Candy Hearts Exchange 2026 Fic
Mar. 2nd, 2026 08:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rynlingI want to share the three stories I wrote for this year’s candyheartsex exchange event:
Whenever You’re Ready (on AO3 here) is a pre-canon Breath of the Wild story about Zelda trying to learn archery from Revali.
I say “trying” because she isn’t very good at it, but Revali acknowledges that she’s doing her best. I know this is a very Millennial-coded thing to say, but I feel like Zelda and Revali occupy opposite ends of the “former gifted kid” spectrum, and I had a lot of fun exploring their dynamic.
I wrote most of this story in Toronto while stuck in my hotel during a snowstorm, and let me tell you. I sure did enjoy my fantasy of being sheltered from the icy wind by Revali’s wings. I love Revali. What a great character.
A Modest Test of Skill (on AO3 here) is about a Lynel wordlessly challenging Link to a friendly archery contest that ends in the discovery of a Korok.
I’m really proud of how neat and tidy this story is, especially because I went through almost ten drafts of changing and gradually paring down details. I’d like to think that I’m getting better at writing action, but every inch of progress has to be earned.
Anyway, when I went back into my Breath of the Wild save file to double-check the details of the setting, that specific Lynel actually managed to kill me twice. Bless his heart.
The Nameless City (on AO3 here) is set ten years after the end of Final Fantasy VI, and it’s about the warmth of the friendship between Terra and Celes as they explore the ruins of a forgotten city under Terra’s new home in Mobliz.
The guiding conceit is that magic never really disappeared, but Terra and Celes are now mature enough to process what this means and how to move forward. Also there’s a dragon.
I genuinely love every writer in the Final Fantasy VI fandom, but I’ve been following the work of ArtificialOwl (on AO3 here) for years. I would have put this in the opening notes if the exchange weren’t anonymous, but this story is directly inspired by the tone and vibes of their writing, especially a recent World of Ruin story about Sabin called Substitute.
In an absolutely miraculous turn of events, Memoriiiiia on Tumblr created an illustration for the story! It’s on AO3 (here), and it’s absolutely gorgeous. I really love the style, and I’m inspired to keep improving my own skills so I can create something equally lovely one day.
candyheartsex exchange event:Whenever You’re Ready (on AO3 here) is a pre-canon Breath of the Wild story about Zelda trying to learn archery from Revali.
I say “trying” because she isn’t very good at it, but Revali acknowledges that she’s doing her best. I know this is a very Millennial-coded thing to say, but I feel like Zelda and Revali occupy opposite ends of the “former gifted kid” spectrum, and I had a lot of fun exploring their dynamic.
I wrote most of this story in Toronto while stuck in my hotel during a snowstorm, and let me tell you. I sure did enjoy my fantasy of being sheltered from the icy wind by Revali’s wings. I love Revali. What a great character.
A Modest Test of Skill (on AO3 here) is about a Lynel wordlessly challenging Link to a friendly archery contest that ends in the discovery of a Korok.
I’m really proud of how neat and tidy this story is, especially because I went through almost ten drafts of changing and gradually paring down details. I’d like to think that I’m getting better at writing action, but every inch of progress has to be earned.
Anyway, when I went back into my Breath of the Wild save file to double-check the details of the setting, that specific Lynel actually managed to kill me twice. Bless his heart.
The Nameless City (on AO3 here) is set ten years after the end of Final Fantasy VI, and it’s about the warmth of the friendship between Terra and Celes as they explore the ruins of a forgotten city under Terra’s new home in Mobliz.
The guiding conceit is that magic never really disappeared, but Terra and Celes are now mature enough to process what this means and how to move forward. Also there’s a dragon.
I genuinely love every writer in the Final Fantasy VI fandom, but I’ve been following the work of ArtificialOwl (on AO3 here) for years. I would have put this in the opening notes if the exchange weren’t anonymous, but this story is directly inspired by the tone and vibes of their writing, especially a recent World of Ruin story about Sabin called Substitute.
In an absolutely miraculous turn of events, Memoriiiiia on Tumblr created an illustration for the story! It’s on AO3 (here), and it’s absolutely gorgeous. I really love the style, and I’m inspired to keep improving my own skills so I can create something equally lovely one day.
