#I don’t write enough of Hyrule and Time together

[sunfloweraro]

LUtober day 5: Companion

Time and Hyrule reminisce on an old companion. Time is grateful to have such wonderful new companions by his side.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 .

“Other travel companions I’ve had?”

“Yeah,” Hyrule said. The glow of the fire before them left his eyes sparkling with curiosity. “Other than us, of course.”

Time hummed thoughtfully. “Well, my first companion… She was my best friend.”

“Malon?” Hyrule asked.

Time shook his head. Warmed his hands over the fire. “No, not her. My first companion was Navi.”

“Navi?”

“She was a little blue fairy—annoying as anything,” he chuckled, could hear her constant ‘Hey listen!’, all these years later. “But she took care of me.”

Hyrule was watching him, eyes soft. “Tell me more about her.”

No one else was awake, and tonight, by the cosy light of the fire, Time wasn’t feeling his usual hesitation to speak of her, felt only fondness where grief normally grew. And so he told Hyrule of how she had come to him as his journey as a hero officially started, how she had guided him through his first dungeon, in the belly of his father, the Great Deku Tree, and comforted him when despite his best efforts, the Great Deku Tree passed.

Grief took hold of him there, and Hyrule set a hand over his shoulder to pause him in his story. “It’s okay,” he said. “You don’t have to tell me any more.”

A heavy exhale. Time nodded.

“But… I hope you’ll get to see her again someday. It sounds like you miss her.”

Time smiled, ruffling Hyrule’s hair, eye crinkling when his young companion leaned into the physical affection. “You’re a good kid, Traveller.”

[jxsterr]

right i might be insane for this but something about zelink makes me feel like the usual acts of romantic affection are something a thousand times more meaningful and deep between them than those acts are normally. there’s something Religious about these two, like just a simple peck on the cheek is nice for the average couple but for them it’s something so much more. in fairness they are quite literally divine, zelda is the descendant of The goddess and link has the ungodly amount of strength and unwavering resolve to save the world a million times over. there’s nothing average about these two and it drives me insane

like yes they deserve just to be normal people after everything but i don’t think they ever will be, or at least not to each other. zelda might as well be her own goddess at this point, you’re telling me link isn’t going to look at her like she’s ethereal?? like she isn’t the sunshine that basks him in warmth every morning?? you’re also not gonna tell me that zelda wouldn’t have him on a pedestal of her own, like he isn’t her hero, like he hasn’t given his all and sacrificed everything just to save her countless times?? like his whole being doesn’t revolve around her, even when she’s expressed that he can do whatever he wants several times and yet he keeps coming back to her???

plus, there’s no way that all of the yearning that they would’ve had to go through pre calamity wouldn’t have them stuck in Forever Appreciative mode. we already know the link and zelda we see in the castle is Nothing like the link and zelda we see out in the world, exploring and having even the smallest amount of freedom in a world so restrictive. so just imagine all of the built up tension, maybe they released small amounts of it in their moments together outside of the castle but i don’t even think they’d have time to focus on one another when they were both so duty focused. zelda spent the entire pre calamity in a near constant state of anxiety over her powers, the most i could imagine them allowing themselves are hugs in moments of mental anguish, when they needed that love and support they couldn’t get from anyone else, when they were the only two who could understand the pressure they were under. just something to show they weren’t alone in this. then to reunite a century later without any restrictions, that first kiss would’ve been out of relief that they could finally focus on something else and that all that time of wishing for something more could finally come true

so then when zelda inevitably gets snatched up again and link has to go bumbling all over hyrule for her and he finally gets her back, there’s no way that every act of affection after that Isn’t done as if they could lose each other at any moment again. that every kiss isn’t slow and thoughtful and full of emotion just in case it’s their last. that every touch of zelda’s hand against his face isn’t something that whispers i love you i love you i love you. that every quiet touch they exchange isn’t a silent apology for what the other has had to endure just so they could be reunited again. it feels like link and zelda are the only couple who are immune to complacency because fate hasn’t been kind enough to let them get comfortable with the idea that they’re not going anywhere

to me it feels like their affection is something sacred, something special and something that they both cherish. their affection speaks for them when words are useless because fate has put them in such unique situations that nobody else could ever understand them as deeply as they do. everything they do is tender and calculated and full of love because god forbid they take a single moment for granted and GOD.

i’m currently writing something that i hope can portray my feelings about zelink affection because it feels like it is going to burst out of my chest……… or maybe that’s just the autism who knows

[wayfayrr]

This is the last set of headcanons for my 200 followers event! these are for @h4wari and they're for a reader asking the links for affection <3 I hope you'll enjoy them! writing them going soft for affection was so fun to write <33

[masterlist]

✦ After the initial meeting with the chain, once you’ve gotten comfortable with them enough to in your eyes gain a close relationship with them and close enough for them to fall. If you’re the one to initiate affection? They’re going to fall so much deeper into their obsession, taking it as you reciprocating their twisted love whether that’s your intention or not

✦ Some are far more than willing to give you it in public than others, not saying that they won’t love giving you affection they just don’t like all the looks they’ll get in public. Asking them then means you’re just gonna have to wait a moment longer before being spoilt with more affection than you could’ve bargained for. 

✦ Twilight would jump at the opportunity to give you affection, from even the smallest things like holding your hand or giving you a light kiss on the cheek. If you gave him the go-ahead to smother you? Yeah, you’re not getting away from him for a long while. He’ll give you the warmest hugs, if you really want to fluster him though just ask for anything by leaning close to him and whispering it into his ear. It’ll turn him redder than Legend’s tunic. 

✦ Time would be willing to always give you some kind of affection, unlike Twilight though he won’t always bring you into a bone-crushing hug not because of not wanting to, he just feels like it’ll be uncomfortable for you when he’s in full armour. Twilight’s strength does come from somewhere so he’s just as capable of it. His favourite thing instead of hugs, when he’s in his armour, is to pepper you with feather-light kisses all over your face. 

✦ Wild gets flustered at the idea you even possibly like him back so you asking for anything? He’s just falling even deeper for you every second you’re close to him and you don’t even know that you’re making him so much worse. Every single time you ask for something as small as holding his hand in his mind you’re telling him that it’s okay for him to press his luck further because if you’re like that then surely you aren’t bothered by the reports of villagers going missing. If everything he’s doing only pushes you closer together then… why should he ever stop? Besides that though one of his personal favourite things to be asked is to cuddle while the both of you sleep, you’re asking him to hold you when you’re most vulnerable? Sign him up.

✦ It takes the captain a little bit to get used to being affectionate with you, he’s petrified of how Cia will react if when she sees the both of you together and it absolutely kills him to turn down your requests for any. After a trip back to his Hyrule however, most of that discomfort is gone like he’s stopped considering her an issue little do you know that she won’t be bothering either of you ever again.  

✦ You don’t have to ask wind for anything, the kid is constantly hollering for your attention, whether that’s playing a game or having him ramble to you about anything and everything. The rare chance you ask him to play or if he wants to know about your past he’s literally bouncing on his heels. He gets that his older sibling might want focus more on the others seeing as they’re all significantly more touchy with you compared to anyone else, so for you to want to be with him? Your little brother, over any of them? He’s ecstatic.

✦ Hyrule turns into a flustered mess whenever you ask for attention. He just seemingly shuts down as his brain tries to come to terms with the fact that you want him over the others just doesn’t make sense for him. When he does reboot though he’ll give you the gentlest kisses as he does whatever it was that you decided he would be the best to go to for, one of his favourite things to do is slow-dancing with you, swaying together in a field as he hums a light tune? He would die for it.

[hystericstar]

maybe a headcanon or two for each link + sidon and how they do aftercare? I know it's not explicit but is still nsfw related, right? ;w;

Yeah, in my book it is! Just very soft :)

! MDNI !

𐂅 Twilight princess link 𐂅

9/10 times you’re gonna end up really sore, so he remedies that for you by giving the best massages you’ve ever had

Rough, calloused hands rubbing your back was something you never knew you needed till now

has a whole conversation with you

asking about your day, if you felt okay, etc.

goes into golden retriever mode as if you don’t limp when you walk

“ I couldn’t be happier your day went well darlin’. As for me, just your smile makes me forget anything else even exists.”

༆ Skyward sword link ༆

bath time!!!

Carries you to the bathroom and has you sit in the warm water while he changes the soiled bedsheets

he joins you when he’s done and y’all bathe together

his favorite thing is to brush your hair while humming

your’e always out like a light within minutes

idk why I just feel like he has the voice of an angel

“ Are you comfy enough? Let me know if I pull too hard on your hair, okay? Is there anything in particular you want me to sing for you dove?”

ᘏ Botw/Totk link ᘎ

Cleans you up, leaves, and then comes back with a tray full of munchies

you guys spend like half an hour praising each other

and then another half is just you happily listening to him tell stories of his chaotic adventures

a tickle fight may or may not be involved

“no matter how hard the battle was, it’d do it all again if it meant I’d get to have you look in my direction.”

𝄞 Ocarina of time link 𝄞

Gently holds you and takes a moment to just press his forehead against yours, admiring every aspect of you

starts gently making out with you cause he just loves you so much he physically can’t contain it

he’ll hold you for as long as you let him, face buried in your neck the whole time

holds your hand too cause he’s soft and if you disagree then you’re wrong

“you are my sun, sky, and earth. I am nothing without you.”

➳ Hyrule warriors link ➳

“I want you to breathe in and out for me, kay?”

bro performs a whole wellness check

“ I wasn’t too rough on you, was I?”

”thank you for allowing me the honor to pleasure you m’lady.”

don’t ask me why but I feel like he calls you that

actually it’s cannon Zelda just told me herself

anyways-

gentlemanly but can’t help tease you for that blissed out look in your eye

teaches you stretches to ease any kind of pain and exercises to help you catch your breath

ᖫ The fierce deity ᖭ

Asks you if you enjoyed it

wants to know if you did or didn’t like anything he did in particular

after all, he vowed he would serve you the moment he laid eyes on you

what kind of deity would he be if he couldn’t make his darling little human feel good?

“ I will do everything in my power to grant your every wish. I’d forge you jewelry made of the stars should you say the word.”

🜲 Sidon 🜲

Yk how I said twi would have golden retriever energy after?

yeah, scratch that

he is nothing compared to fish man

immediately sprints outside to get you some fresh zora spring water

don’t worry, he purified it like 5 times so that water is clean

you swear you can almost see the fin on his head wagging-

“are you hungry? Comfortable? Cold?”

eventually, he asks if you want to go for a swim

takes you to a private pond and lets ride on his back, or, if you’d prefer, you lay on his chest while he just floats along.

~《☆♡•°•°♡☆》~

done 😩

it was so fun adding in little text lines for them. Writing lines for characters is so fun istg

thank you for requesting!

[crazylittlejester]

honestly, the fandom dismisses wars trauma a little too much. Have you noticed it’s always never brought up in his character studies? And when it is, it’s totally brushed off him and cia had a WEIRDDD age gap. It’s also weird hyrule warriors never acknowledges this. I honestly don’t think it’s gonna be recognized in LU but idk. It’s just weird how quickly the fandom brushed over all that. What’s your opinion? Cuz you have cool opinions lol

Disclaimer: Everything you’re about to read is my opinion and my interpretation of a game. I’m not talking about headcanons (unless otherwise specified), I’m just talking about my experience with the game and everything else. All of this is from MY perspective interacting with the canon material from both Hyrule Warriors and Linked Universe. Also! I am dyslexic, my bad for oddly autocorrected words or weird spelling mistakes

A huge reason I started yapping so much on this blog was because I saw a lot of people either actively disliking Wars, making fucking INSANE comments about his body, overly sexualizing him, or just straight up dismissing him all together and it helped me get over my posting anxiety because it genuinely made me so upset. He’s been my favorite character since only a few posts into LU (i originally liked Twilight better based sheerly on design but it took like only a few posts before that changed), and I love HW Link in general, and I thought it was actually crazy that more people didn’t like him. I’ve written several of my own characters studies on him, some of which I’ve posted, others lay trapped in my old laptop in the form of a full on analysis paper, never to see the light of day

You can send a full grown man to war and he will come back with trauma, imagine what happens when you grab some poor teenager and tell him everything relies on him. Literally forget Cia for a minute, Link as a teenager was taken and shoved into a full on war where his men turned on him and in order to survive, he had to kill. Monsters and hylians alike, it was him or them, and he’s the one who made it out. Not to mention he was constantly running all over the battle field trying to prevent the hylian captains from being defeated, and he most certainly lost many people he cared about just because he couldn’t get there in time. He had to carry around the guilt that this war was started because some sorceress was obsessed with him ON TOP of that

This was said earlier by an anon on a post I reblogged, and I’ve been saying it myself for months but I will say it again: If Warriors had been a girl and been obsessed over that same way, I fucking GUARANTEE you people would be taking it more seriously

I literally just typed in the character name and the game she’s from and that is what google had to say about her. If an older man was described as ‘harboring serious affections’ and having a ‘desire to claim’ a teenage girl I literally don’t think it would’ve been glossed over or ignored like it is

I don’t think nintendo was ever gonna elaborate or really recognize it in the game, they never go super in depth on anything in Zelda games from my experience, and I doubt Jojo will really get into it in LU mainly just because she has so much going on with eight other dudes and potentially two more (based on the header on the linked universe blog)

I saw a lot of characterizations of Warriors and opinions of him that made me so confused and also a bit mad, such that he is a womanizer or a stupid twink (of which he is neither), and that’s a huge reason I started writing fanfiction for this fandom. Firstly to just create more content for my favorite character because I rarely saw any that focused on him, and secondly because I didn’t like some (NOT ALL) of how I was seeing him characterized. (i cannot emphasize enough: NOT ALL people in the fandom characterized him this way, I saw plenty of amazing and beautiful characterizations of Warriors)

I do not think he is a womanizer at all, in fact I fully believe his flirtatious behavior is a defense mechanism. I think his ‘woman problems’ are the fact that he’s afraid of women (especially older women) he doesn’t know or trust, but also that’s just my opinion. And I am genuinely a bit worried that now that people have stopped talking about how they noticed he seemed off a few updates ago and now that they’re saying he’s back to normal that people are going to start reducing him to a stupid dramatic twink again, as if Warriors was not the one who came up with the initial plan to fight Dink and was not the first one to fight him. As if this is not a man who lead a god damn army. As if everything he’s done and everything he is no longer matters because he’s ‘pretty’

anyways I have a lot of thoughts about him in general and im just glad the fandom has been treating him better as of late, but i am a bit worried it’s just gonna go back to how it was

thanks for the ask!! sorry i got a bit carried away 😭

[paillettetkdi]

"Do you love her?"

"Who?"

"Your princess."

The sound of the waves was calming. The sand between his fingers was becoming less irritating as time passed on the island.

"No, I don't. Not in the way you're implying. She's the last family I have. She's my sister."

"Do you love me?"

He could feel the heat of her body next to his, and the scent of the plumeria flower she always wore in her hair filled the air.

"Yes. But it won’t be enough, will it?"

He felt a shift beside him and caught a glimpse of red hair. He didn’t turn—he already knew what he would see if he did.

"You need to go back to Hyrule."

"I know."

"Your princess, your sister, needs you."

"I know."

"I need to stay here."

"I know."

"The island needs me."

"I know."

Another shift, the sand moving beneath her feet as the scent of flowers faded. Even though he was still looking at the sea, he caught a flash of her blue dress swaying in the wind.

"Father must be waiting. Will we see you for dinner?"

"No. I need to go to the mountain."

"I see. Be careful, then."

This time, it wasn’t just a shift. He heard the soft crunch of sand beneath her feet as she walked away. He finally turned around.

"You once told me that we are incarnations of souls, traveling through time and places."

"I did, yes."

"Is there a good ending for us anywhere? A world where Hyrule doesn’t need me, a world where you can leave the island?"

A smile touched her lips as she walked back toward him. He was standing now, though he didn’t remember when he had decided to get up. She stopped a few meters away—just far enough that he knew if he reached out, he wouldn’t be able to touch her.

"You will meet them."

"Who?"

Her smile remained, but now that she was closer, he could see the sadness in her eyes.

"One day, you will meet the incarnation of us that had a happy ending, those who were able to grow old together."

"Why not us?"

The sun was starting to set, and a chill began to creep in.

"Not all heroes can be happy. You won’t be happy. You will fight your whole life and die alone, knowing you didn’t make any difference. And you will do it to save others from this fate."

The wind picked up, and the sound of the sea grew louder.

"A storm is coming. It’s time to go home."

This time, he didn’t move. He just watched as she disappeared into the fading light.

He turned to face the towering mountain ahead. His time here was coming to an end.

A flash of light made him open his eyes. He glanced around to see his traveling companions still asleep. Mornings at Lon Lon Ranch were always peaceful; it almost felt like home.

As he made his way down for breakfast, he heard the sound of two voices talking. He just had to close his eyes to hear the sound of the waves again.

Opening the door, he saw the vision of a red-haired woman smiling at him. Beside her was the old man—the hero who had been blessed with a happy ending.

They both smiled as the sound of the waves faded away.

« Good morning Vet. Said the old men. Did You Sleep well ? »

————————————

Hello there !

First of all thank you for reading (I’m saying that even tho I’m sure that no one will read but anyway)

It’s my first time even showing anyone what I write and it’s really scary

English is not my first language si if I did any mistake pease tell me I want to be better

Oh and I know that technically Time and Malon don’t have a happy ending but ✨it’s more dramatic like that✨

Have a great day. <3

[skyward-floored]

Hi hello, I got inspired by a thing and wrote an Incredibles au fic about Malon and Hyrule this afternoon, hope you all enjoy :)

I felt so bad for Hyrule writing this aaaah he’s just a little guy... good thing he has Malon <3

Ao3

————————————————————

CRASH

Malon jumped at the sound of something breaking in the kitchen, nearly dropping the basket of laundry she was holding. There was a telling silence after the crash, and she felt a surge of exasperation, squeezing her eyes shut.

It had already been a stressful day— Wind was sick, and Legend was starting to come down with something as well, and Malon had gotten behind in the laundry checking up on the two of them. Four had been clingy up until she’d put him down for a nap, and she’d also had to break up no less then three separate arguments between Wild and Legend, the latter extra grumpy because of his sore throat. Malon’s patience was rapidly unraveling, and this was just the icing on the cake.

She held in a groan, and set down the basket, tromping into the kitchen with her hands on her hips.

“Wild, if you broke my vase because you haven’t been being careful with your super speed again, then you’re going to be in some serious trouble mister—”

But Wild wasn’t who Malon found when she walked into the kitchen. Rather Hyrule was standing next to the sink, eyes wide as he stared down at the mess of what looked like a shattered cup, broken pieces and spilled water all over the floor.

“...Hyrule? What happened?” she asked, surprised at not seeing the usual culprit. “Did you drop a cup?”

He startled at her voice, and seemed at a loss for words, looking between her and the mess without saying anything. Malon raised an eyebrow when he didn’t reply, and gestured to the mess again.

“Hyrule, did you drop your glass? Or did somebody else?”

Malon took a step towards Hyrule as she spoke, but the second she did, his shoulders shot up, and he quickly stepped back from her.

“I-I did, but I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Hyrule said frantically, backing away from Malon. “I’ll— I’ll fix it, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to!”

She immediately stopped moving towards him, looking at Hyrule in surprise at his reaction.

“Honey, it’s only a glass, you don’t have to be upset,” she said with a worried look, but Hyrule only seemed to get more panicked, backing away until his back hit the wall.

“I’m sorry, it— it was an accident! I wasn’t trying to, I’m sorry I’m sorry—”

“Hyrule, it’s okay—”

“I’m sorry! Please don’t punish me!”

His voice broke on the words, and Malon studied him for a moment, alarm bells ringing in her mind. All of a sudden she realized what was happening, and her heart fell straight to her shoes.

Hyrule must have had this happen to him before, when he wasn’t living with them.

During the period of his life he refused to talk about.

Oh.

“Link,” Malon said steadily, as Hyrule sank to to the ground, curling up on himself at the name. Oh no, bad choice. “...Hyrule,” she tried again, “it’s okay, I’m not mad.”

Her son had begun to shake, his eyes welling with tears, and Malon was starting to feel at a loss, unsure of how to help without making him more upset. She looked around, then carefully lowered herself to her knees, far away enough to not crowd Hyrule, but close enough to provide comfort if he decided he wanted it.

“Hyrule,” Malon said softly, and he looked at her with a scared expression. “It’s okay. It was an accident, and we can easily clean it up. I’m not going to punish you for making a mistake.”

“B-but I broke it, I was clumsy, I’m sorry I—”

“Honey, it’s okay,” Malon soothed. “I can’t tell you how many times your father has knocked into things and broken them because of his eye. Maybe I get annoyed at him for a little while, but he never does it on purpose, and we clean it up together.”

Hyrule didn’t say anything, tears still slipping down his nose.

Malon bit her lip, then cautiously scooted closer to her son, making sure he was okay with it before moving. Hyrule watched her sharply, but didn’t move away, and she carefully set her hand on his shoulder, rubbing it with soft circles when he didn’t throw her off.

Hyrule slowly relaxed at her touch, and his shoulders lowered. His shaking began to still as they sat there in silence, and eventually he let Malon move closer, until she was right next to him.

“It’s okay, honey,” Malon repeated in a gentle voice, and Hyrule wiped his nose on his sleeve. She exhaled, and brushed some tears off his cheek, then met his eyes. “It’s only a cup. I know it was an accident.”

“You’re not gonna hu... do anything?” Hyrule whispered, and Malon shook her head.

“Oh honey, no,” she said in dismay, and pulled him into a hug, loose enough that he could pull away if he wanted to. He didn’t though, instead sinking into her arms with a quiet sigh. “It was an accident. Everyone breaks things sometimes, you didn’t do anything wrong. After all, it’s not like you emptied my cupboard and started throwing cups just to be destructive.”

Hyrule let out a soft giggle, so small Malon could barely hear it, but it warmed her heart anyway.

“It’s okay,” she repeated, and Hyrule rested his head on her shoulder. She sat with him on the floor for a while longer even though she had things to do, holding him while he finished calming down. Everything else could wait right now.

“I’m really sorry I broke it,” Hyrule whispered after a while, and Malon ran a gentle hand through his hair.

“I know. And it’s okay, Hyrule. It was an accident.”

She pulled back and smiled at him a little worriedly, brushing a hand through his hair again.

“Now let’s make sure you don’t have any glass stuck in you, then we can clean up this mess,” she said warmly, and Hyrule nodded, looking relieved. Malon helped him up, and over to a chair so she could check him over, and cleaned the few tiny pieces of glass from his foot.

But even as Malon bandaged up Hyrule’s foot, and he helped her clean up the shattered cup, the image of him begging her not to do anything to him stayed in her head, making her chest hurt more and more every time it replayed.

Nobody is going to hurt you like that again, Link, she promised silently as he helped her sweep up the last of the glass. Nobody.

[breannasfluff]

Four Rabbits Meet

I came across @minart-was-taken's post about Four Swords + Lorule Ravio and fell in love with the concept. For writing purposes I changed Blue's name to Cyan so it's not confused with the actual Four Colors. ~

“So!” Purple claps his hands together and gives the rest of the group a bright look. “Should we head back to Link’s place? There’s a portal near here we can hit up.”

Three identical faces in different colors stare back. A fourth stares at the clouds.

“Are you kidding me?” the newly dubbed Gold says. “We’re four separate people and whoever…that is”—he waves at the one staring at the sky—“instead of Ravio and you just want to move on with life? What about our treasure hunt?”

Purple’s smile is a little strained, but he still nods. “Standing out here in the woods isn’t doing us any good.

Cyan’s voice is barely above a whisper. “I don’t think taking this sword was a good idea.”

“But it’s treasure!” Gold immediately flips sides, examining the sword in his hand. “We could sell it.”

“It’s magical,” Cyan says.

“And there’s four of them. So, we get four times the profit. Hey, Pink, you don’t want your sword, right?”

Pink glances between all of them and curls deeper into his hood. “Shouldn’t we figure out how to be—Ravio again?”

They all turn and look at Cyan, who shrugs. If there’s a magical answer, he doesn’t know it.

Purple takes the lead. “Look, we aren’t going to solve this out here. Let’s head back to the house. Link’s been on so many adventures, I’m sure he’s heard of something like this.”

Gold rolls his eyes, but sets off down the path. Purple and Cyan fall in behind him. Only Pink stays where he is, until Purple glances back at him. “Pink? Coming?”

“What about him?”

Right. The fifth one. He nearly glows pale yellow, and he’s still staring at the clouds. Even with this whole mess, there’s no sword in his hand to match theirs. Also, he doesn’t seem to be the…brightest lantern in the bunch. Mostly, he ignores them.

Purple doesn’t even attempt a smile, just sighs and waves at Pink. “Mind grabbing him? Maybe you can think of a nickname for him.”

The color brightens and runs back to grab the fifth’s hand. It takes a few tugs, but he follows, placid enough.

With a final glance, Purple hurries down the path to rejoin Gold. A quick portal to Hyrule to figure this out and they can get back to their travels. Link will know what to do.

Link is not home. He’s gone on a journey for an unknown period of time. The note to Zelda on the table is already covered in a light layer of dust. Either she came and left, or hasn’t noticed Link is missing.

The four—five colors stand in a circle, staring at the note.

“Well, we better head out.” Purple really likes Link’s house, too. It’s nicer than Ravio’s.

“What? No, we aren’t leaving!” Gold snatches the note, then crumples it into a ball.

“But Link is gone! We can’t stay here without permission.”

Gold’s eyes take on the crafty gleam Ravio does whenever he’s about to make an excellent point. “Who would watch over Link’s stuff while he’s gone? What if someone breaks in? Look how dusty his house is! And with so many magical items…”

Purple can practically see the rupees in his eyes. Link better have magical items to come home to. “But permission…”

Slinging an arm around his shoulder, Gold steers him out of the kitchen. “We’re helping, Purple. Link will be happy! We’ll keep things clean and protected while he’s gone; maybe make him a little money. We don’t want him to lose his rent income now, do we?”

“We don’t pay rent,” Cyan points out. Gold stomps on his foot.

“Okay, we’ll stay. But if Link comes back and wants us to leave—”

“Yes, yes, we’ll deal with it then. Now, about that money…” Gold turns back to the front room and—yep, he’s out.

Pink is still in the kitchen, holding onto the fifth one’s arm.

“Got a name for him?” Purple asks as he comes back in. He might as well make some tea; they need it.

The color perks up and nods. “Gleam! You like that, don’t you?”

Gleam stares at him and blinks slowly. “Link?”

“Link’s gone,” Purple says. He waits till the teapot is full before continuing. “We’re going to keep the place clean for him till he comes back.”

“Back?”

“…yes. When Link comes back.” He turns to Pink with a frown. “He understands Hylian, doesn’t he?”

Pink gasps and clings to Gleam’s arm. “Of course he does!” Then he turns to Gleam. “You do…don’t you?”

Gleam stares at him a touch too long, then nods. Lolia, is he that dense, or just an airhead? Well, Pink needs something to do, so— “You mind watching over Gleam for me? Sure would be a help.”

The color’s face lights and, wow, is that what Ravio looks like when he’s happy? Huh. It’s not a bad expression. “I can help! Leave it to me!” Then he turns to Gleam and squeezes his hand. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you.”

Pink may have Gleam, but who’s got Purple? Why did today have to be the day the goddess pulled Link onto a new journey?

Something crashes in the front room and Gold screeches about merchandise. Right. Because Ravio as a whole is cursed.

Sighing, Purple pulls out more teacups. They are going to need it.

The following weeks bring them no closer to figuring out how to rejoin. Purple takes over running the shop—he looks the most like Ravio. While their robes changed color when they split, there’s still an extra robe he wears.

Looks-wise, it’s not a problem. Money-wise…well, Purple just wants to help people! And sometimes that means giving them a good deal. Gold loses his temper the first time he checks the books and starts training Purple on how to barter—or at least not give items away.

Link returns and Purple finds himself at sword-point from a variety of strangers. The other colors are out for the day; Cyan wanted to practice some spells with the swords. The hero doesn’t even seem pleased with his unexpected guest. Really! Who does he think dusted everything?

Purple draws on every acting skill he has—and channels a lot of Gold—to make it through the conversation long enough to get official permission to stay. Link has a new nickname, Legend, and the one called Four has a sword that looks suspiciously familiar.

The group is there for barely an hour before someone yells about a portal. Link—Legend switches out more items in a hurry and shoves the extra into Purple’s arms. “Don’t sell these!” Then he squints at him. “And stop being weird around my family. Just be yourself.”

Time calls for him and Purple is left standing in an empty house.

“Link came back.” Purple explains the short encounter to the other colors when they return.

“Why didn’t you tell him what happened?” Cyan comes back with two cups of tea and passes one to Purple. 

“You think Link would believe him without all of us there?”

Pink sits on the floor and leans back. “So, what do we do now?”

“We’ve got each other.” Purple puts his cup down and brushes off his robe. “Either we figure out how to become Ravio again before Mr. Hero returns, or we figure out how to adapt and live like this. That hero, Four, had a sword similar to the one we found. If we have to, we’ll wait till they come back and ask.”

There are nods and smiles from all the colors. It’s not much of a plan but—well, it will have to do for now.

Gleam steps forward and shoves a handful of berries in Purple’s hands. “For you.”

“Gleam, these are poisonous.”

The color just gives him a thumbs up, because of course he does.

~

Gleam is my special little problem child. We'll see this group pop up a few more times for flufftober as well!

[am-i-interrupting]

Focus

Description: You worked closely with Chief Ganondorf, you knew his plans and you knew you’d have to be careful in how you revealed to the King and Queen what would happen. It couldn’t be sudden, it would have to be gradual, one hint at a time.

Tags: 1.7k words, gerudo!reader, slight language barrier (written text), yearning, implied Ganondorf x Reader, inspired by an @alilbitlesbian post

Your fingernails drummed against the table as you looked over the paper in front of you. You forced yourself to focus on it. You had to focus on it.

It was all written in Hyrulian. You knew most. You knew enough to be considered fluent but you were no expert. You needed to give the words your full attention to piece together the puzzle that was context and figure out the meaning of words you didn’t understand.

You couldn’t be distracted. You had to focus.

They were right in front of you though. How could you be expected to do anything when they were right in front of you.

King Rauru and Queen Sonia of Hyrule, you’d heard their names before but only in tones filled with annoyance and occasional malice. What you’d been told of them did not prepare you to fit in front of them.

Rauru was tall with a thin coat of fur all over his body, barely an inch thick— if that. It was all a shade of gray save for his ears which were as white as his hair with longer, fluffier fur. You’d caught yourself wondering several times if his many earrings would jangle if you scratched those ears and you got your answer when he turned his head and a soft tinging was heard as they clicked together.

Sonia was a Hylian woman with similarly long hair to her husband though hers was blonde instead of white. Her eyes were a shade of vibrant green that was more colorful than the grass and flora you saw on the trek here. Those eyes were filled with understanding that you were left questioning, not sure what she saw when she looked at you that made her soften so much.

“Are you alright?” Rauru asked with your title at the end of his sentence.

“I’m well,” you told him. You let your fingers drum against the table a few moments more as you continued to stare at the words that muddled together on the page before you finally relented. “Though, if I’m completely honest, I do believe I’m having some. . . difficulty understanding. That is to say, I don’t know all of the words written.”

Sonia’s eyebrows rose and then fell as a soft smile came to her lips. She stood and walked over to you. Her hand went to rest between your shoulder blades as she bent a bit to get a better look at the paper.

You willed yourself to not think of how warm her hand was or how you could feel the very tips of her fingers against your skin.

“Let us take a look together, shall we?” she said.

With her help you realized that you did know most of these words and the ones you hadn’t were outlandishly lavish. There was simply the matter of spelling, different dialects and all. When you’d gone over the entirety of the paperwork, her hand still didn’t leave your back,

You cleared your throat and reached for a writing utensil. “I do believe that these are reasonable expectations,” you said. “The Gerudo will happily accept your request, King Rauru.”

“I’m pleased to hear,” he said as you signed the papers.

You slid the papers back to Rauru who took them so carefully. His fingers curled around the documents, only the pads of them touching it. He seemed almost wary of his nails, like they would pierce through the pages if he held them too harshly. Perhaps it’d happened before.

With a heavy feeling in your chest, you moved to stand. Sonia’s hand and warmth retreated from you as you did.

“If that is all, I should be off,” you said. “Sav'orq and sav'orr.”

“Are you sure you wish to go?” Sonia asked. “You’re welcome to stay. It’s getting late.”

She was right, of course. The sun had gone down and the moon was beginning to rise by the time you’d finished. However, you had to leave. You’d rather not deal with him thinking something had happened.

“It’s a multi day journey,” you reminded her. “One night won’t make a difference.”

“Then one hour shouldn’t either,” Rauru said. “We have the extra room. Please, if not for yourself than to ease our minds. There are many creatures of the night which could harm you. It’d be safer to turn in early and rise the same than to traverse far enough away from the towns and stables so if something happens, no one will know.”

You tried to focus on your goal. You knew that you really should leave now, get three to four hours of travel in tonight to make up for the lost time but they made a compelling argument.

You looked at them both. They should know they already won this bout of conversation. As soon as they’d asked the question, you knew the answer.

“If it’s not trouble,” you said.

“None at all,” Sonia said. “I’ll work on the arrangements.”

She left the room. Now it was just you and Rauru, alone in such a large room. There weren’t even guards. How trusting, how foolish.

“You should tighten your security,” you told him.

His brows raised. “Any particular reason?” he asked.

Oh, so many. Too many.

There was a reason Ganondorf had chosen you to come, because he knew you couldn’t say no to him. You hadn’t said no to him so many times and in so many different ways.

It wasn’t because you were weak or fragile. When push came to shove, you’d normally have no qualms telling him he was wrong. He’d even encouraged it, fond of the challenge. You simply knew when to keep your mouth shut for either safety or occasionally pleasure.

“Like you said, dangerous times,” you settled on saying.

He slowly inhaled and exhaled, a whirlwind of emotion hidden in his eyes.

He didn’t comment further. Instead, he changed the subject, “You must be famished, it’s been such a long day and we barely took a break. May I?”

You gestured for him to go ahead.

He led you down the halls of the castle to a kitchen area. He scooped several fruits you’d seen only briefly in your time here with Ganondorf but hadn’t tried onto a plate. Then he grabbed a pot filled with water and began preparing something.

It was so strange to see, a king making and preparing his own things. It didn’t seem right or rather normal. Especially in comparison to Ganondorf who practically used you as all his needs packed into one. You prepared his food. You stood watch to guard by his throne. You handled the townspeople’s squabbles. You did everything except the political work. That was until recently when you’d been thrown into that too.

“Oh, there you are,” Sonia said as she entered the room. “I couldn’t figure out where the two of you went.”

“My apologies,” Rauru said. “It simply occurred to me that none of us had eaten in our time together. I thought I’d rectify that.”

“A noble cause,” Sonia said as she reached over you for a golden, round fruit.

She bit into it with a small crunch sound. Her eyes fluttered closed for a mere second as something in her seemed to relax.

You could see the smallest droplet of something clear begin to try to roll down her lips and chin but you reached out to gather it with your thumb before it got the chance. It was sticky on your skin though that was to be expected.

Sonia’s hand nearly went to where yours had touched her but she stopped herself.

“I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until food was placed in front of me,” she said with a small smile.

“A common realization,” Rauru said.

He grabbed three cups. What was normal in your hands was dwarfed in his. It seemed so small, like an adult playing with a child’s toy.

He held them like he held the papers (not hard enough to pierce) and the fruit (not hard enough to bruise), not hard enough to crack.

He poured tea into the three cups. You reached for the one closest to you slowly.

“No one has ever made me tea before,” you admitted.

A flitter of sadness was quickly washed away with the hand placed on your arm and smile scratched across her lips as Sonia said, “Then you’re in for a treat, Rauru makes some of the best tea I’ve ever tasted.”

“Now, Sonia, you know better than to place false expectations in people’s heads,” Rauru said.

“And you know better than to lie,” she retorted.

You hide a smile at their banter with the cup before you took a sip.

“I’m afraid Queen Sonia is correct,” you said. “You’ve downplayed. It’s wonderful tea.”

“Thank you.”

“And please, simply call me Sonia.”

You arrived in Gerudo Town nearly four hours after the sun had descended from the sky. You took a moment to bask in the comfortable temperature inside the walls of the town (especially in contrast with the sharp chill of the outside) before you began to make your way to Ganondorf’s chambers.

“You’re late,” he said sternly.

“The meeting ran over,” you explained, not lying but not revealing the entire truth.

He scoffed lightly as he turned to look at you. He circled you, inspected you with critical eyes. He searched for any sign of damage. If there was the smallest scratch or faintest bruise on your skin you knew he’d find it and use it to his advantage. He found nothing.

“Would you like to make up for your lost time?” he asked.

“Of course.”

You followed him to wherever it was he led you. You knew what you were agreeing to. You did it willingly, probably would even if he wasn’t your higher up and simply a man on the street. However, he wasn’t the only person you’d found yourself drawn to in these ways recently. You couldn’t admit to that, however. At the very least not now.

Perhaps soon you’d be able to focus on more than just him and his wants. You dared to dream that maybe one day you could focus on your own.

[wizard-finix]

Ao3 tag game!

THANKS @ragecndybars FOR THE TAG I APPRECIATE IT

*cracks knuckles* lets do this

How many works do you have on AO3?

24 works! I would have never expected to have that many 5 years ago, hahaha

What's your total AO3 word count?

186,291! oh wow, almost 200k!! (unsurprisingly PT minato takes up over a third of that LMAO)

How many fandoms have you written for, and what are they?

10 fandoms! I'm counting Persona 3, 4, and 5 and separate, but I'm grouping all the Zelda fandoms together since it's all Linked Universe fic.

Here's the breakdown!

The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms (6)

Persona 5 (5)

Persona 3 (5)

SPY x FAMILY (Anime) (3)

Wizard101 (Video Game) (3)

SPY x FAMILY (Manga) (3)

Runescape (Video Games) (3)

Pirate101 (Video Game) (3)

Persona 4 (2)

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom (2)

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga (1)

Star Wars - All Media Types (1)

The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Warriors (1)

Top five fics by kudos:

The Ghost of Mementos/Stygian Ringlet (Persona3/5) - to the surprise of absolutely no one, since this is currently my longest fic. I'm very happy with Stygian Ringlet being the top because I love my boys :)

True Crime Special on the Midnight Channel (Persona 4/5) - my Ren has a TV Dungeon fic! also very proud of the dungeon concept for this one, I really need to finish the last two chapters

Dark Clouds on the Horizon (Linked Universe/TOTK) - I feel like this one got a lot of momentum partially because it was directly in the wake of TOTK's release, but I'm happy with how it turned out :)

Strangers Are Just Friends You Haven't Met (Persona 3/SPY x FAMILY) - this was a collab series with mewrose and a few others in the marigolds discord! we were throwing ideas at the wall to see what stuck and I really had a lot of fun with Shinjiro-related prompts, because I LOVE him and hitting him with the isekai baseball bat into a universe with Anya brings me great joy

Salt Tears and Raindrops (Linked Universe/TOTK) - directly related to Dark Clouds, and I'm glad people enjoyed good ol' fashioned angst >:) (I do need to post more of my wips, I do have a couple more roleswap AU wips that I want to post)

Do you respond to comments?

Yes! I almost always do because I really appreciate them and its my way of saying thanks for the comment! If I don't comment it's because I lost track of it or because I can't think of a response.

What's the fic with the angstiest ending you've ever written?

Probably Salt Tears and Raindrops. I was in a Mood and decided to go for the tried-and-true method of putting fictional characters I like through the emotional wringer. That's how I got the rough draft for this fic :)

Do you write crossovers?

*looks at my persona fics and recent LU fics*

...I think it's safe to say most of my fics these days fall under crossovers lmao

Have you ever gotten hate on a fic?

I wouldn't say I have? One or two comments that came off as rude, but no actual hate, thankfully. If I did, I forgot about it. I've been blessed by wonderfully nice readers <3

Do you write smut?

Nope. I don't read it, so I wouldn't know how to write it anyway.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of? I sure hope not.

I have seen a couple short fics slightly imitate Ghost of Mementos though, which I thought was really sweet that they liked it enough to inspire their own writing.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope, but I'd definitely be open to it!

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

RYOMINA. Hands down. I love them so much, I am so mentally unwell about these two

What’s a WIP that you want to finish, but don’t think you ever will?

My two Runescape fics, Whispers in the Temple and Welcome to the Jungle. I absolutely loved going hogwild with rewriting old quests in Runescape, but I psyched myself out of Welcome to the Jungle because I got overly anxious about accidentally doing bad representation.

(in hindsight, it probably wouldn't have been as big a deal as I thought; it's hard to make it worse considering how bad Legend's Quest was with the british-african stereotypes. that quest DID NOT age well.)

I also want to finish Snake in the Grass; that was my first attempt at a genuine mystery plot and I really liked playing with Warriors in that fic in the context of the gang trying to figure out who the heck is trying to murder him.

What are your writing strengths?

I feel like I'm pretty good at dialogue! I try to make sure it matches the character's speech patterns and personality. Really well-written dialogue can tell you who's speaking without actually telling who it is. (For example, the way I write them: Minato speaks as few words as possible and has very little filter with his observations when he does share them, and Shinjiro is pretty rough around the edges, with shortened words and the occasional swear. Warriors is good with words and wit, but he has a certain military-esque directness and doesn't dance around the topic.)

I do try hard to keep the plot clear and understandable over everything else, so probably that as well.

Also, now that I think about it, maybe fight sequences? I don't do them much, but I do enjoy the challenge of making a clear sequence of what happens in a fight and trying to make it understandable. Fight sequences are easy to skip or gloss over, but I think of them like their own miniature plot. What happens? What surprises are there? What are their movesets? How do they get the upper hand? (and of course, what looks cool as fuck)

What are your writing weaknesses?

Time management. I tend to over-proofread since I beta my own work, and often I'll go back to tweak stuff if I had additional thoughts to add to it, or extra insight. Lately, it takes longer to write chapters than I'd like.

Also, dialogue-heavy scenes often get very chaotic in my WIPs because of the way I rough out fics. I'll throw together a bunch of dialogue bits I think would be cool to include, and sometimes they'll clash or get really messy, especially if there's lots of characters (looking at the latest two chapters of Stygian Ringlet)

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fics?

I think it's cool! It adds flavor to fics. If it's more than one short phrase though, or if it's story important, then I do prefer that there is a translation in the author's notes. I haven't done any non-English dialogue in fics, save for one memorable adventure into trying to figure out how Latin grammar structure works for a character that didn't speak English.

What was the first fandom you ever wrote for?

Wizard101 and Pirate101. I was obsessed with those two for YEARS. I really, really liked pirate stories in high school, and having a cast of crewmates that accompany you throughout the game really inspired me to write my first fic featuring my OC. (I was also into One Piece at the time, but I never wrote for it.)

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written so far?

Stygian Ringlet. It's really dear to my heart. I have poured so much love and effort into that fic, and the reception on it has completely blown me away.

THANKS FOR THE TAG!! Uhhhmmm for tags I'm going to go with @skyward-floored, @catreginae and @breannasfluff (but only if you want to!! no obligation of course)

and of course any other writers that want to do it as well!! go forth

[arecaceae175]

writing request but Transmasc warriors coming out to the chain and group hugs ensue (Bonus points if they're all transmasc too and wars was just the last one out of the closet)

(This wasn’t sent for pride prompts but I’m answering it here six months late hello)

Warning: implied/mentioned transphobia

Warriors took a deep breath and let the wood of the bowl Sky carved ground him. Everyone was silently eating dinner, so this was the perfect moment. He could do this. He could do this.

Warriors cleared his throat. Everyone looked at him. He took another deep breath and searched himself for all the courage he possessed.

“I’ve been thinking,” Warriors said.

“That’s a first,” Legend teased with smirk. Twilight smacked Legend’s chest.

“I’ve been thinking,” Warriors repeated with emphasis. “About… some stuff. This may not be a monumental thing to you, but this is big for me. This is the first time I’ve said this out loud.”

Legend’s smirk dropped off his face and was replaced with an expression more genuine. He put his spoon down in his bowl and leaned forward.

“I’m-“ Warriors words caught in his throat. This was ridiculous. He was a Hero of Courage, for Goddesses sake. This wasn’t like the castle back home; the other heroes would understand and accept him.

“Hey,” Twilight said. Warriors dragged his gaze from his shoes to meet Twilight’s. “Whatever this is, we support you. You can tell us.”

Twilight’s thin tunic had large cutouts on the side so keep out the heat. The edges of his top surgery scars peeked out, bright red against his tan skin. Beside him, Legend was wearing only his binder and a long skirt. Wild was leaning against a tree. He didn’t experience any dysphoria about his body so he didn’t wear a binder or take any of the special potions, but he was still confident in his transmasc identity.

Warriors could do this.

“I’m transmasc. I’d like you to use he and they pronouns for me. And… I’d like to consider trying out a binder.”

Wind leapt up from his seat and high fived Hyrule. “Yes!!! Another!!! That’s nine for nine!!!!”

Warriors couldn’t hold back a chuckle at his antics.

Four quietly passed Time a red rupee. Before Warriors could ask about that, Time started speaking.

“Thank you for trusting us enough to tell us.”

Warriors felt the tips of his ears go pink and he fought to keep them from wiggling. “Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “Of course.”

Wild tossed a red rupee at Time. Time tried to catch it, but missed, and it flew past his hand into his bowl of food. He looked at it and sighed deeply.

“Okay, what’s going on here?” Warriors asked.

No one answered. Hyrule and Wild at least had the decency to look ashamed. Sky wiggled in his seat, looking anywhere but Warriors. Warriors walked over and calmly knelt in front of Sky. Sky fiddled with his sailcloth and his face went bright red.

Warriors didn’t even have to say anything before Sky broke.

“Okay! We made bets on when you would come out since you were the last one.”

“You what?” Warriors asked, standing in surprise.

“I’m sorry! I know we went behind your back, but-“

“No I don’t care about that, I expect as much.”

“Suck it!” Wind interjected, as the chain’s prime gambler.

“You all knew?” Warriors asked.

“Well, yeah,” Four said. “I have the world’s most accurate gaydar. Or, I guess, every world’s most accurate gaydar.”

“To be fair,” Wild said. “I didn’t know until Twilight asked.”

“Me neither,” Hyrule said.

Warriors blinked. There was a beat of silence. Then, he burst into laughter. The rest of the chain laughed along with him, some eagerly, some haltingly with great concern for Warriors’ state of mind.

“Was I that obvious about it?” Warriors asked.

“No. We know you quite well, and we spend all our time together. Others won’t. Now, come here.” Time put his ruined dinner aside and stood, pulling Warriors into a hug.

“Thank you for telling us,” Time said, low enough that only Warriors could hear. “I know how your Hyrule is. You’re very brave. I love you, big brother.”

Warriors let his head rest on Time’s shoulder and breathed deeply to keep the tears at bay. “Thank you, Sprite.”

“Group hug!!”

[queenofhyruleee]

Link/Reader Story

I tried to write a one-shot today but got carried away and ended up with the first chapter of a short story. I've never posted on Tumblr before but hey, there's a first time for everything, right?

Summary: After being shrouded in Twilight and tormented by monsters for so long, Hyrule is finally recovering and returning to normal. And what's more normal than a shitty relationship? You're a potions-maker's apprentice who is dating someone who is... less than ideal. While you're struggling to navigate your deteriorating relationship and dwindling self-confidence, your good friend Link is determined to help you see that you deserve better.

The sun dipped lower in the sky, and as it fell so did your spirits. You sighed, dropping your chin into the palm of your hand. He probably wouldn’t show. 

Again. 

You decided that you were only going to wait for another ten minutes before calling it a night and going home. Frustration bubbled in your stomach, and as the minutes passed you found yourself fighting back tears of frustration. 

Why hadn’t he come? Why does he keep doing this? 

You had been romantically involved with Elis for the better part of a year. It had started off strong and sweet, with him dropping by the potions shop where you worked nearly daily with some sort of sweet treat or pastry. Eventually, those days came fewer and farther between, but you hadn’t thought much about it because it made sense that maybe the excitement of the new relationship was wearing down. You weren’t worried because he still treated you with kindness and was happy to spend the weekends wandering around Castle Town or down by the lake. But recently, it was as if you didn’t exist. He hardly made time for you anymore, and when he did he didn’t even show half the time, later claiming some issue or another had come up suddenly. 

Like he would probably do again after today. 

Through the tavern window, you watched as crowds strolled past, chatting animatedly and munching on various foods that were being sold in the different stalls that currently lined the roads of Castle Town. Today was the Autumn Festival - the first one since the strange monsters had been eradicated and Princess Zelda restored her rightful place on the throne. The entirety of Hyrule was celebrating not only the beginning of a new Autumn, but its freedom as well. 

Yet despite all of the happiness and celebration, you felt as lonely and dark as ever. 

Sighing again, you decided you had spent enough time looking pathetic alone at the table, looking up hopefully at the door anytime you heard it open. Standing up, you caught the attention of the barkeep, Telma. 

“Headed out?” She asked, a knowing look in her eye. You nodded as you walked up to the bar, digging around in your satchel to try and find your wallet. Telma reached across the bar, resting her hand in front of you and making you pause. “No need, hon. This one’s on the house.”

You looked up at her, eyes wide. “No Telma, I-” 

“I don’t want to hear it,” she said, waving her hand in the air. “It’s the Autumn Festival today, and everyone deserves to have something nice done for ‘em.” 

Your look of protest melted into one of gratefulness. You smiled at the older woman, feeling appreciative that at least someone cared enough to be kind to you today. 

“You know, speaking of which..” Her tone had changed to one a bit darker. She grabbed a dirty cup from the pile at her side and began to clean it with a rag she held in her other hand. “This is the third time in a month I’ve seen you sitting there all alone for a few hours, looking more anxious than a man whose girlfriend just told him she missed her monthly bleed. Wanna tell me anything about that?” Her eyes bore into yours, waiting for an answer you had a feeling she already knew. 

She was aware that you and Elis were together, and she expressed from the beginning that she wasn’t entirely happy about the fact. Telma was one of the first people you met when you moved to Castle Town from your family’s farm just outside of Kakiriko Village. She immediately took you under her wing and helped you adjust to and navigate the fast-paced life of the city. Even though you were there as a potions-makers apprentice which gave you housing and meals, she still insisted on doting on you and taking care of you as if you had nothing. And in a way, you had had nothing. You were forever grateful for her kindness, her hospitality, and her unwavering friendship. You knew that she cared about you more than maybe even your own family, so you absolutely hated the feeling of knowing you were disappointing her. 

Elis was the son of one of the richest businessmen in Castle Town, and maybe even Hyrule. And he… did not have the best reputation. You of course had no way of knowing that being new to the area and all but Telma, as the owner of the most popular bar in the city, was privy to all of the hot gossip and drama. And apparently his name was one that came up with the patrons of her bar. A lot. 

When you first caught Elis’ eye, and Telma started to catch on to what was happening, she had given you a warning. 

“Now I’m not your mother, so I’m not here to tell you what you can and can’t do, or who you can and can’t do. But honey.. I’d think twice before you get involved with him.” 

Of course you had thanked her for her concern and promised it wasn’t that serious, but now you were regretting not asking more questions. You had fallen in way too deep and before you realized it, you were telling yourself you were different from the other people he had been with. You would change him. Surely you wouldn’t be one of those bitter ex-lovers, drunkenly rambling on to anyone who would listen about how awful he was to you. 

Well, you hadn’t made it to the drunken rambling part quite yet, but you were certainly starting to catch on that maybe you wouldn’t be the one to change him after all. 

Telma continued to look at you expectantly, waiting for any kind of answer to her question. You averted your eyes, knowing you wouldn’t be able to lie if you had to look at her face. 

“No, everything is fine. I just have been feeling a bit suffocated at the shop lately. So I’ve been coming here to get some time alone.” Now that the lie was out, you met her eyes again and gave her a very non-convincing smile. 

Telma raised her eyebrows and gave you a very deadpan look to show you that she did not believe you in the slightest. You were certain that she was going to keep pressing for the truth, but much to your relief she instead just gave a resigned sigh and shook her head. 

“It’s just hard to watch you settle for this when we both know you don’t have to.” 

“It’s fine, really!” You tried to sound upbeat. “He’s just been super busy lately, and things keep coming up.” 

Telma rolled her eyes as she grabbed another cup and began to scrub. “‘Things keep coming up’ my ass,” she muttered. Then louder, “You actually believe him when he says that?” 

You bit your lip, knowing it wasn’t even worth the effort of trying to lie. So you remained silent instead, which was answer enough for your friend. 

“You deserve better than this, sweetie. You really do.” She cocked her eyebrows, and a small smirk suddenly replaced her annoyed grimace. “You know, you deserve something like a knight in shining armor. Someone who would treat you like royalty.” Her emphasis on certain words gave you the impression that she was trying to imply something, but whatever it was it went right over your head. She continued.

“Someone who is loyal, and kind, and would ride to the ends of Hyrule for you.” 

Now it was your turn to roll your eyes. “Yeah, okay Telma. Find me a man like that who would be interested in someone as plain as me and then we’ll go from there.” The sarcasm dripped from your voice, hiding the painful emotions that were beginning to stir again as you thought about how little Elis really seemed to care about you. Ride to the ends of Hyrule for you? He couldn’t even walk a kilometer away to meet you for dinner. And maybe that was all you could hope to get. 

Telma froze, giving you an incredulous look. She set down the items she was holding and put her hands on her hips, scoffing. “Now really?” 

You shrugged, dropping all efforts to hide your true emotions. “I’m a nobody who works as a potions-maker with nothing significant and no money to their name. Sure, a knight in shining armor sounds great and all, but someone like that would surely be sought after by all kinds of people with more to offer than me. And if they’re an actual knight then I know for a fact they’re one of the most desirable bachelors out there. I mean, take Link for example. He has women and men alike practically throwing themselves at him.”

Though you knew that comparing Link to a normal knight was hardly accurate. He was anything but normal. He was one of the members of the Royal Guard and recognized as a hero by the people of Hyrule. You weren’t sure you understood all of the details, but you did know that he had played a major role in expelling the monsters from the land and restoring peace to the kingdom. Once the major damage around the kingdom had been fixed and things began to settle back into a normal existence, Princess Zelda had held a large ceremony open to the public where he was officially made a member of the Royal Guard. You had laughed so much that day, knowing just how uncomfortable the guest of honor was with all of the attention. 

Aside from being a famous knight and hero, Link was someone you would consider a close friend - maybe even your best friend (of course you would never tell Telma). You had met him for the first time back when the monsters still roamed and he frequently paid visits to Telma and her tavern to speak with members of the Resistance. 

You had only heard stories about his bravery and heroism from your friend until the day she came crashing into the shop where you worked, speaking frantically about needing a health potion. She didn’t explain much, but you didn’t ask any questions either as you quickly got to work and provided her with what she needed. She promised she would explain more later and rushed out as soon as you had placed the bottle of red potion in her hand. You spent several hours after that as a ball of anxiety, creating the worst scenarios in your head about why she could possibly have needed the potion. 

It wasn’t until you were about ready to close the shop for the day and rush over to see her that the door had opened and in walked a face you had never seen before. The man certainly looked as if he had seen better days and was in desperate need of a nap, but regardless you were slightly taken aback by how handsome he still appeared. He was tall and lean, with broad shoulders and (you assumed) muscular arms that were hidden underneath a loose, white long-sleeved shirt. His hair was a beautiful dirty blonde, tied back with a simple leather band that left loose strands framing his strong jawline. His face had been rather pale, and dark circles sat beneath blue eyes that you suspected were dulled due to exhaustion. But despite his obviously not wonderful condition, he had still exuded a sense of strength that was almost intimidating. 

“Um, h-hello,” you stuttered. “I’m just about to close up-” 

“Are you the one that I have to thank for saving my life?” He asked, taking a step forward. You froze up, and then frantically looked around the shop, trying to find the other person he was obviously talking to, because there was no way he could have been talking about you. A warm chuckle brought your eyes back to his face, where his soft smile nearly made you breathless. 

“Are you the potions-maker?” 

 Mouth slightly open, you continued to stare. “U-uh yeah, that was me I guess.” 

He nodded and continued to walk further into the shop, closer to you. You noticed that he seemed to be walking with a slight limp. 

“Well, I just wanted to come here personally and give my thanks. Without that potion I’m not sure I would have the opportunity to be standing here now.” 

You were certain that the look on your face was ridiculous, but you had no idea how to respond to this situation. It was your job to make potions, you didn’t need any thanks for it. 

You wanted to say thanks, but instead when you opened your mouth you said, “Why are you standing here right now? If you needed that potion less than 12 hours ago, you should almost certainly still be in bed.” You gestured to his body, “And no offense or anything, but you really look like you should still be in bed.” 

His colorless cheeks turned a bit pink then, and he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, almost shyly. “Well, Telma is a wonderful person and all but I was starting to feel a bit…” 

“Smothered?” You finished for him, stifling back the laugh that threatened to come out, knowing how your friend was. A look of relief washed over the stranger’s face and he nodded, seeming to realize that you understood how he was feeling. 

“Yeahhh,” you drawled out, nodding sympathetically. “I understand that all too well. I actually had to put a lock on my bedroom door the last time I had a small sickness to physically stop her from bringing me medicine and food every hour. I love her to death but I can only take so much soup in one day.” 

He laughed then, and you wondered how in the world a laugh could sound so nice. Pushing those thoughts aside, you introduced yourself then, holding your hand out to the man. He smiled and took it, his hand calloused from years of hard work but gentle nonetheless. 

“I’m Link.” 

A lightbulb went off in your head then. “Oh, you’re Link? I’ve heard so much about you!” 

“I could say the same about you.”

It was the start of a beautiful friendship from that point onward. Whenever Link was in town, whether he was restocking his supplies, working closely with other members of the Resistance, or doing whatever it is that heroes do, you always made sure to make time to see him. And he did the same. He probably became your number one customer, always putting in bulk orders for various potions. You always joked with him about how often he needed health potions, but truthfully you were very worried about him and how he was constantly out in harm’s way. It was a lot of work, filling his large orders, but you were happy to know that you were helping to keep him safe in some capacity.

“And you’ve never.. stopped to consider why Link never takes anyone up on their offers?” Telma asked, still staring at you with an incredulous look. You couldn’t understand why she was acting so strange all of the sudden. 

“Not really,” you shrugged. “I just assumed he’s too busy for it or that he does and nothing comes of it. He doesn’t talk to me much about his conquests, work-related or… otherwise.”

Telma shook her head. “No, honey, I don’t think he’s out there conquering anyone. He seems to have uh.. a specific goal in mind.” There it was again, that tone in her voice that made it seem like she was implying something that you just weren’t understanding. It nagged at you, but you chose to brush it off. Who knew what was going on in your friend’s mind. 

“Well, regardless. I just don’t think I’m the type of person someone like a knight is trying to settle down with. But who knows, maybe I’ll ask Link if any of his fellow knight friends are available and interested.” You laughed, the joke seeming ridiculous. But your friend, on the other, didn’t seem to find it so funny. She stood, her mouth slightly open as if she couldn’t believe what you were saying. 

“You’re joking, right?” 

Frustration was starting to build up within you, unable to understand what you were doing that was so hard to believe. Why was Telma treating you like you were an idiot today? You were slightly kidding when you ragged on yourself about not being good enough, but did your friend genuinely believe it so strongly that even a joke about asking a knight was too much? She was the one that started the whole thing in the first place! 

“Of course I’m joking Telma,” you snapped. “I know my place. Elis is probably the best I can hope to get.” 

Telma closed her mouth, pursing her lips with an unamused look. She shook her head slowly and turned around to organize the newly cleaned mugs and glasses. “It’s not my place to get involved,” she said quietly, more to herself than to you. Still feeling frustrated, you huffed loudly and turned to leave. First Elis, now Telma. This was not shaping up to be a good day. 

Before you could fully turn around though, she glanced back, stopping you with the serious expression on her face. “Really. You can do better. There is better out there. Waiting to love you the way that you deserve to be loved. You just need to open your eyes.” 

Your sour emotions were already set though, and you were in no mood for cryptic messages. “Alright, thank you fortune-teller Telma. I’ll see you later. Thanks again for the drink.” And without looking back, you walked to the door, opened it, and took a step into the darkening evening. 

The air was crisp and cooler than it had been since the spring, signifying the exit of summer and beginning of a chilly autumn. Very fitting weather for the night of the Autumn Festival. 

You crossed your arms tightly against your body as you walked, the thin shirt you chose to wear not doing a good job to protect you from the chill. You felt your temper cooling as you walked as well, gradually being replaced by a feeling of deep sadness and loneliness. All around you were people enjoying the festival, happy to be surrounded by those they love. Grandparents lovingly watching their grandkids laugh and play as they ran through the crowded streets playing tag, friends walking together and sharing stories that made them snort and grab their sides from laughing so hard, new couples attached at the hip and so engrossed in each other they hardly watched where they’re going… it was isolating. Here you were, recently stood up for the umpteenth time by someone who was supposed to care about you, walking through massive crowds of people and yet never feeling more alone.

You felt an all-to-familiar tightness in your throat, and the tears began to prick the corner of your eyes, blurring your surroundings into blobs of shimmering color. You fought hard to keep your composure, determined to make it back to the shop so you could run to your small bedroom upstairs and never come back out. But the loud voice in your head was determined to break you. 

Why? Why am I not good enough? Did I do something wrong? How can I be better?

The strong feeling of hopelessness that came with those though breached the dam you had built to hold back the tears, and with a loud sob, they started to spill. A few people within your vicinity turned to look at you curiously, likely wondering what could have caused the noise that came out of your mouth. You put your head down and covered your mouth with your hands, hoping to muffle the sound of the sobs that continued to come involuntarily. 

Luckily for you, there was a small alleyway directly to your left. You were able to shove past the poor innocent people who were in your way and beeline for the abandoned area. Once you were in the alley, you began to run, desperate to get as far away from people as possible. You weren’t able to make it very far though as a dead end blocked your escape. Incapable of thinking of any other alternatives, you resigned to this being your stopping point and slid down the wall until you were sitting with your arms wrapped around your knees, legs tucked as closely to your body as you could physically get them. Dropping your head down, let all of the feelings you had been holding in for the evening out. 

It was overwhelming yet cathartic. The force of your sobs wracked your body for what felt like hours, the thoughts of inadequacy and rejection running through your mind on an endless loop. But eventually, you found it easier and easier to take deep, measured breaths and the body shaking sobs gradually slowed to a halt. No longer did you feel… well, anything. The only thing you could feel now was numbness. A quiet calm to replace the raging storm that had been going on. 

You sat up, leaning your head against the wall behind you. You stared up at evening sky, the sun out of view as it dipped closer to the horizon. You’re not sure how long you sat there, relishing the feeling of feeling nothing at all. You knew you needed to get up, but you worried that once you stood the feelings would come rushing back. 

Your solitude was ruined by the loud crashing noise of a door being opened with extreme force close by. The sound startled you, making you nearly topple over with surprise. 

You heard a whiny, high-pitched voice over the thundering beat of your heart. “Come on, it’s about to start!! We’re not even going to get a good view at this point!” 

A few meters away, a young child came running out of the small apartment door that you hadn’t even realized was there. Had they heard your crying? 

“Leon, slow down. There will be plenty of space available. The procession goes all the way from the city gates up to the castle. Certainly not everyone will be crowded in the same area.” An older woman stepped out after the child, her smile conflicting with the stern tone in her voice. She didn’t even glance in your direction as she shut the door behind her and followed the child down the alley to join the festivities you had so desperately escaped. 

Ah yes, the procession. You had almost forgotten all about that. 

As a closing event of the Autumn Festival, the royal family traveled in procession through Castle Town, waving and acknowledging their loyal and loving subjects. It was not just them, however. The royal carriage was last in line in the procession. Preceding it were several (and in your opinion, more interesting) groups. Professional jugglers, wowing the crowds as they showed off the impressive skills they have while on the move. Bands of Gorons who marched in step, beating out different tunes powerfully on large drums. One year, when you were young, there was a fantastic group of Zora dancers who mesmerized the crowds with their movements, as smooth on land as they were in water. It changed from year to year, but since this was the first Autumn Festival celebration after years of being terrorized by monsters, it was sure to be a big one. 

You continued to sit, looking towards the crowd as it continued to grow, their excited voices bouncing off the walls of the empty alley. Normally, you would be one of them, jumping up and down with excited anticipation to see what that year’s procession has in store. But now you couldn’t imagine standing there, surrounded by happiness and laughter. 

The crowd roared as the first part of the procession finally appeared, slowly crawling through the street. You listened as people cheered for the performers who walked, “ooh”ing and “ahh”ing as they did whatever it was that they were doing. You couldn’t see through the crowd of people who now blocked off the entrance of the alley, so you could only listen and imagine, picking up bits and pieces of conversations as it drifted down to your ears. 

You didn’t need to be able to see when the Gorons arrived, however. That you could feel. The vibrations rattled your entire body as they beat their drums in sync, the unfamiliar tune sinking into your very bones. It was an oddly relaxing feeling. You were happy to close your eyes and rest your head on the wall, soaking in the feeling. You were left with an achingly empty feeling in your chest when the Gorons were far enough away that you could no longer feel their drums. 

You decided that even though you were tired, you would wait until the end to get up and begin making your way home. With the crowd the way that it was, there was no way you would make it anywhere anyways. So, you continued to sit. 

As you waited, your mind drifted to Elis. If he hadn’t come to meet you, then where was he? Was he just lounging lazily in his bed as he so often liked to do, unable to be bothered to come meet you? Or was he out there in the crowd, standing with his friends, cracking jokes without even sparing a single thought for you? 

Your heart dropped as another thought crossed your mind. Was he out there in the crowd with another girl? Had he spent the evening whisking someone else around to the different stalls, sharing all sorts of sweet treats with her? Feeding her fresh fruit as they walked? Whispering things in her ear, making her giggle and blush? Did he give her his jacket when she began to shiver because she was only wearing a light shirt? Was he going to take her home once the festivities ended? 

You could feel the emotions coming back, much to your displeasure. You didn’t want to feel anything. You liked the numbness. But the thought of Elis leaving you to look foolish while he was out entertaining another girl was too much to handle. 

You decided that you needed to get home. You couldn’t stand to be out any longer. You would shove people out of the way if you needed to. 

Standing up quickly, you made your way back to the entrance of the alley where the crowd was currently a wave of excitement. You began to push your way through, but you were only able to make it to the front of the crowd before you realized you were stuck. There was rope that stretched down the street as far as you could see on both sides of you. To block people from crossing the road and potentially getting hurt or messing up the procession, you assumed. 

Frustration bubbling and exiting your body in the form of hot tears that welled up in your eyes, you turned to push your way back. But once again, you quickly realized that wasn’t going to happen. A large Goron stood behind you, happily oblivious and chatting with another large Goron besides them. Considering you had to crane your neck to look up at their faces, you assumed that you would not be able to get their attention with all of the noise and distraction. Groaning inwardly you turned back and stood miserably, knowing that your only option now was to stand and wait for the procession to end. 

Luckily you didn’t have to wait long before you heard the sound of the horns, signifying the arrival of the royal carriage. Once again, the crowd around you came alive, everyone excitedly standing on their toes and moving around to try and get a look. 

The horses were the first thing to come into view. Beautiful white horses donning colorful, bedazzled bits and draped with navy and gold saddle blankets made their way past you. Children and adults alike stuck their hands out, reaching to try and get a touch of the magnificent creatures as they passed. You wanted to be excited, but the heavy feeling in your chest and tightness in your throat remained, and you knew it was only a matter of time before the tears began to spill again. You just hoped you could hold out until you were able to get away from people.

Something heavy suddenly pushed up against your right shoulder, nearly toppling you over. Luckily you were able to keep your footing and straighten yourself up before falling. Pushing the hair out of your eyes, you glared in the direction of the mysterious force. 

Two girls, probably just a few years younger than you, were standing there, staring at you with wide eyes. 

“So sorry!” One squeaked, genuinely looking scared. You held your glare for a few more seconds before turning your head back to the procession, not even bothering to accept her apology. Her and her friend did not seem bothered for too long, however, and began to chat animatedly. They were so close that you couldn’t help but overhear. 

“Do you think we’ll see him?”

“Of course we’re going to see him you idiot! He’s like, Princess Zelda’s shadow! Wherever she is, he is!”

Suddenly the conversation you were trying very hard to ignore grabbed your attention. You realized, with slight amusement, that you had a good idea as to who they were probably talking about.

“I mean, I don’t blame her for always wanting him around.” 

“Oh I totally agree. If I had a knight who looked like that, I’d never let him leave my side.”

The girls burst into giggles, and you rolled your eyes. But also, you knew you couldn’t blame them either. There was no denying that Link was very easy on the eyes. 

The girl closest to you sighed wistfully. “He just seems so dreamy. He’s brave, and strong, and he’s so kind! One time I saw him buy a whole basket of bread that he then passed out to the line of people who had been waiting for hours to see the doctor. This was when that horrible sickness came through Castle Town a few months ago and everyone was sick! He risked his own health to make sure people were fed while they waited.” 

You hadn’t heard about that, but you were not surprised in the least. Link was an absolutely selfless man who consistently put other people’s needs before his own. He had done it a time or two for you as well. One of those times was actually during the sickness that the two girls were referring to. 

You had managed to stay healthy for awhile, but you found yourself extremely overworked during that time, trying to keep up with the mass influx of orders of health potions and other remedies that came pouring in from desperate townspeople. You had averaged about an hour of sleep a night for days on end, and were lucky if you were able to eat a single meal. Luckily, Link had offered to help you with deliveries which took a massive load off of your plate. However, it still took a major toll on your body physically. Luckily, Link was there to save the day. You know, like heroes do. 

The bell dinged, signaling that someone had entered the store. You didn’t even bother to turn around, busy cutting and weighing the ingredients in front of you. It was a very precise recipe, and even the slightest miscalculation or mess up could change the effect of the potion entirely. 

“Hey, I’m back.” His calm and gentle voice was a welcome break from your frantic muttering out loud to yourself as you worked. You simply grunted and waved the hand holding the knife into the air to acknowledge his arrival. 

His laughter was followed by footsteps as he walked behind the counter, coming to a stop beside you. His presence seemed to bring you comfort, and you could feel yourself starting to relax slightly. “You know, waving a knife at a member of the Royal Guard could be seen as a threat. Be careful where you point that thing.” 

You rolled your eyes and finally turned your head to face him, your exhausted smile meeting his boyish grin. “At this point, there is nothing you could do to me that is worse than what I’ve been dealing with the past few weeks. Go ahead and lock me up or chop me up, either is preferable at this point.” 

His smile faltered, and you could see the concern in his eyes. Suddenly, he looked very serious. “Have you eaten today?” 

Sighing, you put down the knife and stepped away from the ingredients. You decided a short break wouldn’t hurt. Running a hand over your face, you tried your best to stifle a yawn. “What time is it?” 

“It’s a few hours past midday. Have you eaten?” He repeated, eyes boring into yours. You worried your bottom lip, nervous to tell him that you had not. 

“Well, Elis told me he would bring me lunch an hour before noon.” 

Link’s eyes hardened. “And did he?” 

You laughed timidly, shrugging. “I’m sure something came up and he was too busy.” 

The blonde did not look impressed in the slightest. “So, no.” 

You waved a hand nonchalantly. “It’s okay, I’m not super hungry anyways. Too busy to be hungry!” With fake enthusiasm, you made to turn back to your ingredients and continue working. Link’s hand gently touched your arm, stopping you from moving. 

“You need to take care of yourself. You need to eat.” The concern in his face made your heart skip a beat. 

You nodded finally, giving in. “I know, I will. I guess I won’t be any help to anyone if I die of starvation huh?” 

Link shook his head, his expression still very serious. “I’m not worried about other people. I’m worried about you.” 

You froze, your breath catching slightly in your throat. Your brain seemed to malfunction as you tried to figure out how to reply. But Link was suddenly distracted, rummaging around in the satchel that was slung across his body, a concentrated look on his face. Finally, he seemed to find what he was looking for and pulled out a small brown bag, which he then held out to you. You looked at it, then back up at him. He nudged it forward again, prompting you to take it. 

“Please.” 

You didn’t have any words as you gingerly took the bag from his hands. Slowly, you opened it and peered down at the contents. Bread, cheese, a few slices of dried meat, and a large red apple. You looked back up at your friend. 

“I can’t take your lunch from you!” You exclaimed, trying to push the bag back into his hands. He was having none of it though. He grabbed your hand with both of his. He gripped it gently but firmly, closing your fist over the opening of the bag and pushing it back towards you. 

“It’s not my lunch, don’t worry.” 

“Oh, so you just walk around with spare lunches in your bag?” Though when you really thought about it, he did always seem to have literally everything inside that bag..

Link looked away, suddenly seeming shy. “Well, no. I brought it. For you.” 

“For me?”  For what felt like the millionth time that day, your chest swelled with gratitude for the blonde. 

“You know.. just in case.” 

It was both charming and upsetting. It was extremely sweet that Link was concerned and thinking about you. But it made your heart sink to think that Elis, someone who claimed to love you, couldn’t even be bothered. You tried your hardest to fight back the tears as you nodded and accepted the meal. 

Link seemed to let out a breath of relief, smiling gently as he watched you pull the bread out and nibble on the edge. 

“Please promise me you will take better care of yourself.” 

You just nodded, your mouth full of bread. He narrowed his eyes and leaned down, his face just inches away from yours. You froze, suddenly feeling nervous at his proximity. 

“Promise.” 

His face was once again serious, but his eyes were soft. Caring. 

You swallowed the bread you had been chewing and nodded again, genuine this time. “I promise, Link.” 

He continued to stare, unmoving. “You promise what?”

You groaned, making a face. “Really?”

But his stoic expression told you that he was not joking. 

“I promise that I will take better care of myself,” you muttered, feeling like a child who was being scolded. He still didn’t move for a few moments, however, continuing to search your eyes with an unreadable expression. Finally, he stood up and nodded once. 

“Good. I expect to see you eating every day from here on out. On your own,” he added. “Not waiting for a meal that will never show.” 

The meaning behind his words cut deep, and once again you were reminded that the one person who was supposed to care about you didn’t seem to. 

But at least you had Link. 

 A loud squeal brought you back to the present, where you hadn’t even realized you zoned out. 

“Oh here it comes!”

And sure enough, the royal carriage came into view, pulled by two gigantic horses. What little sunlight remained reflected beautifully off of the gold exterior, the different jewels that decorated it sparkling magnificently. The fabric top was not in place, giving the crowd an unobstructed view of the figure standing inside. 

Princess Zelda was the vision of beauty and grace as she smiled and waved to the crowd. Her blonde hair was pulled out of her slim face and back into an intricate braid that was adorned with flowers that matched the white and lavender dress she was wearing.  A small but genuine and warm smile graced her lips, and her eyes were sharp and alert as she scanned her surroundings and took in the sight of her subjects. She exuded a sense of strength and unity, which was something the people of Hyrule had desperately needed for so long. 

Once again, your train of thought was broken by an obnoxious squeal. 

“There he is! I told you! I told you we’d see him!” The girl next you jumped up and down, not even realizing that she bumped into you every time she did so. Her friend was leaning heavily over the side of the rope, trying to get the best view possible. You held your breath, feeling anxious all of the sudden for a reason you didn’t understand. 

His hair was the first thing you spotted, the navy cap contrasting heavily with the blonde locks that weren’t quite as well tamed as the rest of him. The pristine white trousers and navy and crimson tunic hugged his athletic figure generously, showcases the strength he had built over years of hard work and fighting. His sword was strapped to his back, ready to be pulled at a moment’s notice if needed. But what you noticed most about the knight was the way that he carried himself as he marched alongside the carriage. 

He held his chin high, shrouded with an air of confidence well earned from countless successful battles. Despite his tall and muscular frame, he was endlessly graceful, almost gliding along the ground. His bright blue eyes were alert and sharp, and he scanned the crowd continuously, making sure there were no imminent threats to the princess or otherwise. 

Your breath caught in your throat as you watched him, suddenly finding yourself enamored with everything about him. Telma’s words from earlier came back to you as you continued to stare. 

A knight in shining armor. 

There was a phrase to describe Link if there ever was one. From his strength, to his courage, to his generosity, to his kindness. He was the embodiment of a true knight. 

Suddenly, you found yourself once again reliving the memory of the two of you in your shop, concern etched into his face as he stared down at you. 

“Please promise me you will take better care of yourself.” 

“I’m not worried about other people. I’m worried about you.”

An intense feeling of loneliness and longing washed over you, making it harder for you to breathe. You bit down on your lip as you fought to hold back the tears that suddenly welled up in your eyes. 

Whoever Link chooses will be the luckiest person in all of Hyrule. To have someone who cares so openly, someone with such a good heart.. Not someone who would continuously abandon plans and give half-hearted excuses for why he can’t come. 

But what you had told Telma was true. You were a nobody with no money to your name. You had nothing to offer anyone. Elis was rich and had status. For someone like him to be with someone like you was almost unheard of. It would be silly to get caught up on something as silly as feelings when you were being given more than what you deserved. 

It still hurt though. And the tears still came, spilling over and sliding down your cheeks. 

“He’s getting closer! Oh my goddesses, he’s almost right in front of us!!” The girl next to you grabbed her friend, shaking her with excitement. You watched from the corner of your eye as they quickly rushed to fix their hair and straighten out their dresses that had been ruffled in all the commotion. 

You found yourself annoyed at their behavior, but appreciated the heads up. With you being in the front, there was a very good chance that Link would see you. And he couldn’t see you crying. You turned away, trying to hide your face as you wiped frantically at the tears. But it seemed like the more you tried, the more the tears came. You began to panic, which only added to the strong emotions that you were feeling and made everything worse. 

You turned back around, planning to just sneak a quick peek to see how much time you had before he walked by. If he was too close, you planned to just turn around and stay turned around until he was well past you. Sure it would look funny, but he wouldn’t know that that was the back of your head in the crowd. 

But unfortunately, just like it had been for the entire day, luck was not on your side. As soon as you turned around, piercing blue eyes met your red and watery ones. 

You immediately straightened up, wiping frantically at your face and trying to plaster on a smile that was horribly unconvincing. Link’s eyes widened as he took in your appearance, and you could see that he was visibly struggling to keep his facial features calm.

“Annessa, he’s looking at you! I can’t believe it, he’s looking at you!!!”

The girl’s voices sounded far away as she screeched at the girl next to you, whose name was apparently Annessa. The only thing you could focus on was Link and the pained expression he worse on his face as he fought against whatever emotions he was currently feeling. 

Once again you tried to give him an unconvincing smile, but it was the ultimate failure as your lips quivered and you had to put your hand over your mouth to hide the sob that came out. 

Did he know? Did he know how pathetic you were? How you weren’t even worth your own partner’s time? Surely he had to know that, as someone who was one of the most popular men in the entire kingdom. He was only nice to you because that’s who he was. He was a nice person. 

You maintained eye contact with him for as long as you could, but eventually you had to turn away, embarrassed by your emotions and how unstable you appeared. When you brought your head back up, Link was no longer looking at you. He looked forward as he continued to march on. 

Exactly. He knew that you weren’t worth it. That you were an embarrassment. 

But what you weren’t expecting was for him to turn his head, glancing back over his shoulder to get one last look at you. You weakly waved, and he frowned before turning back around and continuing to look forward. 

“Did you see that?? He even looked back at you!! You made the Link do a double take!!!” 

The girls next to you jumped up and down in excitement, squealing on and on about Link and something about marriage and children. You weren’t sure because you tuned them out. You tuned everything out. That feeling of numbness returned, which you were grateful for, and you spent the rest of the procession staring at the ground, blissfully unaware of anything happening around you. 

Eventually the procession had ended and the crowd began to clear, excitement still in the air as the chatted about the day’s events to each other and made their way home or to the bars. It was nighttime now, so the party would likely continue for most of the adults, whether that was in the tavern or at private parties around the city. 

For you, you were just happy that you could finally make your way home. You did not want to party, you did not want to socialize. You wanted to crawl into your bed and never get out. You wanted to physically become one with the pillows. 

As you approached the shop, you had a stupid hope in your heart that maybe Elis would be there waiting for you. That he had come late to the bar to meet you, and when he couldn’t find you in the crowd he decided to wait for you at your shop. But, of course, you were met with disappointment and darkness when you arrived home. Nobody was waiting for you at the door, and there were no explanations about why he never showed. 

You entered the shop and barely remembered to lock the door behind you before dragging yourself upstairs to your bedroom. Master Shido was out of town, traveling to who-knows-where for some rare ingredients, so you did not have to worry about the noise you made as you collapsed on to your bed. 

Today was awful, and you wanted absolutely nothing more than for it to be over. You lay in the dark, staring up at the ceiling, but sleep never came. Instead, your mind whirled continuously about Elis. 

What was he doing at the moment? Was he with another woman? Did he even feel any remorse for standing you up? How would you confront him? Should you even confront him? What would you say if- 

Thud. 

Your froze, your racing thoughts stopped by a loud, muffled noise downstairs. You held your breath as you waited, in the silence and in the darkness, for more noise to come. But it never did. 

You were starting to believe you had simply imagined it when it came again.

Thud. Thud. Thud. 

Someone was knocking on the front door of the store.

[luimagines]

Fairytale AU (600 follower raffle)

Our first place winner was @ice-cream-writes-stuff!

They asked for some headcanons of Dink overhearing Reader talk about some of their fairytales only to send the boys and reader into the stories!

I.. was told to add some royal au in the mix... But that was forgotten for some of the boys ^.^*

Regardless, I hope you enjoy this!

Masterlist

Content under the cut!

Hyrule

Did someone say Encanto?

Check it

He’s the only in the group that can cast magic spells

Now flip that on its head

Everyone in the group, in this family, has some magical ability, but him

And you’re missing

And no one will tell him anything

He has to find out how to break the spell of the story

While also making sure that his friends and family keep their powers so that he doesn’t break the fourth wall

AND going on a mission to find you throughout the house because… You couldn’t have gotten far

Right?

But no one has anything to say about you, and it’s hardly anything nice

He has to figure out what your power is and how to get it to help him fix everything 

And then…. Well… no more magic

Hyrule is crushed, to say the least

He’s usually the one to fix everything

Magic is his specialty

How is it that he only seemed to make things worse time and time again?

How does he even come close to comparing with his friends and fellow heroes even in a fairy tale

Hyrule goes away

It’s a shame he can’t remember how the story ends

If only you were here to tell him, to show him the way, to point where he went wrong to begin with

Turns out, you knew the whole time that it was fake- such was your “power”

It seemed like you could tell the future and were shunned for it

You watch from a distance to make sure that Hyrule is taken care of

You can’t show up just yet to fix it…The story isn’t done…

Wind

This one is a bit obvious

At first Wind thought it was a dream

Him and his buddies, sailing the open seas just the sake of it?

He knew he would never see his friends as the crew, so naturally he must be dreaming

That doesn’t mean that he can’t have fun with it though

Until the ship finds itself in one of the biggest storms Wind’s had to face to date

He gets thrown overboard

And Wind swears that he sees you through the water but he can’t kick himself to the surface

He’s not strong enough

His vision goes black

He wakes up again on sand

He thinks he can hear you singing

Where are you? Where did you go?

Come back!

He tries his best to fid you

At he knows what to look for

Wind thinks that he finds you

But you don’t say a word

This is when he wishes that he knew sign like some of the others

You would be able to communicate better.

But at least you’re happy to be around him

That is until…someone that looks similar but not quite… but with your voice starts trying to distract him

Wind can’t seem to break away from their grip

Who are they? What is this?

Why is he now only realizing what’s going on?

Sky

He had no clue what on earth was happening

He thought that he was in a different Hyrule entirely

Sky was just trying to figure out what to do

He was chilling in the forest trying to get his bearings when he heard you

Strange, you sound so peaceful in what he would assume would be a panic inducing moment

He needed to be calm

Together you can figure out how to get home and how to get to get back to the others

Only to quick realize that you don’t recognize him

Sky can feel his heart rate rising

This isn’t good

He needs to keep an eye on you

He can’t lose you or else there’s no way he’s going to be able to face the rest of the group with his head held high

Only to immediately lose you

He tries to get back but he’s kidnapped

The Master Sword is going crazy and Sky knows that it’s because he’s surrounded by darkness

He’s freed by some familiar sounding fairies

But he can’t focus on it

Fi is trying to tell him something and he needs to figure out where you are

Only for a massive dragon to come and try to fight him

Sky’s never had to fight a dragon before and he doesn’t feel comfortable with this concept

Only until he slays the dragon can he get close to you and break the curse

Strange, this is really similar to that story you told him a few days ago

He fells the dragon and makes his way up the tower

He needs several moments to catch his breath

He sees you and his heart drops

Why is another one he cares about in a cursed sleep?

Legend

Mirror Mirror on the Wall, who is the saltiest one of all?

From riches to rags, he might just be Snow White

He’s a good kid, don’t get me wrong

But after he’s learned the story, he’s not exactly inclined to take the part of the stepchild of a evil and vain monarch

Hits a little closer to home than he’d like 

That being said, he’s smart and cunning and quick on his feet

If only he still had his items

When he has to run from for his life from a familiar looking hunter, he hopes to find the group of seven people to help him finish the story and get back home

And back into your arms if he’s lucky enough

So when he comes across a small cottage filled with the other seven faces he didn’t think he would see here-...

Let’s be real

He would be tired of the story as it is

So to see his friends again is both a relief and a pain in the neck

Especially since they seem to have no idea who he is

And they don’t know who you are either

Speaking of, if the rest of the group is here, where are you?

The story continues as he expects

Then comes time for the poison apple

And well….. He hesitates

The Evil Monarch then can figure out that he’s smarter than he at first wanted to believe

Only for Legend to bite into it

He falls

He’s buried alive

Legend will wait for you to finish the tale then

If not, then he’ll have to be content with having his love in his dreams

It’s not like it would be the first time 

Four

Four was intrigued greatly when you mentioned that you had your own stories about heroic mice

He had never heard of the one called Despreaux

He expected as much

So when he gets tossed into a portal after you and he finds himself stuck as a Minish

Well he has some questions

And when he learns that soup has been banned- he has even more questions

He needs to find you

It a bit hard to get around the place when you’re just a mouse though

He finds a needle and tries to wield it like a sword

It’s not what he’s used to but it will have to do

That being said he tries to be friendly with all the other rodents he meets

Minish tend to be quite hospitable and helpful

Maybe it’s the same case here

It is very much not the same case here

Four didn’t know how he got into so much trouble so quickly

He doesn’t even know where his friends are

He doesn’t know how to save the princess

Four is even more terrified when he learned that he has to save you

You’re about to be eaten alive by rats

Your father is about to go crazy because of the rats and soup

And how does a world like this even work?

Four rushes to go save the day

He goes to speak as kindly as he can with your father

Four can’t undo all the damage in one day

But he’s about to risk it all for you to come out of that alive

Four is going to need as much help as he can get

Time

Now when you told Time about a Prince that turned into a frog, he was amused

Now that he himself is the frog, he is less so

He has a hard time trying to figure out how to work his new body

And he thought he was down with the unwilling transformations on his body

He tries to find you and the group

He’s quick to put together that this is very similar to the story you told him

He finds you dress to the nine

His heart gets caught in his throat for a moment

You’re beautiful

Well, if he just needs a kiss to get back to normal then so be it

Only you don’t remember him

Odd

He gets a kiss anyway

Only for you to be turned into a frog as well

…Well this isn’t how the story went

Time takes your screaming and rage and tears in stride

He knows that this is technically his fault but he has no idea why that happened to begin with

He also no longer knows how to go on with the story

You were the one that knew that would have happened next

He’s going to have to take on this challenge on with different eyes

And he hope that you would be willing to stay by his side until he figures everything out

He can’t use his sword

He can’t use his masks

He’s smaller than he’s accustomed to

And he turns his back for one second and next thing he knows is that you’re both being hunted for sport

This is going to get messy

Twilight

How about Beauty and The Beast?

This boy was hooked

Did he take it personally?

Oh, you bet your bottom dollar he did.

Total self projection.

So when he finds himself separated from the group, tossed through a portal and in a suddenly very similar situation to the beast of the story-

His self esteem plummets

He knows exactly what to do!

At least in this form, he’s able to speak

So! All he has to do is earn a true love’s kiss to break the curse

And then the story ends happily ever after

And then he can go home

Maybe

He thinks so anyway

It’s all he has to go off of

But maybe certain words get into his head

A beast

Why is he a beast?

Again and again-

Surely this must mean something about him on the inside must be beastly for nearly every situation he’s been in to reflect this

He needs to make sure that Dink doesn’t touch you though

He’s never been more afraid for your safety than when the wolves attacked

So Wolves are just more bad news, huh?

He takes a bad hit

Bonus points if you’re memory has been wiped and you’re just living out the story as intended

Twilight really can’t stop his loved ones from getting their memories wiped, can he?

Warrior

At first, Warrior didn’t even realize something was wrong

He went about his business and did his work

He didn’t even notice something was amiss when Zelda said that she was going to host a ball

He felt a bit weird when she said it was to find him a partner

Warrior didn’t want to admit it but he didn’t want to think about right now

But if the Queen says so, he can find a way to postpone his marriage

He goes along with it for the most part

He’s bored

And then, he looks up

He sees you

You look exquisite

He didn’t know you were here!

He forget everything in the moment

He has to know!

He has to dance with you at least once tonight

Warrior proceeds to have the best night of his life

Only for you to run away…and leave your shoe behind

That can’t be!

He has to find you again! He has to dance with you again

Or at least hold your hand once more

Warrior doesn’t even think to look for the rest of the group

Nor does he see the similarities in the stories that you used to tell the others when it was time to call it a night

Warrior tries his best to figure out where you would have went

It seems as if that you vanished overnight

All he has is the shoe that you left behind….

He’s a bit desperate but it’s the only plan he has

Wild

A princess locked away in a far away tower

Why does that sound so familiar?

He listens with full rapt attention and pays attention to every little detail he can

Then comes the moment when he’s tossed through the portal and separated from the group

Wild gathers all the courage he can muster and goes forward

It’s the only thing he knows how to do

So when he finds an abandoned tower in the middle of the forest he’s traveling through, he fills a bit bitter

Sarcastically he calls out, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!”

Only for a long cord of… something to fall out of the small window at the top of the tower

His heart sinks with dread

With no clue what to do otherwise, he climbs up and enters the towers

He finds you

At first he’s elated to be reunited with you… until he realizes that the rope he used to climb up… was your hair

He recognizes that this isn’t his reality in the same manner that someone reacts when ice water gets poured on them

He nearly falls out of the tower backwards until you pull him back in for safety

Wild still needs to find the others

So while you assure him that you’re safe in the tower, he promises to return

Each time he manages to track down one of guys from the group, he comes back to you 

It’s takes a long time before he can pinpoint where everyone is

He manages to evade the “witch” time and time again

Until he comes up with no warning, having figure out how to climb the tower with the support of the hair rope

He’s going to convince you to come with him this time

He’s tried in the past but you’ve always turned him down

But now that the whole group has been found and in one way or another they’re together again if they don’t remember everything

Wild knows he can fix this

Only this time, someone else is in the tower

[laughingsour]

Flora and Tetra fic idea.

I’m not really sure I will ever write it. But I wanted to share some ideas I had for a fic in which Flora and Tetra meet each other.

-First the other Zeldas don’t play a big role in this adventure, at least not yet. But it could be considered the beginning of them gathering the Zeldas.

-My full name for Flora is Zelda Archaines Hyrule. From the ancient thinker and inventor Archemides, who’s supposedly the first person to shout “Eureka!”(What do you think?, could I do better or is it a good name?)

-It begins when Flora learns where Wild dissapeared to. That he’s traveling with ancient heroes across time. Being the stubborn girl she is, she decides to try to go find him.

-She eventually finds a way to open her own portals by scanning the ones the Shadow creates with technology from the Sheikah towers and using the black blood to pinpoint the places in time Wild may be in. (She doesn’t realize it yet, but her portals also work because of a combination of the technology and her time magic that she learns to use in TOTK).

-To defend herself in her travels she carries a bow and a prototype version of the Purah Pad that also allows her to open the portals. Unfortunately they are still unable to reliably recreate the runes and so they’re often faulty.

-The rune that allows her to create the portals also takes a lot out of it so she can’t use it repeatedly and has to wait a few days between uses. Any use before then could potentially damage the Pad.

-She and Tetra meet shortly after her first time jump which lands her in Legend’s time. I haven’t figured out the details but I imagine it’s something similar to the first meeting between Vanellope and Ralph in Wreck-it Ralph. With Tetra teasing the hell out of Flora while she trying to retrive her Purah Pad.

-Tetra instantly suspects this “Flora”, as she calls herself, is a Zelda based on what she knows of the situation Wind is in. And her teasing questions are also sublte attempts to get the comfirmation from her. “You’re not from here are you?”

-As for how Tetra got to this time. She decided to chase the Postman to find how he gets across time, she loses him but when she does she realizes she’s not in the Great Sea anymore.

-Tetra of course has her trusty cutlass to fight. And if that is somehow not enough she also carries a pistol.

-Right off the bat Flora and Tetra don’t like each other because of Tetra’s own ill-feelings for the “Zelda” name. And Flora doesn’t care much for Tetra’s seemingly callous and selfish attitude. But they both agree to work together so that they can reach their respective Links.

-Flora actually has a lot of admiration for the Hero of Winds, she knows the legend but not the real story with details. She looks up to him and his Zelda because acording to the legend they were able to rebuild Hyrule when it was destoyed by Ganon, even when the hero himself was not the gods’ first choice. (I go over this in the fic I wrote. For the future: A battle of wills)

-Their anger with each other comes to a head when it’s revealed to Flora that Tetra is another Zelda (and not just a Zelda, but the one from the legend of the Hero of the Winds) and Tetra furiously denies being Zelda and that she never asked to be Zelda. Flora acuses Tetra of being a selfish brat who cares about no one but herself and would never understand the burden of having to fullfill the duties that come with the name.

-They both storm-off absolutely enraged, agreeing that they’ll find a way to their friend by themselves.

-Flora tries to calm herself by sulking by a tree and then by humming to herself Zelda’s Lullaby. It works, until she realizes Tetra is now standing in front of her completly awestruck with tears rolling down her cheek. ”How-how do you know that song?”

-Tetra’s mother used to sing that song for her before she died (I headcannon that she’s the adult timeline’s version of TP’s Zelda and was called Madame Dusk in the Great Sea).

- Flora offers her comfort to Tetra and when she finishes crying she opens up that she never asked to be “Zelda the Princess” either. She confeses that she understands her resentment because she always felt like a failure as a heir to the goddess’ blood. And thoroughly apologizes for what she said to Tetra.

-From then on Tetra and Flora start to get along very well and become great friends. They still get on each other’s nerves but in a more teasing manner than before.

-Flora often has to play diplomat for Tetra and keep her from killing everyone who angers her. But Tetra often pulls them into shenaningas with Flora doing very little to disuade her, when not being a very willing participant. “Oh, why not? We’re not in my Hyrule.”

-They are the epitome of “Getting along like a house on fire, including setting a house on fire”.

- By the time the Links return from chasing the Shadow, Tetra has made peace with the name Zelda and with her heritage. Of course she doesn’t stop calling herself Tetra, but she believes that the Zeldas are awesome.

-Flora in turn calls her and Wild’s daughter in the future Sonia Tetra Hyrule. In honor of the most ferocious and bravest queen to ever sail.

- A couple of other trivia from my headcannons. The people in the great sea hardly know about the Golden Three goddesses or Hylia and instead worship smaller deities like Zelphos and Cyclos. Mainly because having wind is vital in the Great Sea.

-A headcannon I think others have proposed before. But I like to think that different regions in Botw’s Hyrule hold a particular Hero in higher regard than others. I.E- The Hylians in central Hyrule looked up to the heroes of Sky, Time and Twilight. The Rito look up to Wind (Revali was secretly a fan of the legend and the fact that Wind had to earn the right to be a hero played into some of his resentment for Wild). The Goron look up to Hyrule, etc.

[orgaslink]

For the kissing prompts

31. Neck kisses For Twark?

Thank you for the ask, Lolabearwrites! You may have kinda stumbled upon one of my most favourite ships and a prompt I’m smitten for, so hope you enjoy as much as I enjoyed writing it! I could have kept on and on writing for this and I may have to revisit this thought in the future. For now, enjoy some Twark (DarkLight) neck kisses, below the cut for hint of spice.

It was no secret to Twilight that Dark had been through a lot, emotionally, mentally and especially physically. Just the tattoos alone would be a big thing to go through with the amount of ink adorning Dark’s entire body, and that was without considering what happened before the tattoos.

Mapping out the art etched across his partners skin, Twilight soon found that tracing the patterns and lines to be one of his favourite pastimes, especially when he could also catalogue Dark’s reactions to his explorations.

Twilight soon learned that he could make Dark’s skin ripple beneath a teasing finger tracing the works along his abdomen, muscles tensing and quivering to the stimulation. Following the trail of ink over Dark’s ribs caused him to huff out a sound that would closely resemble laughter if Dark didn’t stifle it, the quirk to his lips giving him away more than the turning of his head ever could. Twilight would prefer if Dark didn’t try to hide his reactions, but he was more than happy to bide his time and keep up his explorations as long as Dark allowed.

One such reaction, Dark couldn’t hide from Twilight. Not with how enthusiastically his body betrayed what it was feeling. Idle fingers had found their way onto Dark’s chest one sweaty, post coital night, Twilight absentminded in his meandering touch that slowly trailed further up Dark’s chest, his clavicle and finally weaving their way over the coiled dragon over his throat. He hadn’t meant anything by it, merely basking in the afterglow of their session together and touching Dark for the sake of staying close to him.

Dark’s reaction had him rethinking that.

The hitch in breath would have been easily missed by someone who wasn’t becoming intimately intune with Dark to know what that hitch meant when paired with the subtle shift of Dark’s body where he lay on his back with Twilight half on his chest. It was enough to pique his curiosity and traverse his fingers in the same pattern in experimentation. He was not disappointed to feel Dark’s pulse thrum beneath his touch, the heartbeat he could hear from the cushion of Dark’s chest thumping just a little harder.

Twilight wasn’t like Hyrule, he was academic nor particularly interested in study. Unless that study involved the ways in which he could turn his lover on and the many ways in which they could indulge in one another and bring about a pleasure that Twilight had never experienced before in his life – that was a subject Twilight longed to excel in.

It spurs him into action, his body inching up Dark’s to bring Twilight’s mouth closer to his neck where he nosed at Dark’s jaw and continued trailing one finger over his neck tattoo. The tilt of Dark’s head upwards was telling, and Twilight fought to keep the grin from his face, instead opting to begin exploring his lovers neck with his mouth rather than his fingers.

Dark gasped, fingers gripping the bedsheets beneath him as Twilight’s explorations became more confident as Dark’s reactions grew more obvious. Twilight’s tongue was hot as he alternated mouthing at Dark’s neck and teasing with his tongue, but Dark’s skin was hotter, burning up beneath Twilight ministrations and causing heat to pool below his navel.

“Fuck Twi! I–”

“Shhh,” Twilight covered Dark’s lips with a finger, the very same that started this maddening tease. “Don’t talk, just let yourself feel.”

Dark felt a lot of things that night. All of them fan-fucking-tastic, mind blowing and some leaving a warm fuzzy feeling in his chest that Dark wouldn’t couldn’t name.

[crazylittlejester]

DAILY BRAINROT

I'm very scatterbrained today, so please excuse the multiple topic changes. 😅

The Sky angst WIP is in progress, and I accidentally started a new WIP that is Hyrule angst. I think pretty much all the Hyrule angst I've read takes place in forest regions, so naturally I had to take it upon myself to write something that happens in The Great Sea. Legend is not the only one who deserves island-related trauma.

Still thinking about the academia AU, too. Sun has a bachelors degree in aviation, like Sky (it's how they met) and one in religious studies. She's decided to get her graduate degree in religious studies and may or may not have a side gig with Sky flying little bitty planes for a tourist place because they're both crazy and think they can somehow fit that into their schedules.

LU EAH AU is still in progress! It's just going very, very slowly, and I need to remember to review some of my source material because I keep forgetting to do that. I also need to finish up the fic about Fi's backstory and figure out a cool title for it. The AU itself will likely be Linked Ever After unless I think of something cooler.

Also, I was writing a scene with Legend & Sky and needed to do some quick fact-checking and recipe-searching and DID YOU KNOW THAT THERE IS AN ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE THAT'S MADE OUT OF HORSE MILK!?

Anyway, the scene in question is another attempt at letting Legend be soft and chill because he is Too Old for This Shit. The actual recipe I ended up using was basically warm milk with pumpkin pie spices and maple syrup because Legend just gives off warm milk vibes. He knows what works, and he's going to do it, and if anyone tries to give him grief over it, he'll just smack them right good.

Side tangent: as much as I want to say that Warriors is the best with self-care, I think it's really more Legend's thing. Time also looks like he has everything together, but he is totally panicking and masking (pun intended) 24/7 with rare exceptions. Legend is the one who's had enough of this shit and figured out what does and doesn't actually help his physical and mental health. He's obviously not perfect at it, but he's the closest to an actual role model most of them have, just because he's trying to live his best life (partly out of spite).

Warriors is still the one who drags Twilight to therapy, though.

i so desperately needed the daily brainrot, i caught this 35 seconds after it appeared in my asks

You’re so real for that. I have a Hyrule angst wip in my drafts somewhere titled ‘Hyrule Drowns’… I don’t- I don’t think I have to explain further (he doesn’t DIE but I AM gonna throw him in a lake. Shoutout to @/carelessapples for this one because if I remember correctly, this was sort of their idea/i am writing it for them)

I LOVE THAT SO MUCH YOU HAVE NO IDEA.

LINKED EVER AFTER. 10/10, I LOVE IT. I’m so excited for that au, but take ur time man. I know it’ll be awesome

THERES A FUCKING WHAT NOW??? (and yeah Legend DOES give off warm milk vibes)

Oh yeah no, Time is masking most of the time bro does NOT have it together like, at all, I so agree. I love the idea of Wars just DRAGGING Twi to therapy kicking and screaming. Legend definitely has things figured out by now, though I am of the personal belief that he’s horrible at explaining it to the others and helping THEM with stuff. I headcanon he’s better at self care for himself than helping the others take care of themselves but he’s doin’ his best 😔