#lu rhythm

[tentimesthecourage]

To everyone: favorite memory?

Time: The day Malon agreed to marry me.

Twilight: See my kit and cub again (Rinku and Wild)

Four: I have too many to count.

Legend: No comment.

Sky: ...also no comment.

Warriors: Seeing Sprite and Tune again.

Wind: Seeing Mask and Captain again!

Hyrule: No comment.

Wild: Pass.

Rhythm: -Reuniting with Darkie-

Rinku: -shrug-

[aikoiya]

LoZ LU: The Rhythm of the Universe

I hc that if Cadence of Hyrule's Link, Tempo (I like Rhythm best, but Tempo also works & fits more narratively, so he'd likely respond to both), were part of LU, he'd be something like August Rush. Able to hear the music in everything & able to play just about any instrument after just a bit of experimentation. Though, this particular Link just outright enjoys it.

Keep in mind that Caladbolg is a two-handed weapon. It big! And it deals high damage. However, it wouldn't be his only available weapon by a long shot. Surprisingly, he'd also have the Kokiri Sword (which would likely get a reaction from Time), which is only one-handed, allowing him to also use a shield at the same time, & even deals more damage than Caladbolg. Where Caladbolg shines is in its extra range, being a Longsword.

He also has Fragarach, which is a Broadsword that can pierce shields, thereby making it very useful against Darknuts & Iron Knuckles, though it deals middling damage. Then, there's Impa's Naginata, which both poisons enemies & heals the player after every 5 foes defeated (which basically makes it a Life Steal weapon). The Hylian Flail does little damage, but it also has good range & knockback.

Also, when Tempo, Harmony, Cadence, & Octavo were sent forward in time, it was specifically to the Downfall Timeline. To not long after Time was killed. It was their defeat of Ganon that made it possible for the Sages to seal him away later.

Anyway, his sense of Kairos & rhythm would also be near perfect & he'd likely be oddly in-tune with the overall rhythm & resonance of the universe. And his pattern recognition skills would most likely be on point, able to figure out almost any enemy's fighting pattern very, very quickly.

I also see him just having a naturally strong talent for acoustomagy (music magic). Also being able to memorize just about any song just from hearing it once or twice.

Seriously, the Paladin of the Oath of Music vibes on this man is absolutely ridiculous. He's also just more innately in-tune with magic. I could see him figuring out how sound waves interact with the world & using that to create spell songs of his own. Ones that utilize things like acoustic levitation, acoustic hydroremediation (purifying water through sound), healing, & causing plants to grow faster.

These are actually things that sound waves can actually do even without magic, just generally on a smaller scale, so channeling magic through sound would likely do even more.

Though, the acoustic hydroremediation might cause Rulie to have hope for his own Hyrule. He may even ask Rhythm to teach him how.

Rhythm has a bit of a fascination with weapons that double as musical instruments or musical instruments that double as weapons. Things like maceracas, a bladed battle-lute, ect. The first he'd ever seen or used was a Berimbau. While it was the most simple, it was also the one that initially opened his eyes to the idea of more creative armaments. He can also be very musically experimental when he wants to be.

He's taken up woodwork, amateur metalworking, & even magical infusion to see just how creative he can get with making musical weapons. Some have been hits & others misses. This will eventually lead to him becoming the Royal Jubalturner of Hyrule.

... What if he was the one who made the Wind Waker??? This would fit well with my idea of the Wind Waker having a song that, when played, can turn it into a sort of Rapier of the Winds. While it'd be a sword, it would work similarly to how Artemis used the Wind Waker, but if it were happening while she was using the Rapier. But I imagine the wind cutting through enemies rather than blowing them away or confusing them. Working something like the Sectumsempra spell from HP if it had a wind effect.

(Not quite satisfied with the guard. Also, I based the design on some of the parts found in the Instant Armory app. If you like to make items & weapons, you might wanna check it out to get a bit of inspiration.)

The green gems are Emeralds, which are very rare & are known to be imbued with Wind Magic.

When in this form, the Wind's Requiem, Song of Passing, Song of Storms, Wind God's Aria, & so on & so forth, will all result in an offensive attack. Wind's Requiem & Wind God's Aria will both boost the rapier's default wind slice attacks, the Aria taking on a similar power to a Skyward Strike, though of both Divine & Wind Magic. Song of Passing will depend on if it's day or night & the phase of the moon. Daytime means a strong wave of Light Magic (Solar specifically), night will create a Twilight (Lunar specifically) or Shadow Magic strike. However, Shadow Magic will only come out under the new moon. Song of Storms will infuse the rapier's blade with a charge of Lightning Magic.

Basically, it makes this a very versatile weapon. Anyway, there are other songs, but these are the ones I thought of off the top of my head.

The Wind Waker may have been a gift to his dear friend, Harmony (who he knew had a certain inclination towards the use of rapiers & magic), which has since been passed down in the Royal Family as an heirloom. However, it's offensive capabilities have been forgotten.

My thoughts are that the Chain initially believe that the 2 aren't the same one, but a while after Tempo shows them the Rapier of the Winds, Wind gets into a situation where a monster was comin' in hot. He already had his Wind Waker out & he wasn't sure if there was enough time to get the Phantom Sword out. So, in a panic & without even thinking, he did the directions above & his Wind Waker turned into the Rapier of the Winds, thereby proving that it was, indeed, the baton that Rhythm made.

Anyway, Rhythm's fighting style would also probably be just innately dancelike & would be able to bounce back quickly from most any mess up. Think if Capoeira used swords. In that even if he does mess up, he's able to make it look like he didn't. Which results in him being very good at course correcting & creating new strategies on-the-fly mid-fight in a way that makes it look intentional.

However, he'd also be prone to timekeeping as it helps him think. If you've ever seen Akeela & the Bee, she does something similar. This results in Rhythm tapping, sometimes unconsciously, when he's bored. He also tends to hum or whistle when he's happy. At the same time, he's also... fantastically bad at stealth when he's not tuned into the sounds of the night or in the right mindset.

He likes birds & birdwatching. He's prone to whistling back at them. Often mimicking their calls. He's actually very good at bird calls.

He's also just optimistic by nature, has stupid good hearing &, if he were to train that way, I think he'd be able to develop a type of echolocation. (However, I don't think he'd ever think to try.)

However, due to being so in-tune with nature & having such good hearing, he can get overwhelmed with sensory input, especially if he visits Castle Town.

The first few times he's there, he's overstimulated by all the sounds, the talking, the screaming, everything. And he'd likely make a break for the woods to just calm down as he takes in the more peaceful & manageable rhythm of organic life there.

But leaving for the forest isn't the only way to be able to calm down when confronted with all the noise of Castle Town. Another way is for him to take a deep breath & find the music in that too, much the way that August did. Instead of resisting it, take a moment to let it wash over him so his mind can compartmentalize it & identify the beat of the city's heart.

Though, that'd most likely be something he'd have to learn to do over time.

Once he's able to recognize the beat within the discord of the city, it's easier for him to acclimate to it & refind his own inner rhythm & allow it to exist alongside the city's, admittedly, more cacophonous beat.

Even then, Rhythm would likely see it similar to concerts in that it can be exciting, but a bit much at times & he'd likely go out to the forest & tune into that in order to decompress.

The city isn't a bad or disharmonious sound. Just a new one that can be a bit loud & difficult to get used to, is all.

And once he figures it out himself, I see him being the sort to help teach any other Links who also get overwhelmed with the hustle & bustle how to not let it get to them either.

Rhythm doesn't sing often, because he's shy about it, except for when he's completely alone or with someone he loves & trusts. However, when he does sing, it's, in a word... heavenly.

Also, he has an odd ability to translate a situation or something he or someone is going through into song as he finds that it makes it easier for him to process things. This also results in him both being one of the most empathetic & emotionally mature of the Links with some of the best coping methods, as well as giving him something of a Vibe Check ability.

Also, I hc that he was Time's father (though, if that's the case, his nickname being Tempo could be used as a cheeky nod to that). That Rhythm likely died during the Hyrulean Civil War. That he died of an arrow through the back of the skull due to having missed a beat in battle. (I know that in the manga, Time's dad died of an ax through the chest, but tweaks happen.) I also believe that his death at that time was not the plan. I think that, at the very least, he was supposed to guide Time through his adventure rather than Navi. But his death put a spanner in the works & destiny does what it can to make things turn out... at least somewhat manageable...

... Fudge... Imagine him singing "Remember Me" from Coco with his wife to baby Time before leaving for battle for the last time... Then imagine Time's mom singing it to him alone in her last moments beneath the Deku Tree...

Imagine Rhythm joining the Chain, perhaps a few months before his wife gives birth & him humming the song & Time's just like, "?!?!?!"

And he has absolutely no understanding of why other than the melody being hauntingly familiar & it invoking a feeling of unconditional love in him that echoes with some far off memory that's so fuzzy it's like looking into a thick fog. But in a way that causes his heart to ring with a note of sad longing & loss.

Yet he doesn't understand it at all.

I'm thinking about how Moses could remember the melody his mother sang to him as a baby in "Prince of Egypt" even before meeting Miriam. Remember how he whistled the tune to himself as he approached Rameses, who was hiding in the shadow of a statue?

Like that.

Perhaps he really remembers it, or perhaps it was unconscious.

Anyway, had Rhythm been able to be a dad, I imagine him being similar to Greg Demayo-Universe in a lot of ways. Just, ya know, a more fighty one who can actually be strict when he thinks it's necessary. And will go out of his way to educate his kid.

So, I think that'd show up here in an au where he joins the Chain.

---

Alt Idea: Before going to fight in the Civil War, Rhythm escorts his wife & infant son to the Kokiri Forest & asks the Deku Tree to grant his family sanctuary so that he may protect his home without needing to worry about them.

Here, Rhythm still dies, but his wife lives & she becomes sort of like the Wendy for the Lost Boys. As such, she's able to raise Time &, as a result, he's much more well-adjusted.

It's even possible that, because of this, the Master Sword does not put Time to sleep for 7 years due to him being more developmentally mature.

2ndary Alt Idea: What if there was a timeline where Rhythm had seen the sort of people that Kōme & Kotake were & he was like, "nope, I ain't leaving this kid here with them"?

Then he steals Ganondorf away & he ends up Time's older brother. Maybe Kōme & Kotake try to get Gdorf back & things spiral.

Maybe Rhythm kills the Twinrova? Maybe the Twinrova kill Rhythm & take Gdorf back? Don't know.

LoZ Linked Universe Masterlist

[legend-of-zelda-voices]

Edit of LU Legend and Marin to look like CoH Link and Cadence.

Original Pic from Linked Universe here :

Original; Flipped for Comparison

[tentimesthecourage]

What’s everyone’s favorite food?

Time: Apples.

Twilight: Pumpkins!

Sky: Same, pumpkins. Pumpkin soup is incredible!

Legend: Apples. Particularly apple pie.

Four: There's this pastry made with hot coco, that's my favorite.

Rinku: Pizza.

Wild: Roasted porgy!

Hyrule: Anything Wild makes.

Wind: Same! Especially seafood dishes!

Warriors: I'm not picky enough to have a favorite.

Rhythm: -Spiced coffee cake-

[tentimesthecourage]

To everyone: Do you celebrate Halloween in your Hyrule?

Sky: I don't know what Halloween is.

Four: Yes we do, I'll explain it to you Sky-

Time: I didn't know what it was until Malon explained it to me. We at least decorate for it.

Legend: Nah, might carve a pumpkin but that's it.

Hyrule: Never had the time.

Twilight: Sure, making costumes for the little ones is fun.

Wind: Yeah! I take Aryll trick-or-treating every time.

Warriors: I did as a child but stopped in my late teens.

Wild: Did we...?

Rinku: Before we joined the guard yes. I'd like to get back into celebrating.

Rhythm: -Blues and I decorate and go trick-or-treating still-

[tentimesthecourage]

To everyone: Favorite item?

Time: Hm... Boomerang.

Twilight: Double clawshots!

Wild: My slate?

Four: Cane of Pacci

Legend: I'll never tell.

Hyrule: The candle

Sky: The beetle

Warriors: Fire rod.

Wind: Wind Waker!

Rinku: All items are useful in some way.

Rhythm: -Poison Arrows. Apparently I'm the only one who has them...-

[tentimesthecourage]

Sky: They say the more you do something over and over, the better you get at it. Rhythm, puzzled: And? Sky: And that must be why I am absolutely nailing having panic attacks. Rhythm: THAT'S NOT WHAT THAT MEANS

[tentimesthecourage]

Gives everyone in the chain perfectly tailored and fashionable dresses: You can wear these if you want! I think you'd all be pretty.

I like to think they're all wearing these by @siddyarts

All: Thank you?

Wild: Where's yours, Rinku?

Sky: And how about you, Rhythm?

Rinku: Mm? Oh, yeah. -changes into the top part of the frostbite set- Close enough.

Rhythm: -I'd rather pick my own clothes-