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gust-jar-simulator · 8 months

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Half of what makes Ganondorf so compelling for me is the mythic impact of him. He’s The Guy. The red to the blue and green. The Din to the Nayru and Farore. The man, the myth, the legend. I genuinely love the way the LOZ series is set up, so a character can have so much type because you know who this is even if you don’t know who he is in the context of a new story. I’d prefer if it wasn’t totally relied on, but hey. He’s the Demon King.

With that in mind, since I really want to write Vaati as an actual threat as opposed to an extremely angry rat (it’s tempting though), I might as well take notes. Vaati isn’t Ganondorf, and I don’t want him to be, but he is a legendary enemy. It’s difficult because it’s hard to see his overarching impact- Ganondorf has a presence even outside of his own actual actions, due to the presence of his culture and impact on history.

Vaati doesn’t have that. The Minish are in one game, and the other children of the forest are either fairies or kokiri/koroks, which have different associations in the fandom consciousness. Wind magic is almost never used. Even if I stretch it to say music is a type of wind magic, off the top of my head that leaves us mostly with Wind Waker and Cadence of Hyrule. It’s difficult to give Vaati a presence because he has no impact outside of his own games, and in his own games he’s kind of got Saturday morning cartoon villain motives.

So the final way I can think of to make him intimidating is to work on his motives and methods, and I can definitely do that, but. C’mon. He’s an ancient demon. He came from a race that can only be seen by the pure of heart and turned himself into a dark god, that’s cool as hell. He’s even a recurring villain. How do I give him some weight, some terror, some oh shit impact?

Anytime I see him in a fanfic, I’m delighted by his presence, but he’s rarely actually intimidating in the same way Ganondorf effortlessly exudes. Maybe because Vaati has this… desperation, this need to be a god, that’s harder to take seriously compared to Ganondorf’s more methodical destruction. Vaati needs you to take him seriously, while Ganondorf doesn’t care if you do.

I’ve been working on puzzling it out, and I think I have the start of a detail to tease out- Vaati comes from a culture where kindness is innate. Cruelty is literally a foreign, alien concept to the Minish, from what I can gather, and he was learning magic in an academic context, so I could easily see him wanting to make a study of the concept. He chose cruelty, for one reason or another- maybe he hated the “servile” position of his people, maybe he wanted to see what happens if you use cruelty as a magic base instead of kindness, maybe he started researching things he shouldn’t and when he got negative feedback he lashed out because you don’t understand, I’m learning, isn’t that what’s important here? Why don’t you support me? I thought our whole wretched culture is about that.

Something about “nobody leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark”. He’s the wind, I think the thing most likely to set him off is limitations. He’s an eye, endlessly observing, studying, watching, learning. He’s a bat, a crosser of boundaries. Of course you have to seal him with the four elements. If it was just one, steel and stone, he’d figure a way out. Of course you have to seal him with the primordial forces of nature. He’s a child of nature, in the end.

I think if I want to make him terrifying, I need to give him a simpler, more elegant motive than “rule Hyrule as a god, an angry god”. The major motivations of people are: money, power, fame, sex, and the desire to be great. Vaati might kidnap maidens and call himself a god, but I think those are expressions of a need to be great, not motives on their own. He wants power because he wants to break his limits, all limits, wants to become something more, and that is rooted in a small child’s memory where he was told by his teacher that there are some things one Shouldn’t Do. If he hates limits, the simplest solution I have for why he hates Ezlo so deeply is because the man tried to limit him. Whether it was through implying people don’t love a monster, or just saying that he’s a Minish and he shouldn’t study cruelty because of his species, or something else.

He’s conscious of his own cruelty in a way a lot of villains aren’t. Even a few incarnations of Ganondorf are doing what he does for his people, because Hyrule is an active threat and he wanted his people to live. Vaati doesn’t give a shit about good intentions, he doesn’t need them or want them. He just won’t be limited by anything ever again, mentors or mortality.

Too bad for him the Four Sword exists. I wonder how furious that makes him.

#loz vaati #legend of zelda

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squiddity3 · 1 year

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No korok cruelty from me, I’m out here chauffeuring them around in style and the greatest comfort that magical goo can provide.

#and they always tip me double when I drop them off.#i love my little korok friends. Sorry for all the times I drop or bump you. :(#totk

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boimgfrog · 1 year

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i am so nice to the koroks they are just little children and i don’t get why people are so mean 2 them…

the way I see it, it's less of a cruelty and more of an experiment. how fucked up can I make this vehicle, how far can I launch this leaf child, how many fire spitting contraptions can I build before I violate the Hyrulian Geneva Convention and be imprisoned for eternity, that sort of thing.

#mutuwuals #asks #totk #loz

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loruleanheart · 3 years

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Desired Fate, Chapter 10

Read on FF.net

Read on AO3

The atmosphere around him had become much colder and darker as night descended on the Gerudo Highlands. The prophet stirred. Everything hurt, but there was also the headache that only intensified when he tried to reason with what had happened.

It had to have been a dream… A very terrible and ridiculous dream… Yes, a dream… Not a prophecy...

His mind couldn’t accept that Hylia herself spoke to him.

Yet, If it hadn’t been real, then how had he survived Sooga’s attack?

Hylia… That vile goddess had turned his whole world upside down, her ways more bewildering to Astor than even the Yiga Clan.

The conflicting thoughts had been tormenting to begin with, now they were only magnified to an unbearable intensity. As devoted as he was to the Calamity he was only mortal, and he didn’t want to perish over what he’d so blindly followed for too long. But the alternative would make him a failure in Calamity Ganon’s eyes, and wasn’t the Calamity the only thing that mattered?

She had known everything… Every thought and emotion no matter how deep or repressed, she had laid it all bare, and it terrified him. He feared his thoughts of the princess and his potential to be disloyal to Calamity Ganon.

That wasn’t the only thing he had to worry about. The Yiga Clan was almost certain to make another attempt on his life, and they knew the location of his hideout. The prophet gave a frustrated groan and turned to leave the Gerudo Highlands before a potential ambush could be devised by the clan.

He began to wander northeast aimlessly, only having a vague idea of where he was going. Eventually, desert cliffs gave way to lush green fields.

He could see Hyrule Castle’s silhouette in the distance, and he began to feel jittery, nearly breaking into a burst of insane laughter. He tried to focus his thoughts on how ironic it was that he and the princess now had the Yiga as a common enemy. Anything to not have to think about what was revealed to him by the goddess. It couldn’t be true…

Oh, I’m sure that would go over well. The king would be so thrilled… The prophet thought facetiously.

He gave Hyrule Castle and its surrounding town a wide breadth, also avoiding villages or other areas where people might congregate.

As he rounded the perimeter of the Lost Woods he couldn’t help but notice how visible the back of the castle was from this vantage point. Which window belonged to the Princess? The castle’s wide moat separated the ground he stood from the castle, but still, it was breathtaking to be so close.

The Lost Woods was much the same way. It was surrounded by water, with only one foot-path going in. The pink flowering top of the Great Deku Tree could be seen at the center of Great Hyrule Forest, and Astor thought back to that fated day he crossed paths with the princess before that great, imposing tree. Somewhere, within those woods was a much more mysterious place he had only seen in visions - that place where the Silent Princess flowers grew rampant, and he was intent on finding it.

oOo

“No matter what it takes, you must awaken your power before the Calamity returns.” King Rhoam’s commanding voice filled the castle’s sanctum.

Zelda looked down, gathering her resolve. If the Calamity was going to rise on her 17th birthday, as newly uncovered images from the broken Guardian indicated, she didn’t have much time left.

Whatever it takes? What is that supposed to mean? I’m already doing everything I can.

She bit back her protests, one more time, ever the good, obedient daughter. “Understood.”

“I sense you have become complacent regarding your duty,” King Rhoam said, becoming colder.

Zelda slowly looked up, at a loss. She could sense Impa’s sympathetic gaze on her, and she wanted to cast a glance back at the advisor in shared exasperation but thought better of it. “I - I’m sorry father. Please believe me. I’m trying my hardest. I really am -.”

“No more, excuses, Zelda! From this moment on you are to have nothing to do with the childish hobby you’ve been carrying on with Sheikah technology and you are to devote yourself fully to unlocking your power. You must be single-minded in this crucial duty. Or perhaps it is your poor attitude that is interfering with your training.”

Zelda flinched internally, but it barely showed on the outside.

“Yes, I understand… I will try harder.”

The King’s expression hardened and he raised his voice. “No, you don’t try! You do it! You are going to the Spring of Courage immediately, and Link and Impa are to accompany you, do I make myself clear?”

The Princess held her head high as she headed to her chambers to change into her ceremonial white gown. As soon as she was out of sight she let out a big huff and nearly broke down, but somehow held herself together.

She took her time getting changed, disconsolate and a little bit spiteful to have been humiliated in front of her friends.

The gown was pure white and was designed with the goddess Hylia as inspiration. It was a small consolation to feel closer to her ancestor by donning the dress and royal heirlooms.

She fixed her hair, undoing her braid and brushing it out. She put on the gold bracers and tossed her hair to one side to fasten the gold Hylia crest necklace passed down in the royal family for countless generations.

As she languidly moved about her chambers, her mind raced with thoughts of hopelessness. She had already trained at the Spring of Courage and Spring of Power in the past, and both had yielded no results. All that remained was the Spring of Wisdom on Mount Lanayru, and she would only be permitted to make the trip up the mountain when she reached the age of 17. But with knowledge of the day of Calamity Ganon’s return she knew it would be too little too late.

Before she left her chambers, Zelda paused to look at herself in the mirror. She gave a sharp exhale. All of Hyrule was believing in her, leaning on her to save them... or at least that's how it felt. Zelda wasn’t unaware of the fact that she was the subject of mockery among those who were aware of her unfulfilled duty. And although those closest to her were doing their best to support her, a void remained.

The worst was coming. She knew it. If only she had someone to brace herself against for when the Calamity would inevitably rise and consume everything and everyone she loved.

Zelda rested her forehead against the mirror and closed her eyes, holding back tears one more time, unsure how much longer she could hold on before she gave out.

oOo

Astor found himself in that mysterious place. The one seen in his visions as of late, particularly when the princess drew near to him. It was an ethereal and dark forest, hidden away within the Lost Woods much in the same way as Korok Forest. Perhaps it was the goddess who led him there and allowed him to find it, although Astor wasn’t sure if it was real or illusionary.

Moonlight peaked down through the tops of the trees, the blue and white Silent Princess flowers seeming to glow in its light. Was it always night here? It was clearly a refuge for him.

He took an uncertain step forward, looking around. There was a small spring of clear water.

He thought of the princess and how she would likely go to the Spring of Courage and Power soon. Let her try, the prophet thought. She wasn’t going to be unlocking that power anytime soon. He could envision her visiting one such spring, her shoulders bare, her dress clinging to her form as she stood in the water so focused on unlocking the power that evaded her. That jittery feeling came back in full force.

Kill her… You’ll be in control again…

No, no… I must stay as far away from her as possible, lest the goddess’s prophecy comes true…

He wasn’t sure which one was Lord Ganon’s will. His trust in the Calamity had been so compromised he couldn’t discern Ganon’s or even fate’s design any longer. There was a part of him that wanted so much to remain faithful to Lord Ganon. He didn’t know how else to exist, even knowing that to remain loyal would end in regret for a prophecy unfulfilled and his own death.

The prophet held his head in his hands. He hastily disrobed, leaving his clothing in a haphazard pile, signaling his mental disarray. He got into the small spring, completely bare save for the circlet he wore with the Malice Eye. Many bruises from his earlier fight marred his pale skin.

Thoughts and feelings he might have easily shoved away before were becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. No, it was downright impossible after the goddess’s parting words, and his thoughts of the princess were running wild. He could feel the distance between himself and the Calamity widen further, and he panicked.

He slid under the water’s surface, holding his breath as long as he could. If Hylia was merciful maybe he’d drown and in death, those vexing feelings would stop plaguing him. The urge to take a breath was increasing, and he came back up, gasping.

Astor relaxed a bit, resting his head on the edge of the spring and stretching out into a comfortable position in surrender, hoping this place was indeed illusionary and that no one would stumble upon him in such a state, not that travelers typically explored these woods for fear of becoming lost.

This place was so… otherworldly… so beautiful. Astor wondered briefly if Calamity Ganon could even ‘see’ or perceive this place.

And at last, he confronted the goddess’s prophecy with a clearer mind, although wavering between doubt and resent. How could it come true? He had acted with such cruelty toward Princess Zelda, why would she ever look at him with anything other than disdain?

Astor had once been very disciplined in his mindset towards the princess and his plan to bring about her demise, but he was out of reasons to fight what had been repressed. His thoughts of her lingered and then intensified. He yearned to embrace her, to touch her, and ached to feel her hands on him. He was paralyzed by the thought, but he couldn’t deny how exquisite it would be to give in to those feelings if the opportunity ever arose, despite knowing he would continue to resist out of fear of losing himself.

The desire to have her was increasing to a point of no return and Astor knew he would have no peace until he could, at the very least, see Princess Zelda again.

#Astor #Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity #Age of Calamity #HWAOC #Zelast #Vaguely a Valentine's Day chapter #I feel like I'm really stretching that T-rating #Hylia take the wheel

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hyruviandoctor · 5 years

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Prisoner: Chapter I – Dinner with The Beast

Hey there! Despite the chapter number, this is the second part of a long fic I’m writing that details the (platonic) relationship between Ganondorf and Zelda during the hundred years Link was asleep in Breath of the Wild. You can read the prologue here! I have one more chapter already ready that just needs final editing, so expect that soon too!

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Rating: Probably T (just to be safe)

Characters: Zelda, Ganondorf

World: Breath of the Wild (During the 100 years Link was asleep)

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Zelda was taken aback as a deep, hearty, almost friendly laugh emanated from the monster she called an enemy. He grabbed his stomach with one hand and threw his head back in an uproarious laugh that seemed to resonate inside Zelda’s very core. It was a laugh reminiscent of the warmth of the desert sands late in the evening, under the shade of a palm tree near the oasis – infectious and relaxed.

Zelda tightened her grip on her rapier.

“It has been quite a while since I’ve had a fight like this,” the Gerudo chuckled. “You are truly gifted with that blade, your highness.”

Zelda’s frown deepened.

“Come now, you can’t really expect to just fight me continuously, can you? Young princess, we’ve been at this for nearly two years now.”

Zelda’s eyes widened and her mouth opened in shock. Two years? It couldn’t possibly have been that long. There was no way she had been dueling the Gerudo King for that much time. Surely someone would have come along and defeated Ganon had that much time truly passed. Surely Link would have awoken by now.

“And just what do you expect me to do then, Ganon?” Zelda snapped. “Sit here and have tea with you?”

“Please Princess, call me Ganondorf. I am not Ganon.”

The Gerudo sighed.

“Well, I suppose on some level I am. But not on any level that I wish to identify with, and not in the way you assume. And yes, I thought we could dine and chat for a bit, if I’m being quite honest. Please, will you sit with me?”

Ganondorf clapped and the void around them changed, the malicious fog shifting and congealing until it formed into a room reminiscent of a Gerudo parlor. Soft, colorful rugs covered the floor and brilliant tapestries hung from the mudbrick walls. A table sat low on the floor with pillows on either side of it for seating, and delicacies were stacked high on trays and dishes atop it. Braziers filled the room with a relaxing glow, and curtains were closed over the door and windows to hide the swirling mass of corruption outside. A number of comfortable-looking furniture decorated the rest of the room: large, cushioned couches and chairs, piles of pillows, and soft rugs. All-in-all it was a very cozy and inviting space, and it reminded Zelda of the many nights she spent with Urbosa after her mother’s passing.

The Gerudo King sounded oddly refined, Zelda thought. He certainly spoke in the manner of someone capable of being a ruler at least, and the room didn’t seem to harbor any apparent dangers. She wasn’t about to let her guard down, but she felt there was no immediate harm in speaking with him. It’s not as if she had much choice; she was stuck here same as he was.

Ganondorf walked over to the table and took a seat, gesturing for Zelda to do the same on the other side. She joined him – placing her blade by her side and making sure it was well within arm’s reach should the need arise – as he poured a cup of wine and handed it to her. She frowned. She wasn’t willing to risk a cheap death by poison. Ganondorf rolled his eyes and chuckled, setting the cup down and pouring another. He drank from it, making sure to show the stain from the wine on his beard and looked expectantly at the Hylian Princess. Slowly, she lifted the cup to her mouth, smelled it, and drank. She was taken aback. This wasn’t at all like the wine they had in the castle; this was smoky and somewhat fruity, not at all bitter. Her host smiled proudly as a look of contentment spread across her face and he grabbed the cooked leg of some kind of bird, taking a bite out of the succulent meat and sighing happily.

This was not at all what Zelda had expected when she had marched defiantly up the path to Hyrule Castle to face the Calamity, nor was it what she was met with when she first entered this realm. For the first, goodness, two years now she had been locked in a constant struggle with her captor and co-prisoner, and now he was acting as though all of that simply hadn’t happened – as if the world outside wasn’t being ravaged by the evil he carried. He was acting like – well – he was acting like the friendly ruler of another land entertaining a royal party.

“Tell me princess,” Ganondorf said, meat juice running down his chin, “Why do you think it is we fight one another?”

Zelda’s brow furrowed once more.

“Because you seek to destroy my kingdom – my people – and the Goddess chose me to fight back against you and the Calamity.”

Ganondorf sighed.

“Part of that is true, I suppose. You were indeed chosen by Hylia – in a way – to fight me – sort of. And I suppose I do seek the destruction of your kingdom to some degree. But there’s much more to it than that, I’m afraid.”

He wiped his mouth and took a sip from his cup, then reached for another leg. Zelda watched impatiently as she waited for him to continue, but he seemed perfectly content to drag things out. After a moment she huffed and reached for a bowl of hydromelon chunks and began to eat the watery fruit – a favorite of Link’s, if she remembered correctly.

A few minutes of silence passed before Ganondorf once again spoke.

“I was born a very long time ago, your highness. Long enough ago that Hyrule is in an entirely different geographic region now. Gods, people move around so much and I simply don’t understand it. Anyway - “

He refilled his cup and took another drink before continuing.

“As I said, I was born a very, very long time ago. Ganondorf Dragmire, King of Thieves, they called me. Sure, I may have led some Gerudo raiding parties back in the day, but my people were hardly thieves. We mostly traded with Hyrule, only stealing when met with cruelty or malice. Unfortunately, that happened fairly often. You have to understand, there was a lot more hatred for Gerudo back in those days. We lived in the harsh desert and had dark skin and harsh features and worshipped a different goddess, so obviously we were evil and not to be trusted. At least, that’s what the people of Hyrule thought.

“I met with the King of Hyrule one fateful day, all those years ago. I wonder what would have happened to our people had things gone differently that day. We met under pretenses of a treaty, an alliance – something to better both our people. What happened was, of course, not at all that. For earlier that month I had gone to the Kokiri Forest and – oh my, you may not know what a Kokiri is, now that I think about it.”

Zelda sat in silence, completely caught off guard by how relaxed his tone was. This was the greatest evil known to all time? This was the man who had caused the near downfall of her ancestors’ kingdoms so many a time? This was the malicious force currently ravaging her own people? How could that possibly be the case? And yet, she knew it was true, otherwise she wouldn’t be here in the first place.

“See, the Kokiri were the original form the Koroks took. They appeared as small Hylian children, clad in green and incredibly mischievous. I had entered their forest and demanded the Great Deku Tree turn over an object of great power, something that would allow me to claim the Triforce as my own. He was……uncooperative, to say the least. I didn’t enjoy placing a curse on him. He didn’t need to die.”

Ganondorf closed his eyes and bowed his head, almost as if he felt regret for what he had done. He took a slow sip of his wine, then watched the liquid spin as he slightly shook the cup.

“I know a seedling of his sprouted a few years later; I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the same on that’s growing above that murky forest across the canyon now.”

A few moments of silence passed while the two ate. Zelda sat pondering what the Gerudo had said, wondering just what he was getting at. When he spoke next it sounded slower, more reflective.

“Your ancestor watched me from the courtyard window as I met her father, the king. She thought she was sly, but I turned my head and locked eyes with her to show her I wasn’t as naïve as she thought. Unfortunately for her, she didn’t get the message.”

Ganondorf turned his head to the ceiling and frowned gently, his bright red locks cascading down his back like a flaming waterfall.

“I was much crueler in those days.”

He closed his eyes.

“The kingdom burned and I sat upon my dark throne, victorious and powerful. And then you showed up with that boy.”

He looked the Hylian Princess in the eye.

“You and that damn boy had to ruin everything. I had worked so hard, done everything I could to win – even secured the Triforce of Power – and yet the two of you still managed to beat me without batting an eye. You locked me away in the Spirit Realm, dooming me to this very void for eternity. That, my dear princess, was the start of our battle.”

He raised his cup to his lips and drank deeply once more. Then he rose and sauntered to one of the couches where he laid down and spoke no more that evening.

#Breath of the Wild #botw #Legend of Zelda #Ganondorf #Princess Zelda #Zelda Fanfiction #writers on tumblr #I don't know what else to tag this as lol #reblogs are very much appreciated #and I read every comment/reply/tag/etc. on these #you guys are wonderful and I hope you enjoy where I take this fic #(also I snuck in a little reference to a fic by @honestground)#(if she saw this I would scream that would be so cool)#anyway I hope you guys like this and are looking forward to more very very soon!#(like in a day or two lol)#Tyler Writes

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silverskulltula · 6 years

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if you're still taking numbers for ye zelda questionnaire - 1, 3, 5, 8, 11, 15?

1. Top 3 incarnations of Link?

Breath of the Wild

Twilight Princess

Wind Waker

Keep in mind that each of these so are fucking close to each other that the list could easily be interchangeable. Breath of the Wild speaks for itself - there’s no sort of flowery wordsmithery that I can conjure that would be worthy of Link’s portrayal in that game, so in essence - it’s gud.

I covered Twilight Princess a bit in the last ask! I love my ranch-hand, pumpkin-eating, wholesome-big-brother Link to the death.

I considered putting OoT for third but honestly? Wind Waker deserves it more. For all the shit Wind Waker got on release it should be commended for taking the series in all sorts of new directions. Link in WW is a child in way over his head. All he wants to do is to go back to Outset Isle and wear his lobster shirt and hang out with his grandma. But when given a responsibility way past his years, his acceptance of the task is both unwavering and effortless. Link is a child, which means that his mind is the purest it’ll ever be, and that naivety is his strength. He stands against Ganondorf - old, broken, and jaded, but still consumed with a lust for power. Link shows him that youthful optimism is not something fragile and fleeting to be lost in the face of the world’s cruelty. It’s an unstoppable force for good, and no matter the opposition, it will always prevail. One thing that I really like about Wind Waker and its sequels is that the games focus on change. There’s the obvious change from Hyrule into the Great Sea. There’s the change of the Zora into the Rito, the Kokiri into the Koroks, and so on. They all feature change as a catalyst for moving forward. Moving forward into uncharted waters to establish new kingdoms. Moving forward technologically to create new machines and improve people’s lives. Moving forward sociologically and politically by expanding the government (even if the Chancellor turned out to be a demon but ANYWAY). The WW-PH-ST trilogy shows that progress is propelled by youthful optimism, and that’s a message that I will defend to the fucking death.

ANYWAY.

3. Favourite and least favourite companion?

CIN TOOK MIDNA AWAY FROM ME IN THE LAST ASK BUT THEY AREN’T HERE TO TAKE HER AWAY NOW AHA SO yea Midna is my Big Favorite. The evolution of her relationship with Link is enough to bring me to tears. Anything less of a companion would’ve cheapened TP as a whole.

It’s predictable, but my least favorite would have to be Fi. I appreciate that the Master Sword itself is given some depth and characterization but Nintendo definitely failed in their execution of that entire game. Navi was annoying but endearing, and Link’s journey to find her again in MM is genuinely heartbreaking. Fi was exhausting to listen to and IMO the game did nothing to create attachment to her. The only thing I’ll give Skyward Sword is that some of its bosses were pretty killer, but that’s about it.

5. was covered in Cin’s ask!

8. Top 3 villains?

Wind Waker Ganondorf

Princess Hilda (DON’T CRY TO ME IF YOU DIDN’T KNOW - IF YOU’RE READING THIS YOU SHOULD BE EXPECTING SPOILES GDI)

Skull Kid

WW Ganondorf was a very welcome expansion on the shallow, evil-for-evil’s-sake Ganondorf from OoT. It made sense that Ganondorf, born as a mortal and with his own life experiences, would harbor his own resentment of Hyrule besides his main goal of claiming the Triforce. You can feel sympathy for a man whose entire life has been haunted by death and suffering, even if he tragically became the embodiment of those very things in his quest to rise above them. I’m not saying that Ganondorf didn’t deserve his fate - just that (demonic cycle of reincarnation set aside) at one point there was a voice inside him that wanted to make things better for himself and his people, and that understandable want was tragically silenced by the evil desires of Demise’s reincarnated soul. I HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS ABOUT GANONDORF, OK.

Believe it or not I wasn’t spoiled on the end of ALBW and it made it all the better, so I’m genuinely sorry if my answer gave away the twist for you. I suppose that Hilda IS the realization of what would happen if Ganondorf was driven to evil by a desire to help his people instead of his own selfish pursuit of power. Hilda commits evil in the pursuit of good (saving her world and her people), and that’s enormously refreshing in a series plagued by absolute evil just for evil’s sake. Zelda and Link’s unanimous wish to restore Lorule’s Triforce is yet another moment in The Legend of Zelda series that will bring me to tears.

And Skull Kid. Man, I guess that all of my favorite villains have tragedy in common. Skull Kid, a puppeteer turned puppet, who is forgiven in the end by yet another young hero suffering responsibility and pain beyond his years. Again - the children prevail over evil, a core message of TLoZ that I adore.

11. Favourite Ganon/Ganondorf design?

My favorite characterization of Ganondorf is Wind Waker, but in terms of literal chronological progression I immensely love the change from Ocarina of Time Ganondorf to Twilight Princess Ganondorf. Debatable timeline fuckery aside, I was stunned once I realized that the Ganondorf in TP was THE Ganondorf from OoT and I was facing this fucker yet again. His characterization wasn’t as deep as WW but his development was apparent in his tactics. He failed before by directly attacking Hyrule himself, so now he’s utilizing the fanatical proxy that is Zant in order to utilize the might of the usurped Twilight Realm in his stead. Ganondorf is more calculating and cautious than his OoT incarnation, but his boss fights show that he’s still every bit as ferocious. And I find this older DADONDORF hot and I want him to beat me to a pulp and call me pathetic ok

15. Top 3 dungeons?

Thieve’s Hideout (ALBW)

Snowpeak Ruins (TP)

Sandship (SS)

Thieve’s Hideout is a personal favorite (and that extends to the Thieve’s Town in ALTTP as well). Overall ALBW was excellent at shaking up the traditional Zelda formula and it did that in Thieve’s Hideout by giving you an NPC companion. She was something between an escort quest and a movable assistant who provided really sassy commentary throughout the dungeon. She added a lot of flavor to what could’ve been a cut and dry dungeon and I appreciate that Nintendo was able to think outside of the box.

Snowpeak Ruins is another odd dungeon in that it’s not actually a dungeon. The derelict mansion was a visually interesting setting for a dungeon and the final boss was an even further subversion of the typical formula. The whole dungeon was a welcome change of pace and it’s one of my favorite parts of TP.

Holy fuck, I have something nice to say about Skyward Sword???? For better or worse, Nintendo attempted to establish an origin for Zelda’s lore in Skyward Sword, and part of that lore is that an incredibly technologically advanced civilization predated the Hylians (expanded upon in a much more interesting way in BOTW, but it technically had the idea first). They showed this by allowing you to shift specific areas back in time by activating Timeshift Stones (which were light blue… like a certain Ocarina… that allows you to travel through time… a little detail that I appreciate). One of these stones encompassed an entire pirate ship that sailed on the desert by timeshifting the desert immediately around it back into water. I haven’t played Skyward Sword in years, but I remember having a lot of fun with the robotic pirate swordfighting duel along the bowsprit. And of course, the end boss was a goddamn SEA MONSTER THAT TORE APART THE SHIP PIECE BY PIECE, SO THAT WAS FUN. Again, for all of Skyward Sword’s failings, some of the dungeons were fucking awesome.

#whats-ursine

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kendrixtermina · 5 years

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So I found a walkthrough of “The Phantom Fable” and its reaction time

But don’t take my word for it click here to form your own opinion and thank the hero that made this possible

I like how connie has no patience for the townies.

It also has just a lil bit of plot like lore about the various magitech artifacts (It's interesting that gems from Peridot's generation aren't really that familiar with them anymore) and Steven is still recognizeably in his season 4 slump. Also even though the book is supposed to be super old there's a lot of those triangular sigils around - is the book so old that it's from before PD came to be?

arcane acropolis

Really excited about the potential for lore speculation from these new locations! So they were researching magic in this place! It does look like your archetypical mage tower with all the bookshelves and aqueducts though the apocalyptic log on the computer says "mad science", and it seems like some mage gem went behind the Diamonds' backs because even they thought this was too dangerous. One always wonders how the weird magic artifacts from the early seasons fits into the greater canon.

Video games tend to be good at this "environment-based storytelling" but this is actually presented pretty well in a sorta melancholy haunting manner between the BGs, the music, the "ghost" of that unfortunate Pearl, various scattered hints that only sort of form a whole. Perhaps the uppity mage gem was Lonely Pearl's master....

...

OUCH from what I'd read it seems like they just "forgot" her/ didn't care enough to go back for her before the corruption attack but this seems like a way more complex story, like more of an individual act of cruelty/ deliberate punishment.

The mage gem deliberately "forgot" her while leaving the outpost, but it was HER who betrayed the empire. The mage gem was deliberately cruel, too, telling her that she would be coming back.

Lonely Pearl was basically being an upstanding citizen, reporting foul play to the Diamonds.

That is, if they even had the right "traitor" at all. Did they just assume it was her because of something like a “gossip hen” stereotype?

But from how she acts she seems pretty devoted like her master was her whole world - maybe they got the wrong traitor and she was innocent all along. Or she tattled because she was concerned about her master's own safety. In any case they really done her dirty

In any case I’m not even sure this took place on Earth. Did she just go nuts/feral all by herself? If so this is the first time we’ve seen that, seems like it was more some recording of wherever the magic book was made. Was this a recording? Is the real her still trapped out there or did the book absorb her out of pity? Where is she now if she’s anywhere at all? Or was it all an illusion?

It’s a nice Detail that it couldn’t capture Steven and Connie because, as Lapis and Peridot theorize, it doesn’t know how to ‘categorize’ them.

The taglines for the GUYS and GALS were genuinely funny IMHO

Buried Bastion

The Ruby Squad!

Though I do not quite get what Steven and Garnet are theorizing there.

Is it ‘our’ Rubies but in the past? Them inserted into some older memory of CG Ruby being deployed somewhere?Gah I love trippy stuff but you gotta give me a hint so I can work it out

It does seem to be earth tho. The desert too. Come to think of it, were the structures in the desert Pink Diamond’s former palace? Since she parked her ship there and was lurking around there without telling the others. Eyeball DID use to be part of her guard.

If this all takes place on Earth this means Lonely Pearl is either still at the research facility or in the bubble room/ set to beuncorrupted.

The rest of the squad was Era II tho none of them had really heard of PDs shattering, Leggy was implied to be fresh from the ground. (Which implies that both Rebel Ruby and Eyeball are in fact relatively old for Rubies. As footsoldiers it figures that they’d have one of the higher attrition rates)

And as usual their lines are comedic gold and full of personality Sand in my shorts lol

Perhaps in reality it was actually eyeball, but with a different squad of Rubies that are now long dead.

Maybe i’s an erised/ Xion type situation. Steven sees the Ruby Squad, Garnet might be seeing CG Ruby’s old comrades.

In any case they seem to be guarding an artifact - presumably the book - so it “wont fall into rebel hands”. Interesting.

This whole level has a very zeldaesque feel to it, there’s even pots to smash! I suppose the first one could then be likened to final fantasy.

No wait that’s the era II sigil. So this here is definitely late in the war.

“Glyph of Illusion”, hm? So now the trippyness shall become interactive

The broken computers make me so angry. I want more apocalyptic logs damnit

YEAH Late war, the screes show fusion experiments and its full of those tubes they emerged from.

And they found some magic bombs, too

Ohhhh boy, it WAS the fusion experiment lab. We know what it actually looks like now. Also was it just implied that they started with living dearth row inmates? Ouch.

UGH there’s bits of uncessesful specimens all over.

Note that there’s those red, vein-like “powerlines”, but they look more like the ones in the temple than the ones seen in various Era II structures

So they were sent to gather the last remaining research data and leave not witnesses - I mean clearly the Rebels never found out until Peridots arrival

Too bad we won’t know which of them said which of the Megaruby’s lines

In the end our heroes are not sure how much of this was real - but we all know there were fusion experiments. Maybe even the book only knew so much

Interim

Kinda curious where Amethyst has gotten to. Since we did both the distant past and the middle of the war. The sequence breaking in the forest and the beach is also kinda interesting.

Mysterious pillar saying “avoid the light”. Fascinating.

is that a nest full of donuts?

Aww you can find the hidingplace of onions friends in the forest

whoha its just like that one temple in breath of the wild!

Lost Labhyrinth

Looks like somewhere cold. There’s some random Quartzes but otherwise not much plot here. It’s like they ran out of ideas

ooo exit holes... in ice? Okey I possibly take that back plot might be forthcoming

I like the common theme that for each level the first half was named something vaguely mystical as it might look to an outside observer, and then the second bit is a crisp, spartan designation once the MCs figure out what it is. The duality of man gemkind, I suppose, though they really are kinda spartan as whole at least the mainstream/monarchist faction.

Figures that there would be more kindergartens than just the two since we haven’t seen he one where the earth-grown Rose Quartes came from. Since this is delta that one must’ve been Gamma. Might not even exist anymore.

That would mean there were four. One orange, one purple, one pastel, and one for the actual!rose quartzes.

There’s a mean Jasper but it’s not OUR mean Jasper. Why are eye gems all.. like that?

Ahhh I see. They’re hunting a group of off-colors. Possibly rebellious off-colors.

“You’ve sucessfully rescued all my Crsystal gem sidekicks” I can’t even

But of course they were only distracting us until the antagonist finally shows themselves and inevitably napps greg

yet more sequence breaking then

Interesting that you get the white sigil pieces in beach city

Final Dungeon

whats this zerg slime? re we doing starcraft now

though i suppose its also a tad like the blight ganons from breath of the wild where you had to shoot the eye

the musics also getting interesting

so its motive rant o clock. Coool voice, too

this is indeed getting breath of the wild-y. the korok forest anyone?

So far I was thinking that maybe the book spirit, excuse me, Fable, decided to record shameful occurences or maybe parts of gem history that were not so great aside from just recording the glory, perhaps even out of sympathy/emphasizing with the outcasts but as of now it seems more like she’s simply lonely

Poor Steven, it was mindfuckey how she offered to let him see his dead mom. He sorta feels pretty ambiguous about her so he’d probably be more frighteed by that prospect, but I’d say this would have worked on many a Standard Protagonist, like if this were Harry Potter or Shinji Ikari? napped.

Book-ception?! Fairly typical twist at this point but it would’ve been a waste not to do it. So they were napped after all, and put with all the humans in beach city

It’s interesting that she perceives Steven as “being unable to resist an adventure” but framed more in terms of the thrill than just chronic-hero-syndrome.

Now we are getting bullethell-sy for the final battle. Even the music is vaguely undertale-ish. i mean with how you have to get the one green bomb to defeat her that does kinda seem deliberate

So he talked her down of course, by promising to tell her some less awful stories for a change.

And she winds up as Steven’s diary because of course

Nice enough from a design standpoint I guess cant realistically expect more than this from a spinoff game

#steven universe

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