u/gearNgear

Forgive my bad explanation

I (19) have been playing Violin since I was 10 years old and during that time I didn't really understand how to read music or anything... I do now. I started taking music more seriously when I went into high school, but I struggle with figuring out how people are able to immediately recognize how a song is meant to flow. For example, I know about different notes and their length, and I know BPM and time signatures, but I have a hard time imagining in my head how a song is supposed to sound and how quickly I'm meant to hit the notes, while others in my classes are able to do so immediately.

I have been trying to study music more (watching videos on explanations, reading through my own sheets, playing through them) but I feel like something isn't clicking, I still can't imagine how things are meant to flow or sound when I look at a music sheet. Is there any way I can improve on this? I would really love music to become a bigger passion in my life.

Admittedly, this wasn't going to be as long as it is, but I wanted to discuss Ganondorf's character because he IS very fleshed out, but I don't think he's meant to be very sympathetic.

When it comes to WW Ganon, a lot of analysis I see about him go into how he seemingly takes a good look at his life and tries to rationalize his actions, stating that the land of the Gerudo was harsh and unfair, which is true, but Ganondorf hadn't changed at all. He gives the impression that he has, but he doesn't really read as such to me. While he doesn't kill Link and Tetra (and the girls he kidnapped) when he has the opportunity to do so, he is still actively inflicting pain onto others, maybe not directly, but his very presence causes monsters and demons to terrorize entire lands. Either way, he may not be directly killing people, but he is contributing to the suffering of others.

Additionally, I believe Ganondorf had no intent to break "the cycle" in the first place. The first thing he does when he brings the Triforce together again is to wish to bring Hyrule back again and have control over it once more. Ganondorf ruling over anything has destructive effects on the world since that is simply the kind of man he is, and judging the state of WW's world when he isn't even at his prime, he was for sure going to do much worse to Hyrule if it were brought back. I can't even say for sure that he cared about his people since Gerudo Valley seems to only be controlled with fear. Ganondorf didn't seek to improve his land, it feels more like he took advantage of already desperate people by promising them glory if they followed him. If Ganondorf were to get his wish granted, he would simply do this again, because he still wants power after all this time.

Then, the moment things don't go his way, he goes back to trying to kill Link and Tetra, two children. The only thing the King wished for them was to have a future. Ganondorf says all that stuff about Hyrule because Ganondorf is a liar and a manipulator, or he honestly thinks that he's being fair.

Wind Waker seems to try to make a point about change. I think that's what the game's ultimate theme is about. Ganondorf doesn't change, he wishes for things to go back to the way they were before, to when he was most powerful. Meanwhile, the King of Red Lions is the opposite, and I think he is meant to parallel Ganondorf in this way. He ultimately realizes that trying to bring back a dead kingdom is useless. The world of WW evolved around sea voyaging, and bringing back Hyrule would kill this part of its culture. Which is why I believe Red Lions tells Tetra and Link to not create another Hyrule, and to create their own kingdom, to leave Hyrule behind as a distant memory and let it finally come to an end, like how everything else should come to a natural end. By burying Hyrule, so was Ganondorf, and the rest of the sins of that land, basically sacrificing something old to allow something new to prosper.

This is probably why he lets Link and Tetra go without him. He's a part of Hyrule's past, but Link and Tetra are children, people who deserve to experience their future. That's what he wished for. Which is why I believe Link's Master Sword is left behind underwater, and why Tetra returns to her regular appearance. She's not Zelda. That's not the kind of life she leads (and I think not having her push back against the idea of being a princess harms this part of the narrative a bit, but I dirgess.)

So Link and Tetra left Hyrule and went back to adventuring, to create their own world. I believe Ganondorf is meant to be stagnation in a world that demands change, while the King of Red Lions is accepting said change, despite how difficult it may be to do so.

I've been playing the epilogue, though my heart's not as in it. I miss Arthur. Haven't beaten it yet, so I would appreciate not discussing spoilers on the epilogue :)

I picked up this game at a local store while I was with my friend at the mall. We found it for an extremely good price at one of those cheap pop culture stores, pre-owned for $14. I took my chance and bought it immediately since I had been planning on buying it for a while but missed my chance the last time I saw it for cheap at that store. I have no idea how I even managed to find this game for that cheap, but I am not complaining. Back in 2018, I wanted to play the game after watching my uncle play it on his PS4, if memory serves me right, since I've always been a huge fan of the Wild West. Was my biggest obsession as a kid. I wasn't born in the US. I guess Western American culture always stood out to me. It was probably the horses. My uncle wouldn't let me play it, or even watch it, since I was too young at that time. He let me play some things such as Assassin's Creed, but I guess RDR2 was too strong of a game in his opinion.

By the time I turned 17, I couldn't play it because I didn't have my own console to play it on, but now I do, and I did, and it was the best gaming experience I've had since Majora's Mask, I think. I have never cried at a game or movie, and if I did, I haven't done it in a long time, but RDR2 was the game that finally broke that streak. It wasn't a lot in the waterworks department, but it was definitely more than a simple tear-up. I beat the game at around 1 in the morning as I was in a voice call with a person I hold very near and dear to me... I fell silent after watching Arthur crawl his way to the top of that mountain and take his final breath, and the whole time they were asking me if I was alright. Didn't really know how to respond to that question.

I tried playing the game the right way, and by right way, I mean playing it however I wanted to. I told myself I wouldn't look anything up, nor look for tips or opinions on what the "right way" is. Tried to avoid spoilers as much as I could. I knew that Arthur died, but not exactly how. I thought he was done for in Ch3 after getting captured by the O'Driscolls. Game was really keeping me on my toes by tricking me into thinking he was gonna die at 3-4 points in the story. I played the game a little carelessly at first. I tried being good, but I committed crimes over petty disputes with NPCs. Helped as many people as I could, but freely killed however much I wanted. It was only when Arthur got his diagnosis that I really started avoiding committing unnecessary crimes. Seeing that honor decrease felt like a stab to the heart, so I stopped doing anything that would cause a decrease (for the most part), and I eventually reached maximum honor near the end of Ch6. I don't really know how to describe it, but when he died, it felt like I lost a real person. Usually I'm able to comfort myself about a character dying by reminding myself that they're not real, but Arthur felt like he really existed. His words flowed so naturally, his flaws weren't ever dumbed down... he felt like a human. So when he died, I felt like I lost someone close to me. I got the "good" ending, I think, the one where you stay to help John and die watching the sun rise. I feel sad, and happy for Arthur at the same time. I dunno. Seeing how fond of him NPCs were in the prologue really hurts. All the good choices I made mattered to them. I don't think I'm gonna have the heart to do low honor like I initially planned to.

I'm gonna miss you, Arthur Morgan. You weren't a perfect man, some can hardly call you a good man, but you tried your hardest, and I would say that you got your well deserved redemption in the end. I know you're not real, but your writing was, and I hope you're happy now.

Micah you motherfucker I'm coming for your head.