Archive of Our Own ^beta

War Games is a collaborative AU created by Team Tactics, based on the premise "What if Spirit was in the War of Ages... and what if that wasn't a good thing?" It is a branching-timeline story that is currently being written into a longfic and multiple side stories. The main themes are the meaning of the "greater good," the worth of pyrrhic victories, love as both a destructive and regenerative force, grief and recovery, and the ways people react to pressure. Remember: war does not forge good people.

 

Team Tactics consists of five members: shadows_of_stars, TwoDumbasses, Hytia, Rose, and twistsandturns. shadows_of_stars is our primary “prosist” (turning the story into fic) — blame them for any issues with the writing.

Fic Organization:

 

The main story of War Games will be told in the War Games Main Series, which will be a 5-volume longfic. This is the “canon” of War Games. It is a non-linear (time travel) narrative told in a mostly-linear order.

 

There are a number of “side stories” and “what-if stories” in the AU, which are told in the War Games Side Stories series. These stories are mostly non-canonical to the core series and are written by Team Tactics. Side stories will be added to the series in no particular order, but the series will be maintained in chronological order (or as close as we can get with a time travel/alternate universe story).

 

Finally, there is the War Games Friend Stories collection. These are stories written by people other than Team Tactics which are inspired by War Games. They are non-canonical but have been approved by Team Tactics as fitting with the themes of War Games. The collection has no reading order.
FAQs:

• Who the heck is Spirit (Linked Universe)?
  • Spirit is the Link from Spirit Tracks. He is not included in the Linked Universe comic (as of writing). His design and characterization is taken from his game, with additional inspiration from many wonderful fandom authors and artists who interpret him.
• When does War Games update?
  • Slowly and sporadically! shadows_of_stars is not the fastest writer, and wrangling 5 co-authors together is like trying to contain a litter of excitable puppies (who also have IRL responsibilities). We recommend subscribing to the series to be notified when new content comes out!
• Why is there art/images/maps/other media included in your fics?
  • Because we are overexcitable, and also because several members of Team Tactics are artists as well as writers. War Games stories often include image files such as tactical maps (hand-drawn or pulled from the Hyrule Warriors game), character portraits, or rendered documents, and may rarely include links to audio or video files. These extra media are meant to help readers become immersed in the story, but are not necessary to understand the narration. They will only ever be bonuses. We have attempted to provide accurate image IDs and alt text for screen reader technologies so that the additional media is accessible to all, but please tell us if there’s something we can improve!
• Will X triggering content be in War Games?
  • Quite possibly in the Side Stories! The main series will contain fewer mature themes, though it still includes many serious topics and angst. Please check the tags and content warnings carefully if you have particular concerns, or reach out to the authors.