#also in which: midna knows he's never coming back

[hanayori89]

A Game of Politics

*The Palace of Twilight*

Link's lips were puckered against the back of your hand. The gentle sound of his kisses trailing up your arm made you come alive in a way you had never experienced before.

Is this what it feels like to be alive? To have every breath within you finally make sense?

He stopped kissing you for a moment. His blue eyes were darkened by the shadows of your room. But even the darkest of shadows couldn't cocoon the desire brewing in his gaze.

He continued diligently kissing your skin until he hit your shoulder. He murmured something against your flesh as he gently slid his fingertip down the entrance to the labyrinth of Twili markings that embellished your skin.

"Link, I feel..." Your voice was unrecognizable amongst yourself. There were traces of yearning within it. Yearning you have never portrayed before. Was this...pleasure? Was this what the interlopers stole from you?

Now Link was here. And he was going to reward you with it.

He was going to reward you with what it meant to live within the light.

Link took your face in between his hands, and with a faint whisper into your lips, he demanded. "Tell me how you feel."

"I feel..." You didn't dare close your eyes. You latched your gaze into his. His lips lingered above yours.

"What do you feel?"

Your eyes shot open as you saw the curiously hard eyes of Midna. Your heart rate was still elevated from the steamy dream of Link.

"Midna..." You couldn't meet her eyes. You could feel yourself squirm around in the bed you were in. The sheets and quilt were not as comfortable as Link's, which you've grown oddly accustomed to.

Midna gave you a reserved smirk. Her voice was a sardonic shell of itself. "Welcome home."

She began her familiar pacing, as she did during her lectures. You recalled Zelda doing it at Hyrule Castle. How similar they both were, even in the most circumstantial ways.

"Well, I suppose the goal is for this to not really be your home anymore, is it? This saddens me, Y/N. You're very special to me. Whether you realize it or not."

"Midna," you began, excited to speak in normal Twili once again. "How did I get back here? I tried to talk to you the other night and-"

"I summoned you." Midna's voice was sharp in the overbearing silence of the room you were in. Silence dominated much of the Realm of Twilight. When you first made it to the light, you found the constant chatter vexing. Now the familiar silence you were beginning to miss was uncomfortable. Foreign. As if you never really resided within it.

"Y/N, I am worried about your disillusionment with the light. You are beginning to remind me of... " Midna's voice drifted away in thought.

"Who? Midna, what is going on? Why did you tell me there was only one shard from the Mirror of Twilight? When did you know Princess Zelda had one? Why did you lie to me?" You stood, your bare feet touching the cold palace floor.

"Now you summon me back, claiming I am disillusioned. I didn't even get to say goodbye to Link!" When you said Link's name, you heard your voice waver. You felt the same burning within your eyes that had happened at Lake Hylia. Only now have you understood the emotion attached to it. You were going to cry.

Midna sauntered up to you, taking you cautiously within her arms. Much like a mother would console an upset child. Midna was, after all, the only mother figure you had ever known. She could be rigid at times, but only because she kept your best interests at heart. Now that you've returned from the light, you've decided it's much deeper than interests. Her rigidity was also a form of protection. These demons, known as emotions, kept their realm at bay. She patted your back as you felt the tears dribble down your face.

You wished Link was here to wipe them away.

Except he was busy kissing Ilia. The memory of the kiss between them was now prevalent in your mind. You began to cry harder.

"Midna, what's wrong with me? Why is the light doing this to me?" You wept in her arms.

"I meant it when I said we could never be part of their realm. For good reason. I too felt this sensation when I had to leave. "

"What sensation?"

Her response was reluctant. "The breaking of my heart."

You held your breath for a moment. Did Midna know she was in love with the hero of Twilight? How could you have fallen for the same trap?

"Then why don't you use your shard to visit Link?"

Midna let out an almost grating laugh. "Who said anything about the hero?"

Your tears were cut short by relief. "You're not in love with the hero of Twilight?" You asked with astonishment.

"I regard the hero dearly. He is also very special to me as a human. I meant..." her face dense with emotion, "Zelda."

"I don't follow..."

"Zelda is like my sister. My love and admiration for her run deep. She made me the ruler I never thought I could be. Teaching me diplomacy and unconditional love for my people. For her. That is why she carries the other shard. So that we may always be connected. " Midna paused for a moment before continuing her clarification. "I do not travel to the Realm of Light because it is too risky. It leaves room for a negative entity to travel within the realms. We both agreed to not do this because of the risk it would pose. The love of our kingdoms must always come before our love."

"Then why let me go?" You asked in outrage. "Why let me welcome such a threat to both realms?"

"Because your conversion is essential to what could save our realms."

"Midna! I'm tired of the secrets! What are you trying to say?" You demanded with an aggressive stomp from your foot. "You didn't even know I left with the intention of conversion. Which, I apologize for my deceit. I was afraid if I had asked to convert, you'd never have let me go. "

Midna let out a defeated sigh. She knew she could keep things a secret no more. Especially if what she suspected was at stake. Midna held the shard that was still looped around Y/N's neck. Zelda. You must tell Link.

You watched Midna hold the shard and keep her head bowed in concentration. You knew she was saying something to Zelda.

Midna began to walk, disappearing before your eyes. You knew she was going to her study. You quickly followed suit, transporting yourself in the same manner. You appeared in Midna's study. Midna was already seated on her iron throne in wait. She held her hand out, inviting you to take a seat.

"Y/N... sit down. There's something you need to know."

*Hyrule Castle*

Link stormed through Hyrule Castle. Val and Fabian were nipping closely at his heels.

"M-Master Link, Zelda has a council coming up with-"

"Zelda!" Link howled as he pushed open the doors to her study.

Zelda stood picturesquely by her bookcase of Hylian scripture. Link growled," Zelda, where is she?"

"Who?" Zelda asked, feigning curiosity. Her eyes never left the book she held open.

"You know damn well who!"

"Link you really must control your outbursts. It is not befitting of a hero." Zelda slammed the book she was reading shut with a sigh. "Y/N is safe. You can take comfort in that."

"Where is safe?"

"The Realm of Twilight." Zelda's unconcerned behavior was starting to infuriate Link. Zelda casually strode past Link to the doors of her study. She shut them, turning to Link with a critical expression. "Midna has requested that I speak with you."

"Is she alright? Will she be coming back? We haven't even gone to the Arbiter's Grounds yet to begin her conversion. I saw her." His voice was overflowing with self-deprecation. "I saw her fall, and I couldn't go to her. "Link's fists shook at his sides. The overwhelming disgust he felt with himself could not be contained.

"I didn't protect her. I failed her." Link slammed one of his fists into the wall in fury. The impact of his knuckles on the castle wall didn't even make him flinch. "Now Ilia and Mayor Bo are pushing this wedding up around his election to secure his win. It feels like everything is going wrong."

Zelda remained stoic in the heat of Link's tantrum. She strolled past Link to a specific bookshelf. Link watched her eyes scour the shelves for a specific title. Once she found it, she gently tapped it with her index finger before retrieving it from the shelf. She walked up to where Link stood by her desk. She plopped the book down amongst her piles of unread documents. A dust bomb erupted from the sudden drop of the book. Link looked at the title, which read, A Game of Politics.

"Let me explain something to you as a politician. The masses are either with us or against us. Since the tragedy that befell Ordon during the Ganondorf invasion, it seems Mayor Bo's popularity has fallen. It isn't a secret that this betrothal is a calculated maneuver to regain the confidence of the villagers. At least, not to a politician's eye."

Politics is where Zelda really seemed to shine in the eyes of Hyrule. She was able to display a genteel nature even through the most abominable of debates. Her intuition also lent her a helping hand when it came to seeing through the facades of many politicians. In short, there was a reason she was the wielder of the Triforce of Wisdom.

She continued her peroration.

She clasped her hands behind her back as she started to pace. "It also isn't a secret that our groom-to-be does not want this wedding. But let me just say, Link, they won't let this go without a fight. So, I can't help but wonder, if you created a smokescreen, would that relieve you of your marital contract? I know just the scenario."

"Hold on, Zelda. I appreciate the political standpoint but what about the fact that Ilia is in love with me? I'm not trying to hurt her. "Link knew she was proposing an angle. He just wasn't sure what, and would she ever answer him about Y/N?

"Duty is always above love. Surely, Ilia understands this with the mayor as her father. However, you may wish to revisit what you think you knew about Ilia. Why do you think Aryn was released from his current incarceration?"

Link tried not to let the shock show on his face. "That creep! What do you know about him? Are you saying Ilia bailed Aryn out? Why would she bail out someone like that?"

An amused crinkle pulled at Zelda's eye. "You're so worried about not hurting Ilia that you haven't noticed the ways she's been hurting you."

Y/N. Ilia did this to rattle Y/N. To keep her away from me. Doesn't Ilia know what Aryn would have...would have...

"I can't believe Ilia to be so nefarious. I won't!" Link spat in revulsion. Zelda goaded Link on. "You think Mayor Bo was the one to push your wedding up? Do you not understand the mayoral position is also as good as hers if something were to happen to him?"

Zelda picked up the book and handed it to Link. "Read this. I think it will make some things clear about what has been going on in Ordon. As for Y/N..."

Link stood, transfixed on Zelda, as soon as he heard Y/N's name. "She is the perfect smokescreen for your wedding escape. You do understand she poses a risk of Ganondorf breaking the seal if she continuously comes to our realm."

"Midna would never allow her to go through with this if it posed such a risk. Nor would you. Speaking of the seal, the Mirror of Twilight, was I imagining it when Midna destroyed it? Or is there another behind-the-scenes trick with that also?"

Zelda shook her head. "There are only two shards. The shard I possess, and the shard Midna possesses, or at the moment, Y/N." Zelda braced herself for her next statement, for she knew it would be heavy for Link to bear. Especially considering he was obviously smitten with Y/N.

"Midna agreed to let Y/N come because her conversion to Hylian is paramount to saving both our realms. By completing the trials of conversion, we could erase the shadow within her."

A horrific feeling flooded Link as Zelda said the word "shadow."

"Zelda, what are you trying to tell me?" Link wasn't sure he wanted to know.

Zelda placed a hand on Link's shoulder, steadying him beneath her grip. "Zant..." Zelda whispered, losing her poise momentarily. Link's blood ran cold just hearing Zant's name come from Zelda's mouth.

"Link. Y/N... she is Zant's daughter."

The room began to spin. It all made sense to Link. The reason she was so good at bringing his shadows into the light...was because she herself was a shadow trying to invade the light.

A/N: Edited 12/17/22

With one answer comes more questions. How does the current revelation of your origin line up with your current mission? There is a shadow within you that is begging to be released. The question is: will you succumb to the shadow in the same way your father Zant did, or will you learn how to fuse it with your inner light?

Meanwhile, at Hyrule Castle, Link is learning how to combat the sinister shadows of a corrupt election with his own light. Can he do this while sparing the feelings of his friend? Or will he have to spare the feelings that are his own?

Check out my other OOT Zelda work- No Woman Beyond

#legend of zelda #link #loz #fanfiction #link x reader #romance #wattpad #fanfic #the legend of zelda #twilight princess #twili #midna twilight princess #fanfic on tumblr #adventure #Hyrule #action

[berriethewizard]

let me lose on losing dogs - Hyrule Warriors fic

Sprout (oot/mm link) did not return from the latest battle, and Link heads out to find him. What he finds, instead, is something else. aka, obligatory Fierce Deity angst fic. Wordcount: 4102

(for more detailed description, or preferred reading location, ao3 link here)

----

Captain Link Bennett, Observation Log, Date: 02/xx/1692

Sailor dropped Sprout off at our tent today. He was carried off the battlefield, awake but exhausted. Once I got him tucked in, Sailor then pulled me aside and detailed what I had missed in hushed tones – I’ve never seen him more serious. 

The Fierce Deity, Proxy managed to weasel out of Sprout. Sailor described him being possessed by it, the spirit seemingly locked inside that mask he carries. A powerful thing, decimating all that was in its path, the battlefield cleared within moments – the soldiers I asked confirmed what Sailor saw. The soldiers that weren’t caught up in the violence, that is. He also said the spirit seemed… reluctant to return Sprout to normal, afterward.  

Sprout seemed the same as ever once he was up again. Physically healthy, happily listening to Sailor and Midna talk around the campfire and eat his soup. But the kid is an expert at hiding what he wants nobody to see, and I know it hurts him. Nothing with that much power comes without cost. Nothing. 

He’s asleep in my bed right now, because neither of us would have anything different. Sailor is curled up in his own bedroll, snoring loudly. I suppose it’s time for me to crawl into the bed and get my own sleep, and see if he is willing to tell me more in the morning. Sailor said if he’d tell anyone, it’d be me. I really hope so. 

~

Couldn’t sleep. Tried to investigate the mask, because there was something about it keeping me up. It felt like flesh in my hands, for a split second. I will be asking Sprout about this in the morning. 

Goodnight – if I can manage it.

----

Sprout is missing. 

Link steps over the ruins of the latest battle. He had led the remaining weary soldiers of his platoon back to camp, sending each to their tents to recuperate. A few from the other groups had greeted them as the last to return. And then Ravio had loitered by his side, once the rest had passed to return to duties, and anxiously asked, “Sprout isn’t with you?” 

He steps over the body of something, a lump covered in the flag of the nation of Hyrule, and doesn't have the stomach to check if it was an ally. Doesn’t have the stomach to check if the meagre dignity of the tarp covering their corpse is a cruel symbol of anything, or a sign of their hollow victory. 

A lot of people died today. Good people. Honourable people. And, goddesses above, he hopes his boy isn’t among them. 

There was a part of Link that didn’t want to get close to those that were pulled through from the other eras. A group he knew would be leaving him, so why bother? Why set his heart up to be broken? But then he met them, more of them than those he met in their own domains. Those across the timeline that Lana deemed ‘useful’, their stories far behind his and yet affecting him profoundly – he couldn’t turn away. At first, it was in awe – the sailor, two heroic quests under his belt and many more smaller adventures in between, only sixteen years old. Ravio, someone who insisted he wasn’t brave, yet not only stepped up at every chance to aid them in other ways, but also did his best when caught up in the battle anyway. The tinkerer, and his mastery over a machine Link has never fathomed before in his life, seamlessly integrating his knowledge into that of the Gorons in their company, almost always guaranteeing their victory.

And Sprout. Brave, young Sprout. His Sprout.

When he had first met Sprout, something in him switched. Beyond the urge to rip shreds into Lana for willingly bringing a child into this horrific war, regardless of who that child was. (Which he did, for the record, in front of every one of his superiors. He still doesn’t know if they saw it as a conviction of values or an unwillingness to face his own fate in the matter.) For the first time since the valley: he was going to make it. Just to look after these people. Ravio and the tinkerer will have the resources they need to make what they want. Sailor will tell his stories and Link will learn the songs that come along with them. Sprout will get to be a kid. War be damned, destiny be damned, they will get to live their lives during, and after this. He will see it through (regardless of his broken heart at the end of it all).

Link steps over discarded weapons, limbs of friend and foe, sundered barricades and bomb craters. All the while, his eyes are trained to pick up a bright green among the dull of the land – a tunic way too small to be present in such a place, his own a mockery of it, dressed up for war. He skirts around a still smouldering pile of wood and ash in his path; the sky is clouded, but the rain has yet to dampen the carnage. Sprout wasn’t in his group – as much as it pains him to be unable to protect him, strategy dictates separating those with unique abilities to assist on different fronts – and he is crossing over into territory he didn’t fight in. It looks like everything else: ruined. 

But he knows something happened here. The soldiers retreated too early, joining his own ranks and those of Zelda and Impa’s – nothing on their lips but a frightened: “Something helpful arrived, but it can’t tell who’s the enemy.” When nothing followed them, neither monster nor this mysterious something, they wrote it off as a random portal-related phenomenon to be investigated after the dust had settled. But Sprout has not returned. And as Link walks through the ruins of the battlefield, he has a sinking, gut-churning suspicion as to why. 

“There’s some deal, or sick game, the spirit has with Sprout,” Sailor had murmured, tone severe, “It kept its claws in him for too long – like it didn’t want to give up the fight.”

Rounding the corner past a hill has him coming upon a massacre. 

Monsters’ bodies are slow to fade into smoke, sometimes. Especially when there are so many in such a small area. But the littering of monster corpses across the battlefield does not disguise the sheer amount of Hylian bodies. Nor does it distract from the oppressive presence of the figure standing in the middle of it. 

It stands over seven feet tall. Its armour shines under an invisible sun, gleaming brighter than should be possible – like it's not quite on this plane of existence. The large helix sword is idly resting in one hand; it weighs nothing in the warrior’s grip. Even with its back turned to him, Link feels as though its eyes are on him, weighing down upon his shoulders, a condemnation. A judgement.

And then it turns to meet his gaze, and that sick mockery of his kid’s face is staring back at him.

Link knew, of course, the resemblance. The shape of the hair, a cool white in place of soft blonde. The point of the nose, grown to fit a larger face. The same mouth and eyes, blankly staring instead of crinkling with a smile. And he knows the legends – he knows Sprout has seen his own adult face, forced to grow up too fast, and then back again without any say in his own autonomy. That’s precisely why it feels so wrong to have this… spirit match him in such a way. His visage twisted and into one used as a weapon, a cruel mirror of everything Sprout was forced to become under destiny.

Under the weight of its stare, Link’s voice falters. “W-where is he?” This is not Sprout. The spirit has taken him away, locked him up in a prison of his own body, breaking it to suit its needs.

The Deity just watches. Observing – Link feels like he’s being stripped back under its scrutiny, bare and vulnerable even in all his layers. His very soul is being witnessed, in this moment, ripped out of his chest and held in the balance; to be saved or shattered. He fears for the version of it Sprout holds.

He tries to ask again, voice small and meek and falling away from him. “...Where’s my son?” 

The Fierce Deity takes a step towards him. Adrenaline rushes through Link’s system, all-enveloping, immediately forcing him to take a step back. It cocks its head at the action. Takes another step. He desperately tries to resist the urge to flee, but he steps back again. A third step forward – Link forces his legs to still.

“Give- give him back!” His voice cracks, not used to raising it, Proxi woefully absent to do it in his stead (but he wouldn’t want her to see this spirit corrupt someone she is so fond of anyway). It stops then, still watching him, Link frozen against its gaze. It looks like it’s going to say something, and he waits with his breath held.

“Hero… you care for this vessel?” Its voice is in multiple tones, deep baritones clashing and echoing against a melody, almost surrounding him despite the single source. Once again, like it is not grounded to the earth. But it is not just the way it sounds, but the words itself that give him pause. 

Vessel… Sprout is a conduit to this spirit. It says it so impersonally, like his personhood doesn’t matter, only worthy as a tool. It’s sickeningly similar to everything else in their joint experience. Vessel of destiny. Holder of the triforce. Hero, not by choice, but by burden of prophecy. Someone coming along, pulling them into a war, because they will be useful. And questioning if, why, he cares for Sprout? How could he not? This bright, brave young boy, too much hurt in his past and too much ahead of him, once again treated like a tool before a child in this war – it is his responsibility to, not just because it is his fault that this is all happening in the first place, but because he wants it to be. Link lies awake each night, Sprout curled up against him in the bed, and hopes he feels a fraction of the love he’s trying to pour into him. He knows it won’t make up for everything else, but someone has to give it. He deserves it more than anyone.

The terror still grips his throat, but anger curls up against it; the longer it keeps using Sprout, the more it builds. 

“I-I do. And I want him back.” He isn’t above fighting. He isn’t above begging. He’ll do anything to ensure his kid’s safety, whether this spirit is that of a god’s or not. 

“This vessel wears my mask willingly.” The same stare, the same lack of emotion. The same disregard for Sprout as a person and his circumstances. Of course he does it ‘willingly’ – in the same way someone ‘willingly’ cuts their hand off to escape binds in captivity. He looks at the bodies strewn about the battlefield. Nobody chooses this. 

“And he should be allowed to take it off willingly.” Link stares back into the eyes of the Fierce Deity. As he tries to find even the smallest glimmer of Sprout within them, a tiny crumb of an inclination that there’s some resistance, it takes another step forward.

Then it rushes him.

Link doesn't have time to react. It moves fast, faster than possible, faster than any mortal could – all he can do is throw himself to the side in hopes of dodging the attack. It’s fruitless, but instead of a blade meeting his body, his arm is grabbed and squeezed. The Fierce Deity holds him in place and leans in, their faces inches apart, pure terror striking through Link’s veins as the overwhelming power of its presence bears down on him. 

Link stares into its face. The face that is Sprout’s but also so very not in the same breath, a face that is wrong and marked, a face he shouldn’t be seeing for many more years. (And isn’t that a thought? Getting to watch Sprout grow up? A fruitless fantasy, only possible in this one twisted moment.) Holds his breath, heart pounding in his chest, unable to do anything but stand held and wait for the spirit’s next move. 

It squeezes down harder on his arm, almost to breaking and definitely to bruising, like its next words are urgent. And they are. 

“Will you look after this vessel?” Its voice is faded and wispy. Instead of the harmonies of its power before, it's now a hush, a tremor in the land, fuzzy and distant. Like it's being pulled away somewhere. Like it’s losing its grip. 

“Y-yes, of course…?” Link stammers out, perplexed. 

“Good.” Suddenly, light pours out from the Fierce Deity’s eyes, forcing Link to close his own against it. Then, the grip on his arm slackens and disappears entirely – and Sprout’s small body is falling to the ground. 

Link reaches out to catch him immediately, body hitting his arms and sending him to his knees. Whether it’s just because of his weight, or that the oppressive force of the Fierce Deity is no longer present and his body is faltering as a result of the relief, he doesn’t know. He is shaking as he pulls Sprout closer to his chest.

He’s out cold, but breathing evenly. A collection of small cuts and bruises litter the skin Link can see, no doubt more underneath his tunic. There’s a slight stain of red in his bangs, and when Link brings a shaking hand up to push them back, he can see a half-congealed cut across his forehead. And that the roots of the front of his hair are white.

He glances down at where the mask now rests on the ground by his knees, and swallows a shaking, hollow breath.

Nothing without a cost.

Link pulls Sprout impossibly closer, trying so very desperately not to lose himself entirely in this moment. Waves of grief overtake him for a boy that still lives in his arms. Breathing evenly, simply asleep, protected by a spirit from the horrors around him when it became too much. But the cost… the cost of all of this. He shouldn’t even be here. Link is kneeling on a battlefield of his own creation, holding a child who shouldn’t even understand how to hold a sword. The twisting of fate sinks into his stomach like a knife – when he was Sprout’s age, he dreamed of being a hero.  A foolish one, he of course now knows, but at least he got to have that childhood of fairy tales before it was all ripped away. 

It’s been a mantra, in his head, this whole time. The little voice in his mind that sounds like himself as a child. It isn’t fair! it cries. A voice that mirrors Sailor’s after a bad nightmare, shaking and bitter. Midna’s raging through a tent stacked with crates, infuriated, curses throughout. Ravio’s after a harrowing day helping chase supplies to and from the infirmary, scared and exhausted. It isn’t fair! He’s never heard Sprout say it, and that quite possibly hurts him more than every inconsolable night holding him tight in their bed. Does he even know what is and isn’t fair, when so much of his life has been this? Does he know? How much better he could have it, if the world loved him enough?

The first raindrops fall in tandem with Link’s tears as he curls around Sprout’s unconscious body. He knows he should get up and start moving – it will do neither of them any good to stay shivering on the battlefield in the rain, and Sprout still needs medical care. But his legs are numb, unwilling to follow his commands, and the rest of him just wants to hold Sprout for a moment. Ignore the death and pain around him, and just… hold his son close to his chest. 

He knows his love isn’t enough, either, but he holds him anyway.

An hour later, soaked to the bone and finally stumbling back into camp, Sailor and Proxi are the ones that lead them to their tent. Link lost himself, in the chill of the weather, and he sits numbly on the floor watching Sailor wrap the cuts and scrapes on Sprout’s little body while Proxi flits about his head and frets. He doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t have to – Sailor took one look at the boy in his arms and his face turned to stone. On the walk back, the entire front of Sprout’s hair had turned white. 

When they’re both dry and tucked into bed, Sailor sinks to the floor cross-armed to lean against it. Link feels bad, how often it seems that Sailor is the one looking after him, even though he’s the older one. In many of the same ways he sees Sprout as his son, he sees Sailor as a little brother. Also more experienced beyond his age, also burdened in the same way he is, but keeping it all hidden behind a carefree and mischievous air. It’s only in moments such as this that Link faces how truly wise he is to all of this.

“Do you want me to take it? The mask. We can stop him from using it again – I’m pretty good at hiding things.” 

Link stares up at the tent ceiling. Hesitates. “Will you look after this vessel?” The Fierce Deity’s words echo in his mind. Was it self-preservation, that the spirit asked that of him? Was it the simple need to keep the tool that allows it freedom in working order? Or was there something more? Is there truly just a mutually beneficial deal here – Sprout winning any battle, and the Fierce Deity revelling in it – or is there something else fighting in his kid’s corner, however unorthodox?

The traitorous part of his mind is refusing to let go of how clearly powerful the mask is. The strategy of using it, this maybe-god trapped in a mask, as one of their strongest weapons against the darkness yet. Maybe if the burden was no longer on such a small body…

“We don’t have to hide it away. As long as Sprout is not the one using it—”

“Swapping the burden onto yourself won’t erase its weight.” 

Link’s thoughts halt in their tracks. Sailor doesn’t look back at him, silence hanging heavy in the tent, almost letting the words sink in. Then he groans, throwing his head back onto the bed. 

“Look at this, you got me talkin’ like the old boat, this is bullshit. I’m supposed to be the fun one, here,” he glances up at Link – staring back at him wide-eyed – and when it becomes apparent he doesn’t know what to say, Sailor sighs. “He doesn’t want you hurt just as much as you don’t want him hurt, you know that right? You’re not the exception to the rule here just because it’s your quest. We care about you, I care about both of you – and if I have to chuck that mask into the Great Sea just to stop it from bein’ used, I will.” 

He reaches out and gently clasps Link’s shoulder, squeezing it. Link still doesn’t say anything. His brain struggles to catch up with the conversation. It… doesn’t work like that, normally. It is his job to take on the burden. From the very moment he wrapped the scarf around his neck, it was his to carry.

But this is Sailor’s third time doing something like this, and a part of him does recognise that what Sailor is doing right now is exactly what he does for Sprout. Tries to take a little off his shoulders, soothe the worries and give him a carefree moment when he can. He doesn’t quite know how to feel about it. 

Sailor takes his silence for refusal to agree, and sighs again, before standing. “We’ll talk more about this later, when Sprout is awake again. For now, it’s time you took a good nap with the lad, alright?” 

Link takes it for the out it is and nods. Sailor reaches over and ruffles his hair, and he can’t help but scrunch his face up and huff. “Yknow, you’re supposed to be the younger brother, here,” Link jokes, trying to break the tension from the deep conversation, brief as it was. 

“What? No way! I’m the older brother back home, and that is not changing just because you happen to be older than me. I’m infinitely smarter and more cleverer than you, anyway.”

Link raises an eyebrow. “‘More cleverer,’ huh?” Sailor just crosses his arms again. 

“Whatever. I’m going to go get some food. Rest well, little bro.” 

Sailor leaves the tent and Link settles back into the pillow properly, taking a deep breath. Sprout snuffles faintly in his sleep, curling closer against him, and he turns onto his side so he can press him directly against his chest. Hold him, safe and warm.

Sailor mentioned back home. He tries not to think about it, most days. About how when the war ends, he’ll have to send everyone off back to their own eras. It hurts too much to imagine saying goodbye.

The grief returns tenfold now the dust has truly settled – Link pulls Sprout even closer to him. What is he going to do, when he has to say goodbye to Sprout? When he has to send his son back through that portal, never to see him again? He can feel the hole in his chest already. This war, there is no part of this that is fair to any of them. But…

No, Link doesn’t have an excuse. Just a small, selfish dream to watch his kid grow up while he’s there to love him through it. To watch him come into adult features naturally over time – the soft blonde hair, maybe grown out and tied back into a ponytail, to match Sailor’s braid. The point of his nose, perhaps in an awkward phase where it grows before the rest of his face grows to match it. Watch through the days as Sprout smiles and laughs and grins, wrinkles forming at the edges of his eyes, instead of the indentations of a frown. 

Link can’t love him enough to replace the horrors of the world around him. But if he had a way to keep protecting him from some of it, take the burden and the loneliness off his shoulders, he’d do it in a heartbeat. 

He gets an idea.

“Hey, Proxi?” She flutters awake from her place on the pillow, paying attention. “Why do you follow me around? Do you have a… mission?”

The fairy hums, thinking for a moment. “It’s so I can help you! Give you a voice when you don’t have it during this war. I do also just like you a lot, though.” Link knows she also likes Sprout a lot, too.

“And, when the war is over? Is your mission over?”

“I suppose you could see it like that – unless you don’t want it to be? Why? Got a new one for me or something?”

“I do.” He looks down at Sprout. He mentioned, once, how he had a fairy of his own. The past tense of the conversation clearly upset him, and Link didn’t push for more. Link takes a deep breath, choking up at the mere concept of talking about this out loud. “Would you go with him, when the war ends? I can’t… I can’t look after him, when he goes back home. But you can go anywhere you want, right?” Tears water in his eyes again. A lump in his throat. “I don’t want him to be alone ever again. Please make it your mission to look after him, and protect him, when I no longer can.”

He sniffs, and Proxi comes to settle herself against his cheek. “Oh, Link… I will do my very best.” 

Link curls around Sprout, pushing his face into the top of his head – the white hair appearing against his eyes even as they’re closed – and tries to silence the sentence repeating over and over and over in his mind. 

It isn’t fucking fair…

He falls asleep like that, weight piled onto his shoulders, a hole of grief slowly cracking open in his chest. 

#hyrule warriors #legend of zelda #loz #hyrule warriors fanfic #berries writing

[song-linked-from-nine-verses]

The Eternal Loop (those four notes will never stop playing)

ao3 link

orr read below!

"There is no way you guys played an MMO with each other-" The Veteran says in disbelief. "Anything else I don't know?"

"We all ended up in a group Discord," Warriors says, then starts to count, "there was me, I mained the bass player in the game so I was the coolest, Midna, who mained the guitar so not as cool as me, Ravio, Marin-"

"Wait, what!? You knew Marin?" The Vet slams the table. "Ravio, why did you never tell me about this?"

"You never brought it up!"

"I don't think it was that important to bring up. It was an insignificant time for all of us anyway. Besides, he never chats or anything… and AFKs the whole time- only coming back for the rewards collection." Warriors says.

"What kind of Dad Lore is this?" Veteran starts throwing his hands.

"Oh yea, there was this guy named Mask as well. He had a voice-changer if he could join VC, and we all thought he was ten, also, he was a massive asshole!" Warriors lets out a chuckle. Knowing how 'Mask' is doing, they wouldn't believe it even if they saw it with their own two eyes. 

"Anywho- Why are you here Ravio? I swear, you haunt me like a ghost." The Vet says. 

"What do you mean? I work here!"

"Uncle???" The Vet yells upstairs. "WHY DID YOU HIRE HIM???"

"WHAT?" his uncle yelled back.

"WHY DID YOU HIRE RAVIO??"

"HUH???"

"WHY D- you know what, NEVER MIND! Let's just start cleaning-" 

— —

Ravio learned two things: a. An old friend of his is starting a band, and b. Another, older friend of his is also going into a band. 

What's with people and music nowadays? Those things barely make money.

And they are both helping eachother sweep the music venue. The two work well together, despite the bickering.

Both of them are hiding their identity with each other. Another reason to not be in a band, in Ravio's honest opinion. You'd think a small town would mean there would be no reason to hide your face to avoid 'fandoms' or what not, but you'd be wrong. Ravio picks up a stack of boxes, which kinda tips over and he almost slips. Gossip goes around like a minish who knows how to fly, and if you ever suck then the whole town knows. Or if you're too good, the town will annoy you to death. Ouch, those boxes were heavy. He'd rather sell gossip than be a part of one.

To be fair, no one actually tried to be in a band since 'last time', so who knows how people will react now. It's just a stupid superstition, and he thinks nothing would really happen if their identities are revealed, though Ravio won't sell his friends' information for money. It is super tempting, however.

On the other hand, Warriors is lying. Ravio made a bet to himself that his old friend is lying.

– 

Ravio remembers when the servers of Dynasty: Club Instruments of the Night closed down, the entire Discord group went on the game for one last time. It closed at midnight, and the hour that led up to that, everyone pulled out their main and played their instruments. 

If you have never played, this game had a fully fleshed instrument system, if you mapped it to all the keys on your keyboard. Console might have had a little less notes, but was basically still functional. 

Video games are amazing. It was the best virtual jam session ever, especially when you're friends with people who could play.

To be fair, other than his own crew, the rest of the people made wildly horrible tunes and it felt like a spam session of people button smashing.

Thirty minutes before closing, a few of his gang had to leave. But not after one last song.

Warriors typed in the chat: "I don't want to say goodbye yet."

He asked if they could play "kiitos". It's a song where he starts with a four note loop, and all the other instruments will start layering each other. Most of them just followed Warriors to know when the loop ends, although there were times he accidentally forgot to continue the next verse.

One. Two. Three. Four. Warriors started out lonely.

One. Two. Three. Four. One by one, each person started blending in with their own instruments.

One. Two. Three. Four. One last time before the loop ends.. wait-

One. Two. Three. Four. Ravio typed in the chat, despite never talking in game: "Warriors, you forgot to end the loop"

One. Two. Three. Four. He didn't play the next part, and kept looping those four notes instead.

One. Two. Three. Four. Midna typed in the chat: "pretty boy, you're trying to keep us here forever"

One. Two. Three. Four. Medli typed in the chat: "hey, we will talk in discord! this is not goodbye forever! ^>^"

One. Two. Three. Four. Darunia typed in the chat: "Big Guy, I Don't Know if I could keep this up, the buttons on my keys are getting Jammed"

One. Two. Three. Four. Marin typed in the chat: "I hope we can keep hanging out forever. I hope we will never go out of touch. I love that this game brought us all together"

One. Two. Three. Four. Ruto typed in the chat: "Marin you're going to make me cry"

One. Two. Three. Four. Mask typed in the chat: "no one cry or i will have to cry as well"

One. One. One. One. Warriors suddenly stopped playing. He typed in the chat: "im- already crying." 

And the next part of the song began.

Whoever told us that this game was nothing but time-wasting, that our time in this game is insignificant, must be an idiot who is lying, Warriors once told Ravio as such.

___ ___ ___

Warriors realizes that Ravio has been staring at him the whole day. Suspiciously staring, even. But everytime he tries to ask about it, the Vet needs Ravio for something else. So the moment they're asked to clean the storage room (it can only fit two people at best), Warriors immediately volunteers.

"My my, I thought I was the master liar around here." Ravio starts whispering as the Vet is outside of ear shot.

Warriors rolls his eyes as he sweeps out all the dust. Is this what it's all about? "Don't you dare tell him you know what I look like, or what my real name is. This town is small enough."

"That's not the only thing you lied about," Ravio seems to mumble behind the ice boxes, but before Warriors could ask, he quickly says, "but! What if I just give you a picture of his instead? For a fair price of course!" 

Warriors stares right back into Ravio's eyes, barely peeking from the boxes. That's such a valuable offer - but - does he want to know who exactly the other guy is? While still keeping his own face a secret?

"Your pick Mr. Bass Hero Sir! But I bet bassists don't pick." 

—- —- —-

"Ravio, whatever you sold him, I hope you ripped him off." Legend says once he is sure the Captain can't listen.

"Ho, it depends on what you deem a rip off. Fifty rupees for a can of Lon Lon is very much valid in my opinion. But I did try to offer interesting pics of yours-"

"Ravio for the last time, do not sell my apple tree pictures and call them 'interesting pics of mine'." Legend pinches the bridge of his nose. "Did you actually offer him that-"

"At least he didn't buy any!"

"I wonder if we can make 'Timeline Breakers' lose all their slots for the stage?" Legend asked.

"No can do, I only answer to the owner." Ravio says. "But you can totally bribe me!"

"I am the owner!" Legend says as he pretends to takes out his wallet. "How much?"

>

>

>

Extras:

___

There was a time when nothing mattered more playing online with his friends. Warriors' entire life before that was dull, he made acquaintances, not friends. He was a nobody, walking through life like a rock floating through a river.

It's strange how much a year can change someone.

Before that, they were faceless people, just words on a screen. Ravio would always say he knew everyone's faces though… 

Sometimes, Warriors wonders what would happen if all those people never logged onto the game.

He can still see his old friends in his current enemies, ironically enough. The Rancher's way of playing reminds him of Midna, despite playing different types of guitar. Sailor's tunes remind him of the songs Medli used to hum during lobbying. The Vet, well, he adorns his clothes with hibiscus. 

Funny how sometimes your friends can almost reincarnate, but they turn into your rivals instead.

Warriors might even say that makes him hate them even more. For reminding him of his old comrades. He doesn't want nostalgia right now. Maybe another day, but not today. Today is for work, and he will pretend none of that happened, just for one day. 

He wishes that had never stopped playing those four notes. Just to keep them there for a tiny, tiny bit longer.

Sometimes, he wonders what would happen if all of them still kept in touch. 

—- —- —-

--- /dear Origami JP, I hope you don't mind that I took inspiration of one of your videos to write this chapter. anyways love your music

#9 verses #a song linked from 9 verses #linked universe #linkeduniverse #a song linked from nine verses #modern au #band au #post rock #lu warriors #lu ravio #/i really like the “HWs events is actually them hanging out playing video games together” idea tbh #/also #/this is your cue to go listen to kiitos by origami jp #/do it #/im begging you its so good like holyyyy shittt #/no panini no life real #/also bonus points if you realized what the MMO references #stuff that references other stuff

[summertimemusician]

Honestly the one thing that really frustrates me about Hyrule Warriors is how they cut Linkle being Link's sister, because otherwise it would have recontextualized Warriors entirely as a character.

This is mainly just headcanon territory, but something always bugged me about him being a knight in training from the get go, mainly because it's usually never any Link's first choice with First, Sky and Wild being the main exceptions (Gaepora took him in, and Gaepora runs the knights academy, makes sense he'd want to join then plus he'd probably want to protect Sun, plus Skylofts knights function differently than Hyrule knights, they don't have the same hierarchy and Skyloft is pretty peaceful before SS truly picks up so again, makes sense he wouldn't have troubles joining, we don't know First's reasons besides him seeing evil on the horizon and deciding if no one's was gonna do anything about it he might as well do it himself, and Wild was basically recruited at a young age for pulling the Master Sword while presumably young, he was never given a choice), we see it with Four, he's a blacksmiths apprentice under his grandfather and we see in his manga him practically baring his teeth at his father he won't become a knight and he doesn't pick up the sword unless really necessary, we see that with Time, he was raised as a Kokiri, he dreamt of adventure already from the drawings we see in his room, but he could always just become an adventurer if he wanted to though of course we see that change with the Hero's Shade, I'll come back to that, Wind? Was content living in Outset with Aryll before Ganon decided to fuck around and found out really hard, Legend was also a blacksmiths apprentice and adventurer and he only takes up knight training in the manga because Sir Raven inspired him, like even if he didn't want to be a knight the training would still serve him well (and lo and behold the advice pays off given all the shenanigans mostly caused by divine beings Legend gets saddled with), Hyrule obviously leaves in a very hostile world so he wouldn't even have ANY time to think about knight training, he's self taught because he'd literally die if he wasn't given monsters need his blood to ressurect Ganon so it's honestly a unique case of technically self defense, either he learned to hunt or he'd remain hunted, Twilight is the same case as Wind's, Ganondorf fucked around and found out with the wrong older sibling's people plus the protagonists heavily implied love interest(s) and got shafted into next week, him and Dusk don't have a personal connection besides Midna for him to stick around much and we see him go back to Ordon, so no knighthood there, so why was Warriors different? What motivated him?

I think Linkle being his younger sister would have been the answer.

Long post ahead, continue under your own risk

I know lots of people characterize Warriors as being of a noble line and joined the knights at the urging of his father, but let's not forget most Links are orphans so thinking Wars is an exception is a pipe dream. So that's out, however, in medieval times knights actually get plenty of benefits since they work mostly for lords, ladies and the local crown, being a knight is synonymous with being a noble or at least having a decent life at the cost of serving someone else and the Hyrulean knights don't really have any requisites before joining (though we do see long lines of knights exist, which some Links are descended from without their knowledge, so it's not farfetched to think that a good chunk of the knights of Hyrule qualify as members of noble houses loyal to the Hyrulean crown, would also explain their why they're ineffective a lot of the time too, if most of them grew noble and Hyrulean isn't war seeking {most of the time} then they wouldn't have any real experience), it would be a good way for Warriors to support himself as he climbs up the ranks, and most importantly, someone else, because he'd need to make that money to feed Linkle if she's his younger sister because most Links who take on elder sibling roles are at their best when trying to protect their younger siblings (Wind with Aryll, Twilight with Collin, to an extent Legend and Gulley, all Links are at their best when fighting/protecting someone else), Linkle could grown up without restrictions and he could support them both, making them work harder than other knights because he's already at a disadvantage.

Making it so he's in the perfect place at the right time to get noticed by Artemis before the War of Ages, and give him a reason to go against orders and fight rather than standby like other traineés, being discovered as the Hero in the process.

And as a result since Mask is in the war too, he gets inspired by Warriors (who as an older brother would definitely just snatch him, Wind, Tetra and heck even the Skull Kid under his wing because no way is he letting children younger than even his own little sister fight alone) and eventually becomes a knight too after presumably stopping his search for Navi or using his knight status to search more effectively, which gives us the Time we see in LU who eventually become the Hero's Shade, which trains Twilight. Because he looked up to Warriors while younger.

I just think it's a huge missed opportunity with a lot of room for angst/hurt comfort/drama, and also opportunities for Warriors, Legend and Wild to bond over not really liking the knights because they've all not likely been treated well by his fellow knights while young even though he himself is one, and that Warriors would absolutely be one of the first to throw hands if he heard another soldier talk badly about any of the Links, in this essay I will-

#linked universe headcanons #lu warriors #been replaying Hyrule Warriors while sleep deprived and this suddenly came to me while mid drinking coffee #we really need more Warriors appreciation and big sibling Warriors around here #I Shall Not Tolerate Warriors Slander #Twilight and Time own my entire heart and soul but he's pretty neat #The inherent tragedy of unknowingly helping guide your younger sibling to roam aimlessly as a spirit until his descendant pacifies him #all because all you did was for your younger sibling and you tried so so hard to protect the boy who'd become the man behind the ghost #Feels like that'd be a punch to the gut for Warriors and Twilight both once the Realization™ hits #Linkle and Mask/Time and Wind both being little shit siblings to Warriors and bullying him into resting my beloveds #Artemis/Sheik joining in because meddler is her/their middle name #Legend Warriors Four and Wild both disliking the knights for a variety of reasons but only Warriors is passive aggressive about it #Until someone bad mouths one of his shield brothers that is then he's as feral as any Link #It's all about giving Warriors more depth ya know? #Summer's Sleep Deprived LU Ramblings

[starlitangels]

Somewhere with an Aurora

A couple days ago I asked for Avior one-shot suggestions. This one came from @pinksparkl 1.5k words

—

“Ah crap,” I muttered, shoving the gear shift into Park. “This place used to be open a lot later than this.” I made a face, staring at the abandoned, dark coffee shop.

“Probably because it’s New Year’s Eve.” Avior’s face was still tense, partially screwed up like the emotions from that attack at the academy was still weighing on him. It probably was. He was keeping it in, but that many emotions—that much pain—he had to feel dangerously close to falling apart.

“Maybe. That’s kinda frustrating. I knew I should have checked the hours on Google Maps before we left the academy.”

“It’s alright,” he said.

“But you wanted to come here and get something warm to drink and be able to think through everything that just happened,” I protested.

“I know. But we’ll have plenty of time to come here later. Right now I don’t care where we go.”

I bit my lip. We’d been essentially living together for six months in Hell. I swallowed. “Want to come back to my place?” I offered.

Avior cocked his head to one side. “If you need some space I’ll understand, starlight. What we’ve just gone through—I can go back to Aria for the night. The Hellscape, this Inversion nonsense. It’s a lot and I don’t blame you if you’re feeling overwhelmed and exhausted.”

“I am. Both exhausted and overwhelmed. But I don’t want to be either of those things without you, Avior. I want you with me. Just your presence comforts me.” I reached across the center console of my little sedan and took his hand. “Come home with me?”

His gold gaze bored into me. “You’re sure?”

I tried to remember the state my apartment was in. Had I left anything embarrassing out when I left to head on whatever errand I’d been running? My memories had come back like I’d never lost them, and it felt like I’d last seen my apartment six months ago. Was that pair of underwear that had been draped over the radiator to dry after they missed getting placed in the dryer and ended up still damp? Had I put those away? Were there still papers all over my coffee table? Leftover from grading at the end of the semester?

“I’m sure,” I replied.

Avior knew me better than anyone. My lover. Our relationship literally forged in Hell. He would understand if my apartment was a mess.

“Okay.”

I nodded and pulled the gear shift back into gear. “My place it is then.”

—

Creak!

“I really need to oil that damn hinge,” I muttered as I shoved the front door open. “Sorry it’s not much. I don’t really entertain. I never have guests, actually.”

Avior glanced around. Tension was still coiled in his shoulders and back from the attack—that was centered on the far other side of the city now. “No. No, it’s nice. Homey.” He let go of my hand.

I fidgeted with my keyring, not meeting his eyes. “Let me get you something to drink. I don’t know about you, but months in Hell have left me pretty parched. Even if it wasn’t real. It must be worse for you.” I slipped to my kitchen, bustling around to find a two glasses for drinks. I put them under the fridge’s spout and filled them one by one before returning to the living room.

Avior was standing at my bookshelf, examining several of the knick-knacks I had sitting between two bookends. “What’re these?”

I couldn’t look him in the eye. “That’s, uh… that my amiibo collection,” I admitted.

“What’s an amiibo?”

“They’re little figurines that can interact with certain video games. I… I, uh… I only have ones from The Legend of Zelda because it’s my favorite Nintendo series. I’ve been playing Zelda games since I was a kid and the first couple amiibo were gifts but after that I just started kinda collecting and… what? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Avior shrugged and shook his head, grinning slightly. “It’s nothing. Just… your eyes lit up, even as your emotions also tasted embarrassed.” He set the Wolf Link and Midna amiibo back down on the shelf. “You never told me which video games you enjoyed, although I do remember you mentioning you liked to play video games if you ever had enough downtime to do so.”

“Which is rare these days,” I remarked. “But I’ll dink around in Breath of the Wild for a couple hours on a Sunday night when I don’t have any assignments to grade. Sometimes my students ask why I assign less homework than the other professors—like they can’t fathom that I don’t want to grade as much homework as the rest of my colleagues assign.”

Avior snickered. “Amateurs—asking for more homework.”

I laughed. “Well, not exactly. But for any other professor questions like that could lead to more homework. Not for me. I love teaching—I just hate grading. I especially hate busywork. So I don’t bother. And that leaves more time for me to spend doing things I actually enjoy.”

Avior lifted a brow, suppressing a smile. I chose not to press for what was humoring him. I had a guess anyway.

When I didn’t take the bait, he cleared his throat. “Anything else I don’t know about you after living with you for six months?”

I glanced around my apartment. “Well… I collect comic books. Not even particularly valuable ones. I don’t do much with them. People just give them to me because I’m a nerd and I keep them. Because I’m a nerd.”

“Do you read them?”

“I would—but they’re all random issues in the middle of random storylines and none of them make any sense out-of-context.”

Avior chuckled. “Fair enough.”

“What about you? Anything I don’t know about you, living in Hell with you for six months?”

Avior drew me closer to him, resting his chin on my head. “I want to see an aurora one day,” he said. “I could have rifted somewhere with one whenever I wanted in the past thirty-six—thirty-four—years… but I never did. I always wanted to share it with someone who meant something real to me. And… no one ever did. I never figured I’d fall in love but… even a good friend. And I… never had one.”

I smiled. “We’ll do it, then. We’ll go somewhere with an aurora. Probably Alaska. It’s closest.” I reached and cradled his face in both hands. “I’d love to see the lights with you.”

He turned his head and kissed my palm, holding my wrist in his hand. “I’d love to see the lights with you too, my starlight.” He smiled softly. “Though, I fear they will pale in comparison to you.”

I looked away, ears turning hot. “Stop it,” I mumbled.

He hooked a finger under my chin and drew my head back to face him. “Never. I mean it. You are incredible. And I consider myself so lucky to have fallen for you as deeply as I have.”

This was the Avior I remembered. Not the dry, acerbic, sarcastic bastard who welcomed me to Hell after I lost my memories. The sincerity, the gentleness, and the depth of emotion was back in full-force—and I couldn’t have been more grateful. We had each other back after we both lost one another in different ways.

“I love you, Avior,” I whispered.

“I love you too, my starlight.” He leaned close.

We shared a long, slow, tender kiss. Unhurried. Easy.

I remembered desperate kisses in Hell, scrambling to remove clothing like we wouldn’t live to share more affection. I couldn’t be more delighted that urgent feeling was gone.

He pulled back just slightly, both of our eyelids fluttering open to meet each other’s gaze.

“Something else you might not know about me,” he said quietly. “You’re the first person I ever slept with—both literally and euphemistically.”

I choked on trying to suppress a laugh. “Really?”

“Truly.”

“Thirty-four years since you coalesced and you never—”

“Like I said, I never knew anyone well enough to want to try anything like that. And demons obviously have no physical form in Aria so anything that intimate is purely emotional. And I never had that either.”

“Given how smoothly you charm me, I find that a bit hard to believe.”

He kissed me again. “It just came naturally with you.”

I kissed him back.

We stood in my living room, kissing in front of my bookshelf, for quite a while.

Until Avior pulled away again. “So. My people’s ancient gods exist and have a mission for us to save the world. Where do you reckon we’re supposed to start?”

#Redacted ASMR #fic #Redacted Avior #Redacted Starlight #Starlit Fic #Redacted Audio

[brendathedoodler]

I’ve mentioned once that everyone found out about Twilight’s transformation much sooner in the adventure swap au, but I haven’t elaborated much on who started figuring things out first, or what others might’ve had as misconceptions before he properly revealed it.

So let’s start with the first person to figure it out: Legend. As someone with several other forms, seeing Twilight disappear and a strange wolf reappear with a similar magic signature to his sword? Yup, he figured it out immediately. Didn’t say a word about it to anyone, though. Twi has his right to secrets as much as Legend does. Later, they’d have a spiderman meme moment when Legend catches Twi transforming into a Hylian while Legend is in his mermaid form. Neither says a word about the other’s secret, though.

The second person to figure it out is Wind, if only because he can see Midna. Twilight vanishes and then a wolf appears later with the same minish that hangs out on his shoulder? Yeah, it’s Twi. No doubt about it. Wind does admit that he figured it out to Twi privately though, so it’s pretty calm between them.

Hyrule had a suspicion that Twi might’ve been Wolfie, but he also couldn’t rule out the possibility that Twi just summoned Wolfie or something else like that. He was extremely curious, but didn’t want to pry into his secrets. He respects his companions too much, and would prefer they come to him in their own time.

Proxi figured it out before Warriors did (thanks to both Midna and the magic she sensed from him), but didn’t tell him. Back when the two were traveling together alone, she’d tell him everything she saw, to the point where in rumors about the hero she’d be referred to as his third eye. Proxi doesn’t tattle to Wars about the others’ secrets, though; it was something the two agreed on when they started traveling with the group. Warriors wants to know everything so he can account for it, but he also doesn’t want them to be wary around him and Proxi if they felt she’d go to him for everything. He did find out after doing his own investigations, since he didn’t quite trust this strange wolf showing up randomly. Twilight admitted it to him to ease his nerves and build trust between them once again.

Time was completely and utterly convinced that not only did Twi summon Wolfie, but he used something similar to the command melody to control him, which is why the two were never in the same place. Why did he come to this conclusion? Well, it just made sense to him honestly. He made no effort to correct his misconception and never brought up it up when Twilight admitted it to the group.

Four figured out Legend’s rabbit form well before he figured out Twi’s wolf form. After all, he’s a little pink rabbit with a missing foot, and Legend has the same shade of pink hair and obviously has some secrets about one of his hands. He wasn’t at all surprised when Twilight admitted he was Wolfie, but he hadn’t quite put the pieces together on his own yet.

Wild honestly didn’t make the connection. He hasn’t really seen a wolf before, but he looooves animals. It was kinda weird that Twilight would vanish, but he didn’t entirely notice or realize. He wasn’t incredibly shocked to discover they were the same person, but he was pretty embarrassed because he’d done and said some dumb shit in front of Wolfie. Whoops.

Sky had absolutely no fucking idea. He was completely and utterly oblivious to the fact that Twilight and Wolfie had much (if any) connection, and was the only person genuinely surprised by it when he admitted it to the group.

#linked universe #lu adventure swap au #lu twilight #lu legned #lu sky #lu wild #lu warriors #lu wind #lu hyrule #lu time #lu four

[cafecourage]

Dragon! First... How does he look and how does he claim new items for his hoard?

Please feel free to go buck wild with this.

@the-hero-of-jk-its-len come get your food!

General HC’s:

Hylians started out with the ability to turn into Dragons. Loftwings were there to help learn from.

Each dragon is born with an element. But once they start growing and traveling they have chances to gain newer elements and abilities. The easiest way is to interact with magic items. The more you use a magical item you can get to the point of not needing the item to preform that type of magic.

Every dragon has a half form and fully dragon form. 

Hylians that don’t turn into dragons can still ‘sense’ things like magic, marks and claims. But its a lot dulled down since they are basically humans.

Claims can be for familial bonds, treasure, and S/o’s. Marking? That’s full of magic. Marks can be a physical (scar) mark, or scent mark, or visual mark.

Time:

Time as a dragon can be confused as a marble statue, white and grey based scales with a bit of green like moss. While has a Hylian he looks much younger, his dragon form shows his true age. He is one out of two Ancient Dragons in the group.

He is one of the strongest Dragons in the group, only since he has come into contact with so many power objects. He doesn’t need any of them to actually preform there uses, this would included the Ocarina of Time and Fierce Deity’s mask.

Time’s scent glands are on his finger tips. He does basically adopt the chain, so they all slightly smell of a forest.

His claims are very subtle to even most dragons, as they happen when he gives people pats on the head or back. It would take someone a hour later to realize it actually happened.

Time knew a lot about his own future, they come in snapshots of moments he should expect. This adventure was one he has been waiting for, it was along time coming for him. With this adventure came you. The subject of many of these snapshots.

When you came into his life it was like a whirlwind was suddenly triggered.

Now what was clear to him was cloudy. Pictures of what life would be like with you in it flooded his mind and heart, he couldn’t help but store each moment deep inside to cherish forever. This was something he didn’t even know he wanted until now.

And Time sealed his fate in stone the moment his finger tips touched you. His claim, his call to the world that he was courting you. It was now placed on to you as a warning to those who dare try to come near and steal you away.

The other boys might tease him for being so quick with it. That he just couldn’t wait. But Time knows what he saw, and he knows that he will always love you. “It was bound to happen” was his simple reply when asked about it.

Yet it still caught him off guard.

Courting for Time would be a slow processes. Mostly because Time himself would want you to confess first since you are human.

That doesn’t mean he wont spoil you, if anything he might go overboard and buy you to much stuff. Basically buying you, your own horde.

Dragons outside of the chain wouldn’t dare try to steal you away because of Time. No one wants to steal from an ancient dragon after all.

Twilight: 

Twilight’s dragon form looks as if he was made out of the earth itself easily being able to disguise himself as a boulder or hill. There are parts on his body in which Twili markings can be seen at dusk. Zant cut off his wings so he never learned how to fly. He can also turn into a smaller version of his dragon form, this form of his can get away with looking like a wolf. A wolf with weird markings, but a Wolf nonetheless. 

Twilights scent gland is on his palms. 

His main element is earth/nature, because he doesn’t have that many magical items. Twi only really got a hang on his own element and Twili magics. Even then it was what Midna taught him during his adventure. Twilight never experiments with Twili magic after she left.

My man straight up doesn’t know how to be a dragon. He doesn’t even know how to claim others as family or s/o’s. If he does it, it’s 100% instinctual. This man didn’t know he was a dragon until his adventure. Shade was the one that broke the news to him.

Twilight was probably the last person to realize the claim he had on you. The group all knew and just assumed since Twilight acted like a love sick puppy around you he did it on purpose. Wild and Time were the first to realize how little Twilight actually knew about being a dragon.

Yes, Time has to sit down and have the talk™️ with Twilight. It was the most teeth pulling conversation the Old man ever had. When it finally got through to Twi that he did the claim, he got more worried that he has less control over his dragon instincts then he thought.

The chain won't step into this train wreck.

Wild would probably build Twilight up for him, while Time tries to catch Twilight up with how to be a dragon and then how courtship actually works.

Twilight is in for a LONG haul now, and it only can get worse.

Let’s hope you don’t find out.

Courting for Twilight is a whole bag of worms, that honestly shouldn’t be brought up. He is doing his best.

Peacocking is his strongest urge to do. He wants you to know that he can take care of you and what ever future family he has with you.

Expect him to try a bit harder to win in sparring matches, show off that he can cook, bring you back to his home and around town. Not to mention all the gifts he will get you. He isn’t as bad as Time, but they still share this habit.

Warriors:

He is your basic european fire dragon, his scales are base color of obsidian but how the light bounces off of him you can see a color shift from Purple/Blue/Green.

With Fire as his element, he has to be in control of most of his emotions. One wrong move and the house can go up in flames.The excessive use of the fire rode did not help him in controlling his magic ether.

His scent gland is on his jaw, most of his natural scent is covered by his scarf so people can’t really notice it.

Because of an incident involving Cia stealing something from Warriors’ hord and presenting it as a claim he had on her. Warriors threw most of the items to the point there was only a drawer full of valuebles. One of these valuables is the real item that he would claim his S/o with.

There was just an acceptance that Warriors had in his mind that he would never have a significant other. Cia was still recovering from being evil and still was attempting to get together with him. He felt like getting a partner might open a can of worms that should not be open.

But then you came around. You, who tended to be careless and slightly chaotic. Just ran straight into his life and messed up his plan about being single forever. You laughing at him when he ate dirt shouldn’t have gotten him so much as it did.

He thought he was fine, wanting to wait and give you his claim properly. He puts his mothers hairband on you. It was a delicate flower hairband with ribbons to tie it into your hair.

Everything went downhill as soon as you came into the ballroom. Between the talks of the nobles as everyone noticed the claim on you, and Cia realizing what had happened and throwing a fit making a scene.

He feels like it was a miracle that you accepted his feelings.

With the chaos that is Warriors life he would instantly feel guilty for dragging you into it. Between Cia, his own work, other dragons and just the entire adventure. He is an anxious mess.

Warriors will protect you no matter what, but he will take it over board sometimes. Please keep him from doing something stupid.

You, Warriors and Wind are going to have alot of family days now that you are both together. Wind was already trying to set you up before so everything to him just worked out in his favor.

First:

When in full dragon form, he looks similar to the dragon in Skyward Sword. He would be the light element equivalent. First is the closest dragon to being considered a deity in hyrule standards, mostly because of his direct connections to the goddess herself. He was however given fire and lighting magic. It’s very weak though because in his imprisonment they kept him contained by draining his magic.

Because of his imprisonment he does not have a horde or really anything to his name other then his blade and the clothes on his back.

His scent gland is on the back of his left shoulder, covered by his shoulder armor.

First is another dragon that has no idea how to be an actual dragon. Blame his years of prison for that one. So if he should some how claim someone to be his S/o its EXTREAMLY by accident.

When First was started traveling with the chain he kept his distance from everyone. While he accepted that he had a familial claim on him from the young Sailor, and the old man. He didn’t want to claim anything or anyone. First knows how easy it is to lose everything. He can't subject them to that life.

He worries the whole group with his mindset. First protected all of them whether they liked it or not. Practically destroying his body in the process. Nothing could change his mind. 

Even when he was partly conscious and bleeding out, he will still fight any care that's given to him.

You are not going to take that behavior. Forcing him to sit and getting all that armor off so Hyrule could start to do this thing. You have to hold him down by the shoulders for the younger link to work on healing the solider. First is getting scolded by both of you, and by the end of it… when he is more awake and alert…

He feels the dreaded realization that you now have his claim on you.

The courting process with First is just a 10k word slow burn in itself. The man lost everything once before including his will to live. He ain’t building himself up again to have it happen a second time.

The whole Chain is gonna have to put in work for this, getting you two of you together. They are going to be the ones showing off First to you or singing your praises as well.

All while your attempting to flirt and he is in GREAT denial of his emotions until the very end. 

#twilight (not lu) speaks #linked universe x reader #luxreader #linkeduniverse x reader #honey cake #pumpkin bread #coffee #caramel macchiato #dragon fruit sorbet

[rayj4ck]

It occurs to me that I’ve had this in my head for a while, but never actually posted it. So here comes a spicy take:

Linkle was the most wasted character in the entire Legend of Zelda series.

I heard somewhere that the first LoZ game was based off the experiences of the creator when he was exploring around his backyard. And that feeling is back in full force now more than ever.

But you know what’s been sitting on top of that like an elephant? Zelda, Link, Ganon. Zelda, Link, Ganon. Wisdom, courage, power wisdom courage power the chosen sword only the hero can use chosen by the goddess chosen chosen chosen. Link is the chosen one. Always the chosen one. And you’re playing Link! You’re the chosen one! Congratulations!

Except when you’re not. Putting aside physical characteristics, I don't know about you but some days I just don’t feel chosen. Put a pin in this, we’re gonna come back to it.

So Hyrule Warriors comes out. It’s a non-canon horde fighter with a bunch of familiar characters from a bunch of other games. Neat! And a few new characters. Check this one out, she looks a lot like Link, and she’s sure she’s the chosen one. But Link is also here? He's always the chosen one. But she has this compass that's definitely magic in some way, maybe even goddess-type magic. Very exciting.

Then they make her a klutz. No big deal, it's not really a character flaw, so it's not something to get mad about.

Then they keep sidelining her missions. Literally putting them off the main path, and not affecting the story in any major way.

Then that keeps happening all the way to the end. I don't think she never meets up with any of the big characters in a major way (I think she meets Zelda once? It doesn't stick), and they give her the "Oh no, some of Ganon's forces remained!" cleanup battle while Link and Zelda were...busy? Napping? She was literally an afterthought in the game.

Now let me take you down this scenario. You're playing along the main missions when you get to a Linkle one. Maybe you've played her side missions, maybe not. Doesn't matter. You start it up, and uh oh, clumsy Linkle, always going the wrong way! She stumbled right into the BOSS ARENA. You think to yourself "Oh this poor lady, she's gonna get taken hostage by Ganon," but you play along the level anyway and do your best to fight through it. It's hard, but not impossible. You even get to fight Ganon! And...win? Huh?

She won. The evil is defeated, the sky changes back from red and black to blue and white. Elsewhere Link and Zelda are scratching their heads wondering what happened. This lady, just a chicken farmer not chosen by anyone, was strong enough to defeat the evil.

Now, this is pretty crazy even for a hypothetical, but I think we can get away with it because this game isn't canon. Wouldn't it be fun to say that because of this the cycle is over? Link and Zelda and even Ganon are free from this curse of constantly being reborn and dragged around by the neck for their destiny, all because someone from outside the three won the day.

(Also this is only tangential, but I got you to click one Linkle post, I'm shooting my shot now. They gave her some of the coolest weapons we've seen? Like, Twili Midna has some good ones like just creating and dropping a pillar on a dude, and the one where Link just uses his giant fairy mommy is pretty fun. But like, Linkle has akimbo multi-shot crossbows [which is the closest thing you'll get in Hyrule to being John Wick], super-speed lighting boots, and is proven to be friends with cucccos. CUCCOOS. THE MOST POWERFUL FORCE IN THE ENTIRE CANON. Literally indestructible and will fuck up your day if you hit them too much.)

TL;DR? Linkle could've been Nintendo's way to say "You can make a difference even if you're NOT chosen. You can still win the fight against the big bad."

#the legend of zelda #hyrule warriors #linkle #loz hw #legend of zelda: hyrule warriors

[linked-through-the-centuries]

Hmmm hard to to think of good questions. How do each of the Links feel about their adventures? Did they enjoy them? Look back at them fondly? Regrets? Have a certain side quest eternally stuck in the back of their mind?

- Warriors doesn’t think fondly about the war or his ‘adventure’ at all, and most of him wishes it never happened. The only good thing to come of it was his connection with Mask and Tune, as well as the others from the other eras, but apart from that he hates the war. It was horrible for his hyrule and his era, and it’s something he’ll never recover from. If the war never happened, he would’ve returned home after 2 years of mandatory military service and become a tailor, and probably lived a decently happy life. Also he probably would’ve never started dyeing his hair

- For Tears, their journeys are the only thing they really know, they don’t really have other memories besides the six years set between the two, but they had a good time for the most part. Yeah loosing his arm was really traumatic and his memories he recovered about the calamity/living through the events of totk was horrible and he gets nightmares about it, but Tears met a lot of kind people who helped him, and they truly love to adventure. Apart from the bad, Tears had fun

- Twilight cannot think too hard about his journey with Midna without falling into a depressive episode. He looks back on it and regrets that he lost her, and he misses her company. He learned a lot on his journey and he had ‘fun’ while it was happening, but he misses his girlfriend so badly it’s hard for him to look at his adventure in a positive light. His ‘second adventure’ was with Tears, and technically he’s still on that one because he never went home after that ended, which is something he’s incredibly upset about

- Sky for the most part liked exploring, but that feeling of always being JUST too late to catch up to Zelda seriously took a toll on his mental health. He’s still beating himself up over it. Also he will never ever in his life forget that he gave that love letter to the hand in the toilet

- Tune thinks it’s a little messed up he shoved a sword through Ganon’s face at the age of 12, but also he looks at that fondly, especially because when he first told Warriors about it during the War of Eras, the captain was HORRIFIED. Also without his adventure he might’ve never met Tetra, who is his closest and best friend

- Past met a lot of lovely people, but they’re not at all happy with the sheer amount of chaos that happened in their life growing up. They really haven’t gotten much of a break, and now they’re on another adventure and they’re not the most happy about it. They’re grateful that their journeying brought them Ravio, and even if she wasn’t real, he’s glad he got to know Marin, but Past is tired

- Hyrule had a decently fun time, he likes exploring, and he’s very close with both his Zeldas because of his adventures. He’s a bit paranoid that his blood can resurrect Ganon, but he takes care of it and still likes to roam

- Calamity had a miserable awful horrible time and lost who he was as a person because of his adventure. Since drawing the master sword, he’s been put under so much pressure to be perfect that he doesn’t even know who he is anymore. The only positive thing for him was having his friend by his side, but he still hasn’t recovered from the calamity, he’s made zero progress since the whole ordeal ended over a year ago

- Mask also had a horrible miserable awful time, but he’s been able to heal. Being a part of the War of Eras was good for him because meeting Warriors literally saved his life. He went from feeling unlovable and lost to being given some sense of stability from a brother figure for three years, and that support literally saved him. His fondest memories from his adventures include meeting Malon that first time and having to sneak past the palace guards to get her father, and also connecting with the Fierce Deity, who is another parental figure in his life

- Minish is lucky because at the end of the day, he could go home to his grandpa and talk with him about what was going on. His grandpa is his biggest supporter, and because he had that stability, his journeys weren’t as traumatic for him, and he was able to process things in a very healthy way. He’s the one who has the most therapy of the group, he’s definitely the most mentally stable. Not that his adventures weren’t traumatic for him at all, because they were, but he can look at them fondly and he saw a lot of cool things

MOST of them have fond moments from their adventures and were glad they happened, though two of them would hesitate in their decision if they were given an opportunity to erase the fact it ever happened (they wouldn’t take it, but they’d hesitate)

#linked through the centuries #lttc #links meet au #lttc warriors #lttc tears #lttc twilight #lttc sky #lttc tune #lttc past #lttc hyrule #lttc calamity #lttc mask #lttc minish #jes talks #jes ask

[bloobluebloo]

Listen.

The series is obvs gonna go in a batshit direction from here. They're either going to cloyster themselves in a idea too deranged for anyone but AO3 and Steam, or they are going to Pander Hard.

They said TotK was supposed to have Majora's Mask Energy. It had some scare factor, but MM's horror was because we knew the story. The people. The Doomed By the Narrative shit. TotK attempted that, but didn't properly commit.

The next one is gonna have Twilight Princess Energy. And they are going to COMPLETELY miss what made that game great. The personifaction of Link and Midna. The awesome boss fights and dungeons. The putting of the Hero's Shade to rest because finally he can pass the torch. They're gonna miss ALL of that.

And instead give us a game in which Link turns into a Cucco

I’m not sure if this is your attempt to jinx this franchise so hard that the jinx somehow rebounds back and suddenly Nintendo produces a LoZ game with a narrative that blows everyone’s mind.

(I still remember your comment about wishing the damn boat on me when I got that Wind Waker blind pack and pulled Ganondorf so thank you for that)

BUT now that you mention the whole Majora’s Mask vibe, yeah that really frustrated me so much. TotK had like, the wisps of it, the makings of it, but fell so far off the mark. Gloom hands were creepy sure but after two encounters they’re just eh. Guardians? Those guys scare the shit outta me the first time and the 200th time. The depths? They’re cool at first until you realize that there’s nothing really, really necessary down there and it’s all really same-y. Landscape fatigue if you will. The only time it came close was the Korok Forest being in that weird state and the descent to Ganondorf’s lair. What they failed to realize is while Majora’s Mask was creepy sure, there was also that sense of melancholy, watching people move through their lives, knowing the moon is coming down, and making peace in whatever way suits them. That you, as Link, continue to repeat the same 3 days, undoing and redoing the emotional beats of these peoples’ lives in order to achieve the best outcome for you and for them aka having the moon not fall. Then there’s the story of Skullkid’s loneliness, how that led him down a hole he may have never found himself out of. How dare they say it was similar, my ass 😑

TotK’s doom was because everyone was being a dumbass while Ganondorf pranced around doing what he wanted 😑

Saph I swear if the TP thing happens I will send a box of cockroaches to your house.

#admiral’s log

[pluviatrix]

AUTHOR ADDENDUM: ASTCB playlist analysis

hello and welcome 2 the playlist post! for those coming from the published fic hello and thank you for your curiosity and i hope my music taste is up to your standards. for those seeing this before the fic is published i would like to apologize for the abject confusion

when people have playlists with their fics i always wanna know why exactly they included those songs and i figured this would be a fun kind of fic extra like they used to include on movie CDs

lets go! playlist link here for the uninitiated

"Õhtu Ilu" -- Kammerkoor Head Ööd Vend

I don't speak Estonian. A quick google tells me this song is probably about desperately wanting the night to end so the sun will come out, which, given the naming pattern of the actual comic recently and the themes of depression in ASTCB, is surprisingly fitting. this was NOT intentional LKDSDFSDF

this song is really more of a mood setter if you get me. It has this quiet ethereal sound that's a little hopeful and a lot peaceful. i chose this song mainly to coincide with how I characterize wild + my whole experience w/ BOTW

2. "Anchor" -- Novo Amor

"Took the breath from my open mouth/Never known how it broke me down/I went in circles somewhere else/Shook the best when your love was home/Storing up on your summer glow/You went in search of someone else"

midna . cuz twi is super sad

also the whole ethereal quiet sound of this song makes it a moodsetter song. this playlist is split up into two parts, with a blend in the middle. twi with the others but without that intense connection yet, and twi healing. this song is securely in the former.

3. "Already Gone" -- Sleeping At Last

"And I want you to know, you couldn't have loved me better"

a haiku:

god god god god god

god god god god god god god

god god god god fuck

FURTHER READING: see below

4. "Light" -- Sleeping At Last

"I will always hold you close/But I will learn to let you go/I promise I'll do better/I will soften every edge/I'll hold the world to its best"

"'Cause you are loved, you are loved more than you know/I hereby pledge all of my days to prove it so/Though your heart is far too young to realize/The unimaginable light you hold inside"

Hey look at me. Sit down. Imagine we are sitting at the most comfortable couch in the world. look at me in my eyes. do u see? do you see the love here? the love that burns? that love that unmakes and remakes again, the love that rips your heart from your chest? the hope? that love which makes you better, that which gives you the last puzzle piece of what is you? that love that makes vows and verse and song of itself? you sit at their side and something incredible and divine clicks into place while you're just doing laundry and taxes. wild holds a heart in his hands and he doesn't even know it.

5. "Roslyn" -- Bon Iver, St. Vincent

this song is on this playlist cuz it fucks, end of.

ok actually it sounds really woodsy and i love the mood of it. but upon googling it the story of the song rings horribly appropriately.

6. "Tomorrow Will Be Kinder " -- The Secret Sisters

i chose this song for two reasons: its folksy almost-bluegrass feel (because of twilight's whole. gestures vaguely. yeehaw) and it's kind of a lullaby.

"Sorrow weighs my shoulders down/And trouble haunts my mind/But I know the present will not last/And tomorrow will be kinder"

Something about the sadness of the narrator and their unflinching hope. I don't know.

7. "Agoraphobia" -- Autoheart

this song marks the transition period. you'll see the energy ramp up and the mood get brighter from here on out.

"I know I’m getting older/But I’m told that I’m not/Momentarily out of my mind"

two words: Mentol illinois

8. "Sun Bleached Flies" -- Ethel Cain

"God loves you, but not enough to save you" and the other lyric "The more it hurts, the less it shows/But I still feel like they all know/And that's why I could never go back home/And I spend my life/Watching it go by from the sidelines/And God, I've tried/But I think it's about time I put up a fight"

this is probably obvious but im gonna say it anyway. yadda yadda link and the crushing expectations laid on the shoulders of a boy-saint, something something isolated from loved ones, something something leaving Ordon, something something depression, something something healing yourself kicking and screaming. idk

9. "Georgia" -- Phoebe Bridgers

sorry for the phoebe bridgers but it's a requirement to get full credit on the assignment of 'sad fic playlist.' this song could not be more clearly about romantic love but it is my gravest duty and strongest desire to twist songs about romantic love into my platonic found family schemes

"Georgia, Georgia, I love your son..../Georgia, Georgia, he has beautiful bones.../And sometimes in the pouring rain/He'll fall in the mud and get back up again.../He came up through the water without a sound/With my back to the shoreline, I dreamt that he drowned/I dreamt that he drowned"

can you see it?? can you see the BOTW Link connections i'm making here??? part of the reason this song is here is cuz of the absolutely heartrending BOTW animatic set to this song. please watch it it is so much. also the song is definitely about romantic love but the bittersweet tragedy of it all, the sense that it physically hurts the narrator..... yeah.

10. "Brothers" -- Penny and Sparrow

if you have ever in your entire life consumed fullmetal alchemist media and you know me in passing you know why this is on here. if youve read the fic even more so. for the uninformed's sake, though, here you go:

"If you cut your hand/I'm gonna cut mine/And then when we shake 'em/We'll be the same color and type"

and

"My skin still looks see-through/And I feel underneath like a fake.../Don't give up/Don't you quit on me"

this is such a cheap song to use here because. brothers. but the 'feeling like a fake,' the narrator getting talked down, etc. also the song is about brothers in bond and not blood so like double points

11. "Lament of Eustace Scrubb" -- The Oh Hellos

YEAH, YEAH I DON'T WANNA HEAR IT. same thing here. fullmetal alchemist people know what I'm fuckin ABOUT!!

"Brother, forgive me.../I know that I have gone astray/'Cause when I saw my reflection/It was a stranger beneath my face"

Twi doesn't feel like much of a hero. he feels like a failure, washed up at the ripe old age of twenty-five, trying his best, clawing his way out of a six-foot hole for the sake of the heroes he feels obligated to protect. and he loves. and he loves. and he loves. and he cries. because emotions and love bleed from twi like sweat in summer and tears come easy.

12. "Turning Page" -- Sleeping At Last

can you tell i like sleeping at last yet. more romantic love songs but this is MY CITY NOW. these are now about loving ur good bro(s) a whole lot

"I've waited a hundred years/But I'd wait a million more for you/Nothing prepared me for/What the privilege of being yours would do"

"If I had only seen how you smile when you blush/Or how you curl your lip when you concentrate enough/I would have known what I was living for all along"

"Your love is my turning page/Where only the sweetest words remain.../I surrender who I've been for who you are/For nothing makes me stronger than your fragile heart"

gestures at this trying to say stuff but i'm sobbing and snotting and sniffling so much that you can't understand me. they. wild n twi but also twi w everybody

13. "Roll Away Your Stone" -- Mumford & Sons

double sorry for the mumford and sons.

""Darkness" is a harsh term, don't you think?/And yet it dominates the things I seek/It seems that all my bridges have been burned/But, you say that's exactly how this grace thing works/It's not the long walk home/That will change this heart/But the welcome I receive with the restart"

and this is the line that got it added:

"Stars, hide your fires!/These here are my desires.../Marking its territory of this newly impassioned soul"

once again, twi healing again, letting people in, letting people help him, and letting himself want. "Stars, hide your fires" is also a reference to my favorite shakespeare play, macbeth.

14. "Rivers and Roads" -- The Head and the Heart

"A year from now, we'll all be gone/All our friends will move away/And they're goin' to better places/But our friends will be gone away.../Nothin' is as it has been/And I miss your face like hell"

...they have to say goodbye eventually. they all have their own families and lives. but they'll stay with each other in spirit.

15. "Almost (Sweet Music)" -- Hozier

i can't copy paste the whole song here, so i'm just gonna include this:

"Be still, my foolish heart/Don't ruin this on me"

he loves and cherishes them so much oh my god. he doesn't wanna ruin it. he's so scared of ruining it. theres some lines about 'getting your color back' but i'm not gonna retread the theme of healing again.

16. "Learn Me Right" -- Birdy, Mumford & Sons

ONE. justice for Brave (2012). TWO. didn't know this had mumford and sons. i included this because the whole brave soundtrack is intertwined with botw link and the world of botw. and also, this song is about platonic love specifically!! merida and her mom, not brothers, but still.

"We will run and scream/You will dance with me/We'll fulfill our dreams and we'll be free.../We will be who we are/And they'll heal our scars/Sadness will be far away/So I had done wrong but you put me right"

love love love, freedom freedom freedom, healing healing healing. Bettering each other. Realizing you're happy, especially when you're around each other. also the run and scream and dancing bit reminds me of wolf link and botw link shenanigans.

17. "Brother" -- Madds Buckley

you are gonna shit ur gd pants when you figure out what characters the artist wrote this song for.

"Oh brother, I see/You burn like me/The singes on our skin like a brand"

A lot of this song doesn't quite fit the sweet, all-forgiving relationship twi n wild have, but this line does. seeing each other in your own pains, recognizing each other, etc.

18. "The Last Goodbye" -- Billy Boyd

that's the guy from the lord of the rings! i don't have any lyrics to copy paste here, because all of them fit exactly. this song was selected specifically because of how it fits the goodbye scene(s). once again, they have to leave, but stick with each other forever.

19. "Of Everlong" -- The Crane Wives

this song isn't really here for the lyrics. i conceived it as a sort of credits song. its a peaceful little bookend that othu ilu started, and i love the folksy, peaceful feel.

the end <3

#astcb #and still the cradle blossoms #linked universe #mj chatters

[hanayori89]

Trauma in the Light

*Lake Hylia*

You didn't think it was possible for the sun to beam down any brighter than it did in Hyrule. You were mistaken. Your retinas were burning from the assaulting light of the sun. Aryn did nothing to accommodate your obvious discomfort. He claimed your beauty did not deserve to be hidden beneath the shade. You shielded your eyes with your hand, trying to admire the food he propped beautifully upon the blanket on which you both sat.

You had never heard of a 'picnic' before. The idea was to bring a basket filled with goodies and graze on a comfy blanket. You had to admit that Lake Hylia seemed an idyllic spot for this activity. The sound of the rippling water was concentrated by the winds that whipped between the surrounding valleys. A unique point of beauty was the bridge that was wedged in between two plateaus. From where you sat, the bridge looked like it was suspended between the clouds. Stone pillars that used to support the structure of the bridge hung down, serrated like stone saws. You were so mystified by everything, almost anxious. As if it was some type of sensory overload. You much preferred the peace of Ordon Spring.

You also much preferred Link's company.

Aryn and you conversed in snippets of dull-witted small talk. It was hard for you to really carry on a conversation. All you really knew was your Twili way of life. Aryn wouldn't understand that. He tried to prod you into divulging where you came from. You glossed over his badgering, but he kept looping back to the same question. You went with the Gerudo Desert, the last place where the Mirror of Twilight stood. He didn't need to know about the mirror. Or the fact that it doesn't exist anymore. Actually, he didn't need to know much about you at all. After this date, you wouldn't be seeing him again.

As predicted, his eyes found their way down to the lower-cut neckline you were sporting.

Link didn't look at me in such a disrespectful way. Your mind instantly remembered the tender way he zipped you in, as though your dress was consecrated armor from the goddesses. He always had a way of making you feel secure. Protected. Then there were his eyes. That regarded you with such ...such...adoration.

I think I miss Link.  You looked out at the water, desperation twisting inside of you. Something about the lapping of the lake made you homesick. You missed the Twilight. You missed everything that was familiar. Everything about the light was beginning to overwhelm you. From trying all these new foods to constantly speaking their language. From the biggest issue of it all, feelings. You remember Midna talking about their trials at the Lakebed Temple. How scary it must have been for Link to undergo his journey as a hero. Yet he managed to come out victorious.

I can walk away a hero too.

"Y/N?"

Aryn held a grape against your lips. "Say ahh!" The feeling of the cool grape against your mouth made you snap out of your longing. You didn't eat much to begin with. He had brought sandwiches with different fillings, fruits, and breads. He also kept trying to feed you. A gesture that was forcing you to become disgruntled.

You cocked your head away from the grape suspended close to your lips. "Aryn, thank you. I'm afraid I'm pretty full."

"You hardly ate." His voice was accusatory.

"I was nervous. Really. I would like to walk around and look at the lake, if possible?"

"Alright. That makes me sad. That means our date is coming to an end, isn't it? Well, I'll pack up." He began gathering some of the food and wrapping it up in its' appropriate cloth. You reached down to help, accidentally touching his hand.

It was funny, touching him didn't have the same effect as it did when it was Link. Aryn's eyes looked into yours, shimmering with lust. You looked away. Hoping that you hadn't somehow invited something unwelcome to occur.

"That's ok. I don't mind." You both managed to put away the rest of the food. Neither one of you said much as you began to walk. Until Aryn perked up beside you. "I know a really great view of the Lake. Follow me."

Something from within started to gnaw at you. You couldn't pinpoint what it was, but whatever it was, it didn't want you to follow Aryn. 

The further you followed him, the more adamant the masticating warning became.

He took you to a large, deserted tree. The hollowness of the tree was nothing compared to the hollow look Aryn had in his eyes.

"So, what do you think of the view?" His voice was a menacing whisper.

"Oh, well... it's not as bright, so that helps my eyes." You felt like a lamb about to be slaughtered by a wolf. Which was funny, thanks to Link, you had never feared wolves. 

But this one frightened you.

All the hairs on your body stood at attention. The flesh of your arm had raised bumps you'd never seen before.

"I can provide you some shade." Before you could process what he meant, you were pinned against the tree. Sharp, jagged pieces of bark were ripping into your back.

He's going to ruin the dress Link bought me. The only thing I'll ever have to remember him by.

"You're hurting me." You feebly spat at Aryn. An incineration began in your eyes, but this time it wasn't from the sun.

"And your rejection is hurting me. You don't think I knew you weren't thinking about me this whole date? You don't think I know you were thinking about, Mr.Link? " His foul breath escaped from his lips in huffs. "Well, I've got news for you. Mr.Link is engaged to be married to Ilia. You are not the one he loves. You will never be the one he loves."

Water began to pool in your eyes. Your lips quivered as he closed in on yours. The predator was closing in on his prey. He was going to take your first kiss from you. None of this would have happened if you hadn't been so vindictive.

You began to sob. Upset with yourself. Upset with Aryn. Upset with his words that were nothing but true. "Please." You whimpered. Kiss me if you must. But don't destroy my illusion of Link. My illusion of the light.

"Please." You attempted one final plea.

"Shhh," he warned, raising his finger to your lips. "Stop crying. It's not that bad. Mr.Link is probably with Ilia. Ilia would never believe you if you told her, you know?"

A tug on a tightly wound string interrupted Aryn's diatribe. It made you briefly stop crying and draw your eyes toward the figure behind Aryn.

"Ilia might not believe her. But I do." Link snarled. An arrow positioned at the back of Aryn's head.

Aryn slowly lifted his hands up, not bothering to utter a single word. You got out from under him, running towards Link. You jumped into his arms, making him drop his bow. Aryn ran away. Never looking back.

Link held you tightly. The familiar embrace of the hero's strong arms surrounding you. The weight of everything finally hit you. You began to cry uncontrollably. Your tears threatened to make Lake Hylia overflow.

Link just held you, rocking you gently in his arms.

You were safe once again.

*

Link tried to remain calm as he held Y/N in his arms. The anger he felt was not too far from boiling over.

That disgusting fiend.

What would have happened if he hadn't made it to Y/N in time? Link couldn't help but sway back and forth, rocking her like a baby. It wasn't just about his reprehensible physical behavior but also the destructive things he said. Who was he to determine who Link loved? Sure, he only knew Y/N for two days, but he could see himself...

HICCUP!

Link looked down at Y/N, who kept her head buried in his chest. She kept blubbering apologies between sobs. "Link, I..." HICCUP! Link began gently patting her back. "If you hold your breath, the hiccups will go away."

"The wha-" HICCUP! She finally pulled her face out of Link's chest. Her eyes were swollen with tears. Her bottom lip continued a controlled wobble, a futile attempt to keep the crying at bay. Her image of the light has probably been destroyed thanks to Aryn's horny little stunt. Link felt his muscles tense with the fury he was holding within. Y/N was holding her breath, then ecxhaling. Until finally her hiccups subsided. A faint smile made its way to her lips. "How silly. It really worked. But Link, what is wrong with my eyes? All this water... am I crying?"

Link couldn't help himself. He took his hand and placed it gently on her cheek. His thumb found a stray tear that began to trickle. He caressed her cheek, smudging the tear from her sight. "They're tears." Y/N put her hand on top of Link's. He directed her thumb with his over another one. Together, they erased it from her cheek. "I'm crying?" She whispered in shock. Link gave her a compassionate look. "Yes. You're upset. Crying is a normal reaction when you are distraught." Link found one more tear. This one had managed to create a trail past the corner of Y/N's lips. Link stared at it momentarily, suspending his hand from wiping it away. Before he was aware of his actions, he took his thumb and stroked the corner of her mouth. He could feel his heart elevate as he grazed past her lips, transfixed.

Boundaries. Remember your boundaries. She doesn't need another inappropriate man to break her trust.

Link tried to think of a way to soothe Y/N. The first place to start was to get her out of their current area. She didn't need to stand in the spot she was almost taken advantage of.

"Y/N, can I reignite your interest in Lake Hylia by giving you a proper tour?" Link gave Y/N a moment to collect herself. She sniffled. "Do you need to go back to Ordon?"

As far as Link was concerned, the only place he needed to be at that particular moment was with Y/N. "No. I have no plans for today. Besides saving a helpless Twili who was under the threat of a horny idiot." He then stoically added, "I don't want this experience to make you view the light as a forsaken place. So, if I may... take you on a proper date?" Link began to feel jittery, as though he had consumed too much tea. He was just showing her Lake Hylia as a friend. There was no reason to be so ridiculously nervous.

Yet here he was. The wings of his heart were extending outward, preparing for takeoff. Link also couldn't help but notice that she was still seeking refuge within the comfort of his arms. She clung to his chest like a frightened animal.

Link was hit with an idea. Where do animals go to hibernate against the harsh frigidity? When their element has been turned into a wicked tundra and they need the comfort of warmth?

Caves. Or, in this case, a cavern.

Lake Hylia Cavern. Link was going to make this the best date Y/N has ever been on.

Link knew it would also be the best date he's ever been on.

A/N: Edited 11/27/22

Once a hero, always a hero. Link made it to you just in time before your date went horribly awry. With determination to rekindle your view of the light and your view of him, Link has offered to take you on your first proper date. What does he have in store for you?

Check out my other completed OOT Zelda work- No Woman Beyond

#legend of zelda #link #loz #fanfiction #link x reader #romance #wattpad #fanfic #twilight princess #twilight #midna twilight princess #fanfic on tumblr #the legend of zelda #hyrule #action #adventure

[luimagines]

Hello, never done this before but I think you're an awesome person, thank you for all of the wonderful scenarios and headcanons so far and I hope you're doing good today! ^^

Ah! And before I forget, may I raise an question? I saw that so far we have Demigod Reader, Hero of Farore Reader, Modern Reader, Percy Jackson Reader, Greek and Chinese Mythology Reader, Mulan Reader, Evil Reader, Fairy Tail Reader and now Persona Reader, I wanted to know your thoughts on Land of the Lustrous Gem Reader if you'd be willing to share?

Some context first of all, Land of the Lustrous is basically a series that would be like if you threw BOTW vibes with a good dose of existentialism like Nier Automata and cute/beautiful personified jewel beings called gems that are gender neutral in general, humanlike life is gone and now there's only them left on the world, they have hair and eyes that's literally like a jewel as well and are functionally immortal unless they're completely ground to dust as they don't really need to eat or anything, just stay in the sun for a while to get energy (hence why the gems are also called Lustrous), sure they can break, but if they find material that's compatible or their own parts with them they can just fix themselves by putting them back together either by themselves or with the help of their caretaker called Sensei or a Gem Doctor specialized in doing so, at best it's a minor inconvenience for them. Their lives are pretty peaceful in general, each one having their own job in accordance to how hard they are on the mohs scale (since gems lower on the scale usually shatter more easily, so they take on more supporting roles like sewing, making weapons etc) except they need to fight people that come from the moon that are attracted by their shine and steal them away to the moon, never to be seen again except as maybe jewelry or decoration the next time they attack to kidnap more gems, which the gems that can usually use as an opportunity to try and get their comrades and partners back, although the opportunity window between attacks can stretch from a few days to a few millennia so it's very rare for them to get all of the pieces back.

Anyway, I was thinking maybe this version of Reader (whose gem type can be up in the air, although I myself find it hysterical in a sad way if they're either Sunset Sapphire, whose color kind of looks like Midna's hair which would probably give Twilight all sorts of flashbacks since their eyes would probably match that scheme, any blue gem could remind Sky of Fi and Warriors of Lana, white haired gems could probably match Cia depending on which style they wear and any green gem could probably bring memories up of Saria to Time, it's a bit of a slippery slope) could probably have had the historian role after retiring from battling after possibly losing their gem partner, taking up mentorship of the other new gems and even finding one they particularly are protective of since they found them after forming first, kind of like a sibling relationship (this world's version of Little Link? Maybe he could be Amber). Until one day the moon people attack and in the confusion their little sibling gets shattered and almost taken by the moon people and Gem Reader is just Not Having It and, for the first time in years get their sword, fight in a way that's possitively ballistic against a moon person that looks suspiciously similar to Ganon design wise and managed to get their sibling back, but get shattered themselves and are thus taken to the moon in their place and Farore from wherever she is and looking at the Chain, then at the Reader, then back at the Chain, then back at Reader again decides "You know what, if Hylia could do it with the sentient sword then I get to do it too! Helps that this little fella is neat, the boys could use some spiteful and effective back up on The Quest." And just steals the Reader's pieces, put them back together, probably change a few things up so they can repair themselves in a new world and then throw them as nearby the Chain during a perilous situation as she can without waiting to hear anyone's opinion about it.

Fi, from within the sword and seeing the boys are in a bit of a bind and while she favors them some more than the others she doesn't want any of them to die or get grievously injured, suddenly feel this new presence that's like her and the Four Sword nearby and calls for help telepathically, which Reader Gem can listen to because they're similar enough in make up and it basically registers to them as another gem calling for help and they immediately freeze, remembering what almost happened to their little sibling and rush over, not even hesitating to just throw their sword at whoever enemy is nearest to any member of the chain or whoever is with Fi (preferably Dark Link) and join the fray even as their barely put together body start to crack and make some very concerning ringing noises, slashing with even their hair if it's long enough to thin the herd and, while the Chain is very confused (and maybe having some war flashbacks depending on which Gem Reader is), they mostly just roll with it for now since the new fella clearly ain't attacking them and is being helpful for the most part, after the battle is over though there is probably a minute or two of awkward silence, maybe Gem Reader whose arm literally broke off somewhere mid battle is retrieving it and making as if to put it back together, until someone breaks the silence:

"... You aren't Gems, I thought I heard a Gem calling me though, where is she? Where's my sibling? Who even are you people?-"

"Who are WE?! First of all who even are YOU-"

And then chaos and shenanigans abound, the train of thought kind of just decided to depart early before I could flesh this part out sadly and honestly this ask is as long as it is already even without rhe mini scenarios floating around my head, maybe I'll write them one day maybe, anyway, apologies for rambling, hope you have a good day/afternoon/night/whatever time it is for you, and once again thank you for all of your wonderful scenarios and headcanons! 😊🙂😊

-Just an Anon On a Stroll.

ANON!!!!

I WAS ON BOARD FOR A SECOND

I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS IS BUT OH MY GOD

I thought it was a little bit like steven universe because of the gems and the light and fighting and how each of them have jobs and different hardnesses but then- but then-

LITTLE LINK!!!! LUCKY!!! MY BABY!!! MY SON!!!

................everything was fine until the moon people attacked...

I was waiting to be a position where I would be able to answer this clearly but oh my goodness, there's so much to take in.

The boys would be so confused and mildly terrified about having them lose and arm and just... put it back on...

I think that Fi would be glowing to an extant. Trying to let them know that it's cool and can be trusted.

No one gets the message, but they can tell that it's a special meeting.

That being said, Gem! reader is going to have to adjust quickly all while trying to not only find their way home, but also find their sibling and make sure they're ok.

#pinky replies #pinky is still screaming

[three-bunnies-in-a-trenchcoat]

who are ur links??? names and games and gun facts maybe???

!!!

First, we got First, aka Link from the sksw manga. Sad pathetic wet cat. Wants to go back home to his husband, but is STUCK HERE. He's the tallest Link (by an inch)!

Then Feather (sksw)! His fun fact is that he has the full Triforce, but no one knows that for, uh, plot reasons ig. He also regularly practices the harp, because Fi taught him and well- she's not there anymore. My dearest friend here, Godslayer Fulltriforce, does not understand why the others think he's one of the strongest. Anyway, hey, look at this cool sword he uses! It's a double helix blade, isn't that neat?

Then we have my personal little combo Link- MC/FS/FSA. His fun fact is he never used the four sword to put the colors back together (permanently), and they're all just. Y'know. There. (and Shadow. Freeloader.) The FSA comes in with this cool and fun thing I call CONVENIENT TIME TRAVEL

Then oot, aka Mask, because I am incredibly attached to the name and also that's just how the Links named each other. First notable unique trait. His was the masks, which just chill on his belt and offer mostly unhelpful advice. AMAP (assigned male at princess). Physically the youngest, but oh boy. Who even fucking knows what his mental age is (it's why he doesn't talk).

Then we have TP, who, like most of them, still doesn't have a name. His fun fact is that he's trans, but only because I wanted to make a really bad joke. He's friends with Zelda, but only because he uses her magic fountain to talk to Midna, and after a while it got kinda awkward to just walk into her house without knowing her

Wind Waker, aka Patch! Yes, his name is that for exactly the reason you would expect (he doesn't need an eyepatch, he just has a conveniently placed scar)! He's one of the three Triforce Links (Triforce heroes, one could say-), with both Courage and Power. He doesn't know about Power, and could care less about Courage

Spirit Tracks! Idk. He may or may not be in, depends on if I can find a good playthrough to watch

alttp/oos/ooa/la Link, aka Apple! Hermit apple farmer guy after he (willingly) left Hyrule once and got his heart broken (thanks, Marin). He and his Zelda are good friends (or maybe more idk). Doesn't talk, just stares piercingly into your eyes until you start getting uncomfortable because he looks about one bad thing away from breaking down sobbing

albw/th, Paint- he's a little guy :) half of the storage in his house is Ravio's stuff, and the other half is his wardrobe from Hytopia. I also need to find a playthrough for him.

loz 1 & 2, Wanderer, named thus because he doesn't stay in one place, much to his Zeldas' annoyance! The oldest Link (thats a coincidence, I promise). Everyone is like, wow, [botw], your Hyrule is horrible and filled with monsters, meanwhile he's just fucking crying because it's so nice here, look, the water isn't poisonous and the grass isn't trying to kill us and I can see the sky

HW! My most specialest guy :) I gave him Issues. Your token pyromaniac Link, fell in love with Sheik a la OoT- now both he and Zelda have things they need to think about for a good long while!

Lastly, botw! Truly does not understand what a gender is, even among the many other "has lived in the forest half their lives" Links. Whether or not he's experienced totk depends on whether I like it lol. Takes the advice of his own personal peanut gallery (the Champions' spirits) seriously, even when it's just Revali telling him to do something really fucking stupid. Talks a whole lot, especially to the master sword (he heard about Fi and figured hey why not). His glorious purpose in life is to cook, and if he wasn't so distracted sauteing vegetables he'd be one of the most powerful

#sorry it took a while to respond it was supper time #mb's writing #links meet au (name pending) #mb and flux scream about hats #i should have put this under a read more #loz

[tricksheart]

Send “⚔” and I will list some tropes from TVTropes.org that describe our muses relationship.

( accepting )

@gloryseized said: ⚔ ( for Link )

Adoption Angst: Link was raised by a family of talking persona users after Akira's parents found Link as a baby. Though he loves his adoptive parents, Maya and Katsuya, Link also angsts over not knowing where he came from or who his birth parents are, all the more punctuated by the fact that he's never met any blondes like him until he meets Zelda later on.

Angst? What Angst?: Invoked. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean that Link is able to face the trauma of everything that a seasoned veteran hero has faced, especially at his age. Joker: You just went through some outrageous beeswax with losing your favorite arm and etcetera. You can't just expect to bounce back to normal. Link (genuinely surprised): I can't?

Big Brother Instinct: He is fiercely protective over Joker, despite being the younger brother. In "Evicted", Ganon kind of killed Joker for a minute. Link's reaction was… not pretty. In "To Cut a Woman's Hair", the witch merely uses Joker as a piece of furniture (albeit in the context of Links requiring someone to be in "danger" in order to help her), and Link charges.

Colorblind Confusion: In "Red Starved", Link's shown to be red-green colorblind after he mistakes a green emerald for a red ruby. Strangely, Joker (a persona user) CAN tell the difference, and is the one to correct him.

The Conscience: Good grief yes. Link's heroic nature counterbalances his closest's friends amoral tendencies. While it tends to be played for laughs with Joker, it's played more seriously (and more subtlety) with Ganon and Princess Zelda.

Death Seeker: Downplayed as he's not exactly trying to get himself killed, but after Joker passed away, Link admits that part of him is waiting for his own death just so he can reunite with Joker again.

Evil Laugh: Non-evil example; in "What is Life?", Link mischievously does this, while thinking to prank Joker after he pranked Link himself, as a type of revenge.

For Happiness: When he and Joker aren't busy fighting evil, they're just trying to have a good time.

Idiot Hero: Why is Link missing so many teeth? The nintendos' answer: He bites trees and rocks and stuff. He's stupid. Which makes it that much more interesting when his brain works perfectly, like in "Morituri te Salutamus". As shown in "The New Frontier", Link occasionally forgets how the sun works, and is seemingly floored when Joker re-explains it to him. In "The Real You", Link himself says that he's "full of stupid." This is more of an early season character trait as he becomes more intelligent as the series goes on, especially emotionally.

Morality Chain: Link may be the protagonist, but it becomes increasingly clear that he's also the Morality Chain to… damn near everyone else. He consciously takes on the role of turning Midna good, but it's also strongly implied that without him Joker would still be a thief and conman, Princess Zelda might be much more of a not great ruler, Ganon would be the psychopathic troll he likes to see himself as.

Samaritan Syndrome: In "Memories of Boom-Boom Mountain", Link reveals his underlying drive to help everyone and everything with their problems because when he was a baby, he once sat on a leaf and got stuck to it, and went unaided for hours until Joker's parents found him (and eventually adopted him). Link helps people because someone helped him once.

Singing Voice Dissonance: Throughout the series, Link sings with an auto-tuned voice that supposedly comes from a tiny computer he swallowed at some earlier point. Subverted in 'What Was Missing', where he sings a heartfelt song to (and about) his True Companions Joker, Zelda and Midna. The Auto-tune singing returns in the Season 6 finale, though it appears to be a mix of this and his normal singing.

True Companions: With Joker, emphasized by both family bonds and loyalty, and with Zelda to a slightly lesser extent. As characterization has developed, he may possibly also have this with Midna, given how highly she regards friendship. All of them take some steps towards becoming True Companions in "What Was Missing", though with Joker being the Wild Card, and Midna and Zelda not getting along very well, it takes some considerable effort on Link's part.

#death cw #long post cw #gloryseized #[ we call them tricksters. headcanon ] #friendship-the hero of time link #hope you like these xD #this took a long time to make phew #okay to reblog from me #let me know if something needs to be tagged

[wutheringmights]

CTB Scrap - Warriors's Original Rescue Plan

This is from chapter 20, when Warriors is trying to figure out how to save Wind and Twilight.

This scene has a lot of the ideas that do appear in the chapter. While Warriors makes a lot of these connections eventually, he didn't reasonably have enough information at the time of this scene to come up with most of this.

So I had to scale back on his foresight. Two big things you will notice is that originally, Warriors was not only going to have more of an inkling as to what happened to Wind, but he was also going to be planning to pilot one of the ganons.

Note: this is an unedited scrap, so the writing may not be up to snuff. Also, everything include was deleted for a reason, so please do not take it as canon to CTB.

---

 “What are you thinking?” Legend asked, when Warriors was quite for too long.

“It’s not looking good,” he muttered. He considered keeping his revelation about Wind’s location to himself, if only to stave off panic. But he needed everyone to understand what they were up against. “The sailor’s probably all the way up here. Getting him is going to be tough.”

“Great.” Hyrule and the rest of the boys had also swarmed the table, all of them trying to make sense of Warriors’s notes. “You think we should abandon him.”

“That’s not what Link said,” Lana snapped.

“We’re not leaving him behind,” Time said. “Not anymore.”

Warriors held up a hand. “And I never said we would. But he’s on the other side of the…” He trailed off, realization lighting up his brain. “Oh gods. I’m so stupid—what time is it now?”

“Ten minutes past nine,” Time said without looking at a clock. “What are you—”

Warriors stepped back from the table. His excitement warmed his chest and pushed his legs into a pace around the room as he combed through every scenario, coming up with back-up plans and alternate strategies. His brain hadn’t been this fast for weeks, not since he was imprisoned. “Everyone, take three hours to rest. We leave after midnight.”

“Can you explain what you’re thinking first?” Four said.

“It’s simple. We go to @village and disguise ourselves as soldiers. We sneak in, grab Midna and the rancher, and check the records for the sailor’s location.  After that, we make our way through No Man’s Land to wherever he is.” Warriors could feel warmth filling his chest, and it made him feel like his old self. “Traversing through the battlefield is dangerous. But getting back here will be the hardest part, which is why we’re going to take one of those moving machines for ourselves.”

“Did you hear me when I said that no one can beat those things?” Legend said.

“We’re not beating it. We’re stealing it, which should be an easy task for a group like us. It’s the only thing that will protect us on our way back through the battlefield.” Warriors pressed his lips. “Operating it is the real issue, which is why we need the sailor. If the machines are based on the engineer’s designs, then the sailor would be the most familiar with them, with that journal he had been studying.”

Lincoln released a long breath. “That is a huge gamble. If he doesn’t know, then what are you going to do?”

“Then we leave the battlefield and make our way back through Faron. If the fighting is really as bad as we think it is, the Royal Guard might be too occupied to go after us again.” It was a lie, and the look from Lincoln’s face said that he knew what Warriors really planned.

If they had to go through Faron again, then Warriors would turn himself in right away. He would be the distraction, keeping Impa and the Royal Guard occupied while the rest made their escape. Logically, he knew that this was a rehash of their escape plan at the citadel, but things were different now. This time, the Knights of Hyrule were not here to tear their group apart, and his friends would know from their jaunt through the battlefield what capture would mean. They would fight tooth and nail to make it through, perhaps using great abilities like Legend’s transformation and Four’s magic sword to guarantee success.

Lincoln shook his head. “You never learn.”

“Do you have a better idea?”

“What about Midna’s barriers?” Lana tugged at the ends of her blue hair, puzzling over the map. “The range is not perfect and it’s far from subtle, but she could get everyone through safely.”

He had forgotten about Midna’s barriers.

#ok i lied i think i have one more scrap in me #me rambling #lu ctb #linked universe #ctb content #ctb birthday