#i forgot to mention it but aryll is link's sister in this hc from one of my prev posts about link's family

[amiharana]

Ok here's my headcanon. I always thought Link's first love was archery, he seems to be a jack of all trades but I think the first weapon he picked up was a bow. I think (besides Nintendo giving botw so much emphasis on the bow) within Hyrule Kingdom Hateno has a strong archery culture with all the hunting and the horseback archery range. And Links early proficiency with a bow basically made a future in combat necessary for him so he practiced with a sword as well and learned spearmanship from Mipha (and he was remarkably quick to pick up on those) but after he pulled the Master Sword he spent most of his time with a sword..

But of course all the best archers in the world are in Rito village. And as a kid Link always wished to one day shoot with a Rito bow and he definitely knew all the names of the famous Rito archers and when news came of a young archer near his age that was quickly becoming one of the greatest of all time of course Link remembered that name too😌

Anyway it's funny to imagine if when Revali and Link first met Revali already held a grudge because of the sword while Link was completely starstruck, left speechless, didn't know whether to ask for an autograph.. well that was my headcanon. Can you revalink-ify it🙂

anon this ask is so cute thank you, i will revalinkify it to the best of my ability 🫡

i never actually thought about how much emphasis there is on bows in botw's hyrule and when you mentioned hateno having a strong archery culture, i was like What are you talking about... but then i remembered the abandoned equestrian course just in front of the village and ur so true about the horseback archery range. maybe link's mother was a horseback archer and ran the equestrian course back in the day, so link inherited that skill from her? thinking about teeny baby link feeding his mother's horse for the first time, the horse gently taking the apple from his hand, and link's eyes widening in awe at the tenderness of such a gentle beast. thinking about him riding a horse for the first time, learning to shoot with his mother and getting a bullseye on his first try. baby archer link 🥺

i can totally imagine link really wanting to go to rito village and live among the best archers of hyrule, knowing the names of all the legendary rito archers and begging his parents to take a trip there, or begging his father to work his magic as a knight of hyrule and somehow get him a swallow bow, or even a falcon bow!

a traveling merchant once came through hateno with a book on the history and legends of the rito, and link used his entire allowance to buy it... thinking about link memorizing every rito legend by heart, and infodumping to everyone he knows like his mom takes him and his sister to the market and the shopkeeper is like Hey link how are you doing? and link is just like Did you know the legendary Rito Warrior Dronoc, for which Dronoc's Pass is named after, was rumored to have the longest wingspan of any Rito who's ever lived? or going to school to cut off the teacher being like Actually Teacher, Kilsie of the Rito is regarded as one of the pioneers of the art of archery, and— 🤓 the teacher tells link to go sit outside, to which he just shrugs and takes his little book of rito legends with him to read for the rest of the class.

when link gets a hold of his first swallow bow, he cries. he almost refuses to shoot with it because it's so pretty and he doesn't want it to break. he eventually does use it, because his dad is like What was the point of me getting you a bow from literally across the country if you're not gonna use it. it's link's favorite bow and he maintains and polishes it very frequently, he's almost never seen without it.

just link being a little fanboy for rito legends 😭 i just know he was pissed as fuck when the master sword chose him and he had to use it all the time. the master sword comes out easy in his grip and while everyone else there is oohing and aahing and clapping, link is there like >:[ yelling ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!!!!! with it echoing in throughout the korok forest like yeah he's good at using literally any weapon, but bows really are his first love <3

now link being a fanboy for revali...... mmmm what a refreshing concept. it takes a whole different spin on the revali's flap memory

i think they would find out about each other around the same time, when they're both about 14-15. of course, revali would know about link, the person who pulled the legendary sword that seals the darkness at the tender age of 13, the person who's prophesied to save hyrule from the oncoming evil. revali scoffs and dismisses the news when it reaches rito village; he's a sword-wielder who probably knows nothing of archery and has no appreciation for it. and most importantly, he's one of those flightless, fleshy hylians. ugh. (spoiler alert revali, you fall in love with that flightless fleshy hylian) he goes back to his training and endless victories in archery competitions, and does his best to forget link even exists. he knows he can prove himself to be better than a stupid hylian prophecy.

meanwhile, link is now living in hyrule castle town with his father after he pulls the master sword and he's pretty miserable. he's far away from home with classist city kids in a strange place, and he misses the brisk air of his home, he misses his mother and sister and the horses and the archery range at home; he doesn't like it in castle town very much. at least there's an archery range here, both static and horseback, and he's brought his favorite swallow bow with him. it's actually easier to keep updated with news from rito village here though, since castle town is the center of the country and all news comes through here, especially when link hears about the seven-time winner of rito village's archery competitions, the rito child who's broken nearly all of the rito's legendary archery records.

link's interest is piqued and he grabs for every paper about it and talks to every journalist who's covered the story and every rito who visits the castle. alexa play OMG by new jeans because link just keeps on asking "who is he?" (he's the one that's living in your system, baby 😩🎶)

he finally finds out the name of this rito child prodigy after a week of endless searching and asking around. his name is revali, they tell him. he's just about your age. and link just stares with wide glimmering eyes. revali. it's a pretty cool name for a rising legend. he says it again, over and over to himself, liking the way forms in his mouth. (and if link blushes thinking about revali being the same age as him and wondering if the rito is as pretty as his name, he did not shut up aryll i didn't say that NO give me that article back)

some time passes. revali is now a 15-time winner of rito village's seasonal archery competitions and is now in the ranks of participating in the national competitions, where all races across hyrule can show off their skills and compete. it's the first time that link gets to see revali in action.

and whew, when link sees revali for the first time at the hyrule national archery competition, a sleek-feathered rito boy standing tall and proud, the sun reflecting off his gorgeous navy blue plumage, tossing his braids over his shoulder... he blushes so hard that aryll asks him if he's getting sunburned. "no!" link nearly yells, covering his face with his hands. his face really is burning, oh goddesses this is embarrassing.

aryll follows his line of sight then rolls her eyes. "of course it's the bird boy that's got you redder than batch of sunshrooms." link tells her to shut up, albeit still through his hands, and she rolls her eyes again and complies.

the competition starts with another division, but link can't bring himself to care, keeping his eyes only on revali, who's off to the side with the rest of the rito village team. he is as pretty as his name.

link is on the edge of his seat when it's revali's turn to shoot and he is not disappointed. revali hits over 30 bullseyes in the span of a few seconds, completely destroying the targets and even splintering through the arrows that had been previously shot, all without breaking a sweat. revali must have aimed an arrow of love at link through all of that somehow, because link is deeply, completely, absolutely in love in with the rito now ❤️ revali tosses his braids over his shoulders again to look up at the audience and link swears they made eye contact, his breath catching at the emeralds revali has for eyes glinting proudly in the sunlight.

at the end of the competition, link rushes down the stands, hoping for a chance to see the rito, get his autograph, talk to him even, but alas it's not meant to be. the rito gets swarmed by many others from the audience and the entire rito village team moves away from the field to retire to their rooms. it doesn't bring link's spirits down, though. he'll meet revali again, he knows it, he can feel it in his heart.

can you guess when the next they meet again is? :)

more time passes, and link is now a champion and zelda's personal knight and is going through his self-imposed silence era. his love for archery remains strong and alive, but he's forced to use the master sword more often these days and he hasn't had a chance to take his favorite swallow bow to the bower and have it maintained. he doesn't want to risk breaking it on the field, so he keeps it at home hung on the wall by his bed. he still thinks about revali, the rito boy who's completely captured his heart at every archery competition, with his dark glossy feathers and piercing green eyes. if link was like the other city girls, he'd be sighing and daydreaming about revali all day (he totally does and he gets whacked in the head during training for slacking off. aryll laughs her ass off at him for it). he wonders when they'll meet again, hopefully soon.

so when zelda mentions that they're going to rito village to check on the rito champion's progress with the divine beast and do diplomacy with the elder, link perks up. he still hasn't been able to visit the village he's desperately wanted to see as a child, the village where the legends of archery were born. maybe he can bring his swallow bow and have it fixed by a rito bower there! even though zelda fucking hates his guts, it can't bring his spirit down. link feels like a child again :) though, link wonders who the rito champion is. zelda didn't mention them by name, only by title, and they're the only champion link hasn't met yet. he wonders...

when they reach rito village, zelda sends him off so she can go talk with the elder and tells him that she doesn't need his protection because she'll be in the hands of the rito guards, so scram. he rolls his eyes when she turns away but does as she says and wanders. rito village is more beautiful than he imagined. the cold air and the breathtaking view of the hebra mountains in the background reminds him of home at hateno which was close to the ever-snowing mount lanayru. the rito people are kind and welcoming and greet him as champion, offering him all sorts of things. he denies, of course, because it's not necessary but indicates that he's very grateful for their hospitality. they smile and seem to have no problem with his silence. he likes it here a lot. he could see himself living here, after the calamity is defeated...

as he wanders, link ends up on a rather large platform with a rito insignia on it, but compared to the other symbols of the rito in the village, this one has wings on it. when he looks up to the sky, the grand divine beast vah medoh is soaring above him in all its ancient stone glory. of the divine beasts he's seen, link thinks this one is the most beautiful. maybe the insignia is representative of medoh?

but as he stands in the center of the platform, staring at the beast of sky, a strong gust of wind begins to swirl at his feet, stronger and stronger until a twister forms in front of him just off the lip of the platform where a dark blue figure shoots up and—

surprise! it's none other than his one and only years-long infatuation, the master archer revali of the rito. as revali lands on the railing of the platform, he crosses his arms and stares down at link with narrowed eyes. link thinks he's going to faint; the rito is so much more beautiful up close. he wills himself not to blush or pass out as revali begins to speak to him (oh god even his voice is nice—)

anyways revali goes through his whole spiel as he does in the revali's flap memory, and link just stares with wide eyes trying not to drool or blush or make a fool of himself because oh my god it's him it's revali he's the rito champion oh my god are we going to be working together ohhhh my god why didn't zelda tell me this i'm going to throw up (positive)

at some point in the memory, revali hops off the railing to circle link, goading him and basically being like I'm Better Than Just Being Your Sidekick Just Because You Have Some Special Little Sword and challenging link to settle the score or whatever, but here link is not paying attention to any of that and is just staring with stars in his eyes because revali is really close to him and he can see just how glossy and shiny revali's feathers are, he can count just how many of his cheek feathers are red—

"hey! are you even listening to a word i say?!" revali snaps and it breaks link's fanboyish haze. he stares at the rito who stands in front of him now, glaring at link with those piercing emerald eyes. he's so beautiful. "you're not even listening to me, are you? well, you—"

"can i get your autograph?" link blurts suddenly. oop. he was not supposed to break his silence. his face immediately flushes pink and his hands fly to cover his mouth, eyes wide.

revali blinks. "...what?" he says, caught off guard, his stance faltering.

"um. your autograph," link repeats, his voice considerably meeker. god this is so embarrassing he's embarrassing himself, revali probably thinks he's a freak. "um, uh i was... i've been a big fan. i watched you at your first hyrule national archery competition. you were amazing."

"you... you did?" revali says, still stunned. his eyes have widened, staring incredulously at link. "you thought i was...?"

"yeah," link whispers. he's practically hiding behind his hands now, feeling the hot flush of embarrassment through his skin. "yeah, of course you were! you completely destroyed the competition, you're basically a legend yourself! you hit more bullseyes in a few seconds then i've ever been able to do in few minutes..." link trails off, hands falling to his sides then hiding behind his back. he looks away shyly, still feeling the burn of embarrassment on his cheeks.

"i've always been more of a bow guy," link mumbles, "and read all about legendary rito archers as a kid. my dad even got me a swallow bow, um... being able to visit rito village was always something i wanted to do as a kid and after i saw you at the competition, i... um... well, i, err—"

"what about the sword?" revali interrupts. link looks up at him and revali's face has an imperceptible expression on it, one that link can't place. revali tilts his chin at the master sword on link's back. "i'd have thought you were more of a sword-wielder than an archer."

link looks away again and scratches the back of his head, sighing. "i mean, it's fine? i have some sort of prodigal skill with all kinds of weapons, and swords are probably one of my stronger suits. but i've loved archery since i was a kid, so..." link looks in a different direction; he can't bear to make eye contact with revali, he might melt. "i'm not gonna call myself a master of it in front of an actual master like yourself, but... i'm not too bad at it."

link kicks at the wooden floor of the landing. "this particular sword has too much responsibility weighing it down anyway," he mumbles.

when he does decide to look back at the rito, revali is staring at him, watching link's every movement and studying his face. "you mean to tell me that the hylian champion actually prefers bows and that you're a fan of mine?" he says. there's no bite or scorn in his voice; it's a genuine question.

link nods. "if it was up to me, there should be a master bow, or something. i'd rather wield that than a sword."

revali stares at him for a couple moments, before snorting and tilting his beak up, tossing his braids over his shoulder. "well," revali mutters, "if you were actually interested in such, i'm working on creating exactly that."

link's eyes widen and suddenly the embarrassment dissipates out of him. "really?" he says, breathlessly, excitedly.

revali glances at him and his prideful expression melts a little. "yes," he says carefully. "it's better than a swallow bow or a falcon bow, or both of them combined. it's going to be the strongest bow in the entirety of hyrule."

"can i see it?" link says excitedly. but then he remembers— revali doesn't seem to like him very much because of the master sword :( so his face falls and he takes a step back. "or— never mind, it's okay if you don't want to. i'm overstepping, you're the master revali, i should—"

"i didn't say no," revali says abruptly. he seems to regret speaking so harsh, and his voice softens a margin. "i didn't say no," revali repeats, more gently. "i wouldn't be averse to... showing you my precious craft. after all, it seems you have some semblance of intellect to appreciate the art of archery, after all." revali looks away, crossing his arms.

"really? you'll show me?" link whispers, eyes impossibly wider. revali looks back at him and they maintain each other's gaze for a moment before the rito gives one slight nod. link could cry from happiness right now. "oh. oh, thank you master revali, i'm really grateful—"

"just 'revali' is fine," the rito says, voice significantly softer than before. "we'll be working together as champions... it's better we establish some rapport and familiarity with each other now." somehow, revali's eyes seem to be less piercing as he keeps link's gaze. link can't pinpoint what it is, but he thinks he likes it a little more.

"okay," link says, quiet and breathless and still starstruck. "okay. thank you then, revali. i look forward to working with you, and getting to see your master bow."

revali hums and bows his head slightly in response. "and i you," he replies. and they're quiet, staring at each other for a couple more moments until revali speaks again.

"you said your archery skills were sufficient," the rito says. "i wish to see what such sufficiency looks like from the wielder of the master sword and someone who claims to have prodigal talent over every weapon."

link tilts his head to the side. "you... want to watch me shoot?"

revali nods once. "most rito train at the flight range, but that place isn't meant for your flightless kind. fortunately, we have plenty of space for grounded archery as well." revali looks away. "only if you wish to."

"i'd love to," link whispers, with stars in his eyes again. "when do we...?"

"now, if you'd like," revali replies. he pauses, looking like he wants to say something else. "i'll... take you there."

"okay," link says. "i'd like that. i'm fine with that."

"okay," revali responds and they're staring at each other again in silence. as much as he doesn't want to, link can feel the pink flush of shyness return to his cheeks, as much as he wills them away. something changes in revali's expression, something link can't name.

but he's met his idol, the master archer revali, who's also the champion of the rito who he'll be working alongside to save hyrule. they'll be around each other a lot, hopefully, and perhaps they could even become friends... or even closer... anyway, this is the best day of link's life!

i imagine they start spending a lot of time together and getting to know each other, revali asking questions about how link came to love archery and discussing rito vs hateno archery, what make up the best qualities for bows and arrows, talking about their favorite rito legends, revali recommending his favorite bower to mend link's swallow bow, revali giving link tips on his form and how to shoot more accurately... revali showing link the flight range even though he can't train there really and link wistfully wishing he could (and the idea of the paraglider is beginning to formulate in revali's mind teehee). when link has to leave to the next place with zelda, they don't really want to part ways but they do and both link and revali are somewhat low-spirited after they do.

link who starts writing letters to revali from wherever he is in hyrule and telling revali not to write back because he doesn't stay in the same place for too long, but that he hopes he can visit again soon. they still both have that odd one-sided rivals to friends tension happening, especially with revali who does a lot of analytical staring before he allows himself to relax and interact with link, and link, who now has to come to terms with his huge crush on revali and trying desperately trying to hide it. they're both fawking freak weirdos lawl but they're cute weirdos trying to get to know each other better and maybe be friends :) maybe be more :))