For @ghosthoard's project for Steel Can't Carry Me Now by @elle-rosewater!
Director's commentary under the cut!
never done this before but lemme tryyyy
Whole Scene is Basically the brief flashback we get from the chain’s perspective of Artemis’s horrible no good very bad life when she talks to the suitors in the garden
I wanted her expression to show the resignation of her accepting she’s going to get used to get what someone else wants but she’s not putting up with this shit without using them back
I LOVE the way her and wars are so similar in accepting that they are their own bargaining chip to get what they want for other people (wars gave up hebra to be a hero and artemis gave up the only decision she got to make about who to spend the rest of her life with for maya and wars) THEY MAKE ME SO INSANE
I just REALLY wanted to emphasize how tired Artemis is specifically
original sketch had some asshole who’s name we never get in the foreground blurred to shit (i think her expression perfectly captures the annoyance of being talked At rather than talked To)
BUT THEN i had the amazing idea after reading the gut wrenching sequence of the last final chapters where wars last bit of awareness was asking impa to see Artemis’s grave
I was originally going to do a mini comic strip of the amount of plot points that take place with impa watering the plants and a focus on the garden (strawberry wine sessions, wars being high as shit being the only way to express his feelings to Impa or Artemis, archery, maya's training, aftermath of the price consort death ect.) BUT THERE’S TOO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM so congratulations you get angst
i had a LOT of fun playing with the saturation on this one
her armor is always fun to draw but i probably would have rendered the designs a bit better to have the curling imprints be more distinct if i had time
The real ones know I’m lazy and reused the frame for both of them (from my first steel fanart about wars rejecting mossi) but don’t fix what ani’t broken okay
Lowkey had a bit of trouble deciding who’s frame should be silver vs gold
how the hell do you chose a sun and moon dynamic between these two?? She’s literally named after the archer moon goddess but she has holy hylia divine sun powers
and wars is shine bright enough that they can’t see past the glare but moon that only ever orbits around others, only shining with the light he gets from the sun only sees his worth as a hero from complimenting artemis or other people he thinks are more capable DO U SEE MY DILEMMA
• I kinda wanted to turn both of their hands a bit so u could see the triforce symbol?? (Also a reference to previous art from linktober) but i suck at anatomy so what you see is what u get
• (if i hadn’t been a coward Artemis’s hand would have glowed extremely brightly compared to wars which might have had a smidge of ghost blue broken triforce of courage symbol if he was lucky)
Is she staring in disappointment at the one thing she sacrificed her happiness for meaning nothing?? Who can say :)))
Yes his hands haven’t healed from having the cuffs on too tight how could you tell <3 (was originally gonna have the cuffs be looser around his wrists but refer to previous point: anatomy and me don’t get along)
Was i originally going to draw 9 links in the chain? (hypothetically if u count the First Hero, Spirit tracks link, EOC link and AOC link its enough XD)
but No it looked weird in the frame even when i tried to cover it with flowers (NEVER drawing those again)
I had another steel WIP in the making but didn’t get it done in time for the anniversary :/
sorry this is long but thanks for reading anyway!!
i will abuse every opportunity ever to make fanart for @elle-rosewater's Steel Can't Carry Me Now the foreshadowing of this moment DESTROYS ME every time i read it
YES impa and wars and maya and momo are supposed to be there but I really wanted to focus more on cinematic lighting SO there she is <3
i think its funny to see people in the LU fandom to call warriors' zelda "artemis" and then proceed to ship them together as if the goddess artemis wasnt so into women on a level it would rival sappho in terms of lesbianism
The portal felt strange - its edges wrapped around his limbs like a thick jello, as if the very energy they were made of was threatening to trap him forever within its indescribable tingling consistency, yet at the same time he could swear his body was gliding through that unknown substance smoothly, dizzyingly so.
He looked on with horror as the eyes within the Olmak turned dim, time standing still so he could burn that image into the circuits of his crystal brain: one hand outstretched to push him, one hand reaching out to grab him; one hand desperately securing him to the safety of another world, one hand leaning forward in a last desperate attempt to crush him within its palm.
He shut his eyes tight, and the world breathed.
His back hit a solid surface hard, knocking the air out of his lungs. Sheerow fluttered erratically against his chest and warbled in alarm as its keeper remained deathly still - only relaxing once he gasped for air and coughed a few time, rolling over to his side. The little flying Rahi finally escaped his gold and blue grip: it drew a few loops in the air to check their surroundings before swooping down once again, nudging the Ce-Matoran's mask gently to comfort him as he trembled.
"I'm fine," Ravio finally wheezed. His fingers scratched the little creature's head; a hiss left him when he tried to move any further. "My spine hurts worse than Artakha... But aside from that, I'm fine. What about you?"
Sheerow chirped.
"Good to know. Now - let's see where we've ended up."
He sat up with a bit of difficulty, massaging the lower end of his back. The land around them didn't look familiar, but wasn't completely alien either. It made sense: this (as far as he could assume) was still the Universe he knew, just... different.
For example, he noted as he squinted upwards, it was very bright.
A bit too much in his opinion.
But no matter. He'd lived a whole lifetime orienting himself through the scarcely lit nights that passed beneaths the twin moons of Makuta; getting used to seeing better couldn't be too hard.
A horrible thought struck him seemingly out of nowhere: the Olmak! It had remained at Yuga's mercy! Not that he could have used it if he had it, but if Toa were common here he could have asked one to help him! But - could he have trusted a stranger with such a powerful thing? Would they have really sent or accompanied him back since they had it? Maybe it was for the best that he didn't have such an obvious treasure on his person, making him an obvious target for every ill-intentioned being in the universe - but without it he was stuck here all the same, and his only sure ticket out of here was an awfully rare mask, certainly not the sort he would just kindly ask the first Matoran that passed to lend him... Forget finding another Ignika, how was he going to get back? How was he going to do anything?
Sheerow rested on his shoulder, nuzzling into his neck and breaking him out of his spiral.
"Right - right, one step at a time," the Matoran forced himself to say as he patted the little flyer's head. "That's all stuff to worry about later. First, we should figure out where we are."
Easier said than done, but at least it would give his anxious mind something more manageable to work on.
He sucked in a big deep breath and held it for a moment.
Alright, he though as he released: Let's get a move on.
-
As it happened, having a legendary silver Kanohi stapled onto your skull was far from the only reason a less than pleasant creature could decide to accost you.
Sometimes all it took was being a Matoran.
Ravio tried to twist and thrash in his unknown captor's grip, but the claws tightened around his brainstalk turned his senses into puddled static and his movements into incoherent jolts. He could barely even tell what was happening around him aside from the indistinct cacophony hollering in his audio receptors and an unpleasant pressure crushing his entire body, or remember anything that may have transpired in the past hour.
He tumbled through whatever shreds of conscience he still desperately clung to, feeling distantly as his self waned and faded. Was he awake? Was he asleep? Tiredness clawed at him, made him heavy, made him dizzy: the only clear thought he managed to hold onto in the synesthetic chaos coiling him within the eye of its storm was a scream that wouldn't leave his throat - Sheerow!
And then...
And then there was a surge of energy, of clarity, and a soothing heat against the back of his neck.
Something like a beautiful song eased a soft light back into his eyes - nothing like the crazed swirl of buzzing colors that had blinded him moments earlier. He blinked slowly, trying to focus his vision.
A red shape... A red mask...?
Warm breath hissed from the kanohi's cheek in a sort of chuckle: "Welcome back," the song said. "How was your trip, little one?"
"Bad," the Ce-Matoran mumbled.
"I imagined. Now let's get you out of here before you're taken for another round."
His senses were returning slowly, and so was the world around him. His unknown savior (so warm and red he could have curled up right into them) lifted him off the ground at a gentle, deliberate pace while something awful and unseen snarled in their direction; he blinked as the larger being lifted a blade with their free arm, coating it in flames which leaped off the protodermis onto whatever threat had uncautiously made its approach.
He felt them take off as if running, but funnily enough had the strange sensation that their feet were not touching the ground. He couldn't hear them running, after all - and any creature their size must have been quite hefty.
Ravio leaned his head to the side. Oh. They were floating.
He settled back in the snug grip.
Wait, floating?
Not even the time for a suddenly much more alert double take that his body, up until moments before so light that it had glided right into the air, regained its weight all at once.
While he didn't take the brunt of the damage, he still felt very clearly the body holding him aloft impact onto something sturdy enough not to buckle under the hit; a huff and a puff and off they were again, propelled forward without moving a muscle (though this time, at least, he could hear and feel whatever they'd landed on move for them) to trample shrieking opponents he wasn't at all keen to get a look at.
He buried his trembling mask against the bright red armor, clinging to it as hard as he could while shouts rang out all around him for seemingly hours.
Then, at last, the more aggressive voices began to grow distant and a gentle heat warmed his back. He dared take a peek...
All caution was thrown to the wind as he recognized the white thing fluttering anxiously all around him: "Sheerow!" he cried out, beyond elated, and almost leaped from the grip keeping him safe from a disastrous fall to the ground just so he could embrace the little Rahi and nuzzle it against his Faxon: "Thank the Great Spirit! Here I thought - oh, crafty little thing! I got worried over you for nothing, didn't I? No brute nor beast could match your wings!"
A laugh rattled against his back warmly, shaking him much more pleasantly than his previous experience has: "Keeping up with your friend to get here was quite the challenge, that's true."
Right - his kindly rescuer!
Who definitely wasn't going to sell him off, he hoped!
Ravio whipped his head around in a wink, whole body shrinking into itself like a compressed spring ready to bound out of the mellow grip in case of danger.
The larger, much redder being huffed an amused chuckle through the vents of their Garai.
"Not to worry, little one," they reassured him with a marvelous smile as their armor glimmered like a sunset descending upon the shore: "I've never fancied stealing masks. Or Matoran, for that matter - unless they're willing, of course."
Ravio took a moment to genuinely consider the offer.
After all, if this was another kidnapper, they were being a lot more courteous than his previous manhandlers... And a lot more handsome for certain.
A loud grunt snapped him out of his thoughts while the other allowed himself a laugh.
"Alright, alright!" they chuckled. Their hand patted the giant head of a Kane Ra - their steed - as it looked back at them disapprovingly. "Let's cut the mushy stuff and head back to the village before any more Hunters rear their ugly heads. You could probably do with a bit of proper hospitality after such a rough welcome."
The Matoran startled, realizing they were talking to him: "Oh, uh - y-yes, I... I would appreciate that. This journey was long enough already without that change of pace..."
"Let me take you through the scenic route, then. It's not exactly a shortcut, but it'll let you rest your legs a while - and your friend's wings too if it wants to. I guarantee that Epona's head is a rather comfortable spot."
Sheerow fluttered indecisively for a moment or two; at last it touched down on the wide bovine skull, settled snuggly as if in a nest... And all once relaxed with a chirping sigh.
Poor little flyer, Ravio mused: it must have been so worried...
A gentle nudge had him face his smiling chaperone: "My name is Warriors," he introduced himself: "Toa of Fire. And you are...?"
"Er - ah, Ravio! I'm Ravio. I'm, uh... A merchant."
"Oh? And what wares do you bring?"
"N-not many, really... See, uhm, I'm on... Well you see, this is what I call a restocking trip!" the Ce-Matoran replied, vigor and theatrics returning to him despite the low energy as the weaving of his tall tale gained momentum: "My merchandise has grown stale, it's just not selling like it used to, and it's so costly to keep a modest warehouse with so little clientele! But just as I was about to resign myself to wasting away my savings, I had a grant idea: rent out my base of operations for a nice long period, go on a universe-trotting quest to find new exciting business ventures, return victorious with a wagon worth of never-before-seen goods ready to take the market by storm, and make some of my expenses back in advance by cashing in on my tenant's backlogged fees!"
"Aren't you a business genius," Warriors noted honestly.
"Indeed I am! We of Psionics don't have all that fancy brain potential for nothing, you know!"
"And what have you found so far?"
"Oh, all sorts of trinkets..."
-
Most beings would have at some point tuned out the Matoran's endless chatter. Not necessarily out of rudeness, but simply because the amount of information being fed to them would take an absurd amount of time to be processed, and that sort of brain power could (and likely should) have been devoted to much more important things, such as knowing one's surroundings.
Warriors, who was once almost kicked out of a Toa fortress because he couldn't stop "borrowing" his siblings' tools for himself to try out, spent every single second of their shared journey listening intently to every in-depth explanation on the inner workings of various curious weapons and knick-knacks.
Not that Artemis hadn't expected that when she'd checked his brain briefly to get ahold of him since he'd barely noticed her; she just would have gladly done without the torrential stream of information hitting her mask-first at the gentlest nudge into his mind.
Her brother turned to face her quickly after that. His sheepish expression, paired with Epona's relieved huff at their guest rider's stuttered silence, made the Ce-Toa smirk.
"So you were doing something useful," she noted: "Here I thought you'd skipped off to the secret stash of weapons you keep pilfering."
"Secret stash?" the Matoran echoed, intrigued.
The Ta-Toa waved down their enthusiasm: "I have no such thing."
"Of course you don't," his sister cooed. She ignored his pout and squinted glare to courteously nod at the shorter being by his side, who'd gone back to hiding behind his arm: "I welcome you to our village, stranger. Hopefully my brother hasn't sequestered you from your path without reason."
"Oh, on the contrary!" they piped up again with the fervor of a talented actor being given a chance in the limelight: they dramatically splayed themselves over the Fire being's arm as though fainting, which got them immediately caught into the hero's kind grasp - as it was no doubt their plan. "My carefree journey stopped in its tracks, my very life at stake! My person, trapped, in the hands of hoodlums! Criminals! Fiends! They would've made scraps to sell at the protodermis yards out of me if my dear Sheerow had not found this dauntless Toa of Fire who would come to my rescue, piercing through the sky like an erupting volcano to gallantly save me in a surprise attack!"
"You've got a fan, it seems," Artemis chuckled telepathically.
Her flustered brother answered with the mental image of a gesture the description of which is better off omitted.
"There's been quite a few similar episodes in recent times," she continued out loud, in a much more serious tone. "We've sent word to neighboring islands, but I suppose you're from somewhere farther still."
The Matoran (Ravio, according to Warriors' thoughts) replied with a nervous chuckle: "That's it, I'm afraid! Not that it's anybody's fault, you know, efficient mailing systems in this day and age can make you go through such a slog to get messages in time when you need it..."
"Indeed," she nodded. "Telepathy is a lot faster."
Their breath stilled.
She watched them take notice of her golden armor as though they'd never seen the color before.
"Don't go snooping where you shouldn't, sister," the Ta-Toa grumbled, shifting a little as if his body could stop her Psionic powers from reaching the smaller body: "He's shaken enough as is from that welcome committee. At least get him something to sip first."
"There's a few interesting things about his allegiances in there," she warned him quietly.
"I won't hear it."
"Suit yourself."
Artemis smiled gently at the Matoran, doing her best to trasmit him and the little white Rahi apprehensively fluttering around the dark Faxon a reassuring feeling: "You do look like you could use a handful of energy - and the old girl probably wants nothing more than to go lay down herself, isn't that so?"
Epona huffed a long, exhausted rumble in response, never more relieved in her long bull life to be acknowledged.
-
How'd he do it?
How'd he fail immediately?
He hadn't even gotten the time to reach to the dang mask that tried to kill everything it touched! He was still mio away from it, probably! How had he already doomed the entire universe by just starting?
Lohrul, that old fool - it was all his fault! He should have sent him somewhere else, as far away from any living Ce-Toa as possibly feasible! Thanks a lot, mighty ally of Makuta! But his dimming eyes flashed in his mind, pleading and pained as their glow softened more and more until it almost left them... He had no right to think such terrible things of the being who saved his life at the cost of himself.
But what could he do? What could he do? Now that he'd made that sacrifice completely meaningless as soon as he'd begun his quest?
Something made a sad, squelching pop in his hands.
He looked down.
A... Berry?
A berry. Pierced by his fingers and dripping oily juice all over them. When had he been holding a berry?
"I should've expected that," the Toa muttered.
He jumped.
Her hand raised peacefully to calm him, though her mask was still stern: "No one will hurt you here," she promised. Under his and Sheerow's trembling watch she picked another round fruit from a basket lined against the wall (when had they gone in a room? Had he been so terrified that he hadn't noticed?) and offered it to him. "You do need the energy."
"For what?" he dared ask.
"Living, mostly. You're looking a little grey."
Ravio did not move.
She waited a little more.
At last, she gently placed the food in his hands - moving him carefully, no doubt aware of Sheerow's increasingly nervous fluttering, though it was unclear whether she considered the little Rahi a real threat - and curled his still sticky grip around it. She looked into his eyes with her own, of a cool orange.
"I can't let you starve," she simply said.
"Because you want to question me?"
"Because it is my Duty as a Toa to protect Matoran. Even when they are working for Makuta."
He froze again.
An agent of Mata Nui! Of course, he ended up in the hands of an agent of Mata Nui! The whole village, the whole attack must have been an illusion! They were probably trailing after him since the start! These freaks were beyond obsessive, he'd bet they had someone dedicated to feeling out Olmak usages - oh, Great Spirit, they must have clocked him before he'd even opened his eyes! Or redirected him somehow! Yes, that must have been it - they'd caught Lohrul interfering with their plan to leave the Universe to die, and instead letting Ravio escape into another reality they had him land back in his own! They were going to hand him off to Artakha to get rearranged into a stool, or, or worse, they were going to do it themselves! And what of Sheerow? What of Sheerow?! Oh, poor thing, what were they going to do to it?!?
The fruit in his hands came dangerously close to exploding from the sheer pressure applied to it.
Thankfully, a wave of complete silence blanked out the Matoran's mind. He blinked, grip relenting, surprised he could calm himself down so quickly all on his own.
Then he actually noticed the Ce-Toa.
She looked... Strained.
After a long, thoughtless silence, she whispered: "Alright."
Ravio let himself be lifted in the air and settled upon the nearest, highest seat available, still a bit too stunned to say or do anything. Her hands were still on him, though it seemed to be more to anchor herself than to restrain the Matoran.
"I think," she finally murmured, "I may not have as full a picture of the situation as I assumed."
A deep breath, and she was back to staring into his eyes.
"Ravio-"
"How do you know my name?"
"-Warriors' thoughts - I need you to explain everything about yourself and why you're here, as thoroughly as possible." her grip tightened slightly when he attempted to clam up again, mask morphing into a tired grimace: "You mind is very loud. I'm sure we'd both prefer to avoid another anxious spiral."
So... He talked.
What choice did he have, anyways?
He talked and talked of every thing that came to his mind, no matter how obvious: of the Great Spirit Makuta, his sickness, his slowly approaching death; of Mata Nui, once tasked with looking after his brother but now revealed to be a hateful, ungrateful, power-hungry schemer who'd sacrifice the whole universe just because he felt too ignored by it; of the sudden disappearance of the Ignika (of its most likely destruction, if he'd correctly interpreted the clues Lohrul had carefully laid out), the only thing that could have saved Makuta; of the plan to send him off so he could find another Mask of Life so that they could stave off the end enough to knock Mata Nui out of the sky and reawaken the Great Spirit. Not by stealing it, of course! Just... Borrowing it.
He knew it didn't sound any more trustworthy, but he couldn't stress how honest he was. He was living through the terrifying dread of its absence: he wouldn't want any other being to experience this.
The Toa, Artemis - at some point she must have beamed her name into his brain - listened closely, coaxing him every now and then to sip some energy from the fruit when he was breathless. Sheerow had settled on his shoulder in a state of mostly sedated alert, though it still kept a close watch on the larger being.
His endless monologue began to stumble as he got closer and closer to the present moment. Apologies stumbled out of his mouth for the lying, the panicking, the mere act of existing around them, bringing this kind of trouble to them...
He babbled his sorries as his voice quieted, waned, weakened, and finally hushed.
With nothing left to say, he turned his gaze down upon the fruit in his hands. When had he last had something this filling? He drained it more, more consciously, until it begun to shrivel a bit. Then he held it a little higher: Sheerow hopped to perch upon it and took to yanking chunks out of it, crunching them happily in its beak-mouth.
It was kind of gross.
Ravio was used to it, though.
Artemis watched the little Rahi eat with him.
He wondered if she was taking her time thinking over his words, or if she was just trying not to twist her lungs inside out because of how disgusting the spectacle was.
She snorted in genuine amusement.
Right! Right. Loud mind.
At least the laugh had torn through the stillness in the air, letting them both take a long breath and relax their shoulders. The Toa's eyes had changed, too: she didn't seem as cold or suspicious of him, though it had been warranted at least a little bit - just as he'd been terrified to hear her pronounce Makuta's name with distrust, she'd thought him affiliated with forces conspiring against the Great Spirit Mata Nui, as their places, it appeared, where thoroughly opposite in this world compared to his own.
How'd he known that, anyways? She never even said a... Oh! Telepathy! Of course.
"Of course," she echoed.
He giggled nervously, a bit flustered: "Of course. Uhm... So... Now that that's all out of the way...?"
"Now... I'll need to explain this to Warriors."
He was going to hate him.
"He's not," Artemis reassured him: "My brother is a lot softer than you'd guess, considering his element. A lie in self-defense isn't enough to make you his enemy. But it's rather safe to say that on a quest for a legendary Kanohi, a Matoran, a Rahi and a single Toa have very few chances of getting anywhere."
Ravio's heartlight hiccuped: "You'll - you'll help me?"
"It wouldn't sit right with me not to," she replied. Her smile dropped slightly as she considered the more immediate problems such a decision brought: "This doesn't mean we'll be off tomorrow-"
"Of course, of course! We need supplies! And information! And maybe another Toa or two, or someone like that since I'm not really good at fighting overall - and locomotion!! We can't just walk the whole way there! And when we do get there we might need specialized gear, like something for excavation or - actually scratch that, first and foremost we need to think about containment, because that capricious golden thing will be the worst to move around if the stories of it shifting anything it touches worse than a level 8 Reconstituting Kanoka are to be trusted, which I do think they are, so first of all--"
A finger tapped the mouth of his mask: "First of all, we'll need time to write all this down," Artemis interrupted him.
Embarrassment warmed his armor until it steamed: "Oh. Yeah."
The Toa only chuckled, winking lightly: "The sooner the better. Let's get my brother up to speed, little one."
The way from the hut to the Kane Ra stables was like walking on air. She'd help him! They'd help him! There was a chance, a minimal, minuscule chance that he could make it - that he could really save the universe from the brink of death, like the marvelous heroes the Turaga would tell legends of did. He lacked the stature and courage necessary to be one, but he would be at the side of one - of two! Of more, if Destiny smiled upon him!
After centuries of grim news piling onto his armor had threatened to crush him, he felt light. He felt hopeful.
So does anyone want to adopt this barely started crack fic potentially would have ended up serious Spirit Tracks Wars Fic with Ghost Athena/Artemis? I'm going to explain the outline of the fic, so ya'll can see what I was trying to make but the idea fizzled out of existence, not even the drive of writing a Spirit Tracks Athena/Artemis with Wars could keep it going. So basically Athena/Artemis goes through a portal taht ends up under her, and her soul gets ejected out, so like the idea was her body lands where Flora is (or where any other Zeldas i choose to include), while her spirit ends up with the Links, more specifically Wars. It was mostly a way to write Phantom Artemis/Athena which I have another idea for, which hopefully the motivation doesnt die like this fic. I don't exactly know if I was going to have Artemis x Warriors but I just can't come up with anything for it (I like Grandpa Wind for Wars but i was going to have him as a adopted kid of Old man Niko or something, or Legend's time paradox grand baby from the future taht got yoiked by Cia), but I have like parts of it written down already so, I'm just going to post it on Tumblr so if anyone wants to continue it, then your free to continue it!
