#hes just gone through hell and back in hyrule and then again in termina

[heatwa-ves]

Every day I cry about link btw

[theoneeyedgoldenwolf]

This ask is your chance to talk or rant about anything at all for as long as you want. Need inspiration? What is the nicest thing that happened to you today? What is your opinion about whatever media you've watched or read recently? Talk about your favorite character. Finish this sentence 'In a hole in the ground there lived...'

^.-

This ask took me so off guard that my mind locked up on me. XD So, on this case, I'm grateful of the given questions. ;)

Well, the day’s only starting for me but there’s definitely TWO things by now that I consider as nice things to have happened! =D 1) Comments on my story “The strength of the Hero’s Spirit” in AO3. ^.^ It’s always such delight to get comments! =D 2) Your ask! =)

Oh, that’s a good one. I’m happy of the media (both AO3 and Tumblr) so far as those are pretty much the only ones I’ve today checked. ^^;;

…..You sure about this one? O.o Okay, fine, I’ll talk about my fave character: This will be long, though. XD

The Hero of Time (Linked Universe version) So, everyone who has played Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask knows most of things about him. He’s even in Hyrule Warriors so he’s like handled three quests for certain before Linked Universe. And, to make things even further, he’s in Twilight Princess as Hero’s Shade.

Going by all that, Link has gone through lot of hell due to constant time changes. He’s had to go through hell and back again at WAY too young age. - The result of his first quest is undoing everything so, in overall, he’s not even titled as a Hero. =( - The result of his second quest is numbness as he’s undone everything so freaking many times just to get everything done correctly. And each time he’s reset the time loop, everyone forgets him while he remembers it all. - So, on his third quest, he’s not really wanting to get close with anyone. Obviously, the Hero of Warriors does get through to him and when they’re separated after the war…. That does NOT work well with the Hero of Time and Termina. >.<

- Fourth quest, obviously, is Linked Universe and we’re still to see how that goes for him. ^^;; - Fifth quest is after his passing. The Hero of Twilight needs his help and all. And, at any given point, the Hero of Time doesn’t give himself out (that info came from the Hyrule Historia). So, what is known so far is that Hero of Twilight knows him but Hero of Time only has figured out connections between the two of them. Somehow I doubt Hero of Twilight gave everything out when he talked with Hero of Time and Malon in the Malon arc of the comic. So, I doubt Hero of Time knows what’s up in his future considering his blood relative. And Malon does mention the fact that they’ll have kids and their kids will have kids which really shows that there are at least few generations between Hero of Time and Hero of Twilight even though they’re blood related.

Now, headcanons for the guy. XD

- Hero of Time (aka Time for easier going) has been rather raised by the fairies and hence learned their language. The Kokiri and the Great Deku Tree obviously had part in this too but the fairies have been there 24/7 all around him, looking after him, teaching him and everything. -> Due to the constant fairy dust, Time’s normal magic ended up replaced by Fairy Magic. He can’t learn magics the normal way. He didn’t even have magic to begin with. The Great Fairies taught him Fire, Wind and Protection even though those are named after the three Golden Goddesses. Time learned Ice by getting the ice arrows at Gerudo Fortress and coming up with an idea of his own to learn the actual magic. He cut his hand and kinda just snatched the magic off of the arrow and stored it within himself. That which was too much and overflowing, he struck out and hence calmed things out. Same is with Light which he got in the form of Light Arrows from Princess Zelda (or was it in the Ganon’s Castle or bit before that, don’t fully recall). Anyway, same way. --> Due to the magic not being his own, Time can end up hurt by his own magic. This is due to overusing one specific magic. He needs to swap it every now and then to prevent trouble. Too much fire and he overheats. Too much ice and he gets hypothermia. In the worst case, all of his magics strike and he can end up killed by that. So far he’s been lucky to survive few of this kind of rough situations. Considering this, fairies and fairy magic will be very harmful to him if things go into him getting all Fairy Magics of his going against him. (Time’s gone through this at least once in my stories.) ---> Considering this, the others can get “allergic” to Fairy Magic too. Usually at then there’s been too many of fairies used to heal and they’ve become immune to their work. Luckily, this situation passes if the one affected keeps away from fairies and Fairy Magic. (Legend had the unfortunat situation of having had this in one of my stories.)

- Time is aware of Hero of Hyrule being a fairy. He can see Hyrule’s glow which he’s dubbed at “Forest green, bit lighter than moss”. -> Time has very slight glow too which is a mix of all three fairy companions of his (Navi, Tatl, Proxi). Hyrule can see it on him. --> Time, like Hyrule, bit sheds Fairy Magic whole time. The duo, unlike all the other Heroes of their Chain, can’t wash the excessive magic off. It’s fully part of them.

- Time knows the clock precisely. He gained this ability at Termina. Originally I thought it was just because of doing everything again and again so many times that he just became aware of the time. Yet, in one my stories (which I will be uploading soon), I actually came up with a working idea. Time ended up touching one of the clocks he fell past when he reset the time. -> Time doesn’t know the week date, week or date number or such. He can, I think, not yet fully sure, be capable of knowing how many days has gone past but if you asked if it was Monday or Wednesday, he wouldn’t know. Or at least it would take a while for him to count and figure things out. Kinda like… “Okay, it was Tuesday like 120 hours ago so, um…. It’s actually Sunday, I think…?” --> Still, considering about that, there’s something Time’s very in tune with. No matter how the portals go or whatever time of the day or season they’re dropped into, Time’s the one whom knows the actual time of the day. He’s the one whom can help his boys to get adjust into things. I’ve never gone through it but I think this could be put down as a jetlag. ;) ---> Also, considering above stuff, Time’s the only one whom can keep up with the notion of whenever there’s one’s birthday or celebrational dates coming up no matter where they are. Hence he’s able to know, for example, the equinoxes and such. - The funny thing is that the longer the Chain gets used to Time knowing the clock and such, the harder it is for them if for some reason Time’s not there with them to give them the info. XD It’ll be even harder when they return to their own eras and timelines after the quest and they can’t get the info of clock or such from Time anymore.

- Originally Time wasn’t going to have anything from the War of Eras with him since Hero of Warriors kept that of good care of him. Yet, for one story, I came up with a knife. And ever since that’s been what he gained from meeting with the guy whom he considers as his older brother. The knife’s special too. Warriors got the counterpart to it. ;) -> The knives got Fairy Language within them with one side having the word “Sprite” and other side “Wars”. They have enchantment of staying sharp and unbreakable. When the blades are put together with tip of the weapon pointing at the handle of the other weapon, a picture comes up. Depending on which one’s knife is below, the picture is different. It is kinda like saying “This is my memory of you.”. For Wars it’s an actual photo they took during the war at calmer moment with the duo (him and Sprite) having fun and being happy. For Time it’s an actual memory of him having been wrapped fully into Wars’ scarf as back then he really could be bundled into it thoroughly. It was one of very rare safe places for him.

- Time is physically around 35 years (I think that’s what most agree upon) but that’s not the reality. His ways are for much younger every now and then. And he does look so much younger when he’s happy and smiling. So, I’d say he’s not much older than the oldest of the eight which would be around 20 or so. And yet, by mind, I fear he might be actually older. He’s gone through being ten and 17 during his first quest. He’s been in the form of adults (Fierce Deity, Darmani III and Mikau). He’s been forced to grow up too fast at too young age. All of those certainly has left an imprint in him with both experiences and knowledge. I bet the Spirits of the Masks have tried NOT to share as much as they have unintentionally giving him but, yeah…. I think he was bit too young to know some things at there. ^^;;

- The Transformation Masks he has are said to share the regrets and feelings but not in my version. For me they share far more than just feelings. It’s equal for the three main ones but Fierce is a deity. Fierce has far more control over things but even he can’t prevent the information from being shared. What they share is what Time shares in return. Body for life, ability for ability, memories for memories. The Spirits do try not to leave an imprint in him and Fierce aids to prevent such from happening. The reason it still hurts like hell to Time whenever he needs to use the masks, is the literal transformation from one species into another. Even Fierce is taller than Time so there’s a real change in his body with that transformation. -> Time can talk with the Spirits of the Masks through mind. He does have conversations with them now and then and he can ask for their aid whenever needed. --> The Spirits of the Masks are capable of becoming solid and come to aid Time if needed. It takes a lot from them but they care about him so much that they’ll do whatever they’re capable of to protect him and his family. Usually it’s Fierce who appears as he’s a deity and having most of chances of doing unique things. It’s also him whom aids the others to gain solid form if they really need to fight for Time.

- Time is only one to call Warriors as Wars as Warriors is only one to call Time as Sprite. -> Time has a nickname for all of his boys and I’ve already given those out within my stories so far. =) - Twilight = Cub, Wild = Rascal, Wind = Pirate, Sky = Bird, Four = Mousekin, Hyrule = Pixie, Legend = Specialist

- Time REALLY hates the nickname of Mask. ^^;; I know many puts that as his nickname but I can’t help but think about the Moon Children with one of them asking about him wearing a mask and what’s his real face. Link wasn’t wearing a mask. He’s a kid to whom the word “mask” means exactly that. He learned far later that such word means more than the actual item. And hence, he’s not happy with that nickname. -> Warriors uses this nickname only when he really needs to get Time snapped out of his mind. It’s a damn powerful thing. Can even go against Ganon’s or Wizzrobe’s or such being’s work of mind control or such. XD --> Time’s unconscious reply is a rough shout of “Don’t call me that!” usually continued by either swears or some more roughness. ---> Wars’ reply into that is usually “Then listen to your older brother, damn it!”

- As it is already known from Twilight Princess, his Spirit form is the Golden Wolf. =) -> Considering this, it’s already known that Twilight’s Wolfie and Legend’s the pink rabbit. Also, I’m going with the idea of Hyrule being a half-fairy and hence fairy’s his form. I’m not yet certain of the list but so far I’ve come up with the next: - Wars = Lynx, Sky = Cucco (or cheetah), Wild = Squirrel, Wind = Parrot or a Monkey, Four = Mouse (not sure of this one)

- Time is VERY caring and loving. His love language is touch. Hugs and kisses (side of head, forehead, top of head) are what he’s giving almost unconsciously. -> Considering this, sadly, Time himself is touch starved. =( He gives, yeah, but he doesn’t really gain such back. And, let’s face it, fairies are very affectionate little beings. Time got used to being touched lovingly by the fairies so when that’s gone…. He doesn’t really know how to ask for such. He seeks for closeness but he doesn’t ask for it. It comes out in the way of sitting down next to Wars or Twilight or someone else. It’s little but at least it’s something. --> Part of this, I think, is the fact of him playing the part of stoic leader and acting like all’s fine.

- Time did end up revealing this in one of my stories, though. ^^;;

- Due to Termina, Time had very keen eyes. He learned to stay silent and just listen and watch so he began to pick up on small things that gave far more information than words ever could. He picks up the notions of how the others are and what the atmosphere around them feels like. He can figure out even slightest of limps. It is how he knows which of his boys is actually needing someone to be there for them in the form of listening or a shoulder to cry on or such.

- Time is strong, even without the Golden Gauntlets. He could give one hell of a challenge to Twilight in arm wrestling. I mean, he has to be strong as he wields the Biggoron Sword.

- Time can be rough and cruel too if needed. Yet, this only comes out when his family is in danger. He would NEVER hurt his family for any of reason which is why he’s not one that enemies can actually get him to do their bidding through mind control. Still, Time’s actions and words can be really evil if he’s pushed into the situation. Nonetheless, even when his hits seem actually cruel and devastating, the damage he actually inflicts, is far from how it seems. He just can’t freaking kill. (I mean, come on, you shoot arrows into the head of the Gerudo Guards in OoT and they’re only knocked out?!?) -> Yet, Time does kill if there’s no other choice. And that hits HARD. =( He will be feeling sick afterwards. He will regret his actions. He won’t be forgiving himself easily. Taking a life just isn’t part of who he is. --> Though, he has NO trouble at all in killing monsters. XD

- Time knows how to do a potion of sorts called Fairy Salve. It’s usually used to help fairies but it can also help him quite a much as his magic is fairy based. He wasn’t aware of this until Hyrule gave that out. Or, well, Wars explained to him what Hyrule had told. -> Due to the way its created and considering its name, the fairies are incapable of doing or using them. It would overflow the fairy magic within it and hence render them useless. Time’s only having the magic and slight bit of fairy dust around him so it’s different for him than to Hyrule.

- Time is very self-sacrificing idiot. -.-‘ He will give himself up for any member of his family without second thought. He is going by the line of “Rather me than anyone else.” =(

- Considering above, Time also has the highest pain tolerance out of the whole Chain. =/ He’s gone through absolute hell in the hands of the Gerudo as he prevented the Imprisoning War by giving himself up to them. -> I know it’s said that the Lost Woods turns people into Stalfos if they get lost in there and that’s kinda how Time turns into Hero’s Shade. Yet, I put it down that the magic for such to happen is already at there. It’s a curse that was placed into him by the twin witches of Kotake and Koume while being the captive by the Gerudo and it wasn’t possible of fully being taken out of him.

- Whenever they end up into timeline / era which is Time’s in a way or another, he’s sharing knowledge with his counterpart and vice versa. It happens if both of the Hero of Times are alive and in there. Otherwise it doesn’t happen but Time gets bit of heads-up of things but nothing of too cruel in the way of flashes and/or conversations. -> This has come up several times by now in my stories. - The others are less aware of their counterparts but they do get feelings and slight knowledge but not a full blown information exchange like Time does.

- Time gets prophecies. It’s never good ones and sometimes it really strikes him HARD. Yet, each time he’s up for changing the outcome of those as well as he’s capable of.

…………Hmmm… I think that’s as much as I can come up with for Time so far. ^^;; I might actually do something like this for Time from my Ranch Family, the Modern Linked Universe stories of mine, eventually.

Finishing a sentence…. Okay, you actually gave me a story idea by this. XD

“In a hole in the ground there lived a small dragon.”

More comes when I write the story idea down and figure out how to continue from there. ;)

Thank You for the ask! ^.^

And, as last, list of my stories I referred to:

Time getting the ability to know the clock precisely whole time:

Time's knife:

Time with his counterpart, good way:

Time with his counterpart, bad way:

One version of Time getting info from his counterpart:

Time being sick due to overusing his magic:

Time being touch starved:

Legend becoming immune to fairy magic:

Pain tolerance:

[kintatsujo]

LoZ AU- The Courage of Running Away Part TWENTY-FOUR

This post is so late because I accidentally took a several hour nap and then it went and got a Little Convoluted, including a page that might’ve gone in a supplementary post except that I wanted it HERE, for REASONS

Warning for Fantasy Religious Imagery, which is sometimes based on Christian religious imagery because it’s Legend of Zelda and the magic book from the first game was literally just a Bibble in the Japanese

#AU August

#LoZ AU: The Courage of Running Away

I'm setting up for a boss fight here and I want to go a little into the idea that Lorule Castle Town and Lorule Castle are effectively being approached like a "final dungeon" here (technically at this point my brain has assigned CoRA itself as "first half of game" and whatever I call the sequel as "Second half of game" but that's not the point)

Which actually I'm gonna real quick go into MORE of the basic "gameplay" that exists in my head if CoRA was ACTUALLY a game instead of this increasingly convoluted fanfic that I've been having Emotions over, just because I've been thinking about it and it's how I'd be plotting shit here.

Basically the MAJORITY of the gameplay would be Link running around adventuring, like any LoZ.  Different greater regions would be their own discrete overworlds with a few points here and there where you could cross between them, not like portals or anything just like mountain passes and shit.  (I think since we're going full jrpg with the story the sequel would probably feature an airship worldmap.  Don't ask me how Link gets an airship I just cut going into the Rito captain that decides he's in love with Marla for time!)

But THEN there would be sections that functioned like Hyrule Warriors, with a team of characters that you could switch between.  These would be signaled by phrases like, "Okay, Link, tell us what you need us to do."  Some would be specific dungeons and some would be based on chunks of the map that had been sliced out, like how in Age of Calamity a lot of the mini missions used chunks of the chapter mission maps.  Technically the Tutorial Dungeon from Hell would work somewhat like this EXCEPT that Astramorus isn't your team member, he's an "allied" unit you don't have to protect because he hangs back tossing heal items and fairies at Link.  

The first REAL time you'd get a taste of having team members would be basically a minigame with Tonbo and Marla and all playable characters would have segments that let you get a handle on how they worked.  Gray's would actually be a training mission where he's kind of showing off for Link because Zelda Jr. is egging him on.  (See thinking about this like a game REALLY helps with the story writing lmao)

During the solo segments while Tonbo and Marla are travelling with Link, btw, they'd be wandering around cities or towns as NPCs Link can have conversations with, including one with Marla that would be sparked by examining the statue of the Fierce Deity in Clocktown Town Square but which would be presented as Marla seeking Link out.  This is because I love party chat.

[image description: A below shot of a statue of Fierce Deity Link.  He is lit by a lantern with fairy wings to the side, and there are strings of lights behind him and a dark roof above.  Link and Marla are looking up at him as Link explains, “The Hylia Church holds that he was one of my-- One of the Goddess’s Chosen Heroes.  The local faith holds that he came in the form of a child but with the soul of an adult, that he went on to take the forms of dead loved ones and dead heroes in Termina, that he had powers upon powers and skill upon skill, that he was many places at once over three days, helping and rescuing and working, and that he awoke the Four Giants of the land and pushed the moon back into the sky.”  Link holds himself.  “I can’t POSSIBLY live up to all that,” he says.  Marla is holding some sort of wrapped food she’s taken a bite out of.  She says, “Do you WANT to live up to all that?  Also if he came in the form of a CHILD why’s he depicted as this big manly man chonk?”  End ID.]

Also in general all playable characters's levels, hearts and general development would just be, haha, LINKED to Link's.  I know a lot of people enjoy managing all their characters but I'm thinking about Final Fantasy 9 and how every time you go to a town everyone just wanders off and I never know if I'm gonna actually be able to GIVE characters their equipment or if the party's gonna get broken up by Story again.  I think a lot of the flow feel to the system I've just outlined would be similar to that so I don't think the non-Link members of the party should be something a player would have to worry about upkeep with.  Also yes in that same line everyone would automatically be healed and have a full magic meter at the beginning of the team segments.

Anyway for this particular party mission Queen Zelda would actually initially try to talk Link out of it.  "Absolutely not," he says, "I'm going and Father is too, we deserve answers and if you end up having to blow Serenumbra up this is the only chance we'll have at getting them."

(Zelda Sr's like.... "I didn't blow your father UP...")

Ghirahim is also champing at the bit to go fuck Serenumbra up, because he's fucking furious to have realized that Serenumbra was chessmastering him.  Dinravi and Eltani are going both as support and because everyone but Ghirahim agrees that Ghirahim needs someone to act as his restraint.

[Image Description: Ghirahim is waving his hands angrily and ranting, "And the WORST PART is now I have to save HYLIA'S BROOD just to SPITE him!" while Dinravi pats him on the shoulder with a grin, saying "There, there."  End ID.]

I don’t know why Ghirahim’s hands always turn out so amazing, actually, I’ve always thought of hands as one of my strengths but it feels like CoRA’s Ghirahim is one panel of pretty hands after another.

ANYWAY it’s a smallisher team because the main loftwings they have that can make that trip again after having rushed from Gerudo City to Hyrule Castle are the unusually large ones like Hera, and those are fairly rare.  The main characters I’m absolutely sure on are Link and Astramorus, Dinravi Ghirahim and Eltani, and of course Queen Zelda and Impa.  Gray wants to go but he can’t because health potions don’t work as fast on injuries quite as severe as a stabbity in the torso and whether Marla and Tonbo come along is actually something I’m not explicitly solid on yet, because this is Draft 0.5 and I can still change my mind at this point. 

And one of the things is that in this mission Astramorus essentially functions as a helper character chasing after Link with health potions just like in the Tutorial Dungeon From Hell, except he’s a lot quieter about it.

Because of this and because Link is the main character, they’re together when they find Serenumbra first:

[Image description: Serenumbra is in the middle of a ceremonial setup; in the middle are he with a book stand and behind him a statue of Hylia.  On either side are symmetrical stone beds, the left below an upright Hyrulean Triforce and the right below a flipped Lorulean Triforce.  Princess Zelda is laid on the left side and Princess Hilda on the right; they are dressed in simple gowns and seem to be unconscious.  The beds were clearly made exactly for Hilda’s height, as Zelda is too short for hers.  They are laid in state reminiscent of the way the sleeping Zelda was in Adventure of Link.  Between this scene and the viewer are two figures with swords, although the nature of them is unclear; they could be people wearing horned masks.  Serenumbra says, “Ah, Astra.  You’re ALIVE.  What a SURPRISE.”  Astramorus and Link are standing side by side.  Astramorus says, “So you DID know what I was planning to do.”  Serenumbra makes the smuggest possible face.  “Oh PLEASE, dear friend, I’ve been winding you up to see what you’ll do since you were FIFTEEN- a little NUDGE in the right direction was as good as telling you to do it!”  End ID.]

Okay but looking at that Smug Serenumbra face I actively wanna punch him until he loses a few teeth so I think I’ve succeeded at drawing it.  The soldiers are actually intended to be Armos because I like the Armos and I think they should show up in Botw2. (I’m kind of hoping we’ve already seen one in that more recent trailer but they don’t look anything like these buddies; I’m talking about that big turquoise dude.)

Anyway we all know this ceremony isn’t going to work.  The Armos keep Link and Astramorus off of Serenumbra long enough for him to try it, and it just fuckin fizzles.  Zelda and Hilda sleep right through the whole thing (they’re uh, you know, under a spell, so they’d sleep through quite a lot.)

[Image Descriptions: Serenumbra is gripping his book and staring into it, demanding of the pages, “WHY isn’t it WORKING?!!”  Astramorus says, off-panel, “It’s pretty SIMPLE, Seren-”  He is shown to have his hands on Link’s shoulders as if to brace him, as Queen Zelda breaks the doors behind them down with a BOOM, Ghirahim coming up behind her with a grin.  Link and Astramorus shout together: “YOU HAVE THE WRONG ZELDA!!”  Serenumbra stares at them, his glasses opaque, as apparently something in his mind breaks with a “SNAP!”  He then smiles serenely.  “Very well,” he says, as the Moon Pearl on his chest begins to glow, flooding the room with blue.  “Let us see how you fare against a GOD’S NIGHTMARE.”  Before him, on what had appeared to be a circular rug, something black and gaseous seems to seep into reality.  It has glowing white eyes.  End ID.]

[queenof-literature]

A Sick Wild Child - Chapter 9

Here it is! Thank you all so much for being so supportive during and after my break from writing. As many of you know, I’m struggling a lot with everything going on and it means the world to me that y’all are so sweet and supportive. I hope you enjoy the latest chapter!

Chapter 9 - The Eye in the Storm

Time didn’t just dread injuries because he grew worried. Of course he worried when one of the boys was injured, it was always terrible to see one of his companions in pain. But he also dreaded it because there was one emotion he truly feared for both himself and the others… boredom. 

Staying in one place for an extended period of time got all the Links restless in different ways. The only bright side of this situation was he didn’t have to worry about Wild fist fighting a bear for fun. He did however, have to worry about the others. He had to worry about Four and Legend disappearing and returning covered in flora and fauna they wanted to observe. He had to worry about Hyrule and Warriors getting a hold of fire weapons. He had to worry about Sky and Twilight going cliff diving if they were around an ocean. The same went for Wind if he got his hands on a raft, they might not see him for hours. He also had to worry about himself, the part of him that never disappeared after years of Termina and stasis and countless travels through time, itching to run away and become a child of the forest again, even if just for a day. Time worked hard to push those thoughts down. 

Sky had managed to throw together something that night after their small fight over what they should have. They had managed without Wild’s skills and slate before, they could do it again. However, it was obvious the antsy group missed their cook. Said boy was still curled in Warriors’ bed roll, cold clothes placed upon both his forehead and neck after his last bout of delirium. Delirium that Time truly wished he could forget.

Based on what the terrified boy had murmured, Twilight and Time, two of the eight people he should be able to trust most, practically tortured him. Time going as far to burn him with a torch. And Din above was that a knife to the heart. Time knows, he knows that fever dreams didn’t make sense, but weren’t all dreams from the subconscious? Did Wild think that would happen? Was he scared deep down that his allies would become his enemies? Time wanted to say no, but he was never one to lie to himself. After all Wild had gone through, parts of him would never be unscathed. The same went for every Link, after all they had been through. Time was more worried about what the boy’s Hyrule had done to him. Forced into battle before he was even a teenager, betrayed and murdered by the Guardians he was supposed to trust, constantly on the lookout for traitors sworn to Ganon, it was no wonder the boy was paranoid. And these fears were constantly in his nightmares. The fever dreams must have been Hell.

Twilight wasn’t taking it well either. He seemed to have calmed down a bit after his conversation with Warriors, but Time could tell this was all getting to him. The lengths Twilight would go to help his friends was admirable, if not terrifying sometimes. But no amount of healing, potions, and worrying would fix this, and that was starting to sink in for everyone. No matter how much Twilight did, all he could was try and make it better. Twilight didn’t cope well with not being able to help, none of them did, especially with Wild. 

Speaking of, Wild had been dead silent since he had passed out in Legend’s arms. Besides the small rasps coming from his mouth and the weak stutters of his chest, the boy was completely still. After some debate they decided to put Twilight’s pelt over him again. It had always been comforting to him, and who knows if he would even remember his panic over what Dream Twilight did to him. Hylia, Time hoped not. Time hoped Wild’s silence meant he was having a good enough dream, or maybe not dreaming at all.

The chatter around the campfire was scarce that night, no one having the energy to talk outside the small conversations they had with those near them. Legend seemed perfectly fine with shoving a groggy Hyrule back to bed as soon as he finished dinner. Hyrule certainly didn’t put up much of a fight, clearly tired from healing Wild throughout the day. It wasn’t the worst they had seen him after healing, but there was no reason for him to not sleep it off. As much as Time didn’t want to admit it, they may need Hyrule’s abilities later. Nothing else seemed to be helping. Time didn’t want to make Hyrule feel like they were exploiting him, but Wild needed water and the only time he was able to keep it down was when Hyrule healed him. Time wasn’t willing to believe that was a coincidence, they needed to get Wild to hold down any water they could. But Time truly wanted anything else than to wake up their exhausted sorcerer. It was quite a conundrum.

“I could hear you thinking from across camp.” Sky stated softly, settling beside Time. 

“I don’t want to wake Hyrule, but Wild needs water.” Time said bluntly, not having the desire to beat around the bush. 

“Hmm. Well.” Sky pondered for a moment. “Wild can go the night right? When I was little, I was really stubborn when I was sick. Sun tried to get me to eat, drink, or do anything really and I just wouldn’t.” Sky put his hand on Time’s shoulder. “ I know it’s not the same thing, but let’s give Wild the night, and as long as his condition doesn’t change, we’ll let Hyrule rest for a while. Now that we’re staying here for the time being, we can let Hyrule rest and help Wild a bit until he can keep things down. I know it’s not the best solution, but we all know you’re not trying to force Hyrule into exhausting himself.” Sky radiated comfort, and Time felt bad for subtly soaking it up. It wasn’t fair, he shouldn’t force decisions on the other Links. But Hylia, he was just so tired.

“Sounds like a good plan.” Time’s lips turned up slightly, and Sky knew that was a thank you. A thank you for taking some weight off of Time’s shoulders, even if it was a laughably small amount. But it was the least Sky could do. 

~

Wild was pretty sure he was stone. There was no other reason for his limbs to be so heavy. The only thing he could really feel was pain. He couldn’t be sure where it was the worst, he was floating. He just knew he was cold. So, so cold. Wild didn’t like being cold, not when after he learned there were ways to be truly warm. Another feeling reached him, weight on top of him that he appreciated, and the fluttering of eyelashes he struggled to recognize as his own.

“...think- waking up.” Voices drifted in and out of his mind. 

“-nother… -mare?” These voices sounded weird.

“-ild?” These were outside of his body. 

Opening his eyes took more strength than anything he had ever done, but he needed to see where the voices were coming from. Slowly his eyes pried open.

Everything was blurry, but he could see shadows moving around him. If they were enemies, he couldn’t bring himself to care. It wasn’t like he could move anyway. 

“Wild?” A voice filtered into his head, more clear than before. Colors swirled as he pried open his eyes, and Wild struggled to push down the nausea that rose, determined to find out where the voices were coming from. 

“Wild? Can you hear us?” The fog cleared slightly, the first thing he saw being a colorful tunic. He knew that voice… right?

The swirling subsided a little more, now resting on the edges of his vision. The shadows that previously surrounded him were replaced by figures he recognized. He tried so hard to remember their names, and why he suddenly felt like crying. He didn’t know anything in that moment other than the figures surrounding him being warm, and Wild was still so cold.

“C-c-ld” Wild croaked out pathetically, frustration creeping up to replace confusion. Something cold and wet was surrounding him, soaking his skin. He tried to move his head in a weak attempt to get rid of the cold, but all he got was vertigo.

“Sor-... -an’t. Fever i-” Ringing filled Wild’s ears.

~

“I think he’s waking up.” Four rushed out, bringing the idle chatter around the fire to an abrupt halt. Lo and behold, the boy’s eyes fluttered, eyes flickering beneath. 

“Do you think it’s another nightmare?” Wind called out hesitantly.

“I can’t tell. Wild?” Four called softly, placing his hands on his shoulder. Blurry eyes opened, revealing a sickly haze. But they weren’t frantic, just exhausted.

“I don’t think he is. He isn’t panicked. Wild?” Four asked again as the others gathered closer around him. Legend, Sky and Warriors gathered behind Four, while Time and Twilight stayed back, clearly uncomfortable with potentially sending him into another panic. Wind stayed back with them and held onto Twilight’s hand, squeezing when he noticed how much not being able to help hurt Twilight. The older squeezed back in thanks.

“Wild?” Sky asked. “Can you hear us?” The sick boy’s half lucid eyes flickered in their direction, and they could have thrown a goddess damned party over such a simple action. Legend almost went over and woke Hyrule to celebrate. Wild hadn’t been this coherent since he got smacked into that tree, not without being in a hallucination. His eyes were fogged and consciousness was barely there, but it was still the most awake he had been since this whole thing started. 

“C-c-ld.” Wild croaked out, shaking his head slowly. Four reached out and gently stopped the movement, worried for the headache Wild was probably sporting. 

“I’m so sorry, Wild but we can’t. Your fever is too high, we’ve done everything we can.” Sky tried to reassure, but he doubted Wild understood any of it. He looked to Four to confirm Wild’s fever still hadn’t broken. Four solemnly shook his head. Wild’s eyes continued to look around, seeming to search for something, but the others didn’t know for what. 

“W-lf.” Wild choked out, his weak right hand reached out, only making it an inch before tumbling back down against his chest, clutching weakly at the furs laid on top of him. 

“Wolf? Are you trying to say wolf?” Legend asked, glancing back at Twilight. 

“W-” Wild was cut off by a rough cough. Four was ready to roll him over for choking that never came. Time could see the relief the other Links had that Wild seemed to be better, if not slightly. He wanted to remind them that this was just an eye in the storm, that sometimes with illnesses it got better before it got worse… but he didn’t have the strength to crush their hope. Deep down they all knew this wasn’t the beginning of the downhill, it was just a lull. But they deserved to have a little joy after all they had seen Wild go through. 

“He’s the most coherent he’s been in awhile. We should give him water.” Warriors pulled a water pouch from seemingly nowhere. 

“W-w-lf.” Wild insisted. 

“Get over there! You heard him!” Wind whisper-shouted, shoving Twilight forward with a small snicker. Twilight hesitantly made his way over to Wild, eyes burned into him, watching to see what Wild’s reaction would be. He knew the other Links didn’t mean to freak him out, but they certainly weren’t helping. 

Twilight gently kneeled on one knee next to Wild on the other side of Four, ready to back track if Wild showed any sign of discomfort at Twilight being there. 

“Hey Cub.” Wild’s eyes stopped for a moment, and the entire world halted, everyone waited with bated breath. Slowly eyes flickered over to Twilight, and eyes that had been dull for so long finally lit up, if only just by a little spark. 

“W-ol-T-Twi.” Wild gasped, and the others could have sworn Wild’s lips twitched upwards. 

“Yeah, Cub.” Twilight’s shoulders relaxed, dropping completely to both knees as the other Links smiled. Legend thought about teasing the cheesy sight before him but thought better of it. Hyrule would love to see Wild doing better. Aw shit, Hyrule slept through this. Hyrule was gonna kill him-

“See if you can get him to drink some water. He doesn’t seem as nauseous” Warriors insisted, handing Twilight the water pouch. 

“What if he throws it up?” Sky questioned.

“He can’t keep going like this.” Legend nodded to Twilight to try. 

“Alright, Cub. This might hurt for a moment.” Twilight soothed, before lifting Wild’s back gently into his lap, the cub’s head resting against his lower chest. With only a small gasp of pain, Wild was situated well enough. 

“Small sips.” Twilight directed, carefully pouring some water into Wild’s mouth. The boy coughed a little, but soon strained to get more cool water into his sore throat. “Slow down.” Twilight soothed, placing his hand on Wild’s forehead to stop his squirming. Wild managed to drink half the small pouch before obviously having his fill. 

“Thank Hylia.” Sky breathed.

“Don’t thank her yet.” Legend huffed. “He could still heave it back up.” 

“Maybe stop talking about it around him and he won’t.” Warriors hissed.

“How ya feeling Wild?” Four asked, deciding now would be a good time for a change of subject.

“Ngh.” Came the eloquent response. It was better than Four expected in all honesty. Twilight snorted a little at that.

“That good huh?” Twilight chuckled. He went to put Wild down and let the boy get the sleep he obviously needed. But the cub reached up and grabbed Twilight’s hand where it had come to rest on the boy's chest. Twilight could have easily shaken off the weak hand if he wished, but Hylia hadn’t Wild gone through enough already?

Wild’s eyes flickered up once more, resting on Twilight’s face. The cub’s hand squeezed so light Twilight could barely feel it, and the man quickly covered their hands with his other one. Wild’s hands were cold and pale.

“S-stay.” Wild pleaded.

“Okay, Cub. I’ll stay.”

[underthedekutree]

Young Link might have PTSD - Part 2: Termina is NOT a Parallel World, Technically

This is a continuation of my last post so if you’re seeing this and haven’t read it, go here.

This is the part where I somewhat smoothly segue into Majora’s Mask. Link, lonely and filled with unprocessed trauma, leaves Hyrule in search of Navi. According to most sources (which take from Hyrule Historia probably? don’t quote me on it), Link falls down a hole into Termina, a parallel world to Hyrule, that contains many familiar looking denizens of Hyrule, but playing different roles. And well, if you probably guessed by the title, I have a rather different interpretation.

Okay, so in a nutshell my theory is that Termina is in fact all a dream, kind of like Koholint Island. Except the one dreaming up this world isn’t some deity like the Giants or Skull Kid or the Moon. It’s Link.

(big explainey hoo hah below)

Evidence 1: Link begins the game sleeping. Yes, I know literally every Zelda game begins this way and it’s a whole tradition thing. I am beginning with the weakest points first and working my way up to the strong ones. We’ll get there.

Evidence 2: The reuse of character and environment models from Ocarina of Time. The literal IRL reason for this is of course the game famously being given only one year of production time, which meant that the most practical method was to reuse as much material from MM’s predecessor as possible (eg. Romani Ranch sign is the Kakariko Village sign, and still says Kakariko Village on it). It seems like a rather offhand afterthought for Nintendo to chalk it all up to “oh its just a parallel world like Link to the Past or something. But think of it like this; when we dream, we often see familiar people from throughout our lives put in strange and unexpected situations, like that irritable old farmhand you hated so much is now a depressed circus master for some reason. Dreams don’t make sense. Things you know will mix with other strange inexplicable things, fleeting thoughts in your mind, all roughly tied together by whatever emotions you had been feeling when you went to bed. Malon is split into two people, Romani and Cremia, her older and younger self. This might reflect how Link feels about Malon, that she changed so much in those 7 years that she’s like a different person entirely, that it’s hard for him to process that they are the same, because the change was so shockingly sudden for him.

Evidence 3: Gorons in the snow, Gerudo by the sea. Yes, I know that sounds a lot like good evidence for a parallel world (that’s why the idea is widely accepted in the first place, it has merit), but it also works in as dream world evidence too. As a child, my family was obsessed with skiing. We would go to the same mountain every winter, and we would stay at the same lodge. It almost became like a second home for me. So much so, that one night I dreamed that my house had been replaced by the lodge, so it wasn’t on a snow-capped mountain, but in a bushy Australian suburb. Okay that kinda got off subject but I’m bad at conclusions so in summary Dreams Just Be Like That (tm). You get what I’m saying right? No? Sorry, let’s just move on.

Evidence 4: The Milk Bar. AKA my favourite location in the game! It’s often overlooked as the “haha funny they couldn’t put alcohol in kids game so its kiddy milk hee hee”, but it is actually a strong thematic pillar of Majora’s Mask. As I mentioned in Part 1, if you put a 9 year old in a 16 year old’s body and call him an adult before ripping that all away is probably going to leave the kid with an identity crisis. What is a mature place open at late hours when children are sleeping? A bar. What is a drink associated with the young, being produced for the purpose of helping children grow? Milk. No please don’t go I swear there’s more to this, stay with me. In order to gain access to the bar, Link must prove he is mature enough by wearing a mask, a disguise, like Adult Link is to Young Link. Being adult isn’t earned through years of natural living experience and mental development, it’s a thing you are given by adults to just BE when they deem you worthy, at least from how Link sees it. So that is the amalgamation of dream thoughts that is the Milk Bar. Is it mature? Is it childish? What is the line between the two? Is there one? It’s the culmination of his anxieties and confusions that he doesn’t know how to express. Another, smaller expression of this anxiety is the Clock Town Guards. When Link is a Deku, the guards say they don’t allow children outside the gates. When Link turns back however, the guard goes to stop him because he looks too young, but sees that he has a sword, and lets him pass. Why the sword? Well, in one way this is a callback to Kokiri Forest, where Mido doesn’t let Link see the Deku Tree until he has a sword. But also, what is the item that lets Link travel through time and become an adult in OOT? The Master Sword. Link seems to believe that adulthood is measured by the things you have, physical markers of maturity, which is how lots of children see adulthood. You’re an adult if you can drink, if you’re tall, if you’re married, if you have a house, a car etc. But in reality this isn’t how it works. Heck, I’m technically an adult but I sure as hell don’t feel like one, because I know I still have things to learn about responsibility, patience and all the other things, that can only come with time, which is the moral conclusion of OOT, but clearly Link missed the memo. Don’t get me wrong, there are some indicators to show he’s grown a bit. He can ride Epona, use the bow, do flips like some kind of acrobat etc. But those strange and confused feelings linger, and manifest in the young boy’s dreams.

Evidence 5: The four transformation masks. The four masks represent different aspects of Link’s self, and the way he grew and changed in OOT. Deku Scrub the Innocent, Goron the Confident, Zora the Mature and Fierce Deity the Hero. Link began only knowing the Kokiri Forest, and nothing of the world outside. As he set out on his journey, he grew more confident in his skills and defeated greater foes. When evil took over, he learned from his fatal mistake and worked to right it. And when it was finally time to face the greatest threat, he was ready, with all the heart pieces, bottles full of fairies, Biggoron Sword in hand. At that moment he struck the final blow he probably felt like the strong and unstoppable hero everyone in Hyrule told him he needed to be. And that feeling of pure uncompromising strength, with the whole world behind him, manifested in the Fierce Deity. Fierce Deity is much taller than Adult Link, and packs so much of a punch that he can beat Majora without batting an eye, like some overpowered Super Saiyan. It reminds me a lot of Undertale, with young Asriel becoming what he imagines to be an all-powerful godlike being, like something you’d see as a children’s drawing. Fierce Deity gives off those vibes, like “he has a HUGE SWORD that SHOOTS BEAMS OF LIGHT and he’s 8 FOOT TALL and CAN KILL ENEMIES IN A SINGLE BLOW!!” Before the final battle on the moon, when Majora gives you the mask, he childishly asks if you want to play a game of good guys and bad guys. And the good guy always wins, no matter what. Fierce Deity makes the final boss a cakewalk, but its supposed to.

Evidence 6: Anju and Kafei. Short one, because it falls a lot into everything else I’ve said regarding childhood vs adulthood. Kafei is effectively a switcheroo of what happened to Link in OOT. An adult shrunk back to childhood, uncomfortable in his new body and looking for a way to fix everything. He’s a reflection of how Link now kinda feels like an adult in a child’s body, because he had started to be used to being called an adult.

Evidence 7: The Moon. I haven’t super touched on the main meat of the game yet, so here it is. The moon and the 3 day mechanic is an allegory for constant mounting pressure, that builds and builds, never ceasing, because the world is in danger, and there’s only one person who has been chosen to save it. I’ve always been interested in the Chosen One narrative, and how different media explore the idea of the world’s very existence being pushed onto one person. How at the end of it all, they can never be the same again after all they’ve gone through. When you’re somehow expected to hold up the Moon itself single-handed, and your life and everything you care about suffers because you’re putting everyone else before yourself. That feeling of complete loneliness under a crushing weight, and although other characters may come to help you, in the end its still all down to you, and you never had a choice in any of it, as all the decisions were made by someone else. You must do what they tell you. Believe in yourself, believe...

Evidence 8: Skull Kid. The story goes that long ago in Termina, the Skull Kid and the Giants played together, until one day, the Giants left, leaving the Skull Kid alone and heartbroken, with nobody to turn to. As life moves on, things may change, and people always come and go from your life. Your friend might move overseas, or stop texting you, or you might fall out of friendship after an awkward event from which you could never recover (no, these have totally not all happened to me, shut up i’m fine), or your fairy companion might just disappear without so much as a goodbye after their task is complete. And it feels like you didn’t matter at all. That they never really cared about you, and you’re as easy to drop and move on from as a child’s toy. You might get angry, and want to shut them out, and give them a taste of their own medicine. Majora’s Mask teaches you that this isn’t the case. Life is ever changing, but you will always have the memories of times with your friends, and a chance to make more with new friends, like a sassy talkative fairy sprite and her shy brother or a child made of wood who wants to destroy the world. Friends come from unlikely places, so accept that change will happen and hope that wherever the people you knew are, they’re okay. You’re thinking about them, so they might be thinking about you too. And who knows? Life is unpredictable. They might just come back one day, and it’ll be like they were never gone.

Evidence 9 (the final one, I promise): The Song of Healing. At the end of all things, after losing ones you love, connections to family and friends, memories of things long past... you need time to heal. Link’s journey through Termina is a constant gauntlet of running into his own past traumas, forced to relive them again, and again, and again. But sometimes you should take a deep breath, gather your thoughts, and take time to heal. Although it can be important to confront your fears and learn to surpass them, it is exhausting, and you can end up more emotionally broken than when you started. The three masks all had regrets of powerlessness; unable to protect your community, your loved ones, or even yourself. Troubles you’ve gone through that keep plaguing your mind, and you’re wondering if you’ve done enough, seeking answers where none can be found. And the best thing you can do... is accept and move on. Be kind to yourself, and give yourself time to heal. Link’s way of processing his grief and trauma is to create an entire hellscape world in his own head, but not everyone processes it the same way. Sometimes you feel like you need to busy yourself, or listen to soothing music, or talk to people you trust, or spend copious amounts of money, or make some angst art, or cuddle your plush toys until their stuffing squeezes out. Sometimes life hits you in the face and you want to blame yourself for standing in the firing line, but it’s not your fault. It’s okay to feel however you feel, whether you’re drenched in a pool of tears or you just feel numb, it’s okay and natural. You’re okay. You’re here.

Okay so it got kinda personal at the end there but I hope it was informative, and made you think a little bit differently about Majora’s Mask and Ocarina of Time. You probably want to go back and play them now. Me too.

So was this all just an excuse for me to gush about how cool Majora’s Mask is? Hell fucking yes it was. Congratulations for making it through my monstrous ramblings, you get the secret prize of looking at my weird art on my DA. Here you go. Have a nice day, Zelda Nerds.

[rational-mastermind]

So, question: if Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess take place in the Child Era, and Majora's Mask is all about Link being dead and stuck in purgatory after Ocarina of Time, then how is he, the Hero of Time, an adult stalfos in Twilight Princess?

Still following?

Then let's discuss.

Everyone loves to analyze the darker, horrific aesthetics of Majora's Mask and  the bigger topics you'll likely hear about is "What is Termina?" "Where did Navi go?" "Who is Majora?" "How the hell do I get through Snowhead Temple?!"

Meanwhile, I've stumbled across a different question. One I'm not sure if a lot of people have asked. If this is Link's personal hell or a weird drug trip through his Wonderland, then what does any of it, but specifically the transformation masks, say about the Hero of Time?

Now before answering, let's go back over the beautifully blood-stained lore.

At the beginning of the game you are turned into a deku scrub and the only way to be a real boy again is to get back your ocarina and play the song of healing.

Now the lore for this alone is a little weird. I recall reading that Link is transformed because of his fear of deku scrubs, but that feels a little silly cause Link practically grew up with them in Ocarina of Time. It'd be like being afraid of feral cats while having one for a pet.

And while I'm here, cause my ADD likes to jump to a thousand different conclusions, I'll drop this mini theory here: I believe that the kokiri and the deku scrub's are one and the same. The kokiri are obviously part of the lineage of the kikwii in Skyward Sword and the koroks in every Zelda game since Wind Waker. But it's weird that an obvious tree-related species were once human enough to be mistaken for hylian children. Well, the kokiri can change shape because they are simply spirits of the woods. But the interesting thing is that they are always guarded by a DEKU TREE. Weird, huh? Basically, the idea is that the dekus are the real kokiri but some had changed to look human for Link's sake when the Great Deku Tree promised his dying mother that he would raise him. Also be sure to note that while there are deku BABAS, there aren't any deku SCRUBS anywhere else but in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.

Anyway, so Link shouldn't really be afraid of them. The other observation is that before you reach Clock Town, there is a dead scrub at the entrance, later revealed to be the Deku Royal Court's butler's son, who had left home in search for adventure. At the end of the game we see the advisor had found his son's corpse and grieved for the loss.

(Remember this cause I'm gonna come back to this later.)

The goron and zora masks are easier to explain.

The Goron Mask comes from soothing the spirit of a strong leader and champion of the gorons, Darmani. He grieves having died while on his way to the Snowhead Temple to bring back Spring. Apparently he was pushed off the cliff by a goron who was under the influence of Majora. All he wanted was to save his people from starving in the dead if an unnatural Winter.

The Zora Mask comes from the spirit of Mikau. A strong and talented guitar-playing zora who dies RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU. His death is the result of a tragic love story. He dies, broken hearted, after having just fought a band of pirates that took away his and his girlfriend's future children. He never got to say a proper goodbye to his girl. Their relationship may have been a secret to everyone else, but those children, their future, was gone. He dies of exhaustion, fatal wounds, and a broken heart.

Now, what does any of this have to do with Link? What could the hidden meaning be to this, if there is any at all? Well.. There is. And it opened up a whole new understanding of Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Twilight Princess, and the entire Child Era Timeline.

What I took from the masks, and their tales, aren't anything to do with Link in particular, but rather the people he was closest to in Ocarina of Time and how they all died.

Majora's Mask takes place in the Child Timeline, meaning that you save the day, beat Ganon, go back in time, tell Kid Zelda that opening the Door of Time is a bad idea, and leave it at that. At this point, you would be at the time just after leaving the Kokiri and before going to collect the other two spiritual stones and that has some serious consequences for the works of Hyrule, and the results of his actions, years later when he takes his time to grow up again, are represented in the masks.

The Deku Scrub mask represents Saria. Among the Kokiri, it's said that those who leave the Kokiri Forest die. They are kept safe by the Deku Tree who had already died. Since you don't open the Temple of Time, you don't go to save her in the Forest Temple. You don't save the Great Deku Sprout, and therefore don't ensure the protection of the Kokiri, especially Saria. Saria leaves the woods and dies. (Likely in an effort to find Link)

The Goron Mask, represents Darunia. Telling Zelda that gathering the spiritual stones is a bad idea means you never go to the Goron City. Which means you never help Darunia with his depression. His people starve because of the Dodongos Ganon already unleashed on their mines and as the leader, it's up to Darunia to go and face King Dodongo. But clouded by depression, he dies. He dies trying to provide for his people.

The Zora Mask represents, you guessed it, Ruto. You never go to help her get the Zora's Sapphire. She never meets you and never falls in love with you. If she doesn't die because of Jabujabu, she dies old and alone, never knowing true love, never hoping for a beautiful future with you. She dies with a broken heart.

Now I'm sure by now you've noticed there was one more mask I hadn't mentioned. The Fierce Diety. There is no tragic backstory to this one. In Majora's Mask, you go to the Moon, play with the kids, then go to speak with Majora, who hands you Fierce Diety. He wants to play Heroes and Villains and you're the villain.

This mask, this fierce warrior you become, is Link. It's the adult version of Link. The one who faced down ultimate evils and saved the world. The Hero of Time that Link had...ran away from.

And doesn't that help put things into perspective?

Link never asked to be the Hero of Time. He didn't want to kill the Deku Tree. He only fulfilled the Tree's dying request and then BAM! Life kept making decisions for him! Zelda tells him, insists that he's a hero, and asks him to gather the stones. Darunia asks him to go to Dodongo Cave. The King Zora asks you to save his daughter. Ruto forces you into a relationship. Zelda trusts you with the ocarina. Sheik tells you to save the sages and hell, why not just go kill the big baddie that already destroyed the world while you're at it?? So given the chance, of course he would leave that behind! He had gone through puberty so many times, time traveled, watched people die, interact with the dead, was scared shitless both as an adult and a child and all of Link's friends, including Zelda, all couldn't be his friends anymore when they awoke as Sages. (As is explained by several characters.) They all had duties that they were responsible for. A duty he was responsible for. He saved the world and was never even thanked for it. His life, from the beginning of the game to the end was SHIT.

And this is even worse cause he wasn't ever made aware of the reincarnations or the legends like other Links. Any other cycles were either called upon by an oracle (like Impa back in the early days) or had the legends drilled into their heads to a point where it would be believable when it happened. (Link to the Past, Botw, & Wind Waker for examples)

Link goes back in time and does everything he can to prevent the future he just saved. Prevents having to grow up and face the music Ganon so cheerfully plays for him leading up to the final battle. As a result, Saria gets lost, Darunia dies, Ruto never knows real love, hell, you could argue and say the entire Ikana Kingdom is the result of never stopping Ganon.

The stones or not, Ganon still attacks the castle and destroys Castle Town. And where was Link? Why didn't he stop it? Link had abandoned his duty as the Hero of Time and ran away.

And I think that's who the Skull Kid is. Skull children are kids who wander into the woods to escape adults and growing up, as Navi describes.

So Link's childish follies, his affinity to fairies, his selfish desire for fun and refusal for responsibility, is represented by Skull Kid. And remember, the moon child standing in for Skull Kid said that he was the GOOD guy and the Adult Link is the BAD guy. Growing up was a burden in Link's eyes. Growing up meant dying. Growing up meant watching you lose friends. Why wouldn't he want to run away from it all when all the future had in store for him was pain and suffering?

So Link ran away into the woods hoping, praying, he could go back to Navi, or maybe even Saria, and play as a happy innocent child once again. But without the protection of the Great Deku Tree, Link gets lost, and inevitably dies.

Link then has to face a means of purgatory where he is subconsciously reminded of all the things he had abandoned in his life. And that starts with the Skull Kid. A selfish brat who didn't want to lose his friends and didn't want to grow up, but ended up pushing everyone away anyway.

And it’s funny cause when Link started this adventure, he again, wasn’t exactly thrilled at the idea of being thrown into another adventure.

But then The Happy Mask Salesman, out of all the songs to play, teaches Link the Song of Healing. A song that soothes upset spirits and distraught people. And yeah it was mostly for the sake of the dead Deku clinging to his face, but I think the song had an effect on battle-weary Link as well.

When Link faces down Majora, he’s basically staring Death itself in the face to fight for a second chance to live.

On a side note, that’s very appropriate for Majora to play the role of, Death. Because Majora simply uses Skull Kid and this whole world as a puppet theater for Link to tell him that basically he’s gonna be damned to hell if he doesn’t shape up. But the swamp, the Deku Princess, Lulu and her babies, Darmani’s tribe, the spirits of Ikana who are finally at peace, Pamela’s father, Kafei and Anjuu, Romani and Cremia, nobody mattered at all. Everyone was just a puppet to teach Link about responsibility and facing the consequences of your lack of actions. That you shouldn’t hide behind a mask and turn a blind eye to people suffering.

After defeating Majora, Link returns to Hyrule. He helps the gorons and zoras, collects the Spiritual Stones, still doesn’t unlock the Temple of Time but instead readies himself and trains so he can be ready to fight Ganon and savs Hyrule yet again, without needing to time travel hundreds of times. This time when Link dies, he is a proud warrior and head of the Royal Guard. Forever known as the Hero of Time.

Then, Link continues on after death. While his spirit is reincarnated into the next life, a piece of him, an echo of who he is, an echo of the Hero of Time, remains in purgatory, to teach future generations. He lives on as a ghost, waiting for the next Hero so that the past is never forgotten and never abandoned. If you don't learn from your past, you'll be doomed to repeat it.

So, answer?

The Deku mask represents Saria

The Goron mask represents Darunia

The Zora mask represents Ruto

The Fierce Diety mask represents Link's future

All four transformations are connected to the courageous deeds Link performed in OoT:

Courage to leave home.

Courage to provide for those in need.

Courage to fight for love.

Courage to accept Death.

Ikana Canyon represents the Kingdom of Hyrule if Link never stayed to fight Ganon.

Skull Kid represents Link's desire for childhood innocence.

Majora is Death and Termina is purgatory.

Everything in Majora's Mask is about the consequences of Link abandoning Hyrule and his existential dread of growing up in the Child Era. He's given a second chance, and then he barely exists after death to teach Twilight Link and others past him which could have interesting consequences for future games...

[totk-headcanons]

ZeLink, MaLink, NabsGan, NabsImpa, Midlink, MidZeLink, Shink, Hildavio (Hilda/Ravio) Fierce Deity/Hylia, Tingle/A burning abyss.

Alright, rapid fire thoughts and one line headcanons. For the more ambiguous ones I’m going to assume OoT characters are being referenced.

ZeLink: Cute! Before Link left for Termina I imagine he spent a lot of time at the castle just being great child hood friends with Zelda and getting up to all kinds of hijinks. By the time he got back from his adventure in MM, even Zelda’s father was joking about them practically being engaged. It wasn’t until they were both a bit older (late teens, early 20′s) and had gone through a few failed romances with other partners that they realized “Whoops, we’ve fallen in love.”

MaLink: Like MidLink years latter, I hold this to be the definitive ship for Ocarina of Time. (As far as that particular Link goes, I thin Romani is a better option but we’re just looking at OoT here). We know for an absolute fact that Malon is one of the people Link reached out and reconnected with after being sent back to the child timeline since he borrows and uses Epona again for the events of Majora’s Mask. From Malon’s perspective, it would be pretty shocking if one day a young boy in green clothes swept into the ranch, immediately befriended the most temperamental horse in the entire herd with a song only you knew and rode off into the sunset. The mystery alone would be enough to drive her crazy (assuming Link didn’t ask to use Epona beforehand, and even if he did). Talon would tease her about her obsession, calling it a crush. When Link eventually returned to Hyrule, he’d be met with a barrage of questions about where he went, where he came from and how the hell he know’s Epona’s song. Malon would declare herself Link’s rival and compete with him over who Epona likes more. This rivalry eventually blossoms into romance which leads to marriage and kids. Fast forward YEARS and we find a new Link growing up in a small ranch/farming community south of Castle Town with his own Epona and yeah I think y’all can see where I’m going with this. Hyrule Historia says that TP Link is a direct descendant of OoT Link and I think we all know who OoT Link ended up with to make it happen. Case closed.

NabsGan: Ganondorf was actually an honorable man once, with good intentions for the betterment of his people. Nabooru respected that quite a bit until Twinrova stepped in and started seeding thoughts of the Triforce and an open coup against Hyrule in his head. It’s safe to say that Ganondorf may have had feelings for Nabooru as well, at least before he succumbed to the influence of Demise. I like to think a small part of him regretted what happened to her after he went bad.

MidLink/MidZelLink: Have already been covered extensively on this blog, including the previous post to this one. While I am all for polyamory, I sadly have no experience with either observing it or writing it. Also TP Zelda is kind of hard to write for since she played such a minor role.

Shink: Did this one already but oh man is Link gay as hell for Shiek. Seven years of hormones all hitting his system at once and he has no idea how to deal. Actually makes Shiek’s disappearing acts a lot easier since Link ends up in a daze whenever he’s around.

Hildavio: CUTE. Ravio went through a lot of trouble to help restore Lorule (or at least that’s what he’d have you believe) and Hilda knows it. I can just imagine Ravio trying to be suave, charming and romantically roguish only to completely beef it somehow. Hilda of course laughs and scoops him up in a big hug and delivers smooches.

Fierce Deity/Hylia: So what if the Fierce Deity is actually the spirit of the first Hero as depected in the Skyward Sword manga featured in Hyrule Historia? After sacrificing himself to ensure the safety of Hylia’s chosen people as they escaped into the sky, he somehow ascended to Godhood. Perhaps it was a gift from the Triforce or the Golden Goddesses or Hylia herself. We know that Hylia had grown very fond of and attracted to this Link, which is why she set the beginning stages of the Hero Cycle to begin with. I posit that a small piece of the Fierce Deity exists within the soul of each incarnation of the Hero, Link. Hylia established this cycle of reincarnation and rebirth to allow for herself and the Fierce Deity to be together in some fashion or another for forever and eternity. Of course Demise had to come back and mess things up but the whole thing is incredibly romantic.

Tingle/A Burning Abyss: I have to draw the line here. This blog does not support or condone incest ships in any shape or form and I will not ship Tingle with that whence he came.

[Lonely Voe]

[anotherlifefic]

Chapter 41: The Sorceress

I slipped in and out of conciousness for another two days before I finally awoke on the third day. I remembered very little of the two days during which I struggled with the fever that had gripped me, but Link had been by my side nigh constantly; only leaving it to eat or bathe or take care of Gareth.

When I opened my eyes, feeling that the fever was gone and I was finally more aware of my surroundings, he was slumped over at my bedside, snoring softly. Gareth was sleeping in a small, make-shift cradle made of a pile of furs.

For a while I just lay there, watching Link sleep. He needed it, no doubt, after taking care of me for so long. And while the purple shadows under his eyes showed his exhaustion, he was still so breathtakingly beautiful, and I felt lucky to have him. My beautiful, gentle, powerful, dedicated husband.

I sat up, making sure not to wake him up, and looked around. We were in a wooden house; a bit simpler than the houses back home in Hyrule. The kind of house one might find in a village.

The air smelled of salt, and I heard the gentle sound of waves meeting the shore. Right, we had made it to the Great Lebian Coast. Jenna‘s home. The next thing I noticed was that there was a cup of water on the nightstand next to the bed I was in. I was absolutely parched, so I took the cup… but as soon as my hand closed around it, the water began to freeze until it was completely solid.

I just stared at the lump of ice for a moment, completely dumbfounded. „What the hell…?“

Finally, Link stirred awake, rubbing his eyes. „Rebecca? Oh, you‘re awake!“ When he noticed my facial expression, his gaze wandered to the cup in my hand. „Oh. Did it freeze again? Don‘t worry, I‘ll go get you another cup. It was almost impossible to get you to drink while you were unconscious. Every time I tried, the water would just freeze. In the end, I had to give you hot water so it would take longer to turn to ice. The Doctor says it‘s because your magic went out of control while you were sick.“

„Magic? I remember hearing something about this while I was sick, but… I don‘t...“ I still stared at the ice, trying to make sense of everything. „...Is it because I‘m a Glaces?“

Link‘s shoulders slumped a little. „I think so, yes. The Glaces were spirits of ice and snow, remember?“

A terrible thought occurred to me. „I didn‘t hurt anyone, did I?“

Link shook his head. „No. Thus far, your powers have only affected water in your vicinity.“ Then he took my hand. „See? No worries.“

There was a knock at the door, and a young woman with a kind and gentle face entered. She had long black hair and lavender eyes. „Ah, you are awake. That‘s good. How are you feeling?“

„I‘m… better. I think the fever is gone.“

„That‘s good. Your husband gave us quite a spook when he came gallopping into our little village with an unconscious woman and a crying baby in his arms and screaming for help.

„What was I supposed to do? Rebecca suddenly fainted and fell off her horse, and I had no idea why. So I panicked.“ I could almost hear the pout in Link‘s voice.

The woman chuckled and came closer. „I am Dr. Alma. And you are in Lakia Village, in case your husband hasn‘t told you yet. As I said, you caused quite a ruckus with your arrival… especially with the local womenfolk.“ She blushed a little. „All of the girls were so enchanted by that beautiful man suddenly showing up. Until they realized that he is married and has a child.“

„Link has that effect on women“, I replied cheerfully. Then I became serious again. „Any idea what was wrong with me?“

„As I already told Link, it was likely due to stress and exhaustion. So while the fever is gone, I must ask you to continue to rest for at least a few more days. You can leave the bed and take a walk around the village, but you should take frequent breaks and return to the inn once you start feeling tired.“

„Understood.“

A few hours later, Link and I were strolling through Lakia Village, with me carrying Gareth in my arms. It was a tiny fishing village, just like I had suspected. The men and women at the harbor were busy mending their nets and bringing in their haul, but I did notice some of the women looking up and smiling at Link as we walked past. And some people put up decorations that looked like flowers made of colourful waxed paper and garlands of flowers.

A group of girls, maybe a few years younger than me, came up to us with baskets full of beautiful flowers.

„Hello!“, one of them, a lovely girl with honey-blonde hair, called out. „So nice to see new faces. Will you stay for the Ocean View Festival?“

„Ocean View Festival?“, Link asked.

„Yes! We celebrate it every year when the full moon is at it‘s brightest. We dance and feast and tell stories and pray to the spirits of the ocean for good fortune“, another one of the girls said. „People say that spending the festival with your sweetheart means that you will be happy together for as long as the tides exist.“

„It‘s tonight“, the last one said, looking up at Link with big, hopeful eyes. „So, will you stay and watch the moon with someone?“

Link looked over to me. „What do you think, Becca?“ With a bit of jest in his voice, he added:„Eternal happiness as a couple sounds like a good deal for just watching the moon, right?“

„It sure does“, I replied, seeing the girl‘s faces fall from the corner of my eye. Then I looked down to Gareth. „What do you say, Gareth?“

He made a squeaky noise, as babies that age do, which I liberally interpreted as agreement.

The evening approached, and as the bright sun slowly faded behind the horizon, the village was still alight. Turns out that the paper-flowers held within them a kind of luminescent stone. One of the villagers explained to us that these stones were occasionally washed ashore after full moon and never seemed to lose their glow, so the villagers used them as safe light-sources. They were called Gifts of the Sea.

Despite the late hour a lot of vendors still had their stalls open. Some with smoked or grilled fish, some with sweet pastries, and some with wine and juice. The villagers had started a giant bonfire in the middle of the beach, around which people were already sitting and telling stories.

Link and I bought some small cakes, which contained a slightly sour kind of red berry, and strolled down the sandy beach to a spot where there weren‘t many people yet. We sat down and watched the moon rise, eating our cakes and just being comfortably silent. We had left Gareth in the care of Dr. Alma, who had kindly volunteered to babysit him while we were enjoying the festival.

The moon was slowly rising, and after a while, Link sighed and let himself fall back. „This is nice. Ever since my little trip to Termina, I‘ve had some issues with going moongazing. As if every second it would grow a face and start falling. But I think now I can look at it and not be worried anymore.“ His hand wandered over to mine. „You changed my perspective on so many things, Becca. It‘s moments like this that make me truly grateful to have you in my life.“ His voice grew softer. „Sometimes, I seem to forget that. I have spent so much time of my life worrying about everything… that I sometimes just forget to appreciate the good things in my life. Because every time there was something good, I always had that nagging feeling that I would lose it soon.“

Now I let myself fall backwards, too. „...I love you.“ My voice was soft and a bit hoarse. „I love you so much. More than I ever thought I could love someone.“

From somewhere behind us, I heard someone scoff quietly. I looked up, but found this section of the beach mostly empty.

„Is something wrong?“ Link asked.

„I just thought I… nevermind. Just my mind playing tricks on me.“ I snuggled up to him, wrapping my arms around his torso and resting my head against his chest, so I could listen to the gentle, steady beating of his heart.

After about half an hour of just enjoying each other‘s company, other couples started taking over that part of the beach, so we returned to the bonfire, where some of the older people and children were still sitting and telling stories. They were telling of… fairies? And the Triforce? All phrased like they didn‘t exist. A lot of „It is said“ and „People believe“s were thrown around. It was so bizarre hearing these people talk about the realities of our homeland as if they were but myths. Especially since I had seen the Triforce with my own two eyes. And I had travelled in Navi‘s company so long. Then again, it kind of made sense. Yverna had mentioned that we were far beyond the influence of the Goddesses at this point.

I wondered what kind of deities these people worshipped. The girls we had met earlier had spoken of the spirits of the ocean. Were those the center of their religion? It would make sense, considering that all of their livelihoods depended on the sea.

After a while, a hooded woman approached and sat down close to us. The hood mostly obscured her face, but a few white strands of hair were peeking out. And a pair of very unsettling eyes rested on Link.

„So you are the famous Hero of Time. This is your title, yes? How lovely to meet you.“ Her voice was lowered, so none of the villagers could overhear her.

Link stared at her for a moment, mouth and eyes wide open. „Who are you? How can you possibly know?“

She leaned over to him, which made her cloak part just wide enough for us to see that her cleavage was low enough to reach her belly button. She ran her black fingernail over Link‘s shoulder, in a very suggestive gesture. „Wouldn‘t you like to know? I know many things, Hero of Time. All of your past lives. All of your past titles. Who you are. Who you were. What your destiny is. But it seems this time, you have decided to break with tradition.“ Her gaze flickered over to me for the briefest of moments before returning to him again. „So I thought ‚If the Hero does not want to follow the beaten path this time, why should I?‘. So… here I am. But it is late. You should sleep… We can discuss this more in-depth in the morning.“

„Of… of course… I will go to bed.“ He got up, a bit shakily, and staggered off.

„Link? Link?!“ I cast one last look at the mysterious woman before dashing after Link.

Something was very, very wrong.

I wouldn‘t fully realize just how wrong everything was until the next morning. I woke up alone; Gareth was still in the makeshift cradle and was crying to be changed and fed.

I got up, thinking that maybe Link had just gone to the privy, and took care of Gareth. Half an hour passed, without Link returning. Growing worried, I got up and left the inn.

The sun was bright, and the villagers were busy taking down the decorations. I walked along the rows of houses until I spotted Link… and my heart momentarily stopped.

There he was, indeed. And clinging to his arm was a beautiful, statuesque woman in very skimpy clothing. Her white hair marked her as the woman from the previous night.

As I got closer, I heard her talk:

„Oh this would just look darling in our home, wouldn‘t it?“ She held up a tapestry.

„Of course… my love...“ Link‘s voice sounded mechanical, and not at all like himself.

I wanted to approach them, and confront that woman, but someone grabbed my shoulder.

A girl with long, light blue hair was standing beside me. „There‘s no use in talking to him now. He‘s too entangled in Cia‘s spell.“ She sounded sad, almost desperate. „Come on, I think we need to talk.“

„But… Link...“ I was in tears at that point, and Gareth, sensing my distress, began whimpering, too.

„You can‘t help him right now. But don‘t worry. We‘ll get this mess fixed.“

The girl led me to a farm close to the village. The place had obviously not been taken care of or a while, but the house showed signs that someone had been there recently.

My companion sat down at the table in the kitchen area of the house and sighed. „I‘m so… so sorry.“ She shook her head. „Cia is… a sorceress. A sorceress who has insight into all kinds of things, including the true nature of Link‘s soul. And that‘s what made her grow obsessed with him. I tried to stop her, but...“

„Hold on… How do you know that? Just who are you?“

The girl looked up with a sad smile. „My name is Lana. And I am Cia‘s other half.“

[sobdasha]

deku link giving up the ability to spit bubbles whenever he wants in order to become human and hang out with princess zelda little mermaid style

well, something like that…

1) Link is going to the Carnival of Time.It’s the first time he’s been in years, since he’s finally old enough now to go to Clock Town on his own. He attended the Carnival once before, with his parents, but his parents are gone now and it’s just Link, and it’s very dangerous for a tiny scrub to leave the swamp and journey all the way across the field to Clock Town.And Clock Town has dogs.But Link is big enough now to spit bubbles right in their faces when they come growling at him. And he knows how to twirl through a crowd and avoid getting stepped on by great big humans. And he’s rented a room at the Stockpot Inn and everything.At midnight there are fireworks.Link watches them, from the roof of the inn, alone.

2) Three years ago, Link stares longingly at the Deku Playground. They’re having special rates, for the Carnival, and there are prizes. But Link’s already spent all the rupees his parents gave him, and he’s misplaced his parents somewhere in the crowded bustle of Clock Town so he can’t ask them for more....he hopes he finds them back.And that’s when the human comes up--the not-that-much-bigger-than-Link human, with yellow hair--and presses a rupee into his hands. A blue rupee, worth five whole rupees. The human winks and presses a finger to their lips.“It’s a secret to everyone,” the human says.(Link doesn’t win any prizes. But his parents show up at the Deku Playground, and they scold him thoroughly for wandering off, and while they’re scolding him they happen to mention that it was a yellow-haired human who told them to check here.)Link’s never forgotten the yellow-haired human. And he thought--he hoped--they’d be here at this year’s Carnival. That they came to the Carnival every year. That Link would see them again and they’d be friends.Maybe…maybe all humans look alike to scrubs, like the humans often say the deku scrubs all look alike to them. So maybe they live here, and maybe every time Link has been to Clock Town he and the yellow-haired human have walked right past each other without realizing to say hello?Or maybe…maybe the human with yellow hair is gone forever, like Link’s parents.“Hmmm…” says Anju. She pulled a box from under the counter while Link was recounting, and began to shuffle through it, and now she stops and smiles. “Ah, here it is! Please look at this.”Anju hands a photo across the inn’s counter, and Link stretches up on his tiptoes to take it. He almost drops the photo on the floor. There, laughing and dancing at Anju and Kaifei’s wedding three years ago, is Link’s yellow-haired human.“Is it? Oh good! I thought that might be who you were talking about,” says Anju. “Now, let me check the old register…”She pulls up a big heavy book and starts flipping through that while Link tries not to breathe too hard on the photograph. He doesn’t want to ruin the only precious picture he’s seen of his human.“Okay! She rented a room in the inn for four days under the name Princess Zelda. She said it was her first time in Termina, and that she came from a land called Hyrule. I’ve never heard of Hyrule before or since, even though we get so many guests here…but she did say she came to Termina by magic…” Anju smiles again, her forehead crinkling. “I’m sorry, that’s all I can give you. I wish I could do more to help you reunite with your friend.”For Link, it’s enough. He knows where to find the Princess Zelda human now. And the witches in the swamp know loads about magic.He stretches up on his tiptoes again, but Anju waves her hands. “Oh, no, please! Keep the photograph. It’s the least I can give you--and thank you for staying at the Stockpot Inn!”

3) Kotake looks up from the potion she’s stirring. “Well of course we can use magic to send you to a parallel world--we’re witches! Best in the business! But the price of that magic is quite steep.”Link’s been collecting quite a few rupees off the ground--Koume holds up a hand. “No, that’s not the kind of price the magic wants, I’m afraid. It’ll be something more personal. More…ironic.”“I know!” says Kotake. “We’ll take away your ability to shoot bubbles in exchange for sending you to Hyrule. Of course, it’s a very dangerous trip. And without your deku bubbles to protect you, you’ll probably die.”Koume nods. “It’s really the only way…but, sister, can we really in good conscience risk the life of this young scrub like that?”They look at each other, in the dim shop, and then laugh like hell. You don’t get to be a powerful witch by cultivating a good conscience. Kotake picks up a glass bottle and pushes it across the counter to Link. “Spit into this,” she commands, still cackling. “No pain, no gain! If it’s not worth the risk it’s not worth it at all! No refunds, all magics final, and for what it’s worth, we do hope you don’t die.”Link takes the bottle, and a deep breath.

4) The way to Hyrule is through a secret passage in the clock tower in Clock Town that goes out through the forest and eventually ends up in a huge field.Link is so tired. The forest is full of big bullying scrubs and cackling skull kids, and the field is full of hot beating sun. Link’s twirled the whole way nonstop, because he doesn’t have his bubbles to protect himself. He wants to burrow down into a nice deku flower and sleep for a week.But he wants to meet his Princess Zelda human even more.Except Link doesn’t know where to go. The field is so big, and the witches didn’t give Link any directions for after he made it to Hyrule. Even Tingle the reincarnated fairy didn’t have any maps of parallel worlds!So he just has...to keep...going.It’s late evening when Link sees the castle, way off in the distance, surrounded by big walls. Link doesn’t recognize it at first, dizzy as he is with spinning his way across the field. But it’s a castle, sure enough.Back in the swamp, the Deku Princess lived in a palace. So if Link is looking for the Princess Zelda human...

5) There are skeletons in the field at night. There are dogs in the town around the castle. And there are guards in the castle who throw visitors out on their bottoms.Link is scratched up and sore and tireder than ever.But when he peeks around an archway in the castle’s gardens, and sees his yellow-haired Princess Zelda human standing there, it’s all worth it.(And then he collapses.)

+) “No,” says Impa, “absolutely not. Even a Hylian short sword is taller than him, let alone a shield. He simply can’t become part of the royal guard; it’s too dangerous to him.”“But Impa!” Zelda says. “Link came all the way from Termina to live here and be my friend! And if he’s going to live here, he has to have a job at the castle. Can’t he be my personal guard?”“I’m your personal guard,” Impa says. She sighs and shakes her head, rubbing at the headache between her eyes. Then she crouches down, closer to Link’s level. “Alright...look, you can’t handle a sword or a shield. But the deku scrubs in the Lost Woods area have other ways of protecting themselves, like shooting deku nuts. Can you do that, Link?”Impa points to a target on the far wall, and Link puffs his chest out. He’s practiced long and hard and he’s the best deku bubbler his side of the swamp. He can hit that target easy-peasy.Except he gave up his bubbles, the one thing he needs to be able to stay at his new friend Zelda’s side.

+) “Okay,” Zelda says to Link, “so we can’t get back to Termina and make those potions witches give your bubbles back. But I have the next best thing!”The next best thing is this:When Zelda was in Termina, she saw the potions witches during the Carnival of Time. And Termina and Hyrule are parallel worlds, so it stands to reason that the two witches might just happen to exist in Hyrule as well.Conveniently, they’re actually visiting Hyrule Castle as part of a diplomatic entourage. Link peeps through the window Zelda tells him to, and realizes she’s right.Zelda swaggers up to their guest room (they’re called Kotake and Koume in Hyrule as well, amazingly) with Link following behind.“This is my friend Link,” Zelda tells them. “He’s from an alternate dimension called Termina. Did you know he got sent here by magic? The Kotake and Koume in the alternate dimension sent him here by taking away his ability to spit bubbles. Wow, they’re so powerful and magical!“But I suppose,” Zelda says, tapping her chin and squinting her eyes and Link wonders if she’s not feeling well? “you’d have to be even more powerful to take that sort of magic off him. It’s just too bad you’re not up to the task...”The Gerudo witches look at each other. This is absolutely the most transparent ploy Kotake and Koume have ever heard in their entire four centuries.But on the other hand, are they just going to let some Kotake and Koume from another dimension show them up?“Alright,” Koume says, “here’s the deal. If losing his bubbles was the price of the magic to bring him here, we can’t mess with that. It’s not a question of power. It’s basic magic rules!”“But!” Kotake interjects. “We can turn your little friend into something that doesn’t need bubbles, which is just as good, isn’t it?”She throws her head back and cackles, and Koume joins in, and the witches’ laughter is so sharp and piercing that it makes Link cringe and his head spin and...

+) Link wakes up on a cot, still feeling awful and dizzy and horrible. All of him aches, like he’s been stretched out, and his face feels strange and squashed and numb.“Oh good, you’re awake,” Zelda says. “You’re okay, aren’t you, Link?”Link isn’t sure about the answer to that. He doesn’t think he can get up.“Wasn’t my plan great?” she asks. “We sure worked those witches! They turned you into a human, you know. Just like me! Now you’ll grow to be tall and strong and Impa says she’ll teach you how to use a sword and a shield and you can be a royal guard and live in the castle after all!”Zelda bites her lip. “Um. I hope you’re not mad about it. Not being a scrub anymore.”Link’s not mad, he doesn’t think. He’s not sure at all yet what he feels about being a human, but he doesn’t think it’s mad. He’s just happy to be with his friend Zelda.He’s happy to be home.