Vatiti Buandai

Vatiti Hema'ar Buandai (a.k.a. King Buandai)

TW: Transmisogyny

Although the Goddess knows that I tried so desperately to keep my composure, I could not stop my face from going puce at the Gerudo king's shame. Did he not realize how embarrassing the situation was for the two of us? Did he not care about his reputation? I was always told that he was eccentric, but the level of disrespect was almost too much to bare!
But bare it I did. However crazed a fool he was, Vatiti Buandai was still the king. And as I was but a simple diplomat to this foreign land, I had a duty to uphold. I said what I could to de-escalate the situation as any man of decency and virtue should.
But Vatiti Buandai had neither the virtue nor the decency to hear my pleas. The painted mongrel grinned viciously as he continued to grip himself openly and without humility, and said with pride and candor:
"I apologize, esteemed Lord, but when Hyrule tries to fuck me over, I just can't help myself!"

— The journal of Lord Avello, Hylian diplomat to the Gerudo Tribe, circa 9980 E.A.

plain text transcript (same TW as above)

Although the Goddess knows that I tried so desperately to keep my composure, I could not stop my face from going puce at the Gerudo king's shame. Did he not realize how embarrassing the situation was for the two of us? Did he not care about his reputation? I was always told that he was eccentric, but the level of disrespect was almost too much to bare!
But bare it I did. However crazed a fool he was, Vatiti Buandai was still the king. And as I was but a simple diplomat to this foreign land, I had a duty to uphold. I said what I could to de-escalate the situation as any man of decency and virtue should.
But Vatiti Buandai had neither the virtue nor the decency to hear my pleas. The painted mongrel grinned viciously as he continued to grip himself openly and without humility, and said with pride and candor:
"I apologize, esteemed Lord, but when Hyrule tries to fuck me over, I just can't help myself!"
The journal of Lord Avello, Hylian diplomat to the Gerudo Tribe, circa 9980 E.A.

Vatiti Buandai was the king of the Gerudo after Calamity Ganon's first defeat over 10,000 years ago. Much of the king's life had been lost to the sands of history and time, but she is most commonly referred to as the "Eighth Heroine of the Gerudo Tribe" in reference to the Seven Heroines who helped to bring the Gerudo back from the brink of extinction during Calamity Ganon's deadly reign of terror.
Buandai is an extremely controversial historical figure and a point of contention among Gerudo historians. Some claim that she was integral to the story of the Seven Heroines and Gerudo history as a former king, while others refuse to acknowledge her contributions due to the fact that she was ultimately ousted from the throne and killed for her crimes against the tribe. Even among those who wish to acknowledge her, historians argue ad nauseam over the validity of Buandai's claimed gender identity: it is a well-known secret that she identified as a "female man" and preferred feminine pronouns.
What is agreed upon is that Vatiti Buandai did in fact exist and that her status as a polarizing figure is warranted due to the extraordinarily unorthodox acts that she committed during her relatively short reign as king. Unorthodoxy aside, there are Gerudo to this day who hail her as a hero, and will forever hold her in high esteem as one of the Great Ancestors alongside Spirit Sage Lady Nabooru, and the Heroines themselves.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Vatiti Buandai's date of birth is unknown on the Hylian calendar but is listed as "the 18th day of the eighth month, eight years before the fall of the Ancients" according to Gerudo texts. The "fall of the Ancients" refers to Calamity Ganon's destruction of the Gerudo Tribe and marks the beginning of the era of the modern Gerudo.
When the Vatiti was eight years old, Calamity Ganon attacked and destroyed the entire Gerudo kingdom. She managed to escape the destruction thanks to the help of the Seven Heroines who recognized that they would be nothing without a king to lead them. The actual events of the day are subject to debate, but some texts suggest that the young king slew a Molduga to aid in their escape.
The Heroines fled with the young king to Gerudo Highlands where they raised her while the Hylians took care of Calamity Ganon. When the beast was confirmed to be defeated, King Buandai and the Heroines descended from the Highlands and set out to rebuild their once great tribe. Including them, there were only 45 Gerudo who managed to escape the slaughter.
Vatiti Buandai officially assumed the throne at the age of 13, as was the custom at the time, and it quickly became apparent that she would be an eccentric leader. While she had the strength, intelligence, upbringing, and talent that was necessary to be a good ruler, Vatiti Buandai was always considered to be problematic. At the age of 10, she declared herself to be the Gerudo's first female king, and she often got into both verbal and physical altercations with those who did not immediately accept this to be true. Once she assumed the throne, she insisted that only the ugliest of their people could serve in her guard in order to make her seem more beautiful by comparison, and had their faces scarred.

TW: Transmisogyny

While he had no choice but to maintain that he was male to satisfy the requirements of his rule, the Gerudo king masqueraded openly as a caricature of a woman.
He painted his face and lips with heaps of makeup made of malachite and adorned himself in pounds of garish jewelry that only the aged wife of a nobleman would wear. He sat open-legged on his throne in a skirt slitted from hip to thigh and no undergarments. And his breasts! If I did not already know that he was a man, I would have mistaken him for a woman. Not only does he have the exotic, slim yet muscular figure of the average Gerudo woman, but he adorns his chest with a mockery of the female anatomy made entirely of bronze. It is a shame before the Goddess herself! Even worse is that this lewd degenerate had invited me to inspect the accuracy of his most prized asset, which was loving crafted by someone who had to be even more depraved than he. I will not transcribe the proposition that he gave me afterward if only to hide my own shame.

— The journal of Lord Avello, Hylian diplomat to the Gerudo Tribe, circa 9980 E.A.

plain text transcript (same TW as above)

While he had no choice but to maintain that he was male to satisfy the requirements of his rule, the Gerudo king masqueraded openly as a caricature of a woman.
He painted his face and lips with heaps of makeup made of malachite and adorned himself in pounds of garish jewelry that only the aged wife of a nobleman would wear. He sat open-legged on his throne in a skirt slitted from hip to thigh and no undergarments. And his breasts! If I did not already know that he was a man, I would have mistaken him for a woman. Not only does he have the exotic, slim yet muscular figure of the average Gerudo woman, but he adorns his chest with a mockery of the female anatomy made entirely of bronze. It is a shame before the Goddess herself! Even worse is that this lewd degenerate had invited me to inspect the accuracy of his most prized asset, which was loving crafted by someone who had to be even more depraved than he. I will not transcribe the proposition that he gave me afterward if only to hide my own shame.
The journal of Lord Avello, Hylian diplomat to the Gerudo Tribe, circa 9980 E.A.

During her reign, the Heroines and the people grew increasingly frustrated with their new king. Even though they were enjoying a new age of prosperity thanks to her military might and uncanny ability to charm other sovereigns into giving in to her demands, they were tired of the king's refusal to acquiesce to their will when it came to religion. After the fall of the ancient Gerudo, a new religious movement began to take hold. According to the followers of this movement, known as Vatra'tor, the old gods that the ancients used to worship no longer cared for the Gerudo, and that they would all be better off worshipping the legacy and will of their ancestors. So popular was this sentiment that some of the Heroines, all of whom were considered to be the champions of the Ancients, adopted this new religion. However, Vatiti Buandai, was a staunch believer in the Goddess Din, the patron goddess of the ancient Gerudo. She believed that Din personally spoke to her through dreams and directed her actions, and so firm was her faith that she made practicing Vatra'tor within the entirety of the Gerudo region a capital crime punishable by public execution.
Towards the end of her life, Vatiti Buandai tried to amend her most draconian law by attempting to mix aspects of the two religions together, but this only seemed to further anger her people. Finally, in 9964 E.A. (of the Hylian calendar), the people, backed by the Heroines, revolted against the king and a civil war ensued. After 20 grueling days of warfare, Vatiti Buandai was ultimately slain by Khalli Riju, her favorite of the Heroines and the one whose judgment she held closest to her heart.

Gender Identity

Considered herself to be a "female man", but did not self-identify fully as a woman for fear of losing her right to rule as the sole male of the Gerudo Tribe; preferred she/her pronouns, but refused to be referred to any title other than "King"

Sexuality

Bisexual

Social

Contacts & Relations

Perhaps the king's most famous and well-documented relationship was with the Prince of the Zora, Prince Novas Zora, III. While there are no writings that have survived from the king herself, based on letters found from the Zora Prince, historians were able to piece together that the two maintained a secret, romantic relationship up until the day she was killed. Vatiti Buandai seemed to hold in Prince Novas high regard as he seemed to be one of the few people that the famously paranoid king fully confided in. Likewise, the Zora Prince was the only one who was allowed to refer to Buandai by the title of "Queen".

My Dearest Queen,
Surely another controversy is not necessary in order for me to see you next? My father is starting to become impatient with you. He thinks that you are a child in too big of a chair and that you break relations like an errant toddler breaks their toys. I will admit, such an analogy is quite apt for you, is it not? I sincerely hope that saying such things does not alarm you! You know that it is only in jest, my Queen.
My father and your penchant for causing trouble aside, I miss you. I miss the smell of you, the look of you, and if I may be so bold, your touch. Why were we cursed to be apart? Your off-kilter jokes do not punch in the same way when you are not physically here to tell them, and I am not nearly offensive enough to pull them off. I miss the way you laugh at me when I tell you to cease with your vicious slander.
If only the desert did not physically kill me, although being apart from you feels quite close. Perhaps I would rather be dead. Perhaps I should come to see you? As lovely a sentiment as that sounds, my father would surely go to war with you if I do. I can almost hear you cackling now. You would love to see us try, would you not?
I sincerely hope that this letter finds you well, and I await your response with baited breath as always.
Until next time we meet, my dearest Queen,
Novas.

— A love letter from Prince Novas Zora, III to Vatiti Buandai, circa 9971 E.A.

plain text transcript

My Dearest Queen,
Surely another controversy is not necessary in order for me to see you next? My father is starting to become impatient with you. He thinks that you are a child in too big of a chair and that you break relations like an errant toddler breaks their toys. I will admit, such an analogy is quite apt for you, is it not? I sincerely hope that saying such things does not alarm you! You know that it is only in jest, my Queen.
My father and your penchant for causing trouble aside, I miss you. I miss the smell of you, the look of you, and if I may be so bold, your touch. Why were we cursed to be apart? Your off-kilter jokes do not punch in the same way when you are not physically here to tell them, and I am not nearly offensive enough to pull them off. I miss the way you laugh at me when I tell you to cease with your vicious slander.
If only the desert did not physically kill me, although being apart from you feels quite close. Perhaps I would rather be dead. Perhaps I should come to see you? As lovely a sentiment as that sounds, my father would surely go to war with you if I do. I can almost hear you cackling now. You would love to see us try, would you not?
I sincerely hope that this letter finds you well, and I await your response with baited breath as always.
Until next time we meet, my dearest Queen,
Novas.
A love letter from Prince Novas Zora, III to Vatiti Buandai, circa 9971 E.A.

Species

Gerudo

Ethnicity

Hylian-born Gerudo

Life

10008 EA 9964 EA 44 years old

Eyes

Green, narrow

Hair

Crimson red and ran past her feet

Height

7'9"

Weight

185 pounds

Known Languages

• Ancient Gerudo (native)

• Hylian (fluent)

• Zora script (proficient)