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Post-Majora Hero of Time

I subscribe to the assumption he lost his eye, fairly young I think. Once he returns to Hyrule Impa gives him a glass-like replacement that behaves just like the Lens of Truth 🔎 He cannot see out of it all the time - it takes magic to activate just like the lens - but when he expends the energy it gives him vision (somewhat limited/tunneled) on that side that reveals secrets and illusions (Impa and Zelda use this to their advantage and frequently leave him hidden messages with a signifier to activate the eye)

I assume Zelda sent him back in time to the moment before he initially pulled the Master Sword, everything before the pull is unchanged. He remains a Sworn Brother to the Gorons, one of the first places he travels to upon his return to Hyrule in his mid teens is Death Mountain

His tunic is heat-resistant, same material/enchantment as in OoT, it was gifted to him from Link of the Gorons (déjà vu) and stitched with additional protection magic by Zelda

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The Deity & Sheik

Zelda still lives a double life as Sheik during the child timeline in this AU, training under Impa and joined by Link after he returns

Link and Zelda (mostly) make attempts to keep it professional when the princess is appearing as royalty, when they’re alone they’re far less refined, but they only relax with each other completely when Zelda steps into the shoes of Sheik. They find it much easier to express themselves and talk to each other - they especially only feel safe to engaged in their relationship this way. Despite the relationship only being attached to Sheik in the eye of the public, they’ve agreed to keep it on the dl and frequently sneak to each other’s rooms - Sheik has a separate room from Zelda’s chambers to keep up appearances and prefers the simpler room anyway

Link doesn’t tell Sheik about the other timeline for quite a while and does not initially tell them everything, he tends to clam up about the subject after its reveal

Sheik is the first to learn of the Fierce Deity’s presence. By the time they’re in their mid 20s the Deity has perma-fused with Link, the mask no longer comes off (the branded markings on his face are the result of this), the kishin is semi dormant in his subconscious until called upon or he decides to make himself known. The transformation only happens if the Deity fronts (part of my headcanon for why the skeletal form of the Hero’s Shade is so big, he’s almost the same size as the Deity)

The more the Deity awakens the more power he obtains, including wings fairly early on, and new agency as a separate entity apart from Link. I’m also considering the helix blade may eventually split into two for dual-wielding

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Sometimes Link is able to best Sheik. Other times he gets whapped

Nothing a quick potion can’t fix, they know each other’s limits

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Malon

After Link returns to Hyrule, he grows up couch surfing between three places; Kakariko (Impa’s house), Lon Lon Ranch, and later Hyrule Castle (also thanks to Impa - he was sneaking in constantly anyway)

When not training with Impa and Sheik, he works either in Kakariko or Lon Lon, aiding the carpenters with odd jobs or the ranchers with deliveries and whatever else they need. Link and Malon bond over raising Epona and the other horses, riding/racing, friendship eventually snowballs into something more

Malon is not aware Sheik is the princess for a good while, nor is she initially aware of the other timeline or her mirrors in Termina. She is also not aware of the Deity until he swaps out with Link to save him from what would be a fatal injury (foreshadowing) - after this event Link is more forthcoming about his past

Link and Sheik start their relationship first, a handful of years ahead during which Link keeps Malon at arm’s length despite their shared feelings until Sheik encourages the two of them to pursue a relationship as well, they practically shove the two of them together after watching them tiptoe around each other for so long

Sheik also finds great amusement in flustering Malon at first, but once the rancher begins to gain her courage and starts flirting back they're quickly charmed. After surface teasing develops into genuine curiosity about each other and the sharing of a certain royal secret, Malon and Sheik decide to complete the loop of their three-point polycule

After the loss of Link, the two of them co-raise Link & Malon’s kiddo (I have a few working names for the trio's daughter - Maybe Latoana as a reference to Ordon? Falon to keep the -alon tradition going? I feel like this a conversation between Sheik and Malon and idk which way they decide yet lol)

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Twi & Time in their respective armors with their respective imp friends during the events of Twilight Princess

Time can see Midna in her shadow form when his Eye of Truth is activated 🧿

Twi’s face is also perma branded from his brush with dark magic, and he isn’t about to escape any lycan (wolfos?) allegations

I’m of the opinion the Skull Kid who the Hero of Time befriends and the Skull Kid from Twilight Princess are one and the same 🍂

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Several thousand years later - and a few years post-Tears

Link gets his arm back at the end of TOTK, and sure, I understand why. But, I don't really like the reasoning. Feels too much like the magic fixes disability trope for my taste. Instead, let’s say the magic that gave him back the use of his arm didn’t last - what if Raura and Sonia could only recall the original state of his arm long enough for him to catch Zelda? They channeled their magic through Link to reverse Zelda’s transformation, so I consider her reversal permanent as she was the focal point but Link’s ultimately not since he was the conduit. What if his arm began to revert to its post-gloom damaged state?

Replacement arm! 🦾 With swappable hand and energy sword functions courtesy of Zelda, Purah, and Robbie

Along with a new arm, after the ancient Sheikah tech starts to heavily deteriorate - it doesn't all turn to complete dust in this AU, and, while still useful in some cases, a lot of it starts to malfunction if it’s operable at all - I like to think the tech trio builds him a new bike to replace the Master Cycle Zero

The three of them also fashion Link augmented reality goggles that function a lot like the Sheikah Slate, give him similar rune abilities, and offer diagnostic aid with his arm

Zelda keeps some of her scales after her dragonification reversal that appear like glittery, pearlescent freckles because I say so, as a treat

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More of Time & Wild, the initial sketches of these two

Time makes it to his early 30s before the whole Shade thing while Wild is late 20s here, just a few years younger

Time’s Death

Playing around with the general plot of Ganondorf creating a Dark Link who murders the King, framing Link and sending him & co on the run. Though Link defeats his dark mirror, he’s mortally wounded in the final encounter, it happens so quickly the Deity can’t react in time to take the blow. Knowing his time is short, Link surrenders his dying body over to the Fierce Deity who then confronts, weakens, and restrains Ganondorf, turning the Gerudo King over to the sages at the behest of the goddesses

The Deity returns to Sheik and Malon only for the two to realize in horror Link is no longer with him. Likely the first and last words they hear from the Deity, he tells them he’s taking Link home. Sheik mistakes this to mean the castle and Malon the ranch. The Deity corrects them before taking his leave, returning Link to the meadow of the Great Deku Tree

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*heavily distorted Guardian beeping*

Lost Illuminations is the working AU name, it skips around between Time’s story from post-Majora to becoming the Hero’s Shade, the connection between these three Links following that, Time watching over Twilight, Twilight watching over Wild, and each of them trying to piece himself back together after their canon adventures