#for me personally as much as i love botw and totk i kinda want to see a new reboot

[goldensunset]

*violently trembling* i need…. to find twilight princess for the wii… *gets shot by the ‘but you said you would finally play this one game!’ gun*

[themoonking]

i know totk just came out, and i myself literally just finished it an hour ago, but that post credits scene has me thinking about what the next zelda game will be like. will it be another breath of the wild sequel or is it time for another reboot? if it’s another botw sequel, what’s next?

[ofcowardiceandkings]

companion piece of young Link

AAHH i finally finished something :'D

i've uh had some very specific Thoughts about Zelda's childhood for a while now so its about time i put them to paper - this is actually round TWO since the original doodles are lost to ... somewhere ... i like these second editions better though so alls well that ends well

we're looking at ages around 4, 7 and 10 years old here touchin bugs in the dirt, archery practice, and playing a lyre ;w;

more detailed Thoughts under the cut 💙

iiitssss customary ranting about my BotW/TotK opinions tiiiimeeee welcome my darlingsss jfkdjfkd 💙

i had a much more solid idea about where i was going with Zelda than with Link but some of it is kinda abstract or weird lol

we know a fair amount about her upbringing in general, or can infer as much from Zelda's interactions with her father and what they and people around them wrote. she was clearly a smart and vivacious kid with a strong personality from the start, no matter how much you sort of squash that shit for the public face, repression etc. so yknow, her mother's death when she was 6, awful. her father's change in attitude especially in her teens, awful. being under public scrutiny her whole life, awful. restrictive structure of royal life, dull (i bet it bored Zelda to death at times no matter how strongly duty-oriented she is). having said that though, she got by and just by looking at her study, she clearly got stuff done to herself - you can take the kid away from the science but the science stays with the kid !!!

additionally, forgive me for mentioning ... timelines ... but in my humble onion, BotW/TotK serve as a Dragon-Break scenario which are SO far in the future from other entries that ALL timelines will inevitably converge and lead to that point, so it doesnt matter any more (i dont like extended Timeline theory, Nindooty doesnt like extended Timeline theory, the current writing team seem to want shot of it, let me be). being a history guy i also subscribe to leaning on the LEGEND aspect of 100 and 1000 year games of telephone, it makes things spicy. tradition is a strange thing, we do things we dont have much of a context for anymore, we're still living with the cultural hangovers of people living when mammoths were around and no thats not hyperbole lol its WILD. ive typed around the point enough lets get going

she was a bugs girl !!!! she still IS a bugs girl lmao but if our 16 year old girlie is gonna pounce on frogs apropos of nothing, that 4 year old girlie is gonna go catch bugs in the Royal Gardens and freak out her maids or escorts with them, good for her 💅

the other two are where my timeline thing comes in; the triforce is never mentioned by name, its just there in symbolism ?? something about the blood of the goddess ?? divine sealing powers ??? no one knows in the same vein, i like to think that its traditional for Hylian Princesses to learn archery and play a lyre or harp ... but no one remembers quite WHY ?? so Zelda does. the Priestess-Princess* role means the public is aware that Zelda had formal singing training, but its not really common knowledge outside of the Castle that the Royal Girls do THIS (no one knows why that part is important either, but it stays in the Castle). she might be a little out of practice now, but give that muscle memory enough time and she might be able to really surprise people.

*this is part of the Japanese translation, at least in Kass' final song Zelda is referred to as an term roughly meaning Priestess-Princess - which makes total sense to me

ohhh my god i talked a lot okay i just love my gorl fhjdkfjdk

actual footage of me explaining my shit and going way long

[babbletaels]

I don't know exactly how to put this into words without rambling too much. I saw some people say something along the lines of "totk and botw have bad stories but so what, all zelda stories are bad because zelda games focus on gameplay". Now, of course I saw a lot of people and youtube videos proving this post wrong by pointing out the amazing stories in oot, majoras mask, twilight princess, and more.

But something they fail to ever mention is.. breath of the wilds story is not bad!!!! It's just not!

Breath of the wilds story IS:

Short

Simple

Told in a very new format

Not experienced totally by the protagonist

But that doesn't make it a bad story! But all these qualities DO make tears of the kingdoms story bad, and that's because the way of telling the story of breath of the wild was curated perfectly in order to tell that story, not tears of the kingdoms story. It's very clear to me that with this brand new open world format they thought very hard about how to make the game "as free as possible" and still make it interesting to play through, and they did this by putting you totally in Links shoes: You and Link both wake up with no memories of where you are or why, with the vague idea that your name is Link and that you're supposed to like save a princess or something. You and Link both set out to explore this world in the way that you want to do it. That's how they made you relate to the protagonist, not by giving him a gripping story but making him and you have the exact same experience going through this world. Instead of throwing you into a world where the protagonist knows everything but you don't, and making the protagonist learn things that he probably already knew, they made him and you be in the same boat. I don't know about you but I loved exploring this world and wondering what different places could've been a hundred years ago, so that's what my Link was doing. All of the "bad" game decisions made in this game were made so that you could feel as free as possible. Yes, the divine beasts were all the same kinda which is boring, but they did that because they wanted to emphasize the freedom in this game, they wanted it to be a totally new kind of zelda game. Yeah it was a bad decision, I agree, but like that's their idea on how to make the game as open as possible, okay? I personally don't care how many "walking through the door" cutscenes a game has, but that's me and whatever they wanted it to have as little as possible, that was their vision for this game.

The actual story of breath of the wild is not bad, but it IS short and simple, and it takes place 100 years before we come into the picture so it feels a bit detached, however I personally found it very gripping figuring out what happened all those years ago and very tragic knowing that there's nothing I can do to save those people who I failed. I don't want to ramble on about the zora storyline but that story is especially gripping as suddenly everyone in that domain knows who we are and blames us for the death of their princess or were jealous of your relationship with her and just finding out how much she loved you and realizing yeah, they're right, she did die because of you. She only joined this mission because she wanted to help you and your cause because she loved you so much. I felt sad learning this in the story, and knowing there's nothing I can do to bring her back or make things right. Not only because of Mipha but also because of Link, how tragic his story all of a sudden became, knowing that he can't do anything to right this wrong and imagining the future that he could've had if all of this never happened, possibly a future together with someone he loves, but all of that's gone now. The story feels detached because it IS detached and it's so tragic because of it, and the world feels so lonely because of it.

This format does not work in tears of the kingdom. If there was any chance of me having actual emotional attachements to characters from 10 000+ years ago that my character never even interacted with, that chance was minimized by a million percentages because they were the exact same cutscene where they say the exact same thing, they always wear masks so you can't even see their face, and we just know literally nothing about them. We get to know three characters a little bit, but it's like.. Can I really be that invested in what my new girlfriends adoptive parents and aunt did 10 000+ years ago? Yeah I want to find Zelda and finding out she's a dragon and all that was very cool and stuff. But the story doesn't work, especially since it doesn't fit in with anything we saw in breath of the wild AT ALL except one npc saying she can see a castle in the sky. Ooh we're finally learning what the Zonai ruins were! Oh, they're actually not where the zonai resided at all and actually the ruins didn't even look like that somehow someone built the ruins around a different ruin how do you even do that using stone? Are the zonai ruins made of clay since they're wrapped around the older zonai ruins? Like idk they didn't tie any of this to anything we were emotionally invested in, so why is it in a direct sequel? Oh wait I know why, because they wanted to reuse the world since they had already created it and it's so big and it did have untapped potential. But then make a story that actually has anything to do with the story that its a sequel to!!

Actually, majoras mask did the exact same thing as tears of the kingdom, kind of. Except the story in majoras mask, while largely detached from ocarina of time, is an actual good and gripping story!!!!!

Okay I can't rant any more. Breath of the wild is an actual good game that actually had a good story even if it was short and simple, and it accomplished exactly what they set out to accomplish, and it does not deserve to get dragged as a bad game just because tears of the kingdom had a bad story and used the exact same format as botw. Since you're reading this I assume you have played botw and don't need me to explain exactly what happened in the story. Like you know, how everyone failed? How the kingdom fell to ruin because literally everyone failed at their job? That story.

[cactusisconfused]

I give you more ghoap botw ideas cuz I love the au

Here are the boys :DD ghost is designed more after link in totk cuz I felt that suited him more, and soap’s in a version of Zelda’s ceremonial dress (for him it’d be robes or some kind of suit)

For the ghosts/champions i also had some ideas

Revali - Nikolai (mainly cuz hehe pilot) or Gaz

Urbosa - Laswell

Daruk - Price or Alejandro (I lean more ale on this one, but I’ll get to why in a minute)

Mipha - Roach

Sidon - Rudy or Alex

Riju - Farah

Teba - could also be Nik

And I have no clue who Yunobo would be

King Rhoam - Price

Now hear me out, I know in hyrule warriors Rhoam was kinda a dick. I say Price would be the king because as a captain he had to make hard decisions same as a king. So in this au let’s say that Price sees that yes soap isn’t paying attention to his studies/training nor has unlocked the goddesses power yet, but he does see his son trying to help his people. (though in a really dangerous way)

So as the King, Price orders the swords champion as Soap’s personal guard to keep him safe with all the dumb shit he’s been pulling. While he’s still hard on Soap with unlocking his power; he understands that you can’t really rush it, and over all is just proud of how far Soap has come already. When the calamity hits Price fights with his people until his last breath, and prays to the goddess that Soap and Ghost are ok. (Whoa that got sad, i’m sorry 😅)

Ok sorry that this is very long, I just really like botw and totk and love the idea of this au!! Also have my recreation of that one memory :DD

OOOOOOOOOOOOO I LOVE THIS!!!!

AND YOUR ART-VERY TASTY!!!

Honestly I agree for the most part about the characters. Ravoli I feel is hard to place given he has a very cocky and self assured personality that none of our guys truly fit. I want to say Nikolai would fit the most, but I also think he would work great as Teba as well (mainly cause of the pilot thing.)

I wonder though, if roach would be a better Teba given Teba in game is seemingly a man of few words (but I also head canon roach as quiet but an absolute menace, so another problem there.)

Anywho, I also have no clue who yunobo would be either 😅

-

I feel Ghosts family should also somehow be implemented into the BOTW lore. I’m thinking that when he was going through the process of getting the master sword and training to be a royal knight, not because he felt he had a duty to the royalty of hyrule, but to gain enough respect and fear so that he could finally protect his family from not only his father but from monsters and other intruders.

However, he gains more than he ever thought he would, becoming more than just a simple knight. He has less time with his family, his mother, brother, Beth and Joesph.

Eventually, some event happens were Ghost has to go against the yiga clan. In response, the yiga clan sets out to massacre Ghost’s family, much like how they did in the comics.

I think that event, that failure to protect his family, is what drove him to go completely mute, on top of already being quiet in the first place.

Idk, this turned into a long ramble. I am living for your thoughts though, love them! :)

[ganondoodle]

one of the few zelda youtuber guys that seems to actually love totk made a video about it (i guess bc so many talked about why they dont like it) and while i didnt watch it i took a peek into the comments and of course its full of people going "LMAO people only dislike it bc it didnt validate their crazy theories!!" "its always the same when a new zelda comes out lol at first they hate it and then later its a classic haha idiots" "people who dont like it are just caught up in their nostalgia and cant accept anything new being introduced!!"

also thanking him for "speaking up" about loving the game ... which i find kinda mind boggling bc the internet is full of praise and 10/10s for it

i obviously dont want to villainize people that love totk but like .. these kinds of comments are so unecessarily judgemental? how dare someone NOT like an entry in the franchise and voice legit criticism, how dare someone not worship the game just bc it has zelda on it! CLEARLY they are just made delusional by their own fantasy and will realize later just how wrong they were! hah! those fools!

on my rants there were quite a few people who actually said they like the game but agree with alot of my views on it regardless, it is very flawed but i can also see that the good things outweigh the bad stuff for others, even if i legitimately hate it; but i also had to block multiple people bc they got so butthurt about me criticising it

and i dont think its 100% just an opinion thing either, totk, even when i disregard my personal feelings on the matter, has alot of problems, moreso than the other zeldas (each judged for how it was in their time) and in pretty much every part of the game too (story, lore, continuity, gameplay and rewards, UI-) and i think alot of it stems from its conception, they have never done a true direct sequel before and it came from a DLC idea, and it shows (though i still believe even coming from that you could have done something way better..... bc they also made botw, which seemed to prepare fertile ground for more storytelling that was all discarded for NO reason)

BUT that doesnt mean you cant like it anyway! there are some very horribly shitty games out there that are beloved by people anyway! and thats fine! i love ww and botw, both of which HAVE flaws too! and thats okay!

you dont need to be dismissive of any hint of criticism like that, there is no holy honor to defend, it just makes you look like a jerk

[skyloftian-nutcase]

So I’m kinda curious, I know you said you are not much of a shipping person (aside from like SkSw Zelink and Miphlink) but are there any of the popular ships that stand out either as ones you think are cute or ones you really do not like?

Hmmm 🤔 I’m fairly neutral or just meh about most, but I guess there are a few that stand out? Or maybe I should just list my opinions on the major ones I know of?

BotW Zelink - I don’t mind it post Calamity. Not really into it pre-calamity, it feels like it’s at the expense of a relationship that’s already there (Mipha and Link). But dang the two definitely would be close after the calamity, given that they’re the only ones who have such a shared experience. I could see it being romantic or platonic, and there’s kind of a heavy leaning towards romantic but then totk also makes it seem platonic sometimes too?? Whatever. Nintendo likes to be vague (except Skyward Sword, let’s be real, nothing about that was vague lol), but I can see it happening after everything.

Midlink - I think it’s sweet. I think in canon Link’s most likely gonna either be with Ilia or someone we don’t even see in the game as he travels, but Midna definitely could’ve had a chance with him if there’d been more time for them. They had good chemistry, and the physical attraction was clearly there when Link saw her true form.

OoT Zelink - Nope. Especially Adult Timeline, absolutely not. It’s a pet peeve of mine that people ship this Link with anyone in the Adult Timeline - he is a child in a teenager’s body. NO. Sure, his body might be attracted to people, but his brain sure ain’t figuring it out, and anybody who wants to explore that just… no. NO. As for Child Timeline, I feel like this Link has a hard time reconciling what happened, has a hard time letting go, and would therefore have a really difficult time separating Child Timeline Zelda from Adult Timeline Zelda and that would lead to too many mixed feelings. I can’t see them getting together. This ship is either entirely one sided (I can 100% see Adult Timeline Zelda romanticizing the Hero she’s been waiting for before she really realizes that he’s still a kid, if she ever realizes it) or nonexistent.

Malink - I quite like it. I honestly didn’t really see it in the game, there’s like… enough for it to happen, I guess, but admittedly Linked Universe has made me biased. But given that it’s heavily implied TP Link and OoT Link are related, and TP Link knows Epona’s song, and Malon was a friend of Link’s, and she talks of marrying a knight in shining armor, and Shade is a knight in shining armor… I can put two and two together. And I think they’d be cute together.

Sidlink - Just… why. I get that half the fandom is in love with Sidon, so they project that, but good grief. Link was engaged to his sister. That’s some Hamlet level incest nonsense there. Link may not remember Mipha all that well but Sidon freaking does. Just because the dude is ridiculously sweet and supportive to literally everyone and about literally everything doesn’t mean he’s romantically inclined towards everyone. He’s a golden retriever, there are two brain cells firing between those fins, let the man just be happy and vibe, good grief. I had this opinion before totk came out, and then the addition of Yona made me laugh because I knew the fandom would blow up about it, but she’s honestly really sweet and good for him - I loved when she called him out to help him, she’s a good wife, I like her 😤

Uh… I think those are all the popular ships I have any kind of actual opinions about? Aside from Skyward Sword Zelink and Miphlink, love them both, mwuah. The rest I’m just meh. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Honestly, I’m very inclined to say that just because two people share oxygen together doesn’t mean they’re gonna fall in love. Just because two people might have some chemistry doesn’t mean they’re gonna fall in love. And just because two hormonal teenagers think each other is hot does not mean they’re gonna end up together. But since romance is such a huge thing in fandoms and in our culture, and I am very much not in a romantic relationship and therefore the culture makes me feel like my life is incomplete, I am not very inclined to get into shipping all that much (translation: sometimes shipping is downright annoying to me, and I hate it when fandoms ship characters together just because they like each other as if other relationships can’t even exist or be meaningful), even the ones that I love. My biggest weakness is loving families, though, so that’s usually where I cheat lol.

[bigsoftmarshmallow]

Sorry, I'm curious about something & I really just wanted to get your perspective on something you mentioned.

“I suppose I don't understand why Hyrule would be so hostile to them and not allow them to just live and let live.”

Now, this is by no means an accisation or anything of the kind. More so, I'm just a bit confused as… I guess that I'm not so sure that Hyrule has been hostile to the Gerudo as I haven't seen much evidence that they have been. At least, not as a whole.

That isn't to say that they haven't been as no evidence of something isn't the same as proof that it isn't happening either.

I suppose that I'm wondering where this idea that Hyrule has been hostile towards them comes from. Like, if they actually have been & there's evidence of it, that's one thing. Even just something like subtext would be good.

Not that Hyrule didn't at least showcase bigotry in OoT even if that bigotry appeared to be fear-based, possibly being even trauma responses. And the only indications of real hostility towards the Gerudo people (that I recall), ironically, came from the Goron leader & this was after Link helps him & his people proceeding Ganondorf cutting off their foodsource in order to force him into giving OoTDorf something he wanted.

Beyond that, the reactions I saw to the Gerudo Mask were generally fear-based rather than anything indicating that they were looked down upon.

Is this concept based on TotK? Because I honestly didn’t see anything like that either.

I suppose its more of what the other games did? Now I've never played Ocarina of Time, more of heard from other people, seeing clips, and seen more of takes/opinions. From what I heard, in the first game Gerudo were known as thieves and kept in the desert. They weren't allowed to freely move about in Hyrule, from what I heard/saw. They are only really seen in Gerudo Desert. It feels like they are kept there for a reason. Again, I've never personally played, so I could be very much getting info wrong.

Twilight Princess had NO Gerudo at all, only Ganondorf. It could be that they were banished rather than straight up killed or died off due to being cut off but... Why was all of the Gerudo punished for Ganondorf's crimes? The Ancient Prison alludes to terrible crimes and torture taking place there, and since it is in the desert area, kinda points towards that Gerudo were tortured and punished there.

Windwaker has, again, no Gerudo, but that's more of... you know... everything flooded. There are Rito! Koroks! Dragons! Hylians! But no Gerudo. They all perished... except Ganondorf, of course. >_> It could be some did survive and then through the generations just... bred out all Gerudo characteristics, but that feels wrong too. Like especially since they have such strong genes.

BOTW and TOTK didn't really show case any of that. Gerudo were wandering all over Hyrule, either on search for life partners or selling things. There was still very little of them, but I saw no racism or bigotry or anything like that... though there were creeps.

Hyrule Warriors ONLY HAS GANONDORF AGAIN. Like there is the Desert! But no Gerudo! None! There isnt even an explanation or reason for it! They have everyone else but the only Gerudo there is Ganondorf!

I'm going to admit that my wording probably wasn't correct, but that's the word that came first in my head. It feels like the Gerudo are... well, being punished for something. Maybe not outwardly or very obviously hostile, but... passive aggressive? racist kinda? Something of the other. It doesn't feel positive nor right. It doesnt feel good.

If I have any wrong information, PLEASE UPDATE ME. I love being informed of the correct information. Just this is what came to my mind and my mind is very often muddled and slurry.

[wayfayrr]

I first have to say that since I’ve only played Botw, some of totk, and maybe half of twilight, idk the other Links except for how people write them in fanfics and LU, so if my reason for each one doesn’t make sense, sorry!

1. Twilight - calm country boy but won’t accept being taken advantage of, also deeply cares about his friends and family (of the Links, he reminds me most of one of my best friends)

2. Four - also calm, logical, in fanfics is usually the only one holding the group’s singular brain cell lol (I’m a very logical person as opposed to emotional)

3. Sky - mother of the group, very sweet and loving (reminds me of my other best friend, but both Sky and my best friend can be a little too serious bc of this trait, I like to make jokes and mess around sometimes)

4. Tears - I think he’s a little less chaotic than Wild, I say a LITTLE lol, but idk, he can drive things so that’d help with traveling because I don’t like walking too much, but seeing scenery while flying would be pretty cool

5. Hyrule - most of the fanfics portray him as a very shy timid follower, and while I don’t want someone to dominate me in r relationship, I also don’t want to dominate, I need to have someone who can take charge but doesn’t boss me around

6. Wild - kinda already explained this one, ik he also has horses we could ride but still

7. Legend - his sense of humor being sarcasm is the same as me, I love sarcasm, I once said to someone “my sarcasm makes up for the whole population”, but while r senses of humor would be the same, I can’t see us working that well in a relationship, his abrasiveness is a lot and I’d rather have someone who’s softer and can cuddle with me w/o having to pretend it’s the worst thing ever bc eww feelings

8. Warriors - ik he has a soft side but his very flirtatious and arrogant personality would absolutely clash w me, it would turn me off immediately

Time and Wind excluded bc of age

If u want/have the time, I’d love to hear ur reasons for each one!

🐰

sorry I didn't put up the reasons on the og post, I kinda completely missed that bit 😅 but yeah there are reasons for why I've ranked them as such

1 - sky (literally no matter what au) He's insanely caring about people that he's close to, but can also be pretty snarky and rude. He and I have pretty similar senses of humor plus he's really loyal and honest to people he wants to keep close. (also I see him the most as being ace and even if I hc the others as such it just fits him the best IMO and idk if I would want to date any more allos after my experiences fbvsbfbvs)

2 - Twilight soft! country! boy!!!!! He's loyal to a T and is just so warm cuddly and oh I do love him so - I think he'd be number one for compatibility if it wasn't for my fear of dogs lmao

3 - tears I mean, besides him being like wild but more interested in technology and with more ability to cook? also I wanna help him dye his hair because that would be so fun :3

4 - wild I often get told that I'm him irl (personality and action-wise), so I hope that'd translate into us getting along? I like being outdoors and we could probably bond over eating rocks tbh

5 - hyrule soft fae boyyyyyyy, he's so sweet but I don't think I could move around as much as he does, he's none stop compared to wild.

6 - warriors So, this is more for canon and how other people see him rather than my own hcs (my hcs actually bumping him up from dead last surprisingly) he's usually shown as a playboy and knowing people in most places he goes while flirting with people to get things for reduced prices and I have pretty bad trust issues! I would wouldn't want to date him if he was showing interest in others while with me <3 also his arrogance would make me shutdown and not interact with him sdvsf

7 - four So while I don't mind being with someone shorter than me, I would like to be with someone a close height to mine whether that be a bit shorter or taller. the line is drawn when he barely makes it to my elbow when we're both standing. Plus I think our personalities simply match better to be friends rather than romantically, I could see myself being good friends with him - just no romance

8 - legend Idk I just don't think I would ever want to date him tbh, I see him as more compatible with a friend of mine and that's partly why too - I wouldn't want to nab him from her <3

[fanonical]

So in your mind what’s w the garudo? To me they seem to think presentation = gender way more than the other peoples.

But in your version what’ll you be doing? Sorry if this one’s a bit blugh

no, i think you hit it square on the head. there is some semblance of a gender binary culturally recognised by the gerudo (they, after all, interact with men all the time) but as of BOTW/TOTK, the traditional gerudo culture dictates young gerudo girls of a certain age move to Gerudo City, which forbids men from entry. that's how it is on paper, anyway -- in actual fact, Link can walk right up to the guards in front of Gerudo City, be perceived as a "guy" and thus refused entry, then change into women's clothing IN FRONT OF THEM, and be allowed in, whereupon there is nothing Link can do to be kicked out from Gerudo City other than change out of the outfit.

In reality, the Doylist answer to this is it's a videogame abstraction -- and the whole thing is rather transphobic & racist too; a lot of the stuff going on with the Gerudo is between "kinda" and "very" racist just in general. i don't know how to (or if i adequately can?) address all of the problems there in my fic? . "desert race of giantess middle eastern warrior women" goes pretty deep to the core with this one, and that's before you get onto Ganondorf. and the whole stuff with the crossdressing... look man, if other people thought the Vilia storyline was meant to be progressive or sympathetic, i guess i'm glad they got that out of it, but it felt like a big transphobic joke to me. i'm changing pretty much all of this, and a bunch of other stuff. i still think it's not gonna be perfect (not really for me to say how unsalvageable some of the Gerudo stuff is in terms of racism, but i think i'm gonna reach out and talk to a couple of my friends about it and how they feel and what they might do etc) but i'll be changing stuff, and emphasising the good changes Nintendo has made over time whilst rejecting the worse ones

one thing i think i will do on the transphobia front is change it so that Gerudo City will allow trans women inside the walls if we are actively performing femininity to some degree. now, this is of course transphobic too, but i think it's kind of interesting to explore a more complex situation where trans women are a recognised type of person, and by the official legal policies of Gerudo City accepted in as women, but because of overtly binaristic, cisnormative overtones to the society, culture, politics & history there are probably still quite varying reactions, responses to transfemininity etc. because, well, that's my experience in a lot of gendered/women-only spaces! and i'd love to explore that through Link.

i also think that just before the Great Calamity, maybe there weren't as many openly trans people across Hyrule, perhaps due to social conceptions about gender at the time; i think maybe in the pockets of surviving towns and cities and villages 100 years later whilst Link has been asleep, trans people have become more recognised and embraced to some extent -- including in Gerudo City -- but, like in the real world, the change is slow, and some people struggle to see past their preconceived notions about gender. i just think it's more interesting to relate aspects of a #trans Hyrule to the trans experience now (i.e. in a time of great cultural shift for trans people both for good and for bad) but also exploring how and why it would be different in a fantasy post-apocalypse lol. i also don't want to overdo it into a depressive circlejerk of trans misery, either though, so don't worry, it won't be like that, i am making sure to steer very very clear of this.

i do also have maybe some potential reasons as to why there's been a cultural shift on transness in Hyrule (and particularly Gerudo City) in the 100 years after the Calamity though -- and i'd love to say more, but unfortunately, i've already said too much 🤐 gotta leave soooome stuff for the fic, and i have to check some stuff against lore before i commit to it.

great question!

[yeehawbvby]

Dropping in out of nowhere here to ask YOU! yes you dear blogger, about your ocs. Please tell me about em :3

OH BOY I have so many uhhh. I'll just give a quick rundown + lore posts for the OCs who have one, since you didn’t ask anything specific :D May or may not put this in my pinned as a general OC masterlist too while I'm at it

Pokemon -> Max - Lore post + Visual reference - 25-30 years old, lives in Galar. She works as a gym trainer, first at the Dark gym and then in Circhester's Ice gym. She prefers Ghost types above all else but she's pretty well-rounded! She’s sweet and timid but also a little gremlin and I love her dearly

TLoZ -> Ethie - Lore post - Something about soulmates through time or whatever with Link (platonic or romantic, depending on the timeline). Descendent of Malon, although I might change her canon so that she just was Malon lol. She's also Beedle's sister! Most of the lore I've established is of BotW/TotK times, where she's a traveling blacksmith with a home-base in Hateno.

Spiderverse -> Apple Spider - Lore post + Visual Reference - A little shit who accidentally ruined her canon and destroyed her earth. Now she lives permanently in Nueva York/in the Spider Society building. She's a master in the art of being annoying but lovable, and takes on kinda the wine aunt/bestie cousin role for a bunch of the younger Spiders.

Sun Haven -> Autumn - Visual reference - Half-moth amari (amari are anthros, basically), and half-elf! She's gentle and kind. Loves just hanging out with her animals and helping people around each city, rather than actually doing much farming. Winds up making permanent residence in Nel'Vari, a hidden elven village west of Sun Haven.

Sun Haven -> Marlowe

- An aquatic amari of the shark variety! Kind of a piece of shit unless you’re important to them. They’re messy and loud and blunt but they’d literally do anything for those they care about (in the end, though, the person they care for most is themself). Moved to Sun Haven to be closer to water and become a monster hunter and adventurer. They were previously a tattoo artist in The Big City

Baldur's Gate 3 -> Lilith - Visual reference - A resistance Durge! Was besties with Orin and on the verge of marriage with Gortash before being lobotomized and tadpoled. Now she just wants to right her wrongs, or whatever -- she's absolutely horrified by her Urge.

Baldur's Gate 3 -> Aether - Another Durge! Same past as Lilith, except during the events of the game, she begins sorta morally grey and evolves into a frickin monster. She's one of those "I'll hurt everyone except the people I love types," and genuinely wanted to rule Baldur's Gate alongside Gortash. After The Brain(tm) offed him though she kinda just went apeshit and embraced Bhaal.

Pikmin 4 -> Ed - Visual reference - I don't have much lore for her lol.. she mostly does night expeditions because she prefers to be nocturnal and likes hanging out with the glow pikmin. She's super sweet but bad at expressing her feelings, so nobody really knows it unless they give her a chance to open up! Her affection can come off as aggression but she just doesn’t really know how to portray herself

FFXV -> Mari Vitrum

- “One of the guys,” but not in an annoying pick-me kind of way and more so the constantly-being-a-little-shit kind of way. She was a close friend of Gladio’s from childhood, which is how she met Noctis and eventually became part of his crew. She’s not a fan of Ignis (except for his cooking) so they kinda just tolerate each other lol, she and Noct bicker like siblings, and she’s besties with Gladio and Prompto. She prefers to fight with daggers, taking more of an assassin approach and fights SUPER recklessly. Will easily have to use several phoenix downs during tougher battles, partially bc she gets dagger-happy and partially because if anyone’s gonna die, she’d rather it be her than her friends.

Stardew Valley -> Elise

- Partial visual, since I haven’t drawn her fully yet

- A lot like Sebastian in that she’s spent most of her life staying indoors nerding out, looks almost sickly pale, and wears black hoodies a lot. She only moved to Pelican Town to escape Joja and Zuzu’s high rent, really. She’s more focused on having a ton of animals (mostly to hang out with) and only keeps a few small patches of crops. Has her nose pierced and 3 ear piercings on her right side, but only 1 ear piercing on her left, in short because she got lazy. She has a vampire bite tattoo on the left side of her neck and constantly gets roasted for it (she goes along with it like a champ), as well as a sloppy self-made stick and poke tattoo over some self harm scars that says “I lived, bitch.” Still unsure of where I’m gonna plop that down on her

Fields of Mistria -> Kimi and December

-> a link to their intro post <-

[pastrydragon]

Fixing Yona from TOTK

We can redeem her in the DLC she just needs some tweaking

And by tweaking I mean I'm totally retconning her personality but in a way that makes sense so bare with me here:

I want to make Yona protagonistically and enjoyably Evil

What does that mean? you ask. It means I want her to be a ruthless, conniving bitch of the first degree but completely on Sidon and Link's side!

I want all that "I'm just here to help" "My Darling Sidon!" bullshit to have been an act. Not that she doesn't care about Sidon, she does, but more like "This is my pet Himbo, isn't he adorable?" than "Love of my life" kinda thing. How she acted in game was just, so saccharine and fake. Like this is a crafted person, not a real one. AND I CAN SPIN THAT INTO AN ADVANTAGE WITH THIS DLC.

Because the Zora are so used to their utterly benevolent and optimistic royal family that Yona slipping in even a little of her own personality could threaten her crown. The Zora are used to their prince and princess being helpful and likable so Yona needs to pretend to be those things too in order to earn enough approval to become queen.

And she's a good fucking choice for queen for them! I love Sidon, I do, he's best boy. The guy is honorable and kind and brave. That's the problem. He's too soft to what other people want and doesn't want to see the bad in people. He was obviously uncomfortable with the idea of marrying Yona but went along with it because it's what others wanted from him, and he was immediately trusting of link in BOTW and let the guy fire shock arrows from his back. shock arrows that could kill him almost immediately if he gets hit. Sidon isn't stupid, but he is undeniably a little naive to be king to a kingdom that will suddenly be reintroduced to international diplomacy and proper trade after 100ish years.

And while I think he's perfect for face to face diplomacy, the actual minutia of international dealings will probably be a bit too much for him. Yona, as his Evil Royal Advisor™ would be sitting there smiling sweetly while going over written trade proposals with a red pen. And I do think Evil Royal Advisor™ is the right dynamic here. They do NOT have chemistry, but she absolutely wants Sidon to succeed at any cost. And you need someone like that in your corner when you're made of marshmallow and want everyone else to succeed first.

Of course Sidon carries Yona through this just as much. Yona being in Queen mode is probably exhausting and Sidon would be able to spirit her away from any conversation or event with the excuse of needing her advice or attention and then stand in the hallway with her for ten minutes while she vents before she has to glide back in and put her game face back on. He tells her how well she's doing, how much she's improving things and how much he values her. Evil Royal Advisor™ unit requires regular feeding of ego to function properly.

And her being evil EXPLAINS WHY SIDON NEVER MENTIONED HER IN BOTW! Because she probably didn't pretend around him back then and he remembers her as a horrible little demon, fuck she probably bullied his ass a little(Out of affection) when they were babies. And Sidon wouldn't want to talk about her because he'd have to skip over too much stuff to still be honest. Or talk about the time Yona put frogs in his sleeping pond during the night and he was so surprised when he woke up to them that he shrieked like a banshee and everyone came running to find him freaking out over a damn frog. That shit is embarrassing.

Note: I'm writing this DLC quest to be like something I think Nintendo would seriously write, so dialogue might seem a little over the top or silly at times.

Stage 1:

For the DLC reveal I'd have the quest line "Bride In Black" start with her asking you during the day cycle to get her 15 thunderwing butterflies. She's stockpiling shock resistant potions for emergencies you see. Afterward she'll give you 100 rupees and tell you to go visit Sidon since "He's been stressed lately and would love to see his best friend!" how thoughtful!

Stage 2:

Speak to Sidon who will be searching for something by the big waterfall. He'll explain after some prodding that Yona has been disappearing at night and he's only been able to follow her as far as here before she seems to disappear. He's tried talking to her about it but she always manages to change the subject or be needed elsewhere when he brings it up. He's concerned for her safety and wellbeing as monsters still roam around the domain's borders. At the end of the dialogue he decides to let it go and trust she knows what she's doing. Link gets his quest updated anyway.

Stage 3:

If Link goes to the bottom of the big waterfall at the beginning of the night cycle and crouches in the bushes then Yona will appear mumbling to herself. Equip the stealth set and follow her as quietly as possible, making sure you don't get too loud or too close or she'll realize she's being followed and disappear, the player will then have to wait for the next night cycle to try again. this stage is very similar to the side quest where you follow Mila around in Zelda Windwaker. Except near the end of the following Yona is briefly attacked by a lazalfos, she calmly kills it by throwing a purple bottle at it that causes it to die in a puff of acrid smoke. Yona casually continues on with a "Fufufufu~" speech bubble above her head. Soon she approaches an odd tree which she pours a potion on, the tree shrivels away and a hidden cave is revealed! she enters.

Stage 4:

Link enters after her "Yona's Lair" appears on the screen announcing it as the area's name. inside the cave the player can hear Yona's new theme(Which is her old theme backwards and played on what sounds like a pipe organ and a synthesizer). there's a short hallway before the cave opens up into a big circular room with a cauldron in the middle, filled with suspicious purple ooze. the walls are decorated with what appear to be tacked up potion recipes and detailed drawings of dissected monster parts. Some recipes have the classic skull and crossbones on them for aesthetic. Link approaches Yona (who is writing at an oddly stained desk with another "Fufufufu~" speech bubble above her head.) Press A while close to start a cutscene.

Cutscene:

Yona turns around, shocked to see Link and begins to scream at him "HOW DID YOU FIND ME YOU DIRTY GOBLIN!?" she tries switching back to Queen mode for a few seconds "I-I mean how ever did you find me Link?" she sighs resignedly after a few moments and says "Oh, no point now. You've seen my hobby, there's no fooling you anymore." Yona's character animations change so she's standing with a hand on her hip and her mouth in a toothy grin as opposed to her old demure idle animation. Her green and purple aesthetic looks more at home among the dark and potion bottles, and her devil/parasite horns look much more natural with her head held high and teeth on display. "I almost wish I were dumb enough to try and fight you, but I know I'd lose once I ran out of ammo. And I can't bribe someone like you to stay quiet, so, I suppose this might be it for my little stint as queen. Just do me a favor? Give Sidon the yellow potions on the table for me? I do care about the dumb lummox, and I just know he's going to throw himself in front of some lightning shooting monster one of these days and get himself killed."

"I KNEW IT!" Sidon has appears seemingly angry at the entrance to the lair to shock animations from Link and Yona "I knew you were faking! I thought I was going crazy misremembering our friendship, but you've just gotten better at that act of yours." Sidon laughs "You have no idea how relieved I am, I felt like I was talking to a stranger all these months, it's wonderful you haven't actually changed. I think... Well I'm happy to have my old friend back, even if you do start throwing bugs at me again."

Yona returns to her new idle animation from her shocked one. "You CANNOT be serious Crydon, I knew you were sappy but letting someone like me stick around is just silly! You really are going to go and get yourself killed with all that blind optimism."

Sidon laughs again "I knew I remembered that nickname too! And why wouldn't I let you stick around? Sure, you're a bit... Abrasive at times, and we certainly don't always agree on how to do things, but you're my friend and I care for you! Just because you act in odd ways, or show your affection differently doesn't mean I'm going to get rid of you. You may have teased me when we were little, but you were always there for me when I needed someone to help me or tell me the truth. I remember you called me stupid for losing my favorite toy then you spent all night looking for it while I cried myself to sleep. And I remember you telling me Mipha needed to heal soldiers and couldn't spend time with me instead of telling me she'd be coming back any minute. Then you'd be the one to heal me when I got hurt and you tried to do all the other things I did with Mipha to cheer me up, even though you hated most of those games." Sidon now looks much sadder. "But I don't want you to be Mipha, I want my old friend back. The one that knew when to tell me I was being reckless and when I wasn't believing in myself enough. The one that would steal my sweets then give me her salty snacks later because she knew I liked those better anyway. The one that solved problems, and did the jobs no one else wanted to do but needed to be done. I miss that friend, and I would very much like her back."

Yona is silent for a moment before the player hears a "Fufufufu~" sound effect. "Fufufufu~ my new husband sure knows how to make a girl feel special." Sidon has a brief embarrassed animation before Yona starts speaking again "I'm just teasing you Crydon, I'll stay to keep you from from selling the kingdom for magic beans or whatever nonsense you'd have gotten up to without me." Yona turns to face Link "Assuming this silent menace can keep my hobby, and my charming personality, to himself?"

At this point the player gets the dialogue options of

"Of course!"

Or

"Fine, but I'm watching you!"

Depending on the players choice Yona will either comment on Link's similarity to Sidon, or commend him for being sensible about the situation.

"In any case, you need to buzz off for a while so I can finish my potion and so Crydon and I have a chance to catch up for real. But come back tomorrow night and I'll have something to help you on your little adventure."

At this the cutscene ends and the screen goes dark before Link is transported to the front of the cave at the beginning of the day cycle. Yona's Lair cannot be accessed during the day.

Stage 5:

Talking to Sidon during the day cycle after the cutscene will trigger some thankful flavor dialogue and Sidon will reveal he was following Link the entire time last night after seeing him follow Yona past the waterfall. Link wasn't focused on not being spotted from behind after all.

Talking to Yona during the day cycle will not get new dialogue and she will have changed back to her original animations during the day.

Going back to Yona's Lair at night will result in a short dialogue where Yona thanks Link for "Being a nosy little creep I guess." The player will then have access to Yona's potion shop. The shop sells some randomized normal potions that vary in duration every night. It will also have Poison Bottles. Poison bottles can be thrown at enemies or attached to arrows and will do damage over time to any enemy it hits for 60 seconds. low level monsters will be killed instantly and mid level will likely die on their own in the 60 seconds. But the potions best use is against high HP enemies that don't give the player a lot of opportunity to get a hit in. The poison bottle require both money and monster parts to make so they really should be saved for when Link is in a pinch.

[millaneyy]

Why TOTK Ganondorf is the best Ganondorf in the series

This became a bit of an essay by accident hehe

Goes without saying: HUGE MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THE FINAL BOSS AND ENTIRE STORY!!! All the gifs used are my own, and even though they're a bit crunchy, feel free to use them as you wish!

Anyways, starting at the start.

The Character

I'm not exactly a long time Zelda fan (botw was my first proper zelda game), and therefore didn’t know that much about Ganondorf before I saw him in the trailer and decided to research the lore like a crazy person. Based off of that, I think that Wind Waker Ganondorf is the best by far.

He had such an interesting aura to him- less like a power hungry madman and more like a wise old king who was also very evil, and his motivation made it difficult to see him as a true villain. As they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. His whole plan revolved around the fact that the Gerudo people, his people, were left to suffer in the desert while the rest of Hyrule prospered, and he decided to take action. At least, that's what I remember. Please correct me if I have that messed up!!

Anyways, I think that motivation is what makes WW G-man cool- he's a total asshole, yes, but he has this kind of twisted honour that almost makes you feel bad for him. And this brings me to my one little gripe about TOTK Ganondorf- he doesn’t really seem to have a motivation? At least, not that I heard of. So in that sense, he doesn’t really feel as driven as WW Ganon. We never learn WHY he wanted to rule over Hyrule, he kinda just did. He wanted power, that much was obvious, but that was it. On the other hand though, it’s always fun to have a villain who’s evil for the sake of being evil, and it didn’t detract at all from his presence in the game.

And boy, is he a PRESENCE. Some of his lines are incredibly cold- "I will rule. That is what a king must do" WITH THE ORGAN IN THE BACKGROUND AND HIS DEMON KING TITLE ON THE SCREEN, or "Do not look away, you witness a king's revival" (the line that drove the whole community insane for a little while- if you know you know) as he draws his sword with all the confidence of a centuries old evil incarnate.

Even better- "I will be taking far more than your arm this time", as if Ganondorf, through the Calamity, hasn't taken away everything Link knew and loved already. This dude is crazy.

(And a little bonus that I found out about right before posting this- apparently in the Japanese version, he does have a very clear motive? But it was lost in translation? I need to research that a bit more though. If you know anything about that, do tell!!)

Now, with that out of the way...

The Build Up

Thematically, I think that the build up to his fight is pretty awesome, even compared to the other three G's. If you did the entire story (geoglyphs included) beforehand, then you know that this dude:

a) straight up killed someone with his bare hands (he wasn't holding the knife when he killed Sonia, so I kind of just assumed he broke her spine or something)

b) is so powerful that 7 of the strongest warriors in Hyrule WITH secret stones couldn't defeat him, and was only taken down by sealing his power away- which is still only a temporary solution

c) lived on after reawakening despite being an actual emaciated corpse

d) was so busted that even in (kind of) death, the essence of his power (the malice) that leaked out of his seal was strong enough on its own to completely DECIMATE Hyrule

So yeah, I was a little scared on my way down because I knew this guy was going to kick my ass (spoiler alert: he did).

The little gauntlet of monsters to fight as you descend was pretty sick, and serves as a fairly good warmup for the army later on. The silver lynel totally caught me off guard though. As you get closer to the lowest point in Hyrule, you end up amassing some of the most powerful weapons imaginable thanks to all the silver enemies, which got me feeling so goddamn strong! That's important later.

And eventually, getting to the Forgotten Foundation and realising that I was back in the prologue area as that scary music started back up sent chills down my spine.

And the music. THE MUSIC.

Give this a listen (youtube because soundcloud links are jank, sorry)- skip to about 2:00 because that's the bit I'm talking about!

As you get deeper and deeper, the music gets more and more intense- and if there’s one thing I absolutely adore about TOTK, it’s the dynamic music throughout (see example: THE DUNGEON THEMES). The use of music that changes as you go- and this is by far the best example.

At first, you don’t really notice it while you’re preoccupied. You’re more focused on weapons and monsters and all that mess. But the first time I really noticed it was, as I said, when I realised I was in the prologue. The cut up voice clips and the drone in the background are a little creepy, and remind you of what happened the last time you tried to fight this guy,

Then, it starts to develop once you walk past the mural. There’s the choral singing, the drone in the background picks up into something with more melody, and the entire run up to the boss is completely enemy free- it gives you time to let the circumstances sink in as the music swells and you approach the heart of the depths. Also, the music builds as you get deeper and deeper, which from what I know is a subversion from the usual "music building as you climb his tower" or whatever he's in normally. Very nice.

Idk about you guys, but I slow walked down there for the DRAMATIC EFFECT.

At about 3 minutes into the video is how it sounds when you dive into the imprisoning chamber, where it all started (and I'll talk more about the parallels between this and the prologue another time... THE TORCH AUGHHSYWJHFH) and keep trucking on through the gloom, the horror movie piano kicking in as you walk through the final tunnel and stand on the precipice overlooking the dark, unknown pit below...

And jump.

Then the track finally reaches its climax as everything starts to overlap, the bells and organ (i think thats what it is?) screaming at you in the background as you fall, making the song feel like an epic of vengeance. There's so much dread, and an underlying ominous/threatening feeling that encapsulates the fact that Ganondorf is the embodiment of an ancient evil, one that has tormented Hyrule for centuries- but at the same time, there's an element of finality and inevitability, because you're going to put that evil down, and make up for all the grief and the death and loss that constantly follows in his wake.

I mean, just listen to the last 30 seconds or so of that track and tell me you don't feel excited. In awe. Because I deadass teleported back up to the mural just to hear it again.

I think I got a little carried away there, but moving on to the bit you probably came here for…

The Fight

Phase one - The Demon King's Army

Remember how I mentioned that the earlier monsters and busted weapons make you feel powerful? This is basically that x10.

The whole sequence feels very epic, ESPECIALLY after the build up, and with the appearance of the Sages mirroring the attack of the Champions from BOTW, it almost feels like victory is assured already as you cut down hordes of monsters with practically no effort, all while the strings in the background kick in and get more intense with every wave.

This serves to make you feel even more like God- taking out waves and waves of fairly tough enemies made me feel like I was on top, like nothing could stand in my way. It's pretty cool, a good way of integrating the monster army you keep seeing in the cutscenes, and manages to keep the energy from the descent going pretty well, while also being a casual reminder that this Ganondorf bloke can summon world ending horrors at will. ESPECIALLY when the dungeon bosses come back to life and force the Sages to stay behind.

Phase two - The Menace Unleashed

Once again, the music goes absolutely crazy. The first phase feels intense, but still like the fight is only just beginning. Just an ambient drone, near silent as he approaches, picking up as you start to duel. No one is here to help- no Sages, no Zelda- just Link and Ganondorf, a rematch that's been in the making since 2006.

If the army battle makes you feel powerful, then the first few seconds of this fight are what takes that power away- because this guy is a total damage sponge and moved a lot faster than I could predict. Additionally, you can't fast travel outside to heal gloom hearts if you have medallions set up (i thought i was so smart for that too), so if you used all of your sunny food during the army, you're doomed.

Most of his attacks in this phase are fairly simple, with only one or two for each weapon he can wield (and tbh the switching weapons really threw me the first time), but like I said, he goes pretty fast. Therefore, if you're like me and can't differentiate some of his tells, you're also going to lose a lot of hearts very fast. And did I mention he gives you gloom hearts instead of normal damage? Again, no sunny food = death of the instant kind.

On top of the general stress of trying to get the timing down, there were a couple of moments in this phase alone that had me yelling something along the lines of "WHAT THE ACTUAL SHIT"- one of which being some of the tricks he pulls under certain conditions. For example; a standard looking sword attack where he swings once, then as you lower your shield to get a hit in, as you naturally would, he swings at you again. He also kicks you if you hang too close, and fires off some of his gloom attacks faster if you're trying to attack him as he charges. It makes him feel more like an actual person you're fighting, and stops you from hanging close and swinging wildly the whole time.

(i was going to make this a video, but tumblr only lets you add one. anyways, see what i said about him swinging again if you lower the shield?)

As well as that, he taunts and mocks you when you get hit- make any misstep or stumble into an attack, and he'll laugh and insult your skill while he casually walks up to you like the absolute gigachad he is. It's not like the Twilight Princess walk where it feels a bit slow- this walk made me feel THREATENED. Circling in the opposite direction when he circled me with the spear made me feel like a pro swordsman. On one hand, I thought the taunting was super cool as a mechanic! On the other hand it made me want to kill him even harder.

And the other moment that made my jaw drop? This guy. Can DODGE your regular attacks AND FLURRY RUSH. And by flurry rush I mean take a really tough/fast swing at you. BUT STILL.

For as long as I can remember, the perfect dodge and flurry rush have given Link an unfair edge over most enemies and bosses- it's an opening to deal mass damage with no counters. It’s made link OP against everything the game throws at him- up until right now. This highlights the fact that Ganondorf is no pushover- him and Link are evenly matched, and you’ll need some actual consistent skill to take him out. The good news is that your own flurries are still pretty powerful, and 5 or 6 are enough to start the next phase.

As the fight progresses and his health starts to go down, the music starts to build up more (at about 1:25 in the video above)- the barely present drums starting to speed up and get louder, accompanied by sporadic piano, more choral snippets, and an ominous undertone as their duel grows more intense, eventually building to a climax and slowing down a tad (2:45) as he activates his secret stone and transforms, beginning the third phase.

Phase three and four - Master of the Secret Stone

Well this one was certainly something. Once again I jumped out of my seat and YELLED when his health bar started to refill past the normal amount, all the way off of my screen. It just didn’t stop. There are no words to describe the primal fear of realising how insanely busted this dude was. I tried to get it on the gif up there, but that made the video too long to convert :(

The music here is my favourite bit of the whole phase- as you face down the powered up Ganondorf and his phantoms, you hear the familiar but melancholy motif of BOTW/Dark Beast playing around the same time the Sages show up once again to deal with said phantoms (at about 3:22). For a second it's just that- melancholy, encapsulating the same kind of hopelessness that followed Calamity Ganon 100 years ago. But at the same time, as your squad comes to assist, you're reminded of the Champions and their aid, and suddenly it feels like you could still turn the tides of this seemingly impossible battle. Just like you did with the Calamity.

Yes it was cool, and yes I nearly cried.

The phantoms were actually the worst for a minute or so- it takes a while for the all of the Sages to appear and lighten the burden, meaning that you end up needing to take on 2-5 of these guys at once as well as the real deal. This got me killed more times than I'd like to admit. Once all the Sages arrive, the arena becomes a complete warzone with everyone duking it out at once, the real Ganondorf’s attacks start to get faster and harder hitting, and he starts to dodge and rush you more often- even dodging more of your attacks and forcing you to flurry him, so if you don’t have your timing down, this is awful. Not to mention, it's very easy to lock on to the wrong Ganon, which makes it harder to block the real attacks with a shield.

And also, this is the point where he starts destroying literally all of your shields in just a few hits, meaning that if you can't dodge or parry, then it's only so long until you're left defenceless.

Aside from that, this phase plays out like the Phantom Ganon fight in the Castle until you get his health bar down about halfway, when he recalls the phantoms and biden blasts the Sages away, beckoning Link forwards and starting phase four, which is basically phase two again but insane.

This is where the fight- for me, at least- became incredibly difficult, since Ganondorf not only dodges your regular attacks, but also dodges your flurry rushes and counters with his own EVERY SINGLE TIME, forcing you to flurry rush again to hit him. Not only does this require perfect timing, but is also the only way to damage him for the remainder of this fight (unless you cheese it with arrows or sneak in some hits in while he's switching weapons- but the latter is dangerous since he still attacks faster when you're close).

A little video to emphasise the flurry rush thing; the timing for that second dodge had to be dead on. What you can't hear is me yelling something along the lines of "GOD, FINALLY" after dying to this phase many times and mashing the y button like my life depended on it. LOOK HOW FAST THAT MF IS ON THE SECOND ATTACK

The soundtrack becomes super crazy again, this time using the motif of Calamity Ganon/the Blights (starts at 5:00, and you can also hear it in the video above) and bringing back that sense of hopelessness again- but this time with with a strong side of excitement since you're now in the final stretch of the fight. Because the Blights were supposed to be the equal match for each Champion, this bit of the theme makes it feel like Ganondorf is an equal match to Link- which I know I've said already, but that's kind of the thing that's blown me away the most about the whole battle.

It's the fact that you can't just wail on him and spam flurry rushes without him countering you in some way- which in this case mostly consists of him dodging you and attacking back at an insane speed. This isn't like Calamity Ganon where you just hit and dodge for five minutes, this is an actual proper swordfight, and exactly what I'd been hoping for from the final boss!

Additionally, the Blight/Calamity motif (well, more like entire theme) represents his ties to Calamity Ganon, the force of nature that took Link 2 tries to beat (with death included), and it's use in this part of the battle tells you that right now, Ganondorf possesses the same level of destructive power as that thing- and he's sure as hell going to make sure you know that.

As well as the whole "dodging the flurry rush and forcing you to pull it off twice" thing, he also pulls out a few more projectile based attacks. These aren't too bad (WE GET THE RETURN OF ARCANE PING PONG FROM OOT), but he usually follows them up with a quick swing, making them a distraction that takes a while to get used to.

And finally, as a last little surprise, getting hit by any of his gloom projectiles in this phase takes away one of your maximum hearts. PERMANENTLY. Not like the gloom hearts, where you can get them back and then heal. Nope. That shit is gone gone.

Once you finally whittle down his ridiculous health bar, we launch into the customary "massive beast" style phase as he straight up just rips the secret stone out of his head and eats it, giving up his mind, body and soul for the sake of defeating Link, becoming a Dragon and escaping through the top of the arena.

Phase five - Draconified Demon King

So like I said above, the Demon Dragon is basically Dark Beast 2, except it's so much cooler! The cutscene does a great job of highlighting the insane size of this guy- it's like 3x the size of the already massive elemental dragons and emerges from the depths in a way that eerily resembles the Calamity, right down to the glowing yellow eyes. And yeah, that's probably the point, but it's still cool.

Luckily for Link, Zelda/the Light Dragon swoops in and rescues him from the jaws of death (literally), taking him high up into the air so he can attack from above. It's an absolute spectacle, and the epic style remix of the game's main theme that plays makes it even better, instilling the same level of awe that Dark Beast does- at least for me.

Just like DB, the fight has you up against a massive malice/gloom infused monster (the dragon, in this case), getting close and attacking it's weak points and then finishing it off by destroying the secret stone on it's head. There's a lot of downtime, which is kind of to be expected with this style of fight, but I honestly don't mind because these colossal battles are supposed to feel less like a Dark Souls boss and more like a victory lap- like a "you're Link, the legendary hero, slaying this massive beast in the name of Hyrule" kind of thing.

My personal favourite bit of this whole phase is the fact that when you dive down to the Dragon's weak points, Zelda dives down next to you to get underneath and catch you afterwards. So sick. I also really like the use of skydiving! It pairs super well with the music and made me think of that final trailer we got in April- like THIS is the epicness we were promised.

(and also dodging the fireballs was way more fun than slowly sidestepping a laser. sorry dark beast, but i gotta say it </3)

Final thoughts

I'm gonna be honest: I kind of forgot to compare his fight to the other 3 mainline ones, but doing that now would make this way too long! I just love the TOTK fight so much and needed to get it out.

While I'd still say that each Ganondorf (in the mainline games) has their own unique trait that makes them cool: OOT Ganondorf is the original, and the most cunning, WW Ganondorf has the best character and TP Ganondorf is the most evil by a mile- TOTK Ganondorf feels like a combination of those best traits (minus the characterisation) paired with the greatest final boss I've ever seen in a Zelda game, which makes him the best for me.

The first phase in particular was my favourite- wayyyyy back in April when I saw big G in the trailer, my first thought was "oh man i hope we get an actual sword fight boss instead of calamity ganon 2.0" AND MY PRAYERS WERE ANSWERED!!!

Ganondorf literally just rolled up, delivered some cold lines, and then kicked my ass with his cool sword. Many times. And I think that's exactly the kind of boss fight he deserves. I'm just so happy that it feels like we're in an actual duel, mano a mano, instead of just being able to chance a win like with Calamity.

FIN

thank you for reading my zelda obsessed rambles! i just beat the boss last night and have been working on this on and off all day, so any reblogs or shares would be massively appreciated <3

GANONDORF FANS UNITE!!!!

[desultory-novice]

what you think about a Kirby game resembling BOTW/TOTK?

A open world Kirby game with inventory (collecting copy ability’s to use later),sides quest,skins (like the masks or armors of the spin-offs) challenges (like the ones in the forgotten land or the shrines of BOTW) and lots of collectibles

I once had a idea for the story of a game like that, the villains are all new species so all the old enemies (waddle dees,Bonkers,chilly,sword knights,etc etc etc) are the npcs you have to help. It would give a chance for the old enemies to regain that status of relevance they have kinda lost through the years and it would also help with how all the games are about dreamland getting invaded but half of the enemies are classic enemies from dreamland so I usually don’t get the “they’re invading dreamland” feeling but more like “they’re invading dreamland but for some reason the habitants of dreamland are stepping in Kirby’s way”

BOTW/TOTK had thousands of NPC’s with fun personality’s, many villages,wandering travelers and many more places so It would help to make dreamland feel more alive (also imagine the fanfic possibilities giving about making villages and city’s for the characters to be in like cappy town but with more species than cappy’s and with more original designs like waddle dee town, because I always felt weird about how all the characters seem to not even have a house and how they are just hanging out in the middle of nowhere), and exploring dreamland in a 3D game sounds like fun

I'm so sorry! I thought I'd already answered this one?!?

...What would I think?

I would LOVE it!

Now, blah blah blah, I don't necessarily think it's healthy for the game industry if everyone just on continues to copy BotW's style, especially if a number of Nintendo franchises start doing that, but TotK was SUCH a great time with the new mechanics and gameplay options! (Well, outside of THOSE certain Korok videos...)

Maybe I'm missing something (I, err, don't play as many games as I used to... Adulting...) but the way building and exploration were threaded into BotW's open world was so imaginative!

Rather than this just being a TotK praise fest though, I want to highlight something in Kirby that doesn't get talked about too. At least, as much as it should, and that's how great the level design/aesthetics are, almost across the board!

I'm sure people have seen their fair share of asset-flip games and in some cases, even the "beautiful (generic) semi-medieval landscape" is starting to feel played out. Whether it's so realistic you can count the blades of grass or totally toon-shaded just like my shows. We've seen them ALL dozens and dozens of times.

But Kirby's art direction... Sometimes, yeah, it's simple checkboard grass and whatever those weird cookies in the ground are, but you can't tell me you haven't you ever wanted to break past the stage boundaries and explore the world beyond at some point! (Literally people did this with FL's hammer exploit before it was patched!) Everywhere from PR's innovative mechanized landscapes to RtDL's storybook locales to Super Star's dreamlike vistas!

The good thing too is that so many of these beautiful scapes are made of very simple building blocks, so the environment-heavy gameplay of TotK would be a great fit! (Not to mention having a few more subsystems worked in naturally the way BotW did it. Fishing in FL was fun, but to see it expanded? To be able to fish wherever?!)

And the colonies of different Popstarians you mentioned would be a great way to naturally expand on the groundwork of Waddle Dee Town and Merry Magoland.  Helping a group of Noddies get some sleep? Working with Bonkers to clear new paths? Settling a dispute between the Fire Leos and Chillies? These kinds of open world subquests would be great for what I was talking about in my un-loved character post. Fleshing out some of Kirby's oldest cast staples! Yes, you nailed it completely!

And oh my gosh, the "Popstar gets invaded by an alien force but for some reason, you're still fighting Popstarians?" So.much.this.

I mean, okay, I think they probably did try to have some implied logic behind that in games like PR (if everyone's been mechanized, who knows how much control they have over their actions. Plus, plenty enemies were just doing things like "going to work") and Star Allies (you can blame a bunch of that on the Jamba Heart making everyone who wasn't already taken in by the Jamba group crazy. I feel like the novel did the same thing?) Same with Elfilis brainwashing people in Forgotten Land. You can read that into a couple of characters, at least. (Wild Edge, Frosty, Bonkers...)

But it does stand out a little with the earlier games like Triple Deluxe and Return to Dream Land, especially when you go back to them.

(Although I get the strange feeling it may have been written (??) somewhere that everyone in Popstar is SO laid back and easy-going, if they see adventure they just sort of... join in on it?? Like they might start climbing the Dreamstalk just because "...it's there" or go after Sphere Parts because "Hey, everyone else is doing it I guess?" and that's how they end up getting in the way/being enemies?)

Dess is someone who sees the "adventure" part of the game as light-hearted enough (because it's not like Kirby hurts anyone) that I don't get too shaken up if Waddle Dees et al remain as stage fodder going forward, but I understand those that want their longtime friends to stay as friends, not baddies!

[cooking-with-hailstones]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers

Thanks for the tags y'all! @mistresslrigtar @zeldadiarist @ladyhoneydee y'all go read their stuff it's so good

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Just 8, but it's about to increase! ;)

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

58,767!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Legend of Zelda - All BOTW so far. I have some ideas for other Zelda games but they remain as ideas for now.

I also have a short Marvel story from my Steve/Bucky days circa 2013.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Shadows - An Epistolary Poem from Steve Rogers to Bucky Barnes

Is that a yes? (Zelink oneshot, NSFW)

That child of mine (my beloved longfic - I promise I'm coming back to this story soon! I miss it so much)

Silk and moonlight (with art from the magnificent @bahbahhh)

A chance encounter at the blood clinic (modern Zelink au that is very silly but you gotta be ok with blood donation)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Absolutely! I am a sucker for attention and I love talking about stories with people.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Oh DEFINITELY That child of mine. It's not even finished yet but there is some goooood angst coming, and I already know how it's going to end (I've actually written a good chunk of the finale already) and it's gonna be heartbreaking.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably A chance enounter? They get each other's number and the promise of a cute date.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nope! I've only gotten some (requested) constructive criticism. I do have a fic planned that I anticipate being kinda contentious? But I'm already planning on limiting comments on that one lol.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yee! I've never written anything hardcore but I do really like writing and reading sexy scenes. I'm not much of a PWP kind of person (give me all of the emotional context) but I'm a big believer that sex and intimacy are fundamentally human experiences and can serve a story in so many beautiful and interesting ways.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I continue to chip away at my Deep Space 9/TotK crossover idea. It's gonna happen one day... maybe...

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope, but maybe I'll try re-writing one of my stories in French sometime as a project.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No but I would LOVE to. The closest is when B and I collaborated and I wrote a story and she did the art.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Zelink, definitely. People whose souls are inextricably bound to one another and keep finding each other, lifetime after lifetime? That's the good shit right there. Obsessed.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

The story that walked into my head that made me start writing. It's a crazy ambitious story - Basic premise is that instead of the Sheikah technology being banned by the ancient king, the Sheikah themselves were banished from the lands of Hyrule. In the interim, Hyrule has been through many wars, dynasties and factions have all risen and fallen, and the bloodline of the Goddess has been forgotten. No one remembers any of the old stories. Zelda is a farm girl training to become a healer like her mother, Link is the son of the king who won the throne after lead a successful campaign against the Zora, and into all of this comes a young Impa, drawn back to Hyrule after thousands of years away, tormented by visions of calamity, a prophecy her people have passed down for millenia, knowing that Hylia would recall them to the land of their ancestors when the time was right. It's anti-monarchy, it's about climate change, it's about falling in love and renouncing power in order to fulfill a greater purpose, it's about knowing yourself, it's about righting ancestral wrongs, and I do not think it will ever be finished but I do like to come back to it every once in a while.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Coming up with interesting concepts!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Executing interesting concepts?

But in all seriousness, I know I still have a lot to learn as a writer. I'm overly descriptive, I have long run-on sentences, dialogue tags are my nemesis, and I struggle to write with real depth of character.

I do think I'm a good storyteller. I am just still honing those skills.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I think it's great! I am obsessed with conlangs - I think they're so fucking cool. For writing in existing languages, as long as you're familiar with the language, or getting someone to look it over and not just running things through google translate, I think that's wonderful.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Captain America.

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

That child of mine my beloved

This was really fun, thanks y'all!

Tagging @louwhose @newtsnaturethings @wanderingnightingale and @bahbahhh ! I'm sure y'all have already been tagged but add me to the pile of fans who want to hear more about your work :D

[marshmallowloves]

*SLAMS IN HERE* CICI PLS 🏝️ and 🍨 AND MAYBE 🏖️ FOR YOU AND BOTW LINK! Pls I would LOVE to see how you and Link enjoy Hyrule together in the summertime!!!

~ @princess-hope-selfships 💖

OKAY hi Hope yes hello my lovely friend. I know you said BOTW Link but. I think the only time we'd get to enjoy a fun summertime would be in the couple years gap between BOTW and TOTK asfhshf (<-- not me adoring both versions of him and compromising accordingly KGHDJF) so that's the window of time I'm gonna go with here.

Also, it's canon that Zelda lives in Link's Hateno house during that time, but I don't think it was ever stated whether or not he also lived there…?? Even though he bought the dang thing??? It's a little confusing djfh but for the sake of this post, I'm making it so that just Link and Koci live together in his Hateno house after BOTW (like I always pictured they would). OKAY MOVING ON fjfhdjg

also sorry this was late, I had to do a lot of stuff after you sent this, and then think of these responses and it kind of took a long time kdjfg sorry they are very long I am also very sleepy so I hope it's written okay

🏝️ - do you like to go on vacations or would you rather stay at home?

So… we've never really taken a… "vacation," I think. If you mean like, for the whole summer…? It would be neat, and I'd love to bring Link to stay for a while in the Korok Forest sometime - it's really pretty in the summer! But he and Princess Zelda sometimes spend a lot of time helping rebuild lately, so I dunno if we'd really be able to go anywhere and just relax for the whole season… I know it's important work, and I think they probably shouldn't be too far from where they're needed.

But if you're just talking for maybe a few days or a week at a time or something, then… Hm… I'd really like to go to Lurelin Village again sometime. Last time we went, we didn't really get to enjoy it since…well, we had a lot to do, still…

I think it's still nice even when we stay at home, though. If it's too hot outside, Link and I hang out in the house and open up the windows. It's really nice getting to sit inside the shade but still feel the warm wind coming through the house. Sometimes it reminds me a little of my room at home in the forest…

But hey, you know what, it's cause we stay at home on those days that we figured out something really cool!! Link still has some stuff from when we were traveling that can make ice. And if you take that ice, and you smash it up really good, and then you squeeze fruit juice into it… it's SUPER tasty, especially when it's hot out~

…but, um, don't tell anyone else about that please. I dunno how much ice Link has in store and we REALLY like eating this stuff… I'm only telling you 'cause you're my friend!

🍨 - what kind of summer dates do you guys go on? do you have a favorite?

I think…maybe "date" means something else to most people. Like the kind you see in books and stuff, right…?

Even though Link and I decided we wanted to be… um…together a while ago… we never really had a lot of personal time to spend together like that before, 'cause we both had our jobs to do and there just…wasn't really time for that.

But the worst of that is over now, and we can spend a lot more time doing what we want. On nice warm days when we're not busy, we take walks across the village, or go pick out a spot in the woods nearby to sit and have a meal, and sometimes when it's a little hotter we cool off in the nearby pond for a little bit. I…guess that's what you'd call a date, but I never really saw it like that, I think. It's just…we get to spend time together now.

There was one time we went back to Hyrule Castle to help with relief and spent a few nights camping nearby. Link and I walked through one of the gardens, or…what was left of it, really. It was…kinda nostalgic actually… I saw him there once, a little after we first met and I was allowed to stay in the castle. He was training all that morning and I guess he went there to rest. I was still pretty nervous to talk to him, 'cause I knew how important his role was when he took the Master Sword… He didn't say much when he saw me, but he let me sit next to him and we just sort of…stayed there for a bit, enjoying the sun and the air…

… Oh... I got a little distracted. Sorry… Um… anyway, one of my little siblings happened to be nearby while Link and I were looking through the rubble, and showed us some of the soil that was still good. They gave us some seeds and helped us plant them there. It was a small thing, but it still felt…special, helping to make something new after everything that had happened. And…not just the plants. I don't think he remembers that day in the garden, since it was before his restorative sleep… so we were making a new memory, too.

I think maybe that one was my favorite.

🏖️ - what's your favorite beach activity?

For the longest time I didn't know if Link even liked beaches much. There were some nights, back when the Champions were still here, where we would stop to rest for the night and it just happened to be near a beach. And even when I would run in the sand to tire myself out or show him cool stuff me and Rina found, or even when Daruk or Mipha would walk down the shore with us sometimes, Link would usually just stay near the fire and never did anything with us.

I figured maybe it was just 'cause he had his job to do as the Princess's knight, so there wasn't really room for him to enjoy the beach like anyone else would. But even after I started seeing more of his personality outside of his duty, he still didn't do much but sit and stare out at the ocean…so I thought maybe he just didn't like beaches.

But ever since we settled down after Ganon was defeated, Link's had a lot more time to really enjoy himself and not worry as much. And I'm learning that he actually likes all sorts of stuff about the beach! (Sorry, I know that took a long time to give you an answer!!) Whenever we visit one of the beaches near here, I usually see him trying to catch crabs and fish, climbing the palm trees for the fruit, and just hanging out in the water…and he always looks like he's having a great time while he does it, which I'm really happy about!

I usually like to stay and play in the sand, 'cause I'm…actually not really a fan of swimming at the beach. I dunno what it is, maybe it's 'cause the ocean is so big, and it's kind of intimidating… or cause sometimes I feel a fish on my leg and it freaks me out. Link's had to convince me a few times to at least come in the shallow waters, especially on the hot days… and I guess it's not so bad when he's right there. But I'd definitely still rather lay in the warm sun and look for neat shells and rocks~

(…it's also nice to see him right after he gets out of the water and the sun is on his skin… wait what. I didn't say that)