#i'm sorry just another oot post i'm desperate

[shannonsketches]

I noticed that the element of the triforce that the individual characters are supposed to represent, is also their weakness. Zelda's wisdom is being stifled by doubt and lack of experience; she's eager to learn, but her zeal is not enough and relies on faith and Link to save the day. I'm not implying that wisdom and faith cannot go hand in hand, but she needs to be able to represent her element more. Maybe her wisdom is knowing when to wait and allow someone else to bear the task? But it takes away too much initiative from her. Ganon's element is power but he's the one who ends up losing almost every time. And Ganondorf on his own, isn't powerless! He's a king, he knows magic, he can wield almost any weapon, he's patient, conniving and intelligent and knows how to make best with what he has. He isn't weak! And yet, the whole split happened, because he was feeling powerless.

They locked themselves in a self-sabotaging cycle that's powered by doubt.

Yeah! So one of the reasons I really love the Triforce lore is that it’s a three-way mirror that reflects both what the user has and also what they need (very wizard of oz).

Ganondorf is a very powerful man, physically, and magically.

Politically, though, he’s next to helpless, which is an awful thing for a king to be. He’s a king of thieves in OoT, because the Gerudo are not a wealthy or thriving nation there. In-Game they don’t have a local living area like the other regions (or even a store — just one floating bombchu salesman in the middle of the desert) — they’ve got a post-war fortress full of guards, and a temple that is being used as a secret base Hylians can’t get to.

Consider also, Ganondorf is the most highly decorated of the Gerudo, and he’s not decked out in gold. He’s wearing mostly iron and topaz. Nabooru and Twinrova are the only ones who have gold fixtures/jewelry along with the higher ranked guards for their protective elements (which is why I think it could arguably be pale bronze or yellow brass, which is a common and highly durable gold alternative).

The Gerudo are implicitly just surviving in OoT, and Hyrule speaks of them like they’re monsters (except for the one guy in town who has a fetish). More than that, WW establishes that his real grief comes from the weather, which any mortal is powerless to control.

So Ganondorf is powerful as a person, but powerless as a king, which is literally the only thing he was born to be.

Be that as it may, though, he is a well-loved king, and a survivor, and a thief, so he also has to embody both wisdom and courage too!

Zelda is the most obvious mirror to Ganondorf. She is a very powerful woman politically and magically, but physically-- compared to Ganondorf -- she's terribly meek. That's the obvious read, that they're 1:1 Parallels, but her real weakness lies in her courage.

Zelda (in OoT) leans on her massive political power -- In the child timeline, she literally sees a foreign dignitary executed before he does anything wrong, based on a recurring dream she has.

Do you know how insane that is? Do you realize how powerful she is?

Ganondorf is not just some guy -- he's a foreign KING. He's a KING that a TEN YEAR OLD had EXECUTED based on VIBES.

And we think she embodies wisdom because her vibes were (as we, the audience know) correct. But it's actually because as an adult, she understands that none of it needed to happen that way. That the only reason Ganondorf was able to pull off his stunt and get the Triforce at all was because she tried to control the situation, sending Link to gather everything Ganondorf couldn't get himself and put it all precisely where Ganondorf needed it to be.

Despite being a child at the time, by the end of the story, by the time she's Sheik, Zelda is taking full responsibility for what happened, and is doing everything in her now extremely limited power to fix it. She's so sorry to need Link, and at the end of it all is desperate to give him another chance to be a kid, and to be innocent, and to be happy, because she realized so quickly that she never should've involved him, visions be damned. She knows none of it was his fault or his business, and she's mortified that she dragged him into it in her own attempt to control the weather.

These other two items shift in other games -- WW and Twilight Princess show us a Zelda with tremendous courage and very little power, physical or political. And then the Wild's era, despite removing the Triforce narrative, shows us a Zelda with immense power and terrible guilt and insecurity -- her power locked behind her fear, and she is only able to access both when she embraces courage.

Which brings us to Link.

Link, on the surface, is a third wheel in a chess game between ancients. But the reality is that he's the base of the prism. He's the foundation that reflects both of the others.

There are MANY different personalities for Link, and personally my favorite gag is that Link is simply too stupid to be scared, but that's just a gag -- because something I've come to really enjoy and respect about him is that he consistently displays fear. Link embodies courage because he is full of fear and chooses to fight anyway. Link leads a good life. He is comfortable, he has family, he has friends, he knows peace. What makes Link courageous is that he is willing to give up his access to all of that if it means that everyone else keeps theirs.

Link will lock himself in a room with the apocalypse if it means he's the only one who gets hurt, and it's not because he believes this is his sacred duty, or his life's purpose -- he'd much rather be at home chasing chickens around or riding his pony through some pretty scenic route -- it's because he is so full of love for other people that he's willing to give up anything to keep them safe.

Link's not very powerful, but he is also unburdened by any desire to be powerful. Link's not very wise, but he is unburdened by any desire to be wise. Link is content in who he is, Link is happy to keep things simple. But Link is so brave that he becomes a leader, which actually makes him the most dangerous of the three.

Courage, unburdened, is fucking terrifying. To both Wisdom and Power. Because, unlike Wisdom and Power, Courage is contagious.

Link can empower and inspire and reveal truths others might not have been able to find on their own. Link doesn't need charisma or brutality. Link can build armies just by being observed.

"But Sketches, you haven't really said anything about how Link reflects the other two." It's subtle! But he does. I see it like this:

• Ganondorf reflects Link's relentless determination, refusing to stand down in the face of impossible odds. In this way, they're connected by their power and courage. • Zelda reflects Ganondorf's burden of being born in a crown, forcing them to learn leadership, and how to use their recklessness strategically, as children. In this way, they're connected by their power and wisdom. • Link reflects Zelda's sense of love for the faceless innocent, and her dedication to protecting all who can't protect themselves. In this way, they're connected by their courage and wisdom.

Because the inherent configuration of the triforce requires those connections to be balanced -- Separately they are overwhelmed by their traits. Ganondorf is willing to sacrifice everything he is in order to reach his goals, Zelda is so pre-occupied with preventing prophecy she ends up instigating it, and Link is so ready to step in and help that he never considers the consequences.

Every single one of them, left to their own devices, would rather see themselves destroyed than fail those who may or may not be relying on their success. They're all very similar, highly reflective characters who all represent compelling foils for each other and yes, display how their unfettered strengths are also the thing that damage them most.

[aquadestinyswriting]

Aitheachas Màthair

Summary: Meredith finds her way down to the Contemplation Chamber after waking up in the Fangthane Infirmary to process what has just happened to her youngest son. A flash fiction entry under the prompt "Didn't Mean it".

Words: 565

Tags: @druidx @homesteadchronicles @flashfictionfridayofficial @asher-orion-writes,@warriorbookworm, @odysseywritings, @ashirisu, @blind-the-winds, @writeblrcafe

Warnings: I am 'Dead Dove-ing' these warnings because this is heavy. Grief, Trauma, loss of a child, mention of ritual sacrifice, fantasy cults, implied emotional neglect, character death

Notes: this one is set about 690 years post campaign and is backstory for the current campaign. This is the end point of what started in 'You're Not Alone' (there is a whole bunch that happens in the ten years between these two stories, but they're basically bookends).

I stare into the bubbling metal of the scrying pool of the Contemplation Chamber. Every last medic in the mount is still insisting that I return to the Infirmary, but I can't. I need stillness and quiet to soothe my now utterly shattered heart and soul. 

Unbidden, my mind flashes back to the last words Llachlan and I had exchanged with one another. My heart breaks all over again at the memory of the determined snarl on his face as he told me that the Cult he had fallen into treated him better than his own kin and that he Denounced Moradin and all He stood for. That he was leaving to help them destroy everything I held dear and worked so hard to acheive. I start to tremble as the words I had uttered to him rattled in my head,

"Fine! If you want to go an' get yersel' killed tryin' to uphold the beliefs o' that monster, then walk oot that door an' never darken the mount with yer presence again!"

I choke out a sob at the memory of my youngest child, my wee bairn, turning and doing just that. I'd expected him to be gone for a few months, at most, before crawling back and begging forgiveness for making a stupid mistake, as all beardlings asserting their independence do. Once my temper had cooled, I immediately regretted my words. I sent out search party after search party for over three years after that, to no avail. My wee lost lamb was gone, and it was all my fault.

When I finally saw him again, I was certain I was dreaming. But the moment he saw me and called out for me… I should have known it was a trap. Should have realised that the only reason those damned deluded bastards had recruited him was to use him to free that har'ak. And I'd been the one to push him straight into their arms. But... my baby boy had needed me, and I was so desperate to make things right that I was blind to what should have been obvious.

I don't remember what happened after the cultists slit Llachlan's throat. All I know is that, somehow, Ionah hasn't entirely broken free of her shackles and is still bound in the depths of the Pit. At least for now. Little comfort when the only reason she had the potential to escape was because of a petty argument between a mother and her son. I'm pretty sure she's howling with laughter at the irony. All I’ve been told, for now, is that a five mile wide radius around where the cultists had made their lair is now a burnt and scarred wasteland. I dare not ask for further details. For now, I just want to hide away from the world and hope that this is all some horrible dream and I’l wake up to news that my uan beag has come home. Gods, I wish Elowyn was still here.

I force myself back to the present as I feel the comforting embrace of both my Gods surround me. My body heaves as I finally give into my grief. No amount of regret is going to bring my son back, and no amount of 'I didn't mean it' is going to undo what I said to drive him away. 

I'm sorry, Llachlan, for everything.