the impression that he needs to play a role. It's weird for him at first, because he's confronted with the fact that he never got to discover himself; who he really is. It takes some adjustments, but you help him by just... existing, acting as a reminder of his individuality.
𝑯𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒔
We won't go over every royal responsibility this guy has, because it's going to be boring and long.
One of this man's biggest appeal is obviously his hair. Ganon prefers putting his hair up whenever he needs to make act of presence outside his quarters, which is a lot of the time. Depending on the occasion, it's more or less sophisticated. He sometimes can pull it off by braiding his hair himself, but often needs assistance from someone who knows the art of Gerudo hairstyles. He would be very pleased to have a s/o interested in learning about it, it initiates intimate quality time.
Like anyone, he loves the feeling of putting his hair down after a long day. When he has time to pamper himself, Ganon likes to brush his long hair without rushing himself. Again, a good occasion/excuse for you to take care of him.
To maintain his physique, he never skips meals. On the contrary, he sometimes has more than three per day, depending on what he's doing. Training makes him hungry fast... Fast metabolism king...
He values good food, variety too, when his kingdom can afford it. He doesn't go out of his way to buy extravagant or rare ingredients if he's the only one able to enjoy it. The Gerudo value equity within their group, as any military corp should. They keep favoritism and social classes out of their system as much as they can.
This has been rotting in my draft for 3 weeks so here you go Taglist: @theshatteredstar @ladydevil147