#watched someone finish botw for the first time last night and I had FEELINGS

[ashmcgivern]

And the blood moon rises once again

[lobster-tales]

Falling Back in Love With You

Summary: Link wakes up in a strange house, with no memory of the night before. After crawling out of the bathtub with a pounding headache, Zelda calls. She tells him that he needs to gather their friends for an important sports club meeting, and that they only have an hour. As he retrieves each of the athletes, his memories slowly return, and so do his feelings for one of his teammates. Basically BOTW but it’s a college AU. Alcohol CW

This work is available here on AO3. 

Chapter 1: Rhoam Residence 

An electric darkness pierced the sky. Mechanical monsters crawled over the ruined walls, their bodies scraping against stone. Voices called, thick with fear and import. He grasped at the words helplessly, knowing their meaning would be lost when he regained consciousness.

Link woke to the flutter of piano notes. He shifted slightly, his body protesting against the hard surface beneath it. His confused fingers searched for blankets, but instead found cold walls. Link opened his eyes, gazing up at the shower head and popcorn ceiling. 

 A husky groan tore through his throat, betraying his pain before he even recognized it. His head pounded as he looked around the cluttered room, reading the clues in a haze: a crumpled bath mat, a splatter of bile on the toilet seat, empty beer cans scattered on the tile. The piano melody resumed, and he discovered that the sound came from the sink, where a phone teetered precariously. Link touched the blinking ‘snooze’ button on the screen, flipping it over to look at the intricate eye pattern on the black case. 

Once the alarm disappeared, the phone lit up with notifications. He read silently, 16 missed texts from Zelda, 7 missed calls from Zelda, 3 missed-

The screen went black. Link panicked for a moment before an image of a dying battery appeared. He huffed quietly, stuffing the phone into the pocket of his blue jeans. He crawled out of the tub and stood in front of the mirror, piecing his appearance together. Dark circles formed under his eyes, his blond hair messy but contained in his usual low ponytail. He was shirtless save for a stained blue towel that crossed his chest. His arms were bruised, his feet bare, and… Link frowned and leaned forward, brushing a finger against his lips. Is that… lip gloss?

His stomach lurched, then emptied itself into the porcelain toilet. Wiping the back of his hand across his mouth, Link collapsed on the bath mat, his back pressed against the tub. 

His thoughts swam, sludging through the fog in his mind. They formed into loose questions: Where am I? How did I get here? What happened last night? All of them were quelled when a burning sensation hit his throat. 

Link twisted the cold-water knob and stuck his head under the sink faucet. He drank deeply, easing the thirst. 

“Oh hey, you’re awake.”

Startled, Link bumped his nose on the faucet. A man stood at the door, with a thick beard and curious eyes. 

“You know, kid,” the man said. “She left you a water cup. You don’t have to drink straight from the tap.”

At that moment, Link noticed the large plastic cup on the counter, having overlooked it amongst the mess. 

“Man, you kids really know how to party.” the man chuckled, crossing his arms. “I remember those days. How’s your head?”

Link hesitated, unsure how to answer. 

“What’s the matter? That bad?”

Link shook his head, pointing to himself, then closing his hand into a fist with his thumb at the side. He brought his knuckles to his lips. 

“Oh. Right,” the man said, one hand easing behind his neck in embarrassment. “She mentioned you didn’t…” He cleared his throat. “Either case, I uh… Sorry, but I don’t understand sign language as well as my daughter.”

Thus far, Link hadn’t identified the man or his surroundings, but he tilted his head and threaded his eyebrows as if the movement would magically offer an explanation. 

“I’m Zelda’s father,” the man said. “You can call me Dean Rhoam-” His muscles seized up and a grimace clouded his features, but in seconds he was composed once more. The quick recovery seemed oddly familiar to Link. He sensed that he had watched someone else hide their feelings in the same way, many times before. 

“Actually, um… just Rhoam now. I used to be the Dean until Ganon… Well anyway, you may have seen me-”

Link’s stomach snarled, interrupting Rhoam, and he looked at his host apologetically. 

Rhoam grinned. “Let’s get some food in you.”

Breakfast was baked apples and coffee. Rhoam also handed Link a spare flannel shirt, gingerly taking the stained blue towel to the laundry room. Refueled, Link focused on his surroundings, exploring the house while Rhoam’s voice echoed down the hall.

“I didn’t hear either of you come in last night. Just found Zelda in the kitchen a few hours ago. Said you had been out drinking last night, she brought you here, then you fell asleep in the bathtub.”

Link felt his cheeks grow warm, facing away from Rhoam to examine a set of family portraits. One of the photographs was a young girl, freshly graduated from high school. Her blonde hair was long but neatly kept, eyes glinting with that same inquisitive look as her father. 

Of course, he thought. How could I forget her? 

Now the memories came back, taking shape. Zelda. His best friend. 

“Yeah, she was in a hell of a mood when she left this morning,” said Rhoam. “No clue where she was going so early on a Saturday. Before she went out, she said, ‘Make sure Link checks his phone.’”

Uh oh. Link pulled the device from his pocket, frowning as he looked around for a charger. Rhoam silently pointed to a cord beside the coffee maker. 

Link hovered over his phone, watching the screen flash in a lightning pattern. After a few moments, his home screen reappeared, along with 18 missed texts from Zelda, 8 missed calls from Zelda, 5 voicemails from Zelda. 

He winced and went first to the voicemails, careful not to budge the charger as he held the phone to his ear. 

“Link!” her voice rang out so loud that even Rhoam jumped. Link pictured her, still graceful even when she was furious. “Ugh, why aren’t you awake yet?! I need you to call me back as soon as you get this.” Desperation seeped into her tone. “I know you don’t like talking on the phone but it’ll be faster. We’re running out of time; please hurry!”

  Within seconds, she answered his call. 

“Finally! Just in time,” she said breathlessly. “Listen, you remember the sport club budget proposal we were supposed to bring to the dean on Monday?”

Nope. Zelda didn’t wait for an answer. 

“Well, Dean Ganon changed the date at the last minute.” The anger crept back in. “He sent an email at 2:00 in the bloody morning, saying he can only meet today. I barely finished the proposal this morning; I’m going to present in a few minutes. But in order to pass it, we need five sport club representatives to vote. That’s where you come in.

“I have you for the fencing club, Mipha for swimming, Revali for archery, Urbosa for volleyball, and Daruk for wrestling. But if they were half as drunk as you were last night, who knows if they’re awake. I already asked my dad and he said you could borrow the van to pick everyone up. Start with Mipha; she gets off work at the rec center at 11:00.”

She paused here, growling softly, “I should have known Ganon was going to do something like this, the cheapskate… If Hyrule University doesn’t accept this budget proposal, he could cut most of our funding. No new equipment, no trips, no tournaments…” Zelda took a deep breath, calming herself. “The meeting ends at noon; they’ll do the vote last. Please, Link, get all four of them here before the hour ends. I’ll stall in the meantime. I’m counting on you.”

Link held the phone to his ear for a few more moments after she hung up. Slowly, he lowered the device to look at the time: 10:45 AM. 

[pastelsandpining]

Santa Baby (Christmas List)

The second prompt in 12 Days of Christmas by @zelink-prompts​

Prompt List

**Note: For the stories actually involving Christmas, I and a few other authors changed the holiday to Hylia’s Day (credit to @fatefulfaerie​ for this) so that it’s more relevant to Hyrule

Cover Art: @neezlebums​ be sure to show some love to the original here!

Words: 2264

Summary: For their first Hylia’s Day together after everything that happened, Link just wanted to gift Zelda something special.

**If I don’t have explicit warnings, read with caution. It simply means there’s nothing I could think of that could be potentially triggering, but I could’ve just missed something. In that case, please let me know and I’ll be more than happy to put a warning!**

BotW, post-calamity with angry child Eggbert because I said so

Zelink-mas 2020  l  Masterlist

Relearning everything about his past and about Hyrule was no easy feat. A world that was so familiar yet so foreign still left him unsettled at times, because he was a young adult trying to understand the things that nearly everyone else grew up with. It was fascinating to learn about traditions and holidays and how they came to be, and he did genuinely want to know everything he once knew and more.

It was how he’d ended up awake until the break of dawn, listening to Zelda tell stories of Hyrule’s past. She was in her element when she got to research or explore or teach. Watching her was something he felt incredibly lucky to do, much less sit so close to her on the bed while they poured over books. He wanted to be as prepared as possible.

He’d heard of Hylia’s Day before, but it would be his first time experiencing it (that he could remember). Zelda explained it as a celebration of love and giving, of friendship and of victory. She told him of the festivals they used to hold, and the balls they’d been forced to attend, and of the parties they used to have. She told him of the traditions of gift giving and of family gathering.

And when they finally settled down to sleep, Link asked her what she wanted for Hylia’s Day. She replied just as she always did—that she already had all she could ever want.

It didn’t stop him from trying, though. He brought it up at the most nonchalant of times, during breakfast or trips across the kingdom. He would listen intently every time she spoke, more so than usual, and tried to pick up on any instance of an “I want”. Only once did she give a direct answer, saying she wanted a Silent Princess. 

Link was not satisfied with that. It wasn’t special enough, so he took it upon himself to fill Zelda’s nonexistent Hylia’s Day List.

He didn’t expect to feel as nervous as he did when the day actually came around.

“How does this look?” came the voice of Zelda from behind him. Link paused the stirring of his soup to turn around and answer her question. She’d been adjusting the decorations all morning, no matter how many times he’d promised her they looked fine.

“It looks perfect,” he replied. “Just like everything else.”

“Well, good, because I want this to be perfect,” she said, making her way to his side. “It’s the first Hylia’s Day we’ve had since—the first I’ve had outside of a castle. Getting to decorate and set everything up however you want is incredibly stressful. I want our friends to be comfortable and happy.”

“You worry too much,” stated Link in return, bumping her with his shoulder.

“I happen to worry a perfectly healthy amount, for your information.”

He chuckled and turned back to his task at hand: finishing up their dishes for the celebration. The traditions called for a family gathering, and their family was large in both number and size. A little extra wouldn’t hurt, even if their friends were all bringing their own dishes.

“You look beautiful, by the way,” he continued. Zelda’s cheeks flushed, even after a hundred years, and it made him want to smile. He loved when she wore things that were too big for her, including the white sweater that she had to keep pulling the sleeves up on because they were too long. The golden linings made it look fancier than it really was, but she called it comfortable on more than one occasion and it was soft to the touch, so it was one of his favorites too. 

“Thank you,” she replied, hugging his arm. “I dressed myself and everything.”

“Wow, impressive,” he stated, pulling his arm free so that he could take the bread out of the oven. He didn’t miss the roll of her eyes before she turned back to the tree tucked into the corner. 

“I can’t help thinking something’s missing,” she said. Link placed the pan on a rack before turning to face her again, reaching for one of her hands.

“It’s perfect,” he repeated, spinning her to face him. “The only thing missing is a star at the top, but I don’t think you’d fit.”

She gave his hand a gentle swat and huffed.

“You’re ridiculous.” But she was smiling anyway, and that was enough of a gift for him. He considered pulling her closer, spinning her around and trying to get her to laugh, but there was a knock on the door before he could. Link let go of her hand so she could answer it, and he was unsurprised to see Purah bouncing on her feet at the door, with Symin behind her carrying a far too large bag, probably full of presents. 

“Check it!” she exclaimed--her form of a greeting, apparently. “Happy Hylia’s Day, you rascals! I’ve been looking forward to this all year!”

“Purah,” Zelda greeted. “It’s lovely to see you again!”

“You can put the bag down here,” Link told Symin, gesturing to the area under the stairs after shutting the door, keeping the cold outside. Now that Purah had stolen Zelda away for some excited conversation about Sheikah technology, Link had an opening. “Did Robbie manage to.. do the thing?”

“Fix it up? Yeah, I heard he and Purah talking last night. He was able to restore it, but I don’t know if it’ll have all the same functions as before,” Symin answered, his voice lowered to keep anyone from hearing. Some tension in Link’s shoulders relaxed. That was one thing checked off the list—the one thing he was really nervous about.

“I’m gonna owe Robbie an entire decayed guardian for this.”

“He’ll take payments in increments.”

Link snorted and shook his head. As eccentric as Robbie was, he was positive the Sheikah would try and refuse payment. But Link didn’t exactly need his permission to haul a decayed guardian up to Akkala’s Tech Lab, so it would turn out either way. He just hoped, with a glance towards Zelda, that it was the right gift.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Symin asked. 

“You could take coats by the door,” Link joked as another knock echoed through their house. 

He was pleased to see Sidon, Impa, and Paya were the next to arrive. But he didn’t get much of a greeting out before Sidon, crouching to get through the door, lifted him from the floor in a crushing hug.

“Happy Hylia’s Day, Link! Lovely to see you!” 

All Link could really do was pat Sidon’s shoulder in return until his feet were returned to the ground. 

The arrivals began increasing faster than he expected, with Teba and his family arriving next—with Kass in tow, of course.

“I’m worried we won’t have enough space,” Zelda stated suddenly, scaring the living daylights out of him. “We could move it outside, but we’d need a fire. I’m sure the Rito are fine with the cold, but we could give everyone else some blankets and coats. Do Zora get cold?”

“I don’t think so,” Link replied, furrowing his eyebrows. “The water in East Reservoir Lake wasn’t exactly warm, and Ruta hurling ice blocks at us didn’t make it any better.” He was still bitter that he didn’t think to use Cryonsis until he’d already been knocked off of Sidon twice. 

“But the Zora are used to water, so perhaps they’re used to the cold as well.”

“Why don’t we just ask?” Link pointed out, bumping her with his shoulder. “We have a Zora.”

“You say that like Sidon is a pet,” Zelda scolded, crossing her arms. 

“He’s basically a huge Hylian Retriever, yes.”

“Besides, would it be rude?”

Link grinned and ruffled her hair as he said, “Nothing is rude in the name of science.”

“Except eating a frog, apparently,” Zelda bit back, swatting at his hand.

“Oh, let it go,” he laughed. “I ate tons of frogs.”

“And?” she asked, lifting an eyebrow with a smug smile.

“You were right.”

“What are you two love birds talking about?” Sidon asked, and Link jumped for the second time that day. How could someone so large sneak up on him so easy, even if there was a good bit of noise in the house?

“Sidon!” Zelda said quickly, her cheeks flushed with pink. “We were just discussing moving everything outside.”

“Brilliant idea! Do you need help moving anything?” 

Link thought of assuring Sidon he was a guest and didn’t need to lift a finger, but apparently those gears in Zelda’s head were turning.

“No, but we have a few extra strings of fairy lights,” she replied, tapping her chin. “We could put lights on the tree outside!”

“You,” Sidon said as he picked her up. “are a little genius, Princess! Everyone, outside!”

Link hardly got a word in before they were out the door. All he could do was laugh at them with a warm smile. This was more than he ever could’ve wanted.

“It’s good to see you happy.”

Kass was smiling at him, just in that way where he looked like he knew all he was thinking. 

“Holiday cheer,” Link replied with a shrug, but Kass hummed.

“Ah, yes. Holiday cheer and nothing to do with dear Zelda.”

“Well,” Link sputtered, glancing towards the door everyone else had gone out of. “She helps. How’s, uh, how’s your song coming?”

“Rather well, actually. I think she’ll be pleased with it. Come, we’re missing all the fun.”

And Kass was right. Riju and Teba’s son were chasing each other around the pond, occasionally being joined by other village children, and Yunobo was being used as a rock pile to climb over in the process—not that he looked to mind it much. Buliara was observing carefully from her perch on the ramp, discussing something with Teba and Saki, and he was pleased to see they were all smiling. 

Impa was busy scolding Purah for something, and Robbie was coming to her defense, and whatever Symin had interrupted with made them all laugh. 

And then, to his (pleasant) horror, he found Zelda and Paya up in the tree, wrapping strings of lights around the bare branches. Sidon was underneath, wrapping another string around the trunk. They were having far too much fun with it.

Zelda spotted him from her perch and waved, and he had no choice but to join them in the decorating.

A little later into the evening, they sat around a campfire that turned out to be a joint effort and swapped various stories while they ate—stories about the Champions, who were there in spirit, about troubles they’ve solved, and other funny recalls of their lives. Link tried to listen, but his attention shifted every time he saw Zelda next to him with a smile on her face.

A gathering so wonderful wasn’t complete without swapping gifts. They’d given and received so many things, but Link chose to wait until everyone was finished to approach Zelda with his gift. Upon seeing the big box, she lifted an eyebrow.

“Alright. I know a Silent Princess isn’t this big, so what could you have possibly gotten me?” she asked, sitting in front of the crate. Link only shrugged and gestured for her to open it up. 

Her careful fingers pulled the ribbon apart and she took the lid with both hands. He watched her closely, nervous for what her reaction would be. 

Zelda was quiet for a moment, her eyes locked on the contents of the box. When she lifted her head to look at him at last, there were tears glistening in the firelight. 

“Where did you find him?” she asked, her voice shaking.

“He was in that same crate on a shelf in your study. I brought it to Robbie and he was able to restore it,” he explained as he pressed the Sheikah Slate into her hands. Zelda tapped the screen with trembling fingers, and he bit back the urge to take her hand. 

A soft beep filled the air and a blue light burst from the crate. A metal claw gripped the edge of the box, then a blue eye appeared and flipped its lid in greeting. 

Zelda pressed a hand over her mouth and reached the other out towards the little guardian they’d found and studied all those years ago. It beeped again, pleased with her recognition, then scuttled out from the crate.

“It’s in near perfect condition. How did it get..?” But she decided she didn’t care and instead wrapped her arms tightly around Link, whispering out a million thank you’s. All he could do was press a kiss to her head and hold her close.

There were so many things he’d wanted to give her. There were so many things he wanted to say. But he knew of her love for the ancient technology, and he knew of her love for him. 

Even if her list hadn’t truly existed, he wanted to give her something special. He wanted to give her everything and more, but for now, he was okay just giving her comfort that he remembered. 

He remembered her, and he remembered their adventures, and he remembered her interests.

He remembered.

And by the kiss she’d given him, to the delight and cheering of the others, he thought it turned out to be the perfect gift after all.

Well, until the little guardian butted in with its opinion in not so polite beeps, but some things simply couldn’t be helped. 

[c-c-cherry]

Talk to Me

AKA: Link doesn’t like storms. Also Zelda and Link really need to talk more. 

BOTW Zelink Hurt/comfort, POST-GAME, a LOT of angst (but it’s a happy ending!) 

WORD COUNT: 4196

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

“Alright. According to the map, it should take about 3 more days to reach Zora’s Domain. We’re making good time here, aren’t we, Link?”

Link felt his heart warm his body as Zelda smiled warmly. Genuinely. There were so many times a hundred years ago that she had to “smile” during so many occasions, so many meetings, so many failed attempts. She had to put on a brave face and smile through it all. Now it was different.

Link nodded in agreement and walked alongside the princess as they picked the last of the apples they had come across. Link stooped down and fed one of his to his horse and shoved the rest in his bag, securing it onto the horse’s saddle.

“It’s funny. I never knew how much food could grow in the wild. I suppose I always thought that it came solely from farms, now.” Zelda said thoughtfully, examining the red fruit, “I assumed that most life had been wiped out from the Calamity, but somehow things still managed to grow. It’s fascinating.”

“It’s just that…” The princess paused, rolling the apple around in the palm of her hand, seeming lost in thought.

“Oh, never mind,” she said absentmindedly, turning to Link, “We should get going. The faster we travel the faster we’ll get there.”

Link let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in. It had been at least a month or so since the couple had defeated Ganon, but both still had yet to talk to each other about it. You would assume that two people would bond over the shared experience, but Link felt like treading on that territory just pushed them away.

It seemed like both of them were reluctant to speak about their experiences; he still had no idea how Zelda stayed, holding back Ganon for his 100 year slumber and she had yet to know about his epic quest while she was keeping Ganon at bay.

He sighed and remained content. He walked away from the apple tree, mounting his horse as the princess did the same and, side by side, rode closer and closer to their destination.

*

The sun had finally begun to set, and the two of them were closer than before after a long day of traveling. Zelda breathed in a breath of fresh air and admired the mountains as their horses slowly trudged on. She liked that she had more time to appreciate nature now. It felt nice.

Link rode on silently next to her, seeming as content as she was. The champion leaned his head back, his eyes partly closed, and embraced the wonderful weather. Zelda giggled. She barely saw this side of Link before the Calamity, but she was glad that she could now.

Sure, he was still a silent champion, but not as silent as before. He spoke when he felt he needed to now. He felt that the burden he carried upon his back was no longer so heavy that his words were locked away. And he wasn’t sworn to her anymore, either. He could go off and live his life as he wanted, yet he preferred to stay by her side. She found it comforting.

Link seemed to have heard her soft giggling, as his eyes flew open and his head turned to hers, an eyebrow raised.

“Nothing’s wrong, Link. I just like seeing you so happy.”

She watched as the hero’s face flushed red, his mystical blue eyes barely meeting hers.

“You act like you’ve been caught doing something forbidden!” Zelda laughed heartily, “We have the freedom to feel happy now. No one can tell us that we cannot do so!”

Link looked long and hard at her before chuckling as well, their giggles turning into small fits of laughter which echoed through the trees and the mountainside like a song.

Their laughter was cut short when Link’s face perked up, his eyes suddenly taking on a serious tone. Zelda sobered up and frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

Link’s eyes glanced up at the clouds, which were now forming a dark wall above their heads. A soft rumbling could be heard in the distance. Link bit his lip in concern.

“I think it’s going to rain soon, Zel.”

By late evening, it was Zelda who had felt the first drop on her nose. Blinking in surprise, she watched another one fall onto her hand. And another. And another. Soon the landscape was being sprinkled with soft rain, the quiet sound being heard throughout as the sun finally set.

“We should find somewhere dry,” Link looked tense, his eyes fixated on the sky.

Zelda much enjoyed the rain, but she didn’t want to spend the night in the cold with wet clothes and gear. Link was right.

After staring at their map, they noticed in annoyance that there was no small town anywhere remotely near them. Link closed in on the map to locate any stables, and to their disappointment, there was nothing.

The sun had set. It was getting dark. They were starting to get cold, too.

“I think we have no choice but to trudge on. There could be unmarked shelter up ahead,” Zelda sighed, grabbing the reins on her horse. Link remained tense, but nodded in agreement.

After what felt like hours, but was probably more like 45 minutes, Zelda squinted and noticed a peculiar structure in the distance. Upon further inspection, she noticed:

“A cabin! Link, I think that’s a cabin over there!”

The two of them picked up speed as the rain finally pattered down harder on them, the sprinkle becoming a full-on rain. Dismounting their horses into a small stable-like thing attached to a cabin, they pulled out their wallets and walked into the small cabin, hoping to offer money for a bit of shelter for the night. Zelda shivered, wet clothes clinging to her, but as Link knocked on the door, he found no answer.

Slowly pulling the door open, they found that the cabin was dark and almost completely empty. Clearly someone had not been here for years.

“It seems abandoned.” Zelda thought out loud, “ But...should we really go into someone else’s house?”

The patter of rain on their backs morphing into a violent stream of water gave them no other second thoughts as they pushed through the door with their things pulled off their horse’s saddles.

*

The rain’s hard drops could be heard from the roof and the outside, which made them feel at ease that they were no longer in the sudden downpour and sheltered by this wooden lodging.

Link sighed in frustration as he found that most of his wooden weapons were completely soaked, but felt relief as he found a single torch in the bottom of his pack that remained mostly dry. Lighting it, he  lit the only light in the centre of the room that had long ago been burnt out, giving them a dim lighting in their cabin.

Zelda shivered, and Link found himself starting to freeze up in his wet clothes as well. The two stripped hastily and grabbed their other set of dry clothes, hanging up the wet ones up to dry.

“Can we close the window?” Zelda asked, making her way over to one of the walls. Wind whipped harshly outside, shaking the cabin and coming in through the open window. But upon closer inspection, Zelda found that the window had long been broken.

“Well, at least the window isn’t above the bed…” she thought to herself, “But it seems to be quite close to the light. Let’s hope the wind isn’t strong enough to blow it out.

Link nodded. He took the torch and lit a small fire in the fireplace, bringing out their apples from earlier. The room had barely anything in it; a fireplace, a now lit lantern hanging in the centre of the room, a wooden chair that seemed to be rotting, and a sturdy, rather large bed. A mattress made of hay and fabric still lay on the bed, but any blankets or pillows were already gone.

“What are you making?” Zelda asked, pulling out their bedrolls and pillows from her pack and setting them up cozily on the bed. She was reluctant to bring such items as they would stay in stables and inns, but Link insisted on bringing them ‘just in case’.

“Looks like simmered fruit tonight,” Link answered quietly, blowing out the torch and readying the apples, “We can go hunting tomorrow morning so we can have something meaty. But this is all I can do for now.”

“I think it’s perfect.” Zelda answered, coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around him. Link turned and returned the gesture, smiling warmly, but Zelda noticed something off about him. His shoulders were too tense. His gaze looked to be somewhere else.

“Is something wrong?” she asked him, kneeling down beside him as he put the apples in the cooking pot. Link bit his lip at the question, but shook his head.

“Are you sure, Link? Because you can talk to me. After all we’ve…” Zelda stopped herself, slowly trailing off. Now probably was not the time to bring up old memories about their trials and hardships.

Will there ever be a right time?

Noticing her distress, Link patted her head affectionately and smiled, “Everything’s fine, Zel.”

Nodding skeptically, Zelda soon forgot the ordeal as Link finished making their meals and the two sat in comfortable silence, sitting on the side of the bed and eating. Their legs dangled off the side of the bed, and the two of them slipped off their shoes and set their plates down by the fire, which Link had now put out.

The dim light of the lit lantern hanging from the ceiling was their only light, and the two of them laughed as they recalled a memory from Gerudo Town when Link first accompanied Zelda to the women’s only haven, still sitting on the side of the bed.

“You were the only voe there!” Zelda giggled. Link’s ears grew hot at the thought of it. His eyes shined brightly as he too chuckled at the story.

“Urbosa had to escort us, remember? I thought that one guard was going to kill me!” Link replied, covering his mouth as his small fit of laughter turned into a bigger one. Zelda had her hand laid beside her on the bed and Link placed his hand over hers, both not noticing the gesture as they continued to laugh about old stories.

Link had recovered most of his memories by now. He felt whole again for the first time in awhile. He was glad that he could finally laugh about old times with Zelda again. When he first woke up in the shrine of resurrection, he thought he would never regained any memory of who he once was.

Link’s eyes lit up as he thought of an especially funny time.

“Hey! Remember when--”

*BOOM*

The cabin shook from the ground up as an exceptionally large thunderclap shook the skies. The wind picked up speed and the rain pattered harder on the roof. Even Zelda herself felt shocked into silence as she watched the lantern hanging from the ceiling swing back and forth slowly from the impact.

She finally regained focus and waited for Link to continue his story, but found that he wasn’t speaking. The hero beside her tensed up significantly, the hand on top of Zelda’s tightening its grip as his eyes flew shut, a painful expression on his face.

“Link?” Zelda inched closer to him in concern, “Are you alright?”

Link’s eyes flew open again, his gaze elsewhere. She watched as his face flickered through a thousand emotions before he regained a neutral expression again.

“Link?”

“I’m fine.”

Link slowly lifted his hand off of Zelda’s and crossed his arms tightly against his chest, shrinking into

Himself. His expression looked shameful, his lips pursed slightly and his eyes widened. He looked pretty shaken up.

“Link, you’re awfully tense. Please, tell me what’s wrong.” Zelda begged, placing a soft hand on his shoulder. She knew it was hard for him to open up, but maybe a nudge would help him voice his feelings.

Link seemed to melt into her touch at first, but soon shrugged it off and dropped his head down, letting his hair fall in front of his face.

“Link--”

*BOOM*

Link’s breath hitched in a small gasp, his knees now pulled up to his chest. Zelda frowned in confusion as she brought herself closer to him.

“What’s wrong?” After no response, she placed one tender hand on his shoulder and another one on his head, “Look at me, Link.”

She slowly lifted the champion’s head up and let out a soft gasp. His blue eyes shimmered with unshed tears, and his expression looked fearful.

She didn’t say anything for the longest time and Link felt awareness suddenly hit him as the tips of his ears burned red. He quickly blinked any tears away and regained his neutral expression. His voice cracked as he spoke.

“We should get to bed.”

Zelda nodded in worry.

*

They silently got under the covers and took off their socks, setting them in their shoes. The bed was pressed up against two walls, the top and side of the bed were protected by wooden walls, and the foot of the bed had just enough room on the ground to put their shoes and packs.

Link gave Zelda the most sheltered side of the bed, his primal instinct was to keep her safe, but the princess didn’t miss the worried expression on his face that came with it. Zelda frowned as Link pulled the covers over his head, hair covering his eyes. He refused to look at her. It was bone-chilling.

The bed was large enough so that the two of them had breathing room and just enough room so that the two barely touched each other. It was still much smaller than Link’s bed in Hateno and the beds in Hyrule castle, but Zelda didn’t seem to mind.

Ultimately, they decided to keep the lantern lit as it was their only source of light in this winding, dark, stormy woods. Zelda felt her eyes start to grow heavy with exhaustion, and she turned her head to the hero sleeping next to her, who had his back to her. The patter of rain on the roof gave her a steady rhythm to fall asleep to.

“Goodnight, Link.” she whispered. Link didn’t answer.

*

*BOOM*

A monumental clap of thunder sent Zelda’s eyes flying open. Blinking, she remembered, We’re in a cabin. It’s just a storm.

Zelda was actually very fond of rain and storms on late nights. She wondered if Link rather enjoyed them as well. She rolled over to see if the crash had woken him up as well, but outstretching her arms, she frowned.

Where’s Link?

Sitting up, she squinted her eyes in the dim light, and looked around.

He can’t be outside in this weather…

Blinking in surprise, she saw the silhouette of the hero at the foot of the bed, hands grasping the sheets next to him aggressively. She couldn’t tell over the sound of the rain, but she thought she could hear his breathing from over here.

“Link?” she asked groggily, “What are you doing?”

The hero jumped, startled, but stayed in the same spot, his back to the princess. She could see his hands shaking slightly in the dim light above them.

She begged him softly to come back to bed, but the hero remained in the same spot in silence. Zelda sighed and sat up straighter. There had to be something going on with him.

Before she could speak again, Link’s voice, soft and low said something. Zelda craned her neck and raised her eyebrows.

“What was that?”

“We’re…” he paused, “We’re in a forest...do you think we’ll get...struck?”

Zelda, confused replied, “What, by the lightning? No, Link. We’re in a cabin. Don’t be silly.”

She watched as the hero’s head turned to the window, standing up suddenly and walking cautiously over, muttering to himself.

“But wood is a natural conductor...we’re surrounded by trees which means we’re even more likely to get struck...what if there’s something metal on top of the cabin?...what if the cabin catches on fire?...And if each lightning strike carries up to one billion volt of electricity...and the possibility of a tree being struck and exploded is likely...what if--”

*BOOM*

Link’s quiet ramblings were interrupted as a loud clap of thunder shook the cabin again. It seemed that the storm was almost directly above them, and the wind picked up as did the rain. A flash of light could be seen outside the broken window and the horses outside whinnied loudly.

Link jumped back from the window and Zelda could hear his breath grow heavier. The lantern swung in the centre of the room and Link had both hands over his ears, kneeling on the floor.

“Link!”

Zelda leapt from the bed and ran over to Link, wrapping her arms around his back and pulling him up slowly.

“Is it the storm? Is that what’s bothering you?” she asked frantically. Link’s tense body was shaking like a leaf and his hair was sleek with sweat The hero seemed to get ahold of himself, pushing the princess away softly, standing up and backing away from her.

“Link, come back to bed and we can talk there.” Zelda offered, gesturing towards the cozy, warm bed. Link turned his back on the princess, hugging himself tightly. Zelda could see his shoulders still shook, and he stuttered out a few words.

“I’m...I’m fine...I’m fine, Zel..”

His voice was shaky, unstable, and Zelda knew better than to just let him stand there in such a state.

“Link, why won’t you just come here?” she asked him tenderly. The wind blew through the windows and Zelda felt herself shiver. Link seemed almost agitated that she was still convincing him to come to her.

“Zelda, I said I’m fine. It’s stupid, anyw--”

*BOOM*

The lantern swinging suddenly blew out, leaving them in complete darkness, A broken-sounding cry came from Link as he stumbled in blind panic through the darkness and into Zelda’s arms. She wrapped one arm around his back, the other tenderly on the back of his head. His head fell into her chest and she thought she could hear a soft whimper escape him.

“Okay, back to bed.” she said gently, leading both of them to the bed in the darkness. Another thunderclap had the whole cabin shaking from its foundation and Zelda felt Link’s shoulders tense up.

“So it is the storm, then?” she asked quietly, guiding him to the walled side of the bed this time. Link tried to get ahold of his breathing as he was set back into bed, but failed miserably as another clap of thunder and a crash of lightning could be heard from outside.

“You didn’t have to keep it from me. We could have talked about it, you know.” Zelda pried, getting under the covers herself and inching closer to Link.

“We don’t just...talk about things, do we Zelda?”

Link’s sudden composure surprised the princess. He seemed almost angry at what she had said, judging by his harsh tone and the way his face was pressed into the pillow.

“What?”

“Of..of course you wouldn’t know that I hate storms. Because we never talk. We can never talk about what happened during the Calamity, or the hundred years that just happened, or--or anything!”

Zelda began to understand where he was coming from. But he had never been so upset before, it shook her to the core.

“Link…”

“You wouldn’t know how long I spent in that Divine Beast, hours and hours of trying not to get killed--trying not to fall off of it in order to save Urbosa! And that goddamn fight--gods it was so fast, that--that thing and lightning it would shoot was--”

Link halted his rant, his eyes lighting up with that very same fear that he felt when he first felt the electric shock go through his veins, the first time he felt his heart stop, the first time he felt his body vibrate with the pure electricity that was coursing through his veins.

And suddenly he wasn’t in a cabin in the woods anymore--he was there.

He was right there in Vah Naboris again, fending for himself again, the hunger pangs in his stomach refusing to cease as the food in his inventory had long depleted. He was right there, reliving his inner cries for help that no one would ever answer.

And he was reliving the fight; every minute of it.

He could feel the scars on his back start to bleed again, the voltage running under his skin, the complete and utter helplessness, and a shrill cry that he didn’t know was coming out of his own throat until he felt himself clutching his chest, gasping for air, and the shell-shocked emptiness that he felt when Thunder-blight finally died.

He stood in shock as Urbosa blessed upon him the power to control the one thing that he feared besides Ganon himself, and warped him back to the desert.

He was reliving the grueling moments in which he would sit in his house in Hateno just days after and do...nothing. Nothing but sit there and wonder if there was anything left worth fighting for. If he really was just in this whole thing alone, and if he should be feeling this empty about “saving his home”.

He walked out of his house, and fought and killed a Lionel. No--two. Just to feel something, any kind of feeling at all.

And then he was sobbing. He was back in the cabin in the woods and he was wrapped up in Zelda’s arms and sobbing his heart out. And his breath was so shallow that he could feel his lungs in his throat and the tight hug that Zelda was pulling him into as he felt endless tears streaming down his face and onto Zelda’s shirt and the blankets.

And he tried to put a hand over his mouth as his crying got louder and louder and his entire body shook even more violently, but Zelda tenderly lifted the hand off his face and squeezed it tightly, saying nothing.

And the crashing of the thunder made him cry even harder in pure fear as he clung onto the princess, begging for the world to stop spinning.

And then it did.

The lightning and thunder slowly got farther and farther, but the rain remained, sprinkling overtop the roof and dulling his cries. Link breathed shakily and felt himself shake just a little bit less, cry just a little bit softer. His eyes felt puffy and his face still wet with salty tears, but he felt alive again. He was here in present time again.

He didn’t dare lift his face up in fear of what the princess thought of him now. Some hero, getting worked up over a little bit of rain. It was humiliating.

The two of them said nothing for a long while, and Link remained with his head buried in her chest, breathing slowly as his small hiccups subsided. Finally grasping the courage to look up, he lifted his gaze to find the princess in near tears. Her face looked tender, as if remembering something that deeply hurt. Link opened his mouth to explain himself.

“Zelda, I--”

“I told you that I’d been watching you all this time.” she said unsteadily, her eyes glazed over with unshed tears, “I told you that after the final battle. But that was a lie.”

Link grew confused. What is she talking about?

“I said that I’d been watching you and your perilous quests, but I never truly saw you. For those hundred years, I couldn’t see anything. It was strange, really. It was like I didn’t have a body. I couldn’t see you, but I could sense you.” she continued, “I could sense how brave you were, and when you grew closer and closer to Hyrule Castle, and whenever you took control over another Divine Beast. But I never felt anything that you felt. I never knew of your endless hunger, your constant fight with life and death, and Link, if I had known, I would have done everything I could to help you.”

Link could tell she was on the verge of crying now too, so he locked eyes with her and gave her a teary smile.

“It’s okay.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

Zelda sighed and embraced him closer. And they spoke freely about things, freely without anyone to judge. They spoke about the things that they were capable of, the things that gave them great pain and none at all. They spoke until the rain stopped hitting the roof and their eyes became heavy with exhaustion. They both drifted off into an easy sleep, and Link chuckled as Zelda’s eyelashes tickled his forehead.

“We really need to talk more.”

[supernoondles]

2019

The last day of 2019 was also the day I fainted for the first time--a fitting metaphor for the year.

2019 was overall very emotionally taxing. This year was emotionally defined by falling intensely, deeply in love with someone (who is a very private person so I will try to be vague to respect that) and being in a lot of pain because of situations mostly outside of our control. There were a lot of intensely joyous moments, and a lot of intensely sad ones. Throughout it all I wish I had communicated better. I also made some bad decisions with another person I really loved and cared about that resulted in us growing apart. Do I think I grew from the experiences? For sure. Do I wish I could have come upon these realizations through a different course of action? Also yes. Am I fully healed from the experiences? Not really, but I've been getting better.

2019 was also very bad in terms of research. It was the 2nd year of my PhD. After I submitted my rotation project I basically felt stuck in the swamp of my advisors rejecting new project ideas for like literally half a year. This, combined with my high emotional volatility (partially due to starting birth control), made me really sad, unmotivated, and susceptible to self-blame. I definitely had high expectations for myself and became frustrated at my lack of progress and felt a lot of pressure from myself to get my shit together. I also felt incredibly bad after most advisor meetings and not supported by one of them to the point where I had to have a conversation with him about the lack of support (which was very scary)! Things started picking up, though, near the end of the year. I published a paper in collaboration with a former post-doc/now professor elsewhere whom I learned a lot from, and started finally building out another system. I also started mentoring an undergrad who at some point told me I helped him feel like he had something important to say and belong at Stanford for the first time and those words meant a lot to me. I think I'm continuing to refine what I value as research contributions and increasingly think about what it means to build systems that aren't used outside of the lab to satisfy the annual conference publishing cycle. I'm also starting to feel the pressure of doing work that follows a narrative rather than random projects that interest me.

Oh, I guess in terms of "program requirements," I did finish taking required classes, passed qualifying exams, and got a master's degree. But honestly those weren't hard at all nor do I think are externally valued in the larger research community, so I don't really celebrate them as accomplishments beyond surface level.

In 2019 I saw two different therapists. The first one was awful, I think directly influenced some of my bad decisions, and also didn't respect my gender identity??? The second one is a lot better and I'm grateful to see her, even if 90% of our sessions are just talking about my relationship (romantic/advisor) issues, which is something I want to move away from in the future. But I also feel incredibly privileged when relationship issues are the primary stressors in my life--I am grateful I feel equipped to handle other crap, like deadlines, and don't have to worry about my own health.

Those were the main things that have colored this year. We'll now move into the section of this post where I go through my photos to jog my memory of other events.

New years started a tradition of getting dim sum with Jasper, Matthew, and Michelle dear to my heart. My high school friend was also visiting and we all attended a really awesome new year's eve party. I was also going on a lot of dates and having a lot of good sex, which made me really happy, and at the same time crying all the time at work. In February I received probably the best gift anyone has ever given me and saw Panic! at the Disco, which I said in an end of the year group meeting was a good memory of my year (it was, to relive my scene days!). In March I roadtripped both to Marin (which I had never to been before, despite all my years in the bay) and LA for Wondercon; it was nice to both see high school friends and go on a trip with the boo. In April I went on a hike with my office which was probably the start of us all becoming closer (we are the social office in the wing now, which I take pride in! Also we draw a lot of Pokemon which warms my heart). In May I went to CHI in Glasgow and then to Paris afterward, and the entire experience was very weird and bad and also too many flights were canceled and/or missed and I vowed to not return to Europe for a while, but man do I love the noodles at Trois Fois plus de Piment. In June we hosted a double apartment party with my downstairs neighbors (side note: I am really appreciative of the place I live in, for the community, convenience, and large-ass space and will be really sad to be kicked out fall 2020) and I started a friendship important to me. I cat-sat for my advisor (the one who doesn't make me feel bad) twice. I went to Redwood State Park with my family and hosted a summer solstice celebration. Over the summer a friend I met in Paris back in 2017 moved in with me. I had a much needed escape from the bay to Seattle where I was reminded how abundant the world can be. I also went to Tahoe to celebrate my parents' anniversary, and really liked stumbling upon a smaller lake with a cheap boat rental. Then I became FOMO about the highly competitive Bay Area camping and did a last minute walk-in at Redwood Basin in Santa Cruz, which made me realize that I don't actually love camping (but was nice nonetheless). I ate an expensive meal at Commonwealth before they closed. For my birthday we made a friendship quilt and I served my favorite dish of cumin lamb but it was also 90 degrees in my apartment (I felt really bad and bought two fans afterwards). I started buying many cartoon frog plush after being gifted a $3.99 on sale Safeway frog (called Baby!). I went on Tinder dates (one of which was at a quaker yard sale marketed as Harvest Festival where I got a 1970s Kermit puppet for like $2) that largely went nowhere. My high school friend visited and we were both sad about break ups. I did Inktober before I went to New Orleans for a conference on Bourbon St where everything felt like it was coated in a sticky film of alcohol. I almost missed my flight home because I fell asleep in a sculpture garden but I had the most amazing Uber driver who snaked his way through traffic (oh and the flight was delayed by like 3 hours). I went to kind of embarrassing haunted houses and pumpkin patches over Halloween, but also had the most incredible bowl of ramen at Mensho. My whole office dressed up as Zootopia characters which warmed my furry heart. I spent like $120 on a Pokemon shirt. I started playing Arkham Horror and rekindled another friendship important to me. In November went on a road trip to Big Sur because again, I had to escape it all. For Christmas Eve dinner I roasted a duck for the first time (which was delicious). Shortly after I waited in line for 2 hours for a rollercoaster at Great America, which taught me the value of buying a fast pass because at this point in my life that money is worth it, and then waited 2 hours in line at the DMV to get a RealID (I had made an appointment, which was the fast pass).

Okay, now we move to the hobby section!

I got really into sewing in 2019, having received a sewing machine last Christmas. I made a Judy Hopps (which I wore to CrunchyRoll Expo) and Korok cosplay (Fanime), several unsuccessful garments, a crab bean bag, a dice bag, a fanny pack, and put hearts nipples on a jumpsuit.

Shows! I think I went to way fewer shows this year. The ones I can remember are Elephant Gym, Thom Yorke the night before I had an 8am flight, Carly Rae Jepsen over pride weekend (also, she is my #1 artist of the year, which makes a lot of sense given my emotional space), Mitski at Stern Grove, Capitol Hill Bloc Party (which was super lame, except for Lizzo, where I cried), and the National (which was a fucking surreal experience as they played on Stanford's campus, I was the only one within earshot of myself who knew the words to Crybaby Geeks, and then the white catalog moms came up to me after to thank me for singing the song).

I also started playing my own music! I started playing viola again for the first time in 7 years (lol) in both pop-up concerts with the Awesome Orchestra (one in Golden Gate Park, one at the Exploratorium) and a string quartet through my school. Sometimes I am filled with joy and delight. Other times interpersonal tensions run high and also I am very bad at being in tune. It's life.

Media! I really liked Mob Psycho 100 Season 2 and Beastars. I feel like those were the only notable anime I watched this year? I saw the Farewell three times--first in Seattle where I sobbed for like 1 hour after the movie, the second time with my parents, and the third where Awkwafina was present for a Q&A. I thought Parasite was incredible and Promare was OK. I have spent an unfortunately large amount of my time playing Pokemon Masters. I finally beat BOTW and completed my Pokedex in Shield like 2 weeks after getting the game.

Resolutions! In my draft of my 2018 end of year post (which I never polished and posted, sorry), I said my resolutions were 1. come out to my parents 2. draw enough to table at an anime con 3. be disciplined about paper reading and have a doc. I did none of these things!!! However, for 1, I feel like I am well equipped to have this conversation but am waiting for my sibling to do it first out of respect. 2 was just bad. I barely drew this year except for gifts. 3 was okay--I did have a large doc in the beginning of the year when I was looking for ideas, but as time went on I abandoned it (I also stopped reading papers, which I don't think you're supposed to do as a grad student...)

My resolutions this year are phrased as intentions (-(c) Matthew). They span several categories. Relationships: I want to open myself to and actively seek experiences of love, because I miss that. That being said, I will only date someone if 1. they have their life together 2. they love themselves and 3. they challenge me to grow. (I do think you can experience love without dating; the thing I'm after is love in an expansive sense.) Work: I want to do enough work so I don't feel guilty about not doing enough work, and also not berate myself for taking a long time to do things. Hobbies: I want to sew at least one thing a month. Chinese: I want to improve my Chinese, especially pronunciation.

Having written this 20 days into 2020, it's not been so bad so far. But I was also really happy in the beginning of 2019. Here's to no global maxima, a monotonically increasing year!

[minsyal]

[Home, Link x Reader]

         After the smoke had cleared and the Calamity was defeated, the survivors were left with nothing but a mess on their hands. The guardians had shut down for the time being, the monsters had retreated to their clans, the remaining Yiga had disappeared into the shadows, and the citizens were feeling the aftereffects of the battle. Large craters littered Hyrule Field that would eventually turn to hills as if nothing had ever happened there.

          “Hey.” You approached a small oasis where Link was sat, staring straight into the water. The final battle had definitely exhausted him. He turned to you, a soft smile appearing on his lips as he moved over to make room for you.

           “Holding up well?”

           He nodded.

           A weight landed on your shoulder, peering down you noticed it was his head. The blonde tuft of hair swayed as a light breeze passed through the canyon walls. Gently, you wrapped an arm around his back and squeezed him closer to you. A sense of relief washed over the two of you as you sank into one another. It was over. His shoulders rose as he inhaled deeply, his eyes fluttered shut.

           “Oh, there you are.” A voice chimed from behind. It was Zelda. Her footsteps carried softly toward you and came to a stop.

           You were put in charge of the rebuilding of Castle Town, as well as finding people to repopulate the area. With a small crew of men, the first shops were rebuilt. Although they were not up to par with what they once were, it was only the start. The castle was repaired slowly with Zelda at the head of construction. Link was becoming a jack-of-all-trades. He assisted mostly in the castle with Zelda, but he also helped with Castle Town. When he had any free time, he was traveling with a small group of men to relinquish the land of the remaining monsters.

           Teba of Rito Village, Riju of Gerudo, Yunobo of Goron City, and Sidon of Zora’s Domain were put in charge of taking care of their regions. Thus far, everything was going successfully. The Divine Beasts were transferred to their successors and were definitely taking some time to learn the controls. Purah was currently in Zora’s Domain, teaching Sidon the controls. Once finished there she is to report to Goron City, hopefully by then the temperature will have dropped.

           “The door’s jammed.” You groaned, slamming your arm against it hoping that maybe it would swing open. Link watched, arms crossed over his chest, bags at his feet, a smirk on his face. Turning to face him you raised an eyebrow. He uncrossed his arms and motioned as if asking “do you want help?”

           “I can do this without you.” You said in an exasperated tone. The house had simply resettled since the last time you had visited. Bolson and Karson had obviously not listened to your instructions when you asked them to keep the hinges working. They’d get an earful the next time you saw them.

           “I just need…” another slam to the door, “a little bit…” a soft crack resonated from the door, “ugh!” Wiping the sweat from your brow you threw your arms up in an irritated fashion. Letting them flop down next to your sides, you groaned loudly and drew your hands together. Eyeing Link from the corner of your eye, you now noticed his head tilted slightly upward, the smirk much larger and more apparent.

           “Get over here and open it.”

           With a swift kick to the hinge, the door flew open to reveal your home. He returned to the bags, sweeping them into his arms before motioning for you to enter first. Everything was covered in dust. The display cases were empty, the Champion’s weapons now on his person. You wandered around the open room, opening the windows to allow air to flow through the space. While this was not what you had expected to come home to, it was home and that was all that mattered in the end.

           This was the place where you spent many nights with your partner, dreaming of the future when peace had been brought to the land. This was where you learned to cook, to swim, to do all the adventurous things that had once been foreign concepts. The small pond below was how you recalled, filled with lily pads, fish, and a hoard of fireflies.

           Smiling, you brushed off the photos revealing memories of the past that did not include you. He was fond of the Champion’s photo, but insisted that was not his favorite. He preferred the ones stored on the Sheikah Slate, the ones of the two of you.

Request: hi!!! your description says requests are open so I was wondering if I could request a botw link x reader? my idea was something after link finally defeats ganon and saves zelda, what that would mean for his s/o (someone who traveled/fought with him during the events of botw?) and what they would do maybe? thank you so much!! I love your blog, it's my go-to for botw imagines, you're a wonderful writer :) Okay just a heads up! Idk if the monsters actually disappear but that’s what I’m saying! Enjoy!

[czeriahshiptank]

Missed connection

Ok, so I started writing this during the Zelink month last August, but we lost my aunt and life in general caught up with me. I've been stranded home with the chicken pox for the last week and a half, so I finally had time so stop and finish this.

Needless to say that it wasn't how I had imagined writing this particular piece, but it kinda got away from me, and I now think that it's probably my best one so far. I really like it...

It take place in a Hyrule after BOTW, with some weird spirits tracks elements, imagine just a BOTW Hyrule but where the technology had evolved again after the game, kinda modern time Hyrule. I might have a few headcanon going on in there, I hope I doesn't bother anybody.

I listened to this Youtube channel during the writing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHW1oY26kxQ) and I think it grasp a lots of the general atmosphere I tried to convey, so don't hesitate to give it an ear during your reading.

As always, English is not my first language, so I apologize for any awful mistake I might have left, I've reread that a hundred time already and I can't see anything anymore...xD

Happy new year to everybody, and have a good read ! I hope to read in the comments your thoughts about this ^^

Note : cross posted on my own account on AO3.

That year, as it happen sometime, autumn arrived on a crisp summer night. One hour the air was heavy with warmth and sweetness and the next was ice cold and filled with the bittersweet taste of the end of something.

Weather in Hyrule was often like that, mostly on the far sides of the kingdom. The plain around the castle always seemed to have her own micro climate of soft breeze, shy sun and eventual rain, meanwhile the outskirt could go from year long frigid air of the Snowpeak, to the desertic warmth of the Gerudo valley.

But nothing ever felt like home to Link like the crisp and cold air of the Akkalan plains, so close in shape as the rest of the grand plateau but as if engulfed in a perpetual autumn late afternoon.

As much as he loved his job as Hyrule Train Track employee, he enjoyed it most when he was assigned here, in the Akkalan station. Most of his coworker were assigned to a certain place in particular and stayed there, or enjoyed running the trains all over the country while always going back home at the end of the day. Link wasn’t like that. He was a floater. They were only a handful of employee like him, never assigned to a task in particular, always changing affectation.

He hated staying in one place for too long, but he had to admit that this station near the University was his favorite one.

If you asked him, he would tell you it was because of the bright colors the tree leaves seemed to have all year long, from bright greens to dark reds. the low light of the sun on the long meadow, never high enough to make you feel like it was summer, but giving this eerie feeling of late autumn to the area all year long. He would tell you about the crisp air of the wind, sometime hot when it came down from the Eldin volcano, sometime full of salt when the sea would bring rain.

However, he would probably never tell you about his main reason to like the place.

In the very north-east of the province, you could find an old scientific facility. It was said that this place had been crucial in the defeat of the calamity, but that was hundreds of years ago and mostly history lovers would talk to you about that. It was only an hour away from Tarrey town, the capital of the region.

The place had probably changed a lot since that time. It was said that the only remaining piece was the giant telescope on top of it. The building was now surrounded by houses and smaller labs as well as the biggest university of the land.

The school was well loved by his students, as much for the history surrounding it that for the serenity that came with the area. It has a couple of coffee shop, the biggest library outside of Castle town and the kind of atmosphere you only see in movies, where everybody likes to study and all is good in the world. Like a Yuletide tale where the heroine find love at the end of the story.

Zelda kinda felt like she was the heroine of a bad movie like that, and if you asked her, she would tell you that she might have preferred not missing her last train home. But of course she had. Her last class of the semester had run late, the professor had gone on and on about the schism between the Sheikah and the Yiga, from all those centuries ago, and how it was believed that the royal family of that time hadn’t really made a good decision in making the Sheikah destroy all their technology. Zelda actually agreed with him, who knows how would be the scientific global knowledge if her ancestors hasn’t been so stupid. But as interesting that lecture had been, it had extended the lesson by a good thirty minutes and as a result made her missed the connection to the central tower which was the only way for her to go back home on time. She would have to wait for the 6.45 train on the next day and of course, had no way to go back to her small appartement in the campus since everything was closed for the Yule season.

She took in a long, meant to be calming, breath.

Part of her had always loved train station. Particularly this one. It wasn’t the huge ones you could find in big cities, engulfed in a shell of metal and glass. As claustrophobic in their metallic skull and ambient madness than liberating as the new travel prospect they announced. They always smelled like the end of something and the beginning of everything. The crowd and the noise, so overwhelming you just wanted to fall into the first train possible without knowing where it could take you, just hoping it would be an adventure..

The Akkala Faculty station was not like that. The station was situated just before Tarrey Town, which was the last of this line. It was composed of four docks, next to each other, and a small building to buy tickets and be safe from the weather.

It wasn’t in the middle of the city but slightly on the outskirt, just at the verge of the forest. If you squint along the east of the tracks, you could even see the ocean not so far away. It was always breezy, mostly in the evening, and most often misty in the morning. It has the kind of atmosphere you imagine when someone tells you a fairy tale filled with magic and weird places, the kind that gives you the chills and make you dream of sorceress and mighty heroes. The kind you see in these movies, where the two lost lovers meet and fall in love right next to the tracks before each leaving in a different trains.

Train station always made her think of sad love stories. Like the ones of the heroes of old, and the princesses also named Zelda. The ones where the princess send back her hero back in time to let him live his life, the one where he decide to leave all by himself, the ones where he died in her arms, and all she could do was to hope than in her next life they would finally be happy.

They're haven't been a hero for so many years, and even if the Royal Family kept the habit of calling their first born daughters Zelda, most of the links she met were the ones made on the Sheikahnet. Ganon, or the calamity, was just a memory, kept alive by Historian and old fear that it could always come back, but never really sure if it was a legend or reality.

She breathed out.

The sun was slowly going down, and there was no use staying outside now. No magic train would come and pick her up. She could only wait for the morrow. At least she had taken a couple of books with her.

Link loved reading strange stories on the Sheikahnet. Tales of liminal space, moments and places in time that did not really exist, but were there anyway. Feeling that anything could happen if you were attentive enough of your surrounding.

Like sometime in the morning, when from the corner of your eyes you could glimpse a fairy. Nobody ever believed him when he mentioned it as a kid, so he stop speaking about it, but it happened. A small light that would float on the verge of his consciousness when the light were low and the mist so thick you could cut it with a knife. He sometime dreamt about a moon about to fall, about great battles that happened here and somewhere else. Of big birds, one as red as the fire of Eldin, and another bluer than the sky above. He dreamt about fairies and princesses, sometime brunet, sometime as blond as the wheat he could see from the train windows. Sometime he dreamt he was dying, other time he dreamt that she was.

Most time he just dreamt of her. She was always the same even if she never bore the same face, and he was always himself even when he wasn’t.

He never talk to anyone about these dreams.

He loved the Akkala Faculty station most of all the places he knew. The weird feeling like he could meet anything, anybody from anywhere. Although at night, like right now, most of the time it was empty.

He hadn’t expected to see someone, let alone a girl, sitting on the bench inside the station, but here she was anyway. Long blond hair, falling on her laps, even as she put them back behind her long and fine hylian ears. She was reading a book and in the silence of the place he could hear a slow music being hummed. A lullaby of sort, one he had never heard before but was strangely familiar anyway.

She was familiar in that way strangers sometimes were, as if he had met her in another life, and maybe he had. He dreamt of strange life so often that he wouldn’t be surprised, and after all, he might have seen her on another day, in a train. She was familiar because somehow, he knew who she was, he had seen her, who hadn't? She was the crown princess after all, he recognized her. Everybody knew she was studying here. But he knew her, not in a gossipy way, just a true as saying he knew the grass was green or the sky was blue. He just knew….

“Excuse me miss, are you waiting on a train ? There isn’t another one before tomorrow…”

She hadn’t expected anyone to be there. The place was so small and quiet, she had never realized how much she had needed the calm before staying there for the last hour, alone with her book and the slow sound of the light rain falling on the glass ceiling of the station. His voice made her jump slightly, all taken as she had been by the story within the page of her novel, she hadn’t heard him coming closer. He was wearing the uniform of the Train Tracks, a green tunic, with golden boutons. A nice green cap over dirty blond hair and big blue eyes who were looking at her with a bit of worry.

“Yes, I know, I missed my last one and can’t go home because of the holiday. I was hoping of staying here for the night, is that a problem ? I can leave…” Now that he was closer, she could read his name embroidered in gold lettering.“...Link?”

The name was strangely familiar on her lips. And after all, it was. She study history after all, and if one name came back as often as her own, it was this one. It was quite a strange name to wear nowadays, less and less people named their sons after the heroes of old. Too much to bear, too dangerous, if the calamity was to come back, and their son was the one to go ? She could understand the predicament. After all, she herself was the most likely Zelda to be called upon if anything like that were to happen.

“Oh, no, don’t worry miss, you can stay.”

His voice was soft, almost inaudible. She had read that a lot of the heroes had been shy, silent, some says that a few were completely mute. She wondered if all the Link in the country were like the first one, if the name was implicitly making them take certain character. A name is a heavy burden to carry, one that most parent didn't really realize.

She looked at him and everything inside her was yelling that she knew him, but no word would come out of her mouth, his eyes were full of recognition and the fear was restraining her heart. The silence stretched for what seemed like years, when finally her throat allowed for the sound of her hope and fear to come out.

“Do I know you ?”

Could she know him? Yes she could, as true as he knew her without having a clue on how he did. He wanted to touch her, to feel the soft skin of her hand like all the other time he had met her. Sometime with a glove, sometime with fur. He knew her in a way he couldn’t understand.

His voice was silent in the back of his throat, memories of dreams too real, and realities that couldn't have been anything else but dreams. In this place where everything could happen, he had met her, and somehow, something in him told him it was impossible.

But here she was, Zelda, his princess, his everything in so many lives. It was unlikely, said the voice inside his head, that they somehow manage to meet for once without the hovering of an horrible future. But maybe it had happen, maybe this time they could just be themselves without the fear of imminent death and unshakable duty…

Maybe it was just a flicker of his imagination, maybe it was just him who felt the overwhelming need to wrap her in an embrace and never let her go. He wanted to say something, anything, try to make her feel what he felt…

“I think you do.”

They looked at each other for what felt entire lifetimes. All the one they could  never be together, and some of the one where they were. They say that some kind of love transcend life time and maybe theirs is one of them.

One of Zelda favorite story was the one of the creation of this land. Strangely enough, it arrived almost unscathed to them when so many others were just like tree leaves, scattered to the wind, never to be heard again. It was said that it was the will of the goddess that her soul be reborn in a human girl, and her hero soul to follow hers until the end of time. And maybe it was what that was. She for sure wasn't feeling really goddess like right now, but the rythme of her heart was telling her that it was him.

Some things are just too hard to ignore, and the attraction she felt for this boy, no older than her, was unprecedented. Before that, she realized, she had been mostly going through her life like a lifeless puppet. Or maybe the goddess had just made everything happening to make their encounter possible.

Her mind was filled with so many memories that weren’t her own, it was almost hard to keep up. All the faces of the same man, so different were suddenly juxtaposing on the face of the one in front of her. That’s how she realized.

“Do you...want to have a coffee ? I think we both need a hot drink…”

The eyes and the voice, they had always been the same.

They ended up in the all night coffee shop next to the station. The place was about as empty as it could be, a few patrons here and there and a waitress who would have prefer another shift. The music was soft, the booth comfortable. Their hands were joined in the middle of the table and their hot coco discarded on the far side of the table for the last ten minutes. If you looked carefully, you could see the soft curl of three triangles softly shining on the back of their hands, another proof of what was happening, but too taken they were with each others presence, neither of them seemed to acknowledge their presence.

They had talk about their lives, how for all this time it has felt like something was missing. For the first time Link told someone about his dreams, and Zelda about her own. They spoke endlessly about their families their works, the school. How freeing conducting a train was, and how much a single jar could teach you about your own civilisation.

It felt like no time at all had pass when Zelda realized the first ray of light had started to appear by the large window of the shop. The clock was announcing 6 o’clock, and it was almost time for her to catch her train. They had taken the time to exchange slate number, and as Zelda was dragging him to watch the sunrise on the tracks, the incomprehensible need to tell him she loves him was overwhelming.

How could she just say that to someone she barely knew, if her mother were here she would probably scold her like the teenager she acted like. But when her eyes fell once again into his, it was like the whole world was lit on fire.

She didn’t know him, yet, but her soul did. And if you can’t trust the very soul of the goddess to find true love, then who could you trust ?

She was surrounded by light and Link had never seen anything as beautiful as her right now. The whole evening was surrealist, but even him couldn’t have invented a plot like that for a dream he hasn’t been asleep to have. For all time, the mere concept of Soulmate has seemed somewhat preposterous to him. Not something someone like him could ever hope to have. Even with the dreams. So many of them finished with despair and sadness that he never thought that he would meet her, and live to tell the tale, even less enjoy her mere presence, here, in his favorite place of the world, with her in his arms.

But here she was, and together they were.

Well, she had to leave soon enough, but they knew the real them now, and texting was a thing they could do. Meet up somewhere else and get to know the them from this lifetime, after getting to know all the them from before. They could go on dates, learn to love each other, and spend the rest of their life, knowing that they would never be truly ever appart for long.

Maybe the next one won’t be as nice and peaceful as this one was about to be, but he knew they would be together.

Finally the train arrived, he listened to the sound of the wheels, grinding against the tracks, smelled the smoke of the chimney concealing them from the crowd starting to mass around them. Even now, they felt alone, just the two of them. Neither of them could say which one went for it first, but when their lips met, if was like a hello and a goodbye. The happiness of the start, followed by the bittersweetness of the separation.

It was a promise of more to come.

The ring of the train called them back to reality and Link dutifully brought them to her wagon, helping her with her luggage before dropping a last short kiss on her lips, followed by one on her hands.

“Your highness, I’ll text you when I arrived in Castle Town on the weekend.”

She could feel the blush on her cheeks, she curtsied.

“I’ll be waiting” she paused and winked at him, “Even if I sure hope you will text me sooner.”

He smiled at her and she swear it could have eclipsed the sun.

He watched as the train left the station, too slowly and too quick at the same time. Once it had disappeared, his gaze got lost in the forest surrounding the area. The leaves, as green as her eyes, and red like the blush the hard wind had left on her cheeks.

Yes, Akkala University Station was definitely his favorite assignation.

[dont-ever-forget-the-tears]

Since all four Divine Beasts were free, I headed back to Kakariko to tell Impa the good news.

It was a bit sad. She seemed to blame herself a bit for being unable to protect the Champions.

:( But she was heartened that their spirits hadn’t given up, and urged Link to go finish off Calamity Ganon. Of course, I had no intention of doing that right away. I stuck around Kakariko and found a new sidequest I had yet to complete:

Calm down, Link. After this, another event in the village activated. Someone had stolen the heirloom from Impa’s house. This heirloom was quite clearly the key to open up a Shrine close to the nearby Great Fairy Fountain. Annnd it had been stolen right after Paya had determined that she needed to give it to me. Of course. Paya was nervous because of the break-in, so Impa asked Link to hang around her for the day. This didn’t involve anything interesting; it just cut to dusk. Paya said that the guards out front hadn’t seen anyone break in, and said that if Link saw anyone suspicious moving about at night, he should stay away. ...Which obviously meant “follow them”, naturally. So I took up a spot on a nearby roof and waited. There were a few people who were moving around “suspiciously”, but it was one of the guards, Dorian, who I followed up and out of the town to the area where the Shrine key needed to be used. And a member of the Yiga Clan appeared!

After I fought and defeated the guy, Dorian confessed that he used to be a member of the Yiga, but he left them when he met his wife and they had a family. ...And the Yiga had killed his wife and threatened to do the same to his kids, and Impa and Paya unless he fed them information about Link and Kakariko. After I used the key to uncover the shrine, he asked Link to keep these details a secret in order to protect his kids, and vowed to protect them and the village, no matter the cost.

Sometime after this, I snuck back into Hyrule Castle. Not with the intention of finishing the game or anything! I’d heard about an entrance on the west side, and now that I’d freed all the Divine Beasts I was feeling bold enough to take a look. It led to the prison of the castle and while I was exploring I fought a Stalnox in the remains of what was once a test of the Royal Guard, and received a very special prize:

I also uncovered a Shrine at the castle, so I could warp back there at any time! The path eventually led me to the library, where I found the King’s study and his journal. That was a depressing accounting of his thoughts on the lead up to Calamity Ganon’s return, and his ruthless push to get Zelda to awaken her powers. It’s extra depressing because he acknowledged how unfair he was being to her, and was going to give up and let her do what she wanted if her visit to the Spring of Wisdom failed to awaken her power. :(

Exploring the castle more, I found this sword:

Master Sword knock off. Also, this happened:

Only glitch I encountered in the game. Frozen enemies normally drop to the ground instead of floating away...

After I got bored with exploring the castle, I left and started tracking down shrines that I had not found yet. One of these involved a sidequest with a familiar looking object:

Of course, it’s not REALLY the Mirror of Twilight, it’s just a reference... And here’s another silly thing with a shrine key:

Also, I went to a broken down Colosseum and fought/rode the toughest variety of Lynel for the challenge:

And I completed these cool outfits:

Once I’d tracked down and completed every possible shrine I could find outside of my destination, I finally headed to the Lost Woods and made it through there. I didn’t even work out the “trick” to navigate it then, it was just by trial and error. But I found what I was looking for:

And met the Deku Tree:

He warned Link that the sword tested those who sought to claim it, and said that if he attempted to draw the sword in a weakened state it would kill him. And it really would, because attempting to draw the sword actually eats up your hearts. Of course, by this point, I had more than enough to draw it:

Once Link drew it, he had a flashback to Zelda leaving the sword there. She promised the sword that Link would come back to it one day, even if he was deprived of his memories. And she asked the Deku Tree to relay a message to Link when he returned and started to say something (probably that she loves him) but the Deku Tree interrupted her and said that it would sound better coming from her. And then she put the Master Sword in its pedestal:

And back in the present, I received the Master Sword:

It’s weapon that will not break, although it will exhaust its power and become unusable for a time instead. And it doubles in power when used against Ganon or enemies tainted with Malice!

There was still more to do before I left the forest, because the Koroks gave me some trials to do! I had to seek out several shrines in the forest. At the end of the last one, I was told that I had conquered them all and I should go to the Forgotten Temple. And there I found three chest waiting for me. The items within made up a brand new outfit:

So Link DID have his own traditional outfit in this game after all! With all this done, I finally went back to Hyrule Castle and entered the area where I would fight Ganon. As soon as I arrived, Zelda was unable to hold him back any longer and he was unleashed:

That’s the creepiest Ganon I’ve ever seen. Fortunately for me, the Champions chose this moment to unleash their attacks:

That cut his HP down by a whopping half, and then it was all up to Link. The first part of the fight was pretty much like every other boss: just had to deal damage to him. After he lost a certain amount of HP though, he put up an annoying shield and I had to bounce his Guardian Laser attack back at him to break through it to deal damage, which was a bit tougher. Once his HP was down to zero, he exploded. But of course, the fight was not over. Link was teleported outside the castle to Epona, and Ganon took a much more familiar shape:

Zelda gave Link the Bow of Light and a pep talk:

And then it was fight time once again! This fight was pretty easy, just had to shoot the glowing points. It wasn’t long before the final spot opened up on his head. When I shot that, Zelda popped out of Ganon and finished him off with the power of the Triforce:

...Honestly, I kinda wish they’d had the courage to let Zelda age and be an old lady by the time Link wakes. I suppose they’ll say her goddess powers prevented it or something...

ANYWAY. Zelda and Link were reunited, and she told him she had been watching over him and said she’d never lost faith in him, and asked him a very important question:

:’) And so the two of them left Hyrule Castle behind and moved forward to the future as the king and other Champions watched over them:

And that was the end, apart from that little bit afterward where Link and Zelda were making plans to head to Zora’s Domain because Vah Ruta had stopped working. I would’ve been interested to see what was going on there, but alas... They’re moving on without me:

And even with the game completed, I still have no idea where BotW is supposed to fall on the timeline. But I still stand by my pre-playthrough guess of “probably the Downfall timeline, and probably not the Child timeline”.

[wlweiss-blog]

@wlwnora tagged me 

Here Are The Rules: answer these 85 statements and tag 20 people

Fool Lineup (i have no idea if this is avas own addition or if the original ask meme had fool lineup from the start. both are good): nat tagged most of the people i know :c @pyrruby @rosezone @angel-maki @tsunamifalls @hope-png and anyone else ive forgotten/wants to do it!!

the last

1. drink: water mixed w/ raspberry stuff 2. phone call: my brother 3. text message: ami 4. song you listened to: Zelda: OoT/TP- Lost Woods(Saria's Song)/ Sacred Grove Piano  5. time you cried: yesterday 6. dated someone twice: whoops yea 7. kissed someone and regretted it: nope ive never kissed someone 8. been cheated on: yyyyea 9. lost someone special: YYYYYYEa 10. been depressed: i am known for being depressed

11. gotten drunk and thrown up: new years

3 favorite colours

12. pastel pink 13. pastel blue 14. that pretty orange color idk what its called

in the last year have you 15. made new friends: oyea 16. fallen out of love: nah 17. laughed until you cried: yeah i cry a lot 18. found out someone was talking about you: yeah 19. met someone who changed you: big yes 20. found out who your friends are: idk what this means but probs 21. kissed someone on your Facebook list: my fb is basically just family so no

general 22. how many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: 3 and the rest is family so im too lazy to count 23. do you have any pets: ye 24. do you want to change your name: kinda but im worried abt what my mom would Do 25. what did you do for your last birthday: im p sure i just slept

26. what time did you wake up: 6:10 27. what were you doing at midnight last night: snnnnnzzzzz 28. name something you can’t wait for: meeting my friends and this day being Over im so tired 29. when was the last time you saw your mom: last night 31. what are you listening to right now:  1 Hour of Relaxing Zelda: Breath of the Wild Music

32. have you ever talked to a person named tom: yea

33. something that is getting on your nerves: Hip Pain and sadly these dogs im not good w puppies 34. most visited website: tungle and google 35. hair colour: light brown

36. long or short hair: short its just above my shoulders 37. do you have a crush on someone: ye ye ye my gf

38. what do you like about yourself: my eyes bv everyone says i have nice eyes

39. piercings: ears 40. blood type: A or O

41. nickname: kate, kait, kaitee, kb, valerson, koki is old but koki 42. relationship status: gay and taken

43. zodiac: sagittarius. aquarius moon and cancer rising 44. pronouns: they/them

45. favourite tv show: uhhhhhhh… i honestly dont watch many tv shows unless u count like….. anime……… in which case bnha (same nat) 46. tattoos: none. id only get one if i can find a nice easy spot where i dont feel mch pain (same enat) 47. right or left handed: right 48. surgery: none 50. sport: soccer, softball, baseball, football, tennis, volleyball, golf, and cheerleading (all of these are Death) 51. vacation: Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, D.C, Kentucky, upstate New York 52. pair of trainers: ??

MORE GENERAL 53. eating: nothing rn 54. drinking: coffee

55. I’m about to: finish this and then play botw 56. waiting for: sleep & my mom to get home 57. want: My Cool Friends to be here tbh 58. get married: mmm….. maybe idk (same nat) 59. career: i want.... coffee shop but probably teaching or doing something w kids even tho i dont rlly like kids :/

WHICH IS BETTER 60. hugs or kisses: hugs 61. lips or eyes: eyes 62. shorter or taller: idc

63. older or younger: :// 64. nice arms or nice stomach: again idc 65. hookup or relationship: relationship 66. troublemaker or hesitant:i would be a troublemaker but i have anxiety(sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssame)

HAVE YOU EVER: 67. kissed a stranger: no 68. drank hard liquor: no scary 69. lost glasses/contact lenses: many glasses but ive always found them eventually 70. turned someone down: yes. same guy four times( meeee too nat) 71. sex on the first date: no 73. had your heart broken: a lil 74. been arrested: almost 75. cried when someone died: yeah 76. fallen for a friend: yea

DO YOU BELIEVE IN: 77. yourself: not really 78. miracles: ye 79. love at first sight: not really no 80. santa claus: no 81. kiss on the first date: probably not 82. angels: kinda for certain reasons

OTHER: 84. eye color: blue 85. favorite movie: spirited away or uhhhh aladdin or uhhhhh moana or uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh a lot

[mega-aggron]

tagged by the splendid @shadowshown​!

Rules: Answer these 92 statements and tag 20 people (i tag too many people with these things already i’ll try to be less annoying lol)

THE LAST: 1. Drink: water 2. Phone call: my mom trying to find each other in a theatre lol 3. Text message: my friend’s mom coordinating getting stuff for him 4. Song you listened to: Perfect Places by Lorde (me too arslan lol) 5. Time you cried: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ it’s been a while...

HAVE YOU: 6. Dated someone twice: uh on two separate occasions yes, not in the sense of break up / get back together 7. Kissed someone and regretted it: uh i don’t think so 8. Been cheated on: nope 9. Lost someone special: yeah 10. Been depressed: i get into... really bad slumps sometimes. idk if it’s depression but it very well could be 11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: yes oops

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS: 12-14: turquoise, teal, light green

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU: 15. Made new friends: yup! 16. Fallen out of love: no 17. Laughed until you cried: ye 18. Found out someone was talking about you: not as far as i know? 19. Met someone who changed you: Yes 20. Found out who your friends are: Yes 21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: Nope!

GENERAL: 22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: probs like 95%, have a few internet friends on there still 23. Do you have any pets: parents have a dog! but i can’t have any in my apartment 24. Do you want to change your name: nah. i’ve become too used to it at this point :p 25. What did you do for your last Birthday: hung out with family 26. What time did you wake up: like... 7:15 and then again at 9:00 27. What were you doing at midnight last night: either asleep or watching competetive overwatch 28. Name something you can’t wait for: hmmm i’m going to the beach in july! 29. When was the last time you saw your mom: yesterday 30. What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: if i could like... be less apathetic that would be cool 31. What are you listening right now: apartment [young the giant]  32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: that was the name of my advisor this last semester 33. Something that is getting on your nerves: Politics. 34. Most visited Website: tumblr, probably

LOST QUESTIONS. I JUST PUT IN RANDOM INFO ABOUT ME 35. Mole/s: i don’t think so 36. Mark/s: scar on my knee and left eyebrow, birthmark on my lower back 37. Childhood dream: astronomer -> pokemon master -> programmer 38. Haircolor: brown + pink 39. Long or short hair: short sides, medium top 40. Do you have a crush on someone: i don’t know if that’s what i’d call it, but i still feel something  41. What do you like about yourself: I feel like I’m a good listener 42. Piercings: not for now 43. Bloodtype: B 44. Nickname: 7 45. Relationship status: Single 46. Zodiac: leo 47. Pronouns: He/him/his 48. Favorite TV Show: fma brotherhood or parks and rec 49. Tattoos: i think they’re cool but idk what i’d get yet 50. Right or left hand: Right 51. Surgery: Do wisdom teeth count? 52. Hair dyed in different color: no i grew this pink hair naturally :p i’ve done turquoise, purple, light blue, and this dark blue that somehow faded to purple and then pink 53. Sport: i play volleyball during the semesters 54. (this question must’ve disappeared cuz i didn’t see it from the post i got tagged in…….?) 55. Vacation: i wanna visit dubai someday 56. Pair of trainers: i finally got a pair without holes in them aww yiss

MORE GENERAL: 57. Eating: is this like... right now? nothing 58. Drinking: water most of the time, i drink lemonade and milk fairly often too 59. I’m about to: finish watching a game of overwatch 61. Waiting for: my lazy ass to work up the motivation to fight ganon in botw 62. Want: More free time 63. Get married: i think so 64. Career: web development

WHICH IS BETTER 65. Hugs or kisses: Hugs! 66. Lips or eyes: Eyes 67. Shorter or taller: it’s pretty hard to find taller 68. Older or younger: older probably 70. Nice arms or nice stomach: tummy 71. Sensitive or loud: Sensitive 72. Hook up or relationship: Relationship! 73. Troublemaker or hesitant: hesitant?

HAVE YOU EVER: 74. Kissed a Stranger: No 75. Drank hard liquor: ye 76. Lost glasses/contact lenses: i don’t think so! save those times contacts fall out right after you put them in and magically disappear for a few hours 77. Turned someone down: Yes 78. Sex on the first date: No 79. Broken someone’s heart: i don’t think so 80. Had your heart broken: nah. i mean i’ve been rejected many times and that sucks but i don’t think it’s quite the same 81. Been arrested: No 82. Cried when someone died: Yes 83. Fallen for a friend: yeah and HOO BOY is that a ride

DO YOU BELIEVE IN: 84. Yourself: sometimes 85. Miracles: not in a modern context 86. Love at first sight: No 87. Santa Claus: i believe in torbjorn 88. Kiss on the first date: not opposed, but also have never done

OTHER: 90. Current best friend name: winston, nitesh, jared, siddy, chris 91. Eyecolor: blue 92. Favorite movie: begin again

[bugheadjones-the-third]

Thank you for the tag, @bugheadsunshine​ ! I love these games! They're quite funny and they bring us together!

I'll be tagging: @batninja02​ @believe-that-you-can-my-friend​ @blueandgoldd​ and @all4bughead​ ! Anyone who wants to participate, feel yourselves invited!

LAST

[1] drink: Soda [2] phone call: unidentified number XD  [3] text message: College's study group [4] song you listened to: Great Fairy's Fountain theme - Koji Kondo (Zelda fan here.) [5] time you cried: A couple of moments ago, while having Bughead feelings

HAVE YOU EVER

[6] dated someone twice: No. I haven't really dated dated anyone. [7] been cheated on: By friends [8] kissed someone and regretted it: No [9] lost someone special: Yes [10] been depressed: Kinda still am. It's hard to recover sometimes [11] gotten drunk and thrown up: Don't drink #alwaysthedriver

LIST 3 FAVOURITE COLOURS

[12] Blue  [13] Red  [14] Green

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU

[15] made new friends: Yeah. Good ones, I think [16] fallen out of love: Nope, no love for this gal [17] laughed until you cried: Yes.  [18] found out someone was talking about you: Yes. Not that I really cared about it. [19] met someone who changed you: Not really [20] found out who your true friends are: Not sure  [21] kissed someone on your facebook list: nope XD

GENERAL

[22] how many of your tumblr friends do you know in real life: unfortunately, no T.T [23] do you have any pets: Yep! 3 dogs! [24] do you want to change your name: No. I like my name! [25] what did you do for your last birthday: I traveled to the countryside with my family and disappeared from the world. [26] what time did you wake up: 9:30am [27] what were you doing at midnight last night: Playing Zelda BotW [29] when was the last time you saw your mother: Looking at her right now  [30] what is one thing you wish you could change about your life: Uhm... I wish I could dedicate more time to my writing...  [31] what are you listening to right now: “Hurt” Johnny Cash  [32] have you ever talked to a person named tom: My brother's name is Tom XD [33] something that is getting on your nerves: Fandom drama [35] elementary: Yes [36] high school: Yes [37] college: Currently on my 2nd year [38] hair color: Light Brown [39] long or short hair: Short hair, no doubt [40] do you have a crush on someone: Fictional characters count?  [41] what do you like about yourself: I like my personality and my hair... I do like my body and I love the fact that I have zero patience for parties haha [42] piercings: My ears [44] nickname: Ju [45] relationship status: in love with fictional characters [46] zodiac sign: Cancer [47] pronouns: she/her [48] fav tv show: Currently obsessed with Riverdale, but also Naruto, Grand Hotel, Soresekai... I watch mostly animes. [49] tattoos: Not yet... I still need to decide the perfect spot! [50] right or left handed: Right

FIRST

[51] surgery: Not really... But I'll have to remove my wisdom teeth so.... Soon. [52] piercing: My ears when I was less than 1 year old [53] best friend: A girl that looked a lot like me back in school. We were really god friends. [54] sport: Volley  [55] vacation: The countryside, probably... We go there since forever. [56] pair of trainers: My aunt gave me a pair so I could practice sports. I still have them.

RIGHT NOW

[57] eating: Nothing... [58] drinking: Nether either haha [59] I’m about to: enter the amazing world of neurology. *sarcasm activated* [60] listening to: "Inside of You" The Maine [61] waiting for: me to finish so I can finish a fanfic. [62] want: write  [63] get married: That's probably the last thing in my mind right now and most of the times [64] career:  Med Student

WHICH IS BETTER

[65] hugs or kisses: Can I choose a fist bump? I'm not really into touching and stuff like that. [66] lips or eyes: Eyes, definitely. I have a thing for them.  [67] shorter or taller: Taller [68] older or younger: Older [69] romantic or spontaneous: Spontaneous, for sure. [70] nice arms or nice stomach: Arms *cough* Cole's arms *cough*  [71] sensitive or loud: Sensitive [72] hook up or relationship: Relationship, for sure [73] troublemaker or hesitant: Troublemaker. I'm too anxious for a hesitant.

HAVE YOU EVER

[74] kissed a stranger? Yes [75] drank hard liquor? Nope [76] lost glasses/contact lenses? Every Morning [77] turned someone down: Yes [78] sex on first date? No [79] broken someone’s heart? Yeah... Though it was not easy because it was my friend...  [80] had your own heart broken? Yes. Not by a boy or anything like that... [81] been arrested? No... not yet XD [82] cried when someone died? Yes [83] fallen for a friend: never.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN

[84] yourself? Most of the times  [85] miracles? Yes [86] love at first sight? Nah [87] santa claus? Yep *looks around* Have I made it into the nice list? [88] kiss on the first date? Maybe just a peck on the lips. [89] angels? Yeah...

OTHER

[90] current best friend’s name: Tom (aka my brother) [91] eye colour: Brown [92] favorite movie: So unfair!! But I guess I would say it's Ferries Bueller's Day Off

That was a long game!! Hope you identify somehow XD