Hot Tip: Do not develop feelings for a fictional fishman through years of fanfiction, fanart, and headcanons. Hot Tip 2: Do not then jump into Tears of the Kingdom with the expectation that your homosexual aquatic fantasies will soon come true after returning to Zora’s Domain with unrequited love on your mind. Hot Tip 3: Do not then plot to murder his fiancée in revenge.Prince Sidon is the perfect man. He’s honest, loving, caring, tall, and according to pieces of literature I’ve perused over the years, also has two penises. Being Zora royalty and loving to label Link as his closest friend without compare only sweetened the deal, creating a realistic foundation for fans to develop their relationship into a full-blown romance. Nintendo hates us gays though, so there was never a chance for this fruity pipedream to ever become a reality.Despite knowing our love was an impossible thing to obtain, I didn’t expect to have my heart broken before I even glimpsed my man in the sequel. Zora’s Domain isn’t coping well during this newfound calamity, a gross sludge raining down from the heavens and polluting a once pure water supply. Its people are suffering, and Sidon is the only man capable of holding this evil back until a more effective solution rears its head. He’s up at Mipha’s Court holding back the flood when Link first arrives, who is instead greeted by his fiancée. Who despite stealing away my man, is actually rather lovely. The bitch - I mean Yona - clearly has a heart of gold.
Yona is a sweetheart, and adores Sidon in much the same ways we do. She’s smitten by his boundless optimism and dedication to his homeland, willing to put himself at risk if it protects all those he holds dear. Their bond also seems to create a new alliance across different lines of Zora, perhaps bearing political as well as emotional significance. It’s rather funny that she is quick to mention how much Sidon loves Link though, to the point that a statue which once honored his late sister has been replaced by a monument of you riding him bareback. A very straight thing to do. Your relationship teeters on the precipice of friendship, and since
Breath of the Wild has remained ambiguous enough for fans to draw their own conclusions. To see that fantasy scuppered with a sudden engagement breaks my heart, even if it’s for the best.
Sidon’s character arc is a poignant continuation of what came before. Breath of the Wild has him living in the grief-stricken shadow of an older sibling he couldn’t save. The calamity took her away when he was still young, powerless to step in and make a difference. Sidon never abandons this burden, and lives with the fear that taking similar risks or confronting trauma will only serve to hurt more of the people he loves. So he locks it away, focusing solely on the tasks placed in front of him instead of taking time to work through past moments of hurt.
Yona even stresses to Link how much she worries for her betrothed, and while the duo are in love things beneath the surface continue to eat away at Sidon. This could even be read as a metaphor for being in the closet, but instead solidifies an overriding grief that his character is right to struggle with. Mipha passed away before her time, and also failed in protecting those in her care because Calamity Ganon proved insurmountable. Sidon doesn’t want to follow in her footsteps, doubly so with a partner and close friends now under his watch. Only through Link and the encouragement of spectral ancestors is he able to conquer
these demons, yet the doubt that threatens to consume him never goes away. Doubts linger, but Sidon figures out that refusing to move forward as the past consumes him is a fate worse than any other.
Responsibility is also thrust upon him in myriad forms, both through the coming obstacles of marriage and taking the throne of Zora’s Domain for himself. He might not speak a word, but Link is there to guide him every step of the way. The duo ascend skybound waterfalls before conquering a temple that represents demons both physical and mental, emphasised with the aura of a non-canon romance I carried in my heart regardless of the final destination refusing to acknowledge my feelings. Link and Sidon’s bond, while not explicitly romantic, strikes this balance of will-they-won’t-they that you don’t need fanfiction to read into, largely because the two of them entertaining a love for each other feels natural and earned, even as Tears of the Kingdom takes things in a predictably heteronormative direction.
Sidon will always be my man, and I promise not to murder his fiancée before the wedding, so I can worm my way back into his love life. Besides, I support the idea that their marriage is a purely political occasion so that Link and Sidon can still be boyfriends on the side.