Link fighting Dodongo, mixed media (watercolor ink and colored pencils) I'd been dying to get back to analog and I have my workstation all set up for it now! :D :D :D
also i was playing around with brushes and had the epiphany that i can actually draw with a sketchy pen like i do on paper, insane right
further explanations/ramblings below the cut
cw for brief mentions of unspecified eating disorder & depression. I don’t go into many details, and these topics are mentioned as if listing facts, but I’d rather be safe than sorry!
Link was on his way back to Hyrule after OoS/OoA when the storm struck him down and he fell into the Windfish’s dream. Zelda was expecting him back within a certain timeframe, and was pretty distressed when he never showed on time. Her relief was immense when he was found adrift on some flotsam.
OKAY so.. idk what the general consensus is if Legend actually died after being struck by lightning or was in some sort of stasis below the sea while stuck in the Windfish’s dream, but I like to think the lighting did actually kill him, and the Windfish brought him back as thanks 🙂↕️🙂↕️
ik it’s not actually the Windfish in PH, but I’d like to think the whale and him are the same. Or at least the same kind of entity! And just like in PH, time moves differently outside of the dream then inside, so Legend was there for months, but in reality barely a week had passed.
When he initially gets back to Hyrule, he’s taken to the infirmary in the castle, much to his chagrin. And while yes, he was severely dehydrated, sunburnt, and injured from the shipwreck, it soon became apparent to the healers that the worst of his injuries weren’t physical. He was moved to some guest chambers in the castle so Impa and Zelda could keep an eye on him while he recovered.
Immediately following his recovery from the ocean, Link was very spacey. He was extremely depressed, as someone in his situation would be, and was having trouble discerning if he truly was in reality or was still dreaming. He’d occasionally dissociate fully, but would mostly be aware, if not in a state of derealization.
He would refuse to sleep for days at a time, and would often find himself delirious, which did not help his derealization. He found that playing the Ballad of the Windfish helped ground him in reality, as it never woke him up. He developed insomnia, due to Koholint, and even during LU he has bouts of extreme anxiety about sleeping.
I like to think that constant adventuring, especially when being hunted down as a child, doesn’t lend itself well to keeping a healthy eating schedule. Legend never really ate well, and is pretty scrawny for it, but in his depression after Koholint would rarely eat at all, but he definitely has always had some sort of unspecified eating disorder going on. He’s very thin, and while he’s eating enough to not be skeletal by the time of LU, he’s definitely just skin and wiry muscle.
Even though it was bleak initially, Link did get better. Unbeknownst to him, and not told to him until he began insisting on going back to his home, his uncle had passed while Legend had been in Labrynna & Holodrum. He left the castle anyways, home to an empty house and an overgrown orchard (´༎ຶོρ༎ຶོ`).
Due to his depression, he didn’t exactly take care of himself well and was unconcerned about appearances. His hair had grown considerably during his time in the castle and he hadn’t bothered to cut it even after returning to the orchard.
Something that was really pivotal in getting Link back on his feet was his apprenticeship at the blacksmith. It gave him a reason to get out of bed, make efforts to take care of himself, and stay grounded in reality.
He did eventually cut his hair after Zelda mentioned it once while visiting. rip
Honestly, the whole meeting 8 other Heroes who share your same soul in an adventure across time probably sounds pretty unrealistic. For a while at the beginning of his adventure, he struggled with truly believing it was real, even if he played the Ballad of the Windfish and didn’t wake up back in his bed at home.
idk if i’ll ever write/draw about it, but what about an AU where Link’s Awakening is Legend’s most recent adventure. So this extremely done with everything and very paranoid Legend is thrown right into LU immediately after 🤔
Artemis practices a little self-sacrificial hypocrisy. The gang resolves to disband for a bit to give Artemis the best chance at potentially summoning them.
Fable and Lullaby aim to aid an injured Artemis. A certain something takes advantage of Tetra shuffling her feet.
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Wisdomverse Masterpost
Shoutout to an anonymous asker from back when Part 8 came out— they were the first person to guess that the cause of Artemis’ injury was an attack on her real body in her own era manifesting during her summon :). Others have definitely figured it out since as well. Kudos to everyone who’s been posting about it!
Flora contemplates great power and the responsibility that comes with it. Artemis gets a little distracted.
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Wisdomverse Masterpost
(Note: Check out Time’s Refrain for Lullaby’s backstory, and how she used her ability to see into Elegy’s and Requiem’s timelines.)
Shoutout to @legendliz here and @loz-chainsofcorruption here and on Insta for being the first people to notice that Artemis was injured, and to the analysis posts on this topic by @mobgabriel and @tetraswings!
And shoutout to this little comic by @tetraswings; I chuckled upon seeing it and couldn’t say anything about it until now :).
The springtime festival of Labrynna was fairly harmless. At least, at first.
Truthfully, no one- including the Vet- had thought anything would come of staying the day and night to partake in the food and drink. Certainly not the situation they were now facing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You have to tell her," The Captain hissed at the smug hero in front of him. "Because so help me if you don't I WILL."
"Relax, I'll tell her later in the Inn." Legend commented over his shoulder readjusting the flower crown on his head before rushing back into the crowd he's been snatched from and rejoining their wonderful painfully naive Darling. Grasping her hands gently he spun her in a giggling twirl causing her own matching flower crown to slip down a little. Legend raised a hand to adjust it before picking back up at the dance and the music.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It had all started innocently enough. The crowd was manageable enough that the group had felt comfortable with allowing everyone to spread out a bit.
Wild had flitted from stall to stall checking out the food and ingredients on display and Wind and Legend were not much better. Four had disappeared at some point and the Captain honestly couldn't be bothered to care at the time. Not with her hand on his arm as he guided her around the streets. Her presence alone made the pain in his leg from the near break a few days before feel almost non-existent.
Several of the others were wandering around doing who knows what as he guided their sweet Darling around from stall to stall letting her look at all the trinkets on display. The festival was lively and the music gently floated through the air from where a nearby band was playing in the center of the square.
"Oh! Look at that one!" She tapped his arm gently before pointing and drawing his attention to an ornate quiver. Not practical by any means but incredibly detailed with delicate swirls burned into the leather and painted gold to further accentuate them. Giggling she leaned in conspiratorially before whispering. "Bet that'd fall apart the first time it rains."
"Undoubtedly. It's probably just meant for display or boasting." The Captain smiled down at her before gently squeezing her hand where it rested on his arm. "Of course, you know the real brag is in your skill with the bow."
Shuffling away he couldn't help the occasional limp as his weight settled on his leg unfavorably. Frowning softly at him she quietly inquired. "Are you sure you're ok walking around?"
"I'm fine," Came the soft reassurance. "I'll let you know if I need a break."
Like hell was he going to sit this one out. It was his day with her and he wasn't going to let a busted leg stop him.
Her answering frown was quickly wiped away as the crowd started to shift closer towards the center and the music picked up a notch. Head swiveling in that direction she glanced around and stood on her tiptoes trying to gauge was what happening. "What's going on?"
Glancing over the crowd too he plenty of people partnering up and beginning to dance. "Looks like everyone is starting to dance."
"Oh." She'd answered back flatly before trying to discreetly look away but he could tell she'd wanted to join.
Sighing deeply the Captain weighed the pros and cons while stroking the top of her hand softly from where it still rested on his forearm.
Hylia damn him. She'd expressly mentioned not having festivals like this back home and wanting to enjoy it to the fullest. Shifting his weight again a bolt of pain shot up his leg and he had to lean off it quickly again.
He wasn't going to hold her back. He promised himself he wasn't going to be the reason she was disappointed today. Glancing down at her from the corner of his eye he squeezed her hand softly and smiled at her when she looked up at him. "Why don't you go join? I'll be right here."
"Are you sure?"
Answering back with a resolute "Positive." that he didn't really feel he released her hand and tried not to chase after it when it slipped off his arm leaving a cold feeling there.
"Just one quick dance." She promised before rushing off into the thick of the crowd as they all swirled and danced and began to partner off further.
"That was particularly generous of you." Came a droll voice from behind.
Twisting his head around the Captain tried not to glare down at the Smithy who simply stood there with his mug of whatever he'd found to drink. "She wants to have fun not be stuck sitting around."
"Then you should have let someone else escort her today." The vehement reply left no room for argument but the Captain wasn't going to go down without one anyways.
"And let someone else have my day with her?" A sharp laugh barked out of the man before he turned his attention back to the crowd of dancers. Watching as several people carrying multiples of flower crowns started to part them out freely amidst the dancers something bothered him in the back of his head. "It's not like any of you would have done any different."
"True." The smithy grumbled before hopping up on top of a nearby crate and sit and watch the dancers.
A familiar giggle rang out as she twirled around in her newly gained flower crown and was passed from hand to hand not yet settled with a specific partner.
Frowning softly the Captain shifted to lean back on the same crate trying to figure out why this bothered him.
Unbeknownst to him Four had set his mug down and was now deeply eyeing the dance with a troubled frown of his own. "This... Seems familiar somehow..."
Turning a shocked look towards the other hero the Captain couldn't help but ask. "To you too?"
"I feel like I should recognize this." The Smithy nodded before lifting the mug back up to his mouth.
Something about the dancing and flowers and the partnering up seems familiar but distant for the both of them.
It's just as another man reaches for her now clearly having decided she'd be his partner that it clicks for both Links and the Smithy nearly chokes and spews out his mouthful of what the Captain can now identify as ale.
"Shit!" Came the sharp hiss from the Captain's lips as he fully realized just what had bothered him so much about the dancing.
They both leap up ready to jump in and intervene before another familiar figure cuts in instead- twirling effortlessly into the fray the Veteran slips in between their Darling and the other man and grasps her hands before delicately spinning her around and dancing the two of them away.
The rejected man slips away as someone tossed a flower crown to the Hero of Legend and their wonderful sweet Darling helps him to place it on his head before laughing merrily into the dance not knowing what she's done. What has just transpired.
If he wasn't so torn between relief at the near miss and at fuming at Legend the Captain would have enjoyed the sight and sound of her clear joy at the festival and dance but as it was he wanted nothing more than to cut in and show her how much better he could dance than Legend. He'd been trained by the Princess's own tutors for balls and the royal court after all.
The younger hero had swooped in and- while technically saving her- had also stolen her.
Once more the Captain found himself cursing his luck for his leg being injured in the first place. ...although he did have to give the veteran the credit- He's a despicably good dancer. Not that he'd ever tell the other man that.
Eventually, the swirling mass of dancers spirals near their spot and taking his chance when the couples all broke apart for a moment the Captain seized his hand upon the veteran's shoulder and snatched him to the side.
"She doesn't know what this is." He growled at the man before the Smithy joined in, "How could she know? I doubt she'd have joined in if she knew what it was."
The veteran merely smirked back and smacked the offending hand off of him before waving towards their Darling to wait a moment. "You both let her join."
"How was I supposed to know?!" The Captain snapped back. "I've only ever heard of this sort of thing because of the lessons I had to take. This is an outdated tradition in my era."
"It's barely ever practiced in mine and I pre-date all of you." Came the waspish answer from the Smithy who had crossed his arms and was now glaring at the offending flower crown adorning Legend's head.
"Well, too bad. You could say 'thank you', you know. Considering what I stopped from happening."
"Oh please," Rolling his eyes he glanced over the veteran's shoulder to make sure no one had taken the man's place in the dance. "You were just waiting for a chance like this weren't you?"
A smug smirk is all the answer he gets before the man jumps back playfully a foot or two to the time of the beat.
"You have to tell her," The Captain hissed at the smug hero in front of him. "Because so help me if you don't I WILL."
"Relax, I'll tell her later in the Inn." Legend commented over his shoulder before readjusting the flower crown on his head before rushing back into the crowd he's been snatched from and rejoining their wonderful painfully naive Darling. Grasping her hands gently he spun her in a giggling twirl once again causing her own matching flower crown to slip down a little. Legend raised a hand to adjust it before picking back up at the dance and the music.
"Oh, how wonderful a we-," The sound of something breaking belies the gentle voice and gives the Captain slight warning before a vice grip clamps onto his arm and he turns to regard the icy cold eyes of the Hero of the Sky. "Why is she out there?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Later that night:
"So wait... We're like Vegas married?" She'd asked blithely before popping another spoonful of soup into her mouth either unaware or uncaring of the shocked and irritated glances around the room.
"I have no idea what that means but, yeah, sure." To his credit Legend merely shrugged and smiled at her. "Only here at least. I doubt it would stand up legally in another country or era."
"Oh, cool!" And with another grin and a quiet snicker she dug her spoon back into the bowl. "So should I call you 'honey' or 'sugar' or would you prefer something else?"
The Captain felt his brow twitch and a rather indignant sound came somewhere in the room.
Turns out... Mistake marriages are common enough to be taken lightly where she's from.
