#LoZ Meta

[thejolteonmastertj]

Wild & Legend being foils to one another in some of the most obscure & neat ways possible, part 1/??

So basically, I hc that Wild’s is like, super weary of enclosed spaces in-general, whereas Legend is the complete opposite.

Most of the BOTW tactics learned early in the game require a lot of space to work with.

Rolling a boulder town the hill, backing up or climbing things to shot some arrows, generally approaching from the high ground to take advantage of bullet time, even for flurry rushes Wild needs space to do side-hops & backflips.

In ALTTP, on the other hand, the majority of your fights are fought in enclosed spaces. The first move you learn, the spin-attack, forces you very early on to not only be very economical with your movements, but to track the movements of multiple opponents at once.

FR wide-open spaces in ALTTP are anxiety inducing b/c an arrow can fly in at you from seemingly nowhere (literally off-screen).

Legend's usually the one getting ambushed in open spaces, whereas in enclosed spaces he's generally able to see everything he's dealing with. He thrives in that environment b/c he's mastered the dance necessary for ALTTP's version of the spin-attack. It's the last thing his uncle taught him, after all, & fr I don't think it's possible to beat the game without it as far as I can tell.

& so the tldr:

Outside in the middle of nowhere with no map:

Wild: 😀

Legend: Tf is wrong with you.

Inside a dark dank cave or tomb or some sh't:

Legend: 😃

Wild: Tf is wrong with you.

[interlink-au]

Skyward Sword's Fireshield earrings are clip-ons. Link wears clip-ons!

Come to think of it, the designers also said this about Twilight Princess Zelda's earrings:

Are everyone's earrings clip-ons? I'm on the deep-dive now...

I think they're going to crop weirdly, so you'll have to click on them. If you look carefully, the ones in BOTW/TOTK appear to be clip-ons as well.

It's hard to tell with the Hero of Time or Twilight since the Skyward Sword hoops blend in so well. OOT Zelda could also go either way. In one picture it looks like the earring could go all the way around, but in the other it looks a ball and post set-up.

I can't see very well on either of her OOT models because of her hair and the resolution. The Smash model could lean either way just as much as the art does, but I'm leaning towards the second image.

Zonai earrings seem to be clip-ons because BOTW/TOTK Zelda doesn't appear to have pierced ears when she's not wearing them. She doesn't wear any in BOTW. The earrings from that ancient time period also seem to be attached to whatever part of the ear they want.

...I don't really have a conclusion for this post. It was just supposed to be about the fireshield earrings, but then I remembered TP Zelda and got lost in the sauce. I guess the takeaway is that it's possible no one pierces their ears. Or some do. Or they all do but some earrings are clip-ons anyway.

[not-freyja]

New Zelda Game!

Okay cool, cool cool cool cool, I am calm, I am so fucking calm. Looks like Nintendo is staying true to their word that Wild is not getting another game, so now the questions are, what Link is this, where are we in the Timeline, and what information about the game itself can we pick out of these crumbs?

Whose Zelda is it anyway?

So two options:

New boy.

Legend. It’s fucking Legend again sucks to suck bro

Case for new Link and Zelda:

Less messy for the Lore

That’s it, that is the only argument

Case for Leggy boy and Fable:

LA animation style! While it can be fun to bring back older styles of animation for nostalgia/artistic reasons, that seems like a poor choice for *LOZ* games, which are always on the edge of what a game can do. Moving “backwards,” so to speak, in any aspect, would be a disservice to the franchise. However, doing it to maintain consistency for a particular character, and to use the animation style to make sure the audience knows this is the same character from LA is a very simple but effective tactic.

The map! So that shot was so BOTW and so fun, but the view we got wasn’t just recognizable as “Hyrule,” is was, down to the relative heights on the mountain cliffs against each other, the map from ALTTP/ALBW. Nintendo has never repeated a map without it being the same Link. So! Checkmate motherfuckers.

The character designs. That… that was just Legend and Fable, come on. Look at the dress. Every Zelda has a slightly different costume design, and that was hers. Look at Link. Baby boy!

I want this. Let me have it.

Timeline positioning

Okay so if we assume that this is in fact Legend, the next question becomes, “When is it?” Leggy boy currently has 5 games that are canonically his. (Triforce Heroes could be a random other Link, so while we like to say 6 we can’t *prove it.*) So. Let’s break it down.

ALTTP: canonically his first game, can’t be before this one.

Oracles: canonically happen after ALTTP, and he is very much still a child in here.

LA: the game this one is artistically modeled after. Narratively this fits nicely right after Oracles, and in the canon timeline, fits between Oracles and ALBW, so I think a whole new game being crowbarred prior to this one would be… not great for the narrative.

ALBW: This is trickier. No canon time between LA and ALBW is given, it could be a week, it could be years. It is entirely possible that Echoes of Wisdom occurs prior to ALBW, which would make it a direct sequel to LA, which makes the art style make even more sense. It could also be after?

…hang on a fucking minute, lets get the fucking map.

Left, ALTTP. Right, ALBW

Basically the same map! Duh, it’s the same Hyrule. But. BUT. Bottom right, in the lake. Do you see that?!

ALTTP: no log bridge. ALBW: Log bridge. Now, let’s look at the pretty picture from the EOW trailer.

NO FUCKING LOG BRIDGE!

This is before ALBW. Therefore, the game order for The Hero of Legend is

ALTTP, OOS, OOA, LA, EOW, ALBW, TH(maybe)

*cue manic laughter*

Lore Implications

Ganon.

There being a Ganon at all actually has me pointing my finger at the Oracle games and screaming. The TL;DR in those is that there was a plot to resurrect Ganon, each game Twinrova gets closer, but Link stops them. Now, there were also supposed to be three of those games, which means that it is entirely possible that the third unseen Oracle plot—please Nintendo let Link and Farore hang out, I am on my knees barking like a dog—could have resulted in his resurrection. This is the only explanation I have that doesn’t break the Lore or involve Time Shenanigans.

Also, Link does KO the bitch in that opening scene in the trailer. His presence is either just that—a set-up plot point—or him and Link are currently duking it out in the hole. Fun!

Link and Zelda

Now this game is going to put their relationship in the front in the “I have to save them because I love them” way that we usually see from Link’s POV.

Getting it from Zelda’s POV is going to be very interesting. We might be getting a look into her head, into her feelings and thoughts about the whole ordeal of the Legend itself. I hope so. But also, this isn’t just Link and Zelda, this is *Fable and Legend* specifically. The two that were meant to be be siblings but the dialogue that established them as such was cut from the final version of ALTTP. So. This game has the possibility to do three things

Canonize the Prince Legend thing, like they were going to do in the nineties.

Not address the topic at all, leave it nebulous.

Zelink.

None of these are bad choices, but option two is definitely the safest. Both options one and three will cause an uproar from part of the fan base. I can already see the ship wars. Please don’t do this people. Please.

The Holes 🕳️

What are they? Where did they come from? Ganon’s Trident Where do they go? No actually, where do they go? The Dark World (doesn’t make sense in the Lore)? Lorule (that would be a choice)? The Twilight Realm (I am convinced that Lorule and the Twilight Realm are the same place actually and you cannot change my mind)? Some new never seen before parallel dimension? A non-place, like a gap between realities (sexiest option)? I have no idea!

Fun!

That fucking “Fairy”

Tri? Don’t trust it. Will not trust it. Never trust that a companion in a LOZ game is what they first appear to be. Who does Nintendo take me for? A fucking amateur?!

Anyway, I am about 40% convinced that’s Link. I have evidence, but it is circumstantial.

I AM HANDLING THIS NORMALLY.

[skyward-floored]

I’m developing a whole winter holiday thing for a modern Hyrule (I’m using it for IAU at least) because I wanted a Christmas stand-in of some kind so I could have fun with that. I’m still working everything out, but here’s my basic ideas (and thanks to Tellie for letting me use her ancient hero idea!):

SO instead of just one day, there are four days of celebration called the goddesses festival. Each have different traditions, and the first day is always on the solstice.

For the first three, a special centerpiece is used. Families all have different ones, usually passed down by parents/grandparents, but they’re essentially fancy candleholders. They include a candle (sometimes multiple), a rounded base to hold water, and a spot to place greenery of some kind. These are symbolic of how the three goddesses are connected and how their powers intertwine in the world. It’s tradition for the women of the family to add to the centerpiece on the days necessary. The centerpiece is taken down at sunset on the fourth day, to symbolize the goddesses departure after creating the world.

The first day is Din’s day, day of power and fire. Many people host parties on this day, with lots of dancing and food. Games and sports are played, and bonfires are traditional as well. Lights are typically hung in and outside of the home as a symbol of Din’s fire, and a way to brighten the darkness of winter with the promise of coming light. The candle(s) of the centerpiece is lit on this day.

The second day is Nayru’s day, day of wisdom and water. This day is more subdued than Din’s, often spent in reflection and dwelling on the events of the past year. Music is played— often concerts are scheduled for this day— and people often go around the streets and sing to and with their neighbors. Some people choose to fast, though not many. The bottom of the centerpiece is filled with water on this day.

The third day is Farore’s day, day of courage and life. This day is also referred to as Hylia’s Eve, since the next day is Hylia’s day. People decorate their houses in greenery, often including an evergreen tree, and if the weather is good, kites are often flown, as an acknowledgement of Farore’s title of goddess of wind. Flags, banners, and ribbons are often also put up. A small wreath or some kind of plant is added around the centerpiece on this day.

- The biggest tradition of Farore’s Day is the legend that Farore’s first chosen, the Ancient Hero, flies across the world on his crimson bird and gives presents to children while they’re sleeping. He does this in memory of Hylia, as a gesture of his love for her and her love for her people.

The fourth and final day is Hylia’s day, the day of light. Presents are exchanged (supposedly delivered to the children by the Ancient Hero) and families gather together to celebrate Hylia’s love and her choice to become mortal to save her people from Demise. Traditions vary the most on this day, but family is the most significant thread. There’s often a large meal at some point, and at sunset the centerpiece is taken down.

Each of these days is especially significant to different cultures. Gorons and Gerudo put emphasis on Din’s Day, Zora put emphasis on Nayru’s Day, and Kokiri and other forest peoples put emphasis on Farore’s Day. Hylians put the most emphasis on Hylia’s Day, but celebrate the other three with equal gusto. Other places put specific emphasis on certain days, like Holodrum with Din’s Day for example. Specific traditions vary widely depending on geographic location and upbringing/heritage, but at a whole, the goddesses festival is the most widely celebrated holiday there is.

[bokettochild]

I got so busy working on the Valentines/Palentines fic that I almost forgot it was a Friday!

Here you go!

[xmascritter]

Ive seen people be like "how on earth can they follow up botw and totk with another zelda game?" Which is fair, but those people seem to forget there are two sides to zelda. The very serious side, and the silly side. And Im not just talking about moments, Im talking about whole games. Botw and totk both leaned pretty heavily into the serious side, even though the link is probably one of our silliest yet.

So the only logical conclusion is that the next couple games should be the exact opposite.

Im talking like, triforce heroes and spirit tracks levels of chicanery. I need these next couple games to have game specific mechanics and themes so ridiculous that the game reviewing sites will pre-emptively call it stupid before its even out.

I need the world to be so silly and wacky that link almost feels like the straightman to a joke, but the whole thing is played so sincerely that it cant help but make you smile.

I need the villain to not be ganondorf; its either vaati, or the villain needs to be one of those one of single game villains made only for this specific setting of zelda, that fans will love and beg for more of and then never see again.

I need the technology to be weird and look oddly advanced with no explanation despite the fact every single character looks like they just came from the local ren faire.

I need the style to be toon link. We havent seen the lad outside of smash bros in nearly a decade. And not only do I need it to be toon link, I need the entire game to be stylized in a way that throws all the older zelda fans completely off like windwaker did. I want this to be the persona 5 of zelda games, so visually distinct it changes how all other toon link zeldas are shown in media by extension.

I need link to have a companion again, and they have to be the most annoying little shit. Im talking navi levels of annoying. But then the game makes you attached to them and sucker punches you at the end when you eventually have to part ways.

And I want another alternate world that I personally will be begging for more lore about, only to never see it again in the zelda franchise.

The only way to truly follow up a game that takes such dedication and respect to the previous iterations of the franchise while subverting many of the tropes you'd find in the games is to make a game so pack full of the tropes but so earnest about it you can't help but enjoy yourself. And the only way to really do that is to lean hard into silly Zelda.

[currantlee]

Ganondorf in German Tilo Schmitz Appreciation Post

The first cutscene of TotK is defining for Ganondorf as a character. I played the German version of the game, and the dub does a stellar job with this scene! It is very memorable IMO, and it instantly sets Ganondorf up as a somewhat stereotypical antagonist, but a serious threat nonetheless. It's one of my favorite scenes in the game, and that is also because Ganondorf's German VA, Tilo Schmitz, does an absolutely stellar job! It's great that he's getting the recognition he deserves for this performance!

Each line of Ganondorf's monologue in this scene is packed with (character) exposition, both textwise and deliverywise, but you don't even notice because you're in too much awe - at least that's my experience with the scene (in German).

Sooo... I wanted to take a closer look at how exactly both the scene and the voiceacting accomplish this.

Translation: That is supposed to be the sacred banishing sword? And my miasma shatters it just like that... A useless blade. English Localization: Was that the sword that seals the darkness? A blade that shatters so easily against my power cannot save you from me.

A few things about this line (and the rest of the scene) under the cut, because I'm gushing. A LOT.

The Master Sword is rarely called Masterschwert (its name in German) in spoken dialogue. I think over the course of the entire game, the Great Deku Tree is the only character to do so, and in Breath of the Wild, only Zelda calls it Masterschwert once. It is, however, called Masterschwert in the inventory, as well as several text-only dialogues. My hypothesis as to why they did that is that Masterschwert, when spoken out loud, sounds involuntarily comical in German since it comes off as way over-the-top, and can thus destroy an entire, serious scene. Personally, I think heiliges Bannschwert (which I would personally translate as Sacred Blade which Banishes Evil if I were to do a less literal translation, like I did above, into English) is a very fitting title, even though it doesn't sound quite as awe-inspiring if translated into English literally.

Secondly, the gloom is called Miasma in German, which is a historic name for mysterious sicknesses. While not common in contemporary German anymore, you can actually find it in the fantasy genre here and there, including in videogames. German localizers REALLY love to use this term. In comtemporary German, it would be übler Dunst (bad / ill haze), Verunreinigung (pollution / contamination), Befleckung (impurity) or Ansteckung (infection), all of which combined I find to be a really great description of what the gloom is and what it does! Especially considering that the entire reason Link and Zelda decided to investigate it in the first place was because the gloom was making the people of Hyrule sick.

I personally like this line much more than the English one, simply because to me, the English line screams "exposition!!". The German line is also exposition of course, but it does it in a much less subtle way.

Last but not least - let's appreciate Tilo Schmitz, Ganondorf's German VA. The way he delivers this line is spectacular! He makes it sound like Ganondorf is almost a little upset that the Master Sword shattered so easily, while sounding both dark and ancient at the same time. Honestly, I could not imagine a better delivery!

Translation: Zelda... And you, wielder of the banishing sword... Link. English Localization: Zelda... You who carries the fragile sword... Are Link.

Ganondorf explicitly draws a connection between Zelda and Link in German (not in the romantical sense), which feels much more natural than this kind of jump he does in English.

On a somewhat unrelated sidenote, I like that the camera shows both Zelda's and Link's reactions to Ganondorf knowing their names (unfortunately, I couldn't capture Link's because the subtitle vanishes just before he reacts, and I don't want to overload this post with pics, so... Go watch the scene again 😆). Love that Link has a very obvious reaction too, I feel like he is generally pretty expressive in TotK, which I very much enjoyed!

Translation: Rauru's grand prophecy... English Localization: Rauru placed his faith in you...

This is an interesting difference to me, because while both lines pretty much mean the same, the connotation (implied meaning) and tone are completely different.

In English, Ganondorf sounds like he is almost blaming Link and Zelda for not fulfilling Rauru's expectations, especially when combined with the next line.

In German meanwhile, this is more of a sarcastic comment, that expresses Ganondorf's disdain of Rauru more than anything else. Tilo Schmitz delivers this line with a very sarcastic undertone as well, making it clear that Ganondorf is, much like in the previous lines, mocking both Link and Zelda, as well as Rauru.

Translation: Two pathetic worms. English Localization: And that was all that you could do?

Now, there is a big difference! Whereas Ganondorf's line sounds almost like a challenge in English, in German, he is ourtight insulting Link and Zelda.

Also, Tilo Schmitz is amazing as Ganondorf in general, but this is probably my favorite line in the entire game from him. It sounds impactful, it sounds arrogant and despising, it has everything this line should have and more. Most of all, it sounds like he actually means this, and he means it as the character Ganondorf, not just as someone playing Ganondorf (from a meta perspective) or just anyone who can't stand Link and Zelda. It is a perfect line in my opinion, both scriptwise and delivery-wise.

Aaaaand that's pretty much it for this scene! Like in the English localisation, Zelda asks how Ganondorf knows their names (and Julia Casper makes her sound more timid than confused, which I also like very much!).

Anyway, thank you so much for reading 😊 Honestly, I was pretty overwhelmed by the response to my first posting about the German localization of TotK, so I wanted to wait a bit for things to calm down a bit 😅 In the 10+ years I've been on the internet, nothing I've made before has gotten this level of attention. It makes me very happy you guys seemed to enjoy it so much though, and I hope you enjoyed this one as well.

Have a great day, night, whatever time it is when you're reading this, and enjoy the game!

[thecagedsong]

I think why I dislike Zelda’s story in TOTK is that on paper it initially reads as a do over of her arc in BOTW. She finally meets supportive parents who encourage her to research instead of sacrificing herself. Rauru sacrifices himself so that Zelda won’t have to. But instead of Zelda researching a way to help her kingdom in the future, she sacrifices herself again. What’s the takeaway? She learns to kill herself better? To me, she basically reaffirms Rhoam’s toxic beliefs that her intelligence, curiosity, and desire for knowledge were all worthless and embodies a misogynistic holy maiden archetype.

There are parallels, meant to show how much Zelda has grown, but I disagree that the point is to reaffirm Rhoam's teachings and disregard her own mortal strengths.

Zelda was allowed to explore the ways her knowledge, curiosity, kindness, and intelligence can help her kingdom. That was the nearly earliest things Zelda did. It was those traits, not any powers, that made everyone in the kingdom love her. Being herself and walking her own path. It was her love of recipes and ancient ruins and animals and hiking and painting and teaching that built her a home in Hateno and in post-calamity Hyrule. All the peoples of Hyrule see her as she is, no holy powers, and they use her title of 'Princess' as a sign of love and respect, not because of societal scaffolding of the monarchy. Link searches for Zelda because of who she is, because of the relationship they are shown to have through Zelda's diaries, and that's why Zelda's not found until she's in his arms with all her memories, because finding the source of the holy power to help him defeat the demon king isn't enough.

If the sacrifice to restore the master sword was enough, where the holy maiden archtype ends, the quest to find Zelda would end when Link saw the memory of her turning. If Link was a new hero, a blacksmith, a boy raised by forest spirits, it would be enough to honor Zelda's sacrifice by defeating the demon king. If a new hero had nothing but the memories and the dragon. But by looking at everything Zelda did during the time skip, by seeing mortal Zelda for who she is, by looking at the relationship between her and Link then it is in no way enough.

It's kind of funny that you limit Rauru's purpose to a father figure in Zelda's arc. Rauru does not sacrifice himself not so Zelda won't have to, Zelda sacrificing herself to contain him a la botw isn't even on the table.

Rauru's arc is one of humility. He welcomes Ganondorf and the Gerudo into his castle because he believes that it is better for him to be there so Rauru can keep an eye on him. Zelda warns him that Ganondorf is dangerous, but Rauru's arrogance lets him in. Why shouldn't Rauru be arrogant? He has secret stones, his people are worshipped as gods, he's built a kingdom, his wife controls time itself (though in a limited capacity compared to Zelda, who is also on his side). Like every other king of Hyrule before him, Rauru ignores Zelda's knowledge of the future and doesn't trust her word, being Zonai does not change this fault among the kings of Hyrule.

Rauru underestimates Ganondorf. We can fill in some of the blanks that Ganondorf was able to replicate Zelda because he had interacted with her, that he knew the layout of hyrule castle because he had been invited in. Both things that allowed him to kill Sonia. Even to the end, when Zelda tells Rauru of the future (you're going to die in this battle, it's how I got your secret stone, you seal him not defeat him). Rauru still has a shadow of that arrogance when he tells her not to worry, Zelda changed the past by coming back, we'll kill him for sure. We see Rauru accepting his fate to die being the lock on Ganondorf, accepting that Zelda was right, accepting that his role is not to be the one to avenge his wife, and he has to do that for HYRULE, even though he himself doesn't want to. A theme of self-sacrificial love. If you label Zelda's sacrifice in botw as the holy maiden archetype but don't label Rauru the same way, that's misogynistic btw.

Zelda's kindness and ability to bring people together, her mortal traits, are what keeps the sage's spirits tied to their secret stones until the time comes again for their successors to use them against the demon king. They swear themselves to help someone based on Zelda's faith in Link, because they trust her as the leader of the sages (a role that would more naturally fall to Mineru, but Zelda takes it instead because that is part of who she is as well.)

In botw, Zelda unlocked her powers because she had learned to love one person: Link. She locked herself with the Calamity so Link would have a chance to live again and come rescue her. Hyrule distinctly does not love Zelda in botw, her own court gossips about her failures and Zelda presumes that everyone hates for her failures just as much as she hates herself.

In totk, Zelda swallowed the stone because she had learned to love more than just Link. She had learned to love all of Hyrule, and she because she was once again taking up her mantle as Protector of Hyrule (not Link) and so would sacrifice herself for it, something she could only do because she had come to love it as she had and because Hyrule had loved her in return.

The take-away from Zelda's story is that with great power comes great responsibility. That in being a good leader means sacrificing for your people. (Can you imagine if politicians today had a fraction of this kind of self-sacrificial love?) That love comes when you are yourself and reach out to others. That there will be times when you are the only one capable of acting, and that action requires a leap of faith because you cannot achieve great things alone. All these themes are unique to totk and present in more stories than just Zelda's character arc, which is part of good writing. If you reduce her to a sacrificial maiden, that's your misogyny, not the writing.

Stories are often about giving up the things that you want so you can achieve the things that you need. And if you have a problem with a story presenting self-sacrificial love as a need that people must give up the things they want to achieve, that's a personal dislike, not a sign of bad writing.

Zelda has almost ALWAYS been connected to her role as a leader/protector that must give up her own wants for the greater good of her people, which might be where the sense of misogyny is actually coming from. That it is Link that gives the final sword stroke and Zelda that needs to be rescued, but the fact that the story of Zelda and Link overcoming evil is told over and over again doesn't mean its bad writing, the story telling basic blocks are the same to connect the games within the greater franchise. Self-sacrificial love is always a part of Zelda's theme because of her role as a leader, just like exploration and growing up are always a part of Link's themes as the player character of humble origins.

The Kingdom must fall to have a story about saving it. Zelda must demonstrate what a good leader is supposed to do when the kingdom falls. Link must leave home and find a way to conquer evil to have a story about saving it and because we all have to find a way to save our homes when something in life threatens it, and the solution to the problem is found outside and from the courage within yourself.

OoT gave up her identity, then gave up Link (the story acknowledges this when you need silent princesses to upgrade the sheik mask AHHHHH!). SS is literally based upon a goddess giving up godhood for the sake of preserving Hyrule against Demise. TP gave up her kingdom to the shadows of Twilight to preserve it, then gave up her body to help Midna. Tetra gave up the freedom of being a pirate to rebuild her kingdom. It's about what it means to be a good leader, what it means to love, and yeah, what it means to touch divinity. I find Zelda inspiring.

[stasis--plus]

"After all, you possess more than power over time. You possess a sacred power that can dispel evil. Both of those powers will help you protect your own era."

Zelda’s light powers contributed to Ganondorf's downfall in that she held onto the Master Sword and healed it, returning it to fighting form. Her time powers are relevant in that she accidentally Recalled herself to the ancient past and accidentally Recalled the Sword.

I'd like to posit that this line also implies that Recall is what allowed Link (together with Rauru and Sonia) to return Princess Zelda to her true form. Recall didn't bring the Light Dragon forward in time — but Link used Recall, Zelda’s time power, to restore her.

[autumn-sweet-fae]

Totk spoilers!!

In Tears of the Kingdom we see the concept of swallowing magical times as a method of changing species for three separate people. Zelda and Ganondorf both using secret stones to become dragons, and then Koltin eating all the cave crystals to become a blupee.

Being a queer nerd who loves all the Link crossover au’s and theories, I was suddenly reminded of all the fairy!Hyrule aus and the First Gen ring that can be found by his predecessor in Oracle of Seasons.

(irl the First Gen ring exist as an easter egg that transforms Legend’s sprite to look exactly like Hyrule’s did in the first Zelda game but in game canon make no sense chronologically)

So like, what if Hyrule was a legit fairy originally. But for some reason she didn’t fit in with all her sisters (cause he’s trans). His great fairy noticed one of her youngest confusion and set out her older fairies to find a way to help him. One comes back from a far away land with a ring that’s suppose to turn it’s wearer into an average hylian. (The First Gen ring)

The enchanted ring shrinks to fairy size (D&D attunement logic) and when lil fairy Hyrule puts it on he becomes a young hylian boy. Delighted by the change, lil Hyrule decides to always wear the ring and continues to do so for his adventures. He only takes it off when his smaller fairy size is needed, even if it’s a bit uncomfy to revert back to his feminine fairy form.

If anyone asks about it, he tells him a wizard taught him a spell.

Eventually, perhaps in a fic plot, hyrule could learn that swallowing the ring could permanently transform him into a hylian. A tough decision to make to loose that part of himself. But the better outcome could be: him still being able to turn into a fairy but also keep his preferred hylian appearance when he does so.

[the-game-spirit]

I have been going so insane over the zelda timeline regarding totk like I am LOSING my mind

like. either 1. botw/totk is a completely new continuity. worst option. boring.

2. it is SO FAR in the future of the (probably downfall) timeline and there has been SO MUCH canon-typical time bullshit in between that the other two either bleed over OR the ever-funny hyrule warrior's convergence theory happens that it may as well be just a soft reboot and history is just. repeating endlessly. also kind of boring imho

OR 3. totk memories happen sometime after skyward sword. interesting. also a completely fucking insane idea.

it's a misconception that SS zelda and link founded hyrule! they almost certainly didn't!

did the zonai make the timeshift stuff in SS? the tower of the gods in WW? the ooccoo? a fascinating concept!

what about the triforce? who knows! i don't think minish cap has anything to do with it either and it does get sealed away at some point sooooo

but more importantly

is there a fucking dehydrated ganondorf sealed away underground for every single zelda game

most people would be like, 'no, of course not, thats so stupid how does oot ganondorf exist if totk ganondorf is in hand jail already' and 'ganondorf has a history of reincarnation/revival but that can't happen if he's still alive ya dingus' and normally I would agree! I did agree! I've been scratching my head trying to make this work since I started playing totk

except!!! except!!!!!! we have literally already seen this happen before!!!!

so. skyward sword.

skyward sword is a closed loop time travel story. I cannot stand when people try to shoehorn another timeline split in SS because no split happens. that's the point. that was hylia's plan. the first hero? before skyward sword link? hylia's chosen knight that defeated demise? that was always skyward sword link in the past. demise even confirms this in dialog. something something he's 'never seen a hylian stand up to him before.' idk the exact quote but it Very Much Implies demise has never encountered any incarnation of link before.

so. how do we kill the imprisoned (demise) in the future and then go back and kill demise again in the past in a closed loop?

because we seal demise's consciousness in the sword, and his body in the ground

the imprisoned is clearly mindless. even more mindless than downfall timeline ganon post-resurrection. it has one single goal, which is to reach the temple and.... the master sword. with the consciousness of demise sealed within.

we have confirmation that two versions of the demon king can, technically, exist entirely separate from eachother.

it isn't a stretch to think that if his body is sealed away, effectively dead and unable to spread his malice, that the spirit of demise's hatred (if its not sealed with the sword, like in totk) would reincarnate until the time comes that the seal weakens enough (the first calamity) that it doesn't need to.

obviously there are still problems here like. where are the rito? (personally I think they just fuck off to hebra, which only barely exists in any other game, and I wholeheartedly believe the WW rito are a completely different species)

if totk ganondorf is sealed under the castle before oot, but the great plateau is implied oot castle town, why didn't we find dehydrated dorf there? uuuuuuuhhhhhhh next question

(listen the great plateau doesn't really match up with oot castle town anyway, no other details really match, definitely not the typical 'death mountain to the north(east), lake hylia down south' geography we usually see)

is rauru totk and rauru oot the same or different? zelda actually calls the sages 'ancient creators of hyrule' in oot, and since rauru is the only actually ancient one there.... uh. its entirely possible! why does he look hylian in oot? uhhhhhh? magic? because seeing some giant talking goat person that has never been seen before might not inspire trust in the traumatized monster-fighting 9 year-old-turned-16-year-old. also isnt oot rauru ALSO the owl? its been a LONG time since I played oot so I genuinely don't know if I just made that up but if so the guy has a history of changing form I guess

honestly I think we do have to allow for a certain level of handwavy 'new game' leeway, just like we do with EVERY game, in order to make this work. the map is always different. some things are introduced that have never once been heard of before in any other game. some things DONT exist that have in other games. some things are so different they're nearly unrecognizable. there are little easter eggs and no, they don't always have to mean something.

[thejolteonmastertj]

Frfr I fecking love EOW Zelda so much, y’all have no idea. She may look like a normal lil princess on the surface but she’s definitely just as if not more crazy than BOTW/TOTK Link & I’m not kidding. She’s a girl who gets zoomies. Nobody blinks when she swims in the well or climbs onto the rooftops (both are possible, even easy before the Tri-rod!). Her family calls her “spirited,” when being polite. She’s about as good at climbing & swimming as she is at running (without magic item assistance!). Her rock climbing speed is particularly insane, faster than BOTW, even before you figure out spamming B makes her climb faster! She’s short & may not always be able to reach the trees without a trampoline… once she’s up there though she’s better at clamoring among the trees than the actual Hero Of Wilds. She’s scurrying along like a lil monkey. She sees a place she wants to go, she figures out how to get there by sheer spite & insanity. She’s definitely got tree or rose-bush branches sticking out of her hair more often than not at like all times through her whole life. Truly no wonder why the other leaders haven’t met her yet, fam was definitely hoping she’d grow out of her feral zoomies stage of girlhood but welp that’s clearly never going to happen… they all still love her though. She’s a what if botw Zelda actually had the chance to happily bloom with a loving, even if mildly exasperated-at-times family. She isn’t forced to “grow up,” & it’s in-fact her free spirit that saves Hyrule. I have many feelings, EOW Zelda’s freaking amazing.

[interlink-au]

Today's question of "Is it strictly headcanon or is there a canon basis for this?" (I don't prefer one or another, it's just for my personal knowledge):

Is there an in-game or other canon basis for the master sword not hurting her masters?

I know how, in Linked Universe, Sky can't spar using the Master Sword because it will burn him. He is also free to use a skyward strike without worrying about endangering the other heroes. Does anyone know if this concept has been used in any canon lore?

My second question about the belief that only a chosen hero (or princess, in BOTW/TOTK’s case) can hold the sword. Or variations of this. I've seen people of the opinion that this only applies to wielding it, and I've also seen some who think that the average person can't even touch it. What are some canon facts about this that I can use to shape my own headcanon?

There are a few facts I can think of for the latter question:

Breath of the Wild states that "only a hero chosen by the sword itself may wield it." This sentiment is stated elsewhere, such as Skyward Sword. So at least that much is true.

The Master Sword directly opposes evil. Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess state that those with evil hearts can never touch it. This seems to only apply to the Sword at full power, because in Wind Waker, Ganondorf treats the sword like a child's plaything when Link first attacks him. Granted, he doesn't hold it, but the blade doesn't damage him, which says something. Ghirahim also steals it.

Several seemingly regular smiths have tempered the sword throughout the downfall timeline. I don't imagine the Golden Sword smiting them as they hand their prized work back to Link. King Rauru might also have carried the blade when he took Link up to the sky islands.

On the other hand, even a chosen hero often has to prove himself in some way - collecting stones, pendants, going through trials, having enough hearts, etc. And in Breath of the Wild, the sword will kill you if you aren't ready to wield it. Perhaps this qualification only applies to drawing the Master Sword? In TOTK, you need stamina to hold onto the sword long enough to draw it while the Light Dragon is trying to throw you off, not to prove yourself to the Master Sword. It seems she remembers you even 10,000+ years later. Is the difference because Link didn't lose his memories this time/is recognizably the same person, or is it because the sword was never properly laid to rest in a pedestal?

Also of note is that there are occasions where the power of the sword grows alongside her master. This was stated in Skyward Sword and has further basis in BOTW's DLC. There are other signs of the sword being strongest when the hero is at his best (sword beams as one example among many) or even becoming tarnished when the hero can no longer fight (BOTW Link falling to the guardians in Blatchery Plain.)

Gramps in ALBW also wields the Master Sword, but that may be more of a sign of the characters strength rather than a lore bit. It could go either way with him. I'm not getting into Gramps theories here.

I've heard a theory that Sage Rauru moved the sword when he was building the Temple of Time, which would likely require drawing it from a pedestal. I suppose another possibility is that there was a hero involved in that process, but if so, which one? That point is more circumstantial evidence than anything concrete. We don't know how the Temple of Time was built, as far as we know. Though, if anyone has something to add about that, I'd love to hear it.

As another aside, it seems the Master Sword can exist in two different states in the same time period, since throughout the entirety of BOTW, and possibly even other games, the Master Sword was in possession of the Light Dragon. Skyward Sword also has the Master and Goddess Sword in the same timeframe when Link travels to the past.

That's all the info I can think of. I'd appreciate any additions.

[not-freyja]

instead of a fic prompt... can i please have your headcanons on how the four sword works pretty please with a cherry on top spare even a singular one i want to know

So I already talked about the physics about how the Colors are brought into and then removed from physical space, and that post can be found right here. But I think that there is a lot more to say about the Four Sword other than just the physical manifestation of the Colors.

Such as the entire mess of the Force Gems and the fact that the Four Sword needs to be charged in the first place. The implication here is that the Four Sword is not just in a stable state of stasis when it is not in use, but is rather constantly expending energy at some manner of scale. This means that there is a battery life on the Four Sword itself, when it comes to it’s magical properties.

What are Force Gems? What do they actually do? Nintendo has not answered this question for us and they never will, but I have a couple of ideas.

Premise one: the Four Sword is a matter to energy and an energy to matter converter rolled into one.

Premise two: the Force Gems are physical matter.

Premise three: in the game, killing monsters also gives you Force Gems to charge the sword with.

Now we all know that in the Legend of Zelda franchise, killing monsters means the monsters go poof, there isn’t a corpse left behind.

So where do the monsters go? The cartoon一yes, we are talking about the cursed Legend of Zelda cartoon, please excuse me, Princess一actually has an explanation for this. The monsters are sent back to the weird magical realm that they came from in the first place, and then Ganon summons them again. In this way, no monster is ever actually killed, just temporarily banished, and this is (funnily enough) kind of the same as what happens to the monsters in the Percy Jackson series. Love Lore-overlap, makes it easier for my brain to make things make sense. ...Not the point, moving on!

I am going somewhere with this, I swear. And that is, that when the monsters die, they are meant to go “poof” and dissolve into magic. That magic is then supposed to be absorbed by the general well of Dark Magic in the world, and then it can be drawn on again in order to make more monsters later. Right? Make sense?

But then the Four Sword gets involved. The matter to energy conversion machine. And it doesn’t let the monster go through it’s usually monster to magic cycle, it eats the energy that the monster’s matter is converted into as the spell breaks. It sucks it right up which is represented in-game as “force gems” and that is then energy that is used to power the sword. Because the sword needs a constant power source in order to run it’s designed conversions. And it needs a power source to keep the Colors out and functional, right? Because they aren’t just existing, they are tethered to the sword, we know this. And it probably needs a power source to make it so Link himself is functional, and a living individual, because he has been put together and taken apart with magic so many times that I think at this point it is a spell holding him together. And it needs a power source to use Light as a tool to kill monsters. And it needs a power source to hold the seal on Vaati.

And the monsters are leaving force gems behind. You see where I am going with this? There is a critical point, where all the strain on the Four Sword becomes too much, and it cannot maintain all of the demands that are placed upon it in terms of energy sink without a sufficient amount of energy input. This implies that there is a critical failure point, where the entire system in place held up by this sword will collapse and come crashing down.

That maybe instead out being a magical output, the sword will instead become a massive Light (as in magic, as in the physical object) sink. Like a black hole. That if it goes long enough without use, without input, the Four Sword will  become not a beacon of light but a black hole, pulling everything in and letting no light or Light escape.

And well, by the time we get to the Hero of Legend, the pedestal of the Four Sword lies in the Dark World. 

I’m not sure if this makes sense, but it is a collection of facts and conjecture that I have about this stupid hunk of metal. I have a lot of thoughts about this stupid hunk of metal actually. It makes me very happy to think and talk about. This was fun, let’s do this again sometime.

[hylialeia]

I think I'm going to continue missing the more story-focused narratives from other games even if I thoroughly enjoy the open world styles (and find them to be astoundingly innovative), but I have to say, the way Tears of the Kingdom implies so much in its story is absolutely fascinating. so much of it can be missed depending on the order your play or how far out of your way you go for certain quests, but I deeply appreciate just how much you-the-player are left to infer or fill in the gaps to enrich your own interpretation on the story. I love being allowed to read into the subtleties - the music motifs that call back to previous games, side quests that expand on the memories, the voice actor's delivery bringing additional weight and implication to lines of dialogue you might otherwise overlook, even just the current state of the setting compared to it's previous iteration... it's so masterfully done.

[autisticmysticsarah]

I feel like people forget about or gloss over Ganondorf being a genocidal social darwinist to make him sympathetic and it's annoying to me.

Also the problem with Rauru is not that he is secretly evil or an imperialist it's that the writers used problematic standard fantasy tropes uncritically to tell TotK's story and as a result it entirely lacks nuance and has unfortunate implications. TotK's story is just not as interesting as other Zelda games and I wish the writers bothered to break the status quo a little bit.

A fantasy story with a (mostly) good monarchy is always going to be at least somewhat problematic and uncomfortable and I would love to see some actual criticism both from the writers and in-game.