#recovery from injury

[skyward-floored]

Whumptober Day 30 - Recovery

CONTINUATION TO DAYS 13 AND 28 read those or you’ll probably be confused 👍

Hola I have not given up yet 👋 I’ve only got one fic left now and it’s already half-written, and I’m going to do everything in my power to finish it before thanksgiving SO HELP ME. Please enjoy the finale of the animal transformation plot line :)

and forgive me for slipping in one of my Link OCs these are technically his bad guys I borrowed for the fic lol

Warnings: same as 13 and 28, body horror, injury, creepy people.

Ao3 link

Day 13

Day 28

————————————————————

Twilight bolted through the caverns, the others’ voices long gone behind him. The pain in his side only got worse the further he went, but he didn’t stop, tongue lolling, paws pounding.

He had to reach Four. Before it was too late.

The smithy’s cries grew louder as he ran, and Twilight abruptly realized they weren’t Hylian sounds— he couldn’t quite make out what they were over the sound of the water beside him, though. The current of the stream had gotten much faster, water rushing past rocks and frothing at the edges. But Twilight didn’t focus on it much, intent only on reaching Four.

Some measure of sense came back to Twilight as he made out more voices over the water, and he slowed his frantic pace, making an effort to quiet his steps. A different kind of light reflected off the water as he followed a bend in the stream, and Twilight crouched down, creeping hurriedly towards a clump of large rocks. He ducked behind them as he heard voices, then cautiously poked his head around.

Standing on the other side of the now-roaring water was a stone pedestal, partially carved from some of the glowing green rocks around. It was surrounded by a handful of figures in dark green cloaks, carrying lanterns that made strange shadows dance across the walls.

One of them shifted around, and Twilight’s gaze locked on the tiny, struggling figure tied to the stone, frantically trying to free itself. Twilight squinted, moving just a little closer, and sucked in a breath.

A small, rainbow-colored bird was trapped on the stone, fluttering its wings and attempting to peck at the rope with its beak. It was maybe a bit bigger than Twilight’s hand, and Twilight scanned the colors its feathers held, recognizing them with a sinking stomach.

“Let me go! I have no clue what you’re talking about with all this courage stuff!” Four’s voice squawked from the bird, fear creeping in on the edges of his words. “Quit plucking feathers! Will you at least tell me what’s going on? Seriously! What do you want?!”

None of the cloaked figures replied, obviously unable to understand him, and one of them drew forward, raising a hand up.

“Oh goddess Farore... greatest of the Three... grant us your courage as we initiate one of your chosen,” she said, and Twilight startled as he recognized the croaking voice from earlier. “His power will serve us well...”

Her other hand went up, and Four’s chirps grew to a frantic pitch as the long knife she’d drawn gleamed in the lantern light.

Twilight forgot any semblance of stealth and raced forward, leaping across the stream in one huge jump and landing on the other side with a snarl. The cloaked figures whirled around, and Twilight bared his teeth, prepared to fight every single one of them.

The old woman holding the knife seemed unconcerned at his appearance though. In fact, she seemed downright pleased, a gnarled smile stretching across her ancient face.

“Ah, another of Farore’s beloved. She must have taken a special liking to you, clothing you in one of her sacred beasts.”

She swept her hand forward and ropes surged from nearby of their own volition, snagging Twilight’s legs and sending him to the ground before he could do anything. He snarled, fighting against them, but they only grew tighter, and Twilight fell to his side with a grunt.

“Twilight!” Four chirped frantically.

“Oh he’s magnificent!” another voice squealed, and Twilight recognized it as the other voice they’d been hearing. “Mistress may I have him first? Please?”

“You know the rules, sister,” the old woman reprimanded. “Farore has chosen me to partake first.”

The other figure that had spoken drooped, but bowed her head in a nod, and the old woman approached Twilight, her knife still held high.

Twilight snapped at her, struggling fiercely, and the old woman wagged a finger at him.

“Now now, relax. We’re not going to kill you.”

“Right. We’ll only take some pieces of your courageous bodies, and leave you alive after,” the cheerful woman added. “And afterwards you get to stay with us forever!”

Twilight fought much harder against the ropes, but they refused to budge a bit, and Four let out a frantic cheep.

“Twilight, hold on!” he said hurriedly, his beak pulling at the ropes.

“Doing my best,” Twilight growled back. He kept fighting, but made no progress in escaping his bonds.

The old woman with the knife knelt beside him, unconcerned at his snapping teeth, and thumbed a bit of the drying blood off of his muzzle, studying it.

“Yes, you’ll be perfect. A proud, fierce beast. One of the blue-eyes of legend,” she said with a smile. “Never have we had so many true Chosen in our grasp... Farore’s providence is good indeed.”

Twilight snarled, struggling wildly, and the woman raised her knife again.

“Hold still.”

Twilight’s heart wrenched up into his throat, but then Four managed to bite through the ropes holding him, launching himself off of the platform with a cry.

His flight was miserable at best, but he still managed to land on the woman’s head, pecking and clawing at her furiously. She reeled back from Twilight with a shout, smacking at Four, and Twilight strained as hard as he could. The woman’s hand smacked down, hitting Four hard enough that he was stunned, and she snatched him into her gnarled hand with a glare.

“Do not interrupt,” she hissed, squeezing until Four cried out.

Twilight barked in anger, worry for Four strengthening him, and he snapped a few of the ropes around himself. He lunged for the woman’s legs and she shouted again, several of the other cloaked figures sweeping forward. One of them took Four from her grasp so she could wave her hand and fix the ropes over Twilight again, and he grunted as he was rebound and Four was carried away.

“Smithy!” Twilight barked, heart pounding at the sight of the limp bird on the stone. “Let him go!”

“Stop that this instant,” the old woman snapped as Twilight thrashed around, growling and fighting against the ropes. They abruptly tightened, and Twilight’s snarling was choked off, pressure squeezing his already-sore ribs.

“I know the adjustment is hard, but this really will be the best for you,” the giggly woman cooed. “We’ll only take some of your courage now and then, and you’ll live a wonderfully comfortable life with us! Farore will bless us all for our devotion!”

Twilight wheezed, unable to take in a deep breath, his ribs aching and squeezing. He could barely focus on the words being spoken, his head growing fuzzy from lack of air, and he couldn’t stop the pained whine that escaped him.

He had to get to Four, but Four wasn’t moving, and he couldn’t breathe, and these people were too powerful for him to take by himself—

The old woman approached him again, her knife glinting in the lantern light. It was made of some kind of pearlescent material, small rainbows rippling across the tip, and Twilight stared at it as he wheezed for breath, unable to move away.

What he didn’t expect was for the woman to press the flat of the blade to his forehead, the metal cold against his fur.

A familiar biting cold wrenched through him, and Twilight gasped, the cold shooting through his limbs like an icy flood, hungrily spreading and devouring him. The ropes stopped him from thrashing, but he jerked beneath them, a strangled howl escaping his throat.

Oh please not again—!

His limbs began to contort, his stinging muzzle shrinking in, already abused ribs pushed and stretched. It was worse than the first time, his limbs still sore from the initial transformation and the fight earlier, and stars flew and shattered in Twilight’s vision as pain ripped through him.

His howl turned into a scream that rang through the cave, his body contorting and twisting around back into its rightful shape. Legs stretched and fur receded, teeth and ears and eyes that rolled back in his head.

It felt like hours before it finally eased, the cold‘s intensity ebbing, and Twilight abruptly fell still, his breath rattling as tears slipped down his Hylian cheeks.

He might have passed out for a moment, he wasn’t sure. But he was so wrung dry from it all that he barely registered he was back in his rightful body, a shiver wracking through him.

A frightened chirp reached his ears, and Twilight pried his eyes open, a blurry spot of color moving in his vision. A flicker of relief hit him as he saw Four moving around, but then a hand grabbed his chin, tilting his head up.

“Hm, maybe not so courageous after all,” the old woman frowned, flicking some of his tears away. “But Farore has chosen you, so we will submit to her will.”

She dropped his chin, then lifted up his hand, Twilight shuddering as she traced the triangles on his skin.

“Courage touched. We’ll take this first,” she said almost hungrily.

Twilight’s hand was stretched out, ropes tightening on his wrist and pinning his arm to the ground. The woman raised up her knife again, and Twilight pulled weakly against the ropes, his strength sapped. All he could do was watch.

Twilight looked up as Four let out a cry of dismay, and the knife plunged down towards his wrist.

Then was knocked from the woman’s grasp by a boomerang.

The woman shouted as the blade fell with a clatter, a furious expression on her face. Twilight panted weakly as someone shouted, and loud steps thundered by, blurs moving around. Two smaller ones split off, and were suddenly in front of Twilight, looking at him in fear and worry.

“L... Legend?” Twilight wheezed at the blur of pink in his vision, and the rabbit nodded, the otter beside him quickly patting Twilight’s forehead.

“Yep, and me too. Hold still, we’ll have you out in a second,” Wind reassured, and he and Legend got to pulling and gnawing on the ropes, snapping them with their teeth.

Twilight followed their wishes and kept still while they worked, not really able to move anyway. It didn’t take Legend and Wind long to snap enough ropes for him to get loose, and Twilight tried to get his eyes to focus as he surveyed the scene.

Time and Warriors were attempting to keep the cloaked figures back, Wild helping them where he could. Sky clung to Time’s back, occasionally shooting out a paw, and Hyrule hovered closer to Twilight, still looking wobbly, but keeping his footing. All of them still looked battered and shaken, but they were putting up a fair fight.

Especially thanks to the teenager Twilight didn’t recognize in the middle of the fighting, damp hair falling in his face, his expression a mixture of determination and annoyance.

“You,” the old woman seethed, glaring at the teenager. “You’ve caused us nothing but trouble, boy.”

“Yeah a lot of people tell me that,” he shrugged, then threw himself out of the way of a sudden thrust from a knife.

“Who..?” Twilight started to ask, and Legend snorted.

“We picked him up on our way here, he fell in through the ceiling and nearly squashed Wild. Said he’d figured out there was trouble and came to help. Pretty sure he’s the hero of this world, even though he said he wasn’t much of one. He’s almost as crazy as the champion.”

Wind snickered. “Yeah, but I like him.”

Twilight struggled to sit up, body shrieking in protest at the movement. Legend and Wind gave him worried looks, but Twilight refused to be held down, and struggled upwards, breathing hard as he managed to get to his knees.

“Four,” he realized suddenly, jerking his head around. “Where’s—”

“There,” Wind said, quickly climbing up to sit on Twilight’s shoulder. Twilight looked where he was pointing, and he began to stumble towards the stone pedestal where Four was struggling to stand. The smithy chirped as they approached, something like confusion on his face, and Twilight realized with a flicker of annoyance he couldn’t understand him anymore.

“Yeah it’s me and Wind and everyone and also another guy, please don’t ask right now,” Legend replied with a sigh, obviously able to understand. “We need to go.”

“Here,” Twilight urged, holding out a hand, and when Four struggled his way over to it, Twilight picked him up and cradled him gently to his chest. He could see blood on Four’s feathers, and felt a sharp prick of guilt.

“Mistress, they’re escaping!” the giggly woman shouted, and Twilight just barely managed to duck away from a sudden thrust of a knife, the old woman looking extremely displeased.

“You’re ruining the ceremony,” she said with a cold anger, and lunged forward again.

Twilight dodged, but Wind cried out, the pearlescent blade nicking his side. A short ripple of magic shot outwards, and Wind dropped from Twilight’s shoulder like a stone, another pained shout coming from him.

Panic shot through Twilight and he quickly moved to stand in front of Wind, sucking in a breath as he saw Wind’s form ripple unnaturally, then convulse, a strangled cry ripping from his throat.

He began to elongate, his limbs stretching out, tail shrinking away. Twilight dodged another slash from the woman, and shouted for assistance as Wind slowly shifted back into his proper form, the curse peeled away from him agonizingly slow.

Someone shouted as Legend growled, and despite his injured paw, he launched himself up at the woman, sinking his teeth into her arm. Her green eyes flashed and she threw him aside with a squeak, horrible cracking and shifting noises coming from where Wind lay.

She turned her sights on Twilight again as Wind’s cries turned to a scream, his body almost finished shifting back, and Twilight leveled shaky fists at her as Four puffed himself up and tried to look menacing.

The woman stepped forward. “You will not—”

The unfamiliar teenager lunged in front of Twilight, blocking her attack with a swipe of his own dagger. He shot a glance back at Twilight, worry on his face as he looked at Wind, then dodged another swipe.

“Wretched child!” the woman shrieked, and the teenager in green leapt over a burst of magic, his hair flying in his face.

“Go, get out of here!” he shouted, and Twilight stumbled back, dropping to his knees beside Wind’s trembling form.

He was gasping for breath, eyes shining with tears, and Warriors suddenly ran over, urgency in the neigh he let out.

“Can’t understand you,” Twilight frowned, and Warriors jerked his head in Wind’s direction, then twisted around and motioned at his back. “You... want to carry him? Can you handle that?”

Warriors snorted, and that was enough of a confirmation for Twilight.

He ran a quick hand over Wind’s head, a bright swirl of blue on his forehead, and the sailor winced.

“O-ow,” he moaned, still trembling, and Twilight did his best to sit him up, his own arms shaking as he moved him. He knew he wouldn’t be able to lift him up onto Warriors’ back, and Warriors seemed to realize it, quickly crouching down on mostly-steady legs.

“Wind, can you hold onto Wars?” Twilight asked, and the sailor gave a bleary nod, still shaking.

Twilight did his best to shove him up, and Wind slumped on Warriors’ back, tangling a few shaky fingers in his mane. Warriors winced but didn’t otherwise react, and carefully stood, Four chirping worriedly. Warriors neighed something in response, and Four made an irritated sound, squawking as he flapped a wing.

Another cloaked woman ran up, but the new teenager kept her back, his blade glinting in the light of the rocks, and he shot a glance back at them all.

“Get going! Didn’t you hear me?” he shouted, then reeled as he was struck on the shoulder.

He recovered quickly, but Twilight had seen blood, and he knew the kid was right. This wasn’t a fight they were going to win.

As if to emphasize the point, Time suddenly ran over and shoved Twilight towards the entrance to a tunnel he hadn’t seen before, barking something at him he couldn’t understand. Twilight stumbled, but regained his footing, holding Four to his chest.

Wind swayed where he clung to Warriors, but he hung on tight, Warriors keeping as steady as he could. Time ended up staying beside Twilight as a furry crutch, Sky giving him and Wind concerned looks, and they all rushed for the tunnel, furious shouts coming from behind them.

Twilight noticed a bloody scratch on Warriors as they reached the tunnel, blood marring his pale side. He whinnied something behind him, and Hyrule stumbled forward, his flanks heaving as he tried to keep up. Relief flickered through Twilight as he saw Legend limping beside him, and Four cawed happily.

“Coming through!” Wild’s voice yelled, and the unfamiliar teenager ran forward with the squirrel clinging to his shoulder, a bomb in his hands.

They all charged forward as the teenager chucked the bomb behind them, and an explosion shook the floor, rocks falling where they’d been standing moments ago.

Time dropped back and snatched Legend up by the scruff, and Warriors began shoving Hyrule, the teenager Twilight didn’t recognize helping with pulling the deer forward across the rocky ground.

The tunnel curved and Twilight saw light ahead that steadily grew brighter. A furious shout came from behind them as they ran, something echoing through the tunnel that was lost in the sound of it collapsing.

The ground shook and he held tight to Time’s fur as the wolf practically dragged him forward, rocks crashing down, his head spinning, the light growing bigger and brighter by the second.

The teenager shouted, Time lunged forward, and they all spilled out from the tunnel into a grassy clearing, the whole thing collapsing in behind them.

Twilight landed on his back with a wheeze, Time and Legend panting beside him. Four was still resting on his chest, feathers puffed in alarm, and Twilight gasped for breath, every bit of him aching and sore.

They’d made it out.

Twilight wheezed and closed his eyes, exhaustion he’d been ignoring hitting him like a moblin.

Oh thank Ordona.

“That’ll hold them for a while,” the new guy panted, swiping some of his hair from his face. He gave Twilight a weary grin when he looked at him. “This isn’t the only exit, but it’ll take them a loooong time to get to the other one.”

He let out a loud whew, then flopped on the ground beside the others, Wild hopping out of his arms. The champion sniffed at his shoulder, his head tilted in concern, and Twilight saw a line of blood on the teenager’s neck, dripping into his hair.

“Hey you okay? That looks painful,” Wild asked, and the teenager (or Link, probably) waved him off.

“Ah, this? I’ll be fine, no worries,” he said with a grin, though Twilight saw the edges were strained. “Just a scratch.”

The dust from the collapse began to settle, and Twilight wearily raised his head and looked around, making sure everyone else had made it. Warriors was sitting close by, saying something to Hyrule flopped beside him, the two still panting for breath and looking a bit worse for wear. Wind had been slid off his back, and Sky was curled up beside him, the sailor pale and looking like he was going to be sick. Wild was still sitting by the unfamiliar teenager, and was saying something to him, scratching at one of his ears.

The teenager caught Twilight’s eye again as he looked at him, and gave him a half-grin.

“Not too bad of a day’s work,” he said cheerfully, as if they hadn’t all just escaped by the skin of their teeth. “You alright there? You look like you’re going to pass out.”

Wild wasn’t the only one who immediately looked over at Twilight, and Four let out a worried chirp, getting to his feet and cocking his head as he looked at him.

“I’m alright,” Twilight reassured weakly, and Legend let out an exhausted scoff.

“Yeah, sure. We all heard you screaming back there, don’t start that.”

“You all aren’t exactly in... pristine condition, either,” Twilight huffed, and let his head fall back to the ground.

Time whined from nearby, and Twilight let him sniff over his sore and aching body, even putting up with the cold nose Time accidentally poked his neck with. Finally he seemed content enough with his examination, and Time sat back down beside Twilight with a huff, Twilight trying to ignore the darkness wavering on the edge of his vision.

He blinked dizzily, conversation floating over his head and past his ears without turning into anything recognizable. A groan from Wind was perfectly legible though, and guilt gnawed at Twilight as he tried to look at the sailor.

Wind was still deathly pale and shaking, and Warriors was saying something to him, Sky translating. Wind shook his head to whatever it was, then pressed his face against Warriors’ neck with a whimper.

If you hadn’t run ahead, this probably wouldn’t have happened, his mind whispered, and Twilight closed his eyes, headache growing suddenly worse.

“Rancher? You all right?” Legend’s voice asked from somewhere close by. Twilight mumbled a response, his head spinning and darkness tugging at him.

Four chirped quietly, nuzzling his head against Twilight’s cheek, and something soft settled itself on Twilight’s other side, patting his shoulder.

“Go ahead and rest, Twi,” Legend said from his side, his voice surprisingly soft. “We can handle things.”

That and Time pressing himself against his side were the last things Twilight was aware of before darkness overtook him.

(...)

It felt like both an eternity and barely a moment when Twilight awoke with a start, eyes shooting open as he lurched upright... and nearly clocking his forehead against Time’s.

“Whoa, easy there pup,” Time said, catching his shoulders when he pitched forward.

Twilight blinked a couple times, willing his fuzzy vision to clear, and realized he was in a bed, soft sheets over him, early dawn light rippling over the blankets. He raised his head, but barely took in the room as he focused on Time’s face, squinting as he noticed something off about it.

Then he startled as he realized Time wasn’t a wolf anymore.

“Huh?” he asked blearily, and Time cracked a smile, gently pushing him back down again.

“Good morning to you too. Our new Link and a few of the others found our belongings, including the Master Sword,” Time explained, brushing some hair out of his face. It looked more brightly golden than normal, and Twilight saw a few strands of white streaked through it. “Sky said we could use it to shift back, and he was correct. It still wasn’t pleasant, but I believe it went much more smoothly than you or the sailor’s experiences.”

“Huh,” Twilight repeated, and Time smiled again.

“Are you hungry? The inn here has excellent food. If you’re not up for that you should have some water at least, you’ve been out for more than a day,” he replied quietly, a flicker of worry in his eye.

Twilight’s stomach growled before he could answer, and he and Time both smiled.

“I’ll fetch you some of both,” he said with a pat to Twilight’s shoulder. Time then stood up a bit stiffly, stretching his arms behind his back with a grimace. Twilight heard a crack, and Time straightened, then walked quietly out of the room.

Twilight properly studied the room then, tired eyes glazing past curtains and a picture of flowering tree on the wall, then zeroed in on another bed in the room.

Wind was curled up under the sheets, still looking pale where he lay. Four was flopped beside him, the tips of his hair and cheeks shimmering with color that matched the feathers he’d been sporting. Warriors was snoring quietly in a chair beside them, his hair paler than normal, with a light-colored spot right in the middle of his forehead.

Twilight slowly sat up, grunting as his sore body protested, but he managed to get upright enough to see the other bed in the room as well. Sky was the one the most under the blankets, his hair color paler with some darker bits scattered throughout, but Wild and Legend were both under them somewhat as well, Wild’s hair streaked with silvery-blue, Legend’s back to fully pink. Hyrule was at the foot of the bed, just as deeply asleep as the rest of them, green flecks scattered across his face, two larger spots on his forehead.

The only one unaccounted for was the new kid, but when Time came back a few moments later, he was following behind him, grey-green eyes fixed on Twilight.

“Hey, you’re alive!” he said with a grin, grabbing a chair and sitting on it backwards. “That’s great, we were starting to worry.”

“I’m alright,” Twilight reassured, taking a bite of the warm bread Time had brought him. Oh that tasted good. “Just... tired.”

“You and everyone else, it’s been nothing but sleeping around here,” the teenager said with a glance at the others, his grin fading. “You guys had it really rough down there, I’m sorry.”

“It’s hardly your fault,” Time said, eating his own piece of bread. “I doubt we would have made it out of there without you.”

“Yeah... maybe. I just usually keep a better eye on the Farore weirdos, and right when I think they’re pretty much just down to stragglers, they somehow get twice as active and kidnap a bunch of people and torture them,” he said miserably. “I thought I’d taken care of them. I thought their leader was gone, and yet she was down there carrying on like always.”

“I’m certain that’s not your fault,” Time said grimly. “The reason we’re all traveling together is likely to blame.”

“You think it was the Shadow?” Twilight asked quietly. Time shrugged.

“I’m not discounting it. But,” he said, taking another bite of bread, “theories can come later. At the moment, all anyone needs to be doing is to rest. We deserve a break after all of that.”

Twilight smiled. “I agree.”

The other Link looked like he was bursting with questions, but he nodded, and bounced his leg as he drank some kind of juice from a cup. Twilight studied him a bit, looking at his unkempt hair and mossy green tunic. He looked about like all the rest of them, and Twilight couldn’t help his sigh, finishing off his bread. Yet another kid dragged into this mess.

A yelp from across the room interrupted his thoughts, and all three of them startled and looked over at Wind, who had shot upright with his eyes wide.

Time stood to go over to him, but Warriors was faster, waking up and going to Wind’s bedside with a worried look. He said something quietly as Four also sat up, and the three of them looked over at Twilight at the same time.

Relieved smiles lit all their faces, and Twilight gave them an exhausted one in return.

“Help me up,” Wind urged, and Warriors complied, helping Wind stand and supporting him as he wobbled over. The sailor shimmied up onto Twilight’s bed, then settled himself beside him with a smile.

“Hey sailor. Feeling better?” Twilight asked, and Wind hummed.

“Better than I did. I have no clue how you go back and forth between Wolfie like that,” he said tiredly, and Twilight sighed.

“My transformation isn’t nearly that painful, and only takes a few seconds,” Twilight replied, slinging an arm around Wind. “This... was not the norm.”

“That’s good to know,” Four said as he slowly walked up, parts of both his arms wrapped in bandages. “...I’m fine, Twi, I see you looking guilty.”

Twilight lowered his gaze, and Wind squeezed himself a bit tighter against his side.

“I should’ve done more. I shouldn’t have run ahead,” he murmured, looking at his hands. “If I’d waited for you all, we might’ve been able to make an actual plan that didn’t involve... everything this one did.”

“It wouldn’t have changed anything if you’d waited, Rancher,” Four chided, sitting on the bed. “They we’re already hurting me before you showed up, and I would’ve been changed back with that knife. Plus, who knows? They might’ve taken off my hand if you’d taken too long.”

“While I don’t appreciate you tearing ahead, it did end up being the best for Four,” Warriors added, crossing his arms.

“There’s no use dwelling on it, it’s in the past,” Time finished, and faintly smiled. “Besides, if we’d all rushed ahead, or even all held back, we might not have met our other hero here.”

The new Link blushed a little, but also smiled, a grin pulling at uneven teeth.

“True. Though... I still don’t totally get the whole time-traveling-multiple-guys-named-Link thing,” he admitted, scratching the back of his neck. “The guy who was a rabbit explained, but we were kind of in a rush...”

“Well there’s not much more to it than that, but once everyone is awake I’ll give you a more detailed explanation,” Warriors assured, and Wind grinned.

“And then we can give you a nickname!”

Wind started listing off ideas, each more terrible than the next, and Four squeezed Twilight’s arm as he looked over at him.

“Seriously Rancher, thank you,” he said softly, and Twilight nodded at him, feeling a little better. “I know you’re feeling torn, but it was in the heat of the moment. I doubt you could’ve made a perfect decision.”

“I still left the others behind,” he murmured, and Four sighed.

“Yeah. But they handled it. And so did we. And so did Wind. Try not to worry about it, we’re all safe now.”

Twilight breathed out, and tried to heed Four’s words. He didn’t exactly regret running ahead, but he’d gotten himself and Four hurt in the process, and Wind as well, thought somewhat tangentially, and he knew he’d be thinking about the whole situation for a while yet, wondering what he could’ve done better.

But... Time was right. It was in the past.

And they’d all made it out alive.

Twilight finished off his bread as he listened to the others chat, a hesitant sort of peace settling over him. The new guy was saying something about a swamp monster and how he’d ended up meeting Zelda, and Twilight settled back to listen, a smile pulling at his cheeks. Wind nestled a bit more tightly against his side, setting his head on his arm, and Four also leaned against him, listening contentedly.

Twilight looked around at them all while they talked, Sky and the others on his bed beginning to stir, everyone injured and marked by magic in some way.

But they were all back to normal. All recovering.

Twilight smiled, and closed his eyes, resting his head over Wind’s.

All safe.

[etapereine]

Into the jaws of Death, into the mouth of hell

The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson | 2024 Paris-Roubaix

All photos © Jered & Ashley Gruber

[feverflushed]

Whumpee had some kind of brutal surgery, and has been surviving on nothing but water and IVs for days.

They're so so hungry but they're not allowed to eat yet. The thought of food is plaguing them in their dreams, and when they're awake, their stomach's grumble is a painful reminder that they haven't seen a single crumb of food in four days.

Finally, one day, they see the nurse coming in with a small bowl of soup for them. Whumpee is so relieved and overwhelmed, that they start sobbing. They shakily bring a spoonful to their mouth, immediately getting emotional and teary-eyed again over the delicious taste of soup. Caretaker is sitting nearby, smiling to themselves at their sweet, genuine reaction.

[the-kipsabian]

watching old stuff (like, beginning of aew) and this is kips first match of tv/dynamite. the fact that he can hang with the fucking elite says so much of the level of talent he actually has

the crowd is chanting "this is awesome" while hes in the ring, having winning offense against matt jackson

hes being put on notice here. he makes people take a double take. he doing well in a tag match against the elite. he had a banger before with hangman. he won the first ever singles match in aew history

so fucking by god tell me why is kip sabian still overlook, under rated as all hell and not given opportunities to prove himself when back FOUR YEARS AGO he was this fucking good and now hes even better

[thinkingjasico]

Summary: Since graduating from high school Jason had been making a lot of unwise decisions: Like agreeing to be Nico's fake boyfriend, then traveling to New Rome and hide from his best friend and fake boyfriend that he was having his top surgery.

Relationship: Nico di Angelo/Jason Grace

Words: 48, 660

Tags: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Trans Jason Grace, Solangelo break up, No explicit smut and it's just one scene, Domestic Fluff, Touch-Starved Jason Grace, Forced Proximity, Sharing a Bed, Hidden Injury, Scars, Sharing Clothes, Making Valentines Gift, Holding Hands, Descriptions of scars and recovery from top surgery, Yes I think Drew and Nico should be best friends, Jason is basically a puppy and I love him!, Jasico - Freeform, Both of them have POV's, Trans Author

[skunkes]

Whats the major injury Talon went through? Would you consider one day making like a timeline sorta thing of Talons long life to the present day?

Talon is a baby in oc years, he's only like, 3, so his Lore has changed so much already, and therefore I don't wanna prematurely make a timeline knowing it may change like. Next week.

Especially since some stuff is being mixed around in my brain This Week Alone!!!

Anyway, Talon got the common vampire punishment of being Buried Alive but with the addition of sustaining a brain injury right before. This was done by the same group who Found Out and Scientific Method Proved that his body is very slow to heal wounds, if at all, so it was another dollop of cruelty hoping he'd just never recover and be in barely conscious maimed stasis until, well, idk, maybe we'll dig him up eventually if we remember where we left him. Might be interesting to see if the effects of the vampire failsafe puts an extra strain on the resources of a damaged body with a damaged undead brain, etc

his body did its best to patch that up considering such an event would be pretty difficult to recover from for even an ordinary vampire, but of course there are lingering symptoms, on top of those of all the other injuries he's ever sustained, sustained, sustained

[bi-disastersoup]

Into the Void - Part 1

Welcome to a new VN series. These ones are much shorter, so I won't be doubling up the images.

Greatly recommended you read Shifters first if you haven't, or some of the stuff covered in this series might not make a ton of sense.

very mild CW for emetophobia and also spoilers for patch 6.2 MSQ (takes place right after the second fight with Scarmiglione)

Let's go.

Strap in, ya'll.

(Part 2)

[clickerflight]

Esial: Part 11 - Phone Calls and Door Latches

Happy new years, guys! This is the last part of this arc. There will be more of Esial, trust me, but there will be a bit of a time skip between this and the next arc. Things are going to get wild. I have a plot line and everything. Anyways! Enjoy!

Masterlist

Part 10

Content: Vampire whumpee, human whumpee, emotional whump, injury recovery, depressive thoughts (nothing too deep but hinted at) loneliness, emotional angst

.................................................

Kyle checked the clock for what had to be the 12th time in the past half hour. He pressed a gentle hand to his side. It was well wrapped in bandages and padding and it was apparently healing well, but it still hurt. He needed to take some meds for it soon. The only issue was Kyle had to take it with food or he would end up throwing up. 

He sighed, leaning his head against the back of the couch, barely listening to the cooking competition show he had turned on to distract himself. He needed to get up to make food, which would make the pain worse, which would make the food harder to make. It was an unending loop. In the past he would have been able to ask Joanna for some help but even just thinking about her made his head and side hurt more. 

He closed his eyes, trying not to tear up. His life was a complete mess. He didn’t live near any family who could come help him, Joseph and his bondmate were the closest things Kyle had to friends, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask them for anything. Muir was busy all the time, running himself even harder than before now that he was a vampire and Joseph was always at the rehab center. Adding himself as another load onto them was selfish. 

He sighed again and leaned forward slowly, wincing. He couldn’t even get off this stupid couch. His education was down the drain, he couldn’t work, he didn’t have any family or friends. He didn’t have anything except for expensive medical bills that would drain his funds for finishing out schooling and lawyers calling him every day trying to get him to change the wording in his testimonies in sneaky ways, trying to get him to make it look less bad that his best friend had kept a vampire in her shed surrounded by silver and then shot him in a desperate attempt to sell the guy. 

This was insane. How was this his life?

By the time Kyle got to the counter in the kitchen, he had to lean on it, fighting rising sobs because he knew they would only make his side hurt more. He could cry after the meds had some time to kick in. No crying before then. And maybe he could do it in his bed as well. As a treat. 

He slowly gathered himself back together and opened his fridge, pulling out a container of chili. His neighbor, Barbara, had been bringing him some food now and again after he’d gotten back from the hospital. He wished she would stop. She was friendly, of course, but there was a prideful part of him that wished he had more help than his 50 year old neighbor who took pity on him and took the chance to talk to him as a way to feel a little less lonely herself. He put the chili in the microwave, wincing as he heard the first pop of one of the beans. Who knew how long his microwave was going to be chili splattered before he had the energy to clean it. 

He leaned on the counter again, waiting for the minute to be up so he could stir it and put it in for another minute when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. 

He closed his eyes against the anguish the sound caused in his soul as he dug it out. He looked at it, dreading to see some unknown number that could be the hospital or another Lawyer who found another phone number to call from, but he had this number saved in his phone. 

Joseph. 

He didn’t know if that was worse. 

He accepted the call and went to lift the phone to his ear, but gave up as pain lanced up his side. 

“Nope,” he muttered to himself, putting his arm back down and putting Joseph on speaker. 

“Hey,” Kyle said, hoping desperately that he didn’t sound like he’d been crying. 

“Hey, Kyle. Good to hear your voice,” Joseph said. Kyle didn’t like how timid the vampire sounded, like he wasn’t sure about how Kyle was going to react to something. “How are you? I meant to come up and check on you this morning but then I figured you were probably still sleeping and I didn’t want to-”

“What is it, Joseph?” Kyle sighed, watching the inside of his microwave get progressively dirtier inside. 

“Oh… ah. It’s Esial.”

Kyle closed his eyes as his microwave beeped. He’d wait till after the call to deal with it. 

“What about him?”

“He’s doing alright. Ah, a little confused, homesick, that sort of thing. That’s normal. He just asked if he could talk to you sometime. You don’t have to do it now, of course. I’m just seeing if you’d be up to it in the next couple of weeks or… you know… whenever.”

Kyle didn’t open his eyes, focusing on keeping calm steady breathes. There were flashes of light in his mind’s eye, a bleeding vampire hovering over him, Kyle himself open on the table. 

A gun to his head, a scared vampire trying to free himself from a woman Kyle had once called his best friend. 

A vampire sitting, nearly naked, in a spot surrounded by silver in a shed. 

“Kyle? You still there?”

“No.”

“What?”

“No,” Kyle said, more exhausted this time. “Look, no offense to the guy, but I can’t. I can’t anymore. I’m so sick of this.”

“Oh… well, maybe we can talk about this later after you’re heal-”

“NO! Joseph! I don’t want to talk to that stupid vampire. I don’t want to ever see him again, you hear!? I want my life back! And I know it’s not his fault but…. Crap, Joseph. Just….. Just leave me alone.”

Before Joseph could protest, Kyle hung up. He tossed his phone onto the counter, staring at it for a long time before he turned. He left the chili in the microwave, he left the TV and lights on, but he snagged a piece of bread to stuff into his mouth on the way past, made a beeline for the bathroom where he took his meds. 

He laid on top of his blankets for a long time, something in his pocket digging into his leg as he stared at the wall. Once he felt the meds start working he buried his face in his pillow and screamed before allowing himself to cry softly for another hour, letting that eventually carry him to sleep. 

…………………………………….

Esial had finally figured out the door handle properly. It amused him to no end to open the door and then just pull the handle down to see the catch slide in and out of the door. He was fascinated by the mechanism and a little tempted to take it apart to see if he could replicate it in some way. He didn’t dare, though. When he’d done that to the ‘lamp’ by his bed he couldn’t get it to work again after and he didn’t want to do the same thing to the door latch. 

He looked up as he heard someone coming down the hall and was delighted to see it was Joseph. And just like he had asked Joseph every time Esial had seen him since the night walk, he asked, “Can I talk to Kyle?”

Joseph reached the door, looking rather uncomfortable. Esial was getting good at recognizing that emotion, especially on Joseph, but his teachers who had started teaching him body language said he was picking it up pretty well anyways. 

“I called Kyle,” Joseph said slowly, but Esial waited patiently for him to get to the point. 

Joseph rubbed the back of his neck. “He’s… going through a rough patch right now. He just got really badly hurt and he’s tired and having a kind of bad time. He’s not ready to talk to you right now.”

“Then next week?” Esial asked. He hoped a week meant what he thought it meant. Or was it day? He knew it wasn’t month. A month was a cycle of a moon cause they both started with an M sound. 

Joseph sighed. “I don’t know when, Esial.”

Esial frowned. “Why not?”

“Because… look. Kyle’s not ready to really be around people much. We should leave him be.”

Esial wrinkled his nose at that. “Not ready? I just want to talk in the old language. That is all. I am not asking for him to kill hippos while he is injured. I just want to talk.”

Joseph gave Esial a look that the isolated vampire didn’t understand. It looked complicated. 

This only frustrated him further. 

“Do I ask too much?” Esial asked, bearing his teeth. “Only talk. Does not even have to be long one!” He wanted to apologize for coming to the hospital, he wanted to ask about certain things that he couldn’t grasp because he didn’t know English well. He wanted to talk in a language he was more familiar with instead of fighting with each sentence and each word. 

“No,” Joseph said. “He’s just tired. He’ll probably come around to talk to you eventually-”

“‘Come around?’ That is phrase with other meaning. He does… he does not want to talk with me.”

“No, wait, Esial, it’s more complicated than that. It-”

“He does not. I scare him?” Esial did not consider himself scary to anything. Not even to hippos. Hippos do not feel fear. He wasn’t very tall, he was confused most of the time, and he didn’t even mean Kyle harm. Kyle knew that! He defended Esial in the hospital. 

Esial growled and Joseph tried to placate the older vampire. “Esial, it’s not that. A lot of things happened, okay? He’s dealing with a lot of bad emotions and he doesn’t know what he wants. This isn’t about you.”

“I do not ask much! I only want to sorry to him! I want to ask thing that do not … not-” Esial snapped his fingers- “In here,” he said, gesturing to his head. “I was hurt! Why bad emotion with me!?”

“Emotions are more complicated than that. It’s, They’re, crap. How do I explain this to you?”

“This why I need talk with Kyle!” Esial said, giving up on following all of the stupid confusing rules of this stupid confusing language. 

“He doesn’t want to talk to you,” Joseph blurted,  frustrated. “Right now,” he said quickly, but Esial heard the pause. 

Esial snarled, bore his teeth again and cussed Joseph out with the language that his parents had taught him before backing up and slamming the door, panting as he stood in the darkness of his room. 

He could hear Joseph pacing outside for a moment before he finally walked off, leaving Esial alone.

Esial: @whumpsday @honeycollectswhump @writereleaserepeat @tragedyinblue @hyrules-sleepiest-knight @why-not-ask-me-a-better-question @thecyrulik @gt-daboss

From Dust to Ashes: @whumpsday @writereleaserepeat @currentlyinthesprial @pigeonwhumps

[euclydya]

I have brought the two halves of Spacehead back together. I now await my significant other to join me with glitter glue.

[fishymedic]

The image of him post battle with a spear through his leg *snapped off excess, post fall/beaten the fuck up+having used it to kick at opponents, walk around and just triaging+medic mode like it's nothing (He'll deal with it eventually- it'll heal slow though due to how burnt up his latent magic etc is+the a.rcane interfacing etc)

[spookyboywhump]

Doing research for an injury I want to administer to an OC and being like. Oh yeah. This shit ain’t about to be medically accurate.

[wildelydawn]

https://www.tumblr.com/wildelydawn/764863130767704064/only-reason-im-functioning-today-is-because?source=share you have to see the documentary that barca released today about his recovery. it made me cry a lot and it's very well done 🥹

I haven't seen any of the Barca One documentary parts yet because I am extremely extremely sensitive and I know for a fact it will make me cry. I get teary eyed when I accidentally watch a Gavi reel and it includes his injury. So. I need to prepare myself a lot for watching the videos on Gavi's recovery. I do want to watch it, very badly because I know Gavi is such a strong person and I'm sure the films are well made. I am just too sensitive. Trust me, when I watch it, you'll know. Because I'll be sobbing on here and making it everyone's problem.

[tuesdayscanons]

Okay, I poured far too much time into researching amnesia (because if I'm gonna do this, I'm going to try to have some accuracy, goddammit) and holy moly is this more complicated than I expected it to be.

I think I found a believable source of confabulation (false memories) that could theoretically cause the symptoms I'm going for, but it's not a "recover completely out of nowhere" sort of deal. Only 20% of cases are reversible and recovery can be slow/incomplete.

...meaning PB would have to keep up the charade for months, if not years.

Pretty large hole to dig oneself in.

I probably won't go with this because having Bojack drink himself into believing PB is his husband, possibly forever, feels like a bit...much.

Just know it's a possibility.

[jane-lynndrake-t]

... Lazurus Pits.

They can glow an eerie green in the right light.

Rejuvenating pools of water that heal most injuries.

It's even rumoured that it can even bring people back from the dead.

My... IV at the fake hospital. When I first was aware of things around me I--

I thought I saw them attach something green and glowing to the IV stand.

I was... I was so out of it, and in so much pain, that after, I assumed it was a hallucination.

When I truly woke up, I felt fine. It was if the excruciating pain was merely a dream.

The IV bag from then on simply looked like supplemental fluids.

[fullmetall]

something something about ed’s chronic pain

[theramblingvoid]

Number 6, for Hallowrove!

Okay this is the fun one I'd hoped someone would pick because the thing is it's happened so many times in canon already that there's just NO question about the answer

Hallowrove's List Of Who She'd Go To If Badly Injured, by preference:

- Fluorine Scaleflats, a Rubbery friend with a great skill and interest in Shapeling Arts who can be relied on to piece her back together in (mostly) (if asked nicely) the right order

- Haarsink, who also knows shapeling arts and can probably apply them in a much less biologically creative manner in a medical setting, but is second on the list because showing up bleeding at his place would stress him the hell out (ask me how I know lol)

- Oversol, who although being a deeply trusted safe place to go has no particular medical knowledge or skills and will probably just call a very expensive doctor and/or pick Hallowrove up and sprint her to a hospital, while being VERY stressed either way

Hallowrove's List Of Who He'd Go To If Badly Injured, by what inevitably actually ends up happening:

- Oversol

- Haarsink that one time

- But other than that it's always Oversol

- Good lord Hallowrove you are going to put this poor man into heart failure we have got to stop letting this happen so often -