Hey, there! I just wanted to drop in and ask if "The Undertow" is still going to get updates? It's totally okay if it isn't. I hope my asking doesn't seem rude or pressuring! I'm just such a huge fan of you and the story (all of your stories, really!), and I'm quite curious!
Hello!! I had one or two asks totally slip past me so please excuse my late reply 😭
You are not rude or pressuring at all! I am so happy to hear you enjoy Undertow so much. It is most definitely not discontinued, but for the sake of remaining focused on one project at a time, it’s in line behind Crown.
(Technically I DO have the next chapter of Undertow mostly completed 😅 I may wind up posting that soon since it would be easy, but I likely will not continue full updates until Crown is finished. I really hate leaving things undone so I always make it a point to finish things eventually. Otherwise the idea haunts me forever)
Do you have any preference in POV? Link, Zelda, or something else? Ps. Your latest work is AMAZING
Ooooooof, this is a hard one. I enjoy Link a lot because I get to write some very flat humorous prose to match his soldier personality. But I have grown a soft spot for Zelda because she lets me write more flowery and also has a lot of baggage and grim memories that are perfect for angst 😂
But I wound up so used to Link’s POV after Roots that it definitely comes out more naturally lol and I prefer to default to it when I’m not feeling up to tons of editing, at least the specific way I interpret his character. I’ve seen some people interpret him to be much more sensitive and thoughtful instead of “bokoblin kill 👹” which is just as valid.
(If anything I’d love to emulate the way @jenseits-der-sterne portrays him in her work “Before and After” on Ao3 which is wonderful and everyone should read it. I would be using that POV nonstop if knew how to write in second person lol!)
But thank you!! I’m so happy to hear that 😭 I hope that answers your question!
Love how you handled the different Zeldas in your Advent fic. And how you write Link in Rootsverse, it's exactly how I see him in this era. Do you have any thoughts about the other Links in other games? How they compare/contrast with botw/totk's Link?
Oh thank you!! 😊 Glad to hear that!!!
Boy do I have thoughts.
I guess- I should say that the way I wrote Link in Roots is definitely not how I’d imagine him to be in cannon. If only because I feel Nintendo values the self-insert aspect of the Zelda games too much to let the character stray very far from the “stoic hero” archetype. If anything, the Link I wrote in Undertow is the most similar to how I’d imagine his canon self to be- largely just due to how he doesn’t outright reject his responsibilities (pre calamity at least. I do subscribe to the idea that he’s much louder and funnier after losing his memories).
Agh- but anyway lol see my rambling below.
Starting with Ocarina of Time (OoT), that version of Link is definitely sadder than the others. He had a pretty good childhood, but his adult life fell apart in much more profound ways than the others’. He’d be as quiet as pre calamity botw Link. There might be a hint of the mischievous fairy kid still left in him, but very little. Lots of longing and disillusioned feelings that would maybe be best replicated in pre calamity Botw Link, yeah?
As for Twilight Princess (TP) Link, he’s a country guy 110%. I imagine he’d be too restless to go back to farming though- not after the world got so big. I assume he’d be a great guy to talk to, best with kids/animals, probably one of the most well adjusted after all his trials and a good pen pal to Zelda. He wouldn’t be as lively after losing Midna, definitely, but he’s doing leagues better than OoT Link. Probably has a much more dry, sarcastic sense of humor than Botw Link’s “He has a dumb belly” absurdist comedy.
Wind Waker (WW) Link- at a glance I’d almost say he’d get along with Botw Link, but after more thought I think WW Link would despise him. Botw Link would willingly eat rocks or stuff himself in an explosive barrel for jokes, but WW Link would either have to be tricked or forced into it. He seems… high anxiety. But also irritable. He has the most common sense out of all the Links and that is probably exactly what his problem is. I don’t know why, but I get the feeling that most animals would attack WW Link on sight because of his constant bad, exasperated energy.
As for Skyward Sword— lol I think he’s so funny. I think growing up with Zelda “the Goddess turned teenage girl” would have had an impact on him. By far he is the most stable, most extroverted version of Link, but I think there’s something about him that would make him unknowable. He’s so relaxed but upbeat at the same time, seems like he’s always up to something but nobody ever knows what since he’s always asleep. He doesn’t have a thought in his head but he’s so perceptive too just- he’s just odd. But cool. Botw Link’s extreme stoicism pre calamity and crazy behavior post calamity would both stand out a lot next to SS Link. Yet his relationship with Botw Zelda most closely resembles SS Link’s with his own.
I’m not very familiar with the other 3DS Links etc so I can’t say much about them. These are also the vibes I get from how I remember all these Links after 10 years of not playing their games, so I could be wrong in how I’ve described them for sure.
Lol either way thank you for asking! I was a fun question to think about! It makes me want to write a reverse Advent featuring all of them ugh 😭😂
hiiii!! SUPER STOKED for the Roots sequel. can't believe that masterpiece is gonna get a Part 2 (I have to ask, though. will you ever finish Advent & Undertow? just wanna manage my poor heart's expectations here huhu. either way, what you've shared is already such a blessing. more power!!!)
Hi hello I’ve been off the internet for a week lol
I very much plan to! I have half of Advents final chapter written, and the same for the next chapter of The Undertow. I’d started a new job and had some computer troubles that took forever to get fixed, so I’ve had to take a few unexpected hiatuses.
But I planned out too much of Undertow to give up on it now and I plan to finish Advent after chapter 2 of Crown is published next week 👹
Honestly though I’m so happy to hear that there’s people who are still interested in those two! Thank you for all your patience!
Recc’d roots to a friend of mine, they started reading it last night and have been going mental over how much theyve been enjoying binging it and how you write link and zelda. Just wanted to pass on their compliments on behalf of them! :) (its been very fun witnessing their reactions)
AH I missed this!
That’s so great to hear 😭 I’m so grateful people are still reading Roots after a few years! Thank you for telling me, it’s cheesy but it really does brighten my day lol
