Breath of the Wild What was Mipha going to say?

[Ninja]

Her entire character and everything about her story implies otherwise.

Agreed. Further dialogue to support this would be part 4 of the Zora's History stone monuments:

The queen and I were blessed with a daughter as lovely as a jewel. We named our princess...Mipha. To celebrate her birth, the smithy Dento presented Mipha with a gift: a might spear called the Lightscale Trident. Mipha grew into a bright girl and soon reached the age of receiving lessons from the royal family's order of knights. The whole of the royal guard adored her, especially Sergeant Seggin, who loved her as if she were his own kin. Under Seggin's instruction, Mipha honed her skill, and her radiance grew along with her skill with the Lightscale Trident. As a Champion, Mipha made her people proud. However, once the Great Calamity struck, she was never to return. All of Zora's Domain fell into misery. The merest thought of the princess was enough to overcome anyone with tears. As a way of offering her soul repose, they tried to send the Lightscale Trident drifting down the Zora River. But when they did, the trident began to glow, and Mipha's voice rang loud and clear for all Zora to hear:

"The Lightscale Trident and I are one... Abandon your grief and know joy once again. Do not cry...just remember."

And so, keeping to her request, on the day of the Great Calamity...the day that Mipha passed from this world...the Zora venerate the Lightscale Trident and remember their brave princess.

Such is the origin of the Champion Festival.

 

[DragonEleven]

Mipha literally laments causing her people to suffer and she, as a spirit, asked them not to continue to cry over her. That's what started their Champion festival. There's no way you can tell me she didn't love her people. Her entire character and everything about her story implies otherwise.

Consideration for the feelings of others is not the same as loving them... it just means she has a conscience.
All of the evidence is about her personality, not her feelings.

 

[Azure Sage]

Consideration for the feelings of others is not the same as loving them... it just means she has a conscience.
All of the evidence is about her personality, not her feelings.

Yes, her loving and kind personality that made her care about her people so much that she wanted them to stop suffering. Seriously, you have absolutely no evidence other than "she was a princess", which isn't even evidence at all. You're guessing for the sake of guessing.

 

[Draymorath]

If we're going to talk about the relationship between the Zora nobility and the common folk I think we should consider something else altogether; the place they are living in is literally just one giant statue. It would be nigh impossible for the nobility to be very far removed from the common folk given that they are just up a flight of stairs from them. I think it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume that the nobility were very closely knit with the rest of the Zora. Unless they just shut themselves up in that one room all day every day, but given how much Sidon interacts with the rest of the Zora (and the fact that being stuck in that room all the time would be ass) that seems pretty bunk.

Unless she's secretly some kind of sociopath who only cares about a select few people. But given that this is a Nintendo game where the characterization is usually skin deep, and there is absolutely no evidence to suggest anything of the sort, that is pretty unlikely as well.

So that, along with what we know about Mipha's caring nature, and that she did kinda give her life to protect them, I don't really see the point in arguing that she did not love them just because she was nobility. I also kinda feel like the "loved by her people" thing is sort of implied to be mutual, though that's technically just conjecture, as much as I think that it's pretty dang likely.

 

[DragonEleven]

It would be nigh impossible for the nobility to be very far removed from the common folk given that they are just up a flight of stairs from them. I think it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume that the nobility were very closely knit with the rest of the Zora. Unless they just shut themselves up in that one room all day every day, but given how much Sidon interacts with the rest of the Zora (and the fact that being stuck in that room all the time would be ass) that seems pretty bunk.

That applies to the royal family as a whole, not to Mipha specifically.
Both King Dorephan and Prince Sidon especially are portayed as being rather extroverted, while Mipha is far more of an introvert... so regardless of how physically close Mipha was to the other Zoras, this doesn't mean she actually went out and got to know them.
The other Zora got to know Mipha through her actions as a healer, not through direct interaction with her... the only ones who appear to have actually interacted with her directly are those she healed (soldiers and those who were training to become soldiers), with Link being the only one she seems to have gotten to know personally.
People who work in medical professions do tend to distance themselves from their patients emotionally... that's why they have the whole 'no fraternising with patients' thing... they still care for their patients, but they avoid making deeper emotional connections... and this is likely what Mipha had done.

 

[Vanessa28]

There is absolutely NO evidence Mipha was keeping herself far from her people. Before you defeat Vah Ruta the elders won't even talk to you. Being mad as hell at you allowing Mipha to die. If Mipha had no such contact to her people but just a few, not all of the elders were mad at you. But you are told not to try to talk to the elders because they're mad at you. I'm absolutely convinced Mipha was a loving caring person who stood very close to her people. If Mipha wasn't able or willing to get closer to her own people she would have acted completely different towards Link. She would still have loved him but would have shown this in a different way or maybe not at all because of her not being used to or willing to show it.

 

[Ninja]

Both King Dorephan and Prince Sidon especially are portayed as being rather extroverted, while Mipha is far more of an introvert... so regardless of how physically close Mipha was to the other Zoras, this doesn't mean she actually went out and got to know them.

I don't believe we see enough of Mipha to say she was introverted enough not to know and love her tribe. The Zora tribe, as a whole, and not just the soldiers, according to a monument stone, is so emotionally attached to Mipha. When she is discussed, or thought of, it would overcome them with emotion. When we first visit Zora's Domain in the game, everyone seems to still be genuinely heartbroken because of her sacrifice, and even harbor negative emotions towards Link because in their eyes, he failed her. Once you complete Vah Ruta the entire spirit of the Zora changes. I don't see any other tribe in BotW to have such strong feelings for their Champion. They may have some but the Zora's are lightyears ahead of anyone in that regard.

The other Zora got to know Mipha through her actions as a healer, not through direct interaction with her... the only ones who appear to have actually interacted with her directly are those she healed (soldiers and those who were training to become soldiers), with Link being the only one she seems to have gotten to know personally.

People who work in medical professions do tend to distance themselves from their patients emotionally... that's why they have the whole 'no fraternising with patients' thing... they still care for their patients, but they avoid making deeper emotional connections... and this is likely what Mipha had done.

Mipha literally sacrificed her life for the greater good of not only her people, but Hyrule as a whole. Based off of her personality, and the Zora's feelings towards her, I highly doubt Mipha would purposely distance herself from her race. It wasn't "just her duty" to heal, she did it because she loved her people, just as much as they adored her. Based off of what we see in the game, Mipha having a distanced "doctor-patient" relationship with her race is extremely unlikely.