History Fanon / TheLegendOfZelda

* Saria, Link's {{Childhood Friend|s}}, being the one who ''raised'' him. This particular bit of fanon is often used as an argument against the Link/Saria ship to boot, in order to avoid WifeHusbandry. Its possible this fanon was popularized by a ''Platform/{{Newgrounds}}'' flash, depicting Saria raising Link.

* As an adult, the Hero of Time is usually depicted as either a Hylian soldier or a bodyguard/knight to Zelda. He's usually a ShellShockedVeteran as well. Though he is the Link most prone to ShipToShipCombat, fans usually pin him either ending up with Malon[[note]]the Link of ''Twilight Princess'' is his descendant, he lives in a rural village, isn't royalty[[/note]], Zelda[[note]]Miyamoto saying that "if Zelda were [Link's] girlfriend, that would be great," Hylia and the Hero's souls always being drawn to one another, and the manga[[/note]], or both[[note]]Link and Zelda didn't work out for whatever reason so he married Malon, and Link and Zelda are finally together once [[TogetherInDeath Link's soul passes on]][[/note]].
** The growing popularity of ''Webcomic/LinkedUniverse'' led to the increasing acceptance of the idea that the Hero of Time and Malon became a couple.

* Cremia trying to get her kid sister, Romani, drunk on Chateau Romani, a special milk usually reserved for adults, on the final night is often believed to be definite fact. In the game, whilst we are shown that people can get drunk on Chateau Romani, despite it being milk, the only person whom gets drunk, Gorman, was [[DrowningMySorrows gulping glass after glass of Chateau Romani due to deal with his depression]]. It is entirely possible in canon that Cremia declared Romani an adult and let her drink Chateau Romani on the third day because she believed this was to be Romani's last night on Terminia and [[LetThemDieHappy wanted to let Romani be treated as an adult]] before the [[ColonyDrop Moon crashed into the Earth next morning]].

** Another theory regarding the Twili is that they are what remain of the Sheikah from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' who were banished after starting the civil war mentioned in the prologue to ''[=OoT=]'. The two theories are not incompatible. This theory stems from the Twili having red eyes similarly to the Sheikah tribe, being skilled in "shadow magic" like the Sheikah, and the Twilight Realm having various Sheikah-looking symbols.

** Fanworks that depict Zelda around this time period (if she's still alive) tend to have her look more like an aged sailor than an actual royal, much like her crewmate Niko. Link, meanwhile, tends to look more like a conventional ruler, akin to King Daphnes.

* Saria, Link's {{Childhood Friend|s}}, being the one who ''raised'' him. This particular bit of fanon is often used as an argument against the Link/Saria ship to boot, in order to avoid WifeHusbandry. Its possible this fanon was popularized by a ''Website/{{Newgrounds}}'' flash, depicting Saria raising Link.

* [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Sheik]] is rarely represented as Zelda in ''Zelda'' fan works, often being turned into a distinct individual rather than a persona temporarily adopted by Zelda. Despite WordOfGod saying that Sheik is [[SweetPollyOliver simply Zelda crossdressing]] and not a {{genderbend|er}}, fans have been slow to the pickup. Sheik in fan works is usually either a male SplitPersonality of Zelda or he'll somehow be separated into his own character (usually to be shipped with Link). The former is inspired by the ''Ocarina of Time'' manga depicting Zelda as being a separate mental entity from Sheik due to Impa having locked Zelda's mind away. A less common, alternate interpretation (especially amongst [[LGBTFanbase queer fans]]) is that ''[=OoT=]'''s Zelda is either a [[UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} trans man or genderfluid]].

** The growing popularity of ''Webcomic/LinkedUniverse'' led to the increasing acceptance of the idea that Link and Malon became a couple.

* The ''[=LoZ=]'' timeline. While the earlier games in the series were promoted with clear timeline placements in relation to each other[[note]]''Ocarina of Time'' -> ''Majora's Mask'' -> ''A Link to the Past'' -> ''The Legend of Zelda'' -> ''The Adventure of Link''[[/note]], after ''Majora's Mask'' things got much less clear, to the point that many believed that there was never meant to be a timeline at all, and that all of the games are supposed to essentially be the same tale that mutated into different versions through corrupted retellings -- think something like a millennia-old game of Telephone -- or just alternate versions of a basic setting and narrative without having to be causally connected. Still, many fans try to come up with timelines that fit every game into a chronological progression. The simplest of these often contain "only" two or three parallel universes (for the games themselves, not counting parallel worlds that actually appear ''in'' a game). [[IKnewIt And then]] [[http://kotaku.com/5871215/the-official-zelda-timeline-now-with-added-detail an official timeline]] [[Literature/HyruleHistoria was released]], which dealt with the inconsistencies by splitting into three alternate timelines post-''Ocarina of Time'', with the third timeline coming about when the Hero of Time ''fails'' to defeat Ganon.

* Saria, Link's {{Childhood Friend|s}}, being the one who ''raised'' him. This particular bit of fanon is often used as an argument against the Link/Saria ship to boot, in order to avoid WifeHusbandry.

* Malon being half-Gerudo. This is due to her red hair (a rare trait for Hylians) and the fact that her father mentions that the Gerudo Mask reminds him of his wife. Romani from ''Majora's Mask'' also uses her design and is named after [[UsefulNotes/{{Romani}} an ethnic group]] with parallels to the Gerudo. ''Breath of the Wild'' makes this dubious because Gerudo children look more noticeably Gerudo than Malon, though it's often passed off as [[DependingOnTheArtist the different games using different art styles]]. Some fans go further and believe that Nabooru is Malon's mother, due to her stating that the aforementioned Gerudo Mask looks like her.

* Kokiri are [[BornAsAnAdult born]] at their current age. This comes from the ''Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime1999'' manga but is left vague. It's known that the kokiri accepted Link as their own as a baby, which might imply that kokiri are all born as infants and simply stop growing after a certain period.

* [[MissingMom Zelda's mother being dead]] in pretty much every incarnation, usually since Zelda was quite young. Either she [[DeathByChildbirth died in childbirth]] or [[SoapOperaDisease fell ill]] when Zelda was a young child. In canon, Zelda's mother is almost never discussed, which leads fan to assume she's dead (though, many [[Manga/TheLegendOfZelda manga]] adaptations [[DeathByAdaptation make her explicitly deceased]]). In ''The Wind Waker'' and ''Breath of the Wild'', Zelda losing her mother at a young age is canon.

** A minor but well understood fanon is that the Three Goddesses are either stupidly-lazy and give our heroes NewPowersAsThePlotDemands as an excuse for their laziness or are so much hidden into the JerkassGod territory that fans are surprised BrattyTeenageDaughter managed to reach LITERAL divine levels!?!?

* ''Ocarina of Time'' noticeably never gave Zelda her own Sage title to match the other six. The most common theory is that she is the Sage of Time, based on her statement that it is her Sage powers that allow her to send Link back to his childhood at the end of the game, and as the carrier of a Triforce piece her title is expected to match Link's. [[spoiler: ''Tears of the Kingdom'' makes this AscendendFanon, as a different Zelda is given this exact title while the other Sages retain their predecessors' titles.]]

* ''Ocarina of Time'' noticeably never gave Zelda her own Sage title to match the other six. The most common theory is that she is the Sage of Time, based on her statement that it is her Sage powers that allow her to send Link back to his childhood at the end of the game, and as the carrier of a Triforce piece her title is expected to match Link's.

** ''A Link Between Worlds'': "Hero Between Worlds", again to make it distinct from the Hero of Light and Dark.
** ''Breath of the Wild'': "Hero of the Wild", which is the name of an armor set implied to be this Link's "canon" one.

* Zelda is frequently written as being the granddaughter of the Hero of Winds and Zelda/Tetra, with this game's own Link being just an IdenticalStranger (akin to the Hero of Winds himself, who is confirmed to have no relation to the Hero of Time). The specific use of granddaughter is thanks to the presence of characters like Niko and Linebeck III, heavily implying three generations having happened in-between this and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass Phantom Hourglass]]''.

** ''A Link to the Past/Link's Awakening'': "Hero of Light and Dark", after the name of the era he comes from. Alternatively, "Hero of Awakening".

** ''A Link Between Worlds'': "Hero Between Worlds", again to make it distinct from the Hero of Awakening.

** ''A Link to the Past/Link's Awakening'': "Hero of Awakening".

** ''Legend of Zelda/Link's Adventure'': Being the first Link created, he's often given the honor of being the "Hero of Light", which is thematically fitting considering his chronologically last enemy is his own shadow/Dark Link.

** ''A Link Between Worlds'': "Hero of Worlds", again to make it distinct from the Hero of Awakening.

** ''Legend of Zelda/Link's Adventure'': Being the first Link created, he's often given the honor of being the "Hero of Light", which is thematically fitting considering his final known enemy is his own shadow/Dark Link.

** ''The Minish Cap'': "Hero of the Minish", as a contrast to his in-game predecessor, the Hero of Men.

* Every incarnation of Link tends to be given their own RedBaron title, based on the canon titles given to the Links from ''Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask'' (Hero of Time) and ''Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass'' (Hero of Winds). This is mostly for convenience so people known which Link others are talking about without needing to cite specific entries in the series, especially since it's not uncommon for an individual Link to appear in multiple games, and that itself carries its own ambiguity.

* Every incarnation of Link tends to be given their own RedBaron title, based on the canon titles given to the Links from ''Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask'' (Hero of Time) and ''Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass'' (Hero of Winds). This is mostly for convenience so people known which Link others are talking about without needing to cite specific entries in the series, especially since it's not uncommon for a specific Link to appear in multiple games, and that itself carries its own ambiguity.