Belated Twilight Princess
Keep those booklist suggestions coming!
The Fountain: wonderful or terrible? MC really liked it but...
("Spanning over one thousand years, and three parallel stories, The Fountain is a story of love, death, spirituality, and the fragility of our existence in this world." Okay, but what's it about? Or should I let the profundity wash over me and not ask too many awkward questions XD. (Reincarnation! Reincarnation is a plus.))
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
My brother stood on line at 4:00am for this, but only because he wanted to. XD Parts of this game are really, really pretty. The animation for human!Link's a bit lacking but wolf!Link totally makes up for it, it is so obvious where the creators' hearts lie. I mean, not only do you turn into a wolf, when you're a wolf you can talk to animals! Including your horse! And all of these friendly woodland creatures show up to help you on your quest! I only played to the end of the Forest Temple but I swear that in that small amount of time I picked up a decently sized entourage.
Helpful animal/spirit companions:
1. Horse (I named mine "Lassie")
2. Hawk (comes for anyone who calls, but still!)
3. Fairy (actually a targeting cursor)
4. Morally ambiguous twilight creature (OMG Midna is awesome, she is so POSSIBLY EVIL and IMPOSSIBLY CUTE.)
Plus in the temple you pick up eight monkeys and a baboon, who help you cross uncrossable gaps after you free them from cages. And the four "guardian spirits of Light" are all animals (goat, monkey, snake, etc). Forget saving the world, Link should open a zoo. XD I am willing to forgive a lot of cheesiness and stupid sentimentality, however, from any Zelda game that allows me to to STAND ON A ROOF and SUMMON A HAWK which will SWOOP DOWN and CARRY OFF A CHICKEN and bring it to me. Now there's something I would have paid rupees for in the previous games.
More dumb commentary:
1. Why did I have to hand my wooden sword over to some snot-nosed brat who just insulted my main man Colin? Story progression, bah.
2. MIDNA I LOVE YOU. (But do I trust you, that's the question.) Also, all those surprised by the "true identity" of the Twilight Princess, raise your hands so I can laugh at you.
3. The only difference between "regular" Link and "true hero of destiny" Link is that the first is brunette and the second is blond orz.
I also watched my brother play the part just before the water temple!
1. Fic aside (see below), the game really does not give off any Link/Midna vibes. I mean, it's kind of hard, isn't it, when one party is a wolf and the other is an incorporate sexless child-like spirit creature (picture). I know there are people who can surmount such things but I usually demand more physical compatibility for romantic pairings.
2. Here's something interesting, though. Previous Zelda games have put Link in a triangle with Zelda and one (or more) "childhood" loves: in Link to the Past, Link/Marin/Zelda, in Windwaker, Link/Medli/Zelda, in Ocarina of Time, Link/Malon/Zelda (also Saria and Ruto). But there was never any doubt that Zelda trumped the others. The childhood loves are just that -- childhood loves, either people he will grow away from or people who are lesser reflections of Princess Zelda**. This is especially in Ocarina of Time where he literally grows up and, additionally, discovers he's Hylian (same features as Zelda) so that those other girls -- the human and Rito and Kikiri and Zora girls -- are out.
**What gets me about Windwaker is that Link's sister is also cast in this role.
Twilight Princess seems to be taking a different track. Link is a young man before he leaves the village, not a boy. He "really is" a villager -- that is, his hair is brown, and doesn't turn blond (like Zelda's) until after he become the Hero of Destiny. He serves Zelda, certainly, and trusts her, but it's more...there's more distance. She's above him, literally unreachable (locked in a tower in the shadow realm); they aren't connected by a psychic bond as in Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time; her plans don't seem to majorly involve him. Before he arrived at the tower, they'd never met. Meanwhile, the person he's trying to rescue is Ilia, the mayor's daughter. It's an interesting take -- Link is still special, but this time, his background and aims are a bit more humble.
3. I can't believe I spent that many words on pairings in Legend of Zelda. Someone please examine my head, it is clearly not screwed on right. Okay, so another thing worth noting: the "in the beginning of the world" cut scene. That's how many times we've heard this story, again? XD.
4. Could I have rained fiery meteor death down anywhere, or would Midna have refused to warp the giant volcanic rock to, say, Kakiriko Village instead Zora's Domain. Pity I'll never know. (I say this because I am curious, not because I'm evil. Really!)
5. Working backwards. There are a lot of pretty things in this game but I have to say that frozen Zora's domain, when you climb to the top of the waterfall and see all the glowing spirit Zoras trapped in ice -- a constellation of Zora-cicles -- it is one of the prettiest things yet. (I'm not evil! I swear.)
6. Shadow-selves are a common fictional trope and certainly one that the Zelda series has used before, but when I played the other games I was never as creeped out by them as I was watching the scene with not!Link and not!Ilia. It's those horrible expressions, they're making, plus the creepy Link/Ilia as Adam/Eve imagery.
Finally, FIC!
Something was pulling Link from a nebulous dream chasing shadow-rabbits through stiff, gray grass on a cliff overlooking the dark, gray ocean. Opening one eye, he saw it was Midna. Curled against his side, she hummed in her sleep, an eerie sound that rose and fell like the waves had. He snorted and laid his head back down over his paws. Now that he was awake, he could feel the grass and dirt under him. It itched. The feeling wasn't unbearable, but it was persistent; he longed to roll over, to tamp the grass down. But that would wake Midna.
When they'd stopped at sunset he'd been so tired he'd literally dropped. She'd shrieked -- a sound like off-key panpipes -- but he'd ignored it. It was her fault he was tired, after all. She'd set the pace and decided when to stop, and where. This place, within sight of Castle Hyrule but barely, in the shadow of a shallow ridge that partially hid their position, had been deemed adequate. Link had learned to trust Midna's judgment on the plains, where distances were deceptive. He'd also learned that it did no good to argue with her.
To distract himself from the prick of the grass, he looked out across the plains. The darkness hanging over Hylia was less obvious at night but it was still clearly there: a place whose sky had no stars or moon but shone with a strange, muted half-light. In daylight the solid weight of it formed a wavering line that extended from the ground to the sky, dominating the horizon and making the city seem closer than it really was. That line made Link uneasy. It wasn't the existence of the darkness that bothered him, but the feeling that it shouldn't be here. He didn't know where the feeling came from, only that it was strong. The two worlds, light and dark, should be separate; crossing into Twilight shouldn't be as simple as crossing a line on a map.
It shouldn't be that simple, even when you had a guide. Midna hummed on, oblivious, and Link huffed, this form's equivalent of a sigh. He wasn't sure what he thought of Midna, but Zelda trusted her, and that was enough for him. He shifted at bit, cautiously, and felt Midna chuckle -- a sound like bellflowers bending in the wind -- against his side.
"The dog wants to roll in the dirt," she said. "Why don't we let him?"
Link growled. Watch it.
But since she was obviously awake, he climbed to his feet and shook himself, letting the dirt and grass that clung to his fur fall away. The movement was natural and felt good. Truthfully, it hadn’t been very hard to adjust to being a wolf. Running on four legs, scenting his surroundings, had felt natural from the moment he'd transformed. But the shift in perspective, looking up at people's faces -- looking down to see the ants marching only a short distance away -- still sometimes took him by surprise. The first time he'd gone back to being "Link" he'd felt vertigo.
He settled down again, this time making sure to clear a little space to lie in first. Midna settled back against him agreeably. "Mmmmm," she hummed. "The moon is almost full tonight."
Link flicked an ear. I hear you.
"And we," she continued, "are almost finished with our quest." There was a note of satisfaction in her voice, together with something else, more nebulous, that Link couldn't quite place.
He flicked an ear again, slower this time. He had a feeling it wouldn't be that simple.
"Don't believe me? Well. I suppose that's fair." She laughed -- a sound like a wooden flute -- and subsided. After a moment she began to hum again, but softer.
Link was beginning to doubt that she'd ever been asleep in the first place. Do shadows need sleep? Does darkness rest at night? Does a creature of dreams...dream? It wasn't the sort of thing he usually thought about. Link fell into a confused doze where he stared at version of himself dressed all in black, with dark pools where eyes should have been. His other self stared back, smiling a knowing smile. Thank you, he seemed to mouth. Thank you. Almost. Almost. Thank you.
Link's eyes snapped open in a panic and he thought, for one confused second, that Midna's face had been inches from his own. But as he blinked away the remnants of the nightmare, he saw that she was at his side still; he'd imagined it. In no mood for another dream, he stared pensively at the horizon, where the beginnings of a false dawn were just starting to show around the edges of the darkness. They'd be going soon. Something was going to happen, but he didn't know what.
It occurred to him, suddenly, that he'd never seen the ocean.
The Fountain: wonderful or terrible? MC really liked it but...
("Spanning over one thousand years, and three parallel stories, The Fountain is a story of love, death, spirituality, and the fragility of our existence in this world." Okay, but what's it about? Or should I let the profundity wash over me and not ask too many awkward questions XD. (Reincarnation! Reincarnation is a plus.))
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
My brother stood on line at 4:00am for this, but only because he wanted to. XD Parts of this game are really, really pretty. The animation for human!Link's a bit lacking but wolf!Link totally makes up for it, it is so obvious where the creators' hearts lie. I mean, not only do you turn into a wolf, when you're a wolf you can talk to animals! Including your horse! And all of these friendly woodland creatures show up to help you on your quest! I only played to the end of the Forest Temple but I swear that in that small amount of time I picked up a decently sized entourage.
Helpful animal/spirit companions:
1. Horse (I named mine "Lassie")
2. Hawk (comes for anyone who calls, but still!)
3. Fairy (actually a targeting cursor)
4. Morally ambiguous twilight creature (OMG Midna is awesome, she is so POSSIBLY EVIL and IMPOSSIBLY CUTE.)
Plus in the temple you pick up eight monkeys and a baboon, who help you cross uncrossable gaps after you free them from cages. And the four "guardian spirits of Light" are all animals (goat, monkey, snake, etc). Forget saving the world, Link should open a zoo. XD I am willing to forgive a lot of cheesiness and stupid sentimentality, however, from any Zelda game that allows me to to STAND ON A ROOF and SUMMON A HAWK which will SWOOP DOWN and CARRY OFF A CHICKEN and bring it to me. Now there's something I would have paid rupees for in the previous games.
More dumb commentary:
1. Why did I have to hand my wooden sword over to some snot-nosed brat who just insulted my main man Colin? Story progression, bah.
2. MIDNA I LOVE YOU. (But do I trust you, that's the question.) Also, all those surprised by the "true identity" of the Twilight Princess, raise your hands so I can laugh at you.
3. The only difference between "regular" Link and "true hero of destiny" Link is that the first is brunette and the second is blond orz.
I also watched my brother play the part just before the water temple!
1. Fic aside (see below), the game really does not give off any Link/Midna vibes. I mean, it's kind of hard, isn't it, when one party is a wolf and the other is an incorporate sexless child-like spirit creature (picture). I know there are people who can surmount such things but I usually demand more physical compatibility for romantic pairings.
2. Here's something interesting, though. Previous Zelda games have put Link in a triangle with Zelda and one (or more) "childhood" loves: in Link to the Past, Link/Marin/Zelda, in Windwaker, Link/Medli/Zelda, in Ocarina of Time, Link/Malon/Zelda (also Saria and Ruto). But there was never any doubt that Zelda trumped the others. The childhood loves are just that -- childhood loves, either people he will grow away from or people who are lesser reflections of Princess Zelda**. This is especially in Ocarina of Time where he literally grows up and, additionally, discovers he's Hylian (same features as Zelda) so that those other girls -- the human and Rito and Kikiri and Zora girls -- are out.
**What gets me about Windwaker is that Link's sister is also cast in this role.
Twilight Princess seems to be taking a different track. Link is a young man before he leaves the village, not a boy. He "really is" a villager -- that is, his hair is brown, and doesn't turn blond (like Zelda's) until after he become the Hero of Destiny. He serves Zelda, certainly, and trusts her, but it's more...there's more distance. She's above him, literally unreachable (locked in a tower in the shadow realm); they aren't connected by a psychic bond as in Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time; her plans don't seem to majorly involve him. Before he arrived at the tower, they'd never met. Meanwhile, the person he's trying to rescue is Ilia, the mayor's daughter. It's an interesting take -- Link is still special, but this time, his background and aims are a bit more humble.
3. I can't believe I spent that many words on pairings in Legend of Zelda. Someone please examine my head, it is clearly not screwed on right. Okay, so another thing worth noting: the "in the beginning of the world" cut scene. That's how many times we've heard this story, again? XD.
4. Could I have rained fiery meteor death down anywhere, or would Midna have refused to warp the giant volcanic rock to, say, Kakiriko Village instead Zora's Domain. Pity I'll never know. (I say this because I am curious, not because I'm evil. Really!)
5. Working backwards. There are a lot of pretty things in this game but I have to say that frozen Zora's domain, when you climb to the top of the waterfall and see all the glowing spirit Zoras trapped in ice -- a constellation of Zora-cicles -- it is one of the prettiest things yet. (I'm not evil! I swear.)
6. Shadow-selves are a common fictional trope and certainly one that the Zelda series has used before, but when I played the other games I was never as creeped out by them as I was watching the scene with not!Link and not!Ilia. It's those horrible expressions, they're making, plus the creepy Link/Ilia as Adam/Eve imagery.
Finally, FIC!
Something was pulling Link from a nebulous dream chasing shadow-rabbits through stiff, gray grass on a cliff overlooking the dark, gray ocean. Opening one eye, he saw it was Midna. Curled against his side, she hummed in her sleep, an eerie sound that rose and fell like the waves had. He snorted and laid his head back down over his paws. Now that he was awake, he could feel the grass and dirt under him. It itched. The feeling wasn't unbearable, but it was persistent; he longed to roll over, to tamp the grass down. But that would wake Midna.
When they'd stopped at sunset he'd been so tired he'd literally dropped. She'd shrieked -- a sound like off-key panpipes -- but he'd ignored it. It was her fault he was tired, after all. She'd set the pace and decided when to stop, and where. This place, within sight of Castle Hyrule but barely, in the shadow of a shallow ridge that partially hid their position, had been deemed adequate. Link had learned to trust Midna's judgment on the plains, where distances were deceptive. He'd also learned that it did no good to argue with her.
To distract himself from the prick of the grass, he looked out across the plains. The darkness hanging over Hylia was less obvious at night but it was still clearly there: a place whose sky had no stars or moon but shone with a strange, muted half-light. In daylight the solid weight of it formed a wavering line that extended from the ground to the sky, dominating the horizon and making the city seem closer than it really was. That line made Link uneasy. It wasn't the existence of the darkness that bothered him, but the feeling that it shouldn't be here. He didn't know where the feeling came from, only that it was strong. The two worlds, light and dark, should be separate; crossing into Twilight shouldn't be as simple as crossing a line on a map.
It shouldn't be that simple, even when you had a guide. Midna hummed on, oblivious, and Link huffed, this form's equivalent of a sigh. He wasn't sure what he thought of Midna, but Zelda trusted her, and that was enough for him. He shifted at bit, cautiously, and felt Midna chuckle -- a sound like bellflowers bending in the wind -- against his side.
"The dog wants to roll in the dirt," she said. "Why don't we let him?"
Link growled. Watch it.
But since she was obviously awake, he climbed to his feet and shook himself, letting the dirt and grass that clung to his fur fall away. The movement was natural and felt good. Truthfully, it hadn’t been very hard to adjust to being a wolf. Running on four legs, scenting his surroundings, had felt natural from the moment he'd transformed. But the shift in perspective, looking up at people's faces -- looking down to see the ants marching only a short distance away -- still sometimes took him by surprise. The first time he'd gone back to being "Link" he'd felt vertigo.
He settled down again, this time making sure to clear a little space to lie in first. Midna settled back against him agreeably. "Mmmmm," she hummed. "The moon is almost full tonight."
Link flicked an ear. I hear you.
"And we," she continued, "are almost finished with our quest." There was a note of satisfaction in her voice, together with something else, more nebulous, that Link couldn't quite place.
He flicked an ear again, slower this time. He had a feeling it wouldn't be that simple.
"Don't believe me? Well. I suppose that's fair." She laughed -- a sound like a wooden flute -- and subsided. After a moment she began to hum again, but softer.
Link was beginning to doubt that she'd ever been asleep in the first place. Do shadows need sleep? Does darkness rest at night? Does a creature of dreams...dream? It wasn't the sort of thing he usually thought about. Link fell into a confused doze where he stared at version of himself dressed all in black, with dark pools where eyes should have been. His other self stared back, smiling a knowing smile. Thank you, he seemed to mouth. Thank you. Almost. Almost. Thank you.
Link's eyes snapped open in a panic and he thought, for one confused second, that Midna's face had been inches from his own. But as he blinked away the remnants of the nightmare, he saw that she was at his side still; he'd imagined it. In no mood for another dream, he stared pensively at the horizon, where the beginnings of a false dawn were just starting to show around the edges of the darkness. They'd be going soon. Something was going to happen, but he didn't know what.
It occurred to him, suddenly, that he'd never seen the ocean.