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songerein2023-07-06 01:07 pm
multidisciplinary) wrote in songerein2023-07-06 01:07 pm
Entry tags:
open 🌻 a not so welcome return
Who: Zelda and OPEN
Which: Open log
Where: Around town
What: Zelda returns to Song after disappearing for a canon update two weeks ago.
Warnings: Major Tears of the Kingdom spoilers in the first prompt. (opt out of TOTK spoilers here.) Also minor descriptions of choking and vomiting.
1. choking hazard
This isn't how it was supposed to happen.
They had it all planned out, Zelda and Mineru. They knew everything that needed to be prepared in advance, every task to plan or delegate so that all the necessary tools would be available to Link in the distant future. It was just a matter of getting it all in order before the end. They had only this once chance to get everything right. There would be no going back, no correcting mistakes, once Zelda swallowed her secret stone.
They had tried to plan for contingencies as well. What if Ganondorf broke free too early? What if the Temple of Time were damaged? What if Mineru's spirit faded before she could meet Link?
'What if the Princess is suddenly spirited away to a strange dream world before she could transform?'—was not among those contingencies.
Hidden away in a quiet alleyway not far from the Plaza, Zelda sits on the cobbled stone and tries to take stock of her situation. The Master Sword—more a stump than a sword at this point, its brilliant blade almost entirely corroded away—lays beside her on the ground. The princess's right hand rests protectively over its hilt, ready to grab the blade at a moment's notice, should anyone intrude on her.
'Songerein.' She knows that name. It stirs recognition somewhere deep, deep in the back of Zelda's mind. She had a dream like this once, during the long century she spent sealed away with Calamity Ganon. To think it was not (quite) a dream after all...
But that doesn't matter anymore. The only thing that matters is getting back to Hyrule, protecting the Master Sword, and--
Zelda tries to swallow a lump in her throat.
--giving up her life for the sake of the future.
For the sake of Link.
Her brows furrow. She already tried (and failed) to use her power over time to return herself to the moment before she woke up here in Songerein. But she isn't willing to give up that easily. Zelda absently rubs the stone attached to her choker with her thumb. A mortal might be beholden to the rules of this realm, but what about a dragon? Mineru said that a dragon is unbound from the shackles of time, becoming ageless—deathless—an immortal shell of one's former self. Surely such a being could not be bound by the rules of dreams either. Perhaps the transformation will be enough to wake her and free her from this purgatory so that she can do her duty.
She'll do anything if it's for Link.
Clenching her jaw, Zelda yanks the stone from her choker and cups it in her palms. Such a little thing, and yet it's capable of such great—and terrible—things. It can draw out the greatest strength in anyone, allow them to build a kingdom of prosperity and paradise. But it can also draw out terrible evil, the cruelest of ambitions, the downfall of any goodness in the world. It is capable of allowing someone to live forever—at the cost of everything that they are.
She'll do anything if it's for Link.
Zelda clasps her hands over the stone and presses her forehead against them. "You must find me, Link. I may not know it's you... You may not know it's me... But you must come for me. You must protect everyone."
She raises her hands to her lips and swallows the stone whole.
The lump sticks in the back of her throat. Zelda swallows again and again, trying to push the stone down, but it holds fast. She tilts her chin up and strokes her throat, trying to coax it to relax. Come on, go down. Zelda tries to take a breath in order to swallow again, but only manages to suck in the tiniest hiss of air. The stone won't move.
The edges of her vision start getting dark. Growing frantic, she slaps at her throat with both hands. Please, just go down...
All of the sudden, Zelda lurches forward, falling onto her hands and knees. Against her will, she heaves. Up comes the stone, along with the contents of her stomach, splattering over the cobblestones.
It takes a minute for her to stop retching and catch her breath. When Zelda opens her eyes and spots the stone, her gut clenches up again and she lets out a wrenching sob.
"Why?! Why won't you let me go?"
What a horrible scene to come across, should anyone be so unlucky.
2. about town
It's the next day.
Zelda is still playing over the events of the previous day in her mind—she went to sleep in Hyrule, assured of her plans and ready to enact them. But when she woke, she was in this strange world, Songerein. A dream from long ago, a lifetime past, when the princess held back an ancient evil all by herself for one hundred years. Sometimes she was awake, watching over the land of Hyrule, watching over her knight as he slumbered. Other times, she slept, dreaming strange dreams about people from strange worlds and magic powered by the combination of dreams and emotions.
So it wasn't a dream after all.
Throughout the day, Zelda can be found wandering around town, looking lost and hesitant. She clutches the hilt of the corroded Master Sword with both hands, never once setting it down. She walks streets she used to know by heart, trying to stir memories that have been long dormant.
So lost in her thoughts, Zelda isn't entirely paying attention to where she's going, so it's very likely that she'll bump right into someone.
But even if she doesn't, she might stop you to ask for directions. Do you know the way to the library?—no, it was an archive. There's supposed to be a smithy around here, isn't there? Do you know of a place where they teach music?
Or maybe Zelda will make it to her destination—the smithy, the archives, dreambucks, the Plaza, or any such place. She'll linger outside, hesitant. Does she remember this place? Did she know someone here? Maybe she'll even step inside, milling around with the uncertainty of someone who knows they are looking for something but has forgotten what it is.
3. the wildcard option
Want a different prompt to meet or reunite with Zelda? Plot with me on plurk (![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
knighted), discord (triforce1960) or DM.
Also, feel free to reply in brackets instead of prose if you prefer.
Which: Open log
Where: Around town
What: Zelda returns to Song after disappearing for a canon update two weeks ago.
Warnings: Major Tears of the Kingdom spoilers in the first prompt. (opt out of TOTK spoilers here.) Also minor descriptions of choking and vomiting.
1. choking hazard
This isn't how it was supposed to happen.
They had it all planned out, Zelda and Mineru. They knew everything that needed to be prepared in advance, every task to plan or delegate so that all the necessary tools would be available to Link in the distant future. It was just a matter of getting it all in order before the end. They had only this once chance to get everything right. There would be no going back, no correcting mistakes, once Zelda swallowed her secret stone.
They had tried to plan for contingencies as well. What if Ganondorf broke free too early? What if the Temple of Time were damaged? What if Mineru's spirit faded before she could meet Link?
'What if the Princess is suddenly spirited away to a strange dream world before she could transform?'—was not among those contingencies.
Hidden away in a quiet alleyway not far from the Plaza, Zelda sits on the cobbled stone and tries to take stock of her situation. The Master Sword—more a stump than a sword at this point, its brilliant blade almost entirely corroded away—lays beside her on the ground. The princess's right hand rests protectively over its hilt, ready to grab the blade at a moment's notice, should anyone intrude on her.
'Songerein.' She knows that name. It stirs recognition somewhere deep, deep in the back of Zelda's mind. She had a dream like this once, during the long century she spent sealed away with Calamity Ganon. To think it was not (quite) a dream after all...
But that doesn't matter anymore. The only thing that matters is getting back to Hyrule, protecting the Master Sword, and--
Zelda tries to swallow a lump in her throat.
--giving up her life for the sake of the future.
For the sake of Link.
Her brows furrow. She already tried (and failed) to use her power over time to return herself to the moment before she woke up here in Songerein. But she isn't willing to give up that easily. Zelda absently rubs the stone attached to her choker with her thumb. A mortal might be beholden to the rules of this realm, but what about a dragon? Mineru said that a dragon is unbound from the shackles of time, becoming ageless—deathless—an immortal shell of one's former self. Surely such a being could not be bound by the rules of dreams either. Perhaps the transformation will be enough to wake her and free her from this purgatory so that she can do her duty.
She'll do anything if it's for Link.
Clenching her jaw, Zelda yanks the stone from her choker and cups it in her palms. Such a little thing, and yet it's capable of such great—and terrible—things. It can draw out the greatest strength in anyone, allow them to build a kingdom of prosperity and paradise. But it can also draw out terrible evil, the cruelest of ambitions, the downfall of any goodness in the world. It is capable of allowing someone to live forever—at the cost of everything that they are.
She'll do anything if it's for Link.
Zelda clasps her hands over the stone and presses her forehead against them. "You must find me, Link. I may not know it's you... You may not know it's me... But you must come for me. You must protect everyone."
She raises her hands to her lips and swallows the stone whole.
The lump sticks in the back of her throat. Zelda swallows again and again, trying to push the stone down, but it holds fast. She tilts her chin up and strokes her throat, trying to coax it to relax. Come on, go down. Zelda tries to take a breath in order to swallow again, but only manages to suck in the tiniest hiss of air. The stone won't move.
The edges of her vision start getting dark. Growing frantic, she slaps at her throat with both hands. Please, just go down...
All of the sudden, Zelda lurches forward, falling onto her hands and knees. Against her will, she heaves. Up comes the stone, along with the contents of her stomach, splattering over the cobblestones.
It takes a minute for her to stop retching and catch her breath. When Zelda opens her eyes and spots the stone, her gut clenches up again and she lets out a wrenching sob.
"Why?! Why won't you let me go?"
What a horrible scene to come across, should anyone be so unlucky.
2. about town
It's the next day.
Zelda is still playing over the events of the previous day in her mind—she went to sleep in Hyrule, assured of her plans and ready to enact them. But when she woke, she was in this strange world, Songerein. A dream from long ago, a lifetime past, when the princess held back an ancient evil all by herself for one hundred years. Sometimes she was awake, watching over the land of Hyrule, watching over her knight as he slumbered. Other times, she slept, dreaming strange dreams about people from strange worlds and magic powered by the combination of dreams and emotions.
So it wasn't a dream after all.
Throughout the day, Zelda can be found wandering around town, looking lost and hesitant. She clutches the hilt of the corroded Master Sword with both hands, never once setting it down. She walks streets she used to know by heart, trying to stir memories that have been long dormant.
So lost in her thoughts, Zelda isn't entirely paying attention to where she's going, so it's very likely that she'll bump right into someone.
But even if she doesn't, she might stop you to ask for directions. Do you know the way to the library?—no, it was an archive. There's supposed to be a smithy around here, isn't there? Do you know of a place where they teach music?
Or maybe Zelda will make it to her destination—the smithy, the archives, dreambucks, the Plaza, or any such place. She'll linger outside, hesitant. Does she remember this place? Did she know someone here? Maybe she'll even step inside, milling around with the uncertainty of someone who knows they are looking for something but has forgotten what it is.
3. the wildcard option
Want a different prompt to meet or reunite with Zelda? Plot with me on plurk (
Also, feel free to reply in brackets instead of prose if you prefer.
no subject
(Will he forget, too? Will he return to Hyrule foolish and naive, thinking they've actually atoned for their mistakes when Ganondorf falls?)
Focus. The present needs him more than the past or future do right now.]
The Calamity is gone, then. That's good. [He allows himself to feel some relief with that - a far more preferable emotion.] Four years... not so long, perhaps, but you've been kept quite busy during that time, haven't you?
[Rebuilding Hyrule. He knows better than most what a monumental task that is.]
no subject
I have, yes. We all have. [ Despite the magnitude of the task, Zelda's expression remains soft, a hint of a smile on her lips. ]
When I first woke and saw Hyrule again with my own eyes, I was surprised. Not just because of the devastation left behind by the Calamity, but because of what had grown up in its place. I think I was expecting Hyrule to look just like it did the day Calamity Ganon awoke, but it didn't. I thought I would find fresh wounds, but all I saw were healed scars.
[ She pauses for a moment to drink the rest of her water. Talking is still bothering her throat a little. ]
no subject
But the Princess of Destiny fled her people, and Sheik is but a shadow that will disappear from history when the time comes, so all he can allow for is a wistful look to cross his expression, his eyes revealing the pride in his smile beneath his cowl.]
... A wound requires both time and protection to heal. You gave Hyrule both.
[In spades, apparently.]
I cannot imagine how excited the people must have been to finally meet the one who had protected them all that time.
no subject
But not only was he not mad, he was beside himself with relief to see Princess Zelda alive again. As was Sidon, the little prince Zelda remembered always trailing after his big sister. All of the Zora were grateful to see Zelda again, as were the Sheikah, the Gorons, the Rito, the Gerudo, and Hylians all over the kingdom. Where once the people of Hyrule saw her as a failure, now they saw her as a hero. ]
Whatever you might imagine, the truth is much more strange. Excluding the Zora (and Purah, Robbie, and Impa, I suppose), no one knew who I was at first. No one really knew what to make of me. I think, perhaps, very few people knew what happened to me.
But when they found out, they were quite excited. [ Zelda self consciously tucks a strand of hair behind one ear. ] Every village Link and I travelled to insisted upon throwing a banquet or a dance or some other celebration in our honor. People were so kind... It was honestly a bit embarrassing, to tell you the truth. For a long time, I didn't fully feel like I deserved their admiration. I was to blame for the Calamity... or so I used to believe.
[ She pauses for a moment. ]
When you find your princess again, please do the same for her. Welcome her back with whatever you have. Wherever she is... no doubt, she has worked hard for Hyrule. She may even blame herself for what happened when she was a girl. I did. Mayhaps it is a family trait. [ Zelda chuckles. ] But the Calamity was not my fault. The fall of your Hyrule was not hers.
no subject
She pauses, thoughtful, and he... should say something, he knows. He understands that feeling intimately, that sense of guilt, and he wants her to know that, but... the words don't come, too entangled by the secrets he keeps to give any of them voice. He flounders there, next to her, until she continues.
And he goes very, very still.
... She's so kind, so sympathetic, and it sickens him, nausea churning in his belly, his heart pounding against his ribs. He can't bear to look at her-- can't bear to be looked at by her, and he turns away, the veil of his bangs obscuring what little of his expression she might have otherwise been able to see. Every fiber of his being screams at him to run, his fingers itching to reach for the pouch of deku nuts at his hip, but a foolish sense of duty no one else is aware of keeps him rooted in his seat. How pathetic.]
I will... ensure your compassion reaches her, if I can.
[The words come out stilted, awkward; he himself winces at the sound of them. So, he lets out a sigh, collects himself, and... deflects, as he usually does.]
Though it may be out of my hands, should this conversation be forgotten upon my waking. If all this simply seemed to be a long and strange dream to you when you returned to Hyrule, then it does not seem as though you were able to act upon any of the things you learned during your time here.