#But wars loftwing my beloved

[majorproblems77]

:D

So, like, during the war of eras he goes to Pre-Sky Skyloft but we don't know how pre it is.

We also dont know how long loftwings live for, one would assume they live for as long as their rider or longer. Probably longer. So if the war of eras was before who's to say he couldn't have bonded to a loftwing during the war... Say it was a yellow/gold loftwing. Like oh, I don't know. The one they use for the wing ceremony.

(I have stuff for this, i wish i could draw cause I've got a picture in mind but I'm struggling to fully describe how it would look in comparison to say Crimson. Cause I'm not very good with bird terminology)

I want to write stuff for it so bad. But time is not my friend at the moment so It's been back burnered. But it does give me brain rot. So i might make something soon cause i cant stop thinking about it

✨👍❓

As for the question. Favorite personal headcanon not currently canon and you wish it could be.

✨ Oh! This is interesting, I've honestly have no idea. I suppose (As much as courage would be cool) wisdom feels more correct? Much prefer to be inside chilling then out on adventures.

👍I love the angst potential of the prophetic Sky headcannon. It's super fun to play with and I love writing it. Not that anyone has seen much of that yet :)

❓ Oh, I've got one that I've not spoken about yet.

Giving Warriors a loftwing, because of the war of eras. :)

(Which I will happily speak more about if people are interested)

[marte-14]

"Hello, sleepyhead"

Context:

"Look!"

The last portal brought them in the middle of an unknown forest. They have been exploring for a few days, without seeing traces of civilization, until now.

Hyrule has spotted a stone archway, almost entirely covered by the vegetation:" Maybe it's the entrance to a dungeon."

Without losing time Legend and Wind start to cut through the plants that cover the entrance, getting inside first.

"Uff..." The veteran puts away his sword, disappointment on his face:" It's only one room..."

Time observes the room quickly:" Check for secret passages. If it's just a room, we can at least rest here for the night."

"I think this place is a tomb." Wars adds, noticing the small altar at the other end of the room:" Probably of a sage..." He adds:" That is Hylia's crest. It would make sense."

Four studies the inscription under the crest:" I think that this is Sky's Hylian!"

"We must be in your Hyrule then, or at least close to your time." Wild shrugs:" Or we are in a random time and this place is just well preserved."

They start to theories in which Era they might be, but Sky isn't listening.

He got closer to the tomb, to read the inscription. Since they entered this place, he had a feeling.

Not a bad feeling. When he entered he felt warmth fill his heart, love and adoration. Familiar feelings, that always make Zelda come to mind.

Now he understands why.

Sky is frozen in place, holding his breath in shock, tears burning his eyes.

Twilight soon notices that something is wrong:" Sky?" He calls, without receiving an answer:" Link? Is everything alright?"

The others take notice of the situation, turning in silence to their brother.

Sky gasps, a sob comes out of his throat:" T-this is-" he raises a trembling hand, to touch those words. To feel them. To make sure they are real.

Here lies Zelda the First.

Hylia reincarnated.

Beloved wife, mother, daughter and ruler.

"I-It's-" he can finish the phrase because, as soon as his hand touches the cold stone, a bright warm light explodes in the room. Blinding him.

"Hello, sleepy head."

Sky hears her voice. The one he dreams of every night, as his heart cries alone.

He opens his eyes in shock:" Zelda?!"

Her face right in front of his, a bright smile as she literally is bright as the Sun.

"I was wondering if you would find this place during this journey." Her hand caresses his check, it isn't physical but Sky can feel its warmth.

Tears began to fall like waterfalls:" Don't cry my beloved." Sky takes her and in his, it's just energy but he holds it tightly.

"Zelda-" Sky can only utter out.

He misses her so much. They still haven't been to his Era, he hasn't seen her in months.

Seeing her face now is bringing so much joy in him, but finding her tomb instead of her at home is quite upsetting.

Sky is so overwhelmed, he doesn't know what to say.

"Link, my dear. Don't worry, I am still back home waiting for you and taking care of our loftwings."

Sky chokes one sob out:" You will come back to me soon. We will have our whole life and eternity ahead of us." Sky nods, in his head promising to make Zelda's words true.

"I love you, my sleepyhead."

"I-I love you too, my Sun."

Zelda places her lips on his in a light kiss, before dissolving.

Her warm presence is still in the room, enveloping the heroes with her divine protection.

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Why do you like Skyward Sword? What do you love about it? (I just came back to it after a long time and am obsessed.)

AH there are SO many reasons I like Skyward Sword!

The aesthetic! This is such a cute game, and the pastels are so pleasant to the eye. It makes the world so magical too, like botw is breathtakingly beautiful but skyward sword is like going to a real fantasy land. Kind of adds to the whole idea that this game is so far in the past it's in mythology era too, which makes it extra fun!

Speaking of which, the lore! Like, I know some people might not like the Hylia addition but let's be real, Nintendo destroys their own lore with every new game, so I just really liked this one lol. The idea that this game is so far back in the past that it's the original Hero, the original Zelda, it's such a fascinating and fun thing! This isn't just another iteration of the pair, this is the pair. It makes it fitting that they're the Zelink couple that I adore too haha.

With it being so far back in the past, it makes the magic feel so much more alive! The goddess is within reach, the dragons talk, everything feels so alive. You know how in stories it's always like "time passes and people grow distant from the magic and can no longer hear it/experience it" and that kind of feels like the rest of the Zelda games - like there's obviously still magic and beauty in all the games, but it never quite feels as... idk, fantastical as Skyward Sword's world does. Part of that is probably also because it's from Link's POV and this is all new to him

Which is another fun thing! All the other Zelda games, Link lives in an established world. Here, Link's exploring one that's been untouched since the entire world was nearly destroyed in a devastating war and nearly everyone had died. Like it's kind of akin to botw (I remember reading somewhere that botw was designed to be like a really improved skyward sword, like sksw paved the way for it) in that regard, but Link's in a foreign land and knows nothing about it. Rather like OoT Link, but there's very little established here, you know? There's no kingdom, you run into one (1) settlement with the mogmas and that's it. The rest is ruins and wilderness.

The characters! My gosh, they're so fun! Link is the most expressive here, he's absolutely delightful and I adore his personality (the only Link who comes close to being my favorite aside from Sky is Twilight). Groose is fantastic and rightfully a fan favorite. Zelda's a freaking knight! And she has her own journey! And she's got a fantastic personality, and her story is so interesting! Ghirahim is hilarious and a fun recurring villain! Even Impa is fairly interesting as a character. Fi certainly isn't my favorite companion but she isn't terrible, and it's quite fun learning about her lore and watching her develop.

LOFTWINGS. That is all.

LIVING IN THE SKY. Their settlement is so different from anything else in any other game and I love it. Also a nice little thing because like so many Zelda games herald an ancient race coming from the skies, and it differs between the games but the fact that this time it was the Hylians is really neat and solidifies the whole "this takes place before literally everything else" idea.

The music! I love the music so much, they're all bangers. Fi's theme, especially Follow Fi, is absolutely magical, Groose's them is bombastic and fun, freaking Koloktos theme, the Ancient Cistern!! The Sand Sea!!!

SILENT REALMS MY BELOVED. Everybody else hates them, I freaking adore them, they're my favorite part of the game. I love the challenge of them and the music for them absolutely took my breath away.

The sword mechanics! I know with bad programming/buggy controllers it can be a pain, but it's so fun being able to swing Link's sword around with such control, whether it's motion control or joystick. Like, it's not just hitting a button, you gotta wait and watch and observe to figure out how you're going to attack, and it makes it pretty fun!

[tortilla-of-courage]

LU Posts Masterpost

finally went ahead and put most of my original LU posts in one post for easy(? navigation. have fun!

if there are any issues with any of the links feel free to send in an ask/DM me/reply to this post!

(For both reblogged and original, browse through #linked universe. (WIP) Asks related to LU will be tagged with #tortilla’s lu tag.

everything listed in any category is art unless stated otherwise (ex. “[Text post]”, “[Fanfic]”, etc) for convenience

Art (#linked universe art)

Sky’s not an angry person (Sky & Legend)

It’s not water (Warriors & Sky)

Wolfie WHAT are you eating (Wolfie & Time) + Wild addition

Nicknames are Hard (Everyone)

Sky cuddling anon

RIP Time’s legs (Time & Sky & Hyrule)

(Smash voice) Everyone is here! (Time & Wild & Wind & Twilight)

Four was technically in Smash too?

Time’s had a rough life (Time & Legend & Sky & Hyrule)

Legend’s also in Mario Maker? (Legend & Hyrule & Wind & Twilight)

Linkedanon my beloved (Sky)

DAD???????? (Sky & Wind)

Error 404 (Sky & Wind)

Loftwing names (Sky & Sun)

Booster Seat Four

Prepare to Die. (Time) + Who are the bg people? (Legend & Hyrule & Wind)

Four in the backseat (Four & Wild & Sky)

Rise of the Brave Tangled Warriors (Four & Legend & Sky & Warriors)

Linkedanon my beloved 2 (bday edition) (Sky)

Crossover with my Fast Food AU (Time & Wild & Wind)

Legless Legend + Chess (Legend & Warriors)

Remlit Sky (Sky & Wind & Legend)

Gen Z vs Millenials  (Sky & Wild & Twilight)

T-Pose (Time & Wild)

Bean Pumpkin (Twilight & Sky)

Fishing Malon

Divine Intervention (Legend & Hyrule)

what the FUCK does this say? (Legend & Wild & Sky [in spirit])

Door Slam (Legend & Hyrule)

Catboy Twilight

Phone Sky

Glitter Cowboy Twilight

Twilight using Dog Instincts while human (Twilight & Warriors & Four & Legend)

Sky hugging anon

Twilight’s cow belt 1

Twilight’s cow belt 2 (now with treats!)

Eldritch Horror Hylia and her Pomeranian Hero (Sky)

Respawning at Ordon (Twilight)

Bouquet to the face! (Warriors)

Sky jumps off the Island (+ Twilight & Time)

Legend kills god (ft. the rest of the chain)

[list update 3/26/22]

Son, *puts a hand on your shoulder* (Time & Twilight)

Fierce Deity!Sky

Twi about to bite someone (+ Warriors) (wars bullying)

Wars’ dog puns (+ Twilight)

What does a crab pinch feel like (Sky, Four, Wind, Time, Wild)

Sky and Warriors’ dynamic

He Had To Do It To ‘Em (Warriors)

Quieres? pues compra (Sky & Wild) [Español]

Se me chispoteó (Wild & Legend) [Español]

Panel redraw (Sky & Warriors)

Fuck around and find out (Sky + mentioned Legend)

bye Four (Sky & Four)

do not separate them (Sky & First)

child backpack (Sky & First)

First peaces out

we can break time (Wind)

we can break Time (Wind & Time)

why are you breaking Time (Wind & Time)

Sky pog

Sky, the gremlin of the group

Sleeping pranks (Sky, Warriors & Four) (light wars bullying)

toon style Four

Legend has the game Wars wishes he had (slight wars bullying?)

Romavioli (Rosa (OoS) + Legend + Ravio + Marin)

Gartic Phone 1 (Time & Twilight)

Gartic Phone 2 (Warriors & Legend)

Gartic Phone 3 (Sky & Legend)

Gartic Phone 4 (Time, Twilight & Warriors)

Four riding a tiny lizard

Romavioli 2 (Rosa (OoS) + Legend + Ravio + Marin)

Twilight <3 (request)

Sky going to the grocery store

love is getting your partner a cool lizard (Sky & Sun)

[Companions AU] Crowded boat

[Companions AU] Did you think it’d get to this Midna? (+Ravio and Ricky)

[Companions AU] Get Me Off This Adventure (Ravio & Groose & Terrako & Ezlo)

[Companions AU] Ravio didn’t sign up for this (Ravio & Hylia)

Still Four of Them (Wild & Red & Vio & Green & Blue)

Update Prediction (Wild & Red & Vio & Green & Blue & Legend & Sky)

I want these twinks to CRY (Time & Wild)

Sky doodles

Four doodles (+ Time)

Give back the scarf. (Warriors & Wind)

Kart Buddies (Wild & Sky) (#kart buddies)

Kart Buddies! (ft. Twilight & Legend &Time)

Back at it again (ft. Twilight & Four)

Blue shells 

Time will NEVER know what happened 

Fast and Furious 1

Fast and Furious 2 (ft. Time)

Fast and Furious 3 (just Sky)

Car go space?

Some doodles

more doodles

Birb Army (Sky) (#sky’s bird army)

Carpenter Bird? Woodpecker? (ft. Twilight)

(The above post) + Additions - Sky meets a hummingbird. Loses his mind

Sky crying over birds (+ tiny hummingbirds addition)

Sky gets a falcon (ft. Twilight & Legend)

Sky and his birb army(TM)

Sun sees the tiny birds

Sky with a cucco on his head + transparent version

Saxophone parrot

“Look! I’m you!” (ft. Four)

Dinosaurs are birds? (ft. Twilight)

Big cucco... comfy (ft. Legend)

Cucco chicks

Birb pile

Dust baths (ft. Legend & Wind & Hyrule)

Time did you turn my father-in-law into an owl??? (ft. Time)

Song of Birds (ft. Wind)

BABIES??? (#the baby saga)

Origin of all this talk (Nursing Loftwing) [not LU art technically]

So a mama Zora rides in with her baby in her arms... (Hyrule & Wild & Wind)

Origin of the above post [Text post]

Kokiri baby???? (Time)

Kokiri baby... 2! (Time & Wind)

Nursing Loftwing REAL? (Sky & Sun & Time & Twilight & Wind)

Time beard... TEXTURE

“Oh, it changed?” (Time & Sky)

“IT CHANGED?????????????????” (Time & Legend)

Woe, baby be upon ya (Sky)

Who’s chill with the baby stuff? (Wind) [Text post] 

Sky only knows about Loftwing reproduction [Text post]

The Cuccos and the courser bees (Everyone) [Fanfic Rec] [Text post]

Groose doesn’t know either, Sky [Text post]

ARE GIRLS BIRDS? (Sky & Malon) [Text post]

Malon has to give the talk? [Text post]

Sky wake up Malon’s talking [Text post]

Wars: I pretend i do not See [Text post]

Hyrule (the country) needs better health ed [Text post]

The Talk (goes wrong) (Sky & Legend & Hyrule) [Text post]

Loftwing monologue (Sky) [Text post] [nsfw mention in original ask]

Memes

Update Chaos

Call an ambulance! (Wolfie & Dink)

POV: you’re Dink (Wolfie)

Mythical Animal Magnets (Wild & Sky)

Wild and Sky have similar senses of humor?

How do you do fellow kids? (Time)

Generation gap (Time & Twilight & Sky & Wild)

THE GIRLS ARE FIGHTINGGGGG (Legend & Wild & Sky)

Sorry I can’t be her (Wild & Sky)

Egg (Wind)

DILF Time

BOOMER HYRULE?

MILF Malon

The Amazing World of Wind (& Aryll)

Cursed Country Outfit Twi (Twilight)

Cursed Cowboy Outfit Twi (Twilight)

Pog cowboy Twi (Twilight)

Glider Sky (by @/mochibun23)

Who says hewwo / everypony / bazinga

Sky crying and keysmashing template for all your meme needs

Sky textpost memes

[list update 3/26/22]

Does the dog die? (Twilight)

Yes, Twilight’s dying... anyway

Put him in rice he’ll be fine (Twilight)

warsluigi (Warriors)

You’re Not Immune to Wind

You’re Not Immune to Four

Sky holding CD-i Link

Lightning McQueen Wars and Mater Twilight

Time on his phone while his kids fight (Wild & Red & Vio & Green & Blue)

Text posts/Asks/Writing

i’m only putting the most relevant ones here for my sake. might not get updated much since there’s... a lot. it’s probably easier to go through my “#tortilla’s lu tag” tag

Hylian Written languages + How it’d affect the LU boys + why Hyrule wouldn’t use English 2 [Text post]

The Master Door/Chain Meets by Game Order Thread Fic Master Post (Everyone) [Fanfic]

Overdue (Sky) [Fanfic]

Winged Hero (Time & Sky) [Fanfic]

Warriors Turns Into a Peanut (Warriors) [Fanfic] [my cursed legacy...]

how the fuck did you come up with warnut? [textpost]

Sky Headcanons [Text post]

Which Links are cuddlers? (Everyone) [Text post]

Hydrate or Die-drate (Everyone) [Text post]

Sky named Wolfie? [Text post]

Dink’s new form is an Iron Knuckle [Text post]

Wolfie toe beans... [Text post]

The Chain having to deal with SkSw’s Silent Realms? [Text post]

The Chain knowing the Song of the Hero [Text post]

Time’s Gilded Sword [Text post]

Sky and Shoulder touching? [Text post]

Fable and Legend siblings? [Text post]

The only Gerudo Sky knows is a bug [Text post]

LU Boys and Strength? [Text post]

Sponge cake for Four [Fanfic rec] [Text post]

Wild and Sky’s laughs [Text post]

The Timeline’s a circle (Wild & Sky) [Text post]

Time’s babyshower [Text post]

What’s a baby? (Wild & Hyrule) [Text post]

PREGANANANT? (Wild & Hyrule)

On King Sky... [Text post]

Time’s baby, the Great Deku Tree [Text post]

‘Deep’ voice Sky 1 [Text post]

‘Deep’ voice Sky 2 [Text post]

Hyrule’s Hyrule is Australia [Text post]

Twi and Malon using the same cowboy slang? [Text post]

Let the chain go to Wars’ Hyrule [Text post] [Fic rec]

Courage doesn’t mean Fearless [Text post] (long, spoilers for most games)

Favorite Foods of the Chain [Text post]

Does Sky like cats despite them eating birds? [Text post + addition by @/squid-ink-personal)

Engineering for farms (Twilight & Time & Wind & Wild) [Text post]

Peanuts strip that radiates Sky energy [Text post + pic]

Fable and Legend being related to Sky thoughts [Text post] [lowkey fic? not really]

Fluffy(?) Time headcanons [Text post]

Careful! That’s my descendant! (Sky & Time) [Text post]

Sky drawing the Four Sword? [Text post + additions by @/squid-ink-personal]

Ages the Links started their adventures at [Text post]

Respawning at death (Twilight & Sky & Hyrule & Time) [Text post]

YEET the Remlit (Sky) [Text post]

Sky using the Master Sword with his left hand in the 1st “Sunset” LU Update? [Text post]

Pretty Sky in the update :) [Text post]

LEGEND KNOWS MARIO? [Text post]

Visions Trio 1 (Time & Legend & Sky) [Text post]

Visions Trio 2 (Time & Legend & Sky) [Text post + addiitons]

Visions Trio 3 (Time & Legend & Sky) [Text post]

Punctual Sky [Text post]

Flirty Sky? [Text post]

Hyrule (the place) Vibes (Sky) [Text post]

Sky’s allegrophobia [Text post]

Sky’s allegrophobia affecting him in LU canon? [Text post]

What’s updog? (Time & Wild) [Text post]

Bees are friendly! (Legend & Sky) [Text post]

WTF are bees (Legend & Sky) [Text post]

The links arent born they SPAWN [Text post]

Rupee limit per games for the LU Links! [Text post]

Bro the Links aren’t piss poor [Text post]

Sky’s visions (+ Hyrule & Wild) [Text post]

Bee keeper Legend [Text post]

Twilight’s crossbow [Text post] [Art addition by @/luwyv]

[list update 3/26/22]

Wholesome(?) Sky headcanons [Text post]

Four’s Hair vs everyone else’s [Text post]

The colors don’t want to fight Wild (Four & Wild) [Text post] [update analysis]

Is that Dink? (I don’t think so) (Wild) [Text post] [update analysis]

Wild’s reaction to Four splitting? (Wild mostly) [Text post] [update analysis]

which tags to use when posting LU (these are suggestions) [Text post]

Dink reforming??? [Text post] [Update analysis]

Sky and Warriors headcanons [Text post]

Please don’t tag LU stuff as LOZ [Text post] [PSA]

You hate to see a girlboss winning (Time & Sky) [Text post]

crying over Sky in the updates (1)

ice cream flavors the chain would like (Everyone) [Text post]

how long after each adventure until LU? [Text post]

me crying over Sky and Warriors in the updates

Character Tags

Sky Linked Universe / LU Sky

Four Linked Universe / LU Four

Time Linked Universe / LU Time

Legend Linked Universe / LU Legend

Hyrule Linked Universe / LU Hyrule

Twilight Linked Universe / LU Twilight / LU Wolfie

Wind Linked Universe / LU Wind

Warriors Linked Universe / LU Warriors

Wild Linked Universe / LU Wild

[unspeakablehorror]

I got two long comments on my Ascent fic today which was of course unexpected since I haven't updated in aaaaages (though I do plan to eventually!), but it got me thinking about my fic again and how I started it, before I'd even finished the game, purposely intending to make it a very particular AU version of Skyward Sword.

Anyway, thanks to whoever commented! I have a lot of thoughts on what you said, which it would take a long time to express, but to comment on a few things:

*Yes, there is no livestock in Skyloft, which is exactly as it is in the game. At least, I don't consider Loftwings livestock considering their very special relationship with the Skyloftians.

There is, however, also no cotton. The staple crop is pumpkin. Clothes are therefore made with pumpkin. Bowls are made with pumpkin. Buildings are also made with...pumpkin.

Okay, haha, maybe I will not make everything pumpkin. But it is canon that there is a lot of pumpkin in Skyloft, so I think it is definitely used as their staple food and probably in a number of crafts. Possibly there also exists a patch of Super Pumpkin which provided the shell of the Lumpy Pumpkin pub, where they surely have a number of drinks made of...pumpkin.

Considering their lack of space in Skyloft, I would imagine hemp would make a much better fiber crop than cotton, as it is considerably more productive per acre.

* This isn't a spoiler, so I'm just going to say that the war between Hylia and Demise had nothing to do with Eldren. It also was not related to any kind of romance gone wrong--Demise just wanted power, and played the long game to get it. Terrin refers to Link as 'Hylia's beloved' because he associates the position of Hylia's chosen hero with Eldren.

*However you are right that neither the Sheikahs nor the demons know the whole story of what happened during the first war. This can be seen in the way their stories at times contradict each other. They do both know part of the story, however, especially those like Terrin and Tala, who lived through the first war. As the story goes on, I will of course reveal more of what actually occurred.

Anyway, just a few thoughts! Obviously people can decide to ignore my interpretations to a large extent, death of the author and all that, but that's just my two cents!

Anyway, it's great to get comments! Thanks for commenting!

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Sleeping Dove (Legend of Zelda Fanfic)

Summary: When the Spirit Maiden Zelda finally passes on, she finds herself in an unexpected situation. The true nature and cruelty of Demise’s curse is revealed, and reality crashes down. Angst, two part story.

XXX

When Zelda died, she was surrounded by loving family and friends. The sun was beginning to set outside. Whispered I love you’s echoed in her mind and heart. Amidst it all, she just wanted to hear one more voice, one that she hadn’t heard in ten years, ten long years…

 Link.

 Her husband had passed on before her, his adventures and injuries finally catching up to him. She’d missed him so much, but a part of her was grateful that he had gone first – she was sure he wouldn’t have been able to bear being alone; the pain of being without him had felt like it would kill her some nights, despite being surrounded by so many who loved her.

 Zelda closed her eyes and breathed her last.

 Something strange had happened then. She expected that, given her mortality, she would move on to the land of spirits like all the other mortals, forever at peace and with the man she loved in the glowing presence of the Golden Three.

However, that… was not what happened.

 Zelda felt… odd. Warm, and then cold. Old and then young. She felt… light, sky, air, sun, breeze, clouds… she tasted the air, heard loftwings call, sensed life around her.

 She knew this sensation. She remembered it.

 She wasn’t sure how much time passed, but she knew it had been a long while. But time meant very little to a goddess.

 She was Hylia once more.

 This… isn’t how mortality works, was the first coherent thought that came to her mind. But then the next was, Will I ever see Link again?

 Oh, and her heart hurt to think of it. There was no way destiny could be this cruel that she could never again see her beloved.

 Zelda, Hylia, opened her eyes, looking around. She was in the Sacred Realm. She could taste the magic in the air, could hear the life of the world below her, the water trickling around her. She wasn’t entirely sure where in the Sacred Realm she was, she’d never seen such a configuration of waterfall covered platforms. But there was something distinctly absent…

 Where was the Triforce?

 “Welcome, Your Grace.”

 Startled, she turned around to see an elderly looking man. “Who are you?”

 “My name is Rauru,” he explained. “I am one of the Sages.”

 “Sages…?”

 “We began after your time, Your Grace, to compensate for a departure of your presence. We are protectors of Hyrule and the Sacred Realm.”

 “Protectors? From whom?” she asked warily. Link had confided in her the details of Demise’s final words, and it had haunted him to his grave. She’d known in her heart that the Demon King would not utter empty threats, and she’d spent many years trying to find ways to break the curse before it had a chance to start. She’d come up with nothing, and she was beginning to fear that she was about to find out just how fruitless her attempts had been.

 Rauru tipped his head. “I believe you know, Your Grace. He goes by a different name now, but it is the same monster. A reincarnation of his hatred, though it seems mortal flesh has muted his power somewhat in comparison to the ancient days.”

 Ancient days? What sort of terminology was that? Hylia knew that her original time of war had been history by the time she’d awoken as Zelda, but they’d fought Demise again since then.

 How long have I been in the Sacred Realm?!

 Rauru watched her silently, and then gently, he asked, “Do you wish to see him?”

 Demise? Why would she want to see that monster again? That god of destruction had done everything in his power to kill her and everything she’d loved!

 She was about to spit all this out at the foolish Sage when she noticed a softness to his eyes and recognized that, somehow, he wasn’t talking about Demise at all.

 She felt her jaw slacken. Hope spilled into her, just a sprinkling at first, before her heart began to pound. “…Link?”

 Rauru smiled.

 Zelda let out a sob of joy. “Yes! Yes, where is he?”

 Motioning for her to follow, Rauru began to walk away from her. Hylia rushed to join him like she was running across Skyloft to get to Link, like she was running through Faron Woods with her husband as their laughter floated in the air. However, despite how she pushed herself, she felt like it took forever to keep up despite her sudden increase in height. She’d forgotten how strange it could be to move through the Sacred Realm; she had stopped visiting the holy place after Link had died.

 A pale blue light glowed in the distance, and a familiar figure hovered in the air. Was… was that Fi?

 “Your Grace,” the figure said in an oh-so-familiar melodious voice.

 “You… you were asleep,” Hylia stammered. “You had to keep the Darkness sealed away.”

 “What can be controlled of the Darkness still rests with me, Your Grace,” Fi confirmed. “In doing so it ensures Demise will never reach full power again.”

 “Then how…?”

 “With the Master Sword sealed in the Sacred Realm under these circumstances, it allows me a brief period of wakefulness,” Fi continued factually.

 Zelda began to breathe quickly, practically hyperventilating. “Where’s Link?”

 Fi gazed down, and it was only then that Zelda realized there was a small figure being carried in her feathery arms. A blonde child was nestled against her, still as a stone, breathing calmly, clad in green.

 Confused, Hylia bent over the little child. There were attributes that were similar to Link, but this was most certainly not him. “Fi… who is this?”

 “This is Link.”

 Hylia stared at the sword spirit incredulously. “No, it isn’t.”

 “Forgive me, Your Grace. I will elaborate.” Fi explained. “When my original master died, his unbreakable spirit became the Hero’s Spirit. He accompanies every new hero throughout time. This new hero is also named Link.”

 Zelda looked at the boy again. “But… he’s just a child.”

 “Indeed,” Fi agreed. “He attempted to draw the Master Sword, but it is too large for him to handle. He will certainly perish if he attempts to fight the reincarnation of Malice with it. Therefore, I have put him into a slumber, and the Sage will determine when he is ready. He will soon be sealed to keep him physically nurtured while he grows.”

 Hylia looked at the boy, biting her lip. “Sealed? Like… like I was?”

 “In a way, Your Grace. His sealing protection will keep him safe and alive, but unlike yours, it will allow him to age so that he can be physically able when he awakens.”

 Zelda jolted. “Wait—you’re incubating him until he can fight? Why not just let him live his life?”

 “The reincarnation of Malice has already entered the Sacred Realm and—”

 “What?!” Zelda interrupted, whirling around, looking for the demon from her nightmares. She felt like a teenager again, she felt like she had when she’d been pursued by Ghirahim with only Impa to protect her as she slowly regained her memories. “Where is he?!”

 “He is not here, Your Grace.”

 “But—but you just said—” Hylia turned to look at Fi and saw that the little Link was encased in a blue crystal with Fi hovering around it, watching. “Hey!”

 “Your Grace.”

 Hylia turned to see Rauru watching her. He smiled softly. “Your Grace, the crystal will reflect light differently than you might expect.”

 Reflect light? What was he talking about? There was a child sealed in there just waiting to be used to save the world without any preparation or thought of helping him! At least Link had Fi to guide him, Hylia knew that Fi was only awake now because she was in the Sacred Realm. The instant that child woke up, Fi would be gone! Hylia had created so many different ways to guide Link during his journey, and this child had nothing!

 This was… this was so wrong. She’d done this before, had set up plans ahead of time concerning a child and… this was wrong! She’d seen how it had hurt Link, and that was with her planning for him to fulfill his destiny as an adult, for Nayru’s sake, it was worse that Ghirahim had started them down that path early, but this Hero was a child!

 Zelda shook her head, ready to protest, when she truly looked at the crystal and saw… and saw…

 Link.

 Gasping, she ran to the crystal. Depending on the angle of the light, she saw the child in green clothes or she saw him, she saw her husband, young and alive and sleeping as if he were back on Skyloft relaxing on one of the benches scattered around the island.

 She banged on the crystal. “Link!”

 She was filled with an overwhelming sense of irony, remembering when Link had rushed to her own crystal and tried to smash it with his bare hands as she sealed herself away to keep the Imprisoned One at bay.

 Why was this happening, this cruel joke, this torture?

 Demise’s curse.

 Hylia grit her teeth, anger boiling her blood. If she could, she’d leave the Sacred Realm and hunt Demise herself. But she had a sinking suspicion she couldn’t do that.

 Voicing the thought, she said, “I don’t suppose I can leave this realm, can I?”

 “I’m afraid not, Your Grace,” Rauru answered respectfully, his head bowed. “After you took mortal form, your return to godhood is not quite as complete if you had never left it. You are trapped here, and at this time the majority of the Realm is corrupted by Malice. It would be unwise and unsafe to leave this chamber.”

 She bit her lip, feeling a lump form in her throat. The Triforce was gone, the Sacred Realm was corrupted, Demise was running amok even if his powers were not what they once were.

 It was all up to Link, to this new Hero… and she was powerless to help him.

 Well. At least in the land of the living. But here… here she would stay with him. She would keep him company. She would watch over him, just as he did for her when she had been sealed away.

 Putting her hand on the crystal, she felt the tears slip out of her eyes. Link was so close yet so far. But she wouldn’t leave him. She would be there for him, always.

 Time passed differently in the Sacred Realm. A minute could be a millennium, an hour could be a second. All she knew was she never left his side until Fi, who had also kept vigil (it was reassuring to see that the emotions she had started to learn were still there – she was clearly trying to protect Link as well as her new master), turned into a glowing ball of light and sealed herself back into the Master Sword. Hylia jumped, seeing the crystal crack.

 “Your Grace,” Rauru said. “I ask that you leave now. The boy will have enough to process as it is.”

 “But…” she looked back at the crystal. The cracks cut across the image of the now teenager, and her Link was nowhere to be seen. “Wait… he… he won’t know me?”

 Rauru watched her sadly. “I’m sorry.”

 Taking a step away, she nodded mutely, fighting back tears. So he didn’t remember her. Did he even know what was going on, bound to this new Hero? Did he just live vicariously through the child? Was he even aware of anything at all?

 She supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised by this new information. The nature of Link’s bond with his new hero was still something she was trying to figure out. Either way, she understood not interfering with this moment; she didn’t want to scare the likely already overwhelmed child.

 Child. He was still a child. Though his body was in the midst of adolescence, that didn’t change that he didn’t have the experiences to show for it. To him it was just a nap. This was… this was so messed up. Giving herself a hug, she backed away, fading into the background. She watched as the child awoke, terrified but trying to hang on to every word Rauru said. A fairy appeared alongside him, someone he seemed to trust, and he left the Realm in a flash of light.

 Zelda didn’t talk to Rauru again. She couldn’t bring herself to talk to anyone. She worried for the boy. She may have been unable to leave the Sacred Realm, but she figured out a way to watch the land of the living. She marveled at how much Hyrule had grown since her time, and then she felt her heart cry out in pain as she watched it burn under Ganondorf’s rule. She held her breath as her little hero bested temple after temple (by the Three, he was a smart little boy, sharp as the blade he used). Occasionally her divine eyes would catch a glimpse of her husband, looking just as scared as the new hero, looking lost, determined, fierce, and analytical. He mirrored his little hero, his own spirit glowing with a sacred power as he defended the child subconsciously.

 Oh, Link…

 Eventually more Sages came to join Rauru with each temple the young Hero of Time freed. Hylia didn’t bother talking to them, not yet. She couldn’t muster the strength.

 And then she saw Zelda. Her descendant. They had established a royal family, she was a princess. It had been so many generations that there was barely a resemblance, but the hair…

 That was Link’s hair. That same dirty blonde wavy appearance, thick and shining in the light.

 Zelda started to cry watching what her daughter by however many generations had to endure. Seven years of running and hiding, seven years of fighting. And the new Hero of Time was caught in the middle of it.

 And then she watched with joy as they triumphed over Ganondorf. Joy turned to anguish at their parting, anguish turned to horror at the splitting of the timeline, horror turned to agony at watching what the Hero had to endure afterward in his supposed second chance at childhood, agony at watching the timeline he’d left behind, the Zelda he’d left behind, struggle to adapt and instead fall to ruin.

 And then the third timeline… why had that even happened?

 This was horrible. She couldn’t watch this. She couldn’t.

 She heard voices. Prayers. People’s petitions. Distracted, she glanced through the waters of the Sacred Realm. Prayers to the Goddess of Time rose to her. She didn’t know what she could do, what power she still had while trapped here. So she tried to listen, she tried to answer. She dedicated so much time to it that she almost forgot to check on her family, on her Hero.

 Until one moment she turned, and there he was.

 “Link!” she cried, running to him.

 Her husband laid in the shallow water at the center of the Temple of Light, surrounded by smiling Sages, no longer hidden as a shadow to the new Hero. Instead, he was there, complete and whole, looking to be in late adolescence (it was bizarre seeing him as he was when he’d first defeated Demise), sleeping right in front of her. Zelda fell to her knees, lifting him to her lap and running a hand through his hair, feeling electricity shoot through her as she could finally hold her husband again.

 “Link,” she whispered, planting a kiss on his forehead. “Link, Dove, wake up.”

 Link didn’t stir. She giggled. He’s always been a heavy sleeper. “Wake up, sleepyhead.”

 After a few more attempts, however, it became apparent something was wrong. Hylia began to grow frantic, but no matter her words, the volume at which she spoke them, or the tears she cried, her husband would not stir.

 She sensed someone approaching her, and she looked up to see Rauru. “What’s wrong with him? What happened?”

 Rauru watched her grimly, looking down at Link. “The Spirit of the Hero is bound to his destiny. When Hyrule is at peace, so is he. I’m sorry, Your Grace. You will never be able to wake him. He is only awake when he is bound to a new Hero.”

 Hylia felt her heart drop into her stomach. Her blood ran cold. She… she didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know how to process that.

 So this was the curse, then. She could hold her husband, but she would never have her husband again. Link would never see her, never know her, never remember her. She would just have her sleeping hero and then she would have to watch him suffer again and again, endure trial after trial.

 And she couldn’t do a damn thing about it.

 At least he can guide future heroes. At least he can protect our family. I’m completely useless here.

She hated this. She hated being this useless - at least she had been able to assist in the fight last time they’d waged war with the demon king.

“What happened to the Hero of Time?” she finally asked as she cradled her husband, unable to look at him yet.

 Rauru sighed heavily this time, guilt on his face. “He… he is not at peace. I have tried to reach out to him, but he won’t hear me. I’m hoping Saria will have better luck.”

 Hylia wasn’t sure what that meant, and she didn’t really want to know. She… this was too much. She would investigate that later. Finally mustering some courage, she looked down at her little dove, peacefully unaware of his wife desperately trying to reach him. “Oh, Link…”

  Zelda held him close, and she wept.

[majorproblems77]

✨👍❓

As for the question. Favorite personal headcanon not currently canon and you wish it could be.

✨ Oh! This is interesting, I've honestly have no idea. I suppose (As much as courage would be cool) wisdom feels more correct? Much prefer to be inside chilling then out on adventures.

👍I love the angst potential of the prophetic Sky headcannon. It's super fun to play with and I love writing it. Not that anyone has seen much of that yet :)

❓ Oh, I've got one that I've not spoken about yet.

Giving Warriors a loftwing, because of the war of eras. :)

(Which I will happily speak more about if people are interested)