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Legend Of Zelda - Blog Posts
The little Zora kid is so so cute I cannot get over it
Can we get a drawing of Link giving candy to the school kids in secret??
When heâs good with kids (twirls hair)
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Thanks for the ask ^_^
AAAA SO CUTE!!!
Would you maybe draw EoW Zelda đ
I havenât played EOW yet but I love her design
This is one of the few Zelda illustrations I've actually finished in a while lol. (As in made a full bg and actually thought a little bit about the composition) Echoes of Wisdom is lovely, charming and just a little silly and I'm liking it very much. Solving your problems with explosives (or little guys that will drop them for you) is definitely one of my favorite LoZ features.
Iâm gonna write trans!Link fanfiction, you cannot stop this hyperfixation
the struggle ...
@plateapus
Klance!! the little guy!! :D
I had a lot of fun drawing him!
@the-sage-of-aura-and-shadows
I drew Sacred for you!! :D I hope you like it! I really like his design!
Okay so I have a lot of thoughts about the whole thing of the Gerudo being a race of entirely women, with the only exception being one man born every hundred years, and that man automatically being their king. Now this worldbuilding comes from Ocarina of Time, and there's obviously a metric fuckton of unfortunate implications there, because it was 1998. And it seems that Tears of the Kingdom is sticking with the lore of Gerudo men being extremely rare and becoming the King of their people, which once again has a metric fuckton of unfortunate implications because it's 2023 and Nintendo has somehow gotten even worse about this shit.
But let's set aside the whole... everything, and look at this from just the in-universe perspective. How does it work? I mean, it's pretty clear that there is no overlap between the kings; the old ones are normally long gone by the time a new one is born, but the Gerudo manage to take care of themselves during the hangtime. So they must have an established system of government and leadership that doesn't involve a king, and somehow that system is set up in a way that does a smooth transfer of power once a new king is born and old enough to take the throne. But why bother always declaring a random guy to be your King when you already have a perfectly functional system in place?
I mean again, the whole thing has a lot of sexist implications, but we're not looking at this from a real world context, we're examining it in-universe. And we could just go the lazy route and say that their king is in charge just because he's the only man, but I don't like that. I mean come on, the Gerudo are a race of entirely women, and most of their outside problems come from Hylian men being creepy about it. They are entirely a matriarchy; there is literally no reason for their culture to have an inherent respect for men, even if the man in question is one of them. And they're desert people; they live in an extremely harsh and dangerous landscape, if they don't have their shit together, they will die. By sheer necessity, their culture needs to put a lot of value in being practical, because if they're stupid about things, people die. They really can't afford to have a shitty leader take over, and just letting some guy take the wheel doesn't really fit with the way their culture must otherwise work.
So again, why the fuck do they bother having a King?
I think it's mainly just a ceremonial position. Yes, if the guy is a good leader he'll be in charge, but if he isn't good at being a King or isn't interested in the job... fuck it, they've already got a functional government system that's been leading their people the whole time, why fix what isn't broken? The title of Gerudo King isn't about leadership or power. I think it's more about belonging. Because the Gerudo are a culture where every single one of them can be defined in the same way... and there is exactly one exception once a century. Men are considered to be inherently outsiders at the best of times, and more often they're enemies. A man born into this culture is a natural outsider; he is completely unique, and that means he doesn't really fit into his community. And well... when someone is fundamentally different from the rest of their community, they tend to be ostracized.
So I think that's why the position of Gerudo King exists. It isn't about them needing or even wanting a man to lead them. The title of King doesn't need to involve any leadership at all. It's about giving the man born every century a place in their society. It's a way of saying yes, you are one of us, you are a Gerudo, you belong here, you are wanted and you are loved.
The Gerudo know that every hundred years, one of their children will be fundamentally different from all of his peers. And so their society is built to ensure that a child who is completely different from them will still be loved and accepted. He will always have a place in their society. He doesn't need to earn their love, he has it just for existing. These are his people.
The title of Gerudo King isn't an inherent position of authority. It's a promise of acceptance.
You know sometimes I think about how Majoraâs Mask is a game about helping others first and saving the world second
About how literally the main objective of the game was to help Tatl and the Happy Mask Salesman, and how literally no one tells you that your goal needs to be to stop the moon
About how upon rescuing the third giant, they ask you to help their friend, to which Tatl assumes they mean the fourth giant, when in reality theyâre referring to Skull Kid
About how Skull Kid is a perfect representation of a child going through grief and not given the proper resources to cope healthily which can lead to a spiral of destruction, both hurting the ones around them and themself. And how, while the hurt they caused was inexcusable, you also see the effect of Skull Kidâs demonization as everyone thinks it better to simply toss him aside and forget him, but how the Skull Kid truly deserved to be saved just like everyone else in the game
About how, upon rescuing the last giant, they request you to âforgive your friendâ to which Tatl goes âHuh? What friend? and then the scene fades out as the player is meant to infer they mean the Skull Kid, and how this isnât addressed again once the cutscene ends
About how most of the quests where you help others isnât about magically making their lives better, but rather performing small acts to comfort others and ease their burdens so they can face life with no regrets
About how with the Deku Butlerâs son, you wonât realize you discovered his body until itâs referenced later in game, and how by the time you encounter Darmani III, his grave had already been completed, effectively making both of them die before you even had a chance to help them. But you watch Mikau die, and no matter how early in the cycle you go back, there will be nothing you can do and his death will be inevitable, and how the game reassures you that thatâs okay. That being there in the aftermath is just as crucial, if not more crucial, than attempting to prevent the tragedy in the first place
About how Cremia does everything in her power to make Romaniâs last night as comforting and joyful as possible so her last moments arenât in fear of the apocalypse, but rather love of her sister, and how one can guess how much Romani unknowingly brings Cremia comfort in her final moments as well
About how Majoraâs Mask is a game that focuses on and heavily rewards empathy and compassion, and how simply being selfless is often more important than being some grand hero. About how itâs literally impossible to beat the game without making meaningful, emotional connections. And how as much as you help others, they help you in return; with Deku Butlerâs Son, Darmani III, and Mikau being immediate helpers, and the Fierce Deityâs Mask being the ultimate symbol for all the joy youâve brought to others and how the most daunting threat in the game is an absolute cakewalk when you have so many behind your back. About how the game is about support and being supported, and making the most of the time youâre given
And yâknow sometimes I think about Majoraâs Mask
any theories/thoughts on the fairies (and maybe great fairies)? like why most games in the downfall timeline (wind waker being an exception) they seem to have human forms, but otherwise they appear as glowing balls of light with wings?
Fairies show up in various forms across the land of Hyruleâat least, that's how they look.
From the drawings we get of LoZ/AoL fairies tend to be your most basic and stereotypical; a little elf girl in a dress with sparkles.
A Link to the Past portrays them similarly, though this one has more vibrant hair and thinner wings, with a decent halo.
Wind Waker gives us a LoZ/AoL style fairy again
Which gets reused entirely for Four Swords Adventures.
But in every other game, we get these.
Interestingly enough, though, we're not actually seeing a change in biology, We're seeing the effects of magical duress.
Like you said, most fairies that show their humanoid forms occur in the Downfall Timeline. ALTTP has vibrant pink, then ALBW is more muted, until we finally get to the dull, glow-less LOZ fairies.
The glow you see at the tip of their wands is actually what little magic they can summon left, concentrated into a precise point, like a laser. As Hyrule declined, their magic faded, not letting them summon the glow they're best known for any more.
A healthy fairy doesnât need a wand.
In Wind Waker, we also see a decline in fairy powerâso much so that by Spirit Tracks, there literally aren't any left; at least, not in New Hyrule. Our big exceptions come from Phantom Hourglass.
Ciela, Leaf, and Neri all maintain their vibrancy and luminosity. But they also draw power from what's essentially a minor god in his own right, the Ocean King.
So theyâre outliers, not examples.
In the child timeline, where Four Swords Adventures takes place, we also see the powered down form of a fairy. But in that era, the magic of the world has been robbed, crystalized into force gems that fairies try very hard to absorb power from.
A fairyâs glow is an indicator of its magical health. The fainter the glow, the harder the fairy has to work just to keep itself aloft, and the more stress it accumulates as it tries to use magic.
Great Fairies, however, are a much clearer indicator of the magical status of a kingdom. The larger and more humanoid the Great Fairy, the stronger the country they reside inâs magic.
Ocarina of Time is a good reference point to have. These fairies are particularly large and very human-like, and Hyrule (at least from a wildlife point of view) is thriving.
Wind Waker, however, has an unstable Great Fairy type. The magic in this land is bleeding out and spiraling away, unused and unrestrained as it depletes. These fairies rule a dead world; a sea with no fish but the fishmen, a world with scattered islands and few offerings.
A Link Between Worldsâ great fairy has enough glow for a halo, and remains humanoid, so the magic is being used and maintained. But sheâs also barely bigger than a human, indicating that her powerâs weakening.
And then by The Legend of Zelda, sheâs indistinguishable from any other fairy out there.
But Breath of the Wild?
These Great Fairies are HUGE. Theyâre the healthiest Great Fairies to date, in part due to their strategic hibernation in their flowers, and they match what we see of Hyruleâs life.
Yes, Ganon has the Divine Beasts and Guardians on his side. Yes, this place has lost its king. But the country itself is alive is thriving. Itâs so full of magic that you can find Koroks in literally every corner of the world.
If I had to hazard a guess, since we never encounter them, Iâd say that these fairies are the closest theyâve been to Surface Great Fairies from Skyward Sword.
i think i like the four swords manga so much bc there is some just. very up my alley character and ship archetypes in there, but also the message itself and emotional beats hit surprisingly hard?
(long analysis below)
i like the idea of this character who is so ATTACHED to the idea of being an outsider and harming others, because he believes that he will never belong in the light with them. over the course of the manga, shadow link develops genuine fondness for vio, shows vulnerability through that fondness, and gets betrayed. no matter how real the feelings were between them, vio couldn't bear to hurt his friends or the world. it devastates shadow link; really gets to him. i wonder if he even knew he could have these feelings, falling for the very ruse he attempted to use on vio to get him on his side. while shadow is very ridiculous and theatrical in general, it doesn't seem fake when he expresses that he's glad vio has joined him. it also seems very real when he breaks down after the betrayal.
zelda choosing to be kind to shadow rather than mock him for being foolish is like the final straw that shatters his world view. she asks if he really thinks the light will hurt him, and challenges the notion that he isn't a hero deep down. she's not making excuses for him or telling him who to be; she's naming his deepest insecurities loud and clear and telling him it's okay to be scared. she's not rubbing salt in the wound of vio's rejection, but instead suggesting that shadow could find belonging with others if he took a leap of faith and tried to be their friend without an ulterior motive. shadow gets so giddy about the idea of doing havoc with vio, and it's like buddy, you're experiencing happiness because you like vio, not because you like being evil. i think deep down, we all just want to find Our People. and i can't stand to be cynical enough to suggest that we all don't have at least someone out there for us. it's just harder for some people to belong than others, as is the case with shadow.
shadow link is messed up and destructive to the people around him, unable to even imagine belonging in the light so he settles for chaos in darkness--but he submits, by the end of the comic, to the terrifying truth that he is deserving of love and capable of loving. i say terrifying because in an allegorical sense, it's kind of the equivalent of saying "i'm gay/mentally ill--i can't change that the world is harder for me, and it will be harder to find people who understand me, but i'm doing a disservice to myself and anyone i could hypothetically love by not trying to be my best self." it's a great and fairly uncommon message, especially for teenagers and young people in general.
i mean dude, talk about a bizarre but weirdly resonant reflection of the "gay teenager developing feelings for their best friend" experience. shadow link sets out to manipulate vio at first by appealing to his ego, no personal stakes in the game, but almost IMMEDIATELY falls DOWN BAD for this guy and becomes incredibly emotionally vulnerable around him. shadow link is genuinely LIVING for the time he gets to spend with vio, being as chaotic and theatrical and unrestrained as he pleases. he really believe that vio sees him, and likes him for who he is (which for the record i think is true, but vio also cares about his friends and the fate of the world, things that hold no meaning to shadow).
vio betrays shadow and it genuinely hurts, and that's kind of incredible for a short comic with a lot of goofy moments. and then shadow's resolution is vindicating too, he has agency in the choices he makes, and he does the right thing because he finally believes he doesn't need to remain in the darkness. he disguises himself to help the four because he knows they don't trust his face, really demonstrating the selfless desire to end all the magic shit that put him and the others in archetypical dark/light boxes. shadow link changes a lot in a short period, but the fact that to the end he believes that he still isn't like the others is negated by them saying he's part of "the body" and their friend. his "death" is very simply put in the text--"when a shadow turns to light, it disappears." it's not like a real death. it's a permanent and meaningful statement on how much shadow has changed, and found belonging and acceptance. if shadow's physical form came from feelings of spite and resentment, it makes sense that it no longer needed to exist.
and to TOP IT OFF, he does "end up" with vio and the others, if we're viewing The Full Link as an allegorical friend group or community. he's not quite as homogenous as they are, but rather serves as a shadow of the four. i love the panel where he's giving a thumbs-up from link's shadow so much. that's so simple and obvious, but honestly poetic. because like, in some ways you're never going to be just like everyone else. finding friends who are also gay or mentally ill doesn't make you any less of who you specifically are, and in at least some ways your friends and loved ones are always going to be different from you. i don't like it when the ultimate takeaway from a story is "once you live happily ever after, the darkness will be all gone," because hello??? some things never go away, and the darkness has, for better or for worse, made you who you are! qualities i see in shadow link are sardonic humor, unusual expressiveness, and a deep sense of caring towards His People/Person. those are fueled partially, but not entirely, by his not-great circumstances and deepest fears... but they're also where he shines.
you can be different from other people without resigning yourself to an lonely and unhappy life. coming out doesn't make you any less gay; seeking treatment doesn't magically cure mental illness; but acknowledging yourself for who you are is life-changing liberation, and necessary in the pursuit of happiness. these are huge and scary steps that especially young people are struggle to take, settling for resentment over the possibility of rejection. shadow link takes a chance and finds belonging, but still maintains the parts of himself that give him such a distinct personality. he is accepted for who he is, and at the end of the day who he is is not dark force whose sole purpose is to ruin lives, but just a strange gay-ass little dude who's a little bit extra but good at heart. and vio, as well as the others, appreciate that wholeheartedly. at the end of the day, the Whole Link just isn't the Whole Link without his shadow.
i don't know man, it's always special to me when an angsty character is written not as a joke, but as an opportunity to give people hope. even in the most obscure of places, even in ways that i can analyze endlessly but mean nothing to the average person. maybe none of this was the authors' intention. even if the manga was just, like, a shallow implementation of tropes and characteristics i'm a SUCKER for, i'd still love it to bits.
but i do see something a little deeper here, i can't help it. clearly the story has resonated with a small but dedicated group of fans, many of whom read the manga as kids or teens. i'm... honestly a little jealous of that. it's the kind of story i needed, and the kind of story i wish to tell. this series is truly a gift that keeps on giving.
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