#the gerudo

[golvio]

I feel like a bit of a ding-dong for not noticing this sooner, but the intro establishes a solar motif for Zelda.

First, our introduction to her, when she appears in Link’s dreams as a distant star:

And then when she speaks to Link as he’s leaving the Shrine of Resurrection, when the shot literally transitions her distant light into the light of the sun coming from the entrance to the Shrine:

I feel a bit silly for not calling that out during my playthrough when I first talked about the Deku Tree comparing Zelda’s smile to the light of the sun, but then again, I didn’t start explicitly looking for celestial/planetary symbolism until I was a few Shrines deep and was like, “Huh, those Sheikah Monks sure do love outer space, don’t they?”

I wonder if the Gerudo’s preoccupation with sun symbolism in their art/weapons signified their allegiance with Hyrule over time, particularly since it seems like the moon was more important in “ancient rituals” but fell out of favor over time. By Link’s era, the only traces of these moon rituals left in their cultural memory are that one of their more popular weapons was based on the shape of these ancient ceremonial swords. It makes sense that Urbosa’s weapons would have the most big honkin’ obvious solar motifs (”Daybreaker,” anyone?) due to her loyalty to Zelda being one of her defining traits.

It also makes me curious about whether TotK could elaborate more about the sun/moon contrast between Zelda and Ganondorf. It might also finally explain why Ganondorf chose throwing a shadow over the actual moon in a mini-eclipse as one of his chief instruments of revenge. If the moon was really of immense cultural/religious significance to the Gerudo before they were fully annexed into Hyrule, well, there are some interesting implications in using it as a ritual tool.

[breaths-of-fresh-air-zelink]

[schpog-art]

Link is setting an unrealistic standard for voe at the “voe and you” classroom. ✨

[ora-illustration]

Linktober 2024 Day 7 - ROYALTY

[charlesoberonn]

Ah yes, the magical races of Hyrule:

Elves

Rock people

Fish people

Bird people

Forest fairies

Hot women

[chokkokat-art]

Linktober 2024 Day 11: Music/Dance 🎵💃

[wall-maria-around-ba-sing-se]

Interesting detail: modern BoTW-era Gerudo have pointy Hylian ears from years of intermingling, but Ganondorf is so old he still has round ears

[pocketseizure]

Designer's Note: Even though she still retains traces of girlishness (like keeping sand seal plushies in her room), we aimed for Riju's design to emphasize her elegant strength and refinement as a more mature leader of the Gerudo.

Other members of the dev staff asked why Riju cut her hair. The reason is that we wanted to establish Riju as a "cool beauty" who's somewhat removed from the rest of the Gerudo, who are often concerned with everyday matters of fashion and romance. We also wanted to facilitate her style of swordsmanship, in which she wields twin blades in a graceful dance. We imagine Riju as being the type of person who wouldn't hesitate to cut her hair if it became a hindrance in battle.

[hostofhorus999]

so i did end up wanting to do all the champions :P

continuation of this post

thank you so much for everybody who interacted w link! u made the 14yo deviantart girly inside me so happy!!!!

[hanromi]

Did a pose study, Urbosa as the Sage of Lightning! I love totk but I do miss the Champions TT

[luckylectio]

Halloween with the Chain, featuring our LU heroes in their various "costumes"!

[golvio]

Interesting weapon description I spotted in the Gerudo region:

Moonlight Scimitar: Delicate Gerudo carvings decorate this curved sword. The engraved blade is extremely sharp. Apparently it once served ceremonial purposes in festivals.

It makes me wonder if the Yiga using similarly curved and possibly moon-themed weapons is an attempt to keep those “ceremonies” alive, if they’re connected with Ganondorf specifically. It also makes me wonder if some Gerudo do end up becoming Ganon sympathizers in TotK, if they’ll amp up the lunar iconography in their weaponry.

[yasmeensh]

The comforts of palace life are still within reach for Zelda with the Tri-rod ✨

[schpog-art]

Gerudo shamelessly judging poor Link 😔🧡

[daeyumi]

Sentinels 🌅🏜️☀️

[2022]

[bpnguyenart]

Riju Timeskips 💅 ft. Patricia, the best sand seal 🦭