#lu whumptober

[breannasfluff]

Lost Without You

Whump Rating: 2/5 TW: Depression

The shadow is defeated. A portal appears and the Chain knows, this is the final one. Tears are shed, promises and light-hearted threats are made, and everyone gives a last hug goodbye. Then, one by one, they step through the portal and vanish.

They were already in Wild’s world. He’d already gone through his last portal without realizing it. The blackness swirls, sucks in, and vanishes. The champion stands in the grass field, alone. The breeze blows through the grass, turning it into waves over the low hills. Far away, a wild horse whinnies. Then silence falls again.

Wild stares at the spot where his family vanished for a long time before finally turning in the direction of home.

Things aren’t the same after the journey ends. Link—no need for a nickname, now—goes through the motions. He helps Zelda, speaks with Purah, and tries to fall into the rhythm of life. The little house in Hateno, despite how he loved it previously, is too empty, now. Each corner is filled with memories of eight other boys and men laughing, joking, and filling his life with joy.

He can’t sleep in his bed without remembering times Wolfie curled up at his feet, or Hyrule crawled in and clung to his arm after a bad dream. The horse shed reminds him of Time, chewing on a piece of straw and telling ridiculous stories they couldn’t discount. With the old man, anything could be true.

Finally, Link gives the house to Zelda for her research and sets out to circle Hyrule. He’ll check in with the other races and towns. Maybe there he’ll find the meaning he lost. Yet each place holds the happiness of people moving on, while he is stuck in the same place.

Friends marry, break up, learn new skills, and build homes. Families change; growing and shrinking, yet never dying. Their lives are ever-churning onward. With each town, Link finds himself looking forward to the next less and less. He no longer has a family to visit. Well, it’s not a bad idea to travel the wilds. He’s often more comfortable there than anywhere else.

At first, it’s a good idea. The wilds are quiet and he falls into the rhythm of nature. There are no travelers out here and he can go days without needing to speak. After a while, he starts chatting to the air, telling his missing companions about his travels.

“There’s a fox mother in a den over there. I snuck up and looked at the kits. I think she noticed me, but I made sure not to get too close. Oh, some grasshoppers; I should catch them for making elixirs in the future. You know, I really cleaned out my stores making potions for everyone.”

The only answer is the wind. Link is quiet for the rest of the day.

The weeks blend together and he fully gives up on seeking out towns. Even traveling is losing its appeal. What’s the rush? There’s no goal; no people who need him to check in. He told Zelda when he left he’d be off the grid for a while.

What’s the use of a hero after the journey is over? He’d barely had time to settle after the first one before he was dumped into the Chain. Now, an eternity without his family looms. Each day, Link rests a little more. For each meal, he has a little less. He’s just…not hungry.

Slowly, he numbs to his surroundings. He takes an infrequent wash when he comes across a lake, but there’s no one to worry about. Link wakes tired and lays on his bedroll for hours, debating getting up and moving further. He collects less until he’s only depleting his supplies, not adding to it. Well, that’s easy enough to fix; he’s not hungry anyway.

Link doesn’t know how long he’s been out here. He could warp home; warm to a shrine or a town. Maybe he should be around people. But the idea of talking to people? Socializing? Keeping up the persona of a hero? It’s exhausting.

Mostly, Link sleeps. Maybe, one day, he’ll climb back into the shrine and they can suck the life back out of him. This body is on loan, anyway. Maybe next time, they’ll find a better hero to fill it with. Someone whose family is still around to support him.

Someone is screaming.

This is odd for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that Link is in the middle of nowhere. Someone could have encountered a rare enemy, but the scream is…excited? And raising in pitch and volume.

“Where is he?”

“The gem should take us right to him!”

“Do you think he’s underground?”

“What—where do you come up with these things?”

“Like a cave—wait, look over there.”

Huh. That sounds a lot like Wind and Warriors. Silly, because they are gone. Everyone is gone. Maybe this is it. His mind snapped and now he’s hearing voices.

Footsteps get louder and Warriors looks down at him in the grass, hands on his hips. “What in hyrule are you doing down there?”

Wind’s face pops into view, showing off straight white teeth when he grins. “Hey Wild! We missed—hey.” The smile fades, excitement seeping out. “Did something happen to you? You look, uh…”

“You look like shit,” Warriors finishes. He leans down, reaching out a hand. “You good? What happened?”

Link doesn’t take the hand, just stares at them. “That’s it,” he whispers. “I’ve gone crazy. Hallucinations.”

Wind socks him in the shoulder, much too hard to be a hallucination. “Get up! Warriors got a crystal! We need to get the others!”

“What…?” Link finally sits up, then stands. Woah, his legs are kind of shaky. Warriors grabs him, then hisses as his hand closes on a shoulder.

“How skinny are you? Wild, seriously, what happened?”

He transfers his gaze to the captain, slowly tracing over familiar features. “You left.”

“Yeah? Didn’t you have people to come home to?”

Link shrugs. “Not my family.”

“Wild? Are you okay?” Wind tugs on his tunic sleeve. “Did you miss us?”

“Yeah.” He closes his eyes for a long moment. “A lot. How—how are you here?”

The captain snorts and waves a gem on a chain. Took a while, but I got Cia to make a gem that will let heroes open portals. We’re picking everyone up to see how things are going.” He looks Link up and down. “You, my friend, are in dire need of some help.”

Link stares at his feet. “I don’t…know what to do anymore.”

Wind leans against his side, wrapping him in a half hug. “You rely on your brothers. We’ll get you back on your feet, okay? Twi is never going to let you out of his sight again.”

For the first time in a while, Wild smiles. “Let’s go see our family.”

#tw: depression #found family #whumptober2023 #linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu whumptober #breannasfluff #mywriting #lu wild #lu wind #lu warriors

[bokettochild]

My boss likes to ask me what I'm writing whenever I'm on break, and today I told him I was writing whump for Whumptober

he, being a 50+ man with no ties to tumblr, had to ask what that was

So I explained "it's an online event where a list of prompts is released every year full of various situations for you to inflict physical and emotional damage on your characters". needless to say, i felt like a psychopath as he walked away with a vaguely concerned expression

THAT IS!

Until he came back around a few minutes later and paused by my table to say "what if you whumped someone by sticking them inside of a box crusher and turning it on, but stopping it before they actually got fully crushed? and just keep crushing them and stopping just before they die?"

I bust a gut laughing. I was NOT expecting that from him, but I now know my boss is a savage and would slay at Whumptober

#whumptober #personal #not lu

[kikker-oma]

#legends having a no good terrible awful bad day #linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu fanart #lu time #lu legend #whumptober2023 #whumptober

[la-sera]

Fanart inspired from fanfic by @skyward-floored

Thank you for making this fic, I really like it. When I read it, this scene came to my mind so I wanted to make fanart. Hope you like it :D

"Not much longer" Whumptober fanfic day 30, characters: Downfall Duo .

I didn't draw that xxxxxxx so it wouldn't be a spoiler for people who haven't read this fanfic. Curious? Please read the fanfic.

#linked universe #link #zelda #lu legend #lu hyrule #lu fanart #downfall duo #fanfiction #whumptober #lizalfos

[skyward-floored]

Whumptober Day 4: Shock, “I see the danger, it’s written there in your eyes”

We had to get to the bloody ones eventually—

This was originally going to be standalone, but one thing led to another and I think there’s going to be another part at some point. I couldn’t make it longer and I’m very stuck on the idea hehe

Warnings: blood & injury, specifically a stab wound, and just general battle violence and injuries

Read it on ao3

————————————————————

“Ugh, wizzrobes again?” Legend grumbled as he slid under a bolt of electricity. “We just fought some of these clowns yesterday! Did the Shadow just give up on originality?”

“Less complaining, more fighting!” Warriors shouted at him from nearby, and Legend rolled his eyes.

“Less criticism and more fighting!” Hyrule called back with a mischievous look, and Legend almost laughed, though it turned into a yelp when he dodged another bolt of magic.

Wizzrobes were such a pain.

Especially Wild’s.

Warriors shouted at him again, but this time it was a warning, and Legend deftly jumped away from a blast of ice that would have frozen him solid. He nodded a thanks at the captain, and went back to trying to defeat the wizzrobes, which was nearly impossible with how crazily they moved.

Legend dodged a fireball, and quickly turned and shot a blast of ice at the offending monster. It shrieked, and disappeared into a puff of smoke, and Legend swapped out his ice rod for a fire rod, and did the same to another.

The different rods seemed to work well, and along with the others all fighting together, soon there was only one wizzrobe left. It was in a color Legend hadn’t seen before though, and he looked at it suspiciously.

“Yours come in purple now?” he called behind him towards where he knew Wild was sniping.

“I’ve never seen one like that before!” Wild called back, voice uncertain. “I don’t know what it—”

As he spoke, the wizzrobe grinned, letting out a deranged cackle as it shot a huge burst of magic into the sky. Purple lights flashed, and a glowing ball fell from them, dropping down into the clearing and exploding into blinding light before anyone could do a thing.

Legend yelped and covered his face with his shield, but the magic still knocked him off his feet and onto the ground. It shook into his limbs and up to his face, his vision going white and spotty. It didn’t... hurt, exactly, but something about it felt all mixed up inside of him, jolting through his body and limbs, and he felt rather discombobulated.

“Legend!”

The sensation abruptly faded, and he felt arms tugging at him. Legend gingerly opened his eyes, almost surprised he could see at all, and looked up, meeting Hyrule’s worried gaze. The traveler was looking down at him with wide eyes, and Legend blinked a few times to get the last few spots of white out of his vision.

“Are you okay?” Hyrule asked, looking him over worriedly, “you were closest to that beam, it felt like an explosion went off.”

“Fine, fine,” Legend coughed, then gingerly pulled himself up to a sitting position. “Think it was just... magic. I don’t even think it did anything to me.”

“Nothing?” Hyrule asked suspiciously, and Legend shook his head.

“No. Is everyone else okay? Where’d that wizzrobe go?”

“I haven’t checked yet, but since you’re fine I would guess they’ll be—”

An arrow slammed into the ground right between Legend’s feet.

He jumped, and in one swift movement was on his feet with his shield out, back to back with Hyrule as he looked for the enemy who’d shot. He scanned the field as he looked for where his sword had gone to, then he froze, and stared at who had fired the arrow.

Wild stood across the clearing, his bow drawn with an arrow nocked in Legend’s direction. His brows were lowered as he stared at the veteran, stance unusually firm, and something about the way he held himself just screamed danger.

Legend flicked his eyes around, and felt his breath leave him as he saw Warriors and Sky both staring at him as well, swords drawn and angled towards him in a threatening gesture. Time stood on Legend’s other side, claymore raised as he stared silently at the veteran, and Legend’s heart skipped a beat.

He and Hyrule were surrounded. By their own teammates.

No, Legend realized with a dawning horror, sunlight glinting proudly off Time and Warriors’ armor, no not my teammates.

Knights.

“Captain? What’s going on?” Twilight asked nearby, Wind and Four looking equally confused next to him.

“Traitor to the crown,” Warriors said in a low voice, eyes never blinking.

“You kidnapped the princess,” Wild added in a growl.

“We have our orders,” Sky said in a smooth voice, and raised the Master Sword accusingly. “Dead or alive.”

Legend couldn’t breathe.

“Don’t be crazy!” Wind said in disbelief, looking at Time and Warriors with a shocked expression. “Legend didn’t do anything! What’s wrong with you guys?!”

“The wizzrobe,” Four said with a sharp inhale. “That attack must have done something to make them think he’s the enemy.”

“Time, please, you know Legend, he hasn’t done anything wrong,” Twilight said gently, inching towards him. But Time stopped him with a firm glare, his sword never lowering. The knights all took a step closer to Legend, and he felt Hyrule stiffen at his back.

“Legend, you need to run,” Hyrule whispered. “Now.”

Legend couldn’t move.

Suddenly he was eleven again, staring at a wanted poster with his face on it, wondering why the reward was so high. He was eleven, screamed at by the townsfolk, and surrounded by guards just for trying to walk into the village to buy food on his quest. He was eleven, chased down by brainwashed knights and forced to fight them, some of them people he knew, his uncle’s friends, raise his uncle’s sword against them and hurt them—

“Legend RUN!”

He snapped back into himself just in time to avoid a thrust from Warriors, and Hyrule grabbed his wrist when he merely stared at the weapon that had almost killed him, pulling him away.

“Come back you traitor!” Warriors shouted, and Legend blinked, able only to watch in numb shock as Four and Twilight leapt to defend him, Hyrule still dragging him away.

Sky leapt forward, then cried out as the Master Sword fell from his grip, sparking as she was about to be used against one of her own. Wind took the opportunity to tackle him, and Legend watched blankly as the sailor wrestled Sky’s pouch away from him so he couldn’t grab any more weapons.

“Don’t hurt them!” Wind cried out, still struggling with Sky, “they’re not themselves!”

“Keep them away from Legend!” Twilight shouted as he crossed swords with Warriors, the captain swinging his blade with fierce strokes.

Hyrule nodded, and blocked a slew of arrows from plunging into Legend’s chest, then yanked him behind his back as he avoided a huge swing from Time.

“You’ve betrayed us all!” Time spat, and Hyrule crossed blades with him, nearly driven to his knees by the force of it. “You’re nothing but a false hero, poisoning the land with your lies!”

The words were like a knife, and Legend could only watch in blank shock, stunned as Hyrule struggled against Time, as Twilight and Warriors still fought against each other, Wind nearly getting punched in the face by Sky while Four tried desperately to get close enough to Wild to stop him from sniping them all down—

“Legend! Snap out of it!” Hyrule shouted as he somehow managed not to be lopped in two by another of Time’s swings. “You’re going to get killed, wake up!”

He wasn’t sure if it was the phrase or the desperation in Hyrule’s voice, but Legend finally snapped into action, firmly shaking himself. You can freak out later when half of your team isn’t trying to kill you!

Legend dove for his gilded sword, but hissed at the warning spark he felt as he grabbed it. Sometimes he forgot his blade was another version of the Master Sword, upgraded and changed, but at times like these it was impossible.

I’m not going to hurt them, I’m only defending myself, he begged as it got hotter, still stubbornly holding on even as his hands began to burn. Please, you know I’m not!

The hilt scorched his hands, and Legend was forced to shove it into its sheathe, grabbing in his pouch for a backup sword. Before he could though, something swung towards him, and he only barely got his shield up in time to block it.

The strike threw him to the ground for the second time today, and Legend nearly had the breath knocked out of him. His eyes widened as Wild raised a claymore of some kind to strike him with, and he just barely managed to roll out of the way of another hit.

“Champion I don’t want to have to hurt you,” he gritted out, but Wild didn’t reply.

His face was eerily closed-off as he tried to hit him, strikes almost clinically precise. Legend had to dodge all over the place, and he still got a shallow cut on his arm. Not to mention his hands were smarting from trying to use the gilded sword, and every time a hit rang out against his shield, he had to bite his lip to keep from crying out.

Wild swung again, and Legend gritted his teeth and used his backup sword to shove the champion backwards, then grabbed for his ice rod again. His aching fingers closed around it, but then he felt his entire body freeze in place, yellow shining in his vision.

He couldn’t move. He couldn’t defend himself. He couldn’t do anything, and he suddenly realized that Wild must have used the stasis rune on his slate on him.

No, no no no no no—

Before he could panic too much, the magic broke, and Legend stumbled, thrown off-balance. He looked around in surprise, then saw Four standing next to him, having frozen Wild’s feet to the ground with Legend’s own dropped ice rod.

He could only stare at him for a second, and startled as Four yanked him behind his shield, blocking the arrows Wild was shooting at them again.

“Should have gotten his arms too,” he cursed, then turned towards Legend. “Vet, they’re all after you, you need to go find that wizzrobe and beat it. That should break the magic, I think it’s our best bet. We can keep them all busy while you go.”

“But— you’re outnumbered,” Legend said a bit hysterically, his panic over the whole situation starting to come back, “not in numbers but skill, have you ever seen Sky and the captain duel? Not to mention the old man, he could probably take on all of you at once—”

Four put a hand on his arm, and gave him a small smile as he raised his sword.

“I can get us some more help. But you need to go.”

Legend swallowed, but he knew Four was right, and gave him a nod as he grabbed his ice rod and bolted in the direction he’d last seen the wizzrobe.

He suddenly felt like he was eleven again.

He caught sight of Hyrule as he ran, the traveler using his magic to stay away from Time’s deadly swings. He had blood on his leg, but his face was as determined as ever, and he firmly blocked Time from following when the older hero saw Legend running away.

“Coward!” he heard shouted behind him, but Legend kept running despite the sting it left in his chest.

He bolted past Twilight, who had an arrow in his arm and multiple other injuries, but was continuing to fight anyway, blocking Warriors’ strikes with a grieved look, almost like he’d been forced to do this before. Wind was still wrestling with Sky, fists flying as the Skyloftian tried desperately to get his weapons back, but Wind was determined to keep him down.

Every instinct of Legend’s was screaming at him to turn around and fight, help his friends, his brothers, he had so many items that could help them— but he forced himself to continue, ignoring a pained cry when he heard it.

Legend was smart enough to realize the only way they would all get out of this alive would be if he broke the curse. They couldn’t stand against some of the best fighters of their group forever— it was only a matter of time before someone was seriously hurt.

But no matter how many times he told himself that, it still felt like he was abandoning them.

This is the only way to help right now. You’re not leaving them, you’re doing what needs to be done.

If you stayed here, you would only make their job more difficult.

Legend searched desperately through the trees for a flash of purple, hoping desperately the wizzrobe was still in the area.

He had no way of knowing if he was looking in the right spot or not. For all he knew, the wizzrobe was long gone, but he kept looking, even as the clashing of swords still rang in his ears, and a scream that sounded a bit like Four echoed nearby.

Legend bit down on his lip so hard he tasted blood, and ignored the stinging that had started up in his eyes as he searched.

The others were back there somewhere, fighting against their brothers, risking their lives, all for him, to keep him safe, and he’d frozen and barely helped them and now he couldn’t even find the stupid wizzrobe.

“Come on! Come out and fight me!” he screamed, voice breaking a little. “Are you afraid? Because you better be!”

A giggle flitted through the trees, and Legend shot a blast of ice out, the laughter only growing.

Purple weaved through the foliage, and Legend shot another blast out, obviously missing due to the giggle he overheard. He knew his emotions were making him sloppy, and Legend forced himself to steady his hand. He breathed out, lowering his weapon and acting as if he was unaware of where the wizzrobe was.

Come on, take the bait...

A giggle erupted in his face, and Legend thrust out his ice rod, making the wizzrobe scream as it was launched backwards. It fell to the ground, stuck solidly in a chunk of ice, and Legend pulled out his fire rod, prepared to burn it to a crisp.

Then something hit him in the side, and he went flying, crying out as he fell to the grass.

His side ached where he’d been hit, and before he could move, what felt like a foot stepped down on his chest, pressing against his doubtlessly bruised ribs and stopping him from getting up. Legend opened his eyes and saw Warriors staring silently down at him, sword raised to pierce him through.

Somehow he’d gotten past the others.

“Wars— Warriors don’t,” Legend choked out, struggling to catch his breath. “Link, please I’m not your enemy!”

“You’re a traitor,” Warriors said in a cold voice, still not blinking. He had blood running down his face from a cut over his eye, but his face showed no sign of pain. “My orders are clear.”

“Captain wake up!” Legend shouted, terror rising in his throat. “You’re not yourself, you’d never hurt any of us, snap out of it!”

Warriors didn’t react in the slightest, and raised his sword.

Legend felt a burst of panic, and he shot his arm out, feeling desperately for where he’d dropped his fire rod. If he could just kill the wizzrobe, Warriors would wake up, the spell would break—

Warriors’ sword went down as Legend’s fingers closed around his rod, and he shot a desperate plume of flame towards the dazed wizzrobe.

The fire hit it right as Warriors’ sword buried itself in his middle, and Legend’s scream mixed with the wizzrobe’s, hot agony slicing into his chest. The sword was pulled out again only seconds later, but then Warriors stumbled back, the weapon dropping from his hands.

Legend barely noticed, trying not to scream again as the sword fell to the ground beside him, already feeling blood start to dampen his tunic.

Okay, okay okay easy, you’ve been stabbed before, no big deal. Just because Warriors was who did it doesn’t change a thing, put pressure on it, you need to put pressure—

His chest burned and Legend couldn’t hold back a cry, taking thick breaths through his nose.

Goddesses please, not like this, he’ll never forgive himself.

“L-Legend?” Warriors said dizzily, shaking his head as he tried to clear it. He put a hand to his forehead, and blinked several times, wiping blood from his face with a confused look. “Vet, what...”

Then his eyes focused, and he noticed the stab wound in his chest.

“LEGEND!”

Warriors dropped to his knees beside him, and Legend couldn’t help but jerk away from him, nearly shrieking as the captain immediately pressed his hands to his middle, trying to stem the flow.

“Legend don’t move, what happened how did this...”

Warriors trailed off as his gaze landed on his bloodied sword, and every bit of color drained from his face as he recognized it as his own.

“Legend?” he said shakily, and Legend swallowed, unable to stop himself from meeting his eyes.

A sword was abruptly pressed to Warriors’ neck, and Legend watched dizzily as Twilight forced the captain back, the look in his eyes equally furious and horrified. Warriors jerked like he wanted to go back to Legend, but he raised his arms in surrender, and moved back as Hyrule dropped to his side. More of the Links rushed into the clearing around Legend, but Warriors only had eyes for him, confusion and horror shining bright.

Hyrule’s hands pressed against his middle, and Legend sucked in another trembling breath.

“It— it’s gone,” he stuttered, and felt something warm slip past his lips. Oh that’s not good. “Wizzrobe— he’s not— not g-gonna—”

“Don’t talk Legend, you’ll be fine,” Hyrule said firmly, and Legend wasn’t sure if he imagined the tremble in his voice or not. “Just stay awake, okay? I’m gonna fix you up.”

Hyrule moved a careful hand around his chest, feeling at the injury, and Legend tensed, hissing through his teeth. Someone’s hand touched his head, and he flinched, choking as something moved in his middle.

The cold he’d been trying to ignore was growing closer now, nipping at his extremities, trying to suck him down. Legend firmly ignored the feeling, despite how easy it would be to sink into it, and focused on Hyrule’s face, blearily realizing there was blood on his shoulder. He wondered who had done that to him.

The pressure on his chest abruptly increased, and Legend couldn’t muffle his scream, so many sensations hitting him that his brain couldn’t even process it.

Then something began to trickle through his middle, something that warmed the cold that had been falling over him. Warmth blossomed in his chest, different from the hot blood that had been trickling across it, and Legend exhaled, relaxing slightly as Hyrule’s magic wove through him.

Once he could focus enough to realize Hyrule was still healing him, he reached down and grabbed his wrist, giving him a look.

“I’m good, don’t overextend yourself,” he said a little shakily, and he cut Hyrule off when he went to argue. “You already used a lot of magic, I saw you.”

“You lost a lot of blood,” Hyrule retorted.

“Well I’m not the only one who’s going to need healing,” Legend said more quietly, and Hyrule stopped, the glow fading from his hands.

Twilight appeared in his vision then, arrow still jutting from his arm, and he scanned Legend’s bloodstained middle in silence. Then he met Legend’s gaze, looking much older then he normally did.

“You definitely got the wizzrobe?” he asked seriously, and Legend nodded, his eyes suddenly heavy with exhaustion.

“It’s dead. The spell broke the moment I got it,” he said in a quiet voice. “They won’t... they’re safe.”

Oh gods I hope they are.

Twilight exhaled, and nodded, putting a hand on Legend’s arm.

“Okay. Try and get some rest, Veteran. We’ll handle things.”

“Take the literal arrow out of your arm first,” he muttered back, and a faint smile pulled at Twilight’s lips.

“We’re working on fixing everyone up. Rest. We can... we’ll figure all of this out later,” Twilight said quietly, glancing behind him at something. Legend followed his gaze, and saw Warriors sitting on a log, staring silently at the blood on his hands.

The others who’d been affected by the wizzrobe were nearby, and Sky looked like he was trying to talk to the captain, but Legend looked away as Hyrule began to bandage his middle.

Traitor!

Legend closed his eyes, and tried not to listen to any of the voices that still rang around his head, or focus on the horrified look of Warriors’ that was still seared into his mind.

He didn’t want to think about it. Any of it.

#sorry Legend #linkeduniverse #linked universe #lu legend #lu hyrule #lu warriors #lu chain #whumptober #whumptober 2023 #day 4 #shock #I see the danger it’s written there in your eyes #writing from the floor #tw blood #tw injury #tw violence #I think that’s it #whew #so yeah I’ll continue this another day don’t worry #we’ll have some nice fallout from all this... >:)

[linkhappyface]

day three whumptober lets goooo

#whumptober 2023 #whumptober #no.3 #make it stop #linked universe #art #procreate #digital arwork #no tws #lmk if i need to change that #lu time #fierce diety link #majora’s mask #ocarina of time #legend of zelda

[arecaceae175]

Tagged by @baileyboo2016! Thanks, this is fun!

Rules: Post the last sentence you wrote (fanfic / original / anything) and tag as many people as there are words in the sentence.

This is from Day 31 of Whumptober

"I’ll make it right,” Time said.

Counting the contraction as one, so I'll tag 6 people! No pressure :D

@the-sleepydetective @wildsage00 @zartophski @zarvasace @ikaishere @majorproblems77

#i made a new post bc the other one got really long :D #tag game #ace writes #i'm not done with whumptober btw I just write them out of order lol #lu time

[adrift-in-thyme]

Whumptober Day 28: “We might not make it to the morning; so go on and tell me now”

Read it on Ao3

- Time/Malon

- Summary: an injured Link shows up at Lon Lon Ranch

CW for blood and injury, mentions of death and broken bones

——————————

Malon’s hands never shake.

She can’t afford for them to. Sure, there are times when they are a bit unsteady from exhaustion or stress. Sure, there are things that scare her enough to make them trembling a possibility. But in her world, when things get hairy there is only action and no time for anything else.

Now is no different. At least, that’s what she keeps telling herself. Her hands don’t tremble, even as blood oozes over them. Her thoughts don’t falter. No tears fall.

But they want to. Oh, they want to. Because this time feels so very different. She has dealt with wounded animals before and even wounded people (she will never forget the time Ingo got kicked in the leg by Epona; satisfying though it may have been after the man’s behavior, setting that bone wasn’t exactly what she would call enjoyable). Never before, however, has she held the broken body of someone she cares for quite so much.

“You’re an idiot, fairy boy,” she breathes as she presses another cloth to the gash running across her friend’s middle.

“‘m your idiot, though,” he mumbles back. Even now there is characteristic mischief peeking out from behind the exhaustion and pain straining his tone.

Malon rolls her eyes.

Link has been bleeding all over her nice, clean floors and furniture for at least five minutes now. And that’s after he rode in, slumped over Epona’s back, one hand pressed to his stomach, the other clutching the horse’s reins like a lifeline.

He had come because he had nowhere else to go, he had said when she had stepped out onto the porch, eyes wide and heart in her throat. Because he could think of nowhere else that would be safe. Where he would be accepted without hesitation.

And as she had helped him down from the saddle, as he had practically collapsed onto her arms, he had apologized. Assured her he would take care of the wound himself, if only she would provide him a place to stay. As though he were a stranger in her home and not her best friend.

“Oh, shush,” she had scolded, ushering him into the house and lowering him onto the nearest chair. “I’ll take care of everything. You just sit down.”

And meekly, he had obeyed.

Now, he watches her with a slightly dazed look, as she tries to save his life.

For that is what she is doing, really. If she doesn’t get this wound to stop bleeding soon, he’ll bleed out.

As it is, she’s afraid he won’t last the night.

She worries her bottom lip and reaches behind her for the bandages lying on the table.

“Care to tell me how this happened?” The sharp bite of fear is in her tone despite her attempts to restrain it.

And really, who cares at this point, anyway? Her fairy boy is hurt, badly. She’s allowed to be a little worried.

Link drags in an unsteady breath.

“Monster fight.”

“The usual, then.” She shakes her head, sighing. “What I wanna know is what kinda monster fight was it that got you this hurt? I don’t think you’ve ever come around looking like this before.”

Link blinks, long and slow. The blue of his eyes seems unnaturally bright. Maybe because of the light, maybe because of pain. Malon thinks it’s likely both. But it almost reminds her of that little fairy that used to follow him around.

“Did you go into a dungeon or somethin’?”

Her gaze is back on her work, now, as she ties the bandages as tightly as possible. But when he speaks she can hear something almost like guilt in his voice.

“I—” A sharp hiss, fingers fisting in the fabric of his tunic. Malon murmurs an apology, trying to ignore the way the sound is like a dagger to her heart. “I was looking for…for something.”

“Lookin’ for something huh?”

She ties off the gauzy strips of fabric now practically holding the man together and takes a moment to survey her work.

That should hold.

Now, to get that bleeding firmly under control before he passes out…or worse. She grasps the bottle of potion that she had snatched from the cupboard earlier. It’s always handy, she has found, for times when the healing power of Lon Lon milk isn’t quite up to par. Times like now.

“That had better have been one important treasure. Did you get it at least?”

A small smile lifts Link’s lips. Somehow, it doesn’t make him look any more alive. He’s too pale, too ashen. There’s too much blood, coating his tunic, coating his hands and dribbling down from his mouth and nose.

But at least he has the strength to smile. Malon is willing to appreciate small miracles.

“Yeah, I got it.”

Something in the way he says it makes her slightly suspicious. But she hardly has time to figure out why. She wipes her hands on a nearby cloth, quickly so as not to take in just how stark the crimson looks against the white. Then, she uncorks the potion bottle and gets to her feet.

Link moves trembling, crimson drenched fingers toward the bottle. But she shakes her head.

“Uh-uh. You’re weak. Let me.”

With one careful hand, she tips his chin up and holds the bottle to his lips with the other. He swallows its contents obediently.

“That should help,” she says, once he’s finished. She turns away, setting the bottle back on the table. “At the very least you won’t be bleeding everywhere anymore.”

“Thanks,” he murmurs. He sounds a bit stronger already, she thinks. But maybe she’s just fooling herself to distract from the worry currently chewing a hole in her gut.

“Anytime, fairy boy.”

Malon inspects the wound one more time, reassuring herself that it’s no longer in danger of bleeding through the bandages. Thankfully, the potion already seems to be doing its job. The bandages remain a clean, cottony white.

“Looks like you’re out of the danger zone,” she says with a sigh of relief. “But you’re gonna need some rest and a new set of clothes.”

She looks over him once more, frowning. He raises an eyebrow.

“What?”

“I’m gonna have to tend to those other wounds of yours too. I swear, you look like you let the horses trample you.”

There is a distinct twinkle in his eye now. Already, he is beginning to look a little more like himself.

“Ah, it’s a…a good look then. A seasoned adventurer kind of look.”

Her lips quirk up even as she glares at him.

“No. It’s not a good look. I thought that much was implied. And it’s the kind that gives me a heart attack.”

He grins. But it quickly turns into a grimace as she sets about cleaning a cut along his neck. Gently, she tilts her head to get a better look at it.

“Stay still, now, and let me work.”

He mumbles a tired-sounding reply. His eyes are beginning to drift closed, despite his efforts to keep them open. And as she tackles each injury, he grows closer and closer toward losing his grip on consciousness completely. But the time he is cleaned up and she has managed to help him fumble into one of Talon’s spare tunics he is practically asleep.

“There,” she murmurs, setting aside the bowl of water and multiple cloths that she had used. They tinge the water pink. “Feelin a little better now?”

She knows that she is. The terror of earlier has abated somewhat, every steady breath, every beat of his heart convincing her that the danger is gone. At least, for now.

For now, her fairy boy is safe. For now, her hands don’t shake.

He hums, sleepily. His gaze is trained on the fireplace now, seemingly mesmerized by the flames dancing there. But when she drapes a blanket over him he drags his gaze up to meet hers.

“Hey, Mal.”

“Yeah?”

“I…I think I’m in love with you.” He frowns, thought obviously a difficult task at the moment. “No…know I am.”

Malon stops short, edges of the blanket still clutched in her suddenly shaky hands. A short bark of laughter escapes, a bit louder than she means it to be.

“I think you’ve lost a little bit too much blood.”

“‘m fine,” he retorts, scowling. “Malon ‘m serious. I love you.”

Shaking her head, she tucks the blanket up around his chin and presses a quick kiss to his cheek.

“Alright, fairy boy. It’s time for you to get some sleep. We can pick up this conversation in the morning.”

His scowl becomes decidedly pouty, though he has little choice but to comply. His eyes slip closed, breath beginning to even out.

By the time, Malon has cleaned up the gory mess (she never wants to see this much blood again, especially not from him), and put away her tools, he is long gone. She allows herself a moment to gaze at him, slumbering peacefully, face illuminated by the flickering flames. He is less pale now and with the blood gone he looks more human. Younger, more like himself.

Reaching out, she rubs her thumb on his cheek, a smile playing on her lips.

“I love you too, Link.”

#whumptober 2023 #no.28 #‘we might not make it til morning; so go on and tell me now’ #linkeduniverse #fic #blood tw #injury tw #mentions of death #mentions of broken bones #trin writes #lu time #lu malon #lu malink #hurt/comfort #angst #whump #posted this on ao3 last night #but didn’t have the spoons to post it here #it got a whole lot more fluffy towards the end than I meant it to #oh well #I can’t help it #I love writing malink especially pre-lu #they’re such dorks

[aur0ralights]

I had an entire compilation of stuff for whumptober, but I've only just barely gotten on that list haha

here's day 6! dont worry about the rest of the days, its fine! jfkljdsf

#auroradaniart #linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu wind #lu fanart #linked universe fanart #whumptober 2023 #drowning #drown #tw drowning #underwater #tw drowned #tw death

[skyloftian-nutcase]

@kikker-oma @gryphonlover @smilesrobotlover @silvrash-797 @ladye-zelda & anyone else who wanted to see Abel and LU Wild, here you go :)

Link sat beside him, watching him silently for a moment. Abel shifted, uncertain what to say or do, but the boy finally asked, "Why did you take watch?"

"It's a shared responsibility among your group, is it not?" Abel replied carefully before sincerely adding, "Besides, I don't sleep well."

The Hero of the Wilds hummed, looking contemplatively back at the fire. "I don't either."

Abel felt his chest clench, seeing the distant, somber pain in the boy's eyes. "I imagine not."

This caught Link's attention, and he looked back at Abel, brow furrowing slightly. "I should know you, shouldn't I?"

Abel watched him, startled. Link was far more expressive now than he remembered - it reminded him of when the boy was just a child. But his childlike wonder was tempered, mellowed by indescribable hurt and melancholy and loss, intertwining to create someone who was looking at him with pained desperation and dread, someone who was steeling himself for something.

In that moment, Abel realized, it probably was better that Link didn't remember. Better to live in the moment than have the memory of the past drag him into oblivion.

Which meant he needn't tell him the truth.

Abel schooled his expression into a neutral one, one that his son had mirrored so, so long ago. "We've never met, Hero."

Link watched him, eyes widening, and for a moment Abel thought it was because he was surprised at his response. But something else was wrong; the teenager's face was frozen, eyes seeming to dull, looking somewhere beyond Abel. The former knight turned to look behind him, wondering if perhaps Link had seen a beast, but there was nothing there. When he looked back at the boy, he hadn't moved.

"Link?" he prompted, putting a hesitant hand on the champion's shoulder. When the boy remained frozen, he shook him a little. "Link."

Anxiety wormed through his gut - what was wrong? This was like the boy had been frozen by a spell or something! He shook him again, harder, saying his name loudly. He heard movement as his tone roused someone, and the Hero of Twilight came into view.

"What's wrong?" the Ordonian Hero asked.

"He just—he isn't reacting to me at all," Abel explained, snapping his fingers in front Link's face. The boy didn't even blink.

The other hero hummed, seeming to relax. "A memory, probably. They come to him like this, it's... weird. But he'll snap out of it."

A memory? What memory? Did the boy just randomly... zone out like this? Wasn't that dangerous? What if he did that in a battle—

Link blinked, finally seeming to come back to life, but he immediately looked pale and ill. He was trembling, eyes filled with tears, breaths coming in gasps as he looked at Abel with horror.

Abel felt his blood run cold.

"Champion," the Hero of Twilight prompted, moving to put a hand on his shoulder.

Link rose abruptly, his eyes never leaving Abel's, before he turned on his heel and walked away swiftly.

Abel rose automatically to go after him, worry eating away at him. He'd caused this, he knew that. His heart fluttered with guilt, both at instigating this and at desperately hoping and wishing it would help as well, when he knew that it absolutely wouldn't. He wasn't good at processing emotions or handling others having an emotional crisis - that had always been his wife's gift. With her gone...

Goddess, he just wanted his family back.

Shaking his head and swallowing the lump in his throat, Abel focused on finding Link, but a hand on his arm stopped him.

"Stay here," the past hero advised. "I'll get him."

Fire burned its way from his gut to his heart, and spilled out of his mouth. "Do not tell me what I can and cannot do, boy."

Chosen Heroes be damned. Just because these children had saved their own Hyrules didn't mean they could order him around like this. It wasn't like destiny had smiled upon his world.

The young man's face hardened, grip tightening. "He's clearly upset. I'm not letting you get near him right now. Give him some space. I'll go to him."

The anger intensified, mixing with pain at the thought that the Hero was right - he had no right to the teenager, he didn't know him. It made him snap all the more. "I need to make sure he's okay, and you won't stop me from doing that."

"I will make sure he's okay," the Hero replied curtly. "Your concern is appreciated. But he's my brother of the sword. You are just a guest here."

Abel finally lost all patience, stepping forward into the man's personal space and hissing, "He's my son."

The young man's harsh expression immediately broke, eyes blowing wide with shock, grip loosening enough that Abel knocked him out of his way and stormed into the forest to follow Link.

It was easy to find him, given the hiccups and sobs that he heard. Link was sitting by a little stream, curled in on himself and shaking. He heard Abel's approach, immediately turning and looking at him, too devastated to bother putting up a fight anymore.

Abel wanted to apologize a hundred times over for hurting him like this. He wanted to apologize for losing him like this. He wanted to dig a sword into his own chest and gouge his own eyes out and never see his boy look like this again.

Instead, he slowly knelt in front of him and gently pulled him into a hug.

#writing #abel #lu wild #Wild: I should remember you shouldn’t I #Abel immediately making the same neutral face Wild made in the past and therefore 100% giving himself away: Nope #Wild’s brain: Ah yeah I know that face because I EMULATED IT FOR OVER A YEAR #oh well he tried #Wonder what Wild remembered anyway #I’ll just see myself out now #Smiles I hid this because it felt like it mirrored yours too much but I just had to write it #Your whumptober was so great it was inspiring ❤️

[breannasfluff]

Reblog if you are going to post LU content for Fluff or Whumptober!

I want to know who to follow! Bonus points if you list which one you are doing. Art or writing!

#linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu whumptober #lu flufftober #lu time #lu sky #lu warriors #lu twilight #lu wild #lu legend #lu hyrule #lu four #lu wind

[undertheopensky]

Anticipation

Whumptober Day 16: Alt #5 Body Modification

Characters: Legend, Wild, Warriors

Trigger warnings: Presumed drowning, body horror, painful transformations, some blood

Read on Ao3!

Oh look! More drowning! Except not really.

-----

“Why is your Hyrule so inconvenient?”

“It’s not my fault the lizalfos took over the docks!” Wild stabs one under the arm. Black-blooded and undeterred, it just hisses and swaps its jagged weapon to the other hand. “I clear them out and then they come back, it’s just the ways things work here!”

“Well it’s fucking annoying!” Wars knocks aside the spear aimed for his gut, then uses his shield to knock the monster back a few paces. When it stumbles at the edge of the wooden platform, he pushes the advantage and shoves it off into the river below.

“Wait, don’t -”

“They swim,” says Wars flatly, wiping his hair out of his face. He ducks to the side when the lizalfos spits at him again.

“Yeah,” says Wild. “And good luck getting them out of the water again.”

Wars mutters curses under his breath.

Having - finally - finished off his current opponent, Wild switches to a bow so he can take out the lizalfos Wars had unsuccessfully tried to drown. The best thing to do is just pepper them with arrows until they get angry about him dodging their return shots and come close enough to hit with a sword, or keel over with twenty arrowheads in their face. And since Wild is best with a bow, that makes it his job. Fortunately it’s one he enjoys.

Wars curses again. “Shit - vet, look out!”

There’s a yelp, a splash, and triumphant lizalfos jeering.

Wild rolls his eyes. “You okay down there, vet?”

He fully expects to hear cursing, or maybe complaints about getting his boots wet. That there’s nothing -

“The vet can swim, right?!” he asks, running for the dock Legend had been standing on.

“He said he could!”

But there’s uncertainty there, because none of them have ever seen him do it. When they’d wound up on Outset for a week Legend had refused to get within spitting distance of the water.

Absently blocking a tail swipe, Wild scans the rough water for red and gold and pink, and - there! Dragged along in the current. It doesn’t even look like he’s trying to swim, just struggling uselessly against the water. The vet is so going to get it for lying about being able to swim. If Wars doesn’t kill him, Time definitely will, once they make it back and Wars snitches.

Graceless but efficient, Wild hacks away at the lizalfos until it collapses in a heap of smoke. A quick check proves Wars is holding his own against the only two remaining, a black and a blue, so he can handle that.

Monsters dealt with, Wild jumps in the water -

And finally hears Legend screaming.

Sound underwater is always weird. Too flat, and strangely echoing. Wild still recognises the sound of Legend in pain, and his heart tries to turn itself inside out on the spot. Fuck. Fuck. What had happened? Had one of the lizalfos got in a lucky shot while pushing him off the platform? Was that why he hadn’t surfaced? But it’s been minutes what could have - there’s blood in the water -

Wild swims closer. There’s a - a zora? Tangled up with him, are they trying to help Legend? Wild doesn’t know them, doesn’t know anyone with that combination of pink and gold and gossamer veils instead of thick fins. What if they’re not helping? What if they’re why Legend is screaming? Zora are big and strong and agile in the water and this one must be huge to have such a big tail -

Legend shudders, and goes silent, and the thrashing stops, and Wild can actually get a clear look at what’s going on as he dives to the rescue.

There was no zora. The tail is attached to Legend, his body Hylian to the hips then transitioning to the pink and gold scales of an enormous fish. Wild’s never seen one with such delicate, translucent fins.

Or one that was, y’know, attached to a person, but that’s neither here nor there.

Wild hooks an arm around Legend’s waist and tows him to the surface. He’s desperately close to out of air; what about the veteran? He’d been - goddess - screaming right up to the last, so was he able to breathe underwater like this? He hopes so. Legend’s not resisting him at all and it’s really concerning, actually.

Breaching the surface, Wild takes a few seconds to gasp for air - he’d really cut it too close - before turning to inspect Legend. He’s relieved to find the veteran blinking back at him, tired but aware, water pouring from his face and hair. “Oh thank the goddess. Where are you hurt?” Wild starts swimming them towards shore - it’s not as close as it should be, because the current had apparently said ‘fuck you’ and pushed them both out to the middle while dragging them downstream.

“Mm? Jus’ a bruise, the lizalfos tripped me n’ I hit my hip on the platform as I fell.”

Wild remembers just how much blood there was in the water and does not believe him, but there’s no easy way to check while they’re both treading water. Legend being half a fish will probably also make things tricky. Do fish even work the same way Hylians do??? Legend is definitely a little hazy. He’s barely helping Wild tug them along, just giving a sluggish kick now and then, more to keep his balance then for propulsion. “Okay, so how do we get rid of the tail?”

“I transform back when I leave the water.”

Cool, that’s easy. Wild finally finds the riverbed with his feet. Blessed solid ground! Well, semi solid. It’s more sand than mud, at least. Although… hmm. There’s no way Legend will make it out of the river without feet. Wild will have to carry him. “Alright, up we go!” He scoops Legend into his arms and starts wading out.

Legend falls against him, visibly confused, before he registers what’s happening and his eyes go wide. “No!” He throws himself backwards, and his massive tail thrashes. They overbalance.

Up to his neck in river water with sand creeping into his pants, Wild turns a dead-eyed glare on Legend. “Why.”

“I wasn’t - I don’t -” Legend’s tail flicks back and forth like an agitated cat. He sinks deeper into the water. “I wasn’t… ready. I can’t -”

“Can’t turn back that fast?” Okay, so there’s a time component. That’s fine. Wild would like to get dry sometime today, but he can cope. “How long til you can make the switch back, an hour?”

“No, it’s just -” Legend looks away, shame pinning his ears low. “I just - need a break. Need to brace myself, first.”

Wild remembers Legend’s screams.

Dread rising, he asks, “It’s the same turning back?”

Legend reluctantly nods.

“Fuck.”

Legend gives a humourless bark of laughter. “Yeah.”

“The fuck kind of ability is it?”

“Cursed item,” Legend says. He scowls at Wild’s raised eyebrows. “What, did you think I was joking every time I told you not to touch my shit?

“No, I’m just surprised you still use it. It sounds horrible.”

Legend sighs. “Part of the curse. There’s no item to use - it’s just a part of me now.”

“Ledge! Wild!”

They both look up. Wars is jogging along the shoreline towards them; he would have had to navigate the docks to get off the river first before even starting to follow them, poor bastard. He’s a little out of breath when he slows to a stop near them. “Are you both okay? Ledge, I’m sorry I didn’t warn you in time, but you told us you can swim!”

“I can swim,” Legend snaps, a bit more life coming back into him. “It’s just a bit difficult when a cursed item is unexpectedly breaking every bone in my legs!”

Warriors’ face goes horrified, scanning Legend like he can see through the water still rushing past. Legend reddens. “I’m fine, stop giving me that look!”

You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t believe you, says Wars dryly.

The sigh Legend gives is long and loud to express his annoyance, but he kicks back in the water so the pink and gold of his tail comes close to the surface. “Involuntary transformation,” he says shortly, and rights himself.

“It’s pretty,” says Warriors.

Legend glares at him, tense and waiting for the punchline.

“Why didn’t you ever tell us?”

The tail thrashes, churning up river mud into a murky soup. “And open myself up to every joke and taunt you all can think of? ‘Legend turns into a pretty pink fish, let’s knock him in the fountain for a laugh!’”

“Legend. That doesn’t sound like a joke. That sounds like torture.”

Legend flinches and looks away.

Wars continues doggedly, “I knew a guy in the war who used transformation magic. Scary stuff - and it always left him pretty fucked up afterwards. I saw blood in the water, was that from you?”

“It was,” says Wild, ignoring Legend’s irritated hiss.

Wars grimaces. “And I bet transforming the other way is just as bad. Shit. Is there anything we can do to help? Make it easier?”

Legend shrugs and sinks deeper in the water, uncomfortable. “I mean, it’s not as bad if I have warning? When it’s unexpected it always seems to take longer.”

“That happen often?” Wars asks.

He wobbles a hand. “Not so much these days. I’m more careful around water that’s deep enough to trigger it.” He snorts. “I’ve been waiting for one of these portals to dump us in a lake, though.”

Wars and Wild both cringe.

Breathing out sharply, Legend sets his face into something grim and determined. “Alright. Let’s get this over with.”

Legend’s stifled screams are awful, but somehow not as awful as watching his beautiful tail tear itself in two. The scales slough off in sheets, exposing twitching muscle underneath, before pale skin crawls in to replace them, painfully slow. Coiling ribbons of crimson are swept downstream along with shed scales, glimmering pink and gold. Eventually, he’s left fully Hylian, drenched and panting in the shallows.

Wars insists on running his hands over his legs, checking to make sure the skin sealed fully and the vet is intact.

“It may look horrific, but it does at least put everything back when it’s done,” says Legend dryly.

“Sounds horrific, too,” says Wild. The sound of Legend’s bones breaking, tearing away from themselves, and then reforming had nearly made him hurl.

“And this happens every time? Isn’t there any way to control it?”

Legend cracks one tired eye to look at him. “No. As soon as I’m submerged up to the waist, the curse takes over.”

“Fuck,” says Wars.

“I already said that, you’re behind the times,” says Wild, making Legend grin.

“Well it bears saying again.” Wars scrubs at his eyes. “Wild, you’re the expert here - how far off course are we?”

“Uhh.” Wild has to pull out the slate to answer that one. He knows they wound up downriver, but how far? Whoof. “Well, we’re almost to Thims Bridge,” he says, “which is not closer to Kakariko.”

“More’s the pity,” Legend mutters, trying to wring out his hair.

“However, instead of trying to catch us horses in the wetland, since we’ll be going straight past a stable I can just pull mine. So, yay for that?”

“How far is it to the stable?”

Wild squints, trying to do the math on foot. “Like… half a day, maybe? We weren’t gonna make Kakariko today no matter what, so it might be better to stay at the stable’s inn overnight.” He and Wars meet each other’s gaze and carefully do not look at Legend, who most needs the rest.

“Sounds like a plan,” Wars agrees.

With a grunt of effort, Legend levers himself upright. “Which way, then?”

“Well according to the weird glowy map, the bridge is that way, but I’m not seeing how that’s your problem.” Wars kneels in the sand, presenting his back to Legend. “C’mon, climb on.”

“What? No. You are not carrying me, there’s no need for that shit.”

“Are you kidding me? Look at you. You’re exhausted. You can barely stay on your feet. It won’t cost me anything to carry you for a bit while you get your strength back. Besides,” he adds, “your shoes are soaked. If you walk half a day in them now you’ll get blisters.”

Legend makes an indistinct grumbling noise. “Fine.”

When they eventually make it to the stable in the evening, they’re beyond relieved to see the rest of the Chain waiting there. It does mean that Wild has to race ahead making frantic gestures for everyone to shut the fuck up, lest they wake Legend, sleeping peacefully on Warriors’ back.

#whumptober 2023 #linked universe #lu legend #lu wild #lu warriors #lu fic #skies writes

[kikker-oma]

#i wasnt planning on coloring this #but the monocromatic vibes did NOT suit this one #Legend is ever the sacrificial lamb #wonder what hes clutching to his chest? #linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu fanart #lu legend #whumptober #whumptober 2023

[meggo-my-eggo]

Obsessed with this scene from this fantastic whumptober fic by @skyward-floored

#my art #legend of zelda #linkeduniverse #fic art #whumptober 2022 #lu wild #lu twilight

[skyward-floored]

Whumptober Day 10: Aftermath of failure

Continuation to day 4! (...finally. This is so late)

Soooo this was actually originally split into two days, and it kinda shows. But I didn’t want to have to keep stretching this out, and decided putting them together was okay, even if they don’t fit together perfectly.

Enjoy your extra angst hehe—

Day 4

Read on ao3

Warnings: blood, mentions of injuries, a panic attack, and brief mention of vomit.

————————————————————

Legend was asleep.

Warriors repeated it to himself like a mantra, watching as Hyrule crouched over the veteran and finished bandaging his middle. He knew Legend was asleep because Hyrule wasn’t acting panicked at all, and he could see his chest going up and down even from here.

He was breathing. He was asleep.

Something buzzed in his ear, same as it had on and off for a while now, but Warriors couldn’t make it out. He was pretty sure it was Sky trying to talk to him, the same as he’d been for a while, but he couldn’t focus on what he was saying, couldn’t take his eyes off of where Legend was laying in the grass.

His chest was still going up and down. He was asleep, unconscious maybe, due to shock. But he was breathing, eyes closed, face twisted slightly in pain with his bangs falling over his face. Hyrule was still bandaging his middle, and he’d pulled his bloodstained tunic out of the—

Warriors’ breath stuttered, and his gaze flicked to the blood coating his hands.

Legend’s blood.

Legend’s blood that he’d spilled.

Legend’s blood that his sword had ripped out of him after he’d plunged it into his chest, all because he wasn’t strong enough to resist whatever magic had attacked him, and made him think Legend had betrayed them all.

“Please, I’m not your enemy!”

Warriors felt his breath catch again, swallowing thickly. The memories were still blurry of what exactly he’d done, but he remembered in stark detail Legend’s chest under his foot, his eyes blown wide with an unusual fear as he’d practically begged him to wake up, his scream when he’d stabbed—

“Link, hey.”

Hands clutched at his wrists, trying to get a reaction out of him, the skin cold against his own. Warriors stared at them blankly, palms streaked with faint burns and cuts, and watched as some of Legend’s blood dripped off his fingers and onto his tunic, joining the crimson that was already coated all over his front.

He lurched over and retched.

The hands let go of his wrists, and gently grabbed his shoulder instead, waiting until he was finished. An overwhelming swell of horror and regret swamped over him as he stopped, and Warriors could barely breath, his scarf feeling like it was constricting him.

He’d almost killed Legend. He’d almost killed a fellow hero, a brother, all because of a spell he was too weak to resist.

“Captain, take a deep breath, please.”

Warriors tried, managing a shaking gasp, and what he finally recognized as Sky’s voice tried to get him to take in another. A sting of embarrassment leaked through the horror as Sky gently spoke, and Warriors felt his fingernails bite into his palm as he clenched his fist.

He needed to calm down. He was better than this, he knew how to be calm in situations like this, he’d been trained how to calm down, he needed to remember his training—

Your training that nearly killed Legend.

Warriors heaved in another breath, frantically trying to get himself to calm down. He couldn’t think about it. He just needed to focus on something else.

The hand was still on his shoulder, and Warriors focused only on that, on the small circles it was rubbing, the gentle motions of the fingers going back and forth. He kept his mind firmly from anything else that had or was happening, and eventually managed to pull his breathing under control, taking slower breaths as he calmed his heart.

After a long time, he slowly raised his head and looked at Sky’s face.

The other knight’s face was pale, making the usual eye bags he had stick out even more sharply under his eyes. A bit of blood was drying in his hair, and his lip was split, blood trickling down his chin, but more obvious than any injury was the haunted look in his eyes.

But somehow he still managed to dredge up a smile to send at Warriors.

“Hey Captain,” he said in a soft voice, and Warriors stared at him blankly. “You back with me?”

Warriors’ breath hitched again.

“I almost killed him,” he rasped, the horror starting to trickle back through the temporary wall he’d put up.

Sky’s smile faded, and Warriors swallowed, his throat stinging with bile. He hadn’t meant to say that.

Sky hesitated, and looked like he was trying to think of something to say, and Warriors felt another overwhelming swell of panic and horror overwhelm him, crashing over him like a tsunami.

“Gods Sky,” he choked out, his breath catching in his lungs, “I nearly killed him, I stabbed Legend Sky, he’s only a kid I—”

Sky clutched at his hands again, and Warriors looked at Legend’s blood still drying on his palms.

“You— we, weren’t ourselves,” Sky said in a voice only slightly more steady than Warriors’, sounding like he was forcing his voice not to break. “It was the wizzrobe. We can’t... we can’t take the blame here Wars, it’ll... it’ll tear us apart.”

Warriors let out a truly bitter laugh, and didn’t reply. It already is.

“Link,” Sky continued, his voice agonized. “Don’t—”

“I thought he was one of them Sky,” Warriors interrupted, voice shaking. “A traitor. Someone who’d gone against everything I stand for, kidnapped Zelda or— or something, I can’t even remember, but I thought he was one of them Sky, I—”

His voice cracked, and he closed his eyes, shaking his head.

I’m the traitor.

The irony wasn’t lost on him.

Sky stayed silent, and Warriors felt bile rise in his throat again as his eyes flicked to the bloodstained grass Legend was lying in, but he swallowed it back, staring down at his hands. Sky’s own were still clasped at his wrists, and Warriors realized his were the ones with the burns and cuts on them, red and painful looking.

“You’re hurt,” he said numbly, and Sky shrugged a little, turning his hands so the burns were harder to see.

“Not too badly. Fi was only helping, and Wind’s a better brawler than I am.” He rubbed his jaw, a softer expression crossing his face. “He can sure hit hard for having such small fists.”

Warriors felt a flicker of pride towards Wind, but the warmth from the emotion didn’t last long. The others really had fought their hardest to keep them all away from Legend.

Look how that turned out.

He breathed out heavily, feeling less panicked and more wrung out all of a sudden, and Warriors raised his head and looked around at their group.

Wind was sitting next to Four and helping him wrap a bandage around his side, the smithy’s tunic bloody and torn. Wind himself had a black eye, and a small cut on his cheek, with half-dried blood staining his chin as well. He was holding a bottle and trying to get Four to take it, but the smithy kept shaking his head and pushing it back towards him.

Hyrule had finished with Legend, and was talking to Time, though Hyrule was pointedly positioned between the downed veteran and the older hero. Both of them were sporting multiple injuries, but before Warriors could study them further, a choked noise made him startle.

He and Sky both turned to look, and saw Wild curled in on himself at the base of a nearby tree, his head in his hands and his forearm bleeding. Twilight was kneeled next to him, talking in quiet tones, and Wild muffled a keening noise in his hands, curling up tighter.

Warriors looked away from Wild, but found himself scanning all of Twilight’s injuries, remembering in an almost detached way that he’d been the one to inflict most of them.

“Keep them away from Legend!”

His gaze went back to the veteran against his will, and he stared in silence at his chest, bandages going steadily up and down, the same as earlier. His face was pale, but Hyrule must have cleaned the blood from it as it was clean, and Legend’s expression had eased a little further.

Warriors swallowed, watching him. Legend looked so small from over here, pale and bloodstained. He may have claimed the title of veteran, but he truly was still a kid, younger then when Warriors had joined the army.

How old was he when he had started saving people?

Warriors jumped at a sudden hand in his face, and he almost fell backwards before he realized it was Sky, holding a cloth in his hand.

“You’re still bleeding,” he apologized quietly, and Warriors hesitated, then nodded, closing his eyes as Sky began to clean the blood off his forehead and cheek. He normally disliked anyone touching his face, but Sky was gentle, and Warriors stayed still as he worked, blinking his eyes against the sudden sting in them.

“Wars wake up! You’d never hurt any of us!”

“It wasn’t you, Captain. It wasn’t your fault,” Sky whispered as he continued, and Warriors couldn’t look him in the eye.

Maybe he was right. Maybe not.

But either way, Legend’s screams wouldn’t be fading from his mind anytime soon.

And he would never forgive himself for hurting him that way.

Warriors looked down at his hands one more time, the smell of blood still sharp in his nose, and Sky continued to clean off his face, hand faintly trembling.

If blood didn’t end up being the only liquid that was wiped from his cheek, then Sky didn’t comment on it.

(...)

It was dark when Legend finally woke up.

He blinked his eyes open, lids feeling unusually heavy as he stared up at the night sky, but he found himself having trouble remembering what had happened before he fell asleep. He felt tired, and heavy, and for some reason there was a heavy feeling of wrongness settled around him. But...

Legend frowned, and turned his head to look around camp.

It was mostly dark and quiet, a campfire providing a bit of warmth and light. Legend blinked his eyes open a little further, and looked around at the others, the sense of wrongness only growing stronger.

Hyrule was tucked beside him, dead asleep with his arm resting on top of Legend’s. He looked exhausted, and his face held a deep frown, his other hand held near his sword. Wind was next to him, and Four stretched out nearby, the smithy sporting several bandages at his side.

On the opposite side of the clearing, Wild was curled into a tight ball under his blanket, barely visible, and Sky was next to him, his face tightly pinched in his sleep. Wolfie sat close by, but was surprisingly far away from Wild, and seemed rather on edge.

Time sat closest to the fire, and Legend couldn’t help but stare at how the older hero was holding Warriors’ shoulders, their foreheads nearly touching as he talked to him in a low voice.

He couldn’t make out the words, but they sounded urgent.

Legend blinked, feeling dizzy and a bit cold, and he tried to sit up, gasping in surprise as the pain he hadn’t even noticed in his middle spiked. Memories came flooding back as he looked down at his bandaged chest, and his breath hitched as Warriors and Time both turned and looked at him, their eyes shining in the firelight.

For a moment, all he could see was armor glinting in the sun, blank eyes focused on him in a glare, a sword raised to stab him through—

You killed the wizzrobe, he reminded himself as his breath caught, they’re not your enemies, they won’t turn on you, they won’t...

Twilight seemed to notice his distress, and he quickly hopped up and padded to his side, using his big head to gently push him back to lying down.

“I’m fine you big lug,” Legend said in a voice that ended up more shaky then he would have preferred, but Twilight ignored him, twitching his tail once, then settled himself on the opposite side of him from where Hyrule was.

Legend exhaled, and ran a hand through the wolf’s thick fur, unable to stop himself from still watching Time and Warriors. Looking at them without their armor on made it easier to separate them from the memories he had of them from earlier, but...

“Traitor to the crown!”

Not entirely.

Time noticed him staring, and met his eyes, looking at him with something that Legend wasn’t sure how to decipher. The older hero turned and said something to Warriors, but the captain looked away, and Time slowly got to his feet, approaching Legend.

He felt himself tense as Time drew near, but Twilight stayed firmly by his side, and the presence of the large wolf helped greatly with keeping him steady. Twilight won’t let him attack.

...not that he will, because the spell is broken, remember?

“How are you doing, Veteran?” Time asked softly as he reached him, sitting far enough away to not make Legend too uncomfortable.

“Fine.”

Time raised an eyebrow at the response, but didn’t push, offering him a water skin. Legend realized then he was rather parched, and slowly sat up again, reaching out to take it. He winced as a flicker of pain struck through his middle, but at Time’s worried look, firmly took the water skin as if daring him to argue.

“I’m alright,” Legend repeated, and took a long draught of water. It was cold as it went down his throat, but the relief was worth it. “How’s everyone else?”

Time sighed, heavy and tired. “About as well as you’d expect. Four was the worst off besides yourself, and Warriors and Twilight were both hurt more then they realized. But nobody’s in danger.”

Legend swallowed. Are they though?

It was silent between them for a minute while Legend finished drinking, shivering slightly as he finished. He could tell he had lost a lot of blood. That was something even Hyrule couldn’t fix, and he would have to just rest and regain it naturally.

Pretty annoying though, he grumbled, tugging his blanket tighter around his shoulders. He hated how cold he always felt after losing a bunch of blood.

The memory of being stabbed flickered in his memory, and his eyes slid over to Warriors, the captain staring blankly at the fire. He wondered how much he remembered of what had happened. The captain had seemed dazed after... everything, and while he’d obviously realized what he’d done, that didn’t really mean he truly remembered.

I hope he doesn’t remember a thing.

“Legend... do you know what that wizzrobe did?” Time asked quietly, and Legend felt a chill go up his spine. “Hyrule mentioned you freezing up, has this... spell, happened before?”

Do we need to be prepared for it to happen again? was the unspoken question.

Legend bit his lip. Hyrule knew why he had frozen up— he’d told him one time after finding a wanted sign with Legend’s face on it— but he’d obviously not elaborated on why to the others.

“I think... it reactivated an old spell through me somehow,” Legend murmured, drawing his blanket closer. “On... on my first quest, there was a sorcerer, a servant of Ganon, who took over the castle. He brainwashed all the soldiers and knights, and they thought I was the enemy for a long time.”

He swallowed.

“But I... I guess the wizzrobe hit me first, and it affected you all, because... you’re knights.”

Understanding dawned on Time’s face, and he leaned back, putting a hand on his chin. “My knighthood is only a title, I haven’t done much to deserve it,” he murmured, brows lowered. “But the spell didn’t differentiate regardless...”

He met Legend’s gaze again, and the veteran startled at the remorse all over his face.

“I’m so sorry Veteran.”

Legend shook his head, and looked down at the bandages covering most of his chest.

“It wasn’t your fault,” he whispered. “The wizzrobe did it. It was infected... that must have granted it extra magic ability.”

Twilight shifted a little closer to him, and Legend ran his hand through his fur again, calming himself down with the motions. Time was silent for a while, watching his hand card along, then sighed, and got to his feet.

Legend flinched in spite of himself.

“I think the captain needs to hear that,” Time finally replied, his voice quiet. “Is it okay if he comes over here?”

No, no it’s not, his mind immediately screamed, glaring eyes and cold words flashing through his mind, a blade stabbing deep through his chest as he choked on his own blood and Warriors’ horrified gaze as he stared at his hands—

“Yeah,” he said in a voice that was much too casual.

Time and Twilight both gave him a look, but didn’t do anything further then that, and Time nodded and moved away.

Legend didn’t watch him reach Warriors, or talk to try and convince him to come over to where Legend was sitting, keeping his eyes firmly on his lap, or Wolfie’s soft fur. Not until a set of footsteps approached again did Legend flick his eyes up, and he felt his heart freeze as Warriors looked down at him.

Suddenly it was earlier again, and Warriors’ face had become a smooth glare, his sword plunging downwards into his chest, and Legend couldn’t breathe through the blood, his vision going dark—

“This— this was a bad idea,” Warriors said, stumbling over his words as Legend tried to get ahold of himself. “I don’t—”

“Stay,” Legend finally managed to get out, determined to beat this. And despite his instincts begging him to just leave, to run, to get away, he looked up and met Warriors’ eyes. “Please.”

Warriors swallowed, and Time’s hand landed on his shoulder, nearly pushing the captain down to sit next to Legend. He was a bit closer than Legend would have preferred, but he swallowed back the fear and distrust that were still trying to choke him, and stayed where he was.

Time looked between them, then left, far away enough to give them privacy, but close enough to help if there was a problem.

Which Warriors was obviously afraid there would be.

Twilight stayed where he was, silent and still, and Legend kept running his hand through his fur, wondering a bit at the fact that he was letting him pet him so much. But mostly he was just glad for the grounding feel of the fur between his fingers.

The silence between him and Warriors stretched on, and Legend avoided looking at him, still staring at his lap. He was afraid he would see those same blank eyes again if he looked up, and he didn’t move, didn’t say anything.

“Legend, I...” Warriors finally began, but his voice cracked, and he shook his head, staring at the ground.

The silence came back with a vengeance, and Legend hesitated, his stomach hurting with more than just his injury. He firmly gathered his courage, and finally looked over at Warriors, and was shocked to see a tear slip down his cheek.

Twilight quietly whined, and Warriors let out a laugh that was really more of a sob.

“I betrayed you, Legend,” he managed to continue, voice more broken then Legend had ever heard it. “I shouldn’t even be over here in case— in case it happens again. I can’t be trusted, I... I nearly killed you, and there aren’t enough words in the world to convey how sorry—”

Legend swallowed, and before he could scare himself out of doing it, leaned forward and pressed his head against Warriors’ chest.

The captain made a choked noise, and Legend squeezed his eyes shut.

“It wasn’t you,” he said, not bothering to hide the tremble in his voice. “It was the wizzrobe Captain, it was a spell, an infected one, I know— I know you would never hurt any of us.”

Horribly enough, Legend felt his eyes begin to sting, but he forced the tears back, and stayed with his head pressed to Warriors’ chest, listening to him try not to cry either.

“Nobody could have resisted that,” Legend choked out, firmly blaming the sudden crash of emotions on his exhausted physical state. “Nobody. So don’t— don't. Don’t blame y-yourself.”

Something shakily rested on his back after a minute, and Legend realized it was Warriors’ arm, eventually joined by the other. Part of him wanted to break away from the contact, his mind screaming that he couldn’t trust the arms encircling him. But the part that was fighting so hard to pound it into Warriors’ head that it wasn’t his fault hung on, and enjoyed the contact, as awkward and messy as it was.

He knew it was just as hard for Warriors to be this close to him as it was for Legend to be near him, and he firmly ignored every memory of blood and swords and screaming, and focused on breathing, his brother’s arms around him.

Not threatening. Not wielding a sword.

Safe.

Twilight moved himself a little closer to the both of them, so that his fur wasn’t just pressed to Legend’s side, and Warriors let out another unsteady breath, trembling slightly.

It would take more time then this to patch back what had fractured, for all of them, but this...

Legend fought back a sob, and felt Warriors’ grip hesitate, then tighten.

This was a good start.

#this was done like an hour ago but I had to eat dinner hahhh #linkeduniverse #linked universe #lu warriors #lu legend #lu Sky #lu time #lu twilight #lu wolfie #lu chain #linked universe fanfic #whumptober 2023 #whumptober #day 10 #alt prompt #aftermath of failure #writing from the floor #this was SUCH A STRUGGLE OH MY GOSH #I can normally write Legend with ease but he fought me every STEP #but it’s done and I managed a hug SO I’M HAPPY

[linkhappyface]

ehheheh sky.

he was suppose to be calling out for zelda in the snow and mistaking wars for zelda but i got LAZY

#whumptober 2023 #no.2 #delirium #linked universe #art #procreate #sickness #tw sickness #thats about it i think #im adding him to my blorbo list after making this #lu warriors #lu sky