#lu angst

I like to think that the black in Four’s outfit is in honor of shadow…

there’s no actual adventuring, and it’s mostly just travel. They fight no monsters, hunt no creatures. They simply travel, horseback to horseback, through various temples across various eras, solving puzzles and spending time together. A gift from the goddesses, one could say.

Wind ‘s far older, an old man easily in his 80’s (if not more). His skin is tanned by the sun, his hair is grey and faded, he has numerous scars across his body, and his left leg is replaced by a peg leg. But he hasn’t changed at all beyond age; he still plays the same pranks, tells stories with the same vigor, speaks about the great see with the same renowned. He talks about Tetra, and the new kingdom they started decades ago. He jokingly mourns about not having gone down at sea, but he doesn’t truly mind. In new hyrule, all new heroes and knights go to pay respects in the new temple of time, where the wind waker and phantom sword mark the grave of the hero of winds.

Hyrule looks the same, but he demeanor and stories tell tales many decades old. He radiates magic; flowers bloom around him, a stream of fairies follows him, and anyone who touches him feels their aches and injuries ebb away. Despite barely changing, he tells stories of magic and mystery, of a rebuild hyrule and how magic has returned. The hero of Hyrule’s death, and whether it qualifies as death, is commonly debated. Often around the new fairy fountain, blooming with magic and life once belonging to Hyrule himself, in the middle of Castle Town.

Twilight is older, in his late 60’s. Years of shepherding and farming has taken its toll on his body, but he will always claim it as worth it. He can’t lift nearly as much as in his youth, but he prides himself on being the strongest old man in town. Wolfie is old and grey now, the dark grey on his coat faded nearly to silver, and the sharpness of his eyes as faded. He never saw Midna again, but he will always say (with near-complete truth) that he is content. The Twilight Mirror was reconstructed 20 years after Twilight’s passing. It’s said that a woman with fiery red hair would be found every day along the humble tombstone at the top of the hill.

Wild is about the same age as Twilight. His body, once covered in scars, has gained a few more; his right arm is still charred and blackened from Gloom, and his right leg (and some of his fingers) have been replaced with Sheikah prosthetics. He still has his youthfulness though, in spite of his inability to travel and explore as far on foot, and tells stories about traveling with Zelda to find ingredients for his next recipe (a collection of which he carries in a book about 700 pages long). Travelers will soon find what remains of the shrine of resurrection. It was reconstructed and repurposed after the calamity, but it now has a new purpose. The Sheikah gave it a new symbol marking its new purpose- “rest”.

Four is older, maybe the same as Wild, and still the same height and just as quiet and agile. The four sword still rests against his back- or theirs, to be exact, since the colors have been separated for years, maybe decades at this point. They joke about it- four times the life experience and smithing knowledge came in handy, and they’re preparing for their next project. During the hyrulean civil war, one of the last battles of the war, it’s said that four elderly men, looking the exact same, stepped onto the battlefield, wielding the same sword. It’s said that days afterwards, a mother would flee with her newborn child into the forest, and that that hylian would be raised by the kokiri.

Sky is nearing 50, and that even though his demeanor and kind spirit havent changed, everyone can see the happiness in his eyes. He wears a royal cloak and tunic, and he tries to be discreet about it. But everyone can see the rings, encrusted with diamonds and jewels- wedding bands. Everyone can see the crown that he tries and fails to make an effort to hide in his bag. Everyone can see the picture of a family he smiles at when no one was looking. Everyone can see how complete he is. The first king of hyrule died suddenly but peacefully in his sleep beside his wife. It’s said that the sword that now laid in the temple of time glowed and pulsed, as if humming a somber tune.

Warriors, once a confident young captain, is now a confident young (in spirit) general. The same age as Sky, various scars on his body tell the stories of battles in subsequent decades, of his new achievements. He doesn’t boast his status (though will occasionally and jokingly pull rank in small arguments). He says he hasn’t settled down yet, but everyone notices the fond way he talks about Zelda. The hero of warriors died peacefully in his sleep the night after a royal banquet. Some blamed it on the wine, others blamed it on wartime injuries that never healed. Zelda would later jokingly blamed it on him feeling too fulfilled.

Legend is older, and has even more quests under his belt. He doesn’t tell most of his stories, he’s too tired and aching to get through a long lecture. But he is, for the first time in his life, content with where he is. He’s seen the whole world, seen every monster, every dungeon. And, in spite of not wanting the drama of becoming a legend (ha), was convinced to write a book of his adventures and exploits by Zelda and Ravio (under the condition that half of them were fake and that only he would know which were real). An addendum to Legend’s story adds that, in his final hours, he was visited by everyone important to him, one by one, living or ghost, enemy or ally. No one knew if this addendum was true or not, considering the rest of the book. The last words, added by Zelda and Ravio who witnessed it, spoke of his contentment.

Despite the struggles that come with travel and adventuring, all of them enjoyed it. They could fight together, explore together, see each other. They played music, sang, told stories for the months they spent together. They saw how different and grown each other. They saw how much they’ve changed since their last adventure together.

OKAY, SO I FINALLY DID IT AND STABBED FOUR BUT WAIT LET ME EXPLAIN BEFORE YOU LOSE YOUR MINDS.

Four gets stabbed and straight up dies, which is already devastating enough, but THEN everything gets worse because now Shadow is having a complete breakdown since he's the last one to go and has to watch all of them die. The elements of the Four Sword are literally leaving his body and breaking free because they're no longer bound to him. His body and clothes are losing all their colour as each part of him fades away and dies. I'm not okay, and you shouldn't be either because this is the most heartbreaking thing I've ever drawn, and I'm sorry, but also, I'm not sorry because the angst is IMMACULATE.

ʚ twilight x fem! reader ɞ

synopsis: the ghost of his past always seems to loom over the hero of twilight's heart and he is forced to look it in its eye yet again. as retribution, he is offered another chance to prevent the untimely death of the ghost in his past that continues to haunt him: the ghost of you.

genres: angst, romance. | mentions an established relationship.

reader specifications: none, no pronouns are used but was written with a female reader in mind.

content warnings: spoilers for twilight princess! mentions of injuries (twilight being hit on head like the in-game event and bomb arrow explosions), time and dimension travel, and implied death.

word count: 1.6k words.

―originally posted on @mydarling-iv, jun. 26. 2023

‎‧₊ ─ masterlist .ᐟ ༘

The barren and war-torn earth was a strong indication of whose Hyrule they were all thrown in. The Captain needn’t say a word to the rest of them before he’s ushering them away from the castle, which promptly raised a few eyebrows.

“The castle’s that way, Captain.” Legend teasingly murmurs, a smirk tugging his lips as he recalls of the freakishly obsessive women the said reincarnation encountered.

But before Warriors could retort, a gasp leaves some of the member’s lips as they’re suddenly thrown into another portal.

It’s odd this time. Instead of feeling ominous and dark, the gateway within the portal felt wide and open, the space within it constricting while stretching simultaneously.

They catch whispers of places far beyond, unfamiliar and familiar sights flash past members of the chain before it’s only a wisp of color and their feet suddenly touch on solid land.

Confused glances are exchanged as a feeling of deep, foreboding anxiety settles in the pit of Twilight’s gut, almost urging him to throw up his stomach’s contents as he takes in the familiar flora and fauna around the group.

He doesn’t register what the Captain had been saying before Wild elbows his arm softly, snapping him out of his trance before whispering, “You’ve been distracted.”

Another day, another Hyrule. They’re in another forest- why is it always a forest?- so most of the Chain hangs back to let Wild take the lead. He’s got a surprising knack for navigating Hyrulian forests, no matter which Hyrule they end up in. He’s chipper today, in one of his more manic moods. He’s having too much fun chatting and joking with the rest of the Chain to notice he’s moving on muscle memory. He might not recognize where they are, but his body does. His subconscious does.

Twilight walks beside him, making some quip or joke as they approach the tree line. The rest of the Chain laughs, but for Wild, time slows down. The Chain doesn’t notice the red dot that’s appeared on Twilight’s chest. Or the red laser it’s coming from.

“Get down!” Wild yelled suddenly, tackling Twilight out of the way just as the Guardian roaming Hyrule Field fired. The ground exploded where Twi had just been standing, so close Wild’s pants and the back of his leg had been seared by the blast.

“Stay in the trees! Let me handle this,” Wild said, quickly jumping to his feet.

Every fiber of his being was telling him to run, to flee with the Chain through the forest. The Guardian can’t follow them through the trees. But that would leave it there to wander the field, risking the life of anyone who wandered into this area. Wild’s sword was unsheathed before anyone could protest.

They were all frozen with shock, Twi barely able to pull his eyes from the obliterated ground he once stood on to look at the large, imposing Guardian- already charging up another attack. Wild charged out of the trees, bobbing and weaving to make it a bit more challenging for the Guardian to lock on. No one else in the Chain had seen a Guardian so close before. Twi had seen them from a distance, but Wild had never dared get close enough to risk harm to his companion.

The Chain watched in horror as another blast was fired off- with Wild ducking and rolling behind a rock just in time. Adrenaline was surging through him as he jumped up onto the rock and launched off. Time seemed to slow as Wild drew back his bow in mid-air, firing off three arrows in quick succession, each arrow ringing out as they pierced the “eye” of the Guardian. It barely seemed to faze the Guardian.

Wild hit the ground running, sword drawn the instant he hit the ground. He had to close the distance fast- he could see the eye flashing faster and faster as he ran. This time, Wild just barely dodged out of the way, though he was still sent flying off his feet from the force of the blast hitting the ground. He hit the ground hard, and without thinking Time was up on his feet, running just outside the tree line. The Guardian seemed to sense his presence and quickly spun away from the young Hero lying on the ground.

Time had no plan beyond getting the Guardian’s attention off Wild. He didn’t know how to fight it, how to time when to dodge out of the way. He didn’t know what they’re capable of when blast meets flesh. He knew Wild’s scars well, but nothing could have prepared him for the searing pain that flashed through his body- like magma being poured directly onto his flesh. His vision flashed red as the pain of his flesh being torn from his body overloaded him.

Wild lifted his head from the ground just in time to watch his fellow Hero crumple.

He let out an animalistic noise as he lurched up from the ground. Without a moment of hesitation Wild leaped up, using the Guardian’s own leg to jump up, grabbing onto the Guardian with one arm as he plunged his sword straight through the Guardian’s eye. Immediately the Guardian started to Malfunction before crumpling to the ground. Wild dropped a bomb next to the Guardian- just to be safe- and ran for Time. The others had already reached him, though they had no idea what to do. His skin was black, his burnt clothes still smoking.

“I know where we need to take him. It’s not far from here,” Wild said urgently.

The stunned Chain gathered their wits at his words. Twi was first to recover, lifting up Time as carefully and quickly as he could. He was heavy, but Twi had wrangled enough goats in his life to be capable of carrying his ancestor. The rest of the Chain hurried after them, everyone moving as fast as they could after Wild. He had to make sure to pace with Twilight, wishing he could just teleport with him to the Shrine of Resurrection.

Wild never wanted to return to this place. He had to fight the flood of trauma memories threatening to overtake him as they rushed across the Great Plateau. The group had to work together to get Time back through the cave to the Shrine itself, and Wild himself helped Twilight lower him into the healing waters.

All they could do now is wait.

I was inspired by @najikasunart and their short comic on Four with OCD. Therefore, I give you all Sky with scrupulosity, AKA Religious/Moral OCD.

I imagine his compulsive praying began during his adventure. At first, he did it to give himself strength and peace when he felt he fell short, but it slowly became something he had to do, or else he would fail and ruin everything. Now, he can't go one day without ruminating and praying at least 10 times until he feels that he and his companions are safe.