#need to do this with link and Zelda

[pawthko]

[cryiling]

i need his gender so bad you don't understand

[wardingshout]

late summer times

[brainlessbaguette]

This is slowly going from a low quality, low effort, ha ha funny au to something I am genuinely invested in.

No brain worm, we weren't supposed to get this into it. But like all of those thoughts of "we could totally set that dry grass on fire" "what if we put an octo balloon on an explosive barrel" legit work as something a skull kid would suggest, and we had A LOT of those thoughts playing botw.

Honestly, scrolling through old art and seeing how much I've missed skull kids and how I still haven't coped with disliking totk, in hindsight this was bound to happen. Grandma Midna wasn't on the bingo card tho.

[gatoiberico]

the depths

print

[narsh-poptarts]

my dark link thoughts coalesced into wonderful headcanons and crazy amounts of forced perspectives and dutch angles

also sorry HW i would have included your dark link(s) but i do not have passion for your game <3 maybe next time

Some thoughts below

I have thoughts about dark link that boil down to basically two things: 1. it's always the same dark link, and 2. dark link has a very difficult time changing.

No matter how many times dark link is brought into existence, he is formed from the shadow of link usually to test link's will. that shadow can be duplicated (as seen in HW) but generally speaking it's the same guy, sharing the thought space, you know how it is. In terms of sentience/thinking for himself, I don't think there's all that much of it. He is a dark reflection/shadow of link, so shares his abilities and thought patterns (for combat) with added aggression and. evil. i guess.

As said by navi, "conquer yourself", and all that. He's a challenge to the inner will power.

That being said!!! he can have a little bit of individuality, as a treat. Just in the form of being mean and sadistic <3 he's got thoughts, he's not just a combat doll (tho in times of low power, or a greater power having the reins, he reverts to that), so he can be frustrated, vindicated, happy, etc etc. though when your thoughts are mainly "evilevilevilevilevil" your idea of these emotions are a bit skewed.

When he's summoned for each different link, i hc that it's all the same magic, so the same dark link every time. he "remembers" in an abstract sense of his role in the same way a link or zelda "remembers" their own reincarnation. tho his is less of a reincarnation and more being used over and over again. a persistence.

The iteration that's summoned reflects the current link at the time, the part of link that needs testing/defeating, so it's not an existence that he himself can change to match the present. he's locked to that first copy/shadow only. So if he were to have a second encounter with an older link, he'd look like the first time they fought, unless he was specifically re-summoned. i hc he's got limited magic, so this is not something he can do himself.

in a links-meet scenario, his form would be limited to those specific forms of the links, and it would always be the points in time in which he first encountered them, unless there's other magic either he or someone else has access to to allow him to change forms to match.

now you might be saying at this point "wouldn't he be a weaker match if he was put up against an older link?" yeah probably lol. but also!!! i like the idea that with the limited magic he has, he's able to change juuuust enough to stay relatively evenly matched. being able to play to different strengths and all that. but the base stuff is still the same, so he is decently easy enough to read if link remembers the kind of stuff he was pulling back when he originally fought dark link.

dark link also knows about all this so while limited to the particular skillset, is able to adapt slightly.

but yeah been thinking a lot about a links-meet au where dark link is there choosing a different link to be every time he appears to the party.

though there are a couple links that he never impersonates in their games!!! so can't change into those guys unless he gets a new round of copycat magic.

Anyways goodbye guy standing there with standard camera angle, i have dutch angles and forced perspective

[funsizedcrow]

Link is Hylia's specialist little boy (this is not a good thing for him)

(stills under the cut)

[phoenixcatch7]

Okay but it's super interesting how

Din = Power = Ganondorf

Naryu = Wisdom = Zelda

Farore = Courage = Link.

Because Din, in the hylian creation myth, created the physical world. Naryu then created the laws - gravity, time, etc. And Farore finally created life - plants and people.

Din created the body, naryu the mind, Farore the soul.

And the triforce and its wielders so perfectly reflect that.

Ganon is physical power, he is big and intimidating and he breaks things. He is cunning and determined, but that's not what he focuses on. He is might makes right.

Zelda is wisdom and cleverness. She is stall tactics and information and team work. She is a powerful mage with a spine of steel, but that's not how she'll win. She is the pen being mightier than the sword.

Link is courage and persistence. He is the wild card sneaking behind enemy ranks, always moving, plunging into terrifying situations head first. He's a phenomenal fighter with a keen wit, but that's not what will get him through his challenges. He is bravery not being the absence of fear but the triumph over it.

They sit in perfect parallels to each other.

And ganon is reborn through his body - his resurrection is immortality. No matter how low he is cast, as long as he has a body he can claw his way back. He can cling to his power, build it ever higher.

Zelda is reborn through the magic of her bloodline. It's the accumulated knowledge handed down for generations, the unique power she must master, the skills she must develop to survive and get her kingdom out the other side intact. Even her name, the knowledge of herself, is handed down from all the way from the very first. Her ancestors knowledge of her future presence, her stability, is what gives her the edge.

Link is reborn in spirit. He is not bound by flesh or blood. Just like his wanderlust soul he can reappear in any time or place. His variation, his unpredictability, is exactly how he fights. It's what makes him so hard to pin down.

Ganons need to build strength means he can't chase after link. Links impulsiveness means zelda can outwit him. Zeldas stationary predictability means she's an easy target for ganon.

But the other direction?

Fire melts ice, ice redirects lightning, lightning burns fire.

And that's the very essence of the triforce.

[islandlobster]

GDHSJDHJS i heard you were asking for some loz requests so i come baring a wind waker request!!! it seems like such a silly game i would love to see more stuff for it!

weird post-ww au where ganondorf is just put on house arrest instead. he has the two smallest guards enforcing it

[luchaaa]

the rito are.... surprisingly light

[churomo]

courage

[daeyumi]

misc. design scribbles for cycle of the stars (plus one extra link design from a possible one shot au i may do later down the line)

i will clean these up later but wanted to shove what i have here for now

[alch-emi]

I got inspired to design my own version of Link and Zelda and may have gotten a little bit attached woops.

EXTRA DETAILS BELOW IF UR INTERESTED:

For the timeline, these two are placed after Twilight Princess. TP!Zelda is this Zelda’s great grandmother.

Link works for her parent’s potion shop, she delivers their potions to people and general stores all across Hyrule. I imagine in a game setting you would deliver potions as part of side quests and use the shop’s alchemy station as a cooking mechanic.

The goggles that Link wears are magic goggles gifted to her by Impa. I can see it functioning as a “Lens of Truth” type item that allows her to see through illusions (which becomes very relevant).

Unlike her other counterparts, this Zelda is HATED by her people. They don’t like the way she disregards people’s feelings in favor of finding the most logical way to solve civil conflicts. Awful rumors are often spread about her. She doesn’t notice this.

Zelda was given combat training by Impa mostly bc of Hyrule’s history of being taken over by evil. She wanted to be able to defend herself and her people should something like that happen during her time. She also just respects Impa a lot as a mentor figure.

Link had a major crush on Zelda when they were kids. Now that they’re no longer close she thinks she got over it, but girl is in denial big time. If the subject is brought up, she gets rly pathetic and tsundere abt it.

Zelda sees Link as weak and a bit of a thorn in her side. She hates how stubborn and reckless she is. Part of her wishes Link would give up and tells her to “stop pretending you’re a hero” bc internally, she thinks Link will get herself killed and doesn’t want that.

They basically have that dynamic where they are rly brutal towards each other and have a lot of unprocessed feelings, but also ultimately know everything abt each other and will sacrifice themselves for the other no questions asked.

To elaborate on the plot stuff, basically Zelda gets trapped in a mirror which was actually a gateway to a “mirror world.” Its basically Hyrule but everything looks reversed and it kinda looks like a dark fucked up version of the SS Silent Realms.

When Zelda and Link both look into a reflective surface at the same time, they can see and talk to each other. This happens the first time on complete accident btw.

Perchance these two learn that they have to work together to get Zelda back to Hyrule and in the process confront all their weird hangups abt each other and their awkward situationship. Who knows.

[whys-nosense]

pre final battle break

[localicecreambiter]

look at that! he can count to five

[valgeristik]

Ничего не останется от нас, Нам останемся, в лучшем случае, мы

hi. hello. listen to this song

i have so many thoughts about these two. oh my god. maybe i will write it out some day, but for now drawing it out will do

translation will be under the cut! knowing the words does add to the work so i do recommend reading it. or just enjoy the art <3

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heres the translation, color coded according to how i broke it up for the art. just in casies

first page:

Love is scarier than war

Love strikes more true than steel

second page:

More true, because of your own volition

third page:

You run towards all the winds

Let there be pain and eternal battle

Not atmospheric, not earthly

fourth page:

But definitely with you

caption:

There will be nothing left of us,

we will be left with, in the best case, ourselves