Link & Link
| Gen Relationship | |
|---|---|
| Relationship: | Link & Link |
| Alternative name(s): | The Chain |
| Fandom: | The Legend of Zelda |
| Type: | Family/friends |
| Canonical?: | In some instances |
| Prevalence: | Extremely popular |
| Archives: | |
| See also: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
This article or section needs expansion. |
Link & Link refers to a relationship between two incarnations of Link, the protagonist of most The Legend of Zelda media. This is the base unit of expanded relationships such as Link & Link & Link, and Link & Link & Link & Link, and so on.
Canon
It's common for installments of The Legend of Zelda to reference the past adventure of another Link as a legend in the time of the current Link. Direct interactions between two incarnations of Link are rare, given they always live at least a century apart from one another.
Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures
In this game, the protagonist Link uses the Four Sword to split himself into four selves.
Fans assigned different fanon personalities to the four Links. Many fans adopted the characterization of the temperaments depicted in the official manga version.
Twilight Princess
While most of the Link & Link relationship dynamics are conjured of pure fanon, in canon the Link of Ocarina of Time and the Link of Twilight Princess are two of the few to directly interact with one another, and this duo is one of the few to be confirmed as direct ancestor and descendant. Thus, this relationship has a longer history and more relative interest in the fandom.
Breath of the Wild
In paid additional content, Link can summon Wolf Link (from Twilight Princess) as his companion in battle.
Super Smash Bros.
Various versions of Link have appeared in the Super Smash Bros. series, including Young Link and Toon Link as playable characters each separate from "standard" Link.
Notable fan stories
| Title | Start Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Link and the Links AU [1] | ||
| Dimensional Links [2] | 2015 | |
| Time Twilight Tears [3] | 2017 (Twilight & Wild mini-comic) | |
| Linked Universe | ||
| Bonus Links [4] |
The Chain
"The Chain" is a relationship between several Links. Usually this term specifically refers to the family relationship between the Link protagonists of the Linked Universe series.
This relationship skyrocketed in popularity following the popularity of Breath of the Wild (2017), but popular fan works already existed before BOTW was ever announced.
Fanon and common tropes in fan works
Fan works
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Meta
Fan art
Fan fiction
Cosplay
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LOZ_Links.jpg Link cosplayers at Otakon 2007 (2007-07-20)
Fan work rec lists and collections
- The Legend of Zelda stories and crossovers featuring _ and _ on FanFiction.Net (FFN)
- Archive of Our Own (AO3)