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toushindai · 1 day

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Ganondorf is the only sage whose physical appearance changes so dramatically by the use of his secret stone—and not immediately upon gaining it, it appears to be a deliberate use of power—which is interesting. What interests me even more though is the way in which his Demon King appearance takes on subtly more Zonai-like aspects. Specifically his fingernails and toenails grow to points, like we see on Rauru and Mineru (and Link), and his hair goes from half-bound in a topknot to loose and flowing, which I take for a cultural norm among the Zonai given Rauru’s long and barely contained locks and the fact that most (all?) of the clothes we get that originate with the Zonai (the dragon sets, the zonaite set, the archaic set (though we could debate whether that set is “Zonai” or specifically “founding-era Hyrulean” and pick apart which cultural signifiers are which in a post that’s not about Ganondorf), the glide set) feature Link with his hair down.

I’m walking a delicate and nearly contradictory tightrope here because I feel that the heavy Japanese-inspired elements of Ganondorf’s design and his weaponry are a reflection of his sense of alienation from his own Gerudo culture with its more fantasy-Middle-Eastern vibes, BUT it is not to be denied that there are Gerudo elements to what he wears—the gold of his jewelry, the Gerudo emblem on the underside of his robe and in the jewelry on his shoulder. And his hair, I think, combines both that Japanese vibe with the Gerudo look. He keeps his gold jewelry after his Demon King transformation—and this is an interesting contrast with the ancient sages who bedeck themselves in anonymizing zonaite masks even before becoming sages, hey game designers talk me through that choice please—but it’s elements of his own body that he changes to reflect grooming choices of the Zonai.

And I am just thinking about what he feels, exactly, about the Zonai. He scorns the fact that they are regarded as gods, but does not debate—and in fact openly states—that their power is godlike. He is covetous of it, to the extent that he perceives it as being lorded over him, which I don’t honestly feel is an accurate assessment of Rauru et al.’s attitude.

There’s something that makes me sad here. I think that Ganondorf believes, down to the depths of his soul, that not only the right to rule but personal worth is won by being powerful, by being the MOST powerful. And so Rauru’s kingdom, formed through friendship and goodwill, is illegitimate and a sign of weak minds and also how dare the Zonai come in and take over by vibes rather than by force and why won’t they meet him on the field of battle where he can prove himself. While at the same time, his own position in Gerudo society is not earned in the way that reflects his own personal values. What I guess I’m talking around is, I think there’s a part of Ganondorf that wants to be Zonai so that he can be better at using the power the Zonai have than the Zonai are. While also loathing them. While also bitter about the fact that he missed his chance to prove himself against their whole society. Part of him thinks if I were Zonai, I would have what I wanted. And when he gets what he wants, he makes himself just that little more like a Zonai.

#this is why I'm very smart and intelligent for thinking that the eighth heroine was a zonai. actually.#every time I think about that I froth at the mouth and then I remember that the Japanese states he was hylian and I get so offended.#mine's better.#ganondorf (lozbotwtotk)#lozbotwtotk #tears of the kingdom #ganondorf (legend of zelda)#totk spoilers

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baings-nails · 21 hours

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