#unless groose is in it

[bleaksqueak]

Groose is the best Zelda character, no one can change my mind.

[the-phantom-peach]

i know u like skyward sword, so what’s your opinion on the most CONTROVERSIAL part of it: link being slightly taller than zelda

irrelevant because they are both about the height of one (1) crayon

[illegiblehandwriting1]

frankly i think the best way to differentiate fanon sky and canon sky is to take a look at groose's redemption arc. both forgive him for the bullying but fanon sky says "he didn't mean it!" Canon sky says "i deserved it"

(for reference, canon sky is sky as shown in the game/inferred directly from sksw)

[yanderelinkeduniverse]

Yandere Sky Headcanons

Sky is, without a doubt, a hopeless romantic when he’s in love. We’ve seen him swoon and sigh dreamily when thinking about his loved one, he’s THAT kind of lover boy. Naturally, when adding a layer of insanity tinged love sickness to that adoration, he’s prone to becoming very affectionate.

Unless you are as dense as a rock, it will be no secret that the Hero of the Skies is head over heels in love with you. He basically has heart shaped pupils whenever he looks at you, cartoon heart bubbles magically appear around his head when in your vicinity and his face turns so red you’d think he had a high fever.

Sky is a devout yandere, obsessive in every way, shape and form, and protective to a fault. Even when not around you, you occupy his thoughts and daydreams to the point where it seems like he’s never not thinking about you.

He’s got a masters degree in yearning from Pining University.

And while he hasn’t lost that many people like some of the other mentally unstable chosen ones in the Chain(namely Wild and Legend), the fear of losing them is very real to him. He’s known the blood chilling terror of being a few steps too slow and a few minutes too late with the only thought in his head being “what did I do wrong?”

Following the conclusion of his first and only journey, Sky has come to accept that he made his mistakes and that he must move on in order to grow, but that doesn’t stop him from taking those lessons to heart when falling in love with you.

We’ve seen multiple times throughout the various installments that one of Sky’s favorite hobbies is playing his lyre. It’s a simple pleasure he indulges in whenever they have a moment of peace and the sound never fails to remind him of his home. But he’s found another reason to love it and that is the attention you end up giving him whenever he plays a song.

He isn’t the best musician in the group, but there’s no denying that the simple melodies he strings together are pleasing to the ears, so it’s no wonder you’d take the time to sit down, listen, and compliment him.

Sky doesn’t see it like that, though.

In his deluded, love hazy mind, all that registers is that you’re there giving him your attention and your praise; two things worth more than gold in his eyes. He’s like a drug addict who just got hit with another dosage. If he had a tail he’d be wagging it so hard it would thump against the log he’s sitting on, so he better consider himself lucky that Twilight is the dog of the group.

Though, if would please you, he’d willingly let you collar and leash him. Tell him to sit and roll over, he’ll do it on command without any shame whatsoever. He’ll even walk around on all fours if you want!-

Anyways-

THIS! 👏 MF! 👏 STEALS! 👏 FROM! 👏 YOU! 👏

I mean, technically it isn’t for long, he won’t permanently take something that belongs to you without ever giving it back(in secret so you never find out it was him), but he WILL swipe something of yours from time to time. Most commonly he’ll take a tunic or shirt from you, something you won’t immediately notice is gone.

When he has a moment of privacy, he’ll take out his little treasure and press it against his face, taking in a deeeeeep breath, and sighing lovingly. He’s got it bad for you and he knows it. If he could he’d use your tunic as a pillowcase whenever he went to sleep, but there’s no way he wouldn’t get caught.

Despite all this sugary sweetness, Sky isn’t solely a soft and gentle boy. If he is provoked, or if you’re being bothered, Sky doesn’t hesitate to step up and glare down the nuisance, all the while keeping a calm smile stretched across his face. This is where his surprisingly deep voice comes in handy, people aren’t expecting a voice like his to come from such a soft face.

Out of all the members of the Chain, I actually think that Sky would be one of the most patient when it comes to people trying to mess with them or you respectively; he’s dealt with Groose’s bullying for a few years, I think he’s a natural at letting nasty comment slide right off him like water off a duck’s back.

However, even then his patience is dangerously thin regarding people. If provoked he won’t hesitate to begin plotting the fool’s demise, whether it be a swift cut to the jugular or a slow, agonizing demise is up to the person in question.

And finally, just a hint, do not try to run from him, it won’t work.

If Fi’s ability to dowse objects and seek them out is based on Sky’s own desire to find them, then if you were to try and run away, he’d be able to track you right down to the exact spot you’re standing in. Because there is nothing and no one alive that Sky wants and needs more than you.

Hide in the woods, in a cave, in a dungeon, in a mountain, it doesn’t matter. He will hunt you down, find you, and drag you back home in his loving, suffocating embrace.

[weirdnotal]

My Accent headcannons for the lu chain (and etc):

Time: was taught hylian by trees???? Almost has no tone/infliction in voice (he's working on it)

Malon: Tennessee accent all the way, with that nice hook at the end too (non southerners imagine dolly parton)

Lullaby: very formal proper hylian, dignitary style

Warriors: British military like he's reading from a manual

Sheik: I don't know much about her but the sheikah definitely take inspiration from Japan

Twilight: Appalachian accent as thick as raw honey (non appalachians have yall ever heard of one looking it up)

Midna: try 'n' convince me she don't have a loud ass Louisiana accent (non southerners go watch princess and the frog) (this is totally not for my Midna is African American agenda)

Dusk: real formal like n all that

Sky: That's a Midwesterner (he genuinely tried to get Wild and Rulie to eat jello salad once)

Sun: completely Midwestern

Groose: spends a lot of time around the other two^ but his parents are Gerudo (Arabic/middle eastern)

Four: the minish have always reminded me of the Icelandic tales of little elves

Dot: same formal accent, maybe more like Four's

Age/Cal(calamity): very formal british accent almost royal but also uses some Korean (Zora) words

Mipha: Korean accent (thicker than Sidon's)

Fauna: royal and tight lipped british

Wild: used to be more British (kinghts!), but now is more southern cause twilight has corrupted him

Flora: much more informal than the other zeldas

Legend: Scottish accent, but he usually hides it really well, so you can't really tell at all unless he's mad or tired

Fable: Scottish asf (non Scottish people imagine Merida)

Ravio: fairly normal, but if provoked, he will speak like an Italian mobster wife until he gets his way

Hyrule: Rulie is Irish or Welsh all the way (especially with half fae/fey Hyrule)

Dawn: pretty similar to Hyrule

Aurora: transatlantic accent!!!!!

Spirit: he's always reminded me of Hugo Cabret, so cockney british accent it is (this grates on War's patience)

Phantom: can be formal if she has to but usually just sticks with cockney as well

Wind: Okay look, I love scottish pirate Wind, but I raise you patois or creole pirate Wind

Tetra: Wind's accent but double the amount and also the volume she says it at

[psykheofthestars]

Okay so we obviously saw in the LU update that if Dink harms one of his successors again then he's gonna end up facing Sky's Wrath TM but imagine what would happen if Dink even tries harms the Zeldas

I say this because not only would you end up with a wrathful Sky but also 8 other wrathful Links because you touched a singular hair on their at the very least friend! Not a fun experience as we can already see from the currently boiling anger in the actual comic right now

And using my Council-Chain au, it would also work the other way around; You would end up with not only Sun's Fury TM but also 9 other furious Zeldas

Like, I use Artemis and Warriors for an example like this A LOT but it's a justified example considering the fact that the second Ganondorf started pursuing Warriors in that one battle, she immediately spawned the Bow of Light and began fighting him AND THEN, ONCE SHE FELL WARRIORS CAME BACK IN AND BEGAN FIGHTING WHILE SHE RECOVERED AND IT BASICALLY BECOMES AN ETERNAL CYCLE WHERE YOU LITERALLY CAN'T TAKE EITHER DOWN UNLESS YOU DEFEAT THEM TOGETHER

And Sky and Sun? Do I really have to explain this?? The second that Groose even LOOKS at Sky funny in SS, Sun immediately pushes our favourite boy out of the way and yells at Groose to in short, "leave him the fuck alone and suck it before I beat your ass" AND THE SKY IS SOMETHING THAT I DON'T EVEN HAVE TO EXPLAIN! MY BOY BEAT A WHOLE DEMON LORD AND GOD FOR SUN! THESE TWO ARE THE BEST EXAMPLE TO GO FOR!

[st0rmyskies]

Sky!!! 2 and 20 :D

Hello Ace! I imagine you mean HSH Sky.

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

That Sky can kick ass. He is the epitome of "walk softly but carry a big motherfucking stick." His hobby is napping and he loves his girlfriend and his callsign is Godkiller. We'll eventually find out that he's one of the few to best Champion in hand-to-hand combat during training, at least during one memorable occasion, and yet he's also the friend that if you sit too close to him on the couch you're probably going to get assimilated beneath that blanket for snuggles. Really, though, who wouldn't want to play with that floofy hair while he's snoring?

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

I am a sucker for Sky and Warriors mainly because they're big foils for one another. Where Warriors is obnoxious and extroverted and likes to push others' buttons, Sky is soft and sweet, he'll go for coffee with a friend to cheer them up, and he knows exactly how to push others' buttons but he really wouldn't.

Unless you're Groose.

I think the other best friend in the house would be Hyrule, specifically because that boy needs to learn some self-care in the form of rest, damn you. Sky would be an ideal day-off buddy for Hyrule in that he would make sure Rulie gets in some quality z's.

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Rating How understanding I am if you dont ship Zelink on a per game basis

The Legend of Zelda: There really isnt any shipping options here, aside from Zelda. so 5/10

Link's Adventure: 6/10 The health shop girl be wild lol

Link to the past: 4/10 Link and Zelda are kind of adorable but I get it

Link's Awakening: 8/10 Zelda really isnt in this game and Marin and Link got a good thing going. Too bad its a dream

Ocarina of Time: 6/10 There are a lot of options for Link in this game, and while I still stand that Zelda is best girl here, I do understand the appeal of the others

Majora's mask: 9/10 You got 3 days and Zelda isnt even here, so I get it.

Oracle of Seasons/Ages: 8/10 Zelda isnt really in this one and there are other mortal goddesses to woo

Four Swords/Adventures: 5/10 There arent really that many options unless you read the manga

Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass: 4/10 Tetra is best girl and she is Zelda. Yea there are options but Tetra is easy choice

Minish Cap: 7/10 Not really an options thing but just the way the game is.

Twilight Princess: 10/10 Midna was best girl in that game so I totally get why people didnt ship this iteration of Link with TP Zelda.

Spirit Tracks: 1/10. Anyone that DOESNT ship ST Zelink is not someone I could trust. Its not that I think you are a bad person, I just dont know if you have a soul. I will pray for you.

Skyward Sword: 2/10 So this is my favorite Zelink, but at least there is an option or two. Unless you ship Link with Groose, I refuse to accept the other answers to why you dont ship the most PERSONAL ZELINK

Link between worlds: 7/10. Lowrule zelda is cool, and also you got Lowrule Link. So there are some combos here that are interesting

Triforce heroes: Havent played it so I dont even bother.

Breath of the wild/Tears of the Kingdom: 7/10. While I am all for the Zelink. There are a LOT of options for Link and Zelda. Mipha is a precious bean and I wish she was still alive. That being said, I still love the Zelink

[sleepy-the-loz-enthusiast]

So out of nothing but vague inspiration, I drew my personal headcanon designs for various Links. This is inspired by Linked Universe, but these are not the same characters and while I deeply admire Jojo's work, this is not the same thing. It's not even an au, just how I headcanon them-

So far it's only sksw and botw Link, but I might post more. Maybe?

Anyways, stuff under the cut (in case people aren't interested)

My personal design for Skyward Sword Link:

For the most obvious changes, I made him chubby and also dark skinned because my dude lives on an island in the sky. Above a cloud barrier. So he'd be getting a lot of unfiltered sunlight, and pale skin would likely result in cancer, so he's got dark skin. He's chubby because Skyloft is probably extremely cold and it'd be a biological advantage to have a thick layer of fat as insulation to protect from the cold. Plus, I like the idea of him getting some well deserved rest after thd stress of his adventure and gaining some fat.

In terms of personality, I imagine him as both an absolute sweetheart and a complete gremlin when he has energy. He's helpful and a kind soul, but it doesn't take away from the fact that he partakes in (mostly) harmless mischief. But, a lot of the time he's exhausted.

Constantly overexerting himself on his journey has permanently damaged his stamina levels. It's also given him joint pain, a fear of lightening, and nerve damage in his right arm and upper back. On bad days, he can barely get out of bed without nearly passing out and he can't move from the pain in his joints. But regardless, he is helpful when he can be, and is stubborn about sitting still and resting unless it's really bad.

For relationships, I'm definitely thinking he's in a relationship with his Zelda. But also, Groose? Idk, these are just random thoughts lmao

My design for botw/totk Link:

I made his scarring a lot worse and got rid of his arm because I think it'd make a lot more sense. I was talking about this with my sibling and they pointed out that they wished Link would keep Rauru's arm, so I'm gonna say that's what happened, but it was strong enough to carry Zelda out of the pond in totk's ending, but deteriorated over a period of time and eventually disappeared. He also lost half his face from guardians when the Calamity struck, and while the shrine of resurrection healed the flesh, it could not replace what was lost. For all of botw, he had one functional eye and ear, but post botw Zelda and Purah made a glass eye to fill the socket and something or other he can see out of it, though it's poor. He's still deaf on that side though. Also, for the most part his ribs are protected only by thick scar tissue and a bit of muscle, so he's haf a fair share of broken ribs and occasional breathing difficulties. He has very little sensation on his scarring, which has lead him to sustain a lot of injuries but be blissfully unaware until he's like "why am I dizzy...? Oh, I'm bleeding-"

On the braid going over his tunic, he has four beads to represent the four champions in their colours. I see him as a sentimental person and kind of a hoarder. Like, he gets all of the Champions' weapons and keeps them in his Hateno house, he stores an ungodly amount of food and materials in his slate, and he collects outfits.

He gives off the vibes of someone who doesn't really understand the concept of gender and love because through his journey, people only really wanted him to save Hyrule and he was useful to them. Even when his friends explained everything, he just can't be bothered, so he's aroace and his gender is *shrugs*. He's chill with being seen as a guy, even if he doesn't feel like anything in particular. Also, he's extremely good friends with all of the sages, Zelda, Purah, and Robbie. He's happy with his life, even if it hasn't been kind to him.

His hair is extremely long and he likes dressing up in his free time because it's his way of self expression and having control over his life. He can't control or change the fact that he has scars, or that he's the hero of Hyrule, or that he'll never be able to experience life like his friends. But he can control if he wants to cut his hair short or keep it long, how he styles it, and the way he dresses. Idk, just for funsies

[faroreswinds]

Anon asks about Totk-spoilers below

I think the implication is Zelda moved in with Link at his house in Hateno. It would be weird for the princess to have a normal house in a rural community so far away from Hyrule Castle, unless you take into account that the castle is probably still in a mostly uninhabitable state from the Calamity, so she'd have to live somewhere else during the restoration period. The Hateno house was probably Link's childhood home from before he became a knight at the castle 100+ years ago.

I do believe that is meant to be the implication, but it’s really weirdly written. No one in town actually knows Link, not even the mayor. Except the Sheikah teacher, I guess. But everyone else? Nah, Link is a stranger. 

And it’s not like Zelda has a lot of places to choose from to live in. Maybe Kakariko, I guess, maybe Lurelin. But Hateno seems like the most obvious choice. (They also clearly just recycled Link’s house for Zelda, development-wise). 

As for the childhood home, that I DID know. Although it matters so little, since Link never reacts to his old home in any meaningful way. 

Do you think botw/totk rebooted the series/started a new timeline? Considering Rauru and Sonia are stated to be the founders of Hyrule, and there are no zonai in SS.

It is a very real probability. Hard to say though. I am currently undecided where past-totk should fall. New continuity? New timeline? Far in the future?

I am kinda leaning towards a new timeline, split from SS. It kinda explains a lot of lore inconsistencies away if you do! I’m going to borrow someone else’s explanation a bit to show how it works. 

From a reddit user, they wrote:

When someone travels backwards through time, to avoid the grandfather paradox, the timeline splits when the past is significantly changed. When someone travels to the future, they stay in the same timeline. We see this in OoT - what causes the timeline split specifically is Zelda sending Link to the past.

So in SS, I think the timeline split would occur thanks to Ghirahim. Ghirahim stealing Zelda and going backwards through the Gate of Time - and forcing Link to defeat Demise centuries before the Triforce destroyed the Imprisoned. That's when the split happens. When Link and Zelda go through the future, I think they stay in the new altered future they have created. That is why in Skyward Sword, when Link leaves the Master Sword in the past, it is still there in the future.

So in my mind there are two timelines:

Imprisoned Timeline: The timeline where Demise, as the Imprisoned, is destroyed by Link's wish upon the Triforce. Link, Zelda, and Groose end up abandoning this timeline due to Ghirahim's actions. The Master Sword has also left this timeline.

Demise Timeline: The timeline where Ghirahim steals Zelda and Demise is killed by Link, and does his curse. The Master Sword with Fi is left in this timeline, and this is the timeline where Link and Zelda return to.

Impa is present in both timelines to dramatically shape history's events.

About the Master Sword - it is a puzzle, because it ultimately exists in both timelines. In this scenario, it vanishes in the Imprisoned Timeline. Now consider:

The one hard line between Breath of the Wild and Skyward Sword: Fi is in the Master Sword in Breath of the Wild.

How the Master Sword was created in Skyward Sword conflicted with what we were told in Twilight Princess. TP's Princess Zelda describes the Master Sword as: “The blade of evil's bane that was crafted by the wisdom of the ancient sages... the Master Sword”

So perhaps in the Imprisoned Timeline, the Master Sword was recreated - after all the ingredients are still there, but this time by the ancient sages.

So in summation:

Imprisoned Timeline: Part of Skyward Sword + the entire rest of the Zelda timeline. Hylia's mortal reincartion does not exist in the timeline, but Impa ensures that the legacy of Link and Zelda are important in the eventual founding of Hyrule. Hyrule ends up primarily worshipping the Golden Goddesses. The Triforce was the people's salvation. The Master Sword is created by the ancient sages, and is called the Blade of Evil's Bane. Ganondorf is a just a guy driven by a lust for power.

Demise Timeline: The end of Skyward Sword + massive time gap + Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kindgom. Hylia's mortal reincarnation lives in this timeline, so Hyrule primarily worships Hylia. The Triforce was hidden away, as Zelda/Hylia believed it had served its purpose. The Master Sword was created how we saw it, contains Fi's Spirit, was hidden away, and is called the Sword that Seals the Darkness because it literally sealed Demise. Demise's curse allows for the Demon King to exist. The massive gap between games in this timeline allows for history to occur, and due machinations of fate present in a fantasy universe, similar events occur as in the Imprisoned Timeline. This is why there are things in BotW/TotK that seem like loose, but not concrete, references to past games

It is definitely not a perfect theory, especially since Skyward Sword at the time of release seemed to portray a time loop. We'll need an explanation of how the Isle of the Goddess rejoined on the surface in the Demise Timeline, for example

It really solves a lot. It retains a lot of old lore, like the creation of the Master Sword, why Hylia is still worshipped, and doesn’t interfere with the old timeline in weird ways. It just... makes sense. 

Again, it is not perfect, we do have some minor issues here and there, but man, I can really see it. 

TotK Spoilers

I think you summed up pretty well why I can’t into BotW and TotK ZeLink. I’m usually all for sworn knight and their retainer getting together but it only really works well when that knight is shown as having importance outside of their retainer and Link just doesn’t really have that and it’s incredibly weird especially since unlike in BotW where they were dead, people who should know Link here don’t and he feels like a footnote. It’s still cute and all but he feels like his only purpose is to be the dashing savior to Zelda instead of having his own community that he can have outside of Zelda as well. You could argue you’re building that up in the game but then it makes his utter lack of input and emotion regarding Zelda (especially those times when the Yiga disguise themselves as her, you would think he’d show some kind of anger at them using that appearance against him) that much worse. TotK just feels like you either choose to enjoy the community that you build up over the game or you are endlessly pining after Zelda. Her jesus status really doesn’t help but she really feels like…too perfect in this game. Like they over corrected for her flaws in BotW when those were the best parts of her and what made the moment when she unlocked her powers alongside Link actually impactful. So many of the Memories felt wasted and could have been used to establish Rauru and the past characters better but instead they feel lie they’re just there to make sure you know Zelda is super special and way way more important than just some average princess even back in the old days when people were much more powerful. It’s just sad. BotW set up a really interesting Hyrule for the two of them to rebuild but Zelda basically achieving godhood and not even having to suffer the draw backs of said decision, past Hyrule being so underwhelming along with its characters, and the really jarring lack of mentioning much of the past outside of really slight homages just makes it feel, from a story perspective, really really underwhelming. The gameplay is fun and so are some of the quests but the experience is so much better enjoyed if you just view it as Link going around Hyrule helping people out instead of a grand epic to save the princess.

I’m so glad you brought up the fact that this Zelda is basically perfect, because she is.

I never really liked this Zelda to begin with, but at least in BotW she had clear limitations to her abilities as a person and as a princess.

Here? Well, let’s just list out some of her stated accomplishments:

She is a fabulous painter (painted the Lover's Pond for Lurelin Village)

She is a good cook (taught multiple recipes to different people across Hyrule)

She is incredibly humble (as described by Sidon's stone monument of their meeting)

She is a teacher to children, and started a school

She is still a scientist of technology and other fields of science

She is now also a historian with a deep interest in Zonai architecture and history

She discovered a new species and set up a conservation

She rescued a very rare horse and adopted it

She has Light Powers, Time Powers, Hylia's Powers, AND possibly possesses the full Triforce

Her powers are more powerful than Sonia

If you consider AoC canon, she created a literal sentient robot

On top of that, she is constantly praised and worshipped by nearly every npc. Even the past characters instantly love her and adopt her. 

I believe they did this due to the nature of the story structure. They needed a way to make her likable to the player, while also having her absent. So... they made her basically perfect and the one behind a lot of things in Hyrule. Nearly everything new is attributed to her. 

Now yes, she is royalty and some of these are her duties. But come on, someone else could have painted the Lover’s Pond. Someone else could have discovered the new species. She didn’t have to discover the rare horse. 

But that’s what they wrote and it really kinda took me out of it. 

Game is still pretty fun though, probably one of the best Zelda games ever made. I just don’t really enjoy this Link and Zelda, for their lack of flaws and lack of character or place in the world. 

[dragkbluire]

It is I, the Wizard!

heres a though, Legend of Zelda, but Jojos style.

Heres the question. Who's the jojo and jobro?

The Jojo and the Jobro ...

Hhhmmmmm

Well, first of all, Ganondorf is the perfect DIO. He's always the origin of the problems, so DIO and Ganondorf can be friends even xd

Now I picture them drinking a cup of tea while ploting how to end a bloodline full of heroes with strong will ...

XD

And ok thinking about your question.

The Jojo will always be a Link

Same (nick) name, same fate, same heart. The Links and the Jojos are very alike.

At first, I thought about saying that the Jobros would be their companion in each game, but I like more the idea of Hylia being their main Jobro.

Hylia can be Jonathan now that I think about it...

Nah, Hylia is Erina. Maybe Jonathan died to save her, but she's the one who saved the Joestar bloodline. Jonathan is the heart, but Erina is the soul, and together, they create the essence of the Joestars.

So yeah.

First and Jonathan are the start of their stories, while Hylia and Erina are the ones who saved their strong will.

If I had to pair a Jojo with a Link (hey, there are 9 of both groups!!!) I will pair them like this.

I won't be considering First to have 9 Links (unless I consider Jorge Joestar, so we would have 10 Joestars (but I haven't read the novel yet * cries *))

Jonathan and Sky. Both are the start, both have a heart of gold, and both are calm and gentle, yet they can kill with their strength (being one of the strongest in their bloodline).

Speedwagon and Groose. Both tried to hurt the protagonist but ended up being their most faithful friend. (Go send them to spend time together, they will get along I know).

Joseph gives me so much Warriors energy. So handsome, mischievous, and with girls behind them. I also headcanon Wars as some kind of Batman (having a plan for everything), so they surely will predict their enemie's actions. Joseph taught Wars the "Your next line will be ...". (I don't have evidence, but I don't have doubts, neither)

Lisa Lisa and Impa. Just that xd

I haven't played Hyreule Warriors, and I have tried to dodge spoilers as much as I can, so I don't know who would be Caesar. (Sorry)

Jotaro and Time. Both grumpy old men who come back after years to teach their descendant. Also, they are tough on the outside and soft on the inside (c'mon, Jotaro didn't have his morning kiss ONE day, and he searched his mother).

Kakyoin and Navi. The know-all that and best friend that dies at the end of the adventure. (well, that's what I headcanon for Navi. Navi, just like any fairy, disappears after completing her task, and her task was guiding Link).

Polnareff and Taya (the fairy in MM. I know she has another name in the English sub, but I can't remember the name. In Spanish, she's Taya, so I will call her like that). Both searched for someone who hurt their sibling, and they went on different paths after the adventure.

Polnareff debió casarse con Malèna y no tomaré un no como respuesta. No está a discusión.

Josuke and Wind. They both feel so adventurous and optimistic, but they can deal so much damage. Also they are very cool. Wind will destroy everything while Josuke fixes (I can see it).

Okuyasu and Linebeck. Both are helpful but silly xd.

Yo Angelo.

Giorno and Twilight. They will spend 19287372782 hours talking about animals and plants. Also serious on the outside, but lovely on the inside. They both are cute. (They smoll).

Mista and Midna. Even their names are alike xD. They help the protagonist, but they are mischievous. And they have more attention on the story than the protagonist xd.

Jolyne and Hyrule. Their worlds are ending, and they go like "MAXIMUM POWER!!!!". Also, I really find even poetic how they fight for a lost world and try everything. They see the beauty in something so tragic. What a wonderful world.

Rulie traveled alone, so I will say that the fairies and F.F. Because they heal the protagonist and because there are a lot of them xdxdxdxd.

Johnny and Legend. Bros can't have a rest. That's all I'm gonna say. I haven't finished Steel Ball Run yet (I just finished the Cath the Rainbow arc), but Johnny is so done with everything, and I know Legend feels the same.

Gyro and ... damn, Legend has so many adventures. I can't decide who I would pair with Gyro. It doesn't help I'm in the middle of Oracle of Seasons and A Link Between Worlds.

Gappy and Four. "WHO AM I?". Yeah, they have an identity crisis all the time. "I am made of two persons." "Well, I am made of FOUR." (5 if you consider Shadow).

Haven't read Jojolium, so besides Joshu and Yasuho, I don't know other Jobro. I haven't played Minish Cap or Four Swords, either. :^

Jodio and Wild. Little gremlins who have mental disorders and surely will burn everything because yes.

But Wild traveled alone (I don't have amiibo, sorry). And I don't feel like Zelda and Dragona would be alike. But I think I will leave it like that, both help the protagonist and have esteem for them.

Waos, that was a complete adventure. It was so funny to pair them like this. So so funny, really.

Thank you so much for this funny idea!!!

I had to use my brain on all power, trying to remember everything I knew about my two hiperfixiations.

Thank you!!! :DDDDD

[brendathedoodler]

What's the leadership like in the AS!Chain? Is it still Lily, Barren, and Soul? Is it adventure-coded with Bard, Cloud, and Cryptid? Secret third option??

Great question! The main leadership group is still Lily, Barren, and Soul, though Addie is also considered part of the leadership team with his adventuring expertise. Occasionally Cloud will chip in, but that’s mostly by calling out commands or warnings in battle, otherwise he tends to stay out of leading.

This did get me thinking though, so here’s how everyone would go about leading

(And a small reminder for anyone who wants an easy reference for the au nicknames: Sky is Cloud, Four is Champ, Time is Lily, Legend is Cryptid, Hyrule is Bard, Twilight is Soul, Wind is Addie, Warriors is Barren, and Wild is Loft)

Cloud can say with certainty that he didn’t enjoy his position as commander of the army. It felt more like a necessity than anything else: something he needed to step up and do because he was the chosen one and nobody else could. Learning that Cia’s main motivation was him above all else cemented that idea in his head. He hasn’t had much time to rest since the war, and he’s almost eager to let the others take the leader role. He’s tired of strategizing and was never very good at it anyway (Groose was always the brains of the operation). If he does take charge, it’ll usually be in the midst of battle. That’s where he feels the sharpest, and he often calls out things in his “commander voice” as the others call it. Despite not wanting a leadership role, Cloud’s the one who insists everyone do practice drills and has really helped them all learn to fight alongside one another (something that only he and Addie have proper experience with).

Champ doesn’t want to be on the leadership squad. He knows full well how much energy it takes to keep the colors in line enough to be a competent person, he’ll pass on leading everyone else. If it comes down to it, Champ is pretty good at leading. That is, so long as there’s someone with him to help make decisions. See, he’s good at the compromising part, but just because he can help the others compromise with one another doesn’t mean that he can compromise with the colors. He’d prefer to get his own head in order first before he tries leading everyone else. He’s an excellent potion brewer, though, and is always prepared to distribute elixirs and headpieces of his armor if it might give his companions a boost in whatever they’re doing.

Lily never intended to be a leader figure. He’s the youngest of many siblings, and he’s a subordinate on Captain Sheik’s ship (and he doesn’t want to undermine their authority unless he has to). He was genuinely startled to find everyone else looking to him for leadership. Was it because he’s the oldest? He’s guessing that’s why. He accepted the role given to him even if it was unexpected, because it wasn’t unwanted. The others generally listen to him, after all, and them seeing him as the stoic leader type makes it so much funnier to see them react when Lily acts like the gremlin he is.

Cryptid could lead, but quite frankly he won’t. At first he didn’t want to be a leader because that would put him in charge of them, and in the early days he had absolutely no intention of getting attached. See, his trauma around portals lead him to believe that he’d once again lost everything, and he kinda blamed the others for it even if they were victims as much as he was. As it became more obvious that the portals were taking them through time and would eventually return them to their own eras, he loosened up a bit, but also feared getting too close. They’ll be taken from him soon, he knows it. Eventually he decides he’ll enjoy having them while they’re here and grieve them when they’re gone, but in the time it took for him to reach that point, the leadership squad had already been established and Cryptid was perfectly content with it.

Bard doesn’t like the idea of leading. He’s got all sorts of magical songs to suggest when the others make plans (to the point that it’s a running joke that he has a song for any occasion), but beyond having them help with that, he doesn’t want to be leader. He doesn’t consider himself a hero like the rest, but not in a self deprecating way. He simply sees himself as a person doing the right thing. Bard firmly believes that any good person in his position would have at least tried to do what he’s done. Sure, he’s proud of his accomplishments and knows not just anybody could succeed, but he doesn’t think just doing the right thing makes him a hero. In a team full of heroes, he doesn’t think a simple adventurer would have much to contribute to the leadership squad. Besides, they seem to have it handled! Admittedly, Bard’s extended isolation throughout his adventures makes it hard for him to plan for a group, though he’s getting much better at it. He’ll leave the leadership to the others (and he has immense faith in Lily and really looks up to him!)

Soul is part of the leadership squad and is proud of his role in it. Where Lily is the voice of the group (so to speak), and the one the others typically look to, Soul takes on a slightly more passive role in leadership. He’s the one constantly doing a head count, making sure nobody’s wandered off, checking to be sure nobody’s hiding any injuries, and calling for snack breaks whenever he notices someone falling behind. The group’s welfare is his main priority. Midna is a second set of eyes and is always quick to update him if she notices anything he might’ve missed. He’s also usually the one who herds the wanderers back to the group, assuming Barren hadn’t gone with them (he’ll make sure they don’t get too lost).

Addie’s experience with both adventuring and fighting alongside others makes him a prime candidate for leader. He is kinda impulsive, though, and having the others also in a leadership position helps keep him from getting off task. He may be the youngest, but he’s been adventuring his whole life! Being so young meant he’s had many companions travel and fight by his side throughout all of them. Cooperating with and fighting alongside others is pretty natural for him. He’s also familiar with a lot of things, and knows how to handle being thrown into new situations when he isn’t. (Having the others respect him enough to consider him a leader is also really nice, even if he’s long since stopped caring about how people disregard him due to his age)

Barren is a strategist and a survivalist first and foremost. He’s always making plans. Part of it is anxiety drilled into him from a life on the run, always drafting up plans to help him survive. Part of it is his natural affinity for planning and strategizing. It’s a double edged sword. He may be able to whip out 6 different plans of attack for any given situation, but it also means he lays awake at night thinking and planning how he’d wake everyone up if they were to be attacked. He’s got a sort of charisma that helps him explain his plans to the others and helps him take charge in a more intense situation. All that being said, he does need someone like Soul to tell him when it’s time to rest before he works himself into a frenzy trying to account for any and all possibilities.

Loft isn’t the best fit for leading the group, and he’s perfectly fine with that. With amnesia that leaves him with many gaps in things others wouldn’t think twice about, a big helping of untreated adhd that makes understanding how others think difficult, and a general tendency to get distracted and wander off, Loft would not be the ideal leader. Could he do it if needed? Absolutely, but he knows others would be better suited for it. That won’t stop him from chiming in with a brilliant idea from time to time (though these ideas are also often referred to as “batshit insane”).

Some other little things about the group dynamic that I wanna note:

Cryptid’s mermaid form gives him perpetually dry skin, which also means frequent nosebleeds. Every time, without fail, Soul’s sensitive nose will pick up on blood and he’ll panic for the few seconds it takes before he realizes that there’s no hidden injuries, just Cryptid’s nose again.

The problem children are considered to be Champ, Bard, Addie, and Loft, but all for different reasons. Champ is impulsive and prone to getting roped into the others’ shenanigans (especially Loft’s). He can be the most responsible person there one moment to a lover of arson and chaos the next. It really depends. Bard isn’t usually the prankster and doesn’t tend to get into any particular trouble, but he does often wander off. He has a slight disregard for his personal well-being because “oh, I can just heal myself”, which stresses everyone else out. Addie can be trusted in dungeons and in the middle of battle. He knows his limits very well, and has shown that he’ll come to the group if he needs something. When there’s no adventuring to be had and they’re all resting? He can quickly turn into chaos gremlin supreme. Loft, meanwhile, is on the list of problem children for obvious reasons. Bard’s tendencies to wave off injuries pale in comparison to the absolutely buck wild stuff Loft gets into on the regular. Is it because he doesn’t think before he act? Did losing his memories mean he also lost a sense of pain? Who knows! The point is, he’s eager to run into danger and also eat random plants he finds. Somehow he hasn’t gotten sick yet, and despite the chaos he dives into headfirst he’s yet to earn any particularly serious injuries.

Lily tends to take a backseat when in his own era, though he doesn’t do it consciously. He’s pretty much never the leader back home. He’s the youngest of his siblings and gets absolutely 0 respect, Captain Sheik is obviously is captain of their ship, and he’s eager to do whatever Malon asks of him. He doesn’t really notice he’s doing it, admittedly, he’ll just take a step back even among the chain because back home he’s just not the boss.

[quirkle2]

random silly little things abt the crew bc im mentally ill

briar's face markings glow in the dark

wars' and briar's favorite bonding exercise is roughhousing

unless an injury is dire and needs legend's healing magic, fig is usually the one to dress everybody's wounds. he doesn't have any extra medical knowledge—it's just its way of showing love and telling them it'll be ok

lumen sometimes still worries if he is Enough—remnants of ghirahim's taunting and impa's scoldings

sometimes when they're all trekking along the road in silence, somebody will start humming a tune they all know and everybody will join in

wars is scared of spiders, and any fire that cannot be directly controlled by him

lumen is very fidgety and loves hands-on type hobbies, like whittling and pottery. legend enjoys these too, but can only do them w her in short bursts bc of his arthritis. lumen is patient and waits for him, tho

since briar and wars are the only extroverts in the group, they are often the unofficial intel-gatherers when they visit towns

briar is a leatherworker, and made most of his leather clothing himself

because of how wars' era treats him before he's banished, the others are fiercely protective of him when they visit his world (they r all LIVID that wars has been treated like shit almost his entire life)

fig kisses their foreheads a lot. reminder! i love u

when they have to split up, more often than not wars is paired w legend; fig knows wars and ledge work extremely well together, and they cover each other's weaknesses, but it's also just bc they like hanging out and are comforted by each other's presence and fig knows that <3

sometimes fig has these Moments while he's watching the others laugh and lean on each other around the fire where it is simply so overwhelmed w love for his kids . so much love it does not know where to place it all so he just sits there and tries not to implode

when the crew gets to rest at fig and malon's ranch and all the others are in bed and asleep, fig secretly gushes to malon abt them all . he loves themso much and it wants to holdthem all so close

lumen is in a polycule with groose and zelda :)

legend is usually the one to cook them meals—he makes the best-tasting stuff

sometimes, if they know they're safe, they all sleep in a pile, limbs entangled <3

[aikoiya]

LoZ: SS AU - The War of Dune & Shadow

I'm gonna be basing this off of a timeline split that I came up with called the Outset Timeline.

First off, remember that SS's main villain is killed in 2 different ways at 2 different times.

The one that the main timeline follows is the one where Link used the Triforce to wish the Imprisoned destroyed as that's the time Link, Zelda, & Groose return to afterward.

However, the Outset Timeline takes place specifically due to Ghirahim's interference by kidnapping Zelda & taking her to the past.

Unfortunately, without some clarification, as it stands, this would likely result in the original main timeline losing the Master Sword completely while the Outset Timeline would have 2 Fis, 1 being the Tsukugami of the Goddess Sword & the other being the Tsukugami of the Master Sword.

This would, of course, have extremely dire consequences for the original timeline. As such, I needed to find a way to rectify this inconsistency.

The reason being that even though in a reality where Ghirahim hadn’t interfered, Link & Zelda could've most likely been able to return to the past one more time to make sure these 2 events took place, & is even likely why the Gates of Time had been allowed to remain open to begin with, the fact of the matter is that that isn’t what ended up happening.

Ghirahim did interfere. Meaning that from the moment that Ghirahim returned to the past with Zelda in tow, the distant past’s future was no longer the original present. Meaning that leaving the Master Sword in the past, as in canon, would have resulted in the Master Sword not naturally being there in the main timeline, thus leaving it completely without the Blade of Evil’s Bane’s protection.

Again, very bad.

However, I will get to fixing that in a bit.

Anyway, remember that Hylia was already gone & Demise was sealed by the time that Link ever goes to the past. Plus, the ancestors of the Hylians were already in the sky then as well & unless someone went up there & told them “yeah, everything's handled; you can come back down now,” they likely end up staying there at least until when SS would've taken place.

Anyway, also remember SS Zelda & Yimpa both going to the past, Zelda sealing herself in amber, Zelda being kidnapped by Ghirahim, taken from the present, back in time again, having her soul absorbed by the Bringer of Demise, then Link killing him thousands of years in the past, leaving the Master Sword in the Sealed Temple of the past, Zelda giving Impa her bracelet in the past, Link, Zelda, & Groose all return to the present, &, finally, the Time Gate vanishing from the present (most likely due to Yimpa's prompting).

Other important details are that the Dragons, their Sacred Flames, & Levias, as well as their individual roles, were already set into motion before Link first arrived in the past.

Now, because Ghirahim interfered, this means that the moments that he & Zelda stepped into the past from the Time Gate, the future of the past that they entered was no longer the present of the main timeline.

I primarily believe that it was the Gates of Time that kept things together after Ghirahim's interference. In my mind, they acted as a temporary bridge between the 2 now parallel timelines & when the Gates closed, the bridge collapsed. Thus resulting in the 2 timelines becoming completely separate.

As such, this means that the Master Sword left on the other side of the gate wouldn't have naturally moved forward to the main timeline &, without interference, would've left the main timeline's present completely without the Master Sword.

However, we all know that that isn't what happened. And good thing, too, because the results wouldn't have been pretty.

Again, I'll fix this inconsistency later. (Have faith!)

Now, that also means that in this timeline, the war was already won, meaning the whole premise behind Ghirahim taking Zelda to begin with was either gone or entirely changed.

This is the Outset Timeline because the split takes place before even the outset of the first game.

Thing is, such an occurrence brings with it some pretty serious consequences.

Most bad outcome, Ghirahim gave up, thus Zelda wasn't abducted, Link didn't need to find the Goddess Sword to save her, & since he didn't need to save her, he also didn't need to go down to the Surface.

Ergo, SS Link & Zelda live normal lives up in Skyloft. They start to date, they get married, they have kids, followed by grandkids & possibly great grandkids, before growing old together & leaving the world behind in peace.

However, despite the seemingly “good” ending of it, this end actually causes a couple of problems later due to one key problem: the Master Sword is still in this timeline meaning that the main timeline doesn't have either the Master Sword or the Goddess Sword.

Now, Minish Cap & Four Swords take place just fine, no sweat (unless MC Link fails to get to the top of the Dark Hyrule Castle in time, then MC Zelda dies & another, even more screwed, timeline comes into existence, but that'll be taken care of at the same time as the Master Sword issue, so hang tight). However, the problem comes when time for OoT approaches in that, not only is there no Master Sword, but there isn't even a Goddess Sword for OoT Link to try & frantically struggle to infuse with the Sacred Flames. However, even if the Goddess Sword was there, we don't even know if using the flames in SS resulted in them being used up! Their certainly didn't seem to be anything left, so at present, unless an actual miracle takes place, Hyrule has absolutely zero chance of a good outcome.

Once more, this will be fixed, so please keep reading!

Anyway, keep in mind that it was in the Outset Timeline that Demise's curse was placed. It literally followed SS Link & Zelda to a totally different timeline; the canon timeline. So, either the curse abandoned this timeline, or it's in this one as well.

Knowing how butthurt Demise got over losing, I'm thinking it'd stick with this Link & Zelda as well even if they weren't the ones who killed him.

However, if that's the case, then unless the Link after the one that would've lived during SS reincarnates into a species still living upon the Surface, then the Golden Land (because it wasn't called Hyrule until after Link & Zelda founded it) is going to be left with a Zelda displaced from her home & very likely devistated & only a Master Sword with no weilder to defend it.

(Though, admittedly, this situation is still salvageable & may even result in yet another timeline. One in which Skyloft never returns to the Surface & SS Zelda is forced to wield the Master Sword, thus having to fill the role of both Hero & Princess at once. But that is something to examine later!)

However, there is also the possibility that a totally different story takes place.

Which is the one that I'm going to be focusing on here.

---

Before when SS would've taken place, the Gerudo show up from across the Lanayru Desert, which they conquer & rehylen (Eh? XD) the Gerudo Desert. Perhaps a certain tyrant was born early due to Demise having been killed so long ago in this timeline?

Perhaps Ghirahim allied himself with this man that so reminded him of his master? What if he told his new master about the people of the sky, the Spirit Maiden, & the Triforce?

What if, this time, Ghirahim abducted Zelda at the prompting of his new master? Ganondorf.

Also, what if, since there was no need for Zelda to return to the past, there was also no young Impa in the present? As a result, Zelda is either captured by Ghirahim & the focus of the story is once more on saving her.

Or, perhaps, instead, she is found by a different Sheikah. Maybe an incarnation of Paya?

The Sheikah being the natives of the land & the Gerudo being the colonizers?

After all, she'd be free to help preserve her tribe. Build it up.

Perhaps there is a civil war on the Surface between the Sheikah & the Gerudo?

The Sheikah being tasked with preserving the land for when the Goddess Vessel within the Sealed Temple awakened & for her twin & chosen hero to descend from the heavens. As well as the Master Sword.

But the Gerudo are a nomadic & warlike tribe from the continent southwest of the one that Hyrule will eventually be part of.

They are bandits as their original home was cursed to forever be in conflict. Thus reducing their home to an uninhabitable Wasteland.

And, if they'd have come to the Sheikah with such words, they'd have likely been welcomed with open arms.

But the problem here is that the Gerudo's harsh lives dictated by survival of the fittest has resulted in them, much like Ganondorf himself always has, living by a very Might Makes Right sort of philosophy.

Mainly because it's all they've ever known & the primary way that they've managed to survive up to this point. As such, these beliefs have been drilled into their heads from birth ab nauseum.

Meaning that they believe that the one who is most powerful, the one who wins, is the one who is right & righteous & correct. That they have a divine right to rule & that they get to do whatever they wish to the losers.

Which is very bad.

Before coming to this new land, they raided other tribes along the desert they traveled, stole from them & enslaved them. The problem is that the canonical Gerudo are most likely inspired by Egyptian/a variety of Middle Eastern cultures, as well as by the Amazons of real-world Greek myth & the Orcs of many different interpretations. (Orcs specifically because of Ganondorf's connection to boars, which have tusks, he & his mother's skin colors, & the fact that TP Ganondorf was portrayed as having small tusks himself even in human form, if only for a single cutscene.)

Now, something to keep in mind is that none of these sources have the best practices. Specifically in terms of things like slavery.

For one, the Egyptians are well-documented to have engaged in slavery. And so did several Middle Eastern civilizations, specifically the Ottoman Empire & their associates, the Barbary Pirates.

A quick history lesson: The Barbaries would actively kidnap many, many Europeans living along the Mediterranean, around South & Western Europe, & sold them into slavery to the Ottomans. European men, women, & children were evidently captured in such unbelievable amounts that it actually left an overwhelming number of seaside towns abandoned. By Robert Davis's account, somewhere in the ballpark of 1 mil to 1.25 mil Europeans were captured & sold throughout North Africa & the Ottoman Empire between the 15th & 19th centuries. Often, young European women were even kept as sex slaves, while the Slavs were regularly imported as eunuchs & concubines. But that's enough of that. This isn't about the slave trades of real-world history.

On the Amazon side of things, the good thing is that... well, I'll get into that later.

However, moving on to a brief explanation of how Orcs tend to be portrayed (which may have originally been inspired by racism, but in this day & age, they've honestly become their own thing). They, unfortunately, have the tendency to be depicted as violent & the sort to engage in slavery.

Now, the reason that I believe that the Gerudo might have mild Orc inspiration is due to TP Gdorf being depicted with tusks & the fact that Ganondorf & his adoptive mothers are always depicted with greenish skin, but no other Gerudo are. This suggests that the 3 of them are different from the other Gerudo for some reason.

Something also of note is the fact that Kōme & Kotake are both canonically referred to as witches who very specifically use their black magic to maintain their long lives. (This is confirmed.) These same witches very specifically seem to have zero issue with brainwashing their own people.

Something also to take into account is the fact that, at first, Orcs were also depicted as having brown skin. However, at some point, they began to align with demonic entities or consume the blood of demons & this, evidently, resulted in them beginning to turn a greenish color...

Now, while it isn't 100% confirmation, I personally believe that the same works here. And, in fact, anyone in Hyrule's Earth who aligned themselves thusly would find their own pallor changing as well. As if to warn onviewers that "this individual is dangerous." Similarly to how toxic frogs tend to be brightly colored to warn other animals that it might not be the best idea to trifle with them.

Again, these things don't confirm my theory, but I think they at the very least lend credence to the possibility. The problem with this possibility is that Orcs also tend to be depicted as being slavers.

Normally, I don't think these sort of sources would have that great of an effect upon their "host fantasy culture." Problem is that the Gerudo here have been living in an environment where exercising these traits benefited them greatly by allowing them to survive. Which only reinforces such behavior.

---

Typically, in most of their iterations, the Gerudo were either noble theives or allies of Hyrule. Not only that, they are simply portrayed as people.

Here, we'll go into just how they are also just people, but a people with such a different philosophy & belief system that it causes them to clash violently with others.

Not only that, but I want Link & Zelda to have to see the Gerudo's crimes & recognize them as crimes. I want to show people where some prejudices come from. Where they originate. That even though the Gerudo of the original timeline were most likely being oppressed in some way & we know for a fact that there were several who actively hated them. This does not mean that there was no reason behind such hate. To hate based on race is wrong no matter what, but that doesn't mean that such resentment didn't come from somewhere. It doesn't just spring up from the aether.

Sometimes, it does happen due to simple differences in appearance & programmed bigotry, but other times, it has a basis & a history of pain behind it. (Doesn't make it okay, but that's how it is.)

Another interesting detail. The Gerudo are not a female-only race here. (Because, in my hc, this was a result of a curse placed upon them in the canon timeline & since the event that caused this curse didn't happen yet, these Gerudo weren't cursed.)

There are men. And as one would likely expect, they are much more physically strong than their female counterparts. Who, themselves, are around a similar strength to Sheikah & Hylian & human men if a tiny bit less so due to not having the same muscle capacity. (This is based on the fact that a teenage boy, despite being shorter & even less trained than a woman, can still take a woman down. And, the fact of the matter is that the Gerudo Vai only really have their greater height & possible training over on less trained Sheikah, Hylian, & human men whereas these men have not only a naturally greater capacity for muscle building at a much quicker rate, they also have a cheat code: testosterone. Which makes a shitton of difference in a fight. So, imagine how damn strong a Gerudo Voe is.)

As a result, the Sheikah are currently losing the war. To the extent that they've lost ground from Lanayru to Faron. In the original timeline, this would result in the citizens of Hyrule praying for salvation, which would result in the Gerudo being cursed by the Golden Three & the death of all the male Gerudo.

However, because the Sheikah now have Link & Zelda, this changes things.

Either way, perhaps Zelda is taken in by the Sheikah Tribe, who tell her the stories that they were told? I'd also like to focus on the Sheikah people as ninja-adjacent fighters who utilize shadow, light, & twilight (a mix of shadow & light) magics. Though, more so in a Naruto sort of way rather than the somewhat technological way that we see in AoC. I want to make them as key people to the story.

Anyway, their old chief had been tasked with keeping the Goddess Vessel alive & safe to keep a great danger contained only for a hero to appear & end that danger. Now, they simply wait for the Goddess Vessel to be awakened.

At the same time, Link finds Fi & takes the Goddess Sword & it will slowly become apparent over the course of the story that much of her data regarding what will happen is now obsolete.

Link descends to the Surface &, with the Sheikah Tribe & the current Chief's aid (who appears to possess a bracelet that belonged to her late mother), he pursues Zelda, much like in SS. Only here, he has to fight both monsters & Gerudo. Including Iron Knuckles.

Because, in this situation, the Gerudo are the aggressors & specifically wish to subjugate the residents of this new land to make it their own.

They also have no need for the Sheikah to keep their people alive due to having their own men.

Not to mention their own toxic philosophy reassuring them that if they win, then they deserve to do whatever they wish.

These things do not add up to a good people.

Before the Gerudo can become something other than this, their philosophy must be broken. In order to do that, they must lose.

Losing would then mean, by their own belief system, that they are weaker & thus to be subjugated.

(Which, the results of this will be left purposefully ambiguous.)

But that's for later.

For now, Link goes through a much more populated Surface world. One with towns populated by Sheikah & Goron & Mogma.

He fights Ghirahim like always.

Perhaps Zelda & Paya join him? And it becomes a JRPG of sorts with a full party? (Where Groose later joins! I'd love that!)

After that, I'm not sure what happens or how things go.

Perhaps, Link fights Ganon with the Goddess Sword only to be locked into an unwinnable fight where he discovers that, whatever Malice has its hold over Ganon, the divine blade is not powerful enough to harm him. (Thus, reflecting WW in a way.)

Also, like in WW, Link is then saved by his new friends.

After which, things happen much as was intended with the Isle of Songs, & while the Dungeons are technically the same, they are also different.

Anyway, due to the Sheikah still being around, the Lanayru Robots are too, without the need for Timeshift Stones.

Which fundamentally changes at least 2 of the Dungeons.

You can't turn back time in the desert to rejuvenate it, but perhaps some of the Robots have been tasked with trying to sus out what crops can still grow in the environment. Perhaps they've discovered the straw grid planting method?

And perhaps the Ship Dungeon was modified to work more like the Sand Skiffs from Avatar?

Regardless, Link upgrades his Goddess Sword to Master Rank, but by this point, Ganondorf will have done something truly unprecedented. Though, in retrospect, it really shouldn't have been such a surprise.

He'd learned via listening in on one of Ghirahim’s battles with Link that he suspected Ganondorf to be the incarnation of his master's hatred & that as the spirit of his master's sword, he would serve him until the end.

Ganondorf then has his mothers mind control a Sheikah warrior & has the man tell him everything he knew about Sword Spirits, who reveals to him the long-help Sheikah belief of Katana no Tsukumogami. Specifically, the beliefs regarding the more spiritual side of things. That the Tsukumogami is thought to possess not just the spirit of the Gods, but also that of the bladesmith & the wielder.

He then sent the man to shadow the green-clad boy from the sky & began to contemplate with a slowly widening smile.

The king then called the dark Sword Spirit into his tent & began asking him odd questions. Then, once he had the answers he sought, he dismissed the demon lord, but upon turning his back, Ganondorf had plunged his hand into the living sword's back & proceeded to absorb the pieces of Demise's spirit that the sword had contained.

Ghirahim seemed to almost crumble into black ash in front of the man now empowered by his predecessor's On'nenmahō.

Regardless, Ganondorf allows Link to gather all the Triforce pieces, but before he can make a wish, the Sheikah puppet (at Gan's prompting) attempts to steal the Triforce only for his touch to result in the 3 pieces splitting up. (3 guesses & the first 2 don't count.)

The TFoP increases Gan's destructive power even more & it's because of this that Link is once more unable to beat him even with the Triforce of Courage & the Master Sword. He manages to escape, but barely & he's severely injured. This is when Fi catches mysterious, familiar, yet also unfamiliar brain waves.

The OG Master Sword felt the unmistakable feeling of another Fi at the same time as the Triforce splitting, indicating that something has changed. She sends a message to Dunes Fi, who prompts Link to search for the source of the mysterious wavelengths once he has recovered enough to do so.

OG Fi is sleeping but still there & reveals through Dunes Fi that things were actually supposed to go very differently & that she has a theory as to why. And if she's correct, then things are far more dire than she'd feared.

She suggests that it may have had to do with the fact that the Ghirahim of her original timeline had caused an unforeseen deviation in the sequence of events that had been meant to take place. That her original Master Link had come back in time & killed Demise there because of that Ghirahim’s meddling, which in the future that she was from, a part of him still existed in the form of the Imprisoned.

So, since the Imprisoned no longer existed in this time, things changed as a result of his absence.

However, Link can't dual wield Master Swords, so he has to do something so he can.

Fi informs him of the Sheikah’s spiritual capabilities & suggests that he inquire if they may know of a way to increase his spiritual capacity.

He does & Link is informed that there very much is a way, but that there’s an issue. Now, it wouldn’t be nearly as dangerous as the Silent Realms, but it’d take quite a lot more time &, in some ways, it would be more demanding & take more discipline as it wasn’t something you could just buckle down & do. It required more than just going & collecting a bunch of macguffins that grows your spirit artificially.

Those sorts of shortcuts generally grant an abundance of Sheimaryoku (精魔力, Spiritual Magic Power), but little in the way of knowledge on how to use it in any practical sense, let alone the ways of the Sheimahō (精魔法, Spiritual Magic Method) or the utilization of it through Sheimajutsu (精魔術, Spiritual Magic Techniques). You need to practice & learn. And that takes time.

Part of the reason that Hylia had the trials made was due to how much time & effort & dedication that the traditional Sheikah method took. Since Link had gone through the trials, he didn’t necessarily need to unlock his Chakrah gates as his were already opened by the trials. However, due to the method, he didn't gain any of the intuition or the benefits of personal reflection that one normally gains from doing so. As such, while the energy is flowing through him just fine, it isn't something that he can control.

The gates that had specifically been opened were the Muladhara (Survival/Fear: Fear doesn't matter), Manipura (Willpower/Shame: Self-Compassion & Acceptance), Anahata (Love/Grief: Love does not leave you), & Anja (Insight/Illusion: ).

However, it can be dangerous spiritually to unlock one's Chakras, not only out of order like Link did, but also skipping some entirely. If he wanted to be able to access the energy that he was gifted with & be able to use it to use a second divine blade, he will have to start from the very beginning & open all of them up to Anja.

Because if the Tsukugami of the other Master Sword says that Link hadn’t needed to strengthen his spirit further, then that means that the Goddess’ original plan likely didn't go much further than acquiring the Triforce & using it to be rid of this “Imprisoned” that her mother spoke of.

As such, it's unlikely that the Goddess had put forth a plan for something like this.

And that wasn't even taking into account the fact that if he wanted to be able to actually wield both Master Swords, he'd need to learn how. Luckily, they were both one-handed swords, so it was possible, but it would also take time.

Yet, even though they were pressed, they’d likely still need his aid on the battlefield.

Link becomes slightly nervous at how much work it seemed that he still needed to do, but steels his resolve & accepts.

Link begins to learn the way of the Sheikah's spiritual arts. His lessons involved proper meditation techniques, Kiko, Tummo, & learning the Chakrahs, as well as how to open them.

It was very difficult for him as he'd never even heard of such things.

They also began to teach him the basics of the Daishō (大小) style of Kenjutsu (刀術), which was very different from the Academy's style in more ways than one.

All the while, Link continued to aid the Sheikah & other residents of the Surface in the fight to keep the Gerudo & monsters away.

As the days, then weeks passed, Link grew more stressed & angry with himself for not being able to do this, which only blocked him from further development.

Learning to let go of fear? That'd been relatively easy. Sure, the idea of just letting it go was new & difficult to understand at first. Because how were you supposed to just… let go of something as natural as fear? How could something that felt so real be just an illusion? It was easy identifying his fears. Losing Zelda again, whether because she gets kidnapped or even by being killed, failing everyone, dying & leaving everyone behind without protection, or worse, watching everyone he cared about be killed or enslaved.

Being afraid, but not letting those fears stop him from acting, was easy. He'd been doing it since he lost his family & had been doing it even more since Zelda was taken. But letting those fears go? That was difficult.

He managed it eventually, but it wasn't easy.

Letting go of his guilt & stopping blaming himself for his mistakes was even harder. Especially when it felt like he was failing at that very moment by not being able to get this as quickly as possible.

So, forgiving himself took longer than he'd like. If he'd been quicker, maybe Zelda wouldn't have fallen & she'd be safe in Skyloft. At the same time, if he hadn't, then he wasn't sure if they'd ever have gone down here & even if he did, it's likely that by then, all the friends he'd made on the Surface would all be dead or worse by now.

Maybe things happen for a reason?

Shame… was… well, it was honestly one of the most difficult for him. Link was ashamed that he hadn't been able to defeat Ganondorf yet. If he'd been able to do so before, maybe so many of the Surface-dwellers wouldn't be dead.

It was so hard to do. He'd become so angry at himself lately & it was hard to let go & accept that failure is a part of life. One you can't escape from.

Letting go of the grief he'd felt from losing his parents & his unborn sister had initially been hard until he realized that their memories & the love they'd felt for each other as a family was still with him. It was one of the things that gave him the strength to keep going. And even still, he had Headmaster Gaepora, Groose, the Sheikah, Paya, & Zelda. While the love he had for them wasn’t the same as what he’d felt for his family, the affection of a mentor & a student, the odd, exasperated respect of bully/rival-turned-friend, the steadfast comradery between brothers & sisters-in-arms, the nagging, teasing care of an almost sister, &... the love of a best friend that… may become something more?

He didn’t lose the love he’d had. Yes, his family was gone, but he’d see them again. So, he’d lost only their physical presence in his life, but he could still feel them & had gained much through life.

Once he realized that, letting go of that old hurt was... a relief...

Letting go of the lies that he tells himself was also fairly easy. Yes, it took a bit of sorting out, but once he had, he was able acknowledge that even though the responsibility of being the Chosen Hero was overwhelming, there was nothing he could do but accept the fact that this was his life now.

Finally, one of the most difficult things he had to overcome were his own newly-fostered prejudices against the Gerudo. Yes, he understood mentally that they were just people the way all of them were, but it was difficult to accept it when he'd seen them kill some of his newfound companions before his eyes. Especially knowing that they'd likely kill more until this was over.

Link knew that the Gerudo were just the product of the environment that they grew up in, but it was difficult to accept.

This became the major stopgap in his progress, so until he could manage to make a breakthrough there, he began to focus his attention more on the rest of his curriculum as well as training & helping in battle.

The Daishō training was probably the easiest part of it if he was being honest. He'd managed to move passed basics into intermediate lessons, which left him at least half-way satisfied. If nothing else, he was progressing somewhere.

The Sheimana training, not so much. Though, the Chief had said that he only needed to have a basic understanding of the fundamentals of its practical uses.

At the same time, he'd also begun to notice that the Skyward Strikes he performed were becoming stronger the more he was able to mold the magic. And as he began to understand, he also noticed that his regular swings would sometimes generate what looked like mini-Skyward Strikes.

They weren’t as powerful as when he focused Skyward, but it was still very useful in a fight.

He quickly moved onto advanced techniques, which was evidently not typical.

Either way, I'd he wasn’t so stressed over gaining control of the spiritual magic from that last gate, he’d have been looking forward to his next lessons as the technique he’d be learning sounded extremely useful when under fire by enemy archers.

The Iaidō had already cut the time he'd have to deal with lower level monsters by a large margin, so he was glad to be learning something that could also essentially remove the need to dodge arrows & not slow down if he played his cards right.

Yes, he very much looked forward to learning the Yadome no Jutsu.

(Insert revelation that allows Link to finally begin to see the Gerudo as people rather than enemies; maybe a Sheikah child has been sneaking out to play with some new friends who turn out to be Gerudo children?)

---

Does it, epic duel wielding Master Swords fight, beats/kills/seals Ganon. OG Fi informs Link of the fact that due to the split, the original timeline was bereft of the Master Sword, leaving it unprotected. She asks him to use the wish for "that which is necessary to be taken to where & when they are meant to be & are needed most." Or to "close the time loop in a way that would not interfere with what Hylia had intended."

This causes both the OG Master Sword, Zelda's bracelet, & a seed left behind by the Fruit of Life to disappear from the Outset Timeline & to appear in the original timeline in such a way that will eventually result in how we see them appearing in the game.

Thus, finally, all the most pressing issues are wrapped up!

Anyway, at the end, it's revealed that, as everyone who played the game knows, the Goddess Vessel was the Zelda from the original timeline.

Initially, she believes that Link kept his promise, only to then see… herself behind him…

She doesn't understand.

It's very gently explains what happened to the poor girl & it hurt to see how this other Zelda's expression fell as she realized her situation.

Link had come to wake her, but it wasn't her Link because her Link no longer existed.

Neither did her father, her friends, or her Skyloft.

She was entirely alone.

And… it'd all been for, what? Nothing?

She was sealed away that entire time & Demise was gone long ago, so she didn't even do anything useful for the people here & now.

This would be a great chance to focus on just how much this Zelda lost.

Just… the ending would be a bittersweet one.

(Yes, I am aware that SS Doppelda should've technically woken up when SS Link killed Demise, but since it doesn't interfere with the canon timeline, for now, I'll leave it. Honestly, I'm not really sure which would've been a worse fate. Waking up in the past with Impa, but without her Link or waking up in the future without Impa, but with another her & a different Link. Both suck balls.)

Please keep in mind that there are a whole lot of less feasible timeline theories out there.

LoZ General Masterlist

[basilica-gel]

when you wake up..... 🌹

“You were going to tell me,” Groose says, “that you brought back the sword of the guy who tried to kill Zelda and end the world — a sword that, unless you forgot, has a guy in it that sent a tornado after her, hunted her across the surface, and also tried to kill her? Tried to kill you?!”

Well. Now that it’s been said out loud, Link can see how that sounds.

[heinousactszx]

Skyward sword was the first game in my little chronological playthrough and it was the first time i played it, so i thought i'd do a little review

first, the good. the dungeons in this game are fantastic. easily some of the best in the series. they really force you to think ahead and think about the dungeon as an actual space and plan your way through it. there were more than a few times where i was stumped and had to use every tool available to me to figure my way through, which for me is a big plus.

I also think the sword combat was very well implemented (when it worked). by tying success in combat to precise movement instead of random slashing or just waiting to use an item, they can create truly challenging fights that i can't say most other zelda games have. ghirahim is the standout here, all 3 of his fights were fantastic

The story was overall fine, I liked it enough. Groose's arc was predictable but enjoyable. Ghirahim is an amazing villain, one of the best in a series that doesn't have too many standouts. Link and zelda's relationship was okay, they did try and flesh it out, although it wasn't nearly as involved as people led me to believe. They also damseled her again which I guess I should expect but still, not a fan. I thought fi's ending was pretty good for a character that's really just annoying up to that point. I like that she's ultimately been the companion of many successive links

Unfortunately that's kind of where the good times end. As good as the dungeons are, the overworld is very much not. There's only 3 real areas in this game, and while they are fairly large, the fact that you have to revist each multiple times really cuts down on the excitement of exploration. Not that you can explore much anyway, these areas are mostly hallways that funnel you towards your objective without a lot of choice. I don't mind linearity in games, but the railroading in this game is frustrating and the constant backtracking does not help

And this is made worse by the handholding, which really is as bad people said. so many times fi will just spoil a puzzle before you can even look at it. so many times she'll explain something to you that is very obvious, or was already explained to you. so many little things you have to do, dragged out, before you can get to big things. the game becomes a slog both because you have to constantly stop to get helped, and then doing what you need to do stops being fun and just becomes a chore.

finally, as much as i like the sword stuff, the rest of the motion controls are just painful. Flying sucks, skydiving sucks, swimming sucks, those tightropes are a nightmare, just using bombs is an ordeal, and that's before you get into the constant communication errors. for the last third of the game i ended up bringing in a kitchen chair and sitting 3 feet from the tv just so i'd stop getting errors, and it still happened!

ultimately, unless you're doing what i'm doing and playing them all, i can't recommend skyward sword to anyone. the genuinely good bits of game design are surrounded by frustration that affects the whole experience beginning to end. I'm aware that the remastered version fixes some of these issues, but quality of life updates can't truly change a game with flaws this fundamental. is it a "bad" game? no. is it worth 40 hours of your life? absolutely not

but enough about all that. we're done with skyward sword and we never have to go back. up next is the zelda game i love more dearly than any other: minish cap! easily my favorite of the series, it'll be a great followup for many reasons. I can't want to actually gush about a game instead of complaining, i'll start playing later today