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I love this! Love seeing Link and Zelda together go on TotK adventures. Love the banter. Love everything.

FAMILIAR FAMILIAR MASTERPOST

(EDIT: pinning this for linktober to keep things in order! All shenanigans will also be reposted on my alt blog, @critbit-hoard )

If you want to see my general info (and also which tags to look at my other art, click here)

FAMILIAR FAMILIAR is a self indulgent TOTK AU where Link and Zelda traverse the wild lands of Hyrule together. There are ruins to be discovered and monsters to be eaten.

This project is a linktober challenge that will extend past the month of october. Please be patient with me as this is entirely being funded by a hyperfixation and the support of beloved patreon backers (ty patreon backers). Pls note fanart, fanfics, and spinoffs are perfectly fine as long as credit is due!

Chronological Order (updating as we go!)

1. Blood Moons and Headaches

2. Basement Adventures

3. Basement’s Adventures Haunted

4. Basement’s Extra Haunted

5. Lost (and found)

6. World’s Endin, Purah’s Stressin

7. Concern about Death Mountain

8. Goron City

9. Death Mountain vs Oversized Railgun

10. The Sage of Fire

11. Interlude

12. Goodbye Eldin!

13. Rained In

14. Skyview Towers

15. Close Call

16. Welcome To The Swamp

17. A Guide Named Yona

18. Sidon’s No Good Very Bad Two Months

19. Authority Issues

20. Lab in the Sky

21. The Water Sage

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My first Echoes of Wisdom fanart

I do mostly digital stuff now, but I thought I'd go back and do some watercolor. I'm pretty rusty with it, and while this didn't come out the way I imagined it, I'm still happy with it. The scary part was putting down the first layer. I was happy with the sketch, and I didn't want to "destroy" it with crappy watercolor. But hey, be brave, trust the process and all that.

Maybe I'll do a redraw after a few months. We'll see.

Materials used: Pencil, watercolor, colored pencils.

Here's an incomplete timelapse of the coloring process. That's all I was able to capture.

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THE LAST ONE HAHAHAHA

Zelink ballet!! More under the cut 💜

And last but not least...

Pick your favorite ;)

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Weird Al Yankovic is responsible for 90% of the parody songs I know.

And Parokya ni Edgar for Picha Pie (I Will Survive parody).

Have you ever listened to a song parody that permanently affected how you listen to the original?

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AHAHAHAHA SO CUTE!!!

My head canon post game is that Link and Zelda are teenagers who have a mutual crush on one another. Link already knows of Zelda (I mean, she is the Princess of Hyrule) so his crush started a little earlier. And I guess somehow he's been able to see her progress, at least, while in the Rifts... and in a not creepy way, lol.

Zelda, on the other hand, kind of got her crush on through the stories of the people who knew Link. Plus when she saw him for the first time—even if she was stuck inside a crystal—she thought he was cute.

I'm guessing they're around 16 to 19 years old. They're not pre-teens for sure, given how their height is about at par with other adults in the game, and there are kid characters who are much smaller.

I imagined Zelda flirting during the Echo Link fights and it was so funny to me I had to manifest it 😂

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Me with work. And life.

Two moods

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No context Echoes of Wisdom screenshots (possible spoilers?)

Some screenshots I took while playing that I hope aren't spoilers but you have been warned.

If you've played/are playing this game you might understand why I found these funny. Or even without context, I think they're still pretty funny.

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Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom First Play (Spoilers)

Needless to say, I have set aside my playing of Tears of the Kingdom and stared on Echoes of Wisdom.

Please be careful reading this post because I may have spoilery info. I have no filter, lol.

My screenshot of the opening title. I wanted to cry.

I got my game the day after the release. The place I ordered it from usually ships early so it'll arrive on release day itself (happened with my Legends Arceus) but there was a delay. It sucked because I had a lot of things to do for an event I had so I couldn't find time to play. But I did it anyway and started and oh boy.

I never played Link's Awakening, and if you missed me saying it, Breath of the Wild was my first ever Legend of Zelda game. The other game I tried was Minish Cap, which is my only top down, 2D LOZ experience. But it's interesting to note that my limited experience has helped in playing the game because it has given me an idea of the game's general mechanics. The tutorial stage of EoW isn't as big as BotW/TotK, and til now I'm still struggling to remember the buttons.

As of this post, I'm on my way to Jabul Waters after having finished the Gerudo region. I still have some side quests there and maybe a couple of undiscovered treasures and heart pieces, but I'm happy to leave those for the moment.

Currently have 7 hearts, my energy is at level 2, Tri is at level 3.

ANYWAY some thoughts:

It was cool to start the game off as Link. Later I find out that in this game is on the 'Zelda doesn't know Link" line, rather than the "Link and Zelda have known each other since childhood" storyline.

That moment when you first control Zelda. Look, this may be my 4th LoZ but knowing this is the first game with ZELDA as the actual main character feels life-changing.

Link being known as "the swordsman" until Zelda reached his home village.

Can I just say that I LOVE the STAMP GUY?! It's such a Japanese thing to add to this game (I mean, it is a Japanese game but you know what I mean) and appeals to me as someone who went around Tokyo and Osaka looking for train stamps.

I am so amused at the idea of Zelda going after Link and how Link is not really Link, particularly since this is the next game after Tears of the Kingdom and there was a similar component there.

I have more thoughts but it's a mess right now. But I'm really enjoying this game and looking forward to finishing it. It's open-worldish in a way that places aren't blocked off or dependent on your progress.

Some screenshots

I'm really loving this game.

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TiL (click to go to the thread, which probably has more interesting tidbits I missed).

Bonus:

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FANTASIAN ON SWITCH

I've been going on and on about Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom but it turns out I missed this piece of news:

FANTASIAN WILL BE PORTED ON TO NINTENDO SWITCH!!!!

OMG I love this game! I played it on Apple Arcade. I love how it was made. I love the diorama style environment. I love the music. The character design. Being a Final Fantasy fan for so long, this was the biggest call-back to it. After FFIX, I honestly didn't really enjoy any of the games after it.

This feels like a homecoming for Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nobuo Uematsu.

Here's a clip I recorded when I first played it.

I tried streaming while I was playing it two years ago. Here's a look into the game play.

Here's the official trailer for the Nintendo Switch version.

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Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

Considering I'm fairly new in playing Legend of Zelda games, I'm really excited for Echoes of Wisdom!

Oh I knew all about Legend of Zelda since the start, but I had always wondered why is Link the protagonist and Zelda's always the damsel-in-distress? Considering the name of the game? At least in the cartoon she had a personality, and finally in BotW and TotK she's a bit more fleshed out.

But this! Can't wait to get my hands on it. Maybe it'll bring a new set of Zelda games, maybe one in the style of BotW/TotK but with Zelda as the main character this time? I can only hope.

Some thoughts on the showcase:

I like his shirt. Can I buy one somewhere?

First off... THIS?!

It's the Marites* duo by the fountain!

*"Marites" what we call gossipy women here in the Philippines.

Was Link using a Zonai or Construct bow?

Love the side-scroll levels. It looks very Super Mario!

More Mario-like things I saw.

Zora?!

Deku Tree!

Aaaaah I can't wait!

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June 17: Day whatever of playing TotK

I've seen videos of people doing stuff just to bring those backpack Koroks to their friends. So far, I've been fairly tame in my methods of helping them, and I pick the ones that are fairly easy to get to.

Yesterday, I came across one Korok and their friend was just on the ledge above where we were standing. Doesn't seem to be hard, right? I attached a rocket to the Korok, hit it... and never saw the Korok again.

Blood moon came just as I was standing there, but the Korok didn't materialize. I left the area. I haven't gone back since.

Other updates: I defeated a Flux Construct 3 for a Shrine quest. I did not fight it. I stood just outside the reach of its trajectory, donned an upgraded Fierce Deity armor and used a five-shot Lynel bow and Keese eyeballs, with Tulin doing some damage with his hits.

Oh, I did not defeat a Lynel. This game has some freebie Lynel stuff which I now consider my most prized weapons and will care for. I got a three-shot and was lucky enough to have an Octorok upgrade it to a five-shot.

Was also doing the stable quests where you take photos of things. This was the funniest one of all. Since BotW, I've been taking a selfie of Link under the cherry blossom in Satori mountain, because I haven't gotten to Japan in time for it. So here in TotK, I did the same. When I got to the part where the stable owner wanted a photo of the cherry tree, well, this is what I got.

It took me about 500+ hours to finish Breath of the Wild. I feel that I'll take double that for Tears of the Kingdom. There's still areas I haven't explored in Hyrule. The Depths I approach bit by bit, and I've only done one Regional Phenomenon. I avoid the caves and areas where there are Gloom Spawn (I peeked at online maps). I think it's a reflection of my anxiety. But damn, I'm enjoying this game.

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The news of Akira Toriyama’s passing hit many of us hard. His works have greatly influenced so many, not just in the anime and manga industry, but likely across a variety of different industries. Dragonball in its entirety is a behemoth, and will likely continue to be in the future. Dragonball was one of my childhood anime shows, and I enjoyed playing Chrono Trigger when I finally got my hands on it.

My tribute to Akira Toriyama is this fanart of Trunks, Vegeta and Bulma’s son. He was my crush, and will always have a special place in my heart. I’ve drawn him since I was a teen, and did this for the nostalgia. It's my take on a classic photo of Trunks that you may see around the Internet.

Rest in peace, Toriyama-san. Thank you.

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Peach mango

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Oho—new OTP ゆびさきと恋々

Hello.

A new anime being recommended to me by my YouTube feed is "A Sign of Affection" ゆびさきと恋々

Anyone else fell in love with Itsuomi?

I love him. I love him and Yuki.

I love the art of this manga, and the anime was just beautifully made. The manga reminds me of the shōjo manga I used to read years ago, long before the world had easy access to manga, original Japanese or otherwise.

I'm trying not to watch the anime in one go, but I've seen up to episode 6 already. The manga is farther ahead, and has revealed some insights into certain characters that I'm sure most people would love to hate. Anyway...

I don't know how long this manga's going to run, but I just want a happy ever after for these two.

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I really like the decision to set TotK a few years after BotW, as opposed to the few months we’re used to in direct Zelda sequels. It gave the world a substantial amount of time to change. Hyrule is livelier. In the years of relative peace since Calamity Ganon was vanquished, it’s been allowed to grow and thrive. Hateno Village, the largest Hylian settlement, is becoming economically significant as a tourist destination and food supplier. It’s especially cool to see Riju, Tulin, and Kass’s kids mature into their adult/teenage years, respectively.

Building on that, I think it’s neat that Link is in his early twenties now. This is the oldest Link we’ve ever played as (Skyward Sword held the previous record at 17.5 y/o). He’s had time to adjust to life post-calamity. His traumatic mutism seems to be all but gone. You ever notice just how much he talks in this game? Dialogue options galore, he’s constantly explaining things to other characters, all that. And he’s more expressive, too. He outright laughs when he fuses weapons.

Link’s relationship with Zelda has also had time to grow. Guys. Fellas. Broskis. They live in the same house. In which there is only one bed. They are together. The implication here is that they share most of their meals together, and remember, it’s key to his characterization that he opens up emotionally when he’s cooking or eating. That means there has been a lot of quality bonding time between them.

Before and during the Calamity, Link served as Zelda’s royal bodyguard because the king demanded it of him. Given how he went mostly mute from the pressure of being entrusted with the princess’s safety and being chosen as the Hylian Champion (at age 17, mind you), I’d wager he didn’t particularly like the assignment until he started bonding with her. He looks downright sad when she snaps at him in that one memory at the shrine. Hell, he doesn’t smile once in the memories.

But you know what? I get the feeling that Link protects her now not out of duty like he used to, but out of love. That’s powerful because “love conquers all” and all that, but also, there’s no external pressure to be her bodyguard. Until the Upheaval, he was done being a special little hero. He was just a swordsman, but he still went where Zelda went to protect her. So instead of being crushed by that pressure, protecting her is an expression of his love for her. It’s a choice and he’s doing it because he wants to, not because it was forced on him.

That’s a lot of growth to go through, and it was paced over several years. He doesn’t appear to have aged much, but enough time has passed that Hudson has a daughter who can hold a mature conversation. That’s what, 5 years old? Yeah, Link is in his early twenties. Fucking finally, the task of saving the world falls on the shoulders of an adult (although speaking as someone entering his mid-twenties, that honestly isn’t much better).

I’m starting to ramble here so I’ll leave a parting observation of Link and Zelda’s house in Hateno. Zelda has redecorated a fair bit since moving in with Link, replacing his weapon racks with photos of her horse and various Hyruleans (her subjects who she cares deeply for), but the photo of her, Link, and the Champions is still up. And that’s really cute.