Lady @Lady@cat.family

@coriander (obligatory read “Zelda, Don’t Be Racist.” if you want more on OoT Zelda and her learning not to be racist: <https://archiveofourown.org/works/2379302>)

@coriander like in ocarina of time young zelda drops a hornet's nest on ganondorf's head because she thinks he looks menacing and “has evil eyes”. in the world where ganon takes over she becomes sheik and is a genuinely good person. in the child timeline where that never happens… idk but from what we see in twilight princess it doesn't look good

@coriander especially i think there is a case to be made that whatever crisis ganondorf triggers is NECESSARY for zelda to realize how fucked up things are and NOT turn into the evil nazi queen but actually be a good person

@coriander some of it is just fantasy tropes but also, and idk why this is exactly, the zelda writers just really love portraying hyrule as kind of fucked up, or more specifically hyrule's kings

like they've turned on and banished the sheikah Multiple Times. the sheikah themselves ran big torture chambers on behalf of the royal family (that's the Shadow Temple in Ocarina of Time)

in Twilight Princess, the Spirit Temple, which was a sacred place to the Gerudo, is turned into the Arbiter's Grounds, a massive prison and execution site, and the Gerudo are Notably Absent From The Game

even in Breath of the Wild they make Zelda's dad an extreme asshole at the very least

this gives Zelda a really interesting character depth because it's not like you're saving her just for things to go back to normal. you get (imo) the distinct impression that things were actually really fucked up and you NEED her because she is (a) young and (b) the bearer of Wisdom to set things right. which is an entirely different justification from the racially-motivated one in hylian religiosity and lore

and i think that tension is REALLY interesting