midnight ramen…… no…… i’m thinking…… midnight mac n cheese
while i read “The Calamity of Link’s Cargo Shorts”, a legend of zelda fanfiction novella which has, somehow, garnered itself 121 bookmarks since being published at the beginning of this year
i have yet not attained 121 bookmarks on all of my fanfiction, combined so it MUST be good
« So far, the hot fall day passed like a kidney stone: slow and excruciating. » we’re off to a great start folks
i love authors who come up with a metaphor which they really think is clever, but then worry that the audience won’t get it, so they immediately explain the metaphor in the same sentence
i feel very encouraged that this author does not expect me to know what passing a kidney stone feels like
they are really bothering me with their use of tense; it’s not wrong but it’s not easy to read
« Since breakfast, Zelda and Link had been riding through the mountains with only a short stop for lunch. Now, the afternoon sun beats down as they travel across the exposed cliffside, pricking their skin and sneaking through the protective barrier of Zelda’s sunglasses into her eyes. »
you need a better transition from past to present than that, here in the beginning of the fic, when your voice is not yet established. like at least start a new paragraph please
first they say “the middle of bumfuck nowhere” but later in the same paragraph they say “the center of bumfuck nowhere”; pick one
this fic is not tagged “Anal Sex”
« As usual, he doesn’t talk to her unless it’s absolutely necessary and shows as much emotion as the rocky face of the mountain does. » it’s this mountain https://youtu.be/Ku2s8HcAluk
« What must it be like lacking any passion for life or knowledge, Zelda wonders? What must it be like to go through life like a piece of white bread, living only as an imitation of a person? » holy shit
this is NOT why Zelda hates Link in canon but i’m here for it
« *He* doesn’t have to struggle for years to unlock his goddess-given gifts, *he* doesn’t have to bear the shame and anxiety of the entire kingdom, and he doesn’t even have to attend graduate school like she does. Worst of all, unlike Zelda, he doesn’t have to write a damn dissertation! Or, in her case, two: a real dissertation about the quantum mechanics of ancient Sheikah technology and a fake theology dissertation to appease her father. » i liked her better three paragraphs ago when she just thought Link was boring
« even though Zelda has a sneaking suspicion he’s not entirely straight based on calculating the average amount of time he stares at both attractive women and men, Link still wears the worst, most stereotypically heterosexual male cargo pants she’s ever seen » zelda what exactly are you saying here
this fic is tagged F/M???
are girls just not into straight dudes anymore???
« When he talks, she’s always surprised that his voice is lower and softer than expected. She wishes it was high and reedy and annoying. » (low, soft voice) HYAAAAAAA⁓
in case you were wondering, here is what Link sounds like in canon https://youtu.be/N5tDiqRaYqU
no fanfic author knows how to properly describe this glorious man’s voice, not even the ones who wish he was gay
« Rather than Link impaling a variety of monsters with his silly purple sword, he instead has a very different sword in hand and is certainly not slaying anything with it.
_That sword is a penis_ Zelda realizes in horror. _That’s Link’s penis._ » i love authors who come up with a metaphor which they really think is clever, but then worry that the audience won’t get it, so they immediately explain the metaphor in the next paragraph
@Lady Where's that collection of comparisons written by sixth graders cos I think they stole this one
@Lady Oof yeah that's
That's not BAD but it does stumble a bit, like I kinda felt my brain trip
stay tuned for more on this critically‐acclaimed piece of fiction