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maple-the-awesome · 11 months

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Friend or Foe || Part 2/3

Part 1 || Part 3

Pairings: Time, Wind, Wild x GN Reader

Overview: Link visits an alternate world without its hero and, more importantly, a version of you without your Link. Unfortunately, it seems even the smallest of details can lead to disastrous results. In spirt of Halloween, I've decided to do a little evil prompt because none of the Links have enough emotional damage yet😈

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Time may not remember everything that has occurred over his many, long adventures, but he does remember the day you met. Only children then, you both made an innocent promise to marry once adults. Now, Time may be a lot of things, but he has always been a man of his word. How could he not be when presented the perfect chance to spend the rest of his life with his childhood crush? You’re the one person he can trust with his every secret - the reward at the end of every troubling journey. He lives to see your joy and dies to see your sorrow, even when it isn't exactly 'your' sorrow...

It's difficult business keeping track of eight young boys and men, especially when they're all cursed with the same adventurous spirits that are easily distracted. Of course they’ve managed to disappear here. He can only blame himself for not having questioned their silence sooner, although he’d be lying to say he doesn’t feel disappointed, notably with the older boys, Twilight and Warrior, who are usually more responsible than to simply wander off without a word of explanation. Alas, even they’re nowhere to be seen, his only hint of other life nearby being a giggle that echoes off the vast number of gigantic trees.

"My, my. One more left I see?" Time leaps back, hand already on his sword when he hears the voice, “Oooh, and look at you! So handsome! So fierce! I’m digging the scar - it makes you look so tough. And those muscles, too! You seem like you would really know how to -”

“- Where are you?!” Time demands, getting his answer promptly when a figure swings down from a branch mere feet away from his face.

“Wow! You’re even hotter up closer!”

Time's eyes widen in surprise due to both their sudden entrance and their physical appearance. This mysterious person has wild hair that sticks out in every direction with their body lacking a healthy weight or color, yet Time immediately ignores all of that in favor of focusing upon the mask they wear - one he knows all too well but wishes he didn’t. He thought, for a second, that he may have recognized their voice, too, yet he’s more certain that he must be mistaken in that regard. No way it could be…

“Hey, you were traveling with those other boys, right? So maybe you’ll be nicer by giving me the answers I want! You see, beautiful stranger, I’m looking for a special friend of mine. We made a promise a while back and I intend to fulfill it if I could just find him first. None of the travelers I’ve found in these woods so far are him, so I was beginning to lose hope until I overheard those friends of yours mention his name, but they -”

Time can’t move, his body overcome with a chilled wave that ends with his feet cemented to the ground. It would be reasonable to say he misheard the first time, and he could keep denying it if he wants now, but that wouldn’t change the fact that he does recognize this person’s voice. How could he not when it’s the same that belongs to his own person angel? It’s a disordered version of yours, however this person isn’t you. This can’t be you because last he checked, you were safe back home where you promised to wait for his next return. How could you suddenly be here in this world, kept under the binding influence of Majora’s Mask?

“- Hey, are you broken?!” This person - who still so eerily sounds like you despite Time’s refusal to admit such a thing - knocks a fist against his forehead, barely flinching when he jerks back with a gasp, “Sooo? You gonna help me or just be difficult like your friends, eh? I don’t have all day, miser!”

Perhaps this ‘you’ is simply a figment of his imagination created by the forest to torment him; that must be the answer. He just has to play the game - no matter how much it messes with his head - to find out what happened to the boys. He’s dealt with enough Skull Kids before, this would be a piece of cake.

“I -...This friend of yours, who is he? Someone you’ve lost in the forest?” Time asks carefully, doing his best not to react too much outwardly, after all he’s seen first hand how Majora’s Mask can affect the mind of its wearer, and this ‘you’ before him has already clearly been put through the wringer.

“If I knew where I had lost him, I would’ve found him!” You snap in irritation.

Time swallows, “...Right, that does make sense, but perhaps if you could tell me his name, I could offer you better help in finding him?”

You seem pleased by this answer, swinging yourself upright on the branch where you become illuminated only by the glowing eyes of your mask, “Link.”

“L…Link?” That cold feeling from before returns, making Time suddenly feel sick to his stomach as the dots finally begin to connect in his head. This is no figment of his imagination - no trick of the light or evil illusion. It really is you…not the same version of you he married, but the other he promised to…

In Wind’s world, you're an adored teacher on Windfall Island. You’re kind, caring, and very knowledgeable about Hyrule's history which came in handy whenever he needed pointers during his early adventures. Yes, you would express concern over a child of his age partaking in such dangerous affairs (you thought it was all a joke when he first told you) and you've let it slip before that you aren't the biggest fan of pirates, although beyond your mother-like worry which you’ve adopted towards all your students (even the unofficial ones like Wind), you’ve ultimately supported him every step of the way. You've always been a huge role model for him, so this shift in personality is more than unexpected...

Wind was excited to show his new friends around what he thought to be his own Hyrule and relieved to discover they weren’t alone on this island they’ve found themselves stuck on after wandering through another portal. A pirate ship anchored on shore - the very ship belonging to Zelda’ crew, as Wind foolishly assured the others despite their caution. Now, thanks to his impatience and eagerness, he sits saddened and embarrassed next to the rest of the heroes as they remain tied to the ship’s mast.

It’s confusing. The pirates of this ship are the same as Zelda's crew, yet they claimed to not at all recognize the younger pirate regardless of his attempts to jog their memories. Instead, they had rounded him and the rest of the Chain up the second they approached their dock, taking them prisoner where they currently wait for 'the Captain's reaction'.

The Captain. This made Wind feel relieved again. Zelda. He doesn't know why the other pirates are acting so strangely, but Zelda will be able to clear this whole mess up, in fact here she comes, dressed in her normal pirate attire Wind's accustomed to seeing.

"ZELDA! Goddesses, am I glad to see you! I don't understand what kinda trick the guys are trying to play on me, but this isn’t the time! My friends - they're all heroes of courage like me and we could really use your help to -" The words come so quickly from Wind's mouth that Zelda barely has time to look disgusted.

"How hard did you exactly hit this guy?" She asks while looking to Nudge then back to Wind with a smirk.

"Wha - I'm serious! This is urgent, Zelda -!"

"- Who?" She places her hands on her hips, generally seemingly confused which makes Wind's blood run cold, but not as much as it does when another voice speaks.

"Oi, what's the ruckus out here, eh!? I thought I told ya' lot to keep it down - Oh. What do we have here, umm?" The doors to the Captain's cabin burst open, out walking a figure dressed head-to-toe in a bright red uniform with a large black, white, and magenta feather sticking out from their hat.

"Captain," Zelda immediately backs off from Wind, "These guys were just caught after trying to rush our ship."

"No, that’s not what we -!"

"- Little thieves. 'thought they could just follow us here and steal our treasure!" The pirates hiss together, although you take more time to look over the boy in front of you along with his companions.

"You all look familiar…" Your statement - as disinterested as it sounds - almost gives Wind hope. Almost, "Lock 'em up in the cellar where I won't have to listen to their annoying bitching. Gonzo, set a course for the Forsaken Fortress. I think Ganondorf would like to meet these boys. Tetra, you stick with me."

"YES, CAPTAIN!" An assortment of shouts follow, both from the pirates who follow your every order loyally and the heroes who express their dismay. Wind, however, can only stare in complete disbelief and betrayal as you look back at him once more, your eyes dark from underneath your hat's shadow which is a sharp contrast to the usual warmth that he knows you for.

Wild lives with a lot of heavy regrets weighing him down, perhaps the most unspoken being his missed chance at ever telling you his true feelings. You were an ever-so-dear friend to him before the Calamity - someone who never expected the impossible from him and always offered a shoulder to lean on should he need one. He loved you quite a bit; something he remembered almost as soon as he remembered you. He has often visited your grave, replaying past events in his head while suffocating in his own guilt from not having protected you. He has sometimes begged the Goddess to let him see you again, even if just to apologize, but this isn’t what he had in mind - far from it…

Wild’s version of Hyrule is chaotic and messy; a land that thrives off of quiet hope and the shattered remnants of a once mighty kingdom. Zelda has mentioned the theory before: that like Hyrule, Wild needed to become something else - something different and unruly in nature because if you can’t beat it, then join it.

With that said, he’s accustomed to using a lack of forethought, at least in any way comparable to his past self (which is what he tells himself, anyway). As far as he knows, before the Calamity, he was as straight-laced as they come, always concerning himself with his public image and focused on never letting anyone down. He’s nothing like that now, often running into danger head first with messy hair and a blaze of fire following his trail. You would think after the amount of concussions and scars he’s gained, he would’ve long learned his lesson, but alas, he raced through this dungeon with little worry as he’s done many others because his confidence - or perhaps his dull wit - has once again outweighed any common sense.

Now this is the price he must pay for his own ignorance: a nightmare reanimated before him as it taunts and tortures his inner conscience…and all he can do is accept this horrid punishment in frozen terror as you stalk across the room towards him.

When he raced ahead of the others and turned the key, he expected to be greeted with the typical dungeon boss - an overgrown bokoblin or fiery wizard. He didn’t expect it to be you, crumbled on the ground with gloom affecting your entire body. He didn’t expect for you to react so harshly to his presence, throwing him across the room with a blast of magic when he tried to reach your side, desperate to know how you’re alive and if you’re okay.

You look as angry as you have every right to be, your face curled into a snarl as you come closer, eyes narrowed in an orange glow and a sword in your hand…yet Wild could do nothing but let his knees buckle from underneath himself and dig his nails into his scalp as he asks himself over and over again how this is possible. How are you here? How are you alive? How were you affected and how does he fix you? …He can’t, though. He let you down then and has no idea how to save you now despite having been granted the gift of your presence again - the very thing he’s been begging for.

“I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!” He cries, not sure if it’s for you or himself as he sobs your name with the same heartache he would over your grave, “I’msorry! I’msorry!”

“IT’S AN ILLUSION, WILD! IT’S NOT THEM!” Someone shouts from behind - someone who he’d usually easily recognize as Twilight yet his mind is in too much of a rush to even listen to his concerned friend’s words, let alone care about his identity.

Wild can only think of his final moments with you. The day you ‘casually’ told him about plans to try a new restaurant in Castle Town and how you were looking for someone to join you. Foolishly - ever so foolishly - he asked if your sister wouldn’t go, generally confused that you, someone so kind and loved, would have trouble finding a willing companion for any aspect of your life.

Bashfully, you agreed to ask her, and that was it. You walked off, leaving the poor hero to wonder why you looked so dejected and heartbroken. The next time he’d see you was a mere picture an old woman showed him, curious if you happened to be the one he ran into town desperately searching for. The woman - your niece, as it would turn out - confirmed his worst fears, explaining that while you had survived the initial attack during the Calamity, you like many others soon succumbed to an illness Purah now theorizes to have been a result of close contact with gloom.

Wild can only imagine your final moments, poisoned by gloom and betrayal much like this other version of you is. If only he had done his job properly, you would have never felt such pain. You, like your sister, would have grown old and lived peacefully as you deserved. He, himself, wouldn’t have to forever live with this guilt he bears from your death - guilt that tries convincing him it would’ve been better if Twilight hadn’t pulled him away from the danger, instead allowing you - even if not truly you - to get some sort of revenge for his mistakes.

#lu wind x reader #lu wind #linked universe x reader #linked universe #link x reader #legend of zelda #lu time x reader #lu time #lu wild x reader #lu wild

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fruitysoupy · 8 months

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100 years later I finally drew all of my AU Links

Say hello to my lads! They're going to be in a comic I've been scripting and planning for about a year now I think? I'm calling it Link and the Links, latl for short!

More info under the cut :]

(this is the old post, consider checking out the new version!)

(please don't tag as LU/Linked Universe!!)

The Plot

The Links find themselves in a mysterious forest that seems somewhat familiar to all of them yet none of them know where they are. Now they have to work together to find their way home. On the way they'll discover a thing or two about each other and grow closer!

The Cast

I could talk about these guys for hours, but to keep it digestible I'll make it short

A bit of info before I get into it - all of them are taken from different points in time after the end of their adventure(s)!

Birdie (Skyward Sword)

Roughly 6 hours after defeating Demise

The start of it all. Unbeknownst to himself and the others, the space they find themselves in was created out of his desire to meet the heroes after him. He feels terribly guilty about the curse and very much blames himself for the possible suffering of future heroes. His main goal is to check up on everyone and help where he can!

Grasshopper (Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask)

4 days after leaving Termina

Somewhat disoriented after his journey still, he tags along simply because he thinks Birdie is an idiot who would get lost without him. He doesn't talk a whole lot but he likes listening to other people's stories

Seagull (Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass)

6 months after leaving the domain for the ocean King

He's a real genuine pirate, yarr!! Or so he'd like you to believe. He talks a great deal about his strength and bravery, but really is just afraid and terribly homesick most of the time. He wants to fit in with Tetra's and her crew's toughness so much he might go a little overboard on the act in a way that may or may not end up biting him in the butt.

Choo (Spirit Tracks)

6 months after peace returned to new Hyrule

He wouldn't call himself a hero, in fact he'd say it's a miracle he made it out alive. Self-esteem and confidence really aren't his strong suits, he often finds himself dragged along and unable to say no. He is very friendly however, and if you just give him a little space he might even open up to you.

Wolfie (Twilight Princess)

4 years after defeating Ganondorf

Left Ordon after intrusive thoughts convinced him he was a danger to his village, now works at Telma's bar as a waiter in exchange for a room. He's responsible well liked, though he's not too fond of himself. He has some complicated feelings about the whole turning into a wolf thing

Apple (A Link to the Past, Oracle of Ages/Seasons and Link's Awakening)

Just a few seconds after Koholint disappeared

From one dream right into the next (sorta?) he's understandably disoriented at first. He pushes that aside pretty much immediately though, much more interested in getting to know everyone. He's a kind and soft spoken, weirdly wise sort of guy and near instantly becomes the heart of the team

Wallflower (A Link Between Worlds)

4 years after wishing upon the triforce with Zelda

Bitter doesn't even begin to describe this uh.. Pleasant fella. After being bossed around for the better part of his life he doesn't take orders from anybody and is this close to quitting his job as a blacksmith. He hates being stuck here, he hates these strange people, really there's not much he doesn't hate. But that can't be all there is to him...

Puzzle (The Legend of Zelda and Adventure of Link)

1,5 years after waking Zelda II

Confused, disoriented, but still happy to help and ready for adventure. Though some of the others don't really like him around he's still just as friendly to everyone. Since he struggles to communicate he tends to stay quiet. He appears to be simple minded on first glance, but he'll prove to be a valuable member of the team.

Sprout (Minish Cap)

13 years after defeating Vaati

After his grandfather died he retreated into his house and dedicated himself to improving his blacksmithing skills to live up to his grandfather's name, he was quickly forgotten by his community and faded into obscurity. Now he may be the best blacksmith in Hyrule, so good that even the royal guard hires him, but among the general castletown population he's nothing more than a forest cryptid. He only leaves the house when he has to, carefully avoiding people. Not because they disgust him, he just has a major case of social anxiety!

Squire (Breath of the Wild)

3 years pre calamity

This absolute rascal couldn't be happier about his current circumstances. These unknown woods are his playground and all of these weirdos are his friends now! Though everyone's pretty sure he's a knight trainee, he insists that he's just a stable hand for the guard. His chaotic and carefree nature surprisingly doesn't get in the way of things as he's eager to help out wherever he can, seeing the whole journey as an impromptu camping trip.

Some funfacts :]

Most of them are neurodivergent in some way!

Birdie and Seagull have ADHD, Grasshopper and Choo are autistic, Squire gets the combo platter AuDHD and Wolfie has OCD

Additionally, Birdie has auditory processing disorder and dyscalculia, and Squire has dyslexia

A few of them also have speech disorders

Choo stutters and Puzzle has cluttering speech disorder

Apple has a weak voice, so after a while his voice gets tired and gets hoarse

Choo enjoys drawings and cartography, two skills that will be very important!

One of Seagull's hobbies is photography! He takes his pictobox everywhere

Wolfie also does entertainment at the bar from time to time! He sings or does card tricks

Sprout knows HSL (hylian sign language) because his grandfather was deaf

Seagull's piratey way of talking is 100% for show and painfully inconsistent

Wolfie speaks in a thick southern (in universe ordonian) accent but he's trying hard to mask it since he moved to castletown

Wallflower absolutely hates Puzzle

Squire's special interest is horses

Birdie is a bit of a doormat so he has the ideas but Wolfie is the one to actually get them through

A number of them are blood related (has nothing to do with the colours of their names in this post, I had to reuse some because there weren't enough orz)

That's all I have for you today! Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed! :]

If any of you have any questions about my Links or AU you'd like answered, my inbox is open!

Have a lovely day everyone!

#links meet au #tloz #legend of zelda #tloz fanart #tloz au #legend of zelda au #link #artists on tumblr #not lu #link and the links au #LatL au #my art #triangles #IT IS DONE FINALLY #Apologies for my handwriting also orz I tried #LatL #the lads #edited to show the updated version of the refs just in case

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arkus-rhapsode · 26 days

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Gachi-Bachi: A Tale of Two Roads to Success (A Discussion)

Back again with another think piece on this blog. And while the last two came from an inspiration of topics that I had floating around in my head for awhile, this one came about from me scrolling on twitter (I'm not calling it X) recently and noticing the in real time evolution of two of the arguably biggest battle shonen releases of the 2020s. That would be Gachiakuta and Kagurabachi.

However, this isn't gonna be a simple compare and contrast of the series as works of fiction as I personally feel each one has different qualities that really distinguish them from each other in a way that doing a comparison wouldn't be too interesting. Rather what intrigues me is how they are a fascinating study in how series become big so to speak and despite the overlap in fans, there's actually some pretty key differences in their success stories that highlight greater things in the manga industry in particular. So let's ask ourselves: how did we get here, what role has fanbases played in it, what role has their respective magazines played in this, and just how truly successful are these series?

Background and Rise

Now for those who are just not initiated, I'll briefly explain the premise of these two series.

Gachiakuta by Kei Urana is a series set in a dark fantasy world where an orphan named Rudo is banished to the trash filled abyss after being framed for the murder of his adoptive father. In the Abyss Rudo discovers he has the power to use his magic gloves to turn objects into weapons, which he uses as a member of the Cleaners. He fights trash monsters and criminals in a journey to get back home and take revenge on the one who framed him.

Kagurabachi by Takeru Hokazono is an urban fantasy series set in contemporary Japan that deal with Chihiro, the son of a mystical blacksmith who had forged six magic swords. Chihiro's father is killed by a group of magical mobsters and his swords taken from him. Chihiro, armed with a secret seventh magic sword, will cut a blood path through Japan's criminal underbelly and take revenge on those responsible for his father's death.

I know Im grossly summarizing both works because I'm focusing not on the series themselves but rather the things surrounding each of them. So if you wish to know more, please check them out yourselves and see if you enjoy them. And just for transparency's sake, I have made multiple posts on this blog about Gachiakuta so I think its safe to say I enjoy it quite a bit. While my relationship with Kagurabachi is not that intimate as I actually don't read much Weekly Shonen Jump anymore, I did at least read the first volume just so I can say, I totally see why this got a following. Also just for clarity as I know the internet can flatten time in many instances, I want to point out that while I'd call these series contemporary, its worth noting that they're not exactly same time rising stars. Kagurabachi came out this year, in 2024, while Gachiakuta came out in 2022. A whooping two year lead. Hot did Kagurabachi get so hot? How?

Well if you're familiar with Kagurabachi in even a tertiary form you probably remember this meme.

This was a piece of promo art used by Jump along with a brief summary of the series before it was publishized. Now for a little context, at this time, two of Shonen Jump's biggest action staple series, My Hero Academia and Jujutsu Kaisen, were in their twilight stages. And at the time the shonen jump magazine had an interesting assortment of genres probably more than the last two decades. However, while One Piece would still be evergreen and their were action series such as Sakamoto Days and Undead Unluck, there was a hunger for a new battle series. And not just a new battle series, a long term investment battle series.

So when the news came down that WSJ would be releasing a "urban fantasy revenge sword battle series" with an accompanying art that definitely would fit alongside the heroes of the 2000s like Ichigo Kurosaki or Death the Kid, there was a reasonable excitement. Course there was also a bit of an over enthusiasm. Now like I said in my 2000s anime nostalgia post, I don't think this definitively means anything deep that there are just people who got into anime around the 2000s who just enjoy that types of series they were introduced to and were excited for more of that. However, over enthusiasm on the internet, is always prime material for ribbing.

So a lot of people on Ani/manga twitter saw slews of people posting this, and I mean this with no disrespect, kinda bored looking guy drawing his sword and being excited for a series that hadn't come out. This lead to of course memes. Lots of memes.

That this was the best jump manga of all time before a single chapter came out. It even lead to a bunch of people redrawing this promo image several times with different characters each with the same kind of expression. Now of course, this did ignore the fact that there was at least a translated one-shot released by Hokazono that people could at least check out to see if they enjoy his work. As well as the fact this kinda happens everytime there's a new jump rotation. Its just kinda in fan nature to get hyped for something even if all they have is a simple description. But lots of memes tend to flatten out context.

And so it seemed like that was that, the set up for the ultimate punchline. People had some genuine excitement, a bunch of guys on twitter made a mountain of ironic excitement, and now all the series had to come out and not live up to that hype. But then Kagurabachi did come out and the chapter was good. Sure it wasn't change your life spectacular or anything, but for a first chapter of a brand new series, it did exactly what it needed to do: Clearly introduce the stakes of the world, who the main character is, what their motivation is, mixing in some action set pieces, and leaving a little room for intrigue to watch the series grow. It hit the emotional points it wanted and hit the action beats it wanted. The end. That wasn't bad at all. Quite the opposite.

So here we are, left with what was essentially a free marketing campaign for people who probably expected it to get the shonen jump axe like a lot of new action series tended to get and instead they got something pretty okay. If there was ever a group of people vindicated it was those guys excited for Kagurabachi for the start.

Yes I know, meme popularity can be dumb or annoying. And some super fans and hype beasts who want to be there on the ground floor can be kinda cringe, but there is no doubt this was one of the most successful social media campaigns ever for a series that actually was managing to justify it. And for the next few weeks it would keep going and irony was almost completely replaced with sincerity.

The fact this was actually getting Shueisha's social media to acknowledge twitter hashtags and release a promotional trailer for it in English was such a first. Even if you don't like Kagurabachi or are indifferent to it, there is no denying this was unique.

But I've spent all this time reminiscing about Kagurabachi's social media rise. What about Gachiakuta hmm?

Well Gachiakuta was a series made by Kei Urana who had served as an assistant to Atsushi Okubo on the Weekly Shonen Magazine series, Fire Force. Fire Force itself is an odd beast we don't have the time to fully get into, but it was pretty popular for a non jump series and featured Okubo, a creator who has possibly one of the most devout fanbases ever, striking it big with many people's formative anime, Soul Eater. Urana herself was a massive fan of the series and if you've read Gachiakuta you can see the inspiration. However, when it was time for Fire Force to come to a close, WSM had announced that a new series by Okubo's assistant would be starting just before its end. And people were excited right? Well not exactly. Cause you had to be looking in the right places to even notice this announcement.

At the time, WSM series were mostly readable on Azuki. However, there seemed to be a weirdly non commutable relationship with Azuki and WSM's publisher Kodansha. As such it was kinda a gamble if a new WSM series would even show up on Azuki let alone simelpubbed. So it seemed like whatever Gachiakuta was would be Japan exclusive. But as if by miracle, the translation group, Pair of 2+ came in and dropped an English version of the chapter on release. The first chapter of Gachiakuta was pretty strong though mostly for Urana's incredibly striking artstyle. Made even better by the fact that the world of Gachiakuta was a fantasy world. And not fantasy in the way a stereotypical isekai is borrowing from romanticized European fantasy. But rather this sorta grudge world that was capable of having what looked like modern convinces, but there was things like a mysterious trash pit, a bunch of soldiers who dressed in ostentatious uniforms and a ginormous and intimidating trash creature.

I know it might seem kinda like a broken record now, but a big thing in the 2010s era of action manga and anime was a move towards more grounded and contemporary setting with stories. Juxtaposing supernatural or spectacular elements with the modern day Japan structure and order. Plenty of series were popular with this such as My Hero, Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, hell even Demon Slayer does the same though set in a turn of the century version of Japan. These certainly have an appeal and obviously they're not going anywhere, but there was a growing perception that fantasy worlds in manga were kinda fading. We weren't really getting a bunch of One Pieces. Were were getting stuff closer to Bleach. So of course, deny someone something long enough and they become enthusiastic for the tiniest taste of it.

So with all this, how was Gachiakuta's first few weeks. Well outside of some territory nods and the obvious "This manga is trash" jokes. It kinda stayed low key. With people relying on scan groups to handle it, there was really no guarantee of consistent momentum. Sometimes it'd take two weeks to get a chapter out in English while the Spanish versions were available. sometimes another scan group may come in a drop a chapter, making it harder to find the series in one place. However, all of this really did end up benefitting Gachiakuta. Because when you remove convenience you end up creating your strongest soldiers. If you were actively looking for Gachiakuta and not just waiting for an app update, that meant you were committed. And committed people had to use word of mouth to get this out there. If there was a moment of big promotion it would be when AniTuber Gigguk's Trash Taste podcast had well know Vtuber (Full disclaimer I know almost nothing about Vtubers or Hololive. I'm sorry in advance if I'm not going into greater detail on their significance) Mori Calliope discuss the Next Manga award winners and give Gachiakuta a shout out.

So, we had Bachibros and the twitter take over, while we had Gachibros and their slowly growing cult classic. Both methods ended up creating some real die hard fans, but the visibility and promotion of both series is very different. And ties into...

How Each Series Respective Company Has Handled Them

So before I start this section, I know I've made social media a big reference point for the success of these series. I want to make it clear that social media popularity isn't a full story. Something may be popular on twitter or YouTube but not necessarily be successful. I think social media can be a good barometer of the actual interest of a series, but not its end all be all for its results. And I think no series really knew this better than Hunters Guild: Red Hood.

For those unaware, Hunters Guild: Red Hood was a series that released in Weekly Shonen Jump in 2021 and was a big darling with Animanga twitter. Its art style, its premise on western fairytales, going for a more traditional dark fable vibe, and of course attractive characters. It was easily the series a bunch of people were calling the next big thing. And then it flopped. It was regularly last place in the popularity polls and its Japanese volume sales were really unimpressive. So it got axed by Jump.

To say this caused an outrage with people would be an understatement. This caused a trend of people really trying to find "the answer." Try and make this seemingly senseless action make sense. Well tragically if you are a manga industry watcher like me you know that this isn't actually all that unique.

For a lot of non Japanese fans, particularly Americans, we never had the accessibility of the Shonen Jump app or the Manga+ app in the 2000s-2010s. If you wanted manga, you were using MangaStream and MangaPanda which had focused on basically the biggest series in the industry. While countless series that have run in jump and other magazines have just been ended after 20 chapters. But that information wasn't available to us in real time the way it is now.

If you're around my age range and know about the shonen jump ranking system, you were probably introduced to the concept through the series Bakuman, manga about manga that was really the first popularized look at how the sausage was made in the Shuiesha offices. A big thing that was a point of tension was the rankings. If a series fell low consistently in the ranks of readership surveys filled up by the ones who purchased a copy of shonen jump and submitted it, then it would be cancelled by jump. Now its important to remember, Bakuman was a dramatized recreation of how Shueisha operated. Things were exaggerated in the name of making an entertaining and tension filled series. In reality, the ranking system is important, however the editorial department of Jump weights multiple factors when making this judgement: what is in the magazine at the time? Is something ending so we can risk having this run longer? Is there a new batch we want to role out soon so we need to free up space? How are the volume sales doing? And has this carved out a viable niche for itself?

While yes its a good rule of thumb to say something in last place is generally in danger for not maintaining interest to keep it around, its not a simple yes no.

Thanks to Shueisha's Shonen Jump App we now get everything as it comes out. We get the future best and the future failures and there really isn't a way to control it. So to see Red Hood a series with some very vocal fans, it was always at the whims of Japanese customers who seemed neither interested in voting for it over other series in the magazine or purchasing its volumes as they came out. It is a hard pill for people to swallow, to have something that they like, that they want to be invested in and tell its story to be cut short.

But I would say that in this day and age while it is hard to witness this, the benefits of the SJ app are phenomenal. The SJ app is a convent subscription service at a reasonable price that offers the first chapter of a series free as well as the latest three chapters free. So even if you want to not subscribe you can still keep up on an official platform. And Manga+ being similar and not region locked. Thanks to this any new series debuting in Shonen will have the eyes of the world audience on it. When there is a new batch of manga that enter the series, it feels like an event. It really is a high risk high reward situation-you run in WSJ and you have the opportunity for everyone even beyond Japan see your work simultaneously, however you will still have to fight and maintain interest and hype for your series on a weekly basis.

As previously stated, Kagurabachi absolutely benefitted from this. And while yes some it was ironic, the fact that the promise of a new battle series was going to be on everyone's screens and have the biggest reach to find an audience is good. Now of course, we have to remember that WSJ still doesn't let non Japanese voters participate in polls, so while you can find a foreign audience it might not be what gets people excited in Japan (Although there have been instances of foreign fans purchasing Japanese volumes). Well jump may have gone an extra mile with this one. Kagurabachi would actually really early into its run cycle be given a recommendation by Gege Akutani author of Jujutsu Kaisen.

Now for those who actually don't know, in Japan, some manga are printed and packaged with a recommendation band that acts as an extra form of promotion. Siting a famous or well liked author giving a series a recommendation and a little image of the series they worked and sometimes a quote.

Obviously getting an on the cover cosign is a bit more prestigious than say, going to your Barnes and Noble and an employee has written why you may enjoy this series. And not just any mangaka, Kagurabachi was getting props from one the biggest mangaka in the magazine with a pretty ravenous fanbase. But for me a big thing that got my attention that showed how much jump was investing was the previously mention Kagurabachi PV trailer. A simple YouTube animation to get people to check out the work, plenty of series get this. But Kagurabachi's was the first to have it in English. A Japanese company acknowledging the server of the global audience is huge and I'd say this already seemed like it was hyped up enough, but then you have an editor of Jump+ openly acknowledging the "#BachiFlex" in an official statement. There's no doubt there is a fanbase and Jump is absolutely aware of that fact. And of course you can't forget those color pages.

So that's how Kagurabachi was doing, how was Gachiakuta doing? Well first we need to talk about Weekly Shonen Magazine and get something out of the way, they do not have a ranking system like shonen jump. Weekly Shonen Magazine actually seems to operate more along the lines of volume sales. waiting for a manga to hit print and see that actual tangible interest of the people who buy it. Because of this, you can see that WSM has actually a much lower turn over rate than WSJ. And that when there is a new series its usually only one or two at a time in a year. So if the series hinges on sales, it should love having a massive reach?

Well sadly, WSM and Kodansha have been pretty poor when dealing with the global market. I mentioned earlier its relationship with Azuki getting official scans out but there was also the deals it had made with Crunchyroll to have a reader for their work. Both services were not the best received, so wouldn't it be nice if Kodansha had a web service like Jump? A simeulpub on the international market. Well enter K Manga and possibly one of the biggest fumbles ever.

I mentioned before that the SJ app was made with the mind as a subscription service, this was done with awareness of what western audience were willing to financially invest in. Well, Kodansha instead responded with a resigned version of their Magazine Pocket app that included a frankly confusing points and ticket system with just straight up micro-transactions. If you're keyed into the Webtoon scene you probably know this type of weird gamification of a service is done in Asia.

Im sure you've heard the famous quote about how piracy is a service problem and not a pricing problem. People would be perfectly happy to spend money on an official release if the way to access it was ultra convenient. And making Americans learn things like 24 hour tickets, and daily prizes, and just having you pay for each individual chapter. Its just really cumbersome and I'd rather get back to reading scans instead. Also to add some insult to injury it is region locked so even if you wanted to purchase this in countries like Europe, you can't.

I will at least say some positives, I think K manga has a much wider range of series available than the SJ or Manga+ apps. As it takes from Kodansha's many different manga magazines like Weekly Shonen Magazine, Weekly Young Magazine, Monthly Afternoon, Monthly Morning, Bessatsu Shonen Magazine, and Magazine Pocket originals. And Gachiakuta was part of the first few titles at launch and it was some good promotion as later that Fall, Kodansha USA would release the English print copies. But promotion through an app a lot of people weren't really happy with.

Speaking of the print side wasn't doing so hot either. As this may be a surprise to some, WSJ is rare in the fact that it makes manga a real center focus of why you should purchase the magazine, meanwhile many other mags use covergirls.

Look Im not gonna say Shueisha doesn't do this, their Weekly Young Jump covers are really raunchier than this with their cover girls. But yeah not exactly the most bright thing for a series when its being paired against glamor girls and quite literally pushed into a corner.

But it wasn't all bad as Urana would actually end up promoting the series through other means. As mentioned before, a pretty popular Vtuber had already devoted time to promote it of her own free will, Urana herself would even be commissioned to draw cover art for them. Urana would do the same for Jpop band cvlte. We'd even have Kodansha ambassador and professional skateboarder Yuto Horigome have Urana in for a session to talk about art and just recently, British rock band Bring Me The Horizon was promoting the series.

Now its my opinion that no series deserves success or deserves failure. It needs to stand on it own merits and the ones interested will come to it. However, I do find it interesting how Kodansha as a company has chosen to promote their work. Even when its going harder (especially post anime announcement) it feels weirdly word of mouth. Getting all these guys from different subgeneres to talk about it while internationally having such a mixed roll out. But maybe that close inter-personality is what makes the Gachiakuta rise story more unique. Sure it doesn't have the same all eyes on me as Kagurabachi has gotten, but in a way its kinda made this more intimate whether once again cultivating fans who are really really faithful to Gachiakuta's success. This comes to a head in the 101st chapter of Gachiakuta with a color page, Urana thanks her friends in it fitting several graffiti names of people who have supported her and the studio that will be making this a reality.

And hey, while I've definitely been critical of Kodansha, there's no denying that, but hey they agreed to give this series an anime so that must mean its a success. Right?

Success?

So I've been mostly talking about aspects of Gachiakuta and Kagurabachi's more social and industrial significance. How they became popular and how they're been treated by their respective companies. But what about results? Why bore you all with all this hot air when I can just give you cold hard facts? Well by sales-yeah Kagurabachi is a hit. Like there's no other interpretation. It is a hit. It debuted at number 4 on the manga sales chart, by two volume on the market it had hit 100K copies in circulation, and is receiving reprint after reprint.

Also this is a bit tacked on because this happened while I was editing, Kagurabachi just overwhelming won the Next Manga Awards print category. By a huge margin and being the second highest number of votes submitted for a series after Oshi no Ko. Like I don't really have much to say but like... Congrats to Takeru Hokazono. Like there's not denying this is a hit. Like I read the acceptance tweet, he knows. He knows people have been gasing him up as "the next big thing" like. I have nothing else to say this is a success.

The Kagurabachi train is a rolling and knowing how hotly people are anticipating it to fill the shoes of success like MHA or JJK, its showing the results to back up those expectations. In fact, this has actually been one of the few times I've seen a lot of anticipation for a series that doesn't have and anime and that anime is probably off for quite a bit. As of the time I'm writing this Kagurabachi sits at 46 chapters.

As for Gachiakuta this was actually the most surprising for me to actually see the Japanese sales figures.

So for all the anticipation its final result is... okay. Like yeah these sales are fine. There's no way it be in danger of being cancelled and like any business would look at this and say its steady. But that's kinda all it it, steady. I always kinda hate talking about sales that are kinda just doing okay. Cause no one ever wants to be told that its not exceeding expectations, but there's no like rubbernecker cratering that can be entertaining. Its doing just fine. And that's really all there is for a series that's manga only for now.

Obviously the anime is announced. Its coming and it will likely get a boost in audiences interested in it (Know if it doesn't get stuck on like Disney+ or Amazon), but that's kinda why I wanted to get this blog post out before hand. Cause I wanted to compare these series as manga. Now of course you have to remember these sales charts are accounting for Japanese sales on debut. So its likely that there is longer tails than we know of for each series. However, its kinda funny seeing Gachiakuta's figures and remember how it won a Next Manga Award in the category of "Global Special Prize." So its not too much of a stretch to say in Japan Gachiakuta is still pretty punk and underground and the value is definitely in that global market. Though I have to have a bit of laugh now a how much that's been a pretty hit or miss effort.

So Gachiakuta is a success story, but its that sort of "A first party Nintendo switch game sold over a million units" type of success. That's good, but its not like making those Mario numbers.

Conclusion

So I'm sure you're asking what was the point of all of this? Why did you spend so much time of comparing the rises of two shonen action series that outside of probably their hardcore cheering section don't really think about their success stories?

Well to me, I'm of the belief that the ultimate goal for a mangaka (And really any creative professional) at the end of the day is to be able to tell their story, entertain people, and make a comfortable living while doing so. The end goal may be the same for many, but the paths to how we get there can vary greatly. If you made it there by blockbuster success or by underground hit. And the fact that those paths can be so varied by factors ranging from independent social media movements and the actions of making a piece of media even available for an audience you want to reach.

When writing this piece, I really got the sense of just how much bigger manga in particular is effecting the more broader ani/manga subgenre. Its not just that thing where only the best of the best we're getting English translation posted on scan sites, we've reached a point where now a global audience can have a series in their reach. Yet their reach varies.

We still don't have the chance to submit surveys in jump and we still don't have physical volumes of manga printed around the same time so we can take into account global sales, but we can hashtag. We can share these on live streams. We can have our own grassroots efforts that are actually having something resembling an effects on the choices of Japan. All of this change in practically a decade.

Will Gachiakuta and Kagurabachi go onto to be pillers of the anime and manga community? Mmm maybe. Their fans are super passionate and the great thing about fans is even though they can be loud, they are the ones helping make new fans. They're the ones making the fan art and fan fictions and reddit posts. For all we know when they get anime they'll pop off harder than before. Or maybe they'll get a bunch of normies who don't get or like them and will tell you how its secretly never good.

Still its interesting to see how despite these two series having so much of the same ground, both of their roads were so different. And that maybe you can't control how things will turn out in the world of social media and corporate management. Sometimes all you can do is your best and stand on your own merits and the people will find you.

Whether they run for 200 chapters each or 700 chapters each or anything down the middle. Gachiakuta and Kagurabachi, here's to you're accomplishments now and here's to many more successful years down your respective roads.

Anyway folks that's my time. I hope you enjoyed this think piece. If you do please drop a like or reblog. It'll really tell me if you're interested in seeing more content like this. And maybe I can share more and more about this industry that I'm passionate about.

#manga #anime #analysis #discussion #think piece #gachiakuta #kagurabachi #kei urana #takeru hokazono #weekly shonen jump #weekly shonen magazine #shueisha #kodansha #rudo surebrec #rudo gachiakuta #chihiro rokuhira #jujutsu kaisen #vtuber

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kholnt · 3 months

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Can you tell us more about lost and there relationship with the chain?

oh lordy theres an entire doc for this that kay n i worked on earlier so i'm just gonna copy and paste that :thumbsup: and if some things dont make sense uhhhh problem for later me under readmore bc its long asf

Twilight

PRE-TOTK: Not that close with Twilight but very close with Wolfie. Wolfie is basically his therapy-dog so Twilight knows some of the secrets/details of his life that Lost has been keeping from the rest of the Chain. Twilight struggles with respecting Lost’s privacy but also wanting to help him work through what he’s going through.

He tries to incorporate Lost into the group in little ways. It’s small but it’s the most he can do at the moment and he doesn’t want Lost to be completely isolated from their group.

If Wolfie's reveal happens Pre-Totk their relationship is soured. Lost kept all those secrets secret for a reason and Twilight knowing them messes with him a lot. Lost probably thinks that Twilight was only keeping tabs on him to make sure he wouldn’t be a problem to group despite what Twilight says in response.

POST-TOTK

If Wolfie Reveal happens Post-Totk + character development, Lost is a Lot More understanding as to why Twilight kept the whole Wolfie thing a secret. Twilight basically becomes his older brother (he was before but now Twilight gets to actually show it outside of being a wolf) and they’re really close. Twilight is the #1 Lost Defender.

Time

PRE-TOTK: Time struggles a lot with trying to help Lost because he can Tell Lost has a lot more going on under the surface. Twilight confirms this is the case but will not go into details for the sake of Lost’s privacy unless he Has To. But he can’t do much since Lost is still very much afraid of him and puts the soldier front on with him. Also struggles with the fact he doesn’t really Know Lost.

Lost has a lot of respect for Time but Also Time reminds him of his dad and that’s scary for him and also bringing up past trauma. (DADDY ISSUES!!!!!)

POST-TOTK: The first/one of the first to give Lost a hug after the Horn Incident. Lost is still working out his daddy issues but he’s a lot more open with Time. Lost’s relationship with Malon improving also helps a lot in this aspect too.

Warriors

PRE-TOTK: Lost feels the need to prove himself to Warriors because he’s The Captain and his own past issues with authorities figures. Warriors in turn struggles with the fact that Lost appears so Afraid of him all the time and tries to alleviate that fear, but it doesn’t do much.

Warriors also is Not a fan of self-sacrificing Lost is. Tries to gently scold him and discourages him but this only makes Lost get better at hiding injuries and discreetly healing himself after fights. Warriors (+ Time) doesn’t like ordering him around but it’s the only way to get him to listen to them when it comes to proper self care and allowing others to help.

POST-TOTK: After Lost learns that he outranks Warriors he sees their dynamic more equally and removes a lot of tenseness from their relationship. Lost becomes a lot more involved with planning and strategy and helps Warriors with planning attacks/defense/etc. which helps improve their relationship a lot too.

Legend

PRE-TOTK: Tense. Legend sees Lost as a “suck-up” and tries to be understanding of his mentality and such, but it’s still frustrating for them both because Lost is trying to “impress” Legend and prove his worth and Legend doesn’t see Lost as genuine. This eventually leads to an argument between the two of them.

POST-TOTK: After the Horn Incident™, Legend apologizes to Lost about the things he said and did pre-totk, their relationship vastly improves after that.

Sky

PRE-TOTK: Lost has Feelings about Hylia but he respects Sky’s relationship with her + another case of complete respect since Sky is the one who made the Master Sword. There’s a healthy dose of fear from Lost almost dying from the blade as well, so he tends to keep his distance as well.

POST-TOTK: Sky has Feelings about the fact that Lost turned himself into a dragon to repair the Master Sword. Lost talks about repairing the Master Sword and how he didn’t consider any other option because “it's what you would have done”.

Four

PRE-TOTK: Lost is the least “afraid” of him. He’s willing to talk more about himself with Four because they’re the most similar. They both have their own secrets, and they understand that. Four is also very observant of Lost, and is the first one to learn how Lost displays his emotions, and will generally come to his aid when someone in the chain is (usually worriedly) hounding him.

POST-TOTK: Not much changes between them, for better or for worse. Lost is a lot more open to asking more personal questions, and they get to know each other much better. Plus Four got to show Lost what blacksmithing is like, so that’s a very big bonus

Hyrule

PRE-TOTK: Wary respect.Lost has respect for Hyrule’s medic abilities but is Unsure on how to feel about the magic healing. The only person he knows who is able to heal with magic isn’t a Hylian. Possibly wary of if Hyrule is actually a Hylian? + Hyrule probably reminds him of Mipha and that's Probably Not A Good Thing

POST-TOTK: Hyrule allows Lost to finally have some sense of individuality by allowing him to escape and go out adventuring by themselves. This starts a snowball effect of Lost learning things he’s interested in, nature and a drive for learning being the first few.

Wind

PRE-TOTK: Guard. Wind wants him to be a big brother, but he forgot how to fill that role due to Reasons™ Instead, he fills a guard role so he’s still able to protect Wind in some way. (Wind has mixed feelings about this)

POST-TOTK: After Lost learns more about himself and finally allows himself to have some fun, they get along like a house on fire. Please never give them access to a hill it’ll be terrible for everyone’s hearts.

#khol.txt #khol.pdf #linked universe #legend of zelda #loz #lost lu #live loz reaction #trauma.chain #EVERYONE gets development!! and hurt!!

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wild-dagon · 1 year

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Following up on my prior post about Wild going back in time and becoming a dragon

Which member of the Chain do you think should pull the Master sword from him?

Twilight has the closest relationship with him. That’s his cub. I love the idea that Twilight was with Wild on his first quest. I think Wild is Twilight’s most important person. Very few people in Twilight’s life know about his wolf form. But Wild adores that side of him. After Midna left it was so hard for him to find his footing. He’s been searching for his place for years only to find centuries in the future. He woke up one more stuck as a wolf and with a new hero to mentor. And he loved it. No one in his world knows about his ability to transform into a wolf outside of Midna and Zelda. Yet this kid and his world welcome this side of Twilight with open arms. He never wanted to leave. When he was pulled away it was unbearable until he was pulled into a new quest. This time instead of traveling with one other hero he was traveling with 8. One being his mentor and one being his cub. But once again the gods have ripped his cub from and this time it’s permanent. He doesn’t know which one is worse Midna choosing to abandon him and going where he can’t follow. Or wild who is still here but is completely out of his reach. I could go way more into their relationship, I love them so much.

Time. Time is the dad of the group. Wild is a part of his legacy. Twilight is his descendent and Wild is the protégée of his protégée (is he also Twi’s descendent who’s to say) he loves these kids, all of them but there is a special bond between the three. But would he be willing to draw the master sword again. The blade has already taken so much from him, and now in an effort to restore it, it has also taken wild from him.

Sky. The master sword is his blade. He forged the sword and he has a relationship with Fi. The Blade is far more important to him then it is to the others. To find out it shattered had to hurt. It shattered on Wild when he need it to protect him and Zelda. Sky knows he has gotten mad at Wild in the past for draining the Master Swords energy but it’s not truly his fault that Fi is so old by the time he needs to wield her. He can’t help but feel responsible for Wild sacrificing so much to restore Fi. His brother gave up everything that he is to restore Sky’s friend. (I don’t think enough people play with Sky and Wilds relationships they have such a sweet dynamic)

Four has never wielded the Master Sword. And while he and Wild have a close relationship with Four trying to craft a sword that Wild can’t break. For all of Four’s inflect I think he would realize that he can’t be the one to draw the blade. Not because they aren’t close but because the master sword has never been his to wield

Warriors is interesting. He, Wild, and Sky are the knights of the group and while Wild might not remember everything that doesn’t mean he and Warriors haven’t bonded over their time in the service. He’s also the best at compartmentalizing what is going on. Is his little brother now a giant worm? Yes. Have they seen this giant worm flying all around hyrule’s history meaning Wild’s been trapped like this for eons? Yes. Does this dragon have the weapon they need to free Wild’s world from Ganondorf? Yes. I think it will wreck him later but I think in the moment he would be the most objective.

Legend. He’s never been this mad at the goddess. How dare she do this to his brother. It wasn’t good enough to kill him on his first quest no she need to force him to sacrifice everything on his second. And for what? So that one of them could complete a fetch quest to get her super important sword. No. He wants his brother back. Not this giant dragon. If they were allowed to help why couldn’t they be there from the start. Why couldn’t they fight Ganondorf in the past with Wild. Why couldn’t they beat him back then before Wild even need to swallow the stone. This is so many levels of wrong. And now one of them needs to draw the sword from Wild’s skull.

Hyrule is distressed. He can barely feel Wild’s magic in this dragon. It’s definitely their brother but he’s also different. He’s ancient now. The same feeling he gets around a great fairy. How has this happened. Wild his adventuring and wondering buddy is gone? Forever? And they weren’t there to help him. And now in his place is this ancient dragon that barely feels like his brother. (Wild’s still there he’s conscious is just buried deep at the moment)

Wind. Don’t blame the kid but this is kinda awesome. Wild’s a dragon! And yes he’s stuck right now but the master sword has broken worst curses. And if that doesn’t work then maybe he will be restored after they beat Ganondorf. And if not well Wild never mentions his worlds Triforce. They could find it and wish Wild back. The gods couldn’t be mad at such a wish from their hero’s. No they would get Wild back. He has to believe that because if they can’t then what’s the point of all of this?

#linked universe #lu twilight #lu hyrule #lu sky #lu time #lu wild #lu wind #lu warriors #lu legend #lu four #zelda totk role reversal au #Lu totk role-reversal au

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hyde-nseek · 6 months

Text

My headcanon is that every Link and every Zelda falls in love. But it gets a little more complicated than that because I don't think they get together every time. So... Here is how I would justify every Zelink in the Legend of Zelda franchise:

(please note that I'm not saying other ships aren't cool. I personally like a lot of them.)

Skyward Sword: This one is probably as canon as Zelink has gotten so far. I don't know anyone that says that they don't have feelings for each other. These two probably founded Hyrule together. Maybe as a kingdom, maybe just as a small village below the clouds. Either way, the Royal Family traces their lineage back to this couple.

Minish Cap: This Zelink is very cute. I think they dated, and maybe even married. From what I understand about the timeline, though, this Link abandons Hyrule and lives the rest of his life cursed by the mind-shattering properties of the Four Sword. So, it was a relationship for a while, but they didn't grow old together.

Four Swords: There actually isn't a lot of information about this Zelda, but I like to think that they got together after Link saves her. They're cute.

Ocarina of Time: The way Zelda looks at Link at the end of the game is full of remorse. She doesn't want to send Link away from her, but she knows it's the right thing to do for his sake and Hyrule's. Also, the way Sheik looks at Link can't go unnoticed. That ninja isn't good at hiding his feelings.

Majora's Mask: The same as Ocarina of Time, but it's much more brief. I don't think Link ever returns to Hyrule Castle, but it's possible. It's more likely that he founded Ordon with Malon. That means that Malon and Link end up together, but Link's true love was the princess he saved in another time.

Twilight Princess: Zelda and Link barely talk in the game, and when they interact, it's only because Midna put them together. But with Midna out of the picture, I think they would still bond. Ilia gets friendzoned. Sorry.

Four Swords Adventures: I think I'll have to put this one with Four Swords as well. These games are a little weird in that the Links are so affected by the Four Sword that it's hard to picture them in a situation without it. If anyone else has thoughts on this Zelink, please lmk.

Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass: Tetra and Link get together and found New Hyrule. This one is pretty self explanatory and difficult to argue against. Very cute and I love it.

Spirit Tracks: They were made for each other. They have so much of a connection because of their adventure together. Whether Link becomes an adventurer or an engineer, I think the princess has feelings for the Hero of Spirit.

A Link to the Past/Link's Awakening/Oracles: The cryptic uncle wants you to know that Zelda is your responsibility. Now that we've covered that, I think Link would have been with Zelda if it weren't for Marin. After Koholint, I don't think he really has it in him to have a relationship with anyone.

A Link Between Worlds/Tri Force Heroes: I think that after saving Hytopia, Link returns to Hyrule and asks for Zelda's hand. There's no reason why not to, and I don't think Link would have wanted to stay in Hytopia for the rest of his life. As cool as it is, it's a vacation spot. And Styla isn't the princess for Link.

Hyrule Fantasy/Adventure of Link: Two Zeldas, one Link. This one's kind of weird, but I think he'd rather be with the Zelda from his first adventure. Zelda the First only kisses him as a reward, probably the only reward she can give.

Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom: I mean, they live together. They hugged at the end of both games. What else do you want me to say?

#zelink #all the zelink #even though it doesnt work out every time #i think that what matters in the end is that the feelings are there #theyre a tragic couple cursed by the demon king #legend of zelda

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crazylittlejester · 5 months

Note

What is one head canon you have for every individual member of the chain?

only one headcanon for each of them? 🥺

Time: I’ve definitely said this one before, but he is not at all trying to be fatherly. He does care about the boys a lot, but his fatherly actions are all completely unintentional, he has no idea some of them look up to him like a dad, and he has yet to realize he looks at some of them as his kids. In his mind he’s just being kind and brotherly. He has a hard time expressing emotions and seriously struggles with facial expressions, which is why he comes off as so hard to approach and seems more responsible and dad like, but that’s not the case at all. He’s just as chaotic as the others and seriously is oblivious to how some of them look up to him

Warriors: I headcanon he comes from a family of tailors (which is a headcanon ive seen before) who own a small shop in the little village he comes from (he’s not originally a city boy to me, he became a city boy later in life). His family also owns a small farm and he had big dogs growing up. Had the war never happened he’d probably still be with them, taking over his mom’s shop because he was the one most interested in it (i also headcanon he has a lot of siblings)

Twilight: He needs people to take care of or he won’t take care of himself. He just falls into such a slump if there’s no one for him to look after because he feels useless and unneeded. He’s a serious hoverer when one of the others are injured but he feels bad for hovering so he ends up sitting on the opposite side of camp looking like a wet dog and it’s just so sad looking 😭

Sky: I know a lot of people make him super sleepy or give him asthma because of his low stamina in Skyward Sword and also because he just always seems tired in that game, but for me Sky has epilepsy, and that’s why he has periods of time where he’s just absolutely exhausted

Hyrule: Not afraid of much and has a stomach of steel. This kid will eat anything and everything and will be completely fine. Bonus extra headcanon: I think he’s older than Legend

Legend: I headcanon he’s autistic and struggles to control the tone of his voice, and that’s why he can come off pretty harsh. He doesn’t mean to, he’s seriously pretty chill (unless Warriors is involved), but he can come off as disinterested or snappy when he really doesn’t mean to

Wild: Actually extremely good at handling his emotions and dealing with problems (compared to the others). He knows he gets overwhelmed and while he’s not the best at telling someone where he goes to blow off steam, he knows how to hold himself back and handle himself, and he’s perfectly capable of defending himself if something happens when he goes off alone. Sometimes he just needs to be alone, and if he really CANT be alone because it’s too dangerous, Wolfie will trail after him just for backup and keep his distance

Four: BIG reader, he loves to curl up with a good book but it’s hard for him to get his alone time to focus on what he’s reading while he’s traveling with the others. He will make up stories in his head when he can’t sleep or actually focus, and he’s a really animated story teller. He’s told a lot of campfire stories and when he’s doing those it’s one of the very few times the others actually shut up

Wind: Dyslexic and seriously struggles to read, but he absolutely LOVES to draw and would doodle all the time during any lessons anyone tried to give him ever. Give this kid a sketchbook and he’ll literally draw you a masterpiece. He loves sketching scenery and the others and he’s FREAKY good at it

#jes talks #jes ask #linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu time #lu warriors #lu twilight #lu sky #lu hyrule #lu legend #lu wild #lu four #lu wind #lu headcanons #jes headcanons

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bokettochild · 10 months

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Okay, so I'm writing things from Sky's perspective for the first time in what feels like years (maybe it has been years? the last notable Sky POV I can remember is from Feathered which I finished I year and a half ago) and I have thoughts!

Legend is not the person who resents the goddesses. My boy is literally besties with Din and Nayru, probably Farore too. Who knows about his thoughts on Hylia honestly, but you know who is salty about Hylia? Sky. Sky is so salty about Hylia. The goddesses toyed with him and Zelda like puppets with no cares for how it would destroy them, only that it would turn out how they want. Hylia is the definition of "end justifies the means" in Sky's mind, and he resents her for it.

Sky does not appreciate anyone making any implications that he is dating Hylia, in love with Hylia, or anything of the sort. My man will throw down with anyone who tries to say that Zelda is Hylia. They are two different people, thank you very much! His brothers are not him, and Hylia' incarnations are not her.

Sky finds relief in the Chain because he is not the only hero anymore. On skyloft, he's now an important person, a hero and not just a knight. He did not sign up for this, he's fresh out of school and he is overwhelmed by the expectations and responsibilities that come from being the hero. Being with the chain is a relief because they're all heroes too.

Sky is experiencing burn-out. The sleepiness? Yeah, that's the burn out, Gifted kid burn-out maybe, maybe just exhaustion from the expectations on him, but it's burn out. he's glad no one gets on him for it now. The others laugh at it a bit, but no one thinks he's lazy and it's nice to be allowed to have his rest without consequences now.

Sky is more used to talking to Fi than anyone else, so he's developed certain ticks and cues that he used on Fi to express things (like asking her to stop talking or to redirect her when he wa suncomfortable), but which don't translate as well to talking to Hylians. Most of this is because it involves fidgeting with his sword, not an acceptable method of communication between friends.

To continue the above, Legend, who also talks to Fi, DOES catch some of the ticks because he uses them too. Different, yes, but they're both pretty similar on that front (to the point it's nostalgic for Fi when she talks to Legend because he reminds her of Sky). Does this mean that they understand certain cues the others don't even notice? Yes. They don't even realize they're doing it but it's part of how they've learned to get along already; because they use similar communication styles that no one else does so it adds a whole different level of easier communication between them.

Sky has trouble with communication with Time specifically. he's wary about discussing some topics (their adventures, the goddesses, his sword) but also just struggles to read Time in general.

Sky admires Twilight's connection with Epona and views their dynamic the same way he would a fellow knight and their loftwing.

Sky is a bundle of unresolved and unprocessed issues that he hides under soft smiles and copious amounts of affection.

That's all for now, but yeah. Sky's got more depth than I'd initially thought and my gosh this boy has so many emotions? So many issues too, I don't know if he'll be recognizable compared to the sweet sleepyhead I usually write him as, but I kinda like him being more... mature? Aware? I like him being like a real young adult still finding his feet in the world :)

#linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu sky

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judesmoonbeauty · 5 months

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Ellis Twilight Chapters 21-25 Mad Love Route Summaries 🗡

MDNI, NSFW - Contains 18+ Content! Fan translation only. Not 100% accurate. Please expect grammatical errors. This is an extremely pared down SUMMARY of each chapter. Cybird owns everything. Feel free to re-blog, but please do NOT post my translations elsewhere. The summaries will be uploaded in groups.

Chapter 21

Ellis: Stay with me forever.

Ellis: I’ll never let you go again.

Kate hugs Ellis tightly in response to his words and his body flinches in pain because he's been injured, but didn't want to say anything to her in case he ruined the happy atmosphere. Kate tries to help him up, but she herself collapses due to being tied up in the casket for so long. He reassures her that it's going to be alright because help is on the way. Roger soon arrives at the scene, and after he asks if they're okay, he tells them that they look like shit. He quickly patches them up just enough to get them to a nearby infirmary (his clinic) outside of Crown Castle. Ellis is now completely pale and loses consciousness, which causes Kate to panic, but Roger says he still has a pulse, so he's just passed out.

He removes Ellis shirt which reveals a nasty wound, and Rogers speculates that a weapon covered in poison was most likely the cause of it. Roger excises the superficial necrotic skin tissue, drains as much of the poison as possible, and then disinfects the wounds (AKA an I&D or an irrigation and debridement). All they can do now is wait, so he turns his attention to Kate who he says has skin abrasions, nail lacerations, bruising and mild dehydration. While being treated by Roger, Kate keeps looking at Ellis, and he tells in a matter-of-fact way her that Crown missions always come at the risk of death, and if you're working with Jude, these situations are more frequent than this.

Roger says that he's seen the fate of those cursed by the Briar Thorn with his own eyes – which is to be destroyed by justice. He asks: It was the the prince's sword that destroyed the thorn hedge when rescuing the sleeping princess, wasn't it? Is he to be chopped up literally or metaphorically?

He decides not to muddy the waters anymore with this kind of talk, but tells her that she has to swallow reality properly and make her own choices. Kate now thinks about her future with Ellis, she loves and wants to be with him, but also knows that she must be willing to accept living with this anxiety of him possibly dying. She declares that no matter what she wants to always be with Ellis and have a happy tomorrow with him. Roger smiles and say that he knew the two would be a good fit. That night, Kate never leaves Ellis' side and falls asleep watching over him. The next morning, she feels something soft touching her lips and when she slowly wakes up she sees Ellis watching over her. He says that he was going to wait for her to wake up, but she was so cute that he thought it'd be okay to touch her a little bit, so he kissed her. His color is now back and he apologizes for making Kate worry, who in turn, tells him that she was afraid that he was going to die after all the trouble she went through to finally become lovers with him.

He smiles and says he's not going to die until he kills her, so Kate asks him what they should do because she is so happy right now? He agrees that he is just as happy as she is, wiping away tears from her eyes, and she thinks that she'd rather die right now then ever experience what they just went through. That's when she realizes that being with Ellis will also mean being next to a gaping hole of darkness, so that is why these moments are so irreplaceable and dazzling.

Ellis says he knows something that will make him even more happy, and that's going back home to the castle and sleeping not in separate beds like at the infirmary, but in the same bed. Ellis leans over her as she's lying down and kisses her when all the sudden Roger walks in (omg secondhand embarrassment), and he says that if they're well enough to do that then they are well enough to go home. When they get back to the castle the both say to each other: “I'm home”, and then they both say back to each other “Welcome back home”. AWWWW!

Chapter 22

After they get back to castle and greet each other, Roger said he's going for a beer and when Kate calls out to thank him for his help, Roger tells her to be cautious about not being too reckless with their flirting as they are still recovering. Ellis asks him how reckless is too reckless? Which embarrasses Kate, but Ellis is dead serious which makes Roger laugh, and he says not to do anything that will cause them to break their bodies. Ellis says that he's going to be nice to Kate so she doesn't feel any pain, and Roger is like: That's right, good for you lil' lady. Afterwards, Kate's chamber maid comes rushing up to them and signs to them about how terrible they look.

After Ellis and Kate are separated to take baths, it's dinner time and Kate finds a grumpy Jude in the dining room smoking a cigarette along with Alfons and Elbert. She thinks about how she doesn't know much about Elbert and she observes how every time Elbert asks if a piece of silverware or china is beautiful, Alfons has a rebuttal for it. Then, Alfons starts force feeding Elbert his dinner. The unfamiliar interaction between the two of them makes her feel tense in a way she hasn't felt before, so she asks Jude if it's okay for Elbert to be forced fed by Alfons, but the way he stares at her makes her speech falter. Of course, the grumpy fairy asks her if there isn't another question she should be asking?

Kate thinks for a moment, since Jude no doubt knew about her disappearance, and yet did not show up with Ellis to rescue her, then that means that Jude's been busy tracking down the mastermind of her abduction. This make him smugly smile and say, “Of course,” but it was difficult to do with out the help of Ellis. Alfons chimed in saying that Jude was so busy since his assistant was missing, that he worked twice as hard to research the Privy Council that released the gang.

Since Kate didn't know anything about this, Alfons explains that the Privy Council is always out to get Crown, and so she was kidnapped as part of a ploy to ensnare Crown. Ellis shows up and tells Jude that he owes him that information, and that Ellis himself was going to do a thorough investigation on the origin of her abduction. Ellis' voice was laced with a quiet anger that made a shiver run down her spine, it was as if she could smell the blood in the air. Afraid she runs to him and grabs his sleeve, he hugs her and asks if she applied medicine to her wounds, which prompts Alfons to ask with a heart-shaped hand if they're together?

Kate's face blushes red and Ellis announces that they are now together. Alfons congratulates them and Elbert says he hopes they'll be together a long time making Kate feel ticklish, but she realizes that she hasn't even said anything to Jude about it yet. So, she apologizes to Jude and Ellis for leaving the castle on her own, getting kidnapped and putting Crown at risk. Jude says that a verbal apology won't do her any good as he clicks his tongue at her while she is bowing, and he tells her that she was only, “got caught up”, in the grudge against the Crown, so there is no need to feel responsible. Kate is surprised because she was expecting Jude to say something like: You want to offer an apology, then I'll work you like a cart horse.

Just as she was thinking that, he says, “But you know, with Ellis' escort mission being abandoned, and the princess's selfish behavior. I don't really care about Crown, I just want you to pay for all you put me through. I'm going to have to work you twice as hard for all the time I missed, you're so happy you could cry, aren't you?”

Kate thinks she knew it was too good to be true, and firmly says, “Yes!”, to his request. Ellis says Jude can use him too, so Jude smiles and says, “Then let's get to it. Her Majesty the Queen has given me a direct order to kill the member of the Privy Counsel who released the rest of the gang they had locked up.”

Kate is shocked that the Queen would order the execution of a member of her own Council, and Ellis asks Jude if he can kill him with his own hands. Jude smiles and says Ellis can do whatever suits him. Kate questions Jude as to why an execution has been ordered just because she was kidnapped, and he says its because the person originally had ties with the gang, was receiving money from them (remember this was a human-trafficking case), and this person is completely black-bellied. Additionally, they're sniffing around the kidnappings case that Crown is working, as well as, being the same man who organized her abduction. The council member even put pressure on the police to overlook the incident.

With Jude's smile confirming the punishment fits the crime, Kate says no more, and afterwards she and Ellis are in his room having warm milk when their hands bump into each other when they both reach for a glass at the same time.....

Chapter 23 - MDNI

In Ellis' bedroom, their hands touch each other accidentally, and Kate thinks about how long it's been since they've been alone. She thanks him again for all his help and apologizes for making Ellis feel like he had to say they couldn't be together the last time they were alone. Ellis says that he also needs to thank Kate for caring for his heart all along, for accepting him and his abnormalities even when his parents called him a demon.

Kate says she had often wondered if she should've gone even further with Ellis, and compares her heart to the jar of raspberry jam that spilled over on the table before. Just as there was no way for it to go back in the jar once spilled, her heart could never go back to the way it was before. Ellis says that after the mission is over, they will go shopping together, buy ingredients and make jam in the kitchen together. He explains that if Kate's heart is like jam, and if they ate it together then maybe he could understand how she feels since he wants to know why she fell in love with him, what she thought of him – he wants to know everything so he can get closer to her heart and make her happy.

He takes the empty cup from her hand and asks if she's ready for bed, she thinks back to incident at the cliff side where he offers her to sleep with him so she doesn't have nightmares of being attacked by Jake, and she wonders if he means the same thing now. He hugs her tightly and says that he won't be letting her go today. Kate wonders if his secret box is finally opened up, and if she's being devoured by it? Her mind suddenly fills with unimportant things like the fact that she didn't bring a change of clothes for the next day because she thought they were only drinking warm milk together. Ellis says that even if Kate thinks it's a bad idea, he isn't going to let her go since his selfishness of making her happy takes precedence over what she thinks.

He swiftly scoops her up and takes her to the bed, which smells like sunshine and Ellis, and soon her few seconds of ease are interrupted with a shower of kisses. Soon his tongue opens her mouth causing her body to grow hotter, and after a long kiss he tells Kate that he won't finish this today. Kate is like, WHY?? He smiles and says that of course he wants to and he wants to hold her, but he wants to be careful with her body and he wants to spend time making her feel good. Kate says she wants him to feel good and finish too, but he is firm on his decision, so he pushes her down on the bed and strips her naked.

Her breasts bounce in the palms of his hands and are also loved with his tongue and lips, his fingers slide down her hips while she makes lewd sounds. Ellis smiles and thanks Kate for letting him to find all of her weak points, showing him her sweetest face, and eventually with his gentle whispers her trembling body falls into a comfortable sleep. Ellis watches a happy Kate sleeping and wishes he could look at her forever like that, that he can spoil her so much she can't live without him. Feeling such desires swirling around in his core - “In the end, you're desires are what's most important” - The unforgettable voice echoes in his head and Ellis thinks that someday Kate is going to hate him, and if that time comes....no, rather, he will fill Kate with happiness before that time comes. (Hinting he will then kill her before she grows tired and leaves him). He smiles and places his hand on her neck and thinks about that “someday”.

Soon, it is time for Jude, Ellis and Roger to carry out their mission against the man of the Privy Council having been lured out by false information planted by William, Alfons and Elbert. Kate stands at a distance from the group as she observes the mission, and Ellis wants to know why. She says that she's doing it so that she doesn't slow everyone else down. Ellis tells her that he isn't worried about that and he just doesn't want her to hate him. As Kate turns around, she says, “Hate?”

Chapter 24 - MDNI

“Hate?” Kate asks, and Ellis explains that it's different now than it was before because if he looks the man who tried to kill Kate in the eye, he may kill him in a worse way than any of the other murders she's seen him commit before, and he might make her sad. Kate thought he was concerned with her coming to a dangerous place, but he was just worried that her heart might get broken. She tells him that if Ellis loses his cool, it's okay because they will take the blame together. Kate reasons that she's the one who opened Ellis' box and if Ellis' will is mixed with the will sin, then it makes him even more sinful, so his sin is her sin too.

She tells him she is the one who wanted him to love her like that, and that she doesn't hate him. He smiles a horrifyingly sweet smile, and thanks her because he can't let her go anymore. His face changes when he hears their target walking towards them. The man from the Privy Council arrives with several guards, and asks where the woman is at since he plans to move her before Crown comes to save her, calling the Crown members monsters who need to be eradicated.

Jude cuts him off saying it was the council member who was using the gangs to capture innocent women in order to trample over them like bugs, “Look in the mirror and see which one of us is the monster.” His voice echoes in the pitch black ruins as the guards form a perimeter around the man, then a large thud entered among the guards (it was Roger jumping in the middle of them). The target tells the guards to shoot and kill them all, Roger grabs his rifle and starts firing it while Jude tells Kate she's going to help him, handing her a contraption that was ornament-like object with 'a lot of shiny tube-like things attached to it,' which makes Kate ask, “What is this?”

Jude says that she'll “Know it when you see it. If you set it on fire, he gunpowder inside will explode. Be careful not to blow it up.” But it's already on fire she says, and in a panic she throws it to the other side. When it lands there was a loud BANG due to the gunpowder igniting, making the other side go into a panic. (He gave her a live grenade LOLLLL.) Jude says that now he (Ellis) will take care of the rest, and Kate soon spots Ellis in the midst of the chaos standing behind the man of the Privy Council. He takes his black blade and slashes the man's neck and without a word the target falls to the ground. Jude joins Ellis and Roger and finishes up decimating the remaining guards causing numerous screams to echo in the darkness for a long time before silence finally settles in.

Kate debates if she should find Ellis or not since she knows he doesn't want her to see him committing his sin and making her sad, but she really wants to be near him. When she steps forward to find him she hears Roger yell, “ELLIS!!!!” Kate sees that a guard who is still alive on the ground point a gun at Ellis' back, and the fate of Ellis' tragic end – to be judged of his sin and have his sins cut down - race into her mind. Happiness is fleeting. A moment's inattention, a minor mistake can make it disappear. With out thinking she runs up to the guard and kicks his hand as hard as she could which causes a burning pain to rise in her toes, but just before that she had heard a gunshot.

She calls out to Ellis to see if he is safe, but her vision is covered with darkness and it smells good. When she looks up she sees Ellis hugging her tightly, and when she hears a noise beneath her she looks down to see the guards eyes thinly open with no light left in them, and Ellis' foot lifting from his neck. She instantly becomes confused because she has to let Ellis kill, but is this right? Ellis killed the man who was going to kill him, and she is very very happy that Ellis is alive, still it's something she has to deal with. Just as she was about to move a sharp pain from her foot makes her flinch, looking down she sees blood seeping from it possibly due to the bullet grazing her foot when she kicked the gun.

Ellis tells her that she shouldn't do anything rash, so she apologizes, but says she's glad he's safe. He gives her a hug, thanks her for keeping him safe and says he'll take care of her wounds again. He tells her that now, he'll do everything for her not just breakfast.

A few days later......he checks her wound which has healed up nicely. Fortunately, her shoe protected her from the grazing and it was only a flesh wound, so she only needed to keep off her foot for a while. When Ellis offers to assist her, Jude gripes about when he has time for that? Jude asks him about the report of their mission, and tells him to get to it so he doesn't have to tell him twice. He leaves with Jude, finishes the report, runs back to Kate and has been taking care of her ever since. Ellis helps her to bed, they say good night and he turns off the lights. She accidentally touches his leg when she has a mischievous thought, after she was injured he would only kiss or fondle her besides holding her tightly in bed, so when she looks at Ellis his lips smile nastily like he was having the same thoughts. His face draws closer.....

Premium Story - MDNI

His face draws closer and at first, he offers countless nibbling kisses, and soon his tongue creeps in sinuously, softly debauched. Kate thinks that tonight she's finally going to be able to go all the way with Ellis. For the past few days, she had been dyed by Ellis' touches, hugs and scent. She told herself that she had to be patient because she was waiting for her wound to heal, but more and more she wanted him. She moans with his kisses and he tells her that they've been kissing all day when their lips finally part. Each time one pulls away from the kiss, the other will grab them and pull them back in for more. Kate tells Ellis that she'd be lost without him, he kisses her like he his going to devour her while reaching inside her negligee and tells her he's going to undress her. He also smiles and mentions that since she isn't wearing a corset it's easier to take off. She moans when he touches her bare skin with his soft palms, “So pretty....I'm going to make it harder and harder for you to stay away from me.”

The tip of his lips kiss her nipples and soon his tongue licks them like he's licking up raspberry jam, and Kate realizes that she is trapped in this love that will kill her, but now that she knows such vivid happiness she can never go back to before she knew Ellis. He asks if she feels good, and then asks if she feels even better if he touches her “here”, his long fingers sink deeply into her wetness and without resistance her body swallows his finger up which causes a color of excitement to enter his eyes.

“It's so hot inside you, I feel like my fingers are melting.” He pumps her relentlessly and says that he's glad he has long fingers because it's easier to reach places that make her feel good. Kate can't help but mutter that she wishes Ellis can't do without her either. Ellis says that he's already at a loss without her, but he is concerned that he is going to lose control of himself and hurt her, but Kate reassures him that she wants this. He slowly enters her and asks if he's hurting her (in case you haven't guessed, baby briar is packin'), afterwards he is assured it's okay for him to do as he pleases, he starts thrusting into her and both of them are in sheer ecstasy!

Chapter 25

The one I love will kill me. That's his distorted view of love. If it were a fairy tale, some may say this is a bad ending. But in our case -

Victor tells Kate that she's kept her word, so she is free to fly away or she can stay here and he asks her what she wants to do. She closes her eyes and reflects on all the light and positive things in her life back home versus the dark and sinister things she's witnessed of those who suffer. She stares into Victor's eyes and thinks how both he and William who founded Crown must've peered in unfathomable darkness unlike the fraction of it she's experienced. She will not be able to share or open up with the things she experiences to the people she cares about, but she wants to be with Ellis, who strives for other people's happiness even to the point of getting his hands dirty.

She tells Victor that she would like to continue as a fairy tale keeper if the Queen allows it. At first, Kate thinks she'll be rejected since she got injured twice during the missions and since she put Crown in danger when she got kidnapped. Victor was surprised at first, but he openly welcomes her performing a magic trick which causes doves to fly from his hands when he opens his palm. Kate is amazed and claps her hands, while Victor bows and winks at her, he tells her that no matter what she chose he had been planning to congratulate her like this – even preparing for it all night. He asks her to let her smile illuminate those who dwell in the night even if it may be a curse on her, she thinks that his smile is filled with so much compassion for the Crown boys and her and she agrees.

After Kate leaves, Jude enters the scene saying he was going to leave when Victor had called him over and then saw him playing magic tricks. Victor tells him to wait because he called him over to discuss a proper mission, one that is an order from the Queen this time. Jude clicks his tongue when he snatches the papers that are offered to him, and says that if it's in writing then it's good enough to keep in his room. He asks Victor if he called Jude over just to listen to Kate's answer? Victor says that he is very perceptive and then tasks him with keeping Kate's smile unclouded, but Jude tells him to ask Ellis. Victor asks Jude to take care of the both of them since Ellis is their youngest member. Jude sighs and walks away making grumpy sounds, and while Victor looks up at the light through the trees, he says that he already had both of them rolled up into his pocket, that's why it was an afterthought. (This is an obvious hint about Victor. I translated this individual line, but this is pretty much what he says. I have a theory, but will keep it to myself for now.)

Kate says her goodbyes to her old co-workers as Victor has notified them she will continue working for the palace. During the evening she looks up at the twilight sky and asks herself where she is standing? It's between the day and night. Between what has been and what will be. It felt vague and uncertain, like she isn't connected to anywhere. She suddenly wants to see Ellis, but out of nowhere she is gently hugged from behind, and she immediately knows who it is because his arms wrap around her in a way she could never unravel from. As soon as she sees him the anxiety and frustration of twilight disappear and she is filled with happiness. She thought he was going to wait for her at the castle, but he said that he had a feeling that she'd miss him a little, but that he missed her a lot too. His arms hold her and confines her. He says that he was going to come for her sooner, but a florist's wagon was in trouble and he helped fix it. That sounds like him, Kate thinks as she listens to his story. He is like twilight itself, a mixture of the sinful night and the bright daylight, and she wants to be in these arms forever.

“I love you, Ellis.”

“Kate, it's twilight....”

“Hey Ellis......now is the best time.”

“I'm happy to be hugging you like this Kate, but....”

“We still have to make raspberry jam.”

Kate's heart beat fast as Ellis was looking towards tomorrow with his eyes.

He tells her that, “Someday, with the greatest happiness, he will stop time.”

“Then you'll be mine forever.”

He gently lays his lips on hers. Ellis' secret box has swallowed her whole and gently closed it's lid on her. In a box wrapped in thorns, alone together forever.

The one I love will kill me. That's his distorted view of love. If it were a fairy tale, some may say this is a bad ending. But in our case......One day that day will come and it will be the happiest ending.

[Previous] [Mad Love Epilogue] [Master List]

#Ellis Twilight #ikevil ellis #ikemen ellis #ikevil translations #ikevil ellis translations #ellis twilight translations #cybird translations #ikevil spoilers #ikevil jp spoilers

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blackstarchanx3new · 1 month

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FSR rambles 23

Oh boy. We're here!

This page was basically EXCLUSIVLY made to be a cover art page. XDDD

It was really fun figuring out the environment and capturing the vibe of the OOT Water Temple boss fight room with Dark Link.

This is a direct inspiration of that.

I'm STILL salty we NEVER got a proper manga adaptation of that fight.

I could go on a huge rant about how Dark Link's utilization was AWFUL in OOT's manga...like AWFUL especially knowing what it could have been with my own exploration into Dark Link's character (I say with the huge note that Dark Link is very OC coded in FSR...)

The Dark Link Fight is an isolating PERSONAL fight and the OOT manga turned it into a fucking display for the entire Kakariko village for them to kiss Link's ass for and it didn't feel properly introspective or deep or...anything. Relegating Dark to just a random demon that wore Link's face to fuck with him and not a reflection of his own darkness and insecurities, his flaws. His sins.

The reveal for Dark Link is PERFECT in the OG game, you lacking a reflection as soon as you pass the tree with a split branches. He's literally your reflected mirror image.

The fact we were robbed of seeing just how personal and frightening and introspective that could have been is just mnghghghg.

Wasted potential is the phrase that comes to mind with that adaptation of Dark Link.

There's another level of him being in the water temple because water shows your reflection. (Also...Deadhand's creepy ass getting completely cut from that manga...WHY. We could have had it all. 😭)

And it makes me so sad because Shadow is such a GOOD adaptation of an evil Link from the same artists. 😭 Giving Shadow SO MUCH that wasn't there in the og game.

Like...agh.

Dark in Twilight princess is a huge upgrade and was a huge inspiration to FSR Dark Link's character of reflection (Seriously read his scenes in TP, you will see FSR Dark Link's inspiration X'DDD)

Anyway...

I really like Legend of Zelda... And I've always loved Dark Link as a character if you couldn't tell from me utilizing him a LOT in FSR given the chance.

Anyway smth stupid about this page: hur de duur Dark is looking up Blue's skirt.

I remember just layering and layering effects onto this page. The fog and Dark's rippling visage in the water are some of my favorites.

Blue's in his cozy lil headspace.

Far away from people trying to keep him in what is to him: A torturous experience.

Blue made it VERY CLEAR he hates being Link and it's stressful and suffocating for him.

Just the thought of being Link again is deeply anxiety inducing for him. So he's retreated into a place of complete isolation.

He just wants to be alone right now.

Dark's boss room felt like a nice way to show that. ^w^

Blue in a lot of ways feels utterly LIED TO.

Splitting up with the sword was a promise they were going to be OKAY and safe. Because being Link is a DEATH SENTANCE to him.

So the prospect of going back is terrifying.

Peek a boo. Hi Dark Link. XD

That creepy ass grin as he slinks out of the water is very Ben drowned inspired haha.

There's a few pieces of Ben Drowned Fan art I've seen over the years that I thought of when drawing this one.

Like, the idea he's been walking underwater for WHO KNOWS HOW LONG just to follow Blue is very creepy.

Like, he doesn't seem the need to breathe. (He doesn't)

The lonely dirt or sand hilltop was an oasis from people but Dark pursued anyway. Dark got to him across this vacuous empty space of nothing but water.

Dark takes a moment to just stare at Blue and the situation.

And approaches slowly and carefully at first, before declaring himself and his intentions.

He gets a certain type of way when he gets no response.

Blue continues not to notice him. Green had a better handle on his own head and managed to decipher someone was up to something pretty quickly but Blue is shuts him out entirely.

He gets upset enough to clench his fist in anger but doesn't swing or do anything particularly violent yet. He just gives up and sits alongside Blue muttering he didn't really EXPECT Blue to respond but just wanted him too.

Dark Link is very used to disappointment at this point in the story. He's also the kind of person to only give as much effort as required of him.

Lifting his head back up he's in a blizzard...HUH.

He comes across a door and...just breaks the lock.

"That's not how the game is played-"

Instead of trying to get a key he just breaks it. X'D

Dark really doesn't play around.

Looking around, he gets attacked by...a blonde Blue-

Apparently this phantom is a "Faker" and "not the real blue" according to Dark.

...Care to elaborate on what that thing IS Dark- Nope okay...

If you want my stupid thoughts: It's a representation of Blue pushing people away and wanting privacy rn.

Since literally locking himself up didn't work he's lashing out.

When defeated this thing just turns into a puff of smoke that's the same shades as Dark's hair when he mimics Blue.

Dark Link doing his usual thing, which is tearing people down.

I refer to this as "The bisexual lighting Dark Link panel" because that's what it ended up being and it's hilarious.

Dark Link is the bisexual representation yall deserve-

...I'll let myself out-

Okay though seriously I do love this panel because it's so over dramatic.

Dark Link's crazy faces are fun as hell and he has a way with being a perfect muse. 🖤

The blue bleeding into red with Dark's mania and typical color scheme taking over the cold freezing blue with red hot anger and annoyance on Dark's end.

This is also a detail so small I don't think anyone would care or notice otherwise: Dark Link is drawn with Blue's nose. X'D

Him mimicking people's facial features doesn't pop up too often but originally I did want him to do it more often.

Dark has to drag himself out of his literal purpose and uhh, safe to say he's getting pissed off.

When Dark Link gets particularly angry across the "Darkblue" interaction he copes by clenching his fist in anger to try and dispel it. This dude would love stress balls X'D

Trying to keep a cheery attitude about something he WAS excited about, while faced with a task that's just infuriating him is getting to him.

he's not gloomy for long because he finds Blue hiding from him in a giant ice hide away.

Stupid art detail: I just like when Dark has gloves that are tinted red. It's cute.

Dark acknowledges he could brute force his way into the ice block if he wanted too but is just too lazy. XD

Dark just spilling his own opinions everywhere when given a captive audience.

he's just a lil guy with his heart on his sleeve, just wants to share his opinions on stuff like what color is he prefers and trying to relate to the other party.

He liked the blue fire he saw in SOMEONE's memories (Haha BOTW reference hello)

Blue's preference for green also being a reference to him trying to steal Green's clothing in the original FS. Though...there's also the question to be had if the colors would actually HAVE different likes and dislikes when it comes to things such as favorite colors or food...? Personality wise they're very different but would that change something like that?

Anyway, Blue finally starts to realize SOMEONE is talking to him.

LOL So this is the first time Dark Link's gender has been called into question by someone.

...Funny thing about that: Dark Link doesn't really understand gender. X'D

I head cannon him with an...interesting voice. Most of the time I see him sounding like Blue diamond from Steven universe.

When he's screaming though, Invader Zim. X'D (Think Zim screaming "YOU'RE LYING!!!!" and you got what I think he sounds like when he screams)

Sometimes when he's broody Legoshi from Beastars.

Basically: if someone voiced him, they'd either have to have insane range or he'd have to be voiced by multiple people.

Anyway back to Dark's gender.

he mimics people.

He's only been around MEN outside of Zelda (And her gender is less than straight in FSR lmfao, think back to when Link referred to her with they/them)

So...He's only mimicking men for the most part.

Link didn't have a maternal figure in his life, so Dark's understanding of women is super limited.

He also just uses his own name as a pronoun.

Dark Link's third person speak is very particularly written...I'm very particular about it.

Example of how I'd write a sentence and what I'd avoid if it makes sense:

Correct O "Dark Link would NEVER do that!? Do you think I'm stupid!?"

Incorrect X "Dark Link would NEVER do that!? Do you think he's stupid!?"

...I hate the idea Dark would refer to himself in complete third person. It would sound childish vs him just using his own name as a pronoun like "I/me/Myself"

Cause...if you've noticed only OTHER characters refer to Dark link with gendered pronouns. Dark Link only refers to himself as "I/Me/Dark Link"

Usually Dark Link refers to himself when he's distancing himself from his actions or just when I think it'd be funny/fitting.

So yeah, the curse doesn't really have a gender and everyone so far has just assumed he's a dude. XD Dark Link himself doesn't correct anyone because...why would he?

I don't think Dark would understand that he/she/they aren't universal pronouns for every person. XD

If you're wondering for future/current readers: This is also why he doesn't care Vio calls him an "it" or a "Thing".

Those are just descriptors of what he is.

he knows everyone calls Zelda a "She" and has called Zelda as such but I doubt he'd know why or when to use it otherwise. he'd just follow everyone else's lead.

ANYWAY.

YEAH DARK LINK FUCKS WITH GENDER.

So like...I've mentioned it before SOMEWHERE but in FS they just...straight up have telepathy??? Like Vio uses it to get Blue and Red to come to the Shadow temple AND Green (Imo) is woken up by Vio calling out to him when he wakes up from the massage.

So like...it's just cannon they can use telepathy with each other so here's blue referencing he'd know what the others sound like X'D

Cause of his curiosity the ice melts because...well he wants to know who's talking to him.

Dark's really happy about being let in. Announcing "Found you!" like he won a game of hide and seek.

Blue continues to push the fact he wants to be alone right now but Dark's too busy being weird.

Dark...buddy...Don't touch people's face like that.

Just seeing if Blue's lips are kissable I guess. XDDD

Blue's not fully in the headspace mindset yet so he's having a hard time visualizing Dark Link atm.

But he KNOWS that voice.

So Dark tries to appeal to Blue's emotions to get him to go back home...instead of just tearing him down.

Nice use of your powers buddy.

We get a nice POV shot of the blurred mess Blue sees of Dark's silhouette.

Dark's words in the first panel really do seem like sympathy...but it's hard to tell with him.

Blue gets frustrated enough he drags himself into the headspace to confront this mystery guy.

OOp-

We're back in the boss room.

You know what that means.

Blue fully recognizing and talking to Dark surprises Dark since he was SHOCKED Green fully noticed him.

Though this time...he seems...not happy.

Ngl, Dark's pissed off face sends me.

He's SO PISSED that Blue's pulling this crap on him.

I think Blue's phrasing specifically is what did it for Dark to snap.

"WHEN ARE WE GOING TO GET A DAMN BREAK!?" - Blue shouted...at the disgruntled worker who can't take a break.

Dark even points out as much he could echo the sentiment.

Dark's just full of anger at this point at how this "Mission" has gone and has divulged into childish as hell insults.

Dark saying Blue's face is "hideous" and Blue immediately making an unattractive face is one of those things I just find so stupidly funny. (Dark ALSO making an unattractive face while saying it lmfao)

Just hits the funny bone just right. It's so stupid.

Dark Link proceeds to throw a piss baby tantrum.

ya know what pal, if I had to deal with BLUE I'd be at my limit too. XDDD

He's really just reflecting and taking out the rage that's been building and only getting worse since he's around Blue.

...Okay so I don't repeat myself, this entire fight is hilarious to me.

The eyebrow comment is so stupidly childish and it's funny DARK is the first one to point out Blue's MASSIVE EYEBROWS.

Dark is pissed off enough to actually fight somewhat competently to knock Blue onto his ass.

Dark's main method of attack is disarming his enemy. He knocked Shadow on his ass too and kept Vaati pinned when they fought after cutting his tentacles.

Dark's just loves breaking down your defences. ;)

HAND TRAUMA WARNING!!!

Blue accurately accesses Dark is shorter than him. (Blue's the tallest of the four colors in FSR.)

Even touching a sore spot with Dark being compared to Shadow Link.

Dark doesn't take that comparison well at ALL causing him to cut his own hand off just to win the fight.

And since the readers got hindsight: Dark Link's steaks in this fight are WAAAAY bigger than Blue's.

Dark gets chronic pain after he gets hurt by the Four Sword. (Granted timeline wise it's still the same day comic wise. 💀) Him holding the blade of his sword to avoid Blue getting him in the face and cutting his own hand off to avoid it was in a lot of ways the ONLY way out of that...Well if he was human.

I think there's a lot to be said about Dark literally harming himself to win this fight

He doesn't value himself much.

And that's a perpetual theme with him.

Dark just doesn't care about his own safety much.

Again, Dark already cut off his own hand and then GRABES THE BLADE OUCH DUDE.

These panels are pretty quick paced but dude's eyes have been the "Rage" eyes for awhile.

I usually draw Dark with these eyes when he's at his peak anger or manic.

Dark's cute lil horns popped out and his hat has a lil tail to it's end looking a LOT like vaati's.

MMMMM

Blue is SHOCKCED this guy would do something so drastic just to win.

Like reguardless of it growing back, I think most of us would have hesitation to CUTTING OFF YOUR OWN HAND.

Originally: Dark was meant to cut off his fingers, but ahh. Changed it because someone I know doesn't like finger/hand trauma. (There's a reason why there's a "mildly censored" of these pages.

Also the blood: Dark's blood dripping into Blue's eye literally clouding his vision and representing him being blinded by red/rage. XD

Hehe literal stuff.

It's also the eye that ends up glitching into Link's eye so...Hmmm wonder if there's a connection there.

Reasonable question from Blue. His shaky word bubble shows he's kinda afraid of that outcome.

Dark's downright offended by the suggestion though before laughing in Blue's face.

The "Are you stupid?" face is so silly. I'm sure a lot of you can tell it's inspired by the Excalibur face. XD

You can't "The writer's barely disguised fetish" me here, I added Dark pulling Blue's hair for someone else XDDD

FSR is nothing if not horny as hell.

The mention of Green snaps Blue out of having his hair yanked by this weirdo.

Stupid cut content rant:

Originally Dark Link was going to meet ALL the Links spare Green and Shadow all together (Vio/Blue/Red) and his rabbit dog line was actually in reference to Blue being PISSED about Dark.

La de daaa rewrites and ba boom they met here and Darkblue happened so.

Eh if you were interested. A lot of ideas end up being reused.

The idea of Dark reflecting Blue's toxic and overwhelming anger was used to a much better affect here than in the og brainstorming I think.

If you want another freaky cut detail:

Back when Dark had a bigger antagonist role. He went WAAAY deeper into his mental torture on Blue.

(Ya know. usual villain things like cosplaying vio's corpse)

Dark was less of a character in the older drafts and more of a HORROR creepy pasta character haha. more of what we saw Vio going through less of a hopeless romantic. XD

But the fact they had a boss fight has been around in the drafts since Dark's inception pretty much. Though the OG Darkblue fight had WAY more steaks and was towards the end of the og script draft of FSR.

Art wise I'm not completely happy with this page. Dark...buddy where's your eye shines. And MAN I wish I made the water more than JUST a gradient but ahh what can ya do. I release these daily sometimes with 6 page updates.

Can't always be bangers.

Dark expresses his "This is why you don't meet your heroes" rant because he's having an autistic meltdown shit didn't go the way he wanted. (Ya know what. Same sometimes pal)

Just throwing Blue back his sword in anger, to which Blue reaches for.

Dark is reasonably tired of this and expresses how HE feels about his situation.

This is more fucked up when you consider the four sword leaves Dark with serious pain.

Dude just offered to become Blue's punching bag "if it'll make him happy".

Dark's self worth is in the toilet and it's even worse because some part of him MUST think Blue might take him up on that offer.

Whatever fulfils his promise to Green.

Having this slung at his face Blue doesn't exactly take it well.

I've touched on it before but I really do feel like blue didn't ACTUALLY get much growth in his anger department. his anger just stopped being used as a punchline when he physically hurt the other 3.

Like...that's not character growth???

I really feel like we could have used a scene where characters REALLY touched on "hey, when you hurt people that isn't fucking cool" To blue but idk.

Like we got a very watered down idea of that where the fairy tells blue to stop being so mean but it's so soft and underplayed idk.

I really wanna touch on how I'd rewrite Blue's arc whenever I make a video dissecting the FS manga because I feel like blue has a LOT of potential to show someone coping with anger issues better.

Dark calling him out here forces him to recognize the gravity of his abuse towards the others.

And it'll be touched on again when Blue talks about how Vaati treats Dark Link, and how that pisses him off.

I just personally like how in realizing how his actions come off and how they hurt others (Specifically Dark Link here) Blue chooses to try and be better going forward.

Blue's defences kick in at first when Dark sugjests he take his anger out on him, and it's "Just something he needs to get used to" because he's bitter over what Vaati's been putting him through, what Shadow put him through even and the fight Blue and him JUST HAD.

Almost ALL of Dark's interactions, aside from Green's have been physical violence and that finally caught up with him and by proxy got him angry enough to confront blue on his behavior.

It's enough to make Blue think for a second like "No I'm not like that" so he immediately jumps to "Why would you say that!?".

Then to blaming Dark Link as he tries to rationalize before defaulting to wreck less anger just shouting for Dark Link to die as his terror at his own actions consume him.

The paneling reflecting how the darkness and his horror spread further and further.

We reached the 30 page limit sooooo we'll hop into this again soon. XD

#fsr rambles

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