The rain was loud, covering the already quiet footsteps as a figure approached an overhanging. Underneath the simple wooden roof was a man asleep in a pile of hay alongside a chocolate colored dog, who was curled in a tight ball and snoring loudly.
The hooded figure stood over the pair a moment, taking the sight in, before walking under the awning. The figure pulled back the hood covering their face, revealing a Sheikah woman. She kicked lightly at the bottom of the man’s boot.
The blonde man flinched in response, eyes fluttering open. He stiffened, hand reaching for a sword that lay beside him, when he paused at the sight of the woman. He squinted in confusion a moment, clearly recognizing she was Sheikah and likely not a threat as a result, but unsure what else to make of her.
“Interesting place of rest,” the woman noted.
Link blinked blearily, growing slightly annoyed. “Can’t really rest if you’re waking me up, ma’am.”
The woman chuckled at that. “Ma’am? Do you truly not recognize me?”
Link blushed a little, flustered and embarrassed. He huffed to cover it up, looking at his companion instead. “I meet many people on my journeys.”
“It’s fine,” the woman said easily. “You were recovering when you saw me most. That was many years ago.”
Link squinted into the dark rain, trying to place what she was talking about, when it hit him like a moblin club. His eyes widened and he looked back at her, recalling palace walls, a healer, a Sheikah guard— “Lady Impa?”
Lady Impa gracefully nodded her head in acknowledgement. Then her smile faded a hair. “The years don’t seem to have been kind on you. It’s dangerous to be alone, in the dark and vulnerable like this. Why are you sleeping here?”
Link huffed again, though with slightly better humor. “My companion will alert me if there’s danger.”
Friend snored helpfully, her lips and paws twitching as she dreamed. Link felt Impa’s scrutiny magnify, and he blushed. “She knew you weren’t a threat!”
Lady Impa hummed, crossing her arms. Friend snorted loudly, startling herself awake, and then registered there was another person there. She barked shrilly, hair standing on edge for a moment, before her tail started wagging so hard it might as well have flown off her wiggling butt. Impa’s gentle amusement bubbled into outright laughter as the dog started licking her hands in greeting.
“A great guard dog, I see,” she commented, petting her.
Link huffed a third time, good humor fading. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m searching for the princess. She disappeared, though the queen has a good suspicion she ran away. It’s my job to track her down. I don’t suppose you might know where she is, would you?”
Link considered her words a moment. He didn’t exactly have an inkling on the princess’ location, only that she was trying to track him ever since he saved her and her friend. He supposed relaying that information would be helpful.
He was tired and grumpy. He wasn’t feeling helpful.
Besides, helping Impa might drag him into more royal nonsense. Better she figure it out for herself.
“Not a clue,” he finally said, rubbing his face tiredly to hide his expression. “I’m glad you’re in good health, Lady Impa, but perhaps you can leave me to sleep now?”
Lady Impa watched him far longer than he liked. He felt himself shrivel inward a hair, as if he were still that seventeen-year-old boy again who had saved Hyrule and barely knew how to deal with the consequences. He debated just getting up and finding somewhere else to sleep, but it was far too bloody cold for that.
“This night has quite the chill,” Impa finally said, making him glance at her in bewilderment. “You shouldn’t be sleeping outside.”
Link stared at her dully as Friend flopped on his lap to get some pets. “This area is quite comfortable, thanks. And Cupcake here will keep me warm.”
Impa’s face warmed as she smiled at his words, but she was still stubborn. “Come with me, Hero. I’ll buy you a room at the inn.”
Link felt his body stiffen. He didn’t want to deal with people. He didn’t. “I’m fine here.”
“Is this a matter of pride? If you don’t have the rupees, it’s fine. I said I’d buy you the room,” she continued relentlessly. When Link didn’t reply, she cocked her head to the side, hand on her hip as she watched him discerningly. “Or is it simply that you don’t wish to be near others?”
Link sighed, biting his lip and looking down.
Lady Impa crouched down in front of him, petting Friend some more. Friend’s tail thumped cheerily on the ground in response, and she rolled onto her back on Link’s crossed legs. Impa chuckled at it, her face gentle and kind, and she turned her gaze to Link, now at eye level with him. “I’ll do the talking, Link. Just come out of this dismal weather.”
The invitation was clearly not negotiable, and Link was shivering now that he was more awake. Sighing heavily, he nudged Friend with his leg, urging her to get up. She flipped to her feet quickly, shaking herself and panting excitedly as she looked between the two. Link slowly rose, cracking his back and neck and pulling his cloak more tightly around himself. Lady Impa led the way, heading towards the village where he’d been lingering in the outskirts. The group made their way in silence (though Friend did find a deer to chase, as well as a puddle to dig in) before Impa guided them to the inn close to the center of the village. Link hugged himself under his cloak as they entered, hovering near the exit with his beloved companion. Friend sensed his anxiety and remained close, sitting down and leaning her weight on his legs.
Impa only argued very briefly with the innkeeper concerning the dog, paying a little extra for unexpected damages, before guiding the two upstairs. Link looked at her glumly when the room revealed two beds.
“I do have to sleep too, you know,” she noted easily, taking off her cloak. “There aren’t single rooms here. At least you’re not with a stranger.”
“This was just a trap,” Link grumbled, though he too stripped off his outer clothes, which were now soaked. Friend moved to jump on the bed, but Link caught her first, cleaning her paws and fur of mud as much as possible. Then she proceeded to take the entire mattress.
Lady Impa laughed at it, settling into her own bed. “Good night, Link.”
For his part, Link didn’t try to be too grumpy anymore. She had bought him a warm place to sleep. Sighing heavily, he wrestled for space (and the blanket) on the bed, settling into a comfortable position as Friend stretched and yawned. “Good night, Lady Impa.”
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I started writing this in the replies of a different post but quickly reached the word limit so I'm putting it here instead. These are my thoughts on across the spiderverse and they contain heavy spoilers. Please only read if you have seen the movie because it's the kind of movie that gets absolutely ruined by being spoiled.
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So the antagonists in both ITSV and ATSV have a lot in common.
Miguel and kingpin have the same motivation in each of their respective films. They both wanted to live a life that didn't fuck them over and they crossed through dimensions to try and make it happen.
They both fail to achieve their goal: kingpin's attempts to bring his family back are thwarted by the spiders, and the world Miguel enters literally falls apart around him.
Their actions have ramifications that further the conflict of the series. By creating his collider, kingpin gave the spot his powers, allowing the spot to wreck havoc through dimensions. Miguel's new dimension unraveling led him to believe in specific canon events that must happen to every spider person, and that any anomalies to his formula would cause the multiverse to unravel.
There's a pattern to be seen here, and while the next movie is likely going to focus somewhat on the conflict against the spider society, I think it would be cool if the conflict between miles 1610 and miles 42 followed a similar pattern.
Miles 42 lost his father, and 1610 showing up has proven to him there are other dimensions out there, including one where his dad is still alive, which would provide a motivation in line with the previous ones. Miles 42 is framed pretty clearly as an antagonist, meaning Miles 1610 as the protagonist will likely find a way to stop 42 somehow, meaning all that's left to see is the ramifications. I honestly don't know how it all will play out. Beyond the spiderverse could take this story in so many different directions and most of them would be satisfying enough for me.
The ultimate coolest move in my book would be to create a meta narrative of sorts where each movie has the same key elements that make up the story, but handle the conflict in three different ways; what if each spiderverse movie was an alternate version of the same movie? ITSV would be a man vs man conflict (kingpin pulled the spiders out of their own universes and miles has to defeat him to repair the damage done). ATSV would be a man vs society conflict, as miles is up against a society of other spider people who believe he's an anomaly who needs to be contained, destroyed, or forced into conforming to the spiderman formula. I predict that BTSV (at least miles' main arc) will be a man vs self conflict, showing miles a version of himself who behaves the same way as the villains he's faced so far, and having him reconcile with that.
The villains this series has given us have all been victims of circumstance, people who are trying to do what they can to get themselves out of a difficult or painful situation. What makes them villains is the choices they make in trying to get out. Kingpin, Miguel, and the Spot (and presumably Miles 42 but it's a bit too early to say) will stop at nothing to get what they want, and they don't care about the people they hurt along the way.
Destiny and canon want to put Miles through the ringer like every other spiderman, but Miles rejects these very concepts in the climax of ATSV. Miles chooses to reject these ideas, trying to find an alternate path much like the antagonists. But Miles has a different motivation: in addition to making a better world for himself, he's fighting to make a better multiverse for all of the spider people.
I'm not a super active writer, but a writing adage I've picked up over the years is that protagonists ask questions and antagonists give answers to those questions. Its up to the protagonist whether to believe if those answers are true. In BTSV Miles' question would be "Am I a villain too?" Miles 42 answers yes by showing our Miles that at the very least, he is capable of becoming a villain. If Miles rejects that answer, he will no doubt do so by remembering that unlike the villains he's faced, he's fighting for something greater than himself.
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