sonderwrite

[sonderwrite]

BLwrimo is starting here I come…!!!

[sonderwrite]

@ailesswhumptober pinging for badge credit later hahah thanks for having meeee

this is my first whumptober & idk how much i'll actually do but i made a cute banner for it so yay (all prompts + alt prompts list)

stress position, "if you cry, we'll go easy on you"

unfortunate fall, car accident, "don't move. you'll be okay."

survivor's guilt, "it's not your fault."

pistol-whipped (alt prompt)

migraines

self sacrifice, "i'm the only one who can do this."

running out of supplies, "hold on, we're going to have to improvise."

rope burns, gagged, "you're so much prettier this way."

"you look pretty pale."

self worth issues, pushing away a loved one, "you don't need to earn this."

hallucinations, truth serum, "why would you even say that?"

isolation, sensory deprivation, "can you feel me? i'm right here."

using himself as bait, defiance, "take me instead."

concussions, "see if you can follow my finger with your eyes."

"don't break down on me yet."

drowning, hostile environment, "i don't know how anybody could survive that."

abandonment, misunderstanding, "why did i even think you cared?"

mind control, possession

losing a sense, "i wish i could get you back."

enemy to caretaker, "i'm absolutely not qualified for this shit."

drugged, "this will make you feel better, okay?"

forced to kneel/watch/hurt somebody else, whipped, "do not look away."

fever, passing out, "hey?! stay with me, okay?!"

deconditioning, relapse, "it's normal that you need more time."

humiliation, betrayal, "how could you?"

"this is going to sting."

alternate universe, "well, there's a first for everything."

internal bleeding, needles and stitches, "i didn't think the wound was that bad..."

ownership, branding, "everyone will know that you're mine."

poison, delirium, "you're not making sense."

"you need to get out of here!"

ran out of time for the rest but hey i got a week's worth in!

[sonderwrite]

Prompt: 7 - running out of supplies, "Hold on, we're going to have to improvise." Fandom: Original Characters: Tao Zhiyuan (陶緻遠), Helan Shuo (賀蘭朔) Summary: Tao Zhiyuan gets injured in the field and Helan Shuo has to help him. Warnings: same as prompt ⋆⁺ ☾🩸₊⋆. masterlist link

—

The sand against his back is prickly. He feels the grains digging into the bits of exposed nape above his suit collar, working themselves into the spaces between his jacket and shirt.

Tao Zhiyuan blinks against the blazing sun above him and coughs. Metallic sweetness coats his tongue before he arches to the side and spits up a mouthful of blood. The next moment Helan Shuo is looming over him like a shadow, eyes bloodshot.

"You've got a wound in your side," he says calmly. "We're going to need to stop the bleeding."

Tao Zhiyuan parts his lips to speak and coughs again. He hates the wet sensation around his chin and tries to wipe it off, but his arm is so heavy that it falls back to the sand before he ever reaches his face.

"Are you with me?" Helan Shuo asks next. He's the one who wipes Tao Zhiyuan's bloody chin for him with the edge of his sleeve, staring into his eyes. "Stay conscious. We're out of supplies, so I'm going to need to improvise."

Tao Zhiyuan squeezed his brows together before managing to rasp out, "How...long?"

"Since we've been apart? 16 minutes 47 seconds." There's a bitter tone to Helan Shuo's voice as he accurately rattles out the time. "I shouldn't have left you alone. My fault."

Tao Zhiyuan manages a wry smile before curling his fingers to grasp the hem of Helan Shuo's pant leg. With the man kneeling next to him, it was the closest piece of fabric he could reach from his position.

"No...didn't hide well enough."

Who could truly guarantee his safety in a dungeon, especially when he had no skills or abilities of his own? The items that he'd bought for himself and gotten from Ventus Guild were useful, but too low-level to be applicable against some of their enemies here. Granted, he never meant to get caught up in the first place.

"I'm going to kill that guy," Helan Shuo muttered under his breath. He began to unbutton Tao Zhiyuan's jacket and shirt next, moving at breakneck pace to counteract the bleeding. Disturbing it once would interrupt the clotting process—but he needed access to the wound to bind it properly. Faintly, Tao Zhiyuan hears tearing noises before looking up to see the other man ripping his jacket to shreds. His brows crease faintly at the sight.

"That's name brand..."

"If you like it, I'll buy you 10 of them after this," Helan Shuo retorted.

"Looks better...on you." Tao Zhiyuan protested.

"I'll wear them all for you if it makes you happy."

The cloth comes under and around his sides before it's tightly wrapped in place, giving much needed pressure to his wound. Tao Zhiyuan thinks he feels a little better, but he's still too weak to move.

"The team's almost done clearing the rest of the dungeon," Helan Shuo muttered. "I'll get a healer to watch you while I hurry them up." He brushed his fingers through Tao Zhiyuan's hair—carefully, but still intimate. "Hang in there."

"...yeah," Tao Zhiyuan stared at him through a haze of pain and tried to commit the sight to memory.

[sonderwrite]

Prompt: 6 - self sacrifice, "I'm the only one who can do this" Fandom: Original Characters: Tao Zhiyuan (陶緻遠), Helan Shuo (賀蘭朔) Summary: Experimenting with esper/guide what-if route. Helan Shuo is on the verge of a mental riot when Tao Zhiyuan resolves to save him. Warnings: same as prompt ⋆⁺ ☾🩸₊⋆. masterlist link

—

"Get the building evacuated! Hurry, hurry!"

"All personnel to the emergency exits! Don't run, but keep moving!"

"Has someone contacted the Association yet? How long until they arrive?"

"President Tao!"

Tao Zhiyuan finally turned back at the last voice to see Secretary Wang hurrying over to take his arm.

"Don't just stand there, president. We have to leave the building!"

He pulled at Tao Zhiyuan, but the latter was surprisingly resistant as he stood in place and shook his head. "No. I'm going back."

"What?" Secretary Wang couldn't believe his ears. "You can't! He—isn't that esper on the verge of mental riot?!"

Mental riot.

As espers used their powers, they accumulated mental strain in their consciousness. Humans weren't born to shoulder these abilities from birth—it was the Awakening that foisted them onto their minds. Fortunately, there also existed guides whose sole duty was to pacify the esper's mind, but the problem was—

The problem was that Helan Shuo had never found a compatible guide for himself.

As an S-class he was powerful, but it also meant that he needed quality guiding to recover quickly. C and D-glass guides barely made a dent, while B class need a team to support him and A class required time. The only S-class guides in the world could be counted on one hand: one attached to his exclusive esper, another overseas, and the last still recovering in the hospital after a serious injury with a dungeon break.

And then there's me.

A normal Unawakened, human by all accounts except for the fact that his soul came from a different world. He remembers touching Helan Shuo's hair and the weird exchange of energy that had resulted from his fingertips.

"What did you do?" he had asked while grabbing his hand.

"I was brushing a leaf out of your hair," Tao Zhiyuan had replied in surprise.

"Have you ever taken an ability aptitude test?"

"Yes, and the results came back negative." Then again, that was for the original owner of this body before he'd transmigrated over.

"...this might sound strange, but I suggest you take one again," Helan Shuo had begun, before switching mid-tack to add, "I have contacts in a private hospital that can maintain your confidentiality."

They hadn't gotten any further than that before the dungeon break led to this mess. Maybe it was a far-fetched idea, but if he had helped Helan Shuo last time...

...is there a chance I can help him now as well?

Tao Zhiyuan broke free of Secretary Wang's grasp.

"President!" Secretary Wang immediately tried to follow him, but Tao Zhiyuan shook his head.

"I have to try something," he said. "You know the passcode to my safe—follow procedures there if anything happens."

"But president, what are you doing?"

Tao Zhiyuan actually laughed. "Protecting my assets."

—

Helan Shuo had been left behind on the 45th floor. The elevators were out, but luckily Tao Zhiyuan was only a couple floors down when he climbed the stairs up to his level. As soon as he opened the doors into the hallway, an overwhelming pressure assaulted his senses. It was like the entire air was crackling with static, with wisps of it even cutting against his skin as he pushed forward under invisible resistance.

Still, it wasn't as bad as Tao Zhiyuan feared. This was more like being forced to mountain-climb on a flat surface—he privately likened it to walking on a treadmill with a ridiculous incline, and braced himself against the walls to make progress ahead.

They say he was in one of the conference rooms...

—

Inside the conference room, chaos reigned. Various A and B-class espers were trying to keep Helan Shuo contained while a few brave guides struggled to reach him in the storm of his mental energy running amok.

"Agh!" an A-class esper, unable to hold out against the pressure, was suddenly thrown against the wall. Two A-class guides trying to reach Helan Shuo faltered in their steps before one of them fell to her knees with a cough.

"I can't get through to him!" she shouted to her ally. "He's actively resisting the guiding!"

"Give me your hand," the other guide, a young male, struggled over to reach her. "Let's try reaching out with our energies combined."

The woman did as she was told, but no sooner had they linked hands when a surge of energy came from Helan Shuo, knocking them both back three feet along with everyone else in the room.

An S-class on the verge of riot was no joke.

"If you guys can't make a dent in the next two minutes, we're getting you out of here," the head of the esper team said between gritted teeth. S-class espers were precious, but so was every guide! They couldn't risk losing them just to save a self-destructive time bomb.

"Let's try one more time," the third guide in the room, a blond A-class with the highest compatibility rating with Helan Shuo (41%), suggested quietly. "The Ventus guildmaster is an invaluable asset to the defense of this city."

The others all nodded, but before anyone could take another step, the door opened.

Five espers and three guides stared gobsmacked as Tao Zhiyuan let himself into the room.

"Get out of here!" it was the esper leader who spoke up first. He'd recognized Tao Zhiyuan's face from passing by him earlier that day. "Civilians should be sheltering in safety!"

"Sorry,” Tao Zhiyuan began but didn’t back off. “I’m here to help.”

There was a beat of silence before another esper cursed. “Are you crazy?”

Even the guides were shocked, with the female speaking up first. “With all due respect sir, you’re going to be a liability if you stay here any longer. Please leave.”

The blond guide was even more astonished. “Even if you can stay by the Ventus guildmaster’s side on a normal day, you can’t calm a mental riot without guiding abilities.”

“I know,” Tao Zhiyuan said and took another step forward. “That’s why I’m here to try something more useful.”

The rest of the room grew alarmed by his actions, but they were so thoroughly pinned in place by Helan Shuo that none of them could spare the time or ability to forcibly stop him themselves.

“President Tao!” the head esper spoke up again. “If you die here it’ll have terrible consequences for Helan Shuo and his guild! You should know what Ventus went through last time!”

“There’s no Ventus without Helan Shuo,” Tao Zhiyuan said as he took another step. Actually, this was easier to navigate than the hallway—maybe because he was closer to Helan Shuo, the man who always seemed to make exceptions for him. “My company’s invested a hefty sum in them too. If he doesn’t survive today, it’s over.”

Crackle!

Whether by coincidence or conscious choice, a flare of mental energy surged from Helan Shuo’s body and cracked over them like a whip. Tao Zhiyuan shielded his head, but still felt a heavy lash against his arms that took away a layer of skin beneath it.

“He’s about to riot!” the third guide warned with growing horror. “We need to leave!”

“Grab the president—”

“All espers, prepare to shield the blast—”

There was no time. Ignoring the burning pain in his arm, Tao Zhiyuan dashed forward and tackled Helan Shuo around the waist. As they tumbled back onto the carpet, a surge of energy rushed at his head and knocked him out cold.

—

Tao Zhiyuan woke up in an empty wasteland. The skies were red, the buildings dark and broken down, and some sort of thick, black, viscous liquid pooled at his feet with the consistency of oil. Fortunately it seemed to slide off him just as easy as he carefully climbed to his feet.

This is...?

The last thing he remembered was reaching Helan Shuo in the conference room.

An esper's mindscape?

"Hello?" Winds howled above him as he called out into the dire landscape. They whipped past his hair and lashed at his skin, but it was the direction they came from that caught Tao Zhiyuan's attention: a dark and foreboding energy emanating from in the middle of this destroyed "city."

He trudged towards the epicenter without hesitation.

—

He finds him in the depths of a dark, deep pit just out of reach.

"Helan Shuo!" Tao Zhiyuan leans over the edge of the hole and tries to reach out towards the unconscious man sleeping peacefully at the bottom. "Hey, wake up!"

Should I throw a rock at him?

He looks around a finds a piece of rubble lying in the dark fluid around him, but trying to dislodge it does nothing. It might as well be cemented on the ground. If anything, everything in this world is curiously fixed in place...except himself, and the liquid that ripples beneath his feet without ever getting him wet. As Tao Zhiyuan ponders over what to do next, a couple of droplets splash on his arm. He looks up and sees that it's started raining—large, wet drops of red so dark it might as well be black, mixing into the pool on the ground. The rainwater falls into the pit where Helan Shuo is lying too, accumulating into a fine layer on the floor of the hole.

If he stays there, won't he drown?

Tao Zhiyuan creases his brows and jumps in without a second thought. This mindscape was connected to Helan Shuo, he's sure. As long as the man wakes up, everything would be fine.

If not...we're screwed anyways, whether in here or outside.

Fortunately, Helan Shuo isn't stuck to the ground like everything else is and Tao Zhiyuan easily pulls him up. Unfortunately, it doesn't make a whit of difference if the guy won't wake up.

Should I slap him, haha...

"....." No, really.

Slap!

That didn't do a thing.

All right, back up. How did guides actually help their espers? His quick skim of the role only yielded vague answers like "channeling mental energy" or "untangling the knots in the esper's mind." It didn't say anything about waking up unconscious personas of the esper reflected in their own mindscape.

...how was he even here, anyways? He knew skin contact was one way to connect consciousness in this world (the science of it is beyond him), but were they actually still lying on the floor in his office building right now?

What an awkward image.

No, he needed to concentrate. Not really sure what to do next, Tao Zhiyuan settled into a sitting position with Helan Shuo in his arms and carefully took his hand. It was one of the simplest ways to start guiding.

More rain fell around them as Tao Zhiyuan waited for something to happen. When nothing immediately changed, he cautiously tried to probe mentally at Helan Shuo's mind and—

"Augh!"

Tao Zhiyuan drew in a sharp breath and dropped Helan Shuo's hand. For a second, it seemed as if a vacuum had scoured his insides and tried to suck him dry. The sensation was akin to the pain from swallowing with a sore throat, only all over his body. He looked down at the likely culprit and saw Helan Shuo faintly creasing his brows. Still, he didn't wake.

Did that work? Bracing himself, Tao Zhiyuan took Helan Shuo's hand and tried again. This time the pain cut so deep that he couldn't help doubling over as a whimper escaped his mouth. Once the first wave passed, he had to let go again to catch his breath.

Is guiding always like this? he wondered. Maybe I'm doing something wrong.

But the rain seemed to have lessened after that jolt, dwindling to a fine drizzle instead of a steady storm. Tao Zhiyuan wiped his wet bangs out of his eyes and looked up. Even the skies looked a little clearer.

If it's like that...then I don't mind trying again. It's not like he could be useful in other ways here. Neither was he seeing any other guides show up.

Maybe I'm the only one who can do this.

Tao Zhiyuan took a few more breaths to calm himself down. If he thought about it optimistically, pain was just a sensation from his nerve receptors. Technically, he shouldn't even feel it if he was in some place without his body, right? He took Helan Shuo's hand for the third time and—

Dammit, I can feel everything.

Well, whatever. If he got through this faster he'd suffer less pain, Tao Zhiyuan reasoned, so he forced himself to push on, squeezing Helan Shuo's palm tighter in retaliation.

Don't think just do just do just do just do—

The drizzle stuttered before drying up completely. From behind the dark gray clouds, a weak but hesitant light showed itself in the skies. Tao Zhiyuan was almost bent double by this point, his body wracked by involuntary shudders as he focused on channeling more of himself into Helan Shuo's unstable mind. His hand around the other's palm curled until the nails were digging into the skin.

"Hngh..." It really, honestly, fucking hurts.

And what's more, he felt his body getting heavier—a weight dragged at his soul, pulling it closer towards an unknown abyss. Tao Zhiyuan didn't know what would happen if he fell over the edge. He only guessed he'd have trouble climbing back out on his own.

"Ugh!" he gasped, burying his face against the sleeping man beneath him. "Dammit...!"

In simplest terms, guiding involved smoothing out the rioting wavelengths of an esper’s mindwaves with their own. Any guide was capable of this, but the effectiveness varied between different levels of espers and guides as well as their compatibility rate. Those with high compatibility could meld seamlessly and complete the guiding process with a single thought. Lower rates meant more manual adjustments and dissonance in the guiding process.

Tao Zhiyuan figured his rate with Helan Shuo must have been abysmal if he was being torn apart like this. Strangely though, his mind remained crystal clear, and the usual side effects of nausea and headaches with bad esper-guide matchups didn’t appear. It was as if his symptoms were all reflected in the other parts of his body instead.

I should renegotiate our dungeon resource agreement after this, Tao Zhiyuan’s painfully clear mind scrambled for topics to launch onto in the midst of his agony. 30-70 my ass. I’m making him do 40-60…no, 45-55…ugh!

Another involuntary shudder wracked his frame as he slumped. Warm sunshine shone upon his head, bringing him some measure of comfort. He was close.

But...so was the abyss.

There was a choice to make here between giving up now and pushing Helan Shuo to the point where he woke up. Practically speaking, he'd already did enough prep for this crazy world to ensure things ran smoothly if he was out of commission. But from an emotional standpoint...

It would've been nice to see your face after you woke up.

He thought Helan Shuo might feel surprised. As it was, Tao Zhiyuan hugged the man closer to his chest and used up the last of his mental strength. The world had Unawakened like him in droves.

But there were only so many S-class espers protecting them from the dungeon threats.

When Helen Shuo finally regained consciousness on a hospital bed, his second-in-command grimly informed him that Tao Zhiyuan had slipped into a coma.

[sonderwrite]

Prompt: 5 - migraines Fandom: Original Characters: Tao Zhiyuan (陶緻遠) Summary: SADNESS ⋆⁺ ☾🩸₊⋆. masterlist link

—

Since I deleted my original post for this prompt by accident before I could back it up on GDocs

have a mini drabble replacement *sobs*

—

In the middle of listening to his itinerary for the day, Tao Zhiyuan felt a twinge in his head and winced.

"What was that last bit?"

"...the auction rights for the C-class dungeon, sir," Secretary Wang said with concern. "Finance is asking if we want to move ahead with the initial plan."

"Yes, let's do that," Tao Zhiyuan waved at him vaguely and grimaced. "Is that it for today? I want to wrap things up early."

"There are a few minor details that can be taken care of tomorrow," Secretary Wang reassured him. "President Tao, would you like some tea? You're looking a little pale."

Tao Zhiyuan shook his head—and immediately regretted it when it sent a wave of nausea through his senses. "No, I'll be fine. Get me some hot water and leave me for a bit. Don't let anyone else disturb me for the rest of the afternoon."

"Yes, president."

As Secretary Wang hastily went off to do as he was told, Tao Zhiyuan sank into his leather chair and dimmed the lights. His skin felt clammy to the touch as he squeezed his eyes shut and pressed against his temples.

...no luck, the headache was still there.

At least his work was done for the day. He'd have to settle for that while he rode out this pounding migraine...

[sonderwrite]

Prompt: 4 - pistol-whipped (alt prompt) Fandom: Original Characters: Tao Zhiyuan (陶緻遠), generic baddies Summary: Violence during capture. Warnings: same as prompt ⋆⁺ ☾🩸₊⋆. masterlist link

—

While the captors were moving them out of the truck and into a building, one of the women tripped and stumbled to her knees. Her companions were quick to haul her to her feet and urge her to keep walking, but it wasn't a few more feet before she fell again, this time more heavily than before.

"What's the matter over there?" one of their captors marched over—dark suit and dark sunglasses, hand reaching for the handgun at his hip. "Trying to stall for time? Hurry and get up!"

"She's—she's sick," her companion tried.

"She's not dead, is she?" the captor snapped. "Walk!"

"I'm, I'm trying, sir," the second woman stammer. "Hey, you—you need to get up."

Tao Zhiyuan couldn't just stand by and watch. He strode over and tried to help, but was stopped by the same man who put out an arm. "And what do you want?"

"Let me help them," Tao Zhiyuan tried. "She's unconscious, she'll be too heavy to move—"

A sharp pain hit him in the jaw and left him staggering in place. Tao Zhiyuan cradled his sore jaw and blinked away stars.

"Hunters and Unawakened stay separated," the captor snapped. He twirled the gun in his hands and pointed it at Tao Zhiyuan's face. "Next time I'll do more than bruise that face of yours. Understand?"

Tao Zhiyuan wanted to reply, but someone hauled him back by the arms and said, "We'll make sure he gets it, sir."

Tao Zhiyuan looked up to see one of the only other Unawakened captives, a young teenager, smiling harmlessly at the man. "You..."

"You're acting like an idiot," the teenager muttered at him and jerked him over. "Stop trying to stand out."

Tao Zhiyuan cast one last look at the two women. The conscious one had managed to sling the arm of the weaker girl over her shoulders and was laboriously dragging her forward.

"She's a Hunter," the boy beside him grumbled as they continued walking in place. "No matter how weak she is, she'll still be stronger than you, got it? Anyways, if things go wrong—we'll be the first to go."

So don't piss them off, was the implied message.

Tao Zhiyuan lowered his eyes, staring at the dirt-stained hems of his pants and the mud and monster slime caked over his shoes.

"Right, sorry," he muttered over the stinging pain of his cheek.

[sonderwrite]

Prompt: 3 - survivor's guilt, "It's not your fault." Fandom: Original Characters: Tao Zhiyuan (陶緻遠), Helan Shuo (賀蘭朔) Summary: After the rescue, Tao Zhiyuan has to deal with his inner demons. Warnings: same as prompt ⋆⁺ ☾🩸₊⋆. masterlist link

—

With a clink, the spoon drops back into the bowl of congee as Helan Shuo sets it back on the bedside table.

"Tao Zhiyuan, you have to eat something," he says to the figure propped up on the bed.

Bandaged and pale, the other only shoots him a weak smile. "Sorry, I'm not that hungry right now."

"Then drink something," Helan Shuo urges next, pouring him a glass of water. He offers it to Tao Zhiyuan, who accepts it but just cradles the cup in his hands, gaze looking distant.

Ever since the rescue on the highway, Helan Shuo had taken it upon himself to bring their main investor back to guild headquarters for caretaking purposes once the hospital cleared him for release. Tao Zhiyuan was currently staying in one of the VIP guest rooms on the top floor of their new building—one with gorgeous views of the city skyline (though not quite as high as Tao Zhiyuan's own penthouse), and fortified with state-of-the art security systems developed from the latest mix of technology and magic-based dungeon artifacts.

Tao Zhiyuan had a designated nurse and checked in regularly with his company via Secretary Wang, but Helan Shuo paid him visits when he could. Although their relationship wasn't as close as it used to be, he was certain that Tao Zhiyuan, at least, didn't hate him. And he and his company could use Ventus' protection now more than ever, with the rogue Hunters' guilds running rampant in the city.

"The doctor said your appetite should be returning," Helan Shuo tried again after a while.

"Doctors know everything, don't they?" Tan Zhiyuan's smile was wry.

Helan Shuo sighed. "If this is about that other man...you shouldn't bother. Hunters die everyday in dungeon raids for less."

Tao Zhiyuan turned towards him with wide eyes.

"And he was even part of the group who kidnapped you in the first place," Helan Shuo added. "They found out he'd faked his credentials—he's D-class, not C. It's not surprising he didn't survive that fall."

Tao Zhiyuan took in a deep breath. The next second he downed a mouthful of water before setting the glass aside too.

"It's not him," he says.

Once again, Helan Shuo found himself creasing his brows. "Then who is it?"

"Helan Shuo, how many people have you seen die?"

The S-class hunter studied Tao Zhiyuan carefully before reaching out to grasp his hands. "Too many to keep count of."

"And that's normal, I know," Tao Zhiyuan didn't resist the hold, but dropped his eyes to stare at their fingers. "It's how the world works over here."

If he thought about it that way, this place was a perpetual warzone: humans against the Gates that threatened their very existence, protected only by the Hunters granted powers to defend them. He had understood there'd be casualties once he got involved with their world—even anticipated his own one day—but forgotten that victims of circumstance were all around them.

The group that kidnapped him kept him alive because he was valuable, but what about the rest still in custody? Would the guard that fell to his death have survived if he didn't stall in the first place? If he hadn't signaled to the soldier something was wrong, would they have noticed the dragon swooping by and avoided getting surprised?

His thoughts swirled while Helan Shuo remained silent; waiting for him to finish. It was considerate of him, Tao Zhiyuan thought, but then again the Hunter might not have known what else to say.

"It's not him, or anyone else," Tao Zhiyuan muttered under his voice. "but my own issue."

At least in the original Earth where he'd come from, none of this was happening. He lived a peaceful life in a peaceful country—the only battles he fought concerned business shares and the stock market, which hurt and bled in a different way. Although humans had developed to a point where they could co-exist with monsters and dungeons, it was still a gift to just live day after day.

A gift and a curse both, when he thought of so many dying instead of him.

"I'm a dead man walking," Tao Zhiyuan muttered. "When the building collapsed with me in it, I should've died."

It was the strange accident that first brought him to this world and jump-started his attempts to gain control over his life.

"You were lucky to survive," Helan Shuo muttered quietly. He'd read the reports when the guild was still investigating their strange sponsor—it was a miracle Tao Zhiyuan escaped with only a concussion.

"Lucky last time, and lucky this time? How many more chances do I have?" Tao Zhiyuan smiled at him grimly. "How many times did that D-class Hunter escape death before his luck ran out? If I hadn't tried to slow them down, maybe we would've made it down the overpass and he wouldn't have fallen over."

"Tao Zhiyuan." Helan Shuo's brows crinkled further. This time, his hands moved to the man’s shoulders, steadying him even as he tried to meet his eyes. “You couldn’t have predicted any of that. It’s not your fault.”

“I know.” Tao Zhuyuan sucked in a deep breath. “I know that perfectly well, but…” He laughed.

“It’s one thing to know and another to believe it, Helan Shuo.”

[sonderwrite]

Prompt: 2 - unfortunate fall, car accident, “Don’t move. You’ll be okay.” Fandom: Original Characters: Tao Zhiyuan (陶緻遠), Helan Shuo (賀蘭朔) Summary: An unexpected event mid-transit gives Tao Zhiyuan a chance to escape. Warnings: same as prompt Prompt: 2 - unfortunate fall, car accident, “Don’t move. You’ll be okay.” Fandom: Original Characters: Tao Zhiyuan (陶緻遠), Helan Shuo (賀蘭朔) Summary: An unexpected event mid-transit gives Tao Zhiyuan a chance to escape. Warnings: same as prompt ⋆⁺ ☾🩸₊⋆. masterlist link

—

The plan was to move him to another warehouse tomorrow.

Honestly, the idea was cliché—did villains always hide their hostages in empty buildings or shipping containers? But it was good news for Tao Zhiyuan, because it meant leaving in a car.

Count it a blessing or a curse, but he’d been well-behaved yet weak enough to warrant an actual spot in the backseat instead of, say, being stuffed in a trunk. He could almost even delude himself into thinking the Bastard (his nickname for the guy in charge) cared, if he wanted to aim for the Stockholm syndrome route.

Yeah, no.

He was taking his chances to escape this time.

The question of how was a little fuzzier, but Tao Zhiyuan was all about setting big goals first and getting there later. Reach for the moon, land on the stars, yadda yadda yilch.

They've kept him blindfolded and tied up most of the time except for assigned rest periods, so he can't help wincing when someone hauls him up by the forearms and march him straight to the car, half-stumbling. The backseat welcomes him as he's pushed onto it, sideways, and made to stay like that with his face planted against the seat.

...not a good start as far as escape plans went.

The roads they start off on are gravely and full of turns; he feels every bump beneath the tires as they speed along, and wonders blearily whether he'll get carsick or a new bruise on his face by the time this trip is done. His ribs ache from the end of the seat belt buckle digging into his sides, but he doesn't get to move much before he slammed back into place.

Ow, ow, shit! Ow...

Ok, maybe adjusting his weight in sections is the way to go. Tao Zhiyuan gingerly hankers down and debates on how to get attention for his plight instead.

—

Attention ends up finding him first. They hit a traffic jam on the highway—something about a car crash, from what he hears—and then alarms ring out: a new Gate is opening above them and the crowds have been told to evacuate, fast.

Tao Zhiyuan perks up at the news, but before he can react he's already being dragged out of the car and marched onto the roads, still blindfolded and hands cuffed behind his back. Unfortunately, most bystanders are too busy panicking for their own lives to notice.

There isn't much room to move between the cars parked on the road and the railing lining the side of it. Tao Zhiyuan vaguely feels the wind on his face and hears the sound of voices coming from above and below—and deduces that their car is either on an overpass or a bridge. Bridge would be better, if it was across a body of water—he could at least fall into it and have some chance of attracting attention that way.

Though maybe doing that in the middle of a dungeon manifestation isn't the best idea. Still, he does his best to stall: if he dragged things on, they'd still be here when the Hunters arrived, and there was a good chance that someone would notice he was, well, a kidnapping victim.

"Get down!"

Someone drags him to the ground again, even as a screech sounds from above. Tao Zhiyuan finds the noise nostalgic—wasn't the mall invaded by dragons the first time he ran into a dungeon gate? Something whooshes above him as heat flies past in its wake.

I think they really are dragons.

Depending on their size, it could be anywhere from a C to A-class gate. If they were to seize it for resources, then—

"Get moving!"

More hands hauling at his arms, pushing him along, up, down, up, down, moving along the highway even as Tao Zhiyuan dragged his heels and refused to cooperate.

"Do you want to want us to die?!" the guard shook him.

The guards that the Bastard had assigned to him were either regular bodyguards or C-class at most—no need to get fancy when the captive was just a normal human.

"I could go faster if I could see," Tao Zhiyuan shot back.

The second guard speaks up, “Boss said not to—”

“There won’t be any of us left to report to Boss if he gets us all killed.”

A hand jerks the blindfold down and around his chin; Tao Zhiyuan blinks painfully at the sudden light, then focus on the scene before him. He is on an overpass, flanked by two unfamiliar guys in dark suits, surrounded by parked cars, fleeing people, and smoke rising into the distinctively lightning-tinged air of an imminent dungeon break.

“Pick up the pace,” the first guard snarls. “If you go any slower I'll knock you out and drag your body after us.”

This time Tao Zhiyuan cooperates, if only because the top of a bridge is a bad place to cut loose and run. He considers and dismisses the idea of hijacking a car—no hands to drive, no road to escape on—before directing his attention to where they’re going next. Soldiers and military vehicles have shown up by the highway exits, no doubt here as support to guide people to the nearest shelter while the Hunters did the actual fighting. A certain name pops up in his head before he laughs at himself. Why would that guy care when he was the one who rejected their business proposal in the first place?

Tao Zhiyuan, you idiot. You can only rely on yourself.

As expected, his keepers ferry him away from the soldiers, one of whom notices and tries to call them back.

"Hey! Shelter's this way!" One of them calls out, waving the gun in his arms.

The guard beside Tao Zhiyuan shakes his head and pulls out a badge. "Special case, he needs to remain in custody."

Scammer, Tao Zhiyuan side-eyes him and speaks up. "That's not—"

A hand cuffs him on the face before the second guard's all but stuffing the blindfold in his mouth to gag him. "Shut up and don't talk."

You're kidding me. Tao Zhiyuan struggles back, but only briefly before he's forced to hold still. Stupid C-class strength, if we were evenly matched...

But all that fuss is enough to give the soldier pause. "Don't wander around. Stay here and we can call for airlift assist to take you where you're needed."

"That won't be necessary," Guard 1 smiles back. "We have arrangements for pickup just up ahead."

Where? Tao Zhiyuan can't help mocking. You're gonna call one of Bastard's minions to pick us up out of the sky? He strains to turn his head towards the soldiers, alternating blinking his eyes to signal for help.

Come on, tell me you know SOS in Morse. Wait, does Morse code exist in this world?

For a second the soldier's eyes seem to zero in on his face; in the next he's shaking his head and talking again. "Sir, I'm afraid that won't be permissible. Entering airspace within 10 miles of a dungeon is prohibited without proper clearance."

"We have it," Guard 1 retorts.

"My unit hasn't been informed of that."

"Maybe your communications were cut off."

The tensions between the two grow until the soldier suddenly raises his gun. "Cooperating with the military is standard procedure during dungeon breaks, sir. Come here and we'll get you out safely without breaking any protocols."

Tao Zhiyuan hears Guard 1 curse under his breath even as the soldier keeps talking. "Take out your IDs and any Hunter certification licenses you have on hand."

They'd likely faked records for him to bypass the checkpoints, but just as Tao Zhiyuan was thinking of how to bypass that, a sudden roar filled the sky. He and everyone else looked up to see one of the stray monsters from the dungeon sweeping their way on a pair of leathery wings.

—

Everything that happens afterwards is a blur. Tao Zhiyuan remembers trying to duck a second too late and getting swept up by the powerful blast of wind in the creature's wake. It'd knocked him and everyone else off-balance, causing him to crash into Guard 2 who...went toppling into, then over, the edge of the freeway.

And dragged Tao Zhiyuan after him in a desperate attempt to hold onto something.

His vision swims in a whirlwind of sky, concrete, and cars, culminating in a muffled crunch as the guard lands on the roof of a car beneath them and Tao Zhiyuan falls onto him. For a few, desperate seconds he can't even breathe, and wonders if the burning sensation in his chest is something stabbing through his lungs or just a lack of oxygen. Then he starts breathing in deep gulps of air and gasps around the cloth in his mouth that he's still alive.

His shoulder is killing him. The cuffs are digging into his wrists, the metal slicing through skin to draw blood. The sun is too bright, and the metal of the car searing hot in the one spot where it touches his ankle. The guard—

—is too quiet, still and warm and groaning softly beneath him, his involuntary cushion that Tao Zhiyuan's inevitably crushed into the crumpled roof of the car cradling their broken forms.

"Mmph," Tao Zhiyuan begins, and tries to roll over. "Mmph mmph!"

He's trying to address the man beneath him, but only gets a cough and another low, long groan. Above them Guard 1's leaning over the overpass and shouting something that Tao Zhiyuan doesn't want to parse right now. He can't get off, the angle of the car roof rolling him back every time he tries to move—and besides, it sends all his nerve endings exploding to even try.

It's not a good idea to just lie here in the middle of everything, however. Either he'd get recaptured, attacked by another random monster, or—

"Tao Zhiyuan!"

—found by someone else.

A shadow crosses his vision before a familiar man with dark hair and red eyes is leaning over him. In one quick movement, he's pulled the gag out of his mouth and Tao Zhiyuan inhales a shuddering breath as he coughs.

He's still wearing a suit, Tao Zhiyuan's brain registers the fact as he gapes back. "Helan...Helan Shuo?" He tries to sit up, but the other man presses him down again.

"Don't move. We need to let someone check you for injuries...you'll be okay."

"There's another man," Tao Zhiyuan tries to explain, "Below me, he..." Cushioned my fall.

"He's dead," Helan Shuo says abruptly.

"He...huh?" Tao Zhiyuan blinks, not quite believing him. Just minutes ago, he'd heard the other breathing and moaning in pain. "No, he fell down with me. We both...we both survived, I..." There's no way a C-class is that weak, right?

Helan Shuo's awkward silence leaves Tao Zhiyuan's words shriveling up in place. And then the blank shock sets in: that if he's on top of a body, he'll likely have to stay here until whatever help Helan Shuo's talking about arrives.

"Helan Shuo, I want to get up."

"You really shouldn't."

"I'm lying on a corpse." He can't even feel which part it is—the man's chest? His legs? Had his weight ended up crushing the guard to death? "I can't—I don't want to—my hands, get them free."

He rattles his cuffed wrists as best as he can, swallowing down the panic rising up. Without a word, Helan Shuo snaps the metal connecting them loose, allowing Tao Zhiyuan's arms freedom of movement even though the handcuffs are still dangling off his wrist. The skin there is a mix of bloody, bruised, and raw from a combination of friction and long-term confinement; he ignores the pain to reach for the Hunter with a trembling hand, fingers curling into the expensive fabric of his suit jacket.

Again he tries to get up, and again Helan Shuo pushes him down. "You might have spinal injuries from the fall. It's better to stay still—"

"I can feel my spine and the guy beneath it just fine!" Tao Zhiyuan snaps. His other arm won't cooperate like his right, so he tugs harder with his one good hand. Let me move.

"You're only human..." Helan Shuo's brows had creased into a line. "You're fragile, you—"

"You were late!" Tao Zhiyuan finally explodes. "If you were going to come find me, then do it properly or don't bother trying in the first place!"

Helan Shuo falls silent.

Tao Zhiyuan isn't even sure why he's angry. He didn't expect Helan Shuo to track him down—hell, maybe he was just passing by today. He isn't even upset that the man didn't find him earlier—but it's the guy beneath them that bothers him more, the guard who's supposed to be better than him but ended up dead anyways, from something as comical as a fall.

"Is he really dead?" Tao Zhiyuan tries again. Hunters are intelligent, he knows. They can lie if they want to. He's not sure whether Helan Shuo's ever lied to him, but it wouldn't be beyond his ability.

Instead of answering, Helan Shuo rests a hand over his neck. "You should rest."

"You..."

The next second Tao Zhiyuan feels a jolt enter his skin before he summarily blacks out.

[sonderwrite]

Prompt: 1 - stress position, "If you cry, we'll go easy on you." Fandom: Original Characters: Tao Zhiyuan (陶緻遠), random guy Summary: A dire hostage situation. Warnings: some coercion involved, stress positions, tied up ⋆⁺ ☾🩸₊⋆. masterlist link

—

"This is going to hurt."

No shit, Tao Zhiyuan thought before a kick sent him falling to his knees.

He winced as bone met concrete, but a pair of hands were already pushing his head down while another pair dragged his arms back to cuff him by the wrists. Tao Zhiyuan tried moving his elbows to gauge how much reach he still had, but got a kick in the back for his efforts and nearly ended up faceplanting on the floor.

He catches himself in time to hear a snort of laughter from somewhere in front—the same voice that warned him at the start. Tao Zhiyuan's eyes strained to see through the black blindfold wrapped around his face—but all he could make out was a vague sense of light beyond the rough fabric.

"Maybe you should've thought things through before playing good Samaritan," the voice reminded him cheerfully. "Compared to the rest of them, you're the weakest of the bunch."

"So go easy on me, why don't you?" Tao Zhiyuan joked back.

"I don't do favors for free," the man clicked his tongue before Tao Zhiyuan heard the sound of fabric shifting. The other seemed to have risen to his feet—and judging by the footsteps, was walking towards him.

Though what bothered him more was the clinking noise he made with each step. What is—

Suddenly, a hand yanked him back by the hair, forcing his head to look up. Tao Zhiyuan heard his heart pounding as the other wrapped something soft around his neck and tightened it in place below his Adam's apple.

He smelled leather.

A collar?

Attached to a clinking chain, which his captor released along with his hair as the men behind Tao Zhiyuan hauled him back to his feet. They did something with his wrists and ankles next—attaching another chain to the handcuffs holding his arms together, and then cuffing each of his ankles separately with a chain connecting them and his collar both. It was too short for the chain to reach the ankle cuffs without Tao Zhiyuan leaning down, so they just made him stand with his feet planted apart and body bent forward.

He thought about kneeling back down to close the distance, but the chain attached to his handcuffs suddenly grew taut as it pulled his arms up over his head and behind his back. Whatever was holding him in place seemed be to suspended from the ceiling. He was left standing in an awkward position instead: back bent and head hanging to form an upside-down V with his body while his arms stretched out behind him. As his mind reeled over this development, the man spoke up again.

"The D-Class hunter you replaced," he was explaining leisurely, "can hold this position for at most a day. In consideration for your physique, I've had them remove the weights and keep your feet on the ground instead of dangling you like a cut of beef."

Tao Zhiyuan, who could now barely move, contented himself with shooting mental glares in the man's general direction.

"Even so, I doubt you'd last past the hour without real damage setting in," the man observed. "How about this?"

He stopped, and Tao Zhiyuan tensed in spite of himself to listen to the man's next words.

"If you cry, we'll go easy on you. A mere human with the guts to replace a hunter—albeit a worthless one—and take the punishment in her place is due some credit."

"How are you going to see my tears if I'm blindfolded?" Tao Zhiyuan shot back.

"Cry enough until I can tell," the man's reply was flippant. "Scream, even sob. A businessman like you should know enough tricks to sell me on the act."

As if he needed to pretend. His back and shoulders were already starting to burn and sooner or later, physiological tears would hit him if nothing else.

Out loud, Tao Zhiyuan only replied, "It's going to cost extra if you want expedited delivery."

The man laughed. Then he slapped him good-naturedly (but painfully) on the shoulder before walking past Tao Zhiyuan towards the exit.

"Standard is fine. I'll come back to check in an hour."

Even the guards—or whoever it was that'd held him down in the start—stepped out to follow him, the last one finally shutting the door and leaving Tao Zhiyuan confined alone in a room of questionable origins.

Alone with his thoughts, it felt like his body was catching on fire.

—

In fact, barely 15 minutes had passed before the man returned, though to Tao Zhiyuan it might as well have been an eternity. This body lacked any training or stamina, and being forced to endure the strappado position even over a short period left his limbs and back weak and shaking from pain.

He didn't even register when the door opened again, and jerked involuntarily when a thumb ran itself experimentally across the fabric of his blindfold.

"Y-you," he hissed, stumbling over the word as his breath turned raspy.

"You might've had a point," the man remarked calmly. "With this blindfold in the way, I can't tell whether you've been crying or just working up a sweat." He observed the sheen of perspiration on Tao Zhiyuan's forehead and shook his head regretfully.

"H-hah." Tao Zhiyuan didn't buy his bullshit.

"Your new voice isn't bad," the man clicked his tongue again. More rustling ensued before a gloved hand suddenly held Tao Zhiyuan by the cheeks. "I wouldn't mind listening to it everyday."

Too pained to wrest his head free, Tao Zhiyuan settled for turning aside as much as he could manage without agitating the rest of his body—which admittedly wasn't much.

"So I guess I should make sure you last," the other sighed. "That's it for today."

It wasn't clear what he ordered next, but someone came to undo the chains stringing up his arms until they fell heavily down and made Tao Zhiyuan grunt. He lost his footing afterwards, and the man released him in time to see him collapse and curl up into a pained heap onto the floor, biting his lips hard to keep from whimpering out loud.

The man laughed again.

How fun.

[sonderwrite]

As promised, it's officially October so here's the AO3 collection for people wanting to add their works to it!

[sonderwrite]

AI-LESS WHUMPTOBER BADGE LIST

Total Achievement: completing every day of whumptober! Can be done with a mix of alt and 'true' prompts Total Achievement Plus: Completing every day of whumptober + alts. Unlike Total Achievement, this means completing a prompt from every day of the true list, PLUS every alt prompt. Difficulty: high. Reward: a little badge It Takes A Village: For collaborating with one or more friends/mutuals during the run of your AI-less Whumptober projects. Homebrew Suffering: For those that make exclusively OC whump, nothing else. Culture Connaisseur: For creators who whump in over five different fandoms. OCs can be included as a separate fandom, but all OCs will be collectively counted as 'one' different fandom per person. Weekday Warrior: Warrior of the weekday. For our people who only do the prompt of one day a week for the whole month. For example, only doing Tuesday prompts Favorite Punching Bag: A special badge for those that whump one character and one only the whole month. You chose favorites <3 One is Just Enough: For those that only completed one prompt for the entire month. You deserve flowers too.

[sonderwrite]

this is my first whumptober & idk how much i'll actually do but i made a cute banner for it so yay (all prompts + alt prompts list)

stress position, "if you cry, we'll go easy on you"

unfortunate fall, car accident, "don't move. you'll be okay."

survivor's guilt, "it's not your fault."

pistol-whipped (alt prompt)

migraines

self sacrifice, "i'm the only one who can do this."

running out of supplies, "hold on, we're going to have to improvise."

rope burns, gagged, "you're so much prettier this way."

"you look pretty pale."

self worth issues, pushing away a loved one, "you don't need to earn this."

hallucinations, truth serum, "why would you even say that?"

isolation, sensory deprivation, "can you feel me? i'm right here."

using himself as bait, defiance, "take me instead."

concussions, "see if you can follow my finger with your eyes."

"don't break down on me yet."

drowning, hostile environment, "i don't know how anybody could survive that."

abandonment, misunderstanding, "why did i even think you cared?"

mind control, possession

losing a sense, "i wish i could get you back."

enemy to caretaker, "i'm absolutely not qualified for this shit."

drugged, "this will make you feel better, okay?"

forced to kneel/watch/hurt somebody else, whipped, "do not look away."

fever, passing out, "hey?! stay with me, okay?!"

deconditioning, relapse, "it's normal that you need more time."

humiliation, betrayal, "how could you?"

"this is going to sting."

alternate universe, "well, there's a first for everything."

internal bleeding, needles and stitches, "i didn't think the wound was that bad..."

ownership, branding, "everyone will know that you're mine."

poison, delirium, "you're not making sense."

"you need to get out of here!"

ran out of time for the rest but hey i got a week's worth in!

[sonderwrite]

Prompts for AI-less Whumptober 2024

As promised, we're bringing you the official prompt list of AI-less Whumptober 2024 today!

We have 31 days of excellent whump prompts, with three prompts per day to pick from, fun themes, and 10 alt prompts to play around with. We hope you enjoy! Additional info + plain text versions of the prompts can be found under the cut.

FAQ and Rules

What sort of content can I create for this event?

You can create whatever you want (fic, art, edits, etc). Any fandom is allowed, as well as OC stuff. NSFW is allowed, but please tag your content accordingly! The only thing not allowed is AI-generated content.

Do I need to make 31 things to participate?

Oh heavens no! You can make as much or as little content as you like, skip days when desired, or combine prompts (so for example, write something that covers a prompt from day 1, 2, AND 3). You don't have to do the days in order either, go wild! To be considered a 'completionist', you only have to make sure that at the end of the month, you've covered 31 prompts from 31 different days, but whether you do that in 31 works or just 1 is up to you.

What are these alts about?

If none of the three prompts of a particular day are your cup of tea, you can swap them out for an alt prompt of your choice.

What are these themes about?

Just a little bit of extra fun for the mods. Like last year, we'll be handing out various badges for people participating in the event. A full list can be found here, perhaps there is a special badge or two for people who can't be completionists but who do manage to finish every single day of a specific theme ;)

How do I tag and is there an AO3 collection?

It suffices to tag your work with #ailesswhumptober for us to see and reblog it! Please also tag nsfw, since we'll be using that tag too. Tagging the day is optional but does help the mods along.

There is an AO3 collection to add your fics to here.

That should be all. If you have any additional questions, check our pinned or hit us up in the ask box. Or join our discord maybe, whumping can be a great group activity!

---

Plain text versions of the prompts:

October 1 - Torture Tuesday

public torture/public use, stress position, “If you cry, we’ll go easy on you.”

October 2 - Whumperless Wednesday

Unfortunate fall, car accident, “Don’t move. You’ll be okay.”

October 3 - Trauma Thursday

Shared trauma, survivor’s guilt, “It’s not your fault.”

October 4 - Fright/Freaky Friday

Painful transformation, non-consensual body modifications, “You’re a monster.”

October 5 - Sensory Saturday

Overstimulation, migraines, “I can’t take this anymore.”

October 6 - Surprise Sunday

Multiple whumpees, self sacrifice, “I’m the only one who can do this.”

October 7 - Medical Monday

Field medicine, running out of supplies, “Hold on, we’re going to have to improvise.”

October 8 - Torture Tuesday

Rope burns, gagged, “You’re so much prettier this way.”

October 9 - Whumperless Wednesday

Hypothermia, heatstroke, “You look pretty pale.”

October 10 - Trauma Thursday

Self worth issues, pushing away a loved one, “You don't need to earn this.”

October 11 - Fright/Freaky Friday

Hallucinations, truth serum, “Why would you even say that?”

October 12 - Sensory Saturday

Isolation, sensory deprivation, “Can you feel me? I’m right here, whumpee.”

October 13 - Surprise Sunday

Whumpee using themself as bait, defiance, “Take me instead.”

October 14 - Medical Monday

Seizures, concussion, “See if you can follow my finger with your eyes.”

October 15 - Torture Tuesday

Waterboarding, removing body parts, “Don’t break down on me yet.”

October 16 - Whumperless Wednesday

Drowning, hostile environment, “I don’t know how anybody could survive that.”

October 17 - Trauma Thursday

Abandonment, misunderstanding, “Why did I even think you cared?”

October 18 - Fright/Freaky Friday

Mind control, possession, “Everybody will end up despising you.”

October 19 - Sensory Saturday

Disassociation, losing a sense, “I wish I could get you back.”

October 20 - Surprise Sunday

Enemy/Stranger to caretaker, accidental de-aging, “I’m absolutely not qualified for this shit.”

October 21 - Medical Monday

Drugged, ambulance ride, “This will make you feel better, okay?”

October 22 - Torture Tuesday

Forced (to kneel/watch/hurt somebody else), whipped, “Do not look away.” October 23 - Whumperless Wednesday

Fever, passing out, “Hey?! Stay with me, okay?!”

October 24 - Trauma Thursday

Deconditioning, relapse, “It’s normal that you need more time.”

October 25 - Fright/Freaky Friday

Humiliation, betrayal, “How could you?!”

October 26 - Sensory Saturday

Electrocution, burning, “This is going to sting.”

October 27 - Surprise Sunday

Before vs after, Alternate universe, “Well, there’s a first for everything.”

October 28 - Medical Monday

Internal bleeding, needles and stitches, “I didn’t think the wound was that bad…”

October 29 - Torture Tuesday

Ownership, branding, “Everybody will know that you’re mine.”

October 30 - Whumperless Wednesday

Poison, delirium, “You’re not making sense.”

October 31 - Trauma Thursday

Panic attack, facing a phobia, “You need to get out of here!”

Alt prompts:

1) Pistol whipped

2) Co-dependency

3) Animal bite

4) Zombies

5) White room torture

6) Shock collar

7) Pulling teeth

8) Kidnapping

9) “You always make everything worse!”

10) “If you weren’t around, I’d be long dead by now...”