Four Swords Manga - Tumblr Posts
funnily enough i had no plans to draw fs during linktober it just happened inevitably
not even that long i got it today
shadow my beloved is a gem for this gem
four sword manga appreciation post
aka photos i sent my friends
color code:
pink: vio
orange: red
blue: blue
green: green
yellow: shadow
pink/yellow: shadow and vio being dumb idiots in love
haven't posted any drawings in a while, so have some Red doodles
This is literally just how people draw the colors
just a silly little post because I giggled at the idea that the colours are the same amount of stupid but Vio spends the whole time Ghirahim posing dramatically in the background. He thinks that makes him look cool. He is wrong.
They’re just goofy like that
whenever I see four swords headcanons, they always make green cishet, which yea unproblematic king but you CANNOT tell me that little guy is not a Tboy bisexual
i think i like the four swords manga so much bc there is some just. very up my alley character and ship archetypes in there, but also the message itself and emotional beats hit surprisingly hard?
(long analysis below)
i like the idea of this character who is so ATTACHED to the idea of being an outsider and harming others, because he believes that he will never belong in the light with them. over the course of the manga, shadow link develops genuine fondness for vio, shows vulnerability through that fondness, and gets betrayed. no matter how real the feelings were between them, vio couldn't bear to hurt his friends or the world. it devastates shadow link; really gets to him. i wonder if he even knew he could have these feelings, falling for the very ruse he attempted to use on vio to get him on his side. while shadow is very ridiculous and theatrical in general, it doesn't seem fake when he expresses that he's glad vio has joined him. it also seems very real when he breaks down after the betrayal.
zelda choosing to be kind to shadow rather than mock him for being foolish is like the final straw that shatters his world view. she asks if he really thinks the light will hurt him, and challenges the notion that he isn't a hero deep down. she's not making excuses for him or telling him who to be; she's naming his deepest insecurities loud and clear and telling him it's okay to be scared. she's not rubbing salt in the wound of vio's rejection, but instead suggesting that shadow could find belonging with others if he took a leap of faith and tried to be their friend without an ulterior motive. shadow gets so giddy about the idea of doing havoc with vio, and it's like buddy, you're experiencing happiness because you like vio, not because you like being evil. i think deep down, we all just want to find Our People. and i can't stand to be cynical enough to suggest that we all don't have at least someone out there for us. it's just harder for some people to belong than others, as is the case with shadow.
shadow link is messed up and destructive to the people around him, unable to even imagine belonging in the light so he settles for chaos in darkness--but he submits, by the end of the comic, to the terrifying truth that he is deserving of love and capable of loving. i say terrifying because in an allegorical sense, it's kind of the equivalent of saying "i'm gay/mentally ill--i can't change that the world is harder for me, and it will be harder to find people who understand me, but i'm doing a disservice to myself and anyone i could hypothetically love by not trying to be my best self." it's a great and fairly uncommon message, especially for teenagers and young people in general.
i mean dude, talk about a bizarre but weirdly resonant reflection of the "gay teenager developing feelings for their best friend" experience. shadow link sets out to manipulate vio at first by appealing to his ego, no personal stakes in the game, but almost IMMEDIATELY falls DOWN BAD for this guy and becomes incredibly emotionally vulnerable around him. shadow link is genuinely LIVING for the time he gets to spend with vio, being as chaotic and theatrical and unrestrained as he pleases. he really believe that vio sees him, and likes him for who he is (which for the record i think is true, but vio also cares about his friends and the fate of the world, things that hold no meaning to shadow).
vio betrays shadow and it genuinely hurts, and that's kind of incredible for a short comic with a lot of goofy moments. and then shadow's resolution is vindicating too, he has agency in the choices he makes, and he does the right thing because he finally believes he doesn't need to remain in the darkness. he disguises himself to help the four because he knows they don't trust his face, really demonstrating the selfless desire to end all the magic shit that put him and the others in archetypical dark/light boxes. shadow link changes a lot in a short period, but the fact that to the end he believes that he still isn't like the others is negated by them saying he's part of "the body" and their friend. his "death" is very simply put in the text--"when a shadow turns to light, it disappears." it's not like a real death. it's a permanent and meaningful statement on how much shadow has changed, and found belonging and acceptance. if shadow's physical form came from feelings of spite and resentment, it makes sense that it no longer needed to exist.
and to TOP IT OFF, he does "end up" with vio and the others, if we're viewing The Full Link as an allegorical friend group or community. he's not quite as homogenous as they are, but rather serves as a shadow of the four. i love the panel where he's giving a thumbs-up from link's shadow so much. that's so simple and obvious, but honestly poetic. because like, in some ways you're never going to be just like everyone else. finding friends who are also gay or mentally ill doesn't make you any less of who you specifically are, and in at least some ways your friends and loved ones are always going to be different from you. i don't like it when the ultimate takeaway from a story is "once you live happily ever after, the darkness will be all gone," because hello??? some things never go away, and the darkness has, for better or for worse, made you who you are! qualities i see in shadow link are sardonic humor, unusual expressiveness, and a deep sense of caring towards His People/Person. those are fueled partially, but not entirely, by his not-great circumstances and deepest fears... but they're also where he shines.
you can be different from other people without resigning yourself to an lonely and unhappy life. coming out doesn't make you any less gay; seeking treatment doesn't magically cure mental illness; but acknowledging yourself for who you are is life-changing liberation, and necessary in the pursuit of happiness. these are huge and scary steps that especially young people are struggle to take, settling for resentment over the possibility of rejection. shadow link takes a chance and finds belonging, but still maintains the parts of himself that give him such a distinct personality. he is accepted for who he is, and at the end of the day who he is is not dark force whose sole purpose is to ruin lives, but just a strange gay-ass little dude who's a little bit extra but good at heart. and vio, as well as the others, appreciate that wholeheartedly. at the end of the day, the Whole Link just isn't the Whole Link without his shadow.
i don't know man, it's always special to me when an angsty character is written not as a joke, but as an opportunity to give people hope. even in the most obscure of places, even in ways that i can analyze endlessly but mean nothing to the average person. maybe none of this was the authors' intention. even if the manga was just, like, a shallow implementation of tropes and characteristics i'm a SUCKER for, i'd still love it to bits.
but i do see something a little deeper here, i can't help it. clearly the story has resonated with a small but dedicated group of fans, many of whom read the manga as kids or teens. i'm... honestly a little jealous of that. it's the kind of story i needed, and the kind of story i wish to tell. this series is truly a gift that keeps on giving.
this is how I remember the four swords manga
Knock-off zelda d&d campaign
alright so like a few years back i was planning a d&d campaign with a few friends and like- i wanted to shove in zelda characters without anybody noticing they all noticed- but i'd just like to show off my fine work-
Victor (totally not Vaati)
main villain of the campaign
certified lonely boi
he's ✨royalty✨
short tempered-
closeted pan sexual
Octavius (totally not Octavo)
neat freak
same colour scheme but he now has ✨short hair✨
generally chill dude
has a book collection
the party disintegrated his couch-
Gerald (totally not the green link)
Oldest of 5 brothers
has a dead wife and now an alcohol addiction-
certified dad
cries during romantic moments
has a cloak with a green gem button thingy hence the nickname green
Violet (totally not vio)
chill dude
basically green's therapist
always get's made fun of for having a girls name
second oldest of the five brothers
he want's to be a travelling scholar
same cloak thing with green but purple this time
Barrett (totally not blue)
another short tempered dude
is twins with our boy red
he's a stickler and won't do anything without getting payment in return
whines like a child
same cloak thing but blue, hence the nickname blue
Ronan (totally not red)
emotional boyo
has a mini flower garden
tries to enjoy blue's presence but it always ends up in a fight
twins with blue
same cloak thingy but red, hence the nickname red
Salem (totally not shadow link)
left him for last but he's kinda like the middle child
he doesn't really have any of the features the rest of the brothers have which basically leads him to think he was adopted but their parents aren't around so no one knows
the brothers legit thought he was dead for the longest time just to find him working for Victor
yeah Salem was dying but Victor saved him but now both their souls are bound to a single object a hair brush
so uuuuh feel free to do with that information as you please-
Hear me out!
This song but it’s Shadow Link singing:
Or, even better, Shadow Zelda?? The possibilities?!?!
Princess Ivy’s whole deal is being from a completely monochromatic world and wanting to go take over someone else’s kingdom to prove her worth to herself, this is so Shadow coded, please, just liSTE-