#vio's post actually inspired me to write this though the idea is very old | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sky-squido · 5 years ago

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Turn Back Time (A Linked Universe Fanfic)

Part one of the Time’s Travels series

GUYS I WROTE A FIC! This is the first fic i’ve ever put anywhere! Wooooo!

WE GOTS SOME SWEET SWEET TIME ANGST. Lotsa mentions of death and dying, though, so if that’s not your cup of tea, then don’t read this fic. Get cho’ tissues, pals, cuz this is gonna hurt. There is Certified Fluff™, but you gotta work for it. Inspired by this fic I read: https://dinfeanoriel.tumblr.com/post/189094362202/dusk-falls

The group had noticed Time growing more and more weary every time they barely escaped a harsh battle. They could see the bags under his eyes, the way he seemed to be losing weight, and the way he dutifully kept a journal that was suspiciously always tucked out of sight. When Four woke up once during Time’s watch, though, he could see it sitting by his side.

Time was out patrolling when Legend broke the group out of their evening routine. "Does anyone know what's wrong with Time?" he barked out impatiently, drawing everyone's attention. "The old man looks like he's on death's door. Don't tell me you guys haven't noticed."

A chorus of downcast faces gave him his answer.

Before they could discuss it any further, Time returned. If he noticed the heavy silence in the group, he didn't comment on it.

Legend’s comment sparked something inside of Four.

Legend's right. We have to do something!

But what, Red? Time isn't going to tell us anything he doesn't want to. Nobody can make him crack, not even Twilight.

…

Oh no. Vio, what's your idea.

Remember when we woke up in the middle of the night with that terrible headache once?

Yeah?

Who was on watch?

Time.

And what was he doing?

Realization hits the other three.

Keeping a journal.

Vio that's terrible.

It's for his own good, Green! We need to find out what's wrong with him so we can help and we all know he's not going to tell us of his own free will.

I hate to say it, but I think Vio's right.

As usual.

Shut up.

But how are we going to get ahold of the journal in the first place?

What if we ask Legend for help? It was his idea.

We can distract him, and Legend can snatch his journal.

Won't Time realize it's missing?

Not if we can keep him distracted long enough for Legend to figure out what's wrong. He doesn't need to read the whole thing

Good idea. Let's get Legend alone.

Four stared into the fire the group was sitting around. During his internal dialogue, conversation had picked back up again, though strained.

"Do you guys think we need more firewood?" Four asked, making pointed eye contact with Legend.

"I doubt it," Sky replied, "we have a little pile over there and it's getting pretty late."

"Better safe than sorry," Legend yawned, getting up and stretching, "I'll help."

Four nodded his thanks and began heading into the woods with Legend. Twilight's suspicious gaze followed them, though he made no comment.

"What's your plan?" asked Legend the second they got out of earshot.

Four gave him the rundown of everything he had come up with so far. Legend nodded his approval.

"It was a good call asking me. I've got a book that could probably help me translate his Hylian."

"How long should I buy you?"

"I'll need a decent amount of time; a few hours tops. Do you think you can do it?"

"Consider it done."

"Consider what done?"

The two conspirators whirled around, hands on hilts, until they spotted Twilight casually leaning against a tree, arms crossed.

"Twi, you can't stop us. I get that you two are close and all, but-"

"Who said I was going to stop you?"

The two blonds froze.

Twilight pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

“It kills me to watch him do this to himself but no matter what I try, he won't tell me anything! He doesn't even seem to think whatever he's doing to himself is wrong! I want to help him, more than anything, and I think this is the only way"

Twilight knew firsthand how obsessed Time could get with his regrets. His desire to teach Twilight the sword had kept his shade from rest for who knows how many years. Twilight knew exactly how Time could get caught up in his head to the point to self-destruction and he didn't want to see it come to that.

"I'll help Four distract Time."

Legend nodded, surprised but grateful.

They split up to gather wood—they had to keep their alibi strong after all—and returned to camp.

"Took you long enough," sassed Warriors, but the three didn’t comment. Instead, Twilight and Four walked up to Time as Legend headed to his own bedroll to organize his inventory. Luckily for him, his spot sat on the edge of the campsite, just like Time's.

He didn’t catch what Twilight and Four said to Time, but Time got thoroughly engrossed in whatever conversation they ended up having, so Legend decided to make his move. He took his box of rings and—with a heavy sigh—tipped it sideways, letting them spill across the floor, rolling towards Time's bedroll and gear.

Warriors glanced over at the sound.

"You good over there, Legend? You need help organizing your jewelry?" Warriors teased, eyeing the rings scattered across the ground.

"My jewelry could kill you so you all better keep your distance while I clean this up," he bit back. To his satisfaction, the group accepted his explanation, not wanting to get cursed by any of Legend's... exotic magic.

It was under this guise that Legend rifled through Time's things, pulling out a small leather journal from between some masks, pocketing it, and picking up the rest of his rings.

He shuffled back to his bedroll, put his box of rings back, and slid the Book of Mudora out of its pocket in his bag. As some of the first stars winked into the sky, Legend began deciphering.

There was no title or date or any sort of preamble. The first entry was rushed and short, only a few sentences. It looked more like Time had jotted down a quick piece of info he wanted to remember for later rather than any sort of journal.

The first word he deciphered was his own name.

He hurriedly deciphered the rest, his blood growing colder with every word.

"Legend: I'm sorry. I'm so f***ing sorry. Tell Hyrule I love him. Tell Warriors I don't actually hate him. Tell—"

Eager to read what followed, he continued deciphering, but to his horror the next word was another name and a new entry.

“Warriors:”

He stopped translating. These were the dying words of his friends, his brothers. The first passage sounded like the very thing he'd cough out with his final breath, something so important and personal that it couldn’t be said until there was no chance of being able to say anything ever again. He looked over at the campfire, at his laughing brothers, and silently closed the Book of Mudora. Whatever needed saying, they’d tell him themselves. These were private, heartfelt words.

He wondered how Time acquired said private, heartfelt words.

He also wondered how many more pages there were and began skimming.

As Legend flipped through the short, clipped sentences, he saw that most of them ended with a sharp, dashed line. Some had small numbers at the bottom, a x2 or x3 and once, a x7.

There were too many. Far too many.

He saw his own name multiple times and wondered how that was even possible, how one person could die multiple times. He thought of his uncle, who had died before his eyes and, though Legend had brought him back, would probably die again eventually.

If Legend had had to guess, he’d say Time had copied down at least 100 dying statements. That was over 11 times for each of them.

Again he wondered how Time had collected so many dying words—different dying words—of people who were, at the moment, still alive.

He wondered why Time had bothered to write them down at all.

But one small question, one he'd had for a while but dismissed, bubbled to the surface.

Why is Time named Time?

A small pebble hitting him in the head snapped him out of his thoughts. His head whipped over to its source and he saw Four looking at him urgently, Twilight stalling as Time began to stand up. Legend got the message and hurriedly tucked the book back where he found it, clutching the paper containing his translations in his curled fist.

Four volunteered for the first watch. Twilight took second. Legend grabbed third.

They all knew they wouldn't be able to sleep anyway.

When Four went to wake up Twilight at the end of his watch, he shook Legend awake as well. A furtive glance toward Time told them that the Old Man was slumbering soundly, or at least appeared to be. Not taking any chances, they moved to the opposite corner of the campsite, talking in hushed voices.

"What did you find?" Four asked Legend urgently, clearly restless after spending his watch in suspense.

Legend sighed.

"It's not good."

Twilight's eyes narrowed and Four's face became a mask of focus, his eyes glinting purple in the firelight.

"His book contains a lot of entries, short little snippets, never longer than a few sentences. There's gotta be about a hundred of them. They all go along these lines." He read his own passage, the only one he had had the heart to fully decipher, and Four and Twilight's gazes shifted from focus to shock and fear.

"The journal is filled with our dying words. Dozens of them. This one... it's.... it wouldn't be inaccurate," he manages to force out.

"I've gone back in time to prevent someone from dying before. I know it's possible. But that involved the Triforce and… I've only ever done it the one time. But I have one question for you two:" the two listened at rapt attention, understanding and horror filtering into their gazes as he asked his burning question: "Why is Time named Time?"

A cacophony of voices burst through Four's head, causing him to curl in on himself and pull on his hair. Twilight absently put his hand on Four's head, petting him in a hollow pantomime of comfort as he stared brokenly into the fire.

"We've all died," Twilight started. "Dozens of times. All of us, dead. And he watched as every single one of us breathed out our final words and then turned back the clock to save us."

"I always thought he had an uncanny ability to swoop in and save someone in the nick of time," remarked Four, collecting himself.

"But what do we do with this information?" asked Twilight, the tears in his eyes sparkling in the firelight.

"We can't very well ask him to stop, can we? He's saved our lives countless times and we didn't even know it!" asked Four, the red flames of the fire dancing in his eyes.

"He should have told us," Four bit out abruptly, seemingly changing his mind. He froze in shock for a moment before looking up and letting his eyes reflect the blue of the night sky. "He chose to shut himself up for months, watching us die time and time again. He's an idiot is what he is. He could have told us so we could help him when he rewound time. He could have told us how we died so we wouldn't make those same mistakes again! He could have told us so we could comfort him after he watched us die in his arms!"

Twilight, with his arm now around Four's shoulders, beckoned for Legend to sit next to him. He complied, and Twilight pulled him close, soaking in the warmth of two of his very alive, very breathing, brothers. The three boys sat under the stars, tears sparkling in their eyes and running down their faces.

"We have to confront him" stated Legend, leaning into Twilight's side.

"Do we tell everyone else?" Four asked, eyes drooping from exhaustion after already taking his watch and then having to wrestle to keep himself in line in light of the new information.

"We should start by talking to Time," Twilight growled, eyes steely, "I don't want the others finding out like this."

He felt Four nod sleepily into his side and Legend hum his agreement. Twi thought about how he had the chance to comfort and be comforted by his brothers in the light of this news but Time had never had such luxury, even after doing so much more for so much longer.

---------

Wild rose with the sun as he usually did, glancing around the campsite to orient himself. The whole camp was fast asleep, Wind sprawled over Warriors and burritoed in his scarf. Sky snored lazily, spread-eagle on the ground next to his bedroll. Hyrule slept curled up, the closest one to Legend’s empty sleeping bag. Time laid completely still and silent in his bedroll save for the slow rise and fall of his chest. Twilight, Four, and the aforementioned Legend's sleeping bags were all empty and as Wild moved towards the fire, he saw why. Twilight sat on the ground, his back against a log, staring into the dying embers of the fire. Four was curled up against his left side, snoring lightly, while Legend curled into his right. Wild smiled deviously and pulled out his slate, the camera rune already selected, but upon being leveled by the broken, tired, grief-stricken eyes of Twilight, the smile fell off his face and he put the slate away.

He began preparing breakfast somewhat awkwardly before asking quietly: "you wanna talk about it?"

Twilight didn't move, staring into the embers some more. Wild didn't think he was going to get an answer out of him until he heard a stern "if you are ever hurting, no matter how big or how small, tell me. Please."

He looked over to see Twilight looking at him with an urgent, pleading gaze.

"This is about Time, isn't it," Wild replied.

Twilight's shoulders rose, startled.

"I'm not an idiot,” Wild started defensively, “I saw the looks you three were giving each other after Legend's outburst and then you all went off into the woods together and then took watches and now I find you out here snuggling with Legend of all people? You guys figured it out, didn't you. It’s not good, is it." It wasn't a question.

Twilight sighed, defeated. "No, it's not good, cub."

Wild glanced up from his cooking. "What is it?"

Twilight shook his head.

"You hypocrite!" he started, before getting shushed by Twilight. He continued in a whisper, "you tell me I have to tell you everything that's bothering me and not five minutes later you withhold what's eating you from me! I'll tell you what's bothering me: this!"

Twilight opened his mouth to respond—

"Give up, he's got you cornered."

Twilight looked down to see Four staring up at him. He sat up, stretching, before continuing. "We might as well tell him."

At all of the noise and Twilight's shifting, Legend began to stir, moaning and blinking slowly before sitting up with a start. He looked around, disoriented, until he realized he had fallen asleep on Twilight. When he spotted Wild barely holding back a snicker, his face turned the same shade as his pink bangs.

"You should have woken me up," Legend said in a huff, pulling at his tunic, "I said I was taking the last watch."

Twilight didn't tease him like Legend had thought he would, instead saying, "you needed the sleep more. Besides, I wasn't going to get any, anyway."

"Whyever would that be?" asked Wild, trying to inject himself back into the conversation.

"We read Time's journal," started Legend, waving away Twilight's protests with a hand, "and found out that… we think… well… we haven't been as successful as we thought we were. On this adventure, I mean."

At Wild's cocked head, he continued.

"We have reason to believe that we've died, all of us, numerous times, and Time's somehow been turning back the clock to save us before that happens."

Wild listened intently, running his right hand up and down his left arm as he waited for the water to boil. Understanding slowly crept across his face as he looked up at the trio.

"He must have watched us, all of us... so many times. And he never said anything. Never asked for comfort or recognition..."

Four cut in "or even telling us that we had died and warning us how to avoid it later."

Wild thought for a moment before adding "well, he usually does give out pretty cryptic advice after battles," he gasped, "you don't think—"

"I do think," replied Legend, nodding solemnly. This was a point he hadn't previously considered, but it fit his theory.

Wild continued making breakfast in relative silence as the sun continued to rise. Warriors seemed to wake up before the Wind Burrito™ snuggled him back into dreamland. Time sat up, rubbing his eye, and began to start his morning routine.

"Hey old man!" Four stage-whispered, to the horror of his three companions.

Time looked over at them curiously.

Four waved him over and he obliged, standing slowly before picking his way through camp. He cocked an eyebrow at Four, a carefully blank expression on his face, but now that Four knew what Time had been going through, he could see the grief in Time's eye and could imagine that Time must have been seeing his broken, twisted corpse whenever he looked at him.

The smallest hero stood before the tallest before leaning into his chest and wrapping his arms around him. "Thank you for keeping us safe," Four said into Time's tunic.

Time looked around in confusion before Twilight barreled into him, doing the same.

"We're safe. We're safe thanks to you," Twilight said, wrapping his arms around his mentor from the side. Wild didn't hesitate to follow Twilight's lead before squeezing himself next to his own mentor. Legend watched as tears began to fill Time's eyes and he looked down at who the Old Man saw to be his own children.

"But Pops," Legend drawled, eyes narrowed and a hand on his hip, "f***ing talk to us about it. That's what we're for, right?"

He was met with Wild reaching out and grabbing his tunic, pulling him into the group hug. Tears were streaming down the left side of Time's face and he melted into the arms of his boys, relishing their beating hearts and warm bodies.

They broke the hug after a few moments, Time furiously wiping his eye and the others sniffling slightly and wiping their own. Time tried to collect himself, gravity sinking into his voice as he said: "so you know, then."

Twilight opened his mouth to reply but Legend jumped in first. "No thanks to you! We watched you slowly deteriorate for weeks, Old Man! We thought you were gonna drop dead and you didn't f***ing say anything! The only reason we know is—" Legend cut himself off, realizing he was getting carried away and not wanting to divulge too much.

"The only reason you know is...?" Time questioned, voice growing stern. Legend squirmed for a moment before Twilight stepped in, finally asking: "how many times?"

"You'll have to be more specific, Pup"

"How many times have you rewound time to save us?"

"As many as I needed to."

"That's not a number," growled Twilight, leveling a glare icy enough to rival Time's own.

Time sighed. "Eighty-seven."

Legend's brow furrowed in confusion. There were a lot more than 87 entries in Time’s book. Time noticed. "Sometimes I had to do multiple people a run," he explained. Legend looked up in shock. Had time figured out that Legend had read his journal? Legend wasn't surprised; Time was one of their sharpest members, after all.

"A run?" started Twilight, "a run? You've got a cute little name for it and everything, don’t you. Eighty-seven times, huh? How many runs were you going to do before telling us?"

"Twi," said Four evenly, putting his hand on the teen's arm. He looked at him pleadingly, silently asking him to back down.

Twi sighed, deflating. Time could see his anger for what it really was: worry, fear, love.

Legend figured that Time was onto him anyway, so he decided to come clean about the journal.

"Yeah, but Time," Legend began, almost pleadingly, "why did you have to keep that Hylia-forsaken journal? So you could keep a lovely chronicle of the pain of watching us die over and over again? Why—" he bit back something resembling a sob— "did you write down all of our last words?" Legend asked, searching Time's face.

"In case something happened and we couldn't get your real last ones. In case I couldn't fix it. Because... I thought they deserved to be recorded. I know firsthand that traveling through time causes new timelines to be born. That that Legend is dead in a world where he always will be. Just because I left that world does not make it any less real or that Legend any less dead."

Wild's eyes widened in realization. "You didn't just fix it right away, did you?" He asked. "You buried us, didn't you."

"Every time..." Four trailed off, staring into the distance.

The group descended upon Time again, wrapping him in another, fiercer, bear hug. They got interrupted by Wild's pot boiling over and they quickly untangled while he went to salvage their breakfast. It was good timing, though, as the rest of the camp was beginning to stir, Warriors finally breaking free of the snuggle clutches of the Wind Burrito™ and Hyrule blearily rubbing his eyes. Wind began to unroll himself from the burrito, and Sky began to stir.

Sky, Wind, Warriors, and Hyrule eventually joined the others for breakfast. They all sat around the fire before Wind piped up. "What happened?" he asked Wild. Sentences trailed off as everyone waited for Wild's response. "Something happened?" he asked, trying his best to act nonchalant, but the others had caught on. "Breakfast doesn't taste the same and you've all been awfully quiet," Wind elaborated. Hyrule eyed Legend. He did seem rather off. Warriors' searching eyes caught Twilight's, looking for an explanation, but Twilight's only response was to flick his eyes up to Time. Sky turned towards Time and smiled slightly. "You look better," he remarked simply, startling everyone. "You don't look quite so broken anymore." The group stared in shock at that. He turned to the group. "I won't press," Sky shrugged as an explanation. "He's doing better. I don't see how prying would help."

"Just because you aren't aware of the actions someone took to cause a given outcome, that doesn't mean the outcome would have occurred without their aid," Four cryptically contributed.

The Links in the know shot surprised looks at Four, who glanced softly at Time.

"Would someone please explain what's going on," pleaded Warriors. Time sighed, setting down his empty bowl. He began explaining, but instead of giving them the facts that the other Links had puzzled out, he told it like a story. He told them the story of how Legend, after getting stabbed from behind by a lizalfos, had died in his arms. He told the Links how he had quickly committed his last words to memory, scribbling them down in his journal. He told the Links how the weight of his ocarina hung on his belt, how memories of rewinding time to save lives ran through his head, how he knew that other timelines branched off every time he rewound. He told them how they buried Legend and he read his last words out of his journal as the remaining eight wept. He told them how he had explained to the other Links that there was a way to get Legend back, but that they would never see that other world. He told them how he hugged them all goodbye before playing the Song of Time and materializing right behind Legend, decapitating the lizalfos before it could get to the red-clad hero. The group stared in awe and shock at Time, but also at Legend. Hyrule leaned farther into Legend's side, sniffling. Legend wrapped his arm around the brunet's shoulders.

Time trailed off after he finished his story, allowing the others to figure out for themselves that he had done that whole process 87 times. That there were 87 timelines out there where they were heartbroken, destroyed, dead, and Time had vanished, promising a better future for a different group of Links. "I could only pray that Hylia erased those timelines when I prevented their existence, but I could never be sure. I had to make sure each timeline was the best it could be before I left it."

At that, something dawned on Sky and he rushed over to where he had the Master Sword sheathed by his bedroll. He drew it and wrapped his hands around the hilt, staring at the blade intently and mumbling under his breath. The group watched in confusion, eventually collectively realizing that Sky was asking Fi if she knew what had happened to the other timelines. Sky paused for a moment as though listening before slumping down in relief.

"She says that when you prevent a future, the alternate timeline ceases to exist as if it had never happened." Sky smiles warmly, "the only thing that causes a timeline to continue, even if it has been prevented in another world, is the interference of the Triforce. Legend's not dead. Nobody is. They're all right here."

Time's eye widened in shock. He broke down in that moment, hundreds of lives lost no longer weighing down on him. Wind dove into his arms, the other Links following suit in the third and teariest group hug of the day.

"If only someone could have told you this 86 'runs' ago" muttered Legend under his breath before getting smacked over the head by Hyrule.

---------

After that morning, they would have liked to be able to say that everything went back to normal, but that would have been a lie.

A few days later, they were ambushed in the middle of the night. Hyrule had been on watch, and despite him waking everyone up, they couldn't get prepared in time to defend themselves very well. Twilight had woken with a start to Hyrule's cries, reaching for his sword before getting yanked back by a fully armored Time just in time to watch a spear from one of Sky's moblins crash down where he would have been standing. Twilight stared at Time in shock, who was still clutching his ocarina in his left hand. Twilight froze at the sight before his mentor shook him. "There's no time. Guard Wild's back."

Twilight didn't need to be told twice. Time finished off the moblin and Twilight grabbed his sword, rushing to protect Wild. The battle ended shortly thereafter. It had been a quick, previously deadly, calculated strike. Clearly, their enemy had a very strong grasp on tactics. As the group cleared out their camp, Twilight whispered something in Wild's ear. The younger gasped in shock and the two rushed to where Time was packing up his bedroll and tackled him in a hug.

"Thank you" whispered Twilight into Time's tunic. Wild gingerly picked up Time's hand and placed it over his beating heart like he'd had to do a few times with Flora after the Calamity.

"I'm alive. I'm safe. It's okay."

Needless to say, the group got rather accustomed to the sight of Time in tears, but they also hugged him far more as well. After the battle, Wind spotted Time writing in his journal. Had he been able to read any of it, he’d know that it had said:

Twilight: It’s going to be okay. I love you.

Wild: This isn’t goodbye and you know it. Just play that ocarina of yours and we’ll be right as rain.

“Hey, Time.” Time looked up. Wind continued, “because you know now that the other timelines stopped existing, you don’t have to write those down anymore.” Time started as if he were about to say something before Wind suddenly got an idea. “What if we all wrote down our words so you don’t have to! We could all write out everything we might want to say so you don’t have to copy down those short little sentences anymore.”

“Some people did that in the army,” Warriors butted into the conversation. “It was common practice to write that kind of stuff down for your next of kin before heading out. It’ll make your life a heck of a lot easier, Old Man. Besides,” he added with a wry grin, “I’m not gonna spill out my guts if I know I’m just coming back anyway.”

Time relented. He knew from experience that they never had time to get out everything they wanted to say in those final moments. He nodded his approval and that evening, the whole group solemnly wrote out everything they didn’t want to leave unsaid.

---------

Once, while the group had been trekking through the Snowpeak of Twilight's world, Wild pulled out his shield and prepared to surf down a particularly steep and icy hill.

"Cub." Twilight scolded, "Don't. You'll get yourself killed."

"It's never happened before!" replied Wild cheerily before they all froze, realizing what he'd just said. They turned to Time.

Time shook his head gratefully, "not as of yet. But I still wouldn't—"

That was all the encouragement Wild needed before readying his shield again. Right as he was about to jump, he felt a hand snare the back of his tunic, stopping him. He turned and was met with the face of Time, a new, haunted look in his eyes, and an ocarina clutched in his left hand.

Wild was noticeably less reckless after that, much to the relief of everyone, especially Twilight.

That night, Four sidled up to Time and asked quietly, "how long did we look before giving up?"

Time sighed, "using the ocarina takes a toll on me. I try not to use it unless it's absolutely necessary."

"How long."

"A few days."

At that, something in Four's eyes flashed red and he found Wild, dragged him by the tunic and shoved him into Time's arms. "Give this man a hug," was all he said before heading back to rejoin the others around the fire. Wild didn't need to be told twice.

Time began to look healthier and healthier, no longer on the verge of death. He had to travel back less and less frequently because of his group's newfound self-awareness and he never had to travel back more than once for the same event. He had also been spending less time in each alternate future, only ever sticking around long enough to ensure that there was no other option before they smiled and told Time they’d see him later.

"Moral of the story," chirped Legend happily one day over dinner, "always read your friends' journals without their permission."

Hyrule thwacked him over the head with his spoon.

---------

Bonus:

“There’s no way he survived that fall, Twilight.”

“He has to have. He wouldn’t let something this stupid kill him.”

“Yeah, actually, he kind of would.”

Hyrule hit Legend in the back of the head.

“Are you gonna rewind?” Four asked Time.

He sighed. “There’s no way he’s lasted this long with those injuries. We very well might starve out here anyway considering Wild has all the food. We’ve tried everything. Even Wind’s pendant isn’t helping.”

“Besides,” Sky points out, putting his hand on Twilight’s shoulder, “Wild won’t have to go through all that pain if we rewind.”

“But,” Time adds meaningfully, “let’s not resort to altering the flow of time for the sake of convenience. It’s not exactly easy for me to pull off. Sometimes I miss.”

The group nods solemnly.

“So we’re going back, then?”

“I think we’ll have to.”

Time grabs his ocarina before Legend stops him.

“So when you rewind time, none of us will remember this, right?”

“We’ll walk along the cliff, Wild will ask if the stunt will kill him, I’ll tell him yes, and we’ll keep walking. None of this will happen.”

“Sweet,” says Legend, a mischievous glint in his eye. He walks over to Warriors. “Hey Warriors.”

“Yeah?”

“You suck at life.” Legend punches him in the face. “Turn it back, now!”

Time does not, in fact, turn it back. Instead he watches in amusement as Warriors punches Legend in the face. Then, he starts playing the ocarina.

“I’ll punch you in the face!” yells Legend over the music, but Time’s smirk reminds Legend that he won’t remember to.

Hyrule smacks Legend over the head again for kicks before they finally cease to be.

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kickdownthewalls · 8 years ago

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Top 20 Rock/Metal Albums of 2016

Looking at a lot of other 'TOP ALBUMS OF 2016' lists, I rarely see any albums that made my list. Now, I don't think this indicates that I'm out of touch with the current metal scene - I am, sure - but I think it is more a reflection of the incredible wealth and diversity of metal releases we saw this year. Plus, my tastes are more old-school than ever so I'm just more likely to gravitate towards bands like High Spirits and Spellcaster rather than critical darlings like Vektor and Khemmis (even though those bands are great, too). These are simply the 20 records that made the biggest impression and elicited the most repeat spins for me this past year.

20. HERMAN FRANK - The Devil Rides Out

Accept has long been one of my favorite bands and I was sad to see Herman Frank exit the fold a couple years ago. Still, it meant he was able to focus more on his solo work and this is his best album yet. It has a very classic, melodic heavy metal vibe without sounding dated or all that much like Accept, which is pretty impressive. Lots of great guitar-work and some really memorable songs are what led me to rank it in the top 20.

19. ARTILLERY - Penalty By Perception

These Danish thrashers have been releasing quality albums on and off for over 30 years and still remain criminally underrated. This is among their best albums, too, with a wide range of styles from melodic balladry to out-and-out thrashers, very much in the same style as their classic By Inheritance. Artillery deliver great riffs and leads but, first and foremost, great songs.

18. ALCEST - Kodama

Here is a great example of how many releases are coming out these days. Alcest is a band I have been following since the Écailles de lune came out and yet, until yesterday, I had no idea that they had released a new album last year. Not only that, it is one of their best and a real return to form, walking the perfect balance between post-black metal and shoegaze rock.

17. BLOOD CEREMONY - Lord Of Misrule

This band's previous opus made #1 on my list in 2014 and for good reason. Their unique mix of 60s occult rock and doom metal (with some well-placed flute) is still fully intact on the follow-up. The songs here didn't strike me initially quite as powerfully as the last one but they are growing on me and this would probably rank even higher a few months from now.

16. TESTAMENT - Brotherhood Of The Snake

One of the few here that seems to be making a lot of lists, it is really hard to fault this record at all. The last two albums have been quite good, too, but this one just feels like a new level of quality all around. The songs are more diverse, more memorable, better produced and feature some great performances from everyone, esp. Gene Hoglan. The Bay Area thrash scene is on fire this year.

15. DEATH ANGEL - The Evil Divide

With the exception of Killing Season, I have loved every Death Angel album (and even that one was okay by most band's standards). The Evil Divide is not their absolute best but it is really solid and has the usual superb combination of melody, speed, emotion, and clever songwriting. While it was sad to see them lose original members over the years, the current line-up is absolutely killer and they really deliver here.

14. OCCULT BURIAL - Hideous Obscure

Another great band emerges from Canada, this time playing raw and brutal first wave black metal with hints of Bathory, Venom and early Sodom. The production is lo-fi but absolutely works and you can actually hear all the instruments remarkably well. Cool, unexpected guitar solos and drum fills help fill out the wonderfully primitive songs. A lot of bands attempt this sound but few succeed this triumphantly.

13. DEATHSTORM - Blood Beneath The Crypts

This is one of those albums I almost overlooked, even though I am a fan of their previous work. This is pure, hi-energy thrash circa 1985, with elements of of Hell Awaits, Endless Pain and Morbid Visions mixed together quite nicely. Powerful, raw, and brutal, with enough variety in tempo and killer riffing to make it a standout.

12. MOONSORROW - Jumalten aika

Moonsorrow has long been my standard for epic pagan metal and their latest is yet another gem. Composed of four 12-16 minute tracks and one 'short' one (7 minutes), it is not a quick or easy listen but is highly rewarding. The balance of black, viking and folk metal elements is perfect and seems to come so naturally to Moonsorrow.

11. STRIKER - Stand In The Fire

This Canadian lot has been around for a few years now and, as far as I'm concerned, have never done a bad album. Lots of soaring vocals, memorable riffs and pummeling double-bass drums are served up with a top-notch, modern-sounding production job.

10. SPELLCASTER - Night Hides The World

Portland is home to many a hipster 'metal' band (some of which are actually quite good) but there are also some die-hard old-school metal acts calling it home these days. Spellcaster started off as a good if somewhat unorginal US power metal band but quickly took off on a journey all their own. Their third record has hints of speed metal, NWOBHM, 70s hard rock, 80s AOR, 90s power metal, and everything in between. There is a haunting quality to the band's sound that is rather intoxicating.

9. EXUMER - The Raging Tides

This is like the greatest Bay Area thrash album to ever come out of Germany. Seriously ripping material in the vein of early Testament, Exodus and Vio-lence. In thrash it is all about the riff and Exumer deliver some great ones that more than makes up for any lack of originality.

8. PRIMAL FEAR - Rulebreaker

After two decades pumping out quality metal, I kind of take Primal Fear for granted sometimes. Rulebreaker isn't their greatest album and it sounds very much like the last couple but, taken on its own merits, it kicks some serious ass. Ralf Scheepers is one of my all-time fave vocalists and Mat Sinner still comes up with great, super-heavy riffs and the combination is just magic.

7. LUCIFER'S HAMMER - Beyond The Omens

Despite a cover that puts one in the mind of black or doom metal, this Chilean outfit play a very old-school brand of metal that could have come out on Ebony or Neat Records back in 1982. Imagine a mix of Chateaux, Crucifixion, Tyton, and Warlord and you won't be far off. Lots of melody and upfront basslines mixed with judicious use of speed make for a refreshing sound that doesn't sound like anyone else out there right now.

6. BRAINSTORM - Scary Creatures

These Germans have always had their own mix of heavy riffs and melodic vocals that is powerful metal without really being power metal. They also seem to have been somewhat on autopilot after the awesome Downburst back in 2008. Happily, the fire has returned and Scary Creatures ranks up there with the band's finest work, combining top-notch musicianship, punchy production, and ten highly memorable tunes.

5. METALLICA - Hardwired...To Self-Destruct

I'm sure I will end up writing a much longer review of this long-awaited album (like I did with St. Anger and Death Magnetic), but I generally was quite pleased with it. Surprisingly so. There were only a couple tunes on the whole thing that I didn't care for (Halo on Fire, Am I Savage?), but even those had some moments that are worth the listen. Mainly, it sounds like a cross between Justice and the black album but there are also some bits of Kill 'em All and Load thrown in, too. The biggest improvement over Death Magnetic is in the arrangements, which sound much more like the finely-crafted and well-balanced songs that made Metallica famous than the somewhat haphazard DM songs. Best album since Justice, hands down. Also, worst album cover since like ever, sadly.

4. BABY WOODROSE - Freedom

One of my fave psych/garage bands ever since the Love Comes Down album hit me a decade ago. While I have enjoyed some albums more than others, they all have their moments and Freedom has some real classics like "Reality" and ultra-trippy "Termination" that capture the same magic that the 60s tunes that inspired them had.

3. DELAIN - Moonbathers

While much of my list is old-school metal, there are some more modern bands doing some cool stuff and Delain are one of my faves. Though clearly at the pop end of the symphonic metal scene, they deliver such good, memorable songs, I find myself returning time and again. Charlotte Wessels has one of those great voices that makes even the less memorable tracks highly listenable. Super psyched to finally see these guys with HammerFall this year.

2. FLOTSAM AND JETSAM - Flotsam And Jetsam

At one time, F&J were rising stars on a major label with two killer thrash albums under their belt. Then the 90s hit and the wheels came off. After several mediocre albums and a truly awful attempt to remake No Place For Disgrace, I had lost hope but then this album came out and DAMN! The intensity and quality songwriting of those first two records were back, along with a kick-ass production, great solos, and Eric A.K.'s best vocal performance in a couple of decades.

1. HIGH SPIRITS - Motivator

When I heard the Another Night album a few years back, I was blown away and hooked right away. Somehow, the magic didn't return on You Are Here in 2014 but holy hell it sure has on Motivator. All the classic hard rock and metal elements from the 70s and 80s are assembled in a very distinctive manner here on nine highly memorable songs. Right up there with The Night Flight Orchestra and The Dagger as one of my favorite no-frills, retro-minded bands.

As much as 2016 was a disaster in terms of losing great actors and musicians (not to mention that fucking election), it did produce quite a number of great albums. Beyond the twenty above, I also had much love for new releases from SAVAGE MASTER, SODOM, AXXION, SPELL, ATTACKER, ZODIAC, SUMERLANDS, PRETTY MAIDS, DARKNESS, ROTÖR, ABBATH, SPIRITUAL BEGGARS, CAUCHEMAR, BURNING POINT, BELLA D, TREES OF ETERNITY, KATATONIA, SERIOUS BLACK, and probably a bunch more that I’m forgetting or just haven’t heard yet. Plus, some great EPs and demos from SUBSTRATUM, SOURCE, CANDLEMASS, CROSS VAULT, TAARKUS and VOIVOD.

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nitacus · 8 years ago

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1. Your First OC ever? Oh gosh, I'm fairly sure it was a robot/cyborg girl (I think because I really liked the Androids from Dragonball Z) I annot remember her name I do remember, she had some love interest who was blond, and didn't discover what she really was for a while. Her maker was evil, I think I wrote it when I was like 8-ish ugh how embarrassing. 2. Do you have a personal favourite among your OC's? Oh gee probably Riea just because she is the oldest long term one who I've written for, and recreated and built upon many times, but it's hard to pick favourites out of them all. 3. Have you ever adopted a character or gotten a character from somebody? I genuinely don't remember ever taking on another persons character, I have made suggestions on how a person could characterise their OC better so I used the, temporarily to demonstrate but never took one on long term to keep. I would though if I thought they were salvageable, or if I felt they possessed a story inside of them waiting to be told. 4. A character you rarely talk about? Does Cyborg girl count ^^' if not, I don't really discuss the Knight Commander with people, even though he's an antagonist. Other than him, there is a blonde female who my succubus character (also female) seduced who I haven't discuss much, mainly because I haven't determined how she's going to be reintroduced yet. I might make her a witch and thus aware of her soul having been stolen. 5. If you could only make only one of your OC's popular/known, who would it be? Viseran ( my deaf/mute character) a scouting party member, from a post apocalyptic future story. 6. Two OC's of yours that look alike despite not being related? That I made similar intentionally? Or I only realised were similar later on? None spring to mind who weren't related. 7. Are your OC's part of any story, or stories? Yes, that's what my entire list of OC's consist of. 8. Do you RP as any of your OC's? No I have never RP'd before. I sort of just work through everything in my head. 9. Would you ever be willing to give any of your OC's to someone else? I have no idea, perhaps some old, or abandoned ones. It feels weird saying I'd give one to someone else though. 10. Introduce an OC with a complicated design? Complicated how? Like their character and personality, their story and purpose, or their actual design and appearance? A) Little Empress, B) Riea, C) God knows but probably Aymia Crewe. Little empress is a succubus, on the side of evil, she is a literal empress despite others having turned it into a sort of pet name, much to her distaste, and the story follows her and she sort of ends up working for the other side. 11. Is there any OC of yours you could describe as a 'sunshine'? Zeriste/Rabbit is the only one who springs immediately to mind. 12. Name an OC who isn't yours but you like a lot? Some of the Dragon Age OC's that people have made are super interesting. I saw a thunder god one on deviant art that was pretty cool too. 13. Do you have any troublemaker OC's? Oh yeah I've created a few. Else witch, Blade, Peydion, immediately come to mind 14. Introduce an OC with a tragic background? Aymia Crewe applies due to having become permanently stuck in a child's body of ten, even though she is like nineteen years old. A number of her childhood years were spent as a child soldier, of which she was only one, another character of mine is also a child of warfare, however refocusing on Aymia due to her being highly skilled, and being one of the longest surviving children, as well as children being more compatible than adults, with the experiments to enhance soldiers on the battlefield. Due to being one of the subjects experimented on, a side effect of that was her body ceasing to age, she also has successfully enhanced battle skills, but she kind of feels trapped in a never ending nightmare. 15. Do you like to talk about your OC's with others? I rarely talk about my writing projects unless they are finished and I am content to discuss them. 16. Which one of your OC's would be the best at Biology (school subject)? Uissade, he is driven to seek achievement and learning above all else. 17. Any OC OTP's? Of my own characters - Riea and Blade though they probably will not end up together given the significant trauma in her past, Novice Witch and the Main Character, Aleksis and Vio, Riel and Lief though sometimes it changes, in other words I have several 18. Any OC crackships? Mine or from other media because I have a lot that belong to others. Sometimes I enjoy one-shots of various interactions between my characters, even cross overs from different stories 19. Introduce an OC that means a lot to you (and explain why) - Riea purely because she was my first OC that I designed as an adult, with a complete story and background and she has morphed and gone through many changes over the time since I created her, so I feel that I know her best and where she is coming from during the story. 20. Do any of your OC's sing? None actually, I have yet to make a musical OC. 21. Your most artistic OC? Out the ones I've created thus far Acera fits this best of all, she's artistic, creative, addicted to bright colours, popular, and collects shiny knick-knacks. 22. Is there any OC of yours who people tend to mischaracterise? No, I don't really mind how people view or characterise my OC’s, as the only one who knows what I had in mind when I created them is myself. I am always intrigued to see how another person might view different characters. 23. Introduce OC who has changed from your first idea concerning what the character would be like? Riea, she's changed several times as mentioned above. 24. If you could meet one OC of yours, who would it be, and why? My former slave turned free traveller and fighter for justice, he's kind, sees the best in people and has never become bitter or angry over the hand life dealt him, I admire that. 25. The OC who resembles you the most? Auli, she has some differences from me namely her ethnicity, but she has dark hair and eyes like me, is kind but passionate and fiery whenever defending those she cares about. Also loves her family, culture, good food, and isn't afraid of expressing herself. Therefore yeah definitely Auli. 26. Have you ever had to change your OC's design, or something else about them against your will? No, I am stubborn when it comes to who I perceive a character to be, or how they firm as a complete person in my head. I take constructive criticism, and allow others to suggest things whether a flaw or a positive trait, but I know who they are overall, and I know the story they are telling, so if they need to be rebuilt, I sift through trying to identify what I need to change for it to feel right. 27. Any OCs that were inspired by a certain song? None that I remember ever creating. 28. Your most dangerous OC? Gees, many are quite dangerous in truth, however the most dangerous character I have who isn't a straight up villain/antagonist is probably Aymia, she looks like a small child physically, but is an experienced, capable, killer, seeking a cure to her current condition, or punish those responsible, so definitely Aymia. 29. Which of your OCs would go investigate an abandoned house at night without telling anyone they're going? Serafien out of sheer stubbornness, Aymia, possibly Riea too seeing she can be very impulsive and isn't used to involving others in her plans or business. 30. Which of your OC's would most likely have a secret stuffed animal collection? Sayah because she's always acting tougher and more aloof than she really is. Possibly also Jarei. 31. Pick one OC of yours and explain what their Tumblr blog would be like? Peydion would reblog the latest fashion trends, she would always be posting hair and makeup tips for others as naturally she has immaculate taste. She would post skincare products, the only other types of things she would reblog would be fundraisers, and anything for a good cause as Peydion despite being vain will always champion the causes of the underdog, she will defend the picked on, indifferent to status. Acera's Tumblr would be a crafty, artsy collage of style and colour, I feel like she would make her own fashion accessories, upload her paintings and drawings, and make eclectic music playlists and suggestions for people, I also feel like she would have sections of her page dedicated to black and white photographs to break up all of the colour every now and then, I feel she would be a sweets and caffine addict to. 32. Which of your OC's would be the most suitable horror game protagonist and why? I feel like Jarei, would be a matter of fact and rational protagonist, however she might be far too sensible to end up there in the first place. Therefore...I'm going to say, Iris would be unique in that type of situation. She's extremely different, spends the majority of her time amongst nature, and her powers as an empath would make the entire journey extremely interesting. 33. Your shyest OC? I can't really think of a shy character that I've written, I have expressed pain and distant characters, cautious and uncertain, bold and fiery, I've written introverts and extroverts, good and bad, jealous and vindictive, cruel even but I haven't written shy oddly. I will make that my next OC goal. Out of my characters who exist right now, I guess I would have to pick Iris or Briayla, because they are more introverted, Riea is also. 34. Do you have any twin characters? Yes three sets. Paige and Kat, another set of girl twins who are thus far unnamed still, and then there's Alex and Cole 35. Do yo have any sibling characters? Apart from the sets of twins ^^, not that I can recall. 36. Do you have OC pairs where the other part belongs to someone else (siblings, lovers, friends, etc)? Belongs to someone else? Like another writer with their OC? Or who the character belongs to in the story? I wouldn't say any characters belong to, or with anyone in any of my stories, they are each, their own person. But if you mean as in another writer's OC, no. 37. Introduce an OC who is not quite human? Riel and Lief both count in this case, essentially both are members of a group of beings who possess roles and responsibilities on the earth, they manage a particular job in everyday like that makes society function. A civil war breaks out, Riel is attacked and almost killed, she manages to escape, but at the same time falls into the mortal realm with a tear in her spiritual essence. Each being has an emergency, corporeal body which they inhabit within the human realm, Riel ends up being trapped within hers, and they are only supposed to be used minutely therefore the reliance upon it weakens her, so she's stuck, and during the initial aftermath she doesn't remember until Lief shows up and restores her memories of this, as they were sealed along with her powers within her. They are a part of her spiritual essence, it's intended to both protect the mortal realm as well as ensure mortals never discover their existence. Other stuff happens, war is being waged by both sides, that's all I'll say. 38. Which of your OC's would be the best dancer? Serafien, Else Witch I assume given the time period both women are from. 39. Introduce any character you want. Nine has white-blonde hair in a styled ponytail, with a messy braid running through it, and red eyes due to being albino. She is scrawny, and badly scarred along her right side and hip. Nine has the ability to kill, but she needs to picture how your organs work, in order to cause your lungs to seize up, she has to know how the respiratory system works, and picture it's inner workings in her mind, only then can she disrupt or shit down how it functions. She also has the ability to increase or decrease the potency of medicinal plants, herbs poisons, and all alchemical draughts she makes, making her both a brilliant healer, or killer depending on the necessity. 40. Any fond memories linked to your characters? Other than writing for them, being complimented on one or two. One time I made my sisters laugh with one of my OC's. A ghost and secretary working for a organisation of guardians, and although she is incredibly good at her job, she's of course incorporeal. Which means she cannot answer the phone, get the door, sign for packages that sort of thing, so at times she gets frustrated over it and her ghostly abilities act up, so office supplies randomly end up scattered about the lobby and that sort of thing. Also her partner as a receptionist who does answer the phones etc is a male mummy, who roller blades to work because he really enjoys human inventions, of course concerns that he might unravel means that he often puts tape on his bandages to keep them together. That sort of thing tends to make people laugh. 41. Has anyone drawn fan art of your OC's? No. 42. Which one of your OC's would be the most interested in the Greek Gods? Gaia considering her name comes directly from them, I also think she would be interested in her namesake and others among them. 43. Do you have any certain type when you create OC's? Do you tend to favour some certain traits or looks? It's time to confess. I lean mostly toward fantasy settings, I confess to liking troubled OC's, and the only physical features that I can say I lean towards is dark hair colours and bronze or tan skin colours. I try to represent as many ethnicities in my writing as possible, therefore I've made, French, English, Greek and Italian, Middle eastern mixed, Asian mixed OC's, a Hawaiian and Samoan OC, Native American, African American, Jamaican, as many as I can because I think everybody deserves representation, in stories and adventures, so it really depends on the setting I'm building, if it's a future society then I use our world ethnicities and say countries and nations have mixed and shifted etc, if it's a fantasy setting then I create and build my OC's and their ethnicities or cultures from scratch, likewise if I make a sci fi story which deals with alien races. 44. Something you like about your OC's in general? I like that they are all uniquely different, I try to explore new personalities and mindsets. 45. A character you no longer use? Well I haven't thought about cyborg girl in well over a decade but I might recreate and build her anew in a future story because I'm feeling some real nostalgia right now. 46. Has anybody ever told you that you treat your OC's badly? I would readily confess to doing so, you have to push characters to their limits, to determine what they are made of, that's how you work out who they are deep down. So yes I do think I act quite sadistically, and I'll kick them when they are down at times. 47. Has anybody ever (friendly) claimed any of your OC's as their child? No, no one has. 48. OC who is a perfect cinnamon roll, too good for this world, too pure. Mayyyybe Zeriste, she's the only character I can think of who falls into the sees the best in everybody, innocent type. Every other character I've made, ever, has been more complicated and more flawed than that. Zeriste isn't an old creation though she's a relatively new OC. 49. Which one of your OC's would most likely enjoy memes? I feel like roller blading mummy would be down ^^ he likes human creations. 50. Give me the good ol' OC talk here, talk about anything you want. If you want tag your answers as #yetanotherOCmeme so I can check them out too. I don't really know what OC talk is being referred to here. All I shall say is make them as varied, flawed, and three dimensional as possible. Be brave when challenging them with a difficult situation, and never hand OC's an easy way out. They can only build character in the face of adversity.

#yetanotherocmeme #my ocs

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