Flirting With A Star

This was a gift to a good friend of mine that. I recently lost the blog that I had it originally posted under, so I'm posting it again here on the new one.

@ouralienoverlord, if you ever see this again lmao. . . I miss you.

“But I won’t be able to fall asleep without a story!” Louis proclaimed with a pout on his face, staring up at the two immortals. Quinn looked rather amused as she tucked him back into bed, for Louis had kicked off his blankets in protest. “Well you’ll get one if you lay still like you’re supposed to.” she scolded gently. “What? You never tell me stories when I go to lay down.” Boo replied, with a bit of a huff. “You’re over a thousand years old, you shouldn’t need a bedtime story.” Quinn responded, glancing over at her partner with no shortage of amusement. “Well maybe I just want one.” Louis cleared his throat, or tried to, as if he was trying to regain the attention of his babysitters. Quinn had to bite back a soft laugh as she turned her attention back to him. “I’m sorry, I got distracted. I’ll tell you a story.” the angel promised, adjusting her sitting position, giving a moment of thought. “Once upon a time. . . .” 

There was an amore. They were rather lonely, and grew tired of spending their days and nights alone. So, one day, as they were lamenting under the night sky; they caught sight of a particularly bright star in the sky. Now, the amore knew of tales where if you wished or even simply talked to a star, you would be able to have any wish granted. 

“I’ve never heard any tales like that, this is a very inaccurate story.”

“I never said you were the amore in the story Boo.” 

And so, the amore, throwing all reason to the winds, decided to flirt with the star; as flirting was what the amore did best. 

“That’s true.”

“Will you stop interrupting??” 

Clearing their throat and leaning rather precariously on the balcony they had found themselves on, the amore said, “I just want to be upfront and say that I, visually enjoy you.” Now, little did the amore know, that the star could actually hear what the amore was saying. Well, flirting. At first, the star had expected the creature to make some kind of wish, as that was what people and other such beings did when they saw a star. Make wishes, lament about their situations, or even pray. Not once had she ever been used as flirting practice. The whole situation was rather amusing to say the least. Of course, she didn’t say anything back, nor do anything to show that she had heard; she was a star after all. Not that this deterred the amore in the slightest. “Do you have a name?” they questioned. She did, she had several actually. “Or can I call you mine.” 

“My lines are not that cliche.”

“Actually, they are.”

“Ah-ha, I am the amore in the story.”

“No, just the inspiration.” 

“That’s the same thing!”

“Can you keep going?”

“Yes, sorry Louis, where was I?”

The amore went on for some time, seemingly never running short of silly, yet rather cute, words to say. When dawn came, and the star faded from view, the amore sighed softly, and knew another long day awaited them. Meanwhile, the star was being asked a multitude of questions by their fellow stars. “Who was that? What were they doing? Flirting? Why?” and other such questions. It didn’t really seem as though the other stars wanted answers, more just to hear themselves speak. The amore’s star didn’t seem to mind, as she didn’t really know any of the answers to their questions in the first place. She didn’t know who the amore was, or why they suddenly decided to start flirting with a star in the first place. Perhaps they were bored. Perhaps they were just lonely. Maybe they were just practicing for someone else; it wouldn’t be the first time such a thing happened. People talk to stars all the time, telling secrets, lies, vows. The star herself didn’t think much of it, after a while things just kind of blurred together. Soon enough though, night came again; and as the star settled into her new place in the sky, she was a bit surprised to see the amore on the balcony again. It was almost as though they were waiting for her. 

“Hi again, can you spare a few minutes for me to hit on you?” 

The star laughed, though the sound would never reach the amore. She had decided at some point in what would’ve been the amore’s day to play along. It couldn’t hurt, and it wasn’t like the amore would ever hear her anyways, so no harm could come of these innocent interactions. “I think I could.” she replied softly, amused. The amore was quiet for a moment, perhaps thinking of more flirts to use. “Are you happiness? They asked finally. “Because you’re just out of my reach, but I want you to be with me anyways.” Oh that was sad and cute, thought the star. She wasn’t quite sure she had a response for that either. The amore didn’t seem to mind, already trying another line. “Roses are red, violets are blue. There is nothing prettier than you.”  It isn’t exactly possible for stars to blush, but admittedly, the star did get a little flustered. “Don’t let Venus hear you say that.” the star murmured, amused by the amore’s boldness. This game of flirting went on for several days, if not weeks. So much so had the star become used to the amore’s words and interactions, that she found herself actively looking forward to seeing and hearing from them. However, as their interactions, however one-sided, neared their one-month mark; things stopped being so cheery. You see, an evil wizard had started to rise to power in. . 

“Louis Land!”

An evil wizard had started to rise to power in Louis Land, and in order to get his powers as strong as they were; he had been stealing stars from the sky; pulling them down as easily as you or I would pick a flower from the ground.

Louis gasped, “No!” 

“Yes.”

Now, this evil wizard had taken a great many stars and constellations. He stole Orion’s belt, he stole Polaris, leaving many ships lost at sea, he stole Ursa Minor, leaving Ursa Major to search high and low for her lost cub. Soon enough all of Louis Land knew this evil wizard’s name. . . . 

“Donkey Butt.”

“What, Boo--” 

Louis’s giggle stopped Quinn, and she knew that she couldn’t rightly turn down the child. So, with a quiet sigh, she continued the story. 

And soon all of Louis Land knew of the evil wizard, Donkey Butt, and yet, no one was brave enough to face him and set the stars free. No one was strong enough, the mortals claimed. And so, the actions of evil wizard Donkey Butt went unchecked. And soon, there were only a few stars left in the night sky. Ursa Major, the amore’s star, Orion, and the Swan. Now, the amore was worried that their star would soon be stolen from them, and to be honest, the star was worried too. “The sky looks rather depressing.” the amore said, staring up at the scene in question. “Of course, it’s still beautiful, but it wasn’t meant to be this empty.” It was true, it wasn’t. Even the remaining stars shone a little less brightly, as if they were afraid to be torn down next. “If you get stolen, though,” the amore said, “I promise I’ll find you.” The star was a bit amused by the words, surely they had better things to do than chase after some random star. “I mean it.” the amore added, as if they knew the star was rather unimpressed by their promise. Well, whether they meant it or not, the amore would soon have a chance to fulfill their words. 

“What?!” Both Boo and Louis chorused, leaving Quinn a little surprised. She knew Louis was listening intently, but she hadn’t expected Boo to be actively listening. “What do you mean what?” she asked. “The evil wizard steals the star??” Louis asked,  a little fearfully. “That’s super evil.” Boo added. “Well, he is an evil wizard.” Quinn reminded them gently. “Well, well,” Louis said, trying to find the words to his thoughts. “Why don’t we keep going and see what happens next?” Quinn questioned, amused. “Yes!” came the enthusiastic reply, emphasized by a multitude of head-nods. 

  And so, the amore had made a promise to the star; though the star didn’t exactly believe in that promise. She was a star after all, surely the amore was merely simply saying things. However, the promise kept echoing in the star’s mind, even when they tried thinking of other things. Another day and night passed, and this was the first night that the amore was not on the balcony to greet the star with their silly lines. 

“Oh no! Did the evil wizard get the amore?” Louis asked frightfully. “Oh no, of course not. The amore was just busy with their work, that’s all.” Quinn promised. Louis hesitated for a moment and then nodded, as if satisfied with that answer. 

At first, the star tried to think nothing of it, surely they were just busy, they had been late before. Besides, it wasn’t as though the amore was specifically her amore, despite the odd feelings she felt when she saw them. Lost in her thoughts, the star wasn’t prepared for the sudden tugging sensation she felt. 

Quinn had to ignore the urge to jokingly tug Louis down in the bed a little; she didn’t exactly want to scare him like that. His parents would have her hide.

It was the evil wizard! Even though he had pulled down nearly all the stars in the sky, he felt as though he didn’t have enough power. He desired more! Only he could rule over the sky. Only he, Donkey Butt, should be able to command the heavens. And so, he would keep going, until there was only the moon left in the sky; until he figured out how to pull that down too. But for now, he only had eyes on the star that he was tearing down from the sky with his magic. It was like a lasso made of spiderwebs, sticky and strong, enchanted so that the star didn’t burn it up. It took only a few strong tugs, and down, down, down the star came, crashing in the wizard’s tower. Now up in the sky, the stars are just how you see them; bright and brilliant balls of light. But once you pull them down to the mortal realm, they can no longer hold that form, it would be dangerous to those around them. So as the star looked around her, she saw Ursa Minor; a small bear cub in shades of blue and silver and black. She saw Polaris, looking like an explorer, just like those they guided home. And many more. Each star was locked in a cage, with magic chains that siphoned their powers! The chains all led to this giant crystal ball, which had a strange smoke swirling inside. It was the wizard’s power. The wizard cackled and croaked, stalking foward as if he had two left feet. He was an ugly old man, with long gray hair and a long beard that was missing patches in many strange places, as if he had no idea how to use a pair of scissors. His robe was a pitch black, and it matched his hat. His eyes were a strange yellow color, as if he had stolen the light from the sun. His nose was long and looked as it had been broken several times, what with how crooked it was. “AHAHA another star ripped down from the sky!” 

“Angel.” Boo said, incredulous. 

“What?” 

“What was that?” 

An embarrased flush came across her features. “It’s my evil wizard voice.” 

“That’s a terrible evil wizard voice.”

“I- Well- You do the wizard voice then!” 

“Oh no angel, this is your story.” 

“Then don’t make fun of my wizard voice.” 

“Soon, the entire sky will be mine to rule!” the wizard declared, an evil laugh escaping him once again. He quickly latched the magic chains on the star, and stuck her in a cage that was nearly filled to the brim with nameless stars like herself. Making his way back to the orb with his magic power, the wizard began to chant something; it all sounded like nonsense really. But even so, the nonsense was magic, for the chains that connected all the stars began to glow and it began to rip the magic from the stars, transferring it into the orb. It was a painful process, and it seemed to last hours. Meanwhile, back at the balcony, the amore had finally managed to get some time to themselves; and they trudged out to the railing, words already falling from their lips. “Sorry I’m late beautiful, it was a--” Looking up, their words died in their throat, the place where their star usually rested was now empty, dark, and cold. It didn’t take long for the amore to figure out what happened, and their blood ran cold. They didn’t exactly care in the first place; about the evil wizard that is, but now, now they had a reason to care. They had made a promise to the star after all, and the amore kept their promises. For the most part. 

The amore turned quickly on their heel and made their way to their closet which they threw up in a hurry. There, hidden in the back were weapons. A bow with a quiver full of arrows and two short swords. The mortals had claimed that no one was brave enough or strong enough to confront the evil wizard Donkey Butt, but well, they didn’t know of the amore. 

“Are you saying I’m brave and strong~?”

“Hush, I already said you weren’t the amore in the story.”

“But is the amore gonna be able to save the star?” Louis piped up.

“You’re just gonna have to listen and see.”

Gathering up their weapons, the amore left their manor to go and find the evil wizard’s tower, which really wasn’t that hard to find. Donkey Butt  had built it right in the center of Louis Land, for the whole continent to see. The amore knew that they had to be smart about this, because they didn’t know what other spells the wizard had up his sleeve. For someone who could pull stars down from the sky, surely they would have great defenses. However, as the amore came closer to the tower, they saw that there were literally no defenses at all! Except for a moat, but it didn’t even have water in it! The amore was quite confused, surely an all powerful wizard had some kind of tricks and traps! But they couldn’t sense a thing. Was this a trick? Was this the real tower? A cackling laugh floated down from the top of it, and the amore knew that they had the right place. Now they just had to figure out a way up. They could fly in, but that could be dangerous. They could climb up with their swords, but that would take too long, and the wizard might hear them. Pacing, the amore tried to come up with a decision. . . and finally did. The amore stepped back a few paces as they loaded their bow with an explosive arrow. One heartbeat passed as they drew it back. And then on the second, they let the arrow fly. It landed directly in front of the crystal ball, and the wizard stared at it in shock. Who was foolish enough to attack him? Then the arrow exploded, sending the wizard flying back and the crystal ball shattered, releasing all of the magical energy that was within it. The chains that held the stars were no longer something to be wary of, for now that they had had their strength back, they could destroy them easily; which many of them did. Those that couldn’t break the chains themselves had help from those who could. While Donkey Butt scrambled to his feet, the amore had taken that time to fly in, a cheeky grin on their features. “Excuse me, but are you a magician? Because when I look at you everything else disappears.” There was a collective groan from the stars, save the amore’s star, who had to stifle a laugh. The wizard blinked, seemingly confused by the whole affair. “I am most certainly not a magician! I am the evil wizard Donkey Butt!” he declared with some pride. “Ah right, my mistake.” the amore replied, giving a slight nod. “Well, that makes sense because I’m afraid you put a spell on me.” the amore went on, slowly but surely closing the distance between themselves and the wizard. Donkey Butt looked even more confused. “What are you talking about? I’ve never met you before in my life, let alone put a spell on you!” The amore pouted, “Are you sure?” they questioned. “Quite positive! Now what is your business here!?” Donkey Butt demanded, doing his best to look intimidating. Though, between you and I, the amore wasn’t very impressed. “Oh that’s simple. You stole something of mine.” the amore said simply; and the star in question couldn’t help the flush of red that came across her features. “Stole something of yours? That’s impossible!” the wizard cried. “Well I would assume the same, but you somehow managed to do it. So if you don’t mind~” Now that there was only about a foot of space between them, the amore hesitated no longer and easily kicked the wizard out of the way; effectively knocking him out of commission for a while. “I have a star I made a promise to.” The grin on the amore’s face never faded, if anything it grew rather cocky as they went around unlocking all of the cages, the stars making their way out with huffs and shoves; each intent on getting to their place back in the sky. 

That is, all but one.

“The amore’s star!!” Louis exclaimed, excited yet tired.

“Mmhm.” Quinn confirmed.

The amore’s star hung back, and when the tower was no longer full, she was finally able to reply to the amore properly. “So do you have a name, or should I just keep calling you my amore?” she questioned. The amore laughed, and pulled the star into a tight embrace. “I think you can just keep calling me that.” the amore replied. And so, with the evil wizard defeated, and the other stars back in the sky; a peaceful era settled over Louis Land, and all was once again right in the world.

“But what about the star and the amore??” Louis questioned, seemingly confused by the end of the story. “What do you mean?” Quinn asked, watching as Louis tried to fight the yawns that were trying to escape him. “Well what happened to them?” he asked around a yawn that did escape. “Why don’t you dream about that? I’m sure you could come up with a far better ending.” Quinn suggested. The little boy hesitated, then nodded, rolling over onto his side. “Goodnight.” he said to the two immortals, who the story may or may not have been about. “Goodnight.” came the soft reply. 

--

Boo waited out in the hall while Quinn gently shut Louis’s door. “So,” the amore started. “Are you finally going to admit that I was the amore in your story?” Quinn rolled her eyes, albeit playfully. “Where’s the fun in that, my amore?” 

Merry Christmas guyyyss🎄

"A human..."

-----

Anyone remember Law of Talos? Castle of Nations?

I got hit by a wave of nostalgia today and was like hmm yeah, I could go for some Castle of Nation doodles rn and then somehow it ended up becoming a whole fan comic of how my fav characters potentially met :'D

You should in fact infodump about poptropica, also have you considered doing a DCA Poptropica crossover to unite the interests together?

1) I love you so much dude I hope you're doing well 2) poptropica infodump would take AGES this thing has lore so I will spare you a ramble for now 3) I . HAVE NOT. BUT COULD YOU IMAGINE SUN AND MOON WITH THE BIG BOBBLE HEADS

no? because I can

oh my god they look so much more cursed than I expected I'm laughing my ass off

guys i think my kinito is depressed:( i'm trying to return to fanarting! and i had some matching stickers so yee!

My purpose and singular mission in life is to make sure queer and/or neurodivergent kids know that sometimes it really is their parents who are stupid and other adults are on their side. This, unfortunately, does not make me popular with their parents. Gonnae keep doing it though.

it's the "pippa" to "pip" to "sarge" to "trouble" pipeline for me

I haven’t read the book so I can’t say but something that struck me in James Ivory’s 1987 Maurice is the fact that Maurice & Alec’s relationship is started by Maurice unknowingly sending a signal to Alec, which Alec largely misinterprets, but it works out anyways, and much later at the end, when they meet at the boathouse, Alec goes “did you get my wire” and Maurice goes “what” because again he completely missed that signal but it doesn’t matter because he’s here anyways. And it’s like. There were a million mistakes to make and a million mistakes they made, but somehow, they find their way to each other, almost unwittingly. Maurice says “It’s a chance in a thousand we met” but I don’t think that’s true. I think it was always going to be like this, in every world they would have found each other. It’s the way they fall into each other’s arms so easily and they try to get away from each other but they can’t and they’re separated by so much but they still collide... This story is SCREAMING at us that no matter how impossible it is no matter how alone and repressed you feel you mustn’t lose hope because your love will find you and you can’t avoid it! You will be happy!

how do you deal with loving yourself in an age where everybody publicly hates you? i think my internalised transphobia/homophobia is actually killing me

I think first, you have to forgive yourself for not loving or even liking yourself. That may sound counterproductive, but when I actually did this, I felt so much less pressure to perform love and to pretend like I was okay.

This is a process that can take years, and honestly? I still struggle with this. It's not realistic to expect yourself to wake up and be fine. Recognize when you aren't okay, when you feel that self-loathing, and don't feel shame over it (easier said than done, yes, but it is important). What you feel is only natural. What you feel is completely understandable.

Some of the things I have done beyond what I put above are:

Finding a passion outside of anything related to my internalized transphobia/homophobia. For me, this is crafting. It separates me from the world and from myself in such a way that I feel... beyond myself, if that makes sense. It's a liminal space where nothing matters, but what is in front of me

Community. Finding your own place in this world is incredibly important, and it can be difficult. If there is an LGBT center near you, please go there, even if you leave early. Being surrounded by others who are not only similar but you can see can make a difference.

Learning. This one might not work, but I found that education helped me love this world in a way that really helped change my view. I've dabbled in science and history because they're my favourites, but I think learning the beautiful parts of this world can help to make you reflect on how you aren't seperate from this world, you are integral to it.

Make time for yourself. Whatever time you have left, dedicate it to you. What this means, only you can say. For me, I set time for myself to enjoy video games and crafting and being with my cats. This time should be true to what you want to do in order to listen to and honour yourself

In the vein of community: Surround yourself with others like you, with trans and gay and queer people - with a broad spectrum of our communities. Don't tolerate intolerance, and when you come across it, remember your worth and remember that you and your existence aren't debates. You are an actual person. You don't have to entertain the idea that you are anything less.

Remember the world can be kind. The world can (and will) show you kindness, especially where you least expect it. It may seem like the hatred you hear is loud, but louder still will be the people who will see you for you and won't turn away from you.

This isn't a cure-all. I won't peddle magic cures, and I don't want to give the impression that you are "wrong" or "bad" for how you are doing. You aren't the first person to feel this way, and you aren't the only one, either. In that sense, your pain isn't felt alone. I hope that you can feel peace and safety within yourself, if not now, then one day. You are worth that. If you aren't ready for this, please keep all this in your back pocket. It is never too late. It won't be too late.

Title: "flash-frozen in the driver's seat" Fandom: Midst (Podcast) Categories: G, Gen, No Archive Warnings Apply, Complete Word Count: 3613 Characters: Phineas Thatch, Tzila Guthrie

“Why do you have that?” Tzila asks. Phineas opens his eyes. She’s pointing at his abacus with the back of her pen. He looks down at it and frowns. “It’s my abacus.” “I know what an abacus is,” says Tzila, rolling her eyes. “Why do you have Caenum? Didn’t being a soldier and solving mysteries or whatever get you a ton of Valor?” Phineas and Tzila have a conversation in the quiet halls of the Lazaretto.

(hi everyone it's ME again! back with another midst missing scene i couldn't stop thinking about.)

I haven't known how to exactly phrase this so I've held off, though I'd like to try now! The Lights Off AU brings me some sort of.. Strange comfort? Strange reassurance? About the whole "Hey yeah, everything you know is not real, actually!" Which, at least for us, as a DID System is just.. the norm? False memories of a media or a very obviously different 'world' are something that are just in our head. (Not delusions, we are aware they are fabricated. But we're also aware that they felt real to us.) So to have a piece of media where people also go through that, being a system or not? It's... Strangely comforting to know that you aren't the only person on the world who could feel that way, even if it's just a fictional story. I hope none of this is weird or too strange! I'm not sure how much/if you know about DID (not to mention the stigma) so I'd rather try to explain the more confusing terms as short as I can. There's a lot more I could say as well, but I don't want this to drag on too much or be too complex about this explaination. I hope you're doing well for yourself Bog! :]

sorry it took me so long to get to this! longer asks need more thought and time and energy, and i admit it got a little Buried under other asks!

i know a bit about DID - not nearly enough to say that i know what I'm talking about, but i've made sure to do research to better understand it!

but anyway i'm glad i could give that to you, even in a small way! that's the whole purpose of fiction, i think - to bring people comfort and catharsis and validation through viewing the self in the other, however unintentional it may be! i hope this silly little au continues to provide that - and i hope that if i ever write a fic for it, it does the experience justice <3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

chefs choice with lamb sauce!

The chef's choice for tonight is a Tokoyami + Dark Shadow because god do I miss those two.. Haven't drawn them in ages, so I'm a bit out of practice (SHAMEFUL.. can i even call myself a big fan of his at this point).