#as much as possible. a twelve year old who is already a knight of hyrule is just really fucking funny to me

[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 ^^;

[thebleedingeffect]

o/ Hi, I'm here to ask about pre-calamity Link holding resentment towards Zelda

(I really like your takes on their relationship between games, and I'm really curious about what you're cooking for this one!)

HI HELLO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ASKING !! Get ready for my character study based off quite literally nothing but my beautiful mind <33

So, I'm replaying botw and I absolutely adore how the game characterizes all of its characters, but I have a particular love for botw link and how it characterizes him through absence and little hints of his childhood. What we know for a fact about him is that he showed skill at a very young age, four years old to be exact, when he was able to fight and win against a grown, trained knight. When he's around twelve years, he draws the master sword for the first time and is officially recognized as the hero of destiny by the entire kingdom. If you assume that Link was seventeen like Zelda when he became her appointed knight, that means that there was only five years inbetween him drawing the master sword, training, and then being responsible for- possibly- the most daunting task in all of hyrule: protecting the princess.

This was a task that he was expected to carry out at all hours of the day and, essentially, Zelda was his prime responsibility above all else. But, the fact still lies that Link was born into a family of knights, very possibly royal knights considering it would've been that much easier for Link's skill in childhood to be noticed. From the moment Link is born, his destiny has already been made for him, there is no conceivable way that he can avoid taking up the sword. Unlike most other preexisting Link's, he is born into a life where everything is already decided for him and he never has a moment where he chooses to take up the sword.

Ocarina of time? For a brief time, Link is a child and he has a home on kokori forest. Twilight princess? For his entire childhood and teenage life, Link was just a country boy who was good with kids and was dependable. Skyward sword? So much of the story is about how both Zelda and Link were kids before the story begun. Wind waker, spirit tracks, minish cap- so many of the Link's that have existed have lived completely normal lives and had a journey where they purposely took up the sword and chose to become heroes. Pre-calamity link though? He never had that. It's not even that hard of an assumption to come to that the moment it was discovered it could wield a sword so skillfully at a young age, he was thrown into training.

You don't just throw a twelve year old at the master sword unless you are absolutely positive without a shadow of a doubt that they are the fated hero. Being born into a knights family, I'm sure that this incarnation of Link has been training and has been told of his duty his entire life. In Zelda's entries, she even says that the reason Link is so quiet is because of the sheer amount of pressure and responsibility on his shoulders. To me, I interpret this as Link purposely not speaking up or having a voice of his own because he learned extremely early on that his body is not his own. Zelda resents Link, at least for a time, because she believes that the goddesses blessings practically hang off him. In her defense, they do, as the very symbol of the master sword on his back is enough proof that the goddesses had long since chosen him.

She resents him because he is the very symbol of her failures, all that she lacks in both skill and divinity, is embodied in him. She is born for a royal family with divinity in her blood, and yet she cannot hear the goddesses voice nor awaken her powers. Link is from a knights family, and he has succeeded in passing in every expectation that they've laid before his feet. The kingdom talks behind her back about her shortcomings, the kingdom preaches that the fated hero has been found. It is not hard to see just why Zelda resents Link so much in the beginning, because to her, he has everything she has ever wished for and more. At first, Zelda is preoccupied with her own troubles and it's only later that she is, as far as we know, the only one who has ever really asked him if he wishes things could be different. If he would've ever picked up the sword if he had the choice.

Which is such a heart-breaking question for many reasons, but one detail, for me, which makes it all the worse, is that I believe pre-calamity Link resents Zelda because she has at least achieved a taste of freedom. Personally, I like to believe that Link heard Hylia from a very young age and the act of becoming hero was taken from him to instead grow as a hero. Link never had a point in his life where he was allowed to breathe and choose what he wished, from everything from his own studies, his training, becoming knight, to becoming Zelda's personal knight. All of this was never in his control, but he exceeded in those expectations because the weight of just what the kingdom expected from him was that heavy. He never had a point where the weight was off of his shoulders, as it was that weight that straightened his spine and eventually made him silence himself. He learned at a very early age that his words, his choice, his very autonomy, was never important. Never was there a point that he was even allowed to focus on something that wasn't his expected destiny because he was the hero first and a child second.

Most assume the goddesses blessing to be a heady, beautiful gift, but I've always believed that Link secretly resented just how carefully the goddesses watched him. Where others preen for the goddesses blessings and gifts, he struggles to stand underneath the sheer weight of their gazes. He never had to earn the goddesses grace because it was forced upon him, and so, the very thing that Zelda resented him for was the very thing that he secretly despised.

In a way, I think Link began to resent Zelda in turn, but was just much better at hiding it, because he saw a girl who did not fully realize how much of a blessing it was to be free from the goddesses. Despite how much it was expected from her, she was still able to escape into the wild and chase after her true passions, which he dutifully followed her the entire time for. Personally, I think he came to resent her for this perceived freedom and escape, as well as how much she yearned for Hylia's blessing, despite it being nothing but a curse for him. More than anything though, I think he resents her, at least a little bit, for being able to speak up and fight back. It's something that he desperately wishes he could do himself, but he knows that he cannot and he's petrified about what would come out of him if he did open his mouth.

Link has had an entire lifetime of resentment, self-inflicted silence, expectations, surveillance, and a crippling sense of duty his entire life. All of these things are things Zelda shares as well, but in a way, I think he begins to resent her because she is a warped mirror of himself but with a handful more freedoms that he desperately yearns for. Yes, the weight of the kingdom is so very heavy for the both of them, but why would she destroy herself for the goddess? He wishes to tell her that it is not a weight that she should chase after, but instead cherish every moment that she is able to breathe without it. His destiny has long since been made, and he hates that she seems to desperate to destroy her own freedom with her own bare hands. It's a resentment born from envy, desperation, isolation, and a crippling sense of self-loathing from so desperately wishing that he had been given a moment to just be himself. His sense of identity is so loose because he has been told that he is a knight, a hero, the sword of hyrule, before he is Link, and for that... he hates and resents Zelda for wanting to throw away the one blessing that separates them. She has hope. He is damned, at least in his eyes.

This is all born from the thought that Link exists as an extension of Zelda where Zelda is actually able to exist on her own. Link seeing himself as a tool being passed from hand to hand and just wanting to be able to make a choice for himself. This is actually one of the big, BIG reasons I headcanon as to just why he's one of the most isolated, lone Links to exist because he craves the lack of eyes on him. He just wants to be a person man.

Not only that, but he purposely buries his own feelings because to acknowledge them is to acknowledge that something is wrong and that he's deeply unhappy of his fate. He resents Zelda, so he overcompensates by being over-protective and hovering over her so that he might beat back his resentment of her. If he buries his resentment and instead blames himself for even thinking those thoughts in the first place, then his own guilt will even further fuel his dutiful nature. It's a fucked up vicious cycle of his own guilt, resentment, and anger that he's drowning in the entire time !! And he'll never go out of his away to even mention it to Zelda because he doesn't want to burden her with his actual self !!!

[queenof-literature]

I'm asking again because I absolutely adore your work! You write the Links telling stories amazingly. It truly feels that Wild was telling the stories. Could write the all Links talking about their loves. It would be mix of fluff and angst because we have Sky and Time, who are both happy with their respective partners, but we also have Wild, Twilight, and Legend who I imagine are all lost in their own ways. I have not played all the games so feel free to interpret how you wish!

Hi again! Thank you! I'm so glad you like my work! I haven’t played all the Zelda games either, but I have watched many playthroughs. I have played Skyward Sword, Twilight Princess, and BOTW, and I’m going to play Link’s Awakening after I’m done with Hollow Knight, because unfortunately that’s all I have access too with the game systems I have. But I have watched playthroughs of the rest! So thank you for letting me have my own interpretation because I see a lot of the relationships besides the ones you mentioned and more platonic. I think Wind and Tetra would be sweet but they’re twelve during the game ya know? I apologize there is less storytelling in this one, but I feel a lot of them wouldn't be quite ready to spill all the beans. Hope you enjoy!

    Time didn’t really know how it had descended this far into chaos. One moment, Warriors was telling a tale of a ‘grand exploit’ in a tavern in his Hyrule, the next, there was screaming and yelling and multiple ‘innocent young ears’ being covered. Time thinks it all started when in the middle of the story, Warriors was telling them about a beautiful young lady he had met, to which Legend groaned and rolled his eyes. Instantly Warriors’ smile grew sharp and his eyes filled with teasing and mischief. Time knew that look, that was the look that promised Warriors was about to do anything to make the other boy uncomfortable, even making up the rest of the story if he had too. 

    Yes that’s certainly what began this quick but entertaining descent into Hell. Warriors began to tell how this young woman just ‘couldn’t keep her hands to herself’ as he stared right into Legend’s soul. Of course, Legend, not one to back down from a challenge, began yelling about his experiences in the tavern, also probably made up, and started screaming about a young lady who ‘really liked his magic items’ to which led Sky to yelling at both of them to keep quiet as he covered Wind’s ears. Wind then laughed and covered Hyrule’s ears, who giggled and reached up and covered Sky’s ears to create a Triforce of protecting the innocent. Twilight, seeing this happening, smirked and covered Wild’s ears to which he fought vehemently but Twilight wouldn’t budge. Four was shifting expressions so fast it was hard to keep track, from amused, to annoyed, to horrified, to resigned, and then a weird combination of all of them. 

    Legend and Warriors continued screaming at each other, and as entertaining as it was, if Time didn’t stop them soon they would be screaming all night. 

    “Gentleman. While I’m sure many of us enjoy hearing your exploits, I think the entire forest doesn’t feel the same way.” Time voiced, causing Warriors and Legend to blush and grumble while the rest of the group laughed. 

    “Yeah, yeah we get it Old Man. You have a beautiful and loving wife at home.” Warriors teased back.

    “Your point?” Time smirked. 

    “Yeah Warriors, just cause you don’t want to settle down don’t mean we feel the same way.” Twilight called from the other side of the campfire as Wild finally fought his way out of Twi’s strong hold. 

    “Who said I never want to settle down, goat boy?” Warriors called back.

    “You called my wedding ring a shackle.” Time chuckled. 

    “Well sure it is. But who knows if I want a shackle one day.” The camp laughed at this.

    “This mean you got someone Captain? Perhaps your Zelda?” Legend teased. 

    “No, my Zelda is amazing, and badass to boot. But I don’t really feel that way about her, at least not now.” Warriors smiled. 

“Yeah, same with my Zelda. I’m not sure how she feels about me anyway.” Hyrule sighed. 

“Same here.” Legend said simply, though the group could see a haunted look in his eyes. No one mentioned it, Legend would speak up if he wanted to, and most likely not in front of the entire group. 

“You don’t have to marry Zelda. I love my Zelda but not romantically.” Time stated gently to Hyrule.

“Yeah I know. I guess I’m still kinda shocked you got married Time.” Hyrule blushed when he realized how bad that sounded as Warriors held back a laugh disguised as a cough. “I didn’t mean it like that! I just meant that I always thought heroes didn’t really settle down. They kept saving and saving.” Hyrule finished with his hands up in a placating manner, but Time wasn’t offended at all.

“I know buddy. As I said, it took me years to see through that lie. I’m happy with Malon, and I’m out here with you boys too. You can take time for yourself too, it’s not selfish.” Time smiled softly at Hyrule. Although he didn’t mean to, Time’s words sent a stab of guilt through some of the other members. He should be home with his beautiful and loving wife. Not here on another quest after he had done so much already. But they sure were grateful to have him. 

“What about you Wild?” Wind asked. “You and your Zelda seem really close from what you’ve told us.”

“Um, well I’m not sure.” Wild rubbed the back of his neck. “I love her, and I know I did before, but I don’t know if I can imagine us you know, kissing and stuff.” Wild blushed as laughter roared up.

“Very elequantly put, Wild.” Warriors cackled. 

“You got plently of time to figure that out Cub.” Twilight clapped a hand on his shoulder as the laughter died down. 

“What are you laughing for, Wind?” Warriors ruffled his hair as Wind knocked his arm away. “You always talk about Tetra.” Warriors smirked as Wind sputtered and flushed a deep pink up to his ears.

“Tetra’s awesome! I wish she were here to kick your ass for saying that!” Wind yelled as he smacked Warriors’ shoulder. 

Four elbowed Sky. “What about you lover boy. You wanna talk about your Zelda?” Four teased as Sky’s face lit up.

“Ugh don’t get him started he won’t shut up for the rest of the night.” Legend grumbled. But it was too late. Sky had already begun.

“She’s amazing. She can play the harp and sing like Hylia herself.” Sky started with a dreamy look on his face. “One time before the Wing Ceremony, she thought I was being lazy and pushed me off of Skyloft to try and get me to call my Loftwing, but he had been put in a place he couldn’t reach me. So she had to save me herself.” Sky still had that dopey look on his face as his brothers snickered at his story. 

As Sky rambled on about his Zelda, Twilight’s eyes had grown clouded, staring at the stars peeking through the warm orange glow of the coming twilight. Wild would catch him doing this sometimes, and it always looked like Twilight was having a bittersweet memory. Wild glanced over at Time, making sure he noticed too, he was Twi’s mentor afterall. Time made eye contact with Wild and gave a small nod to acknowledge he was on the same page Wild was. Before either of them could do anything, Warriors spoke up.

“What about you country boy? You have someone?” Warriors asked and the rest of camp perked up. Twilight had never talked about his love life, besides a few jokes about ‘his heart being shattered’. Hopefully he was exaggerating…

“Uhh no.” Twilight responded after snapping out of his daze to find the entire camp looking at him curiously. 

“Does this have anything to do with the princess you talked about when Wild showed us his scars?” Four asked carefully, trying to portray that he wasn’t trying to overstep any bounds. 

“Yeah I guess so…” Twilight trailed off. Legend felt something cold in his heart at this conversation. He could tell Twilight lost his love, because he had seen that same expression in the mirror for years. He wanted to help Twilight know he wasn’t alone, he wasn’t the only one that had his heart shattered by things out of his control. The boy had always been a sturdy shoulder for all of them, it was time he returned the favor. He just didn’t know how without revealing too much or making Twilight uncomfortable. 

“There was a girl once.” Legend’s voice emerged from the silence. “Hair more red than you can imagine. She lived on an island I… found but… I did something wrong. My curiosity got the best of me, and now she and the island are gone.” Legend got out as little of the story as possible as quickly as possible while still seemingly indifferent. It was one thing to open up to all of his brothers, but it was another to cry in front of them. He couldn’t. 

Twilight seemed genuinely surprised Legend had spoken up about what was haunting him. Legend was sure that the others were just as shocked but he only looked at Twilight. He wanted Twi to know he wasn’t the only one. He needed Twi to know he wasn’t the only one. Talking about it was humiliating and almost impossible and just downright painful. He needed Twi to know he had been there too. Twi gave him a gentle and understanding look, one that told Legend he understood what he was trying to do, and that he was more than grateful and supportive of him. Warriors set a gentle hand on his shoulder, slow enough that he could pull away if he needed to. Legend allowed it, but nothing more. It’s more for that idiot’s peace of mind anyway. He didn’t take any comfort in it at all…

“My companion on my quest was awful to me at first.” Twilight’s voice rang out to replace Legend’s in the silence around the campfire. “She was awful to me at first but we started to talk more along the way and we became closer. Then she just… left. I don’t know what I did wrong…” Twilight trailed off, once again looking at the quickly fading twilight above. He wanted to talk more about it, and he could tell Legend did too. They just weren’t ready yet. 

Wild bit his lip. Time was much better at comforting Twilight, but he was on the other side of the fire and making a move to be next to him would draw attention Twilight didn’t want. Wild leaned some of his weight against the older boy. He had to at least try to comfort him after all Twilight had done for Wild since they met. Twilight smiled slightly when he felt the weight and leaned back. It wasn’t much, but it was enough.  

“I don’t think you did anything wrong Twilight.” Wild spoke quietly, messing with the hem of his tunic. “I mean you talked about your companion being from the Twilight Realm right?” Twilight nodded slightly, looking pained. “Well maybe she had to go for another reason? I’m not saying you should just forget.” Wild rushed to say. “But maybe it was really complicated if both of you were growing closer to each other and she wasn’t as mean as before?” Wild finished his words with a question. Twilight never told him enough about his companion to know for sure what really happened. But he could at least try to comfort his mentor. 

Twilight looked down at Wild and smirked, but it lacked the tease it normally had, it held gratitude and love. “Thanks, Cub.” Twilight said simply, then reached out a hand to quickly ruffle the youngers’ hair. Wild yelped and slapped his hand away. Relief overwhelmed the boys in the group, thankful that the atmosphere had lifted slightly. 

“I know it’s not the same.” Warriors started once the others had settled down. “But there was this woman. She was the main one who tried to take the Triforce for herself other than Ganon. Apparently she was supposed to protect the Triforce, but she… fell in love with me.” Warriors waited for the teasing to begin. He knew he made many jokes about the women he had met, but it seemed the group could tell this sometimes plagued his mind. 

“That was one of the reasons she started the war that I fought in. I found out later that her light was driven from her to create my friend Lana, so she became completely dark. I had to fight in her temple and there were pictures of me all over the walls and…” Warriors paused. He couldn’t talk about his overconfidence yet. He couldn’t talk about his mistakes that led to Dark Link. What if the others hated him for it? “I don’t know it may sound silly. But having someone obsessed with you like that is, scary I guess. I mean, people died in those battles, because she was jealous of Zelda and me but I’m not even sure how I feel about Zelda. She died and I couldn’t help but feel guilty. I know I’m not required to have feelings for her, especially after all she had done, but it still made me feel… I don’t know.” Warriors sighed. Legend leaned slightly into Warriors’ hand on his shoulder. He never knew Warriors had that part of his story. The rest of the group felt twangs in their hearts at Warriors’ confused tone. 

“It’s not your fault Warriors.” Wind smiled up at him. “You’re right. You shouldn't force yourself to feel that way for anyone. The war wasn’t your fault.” Warriors smiled down at his small companion and nodded in thanks.

“Wind is right.” Hyrule stated quietly. “There were people after me because of the Triforce. That doesn’t mean it’s our fault.” No one mentioned that the word ‘were’ sounded a little strained. they’d have to keep an eye on him in his Hyrule it seemed. 

“Thanks guys.” Warriors grinned. It was a little more troubled than his usual grin, but it was a welcome sign nonetheless. Sky looked a little guilty at having proclaimed his love so confidently. Four pat his shoulder and shook his head. Sky shouldn’t feel guilty for being happy. None of the other boys would ever want that. 

“Look at all of us.” Legend teased with a wry smile. The rest of the group chuckled slightly. The atmosphere wasn’t as happy as it had been, but there was an odd relief, like the relief after crying. A bittersweet acceptance that hearts had been broken, but they still had brothers to fall back on. The group could tell no one else was ready to talk about anything else for the night, so they began to settle in. Surprisingly, Twilight laid his bedroll near Legend that night. While no tears were shed, the group was still exhausted from a long day of travel. After the other heroes had settled down, Twilight laid awake, looking at the stars. He knew Legend would be up too, the hero never seemed to sleep right away. And now Twilight had suspicions why after his tale.

“Hey Legend?” Twilight whispered after he was positive everyone was asleep, save Four, who was on the outskirts of camp keeping watch, too far away to hear their whispers.

“What?” Legend pretended to look annoyed but Twilight could see the curiosity in his eyes.

“What was her name?” Twilight asked quietly, praying that he hadn’t crossed a line. When Legend didn’t answer, he figured he would apologize and awkwardly turn over in his bedroll and pretend to sleep.

“Marin…” Legend whispered the name with such sadness, but such awe that it threw Twilight for a loop. “Your companion?” Legend questioned back.

“Midna.”