#and ezlo did. whether he wanted to admit to that or not. because he was 100% ready to help put vaati down and clean up his mess

[fourswords]

a reason i really love the minish cap figurines despite their ridiculous difficulty to obtain is because of how they add even more characterization to every single little thing within the game. hell, vaati's figurines tell an entire story of their own:

Minish Vaati: Before he became a sorcerer, he was a simple Minish. He had always been entranced by the evil that lives in the hearts of men…

Sorcerer Vaati: When the young Minish donned Ezlo's magic cap, he took this evil form. Now, he searches for the light force in his quest to become all-powerful.

Vaati Reborn: The sorcerer Vaati took this form after draining the power of the light force from Princess Zelda. The evil beams from his eyes are devastating.

Vaati Transfigured: Once Vaati's body has been shattered, this dark form rises up, all that remains of the evil sorcerer. Only the sacred Four Sword can defeat him.

Vaati's Wrath: This is the embodiment of purest evil, the final form of the power-mad Vaati. Its mind is consumed with a hunger for destruction. Find its weakness.

like. the pronoun switch from "he" to "it" in this context is genuinely kind of chilling. i think a lot about vaati and ezlo and i really do wonder what ezlo must've thought when faced with what vaati became. because on one hand, he absolutely and thoroughly denounces him throughout the game for his misdeeds. on the other hand, the fact that ezlo says that "vaati was only a boy" when he first took him on as an apprentice and also repeatedly begs vaati to just wait a damn second during their encounters in the game (the "why won't you wait?!" in the flashback is definitely something that makes me have a head-in-my-hands moment) is really kind of. telling. to me. because ezlo declares vaati to be evil SO annoyingly often that when you look at it from the context of their shared backstory, it almost starts to sound like ezlo is just constantly trying to convince himself that vaati is past the point of no return. especially when he has lines like "You haven't changed in the slightest." (like he was hoping for some sort of change) and "How...could he?!" (when realizing that vaati turned everyone to stone near the end of the game—even after everything, there's still disbelief within him) and "Hyrule Castle has grown dark... Perhaps this repulsive scene... is just a reflection of the evil lurking in the heart of my former student. ... ... Ah, what have I created? But don't worry about me, Link!" (which is clearly a "how could i have been so blind" internal ordeal happening. it's actually been happening throughout the entire game). and even though the figurine refers to vaati's final form as "it", ezlo still calls him "he" even after the battle is done and he's seen the absolute nightmare that vaati became. it's interesting to me.

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Ok Wild Angsters, you wanted a continuation, so here you go :)

Four already knew what he would be walking into. His phone had been blowing up for hours. He’d come in to work early. Whether he was assigned to take care of Wild or not was another matter - Vaati loved to try and take all the admissions, convinced he was the best nurse on the unit. If Four could just keep Vaati out of Wild’s room, he’d consider it a success.

When the charge nurse told him he would be admitting the trauma alert, he knew who he was getting.

Pre-admission jitters always made Four anxious, but this was an entirely other level of fear. He almost wanted to request a different assignment, but it was too late now. What if he couldn’t take caer of him because he was his friend? What if that impair his decision making? What if he just wasn’t skilled enough to handle it? He knew Ezlo wouldn’t give him an assignment he couldn’t handle, wouldn’t be there to support him, but still…

Four went over the supplies in his room once more. Safety checks were fine—they had suction, they had a bag valve mask, the code card was nearby—and he had all the supplies he needed. It was just a waiting game.

Four paced the unit at least three times before he looked at the OR status board again. Wild was still in surgery. He poked in his chart, glancing at injuries, looking at vital signs and anesthesia notes. The last update he saw was that Wild had gotten another unit of blood. Estimated blood loss so far was around 2200mL.

2200mL. That… wasn’t too terrible, Four supposed. He’d… seen worse.

Please don’t get worse.

Four knew for certain that Wild had been mass transfused in the ED. Warriors, his primary nurse when he was there, had told him as much. Between that and the multiple blood products he’d gotten in surgery, as well all the crystalloids he was likely getting as well…

Four took a breath. Then another. He grabbed his phone, texting Warriors. You doing ok?

Wars didn’t reply.

Four wasn’t entirely sure where everyone was at this point. Hyrule had stayed at the hospital, lingering in the emergency department and then the operating room waiting area, but Four hadn’t seen him since he’d clocked in. Warriors and Legend should be getting off shift now, but whether they were going to stay up was another matter. Time was obviously in the OR (Wild’s wreck had been around 10pm, he’d arrived in the ED around 10:45, and he’d been stabilized for surgery and gone to the OR by around midnight - it was 7am now… he wasn’t sure how long this was going to take, but it couldn’t be much longer). Malon should be getting on shift now as well - she had come in last night when everything had gone down, alongside Twilight. Wind had been cautiously left out of the loop until Wild had gone to surgery, simply because nobody had really had much information at the time, so no one wanted to worry the kid until they could figure things out. Everyone had their hands full as it was. But by now, Four knew Wind was either in the OR waiting room, harassing every respiratory therapist he knew, or in the hospital library pacing anxiously. As for Sky, the last Four heard he was bouncing between different people, checking in on everyone.

He clicked through more anesthesia notes, looked at flow sheets for blood products. There wasn’t much to go on, as charting was sparse. What Four did know was that Wild had been obtunded, got mass transfused, had gotten a chest tube, had been intubated, blood was evident in his abdomen, and he had an open femur fracture. He’s been taken to Time’s OR for a ex-lap. Head CT had shown a bleed, and they were monitoring it. That was all the information Legend had told the group when he’d had a moment to spare.

Four’s vocera activated, telling him he had a call from the charge nurse. When he answered, he was told Malon had called and said they’d be finishing up in about thirty minutes and were likely to come up open.

Why was he coming up with his abdomen open? When had they gone from exploratory laparotomy to a full on open abdomen?

Ten minutes later, Malon called back to give report. When Four answered, the first thing he asked was, “How’s he doing? Is he okay? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Malon said, even though she sounded exhausted. “And he’s… hanging in there. I’ve seen worse, I’ll say that. I’ll give you the full rundown, okay?”

Four listened as Malon gave report, feeling his heart settled into his stomach, which was tying itself in knots. Multiple spots of bleeding, possible compartment syndrome in his abdomen, a likely kidney injury due to compression from the bleeding on some major vessels, a small hematoma in his brain… they’d had to call neurosurgery to do an emergency craniotomy out of overt concern of swelling, given that Wild had apparently had previous head trauma, based on what they saw in the OR.

Open abdomen, craniotomy, ICP monitoring, bleeding, one chest tube… this was a disaster. Four swallowed as he wrote, feeling his hand shake a little as his heart raced. He was not qualified enough to be admitting this. He was not.

But the turnaround on his unit was pretty insane, and he was the most experienced nurse on the unit today. At least Ezlo was charge; he knew he’d be well supported.

This was a nightmare. But Four had dealt with nightmares, and he would deal with this. He wasn’t going to screw up taking care of any patient, but especially his friend.

Sighing, he hung up the phone after thanking Malon, pushing worries for her and Time aside, trying to focus on what he would need, who he should grab to help him, and how he should prep his room.

It was time to get to work.

When everyone arrived from the OR, Four made brief eye contact with Time. He couldn’t read much from the man, who was stone faced, aside from the exhaustion evident in the dark circles under his eyes. Four got to work quickly, assessing Wild from head to toe as he looked to see what IV medications he was on. A coworker wrote the note while Ezlo helped detangle his lines (the OR always brought up a mess, after all). Time gave an overview of the surgery, and Four listened along as he checked pupils, as he zeroed the arterial line and the ICP monitor, as he listened to lung and heart sounds, as he checked the chest tube and stripped it with his fingers to ensure patency, as he checked peripheral pulses, as he looked at the abdominal dressing to get a baseline in case there was swelling from bleeding later. One of the techs connected the chest tube to wall suction, and Four looked over his drips. Only having levophed at 2 wasn’t terrible, and he was getting a unit of red blood cells, which was in a transfusion set that was y’d to some lactated ringers fluid. He was on propofol for sedation. Another nurse grabbed a blood gas from his arterial line and sent off labs. His foley he had was temp sensing, and Four quickly ascertained that Wild was cold, so he set up the blanket warmer and covered his friend up.

His friend. His friend.

Four shook his head. He had to focus.

As Time left the room, he put a hand on Four’s shoulder, making him freeze. The surgeon didn’t speak, just locking eyes with him. Four wasn’t entirely sure if it was for his own benefit or not. But he had no more time to let his emotions make any decisions for him. He nodded to the doctor, who nodded in return, and then the two went their separate ways.

This was going to be a long day.

[space--cadet-glow]

Theory: The Odd Headcanons of Vaati, Part Thirty-three: To Love and to Hate

Sort of obvious, but at the same time, sort of not. Just what are Vaati's numerous likes and dislikes and why?

As far as I can tell, based solely on in-game evidence alone, his LIKES are: 1. Power/control (and by extension, the Magic Hat) 2. Bigger things 3. (Quite possibly) All the girls he kidnapped 4. The Wind

And his DISLIKES are: 1. Ezlo 2. Failure 3. Opposition

BUT, if we throw in my various headcanons, the LIKES list suddenly becomes: 1. Power/control (and by extension, the Magic Hat) 2. Bigger things 3. (Quite possibly) All the girls he kidnapped 4. The Wind 5. Certain foods 6. Certain instruments 7. Certain styles of clothing 8. Hairstyle

And the DISLIKES list becomes: 1. Ezlo 2. Failure 3. Opposition 4. Not being good enough 5. Certain animals 6. Certain styles of clothing

So, first of all, how and why do any of the LIKES work?

1. Power/control (and by extension, the Magic Hat) To get away from his former Master; to even leave this plane of existence behind. To warp away his Minish form and to achieve perfection. All he had to do was go on a power trip and steal a piece of enchanted headwear. Even becoming human was better than being a Minish, I would think. Though being human probably still made him feel "small" (as evidenced that all of his following forms are bigger than the last), he still probably enjoyed being even that teensiest bit "removed" from being "imperfect". To be in control of himself. To not be looked down upon ever again. To be the world's greatest sorcerer alive.

2. Bigger things The aforementioned demon forms are evidence of this. He called his original Minish form "a meek, miniscule nothing". Hylians are bigger than the Minish, and his demon forms kept increasing in size, too. It's almost like Vaati thought the becoming steadily bigger would make him more "perfect" or "powerful". Unapposable. As mentioned in Part Two of my "Irony of Vaati" theory series, it took no less than thirteen people to eventually take him down in the end anyway! To him, bigger was "better". And more "likeable".

3. (Quite possibly) All the girls he kidnapped I say "quite possibly", because it's mentioned that he kidnapped girls because they "caught his fancy". Not so much that he actually "loved" them. BUT- contrariwise, he DID kidnap one incarnation of Princess Zelda specifically to MAKE HER HIS BRIDE. Which could very well count as a "love". Unless he just loved her powers INSTEAD of her or something.

4. The Wind Oh, the lovely Wind. He's not the Mage of Winds for no reason! To be free as the Wind, to be as POWERFUL as the Wind. To be the very Wind itself. He ended up a Wind mage because of his affinity for Wind. Thus, his love of Wind.

5. Certain foods In Part One of this theory series, I theorised on the Minish diet, and basically came to the conclusion that it was composed primarily (if not entirely) of sugar. And because he is a Minish whether he likes it or not, Vaati would most likely also have an affinity for sugary foods. He's probably a huge fan of chocolate. I think he'd hate soda, though.

6. Certain instruments In Part Two of this theory series, I wound up choosing two different instruments that Vaati could play: the fiddle and the piano. Depending on if Ezlo forced him to learn to play or not, if so, no- this is not "liking" it. BUT, if he chose to play them himself, then yes, definitely, he would like it. Either way, it could potentially help him direct his magic and what-not.

7. Certain styles of clothing He's in a tunic and capris/short ensemble. His Minish clothing even had a similar collar and amount of "layers". That is possibly why he wears the clothes he does: he's so USED to the style! And judging by how he never wears anything else, he most likely DOES love it (his human outfit, at least. I'm not sure he would still particularly CARE for his Minish clothes).

8. Hairstyle In Part Fourteen of this theory series, I speculated that the only reason Vaati wore his hair long as a human was to spite Ezlo. And if it was done specifically for that reason, OF COURSE he'd love it! Finally, to him, he was rejecting all the rules he once knew as true. To be able to craft himself, ultimately to "perfection".

And finally, how and why do any of the DISLIKES work?

1. Ezlo His most obvious dislike of all time. Though Ezlo did seem to care for him in his own 'twisted' sort of way (perhaps being rough on him was to prepare him for later disappointments?), Vaati probably never saw the full picture and just assumed that Ezlo was trying to wreck his spirit. So, in turn, he tried to wreck Ezlo- followed by Link. And then, the world.

2. Failure In Part Fifty-one of my "Irony of Vaati" theory series, one of Vaati's "implied" fears was that of failure. Why? Because, if he fails, there are only two out-comes: death or being returned to everything he tried to avoid. Neither of them are good options. He'd hate either ending.

3. Opposition He was already opposed to his former Master, and THEN Link joins the fray. If not for Link, Ezlo probably never would have caught up to Vaati and stopped him. Vaati would have been able to extract all of the Light Force from Zelda, no problem. Why, oh, why- he'd think- did he have to be fought against? Can't these idiots just stand by and let him do his work? To get what he wants? What a brat.

4. Not being good enough Also in Part Fifty-one of my "Irony of Vaati" theory series, my "number one" fear for Vaati was him believing himself not to be good enough. Of being a "nothing". Not being remembered; not being respected or feared for his powers... Of wanting to be MORE. More than what he was. More than what he became. Just... MORE.

5. Certain animals Even when becoming human and onwards, there's one inherent Minish fear involving animals that I don't think Vaati would ever be able to get rid of. And that's the Minish fear of CATS. He'd probably pretend to not be bothered, but if he were to be placed in a room with nothing but a cat, the cat probably would win. He'd hate cats, and HATE admitting to HATING cats.

6. Certain styles of clothing Mostly, his shoes. The Minish were always barefoot; sandals were probably the least amount of "shoe" he could get by with in the human realm. If given the opportunity, he'd probably go right back to being barefoot.

So, then... Wait.

Here is something rather strange. There's one thing I have failed to mention yet. VAATI HIMSELF. On which list would Vaati go?

...Both and neither. Let me explain.

Vaati clearly hated being a Minish; being a "meek, miniscule nothing". And note that that's pretty much the only line in the entire game where Vaati mentions his time as a Minish. As if he very strongly wished to forget about it; to leave his past form in- well- the past. Leave it behind; Minish Vaati is "dead". In that case, Vaati would be placed on the DISLIKES list.

But, what of Hylian Vaati and onwards? The forms of himself BIGGER than a Minish, bigger than a human, and so on? The form that attained perfection, if only for a moment? If Vaati had- even momentarily- achieved true happiness, then yes, Vaati would be placed on the LIKES list.

Which is it? Does Vaati love or hate himself more? ...I could see him hating who he is on the inside, but loving the "mask" he set up for himself. I've mentioned the "mask" thing several times before, and it still works. This could be the easy solution.

He hates the "true Vaati" and loves the "false Vaati" he created. The strongest "love" and "hate" was HIMSELF all along.