#akira himekawa said something like

[caracolcondiarrea]

it´s weird ´cause in the Spanish version he says "que triste" which means "that´s sad".

shadow link is the world's funniest girl

[lu-twilight-is-best-boy]

I would just like to take this moment to thank Akira Himekawa for unknowingly adding fuel to the fire that is my Twilight does Rodeo in the Modern AU agenda

And with that said look at THIS

For those that don't know this is from the Twilight Princess manga by Akira Himekawa and it proves that when I think and say that Twilight in the Modern AU does Rodeo that I am correct and that it is something he would do also I just love how absolutely chaotic link is in the Twilight Princess manga it is so wonderful

[fourswords]

starting sketching out light and like. HES 12??? like I get it- he's about to be 13- And knight is the oldest at a grand total of 15 but like-

BRO DOESNT EVEN HAVE AN ATTENTION SPAN YET???

like I know they're dumb in the manga but 😭 every 12-13 year old I've ever met is like a certified dumpster fire, which you might wanna consider in his character lmso

but I just feel like after the manga it wouldn't even matter that he saved Hyrule, he's just getting grounded until he's a legal adult 😭

like azure THATS A BABY- Aint no way he's smart enough to have even survived half the manga even with his dumb luck!

im crying please add like one year to all their ages im on my hands and knees is your goal to give this tiny child some form of PTSD because he is IN CONSTANT DANGER.children need to have a sense of safety (and their stupidity doesn't count, blue got swallowed alive and frozen, vio was lying to SAVE HIS LIFE, green was straight up about to kill vio and had to deal with attacking another knight, and couldn't bring himself to attack their own dad, and then red got chased by an angry mob and then lost all will to LIVE with blue in that one temple-) 12 is barely even conscious and self aware 😭

like I know 12 year olds have complex emotions and can handle abstract concepts and start getting into deeper moral understanding- but my human of earth the self awareness is either ONE THOUSAND OR ZERO AND THERE ISNT A BETWEEN AT THAT AGE-

im sorry if I sound rude or something btw I'm mostly just joking and I tend to overdramatize for comedic effect but I genuinely cant wrap my head around him being just 12- like at least 14??? maybe bump knight to 16 while ur at it? ?

also I'm gonna figure out some way to incorporate the different colors into his hat probably, its big so its like a bag lol since in the manga blue just shoved his whole hammer in there I'm pretty sure

smithy will be extremely small without complaint.

feel free not to take my words seriously tho lol I just cant imagine a 12 year old going thru the manga, like look me in the eyes and tell me a 12 year old-

if I misunderstood anything lmk lol I am a lil stupid sometimes

HAHAHA YES HE IS IN FACT TWELVE. The Legend of Zelda is a series that's all about "yeah let's hand this child a sword and let him go nuts" (to use a popular example, BOTW Link being canonically handed a sword at age four and is said in Mipha's diary to have been able to best grown men in fights: "At the request of Hyrule's king, a group of outsiders came to greet us at the domain. One of them was a Hylian child of only about four years of age. His name was Link. He made quite a first impression. He was curious and full of energy, with a ready smile. Are all Hylian children that way? One thing that surely sets him apart is his swordsmanship, which I hear is exceptional. He has even bested adults. He must be somewhat reckless, however, as he was covered in bruises.") and I absolutely intend to lean into that as much as possible. Light's age comes mainly from comparing Akira Himekawa's designs for Links of varying ages side-by-side with each other; for example, you have Minish Cap Link, who's very obviously drawn like a young child:

You have Twilight Princess Link and Ocarina of Time Link, both drawn to look like older teenagers (and we know OOT Link's older age is 16-17 depending on who you ask):

We have Skyward Sword Prequel Link, who is a fully-fledged adult (his other panels illustrate the difference more sharply, but this is what he looks like, so):

And then we have FSA Link in the manga, who is drawn to be VERY visibly younger than OOT, TP and SS Prequel Link, but is definitely visibly older than MC Link (he's got the rounder face + eyes, the shorter stature, and it becomes even more visible when compared to the knights in the FSA manga itself):

His maturity level also does, to me, match that of an average 12-year-old nepo baby (which he really kind of is)—kid who thinks he knows everything & that he's hot shit but is kind of a giant train wreck internally.

All three Four Sword heroes prior to him were explicitly stated to be "young boys", and FSA manga Link is really no different in that regard—in the context of my own AU, he's actually the one who went on his adventure at the oldest age (with Smithy going on his around 8-9, Four going on his at 10, and Knight now going on his at 11). It's just been a shorter time since his adventure than it has been for the others ^^;

[givemeonebreath]

Sir Nobody

(Notes before beginning: *Spoilers for A Link to the Past and related manga, and Oracle of Seasons and Ages manga. *Reminder that manga reads right to left.)

I've said before that I don't subscribe to the fancanon that Legend is Zelda's brother, because the point of Legend - or, indeed, any Link - is that they come from humble origins.

But that's not entirely true.

In A Link to the Past, Link is the last in a bloodline of knights that Agahnim seeks to destroy.

But he didnt know that.

In Shotaro Ishinomori's A Link to the Past comic, after Link's parents (both knights) disappeared into the Dark World, his uncle deliberately kept him from royal politics, and Link believed his parents to have simply died. He gets called into the role of the Legendary Hero, completely baffled, wondering why the hell some ordinary kid can suddenly telepathically communicate with the princess.

It's much the same in the Akira Himekawa manga. Link has lived a docile life being an apple farmer, raised by his uncle, believing his parents died when he was a baby. His uncle suggests that when Link was younger he had dreams of being a swordsmith, and Link fobs him off thusly -

(Also, he cooks!)

Later, when shit starts to hit the fan, it's evident that Link was totally invested in his orchard, and the future he'd seen for himself was that of a provider.

He was thrust on his journey with just as much bewilderment as most of the other Links.

Here is also a good place to compare the wording of his uncle's final dialogue in the Japanese vs English releases of the game. English gives us, "Save the princess. Zelda is your...", which of course gave rise to the theory that Zelda "is your... sister." The original, though, is "Protect Princess Zelda. You are, the princess's..." which leads more naturally into something like, "... final/only hope", or even more bluntly, "knight". And, the use of save is quite vague, whereas protect has stronger connotations with the specific duty of a knight.

Ultimately, he decides it doesn't matter where or who he came from, the only self that matters is the one right now.

In the Oracle of Seasons manga, Link is born with the triforce on his hand; his family knows he's destined for great things.

And he does know, in this case, that he comes from a long line of knights. But he doesn't want to be one. He wants adventure, not glory. (Also fits the characterisation of Legend not wanting a leadership role.)

Like, when Impa notices his hand -

And actually, the only reason he ended up on an adventure is because his grandma convinced him to take the knights' trial in Castletown, where he was then transported to Holodrum.

Maybe this advice stuck with him.

So we all know Zelda lore is a cobbled together mess, right. Link's Awakening came after A Link to the Past, so it was said that Link was on the boat in the first place travelling away from Hyrule to "continue his training" after defeating Agahnim in ALttP.

Then the Oracle games came out, and they (according to Hyrule Historia, at least) are set between the previous Hero of Legend games. By all accounts, it seems his Seasons and Ages journeys weren't all that voluntary; he didn't travel to Holodrum and Labrynna so much as he was magically sent there. And he was on his boat trying to sail back to Hyrule from those places when the events of Link's Awakening happened. Or... sailing to yet another new land to continue his training, if you read the Zelda Encyclopedia.

Everything, all over the place.

(This is to say nothing of Sir Raven's influence on Link actually wanting to become a knight in the Oracle of Ages manga.)

My point is, no matter how you want to interpret the Hero of Legend, I still think he meant it when he described himself as a "nobody". At the very least, he wants everyone (and himself) to believe he is. I also think there's interesting potential in the fact that he's mistrustful, disdainful of knights after having them turned against him, and maybe because of this he doesn't want to telegraph that he comes from a long line of them.

[ladyjenise]

The final volume of the Twilight Princess manga is out. I have thoughts. They’re good. I will put them behind a cut because they are spoilery!

What a treat to get this comic a month before Tears of the Kingdom drops! Especially if Ganondorf is in that game as he appears to be (sentient). In the final volume of this manga, he has quite a bit to say about his powers, and how he views the world. But its also in contrast to the entire manga essay that Akira Himekawa have been building with Link and how he sees his own powers.

I’ve mentioned before that this series has been about contrasts and comparisons. We actually have 6 characters with contrasting and complementary roles revolving around the story: Zelda, Link, Ganondorf, Zant, Midna, and the Hero’s Shade. The last is actually Link from Ocarina of Time, and that’s important. Midna and Zelda serve as opposites and friends separated by time and circumstance. They both also deal with very unwanted suitors. Any Zant/Midna undertones from the game are turned up to 11 by the time of volume 9, where its revealed that not only did Zant want to marry her, he turned her into an imp in order to control her physically. Very creepy and makes him a meatier villain than we saw in the game.

Zelda, by contrast, ends up a prisoner of Ganondorf. Ganondorf’s game is much better than Zant’s (maybe cause he grew up surrounded by women). But he still “proposes” that he and Zelda team up. She refuses him, but he uses this conversation against Link in volume 10, literally claiming he “proposed” ruling the world together to Zelda, and lies that she happily agreed (she did not lol).

Zelda herself has the memories of Ocarina of Time Zelda, because we know Zelda reincarnates because of her goddess blood. She actually is still in love with Ocarina of Time Link, which Ganondorf is probably jealous of but, in his words from volume 11, he doesnt let himself get distracted by “frivolous emotions”. One of the great many fun quotes he has in this final volume:

This quote is actually a great example of how the manga has juxtaposed character’s values. He’s actually telling this to Link after Ganondorf appears to kill Midna. Ganondorf can’t understand why Link would care about Midna dying. Ganondorf personally doesn’t have the time. But Link has said and proven time and again that his emotions are the thing that helps him. Link fights because he gives a damn about something. By contrast, Ganondorf doesn’t seem to give a damn about anything. Except that’s not true. Ganondorf hates Link. And he says so. But he doesn’t understand that this is an emotion: a negative one that ends up rendering him unable to live out his goals.

Going back to Zelda and Ganondorf for a moment, there’s a great exchange in volume 11 thats also a callback to their tea party in volume 7:

She did warn him lol. The arrows she shoots don’t kill him, but they do take out his magic, which means Ganondorf and Link have to swordfight. It’s a clever use of in game mechanics to further storyline, and it works because Ganondorf really does default to magic whenever he can even though he’s good with a sword.

I won’t touch on Zant and Link here because that’s mostly volume 9. Again, Link talks there a lot about his motivations and how they changed over the story. A great volume.

Link and the Hero’s Shade get some great moments in this battle, where they join forces and make Ganondorf even angrier. One thing the manga clears up is that the Hero’s Shade makes clear that this Link is not a blood relative to him. That’s important to me for Ocarina of Time Link’s personality, as it appears that guy had a really sad, tough life and likely never married nor fathered children. The way the story goes would imply he abandoned any children born, and that absolutely does not jive as something he would do. He is a loyal dude, and if we are talking continuity from the oot manga, Navi says he’s just too nice. Even some accidental one night stand deal seems unrealistic. So that they are not blood but rather OOT Link sees this new hero as his successor and as a son makes more sense. Either way, its kinda interesting to see a take on how OOT Link would be as a father: strict, but loving and extremely protective and loyal. Honest, too.

One last thing for now: I love this line to describe Zelda:

“Zelda is Hyrule and Hyrule is Zelda”

This is a great, succinct description of Zelda in all her incarnations. If she is Hylia reborn, then this is it. Might also neatly explain Ganondorf’s borderline obsession with her, triforce aside.

Ok thats all I have for now. There’s also the way Ganondorf dies in this manga that I have to think cause it was… whoa!

[bokettochild]

I feel as though this needs to be said...

JOJO GIVING US A CANON ANSWER FOR HOW FOUR FUNCTIONS DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN"T KEEP WRITING HIM OTHER WAYS!!!!!

I saw a lot of my fellow writers getting discouraged or upset with what JoJo posted, so I feel like this needs to be adressed.

There are a lot of ways to write Four: as a DID system, with the colors as voices in his head, with the colors all working together at the same time to be Four, as a singular person who splits into four facets of himself, or even as a single person who splits into four people who each have a slightly different perspective on things, like JoJo said he is.

Reasonably, there is only one LU canon, so there can be only one canon interpretation for how Four will be in the LU comics, and JoJo selected having him as a singular person. that's okay, i respect that. There are so many options and JoJo can only choose one, and they had to tell us how Four functions so that we don't get confused.

But did JoJo do this to tell us we can't write him in any other way?

I THINK NOT!

Just because the writer confirms one theory does not mean we, the fans, cannot continue with our fanon. i mean, does Legend actually have wings? Is Warriors really Wild's bioligical father? Can Sky really turn into a bird? Has Legend ever actually kicked something to death? NO! But I've written all of these things, and so have other people! Just because it isn't canon doesn't mean we can't do it!

Should we recognize that LU Canon has Four the way JoJo has stated him to be? Absolutely!

But if JoJo didn't want us writing Four as a system or something, they would have come out and addressed it earlier on, like how they addressed the Warriors/Twilight shipping and stuff!

WE AREN'T WRONG!

We are writing an interpretation of the character because it took four years (lol) for us to get any answers as to how they function, it's okay that we came up with our own ideas and expanded on those of others.

So, yes, JoJo has a canon interpretation of Four that we should all respect when reading the official comic, I am going to respect their interpretation and read it as it's meant to be read, but outside of the comic? I'm going to continue to write Four as four people in one body, and I'm going to enjoy it as I always have!

I hope you all can do the same! No shame! You aren't wrong, there is no wrong, there are only interpretations.

(Technically, Akira Himekawa wrote Four first, and they wrote Four as being Four people with separate personalities and characteristics, so...)

[letstalkloz]

Let's Talk the Ocarina of Time Manga

Written by manga duo under the pen name Akira Himekawa, the Ocarina of Time manga was published in Japan in 2000, and hit shelves in America in 2008. To adapt the story on paper, changes from the original game had to be made. I’m going to split this up by going over those changes to see what translated well on the page, and what should've stayed more faithful to the original game's story.

I will admit right off the bat that I may be biased in this post. My first introduction to Ocarina of Time was through the manga. I didn't have a way to play the game when I was younger, but my local library had all of The Legend of Zelda manga. That being said, both the game and the manga have a very special place in my heart. How well did Himekawa’s adaptation do though? This will contain spoilers for both parts of the manga, but if you’ve already read it, or don’t care about plot spoilers, then let’s talk about it.

The Good

Starting with the changes that work, Link building some of the early weapons and equipment himself was a great way to give us some insight on Link’s character. For a video game, Link’s personality is kept sort of vague, that was the player can put themselves in his shoes. For a manga though, you want to follow a protagonist that has a more recognizable personality. By showing us Link’s innovation in creating the slingshot, and his resourcefulness in carving the Deku shield, we start to see hero-like qualities that reassure us that Link will be just fine on his own once he leaves Kokiri Forest.

Continuing with the characters and their personalities, once Link makes it to Castle Town, instead of making a beeline for the castle, he runs into a young girl close to his age and spends the day playing with her under the promise that she’ll introduce him to Princess Zelda later. During this sequence, we’re shown all of the mini games and shops available in the game, and get to know this unnamed character a little bit more. Their night ends with Gerudo thieves attempting to rob the girl, leaving Link to chase them off. The girl is revealed to be Zelda when Impa comes up to escort her back to the castle safely. She accidentally drops the Ocarina of Time, which Link picks up and holds onto in the hopes of returning it to her.

Something that we don’t get in the game is an early introduction between the people who will end up being the three holders of the Triforce. The manga remedies this by having Ganondorf interrupt Link and Zelda’s meeting in the garden by introducing himself. This gives us more of an insight on Zelda’s personality as well, where she tells him to leave, standing up to the King of the Gerudo, despite being a child still.

The rest of the plot that follows Link going on a quest to collect the sacred stones sticks pretty close to the in game events, but when he returns to Castle Town and sees it up in flames, instead of just standing there watching during a cut scene, Link rushes into the burning town, again showing us his heroic personality. Even though he’s unable to do much, he still faces the danger head on. While Link is fighting in the town, we get a shift of perspective to see Ganondorf having cornered Zelda and Impa. While they manage to escape like normal, Link attempts to attack Ganondorf directly. Even though he looses, that small fight gives us a starting point for Link’s power compared to Ganondorf’s, and gets readers invested on Link’s upcoming journey to grow stronger.

The manga continues to follow the plot of the game with Link sleeping for 7 years, but instead of waking up and meeting Sheik in the Temple of Time, Link is alone in the Temple. Sheik isn’t introduced until the Fire Temple, where he saves Link after the Hero of Time fails to defeat Volvagia. Delaying this introduction gives us a more impactful meeting between Link and Sheik, where Sheik still comes off as mysterious, while still giving Link a reason to trust him.

The game strictly follows Link’s point of view, since he is the character the player is using to navigate through Hyrule. With the manga though, we’re granted the opportunity to see scenes without Link, which gives us one of my favorite plot points in the two book series: Sheik secretly working for Ganondorf. This adds tension to the plot, since Sheik is working with Link directly. While the Hero has no reason to doubt Sheik, since he saved his life back at the Fire Temple, readers are left wondering how this will all play out.

Impa’s character also gets a lot more attention in the manga adaptation. While we see Link’s progress in the game grow by collecting more heart containers, it’s difficult to translate that onto paper. Himekawa’s solution? Training montage in Kakariko village with Impa! We see Link actually take the time to learn combat from Zelda’s former bodyguard, ending with her piercing Link’s ears to signify that he’s reached adulthood according to Sheikah tradition.

Book 2 of the manga series gives us a fight at Lon Lon Ranch, where Link has to fight to rescue Malon from a brainwashed Ingo and several Gerudo guards. Sheik comes in to help as well during this fight, and we’re given a daring escape on Epona. While the moment is taken from the game, the manga adaptation adds a lot more action to the scene, which I feel could’ve been part of the game, but was a missed opportunity that the manga decided to fill in.

The next big change is Link’s journey through the Gerudo Desert. The journey to the Spirit Temple is my favorite moment in the manga, with Sheik helping to guide Link through the desert, only to betray him once the Gerudo warriors show up, giving us that payoff to the discovery that Sheik had secretly been working with Ganondorf the whole time. People who have played the game might’ve been confused at this moment, but Sheik’s betrayal doesn’t last long. He apologies to Link later on, claiming that he never truly supported Ganondorf, and helps him fight off the twin witches, Kotake and Koume. Sheik gets injured during the battle though, forcing Link to retreat to the Spirit Temple with the Sheikah.

The final events before Ganondorf’s Castle take place in the Spirit Temple, which really helps with pacing. Instead of traveling all the way back to the Temple of Time, it’s revealed that Sheik was Zelda the whole time at the Spirit Temple, followed by Ganondorf kidnapping the Princess of Hyrule. While a reveal in the Temple of Time brings things around full circle in the game, the dramatic moment happening in the Spirit Temple in the manga helps keep that adrenaline rush from the previous battle going without dragging through another journey across Hyrule.

The last big change that I believe really adds to the story may seem small in retrospect, but it is a scene that has stuck in my head ever since I first read the series. During the fight against Ganon, the Master Sword gets knocked from Link’s hand just like it does in the game. This time though, instead of Link running to grab it himself, Zelda picks up the Master Sword and throws it over to him. It’s such a small detail, but puts Zelda in the fight, and shows us that determined spirit of hers that we saw back at the beginning of the manga.

The Bad

Not all changes in the adaptation were positive. I mentioned above how Zelda drops the Ocarina of Time in Castle Town while playing with Link. While that entire scene is very well done, her dropping the ocarina feels sloppy. After being attacked by Gerudo thieves, you’d think that she would double check that she still has the Ocarina of Time on her before leaving with Impa. I could see the argument that she dropped it on purpose for Link to find, but the manga doesn’t make that clear, and even if that was the case, with all of the thieves in town, it’s not a great plan.

Now this might get some backlash from other fans of the manga. I don’t like Link’s backstory with Volvagia. The boss of the Fire Temple was already badass in the game, being a dragon that lived inside Death Mountain who was resurrected by Ganondorf to keep the Gorons under control. The flashback of Link purchasing a baby dragon as a child and freeing him felt shoehorned in. Maybe if we got that scene when it happened instead of a flashback, I would’ve appreciated it a little more, but as it stands, it feels like a cheap shot to get an emotional reaction from readers. I’m all for crying over an impactful death, but Volvagia didn’t need to be a sympathetic villain brainwashed by Ganondorf. Just let the evil dragon be an evil dragon.

Fighting Dark Link in the Water Temple is an iconic moment in the game that people still talk about to this day. You’re in a room with shallow water, a single dead tree, and all you’re told is “Conquer Yourself.” It’s chilling to watch Link battle his shadow, and struggle against a creature that can perfectly copy his movements. In the manga though, Dark Link is a spirit that rises up out of the well in Kakariko, replacing the Bongo Bongo, the boss of the Shadow Temple. This change could’ve been great! Link fighting his shadow in the shadow temple makes sense, but we never see the Shadow Temple in the manga. Instead, the fight takes place in the middle of Kakariko, with Impa and the rest of the town watching. It feels like a side show moment. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel moments where a character has to fight an evil version of themselves should be private battles. It’s personal, but we don’t get to see that conflict of Link fighting himself in the manga. Instead we get Impa giving him advice as he’s fighting, and the town cheering when he wins.

The last change that bothered me was Nabooru’s whole character. There’s no time travel back and forth between young and adult Link in the manga, which is fine. That plot point would’ve been difficult to cram into a 2 book series. However, Nabooru’s character feels like a joke in the Spirit Temple. Instead of being a rebellious second in command who secretly plots against Ganondorf, she reads more like a goofy thief. Nabooru isn’t even aware of the fact that she’s a Sage until the last minute before Link storms Ganondorf’s Castle. She has a few badass moments in the manga, but I felt like her character wasn’t taken as seriously as it should’ve been.

Conclusion

There are a bunch of other changes in the manga that I didn't have much of an opinion on one way or another, but overall, and I know this is probably a controversial statement, I believe the manga handled the character aspect of Ocarina of Time much better. The plot could feel rushed at times, having only 2 books to the tell the story, but the characters feel like real people with goals and fears. People get confused when I say Sheik is my favorite Legend of Zelda character overall, and I always point them to Himekawa’s adaptation to explain myself.

I know I mentioned my bias towards the manga, since that was my introduction to Ocarina of Time, but I'm curious on how well received this manga is for people who played the game first. For those of you who played the game first, or even those who prefer the game over the manga, what parts worked for you, and what parts didn't? I know growing up I loved the Volvagia backstory, but looking at it now, it feels awkwardly thrown in.

And don’t forget, all of this is just my opinion! You’re free to love or hate the manga, but if you’re a fan of The Legend of Zelda franchise and haven’t picked it up, I’d suggest giving it a chance. Who knows? You might be pleasantly surprised despite the changes.

[ccborrega]

What's wrong with the Twilight Princess manga? (Genuinely curious because I often hear it's good)

No, I mean, it's good! What I've read isn't really terrible (And take in account that because they aren't selling it here just yet, I've only read what I've been able to find online.) This is most likely about me putting something in the tags about how most fans ignore it, referring specifically to Link's backstory, but like...Bruh I'm biased, don't pay mind to my rambles XD

...

*rambles anyway.

I mean, it IS good. I like it enough that I want to buy the whole thing once it's completed, available in my country (In english because the spanish names are a fucking joke) and have enough money that I don't regret buying like 12 tomes that are like 120 pesos each. It brought some ideas that are gold, such as Luda and Shad coming with Link in the adventure for a short time, Midna helping Link beat the Gorons in sumo (Though it does sacrifice one of the most hilarious parts of lore of the game.) and the questionability of Hyrule's attitude towards anything that isn't 'Pure' or 'Bright'. I just disagree with a lot of the choices made in it.

Link's backstory. I had thought it to be a matter of personal taste at first, where I saw him as someone who maybe came from outside but grew in Ordon and was just getting stupidly offended over differing opinions, but as it turns out I just didn't remember why I'd had that idea for years now. Ilia mentions having been kids together with Link, and hilarious as the thought that she's referring to one year prior to events in the game is, it most likely means he's been there for years. Honestly? My impression is they wanted Link to not have too deep a tie to Ordon for whatever reason, and I Hate That. I'm certain I'm not the only one to say 'That's bullshit' and just go with something else there, which is why I say most of us ignore it anyway.

They highkey stole an arc from Hyrule Warrior Legends. Though tbf they also put a very blatant 'Empire Strikes back' moment in there and as much as it annoyed me... it was pretty cool. Still, this is the one game where Shadow Link had no business to be and they put it in there for an entire fucking arc.

Twilight Princess' cast is fucking HUGE why on Hylia's green earth are you putting OCs in there??? It's not even like they're filling a role no one else could have had! They've done it before in their previous Zelda works, and other manga adaptations have as well, but I like most of them because they had something to bring to the table (Even if it was romantic drama, in Ganthy's case.) here it's little to nothing they can contribute with that couldn't have been done by putting an already existing character there. It may be my theatre brain speaking but it bothers me when you have a huge cast and do NOTHING with it and instead bring out another character out of NOWHERE to get things done. Just use what's already there, damn you!

Zelda and Midna's backstory. Hear me out... I love it... but it doesn't work. I've spoken before about how much it annoyed me when the narrative had Zelda and Link respectively blame themselves for the invasion (Even though the guy invading is RIGHT THERE???!?!) for having 'Touched' the dark and made it so it could invade their world, and that's part of it. The other is: Having Zelda sacrifice for Midna not because it was the right thing to do, not because it's the one thing she can do for her people, for the Twili, for Link and Midna herself, and instead making it 'You're my childhood inter-dimensional pen pal, I just realized, welp, time to die.' kind of cheapens the impact it had on Midna in the game and what it says about Zelda as a character (We barely get anything on her in the game, but what we do get is powerful.) It's beautiful, but it misses the point completely.

Also Midna just randomly showing up in Link's dreams in her true form is stupid. YEAH, I SAID IT! I get it they're probably thinking 'Well, what's the point in building up anticipation? You know this is what she looks like already.' but one of the reasons the ship is so heart-wrenchingly good is Link knew her inside and out despite her warped shape. In the end, it didn't matter what she looked like so long as it was her. Link fell in love with her gremlin ass transformation AND THAT IS PERFECT OK??? Imagine like if on 'Beauty and the Beast' Belle just randomly kept meeting the prince in dreams, like they're waving a carrot in front of her to get things done with so she can smooch that freaky Habsburg mug. It's fucking awkward! (And it sort of cheapens their actual chemistry, it feels a lot like 'Oh, he has to see she's hot or it wouldn't be believable that he fell in love.' Get outta here with that.)

Shad.

OK, fine, I'll elaborate. Shad has a dialogue in-game about following up on his dad's life work, it is also implied that he's passed away. What does the manga do? Ignore all that and make it so Shad's dad is a 'Serious' investigator who disapproves of his son's interests. 'Shut up dad! It's not a phase dad! You go clean your room, dad!'. Why? No reason. It's not even interesting!

Shad is the friendliest fucking guy ever, rambling to Link about his hyperfixation on first meeting. Calls him 'Old sport' and stuff like that, seemingly befriends him immediately. What'd the manga decide to do with him? They're RIVALSSSS, and snarky to one another because Shad may or may not have a little crush on Ilia. UGH.

Look, you can't be a real Resistance if the members can't even look after themselves, so making Shad kind of a loser (Because he's a nerd. Hahah. Get it? Nerds are losers.) really took the piss out of the Resistance, tbh. Might have been the point, though, seeing how they needed to make space for their OCs in the final battle at Hyrule Castle... and, look, I've said this before but if you need to make a character look horribly bad for no other purpose than making another look more competent, you're not half as good a writer as you think you are. Link didn't need Shad to look pathetic to look more heoric, that's just sad.

Also take one look at that guy and tell me he doesn't drink his respecting women juice every damn morning and sometimes for dinner... well, in the manga, he's apparently kind of a leecher.

Srsly how is he friends with Ashei if he's kind of a leecher, she'd break his fingers.

There's probably more but I really don't want to come off like I'm trying to discourage people from reading it because I'm not! Like I said, it's a good manga! It has some pretty neat battle sequences, it makes Hyrule feel MASSIVE, it has some pretty horrifying moments that make the stakes feel more real, it takes things that are a certain way in the game for the sake of the mechanics and tries to make them more organic (In the specific case of Ilia's memory, it succeeds.) and Akira Himekawa never fails to make Zelda and every female character look gorgeous. It's just not great in terms of being an adaptation, but that's not necessarily a terrible thing, it just depends on taste. Still, specifically where Link's backstory concerns... I think most fans just ignore it because, really, it doesn't make sense.

[elstreem]

LoZ FS: Tower of Dreams

6k words, one shot fanfiction with Akira Himekawa’s Four Swords manga characters. Red wakes up in a mysterious room and finds the disembodied voices of his other selves guiding him...

Red wasn't sure what woke him up - the distorted whispering in the air, the cold, hard, ground, or a sudden stab of fear that lanced his heart, making his eyes blink open and a broken sob spilling out of his mouth. Probably all of those combined, he thought as he pulled his limbs close to himself and shivered. Ohh, it was just like his nightmares of being alone -

"Red!"

The voice was loud and familiar, and in a moment Red was scrambling up to shout, "I'm here!" and looking for a green tunic, but -

But there was no one around in the weird space he found himself in. Red whirled around in confusion - he could have sworn Green had just called him from nearby, his voice was so close. He peered at the strange fog swirling around him, wondering if Green was maybe obscured by the green-tinged miasma -

"Red, are you okay!?"

"Where are you? Red?"

"Blue? Vio? I'm here!" Red called, looking around for the other parts of his self. Strange, Red could usually sense where they are if they were in close proximity, which should be the case if he could hear them so clearly…was this really a strange dream, after all?

"Red, watch out!"

Red instinctively ducked, following Green's warning as a Keese swooped from the murk. Red felt his heart hammering, felt the breeze stirred by the Keese's wings, heard the piercing shriek - there was no way his dream could be this detailed. Which could only mean he was indeed, awake and in danger.

"It's coming back! Defend yourself," Vio called out, and Red quickly reached for his wand and sword - but found neither of his trusty items at his back.

The Keese shrieked and dove down, its fangs scraping Red's cheek and leaving a scratch.

"Stop it, you stupid bat!" Blue's voice growled as Red stumbled away.

"Red! Find a rock or something, you gotta keep that thing away from you!" Blue advised.

"On it!" Red said, deciding to ask questions later and trust in his companions. Keeping his arms above his head for protection, Red dodged this way and that, followed by three voices of encouragement.

As always, whenever the four were in perfect accord, all differences were cast aside and their words and thoughts moved as if in sync. As it was, barely had Green said, "Left!" when Red already swerved, avoiding a pit in the ground. In this way, Red navigated the treacherous terrain, never seeing for himself what dangers lay in his path but always being forewarned by the other three.

"Red, there's something on the ground over there - a stick or something, you can probably use it to bat the Keese away," Blue directed, and without breaking stride, Red reached for the stick, whirled around, and smacked the oncoming Keese. The bat monster shrieked and hurtled away. Red sighed in relief, and noticed that the thing he was holding was actually a bone. "Ew!" Red groaned before letting his impromptu weapon go, hurriedly wiping his hands on his tunic afterwards for good measure.

"Oh, that was a little gross. But hey, it worked," Green said.

"Yeah. Thanks guys!" Red said, directing his words to the air. Speaking of which…Red frowned and peered around, even though he knew it was a futile effort.

"Where are you though? Can you see me? I can't see you…" Red said uncertainly.

"Yeah, I can see you and what's around you…"

"Same here."

"Yup."

"But I can't see you…" Red said, frowning in thought. A terrible thought then came to him, and he asked, "Y…you aren't ghosts, are you?"

"Of course not!…wait, I guess?" Blue said, starting with an indignant shout but ending the statement with a very uncertain question.

"Come to think of it, I'm not sure where we - our bodies are."

"Yeah, it's…I can see Red just fine, but I don't know where we are. But, Red, you can't see much where you are right now, right?"

"Right! There's this creepy mist around me…I can barely see my hand a distance my face," Red said, sticking his arm out for emphasis and shaking his hand a bit. True enough, he could barely make out of the outline of his hand even though it was just an arm's distance away.

"Okay…so until we figure out what happened, we have to be Red's eyes," Vio said.

"Why do we always have to be separated like this…" Red sighed despondently.

"Cheer up, we're still here!"

And so, Red started on his strange journey.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Since you dropped that bone earlier -"

"Hey, I'm not gonna hold it any longer than I have to!"

"I'm not saying you should go back for it, but you have to have something to protect yourself with…"

"I see a light over there to Red's…left, yes, left. It's a few paces away."

"Be careful, it might be a trap."

Red followed the directions, and found that he could see a faint ball of light in the gloom. He eagerly quickened his steps and came to a wall bearing a torch. The torch was perhaps the first cheerful sight Red had seen in the place, with its bright red flames. "Well, it's no magical rod, but it's better than a bone!" Red chirped, taking the torch off its bracket on the wall. The torch seemed just as happy to see Red, as it gave a little shower of sparks as soon as the hero was holding it securely in his hand.

"Phew, now I can breathe a little easier…I don't like seeing you without a sword, especially after what happened last time!"

"Okay, Blue, I know," Red said. With a fond smile, Red placed a hand on the wall, and found an idea coming to him.

"If I keep my hand on the wall…"

"Maybe you'll have a better chance of getting around!"

"It's a good start."

Red nodded - though he couldn't see any of his companions, he felt their presence so strongly it didn't matter if he couldn't see them. He walked on, fingers brushing against the rough stone wall. Fortunately the monsters seemed to be staying away, giving the four space to continue talking.

"What was the last thing you guys remember? Did you just wake like this?" Red asked, waving to the air with his torch.

"Something like that…I remember we fell asleep…and then when I woke up, I was just hovering over you," Blue answered.

"Yup, same here…wait! I think I remembered dreaming about something…a tower?" 

"You too? I wasn't sure, but I thought I remembered seeing a tower in the mist…"

Red gasped as the memory came back to him. "I remembered seeing a tower too!"

"How about you Blue?"

"Yeah, now that you mentioned it…and I think I went inside the tower, but I can remember anything past that."

"Maybe…we are inside that tower. Maybe this is a dream world?"

"It feels too real to me…" Red complained. Even with the warm flames of the torch he felt chilled, though whether it was because of the cold or the creepy atmosphere he wasn't sure.

"I see…a set of stairs ahead. Just go on!"

Gradually the wall curved off to the side, and like Green mentioned, there was a set of spiral stairs leading down. "If we're inside the tower, Red must be on the top floor," Vio noted.

"Ok, I guess I'll be going down," Red said. But before he could go down a step Blue shouted, "No, jump back!"

Startled by Blue's urgency, Red tripped and fell as he took a step back, but it was just enough to give him space to avoid a Skulltula that whizzed down. The giant spider blocked the stairway, waving its legs tauntingly in front of Red.

Red quickly scooted back, as the Skulltula was much too close for comfort.

 "Are you okay, Red?" Blue asked.

"Yeah, it didn't get me…but oww…I fell on my backside…" Red winced. In a moment he was standing up, used to far rougher scrapes (it was a hazard of being a Link). 

"Now what? I like this torch but I don't think it's as good as a sword…" Red said.

"Give it a good whack anyway," Blue suggested. 

"Uh…maybe there's something else in this room -"

"Stupid spider!" Red shouted, jabbing the Skulltula before Vio could finish his words.

The Skulltula hissed, legs writhing, before shooting back up again.

"Or yeah, maybe we can just whack the spider," Vio muttered.

"Yaay!" 

"Hey, whatever works, right?" Green said.

While the three voices reported that the stairs were free of any further spiders, monsters or otherwise, Red held his trusty torch higher up, hoping that the flames would deter any other monsters who would want to take a bite of a Hylian in a red tunic. Would his red tunic make him tastier to monsters? Red didn't want to know, and he let out a sigh of relief when he reached the next floor. Like the one he started out in, miasma obscured his vision.

"Still foggy in here," Red reported.

"Alright, go in carefully!"

"There's something here…oh, but my vision is darkening…weird…"

"Vio?" 

Keeping his ears open for the sounds of beating wings or the quiet clicking of spider legs, Red proceeded carefully. It had become worryingly quiet, and after a while Red couldn't stand the silence and whispered "Guys?"

A minute passed until he heard Green's reassuring voice. "What is it Red?"

"Oh, I was just worried, I wasn't hearing anything! It's freaking me out," Red said.

 "Something…ahead…"

"Vio?" 

"I'm here. I was saying, I see…something violet in this room."

"Huh? I wasn't hearing any of you say anything," Red said in confusion.

"Oh? That's strange…"

"Well, where is the thing you saw Vio?"

"Red's left…few paces away…oh, but it feels like my eyes are closing…"

Red opened his mouth, then shut it, not wanting to voice his fear that their voices will fade away entirely. Instead, he went off walking.

"This way Vio?" Red asked.

"……"

"Vio?"

"He said, a little more to your left," Blue relayed the message.

"Weird, Vio's voice keeps getting softer. Are you okay?" Green asked, voicing Red's concern.

"I'm fi…ne…"

Red practically dashed ahead and almost tripped over a treasure chest on the floor. Quickly, he opened the chest, fumbling a little as his one hand was still clutching the torch. 

"Oh! A violet key. Strange, it's shaped like the Four Sword," Red said upon seeing the contents.

He then got the key and put it in his pocket, then stood up as he heard something - something familiar. It was the sound of high-pitched jabbering.

Red whirled around and found several Chu Chus making their way towards him. 

"They're around you in a circle!" Blue said.

"Quick, formation!…oh drat, we're not there…Red!" Green called.

Red, desperately hoping that the torch trick was going to work a second time, took a swing at the closest Chu Chu. The lit end of the torch passed through the Chu Chu's gloop-like body…and the fire was snuffed out. Red pulled the torch back, but it was too late - all he had now was a stick with a burnt end coated in jelly. 

Red backed away, only to find another Chu Chu close by, and he realized too late that the monsters had closed the circle. 

"Red!" Both Blue and Green cried out.

Not knowing what else to do, Red put his hand back into his pocket and clutched the key.

"Oh, Vio…please, help me!" Red said.

"Spin attack! Now!" 

Red wasn't quite sure how it happened - but somehow, it felt like Vio was standing at his side and guiding his hand. He drew the key from his pocket, and holding it securely, spun around. A purple glow emanated from the key and took the shape of the Four Sword, the light slashing through the Chu Chus cleanly. The flash of light caused Red to shut his eyes, and in that brief moment he saw a round room with five doors. 

"I'm sorry Red…it feels like something is pulling me away…but I'm waiting here!" Vio said, his voice fading.

Red opened his eyes and found little puddles of colored goop around him, the key once more back to being a small, nondescript key. But Red knew it would lead him to Vio.

"Whew, that was too close! Are you okay, Red?" Green asked.

"Yup! Vio helped me," Red said, showing the key before pocketing it once more.

"Oh, that's good to know. But…where is Vio? Even I can't hear him…"

"There's room in this tower with five doors! Vio is there, and I bet you two, too. I think he's okay," Red said in a rush. He wasn't sure where the feeling came from, but just knowing for sure that all four of them really were in the same place gave Red courage.

"Oh!"

"What is it Green?"

"I sense something in the next floor. It feels like there is a green light, somehow. I'm not sure how to explain it."

"Red, are you sure this is the right way?" Blue asked, still worried about Vio's absence.

Red touched the key in his pocket and nodded.

"Well, let's continue then. Don't keep us waiting," Blue said.

"I can see the stairs to your right, Red…oh, but it's strange, I suddenly feel sleepy…"

"Ok I'm on it Green!"

"Hey, watch your step on the stairs!"

Red clattered down the stairs, trying to hold onto that confident feeling of knowing his companions were in the area and trying not to feel worried about the loss of Vio's voice. So eager was his pace that it took Blue practically yelling to get his attention.

"Red! Slow DOWN!"

Red skidded to a halt, fortunately making it onto the next floor without tripping.

"Huh? What it is Blue?" Red asked, realizing he had to gasp for breath from his sprint.

"Geez, I'm all up for rushing in, but be careful! What if you had slipped on those stairs?" Blue growled, and Red knew he would have gotten a scolding slap if Blue had been there at that moment.

"Sorry…I guess I just don't want to let you guys down!" Red said.

"You're…doing just great…be careful…" Green said, trying to be reassuring, but his voice was starting to waver in and out of Red's hearing.

"Anyway, why are you still holding that torch, Red?"  Blue asked.

"Oh? Oh yeah! It just makes me feel safer, I guess" Red said, waving the torch around. 

"Well, you should relight it so it's at least useful, right?" Blue pointed out.

"Oh, yeah," Red said, looking around. Noticing that a glob of Chu Chu jelly was still stuck to the end, Red tried to shake it off, but when the sticky wad didn't budge, he scraped the end of the torch against the floor. It did the trick - and in the strange way dungeon torches worked, the torch relit itself with a fwump! Red was a little startled, but he laughed on seeing the flames once more. "Hey, it worked!" Red cheered, waving the torch around, making the light dance and his shadow flicker.

"Hopefully you won't run into any more Chu Chus," Blue mused.

"Treasure chest…straight…"

"Oh, right! Sorry, Green," Red said, quickly getting back on track. 

"No monsters, but they might spring out when you open the chest, so be careful!" Blue warned.

Red nearly tripped over the chest, but stopped himself in time to kneel in front of it. He opened it one-handed once more, and found a green key, also shaped like the Four Sword.

"Okay, you can rest easy now, Green," Red said. 

He quickly pocketed the key and whirled around, expecting to see yet another ring of monsters. However, none materialized.

"Green? Are you gone too?" Blue asked in trepidation. 

Both Blue and Red waited for a response, but it seemed like Green had also gone silent.

"Ugh, I really don't like this," Blue muttered.

"So Blue, can you see the next way?" Red asked.

"Hmm, no…but the stairs are to your right. There's a pit in the way, so step carefully."

Red inched forward, and sure enough a broken patch of floor was in the way. 

"Don't worry, Blue, we can do this!" Red said, sensing Blue's quiet worry.

"Yeah…" Blue said. 

"Oh, Blue, are you fading too? Can you see your key?" Red asked.

"Red…w…tch OUT!"

Just then the green key flared with light, and Red saw that cracks were snaking out from the edge of the pit, rapidly taking over the floor. Red took steps back, but it was too late - the floor was already starting to crumble beneath his boots. With a gasp, Red found himself falling into the darkness. But the darkness didn't stay, as the light from the key glowed brighter, until it had formed a sphere of light around Red. As what happened with Vio, it seemed like the lost Green was holding Red's hand and guiding his fall.

"I'm sorry I could only stay this long…hold on! I'll do what I can…" 

While Green's light was guiding him, Red saw the vision of the round room again, only now he saw that a flight of stairs was leading down to it and he knew for sure then that the round room was at the bottom of the tower.

The light faded, and with it the vision, and Red found his feet settling back onto the ground

"Red!"

"I'm okay, Blue!" Red called out. "Thanks to Green," Red added, and took a look into his pocket - sure enough, the green key was there, though it had spent all its light. The two keys in Red's pocket poked into his side in an uncomfortable sensation, but it was a sure sign that they were there. 

"Red…sorry…but I'm also…" 

"It's okay, Blue. I'm nearly there," Red said.

"Okay. Go…left."

Red went ahead, the torch's flame crackling in the chill air but still working, as though it fed off Red's determination to see the quest through.

In a short while, Red saw the chest, and he quickly opened it up, to find a blue key.

"I got you, Blue!" Red said. He stood up and said, "Can you still hear me?"

The air was still, and Red could only hear his own words. "It's up to me, then," Red said, clutching the blue key to himself.

Red quickly brought his hand around to pocket the key - but not quickly enough. Something whizzed in the air, and something sharp flicked into Red's hand, causing the lad to cry out - in pain and anguish. The key was gone! 

Red whirled around, ignoring the blood drops coming out of his cut. He saw something dark and slender disappear into the murk, and barely a beat later, a rush of cold air blew past Red. He raised his arms to shelter his face from the stinging wind. He could still see however, and he saw that the ominous fog had cleared - and hovering before him was a winged serpentine creature with glowing yellow eyes. The tip of the serpent's tail ended in a sharp point, still flecked with Red's blood - but more importantly, still curled around a glimmer of blue.

"Give that back!" Red said desperately. The snake showed its fangs and hissed mockingly, before giving another beat of its wings and lifting itself into the air. It whirled around the room, emitting the same fog which had covered it from sight, before diving into a set of stairs at one end of the room.

"No! No no no!" Red shouted, dropping the torch and reaching out with his wounded hand, but flinching as the wound began to sting with pain. Red clutched his hand and dropped to his knees, feeling some tears come on.

"Oh, Blue…I'm so sorry…" Red gasped. He disconsolately looked at his shaking hands, which were now smeared with blood. The shock of the moment got to Red, and he blankly stared at his hands as darkness wavered at the edges of his vision.

But it wasn't simply shock that was making the darkness move in Red's vision. The torch cast behind him still burned with a small flame, its glow stopped by Red's figure, resulting in a shadow stretching out before Red. And the shadow was not having any of this injustice done to his other selves. 

"Snap out of it!"

Having another familiar voice jolted Red, and he wildly looked around. "Huh? Who…?" Red asked.

"You can't let this get to you. Come on, go!" the vaguely familiar voice said. So similar to the voices of the other Links, but different…which could only mean it was…

"Shadow!?" Red asked.

"What more do I need to tell you? That my key is with that snakey thing? And if anyone is going to help you whack that monster, that Blue guy is you best bet, so get to that key already!"

"R-right! Sorry," Red said. Seeing as his cut was still bleeding, Red tore a bit off the hem of his tunic and wrapped the strip of fabric around his hand. As Red wasn't looking directly at him, Shadow allowed himself a quick wince of discomfort at seeing Red's wound. Red quickly reached back to grab the torch, before standing up. This time, Shadow stretched out and pointed the way. "No more of the left right nonsense. Just follow my lead, and don't mess up, got it?"

"You're sure being nice today, Shadow," Red said with a shaky smile, making Shadow huff in mock exasperation.

With Shadow leading the way, Red navigated to the stairs and walked down as fast as he could, though his progress was slowed down by the pain in his hand. 

"That doesn't look too good," Shadow noted the trail of crimson drops.

"It's ok, all I have to do…is to whack that snakey guy…or something…" Red said.

"Whack…a flying snake. With a torch?" Shadow asked in a skeptical tone.

"Well, do you have any suggestions?"

"I don't know, you could have picked up something a little more useful!…too late for that, he's in the room just a few steps ahead."

Shadow hesitated, and said," Hey, be careful, okay? I can see him in this fog, so I'll try my best to warn you, but you've seen how fast this guy is."

"Ugh…" Red groaned as his wound seemed to smart with renewed pain.

A sound like a shriek and a hiss greeted Red as soon as he set foot within the room, and in a moment Shadow said, "He's coming, move!" 

Red jumped ahead, narrowly missing the serpent slamming its head at the floor where he had just been standing.

Red turned around, and found himself face to face with the serpent. The monster's red pupils glimmered with malevolent light, and Red backed up a step.

The serpent raised itself and took to the air again, the fog covering its form. The eyes glowed in the fog for a moment before the snake darted away, and Red lost sight of it.

"Why didn't you poke it in the eye at that moment!?" Shadow said.

"Ah, right!" Red said.

"Too late for that now, - tail coming in!' Shadow shouted.

Red raised his arms in front of his face instinctively at the feeling of something rushing at his body. The next thing Red knew something sharp ripped into his side, leaving yet another gash that stained his tunic a deeper color. Red gasped and flinched away, but the tail struck again, this time hitting his chest. Fortunately the sharp point did not strike Red this time, but the blow drove him onto his back. Red gasped as he fell, his hand losing its grip on the torch. The serpent then leaned its head over him, letting out a mocking hiss as a laugh. Caught up in a feeling of complete victory, the serpent failed to notice that its tail, rested tauntingly on Red's chest, also allowed the key to be within Red's grasp. But Red remembered, and more than that the feeling that Blue was near overrode his fear. Red's hands clapped over the tail, his fingers prying at the key.

"Give…back…Blue!" Red growled, and beneath his fingers the key shone in response.

"I'm here!" 

The light took the form of Blue springing out at the serpent's neck, causing the monster to be flung back. The blue key slipped from the coil of its tail, straight into Red's hands.

"Took you long enough," Shadow muttered as Red sat up. Both Shadow and Red almost felt bad for the serpent in facing a very angry Blue. The monster thrashed around in pain as Blue's arms squeezed its neck. Red went over to pick up the torch, and as Blue pulled the serpent close, he was in perfect position to jab the lit end of the torch straight in the monster's fanged mouth when the head was flung close. Blue jumped off as the serpent reared, flames spilling from its mouth. 

"Well, I guess it's time for my party trick…Red, pick up our pal's tail here, would you? You'll need it," Shadow said conversationally as the snake, flailing in agony, threw itself down and stopped there. 

"Not the tail, it's hurt Red enough times already!" Blue said worriedly. 

"Ah!" Red said, noticing that the tail's sharp point reminded him of a sword. The hero dashed forward and carefully caught hold of the tail, before pulling it with all his might. The end part of the tail ripped away in his hands, revealing it to be a key similar to the others, but colored black.

"Leave this one to me," Shadow said. He gathered himself up from where he was, and in answer, the key in Red's hand gave off dark-colored smoke. Shadow rose out of the floor, his substance rippling until he took shape, and the smoke rising off the key flew into Shadow's hand, forming a blade. Shadow leapt off and dove down, the point plunging into the side of the snake's skull and piercing both of its eyes.

"Oh, gross," Red winced at the gruesome sight.

 "He deserved it," Shadow said, flowing back to Red's side. The snake turned its ruined head back towards the boy in a ripped and bloodied tunic, a figure made of blue light and a figure made darkness. It let out one last hissing scream, before slumping to the ground and going still. As if an enchantment had broken, the fog lifted. Both Blue and Shadow turned to Red, who was standing strong despite being battered and bruised.

"Well, I guess it's time for me to go," Red said, pocketing the two new keys. 

"I'll see you in a bit," Blue said with a smile, and his form dissipated.

Red turned to Shadow, who was staying quite solid. This Link raised an eyebrow at Red, before saying, "What?"

"Oh…aren't you fading away?" Red asked.

"I'm a shadow. I'm quite at home in weird realms, and this magical dream is no different," Shadow said as if this was common knowledge.

"Oh! Wait…but then you still need me to unlock your door, right?" Red said.

Shadow winced in annoyance. "Well, yeah, I got caught up in this tower nonsense, but I'm not falling for the sleep spell going around," he growled. Despite his impressive words he found himself stumbling a moment later.

"Darn it."

"It's just one set of stairs! That's how long you'll have to wait for me," Red said reassuringly. 

"Ughh…" Shadow groaned, before allowing his form to slip away.

Red walked carefully down the last set of stairs, trying to go as fast as he can with the cut at his side hurting with every step. Finally, he reached a door made of red-colored planks. He pushed through this and found himself in the round room, facing four other doors with familiar colors: violet, green, blue and black.

Red went on over to Vio's door, which was closest to his. He put the violet key into the lock and eagerly pushed the door open, a smile growing on his face as he expected to see Vio awaiting him with open arms. However, what he saw made Red worried - Vio was indeed inside, but he was lying on the floor, unmoving. 

"Vio?" Red called, before coming close. Vio did not respond, and Red shook his companion and called his name again. Vio did not stir.

"Vio, please, wake up!" Red said, starting to panic now. But there was no response whatsoever.

"Ohh, what now? Should I wake the others?…wait here!" Red gabbled before dashing off. 

He barged into Green's room, but found Green in the same comatose state. Hoping that maybe the spell would be broken once all doors opened, Red practically dashed into Blue's room, shouted his name just to make sure, but Blue did not wake up.

One last door then - Red got up and went outside Blue's door, only to find Green and Vio walking out of their rooms.

"Oh, thank goodness, you're awake!" Red cried out. 

"You're too late."

The cold statement made Red freeze in place.

"Useless, pathetic fool. You only had one job and you failed," Green sneered.

"You couldn't have gotten this far without OUR help. You did nothing," and Red whirled around to find Blue smirking at him.

"N…no…" Red whispered.

"Oh, are you going to cry now?" Vio taunted. 

Red looked desperately at their faces, but found only mocking smiles and hateful glares.

"I don't know what's going on but…this isn't you…this isn't like any of you!" Red said.

"Look, Red…we all think you're a burden."

"Weak."

"Dependent."

"Soft-hearted young fool."

"And we don't need to lie about that now, do we?" the three said in unison.

"Stop it! Whoever it is making you do this…stop it!" Red cried out. Each and every word cut him in a way more hurtful than his wounds, as they were his own doubts now spoken.

"Oh? I don't need to make your friends do anything. I'm pulling the words right out of their hearts. After all, it is in dreams that we say what we are too embarrassed to speak of," the voices said, growing more sinister with the edge of a hiss.

"You!" Red gasped, recognizing the sibilant sound of the snake monster.

"Let go of my friends!" Red shouted. 

"Ah, but is that all you'll be doing? Shouting? I can do more with your friends than to simply speak with their voice," the monster said.

At this, all three of the other Links lurched away, pulled by the twisted magic of the Tower Serpent.

"Should I wring this one's neck by his own hands?" the voice mused, and to Red's horror Blue's hands rose to grasp his own neck. 

"STOP!" Red screamed, running after Blue.

"Oh, but these other two - perhaps they should gouge the eyes out of the other, seeing as that other brat has destroyed my own," the Serpent said, making Green and Vio face each other, hands rising towards each other's faces.

The serpent's words made Red remember that Shadow's door was yet unopened - and so, he ran as fast as he could, hands reaching out for the black door.

"Not so fast now!"

Something - someone - tugged Red back and he found himself being restrained by Blue.

"Perhaps this is the best way to torment you - to be killed by the hands of your own companions," the Serpent laughed, and Red saw that Green and Vio were coming close. What they would do to him he had no idea, but going by the Serpent's threats it wouldn't be good.

Red closed his eyes and thought about how every one had helped save his life from every danger, and if they ever woke up and found out they had hurt him…it would break them more than any physical torture the sadistic snake had offered.

"Please…stop it…let them…GO!" Red shouted.

Light flared off Red, pushing back the other Links. Burning with a fierce desire to save his friends, Red willed the Four Sword to return to his hand - and form it did, in a blaze of red light. More importantly, Red saw the chains of the serpent's magic tangled around the Links, and with a yell he cut through all of them, severing the serpent's power. The last vestiges of the magical creature stared in shock at Red, unbelieving that this boy was just as strong as his companions. And Red, seeing the Serpent's ghostly form hanging above their heads, lifted his blade and jumped, cutting the monster's head off. With a final scream the creature was vanquished. Red knew this because the other three fell to the floor and uttered various groans of pain - but in their own voices.

"Guys!" Red said joyfully, and the three looked up to see Red still ablaze with his light.

"Red?…Red!"

The four came together in a joyous heap, reunited at last. Unfortunately, the moment did not last long as the tower began to shake, and stones from above began to rain down.

"The tower…it's collapsing!" Green gasped.

"Now that that monster is gone, this tower has lost its purpose. We have to go!" Vio said.

"But…but Shadow!" Red cried, lunging for the black door. 

"Come on!" Blue said, and holding hands, the four ran to Shadow's door. Red held out the key, and with a final lunge he pushed the key into the lock and twisted it. The door flew open, and from within the room, Shadow reached out a hand. But before they could enter, the arch of stones above the door wobbled alarmingly, threatening to collapse into a pile of rubble. 

Blue and Green both pulled Vio and Red back as the doorway crumbled. They all gasped in dismay, but the situation didn't leave time for crying - more piles of rubble were falling around them.

"Let's go!" Blue shouted, and reluctantly the four sprinted towards an opening where the wall had caved in. They jumped out of the crumbling tower and fell down, down…into darkness…

~~~~~~~

"Aghh!" 

"Red? What is it?"

Red sat bolt-upright, convinced that he was still falling. However, the sight that greeted him was anything but a scary and dangerous dungeon - he was on his own bed, the sun was streaming through a window, and Blue was standing at the door holding two cups of hot chocolate.

"Ah! Blue…the Tower, our dream, I…" Red said, looking reflexively at his hand - but neither of them bore a bleeding gash. Red carefully patted his sides - no wounds there, as well.

"Our dream?" Blue asked.

"Shadow! We left Shadow behind!" Red said, standing up in a panic, causing his pillow and blankets to go flying. 

"Shadow? What about him -"

"Ohhh it's all my fault! I was too slow and…and he must still be trapped in that horrible snake's dungeon! I'm USELESS!" Red said, bursting into hysterical tears.

"Red! What is wrong!? Blue yelled, spooked by Red's behavior.

Red was crying too hard to be able to process anything else, the snake's choice words coming back to circle his head like a demented tune. Some time later, Red was able to pull himself out of it enough to realize that Blue was standing over him, with Green beside him and Vio on the other side. Green's arm was slung around his shoulders, and Vio was patting his back. 

"Red…it's okay…"

"We're here."

"Really, Red, you've been crying nonstop…what's wrong?"

Red blearily looked around, exhausted by the surge of emotions.

"I…you don't remember the dream?" Red sniffled.

"What dream?"

"Th-the Tower…but it felt so real…" Red said.

"Well, I don't know anything about a tower, but I want to get out of this dungeon of a room. What's with the doom and gloom?"

Red straightened up as he saw Shadow come in.

"Sh-shadow…"

"Yeah?"

"YOU'RE OKAY!"

The next thing Shadow knew, he was bowled over by a red cannonball who was now spewing tears all over his chest.

"Get off me you dumb -!"

"I'm so sorry!" 

"You will be if you don't get off me right now!" Shadow bellowed, pushing Red off.

"Ha ha…I'm so glad everyone is alright!" Red said, fairly laughing in relief.

"Crazy," Shadow muttered as he dusted himself off.

"Well, I think we need to hear all about this dream. Let's have breakfast, okay?" Green said.

"Okay!" Red said with a smile. He let himself be led to the table by Green and Blue, reveling in the fact that everyone was alright. Maybe…it had all been a long, convoluted nightmare, everything really was alright.

In the chatter, Shadow watched Red carefully sit down and take a sip of the hot chocolate (which had grown cold from waiting). It will be a long story at the breakfast table today, Shadow thought. He slid over the best pancakes over to Red's plate as a silent thank-you, and listened as Red began, "Well, it began when I thought I woke up…"

------------

Heya, thanks for reading! Anyway, this story was inspired by a dream I had where I was watching Red navigate a misty room, and there was a part where there was a round room with doors colored like the FS Links - so here’s the result! Big thanks to everyone who encouraged me to write this and gave wonderful feedback - I hope the format works better now. 

This is the most writing I’ve done since I graduated from a Creative Writing course in May of 2019. I actually wrote this around September of 2019, I think? Anyway, I’m really burnt out from writing and I still feel so emotionally constipated whenever I think about uploading any written stuff, which is why I hardly ever upload anything written...so I’m a liar when I said I’m a writer lol. Anyway, this is just what this piece means to me so I hope it’s ok. 

[hauntinghyrule]

I just saw Vio and Shadow and said "Kaenith MUST see this they would love this omg!!!" And then I saw the rest of the thread and squealed hahah

:D

I love how Akira Himekawa keeps coming back to Four Swords, just every once in a while, just a little doodle here and there, even a decade+ after they first wrote/illustrated it...

Just like how the fandom persists, small but resilient, even after so long. There’s just something special about Four Swords ^_^

[kolbisneat]

MONTHLY MEDIA: January 2020

Hey here’s how I spent the start of this fine new year!

……….FILM……….

Parasite (2019) I was so focused on the plot that I don’t think I fully appreciated the beauty in this film. Watching this video helped a lot. One thing I admit (light spoilers to follow...skip past if you don’t want anything spoiled) is that I assumed there would be some sort of genre/fantastical element to the whole film. Because I’ve only seen The Host and Snowpiercer (loved both), I think I expected there to be a genre component to the whole thing. When they go down into the basement I really thought it was heading in that direction, and I definitely felt a little let down because of it. BUT after seeing the whole film, I feel like the themes and narrative were stronger because of how real it all felt. (END OF SPOILERS) I think it’s a film I’d like to rewatch to better appreciate the layers, but ho boy is it an emotional gutpunch.

Jojo Rabbit (2019) Just the best. The structure and (some) of the characters felt familiar, but it’s that comfort that makes the changes or introduction of an imaginary Hitler all the more interesting. Beautifully directed and the shifts in tone are so seamless that I really have a hard time pointing out where they happen.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) A little late to this but it was as good as I’d heard. It had the pacing, spirit, and lightness of late 90s/early 2000 adventure movies and I hope more films like this are getting the go ahead. Now to wait 3 years before seeing the sequel.

Between Two Ferns: The Movie (2019) A fun road trip movie that dips into scathing commentary on hollywood and talk shows? Absolutely. It worked well in building off of the webseries and the bloopers during the end credits really made it for me. Also I should’ve been playing Comedy Bang Bang Bingo while watching the movie. Anyway it does a great job of balancing the mean with genuine character moments and glimpses of sincerity.

……….TELEVISION……….

The Bachelor (Episode 24.01 to 24.03) It started out so promising (with the Hannah Brown return) that I was really primed for a format-shaking season. Nothing can quite live up to that beginning and it’s doing the show a disservice. Maybe if they just focused on nice reasonable dates and women getting along it would feel more substantial than the contrived fighting and lies we’re getting. I still believe that the most engaging season will actually be the one with the least drama. Perhaps I’m in the majority for thinking this.

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Episode 3.01 to 3.03) Reeeeeeally digging this season. Maybe it’s that there isn’t much relationship drama, or because the relationships play a part in the larger plot (as opposed to Riverdale...but that’s another can of worms). The Cthulhu and carnival stuff are offering a nice mix and we’re really getting lots of monster-of-the-week stuff so far. Hopefully there’s more to come!

Swamp Thing (Episode 1.03 to 1.07) It started out strong and moved at a nice pace, but it lost me. Some episodes had a monster-of-the-week, and those were fun but there was a lot more focus on the locals around the town instead of Swamp Thing. I appreciate a Swamp Thing-centric show would cost a looooooot more, but I also think that’s what most of the fans would want, right? Maybe if it was a 4-ep series it could really go all out and make a splash.

……….READING……….

Dracula vs. Hitler by Patrick Sheane Duncan (Complete) The title and back cover allude to a different, pulpier story, and it takes a while to adjust to the less bombastic narrative. The alternate history you DO get is great, and I think it’s because I didn’t mind a story with a hint of vampire set during the second world war. I’d still love to read a pulpy vamps vs. nazis novel, so if you have one then let me know. This wasn’t perfect, but I enjoyed it.

Head Lopper Volume 3: Head Lopper & the Knights of Venora by Andrew Maclean and Jordie Bellaire (Complete) There’s been a shift and a progression across the first three volumes of Head Lopper. It’s gotten more bold with its storytelling, a little more loose with its artwork (sometimes a hit and miss...I frequently go back because I feel like I’ve missed something in a previous panel) and the sheer scale of the world is expanding so quickly. It’s quickly becoming my favourite modern comic that captures the spirit of what I imagine pulp stories to be. Worth checking out vol. 1 if you haven’t already.

The Magicians: Alice’s Story by Lev Grossman, Lilah Sturges, and Pius Bak (Complete) If you haven’t read any of the Magician’s trilogy by Grossman, this is a great point of entry to see if you’d like the tone, characters, and general premise. If you HAVE read the first novel, this doesn’t branch too far the main narrative. I would’ve liked to spend a little more time with Alice on her own outside of what we see from the novel (and Quentin’s point of view) because what we do get is fantastic. I’m not sure it adds a lot of new elements to the novels but take that for what it is.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Legendary Edition  by Akira Himekawa (Complete) As far as a comic adaptation of a game, it really retains a lot of the core components. There are fun asides and elements get expanded further and it reads really well. Adaptations across media can be tricky but I think this is worth checking out if you liked the game. With that said, there’s a bonus story at the end that is so unrelated to the game and core world that it felt like a miss. It just felt like the author had a completely different story to tell and tried to shoehorn it into this property and it didn’t work. So if you pick it up, know that the best ending is the one you got in the game.

……….AUDIO……….

Yo, Is This Racist (Podcast) I’ve only recently started listening to this, but I really dig the format and the hosts are fun. Part reflection on current events, part interview, part commentary on society...it’s just all very good and funny and also good again.

……….GAMING……….

Baby Is You (Arvi Teikari) Never have I felt more frustrated, rewarded, and impressed by a game. I originally thought it was a sort of “there are endless ways to solve each stage!” game but it turns out the later levels have very specific solutions and that changed my perspective. It’s challenging but fun and uses lots of logic and creative thinking and I just don’t know how to describe how great this game is. Playing it on Switch is nice for the ease of playing a level or two before quitting, but I’m sure it’s fun elsewhere as well.

Neverland: A Role-Playing Game (Andrews McMeel Publishing) So I wrote a setting based on J. M. Barrie’s works and it’s getting published! The weekly group is taking a break from the megadungeon to try this out and it’s been a lot of fun! I will post more in depth recaps of the party’s adventures but so far, they’ve found a small village and nearly died to crocodiles.

A Red & Pleasant Land (Lamentations of the Flame Princess) It’s been aaaaaaaages since this group has had a chance to get together but it’s always so fantastic when we can make it work. The game is really getting to the point where the party has done enough that their actions are having consequences and the group...is adjusting to this. Right now they need to investigate a murder that they themselves are responsible for and I’m VERY keen to see how they approach it.

And that’s it! As always, let me know if you have any recommendations for what to read or watch or hear or play and happy Friday.

[aion-rsa]

Comics A.M. | Marvel CEO May Serve as Trump Adviser

Politics | Reclusive Marvel CEO Isaac Perlmutter is reportedly poised to become a “key adviser” on veterans affairs in the Trump administration. The New York Post’s article, which cites anonymous sources, comes soon after the 74-year-old Perlmutter was photographed with President-Elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. It’s only the second known public photo of the billionaire, whose ties to Trump came to light in January 2016, when he and his wife Laura donated $1 million to the then-candidate’s fundraiser for wounded veterans; Laura is a member of the presidential inaugural committee. The former co-owner of Toy Biz, Perlmutter is a self-made billionaire who earned $1.5 billion in cash and stock from the 2009 sale of Marvel to Disney. He and his wife donated $9 million in 2015 to help fund cancer research at NYU Langone Medical Center and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. [New York Post]

Retailing | Customers at the Huntsville, Alabama, comics store The DeeP were just going about their business on Friday morning when an SUV crashed through the front window of the building, sending display shelves toppling and comics flying. The driver was the only person injured. Ed Walls, owner of The Deep, said, “The car got enough merchandise under it to stop it about halfway through the store.” Security cameras captured some spectacular footage of the car barreling through the shop, and the damage was extensive. However, Walls said the comics section of the store was intact — and he didn’t even close the business. “If people are going to come, we might as well stay open for them to buy something,” Walls said. The store quickly brought in a cleanup crew and posted on its Facebook page that the damage was mostly cleaned up by that evening. [AL.com]

Passings | Chinese cartoonist Alfonso Wong, creator of the popular comic “Old Master Q,” has died at age 93. Wong launched the comic, which commented on everyday life as well as politics and current affairs, in 1962, and it became popular across Asia. “He actually drew himself into the comics,” said his son Joseph Wong, who took over the comic when his father retired in the 1990s. “The way Old Master behaved, the way that he [thinks], the way that he acts to other people, like his neighbors. That’s pretty much my father.” The Hong Kong Arts Centre, which is hosting an exhibit of Wong’s work, described it as “a collective memory of Chinese-speaking communities around the world,” transcending generations and national borders. [CNN]

Legal | Malaysian cartoonist Zunar plans to sue police over his latest arrest, which came after protesters disrupted a private event on Nov. 27. “It was a private crowd funding event, but the police came and arrested me along with two of my friends and my assistants,” he said. “They also confiscated 1,300 books, involving 12 titles, and 100 T-shirts that were meant to be sold that day. They used Section 124 of the Penal Code against me and I believe that was done in bad faith.” Although the police were scheduled to question the cartoonist on Dec. 30, they have postponed the interrogation indefinitely. He was arrested again on Dec. 17, at a second event held to raise funds to help him recoup his losses from the first. The cash seized by the police in that incident brought his total losses to $20,000. “This will be my second legal action against the police. The first was after my first arrest back in 2010,” Zunar said. “It is very difficult for me to win, but it’s very important for me to file the suit because it can create awareness. If I don’t win, that’s okay. But at least the people will know that this is the situation in our country. We can’t even draw cartoons anymore.” The cartoonist also faces nine charges of sedition, which could result in a 43-year prison term if he is convicted. [Animation]

Freedom of speech | Zunar is one of five cartoonists facing persecution because of their work who were profiled in a report by Reporters Without Borders. The others are Rayma Suprani of Venezuela, Musa Kart of Turkey, Tahar Djehiche of Algeria, and Jabeur Mejri of Tunisia. [Reporters Without Borders]

Graphic novels | All three volumes of “March” and the boxed set made the BookScan top 20 graphic novels chart for December. That’s not too surprising, as Book Three won the National Book Award in November, becoming the first graphic novel to do so. The first three volumes of “The Walking Dead Compendium” also made the chart, as did two individual volumes. The latest volume of Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang’s “Paper Girls,” the first volume of Akira Himekawa’s “Legend of Zelda: Legendary Edition,” and a couple of Marvel reference books also were in the top 20. [ICv2]

Creators | “March” artist Nate Powell talks about his younger days, going from reading GI Joe comics to Doug Murray’s “The ‘Nam,” which opened his eyes to the power of the graphic medium; his experience as a member of the North Little Rock punk band Soophie Nun Squad; and his experiences while making “March,” as it crossed over from graphic novel readers and English classes to being used as a history text. “It is history, that’s true. But it meant we had to give ourselves a crash course in what it meant to follow historical guidelines to make sure it stayed in history classes,” Powell says—and their research led to some discoveries that actually added to the documentation of the Civil Rights movement. [Arkansas Times]

Creators | Artist Rosa Colón and writer Carla Rodríguez celebrate the 10th anniversary of Soda Pop Comics, the first female-run comics studio in Puerto Rico. It started out with a helping hand from another local studio, Dreamgraphixs, which included their comic “Tick Tock” in a selection of their work at New York’s MoCCA indy-comics festival. “We had only seen the [conventions] here, and when we went to MoCCA, it was incredibly different. There were almost all women making comics, comics of every size, of every quality—hastily stapled stuff, or nicely planned-out things, small batches,” said Colón. Inspired, the pair set up their own studio, making more comics, going to conventions, and ultimately becoming starting their own comics festival and running their own small press. [Remezcla]

Creators | Grame McMillan has a handy checklist of five comics creators to watch out for in 2017. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Digital comics | The digital subscription service Scribd quietly ended its digital comics service in December. The service launched in February 2015 and was described as a “Netflix for comics,” with over 10,000 titles from major publisher such as Marvel and DC available to readers for $8.99 a month. Nate Hoffelder points to the business model for Scribd as one reason why it failed—as well as the fact that so few people use it that it took a month for the press to notice that the comics were gone. [The Digital Reader]

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