Two years ago today, I posted the original character sheets for the Chain as Cryptids au, and I could not be happier with the way things have unfolded. Two years later, and I’m still surprising myself with the story and pushing myself to make better drawings. This au continues to connect me with just about the most supportive community I’ve ever been in, and continues to introduce me to some of the kindest, most creative people I’ve ever met.
I’ll be opening up CAC art requests for a short time to celebrate, but please bear with me as I am a very stressed animation student, and things just got very busy!
To everyone that has joined me in the past year and everyone that has been here from the beginning, thank you so much! I hope to continue to create, and am so excited to see what the next year brings!
Who has the best hair of the cryptids and why is it twilight (wild doesn’t count he’s cheating)
MAN okay. Okay. So I was going to make a joke like. You might have a different opinion if anyone else actually had access to a hair tie.
And that got me thinking! How would the Cryptids do their hair nice if they had the chance to? And well. I’m a little preoccupied with a certain forbidden animatic, but I did some rough sketches of a few ideas!
Sky: traditional Skyloftian hair ribbons! Good for keeping his longer hair out of his face while he’s flying. And very colorful and nice.
Time: A few little scattered braids. Very tiny. Because I think it’s ADORABLE to imagine fairies braiding his hair. He is such a sweetheart.
Spirit: If you gave this kid a hair tie, he’d think it’s so funny to do that little turnip/unicorn thing because he doesn’t have enough hair to really go up.
Mer Ravio: The same half up half down style as Twilight, except it’s braided because he spends more time on himself than Twilight does. And also his hair is SO fluffy.
Four: They look actually so nice when their hair isn’t directly in their face. They would put their hair up in a way that compliments their horns. A fancy bun, I think.
Warriors: He was told it’d be funny to leave a hair tie on his head. Just for sillies. He hasn’t decided if he was lied to yet.
Okay, okay, yeah. I’m adding Worlds. Two new characters for the price of one!
This will change a bit with Legend and Mer Ravio, but honestly it should fit okay! There are simply two Ravios now, and I promise I can make it work. Lore post will be coming soon but here’s some basic information about the new guys!
Worlds: He’s a very sweet but also pretty private kind of guy. He’s confused about his identity- he doesn’t know that he is a changeling until he meets the rest of the Cryptids. He’s very much an explorer! He likes to be out in nature where it’s just him and the wildlife around him. It feels safe to not have so many eyes on him, questioning and watching. A freak, then a hero. When he’s out of the house, he doesn’t have to be anything but himself. He’s in his element when he’s trekking through- and cutting through- a field of tall grass, or tossing rocks into a river, or sifting through gravel paths to find lost rupees.
Ravio: I. Love. This. Ravio. He is so incredibly smart. When Lorule was threatened, he figured out a way to leave and find help in another world, so who’s to say he can’t do it again? After the events of A Link Between Worlds, he made it back to Hyrule. And, well! He needed a place to stay! Ravio is a very outgoing and charismatic person, and he’s a problem solver at heart. He may not be the best at swinging a sword, but strategy is his strong suit. He’s very used to inter-dimensional travel, so the whole Cryptid shenanigans don’t really bother him. Some random heroes from across time show up at his doorstep? Eh, stranger things have happened. He’s so adaptable and so clever and Worlds is so head over heels for him.
Changelings are fae children that are placed in a Hylian child’s crib when that baby is stolen away. A swap. Neither of these characters know that they are fairies. Yet. Both of their lives, being mirrors of each other, have gone similarly. Neither of them know their parents- fae or Hylian. When the Hylian parents realized that this is NOT their child!, in both worlds, they abandoned the babies. In both worlds, they were found by community members and raised to be helpers, but not true family members. They were never loved like they should have been. They’ve each spent their whole lives feeling like outsiders. They have know idea what they are, who they belong to, or where they fit.
They learn that they fit together. They can belong to each other.
Changelings are affected by a very strong glamour before they’re swapped with a Hylian baby. So both of them will have lived their lives looking like any other Hylian! No wings! No glowing eyes! Not particularly small!
Forest, of course, will see through this glamour right away. But are they truly ready for answers?
Chain as Cryptids: Most up to Date Character Designs
A lot of the designs have been changed since the original character sheets, and even some new Links have been added. The lore on those character sheets is still true, but here are the updated designs! (This is all art that has been posted before, I just want everything in one place, just for my own sanity)
Firstly, I have updated character sheets for Time, Four, and Wild here!
Sky has honestly not changed much since the original design- just bigger dots on his face! Some drawings I have for him are:
Godkiller
This profile
Bird of Prey
And then we have Time! He also hasn’t changed much. Basically just Fierce Deity armor:
Close up (commission)
And Hyrule!! He’s changed A LOT! Butterfly wings and poofy hair and pants. Definitely a lot shinier!
New Hyrule!
Next is Legend, who has basically only undergone a color change for his Mer tail- from blue to green. (Because Link wears green, obviously. And so that he can still match with Ravio)
Legend’s backstory
Legend with leg
And of course, Ravio! This is a welcome addition! He’s not much changed from A Link Between Worlds, at least when he has legs:
Ravio Lore
Boyfriends
Spirit is also a new addition!
Spirit Lore
Full body and color
Wind has undergone a lot of changes with his Aquili form!
For some reason this comic has the best Wind drawings
And Aquili Wind in color
Four also hasn’t changed very much! Mostly just hair, maybe some refining of their horn shape:
Portrait (not colored)
Twilight got a cool new hair style. And clothing that looked more Ordonian to me:
Portrait (colored)
Animals!!!
Wars had a LOT of design changes! He is a shiny little metal spirit guy and we love him:
Full body color (plus sword)
Dancing lil dude
Might is also a new addition, along with Echo (who….. might be a little too OP for this story…)
Might and Echo’s introduction
Might profile
And lastly, Wild! He used to have a tail. Not anymore! Also he’s missing a boot, poor guy.
