Here's some of my thoughts on the "mechanics" of this fic-
ASL- As said before, I've been mimicking ASL syntax for the most part. I write it all in quotations because this is the correct way of writing it. I personally HATE when sign is written in italics. Plus, I think it adds more to the worldbuilding where ASL is treated as regular speech alongside spoken words. It's not meant to be the focus of this fic- it's just a cool worldbuilding bit. I am also recycling ASL because if you leave me alone where worldbuilding a world that doesn't have a "France" I have to make up a language, history, facts and politics just to justify the use of "hemispheric braid twist." (Yes, I made up a language for a fic before. No, I didn't even end up publishing it. This is why I'm recycling ASL- it's for my goddamn mental health).
Game Mechanics- This is actually the thing I struggle with the most. In BOTW Link has unlimited inventory and can hold up to 999 of each item ingame, but in this fic Katsuki only has whatever he can carry. At first I thought it was the slate being magical and acting as a pouch of sorts- but then I looked closer at the actual animation of him taking stuff in and out of his pockets- and it just focuses on the itty bitty fanny pack on his hip, not the actual slate. Also, I think it'll be more challenging to write a limited inventory, so I am going to do that! In later chapters this means stashing stuff in campsites he frequents and even in shrines, but whenever he's traveling (like right now) he's just a gremlin holding onto whatever he can find.
Arrows- this is the thing i'm struggling with the MOST. In BOTW Link has basically unlimited inventory to hold up to 999 of each arrow, but in this fic Katsuki only has a small sack and whatever he can stuff in his pockets.
The quiver is also magical- but not until later chapters. Modern arrows can be held in more numerous quantities in quivers but these are old style flint arrows with a wide head, so they aren't the modern day sleek metal head arrows. Plus, things like fire arrows and ice arrows have a giant (and probably fragile) tip that could snap easily if they aren't given a lot of space. I'll explain the mechanics of the quiver later- but basically it'll only look like it holds 7 arrows (Like BOTW- if you hold less than 7 arrows total the number corresponds with your quiver. A lesser known game mechanic because I buy arrows like a madman), one of each type of arrow. I'm excited to explain the quiver mechanic later on, but he doesn't actually HAVE IT right now so I can't. I'll be patient!
Korok seeds- No. Just. No. Katsuki can only carry whatever weapons he can comfortably carry. He can also leave a cache of weapons in places he frequents though. The durability mechanic also is more realistic to each type of weapon- Katsuki can hit shit with a sword as much as he wants but it'll really only break if he misuses it. It'll also get dull over time.
Slate- the slate is giving me a lot of issues since it's basically a nintendo switch. I figured that there would be a similar mechanism to control it like you do in the game! So I did not elaborate on that too much but still had the "pages" that the slate has. so Katsuki will be able to take a LOT of pictures soon! My beta writer also suggested Katsuki writing a diary of sorts- I might use that in later chapters to describe traveling long distances.
Memory mechanic- not included, but Katsuki does visit some places that Izuku took photos of. There's a nasty surprise at a few of them, so I thought it would be funny.
Great Fairies- For the sake of my mental health, no.
Katsuki woke up with a layer of dew across his skin and a thick, itchy sweater draped across his chest.
The shadow cast from the mountain in front of him did now allow him to see the exact position of the sun, but the dull glow on the horizon and the still-chilly temperature suggested it was barely dawn. The flames of the fire had all but been reduced to a few more smothering coals. Gently rising- as if to preserve some kind of peace- he poked the coals with a stick to stir them up before adding a few handfuls of grass.
In a moment's time he once more had flames that licked the bottom of the cooking pot. The soup from the night before had been covered in a pot lid, likely by the old man after he drifted off. The meat skewers he left just outside of the flames had dried considerably by the dying embers.
Remembering how dull his sword was the night before, he felt around the campsite until he found a proper flint rock and began to sharpen the blade. It cast sparks and made the occasional chip, but it was better than nothing. The sword was old, and years of neglected maintenance left it dull and brittle. Katsuki couldn't complain until he killed a monster with a better weapon.
Finally he rose to his feet and stretched his legs out, before his arms. The doublet fell to the ground, and he donned it without a second thought. A glance inside the cabin revealed that it did not have a door nor an old man inside it. It did have another axe, similar in make and shape to the one that he broke yesterday.
He took it and promised himself not to break this one. Almost immediately he knocked an ancient clay pot over and three peppers spilled out amongst the pottery shards. Oops.
Oh well. They're his now. One pepper was eaten and the others were put aside for now.
Still rooting through the moot possessions, Katsuki eventually found a sewing needle fashioned from a fish bone. Finally, a chance to fix his stupid pocket.
Outside it was still on the side of a chilly morning, so Katsuki sat by the fire before starting his task.
He shook off his ill fitting pants, turning them inside-out to reach the pocket. The many screws and miscellaneous monster parts he's squirreled away almost immediately fell out of every conceivable hiding place. The ball of thread that was most likely once a pair of socks still remained.
He untangled the thread, cursing all the gods he knew (which was zero, but it's the thought that counts) as it knotted and broke easily. Finally he got a long length of string unraveled and quickly sewed up the hole in the pocket.
He had plenty leftover, so he cut the small fabric in half with his sword and made two new pockets on his pants, just above the knee. They would be useful for holding food. Ah, perhaps he should use a button and some leftover fabric to make a closing fashion. That way nothing would risk eviction from his pockets while in combat. With that, he grabbed one of the several loose monster parts that now scattered the campsite.
He used one of the monster bones to whittle into a pair of buttons and bore two large holes into each flat disk. Another trinket, a large gear ripped from an overturned guardian, was used as a makeshift workbench. It was mind numbing work.
He liked mind numbing work. Maybe.
It could be just an excuse to keep the thoughts at bay, and the ever-present swirl of miasma surrounding the castle a league away. But that doesn't sound quite right. He knew his duty. The absence of memories in this world wasn't quite as terrifying as it used to be. A good night's sleep and a hearty meal only cleared some of the fear and anger that Katsuki was weighed under.
It remained, still aching in the place just above his heart. The embers of something that could spark into an inferno with the right kindling.
(… His duty?)
Maybe it was the act of making something his, in a land where he had nothing.
The monster bone button in his hand snapped. That hit closer to home than Katsuki was expecting. Was that why he grabbed everything that wasn't bolted down? Each weapon from a fallen monster strapped to his back until he could carry no more, each arrow stuffed in a quiver until it could hold no more, each loose bolt and gear and spring liberated from its resting place.
He didn't have anything to call his own. Not memories, nor clothing, nor weapons. They were all borrowed. The slate on his belt felt like a weight. The clothing was ill-fitting. The few equipment he acquired were stolen from the hands of enemies. The trinkets he held were scavenged from long-dead corpses of poisoned guardians.
He closed his eyes, shakingly taking a breath and exhaling over his clasped hands.
He started the process of making another button.
The pants he wore had extra pockets that were his, now. They were stuffed with food that was shared with him. The trophies of his kills were left behind, having no use of them. A few shiny odds and ends he carried still, but not the still-rotting teeth or the hollowed horns.
The old man had fucked off to who knows where, and the next shrine Katsuki needed to solve was up a cliff, across a ravine.
Katsuki glared at the sheer cliff face, spotting several handmade footholds and rest places that jutted out. They looked old and worn, as if they were made and cared for generations. That indicated that they were trustworthy, but also in need of a major survey before he climbed. He had no idea if those footholds would hold after years of weathering and erosion. He had no rope, no safety equipment. He barely had boots and pants.
On instinct, as if he had done it a thousand times before, he held the slate to his eye and almost immediately dropped it when it suddenly showed an exact image of what he was looking at. As if the eye engraved on the back worked as an actual eye. A grin split his face.
Once again, he let himself be amazed by the wonders of technology. He brought it to his eye again.
The mountain face jutted in a way that sloped westwards, before a deep ravine separated the bit of land that the Old Man settled on from the actual cliff face. There were many ways he could cross. Katsuki could climb down, but that would require a longer trip up. Plus, the bottom was covered in jagged rocks that seemed insurmountable to someone without proper equipment.
He could shimmy his way sideways across the cliff face. That seemed more viable, but there was a camp of monsters in the crag that danced around their bonfire chanting in some archaic language. Unnecessary risk, but doable.
He could also build a bridge. But that would also require being on the other side of the cliff, and he didn't have that type of resources on hand. He supposed he can fell a tree and quickly scamper across, but once again the long way down and the jagged rocks deterred him.
Without much of a second thought, he pulled out his sword and charged into the monster's party. With barely more than a few quick slashes to the right spots, they had all dissolved into a sulfuric mist and Katsuki had a new spear. Weighted at one end, it could be thrown in almost a perfect line. Katsuki wasn't sure how good he was with spears. He felt like he should, but no matter which way he held the weapon it still felt wrong in his hands. He strapped it to his back anyway.
The sun was further along the sky now, dissipating all of those rainbow colors from the horizon. Once again raising that precious slate to his eye, he looked at the cliff face ahead of him.
This seemed familiar. Assessing danger from the environment and finding the most efficient path through. A section of rocks at the base of the cliff will be a great place to rest. The cliff face extended to the side of the ravine he was on, before spreading out into a branch with a few ragged looking apple trees and a few red skinned bokoblins that still snored lazily in the late morning.
The leather scraps he stole off of those dead monsters were wrapped around his palms. His shoes pinched his toes in just the wrong way, so they instead came off and were shoved in the front of his tucked-in shirt as a make-shift pocket. Damnit, he really needed a bag.
The cliff face loomed above him. He began the climb.
Before he realized it he was more than a few meters off the ground, reaching the first ledge that he had determined to be a nice resting point. Not wanting to overwork himself, he forced himself to stop. A mushroom grew out of the craggy rocks he rested on. He considered eating it, but decided against it.
Below, the landscape of the land swept before him. In the far distance he could see the castle, its light in the highest tower burning bright against the miasma. To his close left a grand lake sprawled before him, a bridge consisting of huge pillars made entirely of stone bricks holding strong despite its age. It arched over the lake like a rooftop, connecting the highlands above it together in one perfectly flat road. A few pillars had crumbled, either from wear or war, but the structure held firm. Guardstowers of a kingdom long dead protected each end.
The pattern continued, with Katsuki resting at each point he could and admiring as everything below him got smaller and smaller. The sun still rose, and warmed his face and pinched his skin a burning red. Until he reached up for one more foothold and instead found a tuft of grass in his fist.
He made it. That towering cliff was conquered. The mountain was defeated. Take that you stupid fucking rock.
He grinned wildly as he darted to the shrine, tapping his foot impatiently as the shrine unlocked and he stepped inside.
This shrine was different once more. As Katsuki extracted the rune from the stone (which required little input on his end) he inspected the platforms. One was spinning backwards on a gear, too fast to even think to use as a springboard. The second was in the shape of a slide that had a huge spherical stone falling endlessly into the void. He watched it for a bit, wondering if it was the same stone that was hitting some sort of switch at the bottom or a new stone every time. He gave up after the eighth stone. The slate chirped at him.
"Stop the flow of time for an object. Objects stopped in time will store kinetic energy. This stored energy will be expelled when the flow of time resumes. Making use of the stored energy can move even the largest of objects."
Stasis. It seemed to… he's not quite sure. The explanation went over his head. Energy seems not to be a measure of strength here, but more of an abstract concept.
How can energy be expelled or stored? What does "kinetic" mean, anyway?
Okay, it stops the flow of time for an object. That's simple enough to understand and conceptualize. A plant frozen in eternity, forever living. A river completely iced over, housing still-living fish in its sheet of frozen water. That, but on an object.
(Could it be the same thing that left him away from the sun for so long?)
He held the slate out in front of him and it highlighted the platform in front of him in a golden yellow. Curiously, he tapped the object and confirmed it. The gear froze instantly, golden chains from the ether grabbing it by invisible hooks and holding the object in place.
Amazing.
He can beat up SO much shit with this.
He stepped one foot onto the platform just as the slate gave a warning cry and the chains were broken, flinging the platform back into motion and sending him flying back, hitting his head against the runestone.
It's no wonder he can't remember shit. He keeps hitting his head. This is at least the 4th time. He stumbled to his feet, growling in pain as he clutched the back of his head. His palm came back with blood.
Undeterred, he grabbed the slate from where it fell and stasis-ed the platform again, running across before the chains broke.
Okay, so it can pause the flow of time for a short amount of time. Wait. Nope. If it was possible to pause time for a definite amount of time, that would break the universe. It pauses time for the object, the rest of the world going as normal until it's released. It's less like a flow and more of a… blockage. A dam easily broken, but still disruptive.
The second part came quickly, as he simply stasis-ed the huge spherical stone that eternally fell into nothing and scampered up the platform before the slate let out a warning cry. He just dodged out of the way as the chains broke and the boulder was released again, falling just where he was just a moment earlier and proceeding its path of destruction.
Katsuki watched a bit as the boulder seemed to travel in the same line, over and over again. He eventually concluded that it was the same boulder as it had one scratch on its side that stayed in the same spot as it rolled.
Well, that solves that useless little mystery that literally no one cared about. He turned on one heel and inspected the final puzzle of the shrine.
It was just another boulder on a platform. This time it was stationary, just sitting on a thin walkway between him and the husk of the monk. On either side, death stretched out before him.
Before he lost his nerve, he tried to shove the boulder out of the way with his shoulders. It barely budged, and when he relaxed it fell back into the carved divot it housed.
Losing his nerve, he scampered back onto the safety of the platform and chucked a bomb at it. Surprisingly, it didn't move.
He threw two bombs at it, the first denotation triggering the other in a two-part explosion. It still refused to budge.
Ah, beans.
The next try put two bombs right next to each other under the boulder. Denoting those did move the smooth granite a considerable amount, but not nearly enough to get it out of the way.
He can't jump the small gap. It was just out of his reach, and even if he made it to the ledge the stone hemmed here was so slick he wouldn't be able to catch his grip before falling to his death.
Well, shit. Now he had to use his brains. He was pretty sure grey matter was leaking from the still bleeding cut on the back of his head, so this would be a major issue.
Okay… Looking around, Katsuki spotted a well crafted war hammer. He picked it up and swung it a few times, testing the weight. It was a little top heavy, but nothing he couldn't work with. He didn't really have room to strap another weapon on his back, so instead he strapped the sword to his thigh, replaced its former home with the hammer, and threw the weighted spear directly at the boulder, watching it clatter to the ground and then fall into oblivion.
The slate said something about storing energy. Could he use that here?
How does one store energy? Energy is not the action of rest, it's movement and action. Energy is running water and throwing rocks and swinging swords. Katsuki squats in thought, slate still in hand. If he had to store energy, he would probably do it by sleeping or-
An idea zinged off of the two brain cells he had left. Katsuki took a guardian part out of his pocket. He pressed the coils down on the shaft, and watched them spring back up with a pleasant sounding wiggle.
That! That was energy being stored and released.
So how does he do that with this boulder?
He took out the slate, stasis-ed the boulder, and threw two bombs at it, denoatinaing them both. He waited a patient few seconds until the slate beeped a warning, and the boulder fired off, hitting the shrine walls before falling into oblivion after Katsuki's spear. It left no dent in the strange material.
Katsuki triumphantly marched forward to get his reward from the ever-watching monk.
With his new hammer in hand, he barely had to worry about getting close to monsters now. Not that he was worried about being injured by their crude wooden clubs and dull swords, but he would prefer a more ranged melee then a swordfight if necessary. With his new war hammer in hand, he could smash into monsters instead of trying to slash them in weak spots with a dull sword.
The axe could also be a good weapon, but Katsuki neglected it in favor of his much cooler and heavier weapon. As he traversed the cold mountain peak, making a trail in the snowdrifts, he would toss bokoblins off of the sheer mountain face with a single swing. Sometimes if he was sneaky enough he could get two in one swing and send them both careening down the mountain.
The fourth and final shrine rested atop a mountain peak. It was still quite a ways away, and with the sun setting Katsuki knew he shouldn't be dawdle so late into the evening. But on a nearby peak, adjacent to the one that housed the shrine, he could see a familiar figure.
The trail up to there was well hemmed rock in a lazy spiral slope, making it effortless for Katsuki to walk to the top.
High above the plateau, at the top of the world, the old man sat. In the last rays of sunlight, he sat on his knees with his lantern cast next to him, a small flame against the cold air. The snow was swept completely off the rocks here, revealing grey stones worn soft by time. Katsuki hummed a greeting and sat next to him.
The old man regarded him with an expression he couldn't quite place. Then, he smiled sadly.
"Hello, Katsuki." he returned in greeting. "Don't mind me- just an old man reminiscing on memories long aged."
Katsuki glanced over the frail man. His ragged cloak barely hid his bone-thin frame. His pants and boots were worn with age. With the sun just beginning to dip below the horizon, soon it would get even colder. The stars provided no warmth in the night. "Aren't you cold?"
Katsuki tried to take off the doublet to give to him, but the old man protested. "Keep it on, young man. It cannot fit me anyways. And nay, I am not cold. Years of living up here made me used to such environments."
Katsuki hummed in understanding, and then bundled the doublet around him closer. "Why don't you leave?"
Katsuki wants to leave. He wants to run to the castle as fast as he can and defeat any monster that stood in his way. Because someone needed saving. Promises must not be broken.
The old man didn't look at him, but Katsuki could see his jaw clench. It wasn't quite anger, but something more akin to sadness. "I have a duty to fulfill, and I cannot shrink from it." he finally explained, his grip tightening on his lanturn. "I cannot move on until I know it is done."
Duty. That word filled Katsuki's mouth with copper and sweets. Like fresh blood under his tongue and the relief of watermelon on a hot day. It was a word that could almost roll off his tongue if he tried to speak, a word that could keep him warm and burn in his chest.
He spelt it instead. D-U-T-Y.
The old man must have interpreted his spelling as a question, so he explained further. "I promised someone long ago to look after Hyrule. From here, I can see all of it and guard what's closest. That temple over there-" he pointed to the west, across the mountain range where the decayed remains of the temple katsuki briefly explored remained. It cast a dark silhouette against the pink sky. "Is the Temple of Time. Sacred to our people. It holds-"
A boy on his knees, a statue in white. Carpet soft between his feet, sunlight streaming through windows of colored glass. A candle lit, the scent of melting fat. A sword perfectly balanced in his grasp, armor resting against his tunic, a king and his-
Katsuki violently jerked back, stumbling to his feet. His head throbbed with the beat of his heart, his skin flush red with heat and sweat. His mind raced. It felt so real, and yet the details were already being lost, like trying to hold all the water a spring drew forth, the small things leaking to the ground. But the bulk of it, the majority of it-
The man got to his feet quickly, grabbing Katsuki by the shoulders. "Katsuki!" He gasped. "Are you alright?!"
Katsuki tried to nod his head, but his eyes stung with tears betraying any lie he could tell. He shook his head violently, trying to turn away, try to help reassure this man that he was strong, he could uphold his duty, he could save-
"Young Katsuki, it is alright," the man soothed, rubbing his hands on Katsuki's shoulders. "Breath in with me, and then out. Follow my lead."
He pressed a hand to Katsuki's chest as he inhaled, a tear dripping down his cheek. An exhale, a puff of breath visible in the cold. Inhale, the old man's eyes are worryingly familiar yet strange at the same time. Exhale, a boy knelt in prayer. Inhale, a hand crooked with scars and dotted with-
"Good job, my boy. It is alright. I didn't mean to frighten you." Pressed against the old man's warm chest, like a hug from a ( ). Brittle and frail, if Katsuki squeezed too hard he could break the man. He clung to him anyway, gasping deep breaths and sobbing into his bony shoulder.
The man somehow brought them both to the ground, and the shock of the cold stone against his bare knees woke Katsuki up, wiggling out of the man's comforting grasp.
"Sorry," he signed, reaching up with his sleeve to wipe the trail of snot and tears from his face. "Sorry sorry sorry sorry."
"Young man, you have nothing to apologize for. It is I who must, who brought up painful memories. I deeply-"
Katsuki stumbled to his feet, looking wildly around. "I have to go," He signed quickly, before scampering back down the hard worn path and into the snowy night.
fun fact- this chapter was called "Bokchoy" in my drafts, an ever-increasing bastardization of the working title of "Botwgou". The total length of written words in this fic is now 31k+, with most of the unpublished stuff being future chapters and concepts.