That moment in "The story mill" when Link doesn't fight the Lynel. Not sure why that sticks with me, maybe because fics rarely depict Link as level-headed.
And of course the hot spring scene in the same fic! π
Oh, @zeldaelmo, this is so interesting to me! Like, you never know what scenes are gonna stick with people? And sometimes you write a scene and you're like "eh, idk about this. This might not be working??? :\"
That scene was one of those ones that I honestly wasn't so sure about! I think largely because... nothing actually happens, action-wise. In fact, I'd planned for Link to actually fight the Lynel originally! But then as I wrote it, it dawned on me that maybe he'd plan to fight it, but realize he was way too out of sorts to do it and turn right back around and leave.
lol, you're right, level-headed Link doesn't appear often in fics, does he? But the thing is, as the player, there are so many times, especially early on in BOTW, where you know you're not cut out to do something yet. So what do you do? You maybe peek at the daunting thing and then you run away and come back later when you're actually ready! So, idk, I tend to interpret these player choices as Link's... So if a player can be careful or level-headed about something, then Link is too. If a player decides to do something stupid and ends up ragdogging down a mountain, then Link's stupid and ragdogs down a mountain πI think Link can be both of these things at different times! We all have moments of being level-headed and not being level-headed.
AND, big AND, we don't really know what Link is like when he's traveling with Zelda! What I think would be interesting in BOTW2 is if there is a companion mechanic or if you can perhaps play as both characters and switch between them. In either of those scenarios, I WANT Link to behave differently! There's a really interesting opportunity here because we've already got a whole game of him on his own: we know what he's like in dialogs with NPCs and we know how he/the player approaches problems. We know BOTW Link well. So, I think it'd be interesting if there are ways in which he'd behave differently because Zelda's around. I don't know how this could happen...?
Maybe he could be a bit different in dialogs? Would he'll be "quieter" and let Zelda do most of the talking, but he choses speak to at specific times? Or will he be even chattier than he ever was in BOTW??? If he's chattier, why?! Is it more puns? If he's quieter, why?! Is he letting Zelda call the shots and decide what happens next? Does he feel weird around her so he's just quieter in general? We don't know!
As for how a behavioral change in Link could come out in game play, I'm not sure? But there are probably things the devs could do it as a character trait/story element? Maybe if Zelda's around during a fight, Link's animation is actually different, more guarded, maybe a bit anxious? Maybe his animation is brasher: is he showing off??? These aren't exactly game play changing, they're more just animation change ideas π idk! I'd need to think on how Zelda's presence could show changes in Link's behavoir through gameplay notion more...
Anyways, lol, I've really rambled! I'm so glad that scene has stuck with you and thank you for letting me know it! π Clearly, I have thoughts.
