riverviewlogs | February Catch-All

It started out dark. Pitch black. No sound, no light, just an empty void.

Then a small, golden light. It started out faint and soft. There was a voice as well, but it was too faint to hear. The light grew brighter, more intense. The voice grew as well. "Link... Link. Open your eyes. Open your eyes." The golden light was a brilliant white. There was no sign of any darkness around.

And then Link opened his eyes. A soft blue light was shining on him, and he found himself in a strange bed filled with water. He sat up, confused. Why was he back at the Shrine of Resurrection? He hopped off the bed, but there was no floor to meet his feet and he tumbled back into darkness. Before he knew it, he was suddenly somewhere else. There was a great stone road leading to a tall mountain in the distance. He was standing behind the Princess. Daruk and Mipha were there, as well as the other two Champions that he couldn't quite place, and their faces were a bit fuzzy. The Princess sounded defeated. Praying at the mountain didn't work. And then the earthquake. The Rito Champion flew up. It was Ganon.

The ground opened up and Link felt himself falling again, darkness overtaking him before opening up to a dense forest. It was dark, and it was raining. He was covered in mud, and he was running from something. He wasn't alone. The Princess was behind him, struggling to keep up. She stumbled. Link stopped and turned to pick her up and continue, but she started speaking. The King and any who had been in the castle were dead. The Champions were dead. Countless others were dead. And the Princess blamed everything on herself, and there was nothing Link could do to bring them back. All he could do was hold Zelda as she sobbed in his arms.

And the rain just kept falling...

Edited (forgot to warn for spoilers) 2018-02-03 21:04 (UTC)

Link is sitting on the trunk of a very large mechanized elephant. His sleeve is rolled up, revealing a gash in his arm. He's being treated by a Zora, but not just any Zora. It's the Champion herself.

She hold's Link's wounded arm in one hand, the other hand being help up above the wound, a golden light emanating from it. She starts speaking.

"I was thinking...this reminds me of the time we first met." She's wearing a soft smile. "You were just a reckless child, always getting yourself hurt at every turn. Every time, I would heal you, just as I'm doing right now." Mipha continues. "I thought it was funny how, being a Hylian, you looked grown-up so much faster than I did." Their eyes meet. 'I was...I was always willing to heal your wounds, even back then."

The gash on Link's arm slowly disappeared. Mipha let go of him, and the gold light faded. It was as if there was no wound in the first place. No scar. Nothing. Link turned his arm this way, then that way, the pain having faded completely. He looked back at Mipha. "So if this Calamity Ganon does, in fact, return, what can we really do? We just don't seem to know much about what we'll be up against," she said to him. "But know that no matter how difficult the battle might get, if you-if anyone tries to do you harm, then I will heal you. No matter when, or how bad the wound." She looked down now, almost bashful. "I hope you know that I will always protect you." Her hands were clenched together, and she looked back up at the Hylian Champion. "Once this whole thing is over, maybe things can go back to how they used to be when we were young. You know...perhaps we could spend some time together."

i. Sampling
Where there is good food, there is Link. If you're wandering around the food trucks, you'll likely spot him in line or tasting a large sample of what the carts scattered around town provide. If he notices you, he'll stop stuffing his face and wave, or at least smile and give a polite nod. He's friendly enough if you want to approach.

Link will also be found occasionally browsing the seasonal wares, looking closely at the red lanterns for sale and the dog-themed clothing and souvenirs. He only purchases one thing, and it's a jegi, which he immediately takes to the side and starts practicing with. At first, he can keep it up for a couple of kicks, but as he practices more he can keep it in the air longer and longer. He accepts all challenges.

Link does not have a dog to spoil during the themed celebrations, but if you happen to be walking your dog, he might approach and ask to give your canine friend a pat of the head.

ii. Clean Air
At the beginning of the month, Link will seem to be his normal self. The mist seems to have little effect on him, and he will greet friends and strangers alike with his usual friendly demeanor. However, if you manage to spot him when he's alone, or thinks that he's alone, you might catch a glimpse of what he's really feeling. You can approach and ask, but he's not one to open up easily.

After February 15th, Link's appearance changes drastically due to the effects of the mist. He is well aware of how he looks, and coupled with the cripplingly resentful thoughts in his head, he makes himself scarce. It's a large city though, and you can't hide from *everyone* for very long. While he's going to be most active at night after this transformation, you still might be able to spot him along the outskirts of the city during the day. He will not go near the commons during this time.

Others are free to approach him if they spot him and try to get him to open up, but chances are, he's not going to learn this lesson very quickly if at all.

Edited 2018-02-06 16:57 (UTC)

[If you want to plot something out, feel free to catch me at

earthykitty. You can also just leave a tag below~]

Edited 2018-02-03 21:40 (UTC)

Link had come running to help out against the herd of invading beetles, though he found the Perimeter Guard's solution to be well outside his comfort zone. He would let others volunteer to use the mechanized suits. Instead, Link took his own weapons and volunteered to help defend the walls of the city.

The first wave was to use force to try to drive them away. Link wasn't one of the people with big guns or magical powers, but he had bomb arrows and a paraglider, and that was all he needed. He ran up to the highest point on the walls he could find before jumping off and gliding directly toward the large female. While in the air, he took shots with his Phrenic bow and bomb arrows. He did his best to stay out of the way of everyone else firing their weapons, but he could only glide for so long. Keeping away from the main target (being that female), he opted to land on one of the smaller ones and use whatever he could to either turn it away from the city or to kill it.

"Hey, want to make this a group activity?"

Freya walked up to Link with a smile as he kicked the jegi from foot to foot. It was a little like a hacky-sack which meant that they could turn it into a passing game if he was interested. Freya had the dexterity to kick the shiny object but Link might find out that her aim was absolutely awful and playing with her was going to make it a lot harder for him.

"You pass it and I pass it back. Whoever drops it loses, easy right?" Freya was wearing a pair of black Gothic pants with a black tank top. Her attire shows off a collection of tattoos that liter her arms and shoulders and, as she stepped closer, Link will notice that she's barefoot.

Link gave a kick to the jegi that sent it straight up so he could catch it as the tattooed young woman approached him, taking a look at the various designs on her skin. Tattoos were rare to find in Hyrule, so this was an interesting change.

He smiled at the challenge and nodded. "Sure." He gave a thumbs up to the rules and tossed her the jegi, but paused when he noticed the lack of shoes. "Aren't your feet cold?" The weather was quite mild compared to the snowy heights of Hebra, but it was still cool enough for the ground to be very cold for bare feet to touch.

Freya looked down at her feet and then up at Link before lifting her shoulders in a shrug. "Not really. I grew up in a cold climate and I run hot." Her body temperature was a few degrees above a normal persons, not that she broadcasted the details of her non-human-ness.

She grabbed the jegi with an excited smile.

"It'll be fine. If I can't take it then I'll stop." It felt like an easy solution to his worry. "Ready?"

Link shrugged. Well, if it didn't bother her, then it wouldn't bother him either. It wasn't as if she was showing any kind of discomfort.

He grinned. "Yup!" He moved his eyes towards the jegi and waited for her to start the game.

Wing is of the Perimeter Guard, and being a Knight to his own people back home and always of a sort who would protect rather than harm, he wanders the city frequently, keeping watch over the place and its people. It helps that he needs sleep less than the native inhabitants. On one of his rounds, he comes across the boy and approaches slowly, offering a smile and a nod. "Hello, Link."

Wing was probably the last person Link could have encountered who would be frightened by his new appearance. He had spotted him approaching from the distance, because how could you miss a twelve-foot tall metal man lumbering towards you?

"Hello." His voice is different from the last time they spoke. It had a sinister tone to it despite Link not feeling any animosity. It was deep, and it sounded as though he was speaking through a radio with static problems. He gazed up with his now piercing red eyes. "How have you been?"

After their conversation on the Friendr app, with plans made to meet up, Hiccup detours after his morning classes to change into his flight armor and grab his saddlebag. They're at the designated meeting spot by 2, as promised, a young man in leather armor and a massive black dragon in an elaborate saddle.

While they wait, Hiccup is giving his dragon some attention, scratching vigorously behind his ear fins while Toothless leans into it, rumbling happily, back leg thumping against the ground like an overlarge, scaly dog.

The park is large, but it's mostly flat fields, so it's not difficult at all to spot the young man from the Friendr app, especially since he has Toothless next to him. He's wearing his typical clothes, along with his typical sword, shield, and bow on his back. He might have been here for a month or so, but he still feels almost naked without them. "Hey," he shouts as he runs towards the dragon and its tamer.

Freya tossed the jegi into the air before hitting it with the inside of her foot. She was able to hit it each time but she wasn't too good at control which direction the shiny object traveled. She hit it twice and then in a long arc it was sailing towards Link.

"Whoops."

Maybe she wasn't too good at this but Freya was smiling and having fun.

"Woah." The jegi sailed a little too high for Link to knock it back up with his feet, so he caught it instead, realizing after the fact that you weren't supposed to do that. He echoed Freya's "Whoops" before dropping it and kicking it a couple times before kicking it towards her for her to try again.

If she wanted to count that as a point, Link would let her. The difficulty increased when playing with another person.

Link knocked on the door to the sixth floor communal rooms, holding a satchel containing various ingredients, including some meats, fish, wild herbs he had picked beyond the wall that he knew were safe for cooking and eating, and a bag of white rice. He waited patiently for the door to be answered, having arrived at around 4:30 and hoping that he hadn't beat Yu home.

Freya wasn't going to keep score because she could kick back towards Link but he's going to have a hard time returning them back to her. If they make their passes above ten, Freya will be happy. It's like a team game, seeing how many times they can pass it and Link can catch it.

She snickered and then kicked the jegi with the front of her foot. It somehow sailed straight up so she kicked it again, using her left foot this time to see if it somehow, magically, sails closer to Link. It's lower but a little to far to his left. He'll have to dash to get it.

And dash he does. There might be some people with better skills who might get frustrated at Freya, but Link wasn't one of them. He runs over and barely manages to get his foot underneath the jegi before it lands. He stumbles a bit though, and it takes a couple of awkward kicks to keep the thing in the air and under some form of control.

"Ha!" Victorious so far. He kicks it over to Freya again, the jegi flying over in a high arc.

"Yes! You got it!"

Freya bounced on her heels and threw her arms in the air as she cheered. Best partner EVER!

She waited until Link had the object under control before readying herself to try this again. 10. Her goal was to get it to bounce ten times. They were currently at four if she counted her own and Link's steadying bounces as well as the two passes between them.

Freya caught the jegi with the side of her foot, bounced it once to try and steady it before kicking it back towards Link. This time it was less off but it was still a foot away from the young warrior. "So close..."

The voice is different. The look is different. Those hadn't been the same eyes that he met the first time, and briefly he wonders if humans have the ability to change their appearance just like his own kind had. He tilted his head, a little surprised to see it, but took it in stride.

"I've been well. Patrols come and go, of course." He gestured with a hand, nothing threatening about it. "I see you've decided to change a few things since we last met."

Yu had just finished cleaning up, having showered and dressed in the clean clothes. His body still ached a bit from running around the whole day but it was worth it. Having a chance to put his skills to a good use is always a plus in his book.

He was in the kitchen when the knock got his attention and makes him smile. His new friend is right on time.

"Hey!" Yu greets him with a grin after opening the door. "Welcome!"

Laura is more than happy to go about the day and meet Link outside the wall — because if she can find a reason to rush out of school, she's going to take it as soon as possible. With that in mind, she's wandering out into the wilderness to a designated meeting point, her favorite glasses on and her green and tattered backpack filled with things like water bottles and bagged chips. Hey, that's not too bad, she's semi-prepared for the outdoors.

Anyway, she's going to be up in a high tree ahead of time, watching for Link like a weird jean-jacketed hawk.

Hiccup looks up and waves him over, his smile easy and ever-present. "Hey! You're the one I was talking to on the app, right?" He must be, because people are usually interested in Toothless, but he doesn't get approached like that by total strangers. Toothless trills out a rumbling noise, and Hiccup strokes over his scales again.

"I'm Hiccup, this is Toothless."

Link was quickly getting used to Freya's tosses, and this one wasn't as hard to catch as before. His previous training as a knight along with his experiences out in Hyrule had made him learn coordination very well.

It didn't take as much effort to gain control over the jegi after this toss. "You're already getting better!" He's not saying that just to be nice. That last toss was much better than the last, even if it was still off. He passed the jegi back. Five.

Link was keeping count as well, though he didn't really have a goal in mind. He just wanted to see how many times they could pass it before dropping it.

Link gives Wing a bewildered kind of look. Then again, in looking up at the glowing eyes of the mechanical being in front of him, perhaps it isn't so far-fetched for Wing to think that glowing eyes are normal.

"It wasn't my decision." He keeps up his expression as best he can despite the growing anxiety in his chest. "Most people wouldn't like the way I look." More than one person had crossed the street to avoid him when he had to go out. "You don't seem to be bothered like some people are right now."

February Catch-All | OTA

Calamitous Nightmares [Spoilers for BotW]

Sweet Memories [MORE Spoilers]

Out and About

Wildcard

Giant Bugs [Violence against said bugs]

Samplings

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clean air - I'll let you pick if it's before or after the 15th!

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HI!

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Cooking with Yu

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LINK'S GRAND OL' NATURAL WORLD LESSONS ft. laura "stabby" howlett

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