#jeantext

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I often go back and forth on what I think Marin’s design choices mean, as in the possible intentions, and fans’ interpretations, and the validity of them both.

The meaning of the scene where Link mistakes Marin for Zelda could be left up to interpretation (he was just shipwrecked, possibly woozy/injured/etc) but I think it was more than that, because in the manual, Marin is clearly said to resemble Zelda.

I mainly imagine their “uncanny resemblance” to mean they have similar facial features. There are also design choices that seem very intentional to me because of how specific they are. One bracelet on the left wrist, red jewel at the neck, short sleeved blue dress.

So I wonder why the writers and designers made these choices. Was it simply to have a reference to Princess Zelda in a game where she otherwise isn’t mentioned? Or is it to reinforce that she and Marin have similar roles in their respective stories?

You could also add in some Koholint weirdness there and say it really is beyond just what the creators intended for their roles or references, and is a piece of the story. I think it’s fun to imagine that Link’s memories and thoughts influenced the Wind Fish’s dream in some ways. Which we know is possible because of the nightmares taking the shape of enemies from ALTTP. Maybe the Wind Fish’s desire for freedom manifested as a young woman who looks like Zelda, because Link has memories of her as a young woman who needed to be freed/saved as well? But that’s all personal interpretation. The way the Wind Fish’s dream works and how Link can affect it as an outsider isn’t very clear.

Either way, Marin and Zelda are still completely separate characters and people with their own stories, and their own different relationships to the people around them and feelings on the worlds they live in. I’m just trying to consider what the creators’ intentions behind making them look similar could be. Let me know your thoughts. Peace and love on planet Marin ❤️

[cloverscry]

what are your thoughts on zelda in alttp when she becomes queen? i love thinking abt future stuff post game w zelda and link n how the decisions and events in canon impact them as adults. nm of a yap, but curious as ever :"}

OH BOY DO I HAVE THOUGHTS!!!!! i actually think her becoming queen would be part of her healing process. tysm for the fun question 🩷

copying this directly from my notes, my thoughts on what being queen would mean to her:

Since being the Princess is not just a royal title but also a position as someone with sealing powers (a sage/maiden), maybe Zelda can change her self definition by becoming Queen. Her status as a sage/maiden has always controlled her, so her changing that and taking control back by to occupying the powerful position that “Queen” is would be very freeing for her. Zelda ends up becoming Queen when her father dies/can’t rule anymore, and it’s part of her leaving behind the pain she’s endured as the princess and becoming someone who is comfortable in a leading role with more autonomy rather than always being tugged around by her status as simply the “important princess with magical powers that are needed/wanted by people”.

so i think being queen would make zelda feel more strong and more in control than she felt as the princess. both in a symbolic and a tangible way. symbolic like i mentioned up there as her leaving behind the pain of Princess Zelda, and tangible like how she would be more involved in decision making and overseeing her kingdom. the new responsibility would take time to adjust to but i think she would be able to enjoy life as royalty more once she becomes queen.

also while we’re on this topic of post-canon, here’s some more of my thoughts about zelda and link. under the cut cause it’s longer and rambling:

I think since I’ve decided not to connect OoX with ALTTP/LA, that Link getting caught up in LA could be something to do with not being able to deal with everything going back to normal after he wishes on the Triforce. His uncle has come back to life after missing the most important parts of Link’s life and it would be hard for Link to stay there and pretend like nothing has happened. The people he met in the Dark World are back in the Light World and he has to pretend like it’s all good for all of them when some of them may have wanted to stay… stuff like that. Link finding purpose in helping people is a big part of his character to me, because others helping him kept him strong. So he went out to try and find that purpose again to see if there’s anyone who needed his help. And there the Wind Fish was! ALTTP connecting directly to LA makes more sense to me on a thematic level too with the nightmares and perhaps even Marin being remnants of his previous quest sticking in his mind so strongly they affect the dream and such. So LA happens a few years after ALTTP. Link has been helping Zelda sort things out and getting back to a normal life with his uncle. But he starts to get antsy and can’t pretend he’s ok with this normality anymore after experiencing a whole different way of life during ALTTP. But when he leaves, Zelda is left behind at a time when things seem to be calming down again. So it’s kind of like she’s gone back to who she was before ALTTP. Link is a stranger again and she’s stuck back where she started after years of being able to use her role as a princess in productive ways like helping those affected by Ganon's actions, and by investigating the effects of everything that went on. But during those years she had become friends with Link’s uncle. Link and uncle’s relationship is awkward after him dying and Link growing up on his own, and Zelda has a similar situation with the king.. Zelda meeting uncle because he’s important to Link and he ends up being to her kind of like a version of the king who never had to know her before her life changed. So they’re getting closer while Link has gone sailing because they've both lost him and are confused and afraid and things are spiraling again. During this while Link is away, the king dies and Zelda becomes Queen. Suddenly has all this responsibility and she thrives in it but it also weighs on her because she doesn’t have the one person who she can really confide in there. But also she gets to experience this change on her own. When Link gets back things have changed so much for the both of them that they have to rebuild their relationship. They’re strangers again. But for them is a good thing in a way. Defining themselves independently of one another instead of against each other is what they need to have a healthier relationship in the future. Of course there'll still be issues, old wounds and learning curves and such. They were close and understanding of each other but struggle during and after ALTTP because their experiences were so similar yet different and they were teenagers and everything sucked… but they’ve grown up more and have become who they are without needing the other to help define that or have any comparisons weighing their personal growth down. In the end it’s a good thing that they’ve grown while being apart, they may be like strangers again but it’s a new chance to get to know each other once more in a new light.

[cloverscry]

ALTTP zelda and link pokemon teams i put together a while ago. based on story and themes and lore, not strategy or types. didn’t know anything about pokemon before looking into it for this so let me know if i missed any other good choices :3c

zelda

suicune: represents zelda and the maidens. purifies pollution and has diamond shaped spots on it’s sides

absol: warns people of impending danger. i think zelda needs a little friend that has been forced into isolation as well (though for different reasons)

omanyte: hides away in it’s shell like zelda has to hide away. also has connections to the past, omanyte is resurrected from fossils and zelda is a descendant of one of the wise men/sages. and it kinda looks like her huh. stop staring at me with those big ol’ eyes

starmie: sends signals like zelda’s telepathy. also i just think she’d just like this weird thing lol

lampent: lamp! very important item to me. chose it for zelda bc i think it represents her hope in link’s kindness during dark times, the light in the dark that she holds onto. don’t worry about the whole “stealing spirits” thing it’s fine

frosmoth: my dark world form hc for zelda is a moth and it’s super pretty just like her teehee 😌

link

doublade: two swords (fighters sword and master sword)! telepathic communication!

lunala: moon themed & travels between worlds. like c’mon now i can’t not choose this

ceruledge: wears old set of armor (knight heritage), “blades on its arms burn with the lingering resentment of a sword wielder who fell before accomplishing their goal” (oot & alttp lore connection)

clefairy: magical and moonlight associations, major points for being pink too lol. super deep i know

applin: chompin on an apple :) shout out to all the concussions link gave himself from headbutting apple trees 💯

buneary: of course we need bnuuy for him. shiny buneary is pink too!

[cloverscry]

have been chatting about the NES princess zeldas so here’s some miscellaneous thoughts on them! these are some of my rambling messages from discord that i cleaned up:

I imagine Zelda1 Zelda to be a very brave and strong willed person. She made the decision on her own to split the triforce and put it above her own safety. She was put in this difficult situation but she handled both this and being captured by Ganon with grace and courage rather than letting it all crush her. I think she comes out of it all thinking of it as something she has overcome rather than something she was a victim of, because she has this strong willpower that drove her decision making in the first place.

And when I think about AoL Zelda it always comes back around to how she deals with adjusting to change. I imagine she was put to sleep when she was still growing, and she wakes up in a grown body in a brand new world with a new princess and new people and everything she’s ever known is transformed including herself… feeling as out of place in her own body as she does in this future world and learning how to adjust to both.

I think she would be a bit afraid of becoming like her brother. Worrying about, what if she starts to want the power that this new Zelda has as the current princess? Since she’s from a time long past, she wouldn’t be given the same political responsibilities and trust as the current princess. But those responsibilities are what she had before she was cursed, they’re the one thing that she would be used to in this changed world. So she might find herself wanting this position as the Princess. So she sees herself becoming like her brother in this somewhat power-hungry way, and it scares her. Generally I think she’d be conflicted about her brother. The last memory she has of him is him cursing her, and when she wakes up she has to hear about how much he regrets it not through his own words there beside her but through his actions that are now just a distant piece of history.

[cloverscry]

was reminded that zelda knows about the fortune tellers while reading alttp dialogue… it put a little scenario in my head of her being one of the people who were suspicious of agahnim, and perhaps she has visited kakariko before to talk to the fortune teller and desperately search for any crumb of information to support her case against him. i do think she had some idea of agahnim’s scheming before he put his plan into action, because of how quickly she catches onto the situation and realizes his intentions while explaining it to link in-game, despite not yet knowing all the details of what’s going on in the castle.

[cloverscry]

of course they are immediately getting tomolife’d

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thinking about alttp zelda cutting her hair short when she’s hiding away at the sanctuary. an idea that’s been floating around in my head for a while as a part of the story ideas i have for her following canon events

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me and the bestie who doesn’t understand me beyond our similarities while still knowing me better than anyone, despite essentially being a stranger to me due to latching onto each other’s presence out of necessity and desperation in a crisis and not getting to truly know each other for many years because our lives and responsibilities are so separate even though we’re so similar on the inside. and we’re growing into different people while we’re apart but also becoming stronger because of what we’ve learned from our friendship and struggles, we have seen the worst of each other but will keep coming back regardless because there’s so much trust and care in our friendship even though every time we meet again it feels like we’ve turned back into that pair of strangers

hashtag my very very very brief word vomit