#anyway i only just finished reading hero and whew i wanna die

[bladesoflightandshadow]

variegos → kenjikatsoros

[halfway-through-insanity]

Febuwhump 2022!

Hey guys! its been way too long! I’ve been dealing with a whole ton of life shit like moving, starting a job, quitting that job, deep depresso and then a new job. whew i literally have not been able to do anything i used to find enjoyable for like...months. This is me finally finding something that brings joy to my emptiness so not only will i be trying to complete this month for your entertainment but for my sanity and to prove that i do in fact still have hobbies :)

Anyways uh yeah these will be mostly Linked Universe one shots and I will do my best to do all 28 but damn im bad at commitment so we get where we get. There will probably be some BotW stand alone ones sprinkled in. 

This will be cross posted on AO3, so go here if you wanna read it on there instead. It may be more consistent on ao3 if im being honest. Depending on the feedback i get on here, i may just post solely on there.

Day one: Head Injury/ “I dreamt you were alive” under the cut

Head Wound/ “I Dreamt You Were Alive”

In Wild’s opinion, Time’s bedside manner was a little…lacking. The elder was knelt beside Wild as the others set up camp, his grumbling fading in and out of Wild’s perception as he nursed Wild’s nasty blow to the head from earlier.

The Chain had just recovered a few days ago from their most recent encounter with…whatever it was that seemed to be the shape-shifting ring leader of the dark blooded monsters. Well, Wild absently winced- either from the splitting pain or from bringing up that memory (or both) - perhaps “recovered” wasn’t the best term. No one has recovered and personally, he doesn’t think he ever will. Their broken team dragged themselves out of the deep chasm of grief so that they could keep moving, hoping to get closer to putting an end to this whole nightmare. It wasn’t long before they ran into a horde of cursed moblins, which on any other occasion would have been a chore. But each one of them had an overwhelming need to blow off steam, so the monsters were a welcome distraction. As that battle wore on, morale lowered steadily, each hero getting more and more into their own heads and following darker thoughts. Their previous loss the day before had become even more apparent as they noticed the hole in their well-practiced battle formation.

Wild had caught himself more than once sweeping his eyes over the battle and panicking when he only counted seven companions. Each time he had to stop himself, it was like a punch to the gut.

There was only ever going to be seven others from now on.

At one point in the battle, Wild felt rage flare up as once more he remembered the loss and once more he felt helpless to change anything. He had just downed his third moblin when he checked how the others were faring. Everyone seemed to be holding their own, Wind seeming to be the only one needing help. The moblins saw him as the most vulnerable (their mistake) so they ganged up on him the most. For the most part Wind had it under control- until wild saw a stray moblin charge at the distracted teen from behind, club raise.

No one else is going to die, Wild hissed to himself and sprinted to his companion. He was almost too late and he watched the heavy club come down with immense force. Wild hurled himself over the final few strides that still separated him from Wind, slashing his sword out preemptively so he would land a blow while he knocked Wind out of the way. It worked and he got there in time, but not without that club connecting with his skull with a crack.

Everything immediately went blank. He didn’t register Wind’s cry of distress or calls from Warriors over the battlefield. It was just…nothing.

His friends had finished up the battle and had brought him to a safe clearing where they set up camp and mended their various wounds.

Now Wild had begun to dip in and out of consciousness, walking that hazy knife’s edge between reality and the unpredictable void of the unconscious. He thinks he’s currently conscious as he peers up through squinted eyes at the Old Man dabbing a potion-soaked cloth onto his head. The sensation was dampened, barely noticeable- a faint buzz at the edge of his perception as the potion stung his open flesh. He watched Time’s furrowed brow deepen as Wild absently batted at the persistent hand at his forehead.

“Sit still, kid,” Time grumbled and forced Wild’s hand back down to his side. Immediately, Wild’s feeble hand rose up once more, pushing Time’s arm away. Time let out a huff that initially sounded disgruntled, but Wild thought he heard the Old Man restrain a tone of amusement behind it. “You’re a dreadful patient.” Once more, Wild’s arm was forced down to his side, this time, he gathered, it was pinned under one of Time’s knees.

Wild intended to respond with a witty “Well, you’re a dreadful doctor,” but through the thick fog of his brain, he wasn’t sure how much of it was actually intelligible. He heard Time’s voice sling back a reply, but he couldn’t really understand it. It seemed that his hearing was fading, and he felt his vision blur along with it. With the last of his strength before he knew he would slip out of the waking world, he used his free hand to swat at Time once more. I was followed by an exasperated growl, then silence.

The little amount of sleep Wild got since…well- since the incident, his dreams had not been kind to him. It often involved him being a spectator to the aforementioned event, where he could see the whole scene from different angles. The viewpoints would change without warning, seemingly to occur when it would hurt Wild the most.

It would usually start as he watched himself burst into the small room. None of the others that surrounded Twilight even registered that he was there as they huddled around the bed. Time sat at the farther side of the bed holding Twi’s hand tightly in his, his singular eye burning with deep worry mixed with frustration. Hyrule was on the other side, straightening up and shaking his head in defeat while Four peered on next to him, his small hands covering his mouth in disbelief.

“I…I can’t do much more…” Hyrule’s words echoed distantly, like a whisper bouncing off the walls down a long hallway.

The scene would usually cut to Wild forcing his way past Hyrule and clutching Twilight’s hand to his chest. He was now seeing though his own eyes, his vision blurring with tears as he watched Twilight apologize to Time for being so reckless and pleading with him not to blame himself for this. Wild could feel his heart break when Twilight’s gaze turned to him, a soft smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

Twilight’s words boomed in his ears even though he barely spoke in a whisper through the blood bubbling in his throat. “Don’t look at me like that, Cub…”

The words only made Wild’s tears stream faster down his face “Then don’t leave me…” he begged.

The next five words remained branded in Wild’s mind, they echoed through his bones and would from that moment on have a vice grip on his heart and on his thoughts.

“I will never leave you.”

The scene usually then cut to a close up of him curled over Twilight’s body, trembling violently as an agonizing cry ripped from his lungs and shook the windowpanes of the small room. His tears blazed down his cheeks like lava and he roared pleas to the Goddesses, to Hylia, to Twilight to please stay, please just stay.

He knew how it ended. Every time. He would practically feel the spirit of his best friend- his brother- leave Twilight’s body. Sometimes he wished he could catch it as it brushed by.

Usually the dream would end there as Wild was shaken awake by his companions and he was still screaming Twilight’s name.

But this time was forced to remain, the comatose-like state from his head trauma wrapping him in a thick and sickeningly sweet blanket of fog. The screams from the flashback faded and echoed distantly as he found himself in what looked like the Lost Woods. Except that the gnarled dead trees were replaced with lush cherry trees, their soft pink petals fluttering to the ground in the cool midnight air. Stars winked above him in unfamiliar constellations and below him a thickening fog wafted and curled around his legs.

Wild should be scared, or at least concerned that he didn’t know where he was, but he instead felt safe. He was awash with comfort and peace as curiosity pulled his feet into a slow pace. He could hear a rustling in the soft grass ahead of him, so he followed it. He caught glimpses of shadow at the edges of his field of vision, imperceptible enough to the point where he thought his mind was playing tricks on him. His pace quickened as he heard more rustling around him and now panting. The sounds surrounded him like he was being circled. Wild spun around every time he thought he felt something just behind him.

He turned once more, sure that this time he would be quick enough to see what it was, but when he turned, he was met with falling petals and blinking stars. Wild huffed in frustration. “Whatever,” he grumbled, giving up on his search. He decided to turn, hoping to just keep going straight in one direction, when he was met face to face with a wolf.

No.

Wild’s mind was just too cruel because Twilight- Wolfie- was sitting in front of him, his tail wagging lazily behind him and his shocking blue eyes looked fondly into his own. Wild reached out with a trembling hand and Twilight sat patiently awaiting his friend’s familiar touch.

But Wild knew this wasn’t real. He knew it was just a dream and he would not be tormented like this. His hand retreated before it even brushed the wolf’s fur and he turned on his heel and marched away.

“Don’t fucking play with me like this,” he hissed to himself, directing his aggression toward his dream. For no reason in particular, he turned abruptly to the right, only to be met once more by the image of his friend, tail still wagging but his head was now tilted in confusion. “You aren’t real and I can’t-” his voice faltered and he tried to swallow back the lump in his throat. “I can’t handle this right now, please…”

So he turned around and walked away again. He came into a clearing with a small trickling creek and found a place to sit in the tall grass next to a large pleasingly rounded boulder. The death of his friend was agonizing. The pain lanced him through his heart and stole his breath any time he even began to think of Twilight, so he had been avoiding thinking through his grief since they buried him. They had buried him in a quiet forest much…like…

Wild’s eyes widened with realization. They had buried him in a forest very much like this one. Time had used his Power gauntlets to place a large boulder at the grave site to mark it. Wild spun to look at the stone he had sat next to and it seemed to be the very same that Time had placed.

Wild felt a warm breath on his neck and he whirled around to his other side to see Twilight sitting patiently beside him still as a wolf.

“Is this real…?” Wild dared to ask with tears welling in his eyes. Wolfie simply nuzzled his fluffy head under Wild's arm and climbed halfway onto his lap. He looked up into Wild’s eyes and wagged his tail.

“Boof,” replied Wolfie softly. Finally, Wild broke down, wrapping his arms tightly around his friend and desperately clutching fistfuls of fur. He wept freely, sobbing into the soft fur and Twilight leaned into the embrace.

Another sob racked through his body when suddenly his arms closed around nothing and he almost fell forward. “No, wait-“ Wild began pleading frantically before being cut off by a familiar hand ruffling his hair. He looked up with a sniffle. “Twi,” he croaked through the tears.

Twilight offered him a warm smile as he crouched in front of his protégé. “I told you I’d never leave you, didn’t I?”

“But,” Wild sputtered, “Is this real? Is it really you? Or is this just some dream?”

Twilight’s smile deepened before pulling Wild into a tight hug. Wild held onto Twilight for dear life, taking in the earthy familiar scent of his dearest friend, sobbing into his shoulder. “You’re going to be just fine, Wild.”

Twilight repeated this, each word getting fainter and farther away. “Twi, wait,” Wild cried, holding tighter but his senses began to fade and the world and his perception turned to a haze. “Twilight, please, wait don’t go! Please!”

“Wild, you’re okay.” The calm voice soothed. He was still in a tight embrace, but there was now the harsh weight of reality slowly settling back onto his mind. He breathed in again and smelled leather and armor and a camp fire. He wasn’t in Twilight’s arms anymore. “You’re okay, kid, just breathe. It’s alright.” Time’s deep voice settled in his ears and rumbled through to his very core.

Wild, like his companions, didn’t like showing weakness or softness, but right now he needed this embrace like he needed air so he held tighter to Time and cried harder, letting out the bottled up grief of the past couple days. Time’s strong arms returned the gesture, holding Wild closer and Wild heard Time’s breath shake as an unmistakable tear landed on his tunic.

“You’re going to be okay,” Time breathed.