#but I can’t reaist the urge to write angst with Link

[hungry-tum-stuff]

Hateno Village

BOTW Regional Food Series - Part 3

Description: Link has spoken to Purah regarding his memories, and he’s decided to settle down in Hateno for a bit to think about his next move. On a particularly calm night in, Link decides to try and re-create a recipe he remembers from before the Calamity.

Contents: Hunger, Stomachaches

//TW: Descriptions of Hunger, Amnesia, descriptions of stomachaches/sickness

Disclaimer: I am NOT an expert in memory loss/amnesia. If any of my depictions of Link’s memory loss are incredibly inaccurate, I apologize, and please reach out to me if you believe there is any way I can improve.

Link’s memories were returning.

He’d gone to Hateno to speak with Purah, who had taken more of an interest in his Sheikah Slate than him, if he was being honest. But in her interest, she was able to repair the device and add a new rune: the camera. She’d recovered a few pictures as well, which had sent Link’s mind racing. Every place seemed so familiar, but he had no idea where they were, and even less of a clue as to what had happened there.

He would find each and every place in these pictures, no matter how long it took him.

Especially now that he knew the effects of the shrine were mostly reversible. Purah had told him that his memories would come back in chunks, and that certain people, places, and things would trigger certain memories. She’d also told him that his memory would never completely return, but he still didn’t know how to feel about that.

Considering he could hardly remember anything from 100 years ago, he wasn’t sure if there was anything worth remembering.

He wasn’t even sure if there was anything he missed.

Small things came back to him the more time he spent traveling, however. Things like the names of settlements he knew he hadn’t visited yet, or fighting styles he’d never learned but somehow instinctively knew. The thing he kept remembering the most about though, was Zelda. He heard her voice a lot, and in turn he’s started to remember a few things she’s said to him. He remembered her saying that she was allergic to Chickaloo Nuts, he remembered her shouting ‘be careful!’ a lot. He remembered her face. And despite remembering these things, he still didn’t really remember her.

Link sighed and tossed the Sheikah Slate on the table, rubbing his eyes. He couldn’t look at those pictures anymore, not when he couldn’t remember anything.

His stomach growled.

Impa was right, he couldn’t remember anything on an empty stomach, either.

Link had set up shop for the night in an old, vacant house just outside of Hateno Village. Which he guessed was his house now, seeing as the local construction company had decided to sell it to him. It was better than paying to sleep at an Inn every night, but something about the house was a bit eerie. Almost like there was something missing from it.

On the bright side, a memory had come back to him during the time he’d spent here. He remembered helping someone make stew. And if he remembered the taste correctly, it had been a thick, hearty cuckoo stew. He just had to try making it.

And according to the noises his tummy was making, he also had to stop stalling.

Link looked over the ingredients he had. Hyrule Herb, milk, rock salt, a hearty radish, but no cuckoo meat. Hell, he didn’t even have non-cuckoo meat, he hadn’t exactly stopped to hunt lately. He frowned and dug through his bag some more before his land landed on something squishy. He poked it again before pulling it out, and then scrunching his nose up in disgust.

Bokoblin guts.

He had an excess of them after basically fighting his way here, and they were technically meat, right? They were just a little more, purple.

It certainly couldn’t hurt to try.

Link stepped outside cautiously with his ingredients gathered in his arms, looking around. The men from the construction company were sleeping nearby, was it really that late? Oh well, that meant nobody would be sitting around the cooking pot and watching him.

He stalked over, started the fire beneath the pot, and got cooking.

Everything else went well, except for dicing up the bokoblin meat, which was still a little a little slimy. But he decided that the work wouldn’t be for nothing, and he tossed it into the pot anyways.

His stew immediately turned purple.

Link briefly worried if malice would end up infecting him when he ate this, especially since it was so purple. But the bokoblin was dead, surely eating it’s guts would have no effect on him.

He just hoped it tasted good.

Link ran to get a bowl as the stew began to bubble over, and he helped himself to a generous serving before sitting beside the fire. It was strange, the stew didn’t really smell like anything. His stomach growled at him as he sat and waited for his stew to cool off, and he took a spoonful, blew on it one more time, and took a bite.

It wasn’t bad.

It tasted like stew, just with some slimy chunks in each spoonful. And his stew being edible was all the motivation Link needed to begin scarfing it down by the spoonful. He didn’t waste time in going for seconds, either.

He was comfortably full after his second serving, and there wasn’t much left in the pot anyways, so he sat for a moment before getting up to stomp out the fire and head inside.

The trouble started as soon as he stood up.

His stomach sloshed uncomfortably, and Link looked down a bit worriedly as it grumbled noisily.

Maybe bokoblin guts hadn’t been the best choice.

He hurried inside, one hand pressed against his belly as if he was trying to keep the contents inside from moving around. Unfortunately it didn’t work, because as soon as he shambled up the stairs and flopped down onto the bed, his stomach churned painfully. Link grimaced and wrapped both his arms around his tummy, holding his breath until the cramping passed. After it did, he breathed a heavy sigh of relief before unwrapping his hands from around his belly and then feeling it gently. It was slightly distended, and very grumbly. As soon as he pressed lightly on where his stomach was, it burbled uncomfortably before cramping up again.

Link lied there for awhile, curled up on himself with both hands around his upset and loudly complaining stomach. And when he eventually tried to get back up, a wave of nausea washed over him and he was lying back down in seconds.

He’d made a bit of a mistake. He couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty about it, too. Wasn’t he supposed to be a hero? That’s what everyone kept telling him, at least. But what kind of hero cooked monster parts into his stew and made himself sick because of it?

His stomach churned again, and Link couldn’t help but grunt in pain. He could feel his stomach twisting right beneath his hands, trying in vain to digest the mess of a meal he’d eaten.

He certainly didn’t feel like any kind of hero right now.