America’s Promise… My Opportunity

In November, I entered a storyboard into a contest for the America’s Promise Alliance (APA). The contest was to create a PSA for stopping the dropout crisis, and they wanted a youth’s perspective. After phase one, entering the storyboard, they rewarded three participants $1,000 to make the video happen. Being one of those three winners, I gathered a crew and used my budget to make this happen. Take a look and enjoy.

Now if this video wins above the other three participants, I’m going to DC along with the people who helped me to make this video to present it. Now, I hope to win this, but I really enjoyed making this and it was one of the most fantastic experiences of my life. I hope to complete my other video projects with this much collaboration. I have to thank everyone involved for being this helpful! Thanks!

More Poetry!

BAM! More poetry!! Following up my previous monologues of poetry, here’s more! They’re not all monologues, and some are longer than others, but give them a read!

Monologue #4: Porcelain Doll

For so long I defended you as a person. People left and right saw you as nothing but a mask, a false expression, but I saw you as something different. I told people how there’s so much more to this wonderful person, but not a single opinion was turned to my favor. After quite some time, I started to doubt my pushing. I thought that there was something deeper that only I was seeing, but was it that I was falling for your ceramic expressions? As I back up and take a look in retrospect, I slowly see piece-by-piece that the person I loved was nothing but a porcelain doll.

Monologue #5: Perfectly Imperfect

People call me the Merit Man, looking at me as if I’m a perfect human being. But what’s perfect? To be perfect you have to follow this imaginary set of laws on humanity. It’s true, I’ve done many good deeds in my time, but my merits are really just happenings that have been cloaked in passionate story-telling. People admire me, but I used to be a lazy fool. It all starts with love; a girl that has eyes like the moon, and a heart like the sun. But being rejected sends you into a spiral of confusion. The only constant being what you want, her. What are you to do? Run away? There’s no place on this massive rock that’s far enough. Besides, rock is too solid, like it’s made up its mind, unlike myself. The answer is the sea! The sea is a place of confliction. Waves crash in different directions; gravity pulls up and down simultaneously. It’s undecided and can take me anywhere.
Floating on water, however, did not deter that longing that kept my heart beating. Her big, bright eyes joined the stars at night and kept watch over me, and her heart took its place at dawn, leaping into the sky and blanketing me with warmth. But it is that warmth that chills my very spine. In these terms, I can only give up! I sailed the seas and I got away, but it wasn’t far enough! The mind can only cope with so much on its own. But even with the help of drugs, there’s always emptiness. A slow, sad, less productive person is brought on. But who cares? I can hate my reflection; I just won’t look in the mirror. Months pass, years pass, before you know it, you don’t have anything left to offer. The will to do anything has left entirely. There’s no point anymore. But there was one at some point, right? No way! I’m not letting my life fade away like that. Those who think me a loser will be proven wrong! They’ll see!
I can pass any obstacle with flying colors, do many good deeds, and save the lives of countless people. Evil has felt my wrath! I’ve destroyed all in my path to make way for the new generation. It seems I did well, for feasts are held in my honor, by which I eat before everyone else! It’s amazing how much you can eat when returning home from war. Is that because you’re hungry? No! Food is filled with comfort, and even when your stomach is full, you can never get comfortable enough. I’ll keep eating. I can do whatever I like! I’m like no other person, one of a kind! My face is seen on the sides of buildings, my smile on billboards. Everyone looks up to me! Who else is there!?
But the higher you stand on a tower, the more painful the fall. How would that happen, though? I don’t deserve to fall! I don’t deserve to be rejected! Everyone fails to understand my significance! Have you not seen what I’ve done!? Can you not see the people I’ve saved!? If I could do that, imagine what else I could do! I can become mayor! I can run for congress if I want! I can even become president! Nobody knows what potential I hold! I’ve continued to help people with the great amount of power at my disposal. My charity knows no bounds! People love what I do, and pray that I keep doing it. But really, I’m reluctant. I look into the citizens’ eyes and I really want nothing more than to be normal like them. I can touch them, hug them, kiss them, but I can never be them. Is this all I have? I ache to join the other side. I feel abnormal and different. I want to go back to the way I was before, before all of this nonsense, and before I felt so much pain.
What is a perfect human being? Does it mean successfully abiding by the rules of others? Does it mean being a Good Samaritan? I think before asking what a perfect human being is, one must ask what a good human being is. And before asking that, one must find out what it means to be human. They all praised me for being heroic and generous, when really, by human standards, I did everything wrong! Everyone admires an imperfect human. I guess that’s what being human means, maintaining difference, constantly changing, and learning from your actions. Evolving.­

Lust, Sloth, Wrath, Gluttony, Pride, Greed and Envy are all traits we’re born with. They help us to learn, feel, and be as individualized as possible. They’re wired in to help us survive as a species.

Four Seasons

A tree stands tall atop a hill with leaves green of spring. Along the fine green lines of one leaf which hung lower than the rest, a caterpillar crawls and nibbles off a piece.

“Oh, great big oak tree, so tall and lean, no one but I knows you and your leaves of green. You provide a place to crawl and lush food to feed. You give a place of comfort in a time of need.”

A big bear pokes its head out from beneath the long branches.

“That’s not the oak tree! I know it best! It gives me lots of shade to cool down and rest. Its bark is rough, and climbing is fun. Its leaves glow yellow in the hot summer sun.”

A little squirrel runs up the hill and squawks at the bear.

“That’s not the tree; I disagree! It has hundreds of colors, and they fill me with glee! Its colors shower the ground, and it drops lots of food. It wants me to stay healthy, and gather lots of loot.”

A white rabbit bounces out from a tiny hole underneath the tree’s roots.

“You guys are wrong! That’s not the tree I know. Its branches are bare and blanketed with snow. It’s warm beneath its roots, and I can call it home. As long as the tree’s here, I’m never alone.”

All of the branches shake as if coming to life, then a deep voice booms as to extrude clarity. The voice comes from the tree, neither angry nor happy.

“Enough with the conflict! Not a single one of you is wrong! I never want to choose to which of you I belong. My leaves can be green, or full of many colors, or bare, but to have to pick one just wouldn’t be fair. I wouldn’t provide shade for the rabbit or food for the bear. I can bend my branches all ways to accommodate everyone here. I do have many seasons, and there are many leaves to see, but all four of my sides are what makes me unique.”

Monologue #6: Flavor

People like to judge. They spew nonsense, calling you flavorless like water. But hearing that makes me laugh, because water is full of flavor. While water may be tasteless, there’s so much more to it. Taste may be important, but flavor also differs on texture and consistency, how it feels and how it makes you feel. Isn’t water delicious? Enough for a second glass.

The Help

This is my second-to-last post in this Legend of Zelda series. For this post, I thought I would tackle one of the most important aspects of the games, the help. Throughout the series, you’ve had a helping hand guiding you through the series and telling you what you need to do. This helping hand can come in any form, whether it be a fairy, an owl, a twilight princess, an elderly guru, or even a talking red sailboat. But sometimes these helpful voices aren’t so helpful, but actually quite annoying. This post won’t be looking at those aides; this post will be looking at the most lovable, entertaining, and most helpful abettors.

(SPOILER WARNING!)
The following gives away key plot points in the series.

#3: King of Red Lions, from the Wind Waker.

The King of Red Lions is a talking red sailboat that rescues you from the sea after you were tossed away by Ganon. He turns out to be very useful, being your mode of transportation across the great sea and guiding you throughout your journey. More surprisingly, he turns out to be the actual king of Hyrule, just controlling the boat you sail on. This is what brings me to like this character so much. This is really the first and only Legend of Zelda game in which the king jumps into action to put a stop to Ganon. He gives link everything he needs to bring the evil lord down, and guess who ends up saving the day in the end. It was actually the king!! This character deserves number three, without a doubt.

#2: Midna, from Twilight Princess.

Midna takes a lot of thought to comprehend her place on this list. It seems the developers used her as a dumping ground for game mechanics that they didn’t know where to put. Need a mode of fast teleporting? Throw it at Midna. Need a way to transform into a wolf and back? Throw it at Midna. I’m honestly not going to take into consideration what Midna can do. I don’t think it would be fair because, honestly, I think the developers ran out of time and money and just gave her a bunch of abilities. The reason Midna is number two on this list, is her complex character. Midna was the princess of the Twili, but she was cast away by Zant, and so she met up with Link. At first, she’s witty and never takes you seriously. She’s helpful, but doesn’t want to help too much. As you press on in your journey, she becomes more like a friend, and starts becoming a lot more constructive. After all of this, you find out Midna was using Link for her own fiendish intentions. Playing this game, you see how Midna’s character is influenced by your journey, and watching her change is something great. After everything, you watch her change back into her normal form and that ends the game perfectly. Number two, all the way!

#1: Fi, from Skyward Sword.

Fi is new, but she most definitely deserves number one. Fi was the spirit put in charge of guiding the hero to completing the Master Sword. She is the spirit of the Master Sword and as such she is very helpful. She can get a bit annoying at times, but more often than not, you find yourself liking her. You can call on her to give you hints and guide you just like any helper, but what does it for her is enemy analysis. We’re not talking Navi’s quick enemy hint. We’re talking threat level, what you can do to kill it, what it can do to harm you, and how many of these enemies you’ve already defeated. Fi’s character is made to be like a calculator; she does what she was made to do, and she was made to make calculations in order to aide the hero. She spews out a lot of percentages, and you start to like it about her. What’s better is that this calculator develops feelings and starts to act like a human. In the end, she has return to the Master Sword and rest there until the next hero must draw it. It pains both Link and herself, but she leaves him with some touching words. Number one! I stick by it!

 

So the helpers I chose were from the most recent three console games, but they deserve their place on this list. Think otherwise? Give me some feedback! Email me!

The Minor Aspects of the Legend of Zelda

Here’s yet another addition to my Legend of Zelda series of posts! This time around, we’ll be looking at the ups and downs to the series. Now I don’t want to make this post too long, so I’ll just jump right in without explaining and it should explain itself.

Top 3 most lovable side characters of the series:

#3 – Groose: In Skyward Sword, Groose starts off arrogant and you begin with a disliking for him, but he redeems himself later on. Without him you could have never survived, and he slowly goes from being full of himself to swallowing his pride and acknowledging others. He says som prette hilarious things, too. He isn’t exactly a “side” character, but he’s still on the list.
#2 – Niko: Amazingly, this character has lived through three games! Yes, the same incarnation of Niko was featured in Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks. He’s got a great sense of humor, and he’s just so lovable! He creates scrapbooks of the hero’s adventures, with hilarious commentary! He’s been with the hero since Wind Waker and he can talk to the hero in Spirit Tracks about it!
#1 – Yeto and Yeta: From Twilight Princess, Yeto and Yeta are yeti from a snowy mountain where you must find a mirror shard. You first meet Yeto and he’s very welcoming and challenges you to a snowboarding race to his mansion. When you get there, you find out that the mirror shard’s been making monsters appear, and it even possesses Yeta, his love. When you return her to normal, a scene unfolds where Yeto tells Yeta to forget about looking into a mirror, but to look into his eyes. Hearts fly everywhere (Aaaw!) and then one big heart container (Oooh!)

Top 3 most helpful side characters:

#3 – Biggoron: Biggoron is a giant goron that appears in many different titles. All he usually does is give you special items via trade sequence, but these items are great! Yes, I do want a nifty Biggoron Sword! Please, chew on my shield, I’m shure it’ll turn into a mirror shield!
#2 – Fishman: These little fishes don’t have much to offer, but what they lack in physical substance they make up for with information. Yes, they mark your Sea Chart! It may not seem like much, but in Wind Waker having a chart filled with destinations really adds to your grand expedition. In addition to filling your chart, the fishmen also tell you very useful hints about the sea.
#1 – Tingle: Okay, despite how annoying Tingle has been throughout the series, he’s still very helpful. I mean, he makes maps! Beside the many helpful maps and charts you get from Tingle in the series, he’s musch more help in Wind Waker. Anytime you’re stuck you can just pull out the Tingle Tuner (Connect your GBA to the GameCube) to have a friend assist you a bit.

Top 3 most fruitful items of the series:

#3 – Flippers: No matter what Legend of Zelda game you’re playing, the flippers will probably appear in some form. It started in a Link to the Past with the Zora Flippers. When you got them you went “YES! I CAN SWIM!!” You could reach all of those secret places you couldn’t even see before! Flippers have been featured in a lot of games, but sometimes they can be called the Silver Scale, or the Zora Tunic, or even just the boots, which let you walk on water in the Adventure of Link.
#2 – Grapple Hook: The grapple hook was introduce in Wind Waker as a very lame hook shot. But it’s not its mode of transportation that makes it a godsend, it’s the ability to grab spoils! Just target a monster and smack’em with the hook and bam! You have yourself that enemy’s main spoil!
#1 – Double Clawshots: The double clawshots were introduce in Twilight Princess, and boy how empowered you felt! You felt like Spider-man, scaling cliffs and getting to all of those hidden chests! Everything was in your reach! In Twilight Princess, you got one clawshot and had to wait until way later to obtain the second, but in Skyward Sword you start off with two. This makes everything convenient! What a helpful item!

Top 3 most deadly weapons of the series:

#3 – Butterfly Net: In new Legend of Zelda games when you see a fairy you can equip your bottle, and then just swipe it right by the little thing to capture it. Back in the day you needed the bug catching net, though. But the butterfly net didn’t only catch little health-restoring fairies; it also deflected evil energy balls! The evil wizard Agahnim stood no chance against the mighty bug net!! This slight boost of power even continues in Skyward Sword, as it can be used to distract the final boss.
#2 – Bomb Arrows: What’s the most destructive item in this series? Bombs! But they’re short-range and downright difficult to use. If only there was a way to combine the destructive power of bombs with the precise aim-and-kill capability of the arrows. In Link’s Awakening they did! Bomb arrows were introduced in the first Legend of Zelda GameBoy game, but they were reintroduced in Twilight Princess. They’re precise, and they’re very long-distance! Quite the deadly combination!
#1 – Boomerang: Okay, I don’t mean just any boomerang. I don’t mean the fast targeting one in Ocarina of Time, or the multi-target one from Wind Waker, or the Gale Boomerang from Twilight Princess where you can target anything you want, or the one from Phantom Hourglass where you could trace the path of your boomerang. No, I mean the boomerang from Link’s Awakening, one-hit-K.O. This boomerang was really hard to get, but it killed every enemy in just one hit! You could even kill the final boss like that! How can an item that in most games doesn’t even kill enemies do so much in a GameBoy game?

Top 3 funnest side quests:

#3 – Masks: Masks in Ocarina of Time are fun to wear, especially when you see people’s reactions! What’s more fun than that is flipping the masks for a profit! At the end of this job, you get a nifty Mask of Truth, which lets you listen to the thoughts of animals, people and gossip stones!
#2 – Yoshi to Boomerang: In Link’s Awakening, there’s a trading sequence that starts with a Yoshi Doll. You find yourself trekking all over this island, and in the end you get a super powerful, one-hit-K.O. boomerang! It’s a lot of fun with a big payoff.
#1 – Poe Souls: Nothing feels better than stealing the soul of a ghost! Collecting Poe souls is a long Hylian pastime, and it often bears great results! In both Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess collecting Poe souls gets you a fresh empty bottle! In Twilight Princess, however, they made it more sporty making you have to rip the soul out with your wolf teeth!

It’s always the small things that make the games so great. The lists above are little tidbits that can be compared throughout the series, and when you think about it, there are so many different aspects to the games that aren’t really considered.

See the previous post!

Hitchhiker’s Guide to Hyrule

In my last post I talked about the Legend of Zelda’s 25th anniversary and introduced that post as the first of many. Today, I’m going to give an introduction to those who don’t know the games. It’s a good series, and I want everyone to play and see what I mean.

Game History

The Zelda games are unusual in that each game only hints that it has something to do with the next; they aren’t solid sequels of one another. Although the developers have never stated a certain timeline, fans have constructed what is the obvious structure themselves. Before I describe the timeline, though, I want to state the games in the order they came out. Now I’m only going to list the most popular ones. I don’t want to get into every minor title or else it’ll be a really long lis64t.

In 1987, the Legend of Zelda was released in the U.S. for the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System.)  This introduced a rough story of how an evil army attacked the land of Hyrule (the great country that these games circle around) and stole the Triforce of power (to be explained further in the post.) Zelda, the princess of Hyrule, split the remaining Triforce of wisdom into eight pieces and hid it across the land for link to find so that he could defeat the evil army leader, Gannon. The game was great, but it’s not the story that made it, it was the unique game-play which had never been done before.

In 1992, the Legend of Zelda: a Link to the Past was released in the U.S. for the SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System.) This set one big main story for the whole series. It had much improved graphics and game-play, but what made this game was the story. It gave Gannon a background, stating that in the past he lead a gang of thieves into the land of Hyrule to steal the Triforce, but as he was about to grab it, seven sages sealed him away as he turned into a pig beast (to be explained later.) It also showed some of the Triforce’s true power.

In 1998, the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time came out in the U.S. for the N64 (Nintendo 64.) This game was ground-breaking, introducing 3D game-play and the first targeting system. Along with phenomenal playing styles, the story was also impeccable. Remember that background in a Link to the Past? Well that’s exactly what this game shows. The evil Ganondorf (Gannon before he was turned into a pig) was manipulating the king so he could get his hands on the Triforce, which was hidden near the castle. This game also showed how the Triforce came to be, introducing the goddesses of Courage, Power and Wisdom: Farore, Din and Nayru.

In 2003, the Legend of Zelda: the Wind Waker was release in the U.S. for the Nintendo GameCube. This game was radically different from the previous adventure in Ocarina of Time. It was cel shaded, and it had anime styled animation. But the biggest difference was you starting off on a little island surrounded by ocean as far as the eye could see. So wait, this game doesn’t take place in Hyrule? Well it does. At the beginning, they show a tale that can be recognized as Ocarina of Time’s story, but they add on saying that the evil beast returned but the Hero of Time did not. The people prayed on the gods and the land (Hyrule) disappeared from the memories of the new generation. I’ll explain more later.

In 2006, the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was released in the U.S. for the Nintendo GameCube and Wii. This game didn’t introduce much besides a fantastic story and one of the most favorited items. It starts off with the kingdom of Hyrule being overthrown by the leader of the Twilight Realm, Zant. As the game progresses, you find out that the people of the Twilight Realm, the Twili, were banished there by the goddesses because they originally sought to control the Triforce. It turns out that the seven sages also sealed Ganondorf away there too.

In 2011 (so long ago!) the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword was released in the U.S. for the Wii. This games starts off radically different, leaving you unsure about the continuity in relation to the rest of the game. You’re not in Hyrule; you live in a town in the sky, Skyloft. As the game progresses however, you start to find out that this game states the origin of the the whole series. This game was made to act like a milestone for the 25th anniversary.

Summary of Hyrule

The Triforce
Long ago, the three goddesses, Farore, Nayru and Din created the whole land and the life that wanders it. The goddesses then created a sacred power known as the Triforce. The Triforce had the power of the three goddesses and gave any human the ability to make any wish and have it come true. Gods could not use this power, which is why the goddesses created it: to give the people of Hyrule hope. The Triforce was hidden in the Sacred Realm (where the goddesses descended) and was kept safe from evil souls. The Triforce has three parts: the Triforce of Power (on top,) the Triforce of Wisdom (on the left,) and the Triforce of Courage (on the right.) These three sides, after Ocarina of Time, are hidden inside the three bloodlines. The hero’s bloodline contains the Triforce of Courage, Zelda’s bloodline (the goddess’s bloodline) contains the Triforce of Wisdom, and the dark Gannon’s bloodline contains the Triforce of Power.

Bloodlines:
All of the main characters of these games are members of a bloodline kept throughout the games. These bloodlines start in Skyward Sword and are coherent in the series. Link is the main character in every game. He’s part of the hero’s bloodline, which is why he’s blessed with the mark of the Triforce of Courage. The exception to this is Link from Wind Waker. Believe it or not, the Link in Wind Waker has nothing to do with the links in the rest of the games. He has to earn his way into the bloodline by collecting the eight Triforce pieces for the Triforce of Courage and present them to the gods. In Twilight Princess, however, Link starts off with the Triforce of Courage on his hand. Zelda’s bloodline continues simply because she’s the incarnation of the goddess Hylia. Gannon’s bloodline only continues due to Demise’s curse.

Evil Souls:
The first and greatest threat against the land in pursuit of the Triforce was the evil entity, Demise (introduced in Skyward Sword.) There’s also the interlopers in Twilight Princess, and of course Ganondorf. Evil like this is why the Hero’s Bloodline exists. If the hero can’t stop them, then the gods will (like in Wind Waker.) In a lot of Legend of Zelda games, the main conflict has nothing to do with this bloodline (mainly in sequels.)

Timeline

The most confusing this about thing series is its timeline. But with the help of some official releases from Nintendo, fans eventually put together the Legend of Zelda timeline!