#in which parli decides to overanalyze the text of a video game in order to make her point more valid

[divineprank]

Uh oh, Parli’s on her bullshit again. Prepare for another novel.  Thematically, Ocarina of Time is a coming of age story -- quite literally, as, well... We see Link grow into an adult. I know, I’m actually a genius here for pointing that out, someone give me a literary medal. But what I mean is, there are many story beats and characters that might reflect particular aspects of growth and natural changes that happen to us and the people and the world around us as we get older. It’s especially present in the six sages:  Rauru/Kaepora Gaebora reflects the last whispers of older tradition, the older generation that anchors us to our roots but casts us off into our future. This is likely why he’s the character that introduces us to both versions Hyrule, why he literally leads us through the bumps and bruises of our childhood, and trusts us enough to set out on our own into the world of adulthood, even though things are a little bit harder and the consequences are a lot more real. 

Saria, the childhood best friend, grows into that person you care very much about but as you’ve grown older and your paths begin to break into different directions, you naturally see less and less of one another even though you love each other dearly. Personally, I think the best representation of this in the game is when Sheik is the only person that meets a newly-awakened Link at the Sacred Forest Meadow... Saria isn’t there, the trees aren’t illuminated by her fairy’s light, and the wind isn’t carrying the echoes of her ocarina. The staging of that scene leads you to believe that something serious has happened to Saria, and even though seven long years have passed without each other, you want to find her and help her. 

Darunia's story demonstrates responsibility, getting your shit together and doing what you have to do simply because you have to do it. We quite literally meet the man in the middle of a tantrum the size of Biggoron: pouting and lashing out at anyone because of his problems. And still, when the people who rely on him are starving to death, he bounces around the room to music and sends someone else to take care of his bullshit for him. The next time we meet him, the next time the Gorons are in serious trouble, however, Darunia is already gone, well into the temple to deal with the problem himself even though he feels unprepared, and even though it poses a great personal threat to his life. 

I’m getting really far away from my point, so for the sake of brevity, I won’t bore you with full analyses of every sage, but I will encourage you to consider Ruto and Impa and think about how their stories might align with concepts of growing up.

We’re a little boy when we meet Nabooru, in fact, she takes it upon herself to remind us of that, even though we’re almost at the end of our adventure at this point and are practically traumatized by what we’ve seen and done while walking in our big boy boots. She’s quite dismissive of Link, informing him that the temple is no place for kids, and she’s a little mocking of him, too, laughing at the insane idea that a kid could perhaps be one of Ganondorf’s followers. She doesn’t take him seriously, acting condescending when learning his name, and again at the notion of him wearing the Silver Gauntlets, and insisting that he be a good boy and bring them to her when he finds them. As a lone-wolf thief, she vaguely describes a reward for him, telling him that she’ll do something great for Link if he accomplishes this favor, but very likely, she probably doesn’t intend to do a damn thing for him. It isn’t until she awakens as the Sage of Spirit when Link grows up does she finally acknowledge Link as a grown man. Teasing him gently while finally calling Link what he is: a competent swordsman. She even needs to correct herself, instinctively referring to him as “kid” again before stopping herself and calling him by his proper title: Link, the Hero of Time. All of this preamble about Nabooru to get to my point: we hear the last whispers of her voice as we leave the Sacred Realm, musing to herself about how handsome Link has become in his adulthood and jokingly kicking herself for not keeping the promise she made to him seven years ago. This has always been a hotly debated line in the Ocarina of Time circles, because it’s a bit awkward and might come across as a little creepy but I really think that line lends itself to the point I’m about to make. If she hadn’t made the remark about how handsome Link has become, it would have read as Nabooru realizing that she shouldn’t have dismissed Link so much, because his strength obviously makes him someone she should have had on her side. But, Ocarina of Time is a game that tells its story without telling its story, it relies super heavily on subtext: there’s a lot of plot and hidden symbolism behind it presentation of itself. The remark about her finding Link attractive is an example of what I’m referring to. This isn’t to necessarily say that Nabooru’s creeping on Link but instead to help hammer in the bullet she represents in the larger idea Ocarina of Time is trying to explore. Nabooru reflects sexual maturation. 

It’s really easy to break Ganondorf down into simple themes of power and greed and maybe hubris and the folly of man -- which, I mean c’mon, look at the guy and his centuries-long resume. But Javed Sterritt of Good Blood presented this interesting idea that in this grand growing up scheme that Ocarina of Time is plotting, Ganondorf is more indicative of everything Link isn’t: adulthood. He can get to places Link can’t, reach people Link can’t, do anything he wants without limitation, he’s more capable and has abilities Link can hardly even fathom... It’s those kinds of things that a child might fuss over, reasons that children usually want to grow up so fast. Ganondorf’s Castle is the last stage of the game, facing Ganondorf is the last task, and defeating Ganondorf demonstrates Link reaching adulthood. 

So what the fuck am I talking about, what the fuck does all this nonsense have to do with a simple OOC post about wishing more artists would draw Nabooru and Ganondorf holding hands? Well, they’re right -- it’s a hugely, hugely missed opportunity from BOTH the fans AND Nintendo to not totally acknowledge the relationship Ganondorf and Nabooru probably had together. 

Thematically they tie together very well: sex is something adults do, adults are sexually mature. Even without making it about sex, when contrasting the two of them against some of their other familiar symbols, heat, red, orange, desert, thievery, survival, the sun... these are all symbols that reflect passion and strength and intensity, which both of these characters possess. Hell, going back to the game’s dialogue, they both regularly refer to Link as “kid”, and both of them dismiss him, and both of them respect Link’s “guts”. Nabooru and Ganondorf are mirrors of one another (hah, mirror shield) and I genuinely don’t understand why so little people actually take the time to acknowledge that. 

She’s Ganondorf’s second-in-command for fuck’s sake. Story-wise, it makes sense. Subtext-wise it makes sense. Fight me, nonbelievers.

[I haven't been OOC in a bit over here, which is probably some kind of record, so I'm using this as an excuse to be whiny on main.

I really wish there was more Nabsgan art out there. 🥺 I need more of my tragically beautiful otp.]