Link ("yeet it or eat it") (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
skyglider) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
dreamcrystals2023-06-06 09:50 am
skyglider) wrote in dreamcrystals2023-06-06 09:50 am
003 ⚘ journal entry
Sender: Link
To: Everyone
Subject: Hello.
[The Story Eater has been vanquished and most of the elements it summoned have disappeared. But caches of Malice that appeared during the event have stubbornly remained around Reverein. Link isn't much of a journal post person, but he decides to say something anyway.
First, an imprint of a picture appears, along with an arrow pointing directly at it and a big, bold X.]
Don't touch the purple stuff.
[... That's it, that's the post.]
To: Everyone
Subject: Hello.
[The Story Eater has been vanquished and most of the elements it summoned have disappeared. But caches of Malice that appeared during the event have stubbornly remained around Reverein. Link isn't much of a journal post person, but he decides to say something anyway.
First, an imprint of a picture appears, along with an arrow pointing directly at it and a big, bold X.]
Don't touch the purple stuff.
[... That's it, that's the post.]
no subject
So, thank you.
[ He's doing a service for the community! Although not. By eating the stuff, preferably.
And on second thought - she'll say it anyway, ]
Please be careful, Link.
[ If it's dangerous as he says, it'd be pretty unfortunate if he got hurt in the process. ]
no subject
[He's not used to being thanked for things like this, but he has a feeling anyone who thinks to thank him would probably not want to be dismissed like that...so he adds:]
You're welcome.
I'll be careful. I've dealt with this substance before.
no subject
I see. It's reassuring to know you have some experience, then.
[ That implies well enough that the substance comes from his world (and that he didn't accidentally happen to step in some earlier, which would have been an alternative explanation for his warning) yet still leaves one other question. She can guess at the answer, though she elects not to. ]
But what do you mean, that it's your responsibility?
You didn't put it there, did you?
no subject
[... Which is not how most people are, around here. Including him, to be honest.
He pauses a moment at her question, tapping his pen against his thumb and he works out an answer. It's fair enough to ask, of course, but... perhaps he should have chosen his words better.]
No...but since I know more about it than many people, it's only right to warn people about it.
Besides. The creature that creates it was summoned from my nightmares. If not for me, it wouldn't be here at all.
no subject
That's still better than nothing, I suppose.
Learning what doesn't work has to come first, sometimes.
[ Good old trial and error, and a head start is nothing to sneeze at. (It's better to look on the bright side at a time like this, isn't it...? After all, if they have to deal with it one way or another... And they could all use a little positivity right about now.)
In any case, the answer's about what she expected; once again, he's proven his sense of duty. ]
Maybe so.
Still, that doesn't make it your fault.
[ If he had any thoughts of that nature - ah, then again, perhaps she's too familiar with guilt herself, to worry that he might feel it now.
She shakes her head to dispel the thought, yet the words are already written.
But... to hear that last part - when it's had a moment to sink in, she can't help straightening in place as she realizes-- ]
Which creature was it?
It seems as though you must have fought with more than a few in the past.
[ Just judging by the contents of the nightmares of his she's seen and the fact he appears so familiar with combat. That being said, though... one particular enemy does come to mind, and she'd prefer to discover she's mistaken to think of it. ]
no subject
[Besides, Reverein being the way it is makes anything beyond that difficult to predict -- even the Malice itself. It's quite possible that it won't react anything like the way it does in Hyrule, or that dreamotion magic will affect it in any number of new ways. It's just impossible to know for sure right now -- not without some trial and error.
Link hesitates at the next words that appear on the page, thoughtfully turning his pen over in his hand. That doesn't make it your fault. He knows, in theory, how important it is to be kind to oneself, to give yourself grace over past perceptions of failure and responsibility. Does he blame himself? In short, yes, he does. Calamity Ganon appeared in this world because of his nightmares. He'll never know whether it still would have appeared if he had defeated it before coming to this world, and while he can imagine the answer fairly well, the question remains -- what would confirming that even serve? What use is that speculation?
So, too, has he had a similar conversation recently with Princess Zelda about responsibility and fault. In the spirit of that argument, shouldn't he say that the Malice is here because of the Story Eater, and not him? Why does that feel so much harder?
He lets the assessment go in light of Naminé's last question.]
Calamity Ganon. It appeared during the battle with the Story Eater.
[The scourge of Hyrule Castle, as it's come to be known. The creature that has plagued Link's very existence since he first drew the Master Sword...having faced it in this dream world, at least he finally feels at peace with knowing he'll be fighting it at home soon enough.
He lets his answer linger for a moment, tapping pen to paper, before adding:]
And...I'll remember that. Thank you.
no subject
There's a strange sort of guilt that tightens in her chest when Naminé thinks on how... preoccupied she was during the Story Eater's attack. Certainly, she'd had no say in the matter, but it still sits poorly with her to imagine Link left to fight what she suspects to be such a terrifying figure from his own past. He's certainly had trouble enough with his dreams about the past for her to grasp some idea of how much the experience might have weighed on him, or on any person with such a history with the creature.
Many questions come to mind, but she doesn't dare ask them. He thanks her, and she feels unworthy - so it's purely out of politeness that she writes back, in a distracted hand, ]
Of course.
It's only the truth.
[ And yet there might be a certain hypocrisy on how her fingers curl regretfully around her pen as she considers this now-past threat. How big, how awful is - was? - this Calamity? What did it look like? Could she have done anything to help? Maybe not in her current state, but with the power of all that negative energy flowing through her, with Morgan le Fay's assistance? If only she'd kept better control, instead of--
Naminé huffs a frustrated sigh when she realizes how long she's paused. ]
Did you fight with it?
Calamity Ganon, I mean.
no subject
Link pauses at the question. There, too, he faced things with friends at his side. Not always, perhaps --the dreams began to blur together-- but enough to feel the warmth of friendship.]
I did.
I thought I had defeated it, but if the Malice still remains, perhaps a fragment of the creature does as well.
[It's not a thought he particularly likes, but he cannot discount the possibility.]
no subject
She's not wild about the idea of some piece of that unwelcome entity remaining either, but... it's better to be prepared for the possibility, isn't it? In any case, ]
I'm glad you were able to gain the upper hand.
[ The apology she wants to give hovers on the end of her pen, and yet - somehow it feels like she'd be burdening him even by putting it to words. Instead, maybe working to do better would be the preferable option. ]
If it does turn out to be a problem again, I'll try my best to help.
Just let me know if there's anything I can do.
My magic is still a little weak after what happened, but it shouldn't take too much longer to recover.