#lu & reader

[linkazaron]

How would the chain react to a child hero Reader who is younger than Wind? The detail is that they don't know that Reader is a hero of courage, until Zelda reveals it to them.

Hello, anon! The Chain reacting to a kid hero Reader, huh? Alrighty! My askbox is always open for Linked Universe x Reader and LU drawing requests!

Anyway, onto the story!

A Bitter Nostalgia

The normally dark purple portal was a different color for the first time in ages. It was a dark blue this time, signifying that another hero named Link from some era was getting dragged into the mix. It had been several months since the last Chain member of the current group had joined. They made sure to be at ease as to not scare the new hero. They were anticipating a hero to be anywhere between Wind and Time’s age.

But the person that stumbled out was a child younger than Wind. This kid looked no older than 8. His appearance did fight the common Link appearance though. Bright blonde hair, prominent eyebrows, and sparking blue eyes. Dressed in a green tunic, green hat, brown boots, and light colored pants. Donning a sword and a shield. The weapons looked more like toys though…

Was this kid a fan of Link and wanted to pretend to be the hero? Was this kid a younger brother of a Link? Either way, this little guy must’ve got lost. He was probably exploring and didn’t realize how far he’d wandered off. He probably slipped out of sight of his family or his guardians.

The little guy was a bit startled by the big group of people standing here on the other side of this strange thing he walked through. These guys were kinda intimidating, they’re armed to the teeth like the knights that protect Zelda! Once he processes them a little more, he realized that he recognized them all! They were all those heroes from this storybooks he liked to read! Hylia must’ve heard his wish of wanting to meet the heroes of old!

“Hiya, misters!” he courageously greeted, hiding that he was scared of them a little.

The Chain all blinked in surprise. This kid has the guts despite being out of his element. What a courageous kid…

“Um, hello. Mind telling us your name?” Time asked kindly, kneeling down to the kid’s level.

“I’m Link!” he answered cheerfully.

“Are you though? Are you sure you’re not just pretending to be him because you think he’s cool?” Legend scoffed.

“I am though! I’m the chosen hero of legend! I know I’m young!” Link squawked indignantly.

He drew his sword, a sword roughly around the same length and size as the Kokiri Sword, and swung it around. He was surprisingly deft with a sword for a kid. Maybe someone taught him and he was actually patient enough to learn. He also showed off he knew how to how to use his little shield. He showed he could block with it and use it as an offensive piece of equipment.

“Do you guys believe me now?” Link asked.

“Sure.” they replied, but only said that to humor the little guy.

Did they seriously look just like that as a kid? Looking that goofy? With clothes and weaponry that was a bit too big?

“Are you guys all Links of the past?” Link asked.

“Yeah?” Wind responded.

“Do you guys have nicknames for each other so you don’t mix each other up?” Link questioned.

“Yeah, we do.” Wild chuckled.

“Cool! What are they?” Link queried.

So the Chain told him. He nodded approvingly. He then asked, “What would be my name if I was part of your group?”

“Hmm, how does Squire sound?” Warriors offered.

“Okay, I’ll be Squire then!” Link answered.

“Squire it is!” Four chuckled.

“Can I travel with you guys?” Link asked.

“Ain’t yer family or guardians worried ‘bout where ya are?” Twilight questioned.

“Probably? But they’re used to me wandering off.” Link answered, seemingly unconcerned that his family or guardians might be worried about his disappearance.

“Still… it’s not safe out here.” Sky stated.

“I know, I know.” Link huffed.

“Let’s get you to somewhere safe for the moment.” Hyrule said.

“Fine…” Link grumbled.

They felt that the longer they all lingered, the more likely they’d attract the attention of monsters. Though this little Link probably knew how to fight and could probably deal with weak monsters, they didn’t want him to get hurt. So they all left the forest with him in tow. Thankfully there was a village not far from where they were at. With a bit more walking, they reached Kakariko Village.

Hopefully someone would be willing to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn’t wander off. The lady who tended to the village’s Cuccos offered to keep an eye on him. Maybe he’ll behave with someone who owns the surprisingly devilish birds… Trusting her to keep an eye on him, they left him there. They asked around the village for rumors and information about the Shadow and the powered up monsters it summons.

They got a lead that a grouping might be lingering around Death Mountain. A good enough place to start, it was close by. Even if the Shadow isn’t there, it might lead to another portal that it leaves behind. So they all began marching up Death Mountain Trail. None of them realized that Link had snuck away from the Cucco Lady and was sneakily following them.

Twilight had shifted into his wolf form, trying to see if he could track down a scent. He sniffed around for a bit and then finally caught a scent. He barked, signifying the others to follow him. They continued up the trail after Twilight. Looks like the scent is leading to Dodongo’s Cavern…

As they walked in, they immediately noticed the lack of monsters. Maybe they’re further in? They hopped across a few platforms, Twilight leading them to the door in the skull of a giant Dodongo. Time opened the door and they continued onward. Since the Gorons had been eating the rocks here, there was now a tunnel that led to King Dodongo’s old lair.

So none of them had to jump down a hole and fall a decent way down. There was still a surprising lack of monsters in this cavern. In fact, it was just a portal and nothing else in the old lair. They shrugged and walked through the portal. They still didn’t notice that Link had been sneakily following them this entire time…

They ended up somewhere none of them recognized. No familiar sights and no familiar scents. Whose era was this?

“Yay! I’m back home!” Link cheered.

That startled the ever living daylights out of everyone. “Where did you come from?!?”

“Um, I’ve been following you guys…?” Link replied.

“Where do you even live?” Legend asked.

“Hyrule Castle! My family works there!” Link answered.

Okay, that’s good. Maybe someone can confirm who this little kid is. Is he actually the next hero of Legend? With Link’s guidance, they walked to Hyrule Castle. After a good thirty minutes later, they reached the gateway drawbridge.

“Hey, Link? Who’re your new pals?” One of the guards asked.

“The old heroes of legend!” Link chirped.

Both guards seemed surprised for a moment. “We got to tell Zelda about this!”

They motioned for Link and the Chain to follow them. Everyone hurried across the drawbridge and to the castle. They walked straight to the throne room. Zelda and the King seemed to be in the middle of a conversation. They both stopped upon seeing Link and the Chain.

“Ah, I’ve been expecting you heroes.” Zelda started.

“You have?” Wild asked.

“Yes, I’ve been having dreams of you all coming.” she replied. “I assume you’re wondering about Link.”

“Yes.” Warriors responded.

“He is the next hero of Hyrule. Hylia apparently decided she wanted an even younger hero this time.” Zelda sighed.

“Seriously?!?” Legend yelled.

“Yes. Can I trust you all to keep him safe until he’s a bit older? Hopefully evil waits to target him once he’s older...” Zelda asked.

“Of course. We swear will do our utmost to keep him safe.” Time replied, his tone resolute.

This was going to be a doozy…

The End!

I hope you liked it, anon! Again, my askbox is always open for LU x Reader and LU drawing requests!

[juniperogin]

i’ve written a one-shot few years ago and that’s all. forgive me. i accept criticism, PLEASE do let me know. i know there wasn’t much dialogue from the others, but i wanted this to be more reader-centric or something idk. do let me know if this entire thing made any sense idk.

this was something i was thinking of while i was working and i wanted to try writing it out. also, i'm kinda new to the fandom and i've been wanting to get into writing lately, so why not try it out? don't expect this to be great lol (lowk scared to post this (highkey))

a linked universe & reader angst? (maybe, i hope i got the emotions down.)

———————————————————————————

“Who is everyone with?” Time yells from his room, voice filled with worry. He knows everyone can handle themselves, but he’s more concerned about the one who isn’t experienced with these things, maybe some concern over Warriors. All he can hope is that he’s with someone who knows how dungeons work. “[Name]? Are you there?”

[Name] hums as they get off the ground. Of course, they had to fall into a hole. All by themself. This was not good, and with their own experience (which was technically zero), they had to figure this room out on their own. “Yeah, I’m here.”

“Are you with anyone?”

They looked around again to make sure that they were going to give him the correct information, which they’d lie about anyway. They were definitely alone, and they hoped it stayed that way (unless it was any of the Links). They only had that short sword Wild had given them. “uh, yeah.”

“Who’s with you?”

Of course he’d ask that if they was that hesitant to respond, now they had to choose someone from the group. [Name] didn’t know who he was with. “… Wild.”

“Okay, that’s. Wild’s with me.” he huffs, as if he were trying to calm himself down; it seems they chose the wrong Link. “You’re alone, aren’t you?”

“How could you tell?” [Name] retorts, enough of this standing around. They have to get going, and yeah, they’re alone. They still have to find their own way out. Looking around to see if there was anything they could use. Nothing. Just a door up ahead. They got this in the bag, easy. They assure him, and whoever is around to hear. “I’ll be careful.”

———

Being separated from the others was not ideal when you’re inexperienced with dungeons. Yet you were doing super well, you weren’t hurt, and this was the sixth door. You’re actually impressed with yourself! The puzzles haven’t been too hard, finding the key for the door was fun, but you still wanted to find the others. It felt safer around them. With Time and Wild in a room nearest to yours made things feel easier to push through, at least you can still talk to someone if needed. The only way out is forward, and so, deeper into the dungeon you go. Holding the shortsword in your dominant hand, you check your surroundings as you walk through the door.

A ‘whoosh’ shot through the air, you blinked, and sudden pain shot through your body. Confusion rose until you looked down to see an arrow shot through your chest. You didn’t check well enough, how annoying. It was an easy trap to see. You felt so stupid—it was an obvious arrow trap. Well, to be fair, you only had that sword, and you couldn’t easily dodge like Link. Still. This is just great, and you had nothing on you to deal with the wound. Your best bet was to leave the arrow in and get through the rooms quickly, but with your luck, the puzzles in this room weren’t going to be as easy as before, and you knew you had a low chance of surviving with this arrow in you. Yet you wanted to live, and so with every step you took was a desperate fight to escape the lurking death. It shouldn’t be long til you exit this dungeon, right? But with your lung punctured, both you and death knew who was winning this dance.

Should you tell Time and the others? Absolutely, but would you? Not yet.

———

Pushing heavy objects around wasn’t easy with this arrow; you could feel the blood pushing through it, and it hurt like hell. You were still in the seventh door, and no huge progress was made. You missed breathing normally—hell, you missed functioning normally. How did the heroes deal with this? They’ve gained so much more respect from you right now, and you already held so much for them. It wasn’t long before you realized you won’t get through this. You’ve gotten so much weaker since you got shot, gasping as you breathed in and wincing every time you breathed out, but you were actually surprised to get this far, and that was something to be proud of, in your eyes. With no experience, you did well, and you really did try to hold on longer, but the where’ve you been punctured was too vital. You should not have lasted this long, and you knew this. You just thought the goddess above could spare you, but why would it be you?

You knew you had to say something before anything happened. You were very reluctant, but you knew it had to happen. You couldn’t keep them in the dark, lest they come and find your body on their own. You don’t want them to blame themselves, do you?

“link, you know i’d forgive you, right?” You say breathlessly, you really just want to assure them. You were leaning on the wall to help you walk. Your rasped words caught everyone’s attention, or those who could even hear them. You gulp, trying to stay strong to talk to them before things get too dark. “’m just dumb. sorry for messing up.”

“[Name], what happened? Why’re you talking like that?” Wild called out, his voice came out urgent.

You were no hero, or even a traveller; the most outdoorsy stuff you did was go camping, and you never did that alone. You had no experience with these kinds of things, you shouldn’t have been sent here, but you were, and now you’re bleeding out. Guilt fell upon you as you felt like a huge burden, you knew you just added so much on the Links when you came along. You just thought it'd be fun. You learned their ways and tried to catch up, but they were meant to be on this journey, you just happened to fall in. Now they're going to carry your death on their shoulders. You shouldn’t have come along—you could have made a life in one of the passing towns. That small farm town you guys passed recently was beautiful, and felt so peaceful. It would have been fine to just restart, to forget the life you had before. Anything, but putting yourself in danger. You could have been working on a farm and selling crops, having small conversations and enjoying life, not worrying the chain by being around, but here you were. “—[Name]?”

“yeah?” You didn’t hear anything before your name, sitting down with your back against the wall. You could feel your body weakening. This was just great. This was your final moments, wasn’t it? It was not the best way to go, you admit. Tears were falling down your cheeks—you didn’t want to die alone. Why were you alone? The room was too empty, too dark, and it scared you. You were scared. You just wanted to be held by someone right now. To feel someone's warmth before you go. Hylia, please. You weren’t strong enough to handle this, to survive this. And maybe being around the chain made you too courageous, that you thought you could make it all the way, that you could live to tell the tale. Why’d you even think? Everything hurts, crying hurts. There really wasn’t much to do now, but beg. You hated this. You wished you had more time. You were just having fun, why now? Everything just started to make sense, and it was getting easier. Why are you dying now?

“Tell us what’s goin’ on!” Twilight’s voice popped through, he sounded like he was in a hurry. Did he sound closer, or was that your mind playing with you? Where did he even come from? You could only really hear Time and Wild the most, and a hint of Legend sometimes whenever he yelled (to whoever it was). He definitely feels something bad happened. “Talk to us!”

You zoned out a bit there before answering, your words coming out slurred together. “’m here, just tired. ’m just going to rest ‘re a bit. that’s okay?”

“No-!”

“Are you hurt?!” Hyrule exclaimed with worry. Twilight’s frantic yelling must’ve gotten his attention, or were they together? You wouldn't know. You didn’t know where the others were in the dungeon, but Time and Wild. Hyrule was not close. He had to yell to talk to you, and with how you were speaking, your voice would not reach him. “Don’t close your eyes!”

“yeah.” A pause. “yeah, ’m hurt,” Yet they still respond to him, but they know it’d reach him somehow. Your head bobbled before you corrected yourself, tilting your head up in hopes you’d stay longer. “pretty bad, won’t lie. sorry.”

There was a lot of blood lost now, and you don’t even know how long it’s been. You had no sense of time here. You can hear the others trying to talk to you, but you’re too focused on your breathing to even listen. This is bad. So bad. And it wasn’t like you didn’t know the risks. You knew this was a possibility, you just thought it’d be a monster that’ll get you.

“i was stupid.” Getting disoriented, you started to chuckle at your own circumstance. Your voice was getting quieter and quieter, your tears stopped falling, everything around you just stopped. Sleep felt nice right now. When was the last time you’ve gotten a good rest? Your eyes slowly closed as you took a breath. You were so tired. “don’t, don’t blame yourself, link. please.”

The last thing you heard was your name being called before darkness took you.

[tadpole-paradise]

Linked universe & Reader: One punch (Hu)man

Reader one-hit-KOs a monster and Wild is in awe

Characters (who speak): Reader, Wild, Hyrule, Wars, Sky

AU: Linked Universe + reader insert

Tags: humor, violence, blood mention, injury mention

Words: 1,232

picture credit: @/linked universe

Inspired by this post by @the-moon-files !!

Masterpost!

Even after the few weeks that you have been travelling with these people, you don’t think you would ever get used to the sheer whirlwind they are in battle. Shouting alerts across the battlefield and the miscellaneous grunts of heroes stabbing and parrying attacks from bloodthirsty monsters - it didn’t happen as often as you thought it would, but every time it did you always were surprised.

Navigating it all was another ballpark of its own. Even the idea of weaving in between bloody arcs of swinging swords and blazing magic phenomena had you rooted to your place. You liked your head as it was, merrily placed on your neck. Clean and unmarred, like normal.

But even normal didn’t survive around these guys.

Your first instinct had always been to run, climbing up to high ground and trying to put your abysmal archery skills to use, shooting down every mob that tried to go for their necks without actually hitting your allies in the process. Wild and Twilight had proven to be eager, if not very patient teachers, and were very willing to put physical demonstrations on for you.

You always tried to aim for the ones in the outskirts, and every grateful grin aimed your way afterwards made you felt like you were glowing. Wild would give you a proud thumbs-up from his own vantage point, bow loose in his other hand, you just about explode from happiness.

It’s one thing to be good with a bow. But it’s another thing when your medieval-fantasy-elf heroes think you’re doing a good job.

It’s hard to not feel like you have improved leaps and bounds, but you’ve only picked up the bow two weeks ago. You allow yourself a little pride.

It’s an unwelcome change to the status quo, that when as soon as you try to escape and run for the hills, something clawed grabs for your shoulder. You shout and back away out of the grip too late, and a swipe cuts a deep line of red up your cheek.

A shout sounds and goes ignored.

The sheer rage that cuts through you doesn’t even allow you to hesitate. Teeth clench behind bitten lips at the disgusting, slobbery grin it aims at you, and you immediately forget all thoughts you had about your bow.

An arm flies back-

You ball up your right fist and instantly drive it into the Bokoblin’s skull, hard enough that you twist on your ankle to smash the other side into a boulder that you just noticed was on your other side. Oh. Oh shit.

The Bokoblin screams, and dissipates into the evil, red vapours that you expect them to. Well, you didn’t expect it to just die after one hit, but maybe it was already down low on health from the other guys.

Freezing, you eye the black tar on your knuckles, and the splatter on the rock. Even then, punching something to death is. Something.

You didn’t think you hit it that hard. You think of the righteous anger that just took hold of you and are instantly reminded of the one time your sibling kicked you, so in retaliation you immediately tripped them over. And watched in belated shock as they face-planted and broke their nose - as if this isn’t exactly what would have happened upon tripping someone over.

It was completely on instinct that you did that, but you didn’t mean for it to have such an impact, you know?

You would figure that a human love-tapping a monster would be, at most, 1hp lost, or whatever other equivalent there was.

Something grabs hold of your hand, and immediately your other fist is scrambling to meet whatever else is there, but you meet Hyrule’s wide, green eyes, and lose the fight against his concerned face so fast you’re surprised you don’t fall over.

“Are you alright?” He asks, the warm tingle of magic wafting over your cheek. You don’t bother stopping him - no matter how many times they see that magic have no affect on you, they never stop trying to see where the limit lies. Hyrule most of all. “Did it get you anywhere else?”

You decide to just enjoy the light of his warm concern on you. “Mm, no. Just my face.” The cut on your face stubbornly bleeds, just as you expected, in spite of all the magic he throws at it.

The sight of Hyrule growing more frustrated at the lack of effect has you stifling a laugh.

His fingers tremble a little, their hold over your fingers wavering, and you laser in on it like a bloodhound. Gently removing the hand on your cheek, you smile at him. The concern is still appreciated, after all, even though Hyrule could be using his magic for more useful things at the moment. Perhaps the thought that you cannot heal as quickly as them is a frightening one.

“Just go and heal everyone else who needs it.” A giggle bursts out of your chest. “You know I’m fine with a bandage and some soap.”

The guy pouts at you in response, and if you were perhaps a lesser man you would have folded like a lawn chair.

“Go on, then!”

He sighs, hard enough that it blows all the air out of his chest, and goes seeking out another hero who might be actually trying to hide his wounds.

“How. I’m not even that surprised but at the same time I am. How.” Wild says, and he’s grabbing your hands next, twisting them this way and that. You blink at him, and he continues studying the black splattered knuckles on your hands as though it were an ancient relic. “You killed that thing in one go!”

“Eh? No I didn’t.”

“No?” He parrots, tilting his head to the side and looking back up at you. “That one came out of nowhere! It just avoided everyone and went straight for you!”

This is new. “What?” Why would it just go for you? Well yes, you definitely the weakest link (Ha!) and the easiest target, Bokoblin’s weren’t really known for a complex thought process such as that. They usually just went for whatever was in front of them.

Warriors nods, severe frown pulling his usually serene features tight. “Bokoblins aren’t as smart as that, usually.”

“But you all did hit it a few times before it got to the back where I usually am, didn’t you?”

“Disappointingly, no we didn’t. Wild says so, and he had a birds-eye view of the whole area.”

Wild nods. “It’s true. How in Hylia did you kill that thing in one punch, then?” He pulls up your sleeve up to your elbow and you kind of just let it happen. “You’re not wearing power bracelets like Legend…”

“You know magic items don’t effect me anyway, remember?”

He eyes you suspiciously. “That’s what you say, anyway…”

“Maybe they’re just really naturally strong, like Twilight?” The Captain says. “He lives in a village of humans, Ordon was it? Maybe it’s normal for them.”

“Well they be eating all the same stuff, what the hell are they eating?”

"Maybe it’s the pumpkins!” You point out, graciously accepting the bandage the Captain hands you, wiping at the red in your cheek. “And that’s how Twilight grew all big and strong.”

“What’s this about pumpkins?” Sky says, and you all scream.

[linkazaron]

Hi again!!! I got another idea that might be cool!

The chain meets a reader who fleeing from a hoarde of monsters who are chasing her and her newborn relentlessly. They had killed her husband and where after her but the chain saved her. They're wondering why they were so desperate to catch her but then Wind asks about her baby and she's all like-

"This is my son, Link."

And he's got the sterotypical Blonde hair, blue eyes and even the triforce of courage on his little baby hand. Reader has no clue her baby is another incarnation of them.

Time would be like- "Ganondorf really is coming after us in our cradles, the coward!"

Hello again, bud! The Chain meets a Reader with a baby named Link, huh? I’ll get on it! My askbox is always open for Linked Universe x Reader and LU drawing requests!

Anyways, onto the story!

The Infancy of Courage

Y/N and her husband were a wonderful and happy couple. Y/N had worked as a maid in Hyrule Castle. Her husband was one of the Hyrulean knights. They had initially tried to keep their relationship a secret, but virtually everyone knew. This included Zelda and the King, much to the couple’s chagrin.

Everyone was excited when the couple announced that they were trying for a baby. A good month later, Y/N was pregnant! After around nine months, a beautiful baby boy was born. He had an adorable mop of blonde hair. When he eventually opened his eyes, they were a beautiful blue.

The baby looked just like those depictions of the hero of legend. Link would be a fine name for him. The couple agreed that will be the baby’s name. Link hardly ever cried, which was a blessing for any parents. He had a penchant for liking to grab sticks and waving them around like a sword, babbling cutely as he did.

His parents couldn’t wait to see him grow up. Would he want to become a knight like his father? Would he want to do something similar to what his mother does? Or would he choose his own path? Whatever he chooses, his parents knew that they’d support him no matter what.

…

The couple’s happiness didn’t last very long. Ever since Link was born, there had been a strange uptick in monsters. Child kidnappings were on the rise too. It caused the couple many sleepless nights because they feared that their baby will get hurt or kidnapped. They swore their baby could sense that something wrong too.

One night, the couple crashed to sleep after they were both done with work for the day. With how tired they were, they had forgotten the lock the door… At one point, sniffing and snorting was heard outside. It let out a quiet squeal, as if delighted by what it smelt. With a push of its gnarly hand, the door swung open.

The moonlight filtering through a window lit up the unexpected guest, a hungry Bokoblin. It snuffled and snorted around some more in the house. It caught sight of a crib with a baby sleeping peacefully in it. Score! The best kind of meal, a defenseless animal!

The Bokoblin reached into the crib and roughly scooped up the baby. It licked its lips, it couldn’t wait to chow down. The baby sleepily blinked his eyes open, expecting that it was his parents picking him up to coo over him for the umpteenth time. He didn’t expect to see that it was a pig monster that picked him up! Sensing danger, he started screaming and crying at the top of his little lungs, pounding at the Bokoblin’s face with his puny fists.

His parents were immediately awake and alert despite being so exhausted. Link never cried and screamed like that. Something was very wrong. With a thrill of fear, they saw a Bokoblin manhandling their baby! Y/N’s husband immediately rushed to grab his sword and shield.

He deftly bashed the Bokoblin’s head with his shield, stunning it and making it drop the baby in surprise. Y/N dove forward to catch her little Link. She scrambled away with him in her arms. She shushed him and rocked him to calm him down, along with keeping an eye on her husband and the Bokoblin. It took a surprisingly long time to kill it, even with her husband’s skill.

It was spurting black blood from its wounds. There was something off with this Bokoblin. Was it infected with some disease or some form of dark magic? It was also noticeably more aggressive too. Eventually the Bokoblin was defeated, it collapsed onto the ground and didn’t move anymore.

Though it was dead, they were on alert in case this monster wasn’t alone. They kept an eye out for another hour before finally relaxing. How’d this monster get in? They then realized that they had been so tired that they’d forgotten to lock the door! Something told them they shouldn’t stay in this house anymore…

And so, they moved into the castle. There was more people to keep watch and to guard them, and it was more fortified than their house. As the days passed, tensions were rising. More monsters were appearing, especially the odd black blooded ones. More and more children were getting kidnapped.

Everything turned for the worse for the couple and their baby. On one terrible night, Hyrule Castle was swarmed by an army level amount of monsters. All of them were that tough and aggressive black blooded kind. Many soldiers were losing their lives trying to protect Zelda and the King. It was not looking good for anyone.

“Y/N! I think the monsters are after our baby! Take Link and go!!!” her husband shouted.

“No! Don’t talk like that! I won’t leave you!” Y/N cried.

“I’ve got this! Go! Keep him safe!” he promised.

Y/N reluctantly ran away with Link in her arms. She sobbed as she ran, nimbly avoiding combat. She had a feeling in her gut that this was the last time she ever got to see her husband. She kept running and running, not really knowing where she was going. All she was that she needed to get away from the monsters and find a place safe from monsters.

She happened across an old temple dedicated to the Goddess of Courage, Farore. She could use some courage right now. Before she passed out from exhaustion, she prayed for protection for her and her baby for this one night. For the first time in ages, she had a good night of sleep. No nightmares and she felt a lot better than she had been the last few weeks.

She knew that she and her baby couldn’t stay here. The monsters were probably looking for her and her baby. She thanked Farore for her protection. She then hurried out of the temple and continued aimlessly running away. For the rest of the day, she only paused to occasionally feed herself and to let Link nurse.

She really hoped she’d find somewhere safe to stay soon. She was already over her limit and overexerting herself. She feared that she’d even need to leave the Kingdom of Hyrule completely. Maybe the monsters would stop chasing her then. Oh gods, hopefully someone comes to save her and her baby.

…

A few extremely stressful days later, she just about crashed into a group of nine people. They were dressed a lot like her husband. Even more so like the old heroes of legend! Maybe they can help her? Maybe they can protect her as they lead her to a safe space?

“Whoa there, miss! What’s got you all in a hurry?” Time asked, holding a hand out to halt Y/N.

“Monsters have been in pursuit for my baby and I! I’m trying to find some place safe for us!” she babbled out.

“You look haggard, miss. You must’ve been running for days…” Hyrule stated, his tone concerned.

“Yes, those monsters won’t leave my baby and I alone!” she replied.

“How peculiar. Monsters usually don’t chase after someone for that long.” Wild murmured.

“I don’t know why they are.” she sighed.

“Hey, what’s the baby’s name?” Wind asked.

“Oh! His name is Link!” she cheerfully replied.

Everyone in the Chain froze upon hearing that the baby had their shared name. It’s just a coincidence, he could just be named after them. But the baby had the typical blonde hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in a green baby jumper. He was sucking on his left thumb and said hand had the Triforce of Courage shining on it.

“Ganondorf, you pig! You’re so afraid of us stopping you that you’re coming after us in our cradle?! What a cowardly man he is…” Time thundered.

What were they going to do about this? They clearly needed to get this baby Link and his mother somewhere safe! But where would safe be? No place truly stayed safe for long. Especially with the Shadow causing problems in many eras…

The End!

I hope you liked it, bud! Again, my askbox is always open for LU x Reader and LU drawing requests!

[tadpole-paradise]

Linked universe & Guide!Reader: The first evening

The Links meet, and discover some... common friends between them all

Characters (who speak): Wild, Twilight, Warriors, Time, Four

AU: Linked Universe + Guide!reader insert (although reader isn't here, is talked about)

Tags: humor

Words: 1,217

Masterpost!

The clearing quietens, as the eight of them turn to see the cause of the noise - and meet the blue gaze of yet another strange man, who looks back at them all with bewilderment. He had dark brown hair, messy but curling slightly against the roundness of his face, and dark markings curling around his eyes that sharpened his features.

He was the second one of them to have odd facial markings, next to the man with the patterns that, at first glance, had appeared to be wounds, on a cheek, and a pointed shape furrowing his brow bone. Perhaps they know each other?

Link resists the urge to sigh. Of course there’s someone else.

Here’s hoping it’s someone who knows what’s going on.

The new man shrinks back at their united attention, stammering for a long second. “Wh - Who are you all?” He pushed a gloved hand through his fringe, exposing the darker roots. “Are y’all lost?”

He assesses them all with his gaze, and Link resists the urge to straighten up underneath it. He meets the face of the long-haired man with the heavy scarring, the one with the strange rectangular thing at his hip, and blinks.

They squint at each other. “Do I know you?” They both ask in unison, and both of their eyes widen in surprise.

He resists the urge to snicker.

Fi sings a happy, wondering note at his back, and then they all turn to face him.

___________________

“It is strange, that we all have been on journeys where we set out to defeat a great evil.” Link points out, mouth half-full with cooked meat, though he guesses he would be going by as the Cook for the foreseeable future. And he has to admit that it is strange, after a few hours of sitting by each other in the evening and trading stories and munching on food he had stored in his Purah Pad, for the lack of anything better to do.

No one had any idea of where they currently were, and his slate was refusing to show him his map, so that was a bust. No-one else was up to doing anything either, so he plopped himself down right there on the grass and got a cooking pot set up.

They’ve already concluded that they may all be from Hyrule, but at different points of time, seeing as the Kid says that his whole kingdom was flooded and nowadays a great ocean - and that Sky had no idea what a kingdom or even Hyrule apparently was.

Maybe Sky was from a different place entirely, then. Maybe from those other kingdoms that the Pink-haired one suggested they could be from, Holodumb or Labeema or something. But how would he have the Master Sword then?

The soldier agrees. “Even stranger that we all share the same name, and happened to meet too.”

He would be less shocked if they were younger children. After defeating the Calamity, several tens of children had been named Link in his honour, and he had met all of them. All of them. Several tens more were named after him when he defeated Ganon again.

Babies were very cute and warm and he kind of wanted to hold one now.

But, he supposes there should at least be one guy named Link every century or so. It didn’t seem so crazy that it existed, but more so that they all happened to meet at once.

“Might have been on purpose then.” The smithy suggests, spoon halfway to his mouth. “Anyone know someone who might’ve done this?”

There are several head shakes, although the soldier pipes up. “I do know a sorceress who has duress over time, although she is a force of good. I don’t think she would do this, unless there is a great evil that needs all of us to defeat it.” He seemed to reconsider. “And even when she did, they were brought to us, not taking me to some foreign era as well.”

“We can table that, then.” The tattooed, brown-haired man mutters. He needs to come up with something better. “Until we could ask ‘er personally.”

…Wait.

“On my journey…” He starts, and he is kind of unsure what he had planned on saying. “I had a companion who would often talk about previous heroes they had known.”

He thinks of a little ball of light, who, for the longest time, he had thought was just a fairy. The little thing that liked to curl up in the hidden nook between his shoulder and ear that was half-hidden by his hair. The person who shouted encouraging words at his back and pointed their toes at every weak spot they needed to hit. The guide who would shout such hilarious words at every serious moment that he often struggled to keep his calm in the face of it, whereas anyone else would hear nothing.

They had the little humanoid silhouette, the wings and the glow that he had expected of fairies too.

But he could understand them. But it would always know how to fight the monsters and enemies he encountered. But it had never seemed truly surprised at anything. But it had known previous heroes, personally.

Perhaps they were a particularly old and experienced fairy. But did they know these heroes?

They recall how the guide had sobbed their little chest out when they found out that the Light Dragon had been Zelda all along. For all those years.

They had hugged his neck, dragonfly wings pattering against his hair, trying to offer as much comfort as they could, tight enough that maybe he could pretend the choked feeling in his chest was from them.

“Do you… remember me?” Zelda says, face dirtied and golden hair fluttering in the breeze that may have been natural to feel near the castle, once upon a time. Her eyes shine green, like the lands in her name, and the backs of her ankles are caked in mud. A cricket chirrups at their feet. “Girl… I don’t even know where I am right now.” The person says, idly kicking their legs against Link’s collarbone. Just a minute ago they were whooping and hollering as Zelda’s golden light sealed the beast away in a miraculous sight. “Amnesia moment.” Link’s eye twitches. They were literally right at the castle. Were they stupid?

“They always mentioned something about how they missed a - an Epona? I don’t know who that is, but do you guys maybe know them?”

All of them have sat up now, straightened up as Link had been reminiscing on the time they had spent with each other, before they had to leave. The Rancher gapes at him. “Epona? That’s my horse!”

Link stares at him. “Your horse?”

“Epona’s my horse?” The old man says as well, furrowing his brow.

The soldier raises a hand. “Mine too.”

Link, not for the first time, and perhaps maybe forever, is at a loss for words. “Do you all have a horse named Epona?” Of course. Of course the Epona the guide always mentioned was a horse. Of course this was another thing they would all have in common.

The smithy had a confused look on his face. “I know an Epona too. Although, she’s not my horse.”

“That’s… really weird.”

PART 2!!

[tadpole-paradise]

Linked universe & Reader: Laughing under the moon

The chain argues (mostly wind) about going to sleep.

Characters (who speak): Reader, Wind, Warriors, Legend, Twilight.

AU: Linked Universe + reader insert

Tags: humor, fluff

Words: 1,267

Masterpost!

They’ve all turned in for the night at this point, with Twilight ever-so-diligently watching over them all in his turn to keep watch for the next late hours, leaned against the stone. He stares out into the open air, blinking slowly as his eyes glint oddly in the light.

Since it’s the summer end of the year, the day has not yet been dark enough to be truly called black, blue at the edges through what you can see through the mouth of the cave, but oceans of stars are visible all the same - and crickets chirp in the distant grass.

The stars are different. You’ve never looked at them closely before, not enough to say how different they are, but you can tell that they are different.

It’ll take a long while for you to sleep though, as unused to sleeping outside in a bedroll as regularly as you are now. If not for the loud as hell crickets, then Wind snickering to you and whispering heinous jokes under his breath that make you struggle not to wake up the whole group with your laughter.

It reminds you of coming over to your cousin’s place and lying in their room, not sleeping until the early hours of the morning because you are too busy talking and joking with one another. Of waking up the next morning both tired and yet feeling as though you had never been more well-rested in your life.

“Oh Hylia give me strength.” Warriors bemoans, holding a pillow over his head and rolling over. “Shut up already!”

Wind shuts up immediately, but the moment the other sighs in relief at the seeming-quiet, he starts snickering under his breath in a way that you know could be quieter, but isn’t on purpose.

The little scamp.

The soldier finally pushes himself up on his elbows, glaring through his sleep-rumpled hair. “At this point, do you need me to tell you a story, sailor? Need me to sing you to sleep like a babe in the cradle?”

“No!”

Legend laughs breathlessly, in a strangely giddy mood. Perhaps delirous from late in the night it is.

His feet point straight up as he lies on his back, and he taps his toes together once. Twice. “Hylia knows that your singing would only cast me off into nightmares.”

He laughs at his own joke, turning away onto his side as if to hide his crime.

Twilight grins over at them, fingers busy with weaving something near his knee that is folded up over the other. “Do you need a carry, sailor? Walk around for a wee bit so you’ll stop yer fussing? That used to put Collin right to sleep when he was young!”

He blinks. “Er, younger.”

Wind sits up on his bottom to scowl at them all, even Wild, who despite being turned away and not speaking, has his shoulders shaking like he's trying not to giggle. “I do not! Just ignore me if you’re so tired!”

“Well I reckon that’d be easier if you weren't giggling like you’d been through several mugs o’ mead!”

“Well I know that’s not true!” Legend crows. “You know the sailor could drink us under the table any day, even though he sneaks it like we can’t see!”

You sputter out a laugh through your fingers, and the younger next to you shoots a look so betrayed at you, like you had shat on his favourite hat. “Well don’t blame me for having a tolerance better than you adults!”

The captain staunchly ignores him. “What can we do to get ‘im asleep then?” Warriors asks, frowning still although the ends of his lips twitch upwards. He’s laid back down onto his rumpled pillow again, his knees casting impressions onto his blanket. “Anyone got any child-friendly lullabies?”

“Oi! I got shanties so filthy they could make yer mother clutch her pearls!” Wind retorts, and then remembers that he hates lullabies also, “And I don’t be be needing any lullabies!”

The veteran turns back so that he’s lying supine again. His eyes glint at you. “Do you have any songs? Stories? Anything interesting for your human country?” The pink in his hair spills over the hard stone of the ground, and looks purple in the dark.

You blink back, amused at the fact that he’s trying to fish for more interesting tidbits out of you like you were unwilling to give them - which you weren’t! You were very willing! But it was always so funny to see him pretend to be so aloof and utterly failing. You thought it was sweet. Your hands fist and press against the ground in an effort to resist patting him on the top of his head or something.

He’d probably bite you if you tried to do something like that. With how half this group were shapeshifters or something, you didn’t want to take your chances. Who knew what kind of diseases these guys had?

Fantasy-magic-elf-rabies was something you did not want to experience first-hand, personally.

“Well, sure I do.” You say, tilting your head back against the softness of the cushion under your neck. “Any requests?” You pretended you didn’t notice Wind’s eyes glancing at you, now in hope. This kid was hilarious, actually.

You can feel the eyes of the others in the camp as well, Warriors, Twilight, Wild, even Time - he wasn’t as slick as he thought he was.

Maybe even the rest of them, judging by the flick of peach skin poking out of the top of the Smithy’s blankets.

Wind grinned at you, leaning up to you and gazing down at you eagerly - sun-bleached hair glowing in the moonlight cast through the mouth of the cave. Seems like he has completely forgotten any reservations he had about being perceived as childish, and for some reason, it’s completely on character. “Something with adventure!”

“Adventure, huh?” You hum, and a story comes to mind. A tale thrumming with legends, adventure, and a glutton for peaches and immortality. It had been an interesting tale, and you were glad that you had the recent interest to have read it, just to have it in your bank of stories.

With these guys, who have slain gods, monsters, dragons or whatever - hopefully this had even the miniscule chance of drifting them off to sleep. You hadn’t bored these guys once, not in all the time you have known them, and you aren’t about to start now.

You hope you don’t forget any major details. You would be surprised if anything makes sense - you’re a terrible storyteller.

“How about the Journey to the West?” You say into the night. “It’s a popular story, where I’m from.”

“Journey to the West?” Legend parrots. “Doesn’t sound too different from what we’re doing now. You sure this’ll entertain us?”

“Well, if it’s too boring for you, maybe you’ll sleep out of boredom! So I win either way.”

“…Since when was this a game-”

You plop a hand on his mouth, and ignore his muffled yelling against the skin of your palm.

“Once, there was a magic stone atop of a mountain. It wasn’t a normal mountain, but a mountain with a name, the Flower Fruit Mountain. Fruitful with magic peaches and coloured with many flowers.” You start, and the others immediately hush quiet.

“And neither was it a normal stone, but a stone that burst open to form a stone egg upon influence from Heaven, the Earth, the Sun and the Moon. And one day, the wind blew especially hard on this egg, and it turned into a stone monkey…”

[tadpole-paradise]

Linked universe & Guide!Reader: Hold my light, gently

conversations and the guide getting caught up to speed

Characters (who speak): Like all of the chain, reader

AU: Linked Universe + Guide!reader insert

Tags: humor, fluff, hurt/comfort, Wild-centric

Words: 1,099

Masterpost!

It’s Wind who decides to pick them up, this time, shooing away larger, more scarred hands to delicately cup their former guide between his fingers. He carefully avoids the one crumpled wing, and lets them curl up into a half-ball against the creases of his palm, his brown eyes large even against their fuzzy light

The little thing hums at the motion, a short tune that rings familiar in Wild’s ears and makes them prick up on instinct.

Surya still has a fairly shocked expression, behind their light which had temporarily dimmed in their surprise. They look up at him with hopeful curiosity, and then at them, large eyes landing on their clothes and soaking in the sight of their faces after so long.

“How-“ They start, and Wild shivers at the melodic sound of their voice. A sound he had dreamed of and dearly missed, ever since they had left, not of their own volition. A sound akin to the softness of petals and rich like being nestled beside a warm campfire . “How are you all here?” Their sentence quivers at its end, and Wild feels a foreign sort of heart-break hearing it.

If the guide had known all of them... just how many goodbyes have they done?

He watches Wind brush the end of his thumb against their good wing in affection, a fleeting sort of comfort, and it flutters lightly in response.

Their neck curves up as Surya smiles up at him, eyes teary.

“…It’s another quest.” Legend answers, something so tired and weathered that Surya snaps their head over. “So I guess it makes sense, that you’re here.”

“But-“

“So late, though?” Warriors wonders out loud. And he’s right. Ever since they had met up, they had been stuck in Wild’s era without direction for weeks, travelling and camping and fighting together. So why only now?

Did the Goddess, or whoever was leading them around think they needed them that badly? Wild is unsure whether to feel offended or grateful.

Sometimes, when he truly lingers, he remembers cold, iridescent blue liquid retreating from his skin, and opening his sticky eyes to a little face looking down at him with thinly disguised curiosity and excitement. Little feather-thin fingers tickling the apple of his cheek, and pattering like droplets against the bridge of his nose and along his hairline.

He had almost shit himself.

Surya had been there from the start. From the very, early beginning. Delighted at the sight of him awake, even in the dark of his tomb. Wild’s eyes following their path in the air with an innocent, undisguised wonderment.

Nowadays, he has become much more jaded. But he fights to keep that wonder, that curiosity - the way Surya would.

For the longest time, he had wondered if Surya died too - they learned a lot about Hyrule, together. But interestingly, Wild had never seen Surya in the memories he had to regain. Not once.

Wind jolts up straight, and the passenger in his hands clutches tighter at the fence of his fingers with a squeak. “Were you fighting? Is that why you were injured when you came out of the portal?!”

“What-! No!”

He slumps a bit. “Oh. I’ve got nothing then.”

Hyrule steps forward, hands raised up. “Do you want me to heal your wing? It looks painful.”

They send him a grateful look over Wind’s curled fingers. “Would you? Thank you so much.”

Hyrule’s ears redden behind the locks framing his face, taken-aback. Wild feels happy for him.

He had noted before, Surya's odd way of speaking. In an accent he had never heard before, but perhaps that was common with fairies. How they had exaggerated every thank you, never held back in praises and found even the most littlest of things extraordinary. Even their odd swear words.

Wind offers his hands out and in an instant, Hyrule’s glowing hands are hovering over Surya’s crumpled wing, blue healing magic drifting from his hands and curling into the air like steam. Creases in the wing straighten out and vanish, and Wild can finally see the linear, branching patterns on the thin organ clearly enough that they glimmer in the thin afternoon light. It had always been an odd pattern to him in the past, and he likens it to the faint puzzle-piece patterns he sees in the Sheikah Slate screen from time to time.

Their guide hums soothingly under their breath, and they all slump over in unison. Even Time, who drops an inch or two in height.

Twilight starts giggling under his breath, and chokes when Wars elbows him right in the side.

“What’s this quest about then?” Surya asks after a brief silence, and twitches as their wing snaps into place. Ouch - that looked painful. “Do we have to beat Ganon again?”

And that’s a thought. How many times has Surya helped them beat Ganon? If they have been around for all of their adventures, then surely they have helped beat Ganon more than the veteran had.

That’s… terrible.

Even he barely could handle facing Ganon twice. And Surya is a little fairy. Did Surya have any choice in this?

They traded looks over their head, and the guide followed the motion with furrowed brows, as confused as they have ever seen them. Seeing them so disoriented after so long of them knowing exactly what to do in every situation was… disconcerting. It didn’t lend well to what they were doing there.

“Monsters have been getting stronger, and smarter.” Time starts, “Once killed, we can see that their blood is as black as tar. But that is all that we have.”

“There were already signs of them before we met.” Four added quietly. “They had been hunting down travellers in our eras, most of whom had barely managed to escape with their lives. That’s how it started.”

“So you guys have been hunting them down?”

“Anytime they appear, yes.”

“Oh okay.” Surya brings their arms up to cross them, resting them on the tips of Wind’s fingers. A thumb comes to rest between their teeth. “And you’ve got samples?”

Wild stared. “Of what?”

“The blood!”

“Why… would we do that?”

“I thought we were trying to figure out what was up with the monsters?”

Time had his hands out in front of him, trying to understand. “Yes, yes. But how would that help?”

“Well, maybe you can hand it over to Purah or Kilton and see what they find?” They suggest brightly, smiling at their non-understanding faces. “For one of your Zeldas, perhaps?”

“… We really did need a guide, didn’t we.”

[tadpole-paradise]

Linked universe & Reader: The first morning

So eepy lets have breakfastt

Characters (who speak): Reader, Wild

AU: Linked Universe + reader insert

Tags: humor, fluff, descriptions of food lol

Words: 1,025

Masterpost!

You blink awake to the deep, pleasant smell of something cooking in a pot, the warm earthy tones of a fire crackling away under the calm humming in Wild’s throat.

It’s so pleasant, in fact, that you take several minutes to just bask in the serenity like you never really had the time to, before.

In the branches above you, a bird sings a sweet song and hops along a twig, pecking at the tart berries growing in bunches and fluttering leaves off their wings as their descend upon their breakfast. You wonder what kind of bird it is - certainly not one native to where you came from, at any rate.

You turn to your side with a quiet sound that almost turns into a yawn, and stretch out your hands and feet so intensely that you groan, pleased. The tips of your fingers and toes brush against dewy blades of grass and a ladybug drifts past your eyes.

The cook’s eyes flick to you and a smile is lighting up his features at the sight of you stretched out and bones gooey under your covers. “Had a pleasant sleep?” His slate says after a second after he signs, several different voices saying each word. 

You yawn in his face, and he yawns back at you on instinct, ears flaring out and twitching back in a way that reminds you of a cat, minus the whole tongue sticking out part. 

It’s quite cute, how his ears tend to be really emotive, moving every which way and twitching like it does.

You’ve noticed that the rest of them have ears that tend to stay in place, twitching occasionally, whereas the sailor’s and traveller’s ears also are almost as emotive as Wild’s - tending to twitch and move often according to emotion and the environment. Maybe it’s a feature that dulls with age?

He flushes, pulling on one of his face-framing pieces of hair. “Oh. That good?”

Snorting, you push up onto your elbows and sniff at the air, wondering what he had made, and also if you could maybe have some. It smells amazing. “Yeah, what did you make?”

You pull the blanket back, away from your legs to start getting up and shiver slightly at the rush of the cold morning air that fills the space that had been occupied by your body heat.

“—- seafood soup! Felt like something  —- today.”

He blinks, and scowls at his feet. “Oh, missing that word.” He then signs the missing word at you, and the slate makes the same pitchy noise in response, and you guess that he hasn’t programmed that word into his slate yet.

It’s probably a really specific word then, one he doesn’t use a lot in conversation. And maybe he used the same word twice?

You tilt your head. “Is it a food? A flavour?” You say, smoothing the hair back form your face in an attempt to look more presentable. You’ll have to make use of the nearby river, at some point.

He shakes his head, hair flying around, and rubs his hands together in circles so that his fingers brush and his hands are flat. It reminds you of rubbing cream into your hands when they start getting dry and flaky after a day where you had to wash them often.

“…a texture?”

He smiles, and nods brightly. You think, what words are there to describe the texture in a soup? If only you had a thesaurus in your bag specifically for this situation. 

Maybe Legend would have one?

“Watery? Salty - wait no that’s a flavour.” You suggest, and your eyebrows draw together in determination as he shakes his head twice. “Thick? Thin? Milky?”

He shoots down every one, and then makes a weird expression at the last one, seesawing his hand back and forth. So, milky was close.

“…Soupy? Soupy seafood soup?” You say, half-joking, and grins when he swats at your shoulder, smiling. “Creamy? Is that it?”

Finally he nods, making a double thumbs-up and making a note on his slate.

You wonder why he can’t just record it now, seeing as sometimes a stray word here and there has a different voice to the baseline female british one of the slate, but one look to the simmering pot has the thought quickly vanishing from your mind.

Oh, it looks delicious.

Creamy with small bubbles of oil lazily drifting on the top, tender meat with golden edges floating and the wonderful aromatic scent of spices wafts through the air and makes your mouth water.

You need to ask. Now.

Before the rest of them descend upon it like a pack of vultures and leave you nothing but crumbs.

“Could I have some?” You ask hopefully, maybe even widening your eyes a little for more effect - though you would deny it to whoever pointed it out. “Of the soup?”

The blonde looked at you like you had just put a frog on your head. Puzzled, tilting his  head one way like a confused little dog.

“Of course.” He signs, although with the way his hands quirk you think it might’ve been in a questioning manner. “I made enough for everyone.”

You beam, and clasp his hands together with your own to shake them once.

“Thank you so much!”

Wild’s ears waggle, and his face reddens lightly with a pleased, but bewildered flush. It’s an adorable sight, a comment you deign not to say out loud out of fear of him having a heart attack and dying on the spot. He’s reserved, despite the scarring and weapon-shattering and overall back-shattering insanity.

Heroes that they were, a compliment would knock them down sooner than a blade ever could.

As you follow him back to the cooking pot, you take out your water bottle to have a sip, swishing it around your mouth so you don’t have to deal with sleep-gunk while eating, watching impatiently as he taps the handle of his ladle against the side to alert everyone else that the meal was done.

In unison, several hylian men stumble to their feet and walk over with the balance akin to that of the undead.