#lk wind

[kjpurplepineapple]

Warriors babysitting Mask and Wind during the war be like

Shut up this totally happened

[linkedkeysau-official]

Four: If it bites you and you die, it's venomous. If you bite it and you die, it's poisonous.

Mask: What if it bites me and it dies?

Wind: That means you're poisonous. Sweet Hylia, Mask, learn to listen.

Hyrule: What if it bites itself and I die?

Paint: That's voodoo.

Future: What if it bites me and someone else dies?

Legend: That's correlation, not causation.

Sky: What if we bite each other and neither of us die?

Shadow, appearing behind him: (that's kinky)

Four: ...I'm done.

[linkedkeysau-official]

Linked Keys as Vines (Part one)

[linkedkeysau-official]

I give you... Many bois.

Finally got around to making some official artwork of all the boys together. Here's the lineup of all of them in order of height (along with ages). Yes there are a lot of them. 15 in total.

Closeups so they're all easier to see

[linkedkeysau-official]

Linked Keys Febuwhump

day 11 - fever

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Wind thought it couldn’t get any worse. It wasn’t enough for him to be sick and for everyone to be babying him (he hated being treated like a little kid, even when he wasn’t at his best). Turns out things could in fact get worse. This came in the form of the Chain’s third attempt to climb Nihya Peak, during which Wind stubbornly insisted on coming along… then promptly being separated when they reached the Blizzard Zone. Wind was now all alone, already feeling like shit but with bitter cold to accompany it. He didn’t like the cold, in fact the tropical island boy couldn’t stand it. It was even worse when your nose was already nonstop running and you could only breathe through your mouth, and you were achy and fatigued. This was hell.

Still, he knew he couldn’t just sit around feeling miserable. He remembered what Wild had said about staying warm if you kept moving. He had to try to find the others anyway. In an attempt to shield himself from the snow as best he could, he held up his shield, then used the Wind Waker to change the direction of the winds so it blew against the shield, which blocked most of it from him. With this improvised protection, he began moving through the deep snow, trying his best to ignore the freezing cold snow that his feet— covered by nothing but sandals— were completely submerged in.

“Guys?! Anyone?!” He called out. His voice was drowned out by the roaring wind. He doubted anyone would hear him even if they were within arm’s reach. That meant he either had to wander around until he found someone, or he had to prioritize finding shelter. Wind was really liking the second option. Chances were, in this storm, most of the others would be doing that as well anyway. Even just a cave or something would be a blessing right now… Gods, it was cold…

The frozen air made it hard to breathe, and the altitude wasn’t helping at all. Wind probably sounded like a fish out of water, gasping for air as he continued the trek across the mountainside in search of some kind of refuge. He was shivering violently, though he didn’t feel cold; on the contrary, he felt way too hot. His mind was in a fog, so he couldn’t quite remember, but… he heard somewhere about that being a bad thing. Why, though, he couldn’t piece together. All he knew was he felt awful, and tired, and so, so sick, and he wanted so badly to just sleep. He even thought about curling up in the snow for a quick nap, he felt so shitty, but at the last second decided that might not be the best idea.

His hands and arms were bright red. His feet and ankles were turning purple. His head felt like it was on fire and like it wanted to explode. He couldn’t go on. Everything hurt too much. He was going to die out here alone, wasn’t he? At least that was what he feared before a howl cut through the air. Wind nearly panicked, knowing that the howl belonged to a wolf. But when a wet nose brushed up against his cheek followed by a faceful of black fur, he realized there might be hope after all… Twilight had come. 

The wolf let out a pitiful whine, nudging Wind as if to urge him to get up. Wind tried, but felt far too weak. Wolfie nudged his arm, gesturing for Wind to hold onto him. Wind threw his arm around the canine, grabbing a fistful of fur and letting the wolf pull him to a sitting position. The wolf remained still, letting the teen lean against him to try and stand up. 

“Thanks Wolfie…” Wind muttered, half conscious. He tried to stand, but his legs felt like chuchu jelly, promptly giving out and leaving him slumped over on Twilight’s back. Twilight, a look of great concern in his eyes, quickly pulled on the sleeve of Wind’s shirt as if to tell the kid to climb onto his back. He was small enough, and he certainly wasn’t in any shape to move on his own. Once Wind was securely on his back, Twilight stalked off carefully towards a cave that he’d found.

Wind was burning up with a fever, but shivering from the cold at the same time. His hands and feet definitely appeared to have frostnip. The wolf silently cursed himself for not speaking up before the Chain started climbing the mountain. Wind didn’t handle the cold well. Everyone knew he didn’t, and given that he’d already been sick it was a surprise anyone let him tag along to begin with. Twilight wasn’t sure whether the bigger danger was the fever or the risk of hypothermia, but he did know the snow wasn’t doing the kid any favors either way. He couldn’t do much to care for the poor kid as a wolf, without opposable thumbs and the ability to speak. But he wasn’t exactly dressed for this weather either, and he would be no use to Wind if he were freezing as well.

The only option Twilight had for now was to remain in wolf form and curl up around the Sailor to keep him warm… And hope he didn’t get any worse… And hope that someone else would find them soon. 

Hours passed, and Wind had not shown any signs of improvement aside from simply not getting any worse. Wolfie remained curled up around him, keeping watch for any of their friends, but while he caught their scent briefly a few times, none came close enough to the cave to notice the two… Until Wolfie caught the scent of probably the best person for the situation: Wild. He was with Future, and they were approaching the cave. Twilight barked in hopes of getting their attention.

“Wolfie!” Future exclaimed, sprinting into the shelter of the cave with a sigh of relief.

“Twi…! Oh thank Hylia you’re—” Wild started to say before noticing the mess of blond curls hidden behind the wolf’s fuzzy body, “WIND!” 

“Dammit, I knew we shouldn’t have let him come along… He’s burning up!” Wild almost flinched as he put a hand against the sailor’s forehead. He looked around frantically, but didn’t see anyone else approaching. He’d have to take care of the kid himself, which he could do, but he still would have preferred if Hyrule or Legend or someone with more experience were to handle.

“Kit, take this and soak it in the snow. We need to cool him down.” Wild handed Future a small handkerchief, then took out his slate and with a flash of blue light, a bundle of chopped wood and a piece of flint appeared on the cave floor, “I’m gonna start a fire to keep us warm in here. Twi, bark if something happens with Wind.”

Wild struck the flint with his sword, igniting the wood. Future returned soon after with the handkerchief, now very wet and cold, and started dabbing at Wind’s forehead. Twilight remained curled up where he was, doing his best to shield the sick sailor from the cold and the wind. The kid should be out of immediate danger now that he had Wild and Future taking care of him as well, but that wouldn’t last if they couldn’t find the rest of their group and get off this damn mountain…

Hopefully the others would find them soon…

[linkedkeysau-official]

Linked Keys as Vines (part 2)

Part 1

[linkedkeysau-official]

Whumptober 2022- Linked Keys Edition

Days 13/14- desperate measures/failed escape and dislocation (+ art/joke)

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

“Don’t buy bananas from random strangers”, Wild’s warning to the Chain when they first arrived in his Hyrule. Apparently that extended to banana bread as well. While resting at a stable and waiting for the others to return, a seemingly nice lady came by and offered them some of her homemade banana bread. It was surprisingly inexpensive, and it smelled so good, the boys couldn’t help but buy some. It was only later that Sky, Future, Wind, Paint, Ravio, and Mask realized the bread had been tainted with poison, leaving the boys drugged and allowing them to be easily kidnapped. Because the seven of them woke up some time after, tied up and thrown in a cell in some dimly lit underground area, decorated with red paper and an inverted sheikah symbol everywhere one looked; the symbol of the Yiga Clan, as Wild had explained long ago.

Only one thing was on everyone’s minds once they realized the situation they were in: escaping. The problem was, with the way the ropes were tied around their wrists and ankles, hands tightly bound behind their backs, it was nigh impossible to move. The Yiga clearly had enough experience with armed heroes (probably Wild) to know that if they wanted to effectively hold them hostage, they had to make certain that the hostages couldn’t try anything. Even Future’s pocketknife— while luckily not taken with the rest of their weapons— was tucked away out of reach inside the young hero’s left sneaker, and Hyrule’s magic had been seemingly wiped out by the poison in the bread, so they had no way of cutting or burning the ropes to get free, and no effective way of defending themselves afterwards either.

Or at least that was thought to be the case before the boys remembered a certain someone among their number who was an expert at tying and untying ropes: Wind. The young pirate was already attempting to undo his own restraints, having been taught how to escape from most bindings by Tetra in the event any member of her crew ran into trouble with other sailors. The problem was, this knot was one of the more complicated ones, and it was a lot more difficult when one’s hands were tied behind their back. He had to get out… He had to help his friends! But he couldn’t get his fingers around the knot. If he could just see what he was doing— if he could just get his hands at a different angle— maybe he could pull it off. But how could he do that without…

Hurting himself…

He wasn't looking forward to this. He knew it would hurt like hell, and best case scenario, he wouldn’t have full use of at least one of his arms for at least a few days or until Hyrule’s magic was replenished. But he didn’t see another option. The boys had already tried all other ways they could think of to get the ropes off. They were desperate, and Wind seemed to be the only one with an idea. But he would need help… He knew asking Sky or Hyrule to help him do this would be a hard no; in fact they would most likely try to stop him regardless. Paint and Ravio were also probably no’s, and while they probably could be convinced, Wind would never pull it off with the other two arguing against him. That left Future and Mask, who were also known for doing stupid things out of desperation and would probably be Wind’s best bet. He just hoped Future was big enough, because Mask definitely wouldn't be.

“Psst. Future. I need your help.” Wind whispered to the other teen, “I have a plan, but I can’t do it alone.”

“What do you need?” Future whispered back.

“I’m gonna lift my arms up and lean against the wall. I need you to slam into me as hard as you can. With luck, one or both of my shoulders will be dislocated and we’ll be able to get my arms over my head to where my hands are in front of me.” Wind told him. Future gave him a horrified look,

“You want me to—?! Why the hell would you ask me to do that?!”

“So I can untie the knots. Duh. I can’t do it from where I am now, I need to be able to see what I’m doing. Please, Future, this is our only option. The others would never agree to it, so I need your help. I’m not too excited about this either, but I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t necessary!” Future thought for a moment, but he couldn’t seem to think of a better solution either. He sighed in resignation.

“Fine. But I’m not gonna like it.”

“Neither am I. Let’s just get it over with.” Wind scooted back to where he was almost right up against the far wall. He lifted his bound arms as high as he could behind him, pressing them against the wall. Fuck, this was already painful.

“Want me to count down or–” Future asked. Wind quickly shook his head.

“No, just do it.”. Future nodded in understanding,

“Try not to scream.” He took a deep breath as he repositioned himself in preparation to body slam his friend.

“What the heck are you two doing?” Sky asked, heavy concern in his voice. Neither boy responded. Future was counting down in his head, now trying to prepare himself mentally for what he was about to do.

“Future…? Wind…? Answer the question please.” Hyrule spoke up in alarm.

“Something really stupid, that’ll hopefully get us out of here.” Wind confessed.

3…

2…

1…

A sickening pop was heard as Future launched himself against his friend, slamming his back into the wall. Wind’s vision blanked for a moment. He could manage one single coherent thought through the sheer agony that came from feeling his left shoulder be shoved out of its socket.

Don’t scream. Don't scream. Do. Not. Scream.

He bit his lip so hard in fighting this urge that he tasted blood. He wanted to pass out, or throw up, or both, especially with the sound of someone (was that Ravio?) retching at the sound.

"Shit! Wind, I'm so sorry!" Future cried.

"Wind! What was that?!" Hyrule demanded.

"I can… untie the ropes now…" Wind replied weakly. He blinked a few times, trying to get his vision to clear up. He could see the knot. He knew how to untie this one. It was just taking his fingers a little bit to respond to what his brain wanted them to do. But at last he managed it, even with his left shoulder practically immobile and screaming in pain.

"You're fucking insane, Sailor." Paint muttered once he saw a Wind had gotten his own restraints off.

"Here, get mine next. I'll help you with your shoulder." Hyrule said. Wind gave a dazed nod as Hyrule moved closer, allowing Wind to undo his ropes as well. Now that his own hands were free it was a bit easier, but still he had to hold back tears as he did. His shoulder hurt so fucking bad… It felt like a hot, serrated knife had been lodged into his bone (which unfortunately Wind did have experience with, during an incident with another group of pirates a while back).

“There we go. Okay, just hold still, Wind. Here, bite down on this.” Hyrule said as calmly as he could given the circumstances, as he removed one of the straps that normally held his sword and shield to his back, coiled it up, and handed it to Wind, “I’m not gonna lie to you, this is really gonna suck since I don’t have any potions or magic. But just try to tough it out, okay?” Wind nodded, leather strap tucked tightly between his teeth as Hyrule placed his hand against Wind’s displaced shoulder.

“On three, I’m gonna push it back into place. Keep biting down on that thing, it’ll help with the pain. One… Two…” Hyrule didn’t even wait until three before he gave a mighty push, popping Wind’s shoulder back into place. He had tried to keep his teeth clamped on the strap, but as another wave of pain washed over Wind, he felt it fall from his mouth as he gasped, feeling his head spin sickeningly before he blacked out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wind?”

“Sailor, can you hear us?”

“Oh fuck, that hurt so fucking bad…”

“Yep, he’s back.” Future said.

“Good. Now we can get out of here.”

“Wait, but what about the rest of the—” Wind started to ask, sitting up so fast that Hyrule instinctively stuck a hand out behind him to catch him if he passed out again.

“I was able to get Future’s knife and cut the ropes while you were out. Figured that would be better than making you untie all of them.” the healer explained.

“Oh. Thanks.” Wind only just realized that his legs were free now too.

“Now we need to figure out now we’re going to get out of this place…” Paint muttered.

“Yes please, I really do not like enclosed spaces.” Sky agreed.

“You know… Wind, Mask, and I are all pretty small. I think some of us might be able to squeeze through the bars.” Future suggested, “But we’d need someone who can pick a lock.”

“Please, have you forgotten who you’re with? I’m a pirate. I could pick a lock in my sleep. Gonna need to borrow your knife, though, Future.” Wind held his hand out.

“Are you sure? Your arm—” Future started to ask, though still handing over the knife.

“It’s just a little sore. S’long as I don’t move my shoulder too much, I can manage. I think.” Wind winced slightly at the last part, but took the blade and approached the bars, sticking one leg through the gaps. Then an arm. He could just barely fit, but he could fit nonetheless, and he was able to slip through, “Gonna need someone to keep watch for those ninja guys while I’m out here.” He warned.

“I’ll watch your back.” Sky offered.

“Thanks Sky. With luck, I’ll have us all out before you know it.” Wind began fiddling with the lock, digging the point of Future’s knife inside as a series of small clicking sounds could be heard. About a minute later, the lock popped open, and the bars slid upwards to create an opening for the heroes to exit through. However, not even two seconds after the seven of them stepped out, a small whimper came from behind them, the voice belonging to Mask. The other five boys turned around to see a Yiga footsoldier holding a sharp, curved blade— a sickle— to Mask's throat. Mask was frozen in fear, tears streaming down his cheeks with his eyes shut tightly as if that could help him ignore his current predicament.

"Don't move!" The Yiga ordered, "Or I slit the little one's throat!"

"Let him go!" Sky demanded.

"Silence! You may have slain a god, Hero of the Skies. But you are in no position to make demands at the moment. Unless you wish to see this child's life cut short, I suggest you do as we say." Several other Yiga appeared, one grabbing ahold of Hyrule and one grabbing Wind, dragging him towards the one holding Mask, "You will get back in your cell, and we will take these three." The last, a Blademaster, stood behind the remaining four, shoving them back towards the cell as the three footsoldiers pulled the youngest two and the healer down the hallway.

"Stop! Where are you taking us?!" Wind demanded.

"Quiet, child!" The Yiga who had him by the arm thrust his knee into Wind's back, knocking him to the ground before roughly hoisting him back up to his feet by the back of his shirt and bandanna.

"According to Lord Nihrie, this one's blood could resurrect Ganon in his own time. I wonder if it might do the same for Calamity Ganon here…?"

"N-No! Please!" Hyrule begged.

"It doesn't matter if he can or can't. As long as we have these three, the others wouldn't dare try to escape again." The three boys were suddenly thrown into a different cell elsewhere in the hideout, the door slammed shut behind them.

"No funny business from you three either, got it? We'd hate to have to kill you before Lord Nihrie's assigned date of your execution." The Yiga's laugh faded away as they disappeared, leaving the three boys alone.

[kjpurplepineapple]

Linked Keys Febuwhump

Day 13 - Limp (alt)

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Tracks was in pain. He did his best to hide it, and judging by the fact that nobody else seemed to notice, he was doing a good job of it. The Chain had been walking all day with very little rest, and Tracks was struggling. His right leg— or what was left of it— ached horribly with every step, the wooden base of his false leg pressing up against it harshly in a way that made it feel like he was kicking (kneeing?) a solid iron wall with no protection every time he put weight on it. He would be surprised if it wasn’t blistered and bruised by this point. It hurt so bad, but Tracks didn’t want to say anything, out of fear of looking weak. If Sky or Legend or one of the others needed a break, Tracks would gladly take it too, but Sky was breathing just fine and Legend’s heart didn’t seem to be bothering him at the moment, so Tracks wasn’t going to stop the group for something as minor as an achy leg.

His struggle didn’t go completely unnoticed, however. And unfortunately, of all people, the Sailor was the one to catch it first. As if Tracks needed another reason for his young predecessor to think he wasn’t good enough… He groaned under his breath, trying to straighten out his stride no matter how painful it was to hide the limp, as Wind moved towards the back of the group to walk beside Tracks.

“Y’alright, Engie?” He asked. 

“Fine.” Tracks replied.

“You sure? Ya don’t look fine. You’re limping…” Wind pointed out, “Your leg botherin’ ya?”

“I said I’m fine. It’s nothing, just a little sore.” Tracks lied. Wind wasn’t convinced.

“Y’know, if you got a fake limb and it starts hurtin’ and you ignore it, it could get infected and you might lose whatever you got left of that limb.” He whispered, “It’s true, I’ve seen it happen to other pirates before. Someone in Tetra’s crew lost his whole leg that way cuz he was too stubborn to admit somethin’ was wrong.” Wind smirked as a fearful look crossed over the Engineer’s face.

“But by all means, maybe it is just sore. How would I know, I ain’t the one wearin’ it.” He continued, shrugging. Tracks thought for a moment. It was bad enough to lose the entire lower half of his right leg, but at least he still had from the knee upward. At least with the prosthetic he could move and fight at a reasonable level of functionality. He wanted to believe that the Sailor was just trying to scare him, but did he really want to take that chance?

A harsh, burning pain flared up in the spot where skin met wood, and Tracks could not hold back the cry of pain he let out. Everyone turned to stare at him. Great… No getting out of this one. Even if Tracks could deny it, Wind— that little blabbermouth— knew what was up. The others would know how much of a wuss he was, unable to push through just a little bit of discomfort…

“Tracks, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Sky was the first to his side.

“I’m fine, just a little—”

“His leg is botherin’ him” Wind interrupted, “He’s been limpin’ for hours, can’t believe none of you noticed.”

“Tracks, why didn’t you say something? We could have stopped to let you rest!” Twilight asked.

“It’s probably nothing, I’m probably just sore. Told Wind that too.” Tracks glared at the Sailor.

“When was the last time you took it off?” Time asked.

“Wh-What?” Tracks was highly confused by the question.

“The leg. When was the last time you took it off and let your knee rest?” 

“Uh…” Tracks hesitated. Honestly, he had not been aware that was something he was supposed to do, “N-Not since I got it.”

“Ah, yep, that’s why it was hurting.” Legend sighed, “Not only have you only had it for like a week and aren’t used to it yet. But you haven’t taken it off since you got it!”

“I didn’t know I was supposed to!” Tracks argued.

“You didn’t—?!” Warriors started, before giving a very exasperated sigh and shaking his head, “It’s like breaking in a new pair of boots, Engineer. You’re telling me when you get new shoes that hurt because you’re not used to them, you just wear them constantly through the pain until they stop hurting?”

“...Yes?”

“Even to sleep?”

“Well, no, not to sleep, but—”

“Okay, well there you go. At the very least, take it off to sleep. It’s gonna hurt worse and take longer to adjust if you don’t give your body a break sometimes.” Warriors said very firmly, “Speaking of, I think this would be a good place to stop for the day. Let’s find a spot to set up camp and call it a day. But Tracks, I’m ordering you to go sit down and relax. Take the leg off, do not get up, and if you need anything you will ask someone. Maybe have Hyrule look at it just to make sure it’s nothing too serious.” 

“But—”

“No buts. Go. That’s an order, Engineer.” 

Tracks reluctantly hobbled over to a spot on the grass that looked fairly comfortable and sat down, extremely grateful to finally be off his feet, however. He began untying the laces on the straps that held the false leg to his real one. Hyrule and Wind came over as well and helped him out. As the three of them gently removed it, they were greeted with a sight worse than expected. Several blisters had formed at the base of the stump, one of them having burst or been torn and was now bleeding and stinging angrily as it was suddenly exposed to the open air. Tracks drew in a sharp breath, blinking back tears. It almost seemed to hurt worse now that it was exposed.

“Told ya so.” Wind said, eliciting a groan from his descendant.

“Great Mothers, Tracks, why didn’t you say something sooner?!” Hyrule demanded.

“I didn’t… want to make it look like I was whining over something small. I didn’t want to look weak, I guess. Leg pain seems like such a minor thing, I didn’t think it was worth bringing up.” He admitted.

“Yeah well it's a bigger deal when your leg has already been amputated, ya dolt!” Wind argued, “Did you think I was joking?”

“Honestly, yeah I did.” 

“...Okay, fair enough, but still—” 

“You should have said something the minute it started hurting. You’re not doing yourself any good by trying to push through the pain with something like this. Allowing yourself time to take a break will do more to help you adjust than… this.” Hyrule finished. He uncorked the bottle of Fairy Tears Twilight had given him (water blessed by a Great Fairy is very good for cleaning wounds) and poured a small amount onto a clean handkerchief before recorking the bottle and wiping off the bleeding, irritated leg, letting the Fairy Tears both clean and heal the blisters.

“We really need to find some sort of padding for that thing. Even if you hadn’t been wearing it all week with no breaks, that can’t be comfortable.” Hyrule muttered.

“It’s not.” Tracks admitted, “But it’s better than nothing.”

“I’m sure it’ll get better once you get used to it. That is, if you promise to start taking it off occasionally when we stop to rest.” 

“I will, don’t worry. Don’t wanna have to deal with this again.”

“And take it easy tomorrow too. Maybe ask Twi or Sky or someone to carry you part of the way? They give great piggyback rides!” Wind suggested.

“What do you think I am, 12?!” 

“Excuse me! There is nothing wrong with piggyback rides.” Hyrule huffed.

“Only because you have the maturity level of a small child, Fairy Boy.” Tracks teased. The three of them burst out laughing.

Maybe the Sailor isn’t so bad after all.