One of my favorite aspects of Linked Universe is the different ways the boys react to their surroundings.
In this last update, something that really strikes me is the difference between Wars’ and Wild’s combat approaches, which are shaped by their respective game designs.
Lemme try and break it down real quick.
Hyrule Warriors is a hack-and-slash game that’s all about delegation and multitasking. You spend each campaign sprinting full-tilt across the map, evaluating which missions take priority, while dispatching as many opponents as you can. Enemies are more important than the environment 100% of the time.
Breath of the Wild is an open-world adventure game that’s all about adapting to various climates and landscapes, improvising with tools you find, climbing everything in sight, etc. The devs want you to explore and experiment.
In short: Hyrule Warriors rewards you for efficiency and bodycount, BotW rewards you for “fricking around and finding out.”
How does this play out in Linked Universe?
Our guys find themselves in an unfamiliar area, with unknown (to them) monsters. What do they do?
Warriors immediately zones in on the enemies, Wild’s attention goes to his environment.
A moment later, they’ve both advanced a little, but Warriors is still laser-focused on the monsters. Maybe he’s analyzing their patterns, but in any case, he’s observing them closely.
In contrast, Wild still hasn’t paid the Sparks much mind. He’s moving much faster, and appears much more interested in the water.
Notably, it doesn’t seem like he “tests” the water at all. He steps right in with both feet.
In BotW, that’s not a bad strategy. The game itself encourages you to wander anywhere and everywhere, including areas that might look “unavailable” or “off-limits.” Unless you talk to a local who knows something, or Zelda’s disembodied voice chips in, you don’t have a guide or companion— the best way to learn about something is to jump in.
Clearly, like Legend said, that kind of approach is less advisable in a dungeon.
Warriors reacts really fast here— faster than Wild, who actually triggered the trap, and who’s known to be incredibly agile and maneuverable.
A lot of that comes down to experience, a teamwork-vs.-lone-explorer mindset, and Wars’ ungodly speed in-game, but I think there’s also something to be said for combat approach.
Interestingly, Warriors doesn’t warn Wild not to touch the water or the tiles— not that he’d know lol. But since he’s already approaching their situation with more caution, it’s interesting that he doesn’t seem to register what Wild’s doing as “dangerous” until the trap actually triggers.
In other words, he doesn’t clock the environment as hostile— he reacts at the exact moment he notices a new, active threat.
Contrasts like these help to force a duo’s internal differences into action, and it’s one of the many reasons I love this pairing for this particular dungeon. I think their differing approaches could complement one another splendidly, if they learned to use them in tandem!
Warriors and Artemis: What The Heck Is Going On With Them (a self-appointed analysis)
SO I don’t tend to get too involved with shipping— but during my time in the Linked Universe fandom, I’ve noticed something consistent: while everyone has their own set of headcanons for favorite couples, Hyrule Warriors Zelink is the princess-hero duo with the widest variety of interpretations.
Aside from other factors— like Warriors fans living for angst— I think this stems from the reality that, in the context of Linked Universe specifically, the dynamic between Wars and Artemis is among the Link-Zelda relationships we know the least about.
Hence, in light of the recent holiday, I wanted to take a moment and collect all the clues we’ve gathered for this relationship over time. And, maybe, spark some conversation! (Buckle up and maybe make some hot chocolate, there’s surprisingly a lot to talk about)
[All image credits go to Jojo, with thanks!]
Part 1: Jojo’s Hints
When considering any Link-Zelda dynamic in Linked Universe, the easiest place to begin is Jojo’s response to the “love interest” question…aka, Default Zelink.
Obviously, this response doesn’t define the limits of fandom creativity, or invalidate the thousands of excellent stories we can tell with our own interpretations. It is, however, incredibly helpful as a starting point when we’re trying to puzzle out where Jojo might take a relationship in future updates!
Note: Redacted
[Originally, this next section included my analysis of a Q&A Jojo gifted to the Linked Universe Discord server. It was brought to my attention that this material was not meant to be shared outside the server. Of course, I have removed it. Creator boundaries are very important, and regardless of my intent or awareness, I want to honor that. Thanks to @luna-loveboop for catching this!
For the purposes of this analysis, I’m leaving my conclusions intact, and replacing this specific section with a link to the LU Discord server. If anyone wants to read the evidence there, along with a host of lovely lore tidbits, absolutely check it out!]
Check out the Linked Universe community on Discord - hang out with 4259 other members and enjoy free voice and text chat.
Analysis Resumes:
So, here’s what we know:
1. Wars and Artemis are almost certainly romantically involved.
2. It’s more than mutual feelings, but less than an established relationship.
3. It’s been at least SIX years since the end of their adventure.
Obviously, I still have questions. Chief of which is: what does it mean that this is where their relationship stands, when it’s been 6+ years since their mutual adventure?
This sparks a few more questions.
1. If there’s mutual interest, why hasn’t it progressed?
2. Are there obstacles to a definite relationship?
and, of most interest to me:
3. If there’s an obstacle— are either Warriors or Artemis the reason for this?
Conveniently, that part’s next!
Part 2: Warriors and Artemis
A. Warriors’ side
Thus far, Wars has referenced Artemis (directly) exactly once (in “Moving Forward”):
This doesn’t tell us anything about the specifics of their relationship, but it does show that
1. Artemis is a fond subject for Wars: he cares about her.
2. She’s an exception to his hangups with secrecy: he trusts her.
(I considered providing instances of the “Wars and Not Being Told Stuff” saga, but that would 1. take forever and 2. test Tumblr’s image limit. I think we can all agree that this is a trait of his.)
This is a pretty reasonable indicator of how Wars feels about Artemis… for now. He cares about her, and even more notably, he trusts her.
But what about the princess in question?
B. Artemis’ side
As of now, the Zeldas have only come up a handful of times in LU.
Aside from background comics and cameos, references in the main story are largely restricted to Time giving Sky relationship advice in “Miss Her,” Wild addressing his thoughts to Flora at key moments in the aftermath of Twilight’s injury, and Time mentioning Lullaby in “Timeline talk 1.”
And then, of course, there are the Malon chapters.
Romance, as it pertains to the Links, is the subject of conversation at multiple points throughout this “arc”— but for my purposes, the most important stuff is this panel from “The Bet.”
Okay, aside from Wars making political-intrigue fanficcers very happy, this is super informative. A few key takeaways:
1. Wars also assumes Default Zelink.
2. He doesn’t see birth or status as an obstacle to marriage.
3. He’s so confident that he’s willing to bet on it.
(Admittedly, the Chain places a lot of bets— but it’s still worth mentioning that he’d stand his ground on this)
From here, I think we can make three statements and remain well within the realm of probability:
1. Wars thinks very highly of his Zelda.
He sees how much Time loves his wife, and Time’s general self-possession, and assumes it has to be the princess.
2. If there are obstacles to HW Zelink, they probably aren’t external.
Wars treats public support as a given, as long as the involved parties can play the political game.
3. He seems to be speaking from experience.
There’s no signs of frustration, or even a hypothetical here— he’s talking about this like it’s par for the course. Ergo, he probably hasn’t experienced anything that would contradict that assumption.
My conclusion: Artemis isn’t the obstacle. There’s no indication here that Wars’ Zelda is unable or unwilling to make the political arrangements he mentions. In fact, given how unconcerned Wars appears, I’d say it was never a point of contention at all.
That’s as far as I’m willing to go with this panel alone— but if we factor in Zelda’s attitude in Hyrule Warriors proper, I think it’s reasonable to assume that Artemis is open to taking this relationship to the next level.
*inhale*
So. If there’s mutual feelings, and there aren’t any external obstacles, and it’s been 6+ years— why aren’t they a couple?
Part 3: Let’s talk about Wars
Specifically, Wars and his relationship with… relationships. Of the romantic kind.
Since the earliest years of the LU fandom, it’s been fairly well-established that Wars is the resident flirt.
This comes from a few of the side comics, but also from the first-ever Linked Universe post:
Over time, the fandom’s interpretation of these traits seems to have shifted a bit.
Early fanworks tended to depict Warriors as the “Casanova” of the group. More recently (within the last few years), I’ve seen the widespread reading that “women problems” has more to do with Wars’ personal trauma than with a hypothetical reputation as a womanizer.
While these alternate perceptions have a big impact on how we might interpret situations like this—
— surprisingly, it makes very little difference to this self-appointed investigation. Whether he’s a chronic flirt, processing trauma, or both, the fact is that Wars doesn’t seem interested in “settling down” with a definite relationship.
This is clearest, I think, in this panel from “Powerful Ring”:
Warriors is being a tease here, but using the term “shackle” telegraphs a pretty clear opinion. Time even draws a bit of attention to it with his good-natured “aside.” It’s not something you’d say if you were actively looking to get into a long-term, committed relationship.
We’re encroaching on the image limit, but it’s worth noting that Wars’ attitude here contrasts sharply with Sky’s, and even Hyrule’s. Sky is all bashful interest, and Hyrule expresses doubt over his own ability to “settle down” as the Hero. Meanwhile Warriors, who sits between them on the Zelink romance scale, projects pointed, if very light-hearted, distaste (or at least disinterest).
So here’s Warriors’ side, updated:
1. Warriors cares about Artemis, a lot.
2. He also trusts her, a lot.
3. For whatever reason, he doesn’t want to be in an official relationship with her.
Part 4: Conclusion
Okay! Time for the TLDR:
1. Wars and Artemis are almost certainly romantically involved.
2. It’s more than mutual feelings, but less than an established relationship.
3. It’s been at least SIX years since the end of their adventure.
and, finally,
4. Wars himself is the obstacle to taking the relationship further.
Annnnd that’s as far as I can go, without veering off the tracks into headcanon territory.
Of course, while I tried to be as neutral and “canonical” as possible, at the end of the day, this is just speculation! And Esthelle amusing herself tracking down hyper-specific panels in Linked Universe like it’s an Important Assignment and not an Excuse To Read The Comic Again.
Whatever it turns out to look like, there’s so much potential in the Wars-Artemis dynamic! They’re interesting, and we should talk about them more— even if I didn’t plan to write quite this much about them in one post. I can’t wait to see what Jojo has planned.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far! If you have additions, corrections, theories, or general thoughts, I’d love to read them.
