the only evidence that any of those suppposed human-ape links exists in the imagination of the evolutionist
Well... it's called a scientific theory, meaning a hypothesis that's been confirmed frequently and strongly -- confirmed by predictions and falsifiable tests.
In the cases of pre-human creatures evidence exists in the form of DNA similarities of modern mankind to Neanderthals, Denisovans, and Floresiens ("Hobbits"), but also the similarity of human and more distant creatures like Chimpanses.
Evolution theory explains these all as descendants of common ancestors.
No other scientific hypothesis has been offered.
And that's about as close to the Truth as a scientific theory can ever get -- short of actual observations which make it not theory, but fact.
Yes, there are many confirmed observations (facts) associated with evolution, but the theory itself cannot be observed, and so remains a theory.
Of course, you may call it whatever you wish -- be that "scientific imagination" or "fantasy" -- it remains what it is: a theory which powerfully explains scientifically what we see in the world.