Sakurarozen - Rozen

The Chain's Secrets.

Been awhile since I've posted an analysis/theory, but I've been meaning to write a post like this for awhile, and with the last update it just seems like the perfect time.

Secrets are being revealed left and right (Like with the Wolfie reveal and Four splitting), and it’s been hinted at in the comic that the secrets the chain holds were going to become important to the plot at some point. In this essay I will

Ok, joking aside...

I like to think it's Jojo's way of setting up the story in a way to create division and tension between the group. I'm excited to see what happens next, but for now all I can do is speculate (and drag you all along with me as I spit out crazy theories.)

Every chain member has secrets; some have already been confirmed or even revealed in the comic, however some we are just left guessing as to what they may be.

One thing is certain though, these secrets are being kept for a reason. Most likely because revealing them would lead to more questions and possibly uncomfortable topics/painful memories.

Again, some of these secrets have been confirmed, but some of these are just theories that are bordering on string and thumbtacks conjecture.

So in order from 'canon' to 'likely' to 'what the hell are you on OP', let's guess some secrets!

TWILIGHT

Everyone(?) knows that Twi and Wolfie are one in the same now (Wind may still not know but it's bound to happen soon), but Twi is also holding in a lot of pain when it comes to Midna and also Time's fate.

Midna herself is probably not going to make an appearance; she's gone, and Jojo has said when asked about Midna,

"It wouldn’t work with where I’m taking this. so companions that have said goodbye are not present."

But that doesn't mean their influence is gone. Midna left Twi with so many questions and no answers.

"was it wrong? after all, she’s a princess to another world, he’s a nobody

did she feel the same way? he killed her with kindness, but how far did he reach her heart?

what was she going to say!? “Link I-” I’m grateful? sorry? Love you?

they would have gone their separate ways, but why did she break the mirror? why say goodbye forever

Are his newly strong feelings for Midna a phase? after all, Ilia was always the girl for him.

should he be angry? sad? content? happy? depressed?"

—Jojo (Linked Universe Tumblr). Feb 18, 2018

Let's also not forget that Twi is aware of the Hero of Time's fate.

"Although I accepted life as the hero, I could not convey the lessons of that life to those that came after. At last, I have eased my regrets." — Hero's Spirit (Twilight Princess)

This statement is ambiguous enough that we don't know the exact reason that prevented Time from teaching those that came after him, but clear enough that we learn that he will die regretting it.

Maybe Time will meet an early demise. Maybe he'll be separated from his family. Maybe something will happen and he physically and/or mentally cannot "convey the lessons of that life to those that came after". Maybe Time just chose not to teach anyone his skills and later came to regret his decision after it was too late.

We don't know, and neither does Twi. Jojo has said that Twi hasn't told Time about the Hero's Shade and it's likely he won't ever tell anyone; keeping that painful knowledge bottled inside is just another thing tearing him apart.

Cowboi is certainly dealing with a lot right now

FOUR

The Four Sword's ability was recently revealed and although we knew it would happen at some point, the way it did was pretty unexpected. However don't forget that Four has another ability— the power to shrink down to the size of a Minish. It appears as though Four has no problem revealing abilities when the need arises and I think we'll get that reveal someday, BUT there's another secret that he might not be so keen on sharing; Shadow Link.

Now admittedly the Four Sword games are one's I haven't had the chance to play (I'm playing like 4 different zelda games right now, I'll get to four swords eventually), so I don't know if Shadow has sneakily been referenced in the LU and I just didn't notice. Four has mentioned the Dark Mirror but I'm still not super convinced that means he'll bring up Shadow Link. It's more likely the mirror was brought up to progress Twi's story and his "complicated" feelings. I think it would be interesting to see what Twi would do if faced with another mirror when he previously thought that there was only one (and that one has been destroyed).

Also, regarding Shadow Link (correct me if I'm wrong), I believe his role/character development was much larger in the manga then in the actual games. All Zelda mangas are noncanon but I won't completely rule out the possibility that Jojo could take story elements from them for two reasons:

1. Jojo has said "there is a part of Akira Himekawa’s contribution to the Zelda series that I will be considering."

2. When asked about Shadow Link and Dark Link (they are different characters), Jojo vaguely responded, "a story about a bunch of Links, he fits in as the perfect main Antagonist"

WIND

Once Time started asking questions Wind's expression morphed from surprised to horrified. This kid is too expressive for his own good (don't let him play poker).

Wind doesn't lie outright, but he purposely omits an important part of the legend he grew up hearing, only telling bits and pieces and feigning ignorance to the reason the Gods flooded the world.

The people believed that the Hero of Time would again come to save them... But the hero did not appear. Faced by an onslaught of evil, the people could do nothing but appeal to the Gods. In their last hour, as doom drew nigh, they left their future in the hands of fate. — Opening Cutscene (The Wind Waker)

"When the gods heard our pleas, they chose to seal away not only Ganon, but Hyrule itself...and so, with a torrential downpour of rains from the heavens...Our fair kingdom was soon buried beneath the waves, forgotten at the bottom of the ocean." — Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule (The Wind Waker)

Wind doesn't appear to blame Time for what happened to Hyrule, especially after he learned that Time was sent away "to a yesterday where everything Ganon did had yet to transpire". BUT that doesn't mean Time wouldn't blame himself if he were to learn the truth about the Great Flood, and Wind seems to know this. He's playing it safe, believing that by omitting the details of the Great Flood, he'd be sparing Time pain/guilt.

We'll just have to wait and see if this decision come's back to bite Wind in the butt.

TIME

Time's got two big secrets (one of which I'm sure is currently tormenting him with Twi being injured)

Those being the sheikah slates words "someone will die" and the Fierce Deity mask.

Pretty early on in the comic, Time got the coded message "someone will die", and it's been haunting him and fandom for YEARS. With Twi's cursed injury I'm positive it's on constant loop in his mind. Personally I think it either refers to Dark Link OR Time himself, as it is canon that he will die with regrets at some point.

There's also the Fierce Deity mask; an item so intriguing yet also dangerously powerful that it's seldom ever used, so we really don't know that much about it.

The mask's in game description asks,

"Could this mask's dark powers be as bad as Majora? Tremendous power is emanating from within..."

And Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma described the mask by saying

"The best way to think about it is that the memories of all the people of Termina are inside of the Fierce Deity Mask."

Still pretty vague... ( I recommend watching Youtuber Zeltik's video "The Fierce Deity Unmasked - Zelda Theory" for a more in-depth description, theory, and the inspiration behind the Fierce Deity mask. It's very good!)

One thing is clear though and that is that this "dark" mask is insanely powerful, capable of granting it's user god like powers. But just like Majora's Mask, that power is alluring. Time feels that even he would be consumed by it and yet he keeps the mask as a "fail-safe"

Obviously the other chain members would not be ok with such an item, so Time keeps it a secret. The only one who knows of it is Twi (and maybe Malon?)

(I'm also curious about how his face marking and scar occurred. It's not from his initial use of the mask in childhood, as we've seen in the comic that he didn't have them when courting and then proposing to Malon. So Time must have used the mask sometime in adulthood that caused him to be left scarred and marked)

SKY

Although not as expressive as Wind, it's clear that something 'clicked' when the chain was speaking about Ganon. Sky has already figured out that he's the only one never to face this Ganon, but on the other hand that also means the other chain members have never faced Demise. Maybe at first Sky concluded that this meant Demise was truly gone. However, the moment he learns of the "pattern", I'm sure his mind wandered to Demise's last words— the Curse.

"Though this is not the end. My hate... never perishes. It is born anew in a cycle with no end! I will rise again. Those like you... Those who share the blood of the goddess and the spirit of the hero... They are eternally bound to this curse. An incarnation of my hatred shall ever follow your kind, dooming them to wander a blood-soaked sea of darkness for all time!" — Demise (Skyward Sword)

If the Demon King's hate lives on, born anew in the forms of beings such as Ganon and Vaati then Sky probably feels he failed his role as the Chosen Hero. Not only that, but he'd feel like he failed his friends, like it's his fault that the lives they were forced to lead were so dangerous and difficult. He'd blame himself rather then the demon who spouted the curse.

There's also the fact that his girlfriend is a literal goddess reborn as a mortal, but that's not really his secret to share.

LEGEND

Bunny!Legend has already been revealed so I won't really be touching that one.

The obvious secret Legend keeps close to his heart is Koholint and Marin. He rarely brings it up but it's obvious that his adventure to wake the wind fish affected him deeply.

There's not much to say other then that... We know he misses Marin, and even blames himself that she's gone. Perhaps this little tidbit will come into play later in the story as Legend can relate to other chain members such as Twi (losing a loved one) and Wild (guilt for not being able to save everyone)

Another possible secret he's keeping is that Legend is a Knight of Hyrule. I've actually already written an in-depth theory on this one, so I really encourage you to check it out. There's a pinned post on the top of my blog and it'll be under "Legend’s Heritage: Why does he hide it?" (I'd link it here, but lately tumblr has been suppressing my posts that contain links so... yeah, sorry)

WILD

Wild has joked that he couldn't hide secrets even if he wanted to, and sure, with his obvious scars and lack of memory one could assume he has nothing to hide. And it seems the chain mostly knows what happened as they've compared scars and Legend has joked with Wild about being 117 years old. They've even discussed how they don't believe Wild should blame himself for what befell his world.

HOWEVER it doesn't seem as though Wild has shared much in regards to the Champions. When Legend finds Mipha's diary, Wild understandably begs him to give it back. And when he's questioned about who it belonged to, he answers vaguely and downplays the relationship he and Mipha had. Partly because he probably can't remember much, and partly because what he does remember is personal and causes his heart to ache.

(There is very early artwork of Wild depicting a scene where he was comfortable enough to show Time a picture of Mipha [doodlespt1], however I believe some of the earlier sketches were/are story elements that have yet to happen. Like in the case of Sky's comments about the Master Sword in 'doodlespt3' being replicated at the end of 'New time new place')

Twilight also makes an interesting comment at the end of 'memories pt.2' in the comic.

"many of us had companions before. Just having someone there— knowing you're not alone through the tough times makes a difference. It's a shame you weren't as fortunate"

Wild's mind then drifts off as he internally thinks of the Champions

I suppose that's not entirely true. I had friends rooting for me then... like I do now

All of this makes me believe he hasn't shared much concerning the Champions— maybe not even with Twilight.

ALSO it seems the chain may not realize how bad it's been affecting Wild's emotional state. I guess you could argue that in a way he's lying to himself. He's not okay, and is overcome with worry and past guilt over losing his friends again.

What Wild is hiding is his worsening mental/emotional health. He really needs help and I hope he gets it soon.

(Maybe he'll eventually speak with his Zelda as Twilight suggested he do)

WARRIORS

Warriors hates traitors. We've seen a small reference to this when he and Wild were attacked by a Yiga clan member, but do you know why Warriors hates traitors?

There's a segment in the Hyrule Warriors game where Ghirahim turns your fellow soldiers into "turncoat soldiers", AKA traitors. They'll attack you and your allies until you take out their leader.

It's not hard to believe that would leave a lasting impact; having to fight and kill soldiers you once commanded, fought alongside with, trusted...

I wouldn't want to openly share that about myself either if I was Warriors.

Having said that though, since the chain is dealing with a shapeshifting shadow that has been known to take on the form of heroes, I wouldn't think it a stretch for Dark Link to take advantage of Warriors distrust.

But there's one more thing to consider... (Ok, next theory might be a bit more outlandish, but hear me out!)

In Jojo's very first original sketch of the chain, they also gave each character a list of attributes, almost all of which have already been addressed/referenced in the comic.

There is, however, one trait in Warriors profile that I found interesting.

has 'women’ problems

What could this possibly mean? Is it just a little joke and not meant to be taken that seriously? Maybe... But this seems too interesting a character point to just have been used only once for a quick gag in 'doodlespt6'.

In Warriors case I think "has 'women' problems" could potentially also mean "has relationship struggles"

I've already discussed how Warriors could have trust issues, but I also want to point out things like him referring to TIme's wedding ring as a "shackle" AND the fact that the war in his world started because the sorceress Cia was obsessed with him.

"Through her powers, the sorceress should have seen that the hero was bound to another. Instead, she saw only a soul that was unlike any she had known.

The whispering darkness wormed its way into her heart. It pushed the light away and warped her curiosity into a desperate desire to possess the legendary hero's soul."

Creepy!

But let's also take note of the "the hero was bound to another" part. The game makes it very clear that the "another" is Zelda. And do you remember how adamant Warriors was that Time's wife must be Zelda? He even made a bet with Legend because he was so sure. And I mean, sure, the lore of his world literally states he and Zelda have been bound across time so it's not hard to understand why he'd think that Time and OoT Zelda are married.

But there's another interesting part of Warriors and Legend's conversation in 'the bet' comic I would like to focus on, because I think Warriors might be self projecting a bit here.

"if they love him enough, They'll slap on every sort of title to his name. Sir, Lord, Master... it's all about who you know and who you impress."

Is this what happened to you Wars? Hmmm?

Jojo has also stated that the default relationship for the Links is Zelda.

"unless there isn’t a significant character like Mipha, Marin, Midna, Ilia, or Malon to ‘complicate’ things, just by default it’s Zelda. But the degree of the relationship varies."

So maybe Warriors and his Zelda have some sort of relationship (I like to think it's romantic but it doesn't have to be) but it's strained because Warriors has trust/commitment issues due to events such as Cia and the turncoats. He wouldn't want to talk about what happened so any problems he has aren't going to get better.

Those are his secrets.

HYRULE

I've got a couple for Hyrule, so strap in, we're almost done!

The first secret (though I use the word loosely in this case) is that Hyrule and Legend are aware that a hero before them died. Now they probably don't realize that this hero is an alternate version of Time, but when asked about the fallen hero Jojo responded with

"they know a Hero before failed, it’s nothing personal to them, it’s simply the world as they know it. But it gives weight to their responsibility seeing as the Hero of Hyrule’s home is still suffering the consequences. but this did give me some good ideas so Thanks for this Q!"

Wonder where this little tidbit will bring us one day? Again, I'm not sure if this one counts as them intentionally keeping a secret or just thinking the chain doesn't really need a history lesson...

Ok, next one is about magical markings and the Triforce. We've seen within the LU that transformation magic leaves a trace, such as Legend's pink hair, Twi's face markings, Four's height, and Time's face markings AND height (it's hard to tell because the FD mask is limited only to boss fights, but it makes Link huge in comparison to his regular adult form). Hyrule has the unique ability to transform into a fairy, so I like to think he's got little slits or wing marks on his back. Ya'll remember crop-top Hyrule and everyone was freaking out about that instead Twi dying? Simpler times... ANYWAY I appreciate crop top Hyrule as much as the next person for what it was. It could've just been a stylistic choice... but I’m just saying it’s also a very convenient way to cover your characters wing marks if you want to tease but not address it yet.

Having said that... Hyrule's gloves are also pretty unique... and are perfectly shaped to cover the mark of the Triforce.

Unlike the others, the Triforce symbol on the back of Hyrule's hand is a red outline and it didn't initially appear as proof that he held the Triforce, just that he was worthy because at that time he only possessed two pieces rather then all three. And that's another thing, most of the other's have only possessed the Triforce of Courage, but Hyrule has obtained all the pieces.

Now I don't know if the Triforce will actually come into play much in the plot, as Jojo has said

I’d say they can all tap into their courage, but the triforce itself is either a solid item to collect or it serves as proof of the chosen one, but as there are several ‘chosen ones’ I’m just gonna leave out that plothole all together.

But it's an interesting detail I wanted to slip in. I think the mark on his hand is more apparent then the others, so he hides it.

The last secret concerns something I've briefly touched on in a past theory, so I'll just sum up this one real quick.

The game manual for Zelda II: The Adventure of Link states that after the symbol of the Triforce appeared on Link's hand, Impa proceeded to tell him the tragedy of the sleeping Princess Zelda and then said

"For generations, my family has been handed down these things which have been set aside for a time when a great king will come."

A great king you say?

And with that, I leave you with Hyrule is a KING of Hyrule.

Mic drop.

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sakurarozen

3 years ago

woah you’re my best friend…

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sakurarozen

6 years ago

The light will prevail!!

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sakurarozen

6 years ago

kh theory: ava, subject x and namine are somehow related to each other.

( I want to apologize for any mistakes beforehand as english isn’t my first language )

so this theory is based on three points and they are:

ava is the traitor, but not in the way you think

subject x might be ava

how namine might be related to ava/subject x

Ava being the traitor:

after the kh3 epilogue, i got more convinced in this theory since the epilogue basically hinted that the main villains for the next saga would be MoM and the other lost masters.

in khx, the foretellers were led to believe that following the roles and rules MoM assigned them was the only way to avoid the imminent keyblade war and the end of the world, but little did they know their blind trust in MoM made it easy to get manipulated by him and the same roles that were supposed to prevent the war only planted seeds of doubts and uncertainty in them and their unions. how? the roles conflicted with each other. and of course their inability to be independent from their master had a factor, but first talking about each master and their role would make it easier to explain :

ira: making ira the leader because he was the one who expressed his desire to stop the war and he was the most determined out of the 5 masters would be the logical choice to anyone, but ira was so obsessed about the book and what it had foretold that he became wary of every incident that happened so naturally he would notice a page was missing.

aced: MoM assigned the role of being ira’s right hand to aced despite how it was apparent to MoM that aced had an inferiority complex when it came to ira and when MoM told him that ira would be the leader, aced expressed his desire for the role as he thought h was more worthy of that role. so when MoM told him he could take ira’s place as the leader if he, aced, thought ira was unreliable knowing full well aced would seize the first chance that come his way which would make him look suspicious and this was a deliberate set up by MoM to frame him as the traitor.

invi: her role was to only to observe the other four and stay as neutral as possible while mediating between them. however, her trust in ira as their leader, since he replaced MoM, led her to side with him and informing him about what the others were planning or doing so naturally it would rise dispute.

gula: he was given the lost page and the task to look for a traitor that might not even exist since the content of the page was ambiguous and could have been another set up by MoM to make them doubt each other more, and he was basically told to keep it a secret and not to trust anyone but himself. this was another set up because if gula trusted his comrades enough to tell them about the traitor beforehand a lot of stuffs might have prevented.

ava: her role was simple, to train the dandelions and send them off before the war and she was supposed to look after them in the other world and avoid getting involved in any conflict. and she did as she was told without any problem, but she couldn’t stand still and let the war happens so she went off to look for MoM to stop the war.

I wouldn’t want to delve too much into it, but basically the roles they were given were set in a way that would rise doubts among them. now as i said, ava went off to look for MoM and luxu so when she finally found out the truth about luxu and MoM’s intentions of watching how the events played rather than actually find a solution ( + his plan to summon the true kingdom hearts according to the secret report 13 ) she was enraged and attacked luxu so how does this link her to being the traitor? well…. the lines from the lost page

“Unable to permit disharmony, you will be disappointed by fate”

Unable to permit disharmony > ava not wanting the war happen / ava looking for a way to break the dispute between them.

you will be disappointed by fate > finding out MoM true intentions and how he never cared to end the war / finding out this whole fiasco was set up by MoM himself in order to summon the true kingdom hearts.

in a sense, ava did deviate from her role by leaving the dandelions behind and looking for luxu.

“then with that one strike, a bell will toll for the final battle”

and attacking him thus starting the very war she tried to prevent. but this was because MoM intended for her to be the //traitor// all along. perhaps the reason why she wasn’t in the epilogue was because of this very reason, as xigbar said “ava fulfilled her role” aka being the traitor and going against MoM’s rules and plans; trying to stop him.

now according to the secret report 13; MoM true intentions is to summon the true kingdom hearts and starting another keyblade war

‘‘now at least the Keyblade War has begun, and Kingdom Hearts will open—a true and complete Kingdom Hearts, born of the clash between darkness and light.’’

ava did find out about this and since she is betraying MoM by going against his plans and try to stop him, which i assume he predicated, she ends up being the traitor. and the epilogue supported this even more with how xigbar acted and worded himself.

in the jp version, xigbar says “ava didnt show up/isnt here, as expected” more like he never expected her to be with them in the first place. and when he said the told ava about his missons he was referring to the events happened that occurred in these two scenes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAJZ7nJANmA and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhXT7Ju9QZ4

also if you noticed, ava’s piece wasn’t among the chess pieces that appeared at the end of the epilogue an was replaced by another one.

furthermore the chess piece that replaces ava’s has a symbols that is awfully similar to the one on the BoP and you also find the same symbol in yen sid study in kh3

Subject x and ava:

this part might end up get debunked or proved in the upcoming kh games or khux updates as we know so little about subject x to base our assumption on who she might be and all the clues we got from kh3 are ambiguous and vague; perhaps she could be skuld, ava or none of them. however for the sake of this theory let’s go with the assumption subject x = ava.

in khx backcover, gula mentioned a clue from the lost page on who the traitor could be and it was “ the one who bears the sigil” and assuming by the sigil it meant an ‘X’ then subject x could be ava

subject x said the line “may my heart be my guisiding key” in secret report 1 and 3 the only characters i know of who said the line “may your heart be your guiding key’ were MoM and the lost masters. and correct me if im wrong, but skuld has yet to say this line and since we are stuck between her and ava this line makes me lean more towards ava being subject x

the fact xigbar was the one who freed subject x from her cell and the way xigbar reacted to ava’s absence imply he knew she wouldn’t be there or rather couldn’t be there because other than being the traitor, she also could be subject x who lost her memories

namine and subject x/ava:

so far we haven’t gotten any proper explanation of namine’s origin and her power. we dont even know how she got her name when she was supposedly born without any memories just like roxas, yet when the org found her they didn’t make her join them or did the whole x naming thingy they did with the rest. we dont even know who exactly found her and why she was in castle oblivion in the first place. and despite being only 23 days old, she was able to tell she was lonely for a long time which meant she had a complete heart by the time sora came to castle oblivion while roxas, who was born as the same time as her, took much longer than her to be able to discern his own emotions even though he had ventus’s heart inside of him. not to mention her ability to manipulate memories, project worlds in addition to being able to manipulate the datascape. and kh33 didn’t help with this and only added more mysterious to namine’s origin despite he brief appearance in the game. she was able to talk to terra twice the first was in 0.2 and the second in kh3. furthermore, in the jp version she said something among the line of “talking to terra could change fate/destiny” as if she knew sora would go back in time. all this can’t just be explained by saying she is the nobody of kairi who is a princess of heart or the way she born. unless she was related to ava and the book of prophecies.

first let’s begin with the similarities between ava and namine:

both namine ( in com where she took the apparence of kairi ) and ava ( as seen in this this ) can shapeshift

both can also change the appearance of stuffs around them and objects as well ( namine in kh2 when she talked to roxas for the third time and ava in this )

both have a similar body language and a habit of clasping their hands together

the edge of ava’s keyblade is shaped as waves and namine’s name means waves

ava might have the ability to manipulate memories like namine and it has been implied she was the one who erased the dandelions memories

assuming ava = subject x and since xigbar took her out of the prison he might have named her as well whence where the name namine came from

subject x felt lonely and isolated and namine had the same feelings in com but the way she worded herself was as if she was alone longer than just 23 days

now how is namine related to subject x other than assuming subject x is ava? the answer is within axel and saix action in days and thanks to kh3 we know why these two joined the organization in the first place.

axel could have let namine go not ona whim but on purpose

this scene never made sense to me; i mean we know why saix brought up xion in order to convince axel, but namine?? i doubt saix would know axel was somehow fond of namine especially since he never saw these two interact and the way axel was muttering to himself indicated he was interested in knowing something about namine unless he knew something

not to mention the way xigbar reacted towards saix saying namine was still missing, at first i thought he was just pushing up saix buttons. however, if we link xigbar to subject x and him probably knowing about saix and axel relationship with her in additon to the fact xigbar being luxu and all f his actions has been ambiguous for a reason makes me wonder….