dreamposts (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dreamposts) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
songerein2023-10-17 02:06 am
dreamposts) wrote in songerein2023-10-17 02:06 am
Entry tags:
- !event,
- -tdm,
- aang,
- aerith gainsborough,
- aglovan,
- alastor,
- alisaie leveilleur,
- anastasia romanova,
- azula,
- barok van zieks,
- black raisin cookie,
- blitzø,
- chai,
- denji,
- ei,
- ereshkigal,
- erichthonios,
- estinien varlineau,
- eustace,
- g'raha tia,
- gen asagiri,
- general nuadha,
- gina lestrade,
- goro akechi,
- helga pataki,
- hiyori iki,
- iris wilson,
- iroh,
- isabela madrigal,
- joshua rosfield,
- kazuki kurusu,
- kazuma asogi,
- kazuya minegishi,
- ken amada,
- link (botw),
- link (oot),
- maedhros,
- magilou mayvin,
- martel yggdrasill,
- nahida,
- najaran,
- naoya,
- nico di angelo,
- octavia of the ars goetia,
- pauline bonheur,
- percy jackson,
- prompto argentum,
- ralsei,
- revali,
- rufus shinra,
- ryunosuke naruhodo,
- sandalphon,
- scaramouche/wanderer,
- senku ishigami,
- sheik (zelda),
- solanaceae,
- somnus lucis caelum,
- tifa lockhart,
- venti,
- yato,
- zelda (ss)
{ halloween }
HALLOWEEN
Another Halloween has arrived in Reverein, and the Nightmare Troupe returns from their mysterious origins to help transform the carnival grounds to fit the season. They've added a new feature attraction: The Labyrinth, where everyone just runs around to fight spooky baddies for candy, prizes, and flex one's combat abilities in dreamotion. It's all in good fun, of course!
More details on everything can be found here. As a reminder, events double as our TDMs and information can be found here. Any outside characters participating in the log are canonly logged as appearing in Songerein in October and will remain in Songerein from the IC date of October 25th, just before the event ICly begins. TDM only characters can only thread within this log. Anyone who apps in and is accepted will have their character count October as their first time in the game without any disruption, so all content will carry over. Those who do not apply will disappear which should not seem too unusual, however players in game can choose to retcon and pretend a character was never there to begin with if it would be easier; or even think their presence was just a dream.
IMPORTANT! All outside characters MUST have "TDM" in their subject line, even if you might not app. This will help people differentiate those who are already in the game and those who are not.
TDM threads are required for samples. Refer to the Game Info for general information and feel free to toss any questions here. Reserves will open October 25th and Applications will open on November 1st. Our application cycles are bi-monthly so the next cycle after won't be until January.
TDM Toplevel Link Directory (click to view)
Bokurano - Jun Ushiro
Cookie Run Kingdom - Black Raisin Cookie
Dead by Daylight - Zarina Kassir
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves - Edgin Darvis
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves - Xenk Yendar
Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core - Genesis Rhapsodos
Final Fantasy XIV - Emet-Selch
Final Fantasy XIV - Hermes
Final Fantasy XV - Somnus Lucis Caelum
Full Metal Alchemist - Alphonse Elric
Genshin Impact - Ei
Genshin Impact - Nahida
Great Ace Attorney, The - Iris Wilson
Hey Arnold! - Helga G. Pataki
Hi-Fi Rush - Chai
Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - Zelda
Noragami - Yato
Original - Astralin Turnont
Touhou - Maribel Hearn
We will request any thread submissions for certain prompts during AC and TDM threads will count. For more information, refer to the Game Notes.
I. CARNIVAL
While the carnival grounds still have the standard fare of attractions themed up for Halloween, there are a few new ones popping up thanks to the Nightmare Troupe. Some are similar to what appeared last year, but with a different look to them. Some, perhaps, more terrifying than before.
A. Personalized Costumes. All throughout Reverein boutiques and tailors are in full swing to create costumes for those who wish to wear, either by renting or buying. However, for those who are a bit adverse, the fairy godmothers are out and about ready to employ their fashion magic to grant anyone and everyone a special Halloween costume, just for them! There might be the slight side effect that the wearer may behave like the costume itself, but it's just a temporary phase. 
B. Vampring Frights. The vamprings are still out and about, nibbling on nightmares. But now they are also appearing outside of dreams, deciding that a bit of fear could make as good of a snack or meal as any other. Only the ones that are truly hungry will appear, so a little purple blob will bounce and latch onto any part of their target's body they can reach (though they particularly like the top of the head). Those who are bitten in this manner won't try to bite others, fortunately. Instead, they will become something like a "Vampring minion" and try to invoke fear and scare others. (For more information and use the original version of the Vampring, read here.)
C. Monster Swaps. Small monsters will roam the carnival grounds and will swap bodies with random people to go around pulling pranks and tricks in the person's body. The person is now trapped in the monster's body, but has access to the monster's trickster, spooky abilities as well (ie, players can make this up). To return to normal, they must find their original body and bite it. Otherwise, they will have to wait for the monster to get bored and return to switch them back.
D. Carnival Fare. Here are a few of the general games and attractions available for carnival goers to enjoy.
🔫 Zombie Shooter. Ride through a rickety car through a building and shoot the "zombies" that pop up with bright green paintball guns. While most are cardboard, there are a few volunteers that dress for the occasion. Don't mind their pain as they get hit, they're fine.
👻 Spooky Stories. Instead of a fire, there is a boiling cauldron set up where people can gather around and try to conjure up their spookiest story. The steam over the cauldron will change and twist to try and illustrate the story as it goes, and should it proof particularly scary, a manifestation of the terror will crawl out of it to terrorize everyone for a little bit before disappearing.
🍏 Poisoned Apples. Special caramel covered green apples are handed out throughout the carnival. One bite will inflict one or more of the following effects: floating, dizzy, sugar rush, creepy, frightful. (Players are free to be creative and come up with additional effects!)
🧹 Broom Carousel. The horses have been replaced with different styles of witch brooms, letting everyone have a safe experience of flying on a broom. Until the brooms suddenly fly out of the carousel and into the carnival. Hang on or stop that broom!
🎃 Pumpkin Carving Challenge. Pumpkins can be found all over the grounds, and there is a challenge to carve them with dreamotion and light a special candle in them. Doing so will bring the pumpkin to life and behave like whatever expression or drawing carved on them. Whether they behave nicely is a different matter. Blowing out the candle will stop the pumpkin.
E. House of Mirrors. The House of Mirrors will have new mirrors installed that have new special effects…many making everyone inside feel not quite themselves.
🎭 Jekyll and Hyde. A black framed mirror where the opposite version of the viewer appears to taunt them.
💅 Narcissism. A gold framed mirror where one will see the best version of themselves and will stand stuck in front of it admiring themselves. They will need to be forcibly dragged away…else they may get stuck on the mirror.
🛌 Dream or Nightmare? A silver framed mirror that will reflect either a good dream or a nightmare that's on the viewer's mind. It will be a strong image, so strong that the viewer may be tempted to dreamwalk into the mirror, either to be a part of it or to destroy it. Some help may be required to help them either accomplish their goal or pull them out.
🪞 Mirror Version. Sometimes, a "mirror version" of the viewer may reach out to switch places, trapping the original inside the mirror while the mirror version goes out to cause some chaos. The trapped person can only traverse through mirrors, and can only be freed if the mirrored version is shoved back into any mirror. One way to tell a mirror version apart is that they will randomly reflect things off their body.
F. Haunted Ryokan. A haunted Japanese styled inn is the theme for this year's "haunted house." On the outside, it looks invitingly eerie, with life-sized traditional Japanese dolls as their hosts and guides. They hope their new patrons will enjoy their stay…forever.
🏮 Peony Lantern. At first a beautiful woman will appear holding a lantern and take a person's hand to lead them through the narrow halls lit by floating lanterns. But whenever they pass under a lantern, the woman's form changes into a skeleton. Once they are noticed, they will screech and chase them through the hallways and rooms to the next location, but if left alone it will quietly lead them without issue.
🛁 Bathhouse. Somehow they get to the bathing area where the steam rises thick around them. Without warning a ghostly figure of a long-haired drowned woman will crawl out and chase with a bloody knife. Fish spirits will also fly out to impede them, but they could be used to smack the woman instead. Should someone slip in the water, they'll feel hands grab at them, trying to pull them under…
🪦 Graveyard. Past the courtyard is a graveyard where all manner of Japanese inspired ghosts and demons roam. A special paper talisman is available, and once powered with positive dreamotion it will create a shikigami that will help ward off and defend against the ghosts. But it must have constant dreamotion poured into it, so should it ever go out, the ghosts and demons will suddenly rush into chase.
🐕 Shiba Statues. Should anyone be having a truly terrible time, special little shiba inu statues will trot in to dispel the "evils" and give the visitor some much needed comfort and respite. They will even guide them to the exit if needed. Those who manage to pass through on their own will also meet the shiba inu statues and have a chance to play with them as if in congratulations.
II. LABYRINTH
A big structure now occupies the area just beyond the Fairgrounds. Towering stone walls hide complex pathways inside, and it turns out its express purpose is not to get people lost, but for a little bit of exploration. There is no entrance/exit, just a special circular teleportation pad that will take them inside and there is no end goal. It's not difficult to get out once inside, but the winding paths encourage visitors to check behind corners for treats because there's a lot of treats AND tricks!
A. Halloween Creatures. The labyrinth is populated with silly creatures held together by craft glue and duct tape both dreamotion and nightmare. These creatures will attack on sight, but subdue them and reap the rewards: candy and silly toys! It's all for fun, after all.
🦴 Skeletons. Their bones are made of rubber and most physical attacks will bounce off them. Have to get in close to blast with dreamotion!
🕷 Glow-In-The-Dark Plastic Spiders. Will shoot sticky licorice webbing that will trip up and trap any caught in it. Have to eat through it to get out, and the flavor could either be red or black.
🔺 Candy Corn Golems. Chuck giant pieces of candy corn that are delicious, but hurt! Golems will melt under intense heat.
B. Mysterious Doors. Sometimes, you may find a door at one of the dead ends. Knock, and most of the time a kindly old lady (where did she come from? Don't worry about it–) will present you with special trick-or-treat bags. The other times, a swarm of genuinely sinister nightmare creatures will come pouring out. Oops! Try again next time! Here are some of the items the old lady will give and their effects (they can be taken home after the event):
🧙 Witch's Hat. The hat will automatically fly on top of the person's head and will allow them to cast silly hexes of misfortune on their targets.
🧹 Witch's Broom. Can fly at fast speeds for a few minutes at a time. Only goes up to three feet in the air.
🤓 Plastic Fangs. These fangs will fit themselves in the person's mouth and will allow them to bite any candy corn golem or sticky spider licorice webbing with ease. And normal foods, too.
🕸 Spray Can of Licorice Webbing. Releases a spray of licorice webbing similar to the ones used by the plastic spiders.
🧻 Roll of Toilet Paper. Exactly as it says.
🍫 Nougat Center. A delicious treat that will temporarily boost one'sstatsdreamotion abilities.
C. Beware of Steve. If you're very unlucky, you may hear an ominous clatter in the distance... The low rumble of a revving chainsaw... Those who spend lots of time in the labyrinth will know soon enough–those are noises that mean you need to run. Because STEVE, THE 20-FOOT-TALL CHAINSAW-WIELDING SKELETON, takes no hostages, and he's out for blood!!! He will continue chasing people until fought, and anything goes with this foe. While dreamotion attacks will work, using the items given by the old lady in the doors will inflict greater damage. Anyone who is "killed" by Steve will be knocked out of the Labyrinth unharmed.
D. Grand High Viscount of Candy Corn. On the other end of giant "horrors" is a giant golem made of candy corn with a large top hat that may appear out of one of the doors. Its main attack, besides trying to punch and pummel, is spewing sticky candy goop that will trap anyone caught in it. It'll wear off, but until then, any caught in it will at first feel very energetic and attack more quickly before becoming sluggish and unable to do much, as if they suffered an extreme sugar crash.
quoth the raven
The companion he has found himself traveling with is unnerving, bearing both the same name and a similar face to someone whom he holds quite dear...and has recently said goodbye to. He tries to set it all aside, but it's much easier to do when they're suddenly facing the business end of a giant skeleton. (Did it have to be a skeleton? They're so annoying.)
Has he had any training? The answer may become immediately evident as he pulls out a sword -- one of the rusty broadswords he's been saving for occasions such as this. It's not nearly as sturdy as the Master Sword, but right now it's all he's got.
Nonetheless he answers with words as well.] I have. Yes. [Academy notwithstanding, this is what he's trained for most of his life. When she moves back, he goes forward to take up the fight.]
no subject
I'm glad.
[ her hand falls. this is not her link— and yet, the line persists. the hex she tosses at the skeleton is not the only curse she— hylia— has made him bear witness to. but this one, it's simple, and will slow it down momentarily: gum stuck to it's foot.
but they are beholden to the same curse, and so, the best she can do is outfit him.
her hands stick out, palms raised, and eyes closed. it takes longer than she would like to manifest a dream-sword, even one that is constructed from memory. after all, fi no longer lives as she did, and certainly not in this sword. after too long of a moment, zelda huffs with frustration and it happens— a white light beams straight into her hand, and dissipates with a blue glow. in it's place now is a perfect reconstruction of the master sword, as it lived in zelda's time: burning white, the symbol of the goddess seared into it, and water-blue grip spread out like eagle wings.
the original, true blade. ]
Take this for your battle. [ a beat, and then, this, with her voice slow and thoughtful: ] Don't worry about me... I know you can do this, Link.
no subject
She is Zelda, and like his Zelda, long gone, her fate seems to be tied to the sword. It takes an alarming amount of strength to hold himself together, for a moment, and if not for the foe pressing in on them, he might not be able to do it at all. There's something amazing and heartbreaking and earth-shattering all at once about her ability to manifest that sword, as if it's the easiest thing to do in the world. Real, whole, shining and unbroken. If she had been here only days ago...
The hum of the sword snaps him out of that thought, and tentatively, he reaches for the hilt. It feels strange in his Zonai hand, and yet greets him as a friend, old but new at the same time, familiar and curiously...not.
He tests the sword's weight, adjusts his grip. Then he nods to her.]
Stay safe.
[As if he could not worry about her. It seems protecting every incarnation of this woman is hard-coded into his very soul.]
no subject
then, he breaks her silent prayers with a short assertion. zelda's fists find her hips and she leans forward, smiling easily. this is balm for the soul, in comparison. ]
You focus on yourself and I'll have no reason not to be.
[ simple as that.
the girl named zelda with the spirit of the goddess weighing her down takes a step back, raises a hand, and signals— the gum breaks apart easily, releasing the shackles on the stal. with a war cry, it raises it's chainsaw, revs it up and breaks for it.
zelda, on the other hand, is falling back: an idea is forming in her mind, but it will require a great deal of strength and concentration on her part to pull off. tracking the skeleton foe with her predator-like gaze, zelda keeps note of their positions in the hallway. ]
Link, [ comes her voice, commanding and aware. ] That sword has the ability to purify darkness. If that foe is made from malice, it'll be no match for your combined strength. [ he can do anything. she knows he can. ]
no subject
Immediately his mind is on strategy. If he can separate the creature from its weapon, it would be a game-changer...but he'll have to wear it down before that can happen, most likely.
Zelda's words ring in his ear like a holy decree. These are things he knew about the Master Sword, in a distant sort of way, but to have the directive come from her feels different. As if she's personally ensuring the outcome. If she could meet her descendant...he wonders what the two of them might have learned about one another.
... For now, his directive is to maintain the creature's interest while Zelda focuses her efforts. He does an admirable job with this; before long, he's managed to climb to the skeleton's waist, slicing into the bones as he goes. Steve thrashes about, trying to grab onto him, but...well, that's one nice thing about being small, he supposes. Makes him a harder target to get.]
no subject
while link toils, zelda works. or maybe it's in reverse, honestly; praying for some giant anvil to drop on steve is taking much longer than she would like to admit, and there is a growing worry inside of her, consuming her mind, pulling her away. can she do this? she should be able to. she should be able to.
what comes to pass, instead, is link in the oddest of spots, climbing the stal like one climbs a tree. zelda's watching him, focusing despite herself, and thinking to herself that it would just be nice if the jerk would just... stop. if he could just freeze in place, just stop dragging this out.
link is holding on, but it doesn't dissuade the concern blooming inside of her and—
steve halts.
...steve halts? he comes to stand very still, very suddenly, holding in place like whatever was animating him just snapped in half. there is a sound like something chipping, like ice when you step upon it cracking and spiderwebbing out into an unpredictable shape. steve's feet are frozen in place&mash; literally. there's ice growing from the soles of his tarsal bones, crawling up his body like spiders might. ]
Link?!
[ is he alright? steve thrashes, but he's stick, a sitting duck for execution. who knew hylia was that petty? ]
no subject
...
Besides...it has been a long time since he wielded the Master Sword. It's like a wayward companion come home, one you wish to greet properly.
He does finally note the spell, though, looking from Zelda to the skeletal feet stuck fast in the ground. Incredible. Wasting no time, Link gets to work, climbing the last few rungs of the creature's ribcage as a ladder, holding tight. Just because Steve's feet are stuck doesn't mean the rest of him is.
Then, taking care to position himself, he raises the sword with the finality of a powerful strike. Steve's arm separates from its body, chainsaw and all. The creature writhes in response.]
Can you pull that out of reach?
[The chainsaw. He has no idea if it's ambidextrous, but now would be a terrible time to find out.]
no subject
it may not be a command, but zelda nods like a soldier following orders anyway, lifting up the hem of her robes to hurry forward. steve roars with upset, shaking and trying to reach for the chainsaw, but zelda manages to tug it out of reach at the last second— agility has always been her strong suit, really. ]
Link!
[ his name is a memory she wonders she should claim. like so many more, she thinks it would be easier if it were simply someone else's. still, the battlefield is no place for such thoughts. the chainsaw, heavy in her grip, practically oscillates. it's an angry thing. all the while, ice creeps up steve's body: the stal is a sitting duck, but has the warrior soul necessary to kill, still.
in response to her cry, the sword hums with holy light: if fi were there, she might have just increased his odds of winning exponentially. ]
no subject
... He does want to know. But the sword is a point of hurt, right now, and not something he wishes to toy with.
Instead, he busies himself by looking for a weak spot. That's always the hardest part with a creature of this size; the well-guarded stone on the back of a Talos or the single eye of a Hinox. They smartly keep them out of reach, meaning that Link has to climb, first.
He finally finds it at the skeleton's shoulders, a large crack along the middle of its skull. Zelda calls his name, and the sword hums with a familiar power --if he wasn't in the heat of battle, it might shatter him all over again-- practically whispering vows of partnership.
Together now.
He raises the glowing sword and crashes it into the weak point of Steve's skull. It roars one final, anguished cry, and the bones collapse in a heap. Link's descent begins more abruptly; he almost doesn't have time to grab his glider before the creature collapses, but he manages it at the last second.]
no subject
Purple smoke envelopes Steve, sealing him tight from their wandering, curious gazes. Zelda approaches him quickly, each step of her sandals echoing in the small, narrow hallway. Well— not so narrow anymore. It's decidedly less small now that there isn't a Stal to deal with it. When she reaches his side— ]
You did it. Of course you did... [ There is no relief painting her tone. She knew he could do it, but wonder is there, and perhaps a little more hidden in her voice is a twinge of sadness. Realization, suddenly: ]
You trained, again... [ "Again"? How unkind to claim him like her own but it is true. That is the body and movements of a soldier, of a knight. ] You became a knight like you dreamed, didn't you? [ "And did it make you happy?" she wants to ask. Instead her gaze falls upon the...
The sailcloth. It lingers. Her blue stare is stunned for a moment, and she can remember the feeling of the fabric in her hands, remember the trial of embedding each thread into it, her whole heart in each stitch. Did he...? ]
That's his. [ In the same conversation, he's both her Link and not. Such a fickle and bitter thing, she is. ]
no subject
Link knows that this is not unusual, in a way. There has always been a hero, in Hyrule's darkest hours. There is often a girl named Zelda, sometimes a princess and, apparently, sometimes just Zelda. But he...he has only met one Zelda, and she was the one who knew him. There is a difference between knowing something and seeing it in action.
It-- it doesn't feel uncomfortable so much as...like standing in someone else's house, waiting for them to give permission to move around.
There's a certain wistfulness in her words that makes him wish, just for a moment, that he could be that for her. Was her hero a friend, then? Someone she had known before their lives turned into a fight for destiny? He had known his Zelda too, somewhat, but in the service of saving their country. He had grown up under the shadow of the Calamity; he couldn't imagine being something like childhood friends with her.]
I am, [he ventures after a moment. A knight. Something he had dreamed of, worked for, since childhood. The feeling that surges through him is unnameable, indescribable, knowing that some ancient predecessor had hopes and dreams so similar to his own. His heart is full -- of what, he cannot say.
His gaze instead follows hers to the paraglider. This, too, is a trusted companion, like the Master Sword; a tool that has saved his life so many times he could never possibly count them all. He holds it out for her, with a certain fondness in his expression and in the way he holds it. On closer inspection, it's somewhat different from the sailcloth she remembers. A different color, a sturdy frame, but at its core, the same shape and symbols she had lovingly stitched into it, passed forward through time, through countless generations.]
The paraglider?
[This, too, ignites that same feeling in his heart. This predecessor with whom he seems to share so much-- he wonders what the other must have been like.]
no subject
Maybe this one would be too, not all this smooth seriousness and a sense of unspoken curiosity, unstoked kindness with only so many places to go. Did he get a normal life, before he picked up the sword? How much time has he spent holding onto the Master Sword, so that it resonated with him like that? Every hit he struck as a powerful, life-ending blow: How did he build up strength like that, and how many weapons had crumbled to dust in his hands with that kind of destruction in his fingers?
But that doesn't matter, not in complete truth, for it's the courage and the way he looks at her that reminds her of him. Selfishly, that's what she picks out best. Link had looked at like that too, over time... As if she were someone else, another person in a familiar body. It stings, but not through any fault of Link's.
Now, she looks at him, the boy-knight, Master Sword finally starting to bubble away and into nothingness, and she smiles tightly but honestly. It's true that the sail cloth she sees is different: ruddier than the last, the symbol different but meaning probably all the same. The same story, re-written for a new audience. Neither of them, across space and time, ever hear the applause— cruelly, though, she thinks Hylia does, every single lifetime. She's terribly sorry. ]
I sewed his for him. I wove the symbol... Her symbol... into the cloth, as part of a ceremony for knighthood. He dreamed of becoming one since we were little. He'd always wanted to protect people.
[ Was that Hylia's influence? Does any reincarnation of the Hero's spirit, of his Courage, get to choose? What would he have been if he'd just been a boy, left to his own life? She starts walking again. There's got to be an end to this maze sooner than later now. (This one? Yes. The one she's trapped Link into? No.) ]
You look like you want to ask me something, Link!
no subject
He wonders, sometimes, if it is his legacy to lose. To come back from those losses, scrambling to get at any advantage he can possibly muster. The sword disappears, in the end; it was not real to begin with, he reminds himself, but the hollow pit in his chest still remains. The real sword is with her, of course. Zelda. His Zelda.
This girl, this Zelda, seems to wear a wistful sadness that matches his own. Missing someone not so unlike he is -- bearing the heavy weight of their absence.]
Hylia's symbol. [A statement, not a question. There is no one else whose symbol would so fittingly be placed in something so symbolic.
He's quiet for a moment at her words, still reeling, a bit, from the apparent similarities he shares with this predecessor, seemingly beyond just a name. He has come to care for the other one known as Link in this world. He likes to think they're friends. But his hopes and dreams...they had sounded quite dissimilar. Someone who stumbled upon his destiny, rather than seeking it out.
It-- takes a moment for him to realize she's spoken again.]
I... [Now, he finally must put words to it. It's more difficult than one might think. So, to start, he nods.] ... Would you tell me about him?
[There are so many other things he wants to ask, too, eventually. Things without form, without substance -- questions that have not yet taken on a shape. For now, he'll start with this, as they traverse the maze.]
no subject
But he doesn't press that further, only takes the bait. She is grateful, and Zelda smiles again, the gentle curl of her full lips as inviting as she can make them. Thankfully, this is something she can talk about. Link is someone she can talk about, and it seems natural, when she thinks about it. The nod she gives him this time is much more natural. ]
Link, [ she starts, voice strong, carrying through the oppressive emptiness of the hallway. ] Anything you want to know about the one I knew... I would be happy to share. [ There's a short, curt beat as she turns, hair puffing out behind her in a golden sway, to keep walking. ] ...We grew up together, in Skyloft. A place above the clouds, where the barrier kept us safe from the Surface's dangers. He slept a lot, even in class sometimes. I was always there to wake him up...
[ Their bond runs deep, something that will always transcend time. Zelda feels a pang of shame, knowing that her bond with this Link, too, will be much the same, against both their wills. Not in this life, perhaps, but in the next, and she thinks to herself— she should apologize, and yet... No. Not now. Maybe not ever; can he not just be a young man, curious, and her, the one with answers? Just for a little longer. ]
no subject
... Whatever he thinks of his own destiny, at least he chose it for himself.
All the same, Link soaks up every word of her description, filling a place in his heart he did not know was there, tracing the map of a heritage he barely knew existed. The other Link, the one already in Reverein -- would he feel the same, knowing others that bear their name and their fate? Would he listen with rapt attention, pulling similarities out of so many words?
We grew up together.] You were friends.
[He can't place precisely why he focuses on that detail, only that it seems of late that their destinies are intwined more intricately than he could ever imagine. Link feels drawn in some small way to this Zelda, as well; to the smaller Zelda in his dreams. But it feels different. He sees something of himself in the way she describes her knight, her Link.
His Zelda. Her Link. As he says those words, fragments of sympathy and understanding work their way into his expression.
The moment is thin and, perhaps, a little desperate on his part. His own will is strung to two extremes: wanting to keep his pain close, to hoard it and keep it secret, or to find someone with whom he can share. It is a difficult choice.
One he does not make, just yet. For now, he turns his attention to the more tactile parts of her description. Skyloft. The Surface. Something so familiar. He has mapped every inch of the islands that appeared before Hyrule. There was evidence of Zonai life, there, but could there have been more?]
A barrier...between land and sky?
no subject
She smiles, and nods, wider and more friendly than before, to confirm his words. Yes, best friends, even. A prickle of upset needles it's way into her belly, the memory of Hylia writing their story for them to suit Her needs still fresh in her mind.
But never mind such things. He isn't ready for that. She won't force him to be. ]
Demise and Hylia's war had repercussions. [ That much is true. She remembers making it, the barrier. The recollection is imprinted on her soul, stamped there for this life and the next. ] One of them was that She had to protect Her people by any cost, so She raised a temple into the sky. Are you picturing a ceiling? [ Zelda looks back at him over her shoulder, blinking gaze curious and playful. Then, she turns to keep walking, the portal not too far at all. ] It's more like a bubble that eventually burst. The islands fell upon the land below...
[ She wonders if he's seen them, if they stood the test of time. ]
In fact, it was the hero who made that happen. Link always works things out.
no subject
He doesn't want to cause her more hurt. She looks, in some moments, as if she has had enough of it. If she's anything like the princess who shares her name...Link is certain that she has.
Instead his mind goes to her description, another thing so eerily similar that it catches him by surprise. The islands that rose into the sky after the Uprising...these seem to be normal, in her time, and that fact alone seems like a marvel. He can see it, in his mind's eye.]
A carpet of clouds, [he says, thoughtfully. For he, too, had seen them from above, and it was Zelda herself who had parted them, snaking into the sky and revealing the land below.
His breath hitches in his throat, for a moment, as the image of her slices through his focus, tearing through his heart all over again. That beautiful, devastating creature, so magnificent and terrible-- his brave, strong princess, lost to time--
Zelda's words hit him even harder, then, in that moment. Link always works things out.
His voice is soft as he addresses this statement:] ... Not always.
[It's said almost as an afterthought, his tone even and a bit unreadable, measured precisely to keep his feelings out of it. It is a fact, in this case, a reminder that he is a version of this Hero who is defined by his own failings, who has to claw his way out of them in order to make things right. He has no idea if others who bear this destiny share in that feeling. But this time, he...he doesn't know if he can work things out.
He can see the portal in the near distance, now, coming into view around a corner. He nods toward it, leaving his last statement behind as if it's an item he's already used.]
There. The exit.
no subject
So, in the end, he's right: She is tired of it all. All Zelda wants, in the moment, is to be... Zelda, and not an amalgamation of a girl and a goddess, or a girl who wrote her own destiny and plays into it willingly, using others as much as she uses herself.
She huffs, pouting half-heartedly. ]
I won't hear that kind of talk from someone. Putting yourself down like that is just going to keep you from achieving your goals!
[ At least she truly believes this, so as they stand before the exit, the portal glowing with the promise of freedom, she turns to him, smiling apologetically. For what? Everything, of course: She looks at him, downtrodden, believing he can't always come out victorious even when the Goddess blesses him, and she thinks it's her fault. The least she can do is try to tell him that he deserves better.
But because she is just a girl from the sky, she thinks of a long, long time ago, when a boy offered her his hand in a temple that would, eons later, be forgotten. And they, too, would be forgotten, but he would still hold her hand, and lead her home, like he always planned to. Always.
Well, he may not be her Link, but she thinks she owes him that kindness, too, so Zelda reaches out, palm up, and tilts her head shyly. ]
Thank you for saving me, Link. Can we... go together?
no subject
There is something in her expression, in that moment, that looks so deeply pained, tired, ashamed -- not so unlike the Zelda of a future time who cursed her inability to live up to her own destiny. Two women, helpless in the face of a divine call, who just wish to be who they are and not who they are meant to be. Perhaps this is her inheritance, as much as the Master Sword is his. Link cannot relate, though, not entirely. Whatever soul pulses in his body, he chose his own path. He sought out the sword on his own.
She huffs and pouts, this capricious Zelda, and he bows to her will just as easily as he bowed to his own princess. Whatever he believes about himself, about his failings, about Zelda's fate -- it doesn't belong on her shoulders, this girl from the sky.
She reaches a hand out as if she has done so a thousand times before. Maybe she has.
He sees it in his mind's eye, fingers slipping through his own, and he swallows, pushing the memory aside.
His rough hand goes around hers. He has always been reaching for it, in some form or another.]
Together.
[Always.]