#It doesn’t even have to be revalink

[noraiir-arts]

does anyone have a botw au/ revalink au that they want to talk about in extreme detail to me because I’m so bored and have zero inspiration rn

like please like it can be something so simple and/or niche or something extremely complicated and would take a while to explain but I don’t care because anything would be nice right now. If there is something that you have been wanting to share for a while now, now’s the time PLEASEE like it doesn’t even have to be an au it can just be a bunch of head cannons PLEASE

like just message me or @ me in a post or anything PLEA🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[deeenae]

“Danger”

I’m late to Revalink week, but I was cooking!! Here’s my contribution, a short comic inspired by none other than @star-pup01‘s fic Skybound Wishes ❤️

It’s sad hours over here. I’ve been rereading this fic in honor of Revalink Week, and Link witnessing Revali’s demise firsthand… 😔 In the Silent Realm, “Vah Medoh painted Link a perfect picture of Revali’s last moments” and yeah I’ve been emo about it for awhile. Day 2’s prompt “Danger” seemed to align with the despair Link must have felt in this moment… UGHHH

I didn’t capture the full scene here so please just go read Skybound Wishes 💖 we all know what Link’s gestures mean even though he doesn’t AHHH 😫

Happy Revalink Week!! (edit: except I’m still sad after making this sorry y’all)

[wild-dagon]

TOTK Role-reversal (part 2)

I know I’m late to the party but this idea has been floating around in my head for months. (Also spoilers for the game)

The classic role-reversal with Link and Zelda in TOTK.

Finally my last idea. Link gets the Spirit stone.

I don’t know about you but it bothered me at the end of the game that there wasn’t a new Spirit Sage. They brought Purah up there and then didn’t give it to her? (I was also expecting Paya to get it as all the other Sages were leaders (or the child of the leader) of their respective races. I really wanted to see Paya go from being unsure how to lead her village to an amazing warrior surrounded by other leaders for support but thats a rant for another post)

Anyhow Link.

Let’s tie this to BOTW. Link can see the Koroks (spirits of the forest) he can see the dragons (not everyone can) and in BOTW he talks to multiple ghosts. Heck even in TOTK he is able to interact with the ghosts of solders in the Depths to get weapons.

What if when Link goes back in time, his stone just won’t settle on a specific power. This is weird to Rauru and Sonia as they have never seen some one with so many different kinds of magic. Link is super confused as he doesn’t have magic. The other champions and Zelda have mystic abilities. He doesn’t.

You can stretch this confusion out to them going back to the castle and or you can make the next part happen on the way to the castle.

The one day they get attacked and Link goes to fight (he’s used to protecting people.) but he’s weak from the interaction with Ganondorf.

He’s about to get crushed when his stone turns red and a familiar crystal shield forms around him. “I gotta little buddy” He turns over his shoulder and sees Daruk. He’s in spirit form but he’s here, talking and fighting with Link.

Then the stone turns green. Air burst forth and Revali is up in the air shooting down the foe.

The stone turns orange and a bolt of lightning rains down on the remaining enemies as Urbosa steps forward.

Finally it turns blue as Mipha appears and heals Links wounds.

They are here. All of the champions are here. Link’s stone finally settles on purple.

Mineru explains that Link’s stone couldn’t settle on a color because it was sensing the remains of the champion abilities inside him. But now that the champions spirits have been released his stone has settled on his powers.

This leads to a lot of Mineru and Link bonding as she helps him master his powers. Maybe he can make the other champions corporeal if he focuses hard enough or if he masters his powers. Maybe he can give them a second chance at life. (Here’s where you could have some fun with shipping making it zelink, miphlink, or revalink)

Anyhow. Mineru is Link’s mentor. They both are a little crazy about building questionable contraptions. She starts to view him as her’s. Rauru was always going to have kids, she never expected to have one but Link is precious to her. As is he to Sonia and Rauru. They love hearing about their descendent Zelda.

Maybe Link and the champions are able to save Sonia from Gannon but he still gets his hands on a stone. Either stealing Sonia’s (without the murder) or by killing Rauru or Mineru. Or you could go super angst and have him get Link’s stone cutting him off from the champions (once again Ganon has taken them from Link)

In the final battle Rauru/Mineru/Sonia (who ever is alive) traps Gannon. Link either swallows his stone or stone give to him by another survivor.

Personally I like the idea that Gannon gets Links stone, Sonia seals him promising her descendant will come to stop him (I think Sonia’s faith in future Zelda could be super sweet) Rauru realizing his wife is gone and there is nothing he can do, gives Link his stone allowing Link to become the dragon and heal the sword. Mineru still builds her contraption knowing that Zelda will need a sage of spirit as Link will be preoccupied being a dragon.

Zelda gets guidance from Sonia and Rauru.

When it’s all said and done and Mineru is ready to leave, her stone goes to Zelda becoming the time/light stone. Meaning Link has a spirit stone Zelda covers time and light. The other sages are still around and the champions are back.

Zelda’s journey

You can also make this really fun by having the spirits of the champions guide the sages on their journey.

Maybe while spirit dragon Link is hanging out in the clouds that champion spirits hang out with him. When it’s time for the new sages to awaken they go to their home villages and appear to the new sages. So instead of just hearing a strange voice they see the champion of old.

When Tulin is out on his own he is struggling with a enemy that is suddenly shot from behind. When he tracks the shoot Revali is flying there. Their eyes lock before Revali flies off. Zelda arrives right after this moment, Tulin to tell her about the strange Rito that flew off. Tulin feels like they need to follow him and they do, all the way up to the sky arc. (Picture the Zelda chase scene in the castle but with Revali and sky boats.) Once Tulin gets his sacred stone Revali appears again (allowing for a sweet reunion scene between Zelda and Revali) and offers to stay near and train Tulin on how to use his powers as Revali had trained with the sage of old.

When Zelda arrives in Goron city it’s weird. Why are people talking about Link giving Yunobo a mask. Then she sees Link and chases after him only to find an enraged Yunobo. After getting the mask off of him the two talk about Link before seeing Daruk’s Spirit. Once again they chase him to the fire temple. Things play out much the same with Daruk as it did with Revali.

Arriving at the Zora domain Sidon doesn’t see Mipha until he fights the first sludge monster with Zelda. Mipha had tried to appear earlier but Sidon thought he was just seeing things from over working himself. It isn’t until he lets Yona help him and fights along side Zelda that he finally is open to seeing Mipha’s spirit. She leads them to the underwater cavern and to the water temple proper. Again always just out of reach never a word is spoken until after the sage is fully awaken and the boss is beaten. Once Sidon has his sacred stone Mipha is able to appear and have her reunion with her brother.

In the desert Urbosa is seen many times by other warriors but she cannot directly help them. Once Zelda arrives she appears to both Zelda and Ruji before disappearing. She appears again after they successfully defend the town. After they defend the bazar they see Link walking into the storm. Both girls go to chase after him but Urbosa appears and shakes her head No before disappearing without a word. Urbosa leads Zelda through the sand storm to the different light pillars, and lead them to the light temple. She doesn’t appear again until after they defeat queen gibdo and Riju awakens as a sage.

This build trust between the reader and Zelda and the spirits that are appearing. Which means when Zelda sees Link up on Hyrule castle she rushes to him. He’s leading her through the castle the same way the champions did. It’s unnerving as the champions moved like that because they were spirits and Link should be alive but Zelda is going to ignore that tidbit for now.

She follows Link to the throne room where it is revealed that he is Ganondorf’s puppet.

As they fight the sages and champions appear to help Zelda defeat the phantom Ganondorfs

After this they got to find the fifth sage. Mineru tells Zelda about the Dragon tears and how to view them using the purah pad. This is when Zelda does the dragon tear quest. Up until this point they were just weird geoglyphs but know she can view Link’s memories. She realizes that Link is the Spirit Dragon.

(You can also have a moment where she yells at the champions for not telling her. But how do you tell someone that new?)

She needs to find the Master Sword so she returns to the lost woods hoping Link returned it there in the past. She doesn’t know if the blade will let her pull it but she has to try.

After freeing the lost woods she realizes the sword is with Link. Maybe she goes to get it maybe she leaves it but either way she will be able to use it. It’s with Link and if he’s going to let anyone wield his sacred blade it would be Zelda.

[avenin7]

In what ways does Revali express his insecurities in his relationship with Link, when he decides to not beat around bush and be completely open with him? And how would Link respond to Revali completely opening up to him?

ok I know this was from forever ago and is relevant to botw revalink but man this is making me think about mod!au and so I’m gonna answer for them!

Revali is not the kind of man who is open with his insecurities, even if he wants. The struggle of “I want to be known” and “don’t fucking look at me” is strong in him. He’s constantly at war with himself with how much he wants/can share. Often blowing up in the middle of a fight (or even seemingly at random) because he can’t keep the thoughts in anymore. It gets worked out in them (especially after they start exploring sex & intimacy differently in their relationship), where Revali can outwardly express what he wants from Link and where he feels inadequate.

Due to his ex and his mom always making him feel small, he’s always expecting Link to turn the other way and toss him out. Added with the fact that Link is not a jealous person, he can’t even try to make him jealous to validate himself. Forcing him to actually talk to Link about how he feels. Their biggest jealousy fight they have actually surrounds Sidon because Revali finds out the two of them were interested in each other at one point {but never acted on it}. He’s attracted to Sidon himself and he’s not blind. Sidon is kind where Revali is not. He’s known Link longer and they have a well established friendship. As opposed to Revali who is literally just some guy (in his own mind). It causes a massive fight between them and is one of the only times Link actually stands up for himself in the beginning of their relationship {thankfully Sidon is nice and is really understanding with Revali over the whole thing}. Anyway, when they do finally talk about it, Revali opens up and get teary eyed, explaining how he doesn’t understand WHY Link would choose him over someone as nice and kind and hot as Sidon. (to which Link oh so gracefully responds with “what if I don’t want someone who’s nice to me?”). It’s a really big step for them. Revali realizing he can be vulnerable and emotional with Link and Link’s not going to mock him for it. I think Link feels honored that Revali Wants to talk to him. Even when he can’t. He’s made it his mission to pick up on the subtleties of his {boy}friend. Something that equally works well for them and also shoots them both in the foot. The dynamic of Revali wanting someone to read his mind and Link genuinely trying starts off as constructive in building trust. It quickly turns into a very unhealthy dynamic for them both (which they eventually heal though).

In the hypothetical though, where Revali doesn’t have issues expressing himself. Link I think is overwhelmed at how insecure he is. For someone who projects themselves as being confident, I think he’d be intimidated at just HOW small Revali feels. I think it could cause issues cause he’d clam up, unsure of what to say. And Revali being Revali would probably take it as rejection. I think it’d take time for them to work through how Link could be a comforting ear for Revali when he doesn’t feel secure in himself.

anyway! thank you for the ask!

[tirsynni]

I’m unsure everyone’s thoughts on TotK spoilers at this point, but just to be on the safe side, putting my thoughts Sidon and Link and other under a cut. Just ramblings and some mild cackling.

Okay, so TotK presented a new fun facet for Sidon: they gave him a bride. Obviously, Sidlink fans went completely nuts. Makes sense. This is a big change from the BotW dynamics. So first things first: my thoughts on the betrothal itself.

Some people went batshit and accused Nintendo of queerbaiting. Of all things, they insisted that Nintendo saw people so excited about Sidlink that they inserted Yona to break up the pairing. I have multiple thoughts on that, which will be split up a bit through my flailing meta. Most obvious first, though: Sidon is the Prince of the Zora. He is the only heir left. A betrothal makes sense! Yona was known to him, trusted, and she seems to have a solid head on her shoulders... and is also good for not taking Sidon’s shit. She is a good choice for a Queen, both for the Zora people and for Sidon personally.

I love Sidon to death, but he absolutely needs someone to balance him out. The Zora people are a monarchy. While they lack the divine rule of the Hylian Royal Family, they do have a definite strictness and structure. There is a great deal of respect for the royal family, for the structure that is in place, and the Zora people also rely on the royal family for multiple things. The Zora royal family is clearly not symbolic or there for show: they are the guardians, protectors, and leaders of the Zora people. Whoever would be paired with Sidon would need to fulfill those roles. 

From what we’ve seen of Link, he has two sides: feral little warrior or duty-bound Knight. He doesn’t try to take leadership roles: he hears of a problem, sighs a little at how the problem isn’t being solved, and does it by himself. He works with teams, but there’s no indication of him ever leading. He’s the Tony Hawk of Hyrule. He’s the guy who does things so quietly that people are baffled when they’re successfully done.

So where does all of this leave Sidlink? I think there are a couple takes on it.

While Sidon is canonically marrying Yona (and absolutely no Yona bashing on my blog: I adore Yona), I think if Sidon married her and Yona acted as his queen and the Queen of the Zora, and yet he still had a full relationship with Link on the side... he would do so with everyone’s blessing. Dorephan’s, the Zora people’s, Yona’s... Fuck, he literally put a ring on it, and he was congratulated. He has a statue of him and Link, and everyone honors it. He has it literally in writing on the wall how much he adores Link and wants everyone to know how awesome Link is. And fuck, did everyone talk to Yona after Link successfully finds the Zora greaves? Sidlink isn’t even my ship and it seems like she is giving her blessing and sounds thrilled that Sidon found such a great side piece.

Seriously, my favorite pairing is Revalink, and every Zora interaction seemed like Sidon was madly in love with Link, and despite marrying Yona, everyone in the kingdom was cheering Sidon on. Wouldn’t be the craziest thing, really, and would require no effort to make Sidon/Yona a political, if happy and respectful, marriage, with the King (and really, the Queen, providing no children come from it) having concubines/lovers/etc. Which makes the second possibility for this subject even funnier.

This is my go-to, although, again, even for a non-shipper, Sidlink is amazingly easy in TotK: Sidon and Link have nothing going on. It’s completely platonic. It never occurred to either of them that people interpret their interactions and Sidon’s comments as romantic. Everyone -- Dorephan, Bazz, Yona, everyone -- is convinced Sidon and Link have been fucking for months, if not years, and they’re okay with it. Hell, they’re thrilled by it. Yona adores Link and is fine sharing Sidon with him. Hell, she encourages it (with neither Link or Sidon understanding it but happy to have some time to hang out together). Dorephan is convinced that he has a pseudo-son-in-law and couldn’t be prouder. He expected to have Link as an actual son-in-law a century ago, anyway. Everyone thinks they’re screwing, and everyone is happy with it, with Sidon and Link never catching on. 

Bonus points if Link is actually in another relationship, and one day, I might write that little bit of crack.

More bonus points if Sidon is actually ace (which is really, really easy to headcanon, honestly) and Yona attributes his struggles with babymaking to his love for Link.

There’s possibly Link struggling to figure out where he fits with Sidon after learning about the engagement, with most of the kingdom (including Yona) taking it for granted that of course Link would stay with Sidon. There’s Sidon struggling with figuring out how to insert Yona in his life and the canon struggling of having someone else to lose. (At least he’s confident that Link can and will survive, even though Link vanishing must have scared the shit out of him.) There’s possibly Link knowing that such things exist due to his travels and his own history with royals but not connecting it to himself, especially when he sees Sidon struggling with his relationship and upcoming marriage to Yona. Multiple opportunities for both fluff and plotty tension.

But yeah... at no point do I see Yona actually being a barrier to Sidlink. It’s amazingly easy to see her as a fucking Sidlink shipper, whether the pair or actually together or not.

(And honestly, I think she did what it wouldn’t have occurred to Link to do: yell at Sidon to put aside his personal feelings and fears and fulfill his damned responsibilities. I think Link would have just accepted Sidon’s actions and tried to solve the problem on his own, as he does. It is Yona who recognizes that it shouldn’t just fall to Link and that Sidon has to take care of his own responsibilities, too, and get out of his head.)

Of course, for the people who want to write Yona and Sidon breaking up the marriage, write Link taking up a leadership role and stepping up as a fellow ruler, whatever... this bit of meta absolutely is not critiquing any of those takes. I’m of the firm mindset that people should write what they want, that fanfiction is amazing for exploring, and if people dislike a certain writer’s takes, they should just leave the fic instead of going “Well, I disagree with what you did here and here’s why.” Hell, even if it’s not with my headcanons or whatever, Sidlink writers are awesome in this fandom and write many solid fics, both with worldbuilding to back up their choice and with fics without the details and background and just happy fluff (and porn). If you like the above takes, awesome! If you prefer for it just to be Sidlink (no Yona bashing, please, though), also awesome. It’s fanfiction. Have fun with it.

[heleentje]

Revalink Week Day 2: "You can do better than that"

A short little ficlet for Revalink Week!

This takes place in a universe that's slightly to the left of AoC, where Revali doesn't resent Link nearly as much since Link hasn't yet drawn the Master Sword and therefore isn't the Hero of Legend.

-------------------

There is something uniquely frustrating about almost having to admit defeat to a Hylian soldier. Doubly so when the only thing that saved him were his trusty bomb arrows, set to go off in the soldier's face. Were it not for the Princess’ interference, Revali would have won, of course —

But oh, it was a far closer fight than Revali likes to think about.

The soldier — Link, Revali learns from the Princess’ frustrated bids for independence — has recently been made part of the royal entourage after excelling at killing a bunch of low-level pests. Admittedly, he wields a sword with unusual proficiency, for him to even give Revali a challenge, let alone come close to defeating him.

That is why it is especially galling to come across him during a visit to Hyrule Castle and be forced to witness him treating a bow like a fledgling would.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asks, clicking his beak when Link nearly lets his arrow go wild. How does he purport to call himself an archer if he cannot even focus through the most basic of interruptions? Revali learned archery with someone always chattering at his head, until he wanted to scream at her to shut up, but at the end of the day, he could have a bomb go off next to him and still keep sight of his target.

Link lowers his bow, thankfully letting the string go slack when he does so. Revali has seen what passes for archery with the Hylians. He wouldn’t be surprised if they mishandled their bows as well.

“Champion Revali,” he says, with a wary kind of deference that rubs Revali entirely the wrong way. The soldier who fought him hadn’t held anything back. Now that he’s been assigned as the Princess’ personal guard, he keeps trying to pull away from the Champions. Mipha is clearly hurt by it, and that only serves to increase Revali’s annoyance.

“What are you doing?” he asks again. Link looks at the ground, clearly unwilling to answer. Revali tsks, taking his own Great Eagle Bow from his shoulder and holding out an expectant wing. Link stares at it for an uncomprehending moment, before some sense finally penetrates into his brain and he hands him an arrow.

Of course Revali carries his own arrows, but why should he waste a perfectly good Rito arrow on a Hylian?

He aims demonstratively, making a much bigger show out of it than he needs to. It’s not even a moving target — he could hit those without looking when he was still a fledgling himself. But hitting the target is only secondary. Perhaps this way, Link and any Hylians fortunate enough to be nearby can finally see what proper form looks like.

And Link is looking, he realizes with a pulse of warm gratification. He’s tracking the movement of Revali’s wings and shoulders as he takes aim at the target, and follows the arrow when Revali looses the string.

It hits dead center. There’s nowhere else it could have gone.

Link nods, blue eyes very serious, and he takes up his own bow again. The way he mimics Revali’s stance may be a little clumsy, but it’s miles better than it used to be.

“Don’t keep your shoulders so high,” Revali says, and Link actually listens. He’s not used to the new stance, so his arrow doesn’t quite hit the center, but with enough practice…

Although, something has been bothering him since that time when they fought near Rito Village.

Link is undoubtedly a far more accomplished swordsman than he is an archer, but Revali remembers him trying to shield with his sword arm, even though his actual shield was carried solidly on his left. It was always just the barest of moments before he corrected, but a weakness nonetheless, and one he’d made use of more than once during the fight.

Like all the Hylian soldiers, he wields his sword with his right hand, and he shoots his bow with it too. But the Hylian army has the unfortunate habit of prioritizing uniformity over skill. Unless Revali is sorely mistaken, Link is much like him and would be a much better fighter if he were allowed to use his left hand instead.

There’s nothing he can do about it. Not right now, at least, with the Calamity looming ahead of him. Link will need all his skills to even survive the oncoming battle, and letting him use the hand that comes naturally to him would require significant retraining. For a Hylian, he’s competent enough with a bow. It will have to do.

But after the Calamity has been slain by their combined might, then maybe… Revali has been training fledglings since he was little more than one himself and desperate to contribute something to the village that had taken him in. It is hardly a challenge anymore, not when the Rito thrive in the air.

A Hylian, on the other hand… Earthbound as they are, that will be a challenge to mould into a proper archer. And it’s a challenge Revali looks forward to.

But for now, he can at least give a proper example. So he holds out his hand again, and the corner of Link’s mouth quirks when he hands over a new arrow.

[some-internet-stranger]

Woah! I actually wrote something for Revalink week! Holy cow! I actually wrote something, period.

First I wanted to draw something (I still might), then I had a few lines of dialog in my head and now I have this! Yippee.

This is technically my First fanfiction, how exciting, I hope you like it.

This is teeechnically a combination of "too close!!" and "keep breathing!", it's about 2K long

Lil summary: Revalink gets trapped in a secret closet on Vah medoh, things quickly go from gay-panic to we're-suffocating-in-a-really-small-space-panic

(no detailed description of panic attack)(but Link is hyperventilating a bit)(cw: near death experiences)(but its pretty lighthearted tbh)

-------

„No! “, Revali shrieks, realizing, what’s about to happen.

He surges forward in an attempt to stop it, but as the ancient (with lack of a better word) door closes shut, right in his face. He is left in darkness, the only thing that could be deemed a source of light being the faint blue glow of the sheikah technology (which is not helpful in the slightest, by the way. What a fantastic idea of the Sheikah to give the divine beast of the rito, known for their bad night vision, such a poor lighting system. Maybe he should bring this to Impa’s attention when he sees her again. If he lives to see her again, which brings him back to the problem at hand).

Not only is it dark, but the room is also impossibly small and oppressive. It may have only been about half a minute since he’d been trapped in this absolute death trap of a room, but he already can’t stand the lack of the breeze against his feathers. It’s a feeling he isn’t used to, and quiet frankly, he doesn’t want to be. Possibly suffocating is also a problem, of course.

There’s a muffled sound in the darkness. It’s coughing. Ah, yes that’s right. Not only had Revali, champion and pride of the rito, managed to get himself trapped in a secret chamber within his own divine beast, no, he had managed to do so in front, worse even, together with the silent champion, now firmly pressed against his chest. Great. This was just fantastic.

Revali know’s that it is ridiculous, be he can’t help but wonder if this is some sort of messed up revenge of Medoh’s for always making her listen to his endless rants about said Hylian specifically. He brushes the thought aside. He’s got to figure out how to get out of here.

He hears the Hylian make another sound, one he can’t quiet place, once again muffled against his chest. A certain vibration passes through his body. Can it really be…?

“Oh, are you actually granting me the great honor of being a witness to some of your thoughts? If that is the intention, I must ask you to speak up, I can’t make out what you’re saying��, Revali proposes into the darkness. He had been right. Link was indeed trying to speak. Revali hates to admit that it makes him feel a bit excited. Just a tiny bit.

Link lifts his chin, resting it on the edge of Revali’s pauldron, so that his mouth is next to Revali’s cheek. His breath is hot against it, when he goes to speak again (Revali’s feathers do not fluff up, and his heartrate stays the same as well! Anyone claiming otherwise is blatantly lying)

“Can’t you open the door?”, his voice sounds unfamiliar but not unpleasant, not at all. Though, Revali should have known that whatever Link had to say was not going to be something smart.

What bothers him the most is the way the Hylian said it. His tone matched that of his face. Bland and emotionless, but in a way that makes it obvious that it is a mere mask, concealing his real thoughts and feelings. And not a good mask at that, Revali can tell, that what Link is feeling right now must be annoyance. And if that isn’t outrageous (and endlessly embarrassing for Revali), then he doesn’t know what is.

“Oh”, if Revali was able to move his wing, he would dramatically put it against his forehead right now, “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that earlier! Thank the goddesses that you are here to save the day once again, hero. Oh, what would I, no, what would anyone do without your gracious advice. Without your guidance? How I was living these dark, dark years before our paths crossed is beyond my comprehension! Let me go ahead and just”, he gasps in fake surprise, “Oh what is that! Oh, I know. It appears that we are inside this closet. While the control unit is outside. Who woud have thought?”

Link doesn’t answer and only sighs.

Did Revali manage to shut him up for good? Was this the last time he’d hear him speak because he immediately scared him off?

These are questions Revali would be asking himself, if he wasn’t entirely distracted by the Hylian’s breath brushing over the feathers on his cheeks, just like the wind outside, but fiery hot. The chamber seems so much tighter all of a sudden. Link feels so much closer. So impossibly close, too close! He forces his eyes shut (it hardly makes a difference) and tries to think about something else. Like how they’re going to get out of here as soon as possible, for example.

“What about-“, Link speaks again, or tries to, but his voice breaks near the end. Okay, good, so he does still feel like talking to him (Revali feels annoyingly relieved about it). Link clears his throat before he continues, his voice still sounding strained, “The champions have a connection to their divine beasts, right? Can you try-“

His voice breaks again, from disuse, Revali figures. If it wasn’t for the darkness (and the fact that they were still so very close), he’d surely be talking with his hands, as Revali has seen him do with the princess before.

Revali gets what Link is trying to say. And he must (begrudgingly) admit, that it’s not even a bad idea. He knows for a fact, that Daruk had been able to get Rudania to move by his voice alone, only a week ago. Revali had been desperate to try it out himself, ever since he learned of his fellow champion’s recent success. He couldn’t let himself fall behind!

He clears his throat and addresses his beloved beast, “Medoh, I’m giving you the order, to open this door. Immediately!”

Divine Beast Vah Medoh remains silent.

“Vah Medoh, I, your pilot, command you to open this door. Now”

Divine Beast Vah Medoh once again, remains silent. (Remind you of someone?)

“Medoh”, he says threateningly. It’s starting to feel like he’s talking to an ill-mannered fledgling instead of a self-proclaimed divine machine.

“Keep trying”, Link chokes out.

Something seems off. Has Link’s breathing always been this fast?

“What’s up with your breathing? Stop that!”, he says. The Hylian is basically panting(!) into his ear now, and it is quiet honestly throwing him of a bit (a lot), for all of the wrong reasons.

“Air”, is Link’s response, “hard to breathe”.

Oh. He supposes it makes sense, that the tiny Hylian would have more difficulties breathing, other than Revali, he did not spend most of his time either in the mountains of Hebra or on Medoh, where the air was a lot thinner to begin with.

Wait.

“You’re not going to die, are you?”

“Keep…”, more panting, “keep trying”.

Okay. Well, shit.

If the situation hadn’t been tense before, than it certainly was now.

“Medoh! Open the door!”, he can hear how panicked his own voice sounds. But now is not a time for keeping up appearances. Now is a time for opening the cursed door, for Hylia’s sake!

“Medoh! Door! Now!”

Divine Beast Vah Medoh responds by letting out one of her bloodcurdling shrieks, and by, very much not opening the door. Revali feels betrayed.

“Oh! You think this is funny now, don’t you? Well guess what! You’re gonna have to find a new champion to pilot you soon, still funny? I do not want to hear you complain for one second, when they’re simply not as skilled as I am, because you’re not going to find someone better you giant, rock bird!”, he would love to continue cursing out Medoh (Hylia knows she deserves it), but his attention is once again drawn to Link.

“Try breathing slowly, you’re going to hyperventilate”.

“Like I’m not already?”, there’s some edge to the Hylian’s voice. And some truth in his words.

“Calm down, then”, Revali says. He never did claim to be good at speaking to people soothingly.

Surprisingly to absolutely no one, this does not calm Link down, or cause him to breathe more slowly.

“My fingers are tingling”, Link says between pants.

“Yes, that’s because of the hyperventilation”, it’s just a guess, and not an educated one at that, but it’s better and less alarming than the alternative (that this is the beginning of the end and that Link is surely going to pass away in the very near future)

“I think I might..-“, a pause, “I think I might faint”

“No, you wont, hey”, oh this is escalating way too quickly. Revali manages to wring free one of his wings, and uses it to pull Link closer, making sure he won’t fall.

“Listen, I’ll try it again, and you just stay awake, keep breathing, and don’t die. Because I will not forgive you”

He closes his eyes again and tries to connect to Medoh with his mind. He’s always worked best under pressure, so he’s sure he can do it. He just has to tune out the sound of Link’s breathing getting slower and blissfully ignore the fact, that if Link really does stop, that he is next. This is how they are going to be found (if they get found), entangled in each others’ limbs, clasping to each other for dear life. What a dishonorable way to die. (But if it does end here, which it wont, he can’t help but be comforted to able to hold someone and be held in return while it happens)

“Revali”

“Shut up, Link”, top 10 things he never thought he’d ever say.

“I think I might…”

“No, you won’t. What would your princess say, if her hero died in some random closet?”, realization dawns upon him, “Oh”

This could be their way out!

“Revali, I want you to know that, I always thought that-“

“Hush, you can tell me about that later, I have to bail our way out”, he interrupts and goes back to hard core concentration.

“I’m about to deliver my last words!”, now he does sound offended, incredibly so. Revali would sell his great eagle bow to see Link’s expression right now.

“And I’m sure, they’re incredible. Something for the history books all over the land, the children will sing songs about them, and the scholars will pick them apart word by word to analyze them. But I would advice you to keep them for later, as you’re not dying. Not here and not now”

“I- “

Link pauses. It is not easy not make out, due to the door’s thickness, but both of them hear footsteps.

Zelda’s footsteps.

“In here! Open the door!”, Revali squawks.

Link lets out a sigh of relieve, and Revali can feel him relax against him, as the door finally opens. The small room gets flooded with the fresh wind and with light. In front of the door is princess Zelda, holding that Sheikah slate, that must have unlocked the door (and probably locked it in the first place. That is something he’s going to question the Princess about later).

Medoh lets out another shriek. Maybe she does care that he didn’t die. How sweet.

“Thank the goddesses you’re alright, I had wondered where you had disappeared to. Oh!”, Zelda looks concerned. One look at Link tells him why. Apparently, he had not relaxed against him earlier, he had actually fainted.

“And I told him not to die”, Revali says in an almost casual tone, but only because he can see and feel Link breathing better than before. Carefully he lies him down on the floor.

“Goodness! Link! Link, say something, can you hear me?”, Zelda asks, putting his head into her lap.

After a couple of moments, the little Hylian opens an eye, “Yeah”, he just says. Zelda sighs in relieve. Revali does too.

[avenin]

Revali for the fave character list ask game!!!

THANK YOU

I always love giving attention to the boy

*fav thing; His arrogance. He absolutely deserves to have it too! He is the best archer of his time AND he created an entirely new technique of flight simply of his own merit. I think he deserves to be a bit prideful about it! (of course in his annoying teenage boy way).

*least fav thing; His lack of communication. Revali’s inability to be blunt only when it comes to his own feelings drives me up a wall! His emotions control him but he doesn’t/can’t let himself explain himself. It’s not for dramatics either; he shows a deep social awkwardness and isolation from others and I ache thinking of the connection he could have had to the other champion’s of only he could tell them what was wrong with him.

*fav line; I don’t know if I have a favorite line exactly but every time I hear “Revali’s Gale is now ready!” my heart skips a beat. So take what you will with that!

*brOTP; zelvali. I think the two of them would have gotten close. They both have a sense of pettiness to them and an emotional immaturity that would have probably made them clique together really quick but also a deeply ingrained intelligence that I think rivals one another. (you can’t tell me Revali isn’t smart. He created a way to harness the winds to do his bidding; he has at least a basic understanding of aerodynamics and physics!) I think in a way they would bring out the best and worst in one another. Pushing each other to be better, smarter; while also destroying their sleep schedules and dietary habits.

*OTP; revalink, obviously. I am also a fan of miphvali though! I think the reason revalink draws me in so deeply is the tragedy that is losing a love you never really had. Like ships passing in the night of one another. The solidarity and connection they could have had if not only for their pride/fear could have made them an unstoppable team; instead they resented/ignored one another until it was far too late. By the time Revali was willing to acknowledge Link they were already dead and when he gets his second chance, the Link he knew was long gone. It’s heart breaking to think of what could have been.

{though I will say I am quite fond of the concept of them having a secret relationship pre-calamity. Finding comfort and solace in one another’s arms/beds. Even if they don’t know why they feel the pull to one another. I think they could have understood each other in a way not many others could have. They feel like perfect opposites. Both reacting differently to the pressures of life and I think if they had the chance, they could have really brought that other perspective to the other. Given each a sense of freedom. I like to imagine they had that, in some way, before the calamity happened.}

*nOTP; I don’t really have one for him. I don’t find myself having any visceral “no!” reactions to any ship. I’m not a fan of Sidvali (or any iteration of sidvalink). The love-triangle/polyamory solution to the ship war there just isn’t for me. (and is why I actively am writing my modern au to keep away from any of that romantic tension at all). Nothing wrong with the ship, just not my cup of tea.

*random hc; you get two from me! Revali is ridiculously fond of children. A pretty common hc in the fandom but my personal flavor of it is that he doesn’t even pretend he doesn’t like them. He goes full out Big Brother Mode when it comes to the village kids. He absolutely gives them piggyback rides and fixes their clothes/feathers and runs errands for them to make them happy. Also telling them stories and sharing his hammock with them. I think the entire village takes part in raising the fledglings but Revali really enjoys being the older brother to them all. Nice uncle Revali ☺️

another is weaving!! I hc that weaving is a HUGE part of rito culture and that Revali learned how to work a loom at a very young age. He still enjoys using one of the village looms (because he wouldn’t have space for one in his own hut) and using his backstrap loom and lucet fork during the winter months when training isn’t really an option. He probably can’t make the prettiest stuff, but it’s more for practicality than aesthetics. (he also has dozens of blankets and scarves. Some he’s made, some gifts from others. a certain little hylian is never cold when he comes to the village to visit).

*unpopular opinion; idk if it’s unpopular but it’s more of a fanon attitude I deeply disagree with. I don’t think Revali is nearly as stupid, oblivious or tsundere as everyone makes him out to be. I think he’s emotionally stunted and bratty, but not dumb or completely emotionally unaware at all. I like to think he’s cunning and crafty. It takes intelligence to do what he does. and it drives me absolutely INSANE when he’s boiled down to “I just can’t tell anyone about my feelings ever so I’ll just be mean and go hide over here until someone comes looking for me!!” stupid >:/

*song I associate with him; MAN. I’m gonna be honest, the songs I tend to associate with him are so through the lense of my modern au it’s not even funny (also my music taste is everywhere) so I’ll just throw a few on here.

Pride x New Magic Wand (remix)

Daddy Issues - The Neighborhood

mememe - bbn$, lentra

Smother- Daughter

Entertnmnt - Oklou

[and a few revalink ones because I need to:

Stranger Things- Anberlin

my strange addiction - Billie Eilish

Teeth - 5SoS

Bleary - Paper Route

Noticed - Mutemath ]

(if anyone is interested I do have a revalink/mod!revalink playlist on spotify!)

Favorite picture!

(that little bow flip KILLS ME)

[deathishauntedbyhumans]

Last Line Tag

I was tagged by @forfuckssakejim to share the last 2 lines of my WIPs!! I picked a couple of my fav WIPs that I will maybe finish. someday. sigh.

From a mutual pining Revalink WIP based around the song Love Songs and Lullabyes by Skittish:

He glances towards Link, and anything else he is planning to say promptly takes flight from his mind and from his tongue at the soft, amused smile on Link’s face.

He is stupidly handsome, for a Hylian. It is equal parts distressing and attractive.

From an alternate AU Road 96: Mile 0 fic based around the premise of Zoe and Kaito opening the file together and Kaito NOT ditching Zoe:

When Kaito drops into an exhausted heap on the couch, he sets the file down on the floor in front of him and wiggles until he’s hanging upside down, nose-to-paper. He squints at the file as the blood rushes to his head, welcoming the way it momentarily pushes all the thoughts out.

He wants to open the file so, so badly, but he’s finding very abruptly that he’s nearly as anxious about it as Zoe had been, albeit for different reasons.

From a Spirk fic I’ve had in my WIPs for AAAAAAGES based around Spock being. well. weak for Jim.

If he and Jim were not as close as they are, Spock would not have even given him this much information to begin with.

Jim, for any faults he possesses, is smarter than most believe him to be. Spock does not usually make the mistake of underestimating him, but he is also not usually fighting so hard to keep his mental shields in place.

Aaaaaaand another one I’ve had for aaaages (and tbh idk if I’ll ever finish sighhh) that I’m cheating a little on bc this is a little ways before the LAST lines written but they’re the better ones so. yeah. This is from a Megamind fic that I THINK I started writing with the intention of being Roxanne/Megamind/Metro Man (V shaped polyamory baybee) but god knows where it will go if I ever finish it:

She gives a shrill laugh, and Megamind winces a little in sympathy. “I don’t care! I try to care!! I try so, so hard to give a shit. But… God, I really, really don’t care if he doesn’t have enough mustard.”

Despite himself, Megamind laughs, a choked sound that he can’t help. Roxanne joins him after a moment, giggling.

“Just go to the store!” she exclaims through her laughter. “Go get some mustard!”

That’s all I’m gonna post! No obligation but tagging uhhh @sampoststuff @mc-tummy-blur @indigomuunz @bimbobrock

[ferne-exst]

A two part Revalink drabble that was going somewhere, but then didn’t.

Inspired by “Socks” by Dominic Fike

-

The hero of Hyrule stared at his shoes. He looked like a child, and not a young man that had slain the universe’s greatest evil three years ago.

I’m messy. Simply said, reeking with shame.

“Oh, do I know.” Revali said without missing a beat. The hero’s head did not raise. He actually seemed to wilt even more.

And irresponsible. I irritate you.

“Very much so.”

And I have twigs in my hair.

“That will be a real pain in my feathers to extract once we’re home, yes”. Revali said with exasperation, but with not an ounce less of fondness.

Link then huffed in frustration; whatever plan he had was definitely not working; whatever cryptic message he was trying to say wasn’t being understood. He finally looked Revali in the eye, to shoot him a glare of all things.

A real one, this time. His thick eyebrows were furrowed so hard, the skin between them wrinkled. And his lips weren’t pulled into that little pout Revali liked, but a tight, angry curl. The Rito just rolled his eyes.

“If this is an attempt to scare me away by listing all your flaws,” He moved closer to the hylian, beginning to almost circle him, “it’s not going to work.”

“I’m afraid I’ve come to love every little irritating thing about you.”

“You’re correct. You are messy, and some days, you make me want to pluck every feather out of my head out of stress. And you have many twigs in your hair.” His face wrinkled with disgust as he ripped one loose, leaves and all.

“But I’ve already made up my mind to clean up your messes for the rest of my life. And to preen this rats nest of yours even after it’s turned gray. And I do not see that as a burden, but a reward, and it is something I look forward to very much.”

He cupped Link’s face in his hands and gave him a doughy smile. Link could only stare back, mixed with a whole bunch of feelings

“And I’m - although I hate to admit it,” he let out the most dramatic sigh, that almost made Link chuckle even in his terrible mood, “a bit abrasive, over critical, certainly not the most sociable, and judgemental. Even though most of the judgment is warranted!” That last part did succeed in getting a small laugh out of him. Revali basked in it with pride, and he made sure the last part of his speech was extra sweet.

“Yet you continue to love me as I am, in my entirety. Why do you feel as if I’m not already devoted to giving you the same treatment?”

“Well, nice try. But you’re stuck with me.” He said with probably the cheekiest smile Link had ever seen on him. It made his heart ache. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything in return.

“Which honestly is a privilege more than anything.”

——

“Are you serious?”

Link just nodded his head in agreement, with a pleasant smile on his face. The same gleeful response he’s been giving his partner for the past ten minutes. It’s driving Revali mad.

Every flaw you have is a part of you. And I love you, so the rest doesn’t matter. Link shrugged, like that made perfect sense to him. Like he - a single little Hylian - had cracked the key to love, one of Hyrule’s greatest mysteries. To hell if he was one of Hylia’s favorites, she couldn’t have possibly whispered the secret of love into his ear.

Could she?

“That’s ridiculous.”

I don’t think so.

“You’re crazy.”

Maybe.

“You can’t say that, you don’t love everything.”

I do

Revali looked scandalized. “You can’t love my attitude.”

I do

“Or when I insult your hair, or your posture.”

The Rito had begun quickly pacing around the room in his stress and confusion, circling Link like a really confused hawk might its prey. Link just sat in the center, watching him circle around content, singing the same phrase.

I do.

“I’m completely sour, I’m insufferable.”

No matter what the Rito bit at him, Link didn’t budge. The warmth in that upturned gaze never faltered, and he smiled at him like a precious gemstone that he had found.

Even when he was thrown the harshest jabs or complaints Revali could muster, and his face scrunched up in anger at some of them, Link’s eyes still shone with an undying fondness. As long as Revali looked into his eyes, he’d know that there was someone madly in love with him. Any doubts of ever being loved could be thrown to the wind.

[going-fancognito]

Flirting 101 With Bird Disaster Revali:

Revali: Did it hurt?

Link: Uh, what?

Revali: *Plucks Link and drops him 20 feet over a lake*

Revali: Did it hurt when you fell for me?

Link: ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“...Well, did it?”

“Fuck you, and your stupid puns”

“Oh be quiet. You’re just mad you didn’t think of it first”

[umbreonix]

BOTW YOUTUBERS AU

Okay I had an idea:

The Champions are all famous youtubers specialized in different areas.

Revali: Skincare/makeup/fashion/other grooming. Prideful and a little snarky yet somehow the kind of sassy/shady you can’t help but sort of admire. He tells things as the are, no holds barred. A bit prissy. An impressive vocabulary.

Urbosa: Pro-athlete trainer who began running gym tutorials on youtube about the correct form for different weight exercises and other fitness tips. Intensely knowledgeable. Kind but scathing towards other fitness youtubers who give bad/harmful information. It’s a male-dominated area of of the site but she puts these men in their PLACE. (which is below her lol)

Mipha: Focused on ���wellness’. Started off with recording soothing yoga videos  Then she started doing more and more ‘5 minutes of positivity’ type things. She’s got such a gentle energy though so she could narrate paint drying and it would somehow make you feel relaxed. Her brother Sidon is the cameraman who gets more and more personally involved with her videos thoughout her channel’s life and she gets him to do things like bake with her or go to cute tea shops. Her fans are all in love with him and how supportive and optimistic he is (and muscle-y/model-like lol). They’re adorable.

Daruk: Speaking of adorable family stuff, Daruk started as a guest on Yunobo’s tiny gaming channel but the ‘playing ___ game with my uncle Daruk’ series BLEW UP. People love the loud himbo uncle who doesn’t really understand video games but is his doing his best. Yunobo is a good foil to his loud boisterousness and is patient in explaining video game topics and fanasty/scifi tropes. They also have an ongoing DND campaign.

Zelda: She runs a student life/study-centric channel. It includes study playlists and radios that she curates herself and a wide range of study tricks and tips for different types of learners. 

Link: MUCH Less famous but had a sudden burst in popularity. Outdoorsy/survivalist boy. He likes to go out and forage his dinner and cooks whatever he finds with just a cookpan and a campfire. Everything he makes looks sort of decadent. He’s rather stoic and doesn’t talk much even on video which makes him a bit of an oddity. His channel kind of feels like he’s not REALLY trying but the stuff he does is so unique he has a small following anyway.

This is Link’s first year invited to the Hyrule Convention where he will meet some of the others.

____

Because anything I think of naturally has a Revalink slant, maybe Revali is caught on some random convention-goer’s camera talking down to Link and it gets people angry. To save face with his fans and sponsors, he invites Link onto his channel for a ‘complete makeover’ episode because he clearly (in his humble opinion) needs it having gone to the convention in a Baja hoodie of all things!.

Link afterwards invites him to partake in one of his trademark field meals and Revali ruefully agrees. He is surprised when he gets there to find out Link doesn’t plan on filming it. (Which is insane because Revali is so much more famous and it would bring so much clout to his little channel) (not to mention he had assumed this was some sort of revenge plot to make him look silly or give him a villain’s edit)

Nah, it was just a date. They get to know each other off-camera   🥺 🥺

[ghirahimbo]

55 - RevaLink

I always love people interpretations of them figuring out how to kiss

I'm way too lazy to go look up the exact wording of the prompt, but it had something to do with awkward kisses? So here you go :D

Word count: 1363. Rated... T, probably? Could be any established revalink, though I had Pinesong-verse in mind.

--

The soft chirp of restless crickets signaled yet another nightfall, their high-pitched calls insistent, yet distant enough to fade into gentle ambiance. Wind whistled through the leafy forest, not as cold as the breezes through Rito Village that carried the chill of Hebra, but still cool enough that the Hylian sprawled across Revali’s chest was a welcome source of warmth and not an unbearable furnace. With the dinner fire burned down to embers, Link had laid his bedroll out beneath a tree and promptly abandoned it in favor of crawling into Revali's hammock instead—a tradition now, on cool nights like this one.

Though Link often fell asleep the instant he curled up, tonight he laid awake, his silence somehow thoughtful as he ran his hand along Revali’s beak. Revali was too far gone himself to think much of it, herded gently towards sleep by the rocking hammock and rhythmic stroke against his face.

Stroke… stroke… stroke… poke.

"Can you feel that?"

The rhythm disrupted, Revali’s bleary eyes cracked open.

"What?"

"Can you feel that?" Link repeated, poking Revali’s beak again.

...The insufferable man actually needed an answer. Grunting, Revali shifted around beneath him until his wing was freed.

"Inane," he muttered, flicking a finger at Link's nose. "Can you feel that?"

Scrunching up his face, Link went on undeterred. He'd long since learned not to take Revali’s moods too seriously.

"It's just—" Link stretched one leg out as far as it would go, pressing the tip of his largest toe against one of Revali’s long talons. "I don't think you can feel this very well… so I wondered if it was the same up here?"

He stroked the length of Revali’s long beak up and down again in demonstration, and it took everything in him not to shiver. Ah.

"No, it's…" How to explain while caught beneath that distracting caress? "I can feel that you're touching my talon, if not much else… but the beak is more…"

"Sensitive," Link finished, catching it in both his hands now. This time Revali did shiver, his feathers ruffling lightly.

"Mmm."

Presuming Link's curiosity satisfied with no further questions forthcoming, Revali closed his eyes, seeking out that soft space of sleep once more. His heart thumped just slightly harder than normal, and he breathed in deeply, hoping to settle—

"But is it the same all the way up?" Link asked, poking now at the tip of Revali’s beak, and his eyes snapped back open. Walking his fingers again up its length, Link met Revali’s baleful stare with a questioning look. So he was feeling experimental tonight, was he?

"I could still banish you to your own bed," Revali grumbled, though Link didn't even bat an eye. With an explosive sigh, he knocked Link's hands aside to brush at his own beak vigorously, trying to relieve some of the tingle of stimulation. "I feel things… less… towards the tip, and more along the base. Does that satisfy your midnight inquisition?"

"Almost." Though Revali couldn't quite make out his face in the darkness, Link's voice was just a bit too innocent as he inched up Revali’s chest, propping himself on his elbows for leverage. "So you're saying that this doesn't feel as good as this?" And he pressed his lips twice against Revali’s beak—first at its very tip, and again three inches up. 

Revali gave himself a moment to clear his throat before responding.

"They're both… fine," he said. In the dim light of the stars, he could just see Link’s lips purse.

"Fine," Link repeated, and placed another Hylian kiss halfway up his beak. The tip of his tongue peeked out this time, leaving the smallest impression of wetness behind. "But this is better?"

"Marginally." Revali spared a moment's pride for how collected he managed to sound—not at all reflective of how he felt. "To be honest, the difference is too minuscule to really—"

"This is better, though," Link said decisively, his kisses moving closer to the corner of Revali’s beak. From the floundering depths of his mind, Revali agreed, though whether from the placement of the kiss or its confidence he couldn't have said even to himself. "And this…"

He ran a devious finger down the underside of Revali’s beak, and Revali very nearly whimpered. Link had discovered that particular point of sensitivity early on, standing just short enough beside Revali to reach it easily.

"This spot should be the best of all—"

As Link's treacherous lips approached, Revali quickly turned his head. He stopped short, and a taut silence stretched between them. Then he sighed, drawing back to rest his head again on Revali’s chest. From so close, Link couldn't possibly miss his fluttering heart.

"It does feel good, right?" Link asked, his quiet voice muffled by feathers. Swallowing, Revali nodded. "But you don't like it." Another, shorter pause. "Are you really that tired?"

"I can't… reciprocate," Revali said stiffly, finally trusting his voice enough to speak. "Your way of kissing. I can't…"

He had observed the Hylian method of kissing before, watching more astutely in recent days now that it had practical application, and—well, putting aside how messy and strange that mashing together of soft lips seemed, he was nonetheless incapable of replicating it. As for the Rito method of nuzzling, he had tried it a few times and Link had put up with it well enough, but without the friction of rubbing beaks he suspected there was little exciting about it.

"I don't feel comfortable receiving where I cannot give in return," Revali said at last, hoping that made his point clear. He thought it had, though Link still huffed against his chest.

"I can't exactly reciprocate when you braid my hair," Link pointed out dryly. "Or at least, you wouldn't want me to."

Despite his discomfort, Revali couldn't help but grunt in amused agreement. If size equalled dexterity then Link's tiny Hylian fingers should have made the tightest, most intricate braids, but that had so far not proven to be the case.

"It's not the same."

"Well…" Link's voice grew more muffled as he pressed further into Revali's chest feathers, and Revali had to lean forward to catch his words. "Well, um. I mean. You could try that, uh… nipping thing? I've seen other Rito do it." His last mumbled words were barely audible. "With their beaks."

"Nipping," Revali repeated blankly, casting around in his mind for what Link might have seen. "You mean grooming? Because I already—that is, you don't really have any feathers for me to…"

"Oh!" Link said weakly. Intrigued, Revali noticed that the face pressed against him had warmed considerably—practically a furnace now despite the cold wind. "Is that what they were…? No, it's fine." His voice strengthened, his head lifting a fraction. "It's fine. I don't mind if you can't kiss me back, you know. If you don't like it I'll stop, but… I like to think I could make you feel… good."

Craning around again so that he hovered at the point where the underside of Revali's beak met his neck, Link still waited the long moments it took for Revali to jerk his head in assent before moving in further, nipping at the tender spot with his lips again and again as Revali’s breath caught. This… wasn't so bad, really. Loving Link had always felt like some form of surrender. Maybe this once he could just… accept.

Nipping…

Link's slender ears hovered just to the side of Revali’s beak, turned pink by a mixture of cold and fading embarrassment. Those had proven sensitive to the brush of Revali’s feathers before, so maybe…

Experimentally, he pulled his beak free to nip at one of the tips, not hard enough to break the skin but still firm enough to be felt—and Link let out a strangled gasp. Interesting.

"Oh," he breathed, jerking back to stare at Revali wide-eyed. "Oh, yes."

Very interesting.

This time, it was Revali who pursued with a devious look of his own—not that Link put up much of a fight, taking to surrender much more easily than Revali ever had. Maybe there was reciprocity to be found here after all.

[coconi]

For the writing game: Revalink (of course, romantic) and no.9 🙏🏻🍫

09. — chocolate

(I turned this into a modern, high school AU of sorts where the two idiots haven't been dating very long. Hope that's fine with you!)

"You can't be serious."

Never in his time spent on planet Earth has Revali been so grateful for the scant few inches he has on Link, allowing him to edge away from his—his partner's advances with relative ease. Willing his feathers to behave, he shoots a baleful glance at the oddly-shaped treat held firmly between Link's teeth, pointed straight at Revali's beak like the brittlest of blades.

A clear invitation.

Revali had known he was in for something when their last class of the day ended and Mipha placed a box of chocolates — Pocky, she'd called them — in Link's hands with a wink. Trepidation had pooled in Revali's gut then, as a spark of devious excitement lit up Link's eyes in a way that was decidedly not attractive. Not in the least.

So unattractive in fact, that Revali still refuses to meet Link's expectant gaze, focusing instead on the offending treat that keeps on poking at his face. Link's little huffs of breath are visible in the winter air as he steps on his toes to invade Revali's personal space, and his gloved hands clutch the box hard enough for its contents to snap.

How foolish.

After a few more fruitless attempts, Link mumbles something that sounds suspiciously like "pretty please". Revali scoffs at that, adjusting his scarf more securely around his neck despite how uncomfortably warm he feels underneath it.

"Now, it may have escaped your attention, as is often the case with you, but I happen to have a beak." He taps it with a feathered finger. "This absurd game of yours won't work on me."

He gets a hum and a pointed jab to his cheek in lieu of a reply. Irked, Revali chances a look at Link before he can catch himself, and he curses under his breath when he gets the brunt of what Zelda has affectionately dubbed "Link's Hylian retriever eyes", infamous all across campus for their effectiveness.

Whatever Revali may claim, everyone and their mother knows he is far from immune to their power.

Another poke and a pitiful whine, and Revali can feel his resolve slip through his fingers like sand as seconds mercilessly tick by. He schools his expression into what he hopes is nothing but miffed resignation, rolling his eyes for added effect.

"...Oh, fine," he sighs.

Link barely has time to beam at him before Revali leans forward and takes a big bite from the chocolate stick, almost grazing Link's lips in his frazzled haste. He sees no point in playing along with careful nibbles, after all: there is no kissing to be had as a prize for his troubles, and the cloying sweetness of cheap chocolate against his tongue feels like some weird form of mockery — a consolation prize.

Seeing Link frozen in place with a tiny piece of chocolate still peeking out of his mouth — what did he expect, really? — does not help Revali's ego in the slightest, even if the deep blush upon his cheeks is an ever welcome sight.

"What did I tell you? There's little point to such games when one of the parties involved doesn't have li—"

Revali's words die in his throat when Link's hand yanks on his scarf with surprising strength, forcing him down with an undignified squawk. Chapped lips chase the corner of his beak like they've done countless times in the course of the past few weeks, and Revali fails to suppress a shiver when Link's tongue darts out, pushing the last bit of chocolate into his open mouth.

"I don't know about that," Link says, licking chocolate off his lips and wiping a stray crumb off Revali's beak with a grin. "This works fine for me."

Snow begins to fall, peppering Link's hair with specs of white that appear to shimmer with the street lights, framing that infuriating, self-satisfied, disarming smile of his, and Revali—

Revali finds it incredibly hard to swallow the sweet treat melting in his mouth.

[avenin7]

So I was reading a your revalink posts, I was very intrigued with your backstory in regards to how Link is coming to terms with Rito culture and Revali's mannerisms. With that said, I came across the post detailing how Link received the two beaks scars on his body. With one being on accident and the other being intentional, and how we saw Revali and Link's reaction to when it happened for the first time. Aka, when Revali did by accident.

So I was curious to know what Revali's reaction was, when Link asked him to scar him with his beak intentionally. Was Revali surprised? Loss for words at the request? Happy that Link is being more accepting of his cultural norms? etc...

“You want me to what?” He asks incredulously, single yellow brow raising and wing flapping against his words. Link’s face flushes hard and he doesn’t quite resist the urge to scratch as his neck in embarrassment. Which only grows stronger when he notices Revali’s eye tracking the movement of his hand.

‘I want you to mark me again. Permanently.’ Link keeps his signs short. Hoping the feeling of wanting to crawl under his bed and die would leave him soon.

Revali lets out a shuddery breath, coo in the undertone of it even if Link knows he’s trying to hide it, as he stalks closer. The sound of talons tapping against the stone floor of his room. “So you want me to deliberately scar you?” Revali moves until he’s right in Link’s space, head tilted to the side to make room for his beak while still keeping their eyes locked. “Why?”

Link’s brain stutters for a moment. How to explain? His hands raise and lower, once, twice, before he can formulate what he wants to say. ‘I know. Visible ways of affection, are important. To you.’ Revali’s beak tilts to brush against his jaw as he watches the movement of Link’s hands. ‘I want. To give you that. I want that too. I liked, when you did it before.’ At this he can’t quite meet the ritos eye. Pushing through instead, letting his hands move faster. ‘It wouldn’t be something that everyone would know about. But We would know it’s there. Nobody would question why I have another scar.’ At this his lips curl into a rueful little smile and Revali’s responding huff fans across his face. Their eyes meet again. Navy feathers part under his fingers as he combs them through his jaw, caressing the back of his neck. “I want-“ to be yours. He doesn’t say but he hopes Revali understands.

Wings wrap around his waist and brings them flush into one another. The tip of his beak rubs against his neck and sends a shudder down his spine and he can’t resist running his hand down Revali’s bicep, burying his fingers into the secondary feathers resting against his hip. Often he doesn’t know what to label the two of them. Their relationship is an enigma to him. But this he enjoys. He thinks Revali might be one of the only people who understands him; who he understands. He tilts his head until his forehead is brushing against Revali’s jaw. Not really able to mimic the ritoian vocalizations, he resorts to affection to convey how he feels when his words fail.

I like you. I want you. Please be mine.

Revali’s head rubs against his. Nuzzling his face until his skin tingles from the feel of his feathers before he’s pulling back. Studying Link’s face for something he doesn’t know. Content with whatever it is he finds he brushes away Link’s hair from his neck. Carefully preening it back until he’s satisfied and with one quick movement his beak is latched onto the skin in the hollow of his throat.

The sharp bite of pain as Revali purposely pinches the skin, tugging it so his beak slices into his flesh, makes the air catch in his throat. Chest constricting as his heart hammers against his ribcage. Head swimming in dizzy euphoria.

Revali’s kek-ing laugh follows him when he pulls away and when Link’s head finally clears he can see the blood against the charcoal tip of his beak, smearing against the yellow of his bill. It makes him feel hot all over. The rito pulls back properly, eye catching his own and Link can see how blown his pupil is. He’s not as immune to this as he likes to think he is. “Was that sufficient?” Link would think Revali sounds self-righteous if he didn’t know him better. If he couldn’t hear the breathy trill hidden under his tone. He nods. Neck stinging awfuly and he reaches to touch. Fingers coming away bloody. He nods again. “Good.” He coos, most definitely self-righteous now. Feathers fluffing out as he shakes his head. Link gulps, trying to calm his heart with a few ragged breaths as Revali pulls away to grab something to clean his beak and Link’s neck with.

By the time Revali returns he almost has a normal heartbeat again. Tilting his head to give the rito some room as he dabs at Link’s cut with a damp rag. “I’m sure it’ll scar just fine if you take good care of it.” He’s surprisingly gentle; with his words and his actions. Taking great care to not over agitate where he just bit and Link appreciates it. Even if every spark of pain sends an excited ripple down his spine.

He takes the rag from Revali’s fingers, tossing it carelessly aside to instead sink his hands into the plush feathers of his hips. Pressing them together and bumping his nose along the bottom of his bill in his journey to kiss the underside of his throat. Revali’s feathers rise, whether out of embarrassment or something else; it gives Link the opportunity he needs to nip his teeth softly on Revali’s own flesh, immediately kissing the spot to soothe the non-existent ache. He pulls back to look Revali in the eye.

“Thank you.” He kisses him again. This time under his fledgling patch. “For this.” Revali looks at him for a long moment before he’s tipping his head down, cresting him properly before he has to pull himself away, shaking himself out.

“Yes well, how could I not? You’ve given me an opportunity to make my claim and show everyone who their little knight belongs to.” He flips his braids, self satisfied and smug and Link’s heart tugs in his chest with fondness even with the distance growing between them. It makes him smile well after Revali has returned to Tabantha. Touching his neck every time he wishes to remember just exactly where his heart lies.

[botwstoriesandsuch]

Soooooo Revali and Link would be really cute together. Revali might be able to help Link overcome his anxieties and Link's support might help Revali with his insecurities. A very lovely couple bc they are interesting characters foils. Lovely ship.

You know it’s been a while since I’ve gone off the rails about how perfect Revalink is and in an effort to maintain some semblance of quality and sanity on this blog I’ll try not to to scream incoherently but yes you’re absolutely right they are perfect. Ok that’s it moving on. Nothing else to see here folks

OK so there’s this writing technique called “facade breaking” that is basically the principle that you have two characters who foil each other, but in ways that they both become better people because of each other. A character’s facade, or sometimes just called “the lie,” is the mindset or idea that they cling too that makes them who they are at the start of the story. It’s the image of themselves they want to keep that initially makes them hesitant or resistant to change. The breaking down of that lie/facade in order to reveal the “truth” or reality is what a character arc is. If you want a quick example of this, you can look at King Rhoam in Age of Calamity. 

The facade of his character is that he doesn’t have time to be caring for his daughter because he needs to keep up appearances and focus on the Calamity. There isn’t time to coddle Zelda or let her be her own person, it’s just all about her powers. That facade starts to wear down over the course of the story, there’s cracks in it whenever Zelda and Terrako are together, and especially when he is alone, given solemn looks for the audience to see. However, the existence of a facade in the first place means that characters are resistant to the truth, and therefore resistant to change. The story has not yet put Rhoam through enough struggle to get him to change his viewpoint, which is why even until the day of Calamity, he is still insistent in his strict ways. The facade is only completely broken down during the moment of highest tragedy, which in a three act structure is usally the mid-point, in our case, the day of Calamity. When facades are broken and characters are faced with the truth--in our case, Rhoam sees that his abrasive and almost emotionally abusive actions towards his daughter were for nothing and he regrets not focusing more on loving and caring for his daughter because that was really all that mattered--that is the point in their arc where they actively change. Thus, for the rest of the story as Rhoam reunites with Zelda and lets her lead the reclamation of Hyrule, he supports her as his daughter more openly, and by the end of the game that aspect of his character is changed for the better. 

Ok got all that? So the thing with Revalink is that they are both foils, AND facade breakers for each other. [A foil is just a character that is opposite another to highlight each other’s characteristics. They don’t necessarily bring out the best in each other or be an inciter in their character arc. A good example might be Bojack and Mr. Peanutbutter if you watch Bojack Horseman. They’re characters that foil each other, but they don’t both break each other’s facades. A lot of the work for Mr. Peanutbutter’s case is done by his actions and the events around him.] Like we saw with King Rhoam, the things that break a character’s facade doesn’t necessarily need to be people, BUT for the purposes of romance, it is much more interesting if they are. 

The reason why enemies to lovers and foil characters are so often shipped is because you can already “sense” that potential for facade breaking in those characters. You can see how, when pitted against each other, or otherwise, they can improve the other. 

But the thing is for relationships like Revalink, a character being a facade breaker doesn’t stop at just, being the character that breaks their facade. That is a different trope, like one you might see in Twilight or some Mary Sue fanfic--the perfect girl or whatever meets the badboy and the girl “fixes” the badboy and they kiss. That is not inherently bad, but it is the construction of one character at the cost of another’s. And that’s what makes Revalink so great, because you can clearly see that [in fanon, I should mention] shipping them still maintains the contruct of their character, that their flaws can still exist, and that their character arcs don’t necessarily clash to make room for only one, but instead intertwine and weave like two waveforms. 

I’m not saying that it’s impossible for ships like Sidlink to have a “mutual facade breaker” format, but I will argue that Revalink is the best example of it. Link’s flaws is Revali’s strength. Revali’s mindset opposes Link’s. Revali’s facade is opposite and in direct conflict with Link’s. One believes that they don’t need anyone but themselves, and failure is only a consequence of them not being/trying enough. The other sees isolation as a burden, but takes it up anyhow because destiny says that only one hero can save the world. One hides truth and insecurity with a veil of arrogance and witty remarks, the other does it in complete silence. If you put these two characters together it is physically impossible for them to not break each other’s facade. It is literally impossible for them to not change each other in some aspect.   

Interesting romance isn’t just about seeing how characters like each other and get together. I mean yes, Coffeeshop AUs and the like are all well and fun don’t get me wrong. But some of the most interesting relationships that get you really invested are the ones where characters break facades, where you can actively see and compare a character’s past and present and see how they have changed for the better. The art of breaking facades gives so much potential for conflict and tenderness alike. And when the story’s arching towards it ends, and Revali and Link are together, you can look at the writing and the process that led them there and come to a very earned conclusion that yes, “they were made for each other.”