Legend had a change of heart and a change of plans.
"Din damn it!"
Legend glared at his phone. He was just about to leave for Time's party when Sky texted him the picture. Of Warriors and his new boyfriend's outfits (along with copious heart eye emojis). Of course Warriors had gone all out. And of course they were wearing complimentary costumes.
He yanked the head band with the bunny ears off his head, the ones Ravio had forced him into.
"You have to dress up!"
He did theater, he dressed up all the time. Sue him for wanting a break.
Legend threw the headband onto his desk and yanked open the closet door. There wasn't much he could do about a couple's costume because no matter what anyone thought, he and Ravio were not dating. But he could still throw something together.
He considered doing a vampire. Sure, it was generic but he could pull it off quickly. But no, that couldn't compare to Warriors' Roman whatever he was. Maybe a…
"Rav, where's my cape?"
"What?" Ravio's voice was muffled, coming from his room on the other end of the hall.
"Where. Is. My. Cape?"
There was a shuffling noise as Ravio's bedroom door opened. He smiled sheepishly as he poked his head in the door.
"I may have… borrowed it."
Legend sighed and rubbed his forehead. He looked back at the closet, glancing through his options. His eyes caught on something shiny and sequined. An outfit he hadn't worn since one of his first productions in college for the student run theatre troupe. He grinned.
"I need twenty minutes and the body glitter."
Ravio didn't respond for a moment, but then he nodded enthusiastically. "I'll grab it."
Legend was going to be the hottest Farore damned cheerleader the town has ever seen.
(Ravio was not impressed by the football helmet Legend shoved on him — it did not work with his costume — but he was happy to see Legend so excited. Even if the grump insisted it was only to one up his friend.)
The inside was just as lovingly built as the outside, exposed wood and beams supporting a tall ceiling. Tools hung on the wall and in one corner, a large statue of an unfamiliar bird. Rowan was hit instantly with the scent of fresh sawdust, sap, and a bit of wood smoke.
Someone popped up from behind the counter — a well built man with brown, fluffy hair covered in wood shavings and a friendly smile.
“Time! And you must be the new farmer. I’m Sky, it’s nice to meet you!”
He reached out a hand for a shake. Sky’s hands were calloused, likely from years of woodwork, and his grip was firm.
“I am in no way a farmer, but it’s nice to meet you as well. I’m Rowan.”
Sky’s grin didn’t falter. After letting go of Rowan’s hand, he brushed the front of his clothes as if that was enough to clean off the saw dust covering him. “Well, you moved out to the old farrm west of town, didn’t you?”
Rowan nodded. “My great uncle’s, yes.”
“You live on a farm, old or not. That’s enough for me. Now what can I do for you?”
Time stepped forward then, nearly making Rowan jump when he spoke up. “The old farmhouse needs some work, and an inspection to make sure it’s safe to live in. A beam in the bedroom fell while I was there this morning.”
Sky’s eyes widened, and he looked over at Rowan. “You weren’t…” he shook his head. “I guess if you were in there you wouldn’t be here now. Glad you’re okay.”
Sky walked out from behind the counter and into the room adjacent to the one they were in. Rowan waited, unsure if he should follow, and took the chance to look around the shop more. It wasn’t just woodworking tools displayed on the walls. There was also a sword — meticulously polished and devastatingly sharp. An unstrung bow and a quiver of arrows. Blueprints and designs tacked up on the walls.
“Sky's passion is woodworking, but he’s also a world-class fighter,” Time told him. He was looking at the sword with an unreadable expression.
Before Rowan could ask, there was a shout of “Groose!” from somewhere else in the house. Rowan raised an eyebrow, and Time smiled.
“Sky’s business partner. Sometimes it’s a wonder how they can work together with how much they get on each other’s nerves.”
Rowan chose to ignore the crashing sound from the other room while Time went over to examine the carved wooden bird. It was only a minute later when Sky returned, a leather work bag thrown over his shoulder and a slight scowl on his face. His expression lifted slightly when he looked back over at Rowan.
11. Do you believe in the old advice to “kill your darlings?” Are you a ruthless darling assassin? What happens to the darlings you murder? Do you have a darling graveyard? Do you grieve?
Hmm, when it comes to characters in fanfiction, I am willing to do it. It makes me terribly sad though. I've cried writing it before. For original writing, it has to serve the plot. And it usually is a known thing to happen from the time the idea is born (I say as if I've ever finished a long term original work.
When it comes to projects? Sure. If it's no longer serving me, if it's not bringing me joy, I'm not going to keep working at it. That doesn't mean I give up when it gets tough, but there's a difference between working through a tough spot or slogging through writer's block and making yourself miserable because the project isn't something you are interested in anymore.
What happens next? They usually sit in their doc and wait until the day I may or may not come back and see if there's anything worth salvaging. Usually the answer is no.
23. Describe the physical environment in which you write. Be as detailed as possible. Tell me what’s around you as you work. Paint me a picture.
My usual place? The right side of my couch with my laptop on my lap or the arm of the couch. Often in the evening with a nice sweet ready to be nibbled on. My Mountain Goats playlist on in the background and Hazelnut (my leopard gecko) hanging out with me.
My favorite place? [REDACTED] cafe and indie book publisher with an iced coffee and something to snack on. They always play music that has good vibes and I like the white noise of a cafe, so I don't usually wear headphones. My friend and former college roommate across from me. Sitting by the window so I can get distracted by people walking by.
32. What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?
You know, Andrea Gibson's poetry always comes to mind when this topic comes up. I was looking through some of my favorites and couldn't decide on a line until I was reminded of this one via a random message I sent on discord:
Something difficult to stomach in this life is the fact that we might all learn and grow at a pace that will hurt people.
It's not in my favorite poem, but it is an important and powerful one (Letter to White Queers - read with caution, heavy topics await).
It's something that is difficult to accept but learning to understand this has helped me greatly. Both to accept my shortcomings and to grow from them. I don't want to hurt other people. But sometimes it happens. I can make up for it and do better in the future. But I can't do that if I'm always dwelling on the past.
Mmm let's try... Hug, quiet, and... oh, I don't know, spun? Or spin. I've blanked on what tense you write in. Spin/spun
When Link leaned in for a hug, Rowan pulled him tight against his chest. Though he knew Link couldn’t hear him, not from his left ear, he still whispered “I love you” before they pulled apart.
This is from an AU where Warriors is deaf in one ear (among other 'old injuries'). Rowan does tell him when Wars can hear him too, he's just a sap and views it as almost a good luck charm thing. Or like a "look at this fool, thinking I only tell him I love him a few times a day when I secretly say it so much more than that" type of thing. He's just a sap!
Twilight spun to face him, eyes squinted in anger, lips curled into a snarl reminiscent of Wolfie.
No context for this one XD
The leader’s face fell slightly, but he continued his quiet story, giving Warriors something to focus on besides the pain.
The 2nd and 3rd one are from an old wip that I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to cleaning up and posting, but the angst is chef's kiss
Thanks Paloma! It was fun looking through my fics!
6. Are there any fics from others you reread all the time?
I've only recently started bookmarking stuff so usually I would only reread stuff if I happened to come across it again while going through tags 😅 Some highlights from the fics I do have bookmarked:
Iconoclasm by CrimsonRavioli (Rav!) (My tag: "Very Good Wars Stuff". Happens to be the only one with that tag, because I forgot to use it again. But it's also very well deserved.)
Marigolds by theScrap_Witch (Sad, very good)
The Inner Warriors by FlamingIdiot (Rock shared this with me early on in the process or writing TFWS, after I told them Warriors was a dragon! It's very good!)
The rest got long so -
19. Give us a small teaser from one of your WIPs.
His only request was that he’d be allowed to walk — with support — from the cart to the bakery’s back door.
“In case anyone is watching.”
When the medics tried to reason with him, telling Link his pride wasn’t worth injuring himself further, Rowan stepped in. He knew the real reason why Link was insisting that. There were many watchful eyes in their neighborhood, and Rowan knew Link had overheard him telling Zelda on one of her visits about how concerned some of their neighbors must be.
Link wasn’t ashamed of his injuries — he just didn’t want anyone to worry about him.
Ah this one doesn't have much written for it yet, but have this little bit anyways!
29. Share a bit from a fic you’ll never post OR from a scene that was cut from an already posted fic. (If you don’t have either, just share a random fic idea you have that you don’t plan on getting to.)
I think I mentioned this bit in a previous answer, actually! It was a trashed whumptober idea because I didn't have the time to do it justice. I think it was also going to be the Rowan whump fic you requested, but I turned that into request into Stay With Me instead.
Link cursed as he ran down the streets between burning destroyed buildings. He couldn’t believe that Castle Town had been attacked, and with such devastating force. For the past few hours, he’d been at the walls, trying to prevent the monsters from getting in that way. He knew that some had already made it in, knew that civilians had been ordered to evacuate to the castle earlier in the day when they’d realized the attack was inevitable.
But he hadn’t realized how bad it had been.
Links heart leapt into his throat as he rounded the corner into his neighborhood. The one he’d spent the last few years, the best years of his life. With his husband in the home above the bakery. With the elderly neighbors that had practically adopted them. The young ones that came in because they knew Rowan would sneak them treats or to catch a glimpse of the famous hero.
The perfect memory was ruined, because many of the homes were damaged, some smoking from monster’s fiery attacks. There were still soldiers milling about, some medics helping the injured. None he recognized, but he didn’t stop for pleasantries.
Now that the official word had gone out that the attackers were repelled, there were some civilians around as well. Many seemed shell shocked at seeing their homes so damaged, but there were signs of hope as well. Neighbors helping each other clear rubble, civilians helping medics take care of injured soldiers. He overheard snatches of conversation as people offered to share what they had with those who had lost more.
Link didn’t know where Rowan would have ended up, could only hope that he’d followed the evacuation orders. He hadn’t had time to go tell him in person, too caught up in directing the defensive measures on his side of Castle Town.
Apparently, the monsters had gotten in through the EAST gate before it was fully blockaded and made their way through the city, destroying everything in their path. By the time they made it this far, the army had rallied and fought back, but there was still collateral damage.
But when turned the last corner onto his home street, Link froze at the sight. Most of the buildings here had taken heavy damage, and at least half of the homes were on fire. Windows were blown out, walls destroyed, the road torn up. Whatever had happened here, it was bad. It was a small blessing that he didn’t see any of their neighbors
Fic title! I shall give two, because I am doing my worst
Like Finding Stars
Red Sky at Morning
These are very good!
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Like Finding Stars
Okay I don't have a super specific idea for this, but I know you love Rowan...
So maybe a stargazing date? Part one is the date, part two is during LU and Warriors is looking at the stars in another era, trying to pick out the same constellations from his world. Wondering if Rowan is looking at the same stars at home. ❤️
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Not sure if this was your intention, but Red Sky at Morning reminds me of the uh... proverb? Rhyme?
Red in the morning, sailors take warning
Red at night, sailor's delight.
I'm sure the actual wording varies, but that's the version that I remember! So I'm immediately thinking of our Windy boy.
Maybe the Links are in Wind's world, and it's early-ish on in their adventure. They're still settling into their 'roles', still learning to trust each other, to learn each other's expertise.
They are on a big island, one with no Hylian settlements, and they arrive just before dawn. They're getting their stuff together, they hear monsters in the distance so they're getting ready to go hunt them.
When dawn breaks, the sky is painted in red. And Wind is nervous. He knows the rhymes his grandma told him when he was younger were just stories. But he's traveled with pirates, and pirates are notoriously superstitious. And they're right to be, at least sometimes.
He can't shake the feeling that they should move to higher ground, or at least to the center of the island. But he's the youngest, he's not one of the heroes who have taken the lead. Would they even listen to him?
But then the wind whips up, the temperature plummets, the sky goes from red to grey-black as storm clouds roll in. And Wind knows that they have to get to as far away from the water as they can, and preferably find shelter, as soon as possible! And the others listen to him and they find a cave or something to weather out the storm.
Also, not thinking hurricane level storm, but like a tropical storm? Something on the lower end but still something destructive and dangerous if you were on the beach. Let me know if you have any ideas!
