Hello, everyone.
I hate to say this, but...after much thought over the past few months, I've decided to put this version of my fanfic on hiatus. However, there's a reason I say "this version of my fanfc": I plan to make a more consistent, easier-to-write version of this story in the future.
Many factors had kept me from continuing this fanfic, aside from personal factors (ie. life). Those factors were mainly...
#1 - The battle between past tense versus present tense. I originally started writing this story years ago in the past tense with zero contractions ("are not" versus "aren't"). After a while, I felt like I was trapped in that style and the constant battle of "can I change it or do I stick with that style?" It became even more apparent with my Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfics that I was more comfortable with the present tense.
#2 - Looking back, the original fanfic always felt rushed. It might've been a mix of my younger self wanting to get to the action ASAP or preferring a comic medium over a written one (I've neither the artistic talent nor the patience to handle a fan-comic), but everything from before felt like a sports car with no brakes. I've been brainstorming some revisions and one of them is definitely slowing things down: more descriptive info, maybe some switches in POV, etc.
#3 - Some of this fanfic was just me making things up as I went. Specifically, the "controlling blessed forms" bit for the Links. I planned on delving into it as the story progressed, but the more I looked into it during the fanfic, the less it made sense. It also didn't help that I had hit writer's block for so long, the story began to lose consistency. Speaking of which...
#4 - I recently discovered that all my notes for this fanfic from the very beginning straight-up vanished. Excluding a word document with fan-made song lyrics, I originally had everything written down on index cards in an old folder. The old folder is still around, but the cards are nowhere to be found. Aside from a vague memory of what I had written down, the majority of it will have to be redone from scratch.
#5 - This one's a bit of a minor issue, but it definitely threw me for a loop: I learned I had the colors for Earth and Wind in the Zelda universe wrong. To be more precise, the elements in Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap had purple for Earth and green for Wind. I always assumed purple was Wind since...well, Vaati's purple and he's the evil Wind mage. A stubborn part of me still believes this and wants to keep it as "green = earth, and purple = wind", but I felt guilty leaving it as is in the old version. I'm hoping I can figure out whether the color-element association will change or stay the same in the newer version.
#6 - Another minor issue: the title definitely needs fixing. I originally went with "Legend of Zelda: Four Souls" as a placeholder until I could think of something. Years later, it unfortunately stuck in a bad way: I still couldn't think of something and the placeholder had been in place for too long. I'm still struggling with a title, but I have a few candidates at the ready.
I understand that this is disappointing to the readers who somehow manage to stick with me and this fic over the years, and I can't apologize enough for my inability to follow through. As for this fanfic, I plan to leave it up for those who still like the original version, even in it's unfinished form. This story is DEFINITELY not dead as it keeps bouncing around my head and refuses to go away until I write something down, so I hope the new version can deliver what readers truly deserve: a well-written adventure with a strong structure and good pacing.
Thank you very much for your time and understanding. Y'all are awesome and deserve the world.
~ Soliloguy039