I have seen several Linksmeets with bigger or smaller casts (heck, my own Hero's Vessel only has six), but I do have to say that I have not yet seen one with more than 20 Links. Despite not technically having fully begun, I think there's a possibility that Hearts Linked Together holds a record. Anybody know of Linksmeets with more than 20 Links? (Notably, not just "cast," because including Zeldas and other main characters would inflate the count, but Links themselves.)
OH EDIT. HLT has 21 because EoW Link wasn't on there yet.
Introducing Mori, the Spirit Tracks Link in the silly little AU called Hearts Linked Together, in which I remix the Zelda timeline and bring together as many Links as possible. Instead of going by titles or themed nicknames, these Links go by their surnames. It's been over a year since the last one, I think!
This Link is fantasy-Japanese, descended from those that survived the Great Flood and migrated back to a desolate mainland. His eventual contributions pave the way for Sheikah and Zonai tech.
As a person, Mori fits pretty well into the "mad professor" stereotype: he's always chasing new ideas, excited about building them from whatever he has on hand, forgetful about paltry things like food and sleep, and excited whenever someone wants to listen to him. He isn't a great teacher, but there are, especially later in his life, a lot of people who want to learn from him, so he does his best.
He does care about helping people as a concept, but he's much better at helping and caring about individuals than the collective whole. Trust doesn't come easily to him. He'd rather do everything himself when it comes to executing his visions, but nobody can build a railroad alone, so he's had to attempt to learn the difficult lesson of delegation and, yes, trust. He does sometimes forget that he likes riding trains as much as he does designing new ones, but he manages to get out every so often.
The one thing Mori does purposely for his appearance is dye his hair light blond. He's bad at keeping up on it, but it's a rebellion that he hasn't grown out of yet. He's a dominant personality, though he sticks his foot in his mouth a lot. He ends up arguing and yelling instead of debating, half the time.
Mori loves forging new frontiers—mostly on paper, but there are a few periods of his life where he spends several years out and about, exploring. The memory of the Great Flood is still alive in his culture's legends, so when Mori discovers the Skylands and the Depths, he's a big supporter of building into them and exploring them, partially for the value of knowledge and partially as places to go if a calamity ever strikes again. He builds the first Guardians and Divine Beasts, though they're simpler, steam-powered versions.
He's just an excitable nerd with some real skills in his chosen fields.
Handshake on "I don't know enough people for this dammit"
Also, Morishita? Is that what I already have seen or new, and if I have seen it should I poke you to write more for this ask LOL
I... think you may have already seen this one? It's only about 500 words. Maybe I should do more with it.
[just added about 100 words, happy? :P]
Anyway for others, this is one of the only snippets I've written for my own little Linkverse. POV is Morishita, Spirit Tracks Link, Novak is Twilight Princess Link, Holt is Minish Cap Link, and Silva is Link to the Past Link. This snippet has them landing in Mori's version of the Depths.
He reached automatically for the light on his belt, then, like he had so many times the past few weeks, hesitated, because he didn't know when he'd be able to get batteries. But now, he didn't need to hesitate.
Link clicked the button of his flashlight, then did it again, raising the brightness. He pointed it at the ground and saw a patch of familiar little bulb-shaped mushrooms. He smiled.
"Mori," Novak hissed, looking over. "Don't tell every monster in here where we are! What is that?"
"Flashlight," Link said. He waved it up and down. "And don't worry, I'm pretty sure we're safe in this spot."
Silva crouched down to look at the mushrooms. "You know this place?"
Link Eikenboom, Eik for short (pronounced Ike) is Dutch-inspired! I chose that because I really admire the Dutch painters of the late Renaissance era, and this Link is the one from Link Between Worlds. His adventure revealed the existence of a small kingdom mirroring Hyrule in the Dark World, and though the peace that Hilda and this Zelda brokered didn't last forever, it went a long way.
Eik is an artist at heart, particularly fascinated with light and the way it's reflected and refracted through shiny things. He grew up wanting to be a painter, but his deep-seated need to do something practical drove him to apprentice with a blacksmith after his initial schooling. After his adventure, he picks up painting on the side, because he realized that being an artist and practical weren't incompatible desires.
He's honestly not very assertive, but he is thoughtful. He can be awkward. People tend to like him, though, and he's friendly, even if he prefers the company of the people he's close to rather than strangers or acquaintances. He keeps in touch with Ravio, and though he finds Ravio a touch obnoxious, they're still good friends.
Later in his life, he mostly keeps to himself, and ends up expanding on his preferred mediums. He becomes a well-known artist in the expanding kingdom, mixing cast metal sculpture and jewelrymaking with paint. He even pioneers artistic stained glass sculptures.
Link Novak is sort of based on several Eastern European cultures. His name is Slavic, and I tried to use some of the aesthetics. He’s the Link in Twilight Princess, and comes between Link Between Worlds and Four Swords Adventures. Timeline-wise, his adventure also takes place just a little after Triforce Heroes, but in a different location.
He’s distantly related to the royal line, but was legitimately raised by wolves for a short period of time before wandering into Ordon Village. After his adventure, he spends a lot of time with Zelda, and is one of the few people she actually trusts. He keeps his ability to turn into a wolf and manages to expand on it a little, though his abilities are limited to mostly mammals with roughly his same mass. He found a journal kept by Silva (Link to the Past hero with a talent for magic) and uses that to help him a bit. He’s not good with magic in general, though. He’s not much of a scholar, either, but his efforts to do more research gain him a web of allies and friends across the kingdom and beyond. He’s pretty nice, but he has fangs.
In his middle age, he, along with a team, manages to recreate the mirror. He and Midna reconnect, and he eventually moves to the dark world. He and Midna (along with other pairings like theirs) parent a new line of shadow beings, ones with more Hylian appearances and more shapeshifting powers.
Link Holt is based a bit off medieval Norwegian aesthetics, and his surname comes from the Norwegian word for forest. He is the very first hero in my timeline and the one in the Minish Cap.
Adults consider him childish, since he kept tight hold of the sense of wonder that children have. Kids love him. He is a true master smith, and grows to marry his Zelda and father the entire royal line. His role as the first Hero of Light only adds to the future princess' power, and knowing that he set a precedent for future kingdoms made him take his position more seriously. He had good relations with the Minish and continued to visit them late into his life.
--- (457 words and bigger art under cut(
The last child ran off into her mother's waiting arms, a paper crown of flowers around her head. She squealed to see her mother again, and Link gave them both a wave as they headed off into the village. She was a sweet little girl, one of the better-behaved ones, but Link loved them all. Most of the time.
He laughed a little to himself and laid back on the grass, crossing his ankles and lacing his fingers behind his head. The sun warmed his face, and Link pretended to hear a crabby little old man snapping at him about taking unneeded breaks. Link, as he had years ago, ignored the snaps and closed his eyes.
Next week, he decided, he'd take the kids in the school off to the nearest Minish village. A few Minish always hung around the school to talk to children and help out a bit with the cleaning. Link appreciated it, and the kids who saw them had learned to treat them kindly and gently. It was time for a visit.
For now, however, Link had more to do. The monster attacks never quite let up, even once Vaati had gone, and the patrols and knights constantly needed repairs and new weapons. Link had a few open commissions that he'd have to get to this week.
Link sat up, stretching, and blackness crowded his vision from sitting up too quickly. He waited for that to subside, then hopped up to his feet. He went back into the school for a moment to grab his bag—the one full of books and things, he usually kept his pouch of kinstones on his person—then paused by the edge of the schoolyard to pick some of the wildflowers. He ended up with a motley little collection of a bouquet, tiny white flowers and a few bigger yellow ones. It made him smile.
Once home in the forge's shop, Link tied the flowers with a ribbon and set them on the table. He planned to go see Zelda later, and she would love the flowers. He'd been working on more delicate smithing recently, hoping to make a ring that could even possibly hold a candle to Zelda herself.
However, a strange feeling in his gut made Link pause. Outside…
Before he could second-guess himself, Link tied his sword on and grabbed his to-go bag. He didn't know what that feeling was, but he was attuned to the magic of the land, and it felt like his experience might be needed, such as it was. His quest may have ended not quite a decade ago, but he'd kept up. He was a better swordsman than he'd ever been.
He opened his front door, and stepped out into mist.
Here's my silly Linkverse title and timeline! :D say hello to Hearts Linked Together, a Linkverse that won't ever have much content besides character designs!
Character post
Okay a description under the cut. It might get long, I'm unsure how to go about explaining. The four vertical lines are locations, not parallel timelines. I don't take absolutely everything into account (you'll notice a lack of direct Triforce and Ganon stuff) but I like what I ended up with!
PS: I've made a few edits to this and the picture since I first edited. BotW and TotK aren't different Links that was my b. I also added more blue lines to the Gods of the Sky spot to illustrate them moving around.
Important thing to note: the only time travel/time shenanigans in this 'verse is with Hyrule Warriors and Ocarina of Time. And Tears of the Kingdom that too.
THIS BEGINS with aliens. The Zonai and the Minish were the same alien species that settled on the planet of Hyrule to escape civil war on their own. They separated early on and adapted to their environments differently. They both lived in the sky for a while, because Hyrule has naturally occuring skylands, and some of the natural fauna were intimidating. (Monsters, dragons, fey, gods.) The Hylians come from the moon. A small group settled on the planet and struggle to adapt. They lost their technology in the turbulent transition.
The Minish remained pastoral and went to the surface to help the emerging Hylian race. The Minish Cap happens. That Link forges the Picori blade and gathers the elements. (His four copies are spectral.) Shortly after him, Four Swords happens, with the most attention on the cryptid four sword kid who came out to save the world and then disappeared back into the woods. (His four copies are independent but not individuals.)
The settlement prospers, the Minish population decreases, and Hylians spread across the world, into 4 distinct geographic areas. The Zonai, also dying out, descend and intermarry with Hylians, in a different geographic area. The beginning of TotK happens, including the massive Imprisoning War. The consequences of this war are far-reaching and devastating.
The Land of Light and Shadow: this area emerges from the war somewhat unscathed, being on the other side of the world. They continue to build their kingdom. This land is named for the parallel plane that is in close contact with the area, being farthest from the planet's moon's orbital path. Things like Light and Force are also strong here, unknowable forces that occasionally grant powers.
The Land of the Gods: this land is named for the gods that have dogged its history and heroes, and is closest to the moon, which is where these extraordinary individuals get their powers and godhood. The Imprisoning War hit them pretty hard, and one of these moon-touched aliens (Hylia) raised settlements into the air. The First Hero is part of this.
The Land of the Fey is where the Zonai chose to descend, and is hit the hardest by the Imprisoning War. Their small colonies are absolutely decimated and the land is salted. Fey are natural creatures, but aren't always friendly. The Zonai technology and settlements remain high in the air, unreachable and usually invisible. Most non-Hylian or non-Hylian-derived species come from this area.
The Great Sea is a series of islands. They barely hear of the Imprisoning War, and only have a small population of Hylians that grows a bit through the islands.
After the war, all of these areas and kingdoms are cut off from each other. Their histories proceed separately for a time.
The Land of Light and Shadow: a group of people move permanently into the Dark World. Link to the Past, Link's Awakening. The kingdom grows. Link Between Worlds reveals the budding kingdom in the Dark World. Twilight Princess deals more with them. Four Swords Adventures (+manga in case you were worried) unlocks more of the Dark World's secrets. (These copies are individuals, and remain so after their adventure.) The kingdom prospers and begins to explore, eventually resulting in another near-globalization. Hyrule Warriors happens, doing a little time traveling.
The Land of the Gods: after rising into the sky, Skyward Sword happens. Hylia is the strongest goddess of the time, and manages to send copies of the Master Sword to the three other lands. People settle on the surface, isolated from any other places. Ocarina of Time happens, but does not create alternate timelines. Hylia takes the people and places displaced by the time shift and plunks them at the beginning of the Great Sea's time. This kingdom expands and fractures, and Hylia's time shenanigans weaken her, so she goes to the fey land to recover. (coughcough was bullied away because people didn't agree with her coughcough) And then Majora’s Mask. Din, Farore, and Nayru rise as the land's patron goddesses instead, instigating the Oracle games. Triforce Heroes happens to a Hylian passing by Hytopia (The copies are simply doppels.) These kingdoms remain small but grow strong. They have the occasional battle. They participate in the globalization efforts.
The Land of the Fey: this land struggles to rebuild. They are plagued by monsters. The fey (fairies, great fairies, satori, dragons) understand it's a problem, but they do not have mortal minds. Eventually they call a hero of their own. Hyrule Fantasy (aka LoZ 1) and Adventure of Link happen. This land is geographically isolated and doesn't really run into anyone else, until the migration from the Great Sea brings technology. Spirit Tracks happens. The great kingdom is built, they build the Divine Beasts and the Guardians, and drive back the Calamity for the first time. Hylia rises again, older and wiser and less powerful. Then Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom happen. Only after that does this land reconnect with those outside of it.
The Great Sea: this area is mostly empty until Hylia places the time-displaced Hyrule on one of the larger islands (called antidiluvian, or before the flood). It wasn't a stable island, though, and most of the kingdom fell under the ocean in a great big wave. People rebuild and make their own cultures. Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass happen. They find the shores of the Land of the Fey, and facilitate a migration to that land.
Each of the yellow stars (and the colorful ones in terms of FSA) represents a different Hero.
This will be updated with links to posts as I draw more of them! There are 16+4 Links, so. It'll take a while.
Timeline post and explanation
((When I say "themed" I mean I took aspects of a certain place—clothing, armor, ethnicity, etc—and am making a hero based on them. It is not supposed to be a historical reproduction, just paying homage and making fewer Links blond.))
Also, names subject to change but only before I release them. :)
More information on pinned post—I love organization
Land of Light and Shadow (europe-themed)
Holt: The Minish Cap
Vollan: Four Swords
Silva: Link to the Past & Link's Awakening
Eikenboom (Eik for short): Link Between Worlds
Novak: Twilight Princess
____/Red, Green, Blue, Vio: Four Swords Adventures
