Vio Link - Tumblr Posts

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

Soooooo I'm a huge Zelda fan but what got me in to it was the the four swords manga and the link between worlds game. Since reading that manga I fell in love the vio x shadow ship and almost all renditions of shadow link, especially shadow link from link between worlds he's soooo cute I want to huge him!!!! But any way this is part one to my small vio x shadow comic

HEAD CONNON TIME!!!!!! ok so as you all probably now I ship voi and shadow but here is a cute head connon/au

So my head connon/au is that Ravio from link between worlds is shadow and vio son I don't know why but this is what my brain came up with. To be honest I love this and it seems really cute. Just thinking of a little Ravio in a bunny onesie with his to amazing dad's! Sorry I'm just fan boying

Here's part two!!! This comic takes place in an AU I made a few days prior it's a runaway AU where voi and shadow ran away in stead of them joining the dark side. I was going to add in my Ravio head cannon but dicided not to in the end.

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

A little comic based on this AU created by @heading-down-to-georgia and also this addition by @2xlee

The Four Swords manga was first published on September 28th, 2004. Can you believe these guys are 16 years old now?!?

Happy Birthday, Four Swords! Here’s to many, many more :)

Ladies, gentlemen, and those of you who know better...

With @not-freyja teasing that the next chapter of This is an Adjuration will be out shortly, currently 14k words and the long awaited Vio POV, I have been honoured with a bit of a sneak peek.

Here is my review:

I have been hurt in ways I did not even know I could be hurt in. I have serious concerns for the mental state of both Vio and the author, and am fully expecting for this chapter to haunt me for weeks to come. I eagerly await the release of the full chapter. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Red you little gremlin, what did you do!? 🤣🤣🤣

Thank you, this was everything I was hoping for! 💕

Can my prompt be the Colours being brothers? Just typical sibling shenanigans? In whatever way your heart desires! ❤️

A crack-bang rings out making the windows shudder in their frames. Green jolts up, the drowsiness of his near nap quickly fleeing the face of an explosion that close to the house.

Footsteps come pounding down the stares, and Vio practically skids into the front room, Red all put slamming face first into his back.

"What was that?" Vi asks.

"No idea!" Green answers, some of the stress leaving at the sight of the two of them. "Wait... where's Blue?"

Red's eyes go wide. "The forge!"

There's a single beat of stillness as the combination of 'someone in the forge' and 'mystery explosion' adds up in all their minds. The result of that bout of mental arithmetic is... not great. Green can see them all come to the same conclusion in sync and they all rush for the front door, tripping over one another in their haste.

The three of them spill out onto the yard and are nearly to the back door of the workshop when it opens, Blue stumbling out with the smoke.

He coughs, wiping the soot off of his face (or really, just trying to, all he's actually managing is to smear it around).

"Are you okay!?" Red asks, crashing into him in an aggressive hug.

"Fine," he wheezes, already trying to push him off.

If he's up to trying to get Red to stop being affectionate, then he probably really is okay. Green sighs as his heart rate starts returning to something more normal.

Vio frowns, narrowing his eyes at the building itself. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" Blue huffs, finally prying Red off of him and pushing him back even further at the resulting pout. "I was trying to start on the next batch of fucking horseshoes -" They all nod along to the irritation in his voice there. 'Fucking horseshoes,' indeed. "-and when I got the hot ore down on the anvil it just..."

Blue trails off with a confused scowl.

"It... just exploded?" Green asks.

"Yes!"

Vio blinks. "What."

"I don't know!"

Green tries again, "Wait the anvil exploded? Or the ore?"

"Yes?" Blue shakes his head. "No? I don't know, there was just a bang and then smoke!"

"That shouldn't have happened," Vio informs them like they all don't already know.

"No shit," Blue growls. "Well, whatever that was, I guess I should just count myself lucky I didn't get any shrapnel to the damn face."

That is true. That is a very, very good thing. Green turns to ask Red if he has any ideas, when it suddenly dawns on him. Red has been really quiet.

...too quiet.

"What the fuck did you do!?"

Red gulps. "It was only supposed to be a little explosion!"

Blue's face flushes with sudden rage, a tint of red under the soot. "Are you kidding me?"

Red blinks.

"You should run," Vio tells him. "I think he's actually mad at you this time."

Red turns on his heels and sprints off, his first step in perfect sync with Blue's lunge towards him.

Vio snorts a small laugh. "Well. Have fun cleaning that up, Green."

"Wait. Hang on." He frowns at Vio's back as his brother leaves him, heading back to the house now that the excitement has come to an end. "Aren't you going to help me?"

No answer, just a backwards wave over Vio's shoulder. Somewhere out of sight, there is a loud squeal of the laughter that means that Red has been caught.

...he'll go get some rags.

If my one four swords scifi fic was an old anime, and inexplicably cutesy, it might look something like this

Holy shit I am in love with this...

@not-freyja HEY! COME LOOK AT THIS!

...it worked, didn't it?

Redraw.

i doubt ill ever finish this

Vio’s favorite activity is reading. Shadow’s favorite activity is watching Vio read. They work out.

Okay, still not done thinking about why I like Vio/Shadow.

Canonically, they are a tragedy. And I don't just mean that in the "it's sad" sense, I mean that they are Doomed from the beginning to the roles of Hero and Villain. That's the tragedy of it: they get along, they're compatible, when left to their own devices they like each other. But their circumstances force them into those story roles anyway.

It's just a scenario that's so inviting to explore. What happens if these two met under different circumstances? What happens if something changes in the middle of the story to send it askew? What could happen after the fact, if they were ever able to meet again?

What if their assigned Story Roles were different?

How do the characters feel about the Story Roles they've been placed in?

How do the characters' perceptions of each other change when they stop seeing the Story Role and start seeing the person underneath?

How do you move on from having been a Story Role, once the story is over? How do you grow and change and deal with being a real, complete person?

These sorts of questions definitely aren't unique to Four Swords, or to Vio and Shadow, but I think Four Swords lends itself especially well to them because of the way the characters are initially presented as such two-dimensional archetypes, but are also clearly much more than that. And with Vio and Shadow in particular because of what their story roles cost them, and the way they both challenged those roles in-text.

Happy 20th anniversary Four Swords manga!!! Thank you so much for such an amazing story, and a wonderful community xxx