Link and Zelda. TWIN SIBLINGS??, The Twin Sibling Theory

As I said in my previous post, you cannot determine whether they are related by their characteristics. That's like turning to the next person on the street that possesses similar traits and saying that they are related to you. Also, just because Malon has red hair doesn't mean anything. First of all, not all siblings appear to possess similar traits. Secondly, even if both parents had blonde or brown hair, they could still end up with a kid with red hair simply because they are a carrier of a particular gene. And, since we are on the subject of twins, not all twins look the same, either. Fraternal twins do not look exactly the same.

Okay, then we could say the same thing about Malon. Malon doesn't have a mother either -- neither does Link. Malon loves life and loves animals -- so does Link. There is no proof that there are any romantic ties between Malon. Just because she calls him "fairyboy" does not mean that she feels anything towards him; she's just being friendly as she is with others as well. So I guess they must be siblings then, huh? The point that I'm trying to get across is that you cannot determine whether two people are siblings by their physical traits OR by their personality traits. The only way to determine such things is by deriving evidence from genetics. Until then, which is exceptionally futile while all other evidence points towards different family backgrounds for Link and Zelda, the so-called "theory" is just another way to embellish other pairings with Link.

I recall hearing before that the purpose of the manga was something along the lines of "deepening the story and characters of the game", so basically to elaborate on what was already there. ( barring a few changes for story-telling purposes ). Saying that, it should be clear that Link and Zelda in OoT do not share the same mother. Or father. Yes, I'm aware that people will throw the "non-canon!" label out there, but they are not the ones who determine canon.
The manga ( The Akira Himekawa ones ) had no less than Aonuma apparently as the consultant: this is the same guy who would eventually head the Zelda development section.
Anyways, summary. We have a trustworthy source that asserts they are not brother and sister. That's enough for me.

TWILIGHT MISTRESS SAID:
Also, just because Malon has red hair doesn't mean anything. First of all, not all siblings appear to possess similar traits. Secondly, even if both parents had blonde or brown hair, they could still end up with a kid with red hair simply because they are a carrier of a particular gene. And, since we are on the subject of twins, not all twins look the same, either. Fraternal twins do not look exactly the same.

I agree. So are you actually implying that Link and Zelda are identical twins?? (Confused) Anyway..Malon doesn't have blond hair, a triforce or prophetic dreams, so futilly trying to connect her to be a theoretical twin sibling to Link or Zelda is just obvious emotional frustration on your part.

There is no proof that there are any romantic ties between Malon.

Again I agree. There is no proof of OOT/MM Link having romantic ties to anyone. Zelda included.

the so-called "theory" is just another way to embellish other pairings with Link.

Once again I agree. And until Nintendo can make a statement on closure to the actual identity of Link's dad and Zelda's mom the twin sibling theory will persist to exist.

TO GILDERPILOT: I don't think its my place to say that the Mangas are not canon. The fact of the matter is that many Zelda fans, Zelinkers included, dismiss it as such.

I have a trustworthy source as well. I also found this within the dialogue in OOT from one of the composer bros.

What? You again?
Somehow, you remind me of...
Princess Zelda...
Hmm... Since you may have some
connection with the Royal Family, I
will tell you a little more of our
tale.
Back then, people called us great
composers because of the many
musical masterpieces we wrote.
But we brothers were not just
composers.
We had a mission to analyze the
mysterious powers of Hyrule's
Royal Family.

Hint hint. Link and Zelda's similar prophetic dreams in relation to their posession of similar triforces. This is not made up. It actually is verbatum in game dialogue.

@gliderpilotgirl: The only people who <3 the mangas are those who love to scarf down fluff, particularly shoujo/Zelink fluff. To those who see otherwise and actually enjoy true game canon, the mangas are just that: fluff. Nothing more and nothing less.

I personally don't care who authorized the mangas or who said that the purpose of them was to "further elaborate" the story; they still hold no validity to me. So Nintendo threw the fans a bone in the form of a manga, big deal. Perhaps if the storyboarding was better I'd appreciate it more.

@Twilight Mistress: But see, applying the sibling theory to Malon, is silly. Unlike between Zelda and Link, which has potential to be true, between Malon and Link it does not. I cannot fathom any sort of in-game connotations hinting that such a theory could apply to those two.

Only those who like to scarf down fluff? That's not true. There are many fans who don't have an interest in romance that like it. Case in point below.

http://www.zeldauniverse.net/articles/zeld...hapters-review/
http://www.zeldauniverse.net/articles/zeld...hapters-review/

It's also being released in English: likely because of demand for it.

As for it being canon, I've seen many comments about it, usually from people not liking the direction the story took. Does it matter though? I consider it to be true to the "spirit of the game" and I think Nintendo's presence in overseeing it was to ensure precisely that. As for the romance, many people see OoT as being canonly ZeLink. To see it reflected in the official comic adaptation shouldn't be a surprise.
Even dealing with canon: what makes it canon? The presence of Nintendo to supervise it? ( check ) Nintendo's stamp of approval? ( check ) The only difference between it and a game is that they weren't Nintendo employees writing it, just artists being supervised by them.

Overall, I think people are paying this theory too much mind. I really feel common sense debunks it best. As for them having similar powers/ prophetic dreams, I think a vital and central theme is being ignored and that's destiny/fate.
If you want proof, look at WW. Link has no connection to the previous hero, yet he's chosen as the new one. I think people focus too much on bloodlines in this game. Link and Zelda don't have to be related to be chosen.

The thing is WW has nothing to do with this discussion. But for the record its well accepted as canon that WW Link was descended from OOT Zelda and a mystery Hyrule nobleman/prince? since Link went back to the Child Timeline with his virginity still intact. I recall that it was referenced in the game that WW Link was descended from a sage. Obviously it was Zelda, so the bloodline in WW is relevant but has nothing to do with the bloodline of OOT Link as you stated.

I think you make valid points on the mangas trying to maintain the spirit of the games and all, but the bottom line is since MM ends the CT its relatively unknown who Link ends up with period.

So far my conclusion is that there has yet to be a valid arguement to debunk the twin sibling theory. Your opinion on common sense is not enough I'm afraid. But at the same time there is no valid arguement to debunk Link and Zelda not being related either.

it's also being released in English: likely because of demand for it.

You forget it was ten years of "demand" for this manga to come stateside Gee, that's a lot isn't it? It really came down to which publisher would actually bother to pick it up rather than demand from the fans. That's how I see it. Besides translations have been on the internet for years by Anna/Melora as well as ZeldaLegends.net. It was easy to read the mangas for fans.

As for it being canon, I've seen many comments about it, usually from people not liking the direction the story took. Does it matter though? I consider it to be true to the "spirit of the game" and I think Nintendo's presence in overseeing it was to ensure precisely that.

Of course it matters! Why would I want to read a manga that obliterates an already great story in a already great game? Perhaps if I wanna douse my brain in bleach with shoujo-y stuff that isn't even on par with good storytelling I've seen in other shoujo manga. "Spirit of the game" my foot If that were true it's be an action-packed story with actual dungeon-delving in it! The whole purpose of LoZ is puzzles and finding items in dungeons; do we see plenty of that in the manga? Nope! Spirit, indeed.

Even dealing with canon: what makes it canon?

Easy question: what ever happens in the game, happened in true story progression and timeline. There's your answer.

If you want proof, look at WW. Link has no connection to the previous hero, yet he's chosen as the new one. I think people focus too much on bloodlines in this game.

Considering that ALttP, OoT, TP and AoL all make an effort to mention the blood of the Hero, yes you'd think that this is important. WW Link may have no direct connection to the Hero of Time but he obviously has the same "stuff" that is needed to be the Hero so in some regard he is connected but perhaps in spirit.

*Sigh*. Look, there are obviously people who want it: VizKids put good money into buying the copyright, paying a translator and then money to print it. The problem is likely that it's unknown, not that it's terrible. A huge amount of fans don't even know what a manga is, let alone that there is an OoT one.

Obliterates? How so? They gave Link a personality. Okay, that was necessary. They added romance. Okay, also a good idea: Link and Zelda are the best known and easiest to fit in with what the game already offered. Other changes: done for storytelling potential. That's the same reason they didn't go through each dungeon in detail: it would make a crappy story. Stories need people, not static settings. The standard 3:5 ratio of dungeons and added sidequests are not going to make a story without some extension.

"Perhaps in spirit" could well be destiny. All seem to have that in common, blood connections not withstanding. ( Even ALTTP Link's uncle remarks on fate, and "their people being fated to do so." [to rescue Zelda] )
Even if the heroes are blood related, what bearing does it have on this debate?

Obliterates? How so? They gave Link a personality. Okay, that was necessary. They added romance. Okay, also a good idea: Link and Zelda are the best known and easiest to fit in with what the game already offered. Other changes: done for storytelling potential. That's the same reason they didn't go through each dungeon in detail: it would make a crappy story. Stories need people, not static settings. The standard 3:5 ratio of dungeons and added sidequests are not going to make a story without some extension.

True, he was given a personality and doing so was a real hit-and-miss; everyone envisions Link differently (I know I do compared to how he's portrayed in the manga). And I'm not saying they had to do a manga with 90% dungeon delving to make the manga more accurate; if done right it CAN be accomplished with just as much entertainment as any other filler. It would be more difficult, sure, but instead the OoT manga gave too much fluff, not enough substance to keep me entertained. I can only imagine how difficult it is to write and draw that out in a coherent manga, but given that Akira Himekawa was hired by Nintendo...I expected higher quality.

"Perhaps in spirit" could well be destiny. All seem to have that in common, blood connections not withstanding. ( Even ALTTP Link's uncle remarks on fate, and "their people being fated to do so." [to rescue Zelda] )
Even if the heroes are blood related, what bearing does it have on this debate?

*shrug* I don't know, it came up? Having it mentioned doesn't surprise me considering that any future Hero related to an ancestor hero coupled with the Princess would leave room to argue that descendants are committing a type of distantly related incest But I digress...

Fair enough. I can totally understand that: if you pictured Link differently, than it just wouldn't mesh with what you had previously imagined. I personally didn't have a huge impression of him at that point when I read the manga, so that became how I saw him.
Again, it depends on the reader. My own comic background comes from being a Marvel fan, and I'm fairly well versed in their superhero comics. As so, I've seen alot of "action filler" comics, defined by all fighting, little drama. A comic like the OoT manga impressed me with the depth and feeling they put into Link and Zelda rather than by focusing on just action. Compared to a large amount of the comics I've read, it's a step above.

Seen that one before too. But even if the Hero and Princess have bloodlines that merge at some points ( their marriage ) it doesn't bother me. Simply because of the amounts of time we are dealing with...hundreds of years typically. That would make them like, 10th+ cousins. So for all purposes, they don't have a close enough relation to count, let alone be incest. ( That's more like within a generation or two. ) The genetics just are too different after all that time.
It also explains how such a different lifestyle can be found in each descendant...common royal ancestors would have children who became nobility as they grew away from the ruling line, and eventually they would be commoners.

My own comic background comes from being a Marvel fan, and I'm fairly well versed in their superhero comics. As so, I've seen alot of "action filler" comics, defined by all fighting, little drama.

Ah, I get ya. From an American comics standpoint yours makes a lot of sense; here in the states with DC Comics and Marvel there's a great emphasis on action stories and whatnot so what yer saying makes a lot of sense. I've never been one to be into such things but manga I adore. I've read all kinds of genres and what impressed me about Japanese comics was that, although they were black/white with tones you could get a great variety of character development, action AND great art all packed into one (granted the story was actually good and the artist/script writer were good too). And this can go across all catagories of manga too!

Seen that one before too. But even if the Hero and Princess have bloodlines that merge at some points ( their marriage ) it doesn't bother me. Simply because of the amounts of time we are dealing with...hundreds of years typically. That would make them like, 10th+ cousins. So for all purposes, they don't have a close enough relation to count, let alone be incest. ( That's more like within a generation or two. ) The genetics just are too different after all that time.

Haha yeah I know. I was kinda joking about my previous comment; it's not the reason I don't care for Zelink because I see incest in it so it was just a jab that I pulled off the top of my head. But what you're saying is correct; the distance of relation between Zelda and Link, should they share common ancestors, would be significant in the timeline when comparing certain games.

Not having experience with manga, I really can't compare the Zelda mangas to anything else. I can't judge if it's good or not by manga standards. But I do know when a story touches me, and it did a good job of that. I've read quite a few emotional comics, but that ending outdid them all.

I said I had done my time debating, you'd be surprised how often that one comes up. Honestly, I consider it a weak argument. ( Along with this topic. ) If I was debating pro-MaLink, I could find so many better ways to go about it. ( And there's where I spend my time coming up with better counter-arguments )

The relation thing: I wouldn't be remotely suprised if they did share common ancestors often even. Take TP for instance. I usually peg the Hero's Spirit as the Hero of Time. But as he identifies himself as Link's ancestor, I can equally see him as Zelda's for various reasons. But it doesn't stop anything in TP, rather the presence of a stronger love interest does. ( Ilia and even Midna, IMO. )

I said I had done my time debating, you'd be surprised how often that one comes up. Honestly, I consider it a weak argument. ( Along with this topic. ) If I was debating pro-MaLink, I could find so many better ways to go about it. ( And there's where I spend my time coming up with better counter-arguments )

Well it is a weak argument; I wouldn't use it to try and garner Malink support either. Hence why I used it rather jokingly earlier, but I guess that part was kind've lost.

The relation thing: I wouldn't be remotely suprised if they did share common ancestors often even. Take TP for instance. I usually peg the Hero's Spirit as the Hero of Time. But as he identifies himself as Link's ancestor, I can equally see him as Zelda's for various reasons. But it doesn't stop anything in TP, rather the presence of a stronger love interest does. ( Ilia and even Midna, IMO. )

Common ancestry between Link and Zelda isn't surprising to me either. I mean take AoL for example; that game it is heavily implied that Zelda and Link did get together at the end and thus would create a lineage between them. And perhaps even LoZ as well.

I like the idea of the Hero's Spirit being the Hero of Time too, even if the imagery of him is quite different than what he did look like in OoT (but granted this could just be an apparition and not his true likeliness in life). But if I had to choose between Link or Zelda I'd have to pick Link's; Zelda didn't even cross my mind when I thought about it...but that doesn't mean it's not possible of course.

My two rupees on what you gals are discussing is in a theoretical OOT LinkxZelda (Not blood related of course) I agree with Gilderpilot that TP Link and Zelda's genetics would be far removed by that time for incest to be remotely possible. Link's family tree branch would also be far removed from royalty by the time of the events in TP.

The same could be said with OOT Links royal bloodline in the sibling theory for a theoretical LinkxMalon in which TP Link would be far removed from royalty by that time as well.

Anyway..I'm enjoying reading well written and opinionated but informative posts from both of you in my thread. Kudos and keep up the good work ladies.

Alright... Let's break this down, shall we?

Arguments

1) Link and Zelda both have blue eyes and blonde hair.

Unfortunately, that is not enough to indicate that they are any way related. Many people have blue eyes and blonde hair and share no relations with the other. Between both parents, there are more than 70 trillion genetic configurations that code for a particular allele. Most of the time, one allele dominates the other. The inferior allele only comes into affect when joined by another inferior allele to make one complete gene (eg. bb).



2) They both are missing their mother.

So what? You saying that everybody who is not portrayed as having a mother present is related to Link? Come, now. Let's make sense of this. It's only a coincedence and nothing more.

3) Both have prophetic visions.

Actually, Link is not gifted with the ability to foresee the future. As we have seen in other games (and even later on when he aquires the ocarina of time), Zelda communicates with Link through telepathy. Not only can Zelda see prophetic visions, but she can transmit thoughts to others. Don't forget; she uses this method later on to communicate with Link long after she's left. Her senses are somehow heigtened.

3) They're both Hylians.

So? Technically Malon is a Hylian. The chicken lady is a Hylian. The Baazar keeper is a Hylian. Does that mean they're related? No.

4) They were both chosen by the triforce.

They were selected by their personality and character. Ganondorf recieved the triforce of power because of his selfish, controlling nature. Link was selected because he was a born fighter. Zelda was selected because of the pool of wisdom that was bestowed upon her.

5) The ghost said that Link reminded him of Zelda.

Link only reminded the ghost of Zelda merely because Link and Zelda seem to click personality-wise. They share the same values. Don't forget; just because there is no dialogue for Link doesn't mean that he doesn't talk throughout the game. Really, if you think about it, you can remind someone of your friend because you both share similar values when it comes to certain things, otherwise you wouldn't be friends, would you?

6) There is no evidence that any romance takes place between Zelda and Link.

Again, not true. There are several situations that indicate Link's connection to Zelda besides friendship. First of all, they were brought together by destiny, which is elaborated in the game several times as you progress to each level. Secondly, many of the Sages in which Link encounters always mention Zelda, the primary one being Ruto. Ruto makes a statement full of jealousy when she informs Link that she is aware of his great concern for the princess; she always seems to be on his mind, especially towards the end. Also, Link acts without thinking when Zelda is captured by Ganondorf, frantically banging his hands on the crystal helplessly, and afterwards he instinctively places himself in front of Zelda at the very end, after they hear the sound from the castle of ruins. Not only that, they hold hands at the end of the game in a rather romantic gesture; if Link felt uncomfortable, he would have had the same reaction towards Zelda that he had when approached by Ruto as a child. Finally, he returns to the castle at the end of the game to see Zelda, of whom is the only one he remembers in Majora's mask. We only remember certain people that have had the greatest impact on us, and in this case, Link instinctively felt a close relation with Zelda. Let's not forget that they endured many hardships together, which is soon realized when Zelda sheds her disguise as Sheik.