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lucky-clover-gazette · 2 years

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thinking about how bodily autonomy is a really consistent motif in the zelda games... the amount of times link is forced into alternate forms or zelda is possessed/transformed/literally removed from her body is really interesting. off the top of my head we have wolf link, link's forms in majora's mask, link's forced aging in oot and revelation that he isn't kokiri, link doing a sort of tactical drag in botw, zelda being sheik, zelda being possessed in twilight princess, zelda preserving herself in time as the goddess in skyward sword, midna being cursed as an imp, batreaux, and the skulltula people in oot. there's also so much cross-dressing (i know that term might have a negative connotation but i don't think it should in this context) and gender nonconformity. bodies are constantly changed as a reflection of a character's arc and actions, and often a character regaining control of their own body is a resolution to their arc.

but i feel like the more you think about it, the messier it gets, both in good and bad ways. for example, i think there's a reason lots of trans, gnc, and queer people connect to zelda games because of the many ways gender and transformation are weaved into the stories. that's great. but i also think there are some huge failings on nintendo's part in terms of representation and transformation of bodies, mostly in their characters of color and lack thereof. like, tetra. just tetra. and that's not even mentioning the way they gave me the ick re: her forced gender presentation as zelda. also some designs like the gerudo esp in the earlier 3d games and holy shit the bokoblins and gorons in twilight princess (seriously they're bad) are obviously informed by racial stereotypes. and it's extra super not great bc there are not many hylian/human characters who have dark skin, or even tan skin. it sucks. it's just a shame that these fantastic games, some of which are 20+ years old, experiment with gender presentation in such a fascinating way (hell, even link was designed so that everyone could see a bit of their gender in him) but very little attention was placed on representing non-white players. in fact, some of the use of racial stereotypes and exaggerated features is just more alienating and dehumanizing, hence the not-good side of zelda's focus on bodies. holy shit, i say again, why did they do that with tetra! i mean i know why they made her white as zelda (racism) but they sidelined her in a way that seems uncharacteristic compared to sheik in oot!

just, so many choices were made in the zelda games re: bodies and some are fantastic and inspiring and some are huge disappointments. not to be blunt, but nintendo should absolutely be putting dark-skinned Black characters into their games. tetra and the gerudo are fairly light-skinned and lack many features (hair textures for example) that a large amount of poc have. it would just be nice if in future games the scale tipped from some great stuff and some bad stuff to mostly great stuff, bc the series has so much potential for future stories about bodily autonomy and the world(s) are not bound to any real-world or historical structures. they could do whatever they want and make it work, and should seek to improve! it would only contribute to the already sophisticated and nuanced themes consistent in the series.

#loz #legend of zelda #the legend of zelda #ocarina of time #majora's mask #wind waker #twilight princess #skyward sword #botw #breat of the wild #link loz #link #zelda #tetra #tetra loz #nintendo #also im sorry i tried to add a read more but mobile didn't let me

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kaguyass-houraisan · 14 days

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got any dc character headcanons? specifically for the s2 cast but any work fine!!

Let's see... I don't have a brain that thinks a lot outside of her own ocs because I have a brain the size of a walnut so...

James: in a greeting he was speaking perfect Spanish and he's Brazilian and they speak Portuguese so I would like to think at least one of his parents is Mexican or he has lived there bc he also claims he loves Mexico so yes this is true and real

He also makes the cliche tiktok youtuber videos and makes Aiden do challenges and mukbangs w him and he can handle his spice but Aiden can NOT... I also like to think he takes longer to get ready in the morning just because he admires himself in the mirror for a bit. But it's no biggie bc Aiden spends 5 mins a day admiring James in return

Riya: honestly I Hate how people use the DC pride pic to say everyone else missing is straight like what if they were in traffic and missed ?? Like personally I just like to think Riya has never explored her sexuality at all and is not really aware of her interest in women (maybe someone here likes Riya x Grett just a little) so she doesn't say or claim anything really

But I do think she'd also do fashion campaigns. Like beautiful woman on a magazine cover. Ik she'd look so good w editorial makeup and fashion on..

Aiden: he is eastern european coded to me... not sure what country but he and Tom (season 1) are in that group to me.. also he calls James things like "snookums" "snuggle bun" and most importantly his "beautiful god of beauty" period 😌

Hunter: he does drag or something like that, his name would be something like June Thanasia (euthanasia) or The Bride.. or I was also recommended the name Bloody Mary like some kind of Lady Gaga or horror themed one

You will see an upcoming post of how I imagine one of his drag looks to be and I had a previous post of him in a wedding gown for this very reason, I think he likes the corsets and lots of jewelry and beads !

Ally: she likes to cosplay video game couples or ships and just not tell Tess that it's gay as hell like. She will dress up as Link and make Tess be Ganon to fulfill Ganlink or Ally as Zelda and Tess as Midna to fulfill Midzel... I also think she has posters of female video game characters who gave her the Bi Awakening...

Lake: absolutely is secretly fashion obsessed and has very cutesy themed outfits hidden around with matching flowers to put in her hair... I really think she'd look like a human flower in fashion aesthetics

As for Season 1.

Miriam: doesn't know what an air fryer is and she doesn't want to know either get it OUT of her face and I also really want to believe if Jake doesn't live with her she will have him do so after all stars so they can spend her final years together making memories and doing mundane things like shopping cooking and wandering around at 3 am for no reason

Fiore: I refuse to believe she doesn't treat a random ass stuffed animal better than real people, I guarantee she has at least ONE and it's def a unicorn like bye or cat like on her pjs byeeeee

Ellie: She had an emo phase and I know she had one bang over her eye and wore ties over everything and had a studded belt and such.. I know her power

Jake: that man is Chinese to me we've seen how I draw him this is hc I will DIE ON. I don't care whether he's Wasian or not, what matters is he really wants to wear more hanfu but is shy about it... but I like to think he loves womens Tang or Qing dynasty hanfu the most...

Also bc onc is SO disrespectful to him (I'm dramatic) I know they'd never admit he can play an instrument he SO gives me the type to have had a band in high school like tell me he isn't giving that energy

Tom: he smells bad, but to tame this he probably smells like your average cheap men's 3 n 1 body wash like think dove or suave or something like that like you can't convince me he isn't sweating balls out here, also he's secretly into fashion and desires to wear all the mini skirts his heart desires

Grett: passion for fashion like LOOK at her outfits ? Wearing heels and running around ? I know she desires so badly to dress more freely and even more showy, but because of how poorly she's been treated she is a bit insecure about her body and how it looks in certain clothes.. but I know she will learn to love herself the way we love her and wear the most stunning outfits and jewelry her heart desires

Ashley: I am going to be crazy w this one but as someone who's family hails from the North of Mexico, I have to think she's somehow Mexican BUT PROBABLY A NO SABO KID.. like I doubt she knows one word of Spanish other than swears but this is MY truth

Drew: he used to look up boys kissing on YouTube

I can't think of other bullshit I thought of but this is what I am thinking do we have thoughts opinions any add ons or disagrees ??

#disventure camp #campamento desventura #disventure camp hcs #disventure camp headcanons #ask #these r my opinion feel free to disagree but u cannot change my mind w miriam and jake goodbye goodbye GOODBYE #im not tagging all these hoes

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itstimetowritecl · 2 years

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Twilight Princess: Conquer Your Shadow Self

One of the elements I really appreciate about Twilight Princess is the shadow-looming atmosphere. Everything about Hyrule is darkened, cast amid literal shadows to reflect what is the reestablished crossing between the Twili and human realms, and consequential threat posed by Ganondorf’s sudden return.

Where it executes well from a narrative standpoint is using the shadow self as a motif to drive the plot and character development. The shadow self is often described as one’s memories, personality quirks, or even thoughts that we are unable to face, therefore, lurks in the shadows of our mind until we are forced to face it.

But in Twilight Princess the message is clear both literally and figuratively: conquer your shadow self, or it will conquer you.

We see this quite literally with Link’s transformation into a wolf. During this time, he is forced to work with Midna, the cursed former princess of the Twili, who needs his help for her personal reasons, Until Link is able to shift back into a human, he is faced with having to explore the sometimes darker sides of heroism, which includes being used as a part of someone else’s agenda, relying on physiological instincts instead of reason, and inability to see (sometimes literally) the light at the end of the tunnel. Its also a really great exercise for the player, as you will often stumble into darkness until Light Spirits are gathered.

While he does eventually regain his human form, Link’s turning point is perhaps during the encounter with the Hero’s Shade. Link is shown the regret lurking in the shadows should we not face the things that challenge us the most. The Hero’s Shade, in this case, is a literal representation of what can happen when we don’t face the shadows and linger in our regret. We remain stuck in them, perhaps even in the after life. And it is not until Link works with the Shade is the Hero finally able to rest in peace- the shadows were conquered because he was able to pass on the swordsmanship training that he regretfully was unable to before death.

Conquering of shadows is also evident with the thematic parallels between Midna and Zant, as the former is able to overcome her shadow self and the latter unfortunately succumbs to his own shadows. Both of them have ambition and desire, and want to remain in control. Midna and Zant also struggle with trusting others, but the difference is that Midna was forced to face her own shadows to overcome her fate, whereas Zant could not. Not all ambition and desire is bad, however, it best served when considering the best interests of all parties involved. Midna learned this but Zant refused to.

This is perhaps reflected in the fact he never takes off his mask and controls every aspect of his takeover, refusing to open up and be vulnerable. Zant remained in the shadows because forming trust was too difficult and feared doing so would cost him ambition and desire, and therefore took him down a tragic path of self-destruction.

His fate goes to show those who face their shadows will overcome whatever darkness lays ahead, and those who can’t? Well, they can never escape.

#legend of zelda #twilight princess #motif analysis: facing the shadow self #character development #midna #zant #tp link #loz

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thegeminisage · 1 year

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Hmm. 20-22 inclusive …. making you be negative 😈 I’m assuming you’ll do zelda but as a scholar I’m also interested in your spn thoughts so you pick mwah

oooh dealer's choice this is so tough...what if i just answer for both LMAO im so sorry ok Lets Go

20. part of canon you found tedious or boring

for zelda: i really, really wish i liked wind waker. i wanna like wind waker so fucking bad. i love wind waker's story. i love wind waker's ganondorf. i love how bright and cheerful the graphics are contrasted with how solemn it is underground. i love the dungeons and the gameplay. but god i HATE the cartoony little balloon heads. it takes me right out of those serious moments. i don't mind stylization but if it could have been just a LITTLE BIT. less stylized. just a LITTLE LESS like animal crossing characters. it's beautiful to look at but for a game with such serious hidden elements WHICH I LOVE i find trouble taking it seriously.

for spn: god, all of crowley's little arcs. he was almost never interesting, and while you can excuse bad writing for cas because it's cas, you can't make crowley happen. fetch is never gonna happen! you can show me his fun hot mom and his dead son and it still isn't happening! he's just the walking talking embodiment of the "angels and demons are just like OFFICE WORKERS" trope which i hate so fucking deeply because it's the least sexy direction they ever took and the exact opposite of what i want from my angels and demons. all of the middle seasons suffered deeply from this. crowley COULD have been interesting, but tbh, i liked him best in the season they killed him off.

21. part of canon you think is overhyped

for zelda: i could do wind waker again but actually i completely understand the hype, bc wind waker is a great game even if i can't deal with it like a normal person. same with botw - i found most of the joy thru exploration, so it just didnt Hit on replays the way other zeldas do, but its influence cannot be understated and the hype is deserved. what if everybody is right all the time to hype any and everything about zelda?? oh wait actually. sorry. twilight princess ilia. idk if people hype her but if they do theyre wrong. love and light to her, she's Fine, but it feels kind of like a knockoff of malon (superior) and i generally dislike when link has romantic interests besides zelda, even if the love interest gets amnesia (wistful sigh). this sin was especially egregious bc zelda barely has any screentime at all, but i forgive tp for this because what screentime she DOES have is spent being in lesbians with midna. so it works out just this once due to the power of gay people, but that's some thin fucking ice. anyway, sorry to ilia and ilia fans for being a misogynist

for spn: i hate canon claire. i can't get into it in depth but like...sorry, even without the issue of My Own Claire Ideas, i still don't know if i could do it. being gay does not save her from having the exact same "damaged but spunky teen girl" personality given to almost EVERY OTHER TEENAGE GIRL (or young woman) on the show. to some extent she, krissy, mary from the winchesters, charlie, jo, alex, etc etc all have the same personality with a few defining quirks tacked on as an afterthought. do i love some of these characters? yes, of course. are they well-written? absolutely not <3

22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

for zelda: in general, i think skyward sword gets a bad rap despite lanayru desert's entire (waves hand vaguely) and zelda being a fucked up evil goddess who canonically manipulates link's love for her. AND GROOSE. never forget groose. more specifically i think not enough people have acknowledged 1. the champions corpses are definitely still in those cockpits 2. oot link essentially became a stalfos by walking into the lost woods without navi and never came back. hello?? generally those dark little implications that u have read between the lines to get <3

for spn: oh baby its michael!dean. i waited so long and i only really got what i wanted for one episode but it was so good. it was SO good. no one else is as hype about the fact that it took nine REAL LIFE YEARS to get there. a DECADE of my finite time on earth. but ohhh was it ever worth the wait. what else could i possibly write 100k+ about

[ASK MEME]

#liz answers asks #paty-ofarrell #ASK MEMES #liz watches spn #loz blogging #sorry this took forever i did literally have to do both.#thank you SO MUCH for asking

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tricksheart · 7 months

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Send “⚔” and I will list some tropes from TVTropes.org that describe our muses relationship.

( accepting )

@gloryseized said: ⚔ ( for Link )

Adoption Angst: Link was raised by a family of talking persona users after Akira's parents found Link as a baby. Though he loves his adoptive parents, Maya and Katsuya, Link also angsts over not knowing where he came from or who his birth parents are, all the more punctuated by the fact that he's never met any blondes like him until he meets Zelda later on.

Angst? What Angst?: Invoked. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean that Link is able to face the trauma of everything that a seasoned veteran hero has faced, especially at his age. Joker: You just went through some outrageous beeswax with losing your favorite arm and etcetera. You can't just expect to bounce back to normal. Link (genuinely surprised): I can't?

Big Brother Instinct: He is fiercely protective over Joker, despite being the younger brother. In "Evicted", Ganon kind of killed Joker for a minute. Link's reaction was… not pretty. In "To Cut a Woman's Hair", the witch merely uses Joker as a piece of furniture (albeit in the context of Links requiring someone to be in "danger" in order to help her), and Link charges.

Colorblind Confusion: In "Red Starved", Link's shown to be red-green colorblind after he mistakes a green emerald for a red ruby. Strangely, Joker (a persona user) CAN tell the difference, and is the one to correct him.

The Conscience: Good grief yes. Link's heroic nature counterbalances his closest's friends amoral tendencies. While it tends to be played for laughs with Joker, it's played more seriously (and more subtlety) with Ganon and Princess Zelda.

Death Seeker: Downplayed as he's not exactly trying to get himself killed, but after Joker passed away, Link admits that part of him is waiting for his own death just so he can reunite with Joker again.

Evil Laugh: Non-evil example; in "What is Life?", Link mischievously does this, while thinking to prank Joker after he pranked Link himself, as a type of revenge.

For Happiness: When he and Joker aren't busy fighting evil, they're just trying to have a good time.

Idiot Hero: Why is Link missing so many teeth? The nintendos' answer: He bites trees and rocks and stuff. He's stupid. Which makes it that much more interesting when his brain works perfectly, like in "Morituri te Salutamus". As shown in "The New Frontier", Link occasionally forgets how the sun works, and is seemingly floored when Joker re-explains it to him. In "The Real You", Link himself says that he's "full of stupid." This is more of an early season character trait as he becomes more intelligent as the series goes on, especially emotionally.

Morality Chain: Link may be the protagonist, but it becomes increasingly clear that he's also the Morality Chain to… damn near everyone else. He consciously takes on the role of turning Midna good, but it's also strongly implied that without him Joker would still be a thief and conman, Princess Zelda might be much more of a not great ruler, Ganon would be the psychopathic troll he likes to see himself as.

Samaritan Syndrome: In "Memories of Boom-Boom Mountain", Link reveals his underlying drive to help everyone and everything with their problems because when he was a baby, he once sat on a leaf and got stuck to it, and went unaided for hours until Joker's parents found him (and eventually adopted him). Link helps people because someone helped him once.

Singing Voice Dissonance: Throughout the series, Link sings with an auto-tuned voice that supposedly comes from a tiny computer he swallowed at some earlier point. Subverted in 'What Was Missing', where he sings a heartfelt song to (and about) his True Companions Joker, Zelda and Midna. The Auto-tune singing returns in the Season 6 finale, though it appears to be a mix of this and his normal singing.

True Companions: With Joker, emphasized by both family bonds and loyalty, and with Zelda to a slightly lesser extent. As characterization has developed, he may possibly also have this with Midna, given how highly she regards friendship. All of them take some steps towards becoming True Companions in "What Was Missing", though with Joker being the Wild Card, and Midna and Zelda not getting along very well, it takes some considerable effort on Link's part.

#death cw #long post cw #gloryseized #[ we call them tricksters. headcanon ]#friendship-the hero of time link #hope you like these xD #this took a long time to make phew #okay to reblog from me #let me know if something needs to be tagged

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ladyjenise · 2 years

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I feel like I’ve talked about it before, or maybe I read it somewhere, or I’ve talked about it to myself in my own head, BUT… there’s this wonderful juxtaposition in the Twilight Princess manga between 6 individual characters. This is spoilers up to the 9th volume, which came out in English earlier this year…

In volume 7, the amazing scene between Zelda and Ganondorf features not only Ganondorf drinking tea out of the daintiest tea cup, but an offer - We know Ganondorf uses Zelda in the final battle as a puppet against Link. This scene foreshadows that with an offer from Ganondorf to Zelda: join him. And why not? He explains that since they both have the Triforce, they should be a little more friendly with one another.

Of course, Zelda holds the memories of her fore-bearer, Zelda, from Ocarina of Time. Therefore, she knows Ganondorf is a manipulative liar. He knows she knows what he is, yet puts his charm into overdrive (despite everything, Ganondorf can be charming when he wants to be - he tricked the King of Hyrule very well). He offers her tea, a congenial room to speak with her, patiently listens to Zelda recount her story of how she regained her memories, and even prefaces their conversation by saying that he had always wanted to speak with her at leisure, a wish he declares to be from his heart (if we are to believe he has one).

Ganondorf doesn’t rise to anger until Link is mentioned. Despite the fact that it was Zelda who was instrumental in Ganondorf’s execution and banishment, he understands that she is useful to him. And his offer to her is so congenially played we might almost interpret it as a proposal of marriage in all but name: the flowers, the tea, the attempt at genteel discussion - it all feels like a courtship.

Of course, during the discussion, Zelda’s mind drifts back to Link, but not the link from Twilight Princess. She’s thinking of the other hero, the one she sent back in time. The one who she remembers swore his eternal loyalty (and love, without words) to her. Its probably not coincidence that the when Ganondorf is trying to make his proposal, Zelda’s thoughts drift to the hero, this other man to whom she is perpetually bound. There are three in this relationship, and Ganondorf is the odd man out, as Zelda refuses him in the end of the scene (not that Ganondorf minds - applauding her fierce refusal as he has an alternative plan in mind to bring her to his side).

Fast forward to volume 9: Zant, Midna, and Link finally face each other. And Midna reveals something personal - Zant had offered her a marriage proposal ( I won’t go into the awkwardness of how Zant had been her teacher since she was a child). Zant is a childish, selfish man who Midna has never respected. She refuses him, and we see in this refusal the reason why she was turned into her imp form and dethroned by Zant.

During this final showdown, Zant proves he has learned nothing from his experiences. He’s still a selfish child, who treats his hardships like personal affronts. He is contrasted with Link, who has learned much from his own battles, as well as benefitted from the Hero’s Shade passing along his wisdom. Zant has no such mentor. Ganondorf is merely using him to his own ends. Zant is alone, Midna will not have him, and he blames Link.

Despite everything that’s happened, Link attempts to reason with Zant. But it’s no use. Zant will find his end here, abandoned by the false god he put so much of his faith into. Like Ganondorf, Zant doesn’t take no for an answer and is jealous of the hero, but unlike Ganondorf Zant doesn’t have the power to follow through on next steps.

These 6 characters, whose fates are bound, present an interesting contrast: Ganondorf and Zant (master and follower), who make proposals to princesses and are foiled in part by the heroes those princesses are bound to; Midna and Zelda, lonely and isolated girls who find friendship in each other and have their thrones stolen by men who give them both unacceptable proposals; Link and the Hero’s Shade, the two burdened to bear the Triforce of Courage, destined to fight Ganondorf and watch over Hyrule and the princesses that they love. It’s rather nice to see the patterns.

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evintide · 10 months

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✧. get to know the author !

name : zeta

pronouns : she / her

preference of communication : im’s via tumblr atm! i’m on discord but i am EXTREMELY shy so that is currently saved for mutuals at the moment.

most active muse ( s ) : as of right now midna is my main gal! though i’ve been feeling very tempted to pick up lumine since it’s been awhile. i have a few other muses that are burning a hole in my pocket (along with an oc or two) but they’re either a) a passing fancy or b) i feel... way too embarrassed to even think about offering them to anyone. LOL.

experience / how many years : as if i didn’t feel old enough turning 30 in June LMAO... i would wager at LEAST twenty or so years at this point, but i’ve had a lot of irl things that took me away from writing for stretches at a time during all of that.

best experience : hooo this is hard... probably back when i was writing in my original fandom and i found a writing partner with an awesome au that i just clicked with really with. we don’t talk much any more but i still care for them deeply, and i loved working off their ideas. we even had a single thread that continued for MONTHS. wild to think that i had the mental stamina for that! also i was in a group chat (same muse) and someone mentioned that our thread (albeit a short one) felt very in character and i was just. beyond touched at the time. small things like getting asks and stuff were always a big treat too! (and still are!!)

rp pet peeves : when people don’t give me anything to work off of. rp is a two way street, and while i know not every reply has to be a novel or move the characters in a certain way every time, if i’m left carrying the scene on my own it dries up my interest very quickly. also, not fully rp related but over complicated blog themes. i love themes! coding is absolute wizardry to me and people who can make and/or edit stuff beautifully are magic! but if i have to highlight the page to try and see where links are or have to copy/paste text onto a text document due to eye straining colors? nah dog. i’m outtie.

plots or memes : i ADORE plotting! not every detail has to be hashed out but getting a feel for the direction for the rp or if there’s some sort of idea you’d like to talk about and experiment through writing? LET’S GOOOOO!! though that can also easily be brought up or be inspired by memes so! kinda both? is that an acceptable answer?? i’m admittedly prone to getting super hyped to talk about plots and then... have my mind go blank from a stage fright response, LMAO. so having memes to work off of can be INCREDIBLY handy for me. the two more or less go hand in hand in my book!

are you like your muse ( s ) : yes and no? IT’S A BIT HARD TO EXPLAIN. but at least one thing midna and i share is that we care very deeply but expressing it, especially through words is. very difficult. or we make it more difficult than it should be. :,D at the very least i know for a fact ALL of them would disown me the minute i started spitting puns (which is very, VERY often.)

tagged by. @hyruin thank you friend! ♥

tagging. @riwrite @twilitae @cyclebound @legendryhero @silenthime @calamight and anyone else that reads this! >:D

#ooc » z speaks #meme » reply

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tired-twili · 2 years

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So villain Zelda isn't normally my cup of tea but I adore the way you write Zelink, so please elaborate I'm curious

⊂◉‿◉つ it just has so much potential

I think that it could've been interesting for a few different games, but the idea of "corrupted" tp zelda is growing on me. I promise I'll try to keep it as short as possible haha

Just looking at her character it's pretty obvious she's an "all business" type person, and while, yes, she does seem quite compassionate, out of all the Zeldas she comes off as more cold hearted. She seems quite willing to do whatever it takes to get soemthing done (I mean she practicly gave her soul to midna dkwjejkekw). Throughout the game all instances of Twilight magic acted somewhat like a poison. So say Zelda uses her own magic to take back her body but that "poison" is still in there. I just think it'd be neat if she used that to her advantage when fighting Gannon regardless of the consequences her ultimate corruption .

But hero X villan trope??? Yes plsssssssss but a well written villan where it's not compleltly "black and white" ya know. Maybe Link's hurrying to find a cure as she falls deeper into the darkness and the angst djskskwkkwks

#it hit me like a golf ball to the noggen while drawing and now I cant stop thinking abt it #thank u for coming to me mini ted talk #yes...it couldve been much longer 💀#bcs when an idea clamps itself onto ur head #it cant be stopped #thats all from todays episode of sleep depreived thoughts with twi #twili speaketh nonsense #zelink tp

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ravio-rants · 2 months

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12 and 14 for Raide :)

Which canon characters (if any) do the oc have good relationships with? Why those characters?

okay Technically, technically, none of the canon characters are around in Raide's time. or if they are, he wouldnt have met them. (honestly havent decided if they're somehow still around or not, but that could be a really fun little side thing..)

however. im going to have fun with this. Raide is very creative, and kind, and also protective, so i think he would get along well with Uli and Colin and Rusl. Uli is a kind lady who i can easily see knitting and sewing most of the time, so raide and uli could honestly just quietly chill and craft while maybe talking about the stuff going on around them. raide would also be willing to help take care of the kiddos. Colin is Uli's kiddo, and has an interest in protecting people and learning to wield a sword, but also canonically enjoys crafting things (he made his own fishing rod with his dad, as well as the wooden sword if i remember right.) so raide would have fun crafting with him too, as well as helping him with his sword training. she might not want to be a royal guard, but they Do enjoy hitting things with sharp sticks, and they might as well teach someone who wants to learn, right? plus i dont think he would mind hanging out while colin goes fishing. Rusl and raide would get along because raide comes from a line of royal guards, and has the professional training that comes with it. rusl would respect that. Rusl would also respect their choice to not be a guard, especially because she still actively protects her friends whenever they leave town. They have the shared experience of having been guards tho, so they could bond over how shitty training probably was.

honorable mentions: i think Ashei and Raide would get along as the weird boygirls they are. the yeti's get along with everyone, but Yeto would let Raide help him with soup, and Yeta would so work on a quilt with her.

why those characters? because, as much as i like the main characters (link, zelda, midna) i dont think raide would get along with them super well. Link is a farm boy, and yeah they both have sword training, but like, they dont have the shared experience of Being Guards like Rusl would have. they would maybe be chill with each other but i dont see Raide like, joining him on a trip to castle town or smthn. Zelda is.. zelda. idk. shes pretty cold in this version, and kinda resigned herself to her fate, and we dont see her Do like.. anything. so idk. Midna is a little too mischievous for Raide. i think they would be chill with each other, on account of Midna being related to Raide's friends, but i dont see them being friends. so i chose other characters that Would have a better chance of being friends with them.

also yeah all these bitches would be in the light world but like.. i already have an idea for the worlds being able to mingle a bit and also we dont. we dont have canon characters in the twilight realm. zant gets exploded and midna wouldnt be friends with him.

Did you give your oc a love interest? Is it another oc or a canon character? Why?

yes i did! raide and calen are boyfriends!! they are both oc's.. why? because i dont really like shipping my characters with canon characters, plus with them living in the twilight realm, options would be limited. why i gave raide a love interest.. well, Raide and Calen are both based on parts of myself to some degree (raide being creative as hell and calen being a vague metaphor for chronic illness that i can explain at a later date) and i revamped them around the time i got out of an iffy relationship, and calen, in his previous incarnation, had been dating one of my ex partner's oc's, so i decided "fuck it, self indulgent oc ship." because i was lonely. they both deserve to be loved, gender fuckery, overwhelming creative wants, and chronic illness included.

(note: shipping your oc's or yourself with canon characters is perfectly fine, its just not something i like doing with My characters.)

#oc tag #ravio rants #raide solaire #ravio replies #damn this one got long too. i have thoughts about my characters today i guess lmao.

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lyrakeaton · 3 months

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Chronicling The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - Midna in the Twilight Realm

Oh, this is kinda funny.

I recall writing about this behavior before, and finding it quite odd. Midna prefers to stay in Link's shadow in the Light World, and yet she becomes capable of being in her corporeal form after you clear the twilight from the Light World. That's when I first found it odd that she would hide in Link's shadow but only when Link is human.

I of course realized that the reason for this is because they didn't want to create new behaviors and animations and whatnot for imp Midna to go along with Human Link, though I found it odd nonetheless.

Though now I find myself both laughing and sighing because the game had to finally acknowledge it here in the Twilight Realm. Midna explains that she wishes to remain in Link's shadow while he's human, because she feels it wouldn't be fit for the people of the Twilight Realm to see her as an imp.

And so by calling out this inconsistency in game and trying to make an excuse for it, the game instead made me ask "OK, but why then are you fine with being an imp when I'm in my wolf form?"

It's a weird thing to call to attention. I had already accepted that Midna preferred to be in my shadow in the Light World unless she could ride me. So to go the whole game having accepted that odd little facet, to suddenly be given an excuse that then immediately calls into question more than it answers... it's weird. And funny.

Because no really, are her subjects not going to see her when Link is in Wolf form? Doesn't that sort of defeat the purpose? Are the people in the realm so vain that they would care what their savior looks like?

I think this also calls into question another aspect of this game and its story, which I will touch on more in my final entry. But for now, I just have to ask: Does Midna not like her imp form?

Ever since I found out about her true form, I honestly was a bit disappointed. I think True Form Midna looks cool in its own way, but I am just not a fan of the Turning Back Human trope. I think it sucks that characters so rarely get to be transformed into something magical or fantastical without being forced to turn back to normalcy at the end. It's just not satisfying or interesting to me, as someone who has had to deal with that normalcy all my life.

But then that also got me wondering how Midna feels about being an Imp. She never shows disdain for it, never mentions it before entering the Twilight Realm, in fact...

Wait a minute, why has she only now mentioned her imp form? First we heard of her being anything but an imp is in the cutscene that played just before entering the Twilight Realm.

Assuming we are seeing what Midna is explaining with words, this would be Link's first introduction to the idea that Midna doesn't look the way she's supposed to. Which then makes me wonder how Midna feels about her form change. Personally I'm hoping they won't make her secretly have hated her imp form this whole time but just never communicated it, 'cause that is about the only thing they could do if they want to stay true to the trope. Though I won't dwell on that, time to keep playing.

#zelda: twilight princess #tloz: twilight princess #the legend of zelda: twilight princess #TLOZ:TP Journal #the legend of zelda #twilight princess #lyraposting #midna #midnaposting

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alleywerewolfos · 8 months

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I want to write an essay on Mineru so badly but Ive already said things like a thousand times to friends

but anyway (this did get long oops)

I find it so so fascinating how close it felt like they really wanted to make her a sort of guide character like Fi or Midna but couldnt due to how the game works as being non-linear and 'go where you want do what you like' as possible (even though it also expects you to do some things within the story which is a flaw of it but we're not talking abt that right now)

She's in the Purah Pad the whole time but isnt able to communicate with Link for some reason until you find her headpiece and do her quest, which then leaves her inside the Spirit Temple waiting for you to progress to the last section of the game (summoning her she just acts like the other avatars, there's no special interactions for having her or anything which makes me sad)

The little lore tidbits you find through doing the passages in the sky add so many things about her I wish we could have seen, like how she immediately took to bonding with Zelda over their mutual interest in research of technology to a point she let her test run her inventions. She often negelected her own health, eating and sleeping, in order to work on projects with preseumably the time she worried about running out before making an acceptable body to pass her spirit onto

There's so much that makes her sound like a fantastic companion to have had if things worked out differently! I'm so sad we didnt see more of her and Zelda so that the interactions they did get would have had more impact

Maybe I'm also overly bias bc her whole thing reminds me so much of Spirit Tracks and thats my favourite game but hey...

#wrenn thinks #totk spoilers #totk

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zel-duhhh · 2 years

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I have theories and want to share!

The deity being hylia makes sense, and I love the theory saying the 7 swirly symbol things (sacred tears?commas? Amber/dusk relics?) are somehow related to the seven sages, but if zelda is a sage herself and she already is hylia, would they still be shown like that?

The whole thing also kind of look like a mask to me? It might just be the stylisation of the carving, but other faces seem more like faces than this one somehow, and I kind of like the idea of it being a masked figure

Seeing as how the zonai seem to be getting more and more prominent, what if this is actually the zonai god instead of hylia? Maybe they had their own god!

Oh and, what if the zonai were the magic tribe that got banished to the twilight realm, became the twili, and are now trying to come back? This might be one of them! And the way zelda is portrayed across from this figure also feels similar to how she's portrayed whenever she has some kind of counterpart in another world, like with midna and hilda. Which makes me wonder if we're going to be dealing with another realm/world in this game again!

A decent contender for a different world might be past vs present? Nintendo does seem to love that theme at the moment. And when link is hanging off the cliff in his new outfit he's also got some kind of axe that looks primitive, like it's made of bone? Might be that it's a very old one, or zonai related. (Or you know, boko made, but I can't base a theory on that now can I?)

You make some really good points!

First, with Zelda being a sage and all that, she was officially a sage within OoT and outside of that game we don’t really hear about it? Other than maybe things like A Link between Worlds and stuff. If the being is Hylia then that last shot with the title could possibly be a type of parallel? Like a solidarity moment of Zelda being Hylia while also having the duty of a sage? That’s what the relics above them could possibly represent?

Now with that being said, you also bring up the Zonai and the fact that it looks like the being could have a mask on, really interesting theory that it could possibly be the Zonai god! Cause Hylia has been represented in such a specific way that it would be hard to miss if it were Hylia you know? So the mysterious being on the wall could very much be more related to the Zonai! Since we don’t have a lot of info on them other than some ruins and stuff it would be very Nintendo of them if they were bring that in just to broaden the lore! Another good point you made is the parallel of Zelda being across from the being and the Zonai possibly being the tribe that were banished!

I wouldn’t put it past Nintendo if they’re going for a type of time travel thing or another world thing, the axe could possibly be a type of weapon to find? Cause BotW had the breakable weapons and all that and uh… not sure if the Mastersword will be usable.

Now hear me out… what if Ganondorf has bigger ties to Zonai? I know he reincarnates, usually, as a Gerudo but that’s the thing, he was a reincarnation! Technically Ganondorf himself is just a vessel for Demise! A way to reincarnate his hatred towards the Goddess’ and Hylia! Whenever the evil spirit is reincarnated so is Link and Zelda because they have the spirit of the Hero and the spirit of the Goddess right? So maybe Demise has closer ties toward the Zonai! Def something to think about honestly!

Honestly this whole Zonai thing makes the most sense considering that Nintendo most likely won’t bring back any characters specifically you know? The one character that does make the most sense is Fi since she is the spirit within the sword but even with that much info I doubt her character design will show up in game

Thank you for sharing your theories! I wanna read more! I wanna stew on this shit cause we still don’t know where Zelda is, last time we saw her she had fallen somewhere, also wtf is going on with that crusty fucker they found huh? Cause if that is “Ganondorf” then why is he there? How’d he get there? Is the hand holding him the ancient spirit of the Hero or is it something to do with the Zonai?

#so many questions #the legend of zelda #thanks for sharing though again!#this is was very good #i cannot stop myself from thinking about it #this is a huge thing #first close sequel we have in a Zelda game #can’t help but think it’s coming full circle you know?#damn bro I’m gunna cry so much with this game #i still cry over Skyward Sword so

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lemonlurkrr · 3 years

Text

@aureateart ok. My favourite parts of twilight princess (and some other random thoughts about TP sprinkled in there) taken from my monster TP word vomit google doc :

Link lmao

Ok but for real, I like this incarnation of Link :)

I love Ordon (it just seems like such a chill and cozy village)

ALSO love how easy it is to interpret Link as being a sort of older brother figure to the Ordon kiddos. It’s just,, super cute? AND GHHH nice nice good thanks nintendo for giving me characters to care about/characters that I can imagine Link caring about

He didn’t sign up for any of this (tbh, none of the Links really signed up for this jshdjsd). But I mean like, dude was just going to take a trip to castle town, drop a gift off for the royal family, and come back. But haHA oopsies he did get to castle town eventually but definitely not the way he expected hsjdhsd

He’s just a little dude?

AND FUCK. HE REALLY HAD NEVER BEEN OUTSIDE OF ORDON UNTIL ALL OF THAT

everything is new for the player AND Link

Midna

She’s cool :)

she really just

*teleports into your jail cell* hello whore.

I am no master at writing but AYYYY she do got a character arc!!!

She was actually pretty helpful sometimes, I ALWAYS checked in with her before turning to a game guide

Other NPCs

NICE

Love all of the TP character designs (ASHEI’S ARMOUR??? AOWOAOAOOAO)

Saving Zelda and all of Hyrule was important yea but thinking back maybe it was more like, the Ordonians and the kids were what was pushing Link to keep on going

I like the Resistance members :) Very video gamey of them to have one NPC assigned to each dungeon but hey!!! Kinda cool getting to see a little glimpse of each of em

Idk, it’s just fun to imagine Link popping into Telma’s bar after each dungeon and taking a little rest :) (or to celebrate? maybe just chat, idk, give this man some downtime!!)

Honestly it was just kind of nice that Link wasn’t entirely alone. I mean, I know Midna was there the whole time, but I am always for giving Link a big group of friends (see my love for hyrule warriors, age of calamity, and LU LMAO)

Hero’s shade, very very cool, kinda sad he died with regrets but HEY. He got to pass on his knowledge eventually

AND the connection to OoT?? AND assumed to be related by blood too????? GOOD SHIT

Ilia, I REALLY really wanted to like her (er, it’s not like I dislike her, she’s just,,, kinda there for me).

It definitely seems like Nintendo was pushing to make her the romantic interest, but GHHHHH they really threw that out of the window for me by having her lose her memories

I saw a text post a while ago that said it would have been interesting if Ilia was Link’s sister instead and YES!! That would have been cool too :0

Wish we got to know Zelda a little more

I feel like we barely know anything about her

Idk man, like I said earlier, I never really had any sort of drive to save Zelda during my playthroughs

She obviously knows Midna, so maybe if they gave us just a little bit more of that relationship I’d be more interested in her?

TP WORLD BUILDINGGGG

Botw has good world building too, but each race felt kinda,,, isolated? I absolutely love the different architecture and vibe each town has (and all the the weapons too) but ghhh yea everyone felt so separated. As far as I can remember, we don’t see tooo much of the races interacting with each other? Now that I’m typing that out maybe that’s to be expected because of the calamity but KLSJDKJFD ANYWAYS THIS IS ABOUT TP

The world feels nice and alive, love how populated everything is

Castle town I like castle town a lot, it feels dense and busy and I really like how you can’t talk to every NPC you see

Very cool very fun that we got to see the Gorons hanging out in multiple spots

kinda wish we got to see the Zoras a little more (I guess they are a bit limited since they need water but GHHHH the tp zoras are so prebby,,)

BUT HEY, I do remember seeing a zora or two hanging out in the hot springs around death mountain after beating the lakebed temple (I think, might have been a different dungeon)

but aaaa would have been nice to see them in at least a couple of other places. I think it would have really added to the “congrats Link!! You’re restoring peace to Hyrule” feeling you get from seeing the Gorons hanging out in Kakariko and Castle Town

ORDON

Love how chill it is and how it’s kind of separate from Hyrule proper

They really do seem to be doing their own thing apart from the rest of Hyrule

Just kinda adds onto the “he’s just a regular dude minding his own business” kind of vibes I get from TP Link

Also I like Ordona :)

THE LIGHT SPIRITS,,

Love their design

And love how they’re not exactly like a pure white?

Different spirit representing each aspect of the triforce my beloved

But yes hi I think Ordona is very cool

Who are you, how did you get here, which goddess do you represent? Do you even represent one of the three golden goddesses? Do the Ordonians know about you? Have any of them ever SEEN you??? Do they worship you? Does anybody even know about the existence of the light spirits?? FUCK so many questions but ghhh I like how they broke the status quo a bit by throwing in a fourth spirit :)

I feel like this one is kinda weird but I like that voice sample they used in the light spirit music. It’s spooky and pretty at the same time :)

cutscenes mmmmm

Ok ok, the spooky lanayru cutscene is very good

BUT THE “Link, Chosen Hero! Lend us the last of your power!” CUTSCENE MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM LOVE IT SO MUCH

IT just

Idk man

It just hit different

I like the music

And seeing the light spirits swimming around in the light juice water whatever it is

Summoning the light arrows?

AND HHHHH “Lend us the last of your power!” THIS IS IT. This is the final battle.

Seeing Zelda bow down, and then Link putting his hand out 👌👌👌

Link: ok bud, let’s do this together :)

Connection to OoT (did I already mention this? Maybe., Whatever)

Very cool nintendo :)

I love seeing connections between all the diff zelda games.

Because like, on one hand, they’re all separate from each other because of yknow, individual hero stuff. BUT ALSO, they’re all connected because of the reincarnation stuff

Grrrr walking through the sacred grove and going “The Hero of Time walked around here a long time ago” FUCK THATS SO COOL

Is the Hero’s Shade watching me? What does he think of me? DIsappointed? Proud? The Hero of Time went through HELL so this timeline didn’t have to deal with any of the shit Ganon was gonna pull with the triforce, better not fuck this UP Link!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Midlink is cute

Kinda hurts that she smashed the mirror but that was probably so Nintendo didn’t have to worry about people going “but what about the twili??????” for any of the other games LMAO

BUT ALSO LIKE SKJDKLJFJ There are some pretty massive plot holes in TP anyway so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ whatever it’s fine we’ll just use this for angst because GOD do y’all like angst

So is Shadlink

Honestly don’t know where this ship came from but it’s cute so whatever

THE MUSIC??

Love Midna’s theme and how they referenced the dark world theme from ALttP (I remember trying to learn the dark world theme on the piano and doing the Leonardo DiCaprio point meme at the little jingle I recognized from Midna’s theme)

Hyrule field theme SLAPS.

Apparently references a couple of the other over-world themes from the previous zelda games (I got this from 8-bit Music theory’s video on the over-world zelda themes, he talks about TP at around 11:40 but def recommend watching the whole video if you’re into music analysis stuff)

So there’s this bit of the Hyrule Field theme, I don’t know the official name for it but I remember seeing somewhere it being called the “at an advantage theme” since yeah, you hear it during the boss music whenever you expose their weak points. FUCKINGGG LOVE THAT. Didn’t notice it during my first playthrough, but hearing it during my second was like a little easter egg for my ears every time :)

Midna’s lament is very pretty (and fun to play on the piano)

COURAGE THEME.

I didn’t care for it too much when I started playing the game but hearing it in ZREO’s arrangement of the Hyrule Field theme literally makes me turn into a puddle of emotions. Also hearing it around and of the Ordon kids (I think it plays after Link saves Colin) AAAAAAAAAAAAA

Orchestra piece #1 and #2 HOLY SHIT????????????????

Literally, the first time I listened to those I just,,,, plugged in my headphones, volume 100, layed on the floor/against my desk and silently vibed. I don’t know what the hell it is, but those two just fit so well with TP?? I still avoid listening to them nowadays cause if I DO I definitely will get overwhelmed with the “god I love this game so FUCKING MUCH” kind of feels.

Wolf link sucks at singing

the first time I heard him howling Zelda’s Lullaby I lost my shit because LKSJLDKSGLKJFSKG god that was.,, Bad. Anyways, hearing him howl some of the songs from OoT was cute :)

TP STAFF ROLL???

VERY GOOD. IT’s like 10 minutes long and GOD do I love every single second of it. It doesn’t have the same energy as the skyward sword staff roll or the orchestra pieces but GOD does it hit good??

Nice and calm after that big exciting adventure. Maybe it would have been more fun or emotional to have a higher energy piece but it was really nice getting to sit back and watch the camera fly around Hyrule. Seeing like, the Gorons and the Zoras having a good time, the kids returning to Ordon? GOOD SHIT.

and AAAAA that end, when you hear the main Zelda theme and see Link riding off out of Faron woods on Epona… good shit. It gets you thinking, where the hell is he going? What is he doing? Off ot do more adventuring? Going to help out the resistance or something? Going to help Zelda? Or maybe he’s trying to figure out a way to restore the mirror of twilight? Whoooo knows.

hhHHHHhhh it’s just that final reminder that YES!!! YOU JUST PLAYED A ZELDA GAME. JUST ANOTHER STORY APART OF THE WHOLE EPIC OF THE ZELDA SERIES AS A WHOLE

I also want to acknowledge the instrument/samples they used for all the twili stuff.

They’re all just so unique and contrast SO well with the rest of the TP OST. LIKE FUCK!! Anytime I hear the screech from the Twilit Kargarok? Sends a shiver down my spine. I associate those sounds SO strongly with the twili realm. (Like, the same way you associate the BSHEWW VVWWMMM sounds with light sabers)

I love it so god damn much

literally any time there’s a certain sound or motif associated with something I lose my shit

Sacred grove sacred grove sacred gro-

lovely lovely lovely so much fun playing that on the piano. AND again, I did the Leonardo DiCaprio pointing meme when I heard the theme from the lost woods come in GHHHHHHHH

shoutout to TP Faron Woods for helping me study and get through all of my schoolwork

BLEGUUHHH can you tell that I really love music?

and also yea I guess TP is kinda cool too :\

IF YOU READ ALL OF THAT THANKS I GUESS

#lemonspeakrr #LEMON SPEAKS 2K WORDS ABOUT TWILIGHT PRINCESS BECAUSE THEY ARE INSANE.

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auspiciousotter · 2 years

Text

The M6 as Zelda games

(Moving some stuff over from my Insta and here is the first of my headcanons)

Asra- Majora’s Mask

I was tempted to give this one to Julian because: dark, edgy, fan favorite, but after some thought I liked this one better for Asra.

The game deals with grief and loss, and the different ways people handle it. Asra is someone who has dealt with a lot of loss in his life, and maybe doesn’t have the best way of processing it? (Like glad I’m alive again but bro…)

The game itself starts with Link searching for his dear friend, much like Asra searching for MC.

Julian- Twilight Princess

Of course I still had to give him an edgy game, he’s an edgy boi XD

This game deals with duality as its theme, in particular, the idea of light/dark and how that relates to good/evil. Darkness is shown as not being inherently evil, but like light, having the capacity for both.

This is something that I think Julian struggles with, the idea that he is tainted by darkness, but still a good person who deserves good things, especially when transformed into birblian (cough like wolf link cough)

Nadia- Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity

I was tempted to do Breath of the Wild, because I felt like Nadia had a lot in common with that Zelda, but she’s not really the focus of that game. Thankfully there was a spin off that explored it more!

Let’s see, we have a this princess who is interested in technology, wants to prove herself but feels she isn’t being taken seriously by her family, and is overcome by guilt for not being able to save the world around her.

She also has that sort of commanding presence Urbosa has. (and they're both gorgeous)

Muriel- Breath of the Wild

Okay so, this is kinda the closest we get to just simple living Link. He can just wander the world, maybe build a house, pick up chickens, pet some dogs. And if you use an amiibo, you can even get a wolf companion so...

Also, it’s up to the player how involved they want to be with the story, how much they want to engage and help other people, but connecting with others does ultimately make the final battle easier. It’s not quite the same lesson as it is with Muriel, but it’s sorta close.

Look I just want this poor man to be able to have a nice relaxing life okay, and this one was very set your own pace.

Portia- Wind Waker

Probably the easiest choice.

Adventure? Check. Pirates? Double Check! Cute as can be? ALL OF THE CHECKS!

Also it’s canonical that Portia would go to any lengths to protect her brother so if he had gotten kidnapped by a giant bird, you can bet she’s gonna go kick some fowl butt.

Lucio- Ripened Tingle’s Balloon Trip of Love

Okay hear me out!

For those who don’t know (because this was not released in NA or Europe) this story is about a middle age man who gets transported to this fairy tale world in which he’s the main character, and the goal is to woo all sorts of maidens and dance with one at the ball. He totally believes that he’s more important than he is, but most people actually find him disgusting. Also he has a troupe of equally incompetent companions (cough courtiers cough)

In all games, Tingle is considered spoiled, immature, and a disappointment to his parent. Also in Wind Waker he basically forces slave labor….

Lucio (but for realsies)- Skyward Sword

Specifically I think he has a lot in common with Groose.

He thinks he’s the main character, the hero who’s gonna save the day and get the girl. Is definitely a bully and gets away with it too.

In the end, he changes character, becoming less full of himself, taking a backseat to the real hero (MC). He helps in the ways he can, and ends up being crucial to beating evil, but not in the lead role he’d imagined for himself.

(He also has a lot of that Midna from TP energy in having a selfish agenda, but after receiving kindness learns to care more, but Julian already claimed that game)

#the arcana #the arcana headcanons #julian devorak #lucio morgasson #count lucio #the arcana game #asra alnazar #nadia satrinava #the arcana muriel #portia devorak #the legend of zelda

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best-of-brassbox · 2 years

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Brass I will never stop harassing you, what's your favorite version of Zelda? (Mine is twilight princess, but that may be biased because it's my favorite Zelda game, but she's just so badass)

Ooooohh this is an interesting question. Never thought about this objectively, so how about I talk myself through it here, and decide at the end. Zelda I, of the Legend of Zelda II: the Adventure of Link, and Zelda II, of the Legend of Zelda.

Zelda I, chronologically first, game second. The King of Hyrule told his daughter the location of the Triforce and then died. Her brother, a scheming Prince, begged her to tell him the location so he could take it for his own. When she refused, he hired a magician to curse her into eternal slumber. Link spends the game collecting the Triforce and uses it to wake her up, and gets a smooch behind a stage curtain for his trouble. She is very cute, in a Princess Peachy kind of way. Zelda II, chronologically second, game first. She splits the Triforce up into chunks to save it from Ganon, then conspires with her nursemaid, Impa, to find someone strong enough to beat him. She shares a character design with her slumbering ancestor. Cute. Zelda from Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures

I’ll be honest, I did not have enough friends to play any of the multiplayer Zelda games, so all I know about her is how cute she is. Very cute, Windwaker style but not that recycled character design. SPEAKING OF

Zelda from the Minish Cap

This Zelda and Link are childhood friends. Before she gets kidnapped, they pal around a festival for a while, and you get a good feel for he character before she’s snatched. A bit stubborn and bratty, but also very kind. She’s pictured in this art holding the shield she wins Link in a raffle, which she promptly presents to him as a gift. There’s not much to say about this one!

Zelda from a Link to the Past and a Link Between Worlds

When the wizard Aghanim usurps the throne from under her father, this Zelda telepathically contacts Link and his retired knight uncle for help. Uncle dons his equipment and goes to save her at the castle, but is immediately killed. Notably my personal “first” Zelda. She spends most of the game waiting in the shelter of the Sanctuary, a temple built to the three Goddesses. The Zelda of a Link Between Worlds has a lot more to do in the plot, but doesn’t necessarily have a more interesting character. The designs are cute. She’s fine. Princess Hilda is MUCH more interesting and dynamic, but this ain’t about her.

Zelda from Twilight Princess

The master of the tactical surrender, this Zelda comes across as a patient planner. She surrenders her “light” (Triforce? unclear) to save Midna’s life. In the manga, they were childhood friends who spoke to each other through a little rift, and I thought that was interesting. Her vacant body gets possessed by Ganondorf, resulting in a memorable boss fight, and she rides with you on horseback at the end. She makes a lot of tough calls and always does what’s best for the people around her. A good leader. Plays the long game, supports other women. Doesn’t have much of a relationship with Link at all, but this ain’t about him Come to think of it, it’s kind of a trend at this point for Zelda to play second fiddle to a beloved “dark lady” counterpart. I am fine with this Zelda from Skyward Sword

This Zelda starts as a spirited, reckless teenager, and that’s where she’s most likeable. Her separation from Link is genuinely heart wrenching, and the game definitely sells the romance between them. Since she’s the reincarnation of a Goddess who pretty much planned her entire life, this Zelda comes across as a helpless pawn caught up in a web of intrigue much bigger than herself. Has little to no agency, which is more excusable for the older games than the newer ones. It would be nice if she got to make more choices for herself, but it’s fate fate fate from start to finish. There’s stuff to like here, but a lot of stuff to dislike. It’s not really the character’s fault. Zelda from Ocarina of Time

She’s Sheik, the coolest ever. I’m of the persuasion that the disguise was a literal transformation of her body with magic, and that she lived as physically male for many years. People on forums used to argue about this. Straight men insisting for days that Sheik had boobs under the outfit. Which is obviously dumb, their body types are completely different. So she can magically grow broad shoulders and dense musculature but not a dick? They didn’t want to be seen as gay for being attracted to Sheik, because they are weak little worms. What am I even talking about. This Zelda jumpstarts the plot by conspiring together with Link for a really ill-conceived plan that dooms Hyrule. None of it would ever have happened if her father had just taken her prophecy dream seriously. Kings of Hyrule are terrible screwups. When this Zelda tries to put everything right at the end, she ends up splitting the timeline in half, inspiring horrible nerds to argue even more incessantly. This is her greatest sin. Tetra from the Windwaker and Phantom Hourglass

It’s really, really weird that her skin lightened up when she got Zeldafied. I’ve never met anyone who liked that particular choice. It goes back to normal once she takes off the dress, so what the hell does that mean. This Zelda design gets recycled a lot, which I think cheats me out of being able to look at different cute girls. There’s nothing wrong with this character at all, she is cool and my friend, but it sucks that she spends over half the game locked in a basement. Phantom Hourglass does her dirty. She gets petrified (tetrafied? no shut up) right at the start and spends almost the entire game as a statue. As though it wouldn’t have been more fun to boat around with your pirate friend. Inexcusable. Zelda from Spirit Tracks

Unlike other “childhood friends” Zeldas, this Zelda and Link meet for the first time in this game, and become friends over the length of it. When an evil demon plucks her soul out of her body, so an even worse demon can incarnate within her empty vessel, Link and the ghostly Zelda join forces to stop him. On the surface, this Zelda has a calm and noble demeanor, but beneath she’s a realistically flawed girl and a spitfire! The game calls a lot of attention to the damsel in distress trope, subverting it utterly. She fights alongside you from beginning to end, and her bond with Link is unbreakable by the time credits roll. Only drawback is, her human form is the same old Windwaker princess design. Boooooring

Zelda from Breath of the Wild

Putting pants on a princess does not make her a feminist character. And that’s all of them! Anyway, with all the Zeldas tallied up, ok j/k j/k I’m sorry I have more to say about botw zelda She’s Ocarina of Time’s Zelda in reverse. Instead of having a dad that doesn’t believe in her abilities, she has a dad putting massive pressure on her to unlock those abilities. She doesn’t have them from birth because there wouldn’t be a plot otherwise. The plot vindicates the King’s view entirely, because the situation is completely hopeless without her sealing powers. Only his methods are ever called into question. Zelda’s character development is that of a child accepting that she must meet societies expectations of her at the cost of her ability to choose a path in life. The game frames her pursuit of scholarly ambitions as an understandable impulse of youth, but an ultimately selfish position. I do not like any of this, as should be abundantly clear, but it’s not really her fault as a character. Imagine if she never unlocked her sealing powers at all, and instead, figured out a way to lock Ganon in the Castle with the technology she was studying. A big stasis field, maybe, like the kind the Sheikah slate produces. She locks herself inside of it, sacrificing herself to activate the machine she built, trapped along with the monster until Link can break inside. Then they can take on Ganon together, like one of those wonderful boss fights where you fight alongside Zelda from some of the other games. Everything is functionally identical for the purpose of gameplay leading up to the confrontation at the end, but she actually uses a power she earns, proves her father wrong in the process, and ties everything up with a neat little parable about forging one’s own way in life. Instead, she gets slapped with superpowers the moment the writer thinks she’s suffered an arbitrary, prerequisite amount, and perfectly maintains the status quo. I think she deserved better than that! AND THATS ALL THE ZELDAS, WOO In retrospect, I honestly think I can say Spirit Tracks has the best Zelda from a “saturday morning cartoon” perspective, and Ocarina of Time has the best Zelda from a “dark fantasy story” perspective. I like Twilight Princess Zelda a lot, but I like Midna more, and it’s really her game more than Zelda’s. My opinions are my own and should not be taken as values judgements of anyone who disagrees with me. There’s room for all of us at this Zelda banquet, so let’s not get angry at each other if I besmirched the name of your fav, okay? Okay. If you made it this far, this is your reward: https://youtu.be/GXfM9lgzr0M?t=131

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