shearlin - Tumblr blog

[shearlin]

Lost (as in the nickname for my one Link) content, here we gooooo (even though he's not physically here). Vaati is a placeholder name since [evil purple guy] was getting really old.

...

The low chatter of her council members barely reached Zelda’s ears, the only thing stopping her from standing up and bolting out of the room being Impa’s steady presence at her side. She knew they needed to have this meeting, but the thought of discussing what to do about the... threat, threatened to make her ill.

“Silence please,” Impa said, giving her cane a rap on the floor. “We have business to attend to. I’m sure you all know why we’re here.”

Zelda took a slow breath in, steeling herself for the words about to come out of Impa’s mouth.

“The Hero has been corrupted.”

The room went into an uproar but Zelda barely heard it, biting her lip so hard it nearly drew blood. Link, her best knight, her best friend, and really only friend aside from Impa, had been twisted into little more than a puppet for the forces of darkness to use as they pleased.

She felt distantly like she was going to throw up.

“—doesn’t even have the blade! Are we certain the boy is the Hero?” one of her councilors boomed, “for all we know Vaati merely created a lookalike of our best knight to frighten us! Are we even certain the boy is still ali—“

“That’s quite enough,” Impa said sternly, then placed a gentle hand on Zelda’s shoulder. “We have firsthand reports of what happened, Sir Link is who has been corrupted.”

“But how do we even know if he is the Hero?” one of the women shouted, and Impa sighed.

“He would not have been corrupted if he were not,” she said gravely. “Sir Rowan’s account stated that Link was the only one who was explicitly targeted. Somehow Vaati knew of Link’s potential to pull the blade, and exploited it. We cannot count on the Hero to save us now.”

The room went suddenly quiet, the emotion of the room turned abruptly from uproar to fear. The council’s gazes turned to their princess, looking for direction on what to do, and Zelda didn’t know what to tell them.

Impa gave Zelda’s shoulder a comforting squeeze, and the princess swallowed down her emotions in order to speak.

“We will need to enact a plan to deal with this threat,” she said steadily, slowly breathing out. “We will strengthen our defenses, and alert our allies to the possible danger. There have been reports of increased monster activity, doubtless Vaati’s doing, so we will deal with them accordingly.”

“And what of the Hero?” one of her councilmen asked.

Zelda swallowed.

“We will send out a description of him, and a warning about what has happened,” she said calmly. “But if... if he’s found, we must aim for capture, not... nothing else, as of now. We don’t know exactly what the enemy has done to him, but perhaps... perhaps we can still save him.”

Her voice wavered minutely on the last sentence, and Impa shortlydismissed the meeting, ushering Zelda back to her rooms. The walk there was a blur, and soon enough she found herself standing by her desk, staring blankly out the window.

The bright rays of sunset shining on her face seemed unfair.

“Your highness?” Impa asked after a minute, and Zelda closed her eyes.

“It was my idea to send the knights to the woods,” she whispered. Impa didn't reply, and Zelda wrapped her arms around herself. “I thought my dream was pointing us there. That by acting first it would protect against the darkness. But all it did was lose us our best knights, take away our strongest rsources. And...”

Zelda’s voice cracked, and a tear fell down her cheek without her permission.

“We’ve lost Link,” she choked out. “I sent him there Impa, he trusted me, and I sent him to his destruction, he’s... I don’t even know if there’s a way to get him back.”

“Your highness, you cannot blame yourself,” Impa said in a voice equally gentle and firm. “This was out of your control.“

“But it if I hadn’t sent him he would still be here,” Zelda said, another tear falling down her cheek. “What if he can’t be saved, Impa? What kind of ruler am I to doom my kingdom to darkness, and send my best friend to his death?"

The last word was punctuated by a sob, and Impa was silent a moment, tapping a quiet finger along her cane.

“Zelda,” she said finally, and the princess sniffled, looking at her through her tears. “I believe there is a way we may yet be able to stop this darkness. As well as purify Link.”

Hope faintly flickered in Zelda’s heart. “Truly?”

“Indeed. If I'm recalling the old legends correctly... well. We shall see,” she said thoughtfully, then turned to Zelda with a gentle look. “Come Princess, dry your tears. Link may yet be saved. But you must see clearly to do so.”

Zelda wiped her eyes, and Impa drew her into a short embrace, silence falling between them as Zelda calmed herself. Impa was right, she needed to calm down and think clearly.

Link needed her, and she couldn't help him if she was busy crying over him.

Zelda sighed, and Impa patted her cheek as she drew back. “Now. I need to gather some things so we can properly decide our course," she said, and gave Zelda a sad smile. "...Try and get some rest in the meantime, princess. It's been a long day for us all."

Zelda nodded, and Impa gave her a long look before finally stepping back, and leaving her quarters.

Zelda breathed out as the door closed behind her, and she looked around her room, before stepping out onto her balcony. A cool breeze greeted her, sending strands of blonde hair into her face, and Zelda looked up at the sky, her chest tightening as she remembered how Link had knelt here only days before, promising her he'd be careful.

The wind blew again, and Zelda's damp cheeks felt cold.

Link... stay strong, she quietly prayed, watching as the last of the sunlight disappeared from the sky. Hold on for me.

Hold on for us all.

[shearlin]

It’s official! Gee, I wonder who made this certificate of adoption?

(I made this before I left, by the way!)

[shearlin]

Let me preface this drawing by saying I'm an absolute dungus who didn't read right so I'm late--

Anyways here's my drawing for day 1 of ravioliweek by @breannasfluff !

For this first day, I wanted to redraw one of the little picture in the second illustration illustration of Lege I did a few weeks back with the two sillies ! They just inaugurated the shop for the wider public, they are so happy not for long

[shearlin]

It's you ! :)

Despite everything it's still you.

Despite everything....

it's still you...

My attempt at the Undertale template with my dear Legend ! Took the highway and decided to destroy him. It was based on a talk about how Lege and the Chain meeting his younger self would go I had with @lennsart ! All of that based on a fic idea they had and from there it went downhill for Lege.

Illustrations without the text box under the cut

[shearlin]

HC that a winter passes after Cia's fall and before Ganondorfs attack and they needed winter clothes. and i wanted to draw it. Volga doesnt get cold easily.

[shearlin]

A little something I did over on twitter :)

[shearlin]

And here are Dire and Madness, dark Twilight and dark Four!

Rambling and more art beneath the cut as has been standard :) only two more left to do and guys I love them

Masterpost

Dire

Dire is dark Twilight. 

He and Twilight share one major trait: they are protectors. Not even a process that bastardized Sky’s kindness could take that away. By no means is Dire nice, however. He is a Twilight that has lost all control and doesn't care to regain it, because that would mean facing all he's done. Some part of Dire is aware and suffering, but he purposely buries that part.  

But on the surface that he presents and identifies with, Dire lashes out at everything that causes him pain—which is a lot of things. Dire is no different from the other Darks, in that he can't stand the light and gets annoyed quickly. He doesn't often speak, and nobody is really sure how much he really understands of what's around him. He acts more like an animal than a human in a lot of ways, and is often a little more cruel than he has to be. He's unnaturally strong and quick, and his weapons of choice are his nails and teeth. He indulges his brutal urges because the alternative is thinking.

For plans that require destruction and fighting, the Darks let Dire run out first. He could probably fight an army on his own, provided that he has plenty of darkness and an enemy without too much strategy. He's powerful and extremely dangerous. Due to that, the Darks don't let him run free. They use the shackles around his wrists and neck to keep him nearby and out of maiming range. When they do let him out though (to hunt or fight or exercise or whatever), he always comes back…

Because Dire is a protector. He leans more offensive than Twilight, but Dire too knows friend from foe. He doesn't always care, but Dire has sorted the other Darks as “friend” in his head, and he won't let anything hurt them except for themselves, if he can. He's particularly fond of Madness and Nothing, and has been known to grab them and not let them go, even when they start biting. 

Dire’s design pulls a lot from the fever dream in Twilight Princess: gray skin, blank eyes. He has longer, more matted hair than Twilight. His claws are wicked sharp, and he wears tattered clothes without shoes. His wolf pelt is the softest thing about him, and it really should be washed. His markings are a bit more dramatic than Twilight’s, extending down his cheeks and arms and legs. 

Despite the markings, Dire does not have an alternate form like Twilight. Well, he might, but he was never cursed the same way, and this technically is his dark world form. Some combination of magic might give him the ability to shapeshift, but he doesn't need it. He's bestial as it is. 

Madness

Madness is dark Four! There is one big question here: is Madness the same person as Shadow from the manga?

Yes and no! Madness and Shadow do not exist at the same time as separate individuals. They were both made from Four’s darkness, but for different purposes. Shadow really did die when he smashed the mirror, and this isn't exactly a second chance… but it might be. Think of it like this: that body is a computer. Shadow was an operating system there, logging away memories and performing programs. Madness is on the same computer, but is a different operating system (a weaker one, really). However, those memories and personality from Shadow still exist, buried and only subconsciously influencing Madness’s behavior. They act eerily alike sometimes, not that anyone but Four would notice. Perhaps someday, Shadow’s OS will break through and become dominant, but even if he did, he wouldn't be the same. Madness would still be there. 

“Still rivers run deep”—to me, this is very much Four. One body, four colors; a deep knowledge of his chosen trade; a rather serious demeanor with a lot of variety and thoughts; plans and ideas backed up with a combination of emotion and logic. He's balanced. In contrast, Madness is a “fast river running shallowly,” an unbalanced amalgamation of too much, all at once, a broad variety with little substance. 

Madness is a little… unhinged. He's clearly smart, but he speaks in roundabout ways, making connections that don't exist or are too convoluted for anyone to follow. He stares into the distance a lot, and can be quite unnerving if you try to notice how often he blinks (rarely). Nobody can really decide how much of his behavior is on purpose or just how he is. When let loose, Madness shows unparalleled capacity for complex plans, but he doesn't always know how to hold back and often goes overboard. He'll beat that dead horse, and bomb those charred ruins, and smash that fallen vase… You get the picture. 

A lot of these Darks have an odd magical power, and Madness’s is one of the more prominent ones. With a touch, he can attempt to bury a bit of his power in the mind of a sentient being (human, Rito, Zora, Minish, etc) and turn them into a thrall. While a being is a thrall, their eyes turn red and their consciousness goes to sleep. Madness can give them mental commands, and they technically work under his processing power and not their own, so no matter how vague the commands are, they do what he means them to do. Madness can also jump into thralls’ heads to pilot them specifically, seeing from their eyes and speaking from their mouth. He doesn't magically know everything about the thrall, though, so he still has to try to impersonate, and that doesn't usually work well. While he pilots, Madness is still technically in his body, so he will say out loud anything he's commanding the thrall to say, which limits his opportunities to trick the others. 

Without commands, the thralls sit in still silence, which means that over extended periods of time, Madness does have to worry about food and rest for them. The more thralls he has, the less effective he is, because his focus is split, even if he isn't directly piloting more than one person at a time. If he lets someone go even for a moment, the connection is severed entirely. He absolutely refuses to use any thralls in a combat scenario, because he feels their pain, even though it's fainter when he isn’t directly piloting. He uses thralls instead to gather information, start rumors, purchase/steal supplies, and often just cause chaos. 

Madness is actually rather genre-aware. He knows that their schemes are destined to ultimately fail, because the Darks are the “bad guys” and they will lose. As such, he's hedging his bets and logging away information for an inevitable betrayal to the Lights. He does not intend to be on the losing side when it gets down to it. He has half-baked plans to snatch a few of the other Darks and take them with him, too. Madness absolutely does not take any sort of leadership role, which means that he doesn't feel any responsibility to rein in Nothing, making him Nothing’s favorite. Madness also spends time hanging out with Dire, who he thinks understands more than he lets on. Those two would be his first choices, and he thinks Nothing might know that. (This is not at all related to the fact that Shadow’s memories of betrayal are both sweet and bitter.) 

Madness does not get along well with Agony—Madness prefers chaos and mind games over Agony’s stab-first approach. He purposely annoys everyone else. Along with Depth and Shackle, Madness is one of the few Darks who can pass as human, so he's been on a few excursions into towns or groups, and he likes emphasizing his unnerving traits. He'll use a sword if he has to, but prefers bombs and words. He doesn't have any powers from Shadow (shapeshifting, stretchiness, whatever else), but he is very sensitive to light, like most of the Darks. 

Madness casts a wide net, putting on an air of randomness with a sprinkle of insanity for flavor. He connects more dots than he appears to, though, and has a few unexpected urges toward the light. Make no mistake, though, he is a Dark, and he has no intention of doing good just to do good. His ultimate goal is to survive the Dark Chain’s fall, and beyond that… traveling? Therapy? Living at home with people he doesn't hate? (Why does he feel an emotional connection to his Light? Why does he want to protect him? Why does he want to exercise his freedom? Why does it feel like he's running out of time until—)

[shearlin]

Wanted to practice some dynamic poses. Originally intended only to be sketchy, but it got out of hand and here these are

[shearlin]

As someone who actually remembers where ash is... How will he react once he comes home from Galar and finds everyone injured/half dead

[shearlin]

I caved and ended up drawing some designs for a links meet au I've been working on, so here are: Mask, Ravio (+ bunny Oracle), Sol (from Soldier) and Tune!

Ravio may not look as goofy but that's because of culture shock between Hyrule and Lorule. Poor guy does not realize this at first

Not that Mask helps much, but there's that

Part 2 with the rest of the designs -> soon

[shearlin]

I call them the postal pals or something

[shearlin]

Wanted to experiment a bit with my artstyle. Techno and the voices be upon ye.

[shearlin]

[shearlin]

[shearlin]

They have a situation…

I barely draw them so I decided to finally give them the attention they deserve. Expect they have a little problem. Good luck with that!

[shearlin]

This was SUPPOSED to be a quick doodle of what the usual trio of heroes we're used to seeing in the war of eras is up to during the Identity Fraud AU...oops, have a whole comic! Lol

[shearlin]

Maybe (if you want to) you could do legend just hanging out, or getting thrown by monsters, ANYWAY! Love your art and one of these days I'm going to explode from the shear amount of serotonin it gives my silly little brain.

decided to give poor Legend a break and do a part 2 to this one X and have him just hanging out, drinking that red potion Warriors was shoving in his face XD

thank you for your request @bleper!💙 you have a fantastic dayyy! (sorry I couldn't do the other idea, my art was not arting T3T)

CW! blood, but not much, it's more like old dried blood