#wind's look is inspired by phantom hourglass

[felkithecreator]

The only LU boys I'd actually properly drawn so far (other than that one piece with everybody) was Triple Threat, plus a little bit of Ravio, so I thought it'd be fun to try drawing a completely different trio this time!!

So the War of Eras brothers it was.

(additional notes and stuff under the cut)

I personally headcanon the War of Eras to have pre-LU Wars and Time (ofc) and then post-LU Wind. I think that's just a fun interesting dynamic (and I'm planning on drawing a short comic about it soon whoops).

And one of my friend's favorites is Warriors so that was another motivator whoops.

Since I've recently been trying out all sorts of different types of lighting, I tried to go for dappled lighting for piece!! I... don't know how well it worked out, but I did try, at least.

(Fun lore thoughts I had: I usually draw Wars with an eyebrow piercing - but since this is pre-LU he's without. And Wind, post-LU, gets an eyebrow piercing. I think it'd be kinda funny if they inspired each other's eyebrow piercings.)

Who should I draw next?

[weepingtalecowboy]

Fanfic prompt: during the final fight of windwaker daphnes didn’t antagonize ganondorf

And he , wind and tetra all came to an agreement that he can bring his people to Hyrule (or what remains of them because he was gone for a while)

And he quickly realized that the Gerudo and hylians cooperated enough that now there is nearly no full blood hylians and Gerudo

Because both were people and in enough desperation to throw race separation into the Dead Sea

Because there is no way both could survive by themselves (inspired by wind waker's round but pointy ear art style like they are SO round )

And now he has to drag everyone into Hyrule because he did say all his people would find a safe haven in his kingdom

And all the people are happy to go because living room is getting smaller with the rising population and Hyrule has a ton of land to offer

So many people go to Hyrule and the triforce wearers build the government up again

Tetra still has problems with ganondorf but she is also under no circumstances giving up her freedom to rule

So they just go and drag wind into the position of heir so that ganondorf has to give up the throne to someone she trusts with her entire life

Because she doesn’t want to be Zelda so he can be princess Zelda if he is this obsessed with fulfilling the king’s wish of a new land (she established the new land she did her part already now leave her alone destiny)

She does sometimes appear to throw in her five cents in during discussions

The Rito are happy to make peace but only if their savior who has saved their great Valoo ends up as part of the leading group

Everything’s going well and a small settlement has already been made and trade with the islands is going well

Ganondorf is insisting on reviving cultural traditions of the Gerudo tribe

And phantom hourglass was over in 10 minutes anyway so it still can happen in this story

Then linked universe happens and with the heir of new Hyrule just gone

Everyone freaks out badly because without the “princess” all agreements and alliances would be in danger

And a massive search happens

Everyone is pinching in because the new settlement could fall apart and the people can’t afford to lose their new homes

The Rito who probably consider the hero of the winds the next best thing after sliced bread

Ganondorf has to give the throne to the one who holds the name Zelda to appease the king (who hasn’t left and stayed salty over ganondorf living in his land

And Tetra and her crew are not going to lose their baby crew mate and she also genuinely doesn’t want to be Zelda

So when the chain appears in Wind's Hyrule they immediately get arrested for stealing the heir of new Hyrule

And time and the chain flips out when seeing ganondorf as the king of Hyrule

Because that looks like an uprising in the making

Time and ganondorf officially hate eachother because they remember each other

Divorced couple goals

Time gets wind every weekend

[ordon-shield]

Animated Zelda Adaptions

With recent discussion of an animated Zelda film to follow the Mario movie, I got to thinking about ways to adapt different Zelda games into animation. While a Zelda movie wouldn’t necessarily need to be an adaption of a specific game, with the variety of styles the series has gone through over the years, they’d need to pick one to go with — so here’s my thoughts.

Zelda 1/Adventure of Link/A Link to the Past/Link’s Awakening

I’m putting these four together because I think they could all be adapted into animation the same way — based of the original official art, in the style of an 80s cartoon (just with a bit more of a budget). Each game could be a season of a TV show, expanding on the somewhat limited plot by making it episodic and using the extra time to expand on the characters and world within that format.

Ocarina of Time/Majora’s Mask

For these two, I think stopmotion in the style of Laika (known for Coraline & Kubo and the Two Strings) would work the best (or using 3D stylised to resemble stopmotion, like the Lego Movie). The OoT style doesn’t seem like one that would translate to 2D very well, and I think it would be fun to borrow some ideas from the Link’s Awakening remake for the Switch and have the character designs stylised so they look almost like action figures. While Ocarina of Time would have to be a movie, Majora’s Mask just wouldn’t work in that format, since the sidequests are so vital to the overall story, meaning a one season series would probably be the best way to adapt it.

Oracle of Ages/Seasons

I’ve never played these two myself, but I think going more ‘anime’ with them would work well, although it would be fun to work in the pixel art of the original games somehow. Like the other Downfall Timeline games, these ones would would work best as a TV series — maybe three seasons, one for Ages, one for Seasons, and one for the linked games ending but adding in extra story where Link travels between Holodrum and Labrynna. For an animation studio, someone suggested Toei Animation, who apparently did the animation for the LA remake.

Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass/Spirit Tracks

Wind Waker, the one that got me thinking about animated Zelda in the first place! I think this is the only Zelda game that would work with Illumination due to its more cartoony style, although other studios like DreamWorks would also work. Although if it was done in 2D, based on the official art, Cartoon Saloon would definitely pull it off. Wind Waker would work pretty well as a movie with pretty minimal changes needed to the plot, and Phantom Hourglass/Spirit Tracks could make up a Zelda trilogy.

Minish Cap/Four Swords Adventures

Leaving out the original Four Swords due to its complete lack of story — I think these two would work with a similar style to the Wind Waker trilogy, although I’d definitely prefer them to be 2D over 3D. Minish Cap would definitely work as a movie, but I’m not sure about FSA, it probably depends on how much is pulled from the manga.

Twilight Princess

Much like Ocarina of Time, I don’t think the Twilight Princess artstyle as it is would work in 2D. Based on their work like Wolfwalkers and Screecher’s Reach, I think Cartoon Saloon could definitely replicate the vibes of the original game in a more cartoony style. Alternatively, they could go full anime with this one — although it would definitely work better as something more inspired by 90s anime and its more realistic proportions.

Skyward Sword

Initially I was leaning towards Ghibli and while it would definitely work, just doesn’t feel right to me. Maybe Toei again? I’m not too familiar with Japanese animation studios, but Skyward Sword is definitely a good fit for the typical ‘anime’ look. Also I don’t think 3D would work here.

A Link Between Worlds

While technically a sequel/remake to A Link to the Past, the differences in art style make me feel that this one should have its own look — preferably 3D so the contrast with Link’s painting form is strengthened.

Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom

These ones have got to be Ghibli, there’s no question about it there. The big question is do you make them each a series, or a movie with a number of timeskips? Either one has benefits and downsides.

[anicomicqueen]

Zelda Theory: Fi the Fairy Queen

Okay, so this post by @twilight-linkess inspired me to move forward with a theory I had. This got way too long. Ye who travel onward beware. Here there be theories.

The gist of my theory is that Fi is a fully matured Fairy Queen and that Fairy Queen is a specific species of fairy. I also think Fi and all fairies (Fairy Queens, Great Fairies, Fairies, etc.) are  raised to help heroes with their magic.  With Fi, I think she excelled as a fairy which ended with her earning the title of “Sword Spirit.” And maybe was specially chosen for her particular set of skills to be the Fairy that would inhabit the Master Sword for thousands of years.

If this is of interest to you, I have some more to say...A lot more to say. 

So first things first.

Here is a Fairy Queen from The Wind Waker:

And here is an image of Fi from Skyward Sword:

These two look so so so so similar. Everything from base color palette to hair and nearly unreadable facial expression, with solid color eyes. The biggest difference being that the Fairy Queen from Wind Waker looks like a child but is apparently “much older,” according to the ZeldaWiki.

But if Fairy Queens were a specific subspecies of fairies, they could potentially have a lifespan of tens of thousands of years, meaning even if she is “old” by Hylian standards or Zora standards, or what have you, she could theoretically still be a child by Fairy standards.

The Fairy Queen and Fi also have similar powers.

The Fairy Queen in Wind Waker has weapon based abilities. I have yet to play WW, but according to the wiki, her specific ability is she imbues arrows with ice or fire powers.

Maybe each type of fairy has their special magic category. Fairy Queens are weapon/item related. Great Fairies are health or armor related, depending on the refinement of their ability. Regular Fairies are healing powers only. Etc.

And going off that, maybe at a young age, Fairy Queens would still have elemental or weapon-based magic, but would only be able to supply a smaller bit of magic to weapons and items such as adding elemental attacks.

Then as Fairy Queens age, they refine their subset of powers and undergo some form of coming of age ceremony where they are finally able to adopt a weapon form or are able to more powerfully perform elemental attacks. Like I dunno, harnessing the wind perhaps? Which takes us to the Gale Boomerang.

First, take a look at some details on the Gale Boomerang:

And some details on the Master Sword:

And some details on Fi’s body:

These inlaid gems are notably missing from the child-like Fairy Queen from Wind Waker, supporting the theory that she has yet to undergo her coming of age to become an item or weapon meant to aid the hero.

Fi on the other hand would have already undergone her coming of age, and based on her very terrible social skills and obsession with percentages, she was probably a prodigy even among Fairy Queens, resulting in her being specially chosen by Hylia to be a Sword Spirit. Tasked with assisting Hylia in creating one of the most powerful type of weapons heroes will use: A blade that seals darkness.

In Fi’s case, she was to become the Goddess Sword/Master Sword. But maybe the Four Sword, Lokomo Sword, Phantom Hourglass Sword, Great Fairy Sword, and Fierce Diety Sword are also Sword Spirit weapons crafted by a god and a Fairy Queen.

Anywho, that was a bit of a tangent, so what about the Fairy of Winds? What do they have to do with this again?

Well, Fi is a spirit that inhabits the Master Sword, which can talk to Link (and Zelda).

And the Gale Boomerang is another weapon with a spirit that can also talk to Link (and probably Zelda).

If both of these items are weapons with spirits bound to help the hero and they can both talk to the hero who wields them, (given that they still have enough strength and energy to do so), isn’t it possible that the Fairy of Winds and Fi are the same type of being? In this case, Fairy Queens?

If so, the Fairy of Winds may have at one point been able to manifest a physical body like Fi’s does in Skyward Sword after they inhabited the Gale Boomerang. Which I think is a pretty neat idea.

And I like to think that if the Fairy of Winds were able to manifest, she would have similar diamonds on her chest and head, she would probably be dressed slightly different, and she would probably have different base colors.

And—

Wait...

There is another weapon that can do all these things as well now that I think about it.

I’ll be right back.

Okay.

Look ye upon Ghirahim:

Did you notice he also has those diamonds? And the hair? And the eyes? And he can turn into a weapon? And he can talk to the hero as well as the person who wields him?

Because he can!

Which means...

That’s right! 

Ghirahim would ALSO have to be a Fairy Queen. Or a Fairy King, perhaps? 

Ahhh! 

((Okay, future Ani here. This all starts to devolve into pure insanity and  headcanon from here on so like, if you’re anybody is still around and still reading, feel free to stop reading now. Or carry on. Thanks for reading this far. 😅 ))

Okay hear me out. But like, what if Fairy Queens/Kings are all inherently good from the beginning? Because their purpose is to help heroes. That would mean there is a chance that Ghirahim was at one point good. Possibly really good at performing Fairy Queen/King magic even. Maybe even a contender for being chosen as the spirit for the Master Sword. Maybe he resented the fact that Fi was chosen over him and Demise saw the opportunity to act, corrupting Ghirahim forever.

Or maybe Ghirahim was the first Sword Spirit, but was eventually forgotten after Fi came into being centuries later. The new and improved Ghirahim. And then Ghirahim and Demise both fell to the darkness of envy, corrupting both of them forever as Fi and Hylia took center stage among the gods.

Man, I have many new headcanons about an entire race of Fairy Queens and Kings that I need to make more notes about now. 

All I can think is that they train for millennia to hone their skills as children, then as they get older they must undergo their own trials, just as Link must in the various games. This is turning into an anime in my head now...I have a problem. 

But seriously! 

Maybe the better they perform in their trials, the more glorious the weapon they turn into. 

So for the Fairy of Winds, they weren’t the top of their class like Fi or Ghirahim who earned the Sword Spirit title, rather they earned the opportunity to be a magic item that would forever be passed down among heroes to aid them in their quest. Maybe they couldn’t be a Sword Spirit because their elemental magic was too good to be anything but an item tied to their area of expertise. 

And like, what if as the years go by, the magic drains the fairy of their vitality?

Everything gets more difficult with age. 

Even for fairies. 

That’s why the Gale Boomerang speaks only once to Link in TP. She is old and tired, but still willing to help, even if this is the last of her magic. 

The same problem can be seen with Fi in BOTW. It’s why Fi can no longer manifest a physical body and can rarely speak anymore. 10,000 years was a long time, even my Fairy Queen standards. She finds herself resting more frequently and for longer intervals, but she has a duty. What if she feels like Link falling was her fault in her old age? (I’ve seen fics on this and they have been great, btw.)

Maybe in the next game, Link will have to put Fi to rest and transfer a new Fairy soul into the Master Sword. Or maybe another sword will need to be forged with a new Sword Spirit. 

Ya know....just some thoughts I’ve had. Definitely revamped after that comic. 

I’m hyped. 

Thanks for reading!

[linked-history]

Next request was Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass so here is Link nicknamed Gull. I included his Outset Island clothing (which is inspired by clothing seen on villagers in Lurelin village from BotW) as well as his Hero Garb from Wind Waker. I also decided that a few years pass between Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass so the two designs on the right are his Phantom Hourglass looks during the adventure as well as his final look. Some design choices I made for this design was the inclusion of the wrap around Link's waist in Wind Waker, the idea is that everyone on the island wears one and the color marks family, the beads on the cord that hold the wrap in place marks the members of the family, the darker beads mark the older members while the lighter beads mark the youngest. The shell necklace that link wears is a piece of jewelry left from his mother that he wears and his grandma mentions to pass on to the one who he wishes to ask for marriage. 

BEFORE THE ADVENTURE

Link grew up on the small island of Outset with his younger sister Aryll and their grandmother following the disappearance of their parents small fishing vessel. On the island Link and his sister help their grandma and the other inhabitants with farming and fishing, Link typically acting as a babysitter for the children on the island. Following the traditions of his island on his 10th birthday he is gifted a green garb made in honor of a hero of legend, one called the Hero of Time who wore a similar garment. Despite how uncomfortable the garment may be in the heat of his home island Link wears it with pride and goes to meet with his sister on the lookout spot of the island, where he receives her telescope on lone for the day. It is during this interaction when Aryll and Link watch as a stranger is dropped into the forest on the top of their island by a giant bird.  

DURING THE ADVENTURE

After Aryll was taken in Tetra's place Link gains the family shield from his grandma and joins Tetra's crew to sale to the Forsaken Fortress to save his sister. After the initial attempt fails Link wakes up on WindFall Island and is joined by a talking boat who claims it's name is the King of Red Lions, after an initial period of panic and freaking out Link understand the this boat is willing and able to help him so the two end of sailing the seas helping inhabitants of a number of islands and running into/avoiding Tetra's crew as they work towards and unknown goal. After Link rescues his sister and she is taken to Tetra's ship the two go to face off against Ganon though are overwhelmed and are later saved by the Rito, following the lead of the King of Red Lions Link and Tetra discover the truth and Tetra, now Zelda, is left in hiding within the secret shelter under the sunken remains of the Castle of what remains of Hyrule.  After defeating Ganon and returning Aryll to Outset, Link joins Tetra's crew and explores the rest of the seas, exchanging letters with his sister and grandma regularly. During this time they hear rumors of a ghost ship that follows an impassable wall of fog. They set out to the uncharted seas where the ship/fog are most common to face the ship and it's crew to make the sea safe again. When the mysterious ghost ship finds them Tetra races ahead to fight of the opposing crew. Link and Tetra are separated after a strike of lighting hits the ship and Link is sent into the sea before waking up on a new island and meets Oshus and later Linebeck. With the cowardly captains help Link travels the seas, defeating bosses and saving islands before returning to the ghost ship and saving Tetra. During this journey Link's red coat is destroyed, and he is frustrated as it is destroyed as it was a gift from Tetra.

AFTER THE ADVENTURE

After saving Tetra from the ghost ship she and Link continue their exploration of the sea and looking for new land to rebuild Hyrule on. During this time Link gifts Tetra the shell necklace he wore as a way to express his intentions of forming a deeper relationship with her and they continue on adventure. As they travel the crew gifts Link a new coat, featuring the blue that he wore on his island home of outset as well as the Lobster symbol of the island. Link also shows more of the green that people of the sea associate with the previous hero as he comes to accept his new title following his second adventure.

[karaloza]

Legend of Zelda Theme Park - Undeveloped Ideas

More theme park stuff! This time around, I’m listing some things that I would like to include, but haven’t been able to develop well enough to make “official,” so to speak. I would welcome any ideas my readers might have in that direction.

Desert Area

There is one major recurring environment type that’s missing from the park as it stands, and that’s the desert. The reason for this is twofold. First, the existing themed areas make a nice compact shape, fairly symmetrical and logically arranged with respect to each other. I can’t figure out a place to put the desert that wouldn’t look like an awkward tumor grafted onto the side.

Second, I couldn’t come up with many ideas for attractions in the desert—in the games, such areas mostly seem to be traversal challenges, with hazards along the way that make traveling difficult, but not much to see or do until you get to the dungeon or other destination at the end. And in the real world, deserts mostly are not considered very nice places to visit, unlike forests and waterways and mountains. I bounced around a couple ideas but wasn’t able to make much of them:

A sand-seal racing ride. Pretty much taken directly from the minigame in Breath of the Wild, with ride vehicles shaped like a seal pulling a sled, carrying riders at high speed around a track whilst being threatened by monsters. Fine on its own, but I felt it wasn’t distinct enough, tone-wise, from the other thrill rides I had already developed in more detail.

Kara Kara Bazaar. A colorful mini-district of shops and eateries, to get in some Gerudo cultural flavor while maintaining the worldbuilding detail that where men and boys are forbidden from visiting Gerudo Town itself.

Gerudo martial arts show. Taking place in the Bazaar, this would be a procession of Gerudo performers (tall female athletes with serious abs—what a casting call that would be!) through the area ending at a small stage where they would put on a demonstration of Gerudo combat techniques.

You’ll notice that I haven’t been able to get away from the BotW/TotK desert for my inspirations, which is part of my problem. Hopefully I’ll overcome the block and a fully fleshed out desert area can be added to the park!

Great Sea Water Park

As you’ve read through my theme park writeups, you may have noticed few or no specific references to games like Link’s Awakening, Wind Waker, and Phantom Hourglass. This is because the base setting of these games—the ocean and/or islands—is different enough from “standard” Zelda that I couldn’t figure out a graceful way to merge them with the overall themed pastiche. So I decided the best way to include them was in a “sister” waterslide park such as many theme parks have right next door (Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, Knott’s Soak City, LEGOLand California Water Park, etc.).

The only problem here is that...I don’t have much experience visiting water parks. When I was a kid, swimming/water fun outings took the form of a) the beach or b) my grandparents’ swimming pool. I remember one trip to a park called Wild Rivers, but not many details—slides, wave pools of varying intensity, a “river” encircling the whole thing where you could spend two hours drifting on the current in an inner tube… It’s not enough for me to make generalizations about water parks as a phenomenon or design my own.

Nonetheless, I think a water park would be the ideal expression of those sea-focused games—slides themed around places like Dragon Roost Island and Mount Tamaranch, pirate ship playgrounds, maybe a flume ride or two, the Windfall Island Ferris wheel… Besides the aforementioned games, features could draw inspiration from seaside areas in other games such as Lurelin Village and the Great Bay (leaving Zora’s Domain in the big park to focus on freshwater.) There’s potential here, I just don’t have the chops to work it out in detail.

Tarrey Town Suites

Another thing you often find in association with theme parks is themed hotels, extending the experience for multi-day guests. This is especially appropriate for Zelda, because have you ever noticed how many of the games begin with Link literally waking up in the morning? And of course inns and taverns have become a common feature in the games, starting with the Stock Pot Inn in Majora’s Mask. I opted to make that one a restaurant in the theme park because of the name, but there was still plenty of material to inspire a hotel, and I soon realized that Breath of the Wild introduced not only unique inns for each of its fantasy races and communities, but a concept for gathering them all in one location.

Tarrey Town Suites would not be a single hotel, but a complex of buildings, each one themed to a different people—Hylians, Sheikah, Gerudo, Gorons, Rito, and Zora—and offering a different aesthetic and vibe for leisure. Common hotel amenities such as a gym, spa, swimming pool, etc. would be divided among the “inns” appropriately (but available to all guests of the Suites, not just the ones staying in the same inn).

Of all the ideas in this post, this is the one I’ve given the most serious thought; I’m just not quite ready to declare it solid.

Something Something Ancient Technology

The Legend of Zelda is traditionally a medieval(-ish) fantasy series, but some of its more recent installments have leaned hard on the trope of “ancient people were way more technologically advanced than us, actually.” The ancient Sheikah and Zonai tech of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, respectively, leap easily to mind, but there’s also the Ancient Robot civilization in Skyward Sword. It’s enough of a phenomenon that I feel like it should go somewhere in the park—or the resort, as it’s becoming with all these ideas—but how best to manifest this particular theme?

One possibility is...Tarrey Town Suites. In Tears, Tarrey Town is adjacent to the Hudson Construction Site, where the locals retrieve Zonai devices that fall nearby and experiment with them to create powered vehicles. So maybe the hotel activities could include some small rides or other attractions centered around funky fantasy tech.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading!

[zevdevside]

Overview of the Zincs

So our new hero all have the name Zinc...if that wasn't given with the au name. Anyways I got the name Zinc because when my dad used to play loz games [and I would watch] he would put his name as Dink and so when I started to pick up the games I was going to put Zink but what does that sound exactly like? Yep the element Zinc and so it was born.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I hope you don't mind the hero not being in green because I didn't really do that. Most Zincs [excluding a few of them] wear purple because that is the color I chose when making the first one. I also did this to stray as far as I could from Link so there's a reason behind the purple instead of just I throw purple tunic upon ye!

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So with that said most Zincs are biased off me failing to play the games, but some are inspired by actual Links and/or purely my au. I have one for every game except wind waker, phantom hourglass, cadence of hyrule, and spirit tracks [but I may add spirit tracks]. My first game I remember well is the remake of Link's Awakening so a lot of them will have a small nod to that in a way. Anyways look forward to more about this new era of Hyrule soon!

[luimagines]

hello i stumbled upon your works and i just wanted to say i love them so much!! your posts brighten up my day <33 and also apologies if this question may sound stupid but: can you specify which game is which on the link fanfics you write? i tend to get confused trying to recall every game ^^"

Oh! Thank you so much!

Forgive me if I've misinterpreted your question, but to help you can look at Jojo's work here, where it explains the boys a bit more. I thought there was a post where it had a list of where they're from but I can't find it.

Time/ Old Man- Ocarina of Time

Twilight/Rancher- Twilight Princess

Sky- Skyward Sword

Wild/The Champion- Breath of the Wild

Warrior/Warriors/The Captain- Hyrule Warriors

Hyrule/The Traveler- Legend of Zelda, Adventure of Link

Wind/Sailor/Pirate- Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass (Spirit Tracks depending no who you ask- I know nothing of it so it's not necessarily applicable here)

Four/The Blacksmith- Minish Cap, Four Swords Adventure (and the other four sword game that escapes me at the moment- with a hint of inspiration from the manga as well)

Legend/The Veteran/Vet- (Can I even try to remember all of them?) Link Between Worlds, Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, Oracle of Ages, Oracle of Sages

I think I got most of them. I hope this answers your questions!

[legendofzoodles]

LU Character Design Analysis 3

In case you haven’t seen the previous two posts yet, I’m doing this thing where I’m analysing and subsequently ranking all the designs of the chain in LU. I was going to do it 2 at a time, but I’ve got so much to say that I’m doing it one a time. 

All the designs are really good, it was hard to come up with a decent ranking system that I was happy with and even harder to apply it. The numbers I scored them are subjective and any one of them can be debated. 

With that said, onto the next person on the list...

7th place: Wind

His design is simple and that’s the beauty of it, but it’s also why he’s only number 7. Truth be told on its own it’s near perfect for me; I just so happen to like the designs further up the list more than this one and these clothes aren’t appropriate outside his era.

Pros: His clothes are lightweight allowing him to take full advantage of his small size and superior agility in combat- it’s difficult to hit a moving target after all. The four long coat tails are genius as they really help push the pirate aesthetic without weighing him down with a bulky coat (an exaggerated collar and cuffs would ruin his simple silhouette), plus they add a lot of style when he’s drawn in action. 

I’m so happy he’s wearing a modified version of the lobster shirt (JoJo even kept the v-line!), I like to think his Grandma made it for his 13th birthday. The white patterns look spectacular and give the design some interesting visual flare without making it look too busy.

The orange 3/4 trousers and ankle boots are adorable, they look comfortable and breathable, which is perfect for travelling the vast sunny seas. I also like the tiny amount of baby pink in his necklace, it works well with the light blue and oranges in his clothes.

The colours are bright and happy, not only for reflecting the sun’s rays but also reflecting the lighthearted mood of Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass as well as Wind’s adorable personality. He’s definitely the moodmaker of the chain, able to lift the spirits of the others with even just a smile. His wide eyes, animated facial expressions and sun bleached hair make him look friendly and outgoing. 

Btw, I’m fine with him not wearing his pointed hat because it’s not very good for sun protection. And anyway Tetra definitely would’ve made fun of it. 

Cons: I don’t really get why he’s so pale. Back in his era he’s out in the sun 24/7 doing all kinds or heroic shenanigans and cool pirate stuff, and I don’t think he’d always heed his Grandmother’s advice to stay in the shade or wear a hat to avoid sunburn. I’m not saying he should be tanned bright orange because it’ll blend in too much with his trousers, but realistically his complexion could be darker.

I know I said it’s great that his clothes are lightweight, and it is for running around on a ship or dipping into quick battle encounters, but not long drawn out fights. There’s a another reason the chain always have a watchful eye on him and it’s because the boy’s clothes aren’t very protective. Even brushing up against a thorn bush looks like it would tear him apart; his clothing looks too thin and flimsy.

Can Legend please lend this child some magical items? Just for this adventure. My heart can’t handle the thought of anything happening to him.

Wishlist: I’m conflicted again. To be honest I really don’t have anything here. I like his design for what it is and I like that it’s kept simple, but at the same time there could be more pirate elements added in. Like a little compass on his belt, or a bandana scarf or maybe a white bandana headband to protect his face from the sun or a trinket given to him by his sister. 

I’d also like to sea some green on him- maybe a light green. I’m not too sure where to put it on this design, but I’ve always liked the idea of him wearing a little waistcoat or maybe he could have some seaweed inspired details on his belt?

Ooh would it be a good idea for him to have an aspect of his design inspired by Linebeck? Like having a waistcoat as part of his civilian clothing or something like that. I’ve not played Phantom Hourglass, but that guy was like Link’s father figure or uncle figure right?

Score:

Aesthetic and visual score (/10): 7 Character representation score (/5): 4 Practicality score (/5): 2 Total (/20): 13

I placed him higher than the other two because I like his design more, it’s cohesive and every bit of it makes sense.

~~~

Thanks for reading! What modifications would you make to their designs? And do you agree with me or not? I’d love to know :)

Masterlist

9th place in the character design ranking

8th place

6th place

4th place

3rd place

Character analysis posts:

Hero of the Sky, Hero of Time, Hero of Twilight, Hero of the Wild, Hero of Warriors

[roskii]

Hi!

If you don't mind sharing, I'm curious about that Reno region that your recent fakemon starters are from! I like the starter designs, so I'm interested to know if you have any other kinds details about that region!

Also, do you have any concepts for events post wind waker/phantom hourglass? If so, I'm very interested!

Oh yes! For Reno Its based off south America and the theming is... Yet to be decided but I already got a "villain" team, some gym leaders and champion designed. As for the pokemon I'm still working on them..I got a fighter eeveeultion and a pokemon based off of Majora's mask (cause this region was also inspired by Majora's mask) so it's a lot of fun.

If this were to be a pokemon game, there would be an option to customize your characters age, body type and if you wanna be in a wheelchair or have a cane!

As for the Zelda idea- yes my comic is basically few years after Phantom hourglass! Like link is 16 and the idea is Tetra and Link are looking for new Hyrule still.. they find linebeck and someone stole his ship so link and tetra are looking for his boat..as they travel they meet a rito Linebeck knew as a kid who fucking HATES him, find linebeck's mom..who's the sage of spirits, finds out Senza is the sage of shadows (also related to Bongo Bongo who's also chasing them..who has Ghirahim as his assigned blade)

It's very hazy ATM but I know at the end Linebeck and Senza split from the pirates +Link to live together. And I always imagine Senza was like a father figure to Tetra so it was a tearful good-bye.

[mudflavoredmochi]

Ok real shit I haven’t worked on my AU In a hot minute.

While I do draw tons of art of link and tetra for it I never actually continue forward with the lore and I do have some ideas with it but a lot of inspiration is taken from botw and I don’t wanna seem like I’m copying off of the sequel just for clout,,,,

BUt I notice the adult timeline has a l o t to do with ghost, phantoms and souls. Hence the names PHANTOM hourglass and SPIRIT tracks. And I’m a pretty big fan of the ghostey pirate shit ever since I watched dead men tell no tales, and plus the mobey dick story.

In my ORIGINAL au without linked universe, wind has the actual master sword but one little thing. I added too much lore to the Linked universe version of this au.

Ysee, after “freeing” the spirits on the island link runs into, some of them reside within the hourglass in links phantom sword. I made that so it could fit with why wind has the phantom sword since sky has the master sword with him, and sky wouldn’t like hearing about fi being at the bottom of the ocean.

The spirits give link a power boost that works like a magic meter. The attack when you hold down the B or C button in Zelda games, then bam! Spin attack! Except it’s souls from 100 years ago instead of just regular fairy magic. And also, phantom hourglass doesn’t happen in my AU! So I assumed Wind had stumbled upon that phantom sword in the island he was in as he stumbled upon a chest that had the hero of times tunic. It’s like how wild randomly finds weapons lying around.

And about the spirit meter, here’s another way this looks like I took inspo from botw 2.

This fuckin hand. Some time I thought- “why not make the spirits green? And the magic meter in game is already green anyway so why not?” But I got a lil stumped. Because that’s already an upcoming mechanic. But, it works a little differently. The green appears on wind waker links TWO hands instead of one, and his eyes turn green along with green markings on his face like the fierce deity.

This source of power is dangerous though, because the spirits have link in a “I give you power you give us your body” type of position. An unfair trade. If link USES this, they literally feed off of him and try to gain control over him and hurt everything around him, since they’re tainted with malicious intent due to unsolved turmoil from ocarina of time. The sudden flood and rip away from their daily lives have them furious! They tried to kill link because they were thinking they were gonna take revenge on Oot link for leaving them.

So using this “assistance” is a danger to link himself even though it’s extremely powerful and gets the job done. And not just that, because he keeps wielding the phantom sword, the spirits sit at the back of his head and give him visions of their history and their fear when the flood was rising. The helplessness, hopelessness, and regret in not doing everything they wanted before they died. And the fear. The voices are YELLING. and to add on top of that? Link always heard about how great Oot link was, now he’s hearing about how “””terrible””” he was from angry dead people who don’t know that the flood was completely out of anyones control except the goddesses themselves. Golden goddesses, din, nayru, and Farore btw. As if his inferiority complex with hearing how GREAT Oot link was wasnt enough. First, get compared to only how great he is and wishing to be like him, then how he was terrible for disappearing and leaving everyone to die. He almost died so many times because they thought he was HIM. And the source comes from a petty fuckin ghost of ganondorf, that just so happened to not be sealed. And this, my fellas, is exactly where he chooses to give up on reincarnation. Wind waker. At least in this lore. I would start to say that this ganon form would be one of the earliest forms of calamity ganon from 10,000 years ago, but I’m still hesitant on that. Yes, it’s my au, but I don’t exactly wanna borrow every concept just so it looks cool. So I’m stumped.

[ploppythespaceship]

Rating all the chuchus from the Legend of Zelda, because I can.

Majora’s Mask. Oh no. Oh no no no no no. I hate everything about this. I hate the shifty tentacle eyes, I hate the miscolored lips, I hate how jagged it is, and most of all I hate that it has teeth. -7/10

Wind Waker. Yes!! A good boy!! I love how round he is and his goofy little face. You can just see how he wobbles around. 11/10

Minish Cap. A solid effort at a sprite version of Wind Waker’s design. Excellent roundness and wobbles. 8/10

Twilight Princess. Excuse me. What the fuck is this. This is not a chuchu. This is a lump. A boring featureless blob. 0/10, try harder next time

Phantom Hourglass. Eh. He just makes me sad. There’s a remnant of better designs, but he just looks awkward and misshapen. 5/10

Skyward Sword. I feel nothing when I look at him. He inspires no emotions within me. Uninspired, 2/10

Breath of the Wild. I appreciate the roundness and the googly eyes. Wish it had more jiggles. 7/10

[the-delta-42]

Fic list

Fics that I’ve been inspired to write due to posts made by @lenoreofraven, @galahadwilder, @nerdasaurus1200, @gale-gentlepenguin

My other Accounts:

FF.net  DA.com  AO3 YouTube

Multi-chaptered Fics

War Circle AU - Miraculous Ladybug AU, Marinette has an older brother who has the Wolf Miraculous, the head of the War Circle.

The Pirate Prince - Post BOTW.  Severe AU. Link was orphaned at 3 months old and taken in by the King of the Gerudo, Ganondorf. Fast-forward seventeen years later, a disagreement results in Link leaving and start sailing the seas as the captain of The Fierce Deity, a Pirate ship that is known for hunting down various Criminals and pirates alike, But the winds of destiny throw Link back to his family. Zelink.

To Find Hyrule -  Link never expected to find a home on the waves. Tetra never expected to find a home in a person. A Series of non-chronological One-Shots that'll vary in length that'll follow Link and Tetra, and their growing relationship, as they look for New Hyrule. Set after Phantom Hourglass. I decided there wasn't enough of Tetra and Link, so here's a series of one shots around them. Telink.

To Find Hyrule Reblogged - The To Find Hyrule series in Chronological Order

Agents Like Us -  A.U: Before Nick was hustling with Finnick, he was a secret agent with Mammal Military Intelligence 5 and FBI. Now, ten years after Nick left, his old partner has come to call. After all, Nick can't run from Jack, not again. This story will contain Ships. Featuring Nick Wilde, Judy Hopps, Jack Savage and Others.

Rewrite History - Bunnyx changing history of Ladybug’s orders, in an attempt to avert a disastrous event.

To the Final Frontier - Miraculous Star Trek AU.

Valentine’s Prompts - The Prompts from DeviantArt’s Valentine’s day

Bridges AU - Adrien and Marinette have a falling out and Marinette is forced through the pain of losing her family. Started out as salt, future parts will retcon things

Marivenger - Marinette teaming up with the Avengers

Critical - Marinette is injured in an Akuma attack and is left fighting for her life

Armed AU - While fighting an Akuma, Ladybug is disarmed and exposed to the city of Paris

Hush AU - Marinette’s parents discovery her secret

Rules of Precinct One -  The rules that all Officers in Precinct One have to follow. Zootopia.

Revealed - Marinette has a terrible secret revealed after Rose is Akumatized

New Car AU -  Marinette thought she had a normal car, after her last one was stolen and torched, but it opened her world up for a whole lot of insanity.

Maribat -  Genetics are a wonderful thing, unless the substitute Science teacher is an arsehole. Bio Dad Bruce Wayne.

Miraculous Transformers - All MLB-TF cross over fics

In Plain Sight -  Transformers AU: LB-14 and CN-15 were dispatched to Paris under orders from Optimus Prime. Nowhere in those orders was the recommendation for them to crash into a building and reveal themselves to a group of locals.

Autobot City - Transformers: Prime, Rescue Bots & Robots in Disguise 2015 AU

Grief -  WARNING! THIS STORY HAS MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH, VIOLENCE AND SOMEONE TAKING THEIR OWN LIFE! IF THIS IS LIKELY TO SET YOU OFF IN ANY WAY DO NOT READ! A moment is all it took. A moment is the cost of a battle. A moment that starts a whole domino effect that leads to the end for so many.

Too Far AU - This series has implied and referenced rape/non-con elements. If this is likely to trigger, offend or otherwise make you react in a negative way DO NOT READ! A group from another class believe Lila's lies too well and believe Marinette is working with Hawkmoth. The group decide to take the law into their own hands, only for them to go too far in their 'interrogation' techniques.

Winged Mirabel AU - An Encanto AU where Mirabel has wings

Know Better AU -  My parts for Tumblr's Fake Apology AU, but I'm going to remove as much of the salt from it as possible.

Marinette hears Nino and Adrien talking and gets the wrong end of the stick, which creates a domino effect that causes a dark secret to be revealed. TW: contains mentions of abuse, past non-con and Gabriel Agreste being a shit person

Family - Alvin and Rebecca reluctantly agree to foster Clementine, a troubled child they've fostered before, after her latest foster family send her back into care.

TWDG Wing AU - If you were fortunate enough, you were born with wings. If you weren’t, you’d hope a child in your family would born with wings. Lee and his younger brother fell into the former camp, their parents were in the camp with them. Centuries ago, people with wings were once treated as deities, then were hunted, and then treated with the utmost respect. After an apocalypse interrupts Lee's journey to prison, he suddenly finds himself acting as a guardian for a little girl called Clementine. While doing his best to care for, and protect, her, he finds himself on the long road to redemption.

TWDG Reunions AU - After Clementine and AJ are exiled from the school, they make their way to New Richmond and the New Frontier. After reuniting with some old friends and a couple of accidents, the pair forge a new life in the community. Ten years later, they experience a tragedy and an unexpected reunion.

Oneshots;

Shit be True - Chloe chose the wrong time to screw everyone over.

Marinette and Cataclysm - Ever wondered what happens when Cataclysm is used on the human body?

Wing span - The Classes first flying lesson

Three and Down - An Akuma regresses the ages of the class, literally.

Stressed - *Updated 19/07/2022*  Marinette suffers a stoke at school that seems to be normal at first, but is later found to be anything but natural

The Reveal that Wasn’t - After discovering Chat Noir’s identity, Marinette has doubts that he would truly love her.

All your little tricks - The Downfall of Hawkmoth and his protégé 

Jerks - Adrien does something stupid and gets little sympathy

Secrets - The Class knows one of Marinette’s deepest secrets, and guard it with their lives.

Fallen - An accident occurs when Marinette is relishing in her newest hobby

Betrayal - Chat Noir is forced to betray Ladybug, but can only turn to Marinette to help save himself.

Nap Time - Marinette is sleep deprived and will not get up

Swimmingly - Ladybug can do anything, as long as it isn’t in the water.

An Unexpected turn - Hawkmoth wins, but also loses.

Cry of a Wolf - An Akuma turns people in animals

King Chilli - Kim plays the wrong kind of prank on Ladybug and suffers from the fallout.

Champion - Hawkmoth has Akuma’s, Ladybug has Champions

Cure - Marinette will do anything to save her father’s life, even if it meant selling her soul down the river to do it.

The Shield - Wild accidentally mentions how Time was able to beat the Gerudo warriors of his Hyrule, Buliara want to see him put his money where his mouth is

Fears -  Link finds out about Tetra's most embarrassing secrets. Telink oneshot based on a headcanon I have. Rated T for hinted/mentioned past child abuse

Pockets - A Pseudo Collab between me and @lenoreofraven, I say pseudo because she started and I just jumped on the wagon

Ghosts from the Past - Beckett Mariner has been in Starfleet roughly ten years as of 2380. The Dominion War was 2373 to 2375.

Survivors - A Continuation of Ghosts from the Past

Traitor - Currently in progress

Therapy - Beckett finally gets help

Too Much Salt - Two beans accidentally over season their food

Meet me inside -  Chloe pushes Marinette too far and shit hits the fan

Broken -  The Butterfly Miraculous was damaged when Gabriel started abusing it, leaving invisible scars on his victims. Some scars are more dangerous than others.

@gale-of-the-nomads said I could run with it, so I did.

Off Sick -  Marinette and her family are forced to self-isolate after one of their regulars tests positive

Redemption -  Alya is forced on a spending spree, after finding a pile of gift cards that are almost out of date.

Leap of Faith -  Link's thoughts on his task to save Hyrule. Set right after getting the paraglider.

Ladybug Fainted -  Chat finds out Ladybug's identity because she unified too many miraculous and she collapses leaving Chat in a panic. Alya thought Chat was making a Pokémon joke

Infected -  Ladybug in injured during an Akuma attack that occurred during her patrol while Chat was resting.

A Second Chance -  An Akuma forces Ladybug to call in a disgraced former member of her team, allowing them to have a chance at forgiveness.

Not a Soul -  While Chat is on a work trip, Ladybug comes up against an Akuma that has a taste for souls and Ladybug is left feeling strangely empty.

OoT Headcanon - Not really a fic, but it’s close enough

Crack - Marinette has a habit that leads to a reveal

A Glitch in the Matrix - Max has a hobby that no one can know about

Facsimilie -  Gabriel was right about there being a Sentimonster, he just wasn't right on who it was.

Since You’ve Been Gone -  At the first chance they get, Adrien and Kagami leave Paris to escape their controlling parents. When they return eight years later, they find that life has moved on and not in the way they were expecting.

Breaking the Wall -  Based off of Doctor Who S9E11: Heaven Sent.

Marinette is trapped by an Akuma with only two options; Give up or chisel away at a crystal wall until she is free. The catch? Don't let the Shadow get you.

Princess Justice - After a robbery 'gone wrong', Marinette finds herself attending her mothers funeral. Just one incident away from breaking the camels back. Shadowmoth suddenly finds himself realising that he can't control every Akuma he sends out.

Hamilton -  College Francais Dupont does Hamilton. Goes a well as you'd expect. Something nice and light hearted after my previous fic.

Clingy -  An ungodly early start has Marinette falling asleep on the bus with her classmates and other students. This leads to an incident that Kagami would deny ever happened. She has a reputation to up hold after all.

Creep -  After winning a competition, Marinette finds herself with an unwanted admirer and her friends enter detective mode to track them down.

Innocent Angels -  Marinette is innocent in many areas, she just didn't realise the meaning of her words until too late.

Fetch -  Ladybug has a plan to get the Miraculous back. Unfortunately, it requires an appendage from Monarch.

Disbelief -  Gabriel hits rock bottom, but instead of going up, he decides to cut out the one this he is certain on. He just didn't expect to be wrong.

My Gift to You -  Marinette's mother's birthday is coming up and Marinette doesn't know what to get her. It's only when she finds a forgotten object, that she has an idea. Also part of the War Circle AU.

Nightmares -  Nightmares aren't uncommon, but when five people who all know each other have too similar nightmares, that can't be a coincidence.

Limp -  Lila discovers that Marinette is an amputee. She also discovers that everyone else already knows and that she's the last one to find out.

*This was going to be longer but I felt it was finished*

Ashes to Ashes -  An Akuma goes after Marinette's parents and only stops after the Bakery is in flames, leaving Marinette without her parents and her identity known.

Upper Decks - 25 years after meeting Tendi aboard the USS Cerritos, Mariner has risen through the ranks, whether she wanted to or not. USS Shran, her fifth command, is scheduled with the Cerritos in order to collect some transferring officers. Set dur the Star Trek Online Klingon War Arc.

Road to Recovery - Almost three years after the war with Delta, Clementine suddenly vanishes while fishing, leaving a void in Louis's life. Six months later, she is returned to them. Broken and afraid, leaving Louis and the other survivors of their group to pick up the pieces.

A Sight to Behold - Marinette unintentionally reveals a secret to the class, and no it's not her identity.

Delay - Dolores starts panicking on her wedding day and Mirabel in elected to prevent Mariano from seeing Dolores's dress, at any cost.

Works that aren’t mine, but I’ve reblogged because they weren’t tagged on the home blog:

Know Better, Do Better - A Salt AU that I find interesting. This one is weird because the Author has four of the works listed. This one is by @nobodyfamousposts

Moral dues - This is another one I like, although I’ve been thinking on separating the parts into individual posts, since the length of the full think can make scrolling through it a nightmare. I’m also thinking on adding to it. This one has many different authors contributing to it, however the source inspiration for this post, and story, is @a-ratt who was previously know as Apex Primus

Betrayal au - This is the one post that was sitting in my drafts for so long that there are further parts that aren’t reblogs. This one shows a darker side to Adrien towards the end of it. The original poster for this is @lenoreofraven 

Warm - Gerudo!Link AU. Zelink

Mother Urbosa - Urbosa raising Link

Ganondad - Ganondorf adopting Link

Gerudo Link - Link but he’s a Gerudo Male

Mama Impa - Impa adopts Link

Shiekah Link - Link but he’s a Sheikah

Not mine - Fics that are usually one shots but sometimes are just chapters from a greater story that I haven’t gotten around to looking at.

[legendofasriel]

Are there any specific Zelda games that you’re taking inspiration from to create this AU?

kinda, but like, the same way any new entry in the franchise takes inspiration from certain previous games? like, there’s certain vibes shared between certain games.

most entries in the fallen timeline (a link to the past, a link between worlds, link’s awakening, etc.) have a certain Feel to their gameplay and aesthetics, which is different from the vibes shared by pre-split/child timeline (skyward sword, ocarina of time, twilight princess) which in turn is different from the vibes of the adult timeline (wind waker, phantom hourglass, spirit tracks.) this isn’t a hard and fast rule, of course, but generally speaking the games can be pretty solidly categorized by Vibes.

so, due to a general fondness of the child timeline’s aesthetics, that’s pretty much where the Vibes are. but when it comes to the actual story, it’s pretty much all “what if brand new zelda game... but undertale” rather than anything specific. at most, a couple plot points were inspired by looking at breath of the wild’s presentation of the whole cycle of reincarnation thing and thinking “neat, but what if—”

[aion-rsa]

Is Skyward Sword the Only Link and Zelda Romance Story?

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

If you’re anything like most gamers from a certain era, you probably grew up assuming that Zelda and Link were in love. After all, he is a hero, she is a princess, he was a boy, she was a girl…can we make it any more obvious?

However, the truth of the matter is that nothing is quite that obvious when it comes to Link and Zelda’s relationship. Much like your relationship status on Facebook whenever you felt like stirring up a little drama, the relationship between Link and Zelda over the years has been decidedly complicated.

That’s part of the reason why Skyward Sword has always been one of the most interesting Zelda games from a lore perspective. After years of ambiguity, complications, winks, half-answers, and lingering questions, Skyward Sword gave us a Link and Zelda relationship that couldn’t possibly be interpreted as anything but romantic (even if there is some ambiguity regarding how their relationship ends). The game was even promoted with this “Romance Trailer” that highlights that aspect of the plot:

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

While there is very little debate regarding whether or not Skyward Sword is a Link and Zelda love story, there is a much more substantial (and far more interesting) debate to be had regarding whether or not it is the only real love story in Legend of Zelda history.

“Hold up,” you might be saying. “If Zelda and Link didn’t have a canonical romance until 2011, then why did I grow up believing that they were in love?”

Well, as we mentioned before, elements of the perceived romance between Zelda and Link can be attributed to the fact that most of the guys you see rescuing princesses in fantasy stories do tend to fall in love with them. It’s not exactly the genre’s most beloved trope, but it’s certainly one that has ingrained itself into our collective pop culture consciousness over the years.

To be fair, though, the Zelda/Link love hasn’t just been in our heads this entire time. The popular theory is that the pair end up getting married at the end of the original NES game (even if the sourcing for that claim is somewhat dubious from a canonical perspective), and we see Zelda kiss Link at the end of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. Granted, the Zelda that kisses him at the end of that game isn’t the Zelda he saved in the original game but rather a version of Zelda from years ago. Look, Zelda lore is…weird.

Speaking of which, we should probably talk about the Link from the 1989 animated Legend of Zelda TV series. That version of Link was more or less a stalker who pretty much refused to help Zelda without asking for a kiss. He was also so insufferably annoying that we honestly think Zelda might have been better off with Ganon than this ’80s movie jock in a green leotard.

It’s around that time that Nintendo became much coyer about Zelda and Link’s relationship. A Link to the Past doesn’t really bother to bring up the possibility of a romantic relationship between the two (outside of an often misinterpreted piece of dialog), and Link’s Awakening doesn’t even feature Zelda (though the character Marin is clearly inspired by Link’s memories of Zelda). At this point, it’s easy to assume that Nintendo decided to abandon the more overt references to Link and Zelda’s romance due to creative preferences, the increasingly complicated nature of the franchise’s timeline, and perhaps the feeling that this just wasn’t meant to be that kind of franchise.

That’s when we enter a prolonged and strange “Will they or won’t they?” period for Link and Zelda’s relationship. Ocarina of Time dances around the issue, but only hints that a romantic relationship may be blossoming. The Wind Waker pretty much abandons the idea entirely in favor of presenting the two as adventuring equals, while Twilight Princess offers the “coldest,” or perhaps most “business-like,” relationship between the pair yet. Nintendo even gave Link more overt love interests during this time to seemingly try to encourage people to stop focusing so much on the Zelda/Link romance narrative.

Interestingly, the Zelda/Link relationship has always skewed more towards intimacy (or at least blossoming romance) in many of the handheld Zelda games. That’s not a universal rule (Zelda wasn’t even in Phantom Hourglass), but for some reason, the pair have almost always been a bit…closer in those games.

That trend reached its apex with the release of 2009’s The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. That game was originally not even supposed to include Zelda as Link’s adventuring partner, but the developers felt like it would be better to feature her as a prominent side character rather than try to create a new character or simply re-use Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass‘ Tetra yet again. The result is a Zelda game where Link and Zelda spend an unusual amount of time together (compared to other titles in this series). While that kind of set-up is enough to get shippers talking, the game wasn’t exactly shy about teasing a possible romance. It even ends with Zelda and Link holding hands!

What’s even more interesting than Spirit Tracks‘ implication that its version of Zelda and Link could end up together is the reason that the developers chose to give Link a female partner for that game in the first place.

“I was searching for something that hadn’t been portrayed much, and there was Princess Zelda,” says director Daiki Iwamoto regarding the casting decision. “At first, we hadn’t settled on the subcharacter, and I discussed several things with the staff. Then we thought that, since they’re adventuring together, it would be better to have it be a girl.”

That last part brings us back to the elephant in the room concerning this whole Zelda/Link relationship discussion. There is a heteronormative side to fantasy fiction from certain eras that has, to a degree, trained our brains to see female and male leads together and just assume that they’re going to be romantically involved by the time the credits roll.

Even though Nintendo has historically danced around this romance and, at times, straight-up avoided it, Iwamoto still says that it just made more sense for Link to be with a female character that he obviously ends up having intimate moments with (even if they may or may not be entirely romantic). You could argue that throughout much of the history of The Legend of Zelda franchise, speculation regarding the pair’s romantic relationship has been fuelled by those who either wished the two would get together or just assumed that has to be the case given their situation and genders.

So why did Nintendo decide to finally show Link and Zelda in an obviously romantic relationship in Skyward Sword after dodging the matter for so long? Interestingly enough, Skyward Sword producer Eiji Aonuma thought about cutting the romance angles when the game’s development team (which, it must be said, consisted of quite a few Spirit Tracks developers) initially suggested them. While Skyward Sword‘s developers had to make some cuts to justify including the romance subplot, Aonuma’s decision to leave it in ultimately came down to his simple belief that it was an effective way to get players to care about rescuing Zelda.

“As far as the love story goes, it wasn’t that we wanted to create a romance between Link and Zelda as much as we wanted the player to feel like this is a person who’s very important to me, who I need to find,” Aonuma said in an interview with Game Informer. “We used that hint of a romance between the two to tug at the heartstrings.”

From a meta standpoint, the idea that Nintendo is aware that even hinting at the possibility of a Link and Zelda romance is a pretty easy way to engage people certainly makes a lot of sense. While Aonuma stops short of saying that was somehow their idea this entire time, you could argue that it’s more valuable for Nintendo to simply leave room open for that possibility rather than outright establish a romantic relationship more often.

Of course, that makes it all the more interesting that the one Zelda game that features such a blatant romance story is also the first game in the Zelda timeline. While the versions of Link and Zelda featured in that game are not the same characters we see in subsequent games, Nintendo did clearly establish that the foundation of their relationship (and this franchise) is partially based on their love for each other. Circumstances may have prevented them from leading the life together they hoped to have (at least based on our hopes for how two young people in love might end up), but who is to say that one of Zelda‘s descendants or one of Link’s reincarnations won’t be able to break the curse and live the life that these two were possibly denied so many years ago?

Actually, that’s what makes Breath of the Wild such a fascinating piece of this puzzle. While serious questions remain regarding how Breath of the Wild fits into Zelda‘s chronology, it almost certainly seems to take place at what we could see as “the end” of the current Zelda timeline (or timelines). It’s perhaps no coincidence, then, that it’s the game that not only openly acknowledges the complicated relationship between the various Links and Zeldas over the years but is also the game that shows Link and Zelda clearly growing closer to each other over the course of the adventure. By the end of the game, you could very easily view their relationship as “romantic” or, at the very least, heading in that direction.

While we’ll have to see whether or not Breath of the Wild 2 does anything with that implication, we’re left with the simple conclusion that Skyward Sword may be the only “overt” Link and Zelda romance story so far, but elements of that romance can be found in Spirit Tracks, Breath of the Wild, and, depending on your interpretation of the timeline, nearly every other Legend of Zelda game in some form or fashion.

Sure, it’s a little annoying that Nintendo keeps hinting at romances they seemingly never intend to really do anything with, but there’s something to be said for the ways they’ve paired Zelda and Link together over the years without relying on a relatively simple romantic subplot. Of course, that just makes Skyward Sword even more of an oddity than it already was.

The post Is Skyward Sword the Only Link and Zelda Romance Story? appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3emV71c

[mi4014]

THE HERO OF TRAINS

the world of delight is an extremely open ended brief - however, one of the very few guidelines is that our animation will take place over a track, through our scenes.

I thought of a variety of different possible ways to personify this.

perhaps similarly to the rainbow cruise Mario 64-inspired melee stage?

a magic carpet? a hot air balloon?

but through it all - I think the one that is most widely agreed upon is to use a train. which to me seems appropriate - a fixed track would make it easier to animate, literally having a camera move along a physical path.

Zelda fans will often disregard my opinion, from what I'm about to admit here... but I stand by saying that spirit tracks is a good game

Spirit Tracks

following the success of the wind waker, and phantom hourglass - where they placed the cel-shaded Link on a boat, Nintendo decided:

“what else can we do? a train, yeah sure whatever I don't care.” - Eiji Aonuma

the gameplay is pretty surreal - and I appreciate how good they managed to make this game look, with it being on a severely underpowered console (the Nintendo DS)

the fact that they didn’t use low poly models to allow for less storage space, and instead opted to further elaborate on the Phantom Hourglass style, of integrating Wind Waker’s core ideas at the expense of fuzzier visuals isn't as much the sort of thing that interests me, as committing fully to low-poly.

however, I have more of an interest for the way they utilised the camera’s movement on the ‘Spirit Train’ stage in ‘Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’ (as well as 3DS, and Wii U respectively)

MODELLING A TRAIN

as much as I love Spirit tracks - straight up copying the spirit-train or heck, even the wooden train would be a lame move. (especially with how protective of their brands Nintendo is)

instead I opted for modelling my own train. the first thing to do was to decide what type of train I liked the most...

as a kid I remembered these little wooden Thomas-The-Tank-Engine trains that I used to have, and that got me further looking for trains to model. I can now say I know a lot more trains than I thought I would ever…

MAYA

I decided on a very simple wooden train I found on the internet, to use as reference, and from there it was onto modelling.

due to the wooden train’s simplicity, I was able to use simple shapes to build up its shape, to keep with the low-poly-aesthetic

I used the multi-cut tool to create windows, and a door for our lil’ conductor lad to fit in, and do his job - and further bulked up the train, to make it look cooler, while still being considered ��low-poly’.

I added the wheels, grouping them together to make it easier to animate them, as they will move in unison, rather than individually.

the final stage was to render it all, and give it believable materials.

I even made a little light at the front, of the train - that functions!

FINAL RENDER

well… its a train! id say that's a pretty good success, and I'm looking forward to seeing this bad boy in action, later.