#his ribbon is actually Zelda’s

[ve-lli]

Downturned or unturned eyes?

I prefer downturned

OUTFIT IS BASED ON IZEK’S FROM “HOW TO GET MY HUSBAND ON MY SIDE” MANHWA

[potatowes]

Magolor the Microscopic Manager

I was trying to make Dimitri Zelda Oracles but I got bored and went back to my muse instead. Made a new model and everything. oops

Trying to use up more fleece before I splurge on some minky. Chilly used up most of my white fleece so I was cutting it close.

Satin is annoying to work with for a number of reasons but it's shiny so I did my best lol. I don't have any actual ribbons that look even a little similar but I reaaally wish I did.

It's been almost a year since I did all the Magoland challenges and his little speech at the end was so cute omg. Probably the fastest I've EVER gone from 🤬 to 🥺

[loz-furbies]

Skyward Sword Zelda

Design

Now for something completely different since Zelda is a commoner this time! I think the outfit works well, it’s not too busy but it also has plenty of memorable details (I especially like the sailcloth around her shoulders) and the green and pink ribbons in her hair. And while the overall design is very different from the usual Zelda looks, the blue cloth on her waist at least reminds me of the “aprons” a little.

Mixed feelings about the white dress, the Hyrule crest collar is great, but everything else in the dress is really simple and basic so it feels a little out of place. However I like the white dress when she’s depicted with botw Zelda in her white dress, it’s a nice contrast how one has long flowy sleeves and the other has no sleeves at all.

Character

Skyward Sword Zelda has a charming and playful personality, making her super likable, and overall she really feels like an ideal girl-next-door type. As Link's childhood friend she's incredibly supportive of him, but also not above calling him out for being lazy or lightly teasing him. And she can be quite stern and gutsy when needed, as seen when she puts Groose and his cronies in place when she finds them bullying Link.

To some extent Zelda does feel a bit too much of idealised manic pixie dream girl to the more down-to-earth MC-kun that is Link. A considerable amount of her lines are spent on speaking positively of Link too, and we don't get to know much about what else she has going on in her life besides Link and the Plot.

A notable example of this is her status as a student of the knight academy, why is that not touched at all? Why was her role to give a trophy to the flight competition winner and not take part in it herself? Even if she's at a different stage from Link in her studies, shouldn't she still have something to say about their shared goal? I've seen some fans attribute the fact that she made it through a dungeon on her own to being a knight student, but I'm not giving the game credit for that.

We do get to know that she was interested in the surface even before the events of the story, and apparently has a knitting hobby judging by the items in her room. Which... okay I've been a bit too hard on her, as it's incredibly rare for any of the Zeldas to have a hobby at all and I do give SS Link points for his wood carving hobby too. It's just that so many of her lines are spent on gushing over Link so I guess I would have needed more stuff that's specific to her alone to balance that out.

Once she finds out about her role as the reborn goddess she becomes more serious and gloomy, but is still very much recognisable as the same character. Which has not been a given in the history of Zeldas with multiple personas, so good for her.

We don't get to know a lot about how regaining an unspecified amount of memories of her previous life has affected her sense of self, but I figure it has had at least some effect since she sometimes switches to first person, notably when apologising to Link about involving him in the grand anti-demise plan (which at least to me clearly isn't SS Zelda's fault). Though there's not any question if the goddess persona had somehow taken over, since the greatest line of the game "I'm still your Zelda" exists.

Ultimately while I think SS Zelda gets close to the line of being too much of a perfect fantasy waifu, she doesn't cross it and remains incredibly charming.

Role in the story

The game has a very slow beginning, where a lot of time is spent setting up Link and Zelda's relationship and ordinary life. And while the characters are the biggest draw for me in these games, I think there would have been room to condense the story a bit. Even if you really like the characters, in a video game you can reach a point where you're just hoping them to get on with it so you can actually play the game, which isn't exactly helpful if you're supposed to like the characters. But if you don't get frustrated with the slow start, Zelda is set up extremely well as someone you'd want to save.

After the setup she falls into a tornado, and the first part of the game is spent chasing after her and trying to figure out what's going on with her. You get more information about her bit by bit, so she clearly remains as the goal. Once you do catch up with her, it's after she was just rescued by Impa, who chides Link for having been too late to do anything himself. For me this worked just fine because I was really bad at the game, so her criticism was perfectly fair, but I wonder how better players felt about when the plot mandates that their perfect performance is judged to be a failure?

Eventually both Zelda and Link travel to the past, where Zelda explains herself as the reborn goddess and commits to her duty to seal Demise's curse for thousands of years, which changes the game's objective from trying to solve the mystery around her to a more clear rescue mission. Sealing herself to magic sleep is Zelda's big moment and the the game really plays it up, and to great success because that scene is beautiful. After that she doesn't really do much though, like because her darkness-sealing moment happens in the middle of the game (and chronologically before the main part of the gameplay since we're in the past here) and the grand finale darkness sealing is done by the Master Sword, there's not a lot of room for Zelda and she ends up with more of a victim role.

It is also kind of disappointing how Zelda gets damseled twice in the same game. I guess I can kind of see that since Link and Zelda's relationship is such a big part of the story, it makes sense that her life would be at risk when the stakes need to be at their stakiest, but I really wish they could have thought of something else than have her be woken up from her magical coma for five minutes before getting immediately kidnapped for the bad guys' evil resurrection ritual.

The end credits show snippets of Zelda's life after she fell to the surface, met Impa and started following her duty. Which was of course great but also a somewhat odd place to put it, and made me wonder if it was originally supposed to be shown somewhere during the story but got cut. And then they just put it in the credits since the scenes were already animated. But in any case it's nice to see more of Zelda's journey, even if strictly didn't offer any new information.

Relationships

As usual Zelda's most important relationship is with Link, and this time there even is more to it than a single line that they're childhood friends. Or they are childhood friends, and while in general I'm a big hater of this trope being so common in Japanese media, at least here it's used with a purpose, as the Goddess' master plan involved specifically preparing a hero who'd go to the ends of earth for her reborn form.

I said about Link and Zelda in Spirit Tracks that their relationship doesn't get any specific development and is more just about that they went on an adventure together and you have to imagine that they grew closer during that. Meanwhile in Skyward Sword they clearly know and care about each other as people and it's not just about like, general human empathy towards someone in trouble, which certainly makes their relationship more interesting.

So as I complained earlier, a lot of Zelda's lines are about Link. She gently teases him for being a sleepyhead, goes out of her way to arrange him time to practice for the flying competition and knows to send her loftwing to wake him up, asks his opinion on her ceremonial costume, asks him out to fly together which is totally written to look like a date, and so on. Some of her behaviour comes out as so flirty that it makes me think if she's all astonished at Link for being so oblivious. And she states multiple times that she wishes that Link will be the one to win the flying competition, so she can do the celebration ceremony with him, or how amazing he was when he managed to do that. The last point was brought up so many times that it just got really heavy handed, and I do think that some of it should have been cut, but just as it was entering actual cringe territory, an alternate explanation emerged that she actually wanted to talk about these ominous premonitions she's had, but had trouble bringing it up and was stalling for time.

Also it's just beautiful how the whole sleeping thing goes full circle, with Link being the notorious sleepyhead in the beginning, but Zelda requesting that it's Link's turn to wake her up as she's about to enter her magic sleep. Really shows that she has a lot of trust in him.

Meanwhile Link doesn't talk outside dialogue options as usual, so you don't get as much from his side, but his expressions when he looks at Zelda in many scenes tell a lot about how he cares about her.

In general their relationship skirts around being a romance but doesn't fully confirm anything (or at least that I can remember). After Link wins the flying contest, a scene where it looks like Zelda is about to kiss him is set up, but instead she pushes him off the ledge to complete the ceremony. And maybe she was just so coy about the "date" in the clouds because it was all about trying to gather courage and find a good moment to bring up a difficult topic, and Link's determined responses how he'll certainly save Zelda are totally platonic? But like, obviously a scene that teases a possible kiss is put in for a reason and the game ends with a shot of their loftwings flying together after Zelda tells about her future plans to live on the surface and asks what Link wants to do, so I'd say you need some serious anti-shipping goggles to ignore what's being implied.

Also since I brought it up for Spirit Tracks, Link and Zelda hold hands in this game too.

Impa is in the game as well in the role of Zelda's bodyguard, guide and friend, and this time offers a more meaningful relationship with her than her previous incarnations. Impa is fulfilling her job at assisting Zelda do hers, but they also clearly care about each other. We don't get to see them that much though, so their personal relationship isn't defined too well. Like Impa acts as a servant and refers to Zelda with "your grace", and Zelda just goes along with it and we don't know if she tried to establish a more equal relationship. In one of the end credits snippets we see Zelda doing this cute happy skip when she's walking with Impa and it looks like she's having fun, and these four seconds are probably their most casual scene together.

It's also really sweet when it's revealed that the old woman who helps the cast in the present timeline is actually Impa, so Zelda gets one more chance to meet her. Or it's kind of funny how they saying their goodbyes in the past but Impa reassures that they'll meet again, and after some time travel from Zelda's perspective the reunion in present time is literally just a few minutes later, and then Impa actually dies and they're separated for a second time. But obviously it was about how Impa had been hanging in there for thousands of years so she could still help Zelda and Link with their duty.

In any case Zelda and Impa's bond is clearly strong, even if we don't see the details. It also makes me think of how different this is from BotW Zelda's situation, and how things might have turned out for her if she had a mentor how knows what to do and also is emotionally supportive.

Groose primarily acts as a rival to Link, which includes being a romantic rival for Zelda's affections. He's not any threatening at it at all though since his feelings are clearly one sided, but it's not exactly clear what Zelda thinks about him. He is introduced when he has hidden Link's loftwing so that Link couldn't take part in the flying competition, and Zelda immediately jumps in to take Link's side. After that Groose's character development happens while Zelda is away, and next time they meet Groose behaves in a more respectable manner and Zelda appears to be happy to see him.

Like everyone else in Skyloft, she also has her own loftwing buddy, and much fuss is made about how everyone is soul-bonded to their bird. None of this really shows up about Zelda's relationship to her loftwing, who doesn't even get a name, though to be fair neither does Link's. In general I think the loftwings were hugely underdeveloped considering how much time you have to spend on one flying around.

Zelda also has a father with whom she actually gets to interact with, but I don't get much anything out of that except that they have a normal/good relationship.

[fever-project]

Hyrule for the Pokémon AU! His design his mostly the same, I just took some inspiration from the Ribbon Smock in XY, since those are my favorite Pokémon games. I think it fits with the Pokémon he has. I also think I messed up with his arms though, specifically his left arm, it looks a bit weird. I do love how I drew the Pokémon though, poor Litwick. But now, onto the Lore under the cut!

There are little to no pokeballs in Hyrule’s time, production for them has stopped long ago. So his Pokémon just follow him around, like his Drifloon. Sometime before his first adventure started, the Drifloon attempted to take him away. It failed, spectacularly, and ended up being pulled around by Hyrule, none the wiser to the Pokémon’s attempt to carry him off. They’re friends now. Drifloon doesn’t really fight for Hyrule though, he has a sword-that I forgot to draw here oops-that he uses to fight off evil Pokémon.

In Hyrule’s time, it is very normalized to use actual weapons against Pokémon, whatever it takes to survive in such a dangerous world. Some people keep Pokémon, but most don’t. Object Pokémon are typically seen as “safer” to keep, and Hyrule only has object Pokémon.

Hyrule found a Klefki after it stole one of the small keys he needed for a dungeon. So he beat it up until it let him use the key. But then it continued to follow him, since it figured that Hyrule could lead it to even more keys, even fighting for him occasionally. After Hyrule found the Magical Key in the 8th dungeon, he let Klefki keep all the small keys they found. Then he lost the key sometime before his second adventure, repeating that cycle until he found the new Magic Key, which he leaves with Klefki to keep an eye on. Klefki is so very happy.

Hyrule first just had a regular Blue Candle he bought from a merchant, before finding a unique looking Litwick in the 7th dungeon. Litwick clung to him, clearly wanting to leave that place as soon as possible. Hyrule loved her immediately, she’s so cute. Drifloon carries Litwick around when he’s fighting, otherwise she tries to stay in his pockets.

The Power Bracelet made Hyrule stronger, and it also had this cool stone called a Mega Keystone according to Impa. The Keystones are very rare, not many people even know they exist. He also found some mega stones in the treasury that he was allowed to keep, just in case he found a Pokémon that could mega evolve.

During his second adventure, Hyrule found a Shuppet. He was very tired and frustrated from the everything, so he was the perfect feeding ground for the Pokémon. But Hyrule loved him. He was so cute. Hyrule’s mood increased immediately upon seeing him. Shuppet was now stuck with the hero, whether or not he liked it, and he didn’t at first, but he eventually grew on him, even fighting for him, more so than Klefki, eventually evolving into a Banette. He basically hates everyone that’s not Hyrule, because he took care of him so well. Banette tolerates his other Pokémon, as well as the Zeldas and Impa. Even though Hyrule treated Banette with so much care, he would not turn back into a stuffed toy as the legends say he would. Once Hyrule brought Banette back with him, he figured that Banette could mega evolve.

Now onto the LU! Picking up where we left off in Legend’s post, The Chain has just met up and introduced a bit about themselves. Hyrule told the rest that he didn’t really have pokeballs, and that his Pokémon liked just being out and about, his Litwick in his pocket and Banette being held in his arms, the other two floating around him.

Legend seems to know the most about what’s happening, but surprisingly the old farmer (time) is the one taking charge, the ranger captain (warriors) staying by his side. Legend stayed to the wayside, the so called Hylian Champion is sticking by his side, and the blue-coated gym leader (this is twilight, i’ll make a post about each link’s occupations later) is sticking by his side, much to Legend’s annoyance. Hyrule really wants to talk to him, but he’s knows better than to make the hero even more annoyed. But he knows he has to make friends with the other Links. The child was walking over to him, but the glare sent by his Banette made him instantly turn his heel and walk over to with the Master Sword, who was already with the multi colored one.

Then the captain fell back, going over to him, completely ignoring the Banette. The captain had a determined look on his face, a black pokeball in hand. It took Hyrule a few seconds to recognize it as a Luxury Ball, something that he’d only heard of from Zelda the First. The captain placed it in his hand as Hyrule’s mouth was agape in shock, staring directly into his eyes before subtly nodding his head over to the Klefki before stepping away and going back to the farmer’s side. Hyrule dumbly nodded back, holding the ball out to Klefki, who curiously tapped the button on it and disappeared in a flash of light. Needless to say Hyrule was freaking out, having never seen a pokeball before. The champion and the kid had to teach him how to use the pokeball, with Legend and the multi-colored one giving him more Luxury Balls for his other Pokémon. They all loved it, except for his Banette, who clearly preferred to be held.

Anyways I’m currently resisting the urge to make a fan fic, since I haven’t really planned much out. Also going to make a master post of this eventually.

[luimagines]

A Dragon’s Dominance

Another commission.

They wanted Warrior Dragon au. In which case all the lu boys are dragons. I was given many creative liberties. It’s slowly consumed my very soul.

Masterlist

Content under the cut!

You had learned something new about your traveling group. Every last one of them was some variant of dragon.

It was surely a learning curve for you. With time, you had learned that there was a whole secret culture that you would have been completely ignorant to had you not have it more or less shoved in your face. They could see more, smell more. They had half forms and full forms and were incredibly possessive. They shared their bonds in ways you couldn’t even register. You had no idea.

And they had tried so hard to hide it from you.

While dragons are still considered mighty and powerful creatures…. They were received in less than stellar interpretations in some eras. These boys were quick to learn that it was better to play it safe than to be overly prideful.

You had ended up in Warrior’s era. Queen Zelda was quick to receive the weary group and decided that a party should be thrown for the Heroes of Hyrule.

No one was impressed.

But no one was going to fight her on this. As a dragon herself, she would treat her kind and her hero with the honor he would be (and has been) denied otherwise. Zelda’s and the royal family were typically the only tolerable dragons, you came to learn later on.

The boys began to get ready as the party began to be prepared. You were given an outfit to wear as well, courtesy of the Queen and a request from Warrior- should the grape vine be believed at all.

You tried to make it work but you had begun to feel out of your element as it was. You were going to run late if you stalled any more.

There was a knock on your door.

You jumped and froze. It came again, a bit softer this time and more hesitant.

Warrior called your name.

With relief causing your heart to jump into your throat, you dashed for the door, pulled it open and pulled him in. “Link, help me. I don’t actually want to go.”

The name had escaped you before you could stop it. You were too frazzled to even realize your mistake.

Warrior blinked. He took a minute to process it. You were beautiful. His heart was beginning to betray him. His palms began to sweat. He wasn’t sure if his own outfit would even compliment yours the way he would have intended.

“Well…” He starts. “I don’t plan on staying the whole time if that helps. I’m not… fond of this sort of interaction anyway.”

You begin to calm down. “Really? Why? I thought this would be right up your alley.”

Warrior kicks the floor a bit. You look positively ravishing. He wanted to do something reckless. Something irreversible. Easy boy. He coughs. “I may blend in but that doesn’t mean I like it.”

You take a steadying breath. “That’s… fair actually. … I bet you have some people throwing themselves at you, huh?”

“It happens from time to time.” He admits.

You frown. “...I see… I can imagine that wouldn’t be very fun then.”

Warrior smiles gently. “It’s just one thing though. I have other reasons but they are neither here, nor now.”

He looks you up and down. You can feel your cheeks flush and you struggle to look him in the eye for the time being. Warrior offers his hand, brushing it hesitantly against yours. “Hey, I think I have just the thing to finish your outfit off… If you’re willing to follow me for a moment anyway.”

Anything to keep you from going into the public.

“What is it?”

Warrior takes your hand, pulling you to his side. He wraps his arms around your waist and guides you through the halls of the castle. “Something I’ve been holding onto for someone special.”

Well that doesn’t answer any of your questions.

He stops in front of some doors.

You think you recognize them. This must be his room. 

Warrior lets you go. “Give me one moment.”

You nod and he disappears behind them. Three minutes pass.

He emerges with a ribbon of some sort. No, that’s not quite right. Warrior holds it up. His face is red and he looks bashful. Something in this moment seems significant. You can feel it in the air but you don’t know why.

“I wanted to give this to you for a while now.” He says quietly. “I couldn’t do it before because… well… I didn’t have it with me, obviously… but I think it compliments you quite nicely.”

He holds it up and you can see small fabric flowers, sewn onto a thin embroidered wire with ribbon hanging near the sides. It appears to be a headband… but much more intricate.

“Do we have the time to even fix that onto me?” You blurt.

Warrior laughs and steps closer. He brushes a bit of your hair to the side and starts the process of braiding the ribbon into the hair that will fit, making sure the flowers give the appearance of a crown along your hairline. “To be completely honest, as long as I’m your escort, it’s not like you’ll get in trouble. People won’t think you’re rude for showing up fashionably late.”

You have calmed down completely at this point. Vaguely, you can smell whatever Warrior must have put on before he left his room. It seems just like him. It smells like hickory smoke and the comforting feel of an old beloved book. At the same time… you think you can actually smell his cologne through the musk. You can only think of Warrior. Only he would smell like this.

“Well, I’ll just show up when you do.” You say quietly. “That way I won’t have to worry about doing something too stupid.”

Warrior chuckles, matching your whispered voice. His fingers work nimbly to secure the headband to your head and it feels nice to have your hair played with. The moment feels comfortingly intimate, even if nothing is necessarily happening. “If you fall, I’ll catch you.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.” He takes a step back, looking proud of himself. “Gorgeous. Just I knew it would be.”

You flush entirely. But this is just Warrior. Encouraged by his smile, you give a little spin, showing off your outfit completely. “What do you think? Am I good to go?”

Warrior smiles wider and offers you his arm. “I think the party can finally begin.”

You laugh a bit, placing yourself at his side. “Does that mean they’ve been waiting for us specifically? Would they then have permission to start?”

Warrior grins with you. “Naturally.”

“You’re so full of it.”

“You wouldn’t change a thing about me and you know it.”

“It’s just a shame that you know it too.”

The banter was easy and amusing. You always seemed to relax in the presence of Warrior. He was just so pleasant to get along with.

Before you knew it, you had arrived at the doors to the ballroom. Warrior puts his hand on the door knob and turns to you. “Ready?”

With him at your side, of course you are. You tell him as such.

Warrior grins in the dorkiest way he can manage and opens them. “Then let’s try to forget the present for a little while.”

You nod and follow him in without question. The music continues but you can feel the way heads turn in your direction. Your grip on Warrior tightens, refusing to let him go although you’re well within the walls of the party.

“Dance with me?” Warrior tugs on your arm gently.

You look back up at him for a moment. You nod.

Warrior smiles and leads you to the dance floor, letting the music carry you through the motions. You can’t get rid of the feeling of stares no matter how much you try to ignore it.

“I just need to stay for three dances more often than not.” Warrior informs you. “If you want, you can come with me and we can both get out of here.”

“You’d let me?” You whisper. A smile lights up your face at the thought. “I won’t get in trouble for doing so, will I?”

“Of course not.” Warrior laughs. “If I’m held to that standard, why would they ask any more from you? It’s nice that you’re here with me though.”

The song ends and Warrior bows a little for fan fare. “One down. Two more to go.”

The next song to start up is one you recognize and it’s a bit longer than your typical dance. You don’t look around the room for another partner. You simply grab Warrior’s hand again and start to move to the beat. “Well we can get one more in the bag before someone steals you away from me.”

Warrior grins and shakes his head. “I’m more worried about someone stealing you away from me.”

“Strange. You’re the popular one.”

“And yet, here we are.” He says.

Warrior spins you around and you can feel yourself being pulled closer to him with every orbit. You lean into it and drop your voice to a whisper. “I can’t be crazy, right? Everyone’s looking at me.”

“I know.” Warrior replies in the same hushed manner. “It’s because you’re the brightest star of the night, Sweetheart.”

“Well how do we get them to stop?” You  plan your hand by his shoulder. Warrior’s keep his hands on your waist and small of your back, swaying with you to the beat of the music in the background.

He sighs. “Unfortunately, I fear we can’t do that. …And I’m also afraid it’s my fault.”

“What?” You blink in shock. That can’t be it. “What do you mean?”

“You came in with me and you’re wearing my headband… well it was actually my mother’s.” He admits in a quieter voice than before. “But some people are more nosier than they should be because of my position… and standing with the princess… and defeating Ganon and all that jazz you already knew about.”

You stop moving with him. Warrior has to stop the dance and with small and hesitant movements, he takes your hand. “Allow me to explain? Please? It’s…. A dragon thing.”

“No need, Link.” A voice drops in, sugary sweet and skin crawl worthy. Cia drapes an arm around Warrior’s shoulders and sneers at you from over his shoulder. “If they don’t understand… well no one can hardly blame them for it. I would like a word with you however-”

“No.” Warrior steps out of her hold, standing over you protectively. A small tongue of flame flicks within his breath. “I’m going to be the one to do it. I claimed them.”

“Do they even know what that means?” Cia raises an eyebrow. She appears to be calm but at the same time you don’t understand what has Warrior so on edge. He looks ready to fight.

You grab his hand and hold it tight. “Maybe not. But I can learn.”

Warrior shoots you a grateful look.

Cia looks muffled. Her grip tightens around her staff but she manages to side step out of the way for Warrior to lead you to the doors that lead to the garden. He begins to take you out of the ball room even if you’ve only been there for ten minutes total.

You try to look for the rest of your group but you can’t seem to see anyone you would recognize. You’re not sure if that means they’re not there, that they’re hiding or that they changed their style and dress so much to fit the party that you just can’t recognize them anymore.

You get dragged out into the moonlight and into the rose hedge maze. Warrior still appears to be on edge. He looks over his shoulders multiple times as you move and eventually pulls you behind one of the walls of the maze.

You both look at each other for a moment, letting the words and implications drape itself over the both of you. You take a breath and pull a little bit of ways away from Warrior. “...Claim me?”

Warrior blushes. You don’t think you’ve seen him so flustered and bashful before. He coughs and brushes his thumbs over your knuckles. “Dragon term…”

You nod. “Yes. I’ve gathered that at this point.”

Warrior looks down at your hands. “We have hoards… We’re quite greedy as a species you see. When we see something we want we put a claim and a mark on it. Sometimes we can say either or and still mean that-”

“You want it.” You finish for him. “You want something, you take it, it’s yours. Am I wrong?”

Warrior bites his lip. “That’s the premise.”

You hum. It’s not necessarily a foreign concept to you. Finder’s Keeper’s right? “How do I fit into this then? You want me?”

Warrior coughs, breaking his character somewhat. “I’ve… wanted to court you for a while now. The others were waiting and teasing me relentlessly.”

“What did you even do?” You raise an eyebrow.

Warrior reaches over and touches your hair, twirling it around his finger. You tense and bite your lip. “The headband?”

Warrior nods. “It’s yours…. If you’d have me.”

You can’t help but to flush as well. “So when all the people were staring-”

“There’s been some issues in the past. Everybody is wondering if I’ll ever take a mate to a degree.  Haven’t shown interest in anyone and for good reason. I’m not known to have the highest merit. Or the best prospects or even the biggest hoard-” 

“You want me as part of your treasure?” You cut him off. “The headband was to tell everyone else that?”

Warrior pulls you closer and leans into your space. “I get it… If you don’t want literally anything to do with me. I’m damaged and my future is only going to get harder to deal with and that’s not even scratching the surface of the social pressure and expectation my name comes with-”

“Link.” You say it purposefully this time. The man shuts up instantly. “Let me see you…Scales and all…”

Warrior doesn’t move. He doesn’t meet your eyes. He doesn’t even appear to be breathing. You don’t think he’ll go for it. The thought that you’ve crossed a line vaguely passes through your mind. Warrior begins to shift in front of you. He grows a tail and horns. His eyes sharpen and fangs sprout just behind his lips. His scales appear to be a bright blue, with hues of green and purple that dance in the changing light.

“There.” He looks away.

“Is this all you can do?” You trace your fingertips over the scales that encircle his eye, dragging your nail down his temple and cheek, stopping just past his jaw and down his neck. You can see Warrior gulp.

“Well …no.”

“Show me?” You’re pushing it.

Warrior looks into your eyes. His grip tightens for just a moment before he steps back. Another shift happens and a full dragon stands in front of you. Smoke comes out of his mouth but he lays close to the ground, trying to appear smaller and as least threatening as possible.

“You’re precious.” You drop to your knees and cup his face.

He scoffs, sending more smoke into your direction despite his attempts to control it. “Now I know you’re making fun of me.

“I’m not.” Your heart drops for a moment. You don’t want him to think that you’re trying to ruin a sentimental moment as it is. You kiss the tip of his snout and lean back comfortably against the grass. “You are very pretty. Even as a reptile.”

Warrior shifts back into his half form. His eyes bore into yours and he’s quick to pull you closer. “Please don’t play with my heart. I need an answer. I can take it off if you reject me. I won’t try anything else-”

You kiss him.

Warrior freezes and doesn’t know how to react even as you pull away. You swallow the small lump in your throat. “You idiot. I don’t care about your dragon customs or whatever. I don’t know what the process is for all of this… But all you had to do was say something.”

You wrap your arms around his neck and hide your face in the crook of his neck. “You’re a sweetheart. I’m willing to give you a chance.”

You can feel Warrior’s heart beat against you. It’s quick and panicked. You have a feeling this isn't how he thought this night was going to go.

He hugs you back fiercely and begins to purr. This delights you to no end and it’s suddenly very hard to stop yourself from giggling. It tickles.

“I promise-” He says with a thick voice, heavy with emotion. “- that I’ll do everything within my power to make sure you want for nothing and that no one will harass either of us. I swear it.”

“And Cia?” You say beside his ear.

“...She’ll be a problem.” He settles on. “But she’s been acting out for a while now. Leave her to me and Zelda. And if you need anything else regarding the magic then talk to Lana. She’s more… flexible than Cia on more things than just me.”

You nod and relax into his hold. That smoky scent comes from Warrior is pleasant and comes in waves as you both sit on the ground within each other’s arms. Warrior relaxes as well and hugs you tighter.

“Easy.” You warn. “I might smell like you by the end of the night if you keep this up.”

“Good.” He mumbles. “That’s the point.”

“Eh?” You pull back. “Do you mean to say-” You push him back as well so that you can actually look him in the eye. “-that you’ve been doing that this whole time? It’s purposeful?!”

“Of course.” Warrior smirks at you. “You’re mine.”

[drsteggy]

So day three of the con, I was Ocarina of Time Link, and this seemed to be the day the Zelda cosplayers showed up. I found a pair of Yiga clan members almost immediately and said hi. They were excited to see another Zelda cosplayers, we exchanged trinkets and it was great.

There was not a lot of trinket trading and only a few badge ribbons- everyone I gave a fairy bottle to was excited to receive one, so maybe this will migrate west.

I saw a lot of very excited kids. I had to fix something on my boot early on and as I am quietly cursing something, I hear a little voice go “is that the Ocarina of Time?” And I straighten up and there are two little boys who are astounded to see me. I saw a girl dressed as Malon and her mom told me I made her con when I asked for a photo. A dad and daughter dressed as Wolverine and Deadpool ran me down- the daughter’s middle name was Majora. Everyone loved Navi.

When I headed out for lunch- the San Diego Convention Center faces this wonderful part of downtown called the Gaslamp District that is full of bars and places to eat and it was an entire zoo the whole weekend- I ran across the Yiga clan again. This time they spotted me and scurried over to face me. They were armed with bananas. These turned out to be hilarious retractable swords. As I was laughing about that reveal, they began to circle me like they were going to attack.

I had no weapons on me. We flew and there was a whole Cloud Strike nightmare that resulted in my luggage traveling the country for a few days before we could actually get to the west coast, so we ended up just doing everything carry on. So no weapons, just my ocarina. After a “what do I do ?” Moment, I decided to just roll with it, and crouched down trying to keep both these guys in fro t of me.

This attracted a crowd. The crowd pulled out cameras.

After a few moments of sparring, we kind of all pulled up, laughing at the moment. A member of the crowd called out “Uh I missed it…can you guys do that again?”

The crowd shouted its agreement. It looked cool, they said, more!

So the Yiga guys and I looked at each other, shrugged, and got back to circling each other and the crowd cheered.

Somewhere there are images of this, and I really hope I find them

This was easily my favorite/best day. I wish I could have brought more Links. The closet cosplays I did the rest of the time were fine. Two people knew who Cheese Sandwich was. The Vaporeon always gets a warm welcome. The Zelda I did was fine (and one person did clock her as a sort of Echoes Zelda) but Link was SO FUN.

Really looking forward to DragonCon next month!

[stupidgalaxybrain]

"Happy Halloween!" - Me

This month sure has been a ride, but I'll get into all of that tomorrow, because right now it's spooky time! I also wanted to take the time to explain all the costumes because I put a lot of thought into it.

From left to right (kind of):

Kine and Gooey: Gooey's only interest that we know is fishing, so I decided to dress him up as a fish , and to make that less weird, Kine is dressed up as Gooey.

Meta Knight: He's Galacta Knight, the legendary 'greatest warrior in the galaxy'. I'm still on the fence on whether it's canon that they've met/fought, but either way, I purposely didn't look up reference for the costume because even if they did meet, Meta Knight has to work from memory on what he looked like. Meta Knight's also trying to sneak some candy from Marx; we'll see how well that goes.

Marx: Groucho Marx glasses without the mustache so we can see him chomping candy, and a special Halloween print hat! That big bag of candy he's hording is definitely stolen.

King Dedede: DDD's a big prankster, and currently that's taking the mundane form of trying to jumpscare Kirby. I wanted his costume to be something that scares Kirby, but not like, scares Kirby, and I ended up with a capiller. Kirby's grossed out by those things, so it works!

Sailor Dee: They're Meta Knight because of course. Though, Meta Knight's not wearing his usual mask tonight, so maybe that one isn't a fake?

Bandana Dee: Okay, I admit it. This one is the stupidest one here. He's an apple tree. He likes apples. Bada bing bada boom. I didn't want a majority of the costumes to be pop culture references, so it's kind of hard to come up with something. Though, wouldn't an apple tree costume be a Whispy Woods costume in Dream Land?

Kirby: So, Samus is canon to Kirby, and in the Great Cave Offensive you find a bunch of other Nintendo references, and Kirby is in Smash... so technically Link isn't even a pop culture costume? Idk, but they already dress as him every time they pick up sword anyway. Kirby's actually part of a group costume because next up is

Ribbon: Navi! Apparently the teaser website for K64 compared the two, and while all they have in common is being a fairy, I thought it'd be cute to pair that up with Kirby and two other people.

Taranza: Kind of plain, but he's a vampire. I feel like that's one of the only Halloween costumes he'd be willing to wear, and he can put those silly glow-in-the-dark fangs in! And who's to say vampire romance books don't also exist in Floralia for him to enjoy?

Adeleine: Drawcia, because I've seen a lot of people already put Adeleine in a witch costume, and Drawcia and Adeleine both have paint in common. I was considering having her dress up like a fairy for both Ribbon and Elline, but Elline's in the picture so Drawcia it is!

Prince Fluff: Continuing their group costume is Princess Zelda, which was picked solely because it matched the others and because Fluff is royalty, but putting a big blond wig on him is cute anyway.

Susie: A popstar (not the planet lol) She loves to sing and I thought it'd be cute but still 'professional' since she's currently repping HWC with her specialty jumbo candy bars.

Dark Meta Knight and Shadow Kirby: Because of course, Shadow Kirby is Dark Link, finishing our group costume! DMK doesn't have a costume (boo) because he was just going to drop Shadow Kirby off but probably ends up sticking around in the corner.

Claycia and Elline: Their costumes work in contrast with each other, where Claycia is a black and white mime and Elline is a rainbow fairy princess!

Magolor: He was of (semi) sound mind for the first phase of his boss battle, so I imagine Magolor does like that robe, and he's not one to shy away from referencing his betrayal for a joke, so he's dressed up as Crowned Magolor (with the crown prop crumpled in a trashcan somewhere) and sneaking some Magolor cookies onto the snack table.

Daroach: Last but not least, Daroach is a pirate captain, with his loyal crew of squeaks hiding below the table and gorging on candy.

If you made it to the end of this, hello and Happy Halloween again! I'll get more sappy in my last post, but this has been a blast!

[torchickentacos]

DREW + 4, 12, and 23

OKAY. TUMBLR'S LETTING ME ANSWER THIS ONE NOW. hellsite. Long post. I joked about being normal and hinged on the other ask about him I answered and CONGRATS, you get unhinged and long-winded thoughts! Curse of being my friend, I'm comfortable being unwell around you and now you get a dissertation <3.

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

I mean, here's the thing. Literally any answer is objectively going to be hilarious. He's absurd in whatever you throw him at. Off the top of my head. Skyrim. Any romcom ever. Red Dead Redemption. Zelda. Great British Bake-Off. Like. Literally anything is really funny to imagine kdjfhskjf. Real answer, though, I think he would THRIVE as a Stardew Valley townie. That seems genuinely up his alley. Little florist's shop with a greenhouse in the back, a small-town with plenty of wilderness around to explore, and damn it now I just want to make an SDV pokeani au.

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

Long section incoming. Lol. Sorry. I have.... thoughts. A couple of 'em, even. Not adding a read-more because at this rate tumblr's gonna auto-shorten this for me.

kdjfhdskjfhdsjfhdsj. okay. You, the one asking this, already know WAY TOO MANY OF MY HEADCANONS ABOUT HIM and you are complicit in all of them lmfao. Assuming the french-canadian thing doesn't count since it's arguably canon (?), here's a potentially ~controversial~ one that literally nobody is obligated to agree with, dw, but I can back it up (sort of) (as much as you can back up ANYTHING in AG): I do not think Drew stays in coordinating in the long-term. Here's the thing. Think about episodes where he's being annoying and high-strung (/affectionate). Now, think about episodes where he seems to actually have serotonin for once. In group one, high-strung, you're going to get a lot of contest (like, contests on stage, not shorthand for shipping)/competition themed episodes. I have my... OPINIONS (/derogatory) about the Absol scene in Thinning the Hoard!, but I can use that as an example of "Well. This can't be great for his emotional wellbeing." EVIDENTLY it stresses him the fuck out. He's never more moody and stressed than he is in grand festivals/contests. But, in group two where he's actually kinda chill (albeit still himself), we have episodes where he's out doing literally anything other than coordinating- Unbeatable Lightness, WWWWW (why is he more relaxed in the episode where he drowns than the episodes where he wins ribbons?), On Cloud Arcanine. Hell, even contest episodes where he's not the one competing! He seems genuinely happier outside of contests.

This isn't even getting into my thoughts on coordinating fame and canon's portrayal of it (which is actually interesting and consistent, if unelaborated on). Some people thrive in that attention. Others won't. I think Drew genuinely loves the ART of contests. The planning of it, the technical side, working out strategies and appeals. And he's good at it. But the other parts of coordinating are things he struggles with and is uneasy with (also seen briefly in Unbeatable Lightness, A Fan With A Plan, and Spontaneous Combusken, my beloved absolute dumpster fire of an episode).

Now, it's a real shame to headcanon him as someone driven out of a career he loves by the culture of it and to just leave it on that sour note, though- so, where does he go from there? I've spoken to friends about it and there's different schools of thought about this- the one I usually lean towards personally is a career change that still allows him to partake in the parts of coordinating that he loved without the parts he hated, like becoming a mentor of sorts for new coordinators. I can see him being, like, a coordinating professor of sorts. Something that still allows the artistic expression and self-challenge, but more contained and focused specifically on the parts he loves about it. I can see him finding more satisfaction through teaching and nurturing others' talents and watching THEM go off and win rather than putting himself through it.

And obviously, his entire canon character is about how he's good at coordinating! This is maybe a weird take that sort of takes canon and does a hard pivot, so absolutely no need to agree at all, and I LOOOOVE interpretations where he stays and thrives in it! Because honestly, on a selfish note, the less he does coordinating the less I have to worry about the rules of contest appeals and battles, so. Can't say I don't have a personal stake in this. Because dear god do not make me try to understand the gen 3 anime's contest point system or lack thereof, what the FUCK.

Anyways. Thoughts. I have them. Sometimes. On occasion.

23. Favorite picture of this character?

lmao. BUT also 1.) every single face he's ever made at Harley, and 2.) every single face he makes in Unbeatable Lightness, which I think this is the third time I've mentioned it here BUT IT'S A GOOD EPISODE AND I'M NOT TAKING ALTERNATE OPINIONS ON THAT! If the sunset scene rewired my brain chemistry as a kid for probably the worse, then that's everyone else's problem and not mine. insert Taylor Swift "Drew looks-" FUCK YEAH MAN HE SURE DOES!!!!!

[cameronsactivities]

an f. scott fitzgerald companion

i found this book at a thrift shop and here are some of our beloved scotty's worst moments

"In their correspondence, Fitzgerald saved every letter Ginerva wrote him. He later had them typed up and bound with ribbon. Not a single one of Scott's letters to her survived. She threw all of them away."

From Ernest Hemingway's memoir:

"I had watched him drink two good solid whiskies and nothing happened"

"I had never heard, then, of a grown man missing a train; but on this trip I was to learn many new things."

"While I had been angry I had demoted him from Scott to Fitzgerald."

fitzgerald tries to mansplain pneumonia to hemingway

"Scott then asked me if I were afraid to die and I said more at sometimes than at others."

the entire saga of fitzgerald convincing himself he has pneumonia and hemingway being not quite sure how to react, which goes as follows: "You haven't any temperature. How the hell are you going to have congestion of the lungs without a temperature?" [Hemingway] "Don't swear at me," Scott said. "How do you know I haven't a temperature?" "Your pulse is normal and you haven't any fever to the touch." "To the touch," Scott said bitterly. "If you're a real friend, get me a thermometer." "I'm in pajamas."

More:

An entire section called "That Sad Young Man"

"he spent his whole freshman year at Princeton writing the Triangle Show, which left him no time for algebra, trigonometry, coordinate geometry, and hygiene."

"'F. Scott Fitzgerald,' I said. 'I thought he was dead.'"

he's 5'6 (this might have been exaggerated though)

[at the 20th century fox office] "Fitzgerald made himself comfortable by taking off his shoes"

closing remarks:

i think fitzgerald gets a bad rep for generally being an asshole, which is true, but i also feel really bad for this guy. after the 1920s and his success with this side of paradise and the great gatsby, the media started saying he was "wasting his talent" and basically calling him a one hit wonder. a lot of this was because of the great depression starting in 1929 which made his books unrelatable, like people started saying that the great gatsby was promoting that kind of excessive lifestyle. he fell out of favor with the public for the rest of his life, hence the "i thought he was dead" quote. people just forgot about him. this obviously caused a lot of financial struggle for the fitzgeralds and he later got really paranoid and perfectionist about his writing.

there's this part in the book that stands out to me, where he goes to a play adaptation of one of his short stories and absolutely nobody is there at the theater, which literally has benches instead of actual seats. this man continually got slandered by the media and faced this type of rejection from the public but still worked on his last novel (the last tycoon) up until the literal date of his death. and he was still hopeful that the novel would be his saving grace and planned to write more novels. even after his heart attack he continued to write despite bedridden. idk i just think that's respectable.

i know he was a jerk in MANY other ways but i will have to mention that he genuinely was trying to be better for zelda and his daughter, scottie. he lived frugally because he was paying for zelda's treatment/care and for scottie's boarding school. he was still in a lot of debt but he wasn't just perpetually wasted. speaking of which, he didn't drink for like the last year of his life and tried multiple times in his life to quit alcohol.

anyway this by no means excuses any of the other things he's done, but i think dying thinking that all your entire life was lived in vain is pretty bad. i still laugh at him because it's funny though.

[hybridraita]

[Vayne in Atelier Resleriana's 3D Model Character Showcase Review Part 1] 25 February - 13 March 2024

Hello~

This… This- this- this- this- This is first time about-about Oh no, i'am mean

Vayne Aurelius got 3D Model Character after 15+ Years!

I was surprised after first react post twitter media is actually retweet by Mana Khemia's Japanese fan, it after Atelier spin-off Nelke appeared at 2018.

I seen Raze got 3D Model Character well, not bad so my react is fine then continue search post another- KYAAAAAaaaaaahhhhh!!!

i was screaming and scared after seen Vayne got 3D Model Character with A DE- Let's see about the second trailer on youtube after reacted post twitter, I was already A first trailer days ago then

My Reaction Result: Ok, how many times have main character female again? Well everyone goes worried and disappointed because a new game is mobile game (also on PC Steam) known the Gacha Game. It worried like previous atelier online.

My eyes… Vayne as appeared in second trailer Oh my gosh...

I tried use photoshop to edit Flip Horizontal It's better like Mana Khemia Opening Animation now hahahahaha!

Let's review about Vayne 3D model character How handsome boy his face and why his hair so differently than previous official art by Yoshizumi Kazuyuki it always his front hair has left and right, like 2D Sprite mirrored?

Ambidextrous Sprite

I was found search from TV Tropes. I never seen like that but still confused that's why his hair looks different in current official art and fanart too.

In 3D his hair has no longer be mirrored see it confirm his front hair, back hair and he's have big ahoge hair now which his hair is no longer fluffy now so it be like Nomura's favourite spiky haired i think.

Noooooooo….!!

My friend from twitter says: Vayne looks like a wet cat because his hair no longer fluffy anymore, is this remake character design? Oh noo, I need to see looking conpect or reference art reveal so much

Hahahahaha…-hahahahaha…!

There's A Full Body and This is Al-Revis Male Uniform reveal is appeared due on Coast (it's before be update photo mode on 7 March, it will update again.)

A Canon Backside is confirmed after 15+ years, i think Al-Revis Male Uniform has jacket, however it's not, I do not know why? It's really remake character design, why Al-Revis Male Uniform had same front and back detail, it curious how and where's removing uniform inside?

If Vayne's Friends be appear in Atelier Resleriana, I wonder to see backside reveal again Not just only that, Other characters like previous Sequel of Salburg, Gramnad and Iris had too. Raze's Friends and Ulrika's Friends, will rival enemies too? I think be lame update because it should be need new redesign character reference, voice actor and more. It's like Pokemon Masters

How Vayne wear black ribbon armor now, where's Sulpher?! I do not know again... what's Vayne armor name? It's first time seen that backside! It's unlikely previous Official Art and Opening Animation too.

I tried my best to caught screenshots, thanks use setting high quality. Oh look, why remind like Riku from Kingdom Hearts his hair "A boy with spiky hair and blue eyes"

I did caught screenshot without- how new battle pose like that, unlikely previous 2D Sprite version. Well.

This is how look without mirrored his hair Thanks 3D Model Character, he's looks so cool like classic shonen protagonist.

But why people called he's cute, my boy/mah boi what?! how did word come from?! you don't says about from iconic zelda meme

I wonder if Vayne got redesign 3D Model Character… Maybe next time but i'am glad to see him so much.

[sisters-sideblog]

Jewelry

I'm working on an actual "start of the story"-story for my (still untitled) Links Meet AU but have also been writing little snippets to start getting a handle on personalities and interactions. I liked how this one came out!

Fandom: Legend of Zelda (Not LU!) Characters: Legend, Wild, Mask Rated: PG (mild language) Wordcount: 680

“Y’even wear that outfit when you’re climbing up on mountains? With snow? Don’t you get cold?” Mask’s slightly louder than necessary question turned a few nearby heads, Legend’s included. Wild didn’t appear to be bothered by the extra attention.

“Sometimes, if it’s cold enough. That’s why I wear this.” She thumbed the jewel centered in the circlet over her brow, then bumped one opal earring with a curled finger to make it flash in the light. “These have an enchantment, too, but I’m just wearing them today because they’re pretty.”

Ravio and Men turned back to the ledgers they’d been pouring over. But Legend, sensing a more interesting conversation, twisted around to peer over the back of his chair towards where Wild and Mask sat at the dining table. “Is all your jewelry enchanted?” he wanted to know.

“Most of it. I helped someone out who makes them, she gives me good prices. I’ve commissioned a few mundane things from her too.”

“What kinds of enchantments?”

“Mostly elemental effects. Protection and the like. Why?”

Ravio gave him a shove and a cross look; he was probably being distracting, calling across the room like this. Legend got up from the couch and instead dropped down to sit across from Wild at the table where she and Mask had been swapping stories that, so far as Legend could tell, had meandered away from comparisons of their versions of Death Mountain to, somehow, climbing things.

He held out a hand, on which glittered some of the things he’d managed to bring back from his adventures abroad; the rings that had been on his fingers and looped on a cord around his neck when he shipwrecked for the second and final time. He pointed to the one with a heart-cut ruby set in gold. “This one has a slow healing effect.”

Now fully interested, Wild bent over Legend’s hand, asking after the rest. It didn’t take long for both of them to be bringing out everything they had on them, comparing the spells.

Mask’s eyes darted between them, watching and listening with his chin propped up on his hands and his swaying feet occasionally finding Legend’s knees and shins beneath the table. Eventually, he seemed to tire of the topic. “Masks are better,” he declared, with just a hint of defiance and a challenging gleam in his eye.

“You trying to start shit, pipsqueak?” Legend demanded, squawking when Mask kicked him again, deliberately this time.

Wild nudged him with her elbow. “If you used them enough to be titled after them, I can’t say I’m surprised. Sometimes it’s nice to feel pretty, though.” She patted at the jeweled band around her bun.

“I’ve got a mask for that, too.”

“A mask for feeling pretty?”

“This I’ve got to see,” Legend said dryly.

“Is it one of those fancy ones with lots of beads and ribbons like the Rito use in their festivals?” Wild guessed.

Mask shook his head. Grinning, he ducked under the table. When he sat back up, he had on a mask depicting a feminine face that trailed long streams of bright fuschia hair, all wreathed in plants. It had an ethereal quality to it that made Legend squint with niggling recognition. He saw Wild doing much the same.

“Huh,” Legend said.

Wild ran her hand down one of the mask’s multiple ponytails. “It’s got nice hair?” she offered. She pulled her hand back, an abrupt motion, staring between her fingers and what they’d just been touching as if they’d done something unexpected. “That’s, uh. Floating?”

“Wait, it is?” Mask twisted around to look. The hair streamed after him, drifting up and around as if following the movement on a gentle current. “It is! You two can sit here and talk about your jewelry, I gotta go find the fairy. Bye.”

With that, he shoved away from the table, twisting his head from side to side before following some unknown prompting of direction from the mask and trotting towards the door.

Wild and Legend both blinked.

“Wait, it finds fairies?” Legend yelped.

[silentprincess17]

Congrats! Good job making it to 350 and I hope you'll get more attention in the near future. For the zelink prompts, maybe BotW zelink in the castle gardens. Again, congratulations.

Hi @zeldalinkohmy! Thank you so much! Very kind of you :)

So I've gone with children!zelink and this is their first time meeting in the castle gardens. Kindly beta read by @zeldaelmo :) AO3 link:

A surprise encounter

Zelda tugged the stupid pink ribbons out of her hair. They were too tight and she wanted her hair to fly! Fly in the wind like the Sheikah, all secretive and shadowy like Impa taught her. Maybe the Sheikah tied their hair back, actually. Oh well, it didn’t matter, she was going to be a hair-flying Sheikah warrior –

Bang!

Zelda tumbled to the floor, falling on top of a green blur. Some Sheikah warrior she was. 

She heaved herself up using her palms and then stared at said green blur which had tackled her. 

A pair of startled blue eyes with wispy blonde hair, half of which was tucked inside a strange cone green hat, and blue hoops – did boys wear earrings?!

Wait – she was missing the obvious!

“Who are you? How did you get here? What do you want? What’s your name? How come you're in the castle gardens? How old are you?”

The boy blinked, before a blush crept across his face. Did he… not know how to speak? Was she – 

Zelda looked down. Ah. She was still lying on top of him. Maybe she was squishing him. Or maybe boys got shy about that kind of thing. She wouldn’t know, all her friends were girls. 

She pulled herself up fully, and held out a hand to him. “My name is Zelda. Sorry. I like to ask a lot of questions.” 

He nodded, still blushing, as he held her hand. “My name is Link.”

Huh. “Like the Hero?”

“Maybe? I don’t know. I um. I’m sorry I forgot your other questions.”

She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter, want to play? I’m being a Sheikah warrior at the minute.”

His eyes lit up. “Oh!” He opened his pouch and pulled out a plastic frog. “You know they say one of the Sheikah’s powers is to launch frog missiles?”

Zelda’s eyes were huge. “Really?”

“Yeah! I visited Kakariko village once, with my dad. They had these stone frog statues everywhere. You give them all an apple, and then –” He stuttered, and the blush started up again. 

“What happens?”

“Well – dad didn’t believe what I said.”

“Adults are stupid sometimes. My father doesn’t believe most of what I say either.”

Link’s eyebrows raised sky high, his mouth an open gaping hole. “Did you just call your dad stupid?”

Zelda cast a quick glance around. “Don’t go telling anyone!”

He burst out laughing. “I won’t. See, this is what happened, a little brown…” He made some motions with his hands, gesturing the size, “blob? With a face made of a leaf? Appeared. It talked too! It said I had found it.”

Zelda leaned closer. “And then?”

“And then it smiled and hung around. Until someone moved the apples and it disappeared again.”

“We must investigate Link! This could be a new species! We have statues in our castle gardens. Maybe… Maybe it’s not only frogs?”

Link nodded, and she realised she had never let go of his hand. Well, it proved useful now, as she tugged him across to the Zen Zone of the garden, where Hylia’s statues were placed. 

“But Zelda we need apples!”

She stopped. “Oh, you’re right. Wait, let’s go this way first then.” They hurried into the orchard instead, and suddenly, a worker came into view. Sheikah warrior mode activate!

She pulled Link behind the vines, and he stumbled, opening his mouth to question her but she slapped her hand on top. With the other, she motioned to the man, whispering, “Link, we need to sneak past him to reach the apples on the far left. Any ideas?” 

He looked around, before settling on a row of terracotta pots lined up against the wall. He leaned closer to her ear and it tickled! She had to stop herself laughing! “We can use those!”

“Yes but how? We can’t just smash –” He was nodding violently. “Really? But won’t he see?”

“Zelda, on my signal, we each run and grab a pot. This orchard is in rows. So what we’ll do is we each pick a different row to hide in. We smash the pot on a count of ten, and then we leg it to the apples, whilst he’s distracted.” 

“Okay! Let’s do this!”

They watched and waited, for the worker to disappear, before scrambling towards the pots and splitting to go into a different aisle. 

One, two, three… Ten!

Zelda smashed her pot, running under the foliage as fast as she could, grabbing her hair into a fist so it wouldn’t get tangled. Link was right beside her, and he climbed the tree, throwing apples she caught in the folds of her skirt. A ruckus kicked up in the centre of the orchard, and Zelda made hurrying motions to Link. 

Soon enough, they had ten, and Link quickly descended. Zelda directed him to a secret door, covered in green that led to them making a speedy escape. 

They burst out laughing as they re-entered the Zen Zone, safe from the screams and questions echoing from behind them.

“That was so much fun! It’s so relieving to smash pots, Link!”

He nodded. “Right? I always break pots.”

“Where do you get them?”

He rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. “Uh, let’s just say a lot of places. Zelda, I can help carry some apples now if you want.”

Changing the topic! Oooh! She smirked, giving him half the apples. “Can we go to one of your ‘places’ next time we meet Link?”

He choked, blushing bright red. “O-okay Zelda.”

“Silly bean! You’re so easy to tease.”

He flushed brighter red, and fiddled with the end of his cap. 

They rounded the stone cobbled pathways, and the large hedges for walls slowly curled down, the decorative flowers subsided. The semi-maze was replaced with an open air valley, featuring flowing water pathways and giant lilies. 

A series of waterfalls provided the backdrop for Hylia’s statue, featuring a tall woman with a smile etched onto her face. 

“Here She is Link. Do you know about Hylia?” 

“This is Hylia?”

Zelda frowned. “Why? Do you know of another Hylia?”

“Um. I… Well, we aren’t very religious but…” He struggled, “I just– I assumed she’d be… prettier?” 

Zelda burst out laughing. “She’s meant to be wise and all knowing!”

“She’s also a Goddess!”

“And what? Goddesses are meant to be pretty?”

He side-eyed her. “Yes? Have you never seen the plays about The Golden Goddesses? They’re like… sparkling. And if they made Hylia I assume she’d look nicer than this… stone… version.”

“Ohhh I get what you mean now. I don’t think this is a real life representation, Link. I assume she was more majestic than this.”

“That’s the word! Ma-jes-tic.” 

“Just for your future reference Link, majestic does not equate to pretty.”

He slumped his hands onto his face. “Words aren’t my thing, Zelda.”

She ruffled his hat. “It’s okay, we’re friends now so I can help.”

He smiled, nodding. “Let’s try it Zelda!” He cried, before grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the statue. 

“Shall we both put one in? Is it in the bowl at her feet?”

Link nodded again, and they tentatively placed two apples inside. 

A wooden whimchime rang out, “YAHAHA! You found me!”

Zelda squeaked, “It’s real!”

Link clapped his hands. “It worked!”

They fell to their knees to investigate the weird brown apparition further. The little creature was so cute! Its face flipped between Link and Zelda. “Hero! Princess! Hello!”

Zelda blinked. “You can talk to us?”

“Wait– Princess? Hero?”

“One at a time! Or I’ll get confused!” It did a little dance, the twig in its hand holding a red berry shook with enthusiasm. 

Zelda swallowed. She suddenly realised she’d never told Link who she was. But still! He had rubbed off her Hero comment hadn’t he? “What is your name?”

“I am Zafa! A Korok! You can have this seed, pretty Princess!”

Oof. She was going to get caught at this rate! “Thank you. If I may ask, what is a Korok?”

“We are wood creatures! The Deku tree is our creator. We live in the Korok Forest!” Zafa replied, in a sing song voice. 

Link chipped in. “So how come you’re here? And in Kakariko?”

“We’re everywhere! It’s called seed dispersal Hero!” 

Link frowned. “But don’t you miss home?”

Zafa sunk a little, his twig dipping to the floor. “Yes. But Hero and Princess together makes me happy! It’s nice to have visitors.”

Zelda’s heart hurt for this little creature, and she offered him another apple. “Do you like apples? Or should I bring a different fruit?”

“Apples are Zafa’s favourite! Thank you! I will go now, bye!”

“Wait–” But Zafa had already disappeared, in a rush of sparkles.

They blinked before shrugging at each other. Zelda crossed her legs in front of Hylia, and offered an apple to Link, who also repositioned himself more comfortably. “That was so cool! I wonder why Zafa left.”

“Maybe he needs rest in between apparitions?”

“It’s strange that he’s never showed up before. We always put food by Hylia…”

“Could it be that he'll only appear with apples?”

Zelda’s eyes widened. “Oh you are definitely right. We’ve never offered apples. It’s always really fancy things.”

Link nodded sagely, and bit into his apple. 

“Hey, Link, we should continue this investigation, but I’ll have classes soon. Are you staying in the castle or…?”

He shook his head. “My dad’s a Knight. So I follow him around, and today he was in the castle. But… I think we’ll be going to Zora’s Domain tomorrow.”

“And then you’ll come back?”

He hesitated, hand absently rubbing his neck. “I– I don’t know. I’ll try but…”

Oh… tears pricked at Zelda’s eyes and she wasn’t even sure why. Well, maybe she did know. It was rare to have friends and the one she’d managed to make, was already leaving. “I’ll bunk then. We’ve got to make the most of today, eh, Hero?”

“Are you Princess Zelda?” She spluttered on her apple and he knocked hard on her back. “Are you okay?!”

“I’m fine, yes. And… yes. I am.”

She eyed him closely, but all he did was nod. “You’re super smart and really cool so it makes total sense.” Wait, he didn’t describe her looks? That was – “Hey does that mean I’m famous?”

She frowned, derailed from her thoughts. “Why?”

“I know the most famous person in the country!”

“But that doesn't make you famous!”

“Does too!”

“Does not!”

Their laughter echoed out in Hylia’s courtyard, and the rest of the day flew by in a series of antics and games and all around good fun. 

Surely but steadily, the sun dipped closer to the horizon, and they knew the day was about to end. 

Zelda was covered in mud, leaves and blotches of dirt across her dress, Link in a similar state, his hat long lost and his hair a mess in the flying wind. 

As they neared the entrance to the gardens he stopped, and pressed a half-rumpled tulip into her hand. “I’m sorry I don’t have anything better but this was the prettiest one of them all.” It was half blue and white, a marble effect she hadn’t seen before. “It– it reminded me of you when I saw it.”

She hugged the tulip close to her, those tears from earlier threatening to come out. “You’ll come back Link?”

He nodded vigorously, his face blotchy and red. “I’ll miss you.”

She hugged him tight, and his arms squeezed back, his face buried in her hair. “I’ll miss you too.”

“Link? Link are you still in the gardens? Son, we have to leave!”

She wasn’t ready to let him go, but that voice was coming closer and she had to escape before then. 

“I’ll see you soon Zelda.” 

She nodded, before haphazardly pressing a kiss to his cheek, just to watch him blossom red. “Goodbye Hero.” Oh, she’d miss him, the little green-wearing boy who she’d become such fast friends with. She turned, running to the castle entrance, and not looking back. He’d come back, he promised and she equally promised to never forget the friend she made in the gardens, and vowed to research flower preservation to keep his tulip in bloom until he returned. 

For their friendship wouldn’t end on this day. 

There was more to come, of that she was certain.

[zeldadiarist]

Zelink Opposites Attract, Week Three

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Sorry for the delay, irl has been pretty chaotic. I hope you're enjoying these little fics, @zelinkcommunity

During the three years he served as Rescue Ranger for the Gerudo Guard, before becoming Zelda's appointed Knight, Link had the privilege of traveling almost all over Hyrule, whether it was for specialization courses or particular operations. He even got to see uncommon sights, for he chose to go to the places that were harder to reach and to watch over, which most rangers shunned or avoided.

He enjoyed the solitude, and the natural beauty of the places. The images were quickly engraved in his memory, treasuring every landscape.

Sandstorms clearing up in the desert at dawn from Gerudo highlands.

The sun rising in the horizon in north Akkala, sea and sky parted by the golden rays of light.

Dusk at the hillsides of Death Mountain, where the sun turned into embers as it passed over the volcano's caldera.

The fleeting moment of twilight at Tanagar Canyon when the last rays of sun lit it up, which made the legends of a dragon flying over the area at night make sense.

One of them was his particular favorite. An event that required mountain cold, but a clear sky.

The aurora in Hebra.

The lights were majestic, endless ribbons of yellows, greens and blues undulating in the sky.

He liked the humbling experience of feeling so small against the infinite heavens.

What he didn't like - actually it was just a pang in his heart that bothered him - was to recognize the exact eye color of a certain friend of his.

That bloody magnetic green.

He was once again entranced by that almost fluorescent color, alone in the mountain after arriving at dusk, walking in the snow as he was trying to wrap around his head the upcoming changes in his life: he had survived a flood, appointed to Hyrule Castle Royal Guard, ended a three year relationship over said appointment, and soon moving out of Gerudo Province to Central Hyrule once more.

It would be strange for him not to be a nomad again - despite his headquarters being in Gerudo Town, he was always on the move.

A buzz of his slate took him away from his (over) thinking, surprised about a notification in the middle of the night.

He rolled his eyes. Of course it had to be you, Your Royal Annoyance. He tapped on the notification, revealing a text message.

“Sup, Link!!! I heard from Nabs ur out of range & broke your slate in Rito Village FFF LOL I heard you’re going to the Castle, I hope to see u if I can, we need to make some sealious catch up. BTW I’m moving my stuff from the Uni dorm to the Castle again, boo! I haven’t slept packing all my shiz. It’s gonna be sunrise soon ffs. Lemme know if u check this message. xoxo Z”

Sunrise?

He turned to the East, realizing she was right (of course she would. Zelda is always right, even if she's wrong.)

He basked in those first rays, and despite the lights being long gone, he turned south, looking at the Minish-size Hyrule Castle in the distance.

I hope I can see you again, he answered in his head.

His expectations were extremely low in comparison to what was in store for him.

[deathbypufferfish]

for miyu:

👪 FAMILY - what is their family like? what is your ocs relationship to them? does your oc have any siblings?

🎭 MASKS - do they act differently around certain people? what's different between the way they act around friends, family, strangers, etc.?

🕷️ SPIDER - what is their biggest fear? do they have any irrational / mundane fears?

for oscar:

📸 CAMERA - do they enjoy having their picture taken? what's their go-to pose? do they like taking photos? what do they take photos of?

✂️ SCISSORS - what is the "last straw" for them to cut someone out of their life? how easily do they let go of people?

📚 BOOKS - how were they at school? what is their best subject? what is their worst subject? do they have a favourite subject?

for both!:

🎀 RIBBON - how would they fit into other worlds / aus? what aus would you like to try out? what fictional world would they fit / not fit into?

💙 BLUE HEART - do they miss their s/o easily? how do they act when their s/o isn't around?

💌 LOVE LETTER - do they like love letters? what kind of messages do they leave for their partner?

DAMN CRAB!!!!!

Miyu:

👪: I think I answered this a while ago when I did this before but I cant find it. Time has passed anyways. She is very close with her Moms, Nina is over the most because she works freelance. She's also close with her siblings, mostly Yusuf and Hana because they are closest in age. Faruk is like 15 years younger so she didn't grow up with him much. 🎭: she used to have the socially awkward trait before it switched to outgoing (because of growing together) so she definitely would act different with others but she always has been a proud weird girl. But she's the most herself with Oscar <3 🕷️: Answered here!

Oscar:

📸: He doesn't mind having his picture taken but he is absolutely terrible at posing for them. His ass doesn't know what to do. He still manages to look hot though ✂️: He has no tolerance for people being mean towards his loved ones. He'll try to resolve it once or twice but otherwise he is confident in leaving people behind if they cannot own up to their actions 📚: Oscar was a bit of a troubled child. He was always very shy and had a hard time making friends. And in middle school he had a period where he kept getting into fights for no reason. Once he was in high school and was going to therapy he found his love for marine biology. His worst subject would be math.

Both:

🎀: Okay I'll just say the characters I think somewhat fits them/I've thought about drawing them as; Rapunzel and Eugene, Link and Zelda, Sophie and Howl, Sonia and Rauru, and Elizabeth Bennet and Mr.Darcy. Not of them actually fit their personalities obviously hhehe 💙: they will miss each other a lot being apart but are also content at the same time to be doing different things as they've gotten older. They text a lot when they're apart and it's usually nonsense 💌: Yes <3 In the morning Oscar leaves sticky notes for all his girls before he goes out on the boat <3

[merriclo]

@majoraspades you asked for wip #17 so here ya go!! this one’s abt two Links from my au: Lorule and Oracle. they’re having a talk abt trans stuff. it doesn’t escape me that this is the first bit of writing that y’all are getting abt these guys which is kind of crazy, but eh ahsjkds it’s whatever here y’all go <3

context y’all might need: Oracle is a trans man, but he’s closeted and only out to Lorule, who’s genderfluid. Lo and Ravio are married for “tax benefits.” Oracle lives at the castle with his Zelda and acts as her lady-in-waiting, guard, advisor, etc. Basically they’re just really good friends who are kind of attached at the hip and find every way to spend more time together.

content warnings: very brief/vague descriptions of pain and injuries, dealing with dysphoria

…

Lorule shifted uncomfortably, trying to ignore how the medical gauze rumpled under his ribs, or how his sweat-slicked bangs stuck to his forehead, or how horrible he looked.

He was happy to be home, at least. Hylia had been nice enough to set the portal’s opening to right in front of his house after he got halfway mauled by a bokoblin.

Okay, so he was being a bit dramatic. The wounds weren’t horrible (he hadn’t even needed stitches,) but they were bad enough that Wild had sentenced him to the couch, and his head cold only prolonged his stay.

Sighing, Lorule glanced over at Oracle who was stationed in the green armchair, all curled up with a book in his lap. When Wild asked for someone to stay and watch over the ill, he was the first to volunteer, to the surprise of several. Lorule wasn’t sure if he was actually worried about him, or if he just walked to sit down for a while.

Lorule watch them as they fiddled with a ribbon and bit his cheek absentmindedly. The older hero grimaced.

“Stop chewing up you’re cheek,” he said, voice too hoarse to be properly demanding.

Oracle’s eyes snapped up, filling with a familiar snark as they stared at him through their eyelashes. “Not even bleeding out will stop you from fretting, huh?”

Lorule huffed and tucked some hair behind their ear. “I am not bleeding out.”

“Anymore.”

He shot him a glare, though the mix of pain and sickness made it a lot harder to be mad. “The moment Wild gets back, I’m telling them to scold you for chewing again.”

“And I’ll tell them to scold you for not relaxing!”

“I am relaxing!”

Now it was Oracle’s turn to glare at him, though his had much more edge than Lorule’s did. “Liar.”

He scoffed and suddenly became very interested in both the wood and avoiding the wizard’s harsh gaze at all costs. Oracle didn’t make eye contact often, but when they did it was sharp enough to cut, especially when they were right about something.

And, annoyingly, they were definitely right. Lorule had yet to fully lay down or let their hair loose or even change into something more comfortable. It was a miracle Oracle was able to get him to take his binder off, though Lorule’s compliance was more out of fear of Ravio than Oracle. His husband wouldn’t be too happy catching him breaking house rule #7: no binding when badly wounded.

“Just stop chewing your cheek.”

Lorule looked back up at them and, sure enough, they had stopped gnawing at their cheek. He noticed for a moment how long their hair was, even if it was pulled back in the worlds shittiest ponytail.

“Who taught you how to do your hair?” he asked before he could stop himself. Had they not been both ill and injured they would’ve tried to have a little more class, though when they saw Oracle go rigid they regretted saying anything at all.

“Uhm… I did.” their voice got quiet, replacing any spunk they had before with defensiveness. “Why?”

A pang of guilt hit Lorule’s stomach, right next to the scratches in his flesh. He shifted again, and some of hair fell loose from behind his hair. “Oh, well, it just looks a little uncomfortable,” he floundered, trying to justify his words and make them less bitter. He really had to stop prying into other people’s sense of style, even if it really did look uncomfortable.

Oracle’s shoulders loosened a bit and he tilted his head up, looking in Lo’s direction but not quite at him. “Does it?”

Oh, thank Hylia, it worked. He didn’t offend him.

Lorule cleared his throat nervously, then winced at how it accentuated the burning from the nasal drainage. “Yeah, does it pull at your hair?”

He nodded.

“I can help fix that! Here, c’mere.” Lorule patted the cushion next to him, pulling their legs off of it as much as they could without any pain. Oracle obliged, albeit a bit reluctantly. Their position must’ve been comfortable despite how unbearable it looked. That, or they were hesitant to let a sick person do their hair.

Lorule repositioned themself again and loosened the blue ribbon in Oracle’s hair. It was sweet how he wore his Zelda’s favorite color so often, they really were adorably close. Oracle’s hair slipped from its confinement, falling against his back in a long, pink curtain.

Seeing it up close, Lorule finally understood just how fucked up the kid’s hair was. Didn’t he work in castle? Surely, his Zelda wouldn’t allow her right hand man to go around with such a scraggly haircut?

He had to bite his tongue to stop from asking. Really, he had to get his nose out of other people’s business. He remembered so clearly how it felt to be torn to shreds in Hytopia. It was horrible, no matter how justified it was. He had no right to put someone else through that, didn’t want to put someone else through that.

Oracle shifted under Lorule’s hands as he combed his fingers through his hair. To Lorule’s surprise, there weren’t that many knots, and the ones that were there were relatively easy to break through. It felt healthy and had a good sheen, too. Lorule smiled to themself. Even if the kid had no clue how to style it, at least they knew how to care for it.

Oracle couldn’t help but be a bit sheepish under the attention. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t like the sensation. They would never admit to that, though. Never. It didn’t matter if he’d already been embarrassingly vulnerable with the other hero on numerous occasions, some secrets were best taken to the grave.

He wasn’t very good at doing that, however, and the way he melted under the touch Lorule everything. Thankfully, he let it go unmentioned in favor of a different topic.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Lorule said as they worked through the knots, “why do you keep your hair tied back if it pulls?” They couldn’t help but push into their style choices just a bit. But, he wasn’t as crude this time and it was a legitimate question!

Oracle was silent for a few moments, formulating their words as the other hero’s gentle hands continued card through their hair. He mulled over his words for so long that Lorule realized they’d stepped into a sensitive zone yet again. Godsdammit.

“You don’t have to ans—“

“No!” Oracle snapped, body tensing up as they interrupted. They took a breath and tried to relax their shoulders. “No, it’s fine. You can know. It’s just… hard to word…”

Oracle’s tone made everything click. Lorule had only ever heard that tone twice before: when he’d found them sobbing by the lake and when he’d caught them looking jealously at a shirtless Spirit.

Shit. This was a trans thing.

Fucking of course it was. A frown weighed against Lorule’s brow as he realized just how deeply the cold and injuries were screwing up his critical thinking. He really wasn’t in the right state of mind to handle a talk like this, but, like an idiot, he’d already pushed too far and now he had to commit.

His voice was tentative, but croaked on certain vowels.

“You… don’t like having long hair, do you?”

Silence sat between them, and the only response Lorule got was a slight shake of the head.

He bit his lip as he looked down at the hair gathered in his hands. There sure was a lot and it all went down to the boy’s hips.

Another pang of guilt settled into Lorule’s stomach, wrapping its way around his ribs and clawing at his organs. How had he not realized how dysphoric that must’ve been sooner? Not everyone was able to be okay with having long hair like he was.

Another beat of silence, then: “Do you want to cut it?”

“What?”

He was about to die from how small and tender Oracle’s voice was.

“Do you want to cut it?”

In the quiet between them, Lorule remembered exactly why Oracle had come out to only them. “The people of my Hyrule… they’re… not as accepting at this group. I don’t want to risk any slip ups or suspicion,” they had explained, swearing Lorule into secrecy after he’d accidentally found out.

“We can lie. Say it got cut during a battle.” Oracle didn’t respond, and the older hero resigned themself to doing something they never thought they would. “I can make it choppy and uneven so it’ll be more convincing.”

“… What about the rest of the group? They’d know it’s a lie.”

“We don’t have to do it right now. We could wait until we’re back on the road, find an excuse to leave, and come back claiming we ran into a few ‘blins.”

The wizard shifted in his seat and let out a shaky inhale. “… You’d really help me do that?” The poor kid’s voice was cracking and it was obvious he was fighting back tears.

[dullweapons]

[ FLIRT ] Awkward newly-wed energy ⸻ @regnantlight

𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐎𝐍𝐄'𝐒 𝐋𝐀𝐏 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐒.

it had been a couple of months since she proposed to him . before he hissed at her very visage wishing to claw out her throat & eat her still beating heart ... but he's calmed down . this hate , this rage turns to a smothering apathy . he can fulfill this duty just as she must do to continue the family line .

he's been the promised consort to the crown before . he knows how the rules go for this sort of thing but ... it's a touch different when the entirety of the crown is made of up you & the princess of hyrule . there is no council to seek reasons with . there are no dukes or lords to make peace with . it's just ... the two of them attempting to restart something that was fundamentally broken to begin with . he had tried to wrap his mind around what restaring or fixing this would look like . she had a limited time on this earth ( ... maybe ? actually he's unsure . she did live an extra one hundred years fighting lord ganon . he has no idea if that's caused some effect on her ... ) but he had little care ... sure , he could fix this system but hell ⸺ no one would like his design .

the wedding was simple ⸻ zelda had made most of the choices minus his two requests : not near water & no alcohol . everything else was of no matter to him . but he did his best to remain at her side & be the attentive groom to his bride . a hand on the small of zelda's back & a small smile on his lips as he keeps up with small talk . but goddesses above it was too much ! too much talking with strangers who wished them well . ( perhaps too well , so ready to speak of their future babies looking so beautiful . or that ray was a lucky man to ❛ bag ❜ the princess . ) friends of the princess meeting him for the first time. purah . fucking purah ...

finally they were allowed to return to ❛ their ❜ house after the ceremony & party .

zelda's house in hateno is ... well it's homey to say the least . better than his cabin in akkala thats for sure . he opens the door for her & allows her inside first before he follows , kicking his boots off at the entrance before making way up to the loft . there's ribbons , flowers & sweets all over the place ... seems they set up her house to be a romantic space but ray motions with his hand for her to do whatever she needs to but he was going to get out of this stuffy tunic & get into something more comfortable .

he can hear her rustling below as he strips himself of the fancy shit he was forced to wear to be a presentable princely consort . ray wished to flop onto the bed in nothing but his underwear & just pass out ... instead he dug through a bag & put on his trusty green tunic & nothing else . he could sleep in that ... he was sure zelda would not like him naked next to her ... whatever , he sits on the edge of bed & takes a deep breath . let him sleep this day away so they can get on with the rest of the fucking show . there was a honeymoon too , right ? then they had to live together ... ugh ... he brushes his hair back , taking a ribbon & tying his hair back with a sign before he hears zelda coming up the stairs .

his eye widens a touch seeing her in ... in such a nightgown ! slightly seer , able to see the curves of her body easily through the thin fabric . ray can make out her undergarments & he stares ⸻ quickly he turns his head away , cheeks flushed .

by demise's hate ... why was she wearing that ?! it almost ... no , it looked like the one from his dream ! his brows furrowed a touch as the redness of his cheeks crept across his face & began dusting his ears such a dirty shade of crimson . it only gets worse when she approaches him . ray kept his head down but oh he could see her hips swaying just out of the top of his vision ... her nimble legs getting closer & closer ⸻ then zelda straddles him , taking his lap at her seat as if this was common . her arms snake around his neck & he snaps up to look her in the eyes but they dart up & down . he's ... allowed to look , right ? they ... did just get married ?

his hands come to her waist & holds her ... gods , he didn't realize how easily his hands dwarf her . his fingers & thumbs practically touch ... he slides them down , coming closer to her hips before pushing back up to drag the hem of the nightgown further & further up . his fingers squeeze softly , feeling the way her body gives to his press . the way the dress gathers so easily ... zelda . he shuts his eyes for a moment as he presses their foreheads together . zelda he isn't ... this isn't love . he refuses ! he just ... it's just ...

❝ ... do you ... wish to consummate this marriage tonight ? ❞ oh yeah , that's very romantic but he needs a direct answer . he isn't going to guess or make her uncomfortable by assuming she wants to . he should have asked before placing his hands on her like this but ... ray's hand squeeze her a little harder , a small hum leaves him as he feels just how squishy her thighs can be .

❝ if you want to . we can ... ❞ ray turns his head to the side a touch , arming for her neck & as he takes in her scent ⸻ they should be safe to move forward with this without accidently producing an heir so quickly ... he comes back up to look at zelda in the eyes . ❝ & ... are you a virgin ? i don't care if you are ⸻ purity culture those nobles have has no meaning ... it just lets me know how gentle i need to be & if i need to guide your hands . ❞