#LU fanfiction

[starwolfie]

@la-sera here he is, I did it!

La-sera posted a sketch of Hyrule in chains ( that inspired me to write “Poison Dart”) and I colored it in.

So here’s our art collaboration! (Click on “more” to view picture, warning for blood)

[crazylittlejester]

beep boop more modern au Sky Twi and Wars roommate shenanigans

Summary: Sky’s spent so much time studying that he’s not sure he can form a coherent thought anymore, Twilight is just shuffling flashcards over and over again, and Wars… Wars is zoned out staring at the ceiling with his headphones on

[ghosthoard]

PART 7

parts 01 02 03 04 05 06

After everybody but Time and Twilight had washed, the gruel was steaming and ready. 

All Legend can attest to was that it was warm. Watery, bland, and barely really food, but warm. 

“Come eat,” he said to the camp at large, tapping the ladle against the side of the pot because he guessed that’s just what people did. Wild would do it.

The youngest first, Time had insisted when they first became a group, not yet family. Wind had had a tantrum at that. Like being called young was a grave insult (Legend still remembered when he was that age, he probably wouldn’t take being treated like a kid well either). But once he ate a spoonful of Wild’s cooking, Wind hoarded that youngest privilege and bragged about it to everyone’s face like the brat he was. Since he was the first to get his food, he was also usually the first to get seconds which he could never finish and usually passed off to one of the others.

The kid came up to Legend, silent and gloomy and not as annoying as he should be. His eyes were still red.

He filled Wind’s bowl up to the brim. Youngest first. Then as he was passing it back and before he could say anything in an embarrassing attempt to comfort him, the sailor looked down at his food and said, 

“Ew.”

A laugh almost startled out of Legend, that one word settling his worries more than anything else could’ve. He smirked, genuinely delighted. “Alright, you cheeky little snot. No seconds for you.”

Wind left with his tongue sticking out. 

Four was next. The other night when he left the camp for privacy after tasting his pilaf, Legend wondered why he wouldn’t just split. He knew the four of them probably needed some time apart, it would personally drive him nuts trying to grieve while stuck with three other people.

Legend still remembers when he first met the colors. Seeing confirmation for the first time that the earliest of his nightmares was the young man he had unwillingly grown to care for like a brother had him falling into bad habits. He lashed out and threw insults and sulked and avoided Four as much as possible. It came to the point that Time told him to get it together. 

Four had found him trying to “get it together” on the roof of their inn that night. The fresh air and being away from the others for a bit was what had drawn him to the place, but of course his brothers couldn’t leave well enough alone. He heard Four carefully walk over to him and settle next to him. 

The quiet was a deceptive peace. And sure enough the little asshole broke it by saying, “You’re really easy to read, you know.”

Legend groaned, rubbing at his face and curling up. Maybe if he ran now he could escape this talk forever, live without his brothers reading him for filth for the rest of his short, miserable life. 

He could hear the grin in Four’s voice as he continued, “But maybe it’s just because I know Blue too well. You two are alike. Too cool to care, right? ‘Nobody will see how scared I am if they’re too busy being angry at me’, is the go-to strategy right?”

“Which one of you is talking right now?” Legend said from his huddle, “I’ll make sure to remember for the next time you split.”

Four laughed, bright and in the way Legend knew the smith’s nose was crinkling. “I’m just me right now. I only ever really hear the colors separately when they disagree on something or I’m emotionally compromised.”

“So that just means I can hit you now and be done with it.” 

“I’d like to see you try,” Four challenged.

Legend chuckled, untensing, letting the quiet settle more comfortably around them.

Eventually, Four spoke up again, carefully neutral, “If it makes you uncomfortable, I won’t split around you, I know it’s strange.”

Legend straightened quickly, snapping around to look at the smith, “No! No, that’s— that’s not the problem. It’s a cool bit of magic.”

Now face to face with his brother, Legend managed to catch the sad heaviness of Four’s face before he hid it with a cocky, self-satisfied tilt of his head. “Told you the Four Sword is impressive.” 

But Legend wasn’t having it, “Four, I mean it, don’t keep yourself from splitting because you think I’m uncomfortable. I’d like to know the colors better.”

For a moment, the two just looked at each other on that rooftop during a warm, summer night. Four seemed to be searching for something in Legend with that discerning gaze that made everyone rely on the small hero in one way or another, and Legend hoped he was making it easy for him to find it without having to come out and tell Four the truth of exactly why he was so bothered by finding out about the Four Swords magic. 

In the end, Four smiled wide, proving once again that having the hero’s spirit meant you were a menace when he said, “Aw, Hyrule’s right, you are a sap.”

And for that Legend had to jump him. Four kept laughing even when they both fell off the roof and into the hay down below.

To this day, Legend wondered if Four didn’t take him for his word, because the smith didn’t split even once since that first reveal, and god would he hate being the one keeping them all from spending time with their brothers.

“You sure you don’t want to split?” Legend said as he passed Four his food.

Four huffed and lifted an eyebrow. “So I have to experience your cooking four times? No thanks.”

Seems like his brothers wanted to fight today, huh? 

Legend pointed the ladle at him threateningly. “Watch it, or I’ll spit in your food enough for all four of you.”

“Can’t ruin something that’s already ruined,” Four said before hurrying out of spit range with his food.

Legend huffed, turning to the next person in line. 

It was Hyrule, still refusing to look at or acknowledge him.

The magical exhaustion seemed to be mostly gone now, Legend noted in his cursory appraisal. 

While he had been fighting with the porridge, Sky had forced Hyrule to take a green potion, and to Legend’s absolute shock, had even gotten the stubborn traveler to take two extra green potions to keep in his bag. He honestly hadn’t believed his eyes and almost let the porridge burn. What sort of magic had Sky used to convince Hyrule to accept two extra green potions after already taking one?! Din, if he only had Twilight’s dog ears he could’ve heard what they were saying, but now he’d have to try to get it out of Sky and the fluffy bastard would probably smile and play dumb.

Nobody could tell Sky no, while Legend seemed to only manage to make them more guarded. 

When handed his portion, Hyrule still managed a grouchy, “Thanks,” before running away, because Twilight had taught them all manners. 

“Thanks for cooking, vet,” Sky said when he came up with his bowl. 

Legend scanned him from the top of his head where his hair looked duller, his face gaunt, to his boots. More than exhaustion dragged at his brother’s body, he seemed on edge and ready to collapse. Looks like the wash didn’t really help with anything to Legend’s distaste.

Sky had been cursed with the possession of Wild’s cloak just as Legend had been with the slate. He recalled how while the group were arguing about whether or not they should be spending time fighting to open the portal or if they should go on foot to the Yiga’s main base, Sky said nothing. He did nothing but clutch Wild’s cloak in his hands, staring at the hatefully small portal. 

Cleaning up Wild with Warriors was something Legend had needed to do. To care for the dead just as he did when they lived. To make sure Wild was as comfortable as he could be. He couldn’t do anything about the sickly splotches of too big bruises and the frailness of starvation, but he could wipe the blood away, dress him in comfortable, warm clothes as Warriors worked on the mats and tangles in Wild’s hair just as carefully as he would’ve if he were still alive. 

If Legend had any say, Wild would be buried with all kinds of food with the best quality clothes and armor they could dress him in. But who’s to say what they do for their dead in Wild’s era. 

After they had stepped away from Wild, Sky had laid a kiss on Wild’s forehead then covered him with that same cloak. Laid him to rest. 

Sky’s been worse since he’s done that, but it’s not like cleaning Wild up had made Legend better either.

“Yea, yea,” he muttered as he poured Sky’s share and handed it over, “you won’t be thanking me when you taste it.”

Sky just smiled at him and left to go sit. 

Time at the very least was moving again. 

Taking his armor off always made him smaller, but he still managed to seem so big anyway in other ways, sturdy, larger than life.

When he first met Time, a small, young, basically buried part of Legend had peeked its head out at the nostalgic feeling of an older, father figure, and before he could do anything about it, that small part of him was warily but hopefully calling for "uncle."

But right now, Time wasn’t larger than life. He looked older than he ever did, the lines on his face deeper and heavier.

Adults weren't supposed to look that fragile. His adult only ever looked that fragile once.

Legend would never admit it, but seeing how defeated the old man looked while he sat vigil next to Wild had terrified him. Just as the wolf that refused to move from Wild’s side was still terrifying. 

He didn’t know what they would do if they lost Time and Twilight too. What did he need to do to help them? What was he supposed to say? He didn't know, and it was driving him crazy.

A warm, large hand reached out to squeeze his shoulder, solid and comforting and there. 

“Thank you, Legend,” Time said, actually looking at him, actually seeing him. 

Emotion swelled up, catching Legend off guard, and he quickly ducked his head to hide behind his bangs, wiping his eyes and composing himself.

Time gave him one last squeeze —it felt like a promise, a promise to be present, to be constant, to do his best— before leaving with his food. 

Warriors came up last, thinking he had subtly let everyone else get their share first.

“You didn’t burn it?” Warriors said with a stupidly fake shocked expression, a stupid hand over his stupid chest. “A blessing from the goddesses themselves?”

“I hope it’s stone cold just for you,” Legend scowled, being careful not to spill this idiot’s share.

Neither of them mentioned Legend’s red eyes or watery voice. Neither of them mentioned the bags under Warriors's eyes and the paleness to his skin.

Twilight doesn’t come up for his share. 

Legend inspected the remaining gruel. There wasn’t enough for seconds, but there was just enough for three more bowls. Enough for all nine of them. 

Legend served himself, leaving two servings, then settled himself beside Hyrule. 

There was silence while they ate.

First | Previous | Next

what should i name this fic? I've titled it dead wild in my google doc but i feel like that's a bit too spot on. Let me know if you guys have any ideas!

(dare I ask? would anybody like another part?)

CW: main character death, aftermath of torture, vivid descriptions of injury

They had been too late.

And isn’t that a hero’s worst failing, almost there, almost in time, almost saving the day. What was the use if after the victory, there was nothing left to salvage?

If only they had been quicker and smarter, they would have saved the day just like they were supposed to. 

But mercilessly, they had no do-over, and they had to face what lay before them in their failure.

Their brother hung from chains that pulled his arms harshly up to the ceiling, his toes just barely skimming the floor. Blood dripped, dripped, dripped—! Time ripped himself out of the spiral, closing his eye to it.  

Wild had been taken from them. The yiga had grabbed him and dragged him into a portal. By Hyrule and Legend’s quick thinking and skillful spell casting, they had stopped the portal from closing just barely until it stayed frozen as the size of a disc, enough for maybe Wind to stick his head in. 

It took them an hour, 33 minutes, and 42 seconds to figure out how to widen the portal enough for them all to squeeze through and land in the middle of a mass of shocked yiga. Another two hours, 16 minutes and 2 seconds for them to throw themselves into maiming, incapacitating, and killing whoever tried to stop them from finding Wild. 18 minutes for Time and Warriors to find Wild too late. 

The approaching sound of footsteps as the rest of his boys arrived turned him around just in time to see Twilight enter the dungeon with Wind and Hyrule. The man’s eyes searched feverishly around the room, first looking at Time, Warriors who stood further in, and then finally they landed on the hanging body and he froze. 

Nobody moved, nobody made a sound. It was a brutal precipice they waited on. Sky, Legend, and Four arrived before anything happened, for of course all of them had to be present to witness the fall.

“Get him down…” Twilight’s voice cracked the delicate silence. Echoing around the dungeon. He stormed toward Wild. “Get him down from there! Here, help me.”

“Twilight…” Warriors said, careful with his brother’s heart, “he’s—”

“His shoulders oughta be real sore, and we hafta to stop the bleedin’. Hyrule, you need to get ready to heal ‘im.” 

Hyrule twitched to life at the mention of his name, tears already flowing down his cheeks. “R-Right.”

“I got you, cub, I got you.” Twilight had cradled an arm under Wild’s knees, his other arm hovering, preparing to catch him. “Sky, cut the chains.” 

Time heard Sky take in a breath before stepping forward to do as he was told, his face stony. The hum of the Master Sword was hatefully calming and beautiful as he unsheathed it. The chains snapped with just one perfectly executed swing and Wild dropped into Twilight’s waiting hold. A whimper escaped someone’s mouth from the way Wild’s head fell bonelessly back, from how his arm fell limply at his side. 

Twilight hastily moved his arm from around Wild’s shoulders to support his head as he lowered him to the ground. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, must’ve hurt your neck” he muttered. 

Now laying on the ground, everybody got a good look at Wild’s face which had been hidden behind his hair. His nose had gushed blood, and it looked broken. Bruises colored him a deep purple, stark against his pale skin. One of his ears had been cut off, the other burned. His eyes… blank and unseeing and stained red from the blood that had leaked down from his head.

“Okay, Hyrule, come on.” Twilight was avoiding Wild’s face. 

Hyrule numbly knelt on Wild’s other side, staring with wide, pained eyes on all the damage, the blood loss, the sunken chest that told of shattered ribs and internal bleeding, the missing fingers, the exposed bones. He reached out. His shaking hands started to glow. He placed them ever so gently over his brother’s chest, feeling it crackle under his touch. They all watched as the healing light shone for a few— hopeful despite everything —seconds only for a sob to wrack Hyrule’s body and the light flickered before going out entirely. Hyrule collapsed on top of Wild’s chest, clutching at the blood soaked tunic, letting out heart-wrenching wails. 

“What… what’s wrong?” Twilight said, his voice rising, his breaths shorter, “Why did you stop? Why isn’t he healed?”

“It’s not going to do anything, Rancher,” Legend’s caustic (devastated) tone lashed out. “Hyrule can’t bring back the dead.”

Twilight flinched. “Th-Then, a-a potion. Or a fairy…!”

Seeing Twilight’s face twist that way as he tried to hold back tears, Time automatically went to him. Twilight’s eyes snapped on to him as he approached and never left his face as he lowered himself to his knees next to him.

“Time… Time, we have to save Wild. We have to do something.”

Time wrapped his arms around his pup and pulled him close. 

“Time, please.” Twilight shuddered in his arms as he begged. “He can’t be dead. He can’t be gone. He would’ve been alone and scared when he died. We weren’t there. We were supposed to save ‘im. He would’ve been waiting for us.”

“I’m so sorry, pup.”

Around them, the others were getting closer. Legend started rubbing circles into Hyrule’s back, his face crumpled in soul deep sadness. 

Sky had lifted Wild’s head up onto his lap, gently closing the boy’s eyes before starting to card through the tangled mess of hair and dried blood. 

Warriors had an arm around Wind’s shoulders, looking smaller and exhausted and ten years older as he took in Wild’s body like it was a punishment he was dealt. 

Wind was searching around the empty cavern with tear-streaked cheeks, hiccuping. 

“He’s skin and bones. How could they have done this much in so little time?” Four muttered in a numb grief. “It couldn’t have been more than a few hours between when he was taken and when we got here.”

“A lot can be done in an hour,” Time said. A person can be alive and then gone within a second.

“We should get out of here.” Legend said from where he had managed to bring Hyrule into a hug. “He doesn’t deserve to be here any longer.”

“No, he doesn’t.” Sky shifted, he lowered Wild’s head back down delicately as if he could still feel pain. Legend guided Hyrule onto his feet and out of Sky’s way. Sky got as far as leaning forward to lift Wild up when Twilight pulled away from Time’s embrace.

“Let me. Please.”

Sky nodded and stepped back. 

Twilight gathered Wild in his arms as he’s done millions of times before. He rested Wild’s heavy head on his shoulder then placed a kiss on his forehead. “Come on, cub, let’s get out of here.”

The shackles that were still around Wild’s wrists clattered as Twilight rose to his feet. 

“We’re getting those off,” he snarled.

Let me know if you want the next part~

[mischefous]

sooo, I read A LOT of whumpy LU fics, and I finally had the motivation to draw up my favorite part from one of my fave fics where poor Legend gets drugged and Warriors is the first to get to him.

(Also i sowwy i didnt get every detail exactly how it was in the fic, dis was the best i could do)

I would love to do more of these. But fudge knuckles my motivation is dogshit. that's also why this is super messy T3T

but anyways, i do hope yall enjoy, AND GO READ THE ORIGINAL FIC ITS AAAAH, AMAZING!!!! Give it sum big lov'n!

[toyouhellohowareyou]

Seyph has made fanart for my series Alterity and I love it so, so, so much. Look at this gorgeous style and framing and use of colour.

Can't stop, won't stop yelling about this.

She's not on tumblr and I'm posting here with her permission. Hit up her instagram for her other art.

[marte-14]

"That time I killed a god"

The three oldest Links decide to go down to the bar of the tavern they are staying at and have a drink.

It's the first time they have done this since they met.

"I don't really drink much." Sky says:" What should I order?" He isn't an expert on alcohol:" I am going to take a beer, it's pretty light." Time responds:" I will take a glass of rum."

So they sit down at the counter and order, Sky copies Time's beer.

They are having light conversations, telling fun stories. Just a nice time.

When Wars finishes his glass when Sky and Time are at the half of theirs:" Another glass please." Time looks at him:" Don't over do it." He reminds him:" Don't worry about it, Sprite. I have a good tolerance."

As they talk, the two haven't noticed that Sky has been silent for a while.

The alcohol is hitting Sky pretty hard. He isn't even realising, his mind is already wondering about other things. Thinking about Zelda, his home, his loftwing....

Then to his last battle with Demise.

Normally it would be a bad memory, the hardest battle of his life. But right now he remembers it as the most funny and absurd thing of his life.

He giggles and, without thinking, says:" Did I ever tell you about that time I killed a god?"

Time and Wars turn confused by their friend's words, thinking that the alcohol is already messing with them:" Eh?"

"I never told you about that? Alright then-" Sky starts to talk about his journey, but it's almost nonsense.

He is telling things out of order, giving names and places without context or much of an explanation.

Wars and Time let him talk, not really getting any answer to the million questions in their head.

Finally, Sky stops talking, slowly falling asleep on the counter.

The other two Heroes help him get upstairs to his room.

"Woah." Legend says surprise, Sky and him are sharing a room:" How much did he drink?!"

Wars takes off Sky's shoes and places him on the bed:" He barely finished one beer."

..................

The next day, in the early afternoon, Time and Wars decide to confront Sky.

"Sky can we talk?" Time calls him over.

Sky had a rough morning, but after eating lunch he is feeling better:" Sure." They go to a more isolated place.

"About last night..." Wars starts:" Oh yeah... Sorry about that!" Sky is quick to apologise:" I didn't think my tolerance was so bad. I am sorry that we had to stop longer." Since they all knew Sky wasn't going to wake up early that morning, they all decided to stay another day in the tavern.

"Don't worry about that. We needed more time to take information anyway." The Captain reassures him:" You said strange stuff last night. About killing a god..."

"Oh."

They retell everything that Sky told them.

In the end the only thing that they understood is that: Sky fought someone's toes with a groosenator? Jumped off sky islands and fought a god. All of this to save Zelda.

"Oh goddess..." Sky sighs, hating his drunk self.

"You don't have to tell us anything. We just want you to know." Time reassures him, but Sky shakes his head:" Look..."

"You know that I haven't fought Ganon, I fought a god called Demise and killed him at the end of my adventure. But it wasn't something I really wanted to share."

Wars interrupts him:" And we will act as if we heard nothing, alright? At the bar there were only us, the others don't know about it."

Sky is glad.

They decided to never talk about it again and, from now on, Sky is only drinking non alcoholic drinks.

[la-sera]

Happy belated birthday, RIV!! @glittercat34 or @across-violet-skies

Sorry for the late gift, I overdid it, your fic made me possessed. I planned to make 1 picture, but it grew to 2 comic pages, then now it's 4 comic pages in the end. My bad... haha

I really enjoyed this fic of yours since you first posted it on AO3, LAST YEAR, and at that time I was always waiting for the next chapter. I already had the idea for this picture in my head when I read your fic, but you didn't have a Tumblr account at that time, so I never drew it. And when you finally made a Tumblr account, you have no idea how happy I was!

I hope you have a great day!

Fic: When it Rains, it Pours by @glittercat34 or @across-violet-skies

Fanart from chapter 4

[maesonc-artistic-adventures]

Playing around with half-dragon Warriors. Inspired by chapter 23 of @skyward-floored’s whumptober fic.

Just wanted to play with Warrior’s dragon features and what his “performance” would be in his and Legend’s uh new job 😅

Also had this AMV on repeat most the time I was drawing this so you can get a vibe of what inspired Warrior’s “dragon dancing”

[fourthcupofrice]

@rebornofstars. HI BEE!!!!! I FINISHED IT!!!!!!!

EVERYBODY GO READ BEE’S WORK PRIMORDIALS!!!! ITS REALLY COOL. CLICK OVER HERE RN!!!!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/56295496/chapters/143026147

Bee that first chapter was just so amazing, it kept staying on my mind until i drew it. I love love the idea that Time doesn’t really remember Captain, and Wars doesn’t recognize his little buddy 20+ years later. I love that mystery element. Beyond the comedy of everyone in the group believing themselves to be the only mortal person in the group, I absolutely love the vibes around Time. He IS Time itself and its really good!!!! His natural Strangeness is so good, and it’s half heart-warming half terrifying how much he admires Warriors and genuinely thinks he is the protector of all soldiers and patron of battle.

close ups and drawing rambling below the cut

I’m so proud of the baby especially. I gave Fierce unicorn hair just cause I can, he deserves it. I love his stupid sword that makes no sense. If a 10 ft tall guy with unicorn hair and a glitter sword showed up I’d be so scared. His sword isn’t glittery in game but I do what I want.

the original draft was super desaturated with a really yucky pallet, and I was kinda digging it, but with Fierce’s sill my sparkly hair the desaturated panel didn’t look purposefully yucky anymore and just normal yucky, so I added a little more color.

[arecaceae175]

Thank you Linked Universe fanfiction writers. I love you Linked Universe fanfiction writers

[links-in-time]

A Problem Shared

This fic was inspired by this brilliant short comic by @mirensiart. Go check out their work it's awesome.

“Anyone else see that Wizrobe cast a spell on us during battle?” Asked four.

“Nothing happened though,” Wild shrugged, holding up a hand to count his fingers. “I feel fine.”

“Could it be a slow acting spell?” Time mused. “Stay alert to any changes.”

“Hmm, I don't recognise this magic,” Hyrule uttered, mostly to himself.

“Great!” Legend exclaimed, hands on his hips, scowl across his face. “A surprise spell, that's great! With our luck the spell will randomly make us explode or something.”

As the veteran continued to speculate, a fly appeared in Wind's vision. It wafted lazily about, buzzing irritatingly.

“Heh, we're not going to explode Vet,” Sky chuckled softly, finding the image alarmingly funny.

“You don't know that!” Legend bellowed in response.

At that moment the fly had the audacity to land on Wind's cheek. In retaliation, Wind slapped his hand to his face, squishing the bug with a satisfying clap.

“Ow!”

“What was that?!”

“Ouch!”

“What the fuck?!”

“Oww.”

“Sailor!”

“Agh!”

“What's going on?!”

Wind stared around at his companions. Each was rubbing their own cheek, as though they had all been slapped across the face.

“Wait… you all felt that too? Oops, sorry.” Wind shrugged, very confused and beginning to turn his suspicions onto the fly smashed into his palm.

“Yeah”

“Unfortunately.”

“Yup!”

“Yes!”

“Yeeah”

“Yes…”

They all replied at once.

Wars let out a long pained sigh as he rubbed his freshly raw cheek.

“So… a spell that shares pain huh…” he grumbled.

He and Twilight caught each other's eye and the same sickening thought passed between them.

“We are so dead.”

***

The first few hours passed by without much incident. Though each of the Link's found themselves a little short of breath after their hike up a steep valley. As they stopped to make camp, they all sighed a collective breath of relief to have a long rest. Even Wind and Wild, who would usually have bounded up the trail like mountain goats. Meanwhile Sky tried his best not to look too guilty.

Nothing of note happened during their evening meal either. Though Wild feared he might actually spontaneously combust from how many times the others told him to be careful with his knives, as he chopped vegetables for stew.

“Ooh hot!” Sky hissed, as he swallowed a mouthful of broth before blowing on it.

“Ouch!”

The exclamation rang around the ring of heroes, each experiencing the same sting of pain to their tongues. Waterskins and canteens were quickly reached for, to extinguish the burning in their mouths.

“Sky, can you please not burn off all our taste buds?” Legend asked, turning a wry look on his brother.

“Sorry, I wasn't thinking,” Sky pailed, taking extra care with his next mouthful.

“It's alright Sky, besides, the Captain doesn't have any sense of taste anyway!” Time smirked, before shoving a spoonful of stew into his mouth.

“Hey, take that back!” Warriors demanded, playfully slapping Time across the shoulder.

He regretted it instantly of course, when the same mild shock struck his own shoulder.

“Wars?” The others grumbled.

“Let's just try to refrain from any horse play, alright?” Twilight suggested, carefully inching away from Hyrule and Wild on either side of him. “We've gotten pretty familiar with each other on this journey. We can easily hurt each other without really trying.”

“And what's the bet that all of our pain tolerances are different?” Legend remarked, staring down into his stew.

He eyed the rings adoring each of his fingers. Legend struggled to remember the last time he had taken any of them off. Though he had given the healing ring to Rulie to borrow briefly.

Most granted him some kind of power or protection. However, there was one in particular which he knew he couldn't live without. The Vet swallowed a lump of carrot as he wondered how things would fair in the morning. Maybe if he tried to be the last one out of bed, it wouldn't be so bad.

“Let's just get some rest and hope this spell wears off by morning,” Time suggested.

“Agreed,” Wars chimed in.

The boys finished their meals and tucked themselves into their bed rolls, a safe distance away from each other. Previously on more than one occasion, someone had woken from a night terror and attacked the closest body. No one wanted an incident like that while they were trying to get some sleep.

***

“You feel any change this morning?” Four asked Twilight, as he staggered over to where the older hero was perched on a log on last watch.

“Don't think so, but then we didn't feel any different after the spell hit anyway. I don't reckon we'd know if it wore off without trying it out.”

“Hmm, you first!” Four chuckled.

“Yaww! Morning,” Sky yawned, as he sat up and stretched.

He smiled as he caught sight of his brothers.

“Anyone else awake yet?” He asked, rubbing the crust from his eyes.

“Not yet, but…” Twilight began, but he was cut off, as a surge of pain stabbed through what felt like his entire body.

Four dropped to his knees, his arms wrapped around his torso.

“Ahh!” Sky breathed, leaning forwards as the wave of aches washed over him.

“What the heck?!” Warriors exclaimed in a sleepy angry voice.

He rolled onto his side and out of his blankets as he squeezed his eyes shut. The others were all making similar cries and moans as they were rudely awoken by whatever had inflicted this all-encompassing pain upon them.

“Sorry everyone.” They heard Wild say sheepishly.

He carefully stretched his neck and limbs before getting to his feet and stumbling towards the fire.

“It's the scar tissue, it gets stiff in the mornings. Especially if it's chilly like it was last night,” he explained.

“I know what that kind of ache feels like,” Wars sighed, “this isn't that Wild. This is something else.”

“It’s me,” Legend muttered.

Sitting cross legged on his bed roll with his head hanging, the others struggled to see the veterans face.

“What do you mean it's you?” Hyrule frowned, slowly getting up and wincing against the pain. Had Legend somehow managed to hide an injury from them?

“The pain, it's something I've had for a long time. This ring helps, but first thing in the morning is always the worst.”

Legend held up his hand for the others to see. Though he wore so many rings he could have been referring to any of them. He swept his fingers through his fluffy fringe to brush it off his face, before dropping his hand in his lap.

“How, how long have you been dealing with this Lege?” Hyrule asked hesitantly.

Legend was aware that Hyrule had been inching steadily closer. Any moment he expected his successor’s hands to start glowing. He needed to put his mind to rest quickly. Well, as much as he could.

“A long time, Rulie. And before you start, I've tried every healing remedy under the sun. Even magic ones, so your healing magic won't help. I'm sorry, but it just won't.”

“Legend,” Sky sighed, finally out of his blankets and sitting close to the embers of the fire.

“I don't want your pity, any of you,” Legend hissed, turning his gaze around the group. “And you'd all say the same if it was the other way around. It'll be tolerable in half an hour or so.”

“We've broken camp in less time than that before,” Four sighed, plonking himself on the ground beside Sky.

“Does that mean every morning we've got on the road, you've secretly been dealing with this pain?” Wind asked.

Legend thought the kid looked like he was dealing with his and Wild's morning aches worst of all. Even his voice sounded strained as he stumbled towards where Time sat on his bedroll.

“I just,” Legend sighed. “It can't be helped, so I just get on with things, same as the rest of you.”

“We'll wait until everyone feels well enough to move.” Time decided, pulling Wind against his side as the sailor sat down beside him.

“Fine, but this better not become a regular thing. I can deal with my own curses the same as everyone else!” Legend insisted, fixing Time with an intense stare.

“Curse?” Wild asked, suddenly even more concerned.

“Figure of speech Champ,” Legend winked at him.

***

If Warriors was less combative towards the Veteran from that moment on, no one mentioned it. If Hyrule felt more inclined to stick close to his predecessor, Legend didn't mind it. The others tried not to think about their brother's many aches and pains earned from years of adventuring. Not to mention the fact that the guy hadn't even hit twenty yet.

Time sighed as they walked along the woodland trail and considered his own lot. He was the oldest, sure, but not by a lot. The others had made wild guesses about his age, but in truth he believed himself to be in his mid thirties. Time couldn't be sure of course, he'd never known when his birthday was. But Malon thought they were the same age and that was good enough for him.

Time and many battles had given the man his own share of aches and sore joints. Though not bad enough apparently to debilitate the whole group. He thought about how poor Wind had still struggled to get moving, even after the rest seemed to have recovered. Twilight had given the kid a piggyback ride until he felt steady enough to walk on his own.

Legend drew the sailor into a one armed hug and muttered an apology. But Time heard Wind insist that Legend had nothing to be sorry for. He expressed just how impressed he was that the veteran hero still got up every morning and got on with his job, the same as the rest of them. Legend didn't respond, but as Time glanced over his shoulder he caught the tips of Legend's ears turning pink.

***

The Lynel literally walked into them. Whether it had been laying in wait for them, or just happened upon a group of heroes in the wild, no one cared to ask.

“No heroics!” Warriors shouted almost immediately.

As swords and other weapons were drawn, a million memories flashed through his mind. All those times one of them had stepped in front of another to save them from a blow. That wasn't going to work today. They didn't know if it was solely pain that was being transferred yet. If wounds could also be shared between them, they were going to have bigger problems than the Lionel.

“He's right,” Time barked. “Keep your guard up and stay out of each other's way. We don't need any friendly fire or hits taken for each other. Understood?”

Everyone nodded and the Lynel charged. It went straight for Sky, perhaps the billowing of his cloak caught its attention. The young knight stood his ground, Master Sword held firmly in his grasp ready to strike. He glanced quickly left and right to make sure no one was nearby, then tried to remember the move Wild had shown him.

Sky waited until the Lynel was only a few feet away before stepping to the side and swinging his sword diagonally. He slashed the Lionel across its chest, leaving a deep gash in the flesh. It skidded to a halt a few meters behind Sky, letting out a furious roar which scattered a nearby flock of birds.

Unfortunately, the Lynel turned and swung its arm straight into Twilight, who had been trying to sneak up on it. The beast's forearm hit Twilight across the chest, sending a ripple across the group. Four and Hyrule both staggered backwards, while Wind was almost knocked off his feet.

“Argh, sorry!” Twilight grunted, but the others weren't listening.

The pain receded quickly and Wild prepared to line up a shot on the Lynel.

“Watch out, it's…!” Wars began to shout.

An instant later the Lynel opened its fanged jaws and let forth a bout of flame. The boys scattered, rolling or dodging out of the way to avoid being singed.

“Ahh!” Legend cried.

“Lege!” Hyrule winced through gritted teeth as he bit back Legend's pain.

“I'm alright. Just my leg,” Legend replied, quickly glancing at the fresh burn across his right leg.

“Yeah, we know,” Sky grunted.

“Wild, can you take a shot?” Time barked.

“Not at this close range. It moves too fast. I'm gonna get some distance, can you guys draw it to me?” Wild asked, already turning and sprinting off through the trees.

“I guess we'll have to try,” Time huffed under his breath. “Boys, draw the beast to Wild!”

The others nodded in understanding and hurried to help however they could. With one painfully burned leg each, they struggled to maneuver. Legend got the Lynel’s attention by blasting it once with his fire rod.

“Hey, over here!” Twilight bellowed, launching his boomerang at the beast.

The gale boomerang struck the monster in the back of the head, driving it into a tree with a blast of wind for good measure.

“No!” Wind shouted from the opposite direction. “Here!”

He let off a piercing whistle which cut through the air. The Lynel snapped its head around to stare at the young sailor. It narrowed its eyes and pawed a hoof at the ground. Huffing loudly through its nose.

“Sailor, run, now!” Warriors ordered calmly.

Wind had time to glance once at Warriors, and back at the Lynel before it lowered its torso and charged. Wind turned on the spot and sprinted full pelt after Wild.

“Catch me if you can, you bastard!” Wild shrieked over his shoulder

Before Time or Warriors could shout ‘language’, Wind was off. Brambles and branches snatched at his heels and his clothes, but Wind shook them off. He could feel the Lynel’s hoof-beats rumbling through the ground behind him. He couldn't slow down or he was going to die.

“Hylia please let Wild be out here somewhere!” Wind uttered, grunting as he fought his body to keep on running.

As though in answer to his prayer, Wind saw a hint of blue among the trees up ahead. He grinned when the visage of his brother came into view, standing in the middle of the path directly in front of him. Wind knew what he had to do, and he trusted Wild not to kill him in the process.

“You wanted him, now you got him!” Wind cheered at Wild, who answered his call with a smug little smirk.

Just as Wind was within a few meters of Wild and his outstretched sword, Wind dropped. He skidded forwards on his knees and slid on the damp grass right past Wild. Overhead, Wind heard Wild shift his stance ever so slightly as the Lynel thundered towards them.

Wild waited. And waited some more. He waited until the Lynel was mere feet away. Until he could smell the sweat on its flanks, and the brimstone on its breath. The Lynel swung its blade. Wild launched himself into the air. The forest spun in a blur. He was vaguely aware of the blue smudge of Wind somewhere nearby, but he had to keep his attention focused on his enemy.

The blade in Wild's hand moved as an extension of his arm. The Lynel lifted its head to roar at just the right moment. Wild smiled in the fraction of a second it took him to slice his blade across the monster’s artery.

***

“You're in pain Rulie, it's fine honestly. Don't strain yourself.” Legend insisted.

Hyrule gave him a deadpan look, his hands glowing and glittering with healing magic.

“Legend, I'm in pain because your leg is burnt, you idiot. If I don't heal you we'll all feel it for hours. Not to mention your wound could get infected.” Hyrule insisted, as he pushed Legend back down to the ground, a little more forcefully this time.

“Please just let him heal you, Lege. I don't know about the rest of you, but between the hit Twilight took and Legend's burned leg, I'm not feeling too good.” Four grumbled.

He was still rubbing his chest and sitting in an ungainly pose on the ground. Twilight could have sworn the smithy’s eyes flashed with a hint of ruby red for a moment. The pain in his own leg was akin to more of an annoying itch, but clearly it was having a stronger effect on the others.

At that moment Wind and Wild pushed through the brush nearby and rejoined the grouo. The tired and withdrawn expression on the Sailor’s face drove away the last of Legend's resistance. He let out a long drawn out sigh before he stopped trying to get up. Legend nodded once at Hyrule, then crossed his arms and waited.

While Hyrule set about fixing his predecessor's leg, Time gave Wind and Wild a look over. His gaze fixed on the scuffed knees of their youngest hero.

After digging around in his bag, Time pulled out two potions. He offered one to Wind who only grumbled briefly before taking it and sipping at the crimson potion. Time offered the other bottle to Twilight. Ordinarily Twi wouldn't waste one of their potions on something so trivial as a punch to the chest. However, given that it wasn't only his own pain he needed to heal, Twilight assented.

“Well, that could have gone worse,” Warriors sighed.

***

“Okay, I think we've found a counter spell,” Legend announced over dinner that evening.

He and Four had been scouring each other's spell books for over an hour. At last they happened upon a spell which seemed to meet their requirements.

“It's a fairly simple counter spell, but it has an element of a separation spell too,” Four added.

“Any side effects?” Time asked, pausing as he lifted a spoonful of soup to his lips.

“It's not a very helpful spellbook. It's pretty old and I can only decipher the most important parts,” Four admitted.

Legend nodded and decided to ignore the flash of violet in his brother's eyes. He'd been surprisingly focused during their search, almost gleeful to get his nose stuck in a pile of books. Four was often found reading of an evening, but this task seemed to have awoken the true bookworm in him.

“I say we put it to a vote. It's likely the spell will wear off eventually, but with our luck we could sustain another serious injury before then. All those in favor of trying the counter spell, raise a hand.” Warriors decided, already holding up his own hand as he looked around at the others.

In quick succession the rest of the Chain raised their hands, some holding spoons, into the air. Twilight and Time were the only two to hesitate. They shared a gaze and Twilight shrugged. After that they both lifted their hands and Time nodded to the Captain.

“Alright, we'll give it a try. Is there anything you need for the spell Legend?” Time asked.

“Um, I'm gonna need a hair from each of you tied into a knot,” Legend replied, squinting at the book for confirmation. “Hyrule, I might need your help too. In case my magic reserves aren't enough to cast it.”

“You can count on me,” Hyrule nodded.

With a fistful of hairs in various shades of blond, Legend and Hyrule stood beside the campfire. Legend held the spell book in his other hand and practiced the spell for the fiftieth time that evening. Hyrule's hand lay gently on Legend's shoulder, the comforting warmth of his hand emanating through his clothes. Hyrule was always warm.

“Okay, I'm ready,” Legend said quietly, drawing the attention of the rest of the group gathered around the fire.

The boys sitting in the flickering light of the fire drew in a collective breath. Legend began to read aloud from the ancient script of the spell book. Although no one understood the language, Legend spoke as though it were his second tongue. Perhaps all that practice had paid off.

As the spell came to an end, Legend's fist holding the hairs began to glow. His knuckles grew white and Time noticed Hyrule bracing himself behind his predecessor. This was clearly taking a lot out of their vet, and he hoped it wouldn't cause him any problems afterwards.

Speaking the final word, Legend opened his fist and let the hairs fall into the fire. The rest of the boys watched with bated breath, as the little strands of gold and bronze drifted down and disappeared.

Legend breathed a long sigh of relief and snapped the spellbook shut. The moment he did so he began to stumble backwards. Hyrule seemed ready for this however, and caught his brother easily in his arms.

“You okay Lege?” He asked softly.

“I'm good, just real tired,” he huffed breathlessly, his face a little paler than usual.

While Hyrule helped Legend to stumble over to his bedroll, the others stared around at each other.

“Did it work?” Asked Sky.

“How do we tell?” Warriors questioned.

“I could cut my self real quick?” Wild suggested.

“No!” Time and Twilight barked in unison.

Wild shrank back, his previously confident smile fading in an instant.

“No one's going to hurt themselves on purpose,” Time insisted.

“So what, are we just going to wait until someone does get injured and see if we feel something?” Asked Four, sounding irked. “That's not very scientific.”

“Scien-what?” Sky mumbled, looking confused.

“Don't worry feathers, it's a future thing!” Wild chuckled. “Come guys I really don't mind. Besides, if Rulie is feeling okay he can heal me right away anyhow.”

Wild stared around at the others as Hyrule returned from tucking Legend into his blankets. The spell had almost drained the veteran and within a few moments of laying down in his warm bedroll he had drifted off to sleep.

“How's Lege?” Asked Warriors, nodding to the small lump beneath the blankets.

“Sleeping, that spell used up most of his magic. A good night's rest and a potion in the morning and he'll be right as rain.”

“What do you think, Rulie?” Wild cut in. “Wanna test whether the spell worked with me?”

“You want to hurt yourself don't you?” Hyrule sighed.

“Let me get this straight for you. I don't want to hurt myself, I want to help everyone else!” Wild insisted.

While Wild was trying to explain himself and Time and Twilight continued to insist that this was not going to happen, Wind and Four happened to catch each other's eye.

“You thinking what I'm thinking?” Four whispered.

Wind nodded. Four gave the sailor a knowing smirk as the pair of them shook out their left hands.

SLAP

All eyes snapped around to see the two smallest heroes rubbing their cheeks.

“What the hell are you two playing at?” Time bulked, staring at the two boys with disbelief.

“What?!” Four exclaimed, nursing the steadily growing red mark upon his face. “We needed to test the spell, but we didn't need a serious injury to do it.”

“The real question is did anyone else feel it?” Wind pointed out.

“I'm guessing since we're the only ones rubbing our faces that the answer is obvious,” Four remarked.

He gazed around with violet eyes, searching for any hint of pain or discomfort from the others.

“I didn't feel anything,” said Wars.

“Me neither,” added Sky.

“It seems the spell worked then,” Time sighed. “Well, I'll have to congratulate Legend when he wakes up. And well done to you too Four for finding the right spell.”

“I'm just glad it's over.”

“Maybe we can learn something from it though.” Warriors mused. “We have become a bit too reliant on potions and Hyrule's healing abilities. I for one know I've let my guard forms slip, perhaps I should come up with a training regimen for everyone?”

With an enthusiastic smile plastered to his face, Warriors looked up to gauge the Chain's reaction to his suggestion. Not one face was smiling back at him. In fact, Four and Wild looked about ready to murder him.

“Alright Captain,” Time said coolly. “Let's start with how to defend against a horde of enemies. While you're unarmed!”

Without a seconds warning, Time lunged for Warriors. His larger frame pinned the younger hero to the ground, knocking the wind out of him. While some of the others began to roar with laughter, others got the idea. Wild was the first to join in, leaping with joy as he piled on top of Warriors. Adding to his discomfort by tickling his stomach where his shirt had ridden up.

“Oh please no!” Wars screeched, in a high pitch voice none of them had ever heard before.

As more of the boys moved to help Warriors with his training, Twilight hung back. He clutched his stomach as he roared with laughter. Managing to disguise the gentle rub of his stinging cheek as he leaned on his hand.

[crazylittlejester]

more of my modern au with Twi Sky and Wars’s being roommates but most importantly idiots

summary: Twilight was always the first one home on weekdays since Sky had work and Warriors was rarely home before 10:30 these days, so when he opened the door of the apartment he shared with his two best friends and saw Warriors’s shoes carelessly laying in the middle of the hallway, he knew something wasn’t right

[mmelete]

Fanart for @imperialkatwala and @polynomialpandemic’s Fic! (Btw go read it on Ao3, it’s really good <3)

non-writing one beneath the cut:

[mischefous]

OOGHHHH- man this fic, this fic I come back to very often to re-read. especially chapter 2. When FanJoyJuly was announced I was like this one. this is the fic I wanna draw for.

the whump, the emotion, the recovery was so painful but so rewarding. everything that was described was so tangible. I could feel everything Four was experiencing in such heart-wrenching detail. I felt the unbridled fear of the Chain when they were helping him through everything. this is one of my top favorite fics in my little hoard that I love coming back to.

just be mindful of the tags in this fic. but give it a read! IT'S SO FREAKING GOOD! thank you to @cluelessmoose for this amazing fic💙

[blarefordaglare]

”I’ll miss you guys.” The skyloftian hero locked his eyes with the eight boys and men. Tears pooled around at the corner, blurring them into worried blobs, their look prematurely screaming grief. He found it ironic-he started it all, now it’s his turn to end it.

The seconds felt like hours of tense silence, mixed with the white noise of sobs that were held captive at the bottom of the throat. It was the hero of Time who broke that silence, his boot digging into the dirt as he stepped closer. His hands reached out, but didn’t touch the fellow hero.

His fingers curled around her. The blade of evil’s bane.

Sky braced himself for a series of harsh words towards the sacred metal, but he found none. Instead, the man’s voice started as a choked whisper, “Keep him safe,” his voice cracked, like how a child would losing someone they love, “Like he did to you all those times. Keep my boy safe.” The clear, salty droplets of water pooled onto the sword, then sliding on the ground. “Please.”

Sky tentatively reached out, his fingers curling back around the Master Sword, “I’ll be okay, I-“ his breath stopped his tongue from lying. He may never be okay, this may be his end. That part of him though, the spirit that bangs on his heart like a drum, refused to take failure as an answer, “I promise.” His features, once soft and delicate now stood proud and serious against the setting sun, his cheeks tense and his eyes narrow in an intelligent, calculating manner.

Without waiting for a response, he stepped into the portal, allowing him to encounter the source of this curse.

“You hurt me,” the hero stated, “I killed you once.”

The demon king was already drawing his blade.

“You hurt my family, my home,” He inhaled deeply, his knuckles turning white from the grip on his sword, “I will kill you again.”

[lele5429]

Needs a Hug

Meme edits ft. Azukisan

Ravio needs a hug

And Legend needs a hug

Now on “photo” record