#where like. neither of you actually dislike each other you're just 16 and dont know how to handle your mental problems

[blueskittlesart]

tbh people who hate on botw zelda are ignoring the message(? idk how to explain but like. the whole plot is link trying to save the world and her. how do you finish the game thinking that zelda is the worst person in hyrule or that she abused link bc some ppl say she did how do you even decide to save her ik it would be like basic human decency but do you really think link would do this just because? he needs to see her again- idk i’m so confused idek if i’ve worded this properly lmao

idk how many of you know this about me but i deliberately avoid almost all zelda fan content for this specific reason. because if i ever encountered a take like "botw zelda abused link" in the wild i would get so angry i'd embarrass myself

anyway you're correct. there's a general trend in fandom where people like to ignore all but surface-level characterization and/or latch on to one specific character and consider everything else only through the lens of THAT character, and that's the only way i think you can come up with a take like "zelda is abusive"--by latching onto link and refusing to analyze anyone except him beyond surface level. because to come up with this means that you have to understand link on some level--you need to realize that he is traumatized and forced into a role he doesn't necessarily want to play and that a lot of zelda's early actions towards him only fuel his self-isolating tendencies. but you also have to deliberately ignore the (arguably MORE OBVIOUS IN CANON) trauma that ZELDA is going through at the exact same time. to call zelda abusive for her lack of insight into link's feelings is to refuse to view her for what she is--a traumatized, manipulated, hurting CHILD. she's sixteen years old. and i think it is also a somewhat revisionist take in that it completely ignores that link's issues with communication were HIS problem. they were inflicted upon him by the destiny he was forced into, yes, and i'm by no means trying to suggest that he was wrong or bad for being mute, but it's unfair to shift ALL the blame to zelda in this situation. they were BOTH unwilling to communicate with each other. they BOTH misunderstood each other at first and they both had to work to find the common ground they eventually do. i think that because link is the player character, it's easier to ignore the mistakes that HE made and shift all the blame for the tense relationship pre-calamity to zelda, but link's self-isolation, self-sacrifice, etc. are explicitly negative aspects of his character that caused just as much tension as zelda's inferiority complex. this was not a one-sided situation and it pisses me off when people want to paint it that way because they think women arent people they're just bitches