Director's commentary mayhaps? Please? I'm obsessed
link to the update here, I forgot I was supposed to be doing that lol
this bit was actually supposed to be at the end of the last update, but I ran out of room on the page and didn't wanna sacrifice the moment. It's only 3 panels and all they do is look at each other lol but I feel like it says a lot about what War and HW Zelda's relationship is like. people have also pointed out it's a parallel to how they first meet in the game, which i didn't even do on purpose 😂 but yeah it certainly is
obviously the difference in their status is made visual with Zelda looking down on him from the balcony, but it's also worth noting that like. Zelda doesn't get to be a part of the gathering. She's relegated to a painting looking down on high like the goddesses on the ceiling
there was meant to be a scene after this that I cut where War goes back to his rooms and changes into his travel/hero outfit. I really wanted to show him essentially putting the persona back on, but I started to feel like I was languishing in this opening lol. we've got to get to business
this man is hungover. he has not slept. it's 1 william degrees on Death Mountain. he's frying out here he's unwell. excellent mission start
actually on that note I realized that at some point they are standing in the springs talking and that would potentially healing little. so like you can probably barely tell because of the lighting effects but I gave him shadows under his eyes that lighten over the course of the update lol I also made his face flushed :-)
Impa is 10000% just being evil to him here lmao. I almost took that gag in the corner out but was convinced on patreon to keep it in 😂 war works really hard to maintain his good boy face, but we can't win every battle LMAO also war might not like Impa, but rest assured he will do whatever she says.
okay so. this is a completely made up spring of power. I rlly had a rule for myself that I was not going to just make up locations for the rifts bc I wanted it to be places that are actually significant to the games, but I completely misremembered where the spring of power was in BOTW and got myself in this situation 😂 I got it switched with the hot springs, which is where Ive placed this. this time travel shift is gonna be a little bit of a stretch to the next location bc of it but shhhhhhh. That statue is of Din rather than the traditional Hylia one. we now have our three storylines, each starting at a spring; courage, wisdom, and now power
ALSO MISS LANAAAAAAAAA yeah there was no way i was gonna use much of her canon design. heart emoji. love the j-pop idol thing but it's really not the vibe. Ive made the choice to model her clothing design after the Guardians in skyward sword. this is a mouseketool we'll be using later :-))))) tho I did end up changing the tabard thing design to look more like an hourglass kind of in the final update
this is where hyrule warrior's fucked up lore actually becomes relevant, because Lana's (and Cia's) role as this sorceress who watches over time is actually quite useful to me. I imagined that if someone was going around tearing up time, she'd be the first to notice, even if she can't do much about it. There's an implication that they have some sort of ability to how the future is supposed to go, hence this deviation from that foretold plan not being "on the books." There's also an implication that they're not really supposed to interfere with it either, which justifies her kind of hands-off approach of making War do the legwork here. at least in my head HAHA
I am conscious of the fact that every one of these "seeing the portal for the first time" beats kind of goes the same way, and that it might be getting repetitive and expository. but it was very important to me that War is the only one who is specifically ordered on this quest, rather than choosing to make the jump himself, or getting shoved in via some surprise circumstance like at the party. this is not an adventure for him, it's a mission.
going into his little hands behind the back soldier pose lol
now war is 1000% saying this just to be a bitch to Lana. translation: last time wasn't really on the books either and look what happened. remember :-))))) Originally I had him say a line that was much more on the nose, something to the effect of "I hope you've been keeping Cia on a tight leash." I changed it not because that Isn't something he'd say but because I think he'd be a more indirect and snide about it. I like this change also because you can literally go two pages back and see where he learned it from. Impa does it to him, and he does it to Lana
There's no real reason for her to do this, but Impa deliberately places herself behind War, as if blocking the exit. it's not about actually blocking him in any material way, it's about making it very clear that there's no turning back.
I deliberately don't really show what War's face does here when he bows. Lana is troubled overall by his lack of reaction; no further questions, just immediate obedience. One might infer from her reactions in this update that he might not have always necessarily acted this way.
on that note, a lot of people have interpreted War's behavior in this update as reluctance or a "here we go again" kind of mentality, which to be clear I think is true and something I put in there on purpose. But i'd also invite people to try reading this scene like he might actually be excited at the prospect of another war, or another mission, and is trying not to show it. A lot of these expressions where his jaw is tensed, I've just barely turned the corners of his mouth up. it could be trying to fake a smile, or trying to suppress one? My intention was not really one reading or the other but both at the same time.
And lastly some thoughts about this necklace. A lot of people have brought up the pirate's charm, which is actually where I go this idea! this is one of those fan theories that I just kind of hold in my heart and probably doesn't make sense, but I like to think things like the pirates charm, the royal ocarina, and this made-up pendant are actually made of time stones. something something blue crystal that lets u create a pocket in time. gestures vaguely. do u get me
I think that's all Ive got for now, thanks for your patience with how long this one took!
