Happy Four Swords, everyone! For today's piece for @fswintersdelight, I took a quote from the end of the manga as they were putting the sword back into place to hand letter. The hopeful sentiment of this scene is perfect for our lovely little fandom. We will always have each other.
I'm normally a writer, not an artist, but it was fun trying to find a good quote to letter and planning the design!
Process photos below the cut!
This was so much fun. I love hand lettering, and the Zelda style was so easy and free lol. I did have to redo a couple of the letters because I screwed up the kerning, but I am quite happy with the end result.
I don't really consider myself an illustrator/drawer, but I think the swords came out quite nice. Everything except the guide lines, the Triforce, and the straight edges on the blades was freehand
I don't know how far I'll actually go with the idea but I keep thinking about Four Swords CMYK AU. Instead of being split into Red, Green, Blue, and Vio, he gets Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black. I've already thought about their personalities/what parts of Link they represent and aspects of their relationships to each other. For now they shall rotate in my mind
Aka this started as a joke but I got Really Into It
When Link draws the Four Sword, instead of splitting into the colors we know, he separates into Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black. The parts of himself that they represent break along different lines.
CYAN is similar to Blue. He is passion, and conviction, someone who will share their thoughts and opinions because they believe they need to be heard. Cyan is what fuels their desire to master the skills they need to be able to follow through on Magenta's ideas, and he is what tips the scales of Black's pragmatism into heroic actions even when they are less "efficient" because part of their goal is to be a hero, and that must be accounted for alongside tangible results.
MAGENTA is creativity, though not everyone would label him as such. He is problem solving, engineering and math, thinking outside the box. He is a poet with numbers and tools. Link's training and skills come from Magenta's focus and yearning for knowledge and mastery. He values doing the job well, and he is willing to put in the time to make sure everything is up to his standards.
YELLOW is caution. Trepidation. Self preservation. Yellow slows the others down when the situation starts to get dangerous. He is Link's awareness that in order to keep others safe, he must first protect himself. Yellow is the most socially intelligent, always reading the room to make sure they know what to say, and to make sure they have an exit.
BLACK is the most likely to get confused for a shadow or a dark form. Partly because of his clothes, but also because his pragmatism can come across as callousness. Black is efficiency and the steadiness that comes from being committed to a course of action because it is the most effective, it will have the best results, even if some people aren't happy with it. He is not violence incarnate, but he is someone who sees violence as just as valid of a tool and anything else available. He will kill someone without hesitation if he decides that it's the most effect way to achieve the goal.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Happy holidays, everyone! I have the pleasure of sharing another legally-distinct-Chanukah story for @fswintersdelight this year. Thank you Kalh for organizing this again! It's been so wonderful seeing everyone's art.
LOZ Fic Fight! This is for @playingforward. Enjoy!
Prompt: Four Swords Manga, all of the Colours return to living in one body after sheathing the Four Sword but do not fully integrate into one identity: Nearly freezing to death during his adventure took a toll on the part of Link that was Blue. The rest of them attempt to comfort and take care of him during a particularly cold, drafty day. Suggestions: holding hands, making tea, blankets, reading.
They shivered fiercely as another curl of cold air came in through the gap in the window. It was still late fall; there wasn’t any snow on the ground yet, but the air bit their ears even in the middle of the day.
Red didn’t think it was all that cold, but Blue kept grabbing hold of the body when he shook. Privately, as privately as they could manage like this, Green thought that the feeling of dread that iced up their spine had more influence over the shivering than the temperature itself. If Blue was simply chilly, his shivers wouldn’t vibrate him into control the way they were now. Vio had just managed to lay a proper fire in the hearth before being inadvertently pulled back for another bout of shaking.
”I’m trying to help,” he complained aloud.
”I’m not d-doing it on p-purpose,” Blue grumbled. There was none of his usual bite.
Red rubbed their arms in an approximation of a hug. He agreed with Green that the pulling of their minds was a sign of something deeper than normal cold. It was a cold deep in their bones. If Red tried to dig in their shared memories, he might be able to find the source. He left it alone for now, though. They could talk to Blue when the sun was high and summer wrapped around them. Now was for comfort.
Green walked them to the small kitchen, still in view of the fire, and pulled out a mug. Making tea was a slow affair - every time the draft glided by, Blue ended up in control, and his hands shook too hard to be useful. Eventually, though, they managed to get water and a teabag safely back to the small couch in front of the fireplace.
Red grabbed ahold of the throw blanket as they sat, and he was silently proud of Blue for having the presence of mind to wrap it around his shoulders.
The only sounds were the irregular pops and cracks of the logs and the chattering of their teeth. Their shoulders were tight, tense, and the tea in their mug was sloshing dangerously. Vio tried not to think about how uncomfortably sweaty they were getting, not that Blue was really listening anyway.
After a few minutes of Blue not feeling any better, Green started humming quietly. It was stilted and clumsy around their chattering teeth, but they all recognized the simple folk song. It wasn’t anything special, just the first one he’d thought of, but it was better than silence.
Blue didn’t react immediately, but Vio started tapping their fingers on the side of the mug in time with the humming. Red let their head bob and tilt, like he was dancing.
Slowly, Blue’s shivering eased a bit, and his death grip on the blanket loosened. The next time the draft wafted over them, Blue flinched, but he stayed back, and the awkward dance continued.
