#il cap

Anyways! Everyone obviously has their own headcanons, but my take is that Mask and Cap are both equally convinced that they're the one taking care of the other.

Mask knows Cap thinks he's Mask's babysitter, but Mask doesn't need anyone to take care of him! He's a hero who has defeated two great evils! He's spent a lot of time on his own (in between OoT and MM)! He doesn't need help! But this guy... This guy, this army captain, needs help. He's got all this responsibility and has no idea what to do with it. He's so uptight and never has any fun! Where are the breaks in this adventure? Where is the treasure-hunting? Where are the mini-games? This poor guy needs a distraction! And someone looking out for his well-being! Because no one else here is doing a good enough job of that.

And boy is Mask a good distraction.

And of course, Cap thinks he's looking after this little rascal and keeping him out of trouble. Or at least trying. This little boy has no adult figure in his life. He's obviously been through some stuff, though it's hard to tell exactly what. Now this child is stuck in this war that Cap at times feels somewhat responsible for causing, and he can't keep this kid off the field, but he can at least give him support both on and off the field.

I'm a little obsessed with their somewhat unhealthy reliance on each other.

Toon Link adds his own flavor to the relationship, but it's Mask and the captain that spin around on the microwave plate in my head. I could shake them around like a dog with his favorite toy.

COMMISSION FOR @interlink-au FINALLY COMPLETE 🎉

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Warriors, Interlink (The Legend of Zelda) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Engineer (Interlink), Wild (Interlink), Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Cap (Interlink), Mask (Interlink) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence Summary:

The War already has three Links. Why not a fourth?

I forgot about our oil slick last time.

Because they can't really hide their flaws while they're split. They're an open book. There's also the line: "There's a hole in my soul. I can't fill it. [...] Can you fill it?" And that's exactly how they are right now. They're not whole, but they fill each other's missing parts.

Honorable mention: "Call Them Brothers" by Regina Spektor and Only Son: "That's it, it's split and won't recover. Just frame the halves and call them brothers."

Engineer: I'm torn between a few.

Train song + Zelda (he's hopeless):

He's so head over heels: "I Try to Think About Elvis" by Patti Loveless. "I just can't concentrate. You're all I think about these days."

Vet (again): I already listed the Vet song that started the whole thing, but a more fitting song for him is

"I was a rose. I was an animal." (🐇) "All around is stone. All is soft inside." (He is soft inside. "Leads me through the dark." (I'm primarily thinking of the Dark World.) "I carry more than you can see."

And more. Tis a good song for the boy.

But I have almost 4 hours of music on his playlist. Let me know if anyone wants more suggestions for him. They also work for LU Legend if anyone's got a playlist for him. I've got Imagine Dragons (quite a few), more AURORA, Tori Amos, Oh Hellos, Crain Wives, Sleeping at Last, Brandi Carlile, Cosmo Sheldrake, Pink Floyd, Taylor Swift, Annie Lennox, Sia... the list goes on and on with a lot of variety.

Verdi: On one hand, we have Stressed Out by Twenty One Pilots. "But now l'm insecure, and I care what people think." (He walks to the beat of his own drum, but he does stress a bit about being friends with everyone - "Why can't we be friends" by War is also on his playlist.) "Wish we could turn back time to the good old days [...] But now we're stressed out." (Things used to be simple, but now it's not. Sometimes he thinks it'd be nice to go back to being the sleepy blacksmith's apprentice, but he's tasted adventure, and he can't really settle down anymore.) "Used to play pretend, give each other different names." ("Verdi" is Link's "escapism" name. He didn't really escape, as he ended up being a Tri Force Hero in Hytopia, but an attempt was made.)

On the other hand, we have "Break my Stride" by Matthew Wilder. I did say he walks to his own beat; ain't nothing gonna break-a his stride or slow him down. He's gonna keep on moving.

And

Echo: Excluding the references to parents (since I don't know what happened to them):

which is also on Wild's playlist.

Mouse's playlist made only be an hour, but so many of his songs are super fitting. I'll start with this one because his quietness hides quite the attitude:

This (which is also on Wild's playlist):

Run Boy Run by Woodkid always makes me think of him, even though he's mostly of the opinion that he should strike down any monsters that come after him so less monsters can come after him.

Exhale Inhale by AURORA always makes me think of him, though the first two songs fit him better.

Other good ones: "Lost" by fin.

"I'm Gonna Win" by Rob Cantor (also on Cap's). There are four more AURORA songs. "No Roots" by Alice Merton (also on Wild's). "In My Own Eyes" and "Have You Ever" by Brandi Carlile. And others.

Cap: You're So Vain by Carly Simon ALWAYS makes me think of him. More as a joke, and more towards LU Warriors, but still. Another solid "always makes me think of him" song is "ship in a bottle" by fin. I've shared that one before, complete with a mini-analysis. You can read it here. There's also a few others I listed there for the other boys. (Yet another Vet one. It's like he lives in my playlists rent-free.)

"Pretender" by AJR. "Army Dreamers" by Kate Bush, which is also on Gen's playlist. That song is always giving me feels for my army boys. "I Am Not a Robot" by MARINA. "Unstoppable" by Sia.

Aspect: The first song on his playlist is "I'm me" by Us The Duo, but I'm choosing this one:

Wild: I don't know if you read the post I linked from Cap's section, but "me want bite" still takes the number one "makes me think of Wild" spot.

Others: "David" by Noah Gunderson. "In Our Bedroom After The War" by Stars. "New Soul" by Yael Naim. "Now" by Paramore.

"Caroline (feat. Elton John)" by Brandi Carlile:

I woke up long after dawn Twenty years had come and gone I know when it changed for me A day in June you came to me I've seen through someone else's eyes With nothin' on the other side Every motel, every town Pieces scattered all around Promises that I can't be Someone's heart that I can't keep Days so long I couldn't speak Roads so rocky I can't sleep But I've seen things so beautiful All around this broken world That pale in comparison to you Caroline, I'm on my way back home to you Imagine what I'm a-goin' through Without you by my side It's been a long, long time Oh, won't you say a prayer for me I hope you will remember me You're always on my mind I have seen the canyon lands Crooked lines like in your hands To swear the earth was split in two I wouldn't lie I promise you That I have seen it, you will too You could not believe if not for Photographs I took for you, Caroline They've built towers to the sky It hurts sometimes to watch them try They run themselves into the ground But I know you will love them And their city lights and city sounds There's beauty in the struggle Anytime I feel it get me down I see you smiling Caroline, I'm on my way back home to you Can't imagine what I'm a-goin' through Without you by my side It's been a long long time Oh, won't you say a prayer for me I hope you will remember me You're always on my mind My Caroline Yeah, my Caroline Now, I have seen things in the sky Stars and lights and birds and I I've been rocky mountain high Told them all about you Because you are still the only thing That constantly amazes me I love the road and I've been blessed But I love you best

Except I'm not even sure it would help. He's not really apt towards learning languages, and he's not sure that his hands would be any more available to him than his voice when it fails. It's still speaking either way. (I know it makes a difference to a lot of people, but I don't know if Cap is in that category. And he'd have to learn first.) And as much as those are just his excuses, he has a point. If he felt he wasn't making progress, especially compared with Echo (or even Wild, who learns just by being in the vicinity), he'd just feel even more worthless. His poor, pitiful self-esteem. Argh he makes me so frustrated.

He needs more self-confidence that comes from within. He has a tendency towards appearing to be a vain attention-seeker. That's not a completely unfair assessment. But it's because his measures of success and his self-worth are all dictated by others. And when he's at his lowest, like he is now, he doesn't even bother trying to appear self-important. He feels he doesn't deserve praise, so he shouldn't chase it, despite that being one of the things that makes him feel accomplished. He's so self-destructive. Thankfully not in a physically detrimental way, but mentally and emotionally. Someone help this guy.

And while we're at it, someone tell Mask that his emotions aren't an eleven-year-old's responsibility. Twilight, I'm enlisting you. Probably. He'll try. If he can figure why Mask keeps him at two-arms' length instead of the usual one arm length. It's because Mask is scared of making connections and Twilight is very obviously trying to make a connection. If Twilight ever figures out Mask is the Shade it's only going to get worse. Let the poor guy big-brother you, Mask. Let yourself be loved. Oh boy do I have plans for them. ❤️