The Romance Thread IV: The Debate Continues

Originally Posted by Blackfire667

Demand he stop saving the world to spend time with her? What a selfish hypothetical woman that would be!

And I think you mean Triforce of COURAGE not Power.

^ Oh yeah... Whoops...

Well seeing as that woman might be over the top for Link, the thought of him having a woman like that would throw him off. I think any person who would have a partner like that would run away from them.

But I don't think most people aren't that selfish. If only they knew what Link was going through. I don't think that Ilia or Malon could stand the thought of their husband running off to fight between life and death. That's where Zelda stands to support Link because she too, is in this area of protecting her country from danger at all costs.

I'll only post here once because I always tend to get carried away in shipping pairings and stuff.

I do not see him with Zelda, no way. I just can't see that happening. Well, only in WW, but in the rest of the games I just can't picture them together. I don't like Zelda anyway. And I'm kind of tired of the same old "canonical" rules and whatsnot. And the cliche "the hero will always end with the princess". They look more like brother and sister than a couple. And I see Link as kind of the simple guy living a simple life after his deed is done, not in some big fancy castle.

Saria is obviously my girl of choice... of course, the most logical would kind of be Malon, if he probably ended up with one girl (which is unlikely) then it probably was her.

Originally Posted by Chibi Saria

I'll only post here once because I always tend to get carried away in shipping pairings and stuff.

I do not see him with Zelda, no way. I just can't see that happening. Well, only in WW, but in the rest of the games I just can't picture them together. I don't like Zelda anyway. And I'm kind of tired of the same old "canonical" rules and whatsnot. And the cliche "the hero will always end with the princess". They look more like brother and sister than a couple. And I see Link as kind of the simple guy living a simple life after his deed is done, not in some big fancy castle.

Saria is obviously my girl of choice... of course, the most logical would kind of be Malon, if he probably ended up with one girl (which is unlikely) then it probably was her.

^ Saria and Link are destined to live in different worlds. They might look like a sweet couple, but they have been fated to live differently. If Link didn't grow up, then Saria would have been his best choice as evrey other female grows older into maturity.

But I see Link and Zelda as the best couple in every game.

Originally Posted by Eternal Legend

^ Saria and Link are destined to live in different worlds. They might look like a sweet couple, but they have been fated to live differently. If Link didn't grow up, then Saria would have been his best choice as evrey other female grows older into maturity.

But I see Link and Zelda as the best couple in every game.

That's the thing, Zelda's like the Mary-Sue protagonist that's always tacked on to Link and is still a Sage but doesn't have to leave this world and so on. I respect all opinions but I really don't like sticking to the "rules".

True that the LinkxZelda is the easy cliche obvious choice. Personally I prefer LinkxMalon better than LinkxZelda in OOT anyway. Don't get me wrong I have no problem with LinkxZelda in OOT as I believe Zelda had genuine love for him. As for Link sharing the same feelings for Zelda, well he just seemed too clueless and bewildered to remotely understand what romantic love is or any love for that matter. But I attribute that because he literally was a child in a mans body. Plus, in MM, Link seemed to be tired of being kept as a useless pet with Zelda so he took a stand against her wishes and went off to adventure in Termina. At the end of MM, he is heading home with Epona which can only mean he is probably heading to LonLon ranch to be with Malon and not Zelda. Go LinkxMalon!!!

In TP thats another story as the mirror shattered to eliminate Midna, and Link rides away from Ordon to symbolically leave Illia behind. So by default, TP Link probably goes to Zelda despite the lack of game evidence. I mean look at Eternal Legends sig with Link giving his loving support to Zelda by fondling her butt and Zelda just cold staring at him as if to say "Its about time you got the hint and made a manly move on me Link."

LinkxZelda doesn't bother me in most games, but I just don't see it happening in OoT. Link barely showed any emotions towards anyone anyway. If he DID, then the one he had shown emotions for the most was Navi since he went looking for her. And the Zelda mangas are NOT canon. They irritated me for a reason...

I actually like it in WW, Zelda seems more independent and her and Link actually do show a little feelings.

Even it OOT Link remained as an adult, he would remain in a state of arrested development and never mature mentally. Sure he would still continue to have an instinct to protect and save Zelda at all costs, and obey her every wish without a thought of possible contradiction or disobedience. But Zelda would probably have to command Link to take a sex education course to teach him that a guy at his age should be interested in girls. But that probably won't even work, so Zelda would probably just give up and be content with his eternal naive innoccence and move on and either stay a bachelorrete or marry a random Hyrule nobleman/suitor or a prince from another land. Link would just be content being by Zelda's side patiently waiting for her to tell him what to do as she sits on her throne. In the case if Zelda did hook up with somene else, unfortunately for Zelda, Link would never be jealous since his pure innocence wouldn't allow for such thoughts. And thats too bad, because I'm sure Zelda would love for Link to be concerned about winning her heart. With OOT Link's adult personality, its highly unlikely I'm afraid. But since OOT ends with Link going back to being a child, this would allow him to mature normally and thus have an interest in girls like normal heterosexual guys.

Exactly. He is kind of the clueless guy, after all. The only girl he knew long enough to like was Saria, and he still was a kid no older than about 11 years old. After all, girls mature before boys do and it's a possibility that she, or Zelda, or any of the other girls he met in his journey might have liked him, but Link didn't seem like the kind of guy who would concentrate in love. And those seven years in sleep prevented him even more from maturing since he was now still a kid inside a young man's body.

And contrary to what I said I wouldn't, I've posted here more than once. I DO get carried away with pairings.

Its all good. Remember I'm the guy that likes the LinkxNabooru, LinkxAshei, and LinkxTelma pairings. To me online debating is fun no matter how ridiculous the subject is, including Link's theoretical love life.

I like pairing debates as long as if it's not with one of those "OMG LINKXZELDA 4EVER!! ALL OTHER PAIRINGS SUCK ZELINK IS CANON FTW!!" I'm lucky there's no one like that in here, I've had to yell at people like that in other sites.

Heheh. Crack pairings are the best.

GilderPilot and Eternal Legend are the most pro LinkxZelda at the moment but they post good points supporting their theories. So once they make a rebuttal on our recent posts, me and you should team up against them. Haha But once you go Adult LinkxSaria on me I'm going to jump ship and leave you on your own.

Cremia
She gives hot hugs.

Originally Posted by Chibi Saria

I like pairing debates as long as if it's not with one of those "OMG LINKXZELDA 4EVER!! ALL OTHER PAIRINGS SUCK ZELINK IS CANON FTW!!" I'm lucky there's no one like that in here, I've had to yell at people like that in other sites.

Heheh. Crack pairings are the best.

I'm no fan of that sort of thing either, I mean, if you don't put the time into make a decent argument for your point ( and against the opposing view ) what's the point?

As for Saria: I like the pairing a huge amount. But I felt the game most decidedly closed the issue, as sure as Midna shattering the mirror. "Saria will always be...your friend." coupled with "we were not destined to live in the same world."
Forgetting that, I can't forget that Link will grow up, and Saria won't. More than that, I feel strongly that Link is destined to grow mentally away from his roots and the complacent lifestyle he led before. If not, what's the point of the quest? I can no more see Link spending his years in the forest than on a ranch, regardless of the girl who may live there. I feel he will need to matter in order to stay who he has become.

In contrast, I see Zelda as a bit of a "fixed Saria" in a sense. Not that Saria was remotely broken, but everything I can see hindering a relationship ( age, location ) is not a problem with Zelda. Yet they are strikingly similar. Both are deep, serious and wise and seem to have the same type of relationship with Link. When Zelda sends off Link in MM, it even seems the same style as when he left the forest.

Oh, and I like WW too. But they didn't really develop any opposing romantic options, unlike in OoT: in WW they didn't give anyone the chance to be really offended if they showed feelings between Link and Zelda. OoT Link seemed emotionally stunted in pretty much almost every direction, likely to avoid narrowing it down to any one choice. I agree with your Navi thing: actions speak louder than words. But I think that point also favours Zelda because of OoT's ending.

Originally Posted by gliderpilotgirl

I'm no fan of that sort of thing either, I mean, if you don't put the time into make a decent argument for your point ( and against the opposing view ) what's the point?

As for Saria: I like the pairing a huge amount. But I felt the game most decidedly closed the issue, as sure as Midna shattering the mirror. "Saria will always be...your friend." coupled with "we were not destined to live in the same world."
Forgetting that, I can't forget that Link will grow up, and Saria won't. More than that, I feel strongly that Link is destined to grow mentally away from his roots and the complacent lifestyle he led before. If not, what's the point of the quest? I can no more see Link spending his years in the forest than on a ranch, regardless of the girl who may live there. I feel he will need to matter in order to stay who he has become.

The issue of Links mental state in OOT is an interesting one and if you want to discuss or debate me on this fine. But IMO Adult Link's mental state as a child in a mans body is a doomed romantic failure for a LinkxZelda pairing mainly because Zelda will more than likely hopelessly wait for Link to overcome his childlike innocence in hope that one day he will attain the mental maturity and courage to ask her out on a date. Whereas Malon would more likely take a more forward approach to curing Link of his overtly sweet innocence and that would work better in her favor to win the prized gift of Links sacred virginity. So in this scenario YOU SNOOZE YOU LOSE for Zelda so its LinkxMalon FTW easily.

But in the case that OOT Link matures normally from child to adult, this would give him time to form a much closer bond with Zelda as he grows up with her into adulthood. Not to mention that since Link has aged and matured naturally he should have more of a sense of self and be able to make decisions based on his own freewill instead of heavily relying on others to do the thinking for him like in the Adult Link timeline. In the child timeline grown as an adult, Link could probably even resist the temptation for Malon than he would in the other timeline scenario where he tends be overly submissive and gullible. Don't get me wrong, personality wise Link would still be the sweet, shy and gentle natured character that we all know and love but not quite as submissive and unassertive if he stayed as an adult.

Yet I still like to think Malon has a chance to steal Link away from Zelda anyway. But in this timeline where Link grows up normally, LinkxZelda has the best chance but I still think Zelda has to make the first move on Link and hopefully he should respond accordingly. In contrast with the other super naive Adult Link, If Zelda were to make any subtle flirtaicious moves, Link would probably just blush and sigh with that dum looking bewildered look on his face and do nothing.

Originally Posted by Ganonslayer2000

The issue of Links mental state in OOT is an interesting one and if you want to discuss or debate me on this fine. But IMO Adult Link's mental state as a child in a mans body is a doomed romantic failure for LinkxZelda pairing mainly because Zelda will more than likely hopelessly wait for Link to overcome his childlike innocence in hope that one day he will attain the mental maturity and courage to ask her out on a date. Whereas Malon taking a more foward approach to curing Link of his overtly sweet innocence works better in her favor to win the prized gift of Links sacred virginity. So in this scenario YOU SNOOZE YOU LOSE for Zelda so its LinkxMalon FTW easily.

That's not remotely what I meant about Link's mental state. I was referring to the "everyone" vs "me" thing in his head...a whole different way of thinking.
My personal belief is that he was indeed an adult in mind....my evidence comes in the form of the conversation that is directed his way..by the game and others. As a child, they make it clear he has no idea what love is ( in regards to Ruto's engagement stone ) but as an adult she refers directly to romantic love, to an instant reaction from him. He clearly knows what this entails. Also, the game never presumes to tell you as an adult, " You don't understand this" whereas it does as a child, in both OoT and MM.

Adult or not, I doubt Malon's persistance would pay off if he truly liked Zelda, and I think he did. I would view it as a moral failing on her part if she pursued a man who didn't want her...and a failing on Link's part if he took advantage of it. I don't think we have any reason to believe anything happened between them during the adult time of OoT...IMO, the feeling of the ending is as far opposite as you can get from favouring Link x Malon.

I always interpreted the Ruto scene with adult Link having an abnormal anxiety attack and nothing more. He was still the same clueless man/child in that scene IMO. I guess we will never know what would have happened if Link stayed as an adult but based on his super gullible and submissive personality, Zeldas more princess like personality, and Malon's more forward personality, its easier to deduct that Malon would more likely have Link under her thumb without a doubt. Unless Zelda reverted to keep Link locked up in Hyrule castle and made it forbidden for him to have any other female contact other than herself. In that case Link would sadly die a hopelessly clueless virgin.

Originally Posted by Ganonslayer2000

GilderPilot and Eternal Legend are the most pro LinkxZelda at the moment but they post good points supporting their theories. So once they make a rebuttal on our recent posts, me and you should team up against them. Haha But once you go Adult LinkxSaria on me I'm going to jump ship and leave you on your own.

Yeah, they do. I don't mind a little debating as long as it makes sense. But I don't like the idea of Link and Zelda together in EVERY game. I mean, since usually all Links are descendants of each other, and obviously all Zeldas are, then wouldn't that make some of the pairings a little... sick?

I agree, the Adult LinkxSaria thing is even sicker. Pedophile pairings ftw. But as an adult, I definetly see him with Malon.

Originally Posted by Chibi Saria

Yeah, they do. I don't mind a little debating as long as it makes sense. But I don't like the idea of Link and Zelda together in EVERY game. I mean, since usually all Links are descendants of each other, and obviously all Zeldas are, then wouldn't that make some of the pairings a little... sick?

I agree, the Adult LinkxSaria thing is even sicker. Pedophile pairings ftw. But as an adult, I definetly see him with Malon.

But if you come into conclusions between Zelda and Malon, who would support Link the most, based on his everyday adventures? Even though he might finish his adventure of OoT, he might still be a hero, roaming around Hyrule and ridding what is left of the evil that still walks the plains. Zelda and Link both have similar goals in their life and it is to protect Hyrule at whatever cost from sudden ambushes or the return of Ganondorf or someone else. If this happens, Link and Zelda would stand side by side, protecting their land and their people and them pairing up as a couple to support each other is very nice.
But if we look at Malon, she is the fun type and has a comfortable lifestyle, but what would she do when Link comes back from battle with blood and some injuries? She would be freaked out and histerical about his health and his survival when he leaves to protect Hyrule. She would want him home all the time because farm work cannot be done all on her own and her father is growing old. She needs someone to always be with her and Link could be away for weeks or even months. I see a somewhat failing relarionship if he continues to leave her alone like this.

Well in that case, Link should simply just let Malon know there will be times that he will have to leave momentarily to go save Hyrule and Zelda again. Believe it or not, its not unusual for men to leave their wives and family temporarily to go to war and defend their country. As a matter of fact its been done many times for many centuries throughout real world history so its not a stretch for it to be done in a mythical world based video game. And as for Link being beaten and bruised to cause Malon to go into a nervous breakdown, I'm sure he can just drink a blue potion or whatever and look prim and proper whenever he returns to Malon. Plus its not like Hyrule is going to need saving everyday 24/7 so I'm sure Talon and Ingo can handle doing extra chores for awhile in Links absence.

Originally Posted by Ganonslayer2000

Well in that case, Link should simply just let Malon know there will be times that he will have to leave momentarily to go save Hyrule and Zelda again. Believe it or not, its not unusual for men to leave their wives and family temporarily to go to war and defend their country. As a matter of fact its been done many times for many centuries throughout real world history so its not a stretch for it to be done in a mythical world based video game. And as for Link being beaten and bruised to cause Malon to go into a nervous breakdown, I'm sure he can just drink a blue potion or whatever and look prim and proper whenever he returns to Malon. Plus its not like Hyrule is going to need saving everyday 24/7 so I'm sure Talon and Ingo can handle doing extra chores for awhile in Links absence.

That is a good summary. However, I don't know if Malon is that type of person. She might allow him to be off for a while, but I don't know if farm life is best suited for Link. I might hint that he might move back to the forest for a few years as it seems like he set Epona free during the credits. Or perhaps with the last meeting that he had with Zelda when they were both in the clouds, Link might want to return to Hyrule Town, as he is a Hylian and might feel like he belongs there.
He might want to become a superior knight for Zelda and stand by her side.

But clearly, it is all up to our imagination.