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''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4225644/1/Til_the_Sun_Grows_Cold_and_the_Stars_Grow_Old Til the Sun Grows Cold and the Stars Grow Old]]'' is a {{fanfic}} by @/LadyNorbert which takes place during and after the events of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess''. Link, the narrator, is looking back on the invasion of twilight and his own involvement in the action. Because the story spells out the events of the game, '''there are spoilers here'''.

The story follows the basic events of the game, with some original elements mixed in. It begins in the era of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'', with the Link and Zelda of that game falling in love only to learn that they are forbidden to be together until Ganondorf is vanquished forever. They become destined to reincarnate, again and again, and fight him as many times as it takes. As Link undergoes the twilight quest, he finds himself remembering more and more of his past lives, and his memories of the other [[strike:games]] lives bleed into the story.

In addition to the basic plot elements of the actual ''Twilight Princess'' game, the story includes some original concepts, including an altered version of the Hyrulean origin story and extra scenes which expand on the relationships between Link, Zelda, Midna, and other [=NPCs=]. No attempt is made to iron out the ContinuitySnarl which is the Zelda timeline, however; the only clarification offered is that for the purposes of the story, ''Ocarina of Time'' was chronologically the first game and ''Twilight Princess'' was the last. (It should be noted that the story was written prior to the announcement of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]].'')

A sequel story, ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6101927/1/If_Its_Dinsday_This_Must_Be_Castle_Town If It's Dinsday, This Must Be Castle Town]],'' is told from the point of view of Rusl. Now retired from active duty, he details the further adventures of the members of the Resistance group. Much shorter than the original, it also lacks the serious overtones of Link's narrative, and focuses chiefly on Rusl's antics as he attempts to marry off his friends. ItMakesSenseInContext.

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!!In addition to many of the tropes found on the ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' page, these two fanfics include examples of:

%%* AllMythsAreTrue: All Hyrulean myths, at least.
* AlternateUniverse: The only attempt at an explanation of the timeline; Zelda clarifies the Great Cataclysm for Link. She explains that some of the lifetimes he remembers (''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker Wind Waker]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass Phantom Hourglass]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks Spirit Tracks]]'') took place in an alternate reality, and the people of the Hyrule they know have no historical record of such events.
* AuthorCatchphrase: In the sequel, Auru comments that he's tired of watching Shad and Ashei "circle each other like a pair of lovesick Keese." This is a direct CallBack to another [[FanFic/ThePrivateDiaryOfElizabethQuatermain fic series]] by the same author, where two characters were described as "circling each other like lovesick vultures."
* BoltOfDivineRetribution: Link remembers Zelda's death in one of their past lives, which was basically brought about by this after they mistakenly thought their struggles were over.
%%* CannotSpitItOut: Shad, in the sequel.
%%* CompletedFic: Both of them.
* TheChessmaster: Rusl, in the sequel, is a benign form of this. He works on getting Shad and Ashei together by getting Auru and Telma to help him, then at the same time works on matchmaking Auru and Telma with the help of Ashei and Shad. And neither pair ever figures out what he's doing.
* DancesAndBalls: Averted. In the sequel, Link comments that "Zelda's been itching to throw a royal ball of some sort," but we never see it happen.
* ADayInTheLimelight: The sequel story provides this for the vastly underrated members of LaResistance.
* DeadpanSnarker: Midna, of course, like in the game. She gets even more opportunity for it here.
* DecemberDecemberRomance: Auru and Telma, in the sequel; they're not ''that'' old, but they are the senior members of the cast.
* DeusExMachina: Kind of. It's explained that Link and Zelda can't be together until Ganondorf dies, and he won't die until the Triforce of Power selects a new bearer and abandons him.
* DeadGuyJunior: [[spoiler: Link and Zelda name their daughter after Midna.]]
* DueToTheDead: After the final battle, Zelda prays for mercy for the soul of her enemy.
* EitherOrTitle: Seen in the sequel; chapter three is titled "Dr. Borville, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb Factory."
%%* EveryoneCanSeeIt:
** Or at least, Midna can, about Link and Zelda.
** In the sequel, Rusl almost says this verbatim to Shad about his feelings for Ashei.
* {{Fainting}}: At one point while awake, Link is so overwhelmed by the flood of memories from lifetimes past that he passes out in Kakariko Village.
* FixFic: The whole reason the first story was written was to patch over some {{plot hole}}s in the game that the author wanted to try to explain.
* FlashBackEcho: Frequently for Link, who -- in addition to the confusing dreams -- starts flashing back to prior lifetimes while he's awake. The trope particularly applies to the scenes where he acquires the bow and the Master Sword.
* GentlemanAndAScholar: Shad, as described in the sequel, which is why his only weapon is one that he can use as a bookmark; he's a TechnicalPacifist besides. It therefore messes with everybody's heads a little bit when he gets into a fistfight, until they understand that he was trying to defend Ashei's honor.
%%* GirlOfMyDreams: Zelda is literally this for Link.
* HappilyAdopted: Not formally, but in the sequel, it's noted that Telma is the only mother that either Shad or Ashei has known since they were young children.
* HappilyMarried: As in the game, Rusl in both stories. It also applies to the couples who get married in each of the stories, following their RelationshipUpgrade.
* HeartbrokenBadass: Link, when he thinks [[spoiler:that Zelda may be dead.]]
* HeroicSelfDeprecation: In the sequel, the three older Resistance members realize that the main thing that's keeping Shad and Ashei apart is the fact that they're each convinced they're not quite what the other one wants.
* HerosMuse: Zelda is this for Link throughout almost the entire first story (and, it is implied, his entire life prior to it).
* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: In the original, the story title itself and every chapter title is a phrase from one of Shakespeare's works.
%%* LadyAndKnight: Zelda and Link, naturally.
* TheLadysFavour: Both played straight and gender-flipped in the sequel, which ends with a tournament of arms. Link enters wearing Zelda's favor, while Ashei enters wearing Shad's.
* LampshadedDoubleEntendre: Telma, in the sequel, when she tells her bar patrons not to drink too much because she's looking to close up early. [[spoiler:(It's her wedding night, so everyone knows exactly ''why'' she wants to close up early.)]]
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Even as he's experiencing the memories of prior lifetimes, Link can't for the life of him remember Ganondorf's name until he hears the sages say it.
* LegacyCharacter: In a departure from the actual canon of ''Twilight Princess,'' Link is sent to meet with the sage Sahasrahla, whose only canon appearance was in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]''. It's not the same one, of course; the name is an inherited one for generations.
* LoveBeforeFirstSight: Link doesn't know, for the longest time, that it's the princess he's been dreaming of since he was a child; he just knows that this is the woman he loves.
* LoveMakesYouCrazy[=/=]LoveMakesYouEvil[=/=]LoveRuinsTheRealm: It's explained that what finally pushed Zant over the edge was Midna refusing his marriage proposal.
%%* LoveTranscendsSpacetime: In the targeted reincarnation fashion.
%%* TheMatchmaker: Rusl, of course, for Shad/Ashei and Auru/Telma.
%%* MementoMacGuffin: The fishing rod.
* MindlinkMates: For years prior to their first in-person meeting, Link and Zelda saw each other many times in their dreams.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Link's reaction to Midna's explanation that the twilight monsters he's had to repeatedly destroy are her transfigured people. She assures him it's not his fault.
* MythologyGag: One of the lifetimes Link remembers is that of the [[YoutubePoop infamous CDi]] games.
* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: The baby that Rusl's wife Uli is pregnant with throughout the adventure turns out to be a girl, and is named Linka in Link's honor.
* {{Nephewism}}: The one who sends Link to meet with Sahasrahla is Rusl, who claims the sage is his uncle.
* NonHumanSidekick: Of all things, ''Zant''. It turns out that [[spoiler:for the final battle, Ganondorf's horse was actually a transfigured Zant, and this is the reason he's there at the end of the game]].
* OppositesAttract: Shad and Ashei, oh so much.
* OriginalFlavour: The first story had this as its ultimate goal; Lady Norbert wanted it to fit so perfectly into the Hyrulean mythos that it would read almost like a novelization of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]''. The sequel hewed more closely to being an AffectionateParody.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: The sage Rauru is presented as sort of being this. He's a "divine acolyte," sent to Hyrule at the behest of the goddesses to speak on their behalf when they have a message for Link and Zelda.
%%* PairTheSpares: Sort of the point of the sequel; well, that and RuleOfFunny.
%%* PitbullDatesPuppy: Is there any other way to describe the Shad/Ashei pairing?
* {{Protectorate}}: Midna, for Link, especially after [[spoiler:Zelda's sacrifice. His logic is that Zelda gave her life for Midna, and therefore, that makes Midna more important than anything in the world.]]
%%* PuppyDogEyes: According to Rusl in the sequel, "Shad's puppy-dog pout was legendary."
%%* RavenHairIvorySkin: Ashei, especially as far as Shad's concerned.
%%* {{Reincarnation}}: The underlying plot of the original story.
* SelectiveObliviousness: Midna encourages a form of this by telling Link he shouldn't believe that [[spoiler:Zelda is dead]], even though they have no evidence to the contrary and a pretty good reason to think that it might be true.
* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: Shad, in the sequel, attempts to say this about Ashei, then realizes he's not sure if it's true. She responds with a ShutUpKiss.
* ShoutOut: One of the memories Link has of another life is of a scene from the fake movie trailer IGN produced for April Fool's Day 2008.
** The title of the last chapter of the sequel is taken from an episode of the [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda1989 Zelda cartoon]].
* TheStationsOfTheCanon: {{Justified|Trope}}; the original story follows the exact course of the actual video game, and so major plot points must be mentioned.
* StuffBlowingUp: In the sequel, there's an unfortunate mishap with some bomb arrows...
%%* TermsOfEndangerment: As in the game, Zant keeps addressing Midna as "my Midna."
* TitleDrop: Partial. Just before the final battle, Link reminds Zelda that no matter what happens, they're in it together, and she replies, "Until the stars grow old."
%%* UnbrokenVigil: Ashei pulls one of these in the sequel.
* UnluckyChildhoodFriend: Ilia, for Link. Fortunately, a side effect of her EasyAmnesia turns out to be forgetting that she ever thought of him romantically.
%%* WeddingEpisode: One each in the original and the sequel.
* YouAreWorthHell: Link assures Zelda that she's worth everything he has to endure in the course of the adventure.
* YouHaveWaitedLongEnough: Rauru says something very similar to this when visiting Link in his dream.
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