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wutheringmights · 1 year

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"We’ll Meet Again (Some Sunny Day)” - Unfinished Bonus Links Draft

Over half a year ago, I swore that I was going to write a story based on @ezdotjpg‘s @bonus-links, which I never finished. This is in part due to a) me being absolutely devoured by CTB, b) me realizing that this story was gonna take 20k to tell at a minimum, and c) me being struck with a wave of insecurity; in short, I got really worried that I was not writing War and Spirit correctly and was projecting too much CTB onto them.

I had resolved to wait until I see them in the comic so that I could get a glimpse of their dynamic in action, but that might take a while. So in the meantime, here’s what I have.

Some Notes:

Obviously, this is just a draft so the writing/editing may not be up to snuff

I tried my best to gleam mannerisms and personalities from some posts Em made way back when, which I am unsure is still canon or not

Spirit signs in order to work around a severe stutter for these sounds: B, S, Th, Ch, St, G, W; I based a lot of how he talks around that stutter on how I deal with my own speech impediment (which is not a stutter) (so take it with a grain of salt)

War has a cockney accent that, in the worst decision of my life, I attempted to write out phonetically; he then switches to something more posh and British sounding

Official Summary For The (Completed) Story:

Spirit and War have always haunted each other.

(Or: Spirit can see ghosts. War treats him like one.)

----

Spirit crouched before the engine, oil drenched up to the elbow when the bell over the workshop door chimed. Alfonzo typically took care of the stray window shopper who didn’t realize an train garage wasn’t a store, but Alfonzo was out on a run that took him to the farthest reaches of the Snow Realm. By all accounts, it was Spirit’s job to greet the shopper.

But Spirit was precariously balancing about six different wrenches, trying to keep the loose cogs in place as he fixed one of the engine’s inner mechanisms. He almost had it too. He couldn’t abandon it now, not even to return his workshop to its tranquility.

“S-sorry!” he called out, swearing when his gloves slipped on the largest wrench, causing the cog it held to slip out of place. “Just g-give—hold on for a moment!”

The customer didn’t say anything, but they didn’t leave either. Spirit could hear them meander around the messy space, observing the walls covered in framed pictographs and the shelves brimming with engine parts. Spirit did his best to ignore then, but his attention helplessly narrowed on the faint clinking of chain mail and the soft intake of breath from someone who was surprised.

Spirit didn’t necessarily hate noise. Trains were loud. But it was easier to concentrate when he was the only one making a ruckus.

Admitting defeat, he began tightening the cogs and screws until he could safely remove his hands. He sighed as he stood, wiping the sweat off his brow. Belatedly, he remembered the oil on his hands, and grumbled as he shed his gloves and pulled a handkerchief from his overalls pocket.

He blinked. Sometime between starting this project and now, the morning sun had disappeared in favor of velvety night. Yet, someone had turned on the oil lamps, dousing the garage in suffused orange light. The shopper must have lit the lamps.

Slowly, he turned hands already rising to sign his question. But before his fingers could start the first sign, he was met with a man too pretty to be real.

Pretty really was the best way to put it. He was a decent height, but not necessarily tall—not that Spirit, having not grown an inch since he hit double digits in age, didn’t need to crane his neck to make eye contact. His lashes were long, curtaining half-closed eyes as he bent down to the base of the last oil lamp. A match glowed between his fingers, the flame bursting when it caught the gas. The lamp lit up.

The stranger stood upright. Eyes bluer than the ocean flickered to Spirit. His face held a sophisticated gauntness that made even the act of blowing out the flame elegant.

Spirit fidgeted, suddenly self-conscious of how dirty he was in comparison.

The stranger was dressed to the nines in a well-kept green tunic, with a blue cape draped around his shoulders like tinsel on a tree, pinned in place by an opulent broch. Even his boots, the ones that had echoed around the workshop, were shiny with fresh polish.

A man like this wouldn’t normally look twice at him, even when he washed the oil away and put on his castle guard uniform. But this one smiled so brilliantly that the ornaments on his body couldn’t compare. “It heaven and hell is ya,” the stranger said, flicking the match away. His accent was thicker than molasses. It made every word sound long and chewed out. “It looks like ya kept yer promise, conduc'aw.”

Spirit stared. “I’m sorry?” he signed. “Who are you?”

The stranger’s face fell. His boot scuffed the ground in an aborted step back.

Spirit frowned. With the handkerchief, he scrubbed the oil from his face. Seems like this stranger really thought he was too good for the likes of him.

The stranger cleared his throat. “Pardon me,” he said and, like that, his accent was totally different. Each vowel and consonant was crisper than fresh laundry, each syllable perfectly creased into place. It threw Spirit through another loop. “I seemed to have been confused for a moment there. Are you perhaps the Royal Engineer they call Link?”

Spirit nodded.

The stranger seemed to study him for a moment longer.

Spirit scrubbed his brow again, trying to get the oil off his skin. Just who was this guy?

Finally, stranger smiled. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He held out his hand. It was pristine. Even his nails were finely filed. “I am also named Link, but I am called the Hero of War. Tell me—are you prepared to perform your duty as a Hero of Hylia?”

Spirit stared. “What?”

Line Break

The Hero of War said to call him the captain, or perhaps sir if Spirit wanted something more succinct. But that last part was said with a rakish smile, so Spirit rolled his eyes and settled on captain.

From there, War’s good humor disappeared. Face drawn, he explained everything he knew, which wasn’t a lot—portals had appeared in his time, and someone named Lana had handed him a map detailing where in Hyrule’s convoluted history they led to (actual Hyrule, not a reinvention like New Hyrule). War didn’t know why the portals had appeared, but he had been in a conflict many years ago that had a similar mechanism.

“Get your personal affairs in order and make your goodbyes,” War said when his explanation was done. It was a weekend night, and chatter of couples and friends finding entertainment for the night drifted through the workshop’s windows. “Take your time, but we should leave before the new day.”

“Who said I’m coming with you?” Spirit signed.

War arched a brow. His lips quirked into something that was almost amused. “Because you wouldn’t let anyone walk into danger. Not even a stranger.”

Spirit scowled and signed, “What makes you say that?”

“This is far from my first encounter with another sacred hero.” War meandered around the shop, making tiny faces at the hodgepodge of half-made machineries. Whatever congeniality he had built up soured the moment he realized there was black residue on his fingers. He pulled a worn, red handkerchief from his pocket.

Spirit’s attention narrowed on it. It was frayed to the point where little flecks of broken thread fell from it like rain. If there was ever a print on the fabric, it had long been drowned out by noxious black stains. The captain didn’t seem to notice them, primly wiping his fingers clean as he said, “We are all beholden to the same virtues.”

“I’m not a hero,” Spirit signed. “I’m a conductor.”

“I know a hero when I see one.”

“You’re looking for someone else.” Spirit marched over to the door, turning around so that War could see his hands. “You need to leave.” He ended on a curt jerk of the hand before yanking the door to the garage open, gesturing for War to reenter the bustling streets of Castle Town.

War frowned, but something else in his face shifted as well. His charm had disappeared, and Spirit heard a warning in the back of his brain as War folded up the handkerchief and stuffed it into his pocket. “You are Link of Aboda Village. You have always been able to see spirits and ghosts, though you ignored your sixth sense in favor of apprenticing as a conductor and train engineer. Through hard work and study, you became New Hyrule’s youngest ever Royal Engineer.”

War walked up to him, ever footfall a punch to the gut. “However, your first months as the Royal Engineer were put on hold when the Spirit Tracks disappeared as well as the Princess Zelda. Luckily, your senses allowed you to see that she too had become a ghost when a dark demon ejected her from her body.”

Spirit’s hands shook too much to sign. They became fists at his side as he stuttered out, “St-st-st—”

“You fought the Demon Malladus and rescued the Princess Zelda. You restored the Spirit Tracks across Hyrule. You were given charge of a sacred train as well as a sacred sword. You are the successor of the Hero of Winds and an incarnation of the Hero’s Spirit.” He stopped right in Spirit’s face, close enough to make Spirit feel insignificant. “And you dare to tell me that I have the wrong person? Rest assured, Link of Aboda. I know more about you than you realize.”

Spirit stuttered over a few more syllables. Forget that. Without bothering to vocalize or sign, he pointed out the door. Get out.

War stared down at him for a moment longer. The corner of his mouth twitched the way Zelda’s did whenever she didn’t want anyone to know how mad she was. But his eyes were a different story. They softened, losing their intensity so quickly that it threw Spirit off kilter. “I’ll leave then,” he said gently. “If that’s what you desire.”

He stepped back, giving Spirit a little space. War managed a little smile before miming the tipping of his hat. “Good day, conductor. May the Spirits of Good guide you.”

His blue scarf trailed behind him as he left, entering the dark streets of Castle Town.

Spirit slammed the door back shut and pulled his gloves back on. He was retired from the hero business, thank you very much. If Zelda couldn’t convince him to join the Castle Guard, then War couldn’t convince him to drop his entire life and go on some cross dimensional adventure.

But staring at his abandoned engine, Spirit couldn’t muster up the enthusiasm to pick up his wrench and get back at it. All he could see was the gleam of the pommel at War’s side, how genuinely hurt he seemed when Spirit had turned him down.

How did War know his story? The only people in New Hyrule who knew everything about Malludus was himself and Zelda.

Did that even matter when War seemed like the type to throw himself into battle headfirst, heedless of whether he lived or died?

Spirit groaned and tossed the wrench aside. Barely grabbing his keys, he ran out of the workshop. Under the streetlamps, drunkards emptying the taverns glowed gold. Spirit stood on the cobblestone street, searching for the long blue scarf in the crowd.

“Hey.” Behind him, War leaned against the side of the garage. His arms were crossed over his chest, and he chewed a piece of candy on the side of his mouth. He grinned. “Changed your mind?”

Spirit frowned. “Give me three days,” he signed. “I need to make preparations.”

War almost choked on his candy. He banged a fist on his chest and spat it out. “Three days? We can’t wait that long!”

Alfonzo was due to return from his run by then. It would also be enough time for Spirit to finish his project and arrange replacements for the runs he was already scheduled for, as well as contact Niko and Zelda. He didn’t think War would understand that, but he hardly signed, “I need to get some things done” when War sighed.

“Well…” He mulled over it for a moment. “I have no choice but to agree. Three days it is.”

Line Break

Spirit was no stranger to ghosts. There was one now that frequented his apartment a few blocks from the workshop. It was the lingering spirit of the old woman who lived there previously, and she hated how dirty he kept his space. She seemed determined not to move on until Spirit learned some housekeeping. It was easier to just sleep at the garage.

But War couldn’t sleep at the garage. There was only one bed and it was harder than a sheet of steel: unbefitting of a man well-acquainted with the finer things in life. So Spirit had to take him home. He had half a moment to be embarrassed by the number of dishes he’d left to mold in the sink as well as the pile of oil-covered clothes and half-finished projects he’d left strewn about before War sighed and unpinned his scarf.

“Of course,” he muttered. “Of course, of course, of course.” He folded it nearly on the table, then added his sword and shield next to it. Then he rolled up his sleeves and started picking up the mess.

Spirit stuttered his own swear before rushing to help.

“Sorry I’m such a bad host,” Spirit signed when War did the dishes.

“Nonsense. It’s not as though I had given you any warning.” War scrubbed at a plate like he wanted to do much worse to it. “I remember when I first began living alone. It took me quite some time to master my own space. Speaking of which, how old are you?”

“Sixteen.”

War paused. “Oh.” He set the plate aside. “You are much too young—to live alone, I mean.”

Spirit clicked his tongue and signed, “And not fight some evil?”

War barked a laugh. “If anything, you’re much too old for that.”

Spirit didn’t know what he meant. So while they did laundry under the midnight moon, War told fantastical stories of a hero who had fallen from the sky and the children who followed in his footsteps—their progenitor, their legacy.

The next three days were spent

#i literally haven't touched this since hold on let me check my doc #APRIL???? I HAVEN'T TOUCHED THIS SINCE APRIL????????#DAMN OK OK OK OK OK #I'm sorry but ctb is literally all i have time for right now #bonus links #bonus links fanfiction #bonus links spirit #bonus links war #bl spirit #bl war #legend of zelda #loz #loz fanfic #me writing #fanfic draft #yes the title is a reference to the vera lynn song it's relevant #we'll meet again

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lindseybots · 4 months

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SO YOU MEAN WE CAN COME HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE BLORBOS IN YOUR AU??

Ahem, so you mentioned something about trying to find a good balance between Wind and Zelda and what Wind will do during the events of ST... I know you're probably still figuring stuff out but I really wanted to let you know that I'm very excited to see how it will end up as! There's so many options and possibilities for WW Link and ST Zelda's relationship (both my beloveds) and it's making me go dsaiuahkadsakb

The dynamic of a trio is so interesting to explore! Petting your AU and tucking it into bed gently rn...

OF COURSE YOU CAN COME HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE BLORBOS!! I EVEN ENCOURAGE IT!! PLEASE DO!!

Also thank you so much for the kind words! omg that means the world to me!! I will do my best as I explore this AU further!

I’m very excited to explore the trio, so I am very happy you’re looking forward to it too! I think it’s really interesting that Wind is very experienced when it comes to adventuring while Zelda has no experience in that regard. In fact, they make it pretty apparent in the game that she doesn’t really leave the castle AT ALL. In terms of navigation or even some basic life skills, she has no experience.

Zelda and Wind are opposites in that regard, but in other areas I think they get along really well. They’re both very sassy, spunky, and even a bit stubborn. At the end of the day though, they both want to look out for each other and ST Link as best they can.

ST Link is in a bit of a middle ground. He has probably traveled a few places while as an apprentice to Alfonzo, as such he has some experience in terms of talking with people, navigating, and of course his train expertise. I always headcanoned that ST Link is a bit of an inventor too, or, at the very least knowledgeable about machinery. Just pulling into a station in the game can fix your train’s health, even if the location has no other characters. That definitely implies that Link is the one making any repairs.

On top of all of that, Wind was one of the people who raised him. Wind would definitely teach him some skills that he learned. He has no doubt heard all the stories about Wind’s adventures, if not from Wind himself then from Niko. If faced with an enemy that Wind has fought before, he’d be able to have some knowledge on a good way to approach it.

Still, this will be his first time actually on an adventure to save the world. He still has stuff to learn.

This is the perfect excuse for me to give a quick little update on some things I’ve been thinking about. This is already really long, so i’m gonna put it under a break. If you’re interested, keep reading.

I will eventually talk about this again later, as the stuff I’m going to mention is still being worked on. Still, here is some progress on things.

For ST Link’s nicknames, a few I have been debating are:

Little Spirit / Spirit

Specks (for his freckles and because it’s probably pretty common to find specks of dirt or oil or something on him.)

Engineer / Engine / Eng

I feel like using a mix of these might be good, not just sticking to one. Like how Wind’s primary nickname is Wind, but he is sometimes also referred to as Sailor, or something along those lines. None of these are really set yet and are all subject to change. Let me know your thoughts.

In terms of Wind’s involvement in the events of ST, one thing i’ve been debating is him being the one handling the train’s cannon. I feel like because it’s the “Spirit” Train, I can get away with the excuse that spirits or ghosts have a little more ability when in contact with it. Wind knows his way around a cannon. It’s one of the ways I think he could help. Plus, it would allow ST Link to focus fully on driving.

I also feel like Wind can summon any of his belongings for himself. He can’t give them to anyone else to use. They’re more like spiritual / ghostly copies of the real things, and if it’s something like his sword or bow and arrows, they wouldn’t be able to ACTUALLY hit anything. Still, it would allow him to summon things to help teach ST Link through demonstration.

The Tower of Spirits is really the trickiest part for me. I, honestly, don’t want him possessing phantoms. I feel like that’s something that should be reserved for Zelda.

I want Wind and Zelda to have different things that they can do. At least one thing exclusive to each while in the Tower. The excuse I’m going with is that she still has a tie to the living, even if it’s hanging by a thread. Wind, on the other hand, is fully a spirit. As such, the things they can do are different.

#lindseybot answers #the wind’s track #the wind’s track au #wt au #beyondtheglowingstars #this was really long i’m so sorry #the wind's track #the wind's track au

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starlight-vixen-emiko · 3 months

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Spirit Train Adventure

ao3 ff.net

Phew! It's been awhile since I written for Legend of Zelda. And this probably sucks because I legit haven't played Spirit Tracks in years, so I apologize if this sucks. Also, I written ZeLink for the first time! Yay me! Spirit Tracks ZeLink is actually really cute!

But, the reason I decided to try my hand writing Legend of Zelda again is because April Fools Day on the Zelda Universe forums turned Zelda Universe into Train Universe...And I suddenly got the idea to write a post game Spirit Tracks fanfic.

Also it's a great time for me to thank the Zelda Universe forums for providing such a positive environment where I always felt safe. I owe you guys.

Spirit Tracks is an underrated game! Anyway, I hope somebody enjoys this. Thanks for reading!

~~~~~

After months of living a boring princess life, the hallways in the castle were brimming with Zelda's excited cries.

"Link is back! He's finally back!"

The royal workers were either taken aback or overjoyed that the hero of Hyrule had returned. Zelda wholeheartedly supported Link's decision to be an engineer. He was too kindhearted to be a hot-blooded fighter, and after everything he did for them, he deserved to follow his heart.

Sometimes, Zelda thought about Link being a royal knight and being able to see him every day, but that was just a fantasy she kept to herself. Link traveled to places Zelda could only imagine, and she couldn't wait for Link to tell her more stories. It may have been a few months, but it was far too long for Zelda.

Without advising anyone, Zelda packed herself a bag and followed her own heart as she ran for the castle gates. One of her advisors was shocked and called Zelda back, but Zelda smiled confidently at her advisor.

"I'll be back, I promise! I need to see Link again!"

Her advisor was taken aback but felt he couldn't reason with the young princess. Zelda happily escaped the castle to head to the train station.

~~~~~

Link didn't mean to be gone so long, but finally being back in Castle Town again felt right as he removed his hat and wiped sweat off his forehead. The young engineer was happy to see everyone again and was bashful about the townsfolk calling him a hero.

He wished he could see her before the passenger train made its way to his seaside home. Alfonzo noticed Link's weariness.

"It's great to be back again, ain't it Link?" The veteran engineer teased.

"Uh!" Link shook and hid his blushing face, and Alfonzo laughed in response.

"No need to be so embarrassed kid! I'm sure Zelda could never forget you!"

Link wanted to believe that. But a lot can change in the months they were apart. They were on entirely different paths, and their adventure together seemed like a distant memory.

"Hey!!!! Link!!!!!"

Link gasped, wondering if he was dreaming. But then his vision went into focus, and he saw the young princess wearing a cloak and carrying a bag. All the people gathered around and noted that Princess Zelda was there.

"Zelda!!!" Link cried.

Zelda giggled and smiled at him. As happy as Link was, he wondered what she was doing here in a simple train station instead of in her lavish castle. But all rational thought was gone when she threw herself into his arms. Link held her close, and he closed his eyes, content that they were together again.

"I missed you so much Link!"

"I missed you too Zelda!"

The crowd watching them gave a few soft responses, along with Alfonzo, who watched the two children and smiled proudly.

"Oh, you kids are so adorable!"

Zelda blushed and broke the hug as she quickly picked up her bag. "Oh, Alfonzo, I am so happy to see you as well!"

Alfonzo tipped his hat. "I am pleased to see you're in good health, your highness."

"But shouldn't you be back at the castle, Zelda?" Link seemed a bit overprotective, but who could blame him?

The princess merely shook her head.

"Link, I don't want to wait for you again. Wherever you're going next, I want to go too!"

Oh Hylia! Old feelings Link felt so long ago were coming back to him. But he couldn't just travel the world with Zelda every day and night…

…As much as he wanted to.

Link grinned and placed his hand behind his head. "The train is heading to Aboda Village Zelda."

"Perfect!" Zelda beamed. "Let's go right now!"

Link just couldn't say no to Zelda's desire for adventure.

~~~~~

Zelda adored traveling on this beautiful passenger train and talking to the passengers. One secret she kept to herself was looking back fondly to when she was a ghost and would fly freely as Link conducted his tiny train.

She would remember it forever, even if she knew the circumstances weren't the best.

Another memory she adored was how relaxing it was for gentle train sounds to lull her to sleep on beautiful nights.

But Zelda couldn't sleep tonight because she had to meet Link.

It was wonderful that Link was following his dreams. Still, he was the youngest train engineer ever, and Zelda was curious if Link ate dinner.

Zelda tiptoed through the bedroom train and continued until she reached the first locomotive that Link was handling.

When Zelda opened the door, Link was still as energized as ever, and she couldn't help but watch him in his passion. She was stunned that Link was handling this entire train by himself while Alfonzo was sleeping; it inspired her so much.

"It's all smooth sailing from here," Link chuckled. "Sailing? I would get seasick."

Link turned around and yawned while stretching, and Zelda couldn't help but giggle. Then Link opened his eyes.

"Zelda!"

Zelda smiled nonchalantly and winked. "Good evening, captain."

"Zelda! You should be sleeping!"

Zelda stepped closer and took his hand. "As much as the sound of trains always helps me sleep, I wanted to spend time with you."

"Oh…" Link turned and hid his blush while running his fingers through his hair. "Well, it's nothing special…"

Zelda blushed and looked down. "It just brings back memories."

Link turned back and offered his hand to the princess, smiling confidently.

"Well, I would want nothing more than to have you beside me Princess."

Zelda smiled and took his hand. She felt like she was flying as she and Link were able to travel by train with the kingdom, which was so peaceful and rid of darkness.

Eventually, Link and Zelda turned their heads as they passed the Tower of Spirits.

Memories lingered of the friends they made that disappeared when their journey ended.

Before they knew it, multiple gentle spirits appeared around them as the train went by. Link was on his guard again, but Zelda took his hand and soothed it. "It's okay," she whispered.

Zelda stepped forward and started singing her ballad for the spirits.

Link wanted to listen to her all night but had to focus. When Zelda finished the first verse, she turned back to Link to smile at him. However, she was stunned when Link revealed that he still had the spirit flute.

Zelda gasped, but Link merely smiled at her. Zelda placed her hand on her heart and closed her eyes as she continued singing while Link played the flute.

The spirits and the sleeping passengers heard their duet's sound. When Link and Zelda finished their duet, they giggled at each other. But then bright lights appeared before them, and they saw that the spirit tracks returned.

Link tried to take control of the train, but the spirits surrounded it and caused it to float toward the stars above them. Link and Zelda gasped and worried for all the passengers, but then they were in awe of how beautiful this trip across the stars was.

Zelda took Link's hand and teleported them to the top of the train, where both of them saw the spirits safely taking them on a magical journey. Zelda hugged Link and giggled, and Link smiled warmly.

Both of them felt the good spirits giving their gratitude, and then the spirits set the train safely back on the tracks on the ground. Zelda quickly teleported them back inside the train.

It was another small, much safer adventure that Link and Zelda would always remember.

~~~~~

The sun was bright the next morning, and Zelda was still sleeping soundly against the wall with a blanket wrapped around her, even though cuccos were making their morning calls.

Link was still on top of his conducting, but when he saw Aboda Village in the distance, he yawned and turned back to Zelda. He smiled down at her and noted how adorable she looked while sleeping.

"Zelda, wake up."

Zelda yawned as she rubbed her eyes.

"Zelda, we're here!"

Zelda gasped and stood up, letting go of the blanket. "Really?"

Link nodded, and he pulled the rope to activate the train horn.

Zelda grinned and took her chance to pull the train horn as well.

The horn was heard by the entire village. The villagers headed straight for the station as the train finally arrived. Link and Zelda had to let the passengers off first, and the two children giggled as Alfonzo got off the train and greeted the villagers with funny jokes.

When Link and Zelda finally got off the train, they were surprised to see the children holding up banners saying, "Welcome home Link!" and "Welcome Princess Zelda!"

And a huge flurry of confetti surrounded them.

And if that wasn't enough, Alfonzo surprised Link and Zelda by lifting them up and putting them on his shoulders. Link and Zelda couldn't be more over the moon celebrating with everyone.

"Three cheers for the heroes of Hyrule!"

"Hip! Hip! Hooray!"

Link and Zelda would have fun and celebrate with all of Aboda Village. But after a few hours, Zelda noticed a strange presence, and Link asked her what was wrong. Zelda wouldn't let anything ruin this day for them and just told him that everything was fine.

Zelda was right about one thing.

The Lokomo Sages smiled at the young heroes at a distance before disappearing again.

They would always watch over the princess and the hero.

Link and Zelda played their duet again for the entire village to hear, and the spirits that surrounded them were a gentle presence for the village forevermore.

#legend of zelda: spirit tracks #zelink #my writing #my fanfiction

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goopi-e · 1 year

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Lrt or whatever: my other headcanon for Groose is that he's a predecessor for Gonzo and his lineage. I'm partial for both.

The lineage goes like this:

Gondo* (SkSw, craftsman from the Bazaar) > unnamed Hylian Knight (between OoT and WW, as seen on this painting) > Gonzo (WW, prolific member of Tetra's pirate crew, probably somewhat of a quartermaster or a first mate) > Alfonzo (Spirit Tracks, royal guard turned engineer).

* I include him in this list somewhat allegedly; no official confirmation, but the name and appearance kinda fits. As to where Groose himself falls in this lineage if these two share a game — well, he might as well be Gondo's son.

And here's the proof that would tie all of these guys to Groose:

Similar body type and face (big, often reddish nose and half-circular eyeshape);

Green clothes with red accents (in-game Alfonzo wears uniform at all times, but his concept art also features this color scheme; the only outlier would be Gondo, but he at least has red pants);

Alfonzo was a prominent member of the Royal Guard, the painting guy looks like he was one of the Hylian Knights, Gonzo essentialy holds the same position but naval — and Groose literally is a knight in training;

Pirate's theme from WW and Groose's theme sound notably similar, and Gonzo is probably the most important of all the pirates, except for Niko;

Gondo upgrades Link's equipment and repairs an ancient robot. Groose constructs Groosenator. And then Alfonzo is literally an engineer.

After all, wouldn't it be cool for Groose — who has gradually overgrown his obsession over Zelda, but still had enough valor to protect her while also being respectful of her relationship with Link — to still become her loyal knight for generations to come?

#legend of zelda #skyward sword #wind waker #spirit tracks

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alphascorpiixx · 1 year

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Phantom Touch - Chapter 6

Zelink Week Day 6: In Another Life

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5

Read on AO3

@zelinkcommunity

---

Anjean explained that Malladus and Cole escaped aboard the Demon Train to the Dark Realm. To Link and Zelda’s surprise, Byrne offered his aid and told them about the Compass of Light that would point the way to chasing Malladus. With the Compass of Light and Lokomo Sword in hand, they were ready for the final fight and to reclaim Zelda’s body once and for all.

Zelda floated by Link’s side at the engine as the train chugged along. Their destination was beyond the southern mountains in the Forest Realm, but Zelda couldn’t help but look back. The Tower of Spirits was visible in the distance, its spire small but reaching for the clouds. With the tower fully repaired, Ferrovia appeared peaceful again. The past events could have just been a dream the world was waking up from.

“Hey, Link,” Zelda asked. Her voice was soft, but Link still heard her above the sound of the engine.

“Hm?”

“Does it ever feel weird to think back on life before all this happened?”

They approached a switch in the track. Link adjusted the train’s speed before answering. “Yeah, I get it. Not too long ago, I was just starting my apprenticeship with Alfonzo, and now I’m a Royal Engineer!” Link looked over at her, smiling with affection that would have made Zelda’s body blush. “The day of the ceremony feels so long ago. But we’ve done so much since then, those days feel like, like—”

“Another lifetime ago,” they both spoke in unison, then giggled together.

As much as Zelda wanted her body back and for this adventure to be over, she would miss the moments like this. Link understood her. They helped each other, but they were also laughing together, joking and reminiscing and enjoying the little things in between saving the kingdom. Their journey had forged this bond between them. Zelda had never met anyone quite like Link before, and she hoped their lives would remain entwined after their quest was over.

Link’s attention returned to the train’s controls. Zelda searched for the sight of Ferrovia Castle. Her home was a speck on the horizon below the Tower of Spirits. So much of her life had been constrained to the castle, and now she’d traveled the breadth of the kingdom in so little time.

Her mind lit up with an idea.

“Link!” she shouted, startling him from his concentration. “When all this is over and I have my body back, let’s travel again! You and me, a journey like this, but without the fighting and the demon threats and all that. How does that sound?”

Link stared for a moment. Zelda covered her mouth, embarrassed by her own outburst. But Link’s beautiful grin spread over his face as he nodded.

“Let’s do it!”

---

A/N: the idea for Ferrovia as the name of the kingdom is from this post

#zelink week 2023 #the legend of zelda #spirit tracks #st zelink #zelink #my fics #oops i meant to post this before i went out of town

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smashingveteransandnewcomers · 14 hours

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*Distant train whistle blows*

"Huh...? That didn't sound like the Spirit Train...Are Engie and Alfonzo using another engine?"

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bu1410 · 4 months

Text

Good morning TUMBLR - March 9th - 2024

''Mr. Plant has owed me a shoe since July 5, 1971."

Ch. XI.2 - Morocco - 1989 - 1991

As for my colleagues, Eng. Alfonzo had settled in a villa in Ben Sergao, about 10 km from Agadir, in front of the old airport. Mr. Curreli lived in a terraced house not far from mine – and so did Mr. Argento, also in the hilly neighborhood of Charaf. It was the beginning of March 1990, and my wife and son finally arrived! My son was 3 1/2 years old at the time, and because of a problem with her right eye, he wore glasses with a ''plugged'' lens to force his left eye to straighten. We organized a lunch to introduce the family to Eng. Alfonzo, and it was a pleasant occasion until ''Andrea the Terrible'' - maybe because by Alfonzo's captivating behavior, threw a crystal candle holder at him which hit him on the left eyebrow arch! Nevertheless, my Boss took it well, even though his eyebrow was bleeding profusely. Naturally the most amused one was Andrea: he didn't stop laughing, unaware of the great damage he caused. Shortly after his arrival, Andrea had started attending the local kindergarten – being with local children had a good impact to him – after a couple of weeks I was amazed at how he had already learned many French sentence. His favorite one remained ''No c'est pas comme ça! '' (No, it's not like that!) which he continually repeated, especially in the presence of his little Romanian friends.

ROMANIANS NEIGHBOURS Opposite us in Charaf, a family of Romanians had settled: husband, wife, a little girl named Isabelle and Tibi, a child of Andrea's age. Their story is worth telling. He was a construction engineer and she was a pediatrician. They had managed to escape the chaos of post-Ceausescu Romania. They had taken a flight Bucarest to Tripoli, Libya - and than from there by train and bus they had crossed Algeria and arrived in Morocco, where the husband's father had worked for some time, and had some acquaintances who could have helpes his son. Once the Romanian guy talk us episodes from their difficult life under the Ceausescu regime. For instance that he, the husband, earned more money by visiting the houses of neighbours and acquaintances by renting a VHS video recorder (some relatives had sent him from Germany) compared to the salary of construction engineer. Or that if they managed to have some pieces of bread to put on the table, it was because she, a pediatrician working in Bucharest hospital, stole from the hospital's kitchen. They knew that bananas existing, but had only eaten them for the first time when they arrived in Libya.

THOSE GUYS OF MONZA

It was the end of March, so as promised I visited the Founty campsite, right at the Sout tip of Agadir. I wanted to check if my friends from Monza had arrived - and yes, I found them immediately, as the campsite was almost deserted, given the season. They were happy to see me again, and invited me to have lunch in one of their nice motor camper. Unfortunately I found Mrs. Perego with a plaster around her leg: she had fallen a few days earlier while the couple was visiting Volubilis (the remains of the Roman city near Meknes). The Lady had fractured her tibia, and was forced to seek treatment in the emergency room of Meknes hospital, where she had been fitted with a plaster knee-high. Mr. Perego was visibly upset about what had happened, which had put her plans for the winter at risk. After an excellent spaghetti dinner, I left the Italians to their fate: they would leave for Italy the next day. It was nice to see them again.

MOROCCO CONSTRUCTION TEAM

Eventually the construction's activities at site had finally resumed. Now in addition to the officials of the Moroccan Ministry of Transport - who used to come to site on Wednesday from Casablanca and leaving on Thursday afternoon - we also had to look after the group of architects sent by Arch. Penseau to ensure that the new directives and new plans were put into practice by Main Contractor Bouygues. 58 pillars of the airport main building were demolished. All this to adapt the project to the directives of the King's architect. The Ministry of Transport team was made up of several members, all experts in the various disciplines that airport construction entails.

The main components were the following:  Head of Mission, M. El Oauri – known as ''Big Belly (or ''provolone) given his predilection for the well-known Italian cheese (every time someone was coming Italy had to bring some of that cheese for him )  Civil engineering: M. El Layooni – fervent Muslim, one of the best Moroccan technicians present on the project.  Aeronautics expert M. El Abbaoui – a decision maker – he helped us a lot on several occasions.  Meteorological expert M. Hachimi – He lost several weather balloons during testing.  The telecommunications expert M. Slimani – played a very important role in the repair of the fiber optic cable that connected the airport to the world, severed by an excavator 5 days before the inauguration date of the new airport.  General services officer M. Mustafa Abdellatif - a long-time employee of the Ministry of Transport - boasted of two things: having made the pilgrimage to Mecca (for this reason he was respectfully called ''El Haji'') and having participated as an organizer in the great Green March. The Green March was a mass strategic initiative implemented in November 1975, coordinated by the Moroccan Government which, after the abandonment of the so-called Spanish Sahara (at the time a territory controlled by Spain under the name of Rio de Oro) invaded the territory on November 6th 1975. Around 350,000 unarmed Moroccan volunteers and 25,000 soldiers, under the leadership of the Moroccan Government, gathered near the city of Tarfaya waiting for His Majesty King Hassan II of Morocco to give the signal to cross the border into Western Sahara.

The people mentioned above were joined by experts from the Provincial laboratory for testing concrete and asphalt. Then there were a whole series of other employees, such as supervisors, secretaries, drivers, gardeners etc who represented the ''social'' side of the project - in the sense that the Central Government had decided to employ a few dozen local people. Out of all I remember three of these girls, without much knowledge but very keen to learn. There was Rabia (Spring in Arabic) a chubby girl who was the only one who had previous secretarial knowledge. Than Jamila (Beauty in Arabic) the wife of a policeman – with a particularly jovial character. And finally Aisha - M. El Ouri had nicknamed her ''Alauja'' (the lame) for her habit of dragging her feet.

New Agadir International Airport - Site Aerial view

New Agadir International Airport - Control Tower

New Agadir International Airport - Terrace

BOUYGUES - Main Contractor

The French company Bouygues had an impressive construction team, headed by M. Abdulkarim, a Tunisian naturalized Frenchman. Gifted with great savoir faire, he used to go around the offices every morning to greet and chat with his team mates. Bouygues had the intention of establishing iimself in Morocco, which they considered a promising market at the time. In this regard the Frenc Contractor took the project of the new Agadir airport as a promotion that would show Moroccans what they were capable of. The arrival of the construction equipment in Morocco was spectacular: a sort of peaceful ''landing in Normandy operation'' with dozens of equipment divided into two main colours: red for the concrete, green for the asphalt. I had the luck to meet personally meeting M. Bouygues, who came to visit the construction site on his personal jet, a Falcon 50. I got on board and noticed the elegance of the interiors and the beauty of the two hostesses.

LAHBABII FAMILY Life continued at its slow pace - Agadir is a city with a particular microclimate where there is a sort of ''eternal spring''. temperatures in summer rarely exceeding 25-28 degrees °C and in winter not lower than 17 – 18 degrees °C. During one of our Sundays on the beach, we met a local family: husband Mr. Karim Lahbabi, a Moroccan guy - his wife Andrea was of German origin. The pair met during a holiday in Spain, and eventually married. They had a young daughter at the time, who would later be joined by second daughter, Ghislane. Thus began a relationship that lasted for the entire period in which we remained in Agadir. They were a couple with a lot of initiative: at first they opened a clothing store near the Anezi hotel complex. Realizing that it wasn't working, they soon closed it, to open another store that dealt with curtains, chandeliers and home furnishings in general. They than emigrated first to Gran Canaria, and after few years to the Costa del Sol, Spain.

FIELD TRIPS Trips around Agadir were always organized at the weekend. One of the most interesting was the one at the Imouzzer waterfalls and the ''supposed Timdwin Caves''. That time we were a group made up of my family, Arch. Bozon and the Lahbabi family. At a distance of about 50 km from Agadir, on the first foothills of the Atlas Mountains, the Imouzzer waterfalls are seasonal. In the sense that they can only be admired in the short rainy season of November/December.

However, it was pleasant: the area is very wild, and the food offered by the restaurant overlooking the waterfall is good and plentiful: tagine de poulet - tagine de poisson, delights of Moroccan cuisine.

In the afternoon Bozon proposed a visit to the caves, which were presumed further North of Imouzzer. We set off, in the Range Rover and Karim's Toyota. The dirt road climbed steeply up the mountainside. As the kilometers passed, Bozon seemed less sure of the destination. At a certain point, after a bend, a big boulder blocked the road!! What to do? There was no question of going back, it had now become a sort of mule track where the Range Rover barely passed, and there were no lay-bys to make a U-turn. I made everyone get out of the cars, and after a good half hour of work, by leveraging some wood found nearby we managed to make the boulder fall into the slope. We continued on, and I occasionally asked Bozon about the caves, to which he responded in monosyllables. After a few kilometers (and several times in which I had to get the occupants out of the car because the maneuvers were too dangerous) we found ourselves faced with a massive boulder in the middle of the road! The dimensions were such that it immediately seemed impossible to be able to repeat the same maneuver with which we had freed ourselves from the first obstacle. Meanwhile the first shadows of the evening were falling!! While the curses towards Bozon who had led us into this ''trap'' abounded, I had to turn on the lights of the Range - this probably caused the inhabitants of a nearby village to see us, and pushed them to start walking towards us . After half an hour, about twenty men, women and children had reached us on the edge of the mountain and said they were willing to help to get us out of trouble. No sooner said than done, suddenly long sticks, iron levers and ropes appeared. In short, the boulder was tied, partially raised and stuffed to try to overturn it. After some failed attempts, we finally managed, with a great effort, to first move and then roll the boulder onto the slope below!!! Shouts of celebration and even with that typical cry that only Moroccan women can produce (twalwil or yu-yu) greeted the boulder that bounced towards the valley, fortunately not on the village's fall line, which otherwise could have caused irreparable damage! We thanked our ''saviors'' with generous tips.

Ahh…and the caves? Talking to the villagers we discovered that yes the village was called ''Grotte de Timdwin'' (Caves of Timdwin) but that the caves did not exist… or that perhaps they had existed once… or that perhaps they were somewhere else…… in short, like many things in Morocco they were something random, legendary, perhaps with a grain of truth, who knows……. In any case we returned home via the Marrakesh - Agadir state road, reaching home when it was already deep night.

Imouzzer Ida Outanane - Morocco

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1863-project · 2 years

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A Non-Exhaustive List of Real-Life Train References in Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

A disclaimer before we get started here: this list is by no means definitive. There’s always a chance that something slips past me, so there’s a possibility that I’ll be editing this post from time to time. I should also note that as much as I love LoZ, I’m coming at this from the perspective of a railfan for a change, and especially as someone with extensive knowledge of steam locomotives, which is particularly relevant to this game. With that said, let’s jump into this!

This post will be under a cut due to potential length and potential future edits, as well.

Character Naming Conventions

The most obvious references in the game come from characters’ names, but they do need some explaining in places. In the English version of the game, names like Anjean (Engine), Byrne (Burn), and Cole (Coal) need no explanation, but others are less obvious - and in Japanese, they require some knowledge of Japanese steam locomotives.

Link and Zelda are, of course, Link and Zelda. Nothing new there. The side characters, however, often have puns for names. The Lokomo, the native population, all have train-themed names, as you’d expect from a group of people whose name is derived from the word ‘locomotive.’ Anjean and Byrne are mentioned above, but you also encounter:

Gage: a railroad’s width is referred to as its gauge. Standard gauge, used in most of the world today, has the rails 4 feet 8.5 inches (1,435 mm) apart. Certain countries, including Russia, use their own gauges. Gauge can also refer to the sizes of model railroad sets - HO and O are the most commonly used model train gauges in the United States, for example.

Steem: this one’s obvious, so I don’t think I need to elaborate on how steam locomotives work for now.

Carben: the primary element in coal, the most common fuel for steam locomotives, is carbon.

Embrose: a reference to embers; fuel is burned in the locomotive’s firebox to boil the water and produce steam.

Rael: another obvious one - a pun on ‘rail.’

And that’s not all - our little foamer friend Ferrus has a name derived from the Latin word for ‘iron.’ This naming pun appears in multiple languages - in Japanese his name is Tetsuo.

A few puns only make sense in Japanese. Alfonzo’s name in Japanese is Shirokuni, which doesn’t look like much to people who don’t know about Japanese railroad history. But if you break it down as “shi-roku-ni,” you might notice that it can be read C62 (in this case reading ‘shi’ as ‘C’ and not ‘4′). The C62 was a class of 4-6-4 Hudsons that are popular in Japan to this day, being the basis of the locomotive in Galaxy Express 999. The class also inspired the brothers who founded Hudson Soft to name their company, as they both were fans of the locomotive.

Another one that only makes sense if you know Japanese railway history is Byrne’s name being Diigo. This is a reference to the wildly popular D51 class of locomotives, 2-8-2 Mikados that were designed by Hideo Shima, who was later the driving force behind the creation of the Shinkansen. (Shima actually also designed the C62, described above.) If you watch Thomas and Friends, there’s a chance you’ve seen a D51...

...because that’s Hiro’s class.

Cole gets one of these, too, with his Japanese name being Kimaroki, a very specific layout of a locomotive and cars involving snowplows.

Lastly, we have the one that I’m personally most invested in, because it involves one of my favorite locomotives in the entire world. But this does involve spoilers for the endgame, so be careful reading from this point forward.

The villains in Spirit Tracks are trying to summon a demon named Malladus back to life, and to do this, they’ve separated Zelda’s spirit from her body so Malladus can possess her body. It goes badly, and the final fight ends up being Link and Zelda against Malladus - who, once separated from Zelda’s body, has possessed Cole’s body instead. Link and Zelda ultimately defeat Malladus together and restore peace to the realm. So what’s so delightful about this to me? We’re going to go back to July 3, 1938 for a moment.

On July 3, 1938, a 61-year-old grandfather named Joe Duddington opened up the throttle of an A4 Pacific (4-6-2) in England. With him in the cab was his fireman, Tommy Bray, and an inspector from the London and North Eastern Railway named S. Jenkins (I’ve seen his name listed as both Sam and Sid). This was mostly a normal run, but the locomotive, Mallard, was allegedly doing a brake test that day, so a dynamometer car was attached to the train to keep an eye on things.

The crew in the cab knew better. They had orders from Sir Nigel Gresley, who designed Mallard and the other A4s. They were going to try to take the speed record for steam traction that day. There were some interruptions, including construction that slowed them down before their buildup point, but they eventually hit a location called Stoke Bank and Mallard shot downwards towards Kings Cross in London; in Duddington’s own words, she “jumped to it like a live thing.” The speedometer crept up bit by bit, soon surpassing the English steam speed record of 114 mph set by the rival LMS, but Mallard was chomping at the bit and hungry for more and Duddington let her go, encouraging her with a “Come on, old girl, we can do better than this!”

She did far better than that, eclipsing the 124 mph record set in Germany by clocking 126 mph for a quarter mile. Mallard’s big-end cylinder failed not long afterwards, signaled by an aniseed stink bomb the crew had planted on her beforehand, and she was slowed down and taken back to Doncaster for repairs, but not before this photo was taken:

(L-R: Tommy Bray, Joe Duddington, S. Jenkins, other LNER staff; Mallard is behind them)

Mallard’s record is the official one, although other claims are out there, because Mallard was officially recorded and documented. Today her record still stands, as it was set close enough to the end of the steam era that most railroads were switching over to cheaper diesel and electric options.

Anyway, long explanation aside, Malladus was quite obviously and deliberately named after Mallard herself - in non-American releases, Malladus is straight-up called Mallard. They even made Malladus blue - Malladus’s non-corporeal form looks like this:

Compare to Mallard herself:

Mallard is a much darker blue, but it does make you think.

In-Game Controls

Now we get to the part where I actually talk about steam locomotives in general and how they work, and how this ties into the gameplay of Spirit Tracks. Now, as some of you are aware, I’ve driven a steam locomotive exactly once in my life so far, but I’m fully planning on getting certified to drive them regularly as a volunteer thing in the future as soon as I can arrange that because I took to it like a fish takes to water.

Link’s locomotives have a driving system more similar to a car, which is definitely weird to me as someone who knows how to drive a steam locomotive:

(Pictured: Alfonzo reminding Link to read his iron)

Link has very simple controls to work with - really, they combined the throttle with the Johnson bar (yes, the reversing lever is sometimes called that, I know it sounds dirty). He has four settings - backwards, which can be used as an emergency brake, the regular brake, forwards, and forwards at high speed (highballing). And of course, he has the whistle cord to blow the whistle with! These locomotives are pretty bare-bones (I don’t even know how they run since there’s no visible fuel source; let’s say it’s magic because this is Zelda), and Link is able to operate them without a fireman in the cab with him. In reality, it’s a bit more complicated than that...

I drove a locomotive built in 1924, Strasburg #90. 90, being a more modern steam locomotive than what Link has access to, has her controls separated out instead of being on one gearshift like a car. To make 90 move forward, I first had to release a “parking brake,” set the Johnson bar to the forward position, release the regular brake, and finally open up the throttle. Before opening the throttle, I also had to indicate that I was moving, which I did by turning her bell on and blowing the whistle twice - two short whistle blasts told everyone I was driving forward. Once I had her moving, I had to keep making small adjustments to the throttle (only a notch or two at a time) to keep her at a steady speed.

(A photo of Strasburg #90 I took on the day I drove her, 3/26/22.)

Spirit Tracks is not a realistic train simulator, and it was never meant to be one - it’s a Zelda game, not Trainz. Since it was a DS game the controls had to be simplified as much as possible, and making it similar to the controls of a car, something far more people will encounter in their lifetime and learn to operate, makes it pretty easy to use for most players. What I do like is that you have to navigate rail traffic and pay attention to signs and signals, just like in real life.

That said, Link is absolutely dressed the part.

(screenshot from here; this is how he appears in Smash Ultimate)

There’s actually a lot of things right with Link’s engineer uniform. He has thick gloves and closed-toe shoes to keep himself safe when working, and although generally you want to wear long sleeves it’s not uncommon to see engineers and firemen roll their sleeves up because it gets warm in the cab. The only thing he’s missing is a pair of safety goggles (I’d have added them on the cap if I was his character designer for this game). The day I drove 90, I was dressed like this:

(Pictured: the author in a pair of overalls that are a couple of sizes too big, with her driving gloves in her pockets, as she poses by the drive wheels of a Pennsylvania Railroad K4 Pacific to show how much taller than her they are. The Submas badge is on her engineer hat.)

I’m not sure why they gave Link a v-neck for the uniform shirt, but whatever, he’s Link and can pull off literally any outfit so it doesn’t matter. There’s never been a Link that doesn’t look good in whatever he wears. That’s part of being Link.

Everyone Who Likes Trains Has Met Someone Like Ferrus

Maybe you even are Ferrus, who knows.

I’ve enjoyed trains my entire life, and I’ve spent a lot of time on and around them. Like most people who enjoy trains, I like photographing them and railroad infrastructure, as well as trying to track down my favorite locomotives when I can (there’s one NJT locomotive I keep an eye on because I’m hoping to push to get it preserved when its retirement comes). And of course, I’ve now begun dedicating my spare time to figuring out how to become fully qualified to operate steam locomotives, because my one time on the throttle was the best moment of my life.

Anyway, when you’re in this hobby, you meet people like Ferrus.

Ferrus calls himself a “trainiac” (in real life we say “railfan,” at least in the United States). What makes Ferrus one of “those” railfans is that despite not having any driving experience he somehow has instructions that he has made up himself about doing passenger service himself, which he gives to Link...who has trained professionally to be an engineer. In his defense, these rules are correct, but in general it’s not cool to tell someone who’s actually trained in a field how to do their job. Luckily, Ferrus doesn’t seem to do anything more egregious than that - he doesn’t trespass on the rails, for one.

Ferrus’s main hobby, like many railfans, is photography, and he’s nearly always seen with his camera photographing trains. He also hero-worships Alfonzo and goes into a blue screen of death when Alfonzo denies being a legendary engineer and instead claims to be a legendary swordsman (i.e. Alfonzo is more proud of his swordsmanship than his driving). He keeps asking Link to ferry him about from one location to the next so he can continue his railfan activities, all the while wearing a replica uniform even though he doesn’t actually work as an engineer.

Ferrus reminds me of a lot of railfans I’ve seen and met - there are certainly some out there that act like they know more than even the actual rail staff, and whilst they might know more history, they’re not the ones operating the train and need to take a step back when it comes to that. The only reason I can talk about operating steam locomotives the way I do now is because I’ve done it once, and that was under engineer supervision. I’ve never operated one solo and I’m by no means an expert engineer or anything, as much as I want to be one and am planning to work on that certification in the future. But Ferrus’s passion does come in handy for Link in the game, because his notes on how to use the spacetime gates in-game are also somewhat correct, including a deduction on how to activate them that isn’t too far off from the in-game solution.

This Game Has A Stamp Rally?

Yes, yes it does. Stamp rallies are a common feature on railroads in Japan, and they encourage you to visit each station on the line and mark that you were there. You get a stamp book, and at each station you hop off the train, mark your stamp, and hop back on. It gives you a souvenir of your trip, and the railroad gets more revenue because people are visiting more stations, so everyone wins.

If you’re a Pokemon fan and like trains, you may have seen a stamp rally before - in the anime, there’s an episode where the Battle Subway implements one, with the reward for completion being a battle against the participant’s choice of either Ingo or Emmet. Cilan proceeds to go bonkers and do it, and ultimately due to a number of circumstances he and Ash end up having a Multi Battle against Submas and get curb-stomped because a) it’s Submas and b) Cilan somehow forgot electricity could be conducted by the metal bars in the subway car and Emmet and Eelektross didn’t forget.

(Pictured: Cilan, a green-haired triplet who’s actually a lot like Ferrus in terms of his interest in trains, holds up a blank stamp sheet/booklet for a stamp rally.)

In Spirit Tracks, Niko asks Link to fill out his stamp book for him at each location, as he’s rather old and traveling is difficult for him at this point in his life. Link obliges and receives clothes as a reward, as is usual for this sort of sidequest. The fact that they put this in the game is a nice little touch for Japanese railfans who would certainly recognize it, and it’s a cool way to introduce international railfans - and gamers - to the concept. Stamp rallies exist outside of railroad contexts, of course, but there’s definitely an association there!

Is there anything else you want to talk about?

I’m sure there will be, but for now, this is a good stopping point because I’ve been working on this post for several days. If there’s anything you think I should add, message me! I’ll be happy to edit this post - I’ve put it under a cut so it can be edited at any time!

#LoZ #Spirit Tracks #I like trains #Legend of Zelda

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silentprincess17 · 2 years

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This is for your requests (congratulations on getting 200 followers, by the way!) — perhaps a ST fanfic? The fandom (and I) are desperately being deprived of such quality fan content of the ship (I also need something to hold me over while I wait for the next chapter for “A Level Crossing”, haha). If possible, could you do a modern AU of the ship? I know it’s kind of hard to do, considering the setting haha, but it’s just a suggestion; I’ve always wanted to see what ST looks like in a modern AU.

Hello! Honeslty I feel you with lack of ST! So! Here is my take on modern AU Spirit Tracks!

1) Link and Zelda are 18 in this fic! (As Link is canonically about 13 (?) In ST, and he’s already a Royal Engineer I’ve shuffled some of the education systems around so they’ve both finished university by 18.

2) In terms of understanding my modern rail map version- I have essentially coloured on train lines onto ST’s train tracks. Imagine that there are two lines going either way for trains pulling in/out of a station to run a cohesive service. The connection centre is the Tower of Spirits, with the Circle line being the “tourist line” if you want to go on tours of the more fun stations. Here is my map:

For better formatting here is the AO3 link!

Otherwise off we go on tumblr below:

A New Itinerary

Summary: It's Link's first day on the Royal Engineering Apprenticeship Scheme... How hard could things get?

(Spoiler? Very hard. Especially if a Princess on an escapade decides to jump on board)

Kindly beta read by @zeldadiarist, @zeldaelmo and @braidy-maidy :)

To say Link was a little nervous would be an understatement. Yes, he’d been relaxed about it all, but that was mostly because he… um… had forgotten about it? And now it was staring him in the face after a very short journey on the quiet Forest line early this morning, he wasn’t sure he was entirely ready.

Last week, he received his graduation certificate at Hyrule University, completing his course in mechanical engineering, first class honours. Better yet, he’d already secured a master’s specialising in train engines, which he’d complete whilst on an apprenticeship with the Royal Hyrule Train Company. It was a prized apprenticeship, one that many sought after, mainly because of the chance to graduate as a Royal Engineer. Link was still somewhat reeling from processing he’d even been accepted, barely a month ago, and now it was his first day. Already!

He swallowed, took a deep breath, and entered the train office at Castle Town, where the headquarters were. Today, he was to receive his instructions for his first few weeks on the job. What he liked about the apprenticeship was the ability to rotate through the roles. It was encouraged to both work on actual engineering inside trains, as well on the train service, in order to gain a true understanding of the system, its flaws and thus devise the optimal solution.

Yes, he’d memorised that from the acceptance letter. No, he wasn’t totally besotted with it.

Link had already had a year’s worth of exposure on the tracks, with his mentor Alfonzo, the train enthusiast from Adoba Village that had allowed Link to shadow him on the job for a year as evidence of commitment and enthusiasm. Yes, he was ready. Ready and rearing to go!

He walked up the reception, trying to swallow and wet his dry throat, about to voice who he was, but that didn’t end up happening. He spotted Operator Niko and changed course to meet him.

The elderly man had a smile on his lips as he stumped the cane down with each step. Link was suddenly reassured- this was the man who’d done his interview! Whew, this was going to be easier than he thought. “Ah! Link! It’s your first day today? Wonderful to have another talented student to officially join!”

His cheeks flushed. “Thank you.”

“Right, I’m sure you’re wondering what you’re going to be doing so let’s have a look at the rota…” with a gnarled hand, Niko slowly fisted the slate off his waist, and started to curse at the device. “Back in my day it was all pen and paper. Mind you not that the fingers could handle a pen anymore. Ah, old age. No one warns you of these things.”

Link stumbled for something to say. What was there to say? Why was he so nervous? “Don’t worry lad, we’ll get you set up in no time, remind me if I forget- I need to give you a slate for your studies plus work… I’ve just got to find the rota first… stupid email. How do you search for things again… right. It’s that magnifying glass.”

Link nodded, then realised Niko wasn’t looking at him, so he wouldn’t see. “Yes.” Spirits. Did everything always feel this awkward on your first day?

“Okay! So you’ve been placed as a driver for the next month. The idea is to experience what running a train is like in practice. You’ll have a session with Officer Alzonfo in about…” He checked his watch, “30 minutes. He’ll teach you everything you need and then you’ll be in safety simulations, have a check up to ensure you’re fit, and then tomorrow you’ll hit the rails with your mentor…” Niko flicked the page, “Oh.”

He shuffled closer, “Lad, you’ve been placed with Staven as your mentor. He’s… not… particularly keen on teaching. But if he doesn’t show up, or if you’re confused, you come find me okay? I’ll try my best to sort it out for you. I’m not sure why he’s still on the programme but… something about portfolios something something probably.”

Link nodded again, this time even more frightened.They couldn’t expect him to go handle trains with just one day training right? Okay, so technically he’d shadowed a driver for a year BUT- this was something else!

And yeah, he'd gone inside the engine room once to see the installation of an engine he’d helped design for his final year research project but… Niko must have seen how tense he suddenly became and he stepped closer, a hand resting on Link’s wrist. “Don’t worry Link, in two months you’ll be in engineering proper, and I hope you’ll have some rejuvenating ideas after your time on the tracks!”

For what felt like the millionth time, he nodded. And he could only hope it would all work out.

4:15 am the next day, freshly trained in the mechanics of automated train operation, as well as the back up emergency controls and general safety netting, Link tilted back and forth, trying to stave off the innate need to just close his eyes whilst he waited for Staven to show up.

His slate lit up with an incoming call, and he answered.

“This Link?”

“Yes?”

“Right this is Staven. Various issues have happened this AM, I’ve got to cover the Central Hyrule line. Alfonzo reassured me you’d shadowed him for a year, so you’d be fine handling a train on the quieter Forest line. Okay?”

“What– you mean without supervision?”

“Look we have CCTV everywhere and the train operators in TOS will control everything, just make sure people mind the gap and don’t knock into each other too much at peak.”

TOS? Oh- Tower of Spirits. “But-”

“You won’t let me down now will you? You’ll be fine. Call me if anything goes wrong. Going into the Tower now, I’ll talk to you soon. Bye now.”

Um. Okay, so, that was that. Link was trying very hard not to panic, his fingers shaking as he opened up his contacts, hovering over Niko’s name. He had about 5 minutes before the train he was scheduled to drive (supervised!) on was supposed to leave. Would that be enough time to find a replacement? He didn’t want to be that guy who cancelled trains. He knew how frustrating that was as a commuter.

Before he could press the button, a heavily bundled person, with a huge burgundy coat, and a beige hat and matching scarf wrapped around their face, with blonde hair sticking out in front, bumped into him. “Oh! Look, would you please just step aside! Some of us have places to be! You’re literally in the middle of a narrow corridor, at least move to the wall if you want to be an obstacle!”

What? “Um. I’m… sorry?”

Whoever it was pushed the top of the hat slightly higher, so he could now make out a pair of blue eyes as deep as the ocean stretching beyond Aboda. He was momentarily startled, and he felt himself start to flush red. It was a girl. A… a very pretty one at that. She scrutinised his uniform, sticking an arm out and gesturing to the silent train on the left. “Are you the driver of this train?”

“Um.” That was a hard question. Was he?

“Well if you’re not, who is? It’s supposed to leave in three minutes. Normally, the doors are already open. And we leave on the dot. I cannot be delayed.”

She heaved right up close to him, and he leaned backwards reflexively, “I simply cannot! Do you understand? So who's driving it? Where are they? When are we going to leave?”

“Ma’am-”

She leaned closer still and Link wondered how much further back he could go (side note: she smelt nice). “Do not ma’am me! They only ma’am you when something’s wrong! I can’t be late! I need to change over at -” She suddenly stopped. “Wait, you're a stranger. I shouldn’t tell you all of this. But you’re in a Royal Hyrule uniform. Can you help or not? Should I go to the help desk? Is there a help desk? Is it even open at this Goddess-forsaken hour?”

Why was she ranting at him so much? He was having a bad time too! “It’s my first day!” He blurted out. “It’s my first day and I was supposed to be under supervision for this service, but apparently my supervisor is busy on another line and asked me to do it alone, and okay, fine, I have some experience with driving trains but I’ve never done it alone and I don’t want to let everyone down but –” He took a breath.

She blinked, and then whisked back to her original position, out of his personal space. “Oh. I realise I might have come across a little strongly.”

“Just a bit.”

“I’m sorry.” She held her hand out, “My name is Zelda. I am… somewhat preoccupied with leaving as early as possible before um, well, to reach my destination faster because uh, interconnections, and there are fewer trains on the other side...”

He wanted to raise an eyebrow. He decided not to, seeing as they were off to a fresh start. “I’m Link. Recent mechanical engineering graduate, new apprentice of the Royal Hyrule Train Company. Nice to meet you, Zelda.”

A smile broke out on her face, half incredulous. (She really was quite cute.) “Really?”

He laughed. “Really. It was a good wake up call for sure.” A smattering of chuckles broke out between them, before a somewhat awkward silence descended. The clock ganged at half-past, and suddenly, Zelda jolted.

“Oh no. Link, I really need your help. I realise you might not be the most experienced but I really- it is imperative I leave as soon as-”

“PRINCESS. PRINCESS IS THAT YOU?”

She became ramrod straight, panic flaring across her face, before she shoved him towards the front of the train. “Oops. I apologise in advance but we really need to go! Can you drive? Safely-ish?”

“Um yes? Sort of-” No hang on what was he agreeing too? Just because of a pretty girl? He needed to call Niko! “No-wait-Zelda-”

“Link, if you must know, I’m the Princess and I’m currently running away! I can’t have them catch me!”

He only had the capacity to stare in shock. He thought that name was familiar. Damn him and his memory!

“Don’t- look- there’s no time! Once you start driving-” she directed him to open up the train carriage door, and then enter the driver’s seating area with another key. He stumbled through the steps, and all of a sudden he was in the driver’s seat, Zelda next to him and she was flicking on the light button. “Zelda I can’t in good consciousness-”

“Link. We’ll do it together. I watched a lot of Hy-tube videos. It’s all good. Also, don’t worry about anyone finding out you’ve gone rogue. I’ll provide a very good excuse: I ordered you. There.”

He started at the engine start up, before her hand found his. “I’m really sorry. But this is important, I promise. I’m not going rogue for no reason. And those at the castle just don’t understand. I’ll explain more on the way. Will you please help me?”

Well frankly, he didn’t understand either, but whilst he wasn’t sure what was going on, he understood her desperation, and somehow, he trusted her enough to know she wouldn’t be doing this for no reason. Something about how upfront she was made him think she wasn’t one to lie.

“Okay, look. We’re going to call my boss first. And if he gives us the all clear, then we’ll go. Whoever it is chasing you can’t get in here. And they won’t be able to get on board the train because”- he reached over and locked the doors shut- “there.”

She nodded. “Thank you.”

Niko seemed happy enough to let him go, it was early enough that there shouldn't be much trouble, and he believed Link had sufficient experience to do it. If they didn’t get the line up and running, there would be backlogs, which meant everything else would be delayed. And then the complaints would shuffle in, and that wasn’t something anyone wanted to deal with. So, whilst Niko tried to find someone, Link would run the service independently, with a promise to phone in at any slight indication things were going wrong.

They completed the mandatory safety checks together, with Niko just about managing to video call, (Zelda ducked underneath the chair) before Link settled back into the driver’s seat and then they headed off.

Zelda was very excited to be in the driver’s carriage. She leaned out of the windows, hat and scarf off and golden hair flowing in the breeze as he ramped the speed up. He was nervous about keeping on top of all the signs, but she was a major help, acting as his partner in deciphering them and implementing them accordingly.

By the time they reached the first junction, Link was considerably more relaxed, the motion controls coming more easily, the gear changes simple enough to do, and he eased into the routine he had watched Alfonso do for all of his train journeys.

She swung back down into her seat, abuzz. He figured now was as good a time as any to ask what she was escaping from. “So, ready to tell me why you’re sneaking off?”

She sobered, “Right. I do owe you an explanation. Firstly, I really am quite sorry for my outburst Link, but it is justified. I… I-I well it’s actually a long story. My ancestor, from aeons ago… Do you know the story of the Princess who became a ghost?”

Uh… he um… he now really regretted not paying attention in history class. “Not exactly.”

“Well, long story short, there was an evil chancellor, he stole her body to reincarnate an evil demon inside it, and he broke up the train tracks that covered this land. That Princess traversed across the land with a boy in green, as they sought to restore the tracks and rebuild the prison the demon was put in, and reclaim her body. In the end, they succeeded, and the demon has been sealed since.”

“Wow. That is some… trip. I remember being told it as a fairytale when I was a boy.”

“Yes well… Legends are based on real life events. I suppose no one really wants to believe in them because the implications are pretty dire. We’ve got records of this, weapons that Hero used that are still in the castle’s armoury. So… it really did happen. And it’s my responsibility as the current Princess to make sure the spirit tracks are maintained. If they vanish again then- well. Suffice to say, I do not… want to risk losing my body. So I must check them, and ensure everything is still intact.”

Link wondered if that was all there was to it. Was she really running away for a historical trip on the tracks? When did these events with the past princess even happen? Surely it had been a long time… Maybe there was more to it but she didn’t want to share…

He was distracted when she pulled out a map, when they came to a red stop light. “Look here, Link. We have restructured the train system in the electrical revolution where we converted to electrical trains and modernised the entire system. Half of the tracks we no longer use.” She fingered several faded lines up to a… tree? And another to a place deep in the forest.

He stared in shock. “Wait so there are more tracks than what we have? More stations?”

“Yes! Theoretically anyway.”

His mind whirled, “but… but those aren’t electrified. How are you gonna reach them?”

“Right again. I need to hire a steam, or indeed, a renewable-energy powered locomotive, and travel to those areas.”

Oh! Renewable trains! He’d been working on a prototype for that for a while now. It was what his master’s project had focused on, actually. He’d constructed the electromagnetic power source, and the wiring inside, just the shell of the train was needed to outfit the whole thing. But he couldn’t exactly impose on her, not when she was only taking a train that he happened to be driving. Not to mention he’d just started his apprenticeship so there was no way he could go with her… still he was curious. “Where do you think you’ll get one?”

“I… I don’t know yet. I hope there’ll be someone who can help in Aboda. The best train engineers live there.”

Oh…? “Do you think you’ll be able to drive alone?”

She shuffled. “I um. I may have assumed I’d find a driver too.”

She… really wasn’t prepared. “That’s a lot of maybes, Zelda.”

“There’s only so much planning one can do! Not when you’re under supervision 24/7 and this isn’t a permitted venture!”

Actually, there was the one thing that still didn’t make sense to him… “But this is a good thing, no? Why are you running away to do it? Surely it’d be easier to do if the castle organises it?” That way she’d also have a credited royal engineer to hand, plus a train, and it would make life considerably easier.

A sharp frown emerged, and she huffed. “You’d think so! But no. Apparently this would be unnecessary, and a waste of time as well as resources. But I’m funding it using my own money. I do work, you know. I worked in Castle Town’s Central Library for months to save up! As for time, well, I’m leaving at the most convenient time. Everything is set up for my coronation, Hyrule is stable and steady, we’re in the ends of the spring recess so technically most people are on holiday for the next two months anyway…”

He cleared his throat. “Well, I can at least help with the first thing. I’ve got a train… somewhat ready that will work on those tracks… if they do exist. But I’m not sure how I can help with the driver situation though. I’ve only just started out so I-I am not exactly qualified as a Royal Engineer and I am not entirely sure how my leave w-works…” he stammered, suddenly backtracking, “that’s not to say you even want me to do it- I- it just felt right to offer…”

A light sparked in her eye. “Aw. Thank you very much Link. But you’ve only just started your apprenticeship. You are very kind for offering, but your studies take priority! I’ll find someone… hopefully. There might be a retired engineer…”

He glanced at her through the side mirror. It didn’t sound like she had much organised for this venture, which didn’t entirely seem her fault. “Still… I’d like to help.”

They were almost upon Whittleton, and Link started to slow the train down, notching down a gear, one at a time. He eased into the station and they hopped off. It would be a five minute break here to allow everyone to transit and settle any goods in, before they headed on their way down to Aboda. This was the quieter end of the line, and it was ridiculously early, so Link wasn’t surprised when only three people aside from Zelda and him popped out.

Zelda gaped at the woodland houses. He chuckled. “I’m going to guess you haven’t visited?”

“No? This is like one of those secret stations hidden on a line. I’ve”- she stumbled on the first step down from the platform in her haste, and he scrambled to grip her hand and stop her from falling, “-ah-thanks Link. Well I was saying I’ve never… gone… on a public train before. I’ve always travelled with the Royal Engineers, in trains that go to one destination only.”

He tried to not look too surprised. But never? Although perhaps it made sense from a security perspective. Still… “Have you never snuck out before?”

She shrugged. “Well no. There was never any reason to. Most of my diplomatic meetings take place in Hyrule Castle because it’s typically easier for everyone to commute there. I’ve only gone to Aboda once in the summer as a holiday before-”

Her voice caught, and her gaze shifted off him and latched onto one of the villagers instead. “Well Link, I must ask about the Hyrulean Forest… I imagine these people would best know the details of what might await. We’ve only got a few more minutes right?”

What was that about? He checked his watch. “Four.”

“Okay! I’ll see you a bit?”

Was… did she not want him to come with? He was rooted to the spot, the words of offering help dying on his tongue as she speed walked away, and he slowly backpedalled into the train, letting the door to the driver’s section shut behind him.

Just what had happened to him? He was starting out on his apprenticeship! He had big things to focus on! He was driving a train alone! Why did he care so much about this girl he met a whole twenty minutes ago? Hell, he’d even been half minded to accompany her on this journey.

Shaking his head he refocussed. Fine. He could freely admit Zelda intrigued him, and he wanted to help her. Okay maybe because he had a small crush. Who wouldn’t? And her story, her answers, her silences all captivated him. But there was a line as to where that help could extend to, she’d drawn it, and he wouldn’t cross it.

So, he remained silent as a knock resounded on his door and he opened it to see her slightly breathless, a journal of sorts clasped to her chest. “I didn’t actually know if I should sit with you or-”

He shrugged. “Whatever you want. We’re setting off though, so strap in if you’re gonna stay here.”

He wouldn’t let himself get distracted again.

They pulled into Aboda Village with relatively few passengers. Some people had clearly set out early on the train to maximise their holiday. Aboda was busy this time of year, the beaches crowded, the shouts of children screaming echoed through, even reaching the train station.

They hadn’t talked much on the way back, Zelda lost to her journal, and he focussed on actually driving the train. He was left to stew in his thoughts. He wondered if he’d ruined it all. Maybe he’d misinterpreted something, but it was too late to say anything, as he clamped on the brakes, and eased the train into Aboda station.

“Well here we are ma’am.”

“You don’t have to be so formal,” she punched his shoulder. Oof. That hurt more than he was willing to say. But it was good to know he hadn’t majorly offended her somehow. Maybe she had just wanted some privacy as she asked questions? Or she didn’t want to force him to follow? And he technically hadn’t said anything either at the time, nerves fried. It was a relief to know he’d just been overreacting.

“I was just joking Zelda!”

“Well it’ll teach you to not do it again. I’ll hopefully see you at some point? Who knows you may be driving one of the main trains I’ll come across!”

He smiled. “Well, if you ever need my train, just… let me know?”

She pulled her phone out. “Will do! But maybe we should exchange numbers anyway? For uh… for just keeping in contact?”

His smile grew as he thumbed his number in. “Good luck, Zelda.”

“You too!”

Link slumped back into Aboda, finally exiting the last train he was responsible for, at 16:30 pm. That was the start of the peak time, evening wise, and the new driver would take over from there and carry on until midnight.

Wow, what a first day. He slipped out of the carriage, performed the final safety checks, made sure no one was hiding inside, before he remotely transported the train into the depot just north of Aboda where it would undergo night maintenance. Another fresh train was pulled out, with the driver entering shortly afterwards.

Link signed off with Niko, before finally walking down the sand-filled path to his small flat on the western edge of town. Spirits above he was so ready for a nap.

In fact, he was already half-asleep, and so missed the bundle of blonde hair knocking into him the second time that day. At least he knew who it was this time around. “Zelda?”

“Oh fancy seeing you here again!”

He raised an eyebrow.

“What? I was just taking the day to um, explore the beach.” She held up a beach umbrella, and a bottle of sun lotion. “It’s a really nice day out!”

“So… you’ve explored the beach for…” He made a show of checking his watch, “8 hours?”

Her forced smile disappeared. “I don’t really know where to begin. I tried looking for an engineering club I read about on Hyrule Net, but I don’t think it exists. I was mistaken for thinking there would be plenty of train drivers with… appropriate trains, not to mention ones I could… trust to bring me on a journey.”

A sigh escaped him. He didn’t really know what to say. “Well, it’ll be peak time soon so you’ll get lots of trains going back to the castle… Have you eaten anything? If you want- I mean- I know a few good restaurants in town and we could eat something before you head off?”

“You know, that does sound nice. I could really do with a fish and chips. I had that once as a child here and nothing ever reached that same standard.”

Laughing, he started off towards the centre of town, “that’s the one good thing about living in a seaside town: endless fish and chips.”

They ended up by the beach, shoes off, feet in the sand with greasy fingers from their meal. Zelda had long since abandoned her disguise, hair flowing around them, her laughter chiming in the soft breeze. Conversation flowed freely between them, over what they’d studied, to their favourite colours. The sun was slowly setting, behind them, when Link’s slate started to ring.

It was Staven.

Link swallowed down the last chip, before answering. “You alive yeah? Nothing drastic happened I should know about?”

Frowning slightly, Link replied, “uh, no.”

“Well make sure you send a report next time. It’s been four hours since you clocked off, why isn’t the report in my inbox already? And you’re on the same schedule for tomorrow by the way. I won’t be babying you.”

“I’ll um- I’ll just do it now-”

“Right-o. Report, and then bed. Goodnight Link.”

The slate went dark just as quickly as it’d come on.

“Well, he’s a right prick.”

Link choked.

“What? Seriously! It’s your first day and you ran a whole service solo. He should be grateful! Not patronising! This is your time off! You’re allowed to do what you want! Not to mention, I bet you had no idea you even had to do a report. Or even, what’s supposed to go in it!”

He stared stupefied. “You got it bang on the head.”

“All universities are the same. Politics was just like that. Check your intro email, hopefully it has some details. If not just say it all went well.”

They had a search on his slate for one, found a blank template for report and filled one in, submitting it to Staven. Link had a realisation whilst they were typing together though.

“Hey, Zelda?”

“Hm?”

“This is my free time, right?”

“Yep. Make sure they don’t impinge too much on it! You’re working now so you’re guaranteed time off at the end of the day. I wish this applied to being a Princess, but alas.”

He shuffled a little, scrunched his hands together. “So… I mean, if you want, we could… we could go to those stations? Those tracks? Just outside my shift time. I don’t… I don’t see why we wouldn’t be able to go. I just sort of need to finish building the train but…” he hadn’t had the courage to look at her until that point.

“You’d… really do that?”

He was sincere when he nodded. “This way, I’ll come pick you up from the castle, and we can do a bit at a time. This way, your council won’t be too upset with you. And it’ll give us both guaranteed time off. Plus… you’ll do what you dreamed of doing.”

A smile as bright as the sun lit up on her face. “Awesome! Okay. Okay we can really do it Link!” She reached for his hand and squeezed excitedly, and his heart thumped doubly hard. And then realisation dawned on her face and she whipped her gaze back to the coast line. “Wait. What time is it?”

Oh. Oh no. “… uh, 7:34? Oh Goddess! The next train is in 3 minutes and after that it’s a 30 min wait. Put your shoes on, quick!”

A mad dash to the station, promises of texts later when she’s reached home, and plans for to meet tomorrow were hurriedly organised as the train departed and Link finally made his way home.

That wasn’t at all how he’d expected his first day to go. And yet, he couldn’t be more excited. He stumbled into his apartment and headed straight for the fridge, the run making him ravenous for some ice cream. After that, it was going to be a 5 minute shower and sleep. He set the alarm two hours early so he could start constructing the train before his shift started, shoved two spoonfuls of ice cream in before rushing to the shower.

Despite his fatigue, a smile broke out on his lips as a message from Zelda pinged in- the train was a fast track to Castle Town so it would be there in twenty instead of the usual 30 minutes.

Tomorrow… was the dawn of a new adventure.

#zelink #legend of zelda #zelink fanfiction #zelda #link #zelink fanfic #the legend of zelda #silent writes #spirit tracks #spirit tracks zelink #modern au

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voidhunter456 · 3 years

Text

After Niko's funeral, Zelda goes to visit Link - aiming to help him overcome something she knows he doesn't know how to deal with.

Their crossing was chance, brought together to fight for the world. Still, they wouldn't trade it for anything. Collection of connected one shots spanning game time and post game between Spirit Tracks Link and Zelda. Now featuring plot development.

AO3: Link

FF.Net: Link

Chapter 29: Admission

“Princess, I implore you, Link just needs some time to himself. It won’t be an easy time for him, you know that,” Teacher said, following her through the castle hallways against the small stream of servants and guards – the day and night shifts changing over – who split around them as they walked.

“That’s perfectly fine, if he wants to turn me away then that’s Link’s choice, but I shan’t assume his wishes,” Zelda replied, glancing outside. Rain had begun to patter against the hall’s windows, catching the light from the setting sun and giving the world a dark sheen. Ideally she should change – the ornate black gown she’d worn for Niko’s funeral that morning, with all its frills, definitely wasn’t built for the wet – but that would take time, and the sun was already starting to set. She settled on asking a passing servant to fetch her a cloak.

“Princess,” Teacher said, still following behind her, in a stern yet calm tone.

That brought her to pause. It was rare for the calm man to get annoyed, but that tone was the first sign.

“Please don’t act rash,” Teacher continued, “you know what it’s like; remember how you were at her and his majesty’s funeral?”

Zelda’s arms tensed and she scrunched the hem of her dress in her fist. After her parents’ funeral she’d holed up in her room for nearly a week; she’d only eaten because she – at the behest of Teacher – had forced herself to, let alone wanted to talk to anyone.

She took a calming breath, “I had you, and Alfonzo, and I got to know Mila and Maggie not long after,” Zelda said, lifting her head high and looking Teacher in the eye, “but Alfonzo’s out on his trip, and I’m not sure if Link’s family even know – I refuse to just abandon him and you aren’t changing my mind.”

Teacher’s expression softened and he shook his head, “You’ve become bolder, Princess. Very well, seeing as your usual driver is unavailable, I’ll have a train arranged.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was a pleasant chill in Aboda’s air, the light rain pattering on her cloak’s hood as Zelda approached Link’s house. There wasn’t much light with the moon and stars tucked away behind the clouds, so the dim path was only lit by the faint light from Link’s house ahead and the brighter one from the train behind her. She’d asked Zeffa, the train’s engineer, only to stay until she went inside – there was no way Link’d send her home after that point – but the lady had refused, apparently perfectly happy to sleep in the carriages. Zelda could see the appeal – while it was typically a little rougher than her normal bed, in some ways she was more accustomed to spending the night on a train than in the castle now.

She had to knock twice to get an answer, but heard scrambling, muttering, and an oddly loud clang from the house, before the door was flung open.

Link’s head popped out from behind the door. He looked…exhausted; his hair was even messier than normal, his lack of cap only accentuating that, and he was practically fighting to keep his eyes open – though they were still bright with excitement.

“Zelda!” Link exclaimed, throwing the door open. He had changed from that morning’s funeral clothes, now in his engineer overalls, though they were splattered with splotches of what appeared to be various colours of chu chu jelly and…was it in his hair too?

“Come look, I’ve finally managed to get that model working!” He continued, beckoning her inside and kicking the door shut behind her.

Zelda had to stamp into the ground to stop herself stepping on the tools scattered around the floor. It wasn’t necessarily that the house was messy, there was an order to it after all; hammers all lined up in one section, spanners in another, he’d even arranged nuts and bolts by size. It was as if Link had set up a small workshop, expanding from the middle of the room.

Link deftly stepped around everything, before sitting in that very spot – the only clear area in the building. She slowly followed, taking care not to stand on anything.

“You’ve been…busy,” Zelda said as she reached him and looked over his shoulder, “have you been working on this all day?”

Link was focused on adjusting the model train that sat in his lap, using a tiny screwdriver to attach something to the inside. “Not all day, I changed clothes at…some point.” He hesitated as he said it, apparently at least realizing how that sounded. “But look what I’ve done!” He put the metal model in her hands and she noticed the side was open, revealing what looked like a row of tiny fans that he’d added to the engine.

“This is what you’ve been working on all month, isn’t it?”

Link nodded eagerly. “It’s a turbine,” he explained, pointing his screwdriver at various parts, “It replaces some of the pistons in normal trains with fans. If I’m right, it should use power from the tracks more efficiently on long journeys – basically, if it’s travelling quickly, it’ll use less power!”

That would be useful, it’d been the biggest concern when they were gathering supplies for winter after all. Zelda paused at that thought; Link was the one who brought up that problem in the first place, wasn’t he? So that was why he’d been working on it; he was already planning for next year?

“How’d you manage it in the end?” She asked, handing the model back to him.

“Oh it’s really interesting actually,” he jabbered, attaching a side panel to the train. “So originally the turbines were too efficient, they’d spin stupidly quick and break or fly out,” he placed the model onto a nearby loop of track, and it began whirring to life as it hurtled round the course, “so I added some green chu jelly to help it stick in, then that didn’t spin at all – which I think is because the jelly just absorbed the electricity – so I mixed it with the blue type to make this,” he held up a bottle, containing jelly that almost matched her pearls in colour and sparkled as light reflected off it, “that worked perfectl-”

As Link spoke, a soft hiss came from the train and the engine slowed as wisps of smoke snuck out from it. Anger flashed on Link’s face, before he harshly pinched his brow.

Zelda placed a hand on his shoulder, “you’re much closer now, you’ll definitely get it soon – I’m impressed you managed to make such a big improvement in just a day.”

“It’s just annoying; it only happens every four or five tries, so I have no idea what’s causing it,” Link growled, stretching his back and shoulders.

That was a good point actually, she knew from experience how uncomfortable working on the floor could be, why didn’t he set up elsewhere?

A weight pressed on her shoulders as her answer was given by several stacks of simple, yet stunningly decorated, sheets that covered the table in the room’s corner. The only somewhat clear spot taken up by an incomplete picture. Niko’s final piece.

Her skin ran cold as she realised how he’d made so much progress, why he’d been keeping himself distracted on his project all day, and she had to look away. When she did, she found herself staring at the kitchen counter. An oddly, completely clean counter.

“Have you eaten at all?” She asked absently.

“…Yes?”

She laughed gently, and began walking to the kitchen – dropping her cloak over the back of a dining chair, “and to think, you make such a commotion if I forget.”

Link toppled as she left, just catching himself before he met the floor. “Where’re you going?” he asked, almost sounding worried.

“I’m going to make some food,” she replied, rolling up the sleeves on her dress, “I assume you do actually have some in?”

“I just…didn’t know you could cook.”

She shrugged, “I’ve never tried it before, but I watched you prepare food all the time last summer – I’m sure I can figure it out,” she said, looking over her shoulder and into his eyes, “of course, if you’re worried, feel free to help.”

Link thought for a moment before shaking his head in defeat, and she smiled at her personal victory – though paused as she looked around the cluttered room.

“Can I actually move anything? We’ll struggle to eat if we can’t sit.”

Link glanced around, seeming to finally realise what he’d done to his house. “Good point. Tell you what, we’ll go upstairs – just remind me to grab some blankets.”

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“The royal chefs cook all my meals, how was I to know you aren’t supposed to put Chu Chu Jelly in – it’s named after food!” Zelda exclaimed, pulling her blanket tighter around her shoulders as the rain filled air swept around the former ship mast they were sat atop. She’d never been sure why, or even how, someone had attached an old ship mast to the house – but with the added canopy protecting them overhead and a couple of blankets, she had to admit it made an oddly cosy spot.

“That doesn’t mean you should just try it though! I’d at least hoped you’d figure something was wrong when it turned purple,” Link replied, before taking another mouthful of his Clam Chowder and pointing at her with his spoon, “I’m not stopping you next time.”

“Experimentation is the basis of innovation,” Zelda quoted back, “that was coined by you royal engineers – I believe.”

Link gave her a playful scowl, and started scraping the last of the food from his bowl. She set her own, now clear, bowl aside. Despite what she’d said, compared to what Link’d cooked up, it wouldn’t have been a surprise for even the castle pigs to reject her mixture. She’d also admit that seeing the much more natural smile he now wore had warmed her more than the actual meal ever could.

Zelda’s mind drifted as she watched the rain outside, listened to it patter against the roof, felt the delightful chill of crisp air run across her shoulders despite the blanket. It was a little odd, she’d gotten so used to the winter weather of Castle Town that she’d forgotten how pleasantly different it could be this far south. Occasionally the moon peeked out from behind a thinner cloud, illuminating the rain like a late night mist. She let her mind begin to wander, using vague thoughts as a guide. Niko had lived in the house for nearly a hundred years, how many times must he have seen that very view? On top of that, Niko had told her many stories of where he, where her Grandmother’s whole crew, had travelled; mountains coated in ethereal glows, pits as deep as the Tower of Spirits was high, islands with constant swirling snow storms. She had to wonder, had they found similar sights to this one elsewhere? Or was the rest of the world as varied and interesting as it had sounded?

“Thank you,” Link said, putting himself to the forefront of her thoughts. He too was facing out, though he didn’t seem to really be looking. “I…needed something like this.”

“I know.”

The rain’s drumming seemed to fade into the background, and there was a flash of lightning far off the coast.

One…two…three…four… Zelda counted, waiting for the accompanying thunder.

“We used to watch sea storms from here sometimes,” Link almost whispered, “Niko would always make this syrupy, cakey thing a few hours before – like he knew when one was coming.” He chuckled softly. “When I was little he claimed he used magic. I never believed him though.”

She found herself smiling, “I mean he’s been a sailor for years, decades even, he travelled to so many places that he probably experienced more bizarre weather than anyone else.”

“Exactly! I told him that, but he kept insisting!” Link exclaimed, “I don’t know why he wouldn’t just admit it.”

The thunder finally rumbled, almost softly, through the clouds. “Nearly a full minute,” Zelda noted – the storm was nowhere near them.

“You know, he always wanted to go on one last adventure, to travel the kingdom, fill up his stamp book and see everything he could,” Link said, “That’s why I wanted to build a train that could go anywhere, I wanted to take him one day.” He frowned. “But I don’t have that now, I’ve even finished his stamp book for him. In some ways I kind of…don’t really know what to do now.”

Zelda finally felt the night’s chill. “How are you, generally?”

“Honestly? I don’t really know; everything’s kind of…muddled in my head,” Link sighed.

“I remember, it hits you hard at first, like there’s this bizarre mix of not quite believing it, but not being able to deny it,” she looked to Link, “in the end I just ended up feeling…sad.”

Link spent a moment tapping his spoon on the cleared bowl. “That’s the thing, I’m not sad. I’m not happy; but every time I’m reminded of something, or someone tells me they know how I feel, and I think I’m going to be upset, I just…aren’t.”

That…didn’t make any sense to her, and her confusion must’ve shown on her face as he soon continued.

“I mean Niko was old Zelda, really old. Honestly, I kind of thought something would happen soon. He’d barely been able to walk for a while now, especially without his cane, but until just a couple of years ago he still travelled a lot. You know he was supposed to give you your birthday present himself? I didn’t realise when he asked me to instead, but I bet he knew he wouldn’t be up for going.” He drummed his fingers against the wooden floor. “So anyway, I started thinking; he lived through the country’s entire history, and adventured to more places than even we did. I mean just look at his funeral, I didn’t even know we both knew most of those people. Pina was telling me about how he taught her when she was our age, apparently he baby sat Teacher when he was a kid, I mean he was even close with your grandparents. Honestly, he had so many stories I don’t think even I heard them all.” He took a deep, shaky, breath. “So I think about all that, and then remember what we did together, how I know he loved every bit of his life, and I just can’t be…sad.”

She shifted closer to him, till her shoulder pressed lightly against his own, “But something has upset you.”

“I don’t feel…upset. Maybe frustrated? Annoyed?”

“Confused?”

“…Yeah,” he started picking at the floor. “But I should be sad, everyone else is – you are!” he exclaimed, and Zelda recoiled in surprise.

“I’ve-I’ve known him half my life, he knew me even longer!” Link began to shake as he spoke. “He looked after me, and taught me, and even when I tried to build projects out of his stuff he never really complained – and now that I’ll never see him again I can’t even care enough to be sad!” Streams of tears started to flow down his face, and he snivelled, before speaking so quietly she barely heard it above the rain. “Is-is that al-all he meant to me? Did-did I not love him as much as everyone else?”

‘That’s ridiculous - how could you even think that? Just look at how you are now!’ Zelda’s instincts screamed for her to say. She didn’t though. Instead she just placed a hand on his, and ran her thumb over the back of his palm.

Link looked up at her, eyes red, letting out a small ‘hic’ alongside a sad smile. He looked so tired. How long had that been on his mind? It…it seemed to be a bit longer than just the past couple of days. She didn’t even last a second before needing to pull him into a hug. “You know Niko wouldn’t think that for a moment, don’t you?”

“Maybe…”

She released their hug, holding him by either shoulder so he had to look into her eyes, “he never did Link, I know for a fact.”

He fixed his gaze on hers for a moment, and she could almost see the thoughts mixing in his head. “Then why do I feel like this?”

“I think only you could know that…but, everyone’s different Link. Just because I, or anyone else, doesn’t react like you, it doesn’t mean you cared any less.” She took his hand in hers. “If anything you’re not letting one sad time get in the way of happy memories.” She gave his hand a soft squeeze. “I respect that, it isn’t easy.”

Another rumble finally echoed around the bay, causing them both to look out at the ocean. A few more bolts danced across the sky, lighting up clouds that churned like the waves beneath them. Zelda glanced to Link, who was lost in thought as he watched the sky, and pulled him back into a one armed hug. He dropped his head onto her shoulder and she soon found herself absently stroking his hair, just letting time trundle away as they watched the show.

“How are you holding up?” Link eventually asked.

“I’m…fine,” she said, “I barely knew him really.”

“But you could have. He was the last founder, your last link to your grandparents,” Link said, looking up at her. “He liked you, you know?”

He was daft, worrying about her even now. Didn’t he see he should focus on how he was feeling? “Thank you Link, I…it’s nice to know.”

Link didn’t look convinced, but never the less dropped his head back on her shoulder.

He seemed so…lost that evening. When she’d first arrived she thought he’d just been hyper-focused on working on his models, except…he’d been more frustrated than normal. Now she considered it, perhaps it’d be more accurate to say he’d fallen into his usual routine out of habit, but without his usual drive. It made sense in some ways; if Niko had given Link his goal, then he may very well feel lost now, and that was an all too familiar feeling. He needed to clear his head, she knew from experience, to do something different. A blossoming plan grew in her head.

“If you’re not busy next week, would you mind coming to do something at the castle?

“I…maybe. What is it?” He asked, voice muffled as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

She had to stifle a laugh, seemed he’d finally relaxed a little, “It’s a surprise - don’t worry, I promise it’ll be…different.”

“Ok, but in that case would you mind,” he fought back against a yawn, “would you stay here tonight?”

“Of course,” she smiled as another rumble gently echoed in the distance, “if it’ll make you happy.”

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Thank you all for reading! And the Kudos and comments too! It's great to see what you think!

This chapter...well it's one I thought of a long time ago - partially because I think it's an interesting thing for Link in particular to deal with, he's someone who always finds a solution to whatever problem he has, so how would he deal with something that can't just be solved?

That being said (though it feels odd saying so) this was also partially inspired by my reaction to my own Grandfather's funeral. At the time I had an assignment due that week, so I spent the whole night working on it without realising which...wasn't the best, but was something I thought fit Link well!

#spirit tracks #the legend of zelda #legend of zelda spirit tracks #Toon Link #toon zelda #toon zelda x toon link #toon zelink #zelink #angst #Zelda Fanfiction

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