A mysterious creature known as the Lord of the Mountain, plants growing wild on the ground, and Link’s face illuminated by cool lights coming from — vending machines? I can easily picture Link hanging out with the Lord of the Mountain, but I had never imagined them together in front of vending machines. Yet, it looks perfectly normal in this week’s featured art.
The artist behind this cool artwork with beautiful icy blue lights is Weiwei, who also goes by “It’s Cool Guy Link” on Twitter and Instagram. Weiwei has created many Zelda paintings but this one, in particular, is a favorite of mine as it puts characters from Breath of the Wild that fit perfectly together in a new and unfamiliar environment. It’s unexpected and fun! The balance between artificial light and natural shadows is perfect and makes the ground look fluorescent in the midnight darkness.
The vending machines seem to belong to Beedle and it totally makes sense since he’s the most frequent wandering merchant you will come across in Breath of the Wild. His worried smile is printed on the flags and it just feels so typical of him; even when an important picture of him will be used for his business, he can’t seem to force those furrowed brows to go away. It’s the same old Beedle we all know greeting his customers after all. I imagine he’s still wandering around in this alternative version of Hyrule, just stopping by his machines every now and then to fill them with fresh wares and anxiously hoping to collect some rupees from people who have bought something.
Speaking of rupees, that is exactly what Link is holding as he stands in front of the vending machines, pondering on what to buy as a midnight snack. It doesn’t look like he has a lot on him so perhaps he will return to get the Master Sword some other night. While Link looks busy making up his mind, the Lord of the Mountain stands patiently next to him, and something about that brings peace to the picture. The Lord is a peaceful creature who dislikes noises but nighttime is usually quiet as most people are asleep, so perhaps this late-night activity is its preferred way to spend some time with Link.
Whatever Link ends up deciding on getting, I hope there’s a small speaker built inside the vending machine so he will still have a chance to hear Beedle’s voice exclaim, “Ohh! Thank you!” before he leaves with his large friend.
