#they make me lose it

[caramel-catss]

suthorn boy

on ao3

word count: 1.4k

concept work about link and zelda not knowing each other before eow happens

Zelda just can't get her mind off the boy who saved her. She visits his house, hoping to learn more about him.

From the beginning, he stood out to her.

A boy clad in green throws himself into battle against Zelda’s kidnapper with seemingly no fear. His face is set quietly, cautiously; he practically has no expression. White, stone-like eyes gleam as he fires an arrow at her cage.

The mysterious boy idles in her mind from there. He’s pushed back by other things: fleeing from the rift, reuniting with her father, escaping the castle… the entire day becomes a blur.

Hints of him are everywhere—the abandoned house in Suthorn, talks of a swordsman. Zelda quietly pockets these thoughts. They feel important.

Her suspicions are reinforced, then, when she comes face-to-face with the boy once more. Violet voidmagics drip off of him as he turns, corpse-like, and faces her with ruby-red eyes. Zelda knits her eyebrows. Tri clings to her shoulder, then hides behind her. 

Zelda backs up, clinging to the Trirod. The boy steps forward in a hypnotic rhythm, then leaps, brandishing his sword. Zelda spins out of the way, gasping in surprise. “Summon keese!”

Tri obliges as Zelda leaps to get away, hoping the echoes will distract him. He bats them away easily. As the triangles return to Tri’s tail, Zelda’s heart rate rises.

She switches to a moblin. It’s better, if only slightly���he seems to be stronger against echoes specifically. As she backs away, he catches her eye. She doesn’t know this boy, and yet… something about him seems so off, especially compared to last time.

When he disappears, he drops a sword. The handle is cracked and crumbling. When Zelda picks it up, a feeling pierces her skin and wraps around her. She blinks and reawakens again some seconds later.

“Zelda?” Tri asks. Zelda coughs. She picks up the blade with the hem of her dress and pockets it.

“I’m okay,” she murmurs, lost in thought.

Zelda returns to Suthorn Village with a goal in her mind.

‘Link’ was the name that Lueburry gave her. It rings in her head, familiar in a way she can’t place. She can’t get this boy off her mind. Making for the house that sprouts moss and flowers, Zelda is eyed by villagers around her.

“Excuse me, miss,” A boy calls. Zelda turns. “Um, sorry for asking… but your cloak, it looks a lot like my friend’s. His name is Link. I was just wondering… um, if you’ve run into him at all…?”

Lueburry had told her about the cloak. Zelda’s heart clenches at the sight of a young, worried child, and she lightly bends her knees to make eye contact with him. “Don’t worry about him, little one. He’ll come home safely.”

The boy sighs in relief. “Oh, good… he promised he would play with me later, but he’s been gone for a few days now…”

“He will!” Zelda assures. “He’s just a little busy right now. I promise that after he’s done, he’ll come play with you.”

“Okay! Thank you, cloak lady!” With a grin, he runs off. Zelda gazes after him, a small smile on her face. Link plays with the village kids… and they care about him.

Straightening, Zelda turns to the entryway. She trails her hand on the wooden doorframe. It’s serene in here. Deathly quiet, frozen as stone, yet… somehow, it’s peaceful.

“Zelda,” Tri asks. Zelda peaks up at her companion. Tri floats close to her face, pondering. “...Why did you tell the child that? We don’t know if Link will come back.”

She frowns. “I don’t want someone so young to be that worried. He’s just a boy… it would be cruel to tell him how little we know about Link’s fate.”

“But that wasn’t…” The little creature seems confused. “You don’t know the swordsman, right? The way you were talking about him—it was like you were friends.”

Zelda studies the room. “You’re right, I don’t know him.” She spots a flowerpot on a dresser and makes her way to it. “I pretended I did in order to calm that child.”

“Why?”

“...I’m actually not quite sure. It’s almost instinct to protect the young, even just by comfort. Maybe that’s it.”

Tri swims to Zelda’s shoulder and perches on it. “I don’t really understand. …Your kind care for each other a lot.”

“Mm.” Zelda breaks the house’s spell by lifting a broom and gliding to the fireplace. She reaches the handle up and cleans away a cobweb. “Well, you care about freeing your friends, right? I guess it’s not that different. We care about others because they’re another person.”

“Well,” Tri stammers, “I have to free them so they can mend the rifts. And… I don’t like that they’re trapped.”

Zelda smiles. “That’s the same feeling that made me respond to the boy. I didn’t like the thought of him being that beside himself because he was worried about Link. I could fix that, so I did.”

“Oh.”

“Do you get it now?”

“...Yes, I think… kind of.”

Zelda reaches to Tri; she gently pats Tri’s head. Her companion leans into her touch.

Link’s coat feels heavy on her shoulders. When she first received it, the cloth had a distinct smell. It was warm—almost as warm as Tri is. Holding Tri again reminds her of this. This entire house smells like the cloak did.

It’s quiet as Zelda sits on a tiny wooden stool. Her lips are pressed into a frown. Link is just a Suthorn boy; he’s a village-dweller, someone common and simple. If the rifts never existed, he might have lived an entirely normal life. The thought snags on Zelda’s mind.

Why did he… risk his life for her?

She doesn’t know this boy. It wasn’t until some hours ago that she even learned his name. And yet, he ran into danger for her like it was nothing. When a rift caught him, he grabbed his bow and freed her instead of panicking. His hood is the one concealing her face from the soldiers searching for her. Despite everything, she can’t figure out a single reason why.

People have tended to Zelda all her life. As princess, she has countless servants and is always waited on by her nanny, Impa. She’s been taken care of forever. In fact, these past few days are the first time she’s ever had to fend for herself. Could Link’s motivation just be that she’s the princess?

Zelda’s face drops. …She hopes not.

“It could be that feeling,” Tri says. Zelda jolts; she didn’t realize she’s been thinking out loud. “The one you were just describing to me. Maybe Link did it because he didn’t want you to fall into a rift.”

Tri’s words hold merit. Zelda can move in rifts, but how could Link have known that? Maybe he really is that selfless… it makes sense, considering his other actions.

“He wanted to save me,” Zelda murmurs. Tri nods. “Hopefully… not just because I’m a princess…”

“Because you’re another person.” Tri echoes Zelda’s earlier words.

“...Yeah.”

Zelda stands. She still feels a bit guilty. Link is in a rift somewhere; he’s suffering that fate because he saved her.

“I want to save him, too,” she decides. They’ve already been searching for Link, but saying it out loud cements it for her. “...I have to.”

Tri makes a noise of agreement and bounces off Zelda’s shoulder, nodding. Newfound determination fills Zelda, and she gets an idea.

Zelda takes a bottle off of Link’s barrel and opens it. A little bit of water is pooled inside—perfect! Leaving Tri floating, Zelda makes her way back across the room. She stands in front of a large plant.

“What are you doing?” Tri asks.

“I don’t know how long Link will be gone,” Zelda explains. “Or if anyone will check on his house in the meantime. There was already a cobweb that I cleaned out… so I’ll water his plants, too.” She tips the bottle, letting the water drip into the pot. Turning around, she repeats this with Link’s flower.

Link really did leave his house in a hurry. Zelda caps the bottle and replaces it. She pulls Link’s blanket back over his bed. She’s not entirely sure how to make a bed because her servants always do it for her; hopefully just tugging it straight-ish is enough.

Little facts about Link join Zelda’s list. Suthorn boy. Stolen away as a child. Swordsman. He’s mute. He likes flowers. He grows plants. He plays with the village kids.

He saved her. He’s missing. She will save him, too.

[temperamentalaquarius]

NOT KORI JUMPING IN AFTER DONNA JUST TO HUG HER THEYRE JUST SO 💗💗💖 💕💕💕🥰🥰😭

[polarsirens]

Blimey.

[arsondied]

THIS AUDIO FITS HIM SM LMAOO

Please ignore this being the lowest quality possible

@pittdpeaches this is for you. I casually remembered this sound existed and instantly associated it with this scene.

Also, I would like to apologize for any eventual grammar mistake since English is not my first language.

(I'm, like, so nervous because I admire your writing a lot and I don't know how to address you without sounding weird or something. But I would really enjoy doing other animatics and/or fanarts inspired by your works if you'd like me to.)

[chloesimaginationthings]

Why the FNAF puppet loves the music box,,

[eric-the-disposable-demon]

Uh-

just found out my cousin (who lives in England) is in the art department of a bunch of shows??? And she worked oN DOCTOR WHO? AND HAD LUNCH WITH DAVID TENNANT???? and she just told me so casually because she's interested in the art, not the show? I mean, excuse me? She worked on SHERLOCK???? FOR A WHOLE SEASON?? She worked on Peaky Blinders and Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones??? And probably other things because she has a shitty memory and according to her everything is a blur?? AND AT ONE POINT SHE WAS LIKE: "oh and have you ever heard of Neil Gaiman?" And I was trying not to scream, because yes, of course I've heard of Neil, he's only my favorite author, I've only read like all of his books multiple times, and if you say you worked on Good Omens or the Sandman I'm going to lose it completely. So I said "yeah I've read a couple of his books," -you know, like a liar- "what about him?" and she goes "well I worked on one of his shows and he's brilliant i just can't remember which one" and i go "w-what do you mean he's brilliant? You're.. you're talking about his writing... his writing is brilliant, right?" And she cheerfully says "oh no I don't read books, I ment he was really nice and brilliant when I talked to him" and i go "WHAT DID YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT DID YOU TALK ABOUT" and she thinks for a moment and goes "oh! BRICKS" WHAT IN THE WORLD YES NO THAT MAKES SENSE YOU GET TO WORK AND TALK WITH NEIL FUCKING GAIMAN AND YOU TALK ABOUT BRICKS? NO THAT'S TOTALLY NORMAL I'M NOT MAD ".... it was what I was designing at the time, I needed to know what vibe the bricks should have. Anyway want to see the spinning fireplace I made for doctor who" WHAT THE FUCK.

@neil-gaiman do you remember any brick conversations by any chance

[ando666detonao]

don't you ever read a piece of fanfiction so good you just

[wojtekaneko]

That's how it went

[twoa-plus]

“stan had it worse” “ford had it worse” stan got pushed deeper and deeper into rock bottom until he had to start digging and ford got pushed higher and higher towards the stars until he became an icarus. they are two ends of the same rope, tied to form a circle connected by the knot of a living hell

[hinamie]

unconditionally

[kimeoshi]

this mental image kept haunting me until I drew it, so here

[ghostkidneys]

thinking about a pretty girl fucking me everywhere with her strap, in my bed, against the wall, on the couch, on the kitchen counter, in the shower... literally anywhere

I need to be fucked like the bitch in heat that I am

[lotus-pear]

partners in crime or smt idk

[seatoss]

It's not diving underwater, but he still looks pretty good swimming and burrowing up like a mole.

[throathole]

Imagine finding that your friend wrote these tags about you while trying to be supportive/inclusive

[bbqstickers]

Budding elbows with your coworker at 50 mph yes yes