Archive:Timeline Theories/Split Timeline Disciplines

In the wake of recent developer confirmations regarding the Split Timeline, theorists have branched out in a number of different directions. Now confident in their interpretation of OOT's ending, splitists have tended to maintain their traditional timeline views. Former linearists, on the other hand, had to adapt their theories to fit a split timeline scenario.

This influx of linear thinking combined with the views of long-time splitists caused two major timeline disciplines to emerge: the New Adult Story and New Child Story disciplines.

New Adult Story Order
The “New Adult Story" Timeline is a discipline of the Split Timeline that proposes that all of the older (2D) titles are to be placed in the Child Timeline, along with MM and TP, and that the Adult Timeline serves as a seperate, "new story", apart from the older games and thus free to continue into its own chronology.

Since most splitists placed the 2D games in the Child Timeline anyway, many of them continued to do so after TP's release.

Typical New Adult Story Order
Child: OoT/MM – TP

Adult: OoT – TWW/PH - FS/FSA – ALttP/LA – LoZ/AoL

(NOTE: The Oracles placement is debatable as well as rather irrelevant, and the same is true for the placement of TMC. For reference purposes, most theorists place the Oracles games either after ALttP/LA or after LoZ/AoL, and most place TMC either before OoT or immediately before FS/FSA.)

Strengths of the New Adult Story Order

 * There are significant similarities between TP and ALttP.
 * The resting place of the Master Sword in ALttP is accounted for in TP.
 * Documented existence of a hero's bloodline exists in TP as well as ALttP.

Weaknesses of the New Adult Story Order

 * No documented existence of a sages' seal on the Sacred Realm in the Child timeline.
 * There is no coherent consistency regarding the state of the Triforce between TP and ALttP.

New Child Story Order
The “New Child Story" Timeline is a discipline of the Split Timeline that proposes that all of the older (2D) titles are to be placed in the Adult Timeline, along with TWW and PH, and that the Child Timeline serves as a seperate, "new story", apart from the older games and thus free to continue into its own chronology.

Since most linearists placed these games after TWW/PH anyway, many linearists decided immediately on this order when they began to adopt Split Timelines.

Typical New Child Story Order
Child: OoT/MM – TP - FS/FSA – ALttP/LA – LoZ/AoL

Adult: OoT – TWW/PH

(NOTE: The Oracles placement is debatable as well as rather irrelevant, and the same is true for the placement of TMC. For reference purposes, most theorists place the Oracles games either after ALttP/LA or after LoZ/AoL, and most place TMC either before OoT or immediately before FS/FSA.)

Strengths of the New Child Story Order

 * There are significant similarities between TWW/PH and the FS trilogy.
 * There is documented existence of a sages' seal on the Sacred Realm in the Adult timeline.
 * There exists coherent consistency regarding the state of the Triforce between TWW and ALttP.
 * There exist plans to restore Hyrule from beneath the Great Sea in TWW.
 * The general novelty of the TP plotline lends itself to branching into its own story, leaving the older games as sequels to TWW/PH.

Weaknesses of the New Child Story Order

 * The resting place of the Master Sword in ALttP is unaccounted for in TWW.
 * There is no documented existence of a bloodline related to the hero in TWW (or OoT).
 * Implications of the TWW ending suggest the possibility that no games that take place in Hyrule will be featured chronologically after TWW.