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Pay Attention (Revision)

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The earthy smell of soot slowly filled the air. Strangling him with it's dust, blotting out the windows and smothering candles to darkness. Link could all but gasp, biting back the noise of a scream, unwilling to give his dark counterpart the satisfaction of his un-admitted surprise.

He was foolish.

Foolish for not noticing the signs beforehand of his presence: the whisper of shadows, the caress of chills that plucked at his spine, and the deafening silence that followed everywhere the darkness went. Only a sudden glint of copper had been Link's warning, and even less had he the time to react, only managing to put one hand between himself and the blade that now fought against his throat. Seemingly effortlessly, the darkness knew exactly how to hold the blade against him to keep him from moving, one hand tugging his head back from the roots of his hair while the other hand applied a threatening amount of power against him. So sharp was the blade, the hero realized, that he couldn't even feel the pain as the metal slightly nipped into his neck and palm. But he could feel the warmth of his own blood that had been drawn. The darkness knew how to bend him, how to immobilize him. Link could feel his pulse against the blade, his own heartbeat drumming against his ears.

"I hope you did not think of hiding here to escape," the darkness mused, "you should know by now, wherever you go... so can I too."
For the first time the shadow had spoken to him Link realized. The light, masculine tone resembled Link's own so much that his surprise couldn't be masked. Only the sardonic tone that dripped away like a whisper seemed the only factor that deciphered his own voice away from the darkness. In comparison, Link's own bit back at the whisper. "If you're going to kill me... then do it." He challenged between his clenched and bared teeth. Within' the hollow belly of the temple his own voice resonated back to him less a bark and more of a whimper. The counterparts body didn't move, like a solid statue it held him in place, reinforcing the feeling of feebleness as he pathetically squirmed under his grip. "You mistake my intention of bargaining for murder." The calmness of his own voice chilled the back of his neck, making his skin rise with goosebumps. "You want the same thing that I want... I just want it a little bit more than you."

"And what exactly would that be?" Link questioned, feeling the flesh of his throat bob against the sharp blade every time he spoke. He could feel the darkness get closer to him then, what had once smelled of ash on his breath was that of a smoldering campfire now, far more smoke than flame.  The hand that clenched Link's skull loosened slightly, Dark's sooty fingers still curled within' his honey colored hair. His soft voice was a purr against the back of the hero's head, reassuring and malicious. The small piece of his conscious a now audible noise that drifted in air.
"I want Ganondorf dead."

Before he had even intended to do so, a scoff bubbled past Link's lips in a skeptical click. "Why should I, and why would I trust you?"
"You won't, nor should you," The darkness suggested, unphased by a potential refusal, "Perhaps if you pay attention though, I might enlighten you to my reason. A reason you don't have that I do for wishing for his death."
"And if I don't...?"
"You will." The darkness at the back of his skull insisted. "You cannot refuse."

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Edit:

I redid this, because the original was awful.

9.26.11

I redid this because I hated how simple the first version of it was.

Someone asked once why I gave Dark a sheen. And no, it's not because of some diluted Twifan bullcrap. In a fic I had a long time ago Dark had been created from the ashes of human corpses. Thus my reasoning why I think he'd have a sort of sheen to his skin and him not consisting of just one solid color.

1.9.2015

Since a lot of people have seemed to take an interest in this picture over the years, I decided a revision was in order!


_______________________________________________

In 2010 I first made this piece, and now in 2015 it is still being recycled. I love that this had become a project of mine for some time now to work on.

Since last year I've been looking back on some of my art and have been gradually revising a lot of the old pieces that I think I could improve upon and this was one of them. This took about a week and a half to make-- as I got a bit busy inbetween and fell behind on my work here. Hopefully, this new pose I decided to go with this time goes against the assumptions I was receiving before where people seemed to think this was about a masochistic relationship between Dark and Link. Albeit not for me to tell the audience what they see in a piece of art- that was not my original intent.

I actually have plans for a more battle-esque type scene between Link and Dark, but that will be for another day. Hopefully, you all continue to enjoy this picture as much as I enjoy working on it! I expect in a few more years I will without a doubt be making upgrades to this again as well!
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© 2010 - 2024 Ranger-26
Comments97
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AngelOfDarkness089's avatar
Ouch, my own hand hurts from just looking at Link and how he is trying to hold that sword blade
away from him with his hand. I am sure this must hurt a lot!
I really like the idea behind this picture and also the idea behind Dark Link himself.
Such a shame that he wasn't an enemy in Twilight Princess. DL would have been a perfect enemy
in the Palace of Twilight :D