#and some tetra link

[distantkairi]

I hate when people call zelink or zelink in every game "uncreative" or something.

No, you are uncreative. They have different history and personalities each time which would change the relationship dynamic even in the scenario of always being romantic.

It feels like what people are saying is "romance is always the same" which isn't true. Is every friendship the exact same? No

[the-chains-cafe]

Based on something that happened in physics class

[waywardsalt]

comparing bellum’s two ‘deaths’ is fun, his actual death is quick he’s just trying to get away before it looks like he locks/freezes up and dies, but when he fakes his death he’s gotta flail around and do a little circle in the room and drag it out and go all limp before falling in his little pool and even makes it look like there was an explosion under the water after he falls in. dramatic ass

[joshuamj]

guhoghgjj i have so many art ideas but so little time;;; the eternal curse

[razables]

*coughing upblood* phantom. phamtom hourglass

[shadowlinktheshadow]

I love this. ive been thinking about this ever since I posted this and Ive reread these tags so many times

which, has me thinking. alfonzo could relate to this experience as well.

he was known as new hyrule's greatest swordsman. princess zelda recognizes him, knows him. he was possibly even zelda's bodyguard?

but he left his position for "unknown reasons" the game doesnt explain why, either. there is a possibility he couldve been severely injured, but what if similarly to link, he was crushed under the weight of expectations.

and when he saw link, someone experiencing the same feeling of unease? doubt? pressure? under their skills, he saw a bit of himself in there

being the "smart kid"

d.do you ever think about this. he cant be any older than 12-15 when he earns his engineer's certificate. forget the devs notes about the deep v-neck and rolled up sleeves showing off his rebellious side or whatever. my headcanon is that all of the uniforms are tailored to adult bodies, and therefore are too large for Link. the sleeves are too long and the collar sags down around his neck.

[ovegakart]

boats not very useful on land but its got all her stuff and people

the spawns name is zelda, of course. i think the name would be links idea, tetra opposed to it, and then lost some sort of bet.

[willowedspirits]

Hollow Knight Linked Universe AU! I've finally finished it!

If you don't know much about Hollow Knight, a lot of the technicalities might not make sense, and I would encourage you to look into the game. Or you could just enjoy the chain as bugs and see them off on their buggy adventures!

I've made this AU trying to keep as close as I can to Hollow Knight's story, but some creative liberties were of course taken.

My main idea is that the infection is the equivalent to Dark Link's (who does exist in this) infected monsters and it's up to them to try and slow/stop the infection. My first thought was to have the infection start to spread outside of Hallownest, and the chain needs to go and stop it, but I'm still going back and forth on it.

I'm still open to changing concepts if I find something that works better, but after literal months of working on this on and off I'm happy with how this has turned out!

Rambling about character details below!

Small note: I've set this AU at roughly the start of the infection, when Radiance was starting to take over Hallownest.

Time

Is not from Hallownest. He traveled to Hallownest from a distant land, where he met Malon and settled down with her.

He encountered Radiance upon entering Hallownest, but was protected by a god that had already laid claim to him, Fierce Deity, who protects him from the Radiance's infection.

He and Malon live in the Howling Cliffs.

His wing and antenna injury are from Radiance when she tried to infect him.

He is not able to fly because of the injury, and now fights with a heavy nail.

His wings used to be green, but after encountering the Fierce Deity, they slowly started to change in color until they were blue.

I'm not sure if I would do anything with the eyes on his wings, I was trying to make a connection to Majora in that, but I'm still debating whether to add it.

Twilight

Is a part of the Traitor Mantis tribe that lives in the Queen's Garden.

He met a Sibling (Midna) that escaped from the Abyss. They gave him the ability to harness Void.

Still working on the detail for how exactly they give him this ability, but my rough idea is that perhaps both of them were attacked by and infected villager, and they saved him by giving up their Void essence.

He's grown up wanting to be infected by the Radiance. He was taught the Radiance was a god that gave bugs great strength, but after seeing what the infection really does, he starts to have second thoughts.

The cloak he is wearing is new. The one he wore before was damaged. I'm still debating on when exactly he gets it, but I think it's something he makes after he leaves the traitor village.

Warriors

He is the head knight of the Hive and oversees whoever enters their territory.

His scarf is a gift from the princess of the Hive given to him when he leaves to join the group.

Since he is a bee, he is connected to the Hive via the hivemind. He uses this to check in on his home whenever he can.

This also makes it very dangerous if he gets infected, since it would quickly spread to the other bee's.

I kept his nail the same as Hive Knight's, but it's open to change.

Four

(I'm still very iffy on Four's story concept, but here's what I have so far)

Lives in Green Path.

He has a passion for weapon smithing, and planned on moving to the capital of Hallownest (City of Tears).

But he accidently stumbled on a weak Unn, and agreed to help protect her while she recovered.

When she did recover, she blessed him with a power that allows him to split into 4 parts of himself using his SOUL.

He can split while in the physical world, but will always be split while in the Dream realm. This also makes it difficult for Radiance to infect him.

Wind

Lives in the Kingdom's Edge and works as a guide across the acid lakes. Most of the travelers are those who are seeking to fight in the Colosseum of Fools.

This is how he found the Colosseum, and regularly attends (but not participate in) some of the fights, which is how he meets Tetra.

He is just learning to fly, but is picking it up really fast.

I wanted to keep the lobster apart of his design... But there are no lobsters in Hollow Knight... Then I remembered this was an AU and I can do what I want with it. So lets just pretend that Lobsters are seen as these awesome ancient beings that he wishes to see one day.

Wild

He was a guardian of the Beast's Den before he became infected, leaving the Den to reside somewhere in Deep Nest.

He is cured by the Dream Nail when the group meets him, and the last to join.

His shell is cracked and damaged because of the infection. The cracks have healed over time, but will never go away.

He has trouble with his memory due to being infected for so long before being cured. He is slowly regaining his memory, but there are still a lot of pieces missing.

His infection spread through to his arm, but is hidden under his cloak.

He uses his nails almost as throwing needles.

Legend

Is a shop owner in Hallownest's capital. He sells all kinds of items from all across Hallownest, small things he's found that could be valuable.

He's managed to make his way into the upper class of the capital due to his shop. His cloak is a modified version of the upper-class wardrobe. He dyed and added the hood himself.

Has a great sense of exploration, and has been all over Hallownest, but still has some places he needs to check off.

His jewelry are all gifts from Ravio.

My original concept for his design was to give him 4 arms. I was thinking of the Collector when designing him, and thought it fit. But after working on finalizing the design, I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep it. I still love the concept though.

Hyrule

(Again, I don't have a clear story concept for him but I have some notes)

Lives in the Ancient Basin.

Has learned how to use SOUL, and is in hiding from the residents of the Soul Sanctum because of it.

He has access to spells and is able to heal himself using SOUL.

I originally gave him a cloak, but couldn't decide if he looked better with or without it. So he does have it, but only sometimes.

Sky

Is the wielder of the Dream Nail, which can be used to cure infected bugs by purging the Radiance from their dream's.

Has wanted to learn to fight with a nail since he was little, and would practice his skills.

He learned about the Dream Nail after some of the moth tribe became infected. He left shortly after he learned this infection was spreading through Hallownest, with the goal of stopping it.

He isn't the only one that can use the Dream Nail, but is the one dubbed the "owner" of it.

And that's what I've got!

I didn't go much into Dark Link here, but would be happy to show some concepts I have for him as well if anybody is curious. I'm making him almost like a living version of the Radiance's infection, and is able to spread it from bug to bug without needing to access their dreams. This is mainly why I'm torn on having them leave Hallownest. If Dark Link could spread the infection to farther lands, or to keep him inside Hallownest and just spread it faster there.

I thought that using the Dream Nail was a good equivalent to the Master Sword here, so I just mashed them together, and a lot of the motivations for the chain trying to stop the infection is "I'm seeing this awful thing happen to these bugs that I don't want to see happen to others," with some small variations here and there.

I've been working on this for so long, I just want to share by bug boys. I would love to gush and ramble about them some more. I have stuff I want to do with this AU.

[cokoakeostuff]

Character List. Hero's paradox

Hi! this post it's gonna be kind of a guide of the 12 Links that make up the story I'll be editing this as I finish all their respective drawings. I won't be specifying their ages but rather an approximate.

> You can read the plot here

> Heights chart

Adventures: Skyward sword

Age: 20-24 [Young adult]

Now living peacefully with Zelda on the surface, he has found a quiet joy in life.

His days are spent helping Zelda, playing music, or woodcarving

Although the Master Sword is no longer in his possession, he often visits Fi’s resting place, even though he never receives an answer.

Adventures: Minish Cap

Age: 11-12 [Kid]

After sealing Vaati, he no longer wields the Four Sword

Don’t let his youth or small stature fool you—underestimating him would be a mistake.

Kind-hearted, honest, and sweet, he never hesitates to lend a helping hand to those in need.

He is the youngest (and shortest)

Adventures: Ocarina of time & Majora's Mask

Age: 20-22 [Young adult]

After saving Hyrule and Termina, he now lives as a traveler, and helps out at Lon Lon Ranch.

Despite everything he has faced, he has never given up on his search for Navi.

He is considering joining the Royal Guard,

He doesn’t fully understand it yet, but he has a small crush on Malon, his childhood friend.

Adventures: Wind Waker & Phantom of hourglass

Age: 13-14 [Teen]

He spends much of his time exploring new places with Tetra and always returns with gifts for his little sister.

The most expressive and talkative of them all.

He enjoys joining in whenever the others play music.

Adventures: Spirit Tracks

Age: 13-14 [Teen]

He is physically very similar to the Hero of Winds.

As soon as New Hyrule was safe, he was finally able to continue with his passion: trains.

• He tends to be very forgetful and a bit distracted. His constant fatigue from his job doesn’t help, but despite that, he genuinely enjoys it.

Adventures: Twilight Princess

Aliases: Blue-Eyed Beast, Hero of Twilight Age: 19-22 [Young adult]

He misses Midna deeply, more than anything else.

After his adventures, he returned to Ordon, where his heart belongs, taking care of animals and watching over his friends.

He carries a sword at all times—just in case.

Adventures: Four swords/adventures (Merged)

Age: 12 - 13 [Teen]

He’s the one who most recently finished his adventure; he was on his way to return the Four Sword to its pedestal but ended up with the others before he could do so.

The son of a knight, he was a soldier-in-training before setting out on his quest to defeat Vaati.

The Four Sword has had some mysterious side effects on him...

Adventures: A link to the past, Oracle of seasons and ages & Link's awakening

Age: 17-19 [Teen]

He’s often seen wearing a flower—not because he’s particularly fond of them, but because they remind him of Marin.

After his journey to Koholint Island, he finally took a break from seeking adventures; he needed time to process everything he had been through.

He spends his days tending to his collection of artifacts.

Adventures: Link between worlds, & Tri force Heroes

Age: [Teen]

He shares Wild’s love for clothing and owns a dozen (ridiculous) outfits for every occasion.

He keeps the bracelet Ravio gave him as a precious possession; in the end, he learned to appreciate the cowardly, greedy rabbit.

He’s lively and has a peculiar sense of humor. Out of everyone, he’s the one who’s adapted best to teamwork.

Adventures: Zelda I & Zelda II

Age: 16-18 [Teen]

He struggles to let his guard down and relax, a result of living in a hostile Hyrule and constantly facing threats to his life.

He usually prefers to rely on magic and spells but won’t hesitate to prove he is a formidable swordsman.

It’s not something he’ll say out loud, but for him, turning into a fairy is probably the most fun thing to do.

Adventures: Hyrule Warriors

Age: 20-23 [Young Adult]

Out of the entire group, he’s probably the one who best understands the situation they’re going through—it feels oddly familiar to him.

He once let reckless overconfidence and ego almost kill him once, so he’s determined not to let that happen again. He might come off as arrogant at first, but it’s nothing more than a joke; in serious moments, he’s sensible and deeply cares for everyone.

He currently dedicates his life to his military career.

Adventures: Breath of the wild & Tears of the kingdom

Aliases: Hylian Champion, Champion of Hyrule, Hero. Age: 20-23 [Young adult]

By the age of four, he was already a prodigious swordsman, capable of besting fully trained knights.

He silently loved Mipha, seeing in her a kind soul who loved him for who he was as a person, not for the hero he was destined to be. Sadly, they never had the chance to confess their feelings to each other.

He became far more talkative and expressive after his awakening. Though he still carries the guilt of his fallen friends and kingdom, he no longer feels the crushing weight of the world’s expectations pressing down on him.

———— thanks for reading!

[clowns0up-felix]

If you ain't too busy...(I know you kinda already did this with the links and Zeldas walking towards the triforce)...but could I request a Zelda lineup too? [only if you're feeling up to it]

Sorry I got like SO lazy with this so quickly lol

Because I got lazy some of their the designs turned out pretty half baked (especially hw Zelda/Sheik), so here are some posts that show their designs off better:

Hw Zelda , Hw Sheik , Tetra and mm Sheik , st Zelda , fs/fsa Zelda

The rest is pretty much fine for now

Thanks for the ask!!

[the-au-collector]

So I fucking hate driving so here’s the Links as bad drivers:

Legend: The speed demon. Will ride up your ass, will weave around cars, will be going 15 over as a minimum. Vroom vroom motherfuckers

Warriors: The anxious driver. Taps the break for every little thing. Is probably going 5 under. The most anxious driver you’ve ever met. Look at his knuckles. They’re so white because he’s holding his steering wheel with a death grip.

Twilight: The ancient pickup truck. Dubiously-tethered stuff in the back of his truck, has to go slow lest he unveils the wrath of his cargo upon the person behind him. Is at least apologetic about his speed (internally). Also he drives the most loud, beat up pickup truck you’ve ever seen. It always sounds like a cow is dying. He named his truck Epona and he refuses to sell her.

Four: The angry one. Has horrible road rage but dialed up to eleven. Always pissed off at some other driver for something. Driving raises his blood pressure. So, so many f-bombs are dropped if he’s behind the wheel.

Wild: The lane changer. Will realize it’s his exit at the last minute and veer over 4 lanes. A hazard to everyone and himself.

Hyrule: The eternally confused driver. Always lost. Slows down to 10 under so he can figure out where he’s going. Liable to just stop moving if he can’t figure out where to go.

Wind: The reckless teenager. Just got his license. Somehow never gets pulled over despite always going at least 20 over and disobeying so, so many traffic laws. Has tried to outrun the cops once (it was Tetra’s idea). Never let Linebeck teach someone else how to drive.

Time: Blinkers are optional. Pisses off so many people by not using his blinker. Most of the time he just forgets to use it. (Also I headcanon he drives a minivan. This has nothing to do with his allergy of blinkers)

Sky: The doesn’t use cruise control. Doesn’t know how to use cruise control and is too embarrassed to have anyone teach him at this point, so he never quite goes a steady speed on the freeway. This isn’t as dangerous more than it is a nuisance to everyone, including Sky.

[dia-oro]

Imagine linked universe but the reader didn't fall in from of them but was thrown to [insert era] and they where discover by [insert link] Zelda, by the time they got to that link eras you already know how to talk Hylian, at least you know one type of weapon to use and you're already a crewmate/citizen for her to protect, she shipped you to the chain for your own good because she know the shite yigas/monarchs/the king will do with you as they are being already aware of your knowledge that surpas some of his better scholar.

Imagine falling in tetra era and when you got finally with the chain you're the only no sword user but you're a gun one. Imagine falling at flora and while she love your knowledge she tell the people of kakariko to train you because she fear what a yiga could do, imagine being the only Keele fighterbut also with ninja weapons.

Imagine dusk teaching you how to slay with bows and when you finally got we the the chain you have special commissioned bow in your hands.

In skyroft you give all these people so much help and they give you a baby loftwing and class of the academy at least the knight part so you can protect yourself, imagine you to could use a sword as the chain but also know how to react than to the knight class, thank to Zelda.

Imagine how Hyrule Zelda would worry for her new friend or how time Zelda will visit lon lon because she shipped you first there so you can be in less toxic environment than a castles full of backstabbing nobles.

Just imagine it, these girls worry for their new friend a innocent in force in this harsh world.

When the boys get to know you they even call you the "pirate" "skylolfdian" or just another rancher because this where they get to know you, already adapter for this world and no in fear and panic.

[bonus-links]

DIRECTORS COMMENTARY PLEASE I LOVE HEARING YOUR THOUGHTS AND PROCESS <3!!!!!!!!

YEAHHH lots to say for this update

there's a scene I didn't so much as cut from the beginning of this update as significantly shorten: Wolf, Loft, Wake, and Slate are changing into their lighter outfits. Loft says the same line as having the party, Wake begs them for this one day with his Gran Gran, and they all agree they can wait. I've been trying to get better about like, not putting a ton of work into unnecessary connecting scenes, which is why I cut it down. Wake sounding more cavalier also works better for the overall chapter. But i was sad to leave this joke out lol:

may I present to you, Slate's picture gallery! he was mostly on task documenting flora and fauna but he gets a little sidetracked sometimes

I love the idea that he's just, like, kind of terrible at photography. he documents stuff for Zelda and it's always weirdly cropped and kind of out of focus, but she appreciates it anyway.

Slate is also picking flowers for the party! so he is still helping out on that front lol

idk if i've mentioned this before, but beetle does still have pincers! they're just. idk what the right word is. retractable maybe? yeah. like the ancient weapon blades

the filling of the half moon pies is pineapple :-) i was. so worried about it looking like an egg HAHA.

I thought way too hard about how they were going to cook these pies. I was originally going to draw a clay oven or some other setup, but ultimately I thought the Zelda tradition of only having pots over fires to cook was a funnier nod lol. So, they're frying the pies

believe it or not, I wrote this scene before reading dungeon meshi HAHA but it certainly served as good reference for how to set up shots for it

Aryll did in fact eavesdrop on Wake telling Tetra The Situation

That's Champion's little sister in the memory! I like the headcanon that her name was also Aryll.

Champion and his sister are making meat pies instead of pineapple ones.

One again, made a bunch of layout mistakes I ended up having to fix, except this time I didn't catch them until I had already gotten to rendering :-( if you're a patron, you probably saw these versions in the WIP:

problems here: Wolf is walking the wrong away. I was sad we'd be losing his expression but alas. And for the panels with Champion's sister, the angle is too low to be an actual POV shot. I could've left it and said he's just sitting or something probably but it was really bothering me lol so I redrew everything. and then recolored all of it. woof.

as a general rule, if he has scars, that's Slate. No scars is The Other Guy

I understand the complaint about this in BOTW, but I actually kind of like that weird moment that occurs after you finish a memory cutscene, and it just abruptly goes back to Link looking blank-faced like nothing happened. It implies this kind of....distance from the memories that I find interesting. Slate has complicated feelings abt the memories of Champion's life he gets, but like. there's pies to make

shout out to peony she's a real one

[links-in-time]

Worship

This piece was inspired by a random template I found. I loved the idea of Echo being dropping into the LU and immediately whipping these Link's into shape and some sort of chohesive team.

And they're all like "thank goddess there is finally a Zelda here to tell us what to do!"

With possibly the exception of Wind. I think the only women who intimidate him are Tetra and his Grandma.

Should I do more art with Echo and the Chain? 🤔

[lastoneout]

Finally watching someone play Wind Waker so I can get the story, and ngl I think this whole thing is funnier if this Link wasn't a reincarnation of the hero. The goddesses up in heaven gazing down at Hyrule like "okay so Gannon is back but dw the Hero has got this" and the Hero walks up like "Hey, what's going on?" and they just go "Oh, hi Hero we were just talking about Gan- WAIT WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE!?" meanwhile Tetra is running around with some kid with blond hair who just happened to be named Link and is pulling all this off with the power of irritation, eldest sibling rage, and sheer force of will.

[starshipdecay]

Toon Zelda redesigns! I've never been fond of the Toon Zelda design, and these girls deserve some individuality. Design notes and rambles below the cut :D

(time to turn the proper grammar off i aint capitalizing all this. warning: i am verbose)

first up, tmc zelda!

shes the one most like toon zelda, since i felt like the vibes fit the *most* (though not a lot). also, with her place on the timeline, i could justify a lot of bits, like the wings and the cape

the cape! obvs it comes from the toon zelda base design, but also it involves skyloftian fashion! i take the timeline as a challenge, and i once saw a take somewhere that the skyloftians all wear their family crests (most often birds lol) on their person. zelda here (and link too) do just that, wearing their family crests on little caplets. on the back is, of course the royal crest

i went very cutesy princess for her. tmc has such a *whimsical* vibe that i feel is very. muted? by the fact its stuck with the toon style. so i wanted to put in that vibe here. also her sprites make it look like her skirt is super poofy, so how could i not?

curly hair: i wanted something interesting, and most zeldas have straight hair. so! adds to the cuteness

i didnt draw it so well but she (and link) both have very sleepy expressions. zelda especially just has a sleepy expression in her sprite, its quite adorable.

shes not as decked out as other princesses, cuz i see tmc taking place before the royal family really starts to get *royal* as we see it. shes still of course got a tiara and some embroidery tho.

Tetra! her base design isnt all that changed from the original. her name is a fun hc of mine tho. i think "von Hyrule" sounds better as a surname than just "hyrule". shes not zelda, but shes still a descendant.

(WW) princess z (as i call her)

I went more oot zelda vibes for her, since she would be closer, temporally, to oot. i also went very warm, since ive never seen the flood as a *warm* endeavor.

shes got the shoulder danglies, as most zeldas have shoulder armor of some kind. the danglies instead of actual armor are supposed to kind of evoke a royal sea captain kind of vibe.

shes ghostly, with a fish-eyed stare. shes been dead and gone for a long time. shes also a bit taller and a few years older than tetra (as of ww). shes just some spectre the king saw in tetra, not at all a close match

tetra, being smaller than princess z, doesnt fit into the clothes. the dress is too big for her (as is in canon gd that skirt is WAY too long for her), the coat is baggy. the role of a princess *literally* does not fit her.

the ribbons! theyre my replacement for the wings, and they represent the wind in the game! since its represented by white lines, the ribbons are a perfect symbolic match. (also, a note, tetras hair is shorter and coarser than princess z's)

i mostly bullshitted the blue panel but the vague idea i gave it was 'a hope for the triforce to give good fortunes to the people' (pictured as dots, mostly behind her arms)

Pirate Queen Tetra

ph! about a year has passed, and tetra has really grown into her own! as well as literally grown!

shes still tetra, pirate and captain, but shes incorporated that royal heritage into her identity: quite literally! she made piecemeal of the original outfit (what was left of it anyway after the fight), and added bits and pieces to her new life.

she also takes full advantage of said heritage to call herself pirate queen. its great for branding. whos gonna say she CANT go by pirate queen?

the seagull feather is from Aryll. only crew member tetra wears a trinket from (who can say no to that ball of sunshine! certainly not tetra)

not many notes. yall can see whats there. (also she still wears her hair in a bun, its just in a low bun (you can almost see it) when she wears her hat)

st zelda!

first note is: shes not a princess! shes an heiress of the company tetra had made and left behind. hence her title of Lady zelda. ("new hyrule" rly just like-- the ending of ww was *literally* that hyrule is dead and thats okay. how did they miss that :sob emoji:) also calling her Lady Zelda fits with the train vibes

shes in a 1880s style bustle dress because 1) i am OBSESSED with bustle dresses. i love them. so much. 2) the more historical vibe works really well with trains! also a lot of the other outfits in the game have late victorian vibes, so shes certainly not out of place.

her hat (and gloves): any proper lady has a hat on when going about town, however, when she gets body snatched, she pulled out her hatpin to use (ineffectively) as a weapon (she IS tetras great-great-granddaughter), causing her to lose her hat *and* hairdo.

shes still got the hatpin in her ghost form, too. she uses it to threaten people for funsies

Ribbons! on the topic of hairdo, her ribbons! visually tying her to tetras design, the ribbons here instead take on the image of train tracks, with her pin (on the left side) evoking a train engine. the pin also makes her look rich and girly. when her hair comes undone, this makes the ribbons all loose, like how the train tracks disappear in game. (the hat also kinda connects her to tetra)

thanks for reading :D i hope you liked reading this as much as i liked typing it