happy halloween!! 🎃👻✨ as a treat, i'll write you a few revalink halloween hcs~
link would insist on going trick or treating even as adults, but it's because he looks so young he can pass as a teenager. revali can pretend to be his adult chaperone maybe LMAO
they could do so many couples costumes, but i'm thinking about playboy bunny link x hugh hefner revali because i was talking to my coworker the other day about how her bf wanted to be the bunny and she ended up being hugh hefner and i thought it was funny af
revalink pumpkin patch date 🥺🥺🥺 thinking ab revali posting pics of their date on his instagram later and it's all just candids of link looking effortlessly beautiful, glowing amongst the pumpkins, and also a few 0.5 shots of him and the both of them.
link carving fucking starry night van gogh into a pumpkin vs. revali making the dumb ahh punking meme
i think that revali would actually very fond of giving out candy to kids who are trick-or-treating 🥹
while link wouldn't even flinch at the scariest horror movies or them park jumpscares, revali is screaming before the scare actors even look at him
revali thinks candy corn is the work of the devil; link will eat all the candy corn they receive anyway
12. If a genie offered you three writing wishes, what would they be?
I wish I could be in a productive environment free of distractions whenever I write
I wish I always had a clear idea of where the story's going when I start a WIP 😭
And I wish, sometimes, that I could write well for more fandoms than I do, but I'm working on that! hehe
18. Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end.
(@amiharana, you asked this one too, so here's the answer for both of you! :D This was a very hard one lol)
"Just as [Twilight] got a second to contemplate this, three explosions rang out across the clearing, throwing off his balance a little as he scrambled to pinpoint the origin, only to see an electric arrow wiz right over his shoulder, barely missing him as the hair on his neck stood straight up. He whirled around, catching a glimpse of a figure descending with a paraglider. Once they were about twenty feet off of the ground, they let go and fell like a deadweight, landing in a crouch as they met the fight head-on in a blaze of glory and golden braids that caught the moonlight just right." - A current WIP entitled "Flight of the Wilds" (subject to change)
I think the prompt was asking for a piece of currently published writing and I can add that if you guys want later, but I figured I'd treat you both with my current Revalink WIP 💛 It's also a LU fic, but that's not the point lol. This doesn't even begin to cover the premise of the oneshot, as it's projected to be about 30,000+ words. I wrote most of it on paper (crying it's thirty-two pages front and back and IM NOT EVEN DONE), so you better believe a lot is getting changed as I type it out lol.
This is very early on in the oneshot when Twilight reunites with Wild for the first time. The Chain is getting ambushed by a hoard of monsters and Wild comes by and helps them. In this, he's definitely picked up a lot of his archery skills from Revali, hence the signature three bomb arrows. He's still not nearly as good at the Rito himself, though! :D hehe
This sequence likely won't change any more than it already has, as the beginning doesn't need a whole lot of work anymore imo. It didn't used to be nearly as epic, though. Originally, the scene is a lot more Twilight-centric (as the story is told from his POV), but I changed it because it didn't focus nearly enough on Wild as it really should have for his introduction scene??? Idk what I was thinking tbh. Didn't even address how Wild even got there fr, which is why I made him glide down from his paraglider like the BAMF he is lmaooooo The blond braids stayed the whole time, tho 👍 That, I can assure you lol
34. Thoughts on the Oxford comma, Go:
As someone who perhaps uses commas where they ought not be, I use the Oxford comma in my writing almost religiously and I find it hard to read anything that does not contain it lol.
As someone who is learning Spanish, though, (which does not make use of the Oxford comma, like, at all) it is a very hard habit to break, but I am working on it! lol
revalink flower shop x tattoo shop omgg... who runs which shop how do they meet are they competitive with their businesses do they give each other cute things from their shops 👁
god it would work either way, but ultimately i think link would own the tattoo shop and revali would own the flower shop. i only decided it because revali seems like the type to have to do multiple sessions for the tiniest tattoo because his pain tolerance is low for tattoos LMAO bro is sitting there like "it doesn't hurt i swear" meanwhile his face is red and he's sucking in his lips trying not to burst into tears ready to shit his pants, but the needle hasn't even touched his skin yet ✋😭
this au could go in a couple different ways: (1) link and revali hate each other and fight all the time about being the better store (boring!), (2) there's no rivalry and link and revali are mutually interested in each other (better, but a bit ooc i feel), or (3) link moves in and becomes more and more curious as he catches glimpses of his (((attractive))) store-neighbor while secretly hopeless romantic revali is grumpy and annoyed about how off-putting a tattoo shop will look next to his flower shop and there's a very mild one-sided rivalry mentality on his end, but as link tries to get to know revali better, revali thinks, perhaps this wouldn't be so bad. you already know what i'm about to write about rn lmfao.
revali's flower shop "the meadow" has been open on tabantha street for a couple years now. he thinks of himself as a very good florist, probably the best in the entire city of hyrule, and he's actually won a couple floral design competitions??? revali inherited the shop from his parents after they passed and he gets fairly good business, especially because everyone who lives on this street are hopeless romantics who are always buying bouquets for dates or to bring home to their spouses. revali will roll his eyes and scoff lightheartedly to his customers about how mushy it all is (but inside, he wants the same for himself; to go home to someone he loves with a bouquet of flowers. revali wonders sometimes, when he watches customers leave with red roses in hand, if he was meant to ever find love. he looks over at the vase of forget-me-nots on the counter; perhaps, one day).
the retail space next to revali's shop has been empty for a couple years and revali is thinking about expanding into the space when suddenly, the space gets rented out and in moves some blond twink with a fully tatted up arm with his dumb little tattoo shop called "master ink zero" or some shit. revali comes in to work one day only for there to be construction going on in the empty space he's been eyeing for a while, and that cute blond twink is standing in front of it talking to one of the workers. what the fuck. all this construction noise is going to scare revali's soft-hearted hopeless romantic customers away! the blond notices him and holds a hand up to wave a little, but revali just glares and turns away to unlock the door to his shop. he could really let that kid have it, but he holds his tongue because he needs to open the store. (he is kind of cute though... stop it, bad revali!)
the day continues as smoothly as it can with construction noise muffled through one of the shop's walls giving revali a migraine. fortunately, his regulars still come but unfortunately, every single one of them comments on the construction.
"you're going to get a new neighbor!" amali says as revali rings up the regular bouquet for her husband kass. "how exciting! you won't be lonely anymore."
"what a curious mix," muses saki when she enters the shop. "a flower shop and a tattoo parlor next to each other. you know, my teba and i are quite the opposites ourselves and they say opposites attract, so—" and revali flushes, squawking and ushering her out. she only laughs at him and bids him well.
the moment his friend urbosa steps into the store to visit, revali knows that she knows and immediately regrets his entire life. "have you proposed marriage to him yet?" she asks, smirking and sits on the counter.
"get off of my counter, i just wiped that down," revali snipes at her, frowning. "whatever do you mean, propose?"
"to blondie next door," she says, cocking her head to the side towards the construction. revali rolls his eyes but she continues. "he's your type down to a T."
"and he's going to scare off my customers," he replies and returns to spraying his vase of forget-me-nots. "i could care less whether or not he's my type."
urbosa hums. "well he's cute and he seems like a nice kid." suddenly, her gaze shifts into something more serious and revali's shoulders tense. "revali... forgive me if i overstep, but i know you've been alone for a while. you've been running this shop for years, working nonstop. i don't think you've ever had a moment to yourself. it might be nice to take a leap of faith on this one, you know?"
revali reverts his attention back to the forget-me-nots and doesn't say anything else, touching the petals with gentle fingers. urbosa sighs. "just consider it, okay? i care about you and i want you to be happy."
"i know," he murmurs. "i know. i'll think about it. only because you asked me to, though. not because he's my type." urbosa smiles and punches his shoulder lightly, to which revali wrinkles his nose at her. he'll think about it.
somehow, the tattoo shop finishes construction in the next week (that bolson construction company sure is efficient...) and opens. revali should probably go over to congratulate his new neighbor with a bouquet of daffodils and white carnations, but he's already glared them down the first time he saw them. with an oddly uncomfortable feeling in his chest, he keeps to himself in his little flower shop, tending to his vase of forget-me-nots and all his other flowers.
(but just because revali doesn't want to visit doesn't mean that link won't 👁️)
the soft chime of a bell alerts revali that a customer has stepped into the store. "welcome to the meadow," he starts, looking up from his computer to the door, "what can i help you with—?" and the rest of his words are stuck in his throat. there, in the threshold of his store, is the blond twink with the fully tatted arm staring at revali with wide, bright blue eyes.
revali never actually got a good look at him when they saw each other the first time. the blond is wearing a loose green tank top, black leather jeans, and combat boots, and his tatted arm is fully on display, swirling with deliberate strokes of ink. he's quite toned and lean, now that revali has gotten a closer look. definitely not his type. he's not!
"hi," the blond says, his voice as soft as the doorbell. "i'm link. i'm the... owner of the tattoo shop next door." he's got freckles, revali thinks faintly before he can actually process any other words.
"really? i wouldn't have ever known with your entire arm covered in tattoos," he says instead. "perhaps you were actually a receptionist or a dog walker who stumbled upon my humble shop." revali cringes internally after the words leave his mouth; he didn't mean to come off that rude for their first proper interaction. he just wanted to be a little rude.
but link only smiles at him, small but genuine, and a feeling grows in revali's chest that he can't quite name. "i'm not sure i'd be very good at either of those things," he says and steps a little closer to the counter, hands in his pockets.
"and who's to say you're any good at tattooing either?" revali mutters, and he doesn't mean for link to actually hear it, but he does, much to revali's chagrin.
link cocks his head, still smiling. "you could come by and find out," he says, and revali blinks at him. they maintain each other's gaze for a couple moments, link's eyes bright and wide, until revali finally tears his gaze away back to his computer. he can't read a single word on the screen.
"revali," he says instead, still keeping his eyes on the screen. it's almost feels difficult to get the words out. "my name is revali."
"hi revali," link says, leaning against the counter now. "it's nice to meet you." then, he glances up at the clock mounted above revali's head. "i have to get back now, i just wanted to properly introduce myself to you now that we'll be working next door to each other. i hope to see you around." with that, link stands up, bows his head a little, and gives revali another smile before leaving.
(and if revali stared after him and the way those leather jeans hugged his figure quite nicely, no he didn't.)
and that's how it starts 😳 at first i considered having link also keep to his own shop at first, but i don't think that does his "character" justice in the game. if you consider us as players to be equivalent to botw link's character (i.e. how we maneuver link in-game, what dialogue options we choose, etc), then link has this natural curiosity about the world around him and wants to explore and talk to new people. so of COURSE if he sees that his neighbor is hot, he's going to want to come over and say hiiiii *twirls his hair*
revalink shenanigans ensue <3 in the beginning, link would randomly drop by during the week for a minute or two, to say hi and make small talk with revali and at first, revali wouldn't say much eyeing the blond. but his short responses and cold demeanor don't deter link; it seems to spur him on, the blond smiling brightly at him with every greeting and with every goodbye.
one day, link comes in and after he says hello, he starts walking around the store looking at the flowers like he's a customer. revali blinks and watches link walk around, dumbfounded.
"what are you doing?" revali says.
"looking at the flowers," link says. he gently touches the edges of the flowers' petals as he moves between the aisles, the same way that revali treats the flowers. "i want to put some on our reception desk. i think it would look really nice." he stops before a cluster of sunflowers and then looks at revali. "can i get some of these?"
revali faintly notes how well link resembles the bright flowers, before scoffing. "if you're going to get flowers to greet your customers, you might as well put some effort into it!" he snips, crossing his arms. "sunflowers are a good choice, but sunflowers only are bland. here, if you were to add some of these—"
he ends up walking link around the entire adding flowers to the ones in link's hand and talking about the different meanings and nuances of flowers, until the arrangement has become a bouquet of sunflowers, gladiolus flowers, jasmine flowers, and calendulas, surrounded by a bunch of little white chamomiles.
"there," revali says, putting his hands on his hips and puffing up proudly. "now that is a bouquet worthy to greet customers."
"it's very beautiful," link comments. he gazes at the bouquet and touches the flowers with those ever so gentle fingers skirting the edges of the petals. "thank you for helping me put it together. how much does it cost?"
and that stops revali in his tracks, his hands dropping to his sides. he totally forgot that link wanted to get flowers for his own store and came here acting like a customer. "yes, the matter of payment," revali starts, blinking and brain scrambling, "well, then, just think of it as a welcoming gift."
"a welcoming gift?" link echoes, cocking his head at revali with those wide blue eyes.
"yes!" revali says, his face beginning to flush. "because your store is still brand new and i hadn't welcomed you properly either..." revali looks away, feeling his cheeks burn. "it's the least i can do..."
when he looks back at link, that familiar smile has returned to his face, eyes sparkling. "thank you, revali," link says, voice soft. "that's really nice of you." and revali's heart flutters.
"well, of course!" he stammers, willing his face not to burn brighter than it already is. "you're fortunate enough to be neighbors with me, the kindest, most benevolent, and gentlemanly florist in all of hyrule." link smiles brighter at him, holding the flowers to his chest and revali looks away, the pounding in his heart so intense he wonders if it will punch through his ribcage out onto the floor.
link starts coming in on mondays and wednesdays during his lunch break just to talk to revali, and gets him to talk more about the meanings of the flowers and the nuances of different colors, the best way to arrange flowers, etc., link happily listening along. it takes some time for revali to get used to, the sound of their voices filling the usually quiet shop for that sacred half hour but once it's set into place, revali looks forward to it every week (though he'll never admit it out loud).
"don't you eat during a lunch break?" revali comments once, after finishing a spiel about invasive flowers to never plant. link hums questioningly at him. "it's a lunch break. aren't you hungry?"
"oh," link says. "i guess?" and right on cue, a rumble comes from the blond's stomach and he looks up at revali with a sheepish smile. "ahah... i got so caught up talking to you i forgot i had to eat."
revali rolls his eyes, then sighs looking up at the clock. "we still have 20 minutes," he says. "come on, let's go to the cafe."
"cafe?" link repeats, as revali grabs his phone, wallet, and keys. "there's a cafe here?"
"had you paid much more attention to anywhere else but me, you'd have known," revali says, but link still stares at him with his head tilted, waiting for an answer. "one of my regulars, amali, runs the 'birdbath' cafe just down the street. she has an assortment of meals for you to choose from, you can just get one to-go."
they enter the cafe and amali starts greeting them until she realizes it's revali and then realizes it's revali with a guest and she's like IS THIS YOUR NEW NEIGHBOR??? and he's reservedly like Yeah... and now amali is fussing all over link and asking him about how he's settling in, is everything going okay, is revali nice to you, you can come in anytime you'd like! revali is like Pls....... we have 15 minutes until link has to go back to work just give him food girl
link is very excited about the entire menu because everything looks really good. "i'll have to come back here to try everything!" he tells amali and she's ecstatic. "i'm telling you, come back anytime! you're always welcome here," she says warmly.
and when link gets ready to pay, revali brushes him aside and offers his card to amali. amali gives revali a knowing look and accepts the card, but link looks up at him confused. "you don't have to..." he starts.
"i'll pay for you this time," revali mutters, averting his eyes. "i'm the one who dragged you out here after all." and link stares with those huge blue eyes.
"thank you," he says softly. "you're so kind, revali."
"that's our revali!" amali chuckles, handing revali his card back. "he might seem like all high and mighty, but he's really just a softie inside. why do you think he runs a flower shop?"
"amali!" revali gripes, flushing. "please just get link his food." he glances back at link, who's still gazing at him with an expression that revali doesn't know how to read. he looks at revali so softly, so tenderly, and... fond. revali swallows and adjusts his collar. is it hot in here or is it just him?
god this post is already so long but there is so much potential for so many revalink shenanigans in this au 🥺
link coming to get bouquets every week for his own store and learning how to make bouquets with revali
link showing revali his portfolio of tattoos and offering to give revali a tattoo for a discounted price only for revali to decline and link gets sad, until revali quickly says that he's scared of needles and link is like ohhh (but he's still kind of disappointed because he likes the idea of tattooing revali)
link secretly sketching and designing tattoos in his off-time that he think would look really beautiful and fit revali really well. and fantasizing about touching revali's biceps to tattoo him LOL
what if link had a tramp stamp. link with a tattoos on his ribcage and groin. tattoos behind his ear. he shows revali all of these irl in the shop and revali's face is so red he's just like Um. Yes Those Are All Very Nice. Yes. Please Put Your Clothes Back On.
link coming in to buy a bouquet of lilies for zelda and revali goes all tense and upset and is like. is that your gf. and link is like GOD NO that's my twin sister and lilies are her favorite flower and revali relaxes and is like oh. that's nice of you to get her some (but is secretly pleased that link doesn't have a significant other)
urbosa coming to visit the store at a time when link is there on his lunch break, and they get to introduce themselves to each other properly. revali is sitting there sweating the entire time and when link tells urbosa about how he comes here to spend his lunch breaks, urbosa smirks at revali, who's ready to shit himself
(urbosa texting revali later congratulating him on tapping that ass. revali screams at her that he has NOT done that. and she replies with "yet?". he threatens to block her)
everyone else on tabantha street realizing that link and revali are kind of having a Thing™ going on between them. and they all start planning to try to get them together. there's a reason why i have "i won't say i'm in love" from disney's hercules on my revalink playlist because everyone is getting in on Operation: Revalink trying to push revali into asking link out and he's like no nothing is going on between us i swear except he's spends all his breaks and off-time with link, taking him to cafes and paying for everything link orders, sitting in on tattoo sessions because link invites him over, teaching link how to make bouquets... ok so maybe they have something going on, leave me alone saki, i'm not going to ask him out
THIS WILL BE THE LAST SCENARIO I TALK ABOUT bc this post is so damn long now, but i imagine a scene where link asks revali about the vase of flowers on the counter and what kind of flowers they are. revali looks over at the forget-me-nots he's been carefully tending to and inhales, and tells link.
"those are forget-me-nots," revali says, in a voice that's uncharacteristically soft and vulnerable. it makes link sit up, becoming much more attentive to revali's demeanor. "they're perennial hardy flowers that die in the winter but regrow again during the spring. there's an old story about these little ones, where a knight and his lover were walking alongside a river. the knight reached down to pick the flowers that were growing near the river, but his armor was too heavy and he ended up falling in, only to be swept away by the river's current. if you ask me, it's a foolish way to go; why was he wearing such heavy armor anyway? but as he floated away, he threw the flowers he picked to his lover and shouted, 'forget me not!' and the flower was named as such."
revali reaches over to pull the vase closer and places it in between him and link. the flowers are small and delicate little things, a sweet shade of blue with a yellow center. both he and link touch the flowers as they do, with gentle fingers against the edges of the petals.
"these were the flowers that my father offered when he was courting my mother," revali says, gaze faraway. "as you can see, it worked out." he gestures to himself and link smiles. "they're supposed to represent everlasting love, a love so true and strong that it can't be forgotten." he pauses, rubbing a petal in between his fingers before continuing. "i've always wanted to offer a bouquet of these to someone that i love, in the same way my father did for my mother. as sentimental as it is, it's... romantic and meaningful."
"it is," link agrees softly. "whoever you give these flowers to will be very lucky to have someone like you." and revali makes the mistake of looking up to meet link's gaze, because that's where everything about him changes.
when he looks at link, the sun is shining through the windows of the shop, casting a golden glow over the blond. he gazes at revali with those wide blue eyes, the ones that revali has become increasingly enamored with in the time they've spent together, the same color as the forget-me-nots. beautiful, revali thinks and this time he doesn't shy away from the thought because it's true.
then, he takes a flower from the vase and reaches over the counter to slip it behind link's ear, tucking his hair as he goes. link stills, his eyes growing wider and his cheeks turning a faint shade of pink as revali's fingers touch his skin, gentle and featherlight, and for a moment in time, they're the closest they've ever been to each other since they've met. revali could probably count all of the freckles on spread across link's nose and cheeks. in this moment, revali wouldn't mind if they got closer than this. he'd like it a lot, actually.
but he pulls away and sits back down, admiring the way the flower sits prettily behind his ear, contrasting against link's golden hair and tan skin in the sunlight. link is still wide-eyed and pink-faced and it makes revali smile (just a little!). "yes, they'd be very lucky," he murmurs. "blue is definitely your color, by the way. you should wear it more often."
"th-thanks," link whispers, reaching up to touch the flower in his hair. "i'll keep that in mind."
yes, they could be closer than this. revali hopes that one day they could.
ok but it's so homophobic that of all the champions' powers, revali's is the only one that when you use it, he doesn't say anything. like mipha says "it is my pleasure," daruk and urbosa both make like a "ha!" sound, but revali literally says nothing 🙁
i opened up the game just to prove you wrong because revali actually says "hmph!" when his gale is activated 🤓🤓🤓🤓 SO. KJDHFKJSDF
but you're technically right that revali actually doesn't say any actual words, so i'd either attribute it to his pride or his gay panic. the pretty boy you were in love with back then and is also your sworn rival with whom you have an emotionally intimate but complicated relationship with calls upon your help and they expect you to SPEAK? nawww but revali has too many things he'd want to say and none of it would fit within the few seconds he has with link when his gale is called upon. i also imagine that if the gale was something that revali was barely able to perform consistently when he and link met, maybe activating the gale still takes a lot of effort on revali? especially because he has to produce enough wind to carry link, a heavy hylian in comparison to the hollow-boned rito, skywards, thus no words when he's called upon because he's too busy concentrating. but he's also dead so maybe it's not difficult and revali himself is just being a difficult shithead.
imagine link bringing it up when he visits revali's ghost on medoh again and he's like Mipha always says it's her pleasure how come you never say anything like that to me 🙁 and revali's just like. You called up on my gale to get onto someone's roof. What the hell would be pleasurable about that.
literally all of them AJBDJWBD ok but 15 has so many soft domestic vibes 🥹🫶 and 17 literally link seeing revali cry for the first time omgg revali finally learning how to be emotionally vulnerable w link
(ask game from here)
since i wrote more of a headcanon list of what both revalink's bedtime routines look like on this post for @noraiir-arts, i'll do a drabble kinda thing that's like a moment in their routines for 15 lol
🛌 15. Going through their bedtime routine.
"i just don't see why it's necessary," link says, watching revali cut open a second sheet mask. he already has one on his own face, carefully spread and applied across his gorgeous tan skin. link thinks it makes revali look like he's shedding a layer. "your skin's already nice."
"how do you think i keep it nice?" revali says, carefully removing the sheet mask out of its packaging. "my skin's very sensitive, you know, it requires quite a lot of maintenance to keep it this refreshed and clear. you're lucky that you only need to shower and splash your face with water to keep it that way. who knows how you survived using 3-in-1 body wash your entire life."
"hey, i didn't know that it was bad for you," link grumbles and crosses his arms. "i thought it was more efficient to have it all in one than have to buy it all separately..."
revali rolls his eyes. "mhm. now lay down, so i can put the face mask on you."
link complies easily, the tension leaving his body and his eyes falling shut as soon as he feels revali's fingers, gentle and warm across his jaw. then suddenly, he feels a layer of ice spreading across his face and he squeaks, flinching.
"stay still," revali says, tapping link's thigh.
"it's cold!" link whines back, squirming. "you didn't tell me the face masks were cold!"
"they're cold because i keep them in the fridge and your body is a piece of the sun that fell onto earth," revali replies. "of course it's going to feel cold."
link continues to shiver until he finally gets used to the feeling of the mask on his face. revali continues adjusting its application, smoothing or stretching it out in some places until he's satisfied with the way it sits. "there we go," revali says softly. "good?"
"mhm," link says. he can barely move his face with the mask on. "how are you able to talk with this shit on?"
"you get used to it," revali replies. he lies down beside link on the bed and intertwines their fingers together. "now, we wait for thirty minutes and let the serum sink in."
"does it really take that long?" link says, nose wrinkling. the mask shifts due to the movement and he reaches up to smooth it back down.
"i've fallen asleep with them on before. but it's better to let it stay on longer than shorter so the skin can absorb it."
link hums and they both fall silent. with their fingers still intertwined, revali rubs his thumb against the base of link's. their room is quiet, except for the sound of music playing softly from link's phone. he complains plenty about how revali takes way too long to get ready for bed, but moments like this where he can participate in it with revali are link's favorite.
"thank you," revali says suddenly.
"hm? for what?" link says. he struggles to enunciate it; talking with a sheet mask on is difficult.
"for doing this with me. you didn't have to." revali's voice is quiet, almost shy.
link wants to smile under the sheet mask, but he doesn't want it to get messed up again so he resists. "it's something you like to do, so i wanna do it with you too."
he feels revali squeeze his hand, a silent "i love you". "just don't fall asleep," revali says out loud instead.
this time, link can't resist smiling. "no promises."
💧 17. Link has never seen Revali cry, so when he does, Link struggles with how to react.
when link comes home, the house is quiet. which is usually how it is, even if revali is home before him, but at least his boyfriend is being quiet somewhere where link can see him as soon as he comes in. at least revali will call back when link announces he's home, but he hasn't and it's making him nervous.
"'vali," link calls, slipping his shoes off and pushing them onto the shoe rack they keep by the door. "where are you~!" still no response. it puts link on edge immediately. "'vali?"
revali isn't in the living room or the kitchen, so link moves further into the house. he's not in the office or in the backyard, but his car was parked in the driveway so he has to be home. the last place revali would be is the bedroom, so there link goes.
but he's not prepared for the sight before him when he does.
revali is seated on the edge of the bed with a leg tucked underneath him, a look of despair and tears marring his face. he turns his head to look up at link when he hears him enter the room, but says nothing, staring and tears continuing to streak down his face.
link feels like his lungs have been severed from his esophagus, the air he's so desperately trying to breathe in blowing his chest up like a balloon instead. he's never seen revali like this; revali, whose natural facial expression is a scowl and narrowed eyes. or revali, who reserves his softest, most loving looks upon link. this expression on revali's face now... it feels like the world has fallen out of balance.
he knows he should go to revali, hold him tight and close, and comfort him like revali would do for him, but link can't move. he's rooted to one spot, eyes wide but unable to tear his gaze away from revali.
link's throat is dry, but he gulps and still attempts to speak. "you okay?"
for a moment, revali continues to stare. then he sniffs and wipes his eyes with the back of his hand. "yeah, i'm fine," he mumbles, looking away.
moving feels impossible, like he's trying to swim through quicksand, but slowly, link moves forward towards revali until he's seated in front of him on the bed. "...you wanna talk about it?"
revali stares blankly into space, unresponsive. a streak of fear wraps itself around link's chest as he searches revali's face, for any change in expression because this is terrifying.
"'vali?" link tries again in a whisper.
and this time, revali looks at him directly. but his face is scrunching up, his eyes welling with tears as he sniffs deeply again. "sorry," he murmurs, "i— just, it's—" fresh tears roll down his cheeks again and a sound that link has never heard before escapes from revali's throat, one that should have never made a home within revali in the first place.
"oh, 'vali," link whispers and he lets his instincts take over. he crawls forward into revali's lap, wrapping his arms around revali's neck and legs around his waist, holding him tightly. that's when the dam finally breaks and revali lets out the most gut-wrenching sound that link has ever heard him make, beginning to shake and cry openly into his shoulder. he holds revali tighter, letting him cry as much as he wants; it's the least that link could do. "it's okay, i'm here, reva."
eventually, revali's crying comes to a stop, but he's still holding link tightly with his arms around his waist, breathing softly against link's neck. link just strokes his hair, pressing kisses to the side of revali's face where he can reach. it's still a couple minutes before revali can find the words to speak again.
"it's the anniversary of my parents' funeral," he murmurs against link's neck. and it makes link stop in his tracks. oh. "i realize that i never actually talked to you about them. i'm sorry."
"that's okay," link murmurs back, continuing to stroke revali's hair. "you don't have to if you don't want to."
revali pauses for a moment. "i want to," he says softly. "i want you to know about them."
his tone somehow makes link's heart flutters. "okay," he replies in similar volume. "i'd like to, as long as you're comfortable talking about it."
"if it's with you, then i am," revali says. he takes a breath before talking again. "both of my parents died when i was six years old. i... don't want to talk about how they did, but i remember being at the funeral. at the time, i didn't really know what was going on but even as a child i understood grief and sadness." revali's voice grows quieter. "they were all i had, but i can barely even remember them. it's pathetic, i know."
"no it's not," link says softly. "you were still really young and it's a traumatic experience. you can't fault yourself for not being able to remember."
"but they were my parents," revali whispers. "they're the people that gave birth to me and were supposed to take care of me, and all i have to remember them by are legal documents and pictures. i can't even do them justice in memories."
link doesn't know what to say at first. it's an incredibly difficult subject to broach, after all. "even if you can't fully remember them," he decides to start, "i think they would love to know that you're trying. they've probably been watching from above and are so proud of you, because you have so much to be proud of, you know? you're so talented and clever and very handsome, might i add—" revali snorts — "they probably would have been proud to see you grew up well even without them. they would still love you."
"you really think that?" revali murmurs.
"the great revali? uncertain about his greatness?" link says teasingly. he pulls back a little to look at revali's face, whose eyes are still red from crying but hold a fond look. "they would, 'vali. anyone would be proud to have you as a son."
after a beat, revali pulls him back into a hug, squeezing him tight. "thank you," revali whispers. "i appreciate it."
"of course," link replies and turns his head to press another kiss to revali's jaw. "i'm here for you always." they're both quiet for a couple more minutes, content with just holding each other close until revali speaks once more.
"i'm sorry, by the way," revali says into the skin of link's neck. "i probably worried you since i wasn't there to greet you."
"that's okay," link says, his eyes closed. "i get it now after you told me. so don't feel bad anymore, i'm here with you now and i always will be, no matter what. i love you, 'vali, more than anything."
"i love you, too, songbird," revali whispers back. "thank you."
link hums. "i'm gonna get some water for you and then how about cuddles?"
"that sounds... nice." revali's face shifts its position under link's chin. "do you have to leave to get the water, though?"
he giggles. "do you wanna come with me to the kitchen, then?"
"i think we should skip the water and go straight to cuddling."
"nuh uh, you have to rehydrate after crying so much. you do the same to me when i cry."
"...whatever."
link giggles again and then sits back, pulling on revali's arm. "come on, let's go. the sooner we get water, the sooner we can cuddle." revali rolls his eyes but stands up with link and complies. even after all that, revali is still too weak for link and for his cuddles.
tumblr keeps crashing when I write this so I'm just gonna type super fast but have we considered link's and revali's favorite foods for modern and canon bc I feel like they would be different
great question! they would be different because if you had the average hyrulean citizen consume anything from mcdonalds they would be inflicted with every disease possible ❤️
KDJFHDKJF JK but i think there would still be similarities between revali and link's taste in foods in both modern and canon. in canon, i hc revali's favorite dish to be a salmon meuniere while link will just eat anything he can get his grubby little hands on vs. in modern au, i hc that revali would be Huge on sushi & other fish-centered dishes while link is the raccoon digging in your trash in the middle of the night that you find on your security camera footage when you wake up.
according to the one rito woman in gerudo town, the rito canonically appear to also indulge in poultry to which i know the fandom has debated the topic of cannibalism, but i think it would be fucking hilarious if modern au!revali was super into fried chicken. he for sure fucks w that korean chicken & beer shit 💯 maybe wine instead though, he feels like a wine guy.
in comparison, link is definitely not a picky eater and has the weirdest eating habits in the world. like bro will eat 30 apples in succession for a quick heal and not eat for multiple days in canon. in a modern au, he'll eat three slices of cold 2-day old pizza while rushing out the door because he's late for work or he just won't eat it until later in the day when he's back home. i'm self-projecting but he's just like me fr 🤞😊
to be fr though, i feel like in canon link makes so many different meals as he travels hyrule that he loves all different kinds of food for all different reasons. a simple mushroom skewer was one of the first meals he made and had when he woke up on the great plateau. the recipe for the meat-stuffed pumpkin he learned to make in kakariko village has never left his mind because it was incredibly helpful for fighting against enemies. you will never understand how happy he was to perfect the creamy heart soup he learned in gerudo town so he could share it with revali. and link makes sure to grab every spicy pepper he finds as he travels back home to rito village and wonders if revali has tried a pepper steak yet. each meal he's ever made has special memories and meanings attached to them, so there's no way that link could have just one favorite food. 🥹🫶
all im saying is that since the paraglider is in totk with an updated revali's logo, revali should also be in totk (preferably alive this time) ✋
idk if i would say it's truly an updated "revali's logo" ykwim because now it has four feathers on each wing instead of three :o but i'm very interested to see what the narrative reason for why link's paraglider was updated and if there will be an explanation as to why he has one in the first place.
imo as someone with so much revalink brainrot, regardless of whether or not link regained memories of his past life, he probably recognized that the paraglider had some significant sentimental value to him back then, and hopefully recognized that it must have belonged to revali previously as per revali's symbol on his main landing in rito village and flight range landing. maybe then he realized that he needed to maintain it to, at the very least, honor revali's memory, even if it seemed that revali didn't like him very much. after all, revali was a great warrior revered by his people, one who sacrificed his life in an attempt to save hyrule, and someone who must have mattered to link if the paraglider fatefully fell in his hands. he feels a great need to maintain it and be respectful of one of the remainders of revali's legacy. but give me back the botw paraglider design, it's charming and it's definitely revali!
now. this might be an unpopular opinion but it's one that i stand staunchly by because i talked about it a bit in this post. to be honest, i want to see the champions revived in totk. i'm sure plenty of you would disagree and play the card that the death of the champions was meant to teach link about loss, despair, the effects of war, sacrifice, and all those morals etc. but imo, the problem with teaching link those lessons is that it doesn't feel like much was lost in the first place. maybe this is a personal perception of botw on my end, but to me, there weren't enough of the champions' presence in botw to warrant this idea that it taught link about loss. if you were to go by the idea that link retained all his previous memories, then sure, but it doesn't work if you go the route where he doesn't and everything in the past is just flickers of memories he can't ever really recall. how can you tell a story about grief and loss and sacrifice if your main character, and by extension, your players who are connected to the story via that main character, can't feel a profound enough loss of those characters to understand the moral of the story? the presence of the champions in botw only made me want to see more of them because it felt like their time in the little sliver of spotlight they got was too short. and you could include age of calamity! but that's a non-canon prequel so it can't even really count 😭 i haven't played the champions' ballad dlc, so maybe there could be a change of mind if i did but why would you put a paywall if you want to teach a solid story about loss and sacrifice? what a shit way to tell a story 🥸
but i digress. yeah i do want revali and the rest of the champions back in totk, for all types of shenanigans and interactions. give them back to me nintendo ☝️😐
