Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Link suddenly found himself in a new place. He tucked his long red hair behind his ears and took out his Seeker Stone.* It was new technology, but he'd gotten to know it well with the help of its Sheikah creators. He'd never had any accidents with it and had definitely never had an unintended warp, so this was a strange situation. It was especially unusual because he hadn’t felt that odd unraveling sensation or seen the usual blue strands before or after the warp. He could see no signs of a Trial Shrine or a Travel Gate, unless the newer Medallions they were working on were invisible when placed. If that were the case, he would have some concerns that he would need to relay to the monk scientists. The prototype they’d gifted him to try wasn’t like that, and he certainly didn’t want the finished product to be impossible to see. That was asking for some sort of accident. The Stone did show some signs of malfunction. It said he was out of range of any Towers. There was no location in Hyrule out of range of the Towers.

There was no map functionality. Wait, no. Link zoomed in on his location. There was a tiny bit of something visible in this spot. He moved forward a little, and the map made a line along the path he traveled that suggested the general terrain. So the map was working, but was stuck in “out of range” mode. The compass was available, the temperature was available, the clock was available, and the weather section was currently lacking a forecast and had a loading sign. The camera and compendium were working along with his other runes. It seemed the only problem was that the Seeker Stone wasn’t recognizing the Towers and had been forced into “out of range” mode. 

Maybe he needed to reboot it. The Sheikah scientists had assured him that anything he stored in the Stone was safe, even in the case of a reset, as long as the device wasn’t formatted, but he removed everything he reasonably could just in case. It wouldn’t do to find himself without extra weapons or healing items in the middle of who-knows-where. And there were some sentimental things he did not want to lose. Link was hoping he wouldn’t lose his notes or pictures. 

After the long process of removing the important stuff - and judging by the large amount of stuff that had gathered on the forest floor, he probably needed to reprioritize what was important - he gritted his teeth and followed the instructions the Sheikah had taught him to begin the reboot. He held his breath as the Seeker Stone booted up and went through its initialization. And… the map was still blank. Almost blank, he corrected himself when he saw the small trail he had laid down. He quickly checked on his notes and pictures and sighed in relief that everything was still there, including the things he had left in storage. He did one last check through the settings and saw that everything was set up as it should be. It just wasn't sensing the Towers. The Seeker Stone would be stuck like this until he could have a scientist troubleshoot it. 

He sighed once more, looking around at the massive pile of stuff he was going to have to put back in storage. This was going to take a while.

——

After taking way too long returning his massive collection of stuff to the Stone, he decided that his next step needed to be figuring out where he was. It reminded him a bit of the Great Forest where the Koroks lived, but it lacked the eerie fog. He was traveling around Hyrule, training his mind and body in the various Trial Shrines, but he hadn’t been everywhere yet. He definitely hadn’t been here. 

Perhaps if he could get his Seeker Stone to add more to the map, he would recognize the area from the map the Towers had previously granted him. He hoped he could remember the terrain well enough to make a guess. 

There were two ways to fill out the map when the Towers were unavailable. The first was to keep walking around. The map would record the trail and elevation, as he had recently tested. The other method was to get an overhead view of the land, and the map could fill in a broader area. So climbing it was. 

Link’s claws made it easy to scale a tree, and he made it up in record time. He took the Seeker Stone out and slowly panned it around the area, letting the map fill out what it could see. It wasn’t much from this relatively low vantage point in comparison with a proper aerial view, and it wouldn’t be the most accurate from this angle, but it was better than nothing. 

He looked hopefully for a view of the castle, but there was a mountain range blocking his vision on one side and the ocean on the other. He tried to think of locations that matched that kind of terrain. Most of the mountains he knew of were snowy. The only thawed mountain that was anywhere near an ocean was Death Mountain and the smaller ones in the Akkala region. But these mountains didn’t match the shape of Death Mountain at all, and he didn’t remember such a thick forest between any of those mountains and the ocean. He couldn’t see any Akkala landmarks either. 

In any case, he would need to head east, away from the ocean… is what Link thought until he looked down at the Seeker Stone and saw that the ocean was to the north . What?

He supposed that meant he was in the far northeast, but that would mean he would have to be on a mountain because there wasn’t even a beach to the north, not to mention a large forest.

He was trying to puzzle this all out when he suddenly heard a large BOOM to the south. He turned that direction to see a Hylian shoot up from below the treeline using a paraglider. The man then let go of the paraglider to drop something below him, which he then shot with what must have been a fire arrow because it set the object alight. He took his paraglider back out and rose further into the sky before repeating these steps twice more.* He let himself hover in one place until whatever updraft he was riding petered out, and then started descending slowly, all while holding some object out and pointing it at various locations. 

‘What a maniac!’ Link thought as he scrambled down the tree. He raced in the direction he saw the man drop below the treeline. Was it a bad idea to head towards a crazy man? Probably, but Link was quite lost, so finding anyone who could possibly tell him where he was was lucky in his eyes.

The Hylian hadn’t been too far away, so Link was able to make it over to his location before the stranger had even hit the ground. To his surprise, more people arrived in the same area. Perhaps they were drawn by the explosion? They were looking at the scorch mark on the ground instead of above them.

“It’s not a cannon…” one of the boys mumbled…disappointedly?

“Hoi there!” The crazy man gave a warning to those below before folding up his paraglider and dropping the last couple of feet.*

“Are you investigating the explosion, too?” one of the boys asked the maniac. “Did you see anything up there?” 

“Oh, good, I was able to get some attention. I was worried I was alone in these woods,” the man replied, looking around the large group of Hylians. He was softer-spoken than Link expected.* “See, I’m a bit lost. I was just trying to get some height so I could get a good vantage point. But all I could see was the ocean to the north, some mountains to the south, and this forest in the middle. It's all unfamiliar to me. I don't suppose any of you could give me some…” the Hylian trailed off upon spotting Link. Link was used to odd looks since his people were uncommon and tended to remain close to home, but this was a different sort of expression. It was strangely blank, though there appeared to be a moment of… recognition? His eyes then narrowed, though Link didn’t think it was in hostility. Confusion perhaps?

“What year is it?”*

Link didn’t think he was the only one taken aback by such a bizarre question. 

Before anyone could question it, the man continued, seemingly to himself, “Shoot! We’ve changed our calendar. That won’t help…”*

Everyone started looking at each other, seemingly trying to have silent conversations that Link had no chance of understanding the meaning of.

Finally, one boy wearing a blue tunic and orange pants stepped forward.

“Hey! Is your name Link?”

Link wasn’t the only person who turned to the young boy in shock. 

“…Have we met?” replied the man, whose name was presumably also Link.

“No, I don’t think so. But these guys I met here are also named Link!” the kid said, gesturing to a child wearing green with an odd mask on his belt and a young man with a striking blue scarf. “I said this place shouldn’t be named ‘Link Island’ because it’s close to the name of my island, but at this point, I don’t think I can argue against it. If I’m getting everyone’s reactions right, I’d say we’re all named Link.”

Link looked around at the other Links. What kind of situation had he gotten into? Judging by the similar looks of surprise everyone was giving each other, it seemed that most in the group hadn't met.

Link noticed one young man in particular who wore a white tunic with a thick red sash* as the man looked from Link to Link with a gaze that hardened more and more. When the man looked in his direction, he saw that the man’s gaze was not affixed to him, but rather to the sword on his back. Upon looking more carefully at the others, he noticed a recurring theme. He counted four purple hilts that matched the one attached to the sword at his own back. It was that of the Blade of Evil’s Bane, the Master Sword. Were they replicas? It would be quite a strange coincidence along with their shared name.

“Setting that aside for now,” said the man, “what made you question the year?”

The crazy Link glanced at Link — that is, the red-headed Link. This was getting confusing.

“Just a hunch,” he replied cagily. Weird.*

“May I see your blade?” the red-sashed man asked, holding his hand out.

“It will hurt you,” the wild man replied with his soft voice.*

“She won’t hurt me,” Sash said with a surprising amount of tenderness.

When the man hesitated to draw his sword, Link drew his own sword and held it before Sash. There were multiple gasps, and some double-checked that they still had their own swords.

Sash gently gripped the handle. Link was relieved when there were no signs of pain. 

“It really is her,” Sash breathed in wonder. “Forever slumbering, but not in the pedestal where I left you, huh?”

He calmly returned the sword to Link. 

“Thank you,” he said before returning his attention to his original conversation partner. “It’s yours that is singing to me, though. May I please see her? She won’t hurt me.”

“…I’m sorry. She’s… been through a lot.” The man looked down in shame as he slowly drew his blade and held it before Sash, who sucked in a breath upon seeing it. Link was too far away to see what surprised him.* “She probably wishes to return to an old master.” 

When the man touched the blade, Link heard a chime as the blade glowed.

“No, she’s just more awake than she has been in a long time and wants to say hi.” He smiled wetly. “Oh, Fi, you have been through a lot, haven’t you? How many years has it been?”

“It’s speaking to you?” a young man with pink hair asked in surprise.

“Not as clearly as before. She’s shining as bright as ever, but I can only get a general sense of her intentions. I never thought I’d hear from her again. Thank you, Link.” He stepped away from the sword.

“You’re not taking her?” 

“She dissolved me from being her master many, many years ago. I can’t grasp how many years it’s been. She can’t convey it.” 

He wiped at his eyes with his sleeve and addressed the group as a whole.

“Am I correct in assuming you were all born on the surface?”

“…What do you mean by that?” asked a young teen wearing a dark jumpsuit with rolled-up sleeves and an official-looking red cap.

“I've never seen any Hylians on the surface besides those who came from Skyloft. I’m well-aware of who those people are, and I’m well-aware of where I left Fi to rest.” He gestured to the Master Sword resting at the back of the blue-scarfed man.

The youngest-looking member of the group looked up in surprise. “Skyloft?”

“Yes, that's where I'm from. A place so high in the air that it’s impossible to see from the surface.”

That was quite a lot. This man, who seemed to have a very intimate knowledge of the Master Sword, was apparently a sky-dweller. Previous sky-dweller? Skyloftian. He’d heard rumors of people descending from the heavens, but Skyloft was a term new to Link.

“If by ‘the surface’ you mean, ‘not the sky,’ then yeah, that's where I was born,” replied a teenager with green-tipped hair who was, strangely enough, holding a very puffy parka.* And were those snow pants?

There were nods of agreement all around.

“And,” the parka boy continued, “are you saying we all have the same sword? Because the Master Sword I have,” he drew his sword, blade a shining gold,* “looks quite different from those two. I’m surprised to have it, actually. I had returned it to where I found it months ago, but when I came here, I found that it had replaced my usual weapon.”

The Skyloftian’s eyes widened again as he saw the gold blade.

“Was she like this before?”

“It, uh, she had lost her edge when I first pulled it, I mean, her. A couple of very talented blacksmiths tempered her. Is that bad?”

“…No. They did a remarkable job.”

“Oh, good,” his posture relaxed in relief. “But how can this sword be the same as the one you said was so old? If it’s older than mine, shouldn’t the blade have this color?”

“Apparently not,” sighed a pink-haired young man with a frown. “When I pulled the sword, I had to temper it to reach its full potential, too. When I left it behind, it looked similar to yours. No matter which of us left it for the other, it had lost that tempered edge by the time it was pulled again. Ugh, this is so weird to talk about, and I’m not even new to the whole time-travel thing.”*

The boy with the blue tunic and orange pants perked up at that, but Parka spoke before he could say anything.*

“If you pulled her, then where is she?”

“It should be back where I found it. I have… a different sword now… One I’m just as surprised to see.* But more importantly, does anyone know where we are or why we’re here?”

There were head shakes all around.

“Great, just great. I have to deal with this nonsense again - appearing in new places with no warning,” the pink-haired man mumbled before seemingly shouting at the forest in general. “It's kind of lost its novelty by now!”*

There was a pause of confusion before the crazy Link spoke up. 

“I took some pictures from the air. Maybe someone will recognize something?” He pulled out a device alarmingly similar to the Seeker Stone and showed off some pictures of the forest, mountains, and ocean from above.

“Whoa, how did you do that?”

“It's in color?”*

“Those are much clearer than my pictographs!”

Red-haired Link shook off his confusion. Despite the similar device, he could do one better. He pulled out his Seeker Stone and held up the map for all to see. Everyone was very impressed by the technology.

“What kind of devices are these?”

“It has the Sheikah symbol on it…”

“How did you get a map?”

“Does this forest seem familiar to anyone?”

Most shook their heads, but one very short brunette wearing simple clothes hesitated.

“Can I see those, uh… pictos again?” he asked the wild Link, who nodded and knelt down so the shorter boy could see them more clearly.*

“…I’m not sure… It doesn’t look the same as what I’m used to. But… It’s just a hunch, but do you think we could head towards the mountain?”

There was a groan from somewhere. “Do we have to climb a mountain?”

“N-no! I… don’t think so? I’m hoping… Well, there might be a tunnel through…” he trailed off, uncertain.

“It’s the best we’ve got. Otherwise, we’d have to choose a direction at random,” said a Link wearing a royal-looking uniform.

The others nodded at that.

“South it is, then.”

”Maybe we’ll run into someone along the way who knows more about this place.”

“I'm not coming,” a young voice said. It was the same orange-pants boy who asked if the wild guy’s name was Link.

“You want to go off on your own? In unfamiliar woods?”

“It's not my first time being alone! And I have to contact my crew.” He got quieter as he went on. “My charm isn't working, but maybe I'm just too far away. If I get closer to the sea…”

Several of the Links frowned in obvious disapproval of such a young kid separating from the group. The Skyloftian stepped forward. 

“I don’t know if you’ll be able to contact your crew. This might not be your time period, or your sea…” he said carefully. 

The kid looked at the ground. “Yeah, I guess this probably isn’t Link Island, huh. That was a lot of land in those pictographs. That much land would have been easy to see from the ship…” He looked up. “I know I’ll have to come with you guys. I just really hoped to tell my mates first. They’ll be worried about me. Wondering where I went. I don’t even know how I got here.”

“I don’t think anyone here knows.”

Most of the group shook their heads in agreement, but four boys with identical faces raised their hands at the same time. 

“Actually…” the one wearing blue started.

“Quartz?” The one wearing green looked to the purple one.

Quartz (not Link?) nodded and began to explain.

“I think we’re right about the time travel. I- we have experienced similar transportation before. We were summoned to a different time by the Princess Zelda of that time period.”

”Princess Zelda?” the Skyloftian murmured bemusedly.* No one else seemed to hear him.

“This felt the same as when she brought us to her time,” the green one continued.

“What did it feel like?” asked the pink-haired Link.

“Like nothing,” the red one said. “I- we were at home, and then we were standing in the middle of a rainstorm.”*

“That’s how it felt for me,” Pink confirmed.

“Same here.”

“Me too.”

Everyone was in agreement.

“You said it was because the Princess Zelda from that time summoned you?” the Link holding the parka asked.

The quadruplets nodded.

“So if all of us were summoned by the princess of this time period…” Parka Link began.

“It must mean big trouble,” Pink shook his head with a frown.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go find Zelda!” the child with the mask proclaimed. “Sailor! Are ye coming with us?”

“Yeah. I was planning to catch up eventually anyway,” the sailor replied with a grin. “Are we still heading to the mountain?”

“It’s the only suggestion we’ve had so far,” the royal guard-looking Link confirmed. “That was to the south, right?” He looked towards the two Links with similar-looking devices, who both nodded in reply. He turned to the group as a whole. “Is everyone ready? Yes? Let’s go then.”

Chapter Text

I’m sorry if you thought this was an actual story chapter. I’m also sorry if some of this information is redundant to you. I write the story itself with the assumption that the reader knows as much as I do, but I write these notes with the assumption that the reader has only basic knowledge, like I did when I first started reading these kinds of “Links meet AUs.” I constantly had a guide up in another tab, and I struggled to know what was game-canon, what was manga-canon, and what was fanon. So, this is a space where I try to clarify things. Like showing that, unlikely as something may seem, it has a basis in the game world. Or to point out various references in the story, some of which are quite obscure. (So much research went into this. My notes document is lagging like crazy. I have to leave myself notes to keep track of the references I make as I write.) It’s also a nice place to share my thoughts – a director’s commentary of sorts.

Seeker Stone: While there’s a possibility that the Sheikah Slate was called the Sheikah Slate in the past, I thought it was more likely that it was known by something else. I decided to use the Japanese name for the Sheikah Slate, which is Seeker Stone. I will be doing this with some of Aspect’s other terms as well, using the Japanese translation instead of the English ones.

I also gave his Seeker Stone a few extra features. I consider it like the jailbreak or prototype version. Some of the features were wiped later. Leave it a clean slate. (Pun intended.) Why they chose to leave the camera feature intact in the future is a mystery to me. Maybe so whoever finds it next won’t immediately start out with a super-powered device. 

I thought it would be fun to give it the ability to create its own limited map. As seen here, it can track a path traveled. Like a Minecraft map but much, much smaller, without a tower or aerial view. It’s related to the Hero’s Path Mode in the BOTW DLC or in TOTK. Unlike that feature, it also gives elevation. The map is black except for those tiny, manually compiled trails. 

I was inspired by Purah’s inventive way of creating a map by getting an aerial view. The Towers make a much more accurate map than the one Aspect makes from a tree because the Towers have both more functionality and a better vantage point. The map Aspect gets here is a little warped from this angle, similar to trying to take a picture of a document from an angle instead of a direct overhead angle. The Seeker Stone isn’t equipped to make calculated adjustments for the angle. 

The date and time are also inaccurate right now because of the time travel, but those can be manually edited later, or the device will slowly recalibrate based on observed day and night cycles, though that takes time.

Wild’s trick: The move Wild did was to shield surf on a bomb shield combined with a trick from BOTW where you can light spicy peppers on fire to make updrafts.Using a rocket shield would have been easier, but he wanted to attract attention if there was any, and he doesn’t necessarily choose the easy way every time. He likes some spice in his life.

Wild paragliding out of seemingly nowhere to land in front of everyone is a small nod to King Rhoam doing the same in BOTW.

Wild has a surprisingly soft voice. Links in other games are so loud in everything they do, but Wild is pretty mellow, even in battle. The most dramatic his voice gets is when he’s falling into a void. Don’t confuse the quiet voice for silence, though! He has some pretty funny dialogue options. In BOTW he asks Hudson “why?” over and over for no reason, he’s constantly making seal puns in Gerudo town, and he just overall seems like he has a lot to say after his 100-year nap. He just says it softly.

“What year is it?” This question may seem to come out of left field, but Wild has had his own dealings with time travel, albeit in a roundabout way. First, there was the 100-year time skip, and now there’s Zelda travelling far back in time. When he sees the Ancient Hero, which he can easily recognize since he has the Ancient Hero’s Aspect in his pocket, it’s not that big of a jump to assume he might be in a different year.

“Changed our calendar.” With the millennia that have passed just between Wild’s time and that of the previous hero, it’s extremely likely that the calendar has changed multiple times over the course of history. We went from B.C. to A.D., which we then changed to B.C.E. and C.E. 

“Red sash.” I was really stumped on what exactly Sky’s sash is called. It doesn’t seem to be tied anywhere or even have a seam, so it’s not an obi or any regular belt. My sister finally found the word “Haramaki.” I used that word in the draft for a long time before I finally just caved and used the word sash, because most people don’t know what a haramaki is (including me until recently), and googling it brings up a mixture of results that bring the wrong image to mind. I’m talking about the ancient kind, not this stretchy thing. Oh well, at least he picks up a new nickname really quickly.

Wild is acting cagey because how do you explain that your suspicions come from the fact that you recognize someone here from an item in your pocket? And meeting the hero in person while having that armor in his pocket makes him feel really weird. Ah, I guess I shouldn’t assume everyone knows what the Ancient Hero’s Aspect is. It’s an armor item in TOTK that you get after beating all the shrines. It’s just a belt, but equipping it makes you look like a red-headed canine/feline man complete with a tail and digitigrade legs. Multiple NPCs confirm it to be the Hero from Impa’s tapestry, the hero of 10,000 years ago who beat the calamity with the help of the divine beasts and guardians (and the princess. Can’t forget her.)

Wild has had mixed experiences with the Master Sword. He almost died trying to pull her for the first time (excluding the time over 100 years ago). Others, like Zelda, can carry the blade, at least circumstantially, but the Master Sword hurting someone is a valid concern. Fi, the spirit of the Master Sword, was his companion until she went into a slumber, so Sky’s not worried.

“She’s been through a lot,” and “Link was too far away to see what surprised [Sky].” After pulling the Master Sword from the Light Dragon, there is a faint pattern on it, not only of the damage it has healed from, but also a pattern of the dragon’s hair that was wrapped around the blade. It’s a bit hard to see in the game, but it’s there. https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/File:TotK_Master_Sword_Model.png (Let me know if my links ever break.)

I like to think that since the Master Sword has now spent a possibly uncountable number of centuries bathing in the energy of the Light Dragon, Fi is more aware and talkative than she has been in previous games. Even in BOTW, she communicated to Zelda how to save Link. In TOTK, she told Link to put the Sword into the light, and she spoke to Zelda again. We also saw visions of Zelda in both games when the sword was pulled, and it’s possible they were shown via the Master Sword. Fi is still technically “asleep,” so I consider her communication to be less like words and more like concepts and ideas. It’s kind of hard for a mortal to fathom how much time has passed since the last time she saw Sky, especially with the time travel stuff being involved.

“Parka boy.” Verdi is wearing the Cozy Parka from Tri Force Heroes. 

Gold Master Sword. The Master Sword was in a weakened state at the beginning of both A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds. Both could be upgraded throughout the game until the blade shone gold.

“I’m not even new to the whole time-travel thing.” Time travel was a major mechanic in Oracle of Ages. Vet was constantly travelling 400 years between the past and present. 

“[Wind] perked up at that.” Wind is familiar with stories about the Hero of Time, and whenever someone mentions time travel, he wonders if they are the Hero of Time. Too bad he gets interrupted.

“I have… a different sword.” Hm… actually, I think I won’t spoil this one. Feel free to theorize. EDIT: Someone correctly guessed the Koholint Sword.

“Lost its novelty.” Not only has Vet time-traveled, but he’s also been spirited away to foreign lands with no warning by the Triforce. Twice. (Both Oracle games.) This is the third time he’s randomly appeared somewhere new with no warning, if you exclude waking up in a stranger’s bed on a mysterious island after a shipwreck supposedly washes you ashore. He’s not shouting to the heavens because he doesn’t put direct blame on any goddesses for his adventures. He doesn’t have any specific direction to complain towards, so he’s just complaining to the world itself.

“It’s in color?” Most pictographs, if the Links even have experience with them, are in sepia or black and white. Wind has pretty good color when using his Deluxe Picto Box, but even his can’t reach the quality and clarity of the Purah Pad and Seeker Stone. Same with Twilight, who doesn’t have access to one in the game, but does have a color photograph of a goat in his house. (Dork. The horse picture is in sepia, but the goat is in color. I love it.) I like to think Mask is the one saying this line. He had access to a Pictograph Box in Termina, but it didn’t take color photos, just sepia.

I mentioned this in his character intro, but I want to reiterate: Mouse (NES Link) is only 3’11. His height wasn’t my own invention. His height was measured (by people who are not me) based on official art of him passing the Master Sword onto Breath of the Wild Link, who is 5’2 (also a height I didn’t invent.) Granted, he could have been 10 years old in this picture compared to the 16 he is in Adventure of Link, but this option is funnier and as far as I know, there is no evidence against him being 3’11. His height next to a door handle in art for the Adventure of Link manual does not give me confidence that he’s anything but a short king.

Only Mouse thinks the surroundings are familiar? Sounds like a clue about where they might be…

I’ll talk about it more below, but I combined the FS and FSA Links. However, FSA takes place after Twilight on the timeline, while FS is before OoT. So for them to be the same Link, I used time travel as the excuse. The princesses are from Hylia’s bloodline, and Hylia is likely the goddess of time, so I don’t think it’s impossible for a princess to summon the hero from FS to another time.

“Princess Zelda?” Sky’s Zelda is not a princess. She’s just a girl who turned out to be the Goddess Hylia reborn. I doubt she will even be a queen. I know people like to theorize that Sky and Zelda establish the kingdom of Hyrule, but I think it’s a stretch to think that these two would go from knights-in-training to inventing a monarchy. Where do they even get the idea? I think it happens some generations down the line, and possibly not for completely innocent reasons. Someone either greedily wanted power and control for themselves, or they needed power/control to stop something bad from happening. Or if you commit to the idea that the Zonai founded the original kingdom instead of refounding it, then you know how it went down. Drop me a comment here or an ask on Tumblr if you want to know my take on the matter.

“[It felt] like nothing.” I just thought it would be funny if there was this crazy magic that could rip someone from their place in the timeline, and there’s absolutely no warning of any kind. From an outside point of view, I imagine there is a light show, but that happens after they’re gone/before they’ve arrived. So the Links themselves don’t experience anything. The way Zelda teleports Wild from the Divine Beasts contradicts this, but, again, funny. This is time-travel instead of turning someone into a light and moving them elsewhere, so I make the rules, haha.

Rare departures from canon: I suppose now is as good a time as any to talk about the method I used to make decisions and cover a few of my exceptions to that rule. My goal is to stick as close to canon as possible. Games are the first source. If a game says something, that trumps anything in any of the books or on the wiki. The books and wiki are used with caution. I mostly use that information to flesh out the world. The characters’ personalities are also highly based on information from the games, particularly dialogue choices. But that’s a whole other author’s note for another time. Or more likely a Tumblr post. The manga are completely ignored with the exception of one tiny event in Link’s Awakening that was too ironically funny to ignore. And you could argue that the Four Links having different personalities is inspired by the FSA manga, but only in a roundabout way. It was truly the fandom that inspired me. The fandom, of course, was going off the manga, but I’ve never read it, and I chose a very different way to characterize each color anyway.

I have made a few calculated departures from canon. I will just discuss the ones relevant to this chapter for now. 

The biggest departure from canon is the inclusion of Hyrule Warriors. I very much do not consider that game canon, and it seems that Nintendo doesn’t either. I only included it for time travel shenanigans. It’s fun to have characters who know each other but meet each other for the first time at different times from each other. I also thought it could be fun to explore how Cap and Mask know a lot of people the other Links are familiar with. With that being said, I am being picky with what from Hyrule Warriors is canon or applies to this specific story. For example, if everything in HW was canon, there would be another hero: the one who sealed Ganon across time. There’s also confusion regarding which Toon Link is in that game since he uses trains and the sand wand from Spirit Tracks, but Aryll talks to him. I have a sneaky way around that little oddity that will be explained eventually.

Another major departure is combining the heroes from Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures. The simple reason was that I knew I was going to have so many Links (and was discovering more throughout my research!),  and four extra would have been a lot. An even bigger reason is that, unlike with Minish Cap, those two games are so similar that it would have been difficult to make all 8 FS(A) Links distinct. Four Swords doesn’t give any clues about what makes those Links unique next to the FSA Links.

One thing I didn’t realize until relatively recently is that items are not stored on the Sheikah Slate or Purah Pad. It was more unclear in BOTW because of how the menus were set up, but in TOTK, he definitely takes everything out of the bag on his belt, including the Purah Pad. The menu for the Purah Pad functions is also different from the item menu. I am choosing to ignore this because it’s more fun for Aspect and Wild to have a magical storage device.