News

July 17, 2012: Enoby emerges from the blood-soaked shadows of Hogwarts' forbidden corners to officially join in our poking of a certain elephantine preppy man.

October 5, 2011: Spring cleaning.

July 17, 2011: After weeks of inactivity and a pretty epic smackdown, Ryuu takes his forum offline. Oh shucks.

4.1.09

Character Sheet: Aia

Aia, from May 4, 2006

Name: Aia
Nick-Name: (none)
Gender: Female
Age: Unknown
Height: 3'3"
Weight: 49 lbs.

I realize age is unknown, and the race is not entirely human, so that makes it hard to nitpick, here.

If I wanted to argue this, I could easily point out that the general consensus for Kid Link's age is around ten years old, and the Kokiri children seem to be around his height (and Kid Link's height, going by height averages, would be something around 50-60 inches (4'2"-5')

Of course, I admit that averages as well as judging by in-game sprites are not the most reliable tactics. They are, however, guidelines that could be discovered through actual research.

Average Height for Girls 2-20
Average Height for Boys 2-20

If we assume that this particular Kokiri girl is around five, however, her height and weight would still be within the averages for human children.

So, by the information he's given, she'd probably look like a short, somewhat pudgy kindergartner.

Physical Description (body): Aia is a tiny girl. Her frame is light and her body is slim. She has medium length legs, but little longer arms. Her hair is blonde, but also short. She has two small pony-tails on the lower back of her head. Her blue eyes are bright and show that she's full of energy. She may not be very strong, but she can crawl into small places with ease.

WAIT, problem. "Her frame is light and her body is slim"? That seemingly contradicts her height and weight identified above.

This is why I personally agonize over putting down a weight for my characters. There are plenty of ways weight can distribute depending on a person's frame and what the weight is made out of.

And it is more descriptive to put down the build, really. Not everyone immediately recognizes what someone's build must be like from height and weight. And even if they can, they could still be wrong just because of all the variables not taken into consideration.

But I digress.

The description is brief, which is nice, and while it leaves questions about some things, it gives enough information to draw some reasonable conclusions and can allow for specifying details in moderation throughout the role play if it comes up.

I'm not sure if it needs the detail of the length of her arms and legs, though, but I'll let it slide because I've nitpicked enough so far.

Physical Description (apparel): Aia doesn't wear anything elaborate, just a long sleeve-less shirt that covers her down to her knees. She also wears small dark green boots that match the forest floor.

Again, simple and to the point - which is a refreshing break from Ryuu's typical character sheets. (I'm actually writing up this critique as a break from one of his longer, more painfully descriptive sheets.)

It isn't identical-sounding to other Kokiri outfits, though still sounds like something a Kokiri girl could wear. For those of you wondering about green leather boots... most of the Kokiri in the official art wear green boots.

However, I'm still going to suggest researching dying leather processes - perhaps on a historical level, too, since the Legend of Zelda universe typically has a medieval feel to it. At least, Ocarina of Time does.

Just because it's in the official art doesn't mean that we can just stop thinking about it.

Looks most Like: OoT Style Aryll

And here is another good reason why the above field is a bad idea: it ruined what was a good and original (compared to his other sheets I've seen, so far) mental image of a character.

I'm not sure why I don't just end the character sheet critique here and give him a one just for this.

No, seriously, don't do it. Be creative.

Personality: Very chipper and happy. She's not prone to anger or even sadness. She believes things will all be okay, no matter how bad they get. After all, it could be worse, right?

Here, meaning can be debated. While I assume that "not prone to anger or even sadness" means that she does not have cause to dwell on those feelings or that she doesn't let them get her down (which may be because of my philosophic opinion that all people should and do experience the full range of possible emotions), it is possible for someone to interpret this as her naturally not feeling those to the same degree as others.

I would suggest wording it differently, like "She doesn't believe in letting anger or sadness get the better of her," which tells more about her personality and gives her a stronger sense of will.

Power(s): None is sure if this is a power, but her smile just seems to pierce through any glum moment.
Upside to Power(s): Makes people happier.

I don't think it's a power, either, unless caused by some sort of empathic or supernatural force. I'm also iffy on whether or not it should be added, because unless it actually IS caused by an empathic or supernatural force, it seems to influence other player characters reactions to this character. And player characters have the final say on whether or not they're glum.

Downside to Power(s): If she's not smiling, it won't work.

Thank you, Captain Obvious.

Strengths: small and agile - can get into small spaces without having any problems.
Weaknesses: Just a little girl. Doesn't have weapons or any means to protect herself.

History: Though it is hard to discern the true origin of the Kokiri, there are rumors of how their existence came to be. Whatever the circumstances were, the Kokiri exist and so does Aia.

The opening to that entry is... bizarrely lame and lazy. You couldn't even make up some fairy-tale about being born from blooming flowers off the Deku Tree on special years, or something? There's so much that can be done with the Kokiri, much like any other race in the Legend of Zelda universe.

I mean, one of the Kokiri children, in game, says the Deku Tree is their father. From an Ocarina of Time textdump:

Oh, you have a fairy now?! That's great, Link! What? You've been called by the Great Deku Tree? What an honor! He may give you a special gift! Tee hee! That's because the Great Deku Tree is our father, the forest guardian, and he gave life to all of us Kokiri!

It isn't even necessary to spell out the whole Kokiri history, really, but adding that opening in feels like Ryuu is going out of his way to say "I can't be bothered to care how this race exists."

Aia, as a Kokiri, always envied Saria because she had a fairy.

Newsflash: All Kokiri children have fairies. It makes no sense for a chipper, happy person to be envious of one of the more friendly Kokiri.

Aia loved fairies since as long as she can remember. One day, at last, a fairy came to her. His name was Leo.

Gee, thanks for not explaining why she didn't have one, at the time, since it's implied the Deku Tree gives the Kokiri children their fairies. Is it just me, or does this history feel very abrupt? I know I typically complain about how painfully long his other character sheets are, but there's a difference between being short and being abrupt.

Leo acted like an older brother to Aia, since she was the smallest of the Kokiri and she appears to be the youngest, she even now has things to learn. Leo constantly watches her back, just in case someone tries any practical jokes on her. Aia loved Leo very very much. Even to this day, their arguments are few and their joy is great.

It's at least good to know that she is smaller and 'younger' than average. It means he isn't a total dunce. However, I do have a few questions - how old is she, at least compared to other Kokiri? How does age work with the Kokiri? These are questions one should take into consideration when making a character.

While it isn't canon, the Ocarina of Time manga referenced the thought that a fairy partner is a part of the Kokiri (probably not literally, but, you know). That's at least trying to flesh out something about the race.

When Ganondorf attacked on that day of Destiny, Saria left for the Forest Temple. This upset Aia much because, though she may have envied her before, she thought of Saria like an older sister. She stayed hidden in her own little hideaway, which happened to be in the shop. She never knew what truly happened, but she's just glad all is well, now. She was still saddened when she thought that Saria would never come back.

Ganondorf was soon defeated, and Saria returned. Aia was so thrilled and the two became even better friends than before.

Well, a shop isn't exactly a hideaway, because shops tend to get more traffic than most places, even if they're in some forest village populated by eternal tree-children.

Also - I didn't get the impression that Aia and Saria were friends, until Saria came back and they "became even better friends than before." The only impression I got was that Aia was envious and probably idolized Saria. This history is thrown together even more haphazardly than my critique.

Two years passed, and Saria has taught Aia to memorize the way through the Lost Woods, upon Aia's request. Leo doesn't like it when Aia goes through the Lost Woods, so he memorized the paths as well - just in case Aia forgets.

To this day, Aia and Leo remain together and remain at the Kokiri Forest, completely unaware of what may come into that forest...

I never got the impression that the Kokiri know how to navigate the Lost Woods. We see Mido in there, guarding a path halfway between the Sacred Medow and the village, after all, and another Kokiri girl is at least secure enough in the woods to enter them.

I also have to ask why, exactly, Aia wanted to be able to go through the Lost Woods. Was it just out of a sense of follow-the-leader and idol worship?

Extra: Her fairy, Leo, is more of the serious type. Because the Great Deku Tree isn't around anymore, he wants Aia to be shown that life isn't always sunshine and butterflies, yet without being harsh about it.

RPG Style: Zelda RPG

Okay, the Great Deku Tree isn't around, but his replacement in the still-growing tree-sprout is there. The sprout symbolizes new hope and good springing up from the oppressive darkness, really. That isn't to say Leo being a realist couldn't be interesting, I just disagree on dragging the Great Deku Tree into it.

Overall, I... give this a flat
5/10. I feel like it should be lower, because of the "looks like" field, though. It had/has potential, but the history feels like it's thrown together carelessly and doesn't really explain a lot about her past and focuses too much on the part of her past that centers around Ocarina of Time.

Pro Tip: There's more to the Zelda universe than Ocarina of Time.

Also, her personality feels a little flat and seems like it isn't established at all in her history.

Of course, it isn't so bad that it merits a Mary Sue test, so I won't be doing one.

No comments:

Post a Comment