#they're on their long journey to New Hyrule!

[groanbosphoramushyrule]

Cheer Up!

[Next]

Based on the Wind Waker manga

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Prompt: Either Time and Malon have announced they're having a baby or Malon has just had a baby and they're introducing them to the chain when Time finds some big insecurities from one of his boys he doesn't expect; Wild. Thing is, Time (and to an extent Malon as well) is the only parental figure he knows. Any memories of his parents are long gone along with any record of who they might have been so Time acting in a familial manner means a lot to Wild. But he's worried now that the man is an -actual- father that it means he'll be withdrawing that affection from the chain (himself, really) in favor of focusing on his child. Time goes above and beyond to prove him wrong.

Sky glared grumpily at the postman as he delivered mail to everyone. Legend snickered and elbowed his friend, making the usually cheery knight even more sour.

“Chin up, Sky,” Wild chuckled. “Nobody can outrun that guy from what I can figure. At least that’s what the old man says.”

Time didn’t even flinch at his mention. It wasn’t new - he tended to tune out the younger ones what they got rambunctious. But something about the intensity of which he was looking at his letter from Malon caught Wild’s attention.

“Everything okay?” Twilight asked, also picking up on it.

Time glanced at Twilight, eye fixed on the younger man, then back at the letter. Then he closed both eyes and smiled.

“It’s fine,” he said quietly, folding the letter.

“That looks like more than fine,” Warriors noted, wiggling his eyebrows. “What are you hiding, old man?”

“Is Miss Malon okay?” Wind asked, poking his head over Warriors’ shoulder, having been sitting on the ground behind the captain, who had plopped on a stump.

“She’s fine,” Time replied warmly. Then he sighed a little, gentle cheer dashed by a cool, worried gaze.

“That wasn’t very convincing,” Four whispered to Twilight.

Time glanced around at the group, now that everyone had honed in on him. Then he seemed to come to a decision, huffing a little and saying, “Since none of you seem to know how to mind your business, then I’ll tell you.”

Warriors scoffed, “I’ll have you know I am perfectly capable of minding my own business until gossip is involved.”

Hyrule laughed. “It’s pretty funny listening to people’s drama in town, honestly. But I hope there isn’t drama in your house, old man.”

“There isn’t,” Time assured him. “But there will be someone new living there.”

“Is it that Ingo guy you got mad about?” Sky asked, tilting his head to the side.

Time outright laughed. “No, Sky. No. It’s… Malon’s pregnant.”

The group went silent for a long while before it burst into excited chatter. Warriors was the first to congratulate Time, with Sky coming shortly after, followed by Four and then everyone else in quick succession. Wind excitedly asked about baby names, Sky interrogated him about what course this journey might take now, if they should find a way to return to Lon Lon Ranch—

That was probably the point that Wild felt his stomach twist into knots.

He didn’t quite know what was wrong, at first. He congratulated the old man alongside everyone else. This was a great occasion, after all. But Sky mentioning how maybe Time would want to visit Malon really made Wild realize…

Was he going to leave the group now?

Wild… didn’t want him to leave.

It wasn’t that he was particularly close to Time, more so than the others. Wild was closest to Twilight, after all. But… something about the eldest Link was… comforting. Guiding. Wild couldn’t put words to it, except that… it reminded him of… he didn’t know. He just… he couldn’t remember anything. He didn’t know anything. But the Hero of Time became a staple in his life the last few weeks, a father figure of sorts (and he knew he wasn’t alone in this—the worried disappointment that Wind was trying to hide, the way Legend suddenly became aloof as if already distancing his heart from the matter, the way Sky took four steps away from their leader after running up to him to congratulate him—these were all indications of the same sentiment) when Wild could hardly remember any family at all… and he… was going to lose him too.

He supposed the only true constant in his life was Zelda.

It wasn’t as if he didn’t know this journey would come to an end, but he hadn’t expected their group to lessen during the journey. It had been horrifying when Twilight had almost died - now Time was going to just leave them? Leave him?

Wild found he couldn’t speak after his initial words of cheer for the old man, and he started to slink away into the woods. He wandered aimlessly, shivering a little, feeling far more alone than he had in a while. He tried to cheer himself up with some kind of logical argument—even if he does leave, you still have the others, you have your brothers, you have Twilight—but none of it quite filled the hole that was quickly forming.

At least this time he’d have a chance to say goodbye.

Wild eventually made his way back to the camp just in time - Warriors had been readying to search for him, and he didn’t want to cause such a fuss. He avoided Time for the rest of the night, settling in to take first watch as everyone else went to bed.

He hadn’t expected Time to sit beside him.

“Something’s bothering you,” Time said. It wasn’t a question, but it was held in the air like an invitation.

Wild sighed. “I… wouldn’t worry about it. We’ll find a way to get you home, old man. Wouldn’t want you to miss your actual family.”

There was a period of silence, only interrupted by the crackling of the fire. Wild felt a strange ache in his chest, a longing for someone he could no longer remember. He shriveled into himself a little, shoulders slumping, letting time pass by as he looked into the flames.

“Link… I’m not going home.”

Wild didn’t register the words for a moment, still lost in his own mind and thoughts, before he blinked and glanced over at the older hero. ��Wait, what?”

“My place is here,” Time explained quietly, almost what seemed gently. “I would never abandon all of you like that. I love Malon dearly, but she isn’t my only family.”

Wild wasn’t sure what to say to any of this, but the hope in his heart couldn’t be ignored, and he burst out, “You’re not leaving us?”

There was something about Time’s expression that Wild couldn’t quite read. The older hero’s eyebrows seemed to relax from their previously stern position, face softening, eye looking Wild over. “No, young one. I’m not leaving. What we will do, though, is turn back towards the town. I want to write to her. I want all of us to write to her. We’ll have to keep tabs on how she’s doing far more often.”

“Why all of us?” Wild asked.

Time reached forward, messing with the teenager’s hair as he smiled. “If I’ve had to parent all of you, then you’re certainly earning the right and responsibility to ensure your new little sister is alright.”

Wild yelped a little at the gesture before laughing a little, swatting Time away. “Sister, eh? You think it’s a girl?”

“Goddess, I hope so. I have enough boys to take care of.”

Wild’s laugh nearly woke the entire group at that remark. When he’d settled, Time smiled at him, laying a hand on his shoulder. The gesture was reassuring, a physical representation on the promise that Time hadn’t spoken. He didn’t need to. What he’d said was enough.

The ache in Wild’s chest didn’t squeeze quite so hard. But he yearned for the contact, and so he leaned forward a little, just a little, just enough to be perceived without invading the man’s space. Time understood the motion for what it was, and he smiled a little more, pulling Wild into a hug. For the briefest moment the champion felt a little silly or embarrassed at the vulnerability he’d just shown, and then he decided he didn’t care - if he truly viewed Time as a father figure then he should be comfortable showing such insecurity around him. He’d done as much with Twilight.

Twilight. Time’s descendant. Between being viewed as a brother by Twi and a son by Time, Wild actually… he really…

He let out a shuddering breath, and Time’s hand swept up and down his back slowly.

For the first time in as long as he could remember, Wild actually felt like he belonged in a group, in a team, in a family. He could imagine the Champions smiling at him, and the tears finally did fall.

[cosmetichorror]

Okay so I’ve hit a mini writers block, so I was scrolling through my drafts for inspo and found this masterpiece.

I’ve never seen the post this oneshot was inspired off of in person, but I’ve seen screenshots, so it’s based off of this

Hope you know I was laughing the whole time I was writing this

—

"THIS IS THE WORST HYRULE WE'VE BEEN IN!" Wind exclaims, startling everyone out of their thoughts.

They're in a new hyrule, and they know there's a Link somewhere. It's like a fucked up game of hide and seek, or where's Waldo. But the longer you take to seek out Waldo the longer all of your Hyrules are in danger. And the worst part? There isn't a village ANYWHERE!

"Don't be rude, Wind." Time scolds, glaring at the teen.

Legend shakes his head "No, no. He has a point." He looks around "While this place is pretty, we're low on supplies and there's not a village in sight." He points out. Wars nods along to this.

"We're on a path, there's got to be one near." Four speaks up, arms crossed.

Despite this, they continued to walk for hours.

The orange sun has begin to set, casting a shadow on hyrule as the moon begins to rise, but Hylia has apparently taken mercy upon them, because distantly they see what appears to be a village. Many sighs of relief and mummers of thanks to the gods are sent, and the chain has a new pep in their step.

It’s a quaint village, with a nice dirt road and cute little houses, alongside what appears to be some statues in the center of all of it. They agree to start at the center where the statues are, and make their way around gathering supplies and finding an inn- if there even is one, that is.

But as they walk closer to the statues, they begin to take a familiar shape. But soon enough, they see exactly why that is.

"Is that.." Time stares in awe. Jaws are dropped, eyes are bulging, and all sense of frustration from the long journey is swept away by pure bewilderment.

There in the middle of the town stood several statues, nine of them to be exact. Eight of them were shockingly familiar, though the tallest one was a stranger to them, we'll focus on that one after.

There was a statue of each of them. Time, Twilight, Legend, Warriors, Hyrule, Four, and Sky. The details aren't exactly accurate, their faces don't match very well but the clothes are very accurate much to their surprise. They know they've been reduced to fairytales across many time periods, but never have they had statues built for them.

"What. The fuck?" Legend manages to make out.

Time doesn't even censor him. He's far too flabbergasted to even bother.

"That can't be us, can it?" Sky mumbles out, walking up and running a hand along his statue. It's high quality metal, but despite that it shows age. These must have been here for ages.

An elderly lady that sits in a chair not far from the statues watches them, her aged eyes never leaving them. They can understand why, not every day you see a group of such well versed warriors after all.

She watches them carefully, and the group notices. They exchange strange glances but other then that stay relatively in their conversation about what these statues could mean, although they've quieted down.

Then, the old lady gasps, and she shakily runs as quickly as she can up to the chain.

"You are the hero's of old!" She cries out, and Sky sputters. "I- well, uh- maybe??” He knows there's no point in trying to hide it when there are literals statues built of them, albeit not completely accurate.

"They have returned to us! What foe have you come to defeat, old great ones!" The elderly lady cries out, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "I have heard tales of you from my mother and grandmother! I never imagined I would have the honors of meeting you, oh great heros!" She exclaims, falling to her knees in front of them.

People begin to gather around, walking out of their houses to see if it really was true. Kids hide behind their parents legs, mothers and fathers weep in joy, people bow their head in respect to them. Meanwhile, most of the chain had never been so uncomfortable in their entire lives.

"Uhm, hi?" Time greets, waving a hand. "You uh, you don't need to bow to us, ma'am." He speaks, helping the elderly lady up off the ground.

"You built STATUES for us?!" Wind exclaims, practically bouncing on his heels. "Hah, wait till I tell Tetra about this!" He smiles, nudging Wars.

News has quickly spread through the village, and people have started running out of their houses offering food and gifts. Apples upon apples, pots upon pots- how did they know they like pots??

"Of course we built statues! How else would we send our thanks to you for your heroism!" A women in the crowd calls out, and several mummers of agreement are heard.

"They must be here to bless us and this land!"

"No, they're here to take our offerings and answer our prayers!"

"They're here to gift us with their wisdom and courage!"

"Perhaps they're here to bless our dearest hero and savior?"

They chain pause at that last bit.

"Dearest hero and savior you say?" Wars hums, before nodding. "Yes, we're here for... the last one. We must meet with the hero of this time." He speaks, looking around at the chain, who nod along to him.

"Yes. That is correct, where is he?" Four asks.

The crowd laughs a little bit, nudging each other and mummering.

"Oh, great old ones! Locating the hero is nearly impossible! He never stays in one place for too long, such is the ways of the hero!" A father calls out, cradling his newborn in his arms.

"I'm sure if you just wait, he will stop by. Our dearest hero is always so smart, he always seems to know exactly when people need his aid!" The elderly women speaks, patting Fours head, who sends the elderly women the harshest glare he can muster.

The father that was speaking just a second ago walks up, and holds his baby out to Sky. "Would you please bless my daughter, oh great and wise hero of Skies? I wish her to prosper in life!" He begs. And just like that, the crowd stirs wildly.

"Wait, please, bless my mother for good health, oh hero of Hyrule!"

"Hero of the Four sword, would you bless my weapons for strength!"

"Oh great hero of Time, please, bless my grandfather with more time on this earth!"

"Hero of the Wind, please come bless my boat!"

"Bless our fighters, strong hero of Wars!"

"Hey! Listen! Please bless my farm for good crops and livestock, hero of Twilight!"

"Hero of Legends! Please bless my son for safe travels, won't you?"

As if things couldn't get and weirder, they just did.

"You want us to... bless you?" Wind mumbles, thoroughly confused.

The chain look between themselves, no one quite sure what to say. What does one say when they're quite literally being worshiped? No amount of monster fighting, god slaying, hyrule saving experience prepared them for this.

"Of course! Why else would you be here?" A young teen calls out.

Time takes this opportunity to get a little closer to their goal. "Well, we're hunting strangely strong monsters that bleed black. You wouldn't happen to know of any of these, would you?"

A man in the crowd calls out "Some monsters have been more bold lately!" And several mummers of agreement are heard.

A women wielding a pitchfork lazily in one hand speaks up next. “I fought one of them monsters just a few days ago, and it bled black! Just like you said!”

“Please, this is why we need your blessings!” A young women cries, and the entire crowd seems to agree.

Sky looks to Time, who looks to Wars who in turn looks to Legend, who turns to Hyrule who nudges Four, who looks at Wind who then turns to Twilight, who shrugs.

“Uhm… I, uh… Guess we have some time to kill? Might as well?” Sky says, more of a question then a statement. Time looks around, and nods.

“Okay.. Uh, we’ll bless you.” He decides. The crowd cheers, and people run up with babies in hand, shoving them out for the hero’s to take. Wind happily took the strangers babies, he was used to holding little ones after all. He somehow had three babies at once. Time had two. Legend held the infant he had in front of him, not quite sure what to do with it. Four had a toddler, Twilight had… four babies? Are they not concerned about him dropping them? Erm, anyways… Hyrule held one baby, and stared at it all wide eyed as if it was a bomb that would go off at any moment. I mean, that is sort of how babies work. Wars had two toddlers propped up on his shoulders, and one of which had his scarf in its mouth. Wars could do nothing about this. Sky held a six year olds hand, and the six year old stared up at him all wide eyed.

But now came the real question. How exactly do they bless these kids? Wind decided he would be the one to set up how to bless people. He stood out in front of everyone else and made sure they were watching. He simply kissed the babies foreheads, mumbled something under his breath and then walked back up to the babies mother. “Consider your kids blessed!” The mother gratefully takes back the kids with tears in her eyes. “Oh thank you, wise hero of the Winds!”

The rest of the chain looks at each other, and shrugs, deciding to follow in Winds footsteps. Baby forehead after baby forehead was kissed, then they had to move onto the teens, which was pretty awkward considering half of them are teenagers as well. After that, they had to bless weapons, and houses and boats and even animals. In short, a lot of things were kissed that day. And yet, still no sign of the hero of this land.

Thankfully, they were offered a free stay at the inn, but they were still frustrated.

Morning came early the next day. Children played about in the streets, farmers tended to their crops, but most importantly someone stood beside their bedsides. He was a blond teen with nasty scaring on half of his face, he was missing an ear and had long blond hair, he bore a vibrant blue tunic and a cape with a hood. He looks at the chain, then peers out the window to the statues, then back at the chain. And the chain immediately realizes this is the hero they’re looking for. Mainly because the tallest statue look exactly like him.

“You’re Link, right?” Sky sits up. The new hero nods, looking back at the statues again in pure bewilderment.

“And you’re… the hero’s of old?” He clarifies. Wind nods.

“That’s us!” The teen responds.

“Soo…” the new hero starts. “They gave you the worshipping treatment too?”

[bluesdesk]

My Spirit Tracks designs inspired by LinkedUniverse :)

And facts under the cut!

I made these for the weekly prompt on the server! I'm still unsure about their nicknames, I liked calling Zelda "Spirit" and Link "Tracks", but later I started calling her "Angel" and Link either "Tracks" or "Engie". Help XD

LEFT: Zelda's design before the adventure. She's the great-great-granddaughter of Tetra and Wind, and they're both black and have curly hair in my designs, with Tetra's skin being a little darker than Wind's. Angel's skin is lighter than Wind's due to having a couple white ancestors between her great-great-grandparents and her. She took her eye color and freckles from Tetra and her nose from Wind!

CENTER: Zelda's design after the adventure. When she got separated from her body, her spirit was pale and light, hwr hair got wavy and floating, and her body lost color due to being "lifeless". When Malladus possessed her, her eyes changed from dark blue to yellow. When Zelda got back into her body, it didn’t regain its original color, much to her desperation. However, she enjoyed helping Link and got an outfit she really loves.

RIGHT: Link! He's the great-great-grandson of Niko and Aryll, who dated Niko as an adult. He's tanned but his ancestors between Aryll and him are mostly white. His design is mostly taken from his engineer clothes, but with the green tshirt and belt from his hero clothes. I originally wanted to roll his sleeves up but noticed how in LU everyone has long sleeves! His eyes are brown, and his personality is pretty much like Aryll's.

Facts!

- Of course they have the same great-great-great-grandparents. This, however, makes them too distant relatives to be considered family.

- Aryll joined the crew a few years after WW. She enjoyed being on the ship and when she turned 12 she decided to join her brother, and later, as an adult, she dated Niko (I headcanon Niko to be at most as old as Wind, but maybe a couple of years younger).

- Zelda's ancestors are all travelers and adventurers. Her parents, in particular, are alive and well but on a journey across the seas to visit the old islands and ancient Hyrule. Link’s parents have done pretty much the same, but Link chose to live with Niko and be a train engineer rather than sailing.

- Zelda hates her new look. She can't stand it at all, and while some makeup helps, she doesn't feel good. She hopes to regain her original appearance some day, mostly her colors, but both colors and hair type would be the best. Link always tells her she's beautiful no matter what, and he's totally sincere. He fell in love with her when she was a spirit, so looks really don't matter, but he too hopes she'll het her original appearance back as he wants to see her truly happy.

- When Zelda got back to her body, she didn't notice she was still that pale. There were so many other things to do, consider, think of. Moreover, she had her glooves on. After defeating Malladus she and Link went back to the castle where they quickly fell asleep due to exhaustion. After some hours, Link woke up to Zelda screaming in terror from her room. He went upstairs and noticed her in tears, staring at a mirror. She saw herself as a monster. Link tried to help, to tell her she's beautiful anyway, and then distracting her talking about adventures and history. This helped her, other than make her order some new clothes based on her adventure.

- In my headcanon Tetra didn't become a white and elegant princess when the king told her she was Zelda. She didn't even get a dress. She just got the information, and was left thinking about her ancestors. All the events of WW happened with the exception of Tetra still being Tetra, dark skin and pirate clothes.

- Yes Zelda's body will slowly recover and she'll eventually regain her original colors! Happy ending :)

[yanderes-galore]

@okchijt

@shinjisdone if you still like BOTW mutual.

I hope this came out well- It's not really gorey but Zelda never usually is so-

Yandere! BOTW! Link Concept

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Overprotective behavior, Violence, Mentions of death, Manipulation, Dubious affection, Dubious/Forced relationship.

Like other Links in the past timelines, Link is also a quiet hero.

He most likely met you after his century long rest and resurrection.

If you think of what this Link has gone through... he's certainly been through a lot.

He's died trying to defend the kingdom, he wakes up to see all he cares about dead, he's alone as he tries to fix Hyrule.

Having a companion to help him along the way could potentially cause obsession.

He has no other companions when he first wakes up and begins to train.

Zelda is locked away to keep Ganon from growing in power.

The Champions have died with their spirits locked away in the Divine Beasts.

Sure, he gets companions and allies as he explores.

But his journey still feels rather lonely.

Not only that but he may not even remember them due to his memory loss.

You are the face that greets him when he manages to make it way into a village.

It's a surprise to see Link of all people 100 years after the battle.

However, you still make an effort to aid the hero.

Link notices the hope in your eyes as you offer him whatever supplies he may need.

You offer tools, scavenged weapons, food, water, whatever.

You even offer companionship.

Link naturally finds himself drawn to your helpful nature.

Your companionship touches his heart, friends are something Link needs during his journey.

You offer him a bed to rest and buy trinkets he finds to sell to you.

You help him find a good stable and horse to use on his travels.

The first village he visits, your village, he often revisits.

He hates that he doesn't remember much of anything.

All he knows is he has a purpose, even if his memories have been wiped away.

Part of him uses this to start new.

He allows you to be the first companion in his journey, one he can rely on as he grows stronger.

Link would still do what he's fated to do.

He'd challenge shrines to regain his strength.

Then he'd use such strength to aid Zora's Domain, Rito Village, Death Mountain, and Gerudo Valley.

Yet when it comes to rest, Link always treks back to your village on horse back.

It's like each day the knight of Princess Zelda comes back to you stronger.

He gives you a soft smile and holds out little things he's found for you.

You are too scared to leave your village most of the time due to Ganon's monsters.

So Link makes you feel like you're on this journey with him by gifting you treasures.

They're little gifts from him, it shows he cares.

Link's attachment to you grows as his journey continues.

He's silent, often speaking in actions more than words.

He's playful at times when he sees you again, encouraging you to hug him when he visits.

He takes you on horse back at times just to see things.

He promises to protect you outside of the village.

If any monster of malice threatens you, Link slays them with a blade and watches as the dark aura drains from them.

He apologizes with a hug that you nearly got hurt.

Truth is, he'd slay anything to protect you.

No matter how dirty the job is.

I feel Link trying to encourage romantic attraction between you would consist of gifts and physical affection.

He collects flowers on his journey to give you.

He collects shiny jewels for nothing but attention in return.

His hugs also appear to become longer the longer he's away.

Maybe he'll even sneak in a kiss on the cheek.

Before he lost his memories, Mipha and Zelda were potential partners he could choose.

But now... he only ever wants you.

In fact sometimes he wishes he didn't have to bear such responsibilities of piecing together Hyrule alone.

He just wants to settle down with you in your village.

He hates it when he has to part from you, especially for the final battle.

Even when he regains his memories, his thoughts of you stay rooted in his mind.

He no longer wants to be with Zelda romantically.

He's her knight, sure...

Yet he still wants you.

So when he comes back after saving Hyrule, why do you refuse him after everything?

You tell him he belongs with Zelda.

But he doesn't want that.

He wants you.

You seemed so susceptible to his affection before?

Every kiss, touch, hug, and gift....

Now... you won't embrace it.

You claim it was wrong to give into him, or that you never saw him in such a way.

Well... Link simply won't stand for that.

You've been a big help to him through his journey.

Even if you never physically came with, having somewhere to retreat to after battle felt fantastic with you.

Link isn't going to accept leaving you, he's tired of things never going his way.

So he decides he'll always stick by you, like it or not.

You can't get rid of him.

You can try to push, yell, and threaten him.

He doesn't listen.

He's fought off the evils of Hyrule just to be repaid with your affection.

He won't let you take that away from him now.

He's way stronger now and won't let you go.

You'll be safe with him... he promises to love you as repayment for helping him...

He's chosen to love you and no one else, even willing to even fight fate to stay beside you instead of anyone else.

[notgonnaedit]

Ordon

Summary: When the Chain is sent through another portal, they end up in Twilight's home

Focus Link: Twilight

A/n: Art is mine. I played the Wii version of TP, so I'm gonna use that map as a reference, but Twi will have his clothes from the HD version

Master list

Twilight groaned as he landed face first in the dirt.

Traveling by portals was always risky, never knowing what time you'd end up in, and a mouth full of dirt was not the greatest introduction to a new time.

"Great, where are we this time?" Legend grumbled as he dusted himself off. 

"No idea." Hyrule said. "But this forest is massive!"

Twilight examined his surroundings. They were standing in the middle of a forest. Tall trees surrounded them, and by the looks of it there was a faint, almost buried tile that lined where they were standing.

"Look at that tree!" Wind exclaimed.

Twilight turned around to see a Titan of a tree hanging over a cliff, the only way to reach it was a hollowed out root. He turned again to see a small shop manned by a colorful bird. If that was there, and that was over there...

"I think we're in my Hyrule." He said aloud.

"Are you sure?" Time asked as he looked around.

Twilight nodded with an energy he never showed. "I'm positive."

"Do you have a place we can stay?" Warriors asked.

Twilight nodded. "My house is about ten miles away, we'd better hurry if we wanna get there before dark."

He started walking south. Legend looked at Wild, who shrugged. Wild knew Twilight the best out of all of them, except Time. They followed their companion through the woods.

"I've never seen him so upbeat." Wild said. "He must've really missed home."

Legend nodded. "Can you blame him? He's been away for who knows how long and death was knocking at his door a few weeks ago." He shuddered at the memory of Twilight laying injured in bed. He was so pale and weak...

Meanwhile, Wind was bombarding Twilight with questions about his home.

"How big is your Hyrule? Will we get to see the goats you told us about? Are there kids in your village?"

Twilight chuckled. "Pretty big, yes, and yes, though they're much younger than you."

Soon they came to a large dip in the woods.

"What is this?" Sky asked. In all his travels, he'd never seen such a strange geographical area. The closest thing he could compare it too was the Sealed Grounds back in his time.

"There used to be a lake here from what I'm told." Twilight said as they walked through it. "But after the Twilight it was covered in a poisonous fog. It took years to disapate."

"What was your adventure like?" Four asked. "You never really talk about it."

Twilight grunted lightly and Time stepped in.

"He doesn't have to talk about it if he doesn't want to."

"No, it's fine." Twilight said. He memory of the day he was pulled into a divine plot made shivers run down his spine. It was a reminder of the day his best friend lost her memory, and of the day his companion left him forever. "It was a fairly normal day in Ordon, except that I was to deliver a sword to the Royal Family..." He told them his story. Everything from Ilia's memory loss to racing Yeto down the mountain. 

Eventually they reached Faron Spring as the day started to turn to evening.

"Let's rest here." Twilight said. "We still got a while before we'll get there."

Hyrule splashed his face with the Spring water as everyone sat down.

"Is this the Spring where you learned you were the Chosen Hero?" Wild asked.

Twilight nodded. "He told me that the tunic I wear now was the one my ancestor wore in his journey." He glanced at Time who was observing the tall stones.

Warriors stretched his back. "The weight of these bags is killing me!"

Legend rolled his eyes. "Well, maybe you shouldn't have volunteered to take them, tough guy."

Twilight walked over to where the horse grass grew and picked it.

"What are you doing?" Four asked.

Twilight didn't answer as he brought the grass to his lips and blew. A gentle melody echoed through the wind, carrying it's song to the right ear.

"That's Epona's Song." Time said turning to him, a look of bewilderment on his face. He already knew that Twilight was his decendent, but his Hyrule was much different, so it had to be at least a century. Yet Epona's Song had survived just the same.

Just as he said it, a chestnut mare with a white mane cantered to Twilight, who stroked her nose affectionately.

He said to the group. "She can carry your loads for you."

Warriors gratefully attached his bag to Epona's saddle, as did the others.

"It won't hurt her, right?" Wind asked. He wasn't used to horses.

Twilight smiled. "No, she's a tough one."

"We should keep going," Four said. "Unless, we wanna set up camp for the night."

"No, thanks." Sky said.

Twilight's continued to lead the way through a cave, lantern in hand. "Be careful of the rats." He said. "They usually run away but sometimes they bite."

Eventually, they came to a long rope bridge where Twilight smiled. "This is it, after this we'll have entered Ordon Province." He pace quickened as they went.

"He's really excited." Wind noted.

They came across another Spring that Twilight slowed when he saw. He stared sadly at the peaceful scene. All of his worst memories had happened there. But then he saw something near the back of the spring and brightened.

"Why'd we stop?" Hyrule asked approaching his distracted comrade. It was then he noticed the young woman, around Twilight's age. She had short peachy blonde hair that fell just past her chin, and pale skin that seemed to glow faintly. Her back was turned to the group, but they could tell she was very beautiful.

Twilight took a step forward. "Ilia..."

The girl turned around, revealing her sage green eyes and petal shaped lips.

"Link?" Her face broke into a smile as she ran to Twilight. He ran to her as well and they embraced in a tight hug.

The others stared at him feeling puzzled. While most of them assumed this was Ilia, Twilight's childhood best friend, Time and Warriors had a feeling something else was connecting them.

The two friends pulled apart suddenly, and Ilia's smile turned to a scowl.

"Where have you been?! It's been three months, I've been worried!" She looked at Epona, who was standing near the Links. "Epona isn't hurt is she? Link, I swear, if you hurt her—"

Twilight chuckled lightly. "Relax, Ilia. Epona's fine, I'm here now. I've been traveling, with them..." He turned to look at his brothers. Most of them nodded in greeting, but a couple (Wind and Wild) smiled and waved vigorously.

Ilia looked at them curiously. They all shared the same build. Lean and strong. But they all looked different. Most has blue eyes like Link, but one had dark brown and another grey. One thing was for sure, they were all connected.

"I see." She said softly. 

Twilight looked between his best friend and his brothers, speaking to both. "How about we go to my house. I'll explain it all there."

~~~~~~~~

Time watched Twilight and Ilia catch up as the younger hero led the way to his home. The two had a strong bond, no doubt about that, but there was something else he noticed. A look air of protectiveness had surrounded Twilight. Sure, he was always protective of his friends, but with Ilia it had increased.

"Is this your house?" Wind asked as they came to a tree house in a clearing.

"Yep." Twilight said as he tethered Epona. He walked to the ladder and started to climb. "And the village is just down that way." He pointed to a fence that lined a pathway to the South. He climbed to the top and opened the door. Ilia followed him and, with a shrug, so did the others.

"Not too shabby, Rancher." Legend said as he looked around Twilight's home. 

Wild looked at the pot on the fireplace and his stomach growled. He looked at Twilight. "Can I use that? I'm starving."

A chorus of agreements rang through the small home.

"Sure." Twilight said as he removed his wolf pelt. "Ilia, are you staying for dinner?"

She smiled. "Of course. You owe me an explaination."

"So how long have you been friends?" Warriors asked as he examined the pictures on the wall. There was one of what looked like a younger Twilight and Ilia fishing together.

Twilight shrugged. "I dunno. I've known her as long as I can remember."

Over by the fire, Wild was making soup with Ilia's assistance. The girl smiled softly. "I remember."

All eyes turned to her, including Twilight's.

"My parents were away in Castle Town." Ilia explained. "I couldn't have been older than three, so I was staying with Rusl and Uli. Rusl went out hunting one day, but he didn't come back with any game. He came back with a boy around my age. He said that he found him with a golden wolf protecting him, and took him home."

Twilight glanced at Time, who was sitting in a chair. "Must have been sent by the gods." He said.

Four nodded. "They didn't want their Chosen Hero dying at such a young age."

"Yeah, that must be it." Twilight said a bit nervously. He remembered the Hero's Shade last words to him. How he learned that the stal that stood before him was his ancestor. But even more chilling was the fact that the very stal sat before him in the body of a man. Twilight wondered what had happened to Time that made him become the ghoul that couldn't move on without passing on his skills. That's couldn't fully die.

~~~

After dinner, Twilight opted to walk Ilia home, but she insisted to wait until tomorrow to show his face in the village, as to not cause everyone to wonder where he'd been.

"I'll at least take you to the entrance."

Ilia smiled as Twilight opened the door for her. "If you insist."

They left the others to settle in and get ready for bed.

"I knew about Ilia." Wild said. "But I thought he had feelings for Midna." 

They all recalled Twilight's story, and how the snarky imp had really been a beautiful princess.

Wind nodded as he got in his sleeping bag. "He sure sounded like he did."

"That was years ago." Time said wisely. "He may have changed his heart."

Warriors chuckled as he copied Wind's actions. "Well, whatever he feels, Ilia definitely likes him."

~~~~~

"So all those boys are you." Ilia said. "But from different times?"

Twilight scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, pretty much. But some of us might be related."

Ilia nodded. "Like you and the one missing an eye."

A startled gasp escaped Twilight's mouth. Ilia smiled. "Oh, don't act so surprised. I saw the way you looked at him after I mentioned the Golden wolf." She quieted and looked at Twilight's shadow crystal that hung from his neck. "Was he the Stal Warrior you told me about?"

Twilight nodded. Ilia was the only person in his time that knew of his quest, other than Zelda of course. "He's my ancestor, Ilia." He said. "But he doesn't know..." He trailed off. He didn't want to tell the Old Man about his doomed fate, but should he? He was brought out of his thoughts by a warm feeling against his hand. He looked down to see Ilia holding it with two of hers.

"It'll be fine, Link. If he's anything like you, he'll be okay. I know you can handle it. After all, you handled it so well when I lost my memory." She looked up at him with kindness. 

"That reminds me..." Twilight said. "Did the doctor say anything?"

Ilia sighed. "You know how Doctor Orville is." She said, no doubt remembering how he treated Ralis. "He wanted an immense fee just to tell me most of them will come back on their own, if at all. I remember most everything, except for in-between when I was taken and when Telma took me in."

Twilight gazed down at her sadly. She was so pure and kind, she didn't deserve any of the hardships she suffered. She was so strong and resilient, even when she didn't know her own name, Ilia was determined to help the dying Zora prince. 

Twilight pulled his friend into a huge, which she gladly accepted. 

"You might not remember everything, Ilia. But I'm glad you remembered me."

Ilia pulled away from the hug, her eyes slightly misty. "Thank you, Link. I'll see you tomorrow." She turned and jogged to the village and Twilight moved to go inside.

He found his friends on the floor in sleeping bags, except for Time, of course. (Twilight let him take his bed, but not without some arguing from the elder, but the younger insisted.) 

"So..." Warriors said with a smirk. "Ilia."

Twilight looked at him with his best wolf-stare. "Don't go near her, Captain."

The soldier immeaditly shook his head and held up his hands in surrender. "No, no! I didn't mean it like that."

Sky smiled at him knowingly. "He's talking about you​​​​ and Ilia."

Twilight took off his wolf pelt on his shoulders. "She's my best friend." He moved to untie the Ordon cloth around his waist.

"Are you sure she isn't more than that?" Legend hinted as he lay back with his arms behind his head.

Twilight took off his tunic and chain mail before taking off his boots. "What do you mean?"

"Hylia, he's dense." Wind whispered to Wild, who rolled his eyes.

"Ya like her!" Wild said bluntly as he sat cross legged on top of his blanket.

Twilight shook his head. "You got the wrong guy, Champion."

"Oh please, we saw the way you looked at her." Four said with a smirk that everyone seemed to be wearing.

"And the way she looked at you." Hyrule said. "Right, Old Man?"

The oldest of their group had an unreadable expression asTwilight laid down and pulled his covers around him.

"I think," Time started as he climbed the ladder to Twilight's bed. "That you all need to go to bed, and let the Rancher figure out his feelings for himself."

The group grumbled their good nights and went to sleep. But Twilight stared up at his ceiling, trying to make sense of what they had told him.

~~~~~

The next morning, the Links were aroused by and unfamiliar voice calling to them. Well, unfamiliar to all but one.

"Link!" A young boys voice shouted. "We know you're home! Get up!"

Legend rubbed his eyes angrily. "Who is that?" He grumbled.

Twilight got up and opened the door. He smiled when he saw the familiar sight of Talo, Malo, Beth, and Colin all standing in his yard.

"You couldn't have let me sleep?" Twilight asked jokingly. "Hold on, I'll be down in a minute."

When he went back in, he found everyone getting themselves around, well, all except Sky. That boy could sleep through anything.

"Who was that?" Time asked as he joined everyone.

"Village kids." Twilight answered fondly. "They do this every so often. Ilia must have told them I came home. I'm actually surprised they let us sleep in this late.

Hyrule looked out the upstairs window at the sun. "Its, like, eight in the morning!" While he may struggle with iliteracy, the Hero of Hyrule was no stranger to telling the time by using the sun or moon, as any traveler should know.

Twilight got dressed in his casual attire, but not the outfit his counter parts were used to. He wore a sleeveless white shirt with green embroidery, baggy dark green pants that reached past his knees, a blue cloth around his waist tied with a smaller orange cloth like usual, and a green sleeve tethered to his shirt on his left arm.

"Wake up, guys." The Rancher said. "You can't see the goats if you're asleep."

Wind immeaditly perked up. He got dressed twice as fast as the others and was at Twilight's side in a moment.

Strange clothes for farm chores." Warriors noted remembering how Twilight helped at Lon Lon Ranch in his usual attire.

"It's traditional Ordon clothing." The native told them as he walked to the door. The others followed him, all in their day clothes. Even Sky had awoken and was groggily climbing down the ladder.

"Link!" The kids all said as they ran to Twilight, jumping on his back and hanging off his arm. The Rancher didn't seem to mind at all. He laughed with delight as he hugged one particular blond boy.

"Link, Mom and Dad are waiting to see you!" Colin said. "And Rose so close to learning how to walk." He looked over Twilight's shoulder and a confused look crept across his face. "Who are they?"

Twilight turned to see his counter parts standing behind him. He really didn't want to explain how time travel and the Hero's Spirit worked.

"They're–er– travelers. I met them while I was traveling myself."

"Oh." They seemed satisfied with his answer. 

"You should probably head to the ranch." Malo said in his monotonous voice. "Fado has barely been able to keep the goats in check."

"Yeah!" Talo said. "Rusl and my dad had to go into Faron Woods to find one last week!"

"You guys!" Beth scolded. "Link just got back and you're already giving him chores!"

Twilight chuckled and took Epona's reins in his hand to lead her. "It's fine, Beth. I was just about to show my friends here the ranch anyway." He turned to his caravan. "Come on, y'all. The Ordon tour starts now."

~~~~

Ordon Village was just as Twilight had left it. Calm, quiet, and quaint. The lake to his right was just as clear as ever, and the hawk grass on the earthen collums were staying in the gentle breeze.

To the left sat Fado's house, and even farther was Rusl, Uli, Colin, and Rose's house. 

"Link!" Ilia waved from where she was talking with Uli by the bridge. She was holding one year old Rose on her hip.Twilight smiled and made his way over to them.

One thing Twilight had missed was Uli's smile. No matter what he was feeling, she could always make him feel warm inside when she smiled.

"Oh, Link." She said wrapping him in a hug he gladly returned. "We've missed you so much!"

Twilight felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to see Rusl standing there, his own face shining with a welcoming smile.

"Good to have you back, son." He said.

Twilight felt his chest swell with pride. Rusl and Uli had taken him in until he moved out at sixteen, a year before his adventure. They treated him as one of their own, and Twilight always considered them to be his parents and Colin and Rose to be his younger siblings.

In the background, someone coughed. Twilight pulled away from the two and turned to his group.

"Oh, sorry, guys." He said. "I forgot to introduce you."

"Who are you're...friends." Rusl hesitated on the last word. He wasn't quite sure how these people knew Link. They varied in ages and height, but they all had the same aura that Link did.

"These are my friends." Twilight said to his parental figures. "We just call each other by nicknames. That's Traveler, Captain, Sailor, Champion, Smith, Veteran, Chosen, and the Old Man. Guys," He turned to his group. "This is Rusl and Uli, and their daughter Rose. They raised me as their own, and Colin was here just a minute ago..."

Time held out his hand to shake. "Nice to meet you." Rusl took it and nodded. Time already liked him. They did a fine job with his decendent.

"Can we see the goats now?" Wind said a bit impatiently. He might be a hero, but he was still a kid.

Ilia chuckled. "You're friend might be right, Link. I'm sure the kids already told you about Fado. You know how my father feels when you aren't helping with the ranch."

"Then why doesn't he have Link run it full time, and Faso helps?" Rusl asked.

Uli chided her husband. "Link has more important things to tend to in Castle Town with you. He can only stretch himself so thin." She turned to Twilight. "I don't mean to talk about you like you're not here."

Rose started babbling from her place on Ilia's hip. The young woman held her up to eye level. "Do you wanna see Link? You want your big brother?" She handed Rose to Twilight, who gingerly took the baby.

"Hi, Rosie." He said to her smiling.

"Ink!" She babbled happily. While she couldn't quite say Twilight's name yet, that didn't stop her from trying. Just then, Colin came up with grass stains on his clothes. The other village kids tailed behind, and went to their own parents.

"Colin, what happened to you?" Uli asked as she took in his state.

"Taking wanted to play sumo and I said I didn't want to, so he tried to make me. But I beat him."

"Good job." Rusl and Twilight said in sync. Ever since Colin saved Beth from the Bulbins, Talo had stopped bullying him. But there was always the occasion when Talo went to far.

The other Links watch in amusement at the family. Wild was wondering why his companion had never mentioned his family before. But that nice moment was interrupted by a call from the north.

"Heeeyyyy! A goat got loose!!!"

A blue, horned beast ran down the path. The group got in battle stances, not knowing what else to do. The goat was coming right for them. But Twilight handed Rose to Uli and ran across the bridge. They watched in wonder as their friend grabbed the goat by it's ringed horns and threw it to the ground. It got up, shook its head, and walked back up to the ranch.

"I should probably go see how Fado's doing." Twilight said as he dusted his hands off.

Ilia giggled. "Probably. You should go now before anymore get loose."

Twilight took Epona's reins once again and led his companions to his job.

"You're sure you don't have any magic items?" Legend teased. To be fair, Twilight had grabbed a thundering beast and threw it to the ground like it was nothing. It wouldn't be unusual for Legend to be slightly jealous of his beastly friend's strength.

Twilight chuckled. "Just my crystal."

Four noticed they were in a stretch of the path where no one is around and he took that as an opportunity. "Does anyone here know about your–you know–other form?"

"Just Ilia." The Rancher said shortly.

"You seem to really trust her." Sky said in a tone that could be considered a teasing one.

"She's my best friend." Twilight said for what felt like the umpteenth time.

"Yeah, but you didn't tell Rusl and Uli, and they raised you." Warriors pointed out.

"Ilia saw things she couldn't explain. I told her everything so she wouldn't think she was losing her mind." Twilight's tone was somber. "It's hard enough knowing there will be some things she'll never remember. I wanted to give her some peace of mind."

The group fell silent at his words. They knew he was just trying to protect his friend, but they still felt there was some unspoken feelings amidst.

"Well, we're here." Twilight said as they approached the open gates of the ranch. Ranch didn't cover it. There was a fence along the South side, but the pasture was bordered by small cliffs on all sides. There was a barn on the west side, and it's doors were open.

There was one man in the center of the pasture, and he was inspecting a goats hoof.

"Fado!" Twilight said approaching him.

Fado looked up from the goat. "Link! You're back, and you brought Epona!"

Twilight laughed. "Yep, I figured you needed the help.

Fado scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, I sure do. I need to check for sickness today so I gotta round 'em all up in the barn. You think you can do that?"

Twilight smirked as he mounted his horse. "You bet." He turned to his friends. "Y'all better stay back while I herd them. They can get aggressive. Hyah!" He took off on Epona in a canter.

Wind watched in awe as Twilight herded the goats into barn. He made it look so easy. "He's really good."

Time felt a swell of pride. Malon would be proud to watch their decendent handle animals with such skill. He could hardly believe that the same boy who was riding around, was barely breathing a few weeks ago. Whatever that shadow did had messed him up, and Time shuddered to think what might have happened if the Traveler's life spell hadn't worked. Time thougtt about how much Twilight talked about Ilia. He had painted a perfect picture of her, from her green eyes to they way her nose scrunched when she laughed. It was clear to the man that they had feelings for each other, whether they knew it or not.

Wild, on the other hand, was confused. Twilight had talked about Midna like an old heartbreak that hadn't healed. But when Twilight was around Ilia, he smiled like her very presence was his reason for anything.

By now, all the goats were in the barn being checked for sickness and disease by Twilight and Fado.

"How did you know of their sick?" Wind asked as Twilight examined a goats mouth. Four, Time, Sky and Wild had gone back down to the village. Wind, Legend, Hyrule, and Warriors stayed out of fascination for the goats.

"You check their mouth, and if their spit is yellow, they're sick." Twilight said as he patted his goat's back. "But this old girl is as healthy as they come."

"You never mentioned the smell." Warriors said distastefully.

Legend rolled his eyes. "It's a barn, Captain. What did you expect?"

"I don't mind it." Hyrule said. In his time, there was very little livestock. Most towns were scattered and maybe had one or two cows.

~~~~

Back in the village, Four and Time were talking with Rusl while Wild was playing with the kids, and Sky was talking with Ilia.

"Link said you were a blacksmith." Four said. "Do you mind if I use your forge to repair this?" He held out a broken sword, no doubt Wild's.

Rusl took the sword and inspected it. "Hmm, it will take skill. Are you up to the task?"

Four squared his shoulders. He was used to people underestimating him. "Sir, I've forged swords in the fires of the volcano of my home. I can handle a forge."

Rusl laughed at the boy's attitude. "Go on ahead, lad. I believe you."

Time chuckled as the Smith ran off with the sword.

"How about you?" Rusl asked. "How do you know Link?"

Time hesitated. "I'm just a traveler."

Rusl shifted. "Are you by any chance his family?" He continued when Time didn't respond. "You have the same eyes and air of confidence. I wouldn't be surprised if you were his father, but I feel like Link would've mentioned it by now."

"Let's just call it a coincidence." Time said. "Ilia told us that you found Link in the forest?"

Rusl nodded. His eyes were distant, like he was reliving a memory. "I was hunting and I came across a wolf. But not just any wolf: its coat was gold, like the sky at sunset. In fact, it kinda looked like the color of your hair. Anyway, it stared at me. I was afraid to kill it because it might've been a spirit or god, so I just stood there, watching it.

"It wasn't long before the leaves in the bushes rustled, and a little boy, a toddler, wrapped his arms around the wolf cheerfully. The wolf stared at me with its one red eye, and I somehow understood. It wanted me to take the boy, it couldn't take care of him forever. 

"I remember looking at the boy's hand and seeing the symbol of the Royal Family. It wasn't until years later that I leaned that the boy, our Link, was the chosen hero. I never saw that wolf again, but I had a feeling it was sacred."

Time knew he needed to have a talk with Twilight later. "You said the wolf had one eye. Which eye was missing." He knew he was crazy for thinking it, but he had to know.

"I think it was missing it's right eye, but I could be wrong."

That was all the confirmation Time needed. He wasn't going to talk with Twilight anymore. There was a reason he didn't tell him, and Time was scared to know.

~~~~~~~

That night, everyone was once again settling down in Twilight's home.

"You're home is a lot like mine, Rancher." Sky said as he lay down. "Tight-knit, friendly people. It kinda makes me miss home."

"We'll get to your home eventually." Four assured him.

Twilight sat at the table with Time. The two hadn't spoken since Twi finished helping at the ranch. Both were scared to speak to each other.

Not being able to bear the awkwardness, Twilight went to his door. "I need to check on Epona." When he was outside, Twilight inhaled a deep breath of the night air. He found it cleared his mind better than anything. 

He climbed down the ladder only to find that Epona wasn't there. Twilight scanned the area and sniffed the air. Ever since Faron had turned him back into a man, he had some side effects. Such as, his hair was wilder and courser, and his senses were always on high alert. They weren't as strong as when he was in full wolf form, but they were strong enough to come to the conclusion that Ilia had taken Epona to the Spirit's Spring.

Twilight smiled to himself as he headed down the trail. Ilia had been doing this for years, and tonight was no exception. He reached the Spring and found Ilia standing in the center, stroking Epona's face. She looked ethereal in the moonlight, her peachy hair had a silvery glow, casting a fairy-like look on her face.

"Oh, hi, Link." She said smiling. "I'd thought I'd wash Epona for you, since you probably never had a chance to in your travels."

Twilight smiled at her. It felt so nice to hear his name for what felt like the first time in months. "Thank you, you're right. She could use a good wash."

Epona nickered, causing a light laugh to pass between the two friends.

"I've missed you, you know..." Ilia said. "I was starting to wonder if you were ever coming back, even with your letters, I..." She trailed off. 

Finally, Twilight understood what his counter parts were talking about. Ilia cared for him in a way no one else did. She'd listened when he told her about his journey. The nightmares he still had, the interesting people he met. And Midna... How Ilia listened for hours about how he talked about Midna when the farm girl cared for him herself.

He stared at her. Her pale skin shimmering in the water's nightly glow.

"Ilia..." Twilight started as he moved to close the distance between them. "I..."

"Stop." She said. "I know what you're going to say. I know you love Midna, and I'm not her."

Twilight took her hand gently, his calloused palms caressing her soft ones. "Ilia, you've always been there for me. To scold or to cheer me on, you always wanted whats best for me. I was so upset that Midna left, I forgot that you were always there for me. I was a fool not to see it sooner. Ilia—"

Ilia reached up and kissed him. Twilight stood there dumbfounded for a moment before he leaned into the kiss, his hands holding hers.

When they pulled away, their foreheads were almost touching. Twilight was sure he looked like and idiot with his goofy grin and spreading blush, but Ilia didn't seem to care. She just smiled up at him and said, "Took you long enough."

[aikoiya]

LoZ - Yiga!Link is a Riot

I gotta say that the concept of Yiga!Link is effing hilarious. Especially if it's Zelink.

Because, think about it.

In this situation, Ganon has literally everything lined up perfectly. Link, his eons-long, multi-life arch-nemesis is essentially his minion & he likely doesn't even know it.

Kid's probably deep into the sauce too, man.

Then, either along comes this pretty little princess & he's like, "yeah, sorry bro, but I'm gettin' me some of that." Maybe he was kidnapped as a baby & Link & Zelda met previously as kids? Maybe she did something for him that he'd never forgotten, then when they remeet, she does something for him that seals a huge crush on her, & thus can't bring himself to kill her? I dunno, there's a lot of ways this could go. OR, he learns personally that he's the Chosen Hero, the very person he's supposed to despise & kill. Meaning that if the other members learn about it, they'll likely kill him. His whole life comes crashing down around him. The first blow to the cult's programming.

Like, it'd just be such a power move on destiny's part.

Like, as dangerous as Ganon obviously is, he simply does not win for very long. He always looses eventually.

And this would just cement that fact. Like, he had his effing arch-nemesis in the palm of his fucking hand & didn't even know it & he'll still fucking lose.

I dunno about you, but I'd be pretty damn demoralized after that.

I might just need the next 10,000 years dead before my next reincarnation to mentally recover.

---

At the same time, it does make me wonder. Why do non-Sheikah Yiga stick with them? Like, we know the reason why the Yiga was originally formed. A Hylian King from 10,000 years ago forced the Sheikah to decommission their technology, fearing it'd bring about Hyrule's demise. (Which, despite how unfair it was, he was... actually right. Makes me wonder if he actually learned that the Sheikah Tech could be taken over. Maybe he'd been an accomplished mage & had managed to use his magic to take control of the machines, then realizing that he likely wouldn't be around for the next Calamity, he ordered the Sheikah to find a way to prevent the machines from being possessed by magic. But no matter what they did, they couldn't manage to figure it out, or maybe they did for a while, but the king kept testing them to make sure it was fixed. However, much like hacking in real life, there will always be new ways to exploit the system, thus the king was left with no choice but to decommission them.)

But, anyway, what exactly do they tell their members to get them to want to stay? Hell, why were they even still a thing in BotW? Why hadn't they made their move? There were no more guards, or soldiers, only a few trained Sheikah, all of which were either too old to keep fighting or were swiftly getting there, & there'd been no royal family besides Zelda, who was keeping Calamity Ganon sealed away.

Why didn't they take over the rest of Hyrule, asserting their dominance & killing all the loyalists so that when the Hero returned, he'd be an outlaw, thus making his journey harder? (It certainly wouldn't have been the first time something like that would've happened in the series.) In fact, why reveal themselves to him when they meet? Just wait till his back is turned, then Eightfold Blade him in the back! Or have a Yiga replace the Sheikah & Hylian innkeepers/Stable Managers, then when Link rents a bed for the night, give him a poisoned complementary meal! Then, when he collapses, just execute him!

It's that easy! Or it should be, because they're effing ninja!

I mean, they were perfectly fine with killing Dorian's wife, who Dorian had been a member of the Yiga before, thus they've no issue with the act of killing.

Which, btw, why didn't they instead kidnap her, maybe even his daughters too, & use them as blackmail to keep him under their thumb?

LoZ Wild Masterlist

LoZ My Fanfic Masterlist

[cloudninetonine]

My question from a bit ago asking about the order of the games played in ties into Bean’s question. My main reason for asking was wondering who would’ve had the youngest iteration of Player, and (if their journey was a recent memory when Player played as a kid) the Link in question’s confusion on their sudden maturity. I’m genuinely curious on who had little snotty brat, squeaky voiced Player and what his experience was like.

I’m sure it would’ve been extremely confusing for those like Legend who had multiple games released over long periods of time, meaning he would hop into a new adventure and suddenly his guide sounds like 3 years older and is more mentally adept in helping him fight and solve puzzles (condolences to the poor Links who suffered with child Player who, like most kids would be, probably wasn’t one of the best puzzle solvers).

Honestly from this imagine how funny it would be from the different time jumps, especially if the boys remembered like they're talking about their Guides and just

Hyrule:- they were wise, they were strong and I miss them so. How about you all-

Vet: I had a little brat.

Hyrule:...what-

Legend: You heard me.

Sky, remembering his Guide getting passed about flying and losing it:...My guide was sure something

[luimagines]

Ironically, it doesn't take long for the group with MAG!Reader to end up in Warriors' era. The MAG couldn't help but feel on edge cause holy shit were they not ready at the moment. Reader immediately went invisible and held onto the Captain like a nervous puppy.

Reader: *whines akin to a dog* Why now?

Warriors: Whoa there! Everything will be okay. Let me talk the Artemis ok? She'll clearly understand.

Reader: Alright... I trust you.

Thus the Chain make their way to Hyrule Castle with the still invisible MAG following from behind. It wasn't hard for Reader to find a way there without making a suspicious ruckus as they still remember every shortcut and areas not many people visit. Their heart did ache when Artemis walked out to greet the Chain.

Reader's current appearance isn't very flattering and it made terribly anxious as they don't want to scare their close friend. The MAG watched the group through any window or opening once they entered the castle. Reader's sharp hearing let them hear Warriors explain to Artemis what had occur so far on their journey and any major developments.

It didn't take long for him to mention them.

Warriors: We found my missing Second in Command (Reader's rank at the moment)

Artemis: Really?! How?! No one had found their body even after the war ended.

Warriors: It's complicated but they appeared in Wild's Era. However...

Artemis: Is there something wrong? Are they hurt?

Warriors was about to explain when Reader smelled it. An intruder inside in the castle specifically the same room the group was at. It wasn't difficult for their sharpened vision to notice the hidden figure or the bow aimed on Artemis. The sight made Reader snap as the MAG's protective instincts went into overdrive.

Everyone was immediately taken off guard when the giant drops their camouflage and broke through the castle wall. Reader's thick hide shatter the arrow shot by the intruder as they sent the assassin flying with their mace like tail. The MAG immediately freezes upon realization that Artemis' eyes were on them.

Absolute horror and shell shock on her face made Reader quickly bolt in shame despite the princess pleading them to stop. The group searched everywhere for the runaway MAG but couldn't find em anywhere. At least until a frighten soldier's scream erupts from the castle training ground.

They find Reader surrounded by soldiers, half in shock since they recognize their dear missing comrade and the other half in terror. Apparently the MAG had hid there only for someone to bump into their invisible form. Reader is like a deer in the headlights when Artemis tells her soldiers to stand down. She's on the edge of tears as her closest friend was still alive after all and she just made them run away.

Artemis: You really are here... I'm so sorry we couldn't stop Cia unleashing her spell...

Reader: It wasn't your fault. No one could have anticipated such an extreme move. *bends down so they can be face to face* Or what came from it.

Artemis: Everyone missed you... I missed you so much! *gently caresses Reader's face*

Reader: The feeling is mutual.

It's gonna take awhile for everyone to calm down. Luckily Impa showed up so she could help handle the still shaken soldiers. The Sheikah was also shock to see Reader but is glad they're okay. Warriors and the MAG had been a shoulder for the princess to lean although the latter wasn't fooled by her disguise.

There were matters that had be handle but overall everyone was just glad Reader is back. Even if it'll take awhile to get used to their new appearance.

...Do you think... that they would try to flag down Lana to try and fix the spell? Or corner Cia herself to fix it?

Would Reader want it fixed? For as horrible as they turned out to be despite their circumstance, there's still plenty of advantages on the battle field in their form? Could they change it so that it's more of a hulk situation?

Like switch at will?

Or will it be 'all or nothing'? (Seems like something Cia would do that to be honest.)

But Lana might be their best bet anyway. Not to mention I think Reader would be more comfortable around her anyway.

[guideoftime]

𝑬𝑴𝑷𝑨𝑻𝑯𝑬𝑻𝑰𝑪 𝑺𝑬𝑵𝑻𝑬𝑵𝑪𝑬 𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑹𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑺. << ❛  what do you need?  ❜ >> handsigned by Link. @gloryseized

These new monsters that they had roaming the lands of Hyrule--Sheik hasn't quite perfected fighting against them. He's noticed it himself, the small little mistakes he makes, the lack of proper reaction times. He won't say he's gotten slow, he refuses to say something like that. Despite how old Sheik actually is, he still reacts appropriately and enough. Moblin's are taller than they were in his days, and these Hinox creatures can be rather unpredicatable. There's more monsters and they're diffierent.

He doesn't appreicate it.

After leaving the Shadow Temple, Sheik had very little choices left for him. Lost, and definitely seeming that way, the Hero offered to have him travel with him. He thinks there's a bit of pity mixed in there too, or maybe it was more an understanding. Sheik doesn't have amnesia, one would say he has more memories than he should, but this was an entirely different world and different Hyrule than the one he knew. To the point he couldn't even say he recognized what he was looking at.

So he follows the Hero. He follows him and his head wanders. He follows him and questions why.

When the Hero of Time completed his journey there was a sense of relief at first, relief they won, relief he was safe--and then grief. They won, but the Hero's life was destroyed. They won, but they destroyed a man in the process. Resetting a clock doesn't take away trauma, nightmares, pain.

Now, the cycle has repeated. The Master Sword's strength is dwindling.

Having lost himself in his thoughts again he barely catches the hand movements from the Hero across from him. They had camped, there was a fire burning, and Sheik had probably been staring at Link or the Master Sword for far to long. It's hard not to, though he looks fairly different from his ancestor, that sword never changes. It ages like him, perhaps, but it always looks the same. That sword probably haunted his own nightmares.

"Why do you think I need something?" He asked quietly in turn, looking down to his arm he had been cleaning and rewrapping for what was probably the past hour since sitting here. He had already stopped the bleeding, from where the Moblin's claws dug into him, now he was just cleaning and wrapping the wound. Or rather, he was attempting to. If he could get his own mind to stop running.

"I was just thinking." He explains softly, anticipating the next question or the comment that would be sent toward him. "It's not anything important."

[winterlinksandotherlinks]

May I offer you a pirate in these trying times?

Ever since I watched the Wind Waker walkthrough a while ago, I've been slightly in awe of Wind. Just — this is a guy who loves his sister and sets out to save her, saves everyone else in the process, and gives off the vibes of someone who's so very well adjusted for his age, who's comfortable in his own skin, who loves sailing, and who's both skilled and powerful?

Yeah, I admire him.

I'm sure we all know and love LU Wind, but watching the walkthrough I got the impression he was older than thirteen/fourteen — somewhere around seventeen, maybe. LiWiAU Wind is therefore:

a little over eighteen;

has a tiny bit of Jim Hawkins vibes (at least based on what little I do remember of Treasure Planet);

has adopted some of Linebeck's sense of fashion (the coat), and has a necktie like Tetra's;

the trousers aren't much longer than in the illustration (just long enough to be wrapped above the boots), and are still a vibrant orange — the shirt's white though;

ended his first journey (Wind Waker) shortly before turning eighteen, was thrown into his second (Phantom Hourglass) a couple of months later, and was then dragged into the War alongside Tetra (Hyrule Warriors) — has very recently returned to Outset Island to see Grandma and Aryll, and to take a break;

joined the War after Mask and Ravio had left, but heard stories about them from Warriors — Tetra's flintlock pistol was one of the experiments Ravio left behind;

has a friends-with-benefits relationship with Tetra (she's a year older than him), and is pretty happy with that;

aromantic;

is extremely proud of his little sister, and admires her determination, perseverance, and intelligence;

helps Tetra look for lands to establish a new Hyrule in, but knows in his heart he would never want to live there — his life belongs to the sea and the little islands, and he wouldn't want it any other way;

stays in touch with Tetra through the Pirate's Charm, and when they're both older and Hyrule is in safe hands, he returns as a pirate and "kidnaps" her — they disappear at sea, and nothing's heard from them again;

this results in a large variety of legends about the Great Pirate and the Unmarried Queen.

[spirit-tracks]

HEY BABES NEW LINKED UNIVERSE AU JUST DROPPED!

Welcome to Linked Universe: the B-Team. After all, with portals opening up across time and space, you can't expect everyone to end up in the same place.

Here's the breakdown:

Mask (young Time) fresh out of Hyrule Warriors. He's very mean and very quiet and will probably bite you if you get too close. Probably has rabies. He's older than he lets on; years of pain and experience in an unassuming child's body. He's very depressed and kind of angsty and never takes off his mask unless he has to. He's kind, though. Even if he won't admit it. (There is a reason young Time is here just trust me)

Spirit (Spirit Tracks Link) about a year after the engineer ending of Spirit Tracks. The youngest. He's kind of flighty but is willing to work with the others if they're willing to work with him. Looking at all these other heroes, he thinks he doesn't deserve to be here. He can see ghosts and souls and spirits-- it's the Lokomo in him. He's got tapetum lucidum and it freaks everyone tf out. Doesn't know what the triforce is.

Linkle (Hyrule Warriors). She genuinely, 100% thinks she is a reincarnation of the spirit of the hero. Spoiler alert: she is not. No one in the group can be sure she isn't, though, so she's along for the ride as the team's long distance archer. Happy go lucky, determined, and optimistic! Also couldn't find her way out of a paper bag. She claims to the group that she knows where she's going so they follow her directions. Not the best idea.

Hero (TV Show and CDi Link). CDi adventures first, TV series next, and now he's here! I don't even need to explain him to you, you know exactly how cursed this guy is-- but essentially, he's Gaston. Thinks he's better than everyone, is not as charismatic as he thinks he is, and kind of an idiot. Calls everyone else a 'poser' and generally makes everyone just. Dislike him. But he has his moments, certainly.

Rhythm (Cadence of Hyrule) two years after the end of his adventure. Rather chill dude. Hard to piss off, but his pal Hero knows exactly how to push his buttons. Very particular about teamwork, is probably the only one keeping this mess from falling apart. Works with a rhythm, and can quite literally get 'thrown off his groove' if he's overstimulated, particularly by rough noise with no rhythm. His heartbeat is a constant metronome that keeps him focused.

And lastly is First (Skyward Sword manga). I had to wriggle the manga's story a little to fit canon, so instead of the Master Sword, he's just got the Goddess Sword. (Fi does not exist yet!) His hylian shield is actually the very very VERY first of its kind, it's the one Sky gets from Lanayru in Skyward Sword. ANYWAY, First is the oldest, but he's less the dad of the group, more of a typical drill sergeant. He's been really soured from his time in jail, rightly so. He'll boss the others around if they get on his nerves, he was a captain (general?) after all, but typically he hangs at the back of the group and keeps an eye on the surroundings. Funny enough, he gets along best with Mask. It's that cynical, jaded air they both have that allows them to brood in solidarity.

The punchline is that these guys are literally always like. One left turn away from the regular Linked Universe gang. That's why they never meet. But they encounter Dark Link here and there as well, and get into their own shenanigans on their journey to find and finally join up with the A Team.

This has been in my drafts for a while, but lemme know what you think! 👉👈

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Forsaken AU's back on the brain, have some fun facts

Mystery Link!

Although he has a horse named Epona, he rarely uses her. She journeyed with him in the early years of his adventures, but after she sustained grievous injuries and almost died, Link set up her in the best stable he could find and she is retired from Hero Duties in his book. He still visits her and rides her, but she's the stable's baby now and relaxes and helps the local village children learn how to ride.

As a result, Link doesn't really have a horse. He tames wild horses long enough to get where he needs to go before letting them go again. Because of this, he's quite the expert in recognizing horse breeds and knowing their temperaments and qualities quickly.

Link is a major introvert. He'd really rather not deal with people at all. He comes in, saves the day, and he leaves ASAP. When traveling he rarely, if ever, uses the roads, instead going through the forests and thickets and plains and fields. He'll go months without talking to anyone.

Has worn the same clothes for actual years. Villages that see him on more than one occasion gift him clothes because he'll wear what he has until its threadbare.

Speaking of gifts, many villages leave offerings for him in places where he's likely to find them, far from people. They know he doesn't interact with others much. They tend to leave gifts for him in pots on the edge of town. He didn't accept them at first, but when people go out of their way to find him and insist, he learns to accept it.

Wielded the Triforce of Courage on his first adventure, but this time when the Triforce shatters Wisdom chooses him instead. He keeps this fact to himself, though he sadly, quietly reflects that it's appropriate he lost the right to Courage.

Gerudo Link!

He grew up in a settlement on the edge of Gerudo Desert. His mother never wanted him near her people's own cities (of which there are multiple) because she didn't want anyone to know that a Gerudo male had been born.

Link had the option of being a scholar like his father, but he much prefers working with his hands and seeing more immediate results. He also just likes to make people happy.

He's curious to see the world, as his father has told him so many stories. While he isn't hugely adventurous, he is willing to leave his comfort zone and familiar area to travel to his father's hometown and try to start a life for himself there.

His massage therapy is hugely popular - the entire region is sad when Zelda drags him away.

Due to said popularity, he's surprisingly well off for an almost-nineteen-year-old kid just starting out on his own.

His favorite season is spring - although he is used to the heat and prefers it, summers in his new area are too humid for his liking. Spring is perfect, though.

Princess Zelda!

She's an excellent rider and loves pushing her horse to run as fast as possible. Her horse, in return, loves to run, so they're a good match.

Grew up on legends and stories of the royal family protecting Hyrule and is enamored with them. She 100% wants to be the next queen who protects her people.

Has never truly been independent in her life, so when she runs away to seek out the Hero she quickly realizes she has no idea how to cook, camp, anything. Eh, I'll figure it out! Wisdom is inherent to my bloodline!

She stole multiple magical artifacts from the royal library to help in her quest, including an adventure pouch that has endless storage and a staff that compels people to tell the truth--but only if wielded correctly. She's yet to figure out how to use the staff, but boy does she want to use it on Mystery Link.

Loves drama and romance, and tales of them as well. She'll read all the young adult novels, she'll ship all the characters, and she has drawn fan art of her favorite stories. Her favorite story is The Tale of Two Swords, a legend of twin spirits destined to be eternal enemies despite their eternal love for each other. She cries every time she talks about it.

Blue is her favorite color

The Chocolate Chonkster!

Is the best

Will always be the best

Loves everyone (but especially Mystery Link)

Knows deep pressure therapy (she's a snuggler and she senses that it helps calm Link) and can sense when Mystery Link is in need of comfort. Will pin him to the ground whether he likes it or not.

Loves going hunting with Mystery Link and will retrieve anything he kills. Has sometimes retrieved monsters, much to his exasperation

Did I mention that she's the best

[minty-mumbles]

Fanfiction Masterpost

I'll be updating this periodically, as I post new fics.

Whumptober 2021 Masterpost - (AO3)

Whumptober 2022 Masterpost - (AO3)

Collection of Drabbles/Snippets that don't make it onto this masterpost

Linked Universe Fics

Delirium - (AO3) - Wild gets sick, and Time and Twilight have to deal with his fevered delusions. No one has a good time.

True Colors - (AO3) - Monsters assume that Hylians operate under the same color system as they do. They're not exactly wrong.

Sunkissed Scales - (AO3) - The last thing Time expected to do today was meet a Siren that got caught up in the fishing nets. Unfortunately for him, that was exactly what happened.

Foundlings - (AO3) - What if the Links weren't born? What if they just... appeared one day?

To Honor, In Ink - (AO3) - Art - Art - While the chain is staying in the Karakara Bazaar, Wild heads off to Gerudo town for the day. He comes back sporting a new tattoo.

Stand Not at My Grave and Weep - (First Chapter | Last Chapter) - (AO3) - Art - Sky has prophetic visions, and something's wrong with Wild.

Left Behind (Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3) - (AO3) - Wind is hurt by the people closest to him

Winged Wonder, Feathered Freak (First Chapter | Last Chapter | Lore Dump) - (AO3) - Wild’s best kept secret comes out. He runs.

From the Open Seas, to Dark Tangled Depths (Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3) - (AO3) - Hylian Wind finds himself in the middle of the property of a group of faes.

From the Outside In (Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3) - (AO3) - A series of short unconnected fics, exploring the chain from various outsider's perspectives.

Honor in the Braids - (AO3) - Everyone keeps their hair long in Wild’s Hyrule. Everyone braids their hair in Wild’s Hyrule. Everyone except Wild.

Here There Be Monsters AU:

Caged Animals - (AO3) - Twilight and Warriors go hunting on the night of the full moon. Unfortunately. they're not the only ones out hunting tonight.

Sight Unseen - (AO3) - Wind is having some ghostly problems. Thankfully, he has his friends to help him out.

Sleepover - (AO3) - Wind gets a late night Visitor, and Wild gets some answers.

Flowers and Fountains AU:

Night Watch - (AO3) - Hyrule has a little secret he uses to help out his fellow heroes.

Meeting Family - (AO3) - Art - Hyrule meets some distant relatives in Wild's era.

Red Verbena - (AO3) - Fairy Hyrule eats something he's not supposed to

General LOZ Fics

One Last Journey - (AO3) - Link goes on one last journey around Hyrule

Holy Warrior - (AO3) - Link is a fallen angel, although perhaps fallen isn't quite the right word for it.

The Becoming of a God - (AO3) - Art - Gods are formed form belief. Many people believe in the Hero of the Wilds.

[novantinuum]

please ramble about your botw au!!!!

aaAAA yeS, so-

My as-of-yet unnamed AU is a retelling of the story wherein Link and his younger sister (named Aryll, in honor of Link's canon sister from Wind Waker) wake up in the Shrine of Resurrection.

(For the purposes of this story, Link is 18 and some change, and Aryll is a few months shy of 12.)

Link- confused and disoriented- still remembers almost nothing of his former life beyond the fact that the young girl he's with is most undoubtedly his sister. Aryll on the other hand... remembers everything about her life except how she ended up here. The story's focus is on the progressive strengthening of their bond as they embark on a long journey to discover the gaps in their memory, put an end to the calamity that's lingered in these lands for the past 100 years, and... ultimately... build a new life in the wake of the one they lost.

(Essentially this is my brain going: What if Link wasn't ALONE on those long, quiet roads? What if he had someone to care for and protect? How would the details of his journey change if he had to also consider the safety of a child while trying to free the Divine Beasts? How would having a family member with him who knew him before he picked up the sword impact his developing personality in the wake of his missing memories? And, for Aryll... how would a journey like this impact a young girl in the midst of her most impressionable years of development? What is her coming of age like?)

To provide a little taster of what I think Link and Aryll's basic dynamic would be...

-Link ends up beginning to teach his sister how to shoot with a bow pretty early on, wanting her to have at least one means of self-defense under her belt should they somehow end up separated. Aryll also gets her first horse riding lessons from him during some of their more peaceful travels.

-Aryll is the type to braid flowers into her big brother's hair when they're taking a rest somewhere. Link eagerly lets her, happy for the affection.

-Trips through the woods, ft. Aryll singing some old schoolyard songs very loudly as she skips through the brush and Link having to hastily shush her upon hearing something moving in the bushes up ahead. Having a younger sibling beside you is nice for company, but certainly NOT helpful when you want to employ the element of surprise on a camp of Bokoblins.

-In the wake of everything that's come to pass (waking up literally a CENTURY away from everything you've known), Aryll doesn't like being apart from her brother longer than she has to. There's some places Link absolutely would never willingly take her (Divine Beasts and much of Hyrule Field, for instance), but in less dangerous cases, he can be a bit of a pushover when she nags him to let her tag along. He's not fond of leaving her behind, either.

-Link in this story is selectively mute- he can and does occasionally speak out loud, but he finds it far easier to fully express himself with gestures and sign. This was the case for his entire childhood, so Aryll is fluent in sign as well, and will help translate his words at stables if he's not in the mindset to speak and the stable hands aren't familiar with Hylian sign language. Link is very appreciative.

[floor-tiles]

____________

I ACTUALLY GOT THIS ONE PROOFREAD WOOHOO

Read below the cut:

It was a normal day. The chain assumed they were in an in-between age somewhere around Time and Twi's eras. It was partly cloudy, and the sun only occasionally peeked from behind the clouds. The air was warm, not too hot and not too cold, and the cool breeze was welcomed with opened arms. It was a perfectly normal and calm day. The Links were discussing common interests and similarity between their worlds. The current subject was their gods. Hylia, Din, Nauru, Farore, even Oshus, Zephos, and Cyclos.

"Well, I know of the Golden Goddesses' existence, but I don't worship them or anything. They don't do much for my world anymore," Wind commented, "I mean, they flooded Hyrule centuries before I was born and that was the last people really saw of them. I mean flooded in a good way, by the way!"

"Well, Wind, that's interesting," Time remarked, "In my time, Din, Nauru, and Farore are mainly worshipped. I never knew who Hylia was before this journey, but I suppose it's her to blame for my journey. The Hero of Time certainly doesn't sound like something the Golden Goddesses would come up with."

"Oh, I have some opinions on Hylia!" Sky shouted.

"We know, Sky," everyone replied.

"No, seriously!" Sky got serious all of a sudden, and a nearly glazed look fell over his eyes, "Hylia quite literally manipulated me. And did some weird mind stuff with Zelda before she reincarnated as her. She messed with her memories and stuff," explained Sky.

"Really? That's new," Twilight replied, "Especially coming from you, Sky."

The silence that followed was almost awkward, so Wild spoke up, "Well, we sure know that the veteran hates the Goddesses," he half-joked.

Legend looked up from his journal at this, and looked Wild straight in the eye, and said, "I can't hate something I don't believe in."

This comment made everyone stop in their tracks, turn around, and stare at Legend with looks of pure confusion on their faces.

"You… You don't believe in the goddesses?" Warriors spoke up, "You have to believe in something, though, right?"

Legend looked at Warriors and replied, "I do, I'm Christian. I believe in God? Not the goddesses. I've met Nayru, Farore and Din before, they're just people like you and I. Theyve got fucked up lives, but theyre still people," he started, "For some of you they might be goddesses, but to me they're just human." Nobody quite seemed to see Hyrule's eyes light up at Legend's statement.

"Well, what would you say about our common deities? What about the Wind Fish from the legends? We've all heard of that," Wind asked.

"The Wind Fish is just that, a deity. A being that just so happens to have higher power than us in our universe. Not a god." Legend explained.

"Okay!" Wind accepted, "That's pretty cool, actually."

"I'm glad you think so, sailor."

The group continued their walk, following a stream they just found to hopefully lead to civilization. Before long, Wild spoke up.

"Legend, how does God work? What's their name? How do you even know they're real?" he questioned.

Legend thought for a moment, before slowing down to walk next to Wild.

"Well, I know He's real because I just, know, I guess. Have you ever met the Golden Goddesses?" Legend asked.

"No."

"And yet you still believe in them? Why is that?"

"I just," Wild hesitated for a moment, "I just have faith, I guess. I just. Know."

"That's how I feel with God," Legend started, "I've never met Him, or even had conversations with Him like you and Hylia, but I just hold my faith that He's real. I just know that He's there. You get it?"

"Yeah, kinda. You still didn't answer my other questions, though!" Wild complained.

"Well, God's name isn't actually God, but it's not okay to say His real name. It is too holy to be said aloud. So, people just call him God."

Wind spoke up, having been listening in on their conversation, "But what about other gods? Wouldn't that get confusing?"

"In Christianity, there is one God and one God only. That is why we refer to Him with just 'God'." Legend explained, "As for Wild's first question, it's difficult to answer.

"God is an eternal being, who created all things. For some other people here, Farore created living things, Din created land, and Nayru gave law. For me, God gave all of that. God is with us every step of the way, and He is always there for us. He takes care of us, and will take care of us more if needed. He will give us knowledge and power to lead a successful life if we do so let him," Legend explained, a small smile on his face, "Like I said, hard to explain, but God just. Does everything, I guess? I'm not quite sure how to say how He works, exactly, but I just know He does."

"Okay. That's not confusing at all! Thanks, Legend!" Wild said, trying his best to sound nice. He did not understand. Not one bit. It was very confusing. "Okay, maybe it's a little confusing. Also kinda weird."

Legend laughed, a rare sound. "And you say a goddess making land rise to the sky for human protection isn't?"

"I didn't say that!" Wild sounded appalled, "Besides, Hylia is real, probably. I've spoken to her and Sky knows her personally!"

Sky spoke up, "Hylia actually isn't a goddess anymore, Wild! She reincarnated as my Zelda. In your era, she's probably just a powerful ghost of some sort."

"Well, whatever you guys think is real or not, to me, I don't give much of a shit about most religions," joked Legend.

_______________

"Hey, Legend?" Hyrule asked.

The chain finally found a town, and they were resting at an inn by the name of 'Irene's Inn'. It was a well-run and well-priced inn. Irene really knew how to run the place, she had 12 groups just that night.

Legend turned to him, "Yeah, Roolie?"

"I just wanted to let you know that you're not the only Christian. I figured it might be weird thinking you're the only one. I mean, I know it felt weird for me before you said you were, so I wanted to let you know." Hyrule smiled.

"Really? That's cool," Legend grinned, an unusual sight, "Here I thought I'd be the only one."

"Yeah, it's pretty cool," Hyrule started, "But, you know how I'm your successor, right? I would like for you to know that if we go to my Hyrule at some point, you will be worshipped by random strangers. In the tales, you're known as, like, God reborn."

Legend gave him a weird look, "Wait, what?"

"Yeah! After meeting you, it's a bit odd, I mean, you? God reborn? No way. I'd be more inclined to believe God reborn would be Wild, not you!" Hyrule joked, "And that's saying something."

"Woah woah woah, slow down. I'm called God reborn in your time? But I'm not! I'm Link. I'm Legend. I might be a hero, yeah, but I'm not God!" he explained. His thoughts of 'God doesn't kill everybody living on a peaceful island ' were left unsaid.

"After meeting you now, I can't help but realize the same. You're just a-" Hyrule cut himself off, "You're like me. Or like Time. Even Wind! We all share the Triforce of Courage, even if we are all completely different. We have tons of strange similarities. And strange differences."

"Yeah, what about it?"

"I honestly don't know where I'm going with this," Hyrule chuckled, "Sorry about that, Legend."

"Don't apologise. Now, tell me, what do you think of Hylia? I'm curious."

________________

"Legend, there's some odd stories regarding Hylia. I was wondering if there were any, how do I put this, silly stories or odd things about Christianity?" asked Sky, "Sorry if that seems rude, buy if there's weird stories and rules regarding Hylia I thought maybe their would be with your god, too."

Legend glanced up at Sky, "I mean, yeah, I guess so. Defining odd rules. I can't say the names of other gods, for one. I don't include the Golden Goddesses and Hylia in that, as Hylia is now mortal and I know the Golden Goddesses personally and they're just oracles."

"That's intriguing." Sky said.

"I'd like to think so. I also can't eat fats or blood, which is why when Wild joined you and I that I asked him to avoid fat if he's cooking meat."

"Really?" Sky looked a little surprised, "I thought you just wouldn't like it. I mean, I asked for no meat I guess."

"You did, didn't you?" Legend commented, "Do you want to know one of the oddest rules in Christianity?"

"Yes." Sky said, with zero hesitation.

"If I am fighting another man," he started, "I must chop his wife's hand off if she grabs my genitals."

Sky gave him a weird look, "Huh?"

Legend put his hands up in the air, "You heard me!"

"Wait wait wait, what?!"

"I don't know man! Religions can be weird, coming from a religious guy."

"Yeah, but that's, like, next level!"

"I guess you could say so, yeah."