#the triforce series

[karoviesart]

Thunderblight Allura for @winter-and-little-brunettes ‘s fic The Wisdom of Will  if you like the characters of voltron and like Zelda, go read <3

[daeyumi]

💫🌟 There Flowed Forth (Consecration of the Self) ☀️✨

[Cycle of the Stars au]

[linksthoughtbrambles]

On Awakenings in The Legend of Zelda

In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, on the corrupted-guardian-infested Blatchery Plain, in one moment Zelda is all but helpless--and in the next she becomes a living weapon capable of holding the Calamity itself at bay single-handedly.

Why did this happen at that moment? Why didn't prayer work? Some people say it's because the answer was love, but I only partially agree. I think the answer is in the screenshot.

We get scattered breadcrumbs of evidence in Breath of the Wild, Skyward Sword, Twilight Princess, Ocarina of Time, A Link to the Past, and other Zelda games that help to answer these questions. I won't talk about every single one - just the biggest, most glaring ones.

1.) The Triforce on Zelda's Hand

This is the hub of my whole argument. The Triforce on Zelda's hand (and the one that appears in the air in front of her in other shots) is complete.

Zelda is wielding the power of the entire Triforce at once--all three parts: power, wisdom, and courage. In this game she is not simply the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom.

The punchline: BotW Zelda successfully wields the whole Triforce.

2.) Skyward Sword Link Had to Awaken The Hero Inside Him

In Skyward Sword, Zelda says, "...the goddess, Hylia, needed someone with an unbreakable spirit. That someone is you, Link. But spirit alone wasn’t enough. You had to overcome many trials and awaken the hero within yourself so that you could wield that supreme power." The supreme power she refers to is the complete Triforce.

SS Zelda is telling us ordinary courage isn't enough.

The punchline: To wield the whole Triforce, you must be a hero.

3.) Only One with a Balanced Heart Can Wield the Whole Triforce

In various games, we're also told only a balanced heart (containing wisdom, power, and courage) can wield the full Triforce. When an unbalanced person tries, the Triforce breaks into its three parts. The one most strongly aligned with the person who tried to wield it remains with them, while the other two find their most strongly aligned people alive. (In OoT, this is how Link and Zelda get the Triforces of Courage and Wisdom respectively--Ganondorf touches it, but he is unbalanced and can't wield it, so it shatters).

This is why in OoT and Twilight Princess, Link and Zelda's hands only show one glowing triangle--not all three. They each only have access to the part of the Triforce most strongly aligned to them.

The punchline: BotW Zelda must have a balanced heart when her power awakens.

4.) Once Zelda's Power Awakens, She Can Hear The Master Sword

Suddenly, after Link collapses on the Blatchery Plain, Zelda is able to hear Fi and see the glow within the Master Sword--the sword tells Zelda how to save Link.

When Zelda's power is fading at the end of BotW, she can no longer hear the sword's voice.

This strongly suggests that the magic which allows a person to hear the sword doesn't come from the sword--it comes from the person listening! [This is a critical detail for my fanfic, but I won't go into it here].

The punchline: a person must have their own magic to hear spirit-voices.

5.) The Dream Vision

BotW Zelda writes in her diary of a disturbing dream. In it, a beautiful woman tried very hard to speak with her, and it seemed urgent but Zelda simply could not hear what she was saying.

The meaning of this dream vision seems clear: Hylia is not refusing to speak with Zelda at all. She is, in fact, trying to reach her. Zelda is unable to hear Hylia because the magic which allows them to communicate does not come from Hylia. (Just like the magic that allows Zelda to hear the Master Sword does not come from the Sword). Zelda must be awake in order to hear the Goddess because the magic which allows it to happen is Zelda's.

The punchline: Hylia was not silent. Zelda was deaf.

6.) There's No Evidence That BotW Link Could Hear Hylia or Fi Pre-Calamity

Imagine being Link standing at the Spring of Power while Zelda's begging the Goddess Hylia to tell her what's wrong with her.

Put yourself in Link's shoes for a moment.

He knows Zelda's power is critical for Hyrule. So regardless of his other motivations... if Link could hear Hylia's voice coming from that statue... wouldn't he have acted on it? Wouldn't he have told Zelda he could hear it? They could have tried to work out the difference between Zelda and Link and tried to understand what Zelda needed to do. At the very least, Link could have been a go-between.

None of this happens. Zelda remains entirely in the dark until the moment her power awakens.

If Link could hear Fi... at the very least, Fi could have told Link prayer was irrelevant. (Maybe Link just didn't tell her, you might say. I say - no way. They were talking to each other by the end according to Zelda's diary. He'd have said something).

The punchline: There's a good chance Link was also deaf.

I'll collect all those punchlines: a.) BotW Zelda successfully wields the whole Triforce. b.) To wield the whole Triforce, you must be a hero. c.) BotW Zelda must have a balanced heart when her power awakens. d.) A person must have their own magic to hear spirit-voices. e.) Hylia is not silent. Zelda was deaf pre-Calamity. f.) There's a good chance Link was also deaf pre-Calamity.

Putting all that together with what Zelda does right before the Triforce appears on the back of her hand:

Link defends Zelda first--and more than just defending her, he knows this next shot is about to kill him. He stands there anyway, willing to die to give Zelda that one last chance to live. This is more than ordinary courage. This is the courage of a true hero.

Zelda says no.

She shoves Link back and steps between him and the guardian's targeting laser. And more than just defending Link, she knows this shot is about to kill her. She stands there anyway, willing to die to give Link that one last chance to live. This is more than ordinary courage. This is the courage of a true hero!

I propose to you that in this moment, they have each stepped between the other and what they believe to be certain death.

I propose that in this moment, they both met the final requirement necessary to wield the full might of the Triforce: to not only be willing in theory to die for someone, but to decide willfully to do so right then in the moment--the ultimate self-sacrifice.

True Courage.

At this moment, Zelda is now a balanced hero, no longer deaf, and the symbol of the whole Triforce appears on the back of her hand (because it's her birthright, passed down to her by heredity like parts of it were in Zelda I and II).

I believe in this moment, BotW Link may have also heard Fi's voice for the first time.

('What about when he saved Zelda from the Yiga?' you might ask. Was that brave of Link? Sure! Did he think he was facing his own death? Unlikely. He makes quick work of those footsoldiers).

('What about love?' you also might ask. Didn't love awaken Zelda's power? Well, yes, it did! She loved Link enough to die for him. The nature of that love is up to your interpretation--the drive of a stranger to shove someone else's kid out of the way of a car on the street is still a form of love, even though it doesn't come from any sort of prior attachment. I personally interpret this to be romantic love, but you don't have to. The courage of a true hero is what activates the power--the love catalyzed it).

There's more.

I decided to post about this is because a critical moment in a fanfic of mine depends on the answer to these questions. (That said, I'll post about the fanfic separately, and the rest of this will just be my answers to the questions).

As I typed this, I realized there's so much more that ties into it, but if I put it all in this one post, it'll be far, far, far too long. So... I guess I'll be posting more of these. This must be 'On Awakenings Part 1'!

On Awakenings in The Legend of Zelda, Part 2 is now up and can be read by following this link.

[chrono-art]

Mr King Ganondorf Wind Waker! because I miss Wind Waker and I can't replay it because I don't have my Wii u with me :(

[5/30/23] Hes so fun to draw...! (ALSO I LOVE THAT THEY KEPT HIS ABSOLUTELY UNHINGED DRAMATIC ASS EXPRESSIONS IN TOTK ITS SOO *MUAH* IDK. THEYRE JUST SO. COOL TO ME AND ADD A LITTLE MORE CHARACTER TO HIM I JUST. AND I LOVE HOW ITS LIKE, A WEIRD TRAIT LIKE ALL OF THE 3D GANONDORFS HAVE ITS SO. COOL. )

[isasan347]

Does someone wanna talk with about

✨TRIFORCE HEROES✨

[mememan93]

Zonai? you mean walking retcons?

[purplerakath]

Okay okay, but hear me out.

Scott as Princess Zelda, Ramona as Link, Even Older Scott as Ganondorf. Probably OOT or Twilight Princess verions? Eh, eh?

It'd be perfect. (Ignore that Scott has the Triforce of Wisdom this way.)

[link-is-a-dork]

Ocarina of Time N64 vs 3DS

[iamshmolphrog]

i actually never posted this here! this is my desk that i got bored one day and doodled all over it with my paint pens! i really like how it turned out! there's various nintendo references, (kirby, shy guy, triforce) some marvel stuff (the guardians of the galaxy, tva logo from the loki series), all 3 harry styles albums covers (im dont know if liking his music counts as dorky but i'll take my chances here) and just oodles of silly little ghosts and creatures

(i had to take the picture sideways to get it all, but obviously in real life it goes horizontal)

(if youre looking at something here and thinking "what's that?" i would love for you to ask me. there are few things i love more than over-explaining my interests)

[katlimeart]

Made in 2023

If you’ve seen this anywhere else, I posted it back on my deviantArt when it was made.

From my large project of drawing every Zelda design, I’ve now taken to colouring them!

[chaoticharlotte]

lu time for blorbo bingo, and/or tbp kokiri if youre familiar enough with him?

Honestly Time is mostly just there for me, I don't know much about him that's specific to LU. (also i desperately need to finish OoT) Unfortunately I am completely unfamiliar with Prince beyond I'm pretty sure he's the Link from Hyrule Warriors.

[goatlilly]

So I’m kinda working on this Wind Waker comic just for fun, and I figured I’d post my rough sketch of it since I haven’t posted anything in a while. I should inform everyone that I’m a total newb when it comes to stuff like comics, but I’ll do my best. Anyways, we’ll see if this goes anywhere. Heh.

[cookie-waffle]

My list of Zelda characters who got unfairly fucked over more than anyone else (may be incomplete):

-The hero of time

- Botw/totk Zelda

-Mipha

- Ganondorf Dragmire

- The actual literal infant that had to die in order for Link to get the deku mask

- Mikau and his entire family

- Darmani and his entire family

-The gerudo who had to live under Ganondorf’s rule

- Just Link and Hylia in general

[commander-goo]

posting this now because I think the high has worn off. opinions in the tags

[timegears-moved]

volumes 10 and 11 have finally arrived and i like the implication that ganondorf hates being bestowed the gift of the gods as much as link and zelda because of the endless reincarnation cycle. i mean, he's still simple in his goals in that he wants to kill link and destroy the world but it's sonething i guess??

[rapifessor]

Hmmm...

I think Layla is lowkey a Legend of Zelda fangirl.