#myasks*

[midzelink]

Using similar methods you used to make the heart piece gif, is it possible to achieve Textbox-less cutscenes?

Short answer: yes. Long answer: I've already done that! In fact, the desire to do just that is the only reason I have any experience in texture editing at all (as when I set out I had literally no idea what I was doing), and I'm happy some few folks have gotten some use out of a project I committed to entirely on a whim. I was also able to much later do the exact same thing in TPHD via Cemu (though the methods I employed were vastly different than the one I used with Dolphin - I won't go into details here) which is how I was able to recreate the GameCube title screen movie entirely in TPHD. Unfortunately, the HD cutscenes themselves aren't available for download anywhere at the moment (I'd need to remake the altered shaders because I accidentally lost some files, d'oh), but I have actually been considering just dumping the text-free "texture pack" for the GC version on a drive somewhere so other people can have some fun with the freedom that sort of thing offers. If that's something you'd be interested in, let me know!

[midzelink]

I checked your carrd and I'm sorry, I have to ask—why are you midzelink if you think tp Zelda is a lesbian? I thought thought midzelink was the ship name for Midna/Link/Zelda as a polycule, and that zelink is a big part of that?

I'm not saying you're wrong! TP lesbian Zelda is great! You don't have to answer this if you're not comfortable! It's just something I noticed, sorry!

Hey, anon! I’ve talked about this before, but in my case, Midzelink is a poly relationship - it just so happens that between Link and Zelda specifically, there is no romance.  Zelda and Link are both in love with Midna and her heart is big enough for the two of them.  The relationship Link and Zelda share is one akin to siblings, and the fact that they would both fall for the same woman is something they bond over following the events of the game (and laugh/joyously panic over when Midna eventually returns, and they’re confronted with the reality that a romance could Actually Happen).  Midna has two hands, and they are more than happy to share her - or, basically:

(Credit to my dear friend @kokiri for the meme!)

[midzelink]

ummmmmmm... link is only 16 in twilight princess and you, an adult, are calling him asexual? thats a little 😰 not going to lie

[midzelink]

Any thoughts on the shadow beasts at the beginning of the game? The ones that confront Zelda with Zant? They have unique masks and I was always so intrigued by that... another totally unrelated topic, but do you have any hcs on the monkeys in the Forest Temple as well? There's some theories that they're the child timeline's evolved Kokiri :O Those are just two aspects that are so unique to TP to me but so glossed over

I’d never actually given any thought to the unique shadow beasts that appear alongside Zant, but this ask did make me inspect shadow beasts as a whole more closely, and I came upon something I hadn’t noticed before:

This is a common shadow beast, the kind we fight throughout the game, and this...

...is one of Midna’s runes - specifically, the one on her upper right thigh.  Look at the “mask” of the shadow beast; there’s a significant amount of resemblance here, from the two pointed “horns” to the circular center, to the angular pieces hanging down below.  From a game development perspective, this is likely just thematic design at its best; but from an in-universe perspective?  Perhaps Zant is mocking Midna by turning her people into these hideous monster, then having them resemble as aspect unique to herself.  Or maybe - credit to my friend Ophelia for this one - the rune is a symbol of royalty, and Zant making the shadow beasts in its image is yet another way for him to make his claim to the throne.  The possibilities are endless, really, but it’s certainly something to think about!

Of course, none of this answers your question at all re: the unique shadow beasts, and though I don’t have much of an answer, their designs are unique in their own way:

The intertwining “snake" design on their masks is reminiscent of the headpiece that Midna wears while in her true form, and the two upward slabs of stone somewhat loosely resembled the “horns” of the Fused Shadow.  Perhaps in life, they were Twili of great importance; or perhaps they chose to willingly follow Zant into the world of light, and found significance through those means.  Unfortunately, any serious speculation would be pure headcanon rather than theory, as there is so little to go on - but this was fun to think about regardless!

As for the monkeys, I just think they’re monkeys!  I have separate headcanons for what happened to the Kokiri in Twilight Princess, which I go over briefly in this post.  Thanks for the ask!

[midzelink]

tbh I feel you on TP zelink. They just... don't seem to have that kind of chemistry? Them being friends/family, I can get; romance just baffles me.

YEAH, like... I know there are diehard Zelink fans out there, so of course there are gonna be people out there who like it no matter what, but they only meet three times in-game - two of which he was a wolf! Not to mention how obviously Link and Zelda both have feelings for Midna; it just seems weird for them to settle for each other, whether Zelda is a lesbian or not.  (Which, I mean, she totally is.  Her and Ashei have that Sword Lesbian thing down pat.)

[midzelink]

How do Gorons reproduce? What the shit even are the Oocca? Just how gay IS TP Zelda? Also which depiction of Hyrule is your favorite? Which Zelda would win in a fight with the other Zeldas? Why does Tingle exist?

Well, I sure set myself up for this one, huh?  

Gorons are inorganic, sentient rock-like creatures who reproduce asexually!  When a Goron reaches adulthood, a piece of the rocky outer “shell” on their backs can be loosed, and - after being “incubated” in lava for a considerable amount of time - will form a whole new Goron, while the Goron who spawned the child becomes their parent (or “father,” as most Gorons throughout history present masculinely, despite having no biological sex) . @puppet-limbo also sent an ask about this, so here you go, dude!

The Oocca were Hylia’s first, and only attempt, at creating organic life, where before Farore had been the only one to do so.  The Golden Goddesses were rightfully horrified by them and forbade Hylia from trying to make anything else, but their direct connection to Her Grace combined with their extreme intellect secured their place in history as the “race closest to the gods.” (Credit to @kokiri for this one!)

She’s so gay she literally gave her life to a woman she met three times because she was that touch-starved.  That’s, like, peak lesbian pining, dude.

My favorite depiction of Hyrule is, strangely enough, the small glimpse of the forgotten once-great kingdom we catch in The Wind Waker.  It’s incredibly eerie stepping into this relic of the past that we, as the player, recognize, but just imagine how Link must feel upon seeing an entire country buried at the bottom of the ocean that he’s lived upon his entire life.  Also, the moment it “unfreezes” and comes to life is pretty sick.

Adult Timeline OoT Zelda with seven years of intense training and Sheikah abilities under her belt would decimate everyone else, easily.  But barring that...TP Zelda can shoot an arrow at a moving target from a hundred meters away while riding bareback on a horse, so she would absolutely be next in line as far as ass-kicking capabilities go.

Tingle’s existence is proof that the gods have abandoned us.

This was fun as always - thanks for the ask!

[midzelink]

Do you have any favorite moments from your favorite legend of zelda game?

My favorite Zelda game is The Wind Waker, so let’s give this a shot:

Ganondorf, remarking upon the pitiful state of the Great Sea and its inhabitants, compared to Hyrule’s past glory: “Don't you see? All of you... Your gods destroyed you!"

The shriek of terror Aryll lets out when she sees Link getting carried away by King Helmarock is very, very chilling.  I can only imagine she spends the rest of her days in that cell believing her brother is dead, which is...incredibly heartbreaking. A top moment simply for just how heartbreaking it is.

The Queen of the Fairies is peak character design, and I love the implications her resemblance to Fi has.  And Link during that whole scene?  Adorable!

The ENTIRE Korok performance that Makar puts on after we get Farore’s Pearl, are you KIDDING me, that shit is MAGNIFICENT

Walking into the Master Sword chamber for the very first time and seeing the stained glass windows of the Six Sages as a kid was a PHENOMENAL experience.

Also, like, the entire ending.  Just.  The whole thing.  All of it.

Especially when King Daphnes says, “Ah, but child... That land will not be Hyrule.  ... It will be YOUR land!” because wow, what an incredible send off.

There are some other really good moments in the game, but if I listed them all, this list would be really, really long.  Thanks for the ask!

[midzelink]

Do you think zant is related to midna?

I do!  In my headcanon, Zant and Midna are cousins, and were actually inseparable when they were kids.  Midna is older of the two of them, and they grew apart when she was old enough to recognize that he was “beneath” her (pre-game Midna was a real snob, lemme tell you), which planted the seeds of doubt and mistrust that would allow Ganondorf to mold him into the evil man he would later become.  But throughout all his atrocities, he could never truly hate her - he only cursed her when he could have killed her, and it’s even possible that Ganondorf’s “killing” Midna was the biggest reason Zant severed his bond with the Demon King in the moment when it mattered most (more on that here).  Post-game, Zant eventually turns back up in the Twilight Realm as a swirling mass of destructive spiritual energy, his soul having gone mad without a body to call home (Midna had destroyed it, completely and utterly) - but with Midna’s help he’s able to return to normal, and he bends over backwards again and again to prove that he’s more than the hollow shell of an usurper that the ghost of Ganondorf manipulated him to become.  He can never wash his hands of all the blood he’s spilled, but gods be damned if he’s not going to spend the rest of his life trying (heck, Midna has some amends to make, herself), and, eventually...the two become thick as thieves again.  Imagine that!

Re: Zant being beneath her - his latent magical abilities were weak even by a typical Twili’s standards, but especially so for one born of the royal family.  He was always an outlier, in that sense, and was treated poorly for it, which is why in-game he’s seen having such disdain for the so-called “do-nothings.”  Despite this weakness, he dedicated so much of his time training and practicing because this was something he wanted so badly (picture, like, Rock Lee overextending himself practicing nothing but taijutsu), and eventually his powers were recognized, enough so that he could throw his hat in the ring for the crown.  Unfortunately for him, by that point his heart had long been darkened by Ganondorf’s influence, and he was cast out once more.  Oops!