Hero of Spirits

Link: *SCREAMING OBNOXIOUSLY*

Zelda: My body's in trouble? I'm just gonna wait here, that's what princesses do.

Anjean: Oh, I'll just give you this sword that I could of given you earlier, but forgot I had.

Cole: Fuck you guys, I'm not evil! Just because I have sharp teeth and claws and horns doesn't mean I'm not human! You're just jealous that my fashion sense is better than yours!

Byrne: I want power, but the spirits won't give it to me, so I'll just free the one thing they're guarding! That'll show em!

Excellent.  Kafei digs his camera out of his luggage and tries not to be too obvious about getting a really good picture of the hilt.  He’s not going to steal it, but it takes less than demon possession for him to sort of almost want to!  A sword derives its mythos from its hero, though.  Retiring it before it’s completed its run, as determined by said hero, wouldn’t ultimately make sense, he’s considering.  It just doesn’t make a good story.

“Oh, a pose would be great,” he says enthusiastically, “just a minute!”  That will definitely work nicely to keep up the illusion of motivations rooted more in friendliness than scholarly greed!  Breaking off a conversation to intensely study a thing lets others know right away you are Weird and Doing Things Wrong, and once that cat’s out of the bag it’s miserable people all around!  He always has to watch how he answers when his uncle asks him about work; how pleasant of a day he had is a much different conversation than the contents of the manuscripts he handled and the background information about everything known about the Hero of Time’s debatably real journey to Termina!

On closer inspection, the scabbard has got some nice detail, and probably came with the sword, so that gets some pictures too.  Would Link get upset if he started pulling out the sword, to get a better look at the blade?  Probably?  

“Could you draw the sword and make like a badass action pose?” Kafei asks cheerily, moving away from the sword to give Link some space.  “Badass” got some good results last time he said it, let’s say it again!  The conversation can flow nicely into a request to photograph the blade more closely, if it’s already out.  

Link honestly wouldn’t care if Kafei was upfront about this being for personal/work interest- Whatever the motivation of it was, pictures of the sword was harmless. He figured Kafei would at least use it for some form of record keeping after, considering the supposed historical importance of the weapon.

He stands pefectly still while Kafei takes the photos, pose perfect for the other to get good shots of the hilt and scabbard. Kafei seemed really enthusiastic about showing his uncle these pictures, it seemed.

At the request, he can’t help but laugh before following through. He returns the scabbard to his back, and poses himself in such a way that it looks like he’s preparing to stab an enemy, stance firm, expression determined. Then, he decides to comment, “Man, your uncle must like swords.”

       In dreamland, the faint sound of an instrument awoken him. The boy sits up from his resting spot, taking in a view of a vast island. One that was yet inhabited by man. It was strange...why of all places was he here? This could be the handy work of D E A T H. Whenever someone passes, they go to a paradise they long awaited, right? Linny took to the conclusion he was in the afterlife. Though it was rather empty, mayhaps the self reflection of what he felt; Lonely.

    What in the world is that sound though?

       He gets up, ready to explore the area he was in. This place was surly not like any other island he has came across, in fact it could be the biggest one yet. The hylian freezes in place when a sudden glimpse of transparent hylians running past him, there seemed to be pavement the two children were running on. What in Din’s pearl was going on? FOLLOWING the giggly kids, they end up fading away, not after a new vision comes, one where there was enormous walls, almost a wall to protect some sort of force inside. 

    Another vision as he walks in, a mother yanking her child away from strange metal on the ground. It was not clear as to what she was scolding him about...Linny paid no mind, the music was getting louder.

       Venturing further, everything he was witnessing s c a t t e r e d into thin air, the music still played, it was bothering him now. This next vision shocked the kid,

   A castle.

       He’s...never seen one outside of going into the deep. This one was clearly above land. The front door opens as he gets closer, music now ringing through the ears. The castle fades away and he’s now inside. He sees two people in the middle...one that looked like Tetra, in her Zelda form and one that looked exactly like him. 

    The source of the sound now become apparent, the person who looked like him was playing it. It finally stops and the girl claps in delight. Her response was clear unlike the rest.

       “You play so well,

       Link!”

    With a soft gasp, Linny shoots up. That name shocked him out of that bizarre dream...dream, it was all just a dream? Looking ahead, he could tell that this was none other than Linebeck’s cabin. It was dark out and that sudden o u t b u r s t created massive pain to come crawling back. Linny whines at it. So if he wasn’t dead...how did he get back here? Linebeck didn’t have the sympathy to c-

    A sleeping body laid next to him, one that he thought he’d only see again in a mirror. He was holding the same instrument like the one in his dream. Link was alive. LINK WAS ALIVE AND RIGHT HERE NEXT TO HIM.

       Sharp and painful breaths came out, the twin began to hyperventilate; emotions not sure what to do. A wheezed called out to his brother’s name fumbled out, not enough to wake Link. He coughs vigorously as tears began to fall.

    “L-Link !! Wake up!”

While Linny dreamed of what was his future, Link dreamed of his past. Driving across the wide fields of Hyrule, climbing the Tower of Spirits, his Princess.

Her ghostly figure chilling one side of his body as she stood in the cab of the train- Both of them laughing as a guard walked through her intangible form- The two of them making music together after it was all over- A promise to go to the beach someday- Gentle hands helping secure his eyepatch for the first time-

Dreams of Zelda, his princess, who he would never see again. But that would be worth it, to be with his twin again.

A cough, shortly followed by his name, startles him from his sleep. Remaining eye blinks open. IT SEEMS he managed to fall asleep, head in folded arms and pan flute loosely held in his grip. Link lifts his head and locks eyes with Linny, grin spreading across his face and good eye tearing up.

“Linny!”

The pan flute is discarded to the side in favor of wrapping his arms around his pained brother- making note to not disturb the injuries too much.

MUSE AESTHETIC.

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bold the aesthetic for your muse italicize what can be taken 2 ways.

the softest palms that never want to touch you until after a bottle of wine. / “just braid your hair if you won’t brush it, at least, you useless girl.” / pulling on your skirt with one hand as you shuffle away. / “you’ll get it done before the day is up.” / guilt that isn’t yours to have. /it’s a crooked game, but it’s the only one in town. / chains. / “how could you do this to me?” / the sharp sting of guilt. / you feel something even though you’re paid to do the opposite. / the family you never had. / falling backwards through time. / quicksand. / drowning, but you don’t save yourself. / “you’re getting better.” / “they smile like a snake.” / you’re the stars and the sky. / there’s a part of you that couldn’t stay away even if you were forced to. / they are your wings, there’s no doubt there. / “let’s take off somewhere. let’s fly.” / you edge a bit too close to the sun. / another ghost to take your place after every stumble. / deep roots in the ground slashed open in the sun. / rock candy melting in water. / waves rise and leave the foam behind. / the precipice you call home has a tip you’ll reach eventually. / happiness is the best front a man can take. / “i’ve never seen someone as beautiful as you before.” / you disagree; they’re more beautiful. / discomfort at the tiniest of touches. / the sky opens up when you see them. / rain comes down. / poppy fields. / your sanity hanging by a thread. /“oh god, what have you done?” / roommates weren’t supposed to be the smartest ones of all. / they’ve got a devil on their shoulder and an angel in their mind. / you try to help, but it only got worse. / now they’re dead, it’s all your fault. / 

adam & eve in the garden. / a temptress in crisp button-downs./“fuck, you’ve gone off the deep end, haven’t you?” / they lie so perfectly you almost forget yourself. / the spark that lit the kindling on your funeral pyre. / sugar and spice and a taste for the dark side. / yes saint laurent black opium on your pillow, a scented cloud drifting behind you like a cape. / crisp green apples piled up on the table. /your shoes are sharp, but your wit is even sharper. / what a pretty one, they say. / you laugh without humor. / a soft, hollow spot sits in your chest. / there’s a place you’ll never leave no matter who tries to stop you. / the seat of power fits like a glove. / heavy is the head that wears the crown. / you share a space, but not a mind. / they think you are weak; you are, maybe. / “what are you going to do with all of these pills?” / an empty bird’s nest. /broken pencil tips. / there’s an empty paper in front of you that you’ll never fill. / “we want you to succeed. i hope you can grasp that.” / 

“Just” doing the right thing?  Kafei’s outlook says that people “just” do the selfish thing.  The easy thing.  The thing that was noble but easy, ultimately selfish, meant only to keep their inner narrative about being a good person alive.  Kafei has personally observed many people finding themselves in perfect positions to “just” do the right thing, and proceeding to ignore that potential like a door-to-door salesman.  

Meanwhile just as eager as Link to change the subject, now that he sees it wasn’t exactly the right thing to say.  He’s a little embarrassed to have let Link see how much the situation with Malladus bothered him.  Moving on!

“Whoa, absolutely,” he agrees, swiftly covering a grave expression with an easy smile.  “If we get attacked, you can count on me to hide very well, and send you nothing but the highest quality well-wishes.”

Something’s been bothering him.  Now that Link’s defeated Malladus, does he really need to keep using that sword?  Maybe that was the only sword that could possibly have killed Malladus, or something like that.  There are definitely stories like that in the archives, it’s a plausible and reasonable scenario.  There is also a lack of holy weapons from such stories, in the archives, which makes it difficult to say whether such stories happened.  The most obvious example is how there are countless stories about some thrice-damned “Master Sword,” but no one’s ever seen it, much less any of the places it’s supposed to have been located in by heroes past.  There’s a lot of inconsistency and no evidence, and it’s one great big frustrating headache.  If they know exactly where the Lokomo Sword is, and it’s still in great condition, wouldn’t retiring it early make the most sense? 

How to even bring it up.  How can anyone tell that kid, who gave so much, and for no reason, that he should consider giving up one of the few tangible things he earned from it all.  

“Before we completely change the subject, though, could I get some pictures of your sword?” Kafei says carefully, keeping the cheery, casual attitude intact.  “I really can’t get over how cool it is!  My uncle might not believe I really saw it.”  He’s going to bring these images back to his supervisor and get that familiar “excellent work but why are you like this” kind of look that means he picked exactly the right career.  

Pictures delivered, he’s going to tell his uncle offhand that he saw the Lokomo Sword, and his uncle really is going to be skeptical, because his uncle knows some things about who he is as a person.

Link naturally had a paranoia that if he didn’t have the Lokomo Sword with him, he would be caught off guard during another attack from the Dark Realm, or that someone would manage to steal it while he wasn’t watching it. It didn’t yet have a place to sleep, something that he and Zelda would have to resolve eventually, so it was safest in his hands.

“Pictures? Oh, yeah, sure.” It was the first time he was asked if pictures could be taken of his sword. Most of the time, it was Ferrus asking to take a picture of his train. (The... few times he bothered to ask, instead of frantically snapping photos.)

With practiced ease, he takes the sheathed sword off his back. Link is clearly not about to go hand it over to Kafei, (that right was reserved for only three certain friends of his,) but he’s going to let the other person take photos of the sheathed weapon, while Link was holding it. If, by some insane chance, Kafei was actually someone who intended to steal the sword- perhaps hired by a demon- he couldn’t let the other have a hold of it. It was incredibly unlikely, but the castle had been infiltrated once before.

While he was a generally trusting person, there were things he knew needed much higher trust first. Like handing his sword to strangers, or talking about his actual feelings and experiences from his adventure. In fact, Zelda had so much of his trust that he’d trust her with anything. (He had to trust her with his life many times before, it wouldn’t make sense if he didn’t have total trust in the Princess.)