SxV: Rapture by kishaz on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

A hissing, disorganized rustle of shrub branches broke the unnerving sound-scape that hung over the Lost Woods that night.
"I am completely lost," grunted the source of the disruption as he chopped through thorn-riddled shrubbery, "But at least I'm out of that thicket!" a rare moment of solitude was brought to the blonde-haired hero, and he chose it to choose his next direction of travel. Trees, trees, trees- they all looked the same!
Of course Vio hadn't come to that conclusion that early- he'd heard once that one could tell their direction based on the way that moss grew on a tree. But apparently an element necessary to moss' growth was missing, as there was none to be found. None of the trees seemed to display any unique attributes to their growth- every tree was a perfect copy, sans height. It was terribly suspicious, but everything was in that forest. He took a step forward, deciding his direction by random.
As if it sensed his now-moving presence, the woods became alive- literally. Monsters slithered out from underneath rocks, tree branches reached and clawed at the violet-clad teen. He frowned, "Not that the rest of the woods are any friendlier!" and brought his sword down upon the assailants.
Taking a moment to catch his breath, he leaned against a well-confirmed dead tree and uttered, "What... What kind of a forest is this?"
It was at that moment that a deku scrub decided to make its appearance underneath the hero's feet. He stumbled away, taken aback.
"Look out!*Pi!*" The leaf-skirted scrub squeaked, "We're building a shrine to our Lord here. *Pi!*"
Several others popped out of the ground, "Yeah! You're in the way! *Pi!*"
Vio cocked a bemused eyebrow at the animated shrubs. "Your Lord?" He scratched his head with a frown. "Is Vaati your boss? Did he do this to the forest?"
The scrubs rustled and murmured to each other. "What's a Vaati? *Pi!*" "Never heard of it! *Pi!*" They looked back at the hero. "We work for Ganon! *Pi!*"
Vio paused. He watched the scrubs march away, piping cries of, "Three cheers for Lord Ganon!" "Hip-Hip Hurrah!"
Vio took another useless moment to gather his surroundings as he pondered aloud, "Ganon? I know that name... That's a name used by the Gerudo Desert peoples." He brought a hand to his mouth in thought. "Why would magical plants worship a man... from the desert?" Something clicked in his mind and his frown became more resolute. "I have to tell the others right away!" He started on a new direction with new-found motivation, but was stopped short by a devious laugh ringing out in the nippy night air.
"Are you sure you need to tell them that?"
Vio did a double-take, attempting to pinpoint the location of the cocky and... unusually velvet voice. "Shadow Link!" He shouted curtly, taking a defensive stance as his eyes met with the figure lounging on the top of a particularly tall tree.
The purple-haired teen gave a small grin, dropping from the towering growth with a light-footed landing. Arms crossed, he smiled with an aloof shake of the head. "What's the point of telling them anything?" He rounded the violet-clad hero, eyebrows working a dismissive smile into a conspiratorial one. "They never listen... Just fight and argue." He tilted his head back to Vio, his smile inviting the blonde to agree with him.
The truth in his shadow's last statement caught Vio's attention. He kept a keen eye on the darker one, his guard rising at Shadow's lack of attacks as the darker Link continued, "Eventually you'll realize, Vio... You don't need them."
A gear clicked into place. "I see what you're doing." The grip on Vio's sword tightened and he pivoted on heel, drawing its point at Shadow. "You're trying to turn me against the others!" Vio, though angered outwardly, couldn't help an inner smile. His accusation was pin-point. There was no way his shadow could slither out of his bluntness.
And yet, much like his first encounter with the shadow, his attack seemed to have no effect. Shadow let the moment hang on the air for half a breath, his surprisingly non-hostile expression not distorting in the least from Vio's accusation. His smile grew a little as he glanced down at the tip of the sword so rudely pointed in his face, and brushed away the weapon with a dismissive hand. "Only you can see the big picture, Vio."
Whatever mustered retort was in his head bubbled away at the other teen's actions. Stunned into listening, he couldn't help but feel a part of his mind agreeing with the purple-haired shadow.
Smile growing, the anti-hero continued, "The good and the bad." They can't. And they never will!" Shadow shook his head in mock pity, glancing back up at the blonde with a welcoming smile. There was a level of malice that had fallen absent from it, Vio noticed, and in his confusion didn't notice his hand lowering the sword from Shadow's direction. He felt a hand slip on his shoulder, gliding down his arm as Shadow invited himself for a closer confrontation. Smack his hand off! Smack his hand off! his brain hissed in harsh command, but Vio couldn't find it in himself to do so. The Shadow's blue eyes were narrowed in soft, smiling understanding, and they were beginning to look suspiciously like a reflection of his own.
"I want to know what you think, Vio." Shadow's velvet voice murmured in his ear. "I'll listen."
Vio's eyes fluttered shut. There was no lie in the shadow's voice, he could tell. He felt the other teen's body round his, the shadow's hand still holding to his arm to clasp the blonde in a possessive embrace. He's... Warm..? Yet his body was still tense, his eyes opening at the warning bells in his head that grew fainter by the second. Or perhaps it was his friend's voice that brought his eyes back to the waking world .. "Those others.. They don't want to think at all. Just fight." He continued, his voice not needing to be louder than an utter. "But not you." the purple-haired teen's free arm drew around him, fingertips ghosting across his neck and up to cradle his chin.
Vio stiffened at the unreasonably intimate touch, sparks of unease skipping down his spine. His heart fluttered with panic; he struggled to articulate thoughts that he knew were his own. But the world was lost to him now; the trees and the moon and the ground beneath his very feet. His mind was overwhelmed by meaningless sensation; the softness of Shadow's voice, the feeling of the teen's breath ghosting against his neck. "Tell me everything," the purple-haired teen murmured, drawing his fingertips against the blonde's cheek in persuasion to get the hero to look at him, which Vio did with little resistance. The hero made a final attempt at grasping onto the threads of reality, a choked "Let go of me" escaping his lips. But resistance felt impossible now; resistance... felt pointless. "I want to hear it all. We're so similar, you and I..." Vio let his eyes slip shut again, mind taking in the impossibly tiny world of just him and Shadow. It felt good. A lot of things felt good right then; the tightening of Shadow's arm against his torso collectively, Shadow's clawed fingertips stroking his cheek, something cold and brushing working up his legs and body, the ghost of a touch of someone's lips against his mouth. He felt his companion moving, and, regretfully, opened his eyes to follow suit. Vaguely, he noticed his discarded sword left on the ground, but the whisps of darkness overtaking himself and Shadow and done away with the weapon so he was no longer focused on it. Vio's mind worked up a response then, the words slipping freely from his mouth.
"Maybe... Maybe you're right.
The others would never listen to me anyway."

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KUHUHUHU~
That was a written translation from an excerpt from the Loz: Four Swords+ manga. I I didn't copy the pose or nothing, so I had to adjust a few of the actions to fit the situation, but that's okay. Also definitely took some artistic liberties and embellished some of it to be more intimate-tasting. ....;D 'Cause I like irrational pairings that have to do with them being the same person. Yes, I'm one of those people.

Also, definitely one of my very few pictures without a 'makes total sense' background. I don't think my brain likes the idea of something that's considered 'half-assed', because I was entirely lost as to what I should have done with it. At first it was going to be chocolate lilies: [link] (Which I've now decided are my favorite flower next to tiger lilies and daffodills ;D), but my brain was like, “NAH. TOO DESU.”
…Not that this drawing style isn’t desu. Not that this is a very different drawing style. But I had to kinda down-grade a few things as opposed how I’d usually draw them, so e__e I do in fact notice.
So then I just copped out and did a ‘shadow’ theme. Oh I’m so original. ;D
The intensely swirly-curly shadow in the background is regretfully not my doing; it’s a brush from this set: [link] I was attempting to work out something similar in Adobe Illustrator, but I wasn’t coming out with anything.
Also, I think my brain has a liking to ‘darker’ colors- These were all really bright and flashy until I ditched the flower idea. The drip thing on the top of the picture was just me smudging the hell out of a strip of black. This is the second time I’ve used this drip thing… I think I should just save myself the time and turn it into a brush.
First time I’ve really drawn Shadow’s curly hat- I relished EVERY WAKING MOMENT OF IT. :’DD
I’m also becoming a little more aware of where my shadows are falling. Not that this awareness affected the picture; my shadows are still all unassociated with each other and flat-looking. But I did a little bit more shade-experimenting on this one than I normally would have, so… yes. Glorious.
Btw: if one had the same amount of fabric on Vio’s right sleeve on one’s own sleeve, it would dangle pretty far past one’s hand. That was a boo-boo on my part. .x.
So yeah! : D It’s at times like this where if I think I went back to the past-me and was all, “Yo bitch! Look what you’re gonna be able to draw someday!” my past self would shit a brick. :’D