#like the ocarina of time wouldn't have worked if it was someone else playing it

[skyloftian-nutcase]

In regards to that ask about Legend, I've always liked the idea of him being Fable's half sibling or something, because it is a different Link/Zelda dynamic. I also think Legend wouldn't really be interested in relationships after the whole Marin thing. It does get tiring when Link is always paired with Zelda.

That being said, what are some of your favorite Link/Zelda dynamics? Or who might a Link be interested in instead? Sky and Sun are the only ones I can't see with anyone else, and I know you like Mipha/Wild. Which if I had actually taken my time with BoTW I probably would too, but I don't know enough of the story there to really have an opinion

There are some who like the whole “Link & Zelda are destined to be soulmates no matter what and that means romance all the time,” and if that floats your boat, sure. But I do definitely prefer variety. Also I could make a really cursed observation about Zelink through the ages based on the reincarnation that’s mildly implied, but for the sake of my lovelies who adore all the Zelink, I won’t 😂

I’m probably just gonna sound like I’m repeating myself from other asks, sorry, I haven’t played all the Zelda games so I can only truly speak to the ones that I have, but I’ll throw in my two cents for the ones that I’ve at least seen play through snippets/vibes I get from LU/ideas I liked.

Skyward Sword: They’re definitely, 100% in love, and they are adorable. 10/10 pairing

Minish Cap: They’re childhood friends to my knowledge, so it could go either way, I think. They’re so young in this game, I can’t say what’s gonna happen to them. Definitely would stay friends though.

Ocarina of Time/Majora’s Mask: It’s so complicated. I can see Adult timeline Zelda having an attraction to him, having hoped and prayed for his return to see a handsome young man appear. I can see Link physically being attracted to her while not entirely comprehending what that means because he’s still nine, and I can see than becoming an issue when he does naturally grow a little older. I can see Link being unable to separate the Zelda in the “nonexistent” timeline he fought alongside from the Zelda in his current timeline, who didn’t have to endure the same trials and therefore isn’t exactly the same, and I can see that messing him up too. So I feel like they’d be friends at best, have a professional relationship with maybe some fondness being likely, or cold and distant at worst. It seems most likely that they’re friends but Link keeps her at an arm’s length… by Majora’s Mask he seems to keep everyone at an arm’s length, tbh.

Twilight Princess: Eh. They could be friends, they could become lovers, it could work. But there definitely isn’t enough in the game to say for sure with the latter option. Link very clearly finds her beautiful based on his reaction to seeing her the first time, but he also had the same reaction to Midna lol, boy just goes :O with every pretty girl he sees. 😂 I think he had more chemistry with Midna but he also had time to develop that relationship, and since she’s gone that’s a sadly moot point anyway. But most likely, I think he’ll either end up with Ilia (he does seem to genuinely care about her, and you can see she has some strong feelings for him… you can make them a sibling dynamic or romantic, I haven’t played through the entire game yet so I can’t say for sure, but I can see them getting together) or someone completely different, despite his restlessness at the end of the game, he seems very much a guy who would settle somewhere quiet and have a family eventually. He’s very domestic and gentle and stuff ☺️ And honestly it would be interesting and fun to see the quiet, regal, stoic Queen Zelda get invited to middle-of-nowhere country village to wind down, or for her to invite Link to the castle and his kids sneak along and cause chaos or something 😂

Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass: I’m pretty sure Tetra and Link found New Hyrule together, so it’s heavily implied they’re a thing. From what I’ve seen they have cute chemistry together, so I’m down for it.

Spirit Tracks: I’ve barely seen anything about this game, but given Zelda is the companion for this one she at least is one of the likelier Zeldas to be in a romantic relationship with Link. Dunno 😅🤷🏻‍♀️ everyone seems to think they are, so I guess I’ll go with it

A Link to the Past/Link’s Awakening/Oracle games: I honestly really like the implication that Zelda and Link are siblings. It’s very different from the others and could have so much potential for either fun or angst! Or both! Link obviously has feelings for Marin, and I do think he’d definitely need a break from romance after Koholint. I can’t say he’d never be interested in another relationship after that, but definitely not for a while.

A Link Between Worlds: 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️ not a clue, never seen an interaction between them

Four Swords: Also not a clue lol

Legend of Zelda/Adventure of Link: I mean, clearly they’re at least friends if Link’s still helping her out six years later, that’s all I’ve got 🤷🏻‍♀️😂

Hyrule Warriors: Ugh. This game lol. They give each other lovey dovey looks, so sure. Why not. At least make Zelda interesting if you’re (general you, not specifically you) gonna write it though. Idk. Honestly, them being war buddies is awesome. But the way this game portrays Zelink grinds my gears so I usually struggle to get beyond that. Link honestly should probably just be left alone after he has Cia’s creepy self stalking after him while simultaneously trying to kill him (girl did not know what she wanted, nor did she know what clothes were). Of Link’s options, he definitely wouldn’t want Cia, Lana would be sweet and loving and kind but he probably couldn’t get beyond her being a part of Cia (RIP poor girl, I really do like her and she genuinely loves Link), and Zelda would be ok. Both Zelda and Lana could be war buddies with Link, which is fun. I don’t think Link/Lana could happen because Cia, and I can see the war and politics after the fact impeding Link/Zelda. LET LINK JUST FIGURE HIMSELF OUT DANG IT HE’S A TRAUMATIZED WAR VETERAN WHO HAS BEEN SEXUALLY HARASSED.

Age of Calamity: Link/Mipha all the way! It’s heavily implied in BotW canon that they were a thing anyway, and here they get the chance to actually live! And be together! As such, I feel like Link is a very caring friend to Zelda, and I also think a strong friendship/siblinglike relationship between Zelda and the Miphlink couple would be adorable (and very beneficial for diplomatic relations between the Zora and Hyrule). I know in botw Zelda had a crush on Link prior to the calamity after he rescued her, not sure if that’s the case in AoC because I haven’t finished the game but it seems less pronounced. Either way, a crush isn’t the same as a strong friendship changing into a romantic one. Also I had this idea that Zelda, being the scientist she is and far more interested in just helping rebuild her kingdom (and perhaps not knowing how to cope with being alone when the guy she crushed on is married), announces some kind of competition or presentation for eligible bachelors and Link and Mipha are facepalming and Link (and Urbosa) is 100% gonna vet all the men by glaring at them from behind the queen and Mipha’s gonna be the Vibe Check girl (Daruk thinks they’re all nice, mostly; Revali is like “keep me out of this nonsense” but will low key stalk all the bachelors to make sure they’re up to snuff)

Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom: Given the fact that these two traumatized beans only have each other for points of reference/mutual understanding of their trauma and entire viewpoint, they very likely get together. I have a hard time with it only because people are so insistent on botw Zelink that they completely disregard Mipha and ship Link with Zelda before the calamity as well, which I do not. But honestly, botw/TotK Zelink is fine with me. Though TotK keeps it so vague sometimes, I feel like you can reasonably imply that maybe they haven’t gotten together yet by that point but they’re very close to doing so. Or it’s early in their romantic relationship.

Echoes of Wisdom: TBD! They haven’t interacted much yet from where I am in the game (Gerudo Desert), but considering (MILD SPOILERS) they didn’t even know each other until he rescued her, it’s gonna take a lot to convince me they’re gonna fall in love. Also, it’s hard to tell how old they are with this chibi style but I get the vibe they’re on the younger teenager side? Nothing’s set in stone for relationships at that age.

…I think that’s all of them?

[umbramatic]

With the confirmation of the Zelda movie happening eventually I felt the need to scream (CLICK THROUGH): 

-To start, a disclaimer: This would have been closer to the announcement but I was on a trip and then still busy after, so bear with me

-The obvious: This will either be really great or really terrible and either way i am here to devour the memes

-I'm not one of those people who thinks a live action zelda is impossible to make work - if HARDER to make work - and video game movies have recently and slowly been dragging themselves out of the Pit Of Despair and I liked the Detective Pikachu movie and the Sonic movies and the Mario movie but this movie could still easily be really bad and slide them further back into it, especially with some of the people producing it. We'll just have to wait for trailers to cast more judgment. Nintendo having a stranglehold on production again does give me hope weirdly - hopefully things will at least be On Brand

-since condensing most zelda game plots could be Hell I feel like they should honestly do an original version of the zelda story that just follows all the Best Of Tropes like with the mario movie (hey maybe it fits into the timeline somehow and we're all forced to acknowledge it as Lore) but if not I honestly want to see them do Skyward Sword, since it was the origin point. Only problem is no Ganon, so I doubt it. 

-I doubt any of the Toon Link games would be chosen since it's not animated, nor any games focusing primarily on particularly young links since Hollywood hates working with kids. So I feel like the most likely ones are Ocarina Of Time (the most defining Zelda at this point even post-BOTW and TOTK), Breath Of The Wild, or Twilight Princess (both of which would be cool). But who knows this could be like Detective Pikachu and we get an oddball pick. 

-Someone suggested Jason Momoa as Ganondorf and honestly I want it -For Link, not Tom Holland because that's the Meme Bad Pick, obviously. I'd honestly say Thomas Brodie-Sangster or Timothée Chalamet

-As for Zelda... Zelda Wiliams. It would be funny and Robin would have been proud. 

-If The Rock does not play a Goron character I will be upset

-I feel like Link not speaking is a lost cause probably (even if i think it would be really funny if they cast a big name and he communicated only in grunts) and I'm not opposed to making him doofy because Link is often doofy but by god do NOT make him snark. I'm not even as hard on the MCU and its quips as everyone else is at this point and I actually normally like snarky characters often but if Link talks in ironic quips all the time I would probably die because it doesn't fit him and  the Zelda franchise at all. (Also need I remind you we have gotten smarmy Link twice before and both times were awful)

-Given everything we know about it it feels like this film is going in a straightlaced, at least semi-serious, probably dark fantasy film. Which is fine by me but. 

-Someone said this film wouldn't be helped by a lot of easter eggs as the Mario movie was. I'm inclined to agree. But I still want to see the easter eggs because I'm drooling at what that could mean for Zelda. 

-On a related note I hope there are a lot of like. Genuine fans on the team of this movie. It seemed to help the Mario movie and maybe the second Sonic movie and in at least one instance the Detective Pikachu movie. If they get proper Zelda fans on board it could go a long way

-Please don't make it an isekai. It was fine for Mario because it's been in Mario lore before but again it doesn't fit Zelda. 

-Overall, again, I don't care if this movie is good or bad, just if it's INTERESTING. I want to either laugh with this movie or at it. I want the fandom to have fun with this. And I want to soak up the memes like a sponge.

[hashtagyorlosalfie]

RULES: when you get this, list 5 songs you've been listening to. tag 5-10 followers to do the same. I was tagged by @lisadoop.

I guess I'm the only person in the world who doesn't listen to the same songs over and over, so I don't really have that many I could list. But nonetheless, here's 5 songs that have been on my mind for various reasons.

1. Honey by AFTERxCLASS

Not super familiar with this artist outside of this one track, which I think is their most popular, but I love it, it's super catchy. Came up again on shuffle recently and I've been thinking about it a lot because I realized the part where they say "you're bitter as shit" is sung to like the exact same tune as the Danny Elfman Batman theme, I'm pretty sure. I almost want to do an edit lining it up to prove it, but it wouldn't be worth the effort just for that. I mean I had a few other ideas that could work to turn it into a YTP or something, but probably not enough.

2. Super Mario Land With Lyrics by brentalfloss ft. Dave Bulmer

I've been playing a lot of Mario games recently, including Super Mario Land for the first time, and I'm embarrassed to say I've listened to Super Mario Land With Lyrics enough times that it's all I can think of when I hear the world 1 music from that game. I'm not even super into brentalfloss or anything, I only know a handful of their tracks, but the few I know I know really well, just because I've had them in my library for so long and they've come up on shuffle so many times. I could probably recite the lyrics to both this and Ocarina of Time With Lyrics all the way through, maybe without even listening to the songs. I don't even like them that much! I think they're neat, but not enough to know them this well! I NEED HELP!!!

3. We're Not Candy! by Long Island Regional Poison Control Center

This very well may be stuck in your head too, since these videos keep getting recommended to everyone. Some may say it's kind of a meme right now. I wouldn't go that far, not enough different takes on it to say that. I was working on an edit where they say they actually are candy, but... FUCK! Someone beat me to it! Two days ago! God damn it, I've been working on mine for like a week or two, I'm just really lazy! This one isn't even good, it's like way too long, maybe I should still do mine. That's honestly the version that's stuck in my head right now, just those beginning lyrics but instead of saying like "We could make you delirious" they say "We could be delicious". Nobody else make this edit!! I call dibs!!!

4. Streets by Doja Cat

I just really like this song, I often find myself muttering the lyrics of this one out loud. Particularly the whole rap verse with the Final Fantasy line, love that. The way the lyrics flow into each other there makes it a big ear worm for me, even without hearing the music. Just really fun to recite.

5. Icy Tower Theme (NES/2A07) by Zlew

Just got done streaming some Icy Tower a little earlier, and damn I could groove to that kazoo menu music for hours. But I especially like this cover I found on Soundcloud. I think the cover art is like the second image search result for Icy Tower which is how I found it like a year ago and also how I rediscovered it earlier today. Just a really stellar chiptune take on Man of Constant Sorrow imo.

Okay that's it, I guess I'll tag @jerryterry, @norwayspruce, @object-at-noon, @talkingheadsfan, and @peenerpeenerihaveawiener. Sorry for the tag, the chainmail told me to and I don't wanna get cursed :/

[bejoomi]

"i'll just cover it next time we order something," joomi decides, figuring that's probably the easiest, as long as sua is okay with it. he hands her phone back to her, and leans back against the sofa, absentmindedly looking up at the ceiling, taking in every aspect of the new place. it's nice. sofa is comfortable enough. even if it wasn't, it would be better than a sofa with an empty beer can on it every single day.

sua's comment makes joomi laugh a little, and he looks back at her. "i didn't, so..." his voice trails off. he's pretty sure his piano wasn't the problem, though. "pretty sure it was because they made me dance. that...is not really my thing." it's really weird, though; talking about it like this, part of him almost misses it. he's not sure why. "the hardass mentor complimented my voice, though, so i guess that was cool."

he supposes he does owe a lot to next gen. without it, and the support he found when he thought for sure he didn't deserve it, he probably wouldn't have found the confidence to move out or leave eat schmidt. it made him believe that he's worth a little more than he thought he was before. that's valuable, if nothing else.

"i don't think i know anybody that can play the ocarina," joomi says. it's a unique choice. "zelda fan? or did you just decide you wanted to learn an unusual instrument?" honestly, from joomi's first impression of sua, either could be true. "piano is kinda weird when you're first learning, since your hands have to do different things at the same time, but once you play for a while, it's kinda like...muscle memory. like driving. for me, at least." he doesn't know how interested sua is in hearing him geek out about music. to be fair, she is the one that asked.

roommate rules. that's probably a good idea. joomi didn't think to set any of those with his last roommate, and he has a feeling that even if they had them, he wouldn't have followed them anyway. he appreciates sua asking, but as someone that has lacked healthy boundaries his entire life, he has no idea what to suggest. he can answer her first question, though. what about him would impact sua? "well, i work two jobs, and i'm in a band, so i'm honestly not home that much? and when i am i usually just sleep." he lets out a sheepish laugh. "or i'm writing music. but my last roommate was also like, a major asshole, so i probably adapted my lifestyle to avoid him as much as possible. the bar is on the floor as far as roommates go, so just like...don't make me buy you beer without paying me back and don't play the tv on full blast constantly and we'll be fine." that's honestly putting it lightly, but sua doesn't need to know the details.

"what about you?"

"i'll just cover it next time we order something," joomi decides, figuring that's probably the easiest, as long as sua is okay with it. he hands her phone back to her, and leans back against the sofa, absentmindedly looking up at the ceiling, taking in every aspect of the new place. it's nice. sofa is comfortable enough. even if it wasn't, it would be better than a sofa with an empty beer can on it every single day.

sua's comment makes joomi laugh a little, and he looks back at her. "i didn't, so..." his voice trails off. he's pretty sure his piano wasn't the problem, though. "pretty sure it was because they made me dance. that...is not really my thing." it's really weird, though; talking about it like this, part of him almost misses it. he's not sure why. "the hardass mentor complimented my voice, though, so i guess that was cool."

he supposes he does owe a lot to next gen. without it, and the support he found when he thought for sure he didn't deserve it, he probably wouldn't have found the confidence to move out or leave eat schmidt. it made him believe that he's worth a little more than he thought he was before. that's valuable, if nothing else.

"i don't think i know anybody that can play the ocarina," joomi says. it's a unique choice. "zelda fan? or did you just decide you wanted to learn an unusual instrument?" honestly, from joomi's first impression of sua, either could be true. "piano is kinda weird when you're first learning, since your hands have to do different things at the same time, but once you play for a while, it's kinda like...muscle memory. like driving. for me, at least." he doesn't know how interested sua is in hearing him geek out about music. to be fair, she is the one that asked.

roommate rules. that's probably a good idea. joomi didn't think to set any of those with his last roommate, and he has a feeling that even if they had them, he wouldn't have followed them anyway. he appreciates sua asking, but as someone that has lacked healthy boundaries his entire life, he has no idea what to suggest. he can answer her first question, though. what about him would impact sua? "well, i work two jobs, and i'm in a band, so i'm honestly not home that much? and when i am i usually just sleep." he lets out a sheepish laugh. "or i'm writing music. but my last roommate was also like, a major asshole, so i probably adapted my lifestyle to avoid him as much as possible. the bar is on the floor as far as roommates go, so just like...don't make me buy you beer without paying me back and don't play the tv on full blast constantly and we'll be fine." that's honestly putting it lightly, but sua doesn't need to know the details.

"what about you?"

[science-lings]

🌿Time for weird thoughts and headcanons with ME!! So in the comic, the Links basically talk freely with each other, and talk occasionally to other people (like Malon, and strangers in markets), but in their games they appear to have varying levels of verbality. There could be (and probably are) a lot of reasons for this, but since I'm always on my 'holy heros' train, I have a very specific thought on this: every Hero's voice is a sacred instrument. When a Hero speaks, the world listens - trees stoop to hear their words, the wind dies down to let them through clearer, every living thing from below the earth to above the heavens seems to go briefly silent in deference. It's not every time they say something - that kind of presence can get exhausting, especially if you don't realize you're doing it - but it's often enough that, subconsciously, every Link is very aware of their words. Exposure to sacred instruments and the music they make is not harmful in brief, occasional windows, such as pieces played in rituals or festivals, but listening to one every day? That kind of casual display of divinity has the power to do anything from drive people mad to literally start tearing organs apart. A Link's family, due to blood or spiritual connection, usually is not affected so severely by lengthy listening. Zeldas and Sages are effectively immune, due to their own holy power. Many magic wielders, like Ezlo or Midna or Lana, also have a degree of resistance as a virtue of their power. Most of Demise's incarnations, like Ganondorf and Vaati, would also have that kind of resistance were it not for the fact that their power comes from Malice: as it is, when Heros speak to their Demons, they make ears bleed. (If they figured out a way to hone the ability, to shape it, they could probably talk corruption out of the possessed and sing Malice out of existence.) And, of course, the Chain can speak to each other as much as they like, since they all hold that same divinity and can't be hurt by it. The Chain tries to keep most of their conversations secluded, not necessarily out of secrecy, but because speaking around common laypeople could very easily get someone hurt. When they do speak in public, they tend to keep their voices fairly hushed as a measure of control, whether they realize it or not. Sometimes they'll revert to sign just to be safe. But it's strangely... nice, or maybe freeing, to be with each other, to be able to speak to so many people without even subconsciously worrying about hurting them with their words. Music is important to all of them, and I think they're all at least decent singers if given the chance. (Personal headcanon that Wild is a beautiful singer, the best in the group, with no other instruments and humming as much as they do.) They haven't had many chances to practice before, but now they can. When the Chain makes music together, they can make stars rattle.

***

I love this actually. Music is such an important part of Zelda games and I absolutely love giving the Links strange divine features. They could be a weaponized a capella group tbh. I like to think that all of them are just automatically musically gifted, like many of them picked up an instrument for the first time on their journeys and was instantly able to play it with little to no instruction. I really think that Wild should've had more music-related stuff in his game, like the concept art with him playing the goddesses harp is very important to me, but he's also one of the only Links to make their own music. Like with their voice. (Unless you include Wolf Twilight and Wolf Time who harmonize their howling.)

Anyway, they totally teach each other ensemble songs and songs that go in rounds that with their voices are literally magic. As someone who was once a choir kid, this concept is very cool to me.

[sage-nebula]

I hope you dont mind my asking, but wouldn't GF have decided to remove the national dex long before LGPE released? I can see those games selling well confirming to GF that "pokemon sell well regardless of cut features" but it feels strange to blame it on LGPE when the development time on the games would suggest they made this choice awhile ago. (Not to defend lgpe lack of content) Sorry if this is a bother, I just feel like I'm missing something and would really like to understand your reasoning

For almost any other game I would agree, however for Pokémon in particular:

The National Dex (insofar as the ability to transfer old pokémon over) was never going to be a Day One feature. It’s never a Day One feature in the first games of the generation. Even if they wanted to make it one, in this case they couldn’t because Home isn’t releasing until 2020. As I’ve said in other posts, if they wanted to patch in the NatDex, they’d have the time to do it. Technically speaking, they’d have the time to do it, especially since the fanbase would be willing to wait (even if there’d be a few whiners here or there) the extra time.

Since it’s not a Day One feature, it’s something that can be worked on later in the development cycle (/can even continue to be worked on after the development cycle, or at least it could be if this series were treated with the respect of, say, The Legend of Zelda series). Again, I’m not talking about DLC that’s already on the game card that needs to be activated later, I’m talking about DLC that’s patched in, content created after that you download either to the harddrive or (though I don’t know if Switch DLC works this way specifically) onto the game card itself. Given the type of content they generally want to show early in the release cycle (the general theme / concept of the games, scenes of the various areas in the region, new ‘mon), and the fact that this would be a feature added post-release anyway, we can make a safe bet that the NatDex is something they’d work on much later in the development cycle, possibly even in the last year since, again . . . they’d have that time if they wanted to use it (and if this series was treated with genuine respect).

The Let’s Go games were stated by Masuda to be the future of the franchise if they sold well. They featured a Pokédex that was limited to only the Kanto ‘Dex, plus Meltan and Melmetal. They released in November 2018, and indeed, they sold well. In early 2019 (February, IIRC) Sword & Shield were released. While of course I don’t work at Game Freak and thus can’t say for sure, I would place money on the idea that if they were even a bit on the fence about adding the National Dex, the fact that Let’s Go sold so well despite being limited to 153 ‘mon pushed them right over the edge to, “Cut the National Dex from Sword & Shield, there’s no point in working on it.” I mean, why should they expend the effort if people will buy the games anyway? Especially when President Ishihara went on record saying that long-time fans only cared about “new pokémon and features” around the time of Let’s Go’s release. Sure, they might have already been thinking about cutting the National Dex beforehand, but Let’s Go no doubt assured them that it was a safe and correct call to make.

So that’s what I mean when I say that Let’s Go’s positive sales figures sealed all of our fates. To be entirely honest, before the National Dex announcement, I was certain that we wouldn’t see the shockwaves from Let’s Go until Gen IX. But Sword & Shield having a limited ‘Dex just like Let’s Go, and having special feature ‘mon behind $60 paywalls like Let’s Go, and having core features stripped out like Let’s Go, and the fact that it’s starting to look frighteningly like the starters won’t be able to evolve like in Let’s Go . . . the effect is pretty apparent. Sure, some of this stuff was present even before Let’s Go (namely the whole “let’s ditch useful features in the name of simplifying things” tack that Masuda has been married to for years now), but in the wake of Let’s Go, it’s success, and what Masuda said would happen if it was successful, it’s really hard not to see the link.

(Note just in case anyone read too quickly: I’m not saying the starters WON’T evolve. I’m only saying that I’m starting to fear that’s the case since we’re less than a month away from release and we haven’t even seen second stage evolutions yet. Maybe they’re just trying to keep starter evolutions a surprise, that’s entirely possible, but it’s also highly suspect, and Game Freak destroyed any trust or good faith I had in them a while back.) 

As a final note, the reason why I say that the Pokémon games aren’t treated with respect is . . . well, there are a few reasons:

Game Freak stated themselves that they put their B Team on Sword & Shield while their A Team worked on Little Town Hero. They also said they wanted to create something, “as exciting, or perhaps even more exciting” than Pokémon. They’re tired of working on Pokémon, and it shows. Which, I mean, I get it, it’s been 20+ years, but in that case tell Nintendo so that they can shift the main games over to another studio. I get that Game Freak was created for the sole purpose of making Pokémon, and maybe Taijiri-san is pissed at how you’re disrespecting his baby (I would be), but for the good of the series, if you don’t want to work on it, give it to someone who does. Don’t just shift it onto your bare bones secondary dev team.

These games are in a hellish development cycle where a new one is popped out every year. Contrast this to The Legend of Zelda where, while we’ve had some anomalies where assets were able to be largely reused and so games came out only a couple years apart (see: Ocarina of Time to Majora’s Mask) --- even that had two or three years before releases, not one the very next year. Most mainline Zelda games spend five or six years in development. I’m fully aware that we will likely be waiting until something like 2022 for Breath of the Wild 2, and I am prepared to wait that time because I know the game we get will be incredible. Granted, I’m going to be dying every single time they announce a release date to push it back, but it’ll be a death I’m grateful for because I will know that the end product will be worth it. The Pokémon games used to have a similar luxury. While there were a grand total of five games released during that time (with “five games” being used loosely, given that one was a slight upgrade and the other four were really two games with slight differences between versions), Gen IV lasted for a grand total of four years. We had Diamond & Pearl in 2006, Platinum in 2008, HeartGold & SoulSilver in 2009, and then finally, Black & White in 2010. By contrast, Gen VII didn’t even last three years, technically. I mean, this November would be its third anniversary, but that’s when Gen VIII officially starts instead. To be fair, it could be argued that Gen IV didn’t have a full four years since it came out in September 2006, and Gen V came out in September 2010. But even if you make that argument, it still had a full year on Gen VII, and to be honest, that showed. The Sinnoh games are far and away not my faves, but they were still full of content. HeartGold & SoulSilver are often considered to be the best remakes in the entire franchise, and considering the content that was cut from OmegaRuby & AlphaSapphire and Masuda’s reasoning for why that content was cut, I can’t exactly argue with that even though I did genuinely enjoy ORAS. And the games that Gen IV ushered in? Controversial opinion, but I think that the Pokémon games peaked with Gen V. Black & White not only initially had a ‘dex that was nothing but new pokémon (and yet STILL included the Nat Dex later, because in Masuda’s own words he felt it cruel to keep people from playing with their faves forever!), but it also introduced a METRIC TON of new mechanics, some of which we no longer get to use (Rotation Battles? Game Freak doesn’t know her). Who knows what exactly Game Freak did with that extra year, but it was clearly a lot of work given how wonderful the games were in Gen IV and Gen V. The extra dev time showed.By contrast, Gen VII got 2.5 years (or 3 if you’re being generous). Every single game released during this gen had massive content cuts, even when comparing to Gen VI, which also had massive content cuts. Mechanics were stripped away, and Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon technically didn’t have a NatDex either, but at least you could still have all of your ‘mon in them at a later date if you wanted to. Now with Sword & Shield, we don’t even have that, despite the Switch being far more powerful than the 3DS. (We also don’t have Mega Evolution for whatever godforsaken reason, even though the Kanto Mega Evolutions at the very least were already used in Let’s Go, the fuck, Game Freak). Pokémon games print money and always have, and Game Freak has taken this and their lack of interest in the series to the depressing but I suppose logical extreme of “do whatever and they’ll buy it anyway.” There’s no love here, there’s no respect here. They just don’t care anymore, and as someone who does care an awful lot, it’s super upsetting to me.

And while people have tried to argue that the games can’t be delayed because of the anime or the card game or whatever else:

The games come first. They’ve always come first. I know some people mistakenly think that the anime came first and that the games were created later, but that is 100% false. Pokémon started as a game series and the anime was created to advertise the games, straight up.

Filler episodes exist, and the PokéAni is no stranger to them. The Orange Islands arc was an entire arc of filler created to pad time between Gens I and II. The Delacora Islands (or whatever they were called) was a filler arc meant to pad time between Gens V and VI. Arguably the majority of the Sun & Moon anime was filler, given its slice-of-life genre, meaning the anime was even less of an excuse not to delay Sword & Shield. You can’t tell me people wouldn’t have been happy with another year of the Alola crew running around getting into random adventures. People would have eaten that up and loved it. We could have had it all.

I’m not even going to dignify “but the card game” with a response lmao. This isn’t Yu-Gi-Oh!. Sure, the card game makes money, and probably a decent amount of it (merch sales probably make up the franchise’s greatest source of income, and as someone who easily spent several hundred dollars in two weeks at the PokéCenters in Japan---including over $100 in one trip to a PokéCenter while I was there, and we went multiple times---I am a big part of that), but they come up with bullshit new expansions all the time and could easily keep doing it. Again, not a reason to delay the games if the games need more time in development.

So all in all, at the end of the day, Game Freak is no longer treating these games with love and respect, which makes them an awful lot like the villains in the games they create. The Let’s Go games were harbingers of disaster for the games, and we were told this very plainly, and just about no one listened. In fact, I legitimately lost friendships with people who got mad at me for making Facebook statuses about how they should buy Let’s Go used if they absolutely had to have them because how DARE I believe Ishihara when he said that Let’s Go were considered core titles, and how DARE I believe Masuda when he said that Let’s Go would usher in the last twenty years of the franchise. Clearly, I was just being an ugly bitch. (I wish I was exaggerating, but this actually happened, I got blocked over it, it was ridiculous.) And now here we are as a result, with no hope of things getting better unless Nintendo forcibly rips Pokémon out of Game Freak’s hands, which I don’t even think they can legally do given that they only own 1/3rd of the IP. (The other 2/3rds belong to Game Freak and Creatures Inc., as I understand it.) 

TL;DR:

Pokémon is still my favorite fictional fantasy world, but as someone who has always loved the games first and foremost, the current state of it depresses me to no end.

[clockwise-works]

Had some more headcannons that came to me after the fact. ...Thanks brain, for leaving me to flop on the spot.

Zora Aging: Everyone's got their own interpretation, and this is mine. Most my works use this guideline. For roughly their first forty years, Zora's age incredibly slow. Essentially ten years is one year in Hylian. So by the age of four, their aging speeds up to a comparable rate to Hylians/Gerudo/every other race. By twenty they slow down once more, but even more drastically. It may go against canon, I don't really care. It let's me write them and the Bazz Brigade as actual childhood friends and have them grow up together.

2. I think I shared this in a server, but during his time in the Domain Link picked up ancient Zora language. It's mostly phased out by now, replaced by the universal common language used across Hyrule, but is kept around for songs, traditions, and festivals. Since he was a Hylian the elders and tutors were reluctant if not against teaching him, so Mipha and the Brigade would recount their teachings to him. There were plenty of nights where the two of them would stay up almost all night just teaching each other what they know.

3. In return, Link was just as willing to share his knowledge on farming, cooking, swordfighting, whatever he knew. As a Princess it was common/expected of the servers to do the majority of prepping food for her and the royal family. Mipha showed a genuine interest in cooking, even developing a taste for cooked meals (although Link did find a way to prepare foods so a Zora could easily enjoy them while still being enjoyable for everyone else). Even after he left, she continued to practice cooking, becoming quite good at it herself. It was another step towards being independent for her, to not have to rely on her servers.

4. Growing up, the two were quite musically talented. Link was gifted an Ocarina (probably from his mother), and Mipha had a great singing voice. The two during their downtime would practice old Zora songs, Mipha teaching Link how to properly play the notes and what the songs meant since the exact translations were lost to time. Any time they came across one that Link recognized having a Hylian counterpart, he would teach her his people's own songs. They each had a deep fascination in the unknown, and would take any opportunity to learn more about their best friend's culture.

5. A simple one, but one I like. You know when you and that one friend are on the same wavelength and give each other "that look" whenever someone else says something goofy/ridiculous? Link and Mipha definitely have that. It wouldn't be uncommon for someone (Probably Revali) to say some stupid shit and the two of them to glance over at each other like "you hear this shit?"

6. Goponga Village is one of their favorite spots to frequent. Even when the two were just friends, it was uncommon in most areas to see Zora/Hylians together, the two races seemingly keeping a "diplomatic yet distant" dynamic. (The elder Zora's still bitter over wars from centuries ago, and their general reclusiveness has led to somewhat unease between them.) Goponga is the exception to this, as it's a village populated by both Zoras and Hylians, thriving together. It's really the perfect settlement for them, a perfect mix of both of their cultures.

Some of these will most likely be worked into one of my projects, and hopefully I can come up with more. I've got most of Link's upbringing mapped out which is where most of these came from, and am planning out Mipha's, Zelda's, and the other Champions as of now.

Have any random miphlink headcanons to share? :0

Honestly my thoughts come to me in my dreams like prophetic visions, so I don't really have much off the top of my head. I did have this thought for a cancelled fic "The Lost Champions" that kinda fits the bill.

I'm torn on if I believe this in canon, but at least in the fic it was going to be alluded to that Purah got the idea of an Anti-Aging Rune from Link. He brought it up one day, wondering "if there were any way to extend one's life, for medial purposes obviously." She didn't think much of it (probably not even registering it and instead storing it in the back of her head).

But, 100 years is a lot of time to reflect, and watching him and Mipha interact without their memories (a strong bond seemingly already forming between them), she gets an idea to what Link was alluding it.

Like I said I'm torn on if I genuinely believe this in canon, but it was an interesting thought regardless I guess.

[16mistypaw]

Can't say I was expecting a run through the whole timeline here 😆

I haven't played a lot of the games myself, so what I know is either LU or from the Wikipedia rabbit hole. I'm slowly working my way through playing them, albeit backwards. Anyway, responses to the ones I actually have some knowledge and thoughts on.

Skyward Sword: Absolutely agree, they were lovebirds from the beginning

Ocarina of Time/Majora: Def no attraction to Zelda. My understanding is Zelda was Sheik for a large portion of the game, so I feel like that'd create an awkwardness between them when she finally revealed herself. I do like him being paired with Malon like in LU

Twilight Princess: Still playing through the game, but yes, Midna definitely grew on him throughout their time together. It's sad that it didn't work out, but I could see Ilia happening as well, since the game makes it clear they already have some sort of established relationship.

Wind Waker: Next on my list to play, I kinda knew about them establishing New Hyrule together, but I will have to wait and see what my thoughts are once I actually play it.

Link's Awakening: The only one of Legend's games I've played, and sadly did not finish it. I do intend to go back to it at some point though. That being said, I don't have an opinion on him and Zelda, and of course he had feelings for Marin. I don't think he'd have much, if any, interest in anyone else for quite some time if at all.

Hyrule Warriors: Haven't played, but I've seen a bit of gameplay as well as all the cutscenes to get an idea of the story. I don't see a connection between him and Zelda at all. Cia is not an option at all, she was so messed up, and Lana honestly gave me weird vibes too. IF Link ever got together with someone, it would be long after he's had time to work through stuff, and it wouldn't be any of the characters we know.

Age of Calamity: Is a timeline split pre-BotW, right? Link and Mipha are definitely the pairing of choice here from what little I've seen.

BotW/TotK: I'm not sure about BotW (I accidentally speedran the game pretty much), but I know Mipha is gone by then. If BotW is a split timeline from AoC, I could see Link struggling with lingering feelings for someone that's no longer around. Link probably wouldn't have an interest in Zelda until post BotW at the soonest. Though I feel like they were verging into romantic territory by TotK

Echoes of Wisdom: Not sure how much to say here, since you're still playing, so I'll try to keep it vague. They don't know each other. At all. I kinda feel like she maybe had a crush on him near the end of the game, but I see them settling into being casual friends that made a connection from everything they went through. (I do think it's adorable though that Zelda keeps his cloak the entire game. Wonder if she ever gave it back afterwards)

In regards to that ask about Legend, I've always liked the idea of him being Fable's half sibling or something, because it is a different Link/Zelda dynamic. I also think Legend wouldn't really be interested in relationships after the whole Marin thing. It does get tiring when Link is always paired with Zelda.

That being said, what are some of your favorite Link/Zelda dynamics? Or who might a Link be interested in instead? Sky and Sun are the only ones I can't see with anyone else, and I know you like Mipha/Wild. Which if I had actually taken my time with BoTW I probably would too, but I don't know enough of the story there to really have an opinion

There are some who like the whole “Link & Zelda are destined to be soulmates no matter what and that means romance all the time,” and if that floats your boat, sure. But I do definitely prefer variety. Also I could make a really cursed observation about Zelink through the ages based on the reincarnation that’s mildly implied, but for the sake of my lovelies who adore all the Zelink, I won’t 😂

I’m probably just gonna sound like I’m repeating myself from other asks, sorry, I haven’t played all the Zelda games so I can only truly speak to the ones that I have, but I’ll throw in my two cents for the ones that I’ve at least seen play through snippets/vibes I get from LU/ideas I liked.

Skyward Sword: They’re definitely, 100% in love, and they are adorable. 10/10 pairing

Minish Cap: They’re childhood friends to my knowledge, so it could go either way, I think. They’re so young in this game, I can’t say what’s gonna happen to them. Definitely would stay friends though.

Ocarina of Time/Majora’s Mask: It’s so complicated. I can see Adult timeline Zelda having an attraction to him, having hoped and prayed for his return to see a handsome young man appear. I can see Link physically being attracted to her while not entirely comprehending what that means because he’s still nine, and I can see than becoming an issue when he does naturally grow a little older. I can see Link being unable to separate the Zelda in the “nonexistent” timeline he fought alongside from the Zelda in his current timeline, who didn’t have to endure the same trials and therefore isn’t exactly the same, and I can see that messing him up too. So I feel like they’d be friends at best, have a professional relationship with maybe some fondness being likely, or cold and distant at worst. It seems most likely that they’re friends but Link keeps her at an arm’s length… by Majora’s Mask he seems to keep everyone at an arm’s length, tbh.

Twilight Princess: Eh. They could be friends, they could become lovers, it could work. But there definitely isn’t enough in the game to say for sure with the latter option. Link very clearly finds her beautiful based on his reaction to seeing her the first time, but he also had the same reaction to Midna lol, boy just goes :O with every pretty girl he sees. 😂 I think he had more chemistry with Midna but he also had time to develop that relationship, and since she’s gone that’s a sadly moot point anyway. But most likely, I think he’ll either end up with Ilia (he does seem to genuinely care about her, and you can see she has some strong feelings for him… you can make them a sibling dynamic or romantic, I haven’t played through the entire game yet so I can’t say for sure, but I can see them getting together) or someone completely different, despite his restlessness at the end of the game, he seems very much a guy who would settle somewhere quiet and have a family eventually. He’s very domestic and gentle and stuff ☺️ And honestly it would be interesting and fun to see the quiet, regal, stoic Queen Zelda get invited to middle-of-nowhere country village to wind down, or for her to invite Link to the castle and his kids sneak along and cause chaos or something 😂

Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass: I’m pretty sure Tetra and Link found New Hyrule together, so it’s heavily implied they’re a thing. From what I’ve seen they have cute chemistry together, so I’m down for it.

Spirit Tracks: I’ve barely seen anything about this game, but given Zelda is the companion for this one she at least is one of the likelier Zeldas to be in a romantic relationship with Link. Dunno 😅🤷🏻‍♀️ everyone seems to think they are, so I guess I’ll go with it

A Link to the Past/Link’s Awakening/Oracle games: I honestly really like the implication that Zelda and Link are siblings. It’s very different from the others and could have so much potential for either fun or angst! Or both! Link obviously has feelings for Marin, and I do think he’d definitely need a break from romance after Koholint. I can’t say he’d never be interested in another relationship after that, but definitely not for a while.

A Link Between Worlds: 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️ not a clue, never seen an interaction between them

Four Swords: Also not a clue lol

Legend of Zelda/Adventure of Link: I mean, clearly they’re at least friends if Link’s still helping her out six years later, that’s all I’ve got 🤷🏻‍♀️😂

Hyrule Warriors: Ugh. This game lol. They give each other lovey dovey looks, so sure. Why not. At least make Zelda interesting if you’re (general you, not specifically you) gonna write it though. Idk. Honestly, them being war buddies is awesome. But the way this game portrays Zelink grinds my gears so I usually struggle to get beyond that. Link honestly should probably just be left alone after he has Cia’s creepy self stalking after him while simultaneously trying to kill him (girl did not know what she wanted, nor did she know what clothes were). Of Link’s options, he definitely wouldn’t want Cia, Lana would be sweet and loving and kind but he probably couldn’t get beyond her being a part of Cia (RIP poor girl, I really do like her and she genuinely loves Link), and Zelda would be ok. Both Zelda and Lana could be war buddies with Link, which is fun. I don’t think Link/Lana could happen because Cia, and I can see the war and politics after the fact impeding Link/Zelda. LET LINK JUST FIGURE HIMSELF OUT DANG IT HE’S A TRAUMATIZED WAR VETERAN WHO HAS BEEN SEXUALLY HARASSED.

Age of Calamity: Link/Mipha all the way! It’s heavily implied in BotW canon that they were a thing anyway, and here they get the chance to actually live! And be together! As such, I feel like Link is a very caring friend to Zelda, and I also think a strong friendship/siblinglike relationship between Zelda and the Miphlink couple would be adorable (and very beneficial for diplomatic relations between the Zora and Hyrule). I know in botw Zelda had a crush on Link prior to the calamity after he rescued her, not sure if that’s the case in AoC because I haven’t finished the game but it seems less pronounced. Either way, a crush isn’t the same as a strong friendship changing into a romantic one. Also I had this idea that Zelda, being the scientist she is and far more interested in just helping rebuild her kingdom (and perhaps not knowing how to cope with being alone when the guy she crushed on is married), announces some kind of competition or presentation for eligible bachelors and Link and Mipha are facepalming and Link (and Urbosa) is 100% gonna vet all the men by glaring at them from behind the queen and Mipha’s gonna be the Vibe Check girl (Daruk thinks they’re all nice, mostly; Revali is like “keep me out of this nonsense” but will low key stalk all the bachelors to make sure they’re up to snuff)

Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom: Given the fact that these two traumatized beans only have each other for points of reference/mutual understanding of their trauma and entire viewpoint, they very likely get together. I have a hard time with it only because people are so insistent on botw Zelink that they completely disregard Mipha and ship Link with Zelda before the calamity as well, which I do not. But honestly, botw/TotK Zelink is fine with me. Though TotK keeps it so vague sometimes, I feel like you can reasonably imply that maybe they haven’t gotten together yet by that point but they’re very close to doing so. Or it’s early in their romantic relationship.

Echoes of Wisdom: TBD! They haven’t interacted much yet from where I am in the game (Gerudo Desert), but considering (MILD SPOILERS) they didn’t even know each other until he rescued her, it’s gonna take a lot to convince me they’re gonna fall in love. Also, it’s hard to tell how old they are with this chibi style but I get the vibe they’re on the younger teenager side? Nothing’s set in stone for relationships at that age.

…I think that’s all of them?