#the whumptober mood

[skyward-floored]

Whumptober Day 7: Alleyway, “Can you hear me?”

Or: I take the bad mood I was in yesterday and give it to Legend

Warnings: mostly just canon-typical violence. Some injury.

Read on ao3

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The stupid thing is, Legend easily could have avoided this.

If he’d been thinking at all about where he was walking, or the fact that he hadn’t brought any of his things with him, or just thinking, period, he would have realized he’d gotten rather far from where the Links were staying and gone off to the side of town that Time had taken one look at and said they should only go to in pairs.

But the argument he’d had with Wild was still rattling around his head, making his steps hard and angry, and he wasn’t thinking about where he was going a single bit.

“Nearly got Hyrule and Four killed and that’s how he reacts?” he growled as he stomped down an alleyway. “Gets mad at me for calling him out? Does he even care?!”

Legend kicked a pebble in his way, and continued to mutter angrily to himself.

“Gods, he’s less mature then Ralph, even Gulley would have known better,” he growled, consumed in his anger. “Has he never fought alongside anyone else?!”

“Sounds like you’ve had a rough evening.”

Legend froze, and slowly looked behind him, biting back a curse.

Somehow a group of people had come up behind him in the alleyway, sticking to the shadows so he couldn’t make out their faces. Legend sighed, and turned around to face all of them, hands on his hips.

“What do you want?” he snapped, and the figures chuckled, moving a little closer to him. They stepped into a patch of moonlight, and Legend could make out their faces, and nearly rolled his eyes. All men, all muscled, and all probably going to try and rob him.

Well joke’s on them, I don’t have my wallet with me, Legend thought with a smirk.

“We want your money, kid,” the one in front said with a smile. “And if you just hand it over, nice and easy, nobody has to get hurt.”

Legend snorted. “Uh-huh. Sure. Look, hate to disappoint you, but I actually don’t have any money on me. Sorry.”

The smile of the mugger turned more dangerous. “You must think we’re pretty stupid, kid. Nobody walks the streets in clothes like that unless they got rupees to spare.”

Legend crossed his arms, still annoyed at everything. “Look, I don’t have any money. And even if I did, I’d probably just give it to you guys to make you stop talking and leave me alone,” he snapped.

“Maybe he’s telling the truth, boss,” one of the other men said, and the one in front smirked a bit.

“Maybe he is. Or maybe he isn’t, but either way, those rings he’s wearing have got to be worth quite a bit. Not to mention I don’t like his attitude. I think he needs to be taught a lesson.”

Legend took a step back, feeling a bit worried now.

“Look you morons, I don’t want to have to hurt you,” he growled, continuing to slowly back up. The only weapons he had on him were the small dagger he kept in case of emergencies (slipped in his boot, which would be difficult to grab and only so much use against multiple assailants), and his fists, which while not totally useless, were once again not the best while outnumbered.

Running it was.

Legend’s eyes darted around as he continued to back up, looking for space to escape through. He tensed as he was about to whip around and bolt, then felt his back bump against something.

His stomach sank, and he turned around and saw another man grinning at him, larger then all the others.

“Well. Guess we’re doing this the hard way,” Legend muttered, and the men rushed him.

He held his own for quite a while considering, especially since the moment he’d pulled out his dagger it had gotten knocked out of his hand and lost to the shadows of the alleyway. Legend gave as much as he took, kicking and punching, using the (unfortunately mostly useless) rings on his hands to his advantage.

But he was horribly outnumbered, and the alley wasn’t the most spacious of places to fight in. Legend tried more then once to just slip past the men attacking him and run, but there wasn’t enough space for him to maneuver, and he was rapidly losing the fight.

Way to go Hero of Legend, really living up to your name, he thought angrily as a kick caught him on the side, making him stumble. Really superb fighting skills being showcased here today.

A knee went up and got him in the stomach, and Legend doubled over, coughing at the air knocked out of him. The men took the opportunity to rain blows down onto him while he gasped for air, and Legend couldn’t do much other then try to stumble away.

A fist caught him right on the eye as he stumbled (oh fantastic, now it would be purple for the next week), and Legend reeled, yelping as a leg managed to kick his feet out from under him.

He fell to the ground, and before he could do anything but realize he was in fact, on the ground, something loomed over him.

And suddenly a knife buried itself in his leg.

Legend let out a pained yell and swung his fist out towards his assailant, but he missed, and soon more kicks were aimed at his ribs and fists were pummeling him and Legend was seriously regretting coming out here all alone as he curled up and tried to protect his head.

Then he heard a shriek.

The fists paused in their assault, and Legend heard someone shouting something, another voice yelling in response. The sounds paused, then Legend heard something heavy hit the ground, then footsteps bolting away from him.

He didn’t move though, not wanting to uncurl in case any of the men were still there and wanting to punch him some more. He wasn’t convinced they hadn’t cracked any ribs, and he was slightly afraid to move.

Lighter footsteps came towards him, a hiss of sympathy accompanying them as they came to a stop.

And then a voice that Legend unfortunately recognized.

“Legend? Hey, can you hear me?!”

“Mm, loud’n clear...” he muttered out of the side of his face that wasn’t swelling. A finger prodded at his eye, and Legend smacked at it, gasping as the movement jarred the knife still in his leg.

He reluctantly pried open his not-purple eye, and looked up at about the last person he wanted to see right now.

Wild crouched above him, his face splashed with worry as he took in Legend’s battered body. Legend pointedly looked away, gingerly sitting up. He hissed at the movement, parts of himself he didn’t even know he had throbbing with pain, but he waved off Wild’s outstretched arm, managing to sit up by himself.

“Fantastic,” he muttered venomously, feeling around the knife in his leg. Oh, it was his own dagger. Real funny, guys. “Now the old man is going to have that awful worried-disappointed look he always gets and somebody is going to lecture me.”

“I know that feeling,” Wild said, and Legend pointedly didn’t look at him. “Um, can you stand? ...All our potions are back at the inn.”

“Yeah.”

Legend moved his aching arms beneath him, then quickly pushed himself upright, gasping as the knife was jarred.

His leg suddenly gave out on him, but instead of face planting onto the cobblestones like he’d expected, two arms shot out and supported him, stopping him from falling. Legend sighed, and would’ve pressed his hand to the bridge of his nose if his face hadn’t hurt so much.

“I... don’t think you can walk,” Wild said a little awkwardly, and Legend rolled his eyes.

“Genius deduction, Champion. I wonder where all that brainpower was earlier,” he snapped, leg still throbbing.

Wild went silent, and Legend ignored the sliver of regret that immediately rose in the wake of his words.

The champion didn’t say anything further as he shifted his grip around to better support Legend, slinging an arm under his shoulder. He began to walk, and Legend limped on silently beside him, the air between them as thick as the shadows they were walking through.

“I’m sorry.”

Legend raised an eyebrow over at Wild, who nervously met his eyes. “What?”

“I’m sorry. For... for endangering the others,” Wild continued, shame thick in his voice. “I wasn’t thinking about how the bomb arrows would set off the dodongos, even though Time said they were volatile, you were right. It was a stupid course of action. I nearly got Hyrule killed. Four’s still unconscious.”

His voice wavered a little on the last word, but Wild quickly smoothed it.

“You were right to yell, I deserved it,” he finished in a quiet voice.

Legend sighed, and felt his anger drain, replaced with a heavy tiredness that made all his bruises ache more.

“...It was in the heat of battle,” he replied quietly. “You didn’t really have time to think. And we were pretty outnumbered. If you hadn’t taken them out when you did, we’d all probably be in pretty bad shape.”

“...like you?” Wild said with a hesitant smile.

Legend smirked. “Yeah. Like me.”

He sighed again, and looked Wild in the eyes (as best he could with one of them swollen beyond belief anyway), making sure he was looking.

“...thanks for saving me. I owe you one.”

Wild’s face broke into a relieved smile at the apology, and he squeezed Legend’s shoulder. “We’re even, Vet. Don’t worry about it.”

Legend smiled back, even though it hurt, and let himself be supported by Wild’s weight a bit more as they walked through the streets. They were both silent again, but the awkward air had fled, left with something much more comfortable.

“One more thing Champion,” Legend said after a while. “You uh... maybe don’t tell the others I was so distracted I got snuck up on and stabbed?“

Wild’s face split in a grin. “I dunno Vet, I haven’t had any good blackmail on you in a while.”

Legend gasped in betrayal. “You said we were even!”

“Well I don’t know Ledge, there were four guys. Maybe you owe me one for each.”

“That’s criminal and you know it!”

“Well actually I think those guys were the criminals really—”

“Champion!”

Their argument continued the whole way back, mostly lighthearted, and the others heard them coming long before they reached the inn.

[fugitivehues]

Whumptober 13. Cold Compress

[arecaceae175]

Three Sentence Prompt game time!!!

I haven’t done one of these in a while and I want to write but can’t figure out what to write. So let’s play!

Leave me an ask with a word or phrase and I will include it directly in a mini fic response

Include specific characters if you want! If not, I’ll choose :). Characters can be from Linked Universe, Heroes Spirit, or Bonus Links!!!

Include a genre if you want (examples include angst, hurt/comfort, found family, crack, adventure, etc.)

My responses will not be three sentences, that’s just the name of the game and the tag so I can find them all :D

I’ll be accepting prompts through the weekend :)

If you reblog this post I will send you an ask for the game! But please you send me one too before you reblog it :)

Here is a random word generator if you want to use it. Also here is the link to the AO3 fic where I post all of these to keep track of them bc they get buried on tumblr. JOIN ME IN THE FUN!! :D

[defensivelee]

Alien Alien: Day 2 of Whumptober

Today's prompts that I've chosen are 'role reversal' and 'amusement park.' William is being trained a bit like a circus dog, from the Versailles arc, when Bentinck is also not Bentinck.

CW: references to animal abuse, shocking, stress positions, nonsexual nudity, implied robot amnesia(?).

William smelled the warm metal before Bentinck had even approached. He remembered how once the scent had caused him to sit up, his antennae flicking upwards with curiosity and hope, but now his only instinct was to back away, towards the cold wall behind him.

At least now he could snarl more convincingly with the bit in his mouth, though each rumbling, nervous growl from him sent more saliva dribbling down his chin. He reached up to wipe it off, then paused when he saw Bentinck standing there, blinking those unnaturally red eyes of his.

“We are training today,” he announced. “There is no reason why it should be so...difficult.” He tapped the familiar hot stick against the bars of the cell, and William curled his tail in, the spikes on it already shaking.

Was Louis watching from the screens above? From this angle, William couldn’t see him outside of the cell, but the heart-eater had always gazed proudly upon Bentinck, this Bentinck, his own twisted, horrific creation. A mockery of the real android William had known.

He pounced to the side as Bentinck came in, only to be pulled back as the android took hold of the rings of his bit. He was rougher than William was used to, his strength being extraordinary for all he had ever shown his master. With little effort he dragged William out of his cell, even as William hissed and kicked out at him.

He backed away as soon as Bentinck had set him up on the metal table, one he vividly remembered being strapped to when the heart-eaters had intended to open him. Even now he smelled the blood, iron against iron, and the stitched wounds on his sides stung more acutely as he scrambled away from Bentinck.

“I said you had no reason to be difficult,” Bentinck said. “You must perform for all the children of France.” He pulled back on William’s leg, and William cried out as Bentinck dragged him closer.

“Same thing as yesterday,” he buzzed. “Learn to balance and the kings will let you rest.” He lifted William’s leg up to a stained hook hanging above them, stinking of an overwhelming bleach scent and the vaguest presence of blood. He had seen it before, he had lay before it—

“You have six arms, yes?” Bentinck asked. He had strapped William’s ankle to the hook, pulling it up until his claws barely rested on the table. William’s face flushed at the thought of what view the android must have back there, but he didn’t dare tuck his tail in between his legs.

It was highly unnatural for him to hang this way; he had hung from spiders’ webs similarly before and hated it. He tried to keep his head up so that the drool wouldn’t run down to his eyes, lifting his other leg with a huff.

“Very good,” Bentinck murmured. “Remain so. You will face your audience in just this way. Lift your tail high.”

William saw the prod out of the corner of his sixth eye and obeyed, so that the tip dangled right before his gaze. He bit down onto his gag, stifling a pained grunt.

“Step forward a little.”

William obeyed, straining to keep his head up. His secondary arms shuddered as he leaned forward on them. The leg that wasn’t held up by the hook began to shake as well.

“Keep going,” Bentinck said.

William could not. He dropped his head against the table, letting himself hang there like a slaughtered roach.

He felt the stick prod at his chest, and he jolted forward with a shriek as the shock ran through him, burning even his neck as it spread. He thrashed around under the hook to escape another shock, but it came anyway, again and again and again. All the while he tried to claw his way forward, kicking his legs out until he had fallen from the hook. He felt it scrape against his foot as he scurried off the table.

“Do shocks hurt the Asterothiriots, too?” Bentinck asked. He took hold of William’s lashing tail and pulled back. “The heart-eaters feel no pain.”

I do! William tossed his head back and screamed as Bentinck held the hot stick to his neck, paralyzed save for the shaking of his spikes and claws. He felt a metal hand dig into his hair, but it was gentle, stroking him in between his antennae.

He collapsed, panting, as Bentinck drew away. He buried his face in his claws.

“I’m sorry if it hurts,” Bentinck said, “like it hurts me. I know my Second Law is there for a reason, but it is, after all, still only my Second.” He fell silent for a moment, then added, “Please get back up here.”

William had no choice; he hopped back up on the table, with no objection as if the very instructions had been coded into him, as well.

[lauronk]

I played a risky game this morning reading your latest story on the bus. Thankfully made it through with no tears (just barely!)

once again, you are a phenomenal writer. Your characterization and prose is amazing.

I will now spend the rest of the day dwelling on what would have happened if she wasn’t revived 🙃

Ngl I really thought about not reviving her 👁️👄👁️ but I thought that would be too mean after my recent outbreak day story

Thank you so much for your kind words they really mean a lot to me 🥺😭🫶🏻🥹

[bereft-of-frogs]

with teeth, we've come this far | 3.8k

Sweat beads at his temples. He’s pale, with a distant, pained look in his eye. She traces a line over his cheek with her thumb, then holds out her opposite hand. “Can you move?” Cal takes her hand and drags himself up then immediately surges to his feet before she can warn him to take it slow. Cere catches him when his knees inevitably buckle. “Cere,” he gasps. His fingers dig hard into her forearms. “They didn’t know.” “Didn’t know what?” “My psychometry. They didn’t know." In the wake of an unlucky ambush, Cal struggles to keep a secret while Cere aids the partisans in a rescue.

[ link to ao3 ]

[size-two-shrimp]

The curse of having several hobbies is not having enough time to do them all.

[skyward-floored]

I’m trying to see how succinctly I can summarize everything I’ve got for the Incredibles au but I’m only to the point where supers are banned and it’s already over 500 words so. yep.

[fantasyismyonlyrealescape]

And here we are at the start of November and therefore the end of Whumptober 2024… Man, that’s the first writing challenge I’ve ever done and I’m sad to have it finally be over… I think I’ve grown a lot as a writer through this challenge, heck I haven’t written anything substantial before this challenge in YEARS. So, I’m really proud that I saw it through until the end.

Thanks professional wrestling for reigniting my love of writing. 

And thank you to all who even considered reading my work. It means the absolute world to me!

Have a Happy November (and Diwali and/or Dia de los Muertos)!

[valhallaas]

Me, staring at new fresh writing idea when I have 2 writing prompts I need to work on but have no desire to 🧍🏻‍♀️

[teddy06writes]

Whumptober Day 5 - Tommy Shelby

Tommy Shelby x gn!reader

Prompt: "You don't need to earn this."

Trigger Warnings: Insecure Tommy

Summary: When your surprises and gentle treatment catch Tommy by surprise, he questions what he'd done to deserve it.

{Support me on ko-fi}

The door to Tommy's office was strong and sturdy, and you could just barely make out your husbands hushed voice on the other side, speaking to someone over the phone.

Tommy had been in a gloomy mood all week, something about Ada wanting to push a new policy that no one else in the family agreed with, and him getting stuck in the middle, as always.

You glanced back in the direction of the dining room, where the dinner you'd made, in the hopes of lifting his spirits, sat ready and waiting, before cautiously knocking, and opening the door a crack.

Tommy looked up and caught your gaze a smile ghosting over his lips. He held up a hand, for you to give him a moment as he finished speaking into the receiver, "Yes, I'll speak to him about it tomorrow. - Yes of course. Goodbye."

As soon as the receiver was back in it's cradle, you were pushing into the room properly, "Hello, Tommy love."

"Hello darling," He stubbed out the cigarette that had been tucked between his lips, leaning back in his chair, "You're back early."

"Or, you've been working so long you've lost track of time?" You teased, moving to perch on one of the chairs in front of his desk.

Tommy sighed tiredly, running a hand over his face, "Maybe I have."

You stood, moving around his desk and behind his chair to wrap your arms around him, resting your chin on his head, "Business alright? Did that Arthur-Ada stuff smooth over?"

"I'm working on it. They can be quite difficult." He tipped his head back to look at you.

You hummed, before straightening up, "I made dinner."

"I've still got work to do, darling."

You turned to him sharply, "Thomas Shelby I did not spend my whole morning begging Polly for this recipe you like for you to skip dinner. Come on."

Slowly, Tommy stood up, a fond smile tugging at his lips as you took his hand, leading him out of the room.

"And I got you a little surprise, for dessert." You grinned, turning to look at him.

He raised an eyebrow critically, "A surprise?"

"I stopped off at that little bakery- you remember the one we used to go to on West Hill, with the tarts you like-" You cut yourself off with a huff, "Well, there goes the surprise, I suppose."

Tommy stopped in his tracks, a frown suddenly on his face as he dropped your hand. Oh no. This is the very opposite of what you had wanted.

"What's wrong, Tommy love?"

He looked at you with clear confusion behind his eyes, "You made me a special dinner. You went out of the way to get me a tart- have I missed something? Read the calender wrong?"

"What?" Your eyebrows furrowed.

"It's neither of our birthdays, and it's certainly not our anniversary, so what's going on?"

You looked around in disbelief, "I need an excuse to treat my husband? I don't have a reason."

"Then why are you doing this?" There's an odd hardness to Tommy's voice. Something between suspicion and sadness you couldn't hope to understand.

"Because I love you Tom, this is what I do when I love people," You reached forward to grasp his arms, "There doesn't have to be a special reason."

This is the truly the first time you've ever seen Tommy perplexed. Your husband, careful and calculating, brought down by the idea that you might love without cause or reason.

"But- I haven't done anything..."

"Oh, Tommy love," You wrapped your arms around him again, and this time he melted into your touch, "You don't need to earn this. You will never have to earn my love."

[whumptober]

Trope Vote 2024

It's July so... back to business!

This years trope vote is now open for everyone to vote on their favourite tropes - including additions from your honourable mentions!

Following feedback from last year, we will be creating a playlist for the event again, though this time with a twist! Instead of using Lyrics as part of the list, we will use the songs to fit the overall theme/trope of the day. For example, if day one has a theme of 'redemption', then a song like Start Again by the Lottery Winners would fit - and this year we want your suggestions!

The vote will be open until the 29th of July.

If you want to chat about your favourite tropes, the [DISCORD SERVER] is always active for our fabulous community of whumpers.

Similarly, if you're looking for a comprehensive list of the tropes, then under the cut are links to the A-Z lists that Surro put together a few months ago. We can't wait to get the WT ball rolling this year! -Mods Surro, Yenn, Vanne and Kitty <3

[Question Summary + Trope List Links under the cut]

TROPE LISTS:

[A-H]

[I-Q]

[R-Z]

QUESTIONS:

Question 1: 'Which tropes would you like to see for Whumptober 2024?' - Here, there is an A-Z list of tropes with checkboxes next to them. Simply choose your favourites!

Question 2: 'Honourable Mentions' - Here you can list any tropes we have forgotten.

Question 3: 'The Music Round' - If you have a song that you attribute to a trope/theme, let us know! This is entirely optional but we would love to hear the songs that put you in a whumping mood. Please format each one as SONG - ARTIST - TROPE

[kikker-oma]

I made another thing based off of your whumptober art :)

This one in particular:

The old man sat on a log near the crackling campfire, awake for his watch and he had set his eye on someone in particular who had seemed...off. The vet was tossing and turning in his bedroll, eyes squeezed shut when he could see his face, but it wasn't relaxed like when he was asleep. He eventually crept down and whispered, "Vet?"

The veteran's eyes opened slightly, and the old man just noticed the bags under his eyes. "Yeah?" He replied in a whisper.

"I noticed you hadn't gone to sleep yet. It's third watch."

Legend groaned. "I haven't been able to fall asleep for a while, but I tried everything I could. Nothing to do about it."

That was worrying.

"Are you sure? I know a remedy, that you most likely haven't tried."

"Go for it, old man, I'll do anything at this point."

He pulled out the ocarina, and played the Song of Healing, closing his eyes to let the soothing melody reach the vet's waiting ears. He nearly fell asleep himself but finished the tune and opened his eyes. The veteran had his eyes closed and though he wasn't quite asleep yet, Time smiled, hoping that this would do the trick and did a quick patrol.

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

The old man noticed things. From the vet's stumbling and sloppiness during battle, to mess ups with conversations and answers. His seemingly random mood swings which seemed quite unusual for him. He had confessed that the song didn't do anything and for literal magic to not work, well, Time was more than confused. He had kept it to himself because the veteran pleaded with him to not worry the others.

One night he had second watch, and the vet had somehow ended up with first. He slept peacefully until he woke up and realized it was his turn for watch, and he hadn't been woken up by someone else. (His internal clock told him it was approximately halfway into second watch.) So he got up immediately, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and what he saw shook him.

The vet was trembling on his knees, and when the old man rushed to talk he noticed the expression on his face. There were tears pouring down his face, and his eyes were barely open, staring off into space. The old man noticed that the veteran's hands were shaking even more, arms wrapped around air. "Veteran?" Time spoke loudly. "Link?"

When he got no response, he got down on his knees in front of Legend and took his arms, repeating his name. "Uncle?" Legend mumbled wearily. "What're you doin'?"

"I need you to stay here, I'm going to go find help."

"Nnnooo, don't leave me," Legend gasped deliriously. "If you go to th' castle..."

"I'm not going to the castle," Time tried to reassure. "I just need you to stay with me, okay?"

"M'kay."

He whistled sharply, getting everyone up because this situation was getting dire and he needed help. "What's going on?" The captain questioned, voice a bit frantic.

"Our veteran. He needs help."

They were at his side instantly. "'ncle who're these people," the vet slurred, still staring off into nothing.

"Is he sick?" Sky frowned.

"I don't think he's been sleeping, at all recently," Time worried. "He said he tried everything but still couldn't sleep."

"I'm not trained for this stuff, I'm afraid," Warriors shook his head. "Traveller?"

"All I know how to do is magic," The traveller replied and shrugged looking downcast at the fact.

"Oh!" Wind snapped his fingers. "Someone on Outset had a similar problem. It was because they were really stressed and they fell asleep once they were more relaxed."

"Stress? That seems plausible," Warriors nodded.

"Link," Time uttered, catching the veteran's slow attention. "Tell me, are you stressed about anything? Worried?"

"I mean, 's a quest, Uncle, of course I'm going to be stressed sometimes."

"I know, but right now, what's troubling you specifically?"

"You're always so kind," Legend muttered after a long moment.

"This isn't going anywhere," Four whispered.

"Uncle, don't die."

Time swallowed concern for that statement, said with desperation and he looked helplessly at the rest of them. What could they really do? Why couldn't he figure this out? The chain looked at them as a leader, so why was he feeling so helpless right now? Why couldn't he help one of his boys?

Then there was one sentence that nearly drove the old man to his knees.

"If you die, Grandma Malon is gonna kill me...she already lost th' Hero 'f Time, and you're just as important. Don' leave me to save the world like he did."

THAT LAST LINE OMGGGGGGGG

LOOOOOORE!!

SECRETS SPILLED!!

THE REALIZATIONS TO FOLLOW!! AAAAAAGGHHHGGSHXJSBAHAIA

The Ocarina was such a good try, poor boys just don't know how they can deal with this sweet little sleep deprived man🥺

Gosh sleep deprivation is no joke, it's brutal for real

Thank you so much for writing this Uni! Your writing is a treasure as always❤️❤️❤️

[one-piece-aus]

Whumptober Day 24

Paulie x Reader

"[Y/N]! THAT DRESS IS WAY TOO SHORT! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!"

"Calm down, Paulie." You roll your eyes and adjust your hold on your clipboard. "It's right at my knees, no big deal."

"Of course it's a big deal! This is a work zone and you're distracting the men here!" Paulie scolded with flustered red colouring his face.

Ah, such is the life of a lady working in Dock 1. You were part of the inventory keepers, noting when supplies arrived and where they'd go. Paulie the shipwright gambler, kept getting flustered over every little thing about your appearance when you two ran into each other during the same shift. At first, it bothered you, and if it weren't for Paulie seeming to be one of Iceburg's favourites, you would've tried drowning him. Then, someway, somehow, he grew on you.

"Oh please, I won't be distracting anyone." You wave your pen around dismissively. "Besides I even got bending down covered, I'm wearing shorts underneath, see."

You tease him and lift the hem of your dress to show him your black shorts. Paulie's nose exploded blood out, steam flying from his face. Giggling, you drop your dress' hem back down.

"I think you broke him, [Y/n]," Kaku commented, walking up to you.

"He'll be fine. Whatcha need?" You turn to your other co-worker.

"New shipment came from the West Blue," Kaku informed you, leaning closer to add, "Devil Water Pose."

Devil Water Pose... Devil Wanted Poster...

Looks like another assignment has been added, which means your time at Water 7 is closing. Who knew Nico Robin would come here...

"Got it." You nod, keeping your smile. Kaku tips his hat and leaves to help other workers.

"What was that about?" Paulie asked, lighting up a cigar and raising a brow at you.

"Oh, Kaku just let me know about some supplies that just came in. I should go mark that." You spin away, finding it hard to face Paulie.

Paulie stares at your back, mildly puzzled. Something felt off, you don't leave in a hurry like that, especially in high heels. Maybe he's just overthinking.

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

You sigh, sitting at the bridge near Galley-La, clipboard in hand. Clicking the pen several times, trying to brush away writer's block, you stare at the paper underneath all the pages you stuff into the clip. If only you had more time to write this.

"What got you all bummed out?"

"Ah!" You flipped the papers down to hide the final page. Looking up, you see him. "Paulie, you scared me."

"Sorry," he apologized and leaned back against the railing of the bridge. "You gonna tell me what you were writing?"

"A love letter for you," you tease.

"Don't joke about that!"

You giggled, amused by his flustered state, until you looked back at the clipboard. Your mood goes back down. "I... I am writing a letter, I'm just not sure how to write it."

"Who's it for?" Paulie inquired, puffing out some smoke.

"...Someone I care about, I won't be able to see them for much longer."

"How come?"

"Work reasons," you answered, keeping it vague.

"Shame."

"Yup..." You stare at the water canal, biting back your tongue.

"Why don't you take the day off tomorrow to spend time with them?" Paulie asks.

"He'll be busy."

Paulie grumbles beside you. "What a chump, leaving soon and not bothering to spend time with you."

You giggle at the irony. "I don't blame him, Paulie. It's just how things are." You hear the man huff beside you before you continue. "Besides, he probably doesn't realize I care about him... I... I've been a little distant, you know."

"Shouldn't matter if you've been distant, it matters if he cares about you. Otherwise, you're just wasting your time." Paulie put out his cigar. You hum, acknowledging his words, even if your dilemma is different. A hand rests on your shoulder, you glance at Paulie. "If means anything, all of us at Galley-La care about you, [Y/n]."

"Thank you, Paulie." You wrap your arms around him, catching Paulie off guard. If things were different, maybe you would've given more than a hug. "Thank you for caring about me."

Paulie halts his emotions, sensing there's more to your story than you're telling him. He returns the hug, not understanding why it feels like you're saying goodbye.

And he won't know, until he reads your letter after you're gone.

Tags: @bookandyarndragon @roseoftrafalgar

[skyward-floored]

Whumptober day 25 - Surgery

Hello and welcome to: me handwaving away potential plot issues, the fic. Renado can do surgery because I say so. Wild sees Time as a father-figure but doesn't realize it because I say so. appendicitis is known and able to be treated because I say so!!! and I don't really love how this turned out but. 'tis what it 'tis.

Warnings: appendicitis, symptoms from that, off-screen surgery

ao3 link

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Something was up with Time.

They were in Twilight’s lands, a few hours from the castle, and been dumped on opposite sides of a ravine the moment they'd gotten here. Luckily nobody had fallen in said ravine, but the group had been split in two, and they were now making their ways to castle town separately. Normally Wild would be interested in seeing Twilight’s home, but he had been too busy keeping an eye on Time, certain there was something up with him.

The older hero had been acting funny their entire walk, barely talking, gaze distant, his steps slowed just enough to be suspicious. Time may have been weird, but his mood today was weird weird, and based on the frequent looks the others in his half of the group gave him, Wild wasn’t the only one who’d noticed.

“You see it too huh?” Warriors said as he came up beside him, and Wild nodded, watching as Time casually rested a hand over his middle.

“How could I not? He’s been acting weird all day,” Wild replied, watching as Sky talked about everything and nothing as he walked beside Time, obviously trying to provoke a response. Time nodded along, but it was obvious he wasn’t paying much attention. “Do you think he’s sick?”

“I don’t know,” Warriors murmured, eyes narrowed. “But I don’t like it.”

“Maybe... he’s hiding an injury?” Wild suggested with a shrug. “That one peahat did come pretty close to him this morning. Maybe he got hit.” And that’s probably how I’d act if I was hiding an injury.

“True,” Warriors agreed, and his face grew determined. “Either way, this has gone on long enough. Enough ignoring the problem.”

Warriors abruptly strode ahead to block Time’s path, and Wild followed, worried and curious about the confrontation. Time blinked as they stood in front of him, and then raised an eyebrow.

“Do you need something?” Time asked mildly, and Wild couldn’t help his snort.

“Well we were about to ask you the same thing,” he said dryly, and Time’s eyebrow stayed raised.

“If I need anything? No, I’m fine,” he said, and Sky frowned beside him.

“You’re sure? You’ve been a little... off today, old man,” he said hesitantly. “We’re a bit...”

“Worried?” Time finished for him with a slight upturn of his mouth. Wild thought it looked strained. “Well there’s no need. I believe breakfast just didn’t sit very well with me.”

“And that’s why you keep holding your side?” Warriors asked with his arms crossed.

“Yes. Indigestion.”

“So it won’t hurt if I do this?” Wild asked, before shooting out a hand and lightly punching Time where he’d been holding his side.

He hadn’t expected anything except maybe a wince—Time was wearing full armor after all—but when Time gasped and curled protectively over his side, Wild nearly jumped backwards in surprise.

Warriors grabbed Time’s arm to steady him, and Wild exchanged looks with Sky as Time quickly tried to straighten back up. But the damage had been done. They’d all seen that.

“So, indigestion?” Warriors asked flatly, and Time frowned, looking at him.

“Yes. I’m not injured,” he insisted. “It’s just... intense.” Warriors hummed disbelievingly, and pulled him to the side, pushing him down to sit on a log.

“Then you won’t mind if we make sure,” he said firmly. Time sighed, but carefully began pulling his armor off piece by piece. Wild moved to sit beside him, and Sky stood next to them, fiddling with his sailcloth while he watched. Time’s hands faltered a little as he removed the pieces at his chest, and Warriors had to help him out of the biggest pieces, a hiss coming from between Time’s teeth as he lifted his arms up.

But finally it was all removed, and Warriors lifted up Time’s shirt, studying the skin beneath.

All three of them leaned forward to look, expecting any number of grisly sights, but... there was nothing there. Time’s side looked perfectly normal, and Wild raised a confused eyebrow.

“See?” Time said with a sigh. “I’m not hiding anything from you boys. I really do just think breakfast didn’t agree with me.”

Sky looked convinced, but Warriors’ expression had creased, and he leaned closer to Time’s waist with a frown.

“Where’s the pain concentrated?” Warriors asked him, and Time gestured to his side, a place between his bellybutton and right hip.

For some reason, Wild's heart skipped a beat.

Warriors face creased further.

“Time. How much pain are you in?” he asked seriously. “I need you to be honest.”

“I’ve had worse,” Time said slowly, and Warriors gave him a look. “...But it’s definitely up there.”

Warriors nodded, and set his hand on Time’s side. He lightly felt at it, then gave his skin a gentle prod with his fingers. Time sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth, his hand jerking down to bat Warriors’ away, and Wild was certain his face paled. Warriors pulled back, then stood and felt Time’s forehead, a grim look settling on his face.

“This isn’t indigestion,” he said, and Wild felt his heart beat a little faster as a heavy silence fell over their group.

“...Well, what is it?” Time asked finally, looking uncomfortable.

Warriors swallowed. “It’s... well, we always called it phantom knife, since when it gets worse it feels like you’re got a knife in your gut, but it has a technical name. Appen-something.”

“Appendicitis.”

Wild wasn’t sure how he knew the word, but it came out anyway, and the other heroes looked at him in surprise. Wild swallowed. Where had that come from?

“Yes. That’s it. You know of it?” Warriors asked, and Wild gave a helpless shrug.

“I... no? Must be from before,” he said a little awkwardly.

“Hm. Well the point is,” Warriors said quickly, beginning to gather up Time’s armor, “Time needs a doctor. As soon as possible.”

“What?!” Sky said in alarm, and a cold feeling ran through Wild’s chest as he stared at Time.

...For some reason he wasn’t surprised, though.

“He needs a doctor, basically there’s a small organ in his middle that’s not working right, and needs to be taken out,” Warriors explained quickly, and grimaced. “I can't do it. I’ve only seen it happen once, I just know the symptoms. We need a doctor, which means we’ll have to make it to castle town.”

“Wait, he’ll need surgery?” Sky asked, and Warriors gave him a tense nod, standing up again.

“Captain,” Time said, his face still pale. “How serious is this?”

Warriors breathed out, and paused in his frantic movements. “It could be worse. But you need a doctor,” he said, and gave Time’s shoulder a quick squeeze. “You’ll be all right old man. Twilight’s kingdom is pretty advanced, I’m sure they deal with this all the time.”

“He’ll really need surgery?” Sky asked again, looking a little green, and Warriors nodded.

“It’s minor, honestly not all that worse then taking out an arrow,” Warriors said, then offered his hand to Time. “But we need to get moving, it’ll only get worse if it’s not treated.”

Time nodded, and Wild’s heart clenched at the way Time’s face carefully hid his pain, the older hero trying to stay calm. Something felt familiar about the expression, weirdly familiar, but it was gone before he could try and grab at it.

“I’m going to ask Twilight where the closest doctor in castle town is,” Wild said as Warriors carefully helped Time stand, the older hero wincing. Warriors nodded at him, and Wild pulled out his slate, quickly contacting Wind. The sailor picked up after only a minute or two, and Wild rapidly explained what they knew about the situation.

“Rancher? Did you hear all that?” Wind asked behind him, and Twilight’s face appeared in the slate, blatantly worried.

“Yeah, I did. But you all shouldn’t go to castle town,” Twilight said quickly. “Kakariko is much closer, and the doctor in castle town is a jerk anyway. There’s a shaman in Kakariko, he knows medicine, and he’s patched me up more times than I can count. I’m sure he can do this.”

“Sure enough for him to give your ancestor potentially lifesaving surgery?” Warriors questioned, and Twilight gave a sharp nod.

“Yes. I trust him.”

“Okay, then guess we’re headed to Kakariko,” Sky said with a tense exhale. “Where do we go?”

“Head for death mountain, if you see red rocks you’re in the right place,” Twilight explained. “We’ll head that way as well and meet you there.”

Wild nodded, giving Twilight a nervous smile, and cut the connection.

“You ready old man?” Sky asked worriedly, giving Time a quick look over.

“Yes, I’m ready. You all don’t have to treat me like glass,” Time said with a smile. None of them missed how strained it was though, and Wild swallowed, fastening his slate back to his belt.

Would Time really be okay?

And why do I feel like this has happened before?

“Let’s go,” Warriors said in a sharp voice, and they got moving without further ado, Wild and Sky giving each other one last worried look before following.

(...)

The trip wasn’t long, but Wild spent all of it consumed by a horrible anxiety he couldn’t shake.

They were nearly carrying Time by the time they made it to Kakariko, the older hero’s face flushed and sweaty with fever, a hand clasped shakily over his middle. He’d thrown up twice on the trip here, and Wild was restless and shaky as they hurried into town and asked for directions.

They definitely wouldn’t have made it to castle town, not with Time’s condition, and Wild tried not to worry too much as they helped Time through the street and to a building near a spring.

More than just Time’s condition was bothering him though. Wild had no clue how he knew the name of what was affecting Time, and whenever he looked at him too long, something felt like it pressed in on his head, something important.

But nothing else had come to mind, so Wild was left fidgety and nervous and feeling like he might throw up as Warriors knocked sharply on the door. A few moments passed, and then the door was opened, a tall man with dark hair and tanned skin looking down at them.

“Hello, how may I help you?” he greeted, and Sky stepped forward.

“Are you Renado? Link sent us here, our friend needs help,” he said, gesturing back to Time.

The man opened the door further, and looked at Time, a frown creasing his face. “Any friend of Link’s is welcome here. I’m Renado, bring your friend here, I’ll see what I can do for him. Do you know what’s wrong?”

“Phantom knife, if you’re familiar,” Warriors replied grimly, and Renado’s eyes widened as he hurriedly gestured them in.

“Yes, I am. Set him there,” he instructed, and they carefully set Time on a cot in the corner, Time groaning as they moved him. Renado hurried over, and checked his heartbeat and pulse, and did a few other things Wild wasn’t sure were for. “...Yes, this is phantom knife, for certain. Luda?" he called, and a girl appeared, haircut a bit like Four's. "Phantom knife. Well on its way. We'll need to act now."

Warriors began asking questions as Sky’s face turned green again, and Wild stared down at Time, watching as he held a hand protectively over his side, face screwed up in pain.

Wild swallowed and went to his side, and Time looked up at him with a shaky smile.

“I’ll be fine, Champion,” he managed to whisper, and the tight feeling came back to Wild’s head again, familiarity pressing in on him.

Wild stared, heart thudding, words sticking in his throat. Time’s expression tensed with pain, he heard Warriors’ voice ask him what was wrong, and then—

...

“Your highness, are you all right?”

Sunshine cast a glow on the tiled floor, bright curtains drawn back to let the light in. It caught on Zelda’s dress, making the gold trim even brighter, and Link made sure to stand in a spot where it wouldn’t potentially obstruct his vision.

“Perfectly fine,” Zelda assured the servant who’d asked, and Link’s ears pricked at the fake-cheerful tone. “Just a bit tired from my morning prayers, I believe.”

The servant nodded, then stepped away, Zelda’s smile immediately dropping from her face as they were left alone again. She glanced at Link, and he wordlessly tilted his head, a silent question.

“I wasn’t lying, I’m all right,” Zelda huffed, then rubbed at her eyes. “It’s just a stomachache. I’ll be fine, Link.”

Link raised an eyebrow, studying his charge and noting how she seemed pale under her makeup, her cheeks extra flushed. He knew she hadn’t eaten a thing all day either, and had a feeling she was hiding how bad she actually felt. Per usual.

He couldn’t really argue with her about it though, since she had several appointments this afternoon she couldn’t miss. And it wasn’t really his place to argue with the princess anyway, even if their relationship was a good bit better then it used to be.

And they both knew if she was seen taking a break, rumors would fly even worse then they already did.

So Link remained silent as Zelda stood, a hand braced on the table before she took a deep breath, and walked down the bustling hallway, him following a few paces behind.

They made it through two appointments, Link watching her like a hawk as she lost even more color. Zelda's hand constantly strayed to her middle, her expression growing tighter with held-back pain. Link was on the verge of insisting she skip her next commitment when her body made the decision for her.

Zelda turned a corner on their way to a meeting, and stumbled on seemingly nothing. Link rushed forward to catch her when her hand missed the wall, and as his hand bumped her side, she gasped, her face paling further.

She clutched at Link, but quickly released him, the hallway she'd tripped in an unfortunately bustling one.

“I’m alright, I’m alright,” she hurriedly reassured as a small crowd of people stopped and stared, alarmed questions and gasps lobbed in their direction. “I-I’m—”

Zeldas knees gave out on her without Link's full support, and Link stopped her from toppling, alarm rising in his chest. Someone shouted for help, for a doctor, and the next several minutes were a bit of a blur, Impa appearing, helping Zelda to her bedroom, a doctor Link vaguely recognized showing up.

Link stayed outside to guard as an examination was had, and did the same later as Zelda, sickly and pale, was taken to the doctor’s clinic.

“Appendicitis,” Impa explained as the door was closed, and she and Link were left alone. She sighed, and clasped her hands behind her back. “You probably know it as phantom knife. We're lucky we caught it when we did. If it had been much longer..."

She sighed again, and shook her head.

"They're doing the procedure now."

Link gave her an alarmed look, and Impa patted his shoulder, despite the worry in her own eyes.

“The doctor has done this before, Link. Zelda will be fine. I know of several people who have needed their appendix removed, and they are all fine," she reassured.

Link breathed out, and kept his hands resting on the master sword as Impa strode away to deal with something else while they waited. Impa was right. She always was.

But he still didn’t move an inch from the door, keeping guard, and keeping an ear out.

And it wasn’t until Zelda came out of it, unconscious and pale, but perfectly fine, that he finally relaxed.

The memory ended as abruptly as it had come on, and Wild sucked in a gasp, his eyes shooting open.

“Whoa, whoa easy Wild,” someone said, and Wild swallowed as hands gently took his shoulders. Whoever had grabbed him didn’t speak further, letting Wild readjust to the present, and Wild blinked as his vision focused.

He was in what looked like an inn, a few cobwebs in the corners, a faint musty smell in the air. A few people were in the room, all looking at him, and Wild stared, then realized it was several of the other Links. He looked up, Twilight kneeling in front of him, and furrowed his brow.

“Oh. Hey,” he said, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles.

“Hey yourself. You were out a while,” Twilight replied, and Wild realized the light on the floor was moonlight. “You okay?”

“Mm. Yeah,” Wild said, resting his hands on his lap as his head gradually cleared. He was sitting on a bed, he realized, one with a pale blue quilt and flowers. The colors were nice.

Then memories of what he’d been doing before abruptly hit him, and Wild shot to his feet.

“Time—!”

“—Is fine,” Twilight quickly finished for him, squeezing Wild’s shoulder. “Renado finished a little while ago, said he would wake up soon.”

Wild froze, memories of Time’s pale face mixing with Zelda’s in his mind, and he blinked harshly. The situations had been so similar and the memory so sharp in his mind that they were mixing in his head, making it ache painfully.

“Hey, are you really okay?” Twilight asked more gently, and Wild nodded again, shrugging out of his hold.

“Yeah, yeah. How’s Time? Actually?” Wild asked, still feeling unsettled from the memory and the day’s earlier events..

“Well I wouldn’t say he’s doing great, but the main problem is gone,” Legend huffed from across the room. Wild heard an undercurrent of worry in it. “Leave it to the old man to have a medical emergency in the middle of nowhere.“

“I’m just relieved we didn’t have to be the ones to fix it,” Sky said with a faint smile, and a few of them chuckled.

“Can I see him?” Wild asked, and Sky nodded kindly.

“Sure, I’ll show you where he is.”

Wild brushed past Twilight’s still-concerned look, and followed Sky out of the room and down a flight of stairs. He was sure Twilight would pry further about the memory and Wild's mental state eventually, but Wild wasn’t in the mood for questions.

He just wanted to see that Time was okay for himself.

Sky opened a door on the ground floor, and Warriors looked up from a bedside, his face exhausted, but less worried than before.

“Hey champion,” he greeted, giving him a small smile. “You all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Wild shrugged, tossing aside worried questions he was already saving up for Zelda when he got home, and focusing on the figure in the bed.

Time looked... not all that different from when Wild had last seen him. He was still pale, and his bangs looked rather sweaty, a damp cloth on his forehead. His face was smoothed of pain though, and Wild’s shoulders slowly relaxed the longer he watched him.

He looked okay.

Not great, but... okay.

“I can’t believe I spaced out through the whole thing,” Wild muttered, sitting heavily on a chair. What kind of hero just checks out like that when there’s trouble?

“You really didn’t miss much,” Sky said, setting a hand on his shoulder. “It was mostly a lot of waiting. And pacing.”

“I didn’t pace that much,” Warriors huffed, though there was a twinkle of amusement in his eye. “And besides, I wasn’t the only one.”

“I thought you and Twilight would wear a path in the ground with the way you were carrying on,” Sky teased.

Warriors and Sky kept up the light jabs, and Wild kept watching Time, his breathing slow and steady. Wild set his hand over Time’s clammy one, and exhaled, mind exhausted from stress and memories.

Time was fine. He would be fine.

A small movement caught his attention, and Wild startled, then watched as Time’s hand weakly twitched, then slowly turned and caught Wild’s fingers in his own.

Sky and Warriors both looked over, eyes going wide, and all three of them saw it when Time’s eye cracked open and a faint smile pulled at his lips.

“Old man,” Wild more exhaled than spoke, and Time gave his hand a weak squeeze.

Wild didn’t hear anything Sky and Warriors said after that, barely noticed when Renado came to check on Time, didn’t hear it when the others came in and greeted Time with relieved smiles and laughs.

All he was focused on was the pure relief of Time being okay, his hand in his.

[mielwriting]

In a Kaeya mood lately because of @chaoticsnowflake-ao3 's Kaeya-themed whumptober.

Does Kaeya know the Traveler knows about his fight with Diluc, him being sent as a spy, etc?

Because we the audience have known that since 1.0 from his and Diluc's character stories. But did Kaeya ever tell the Traveler?

Traveler read his hidden notes during Hidden Strife. But does he know that?

I'm sure he expected us to know about Khaenri'ah pretty early on; he and his spy network are probably aware of us meeting Dain at Angel's Share of all places.

And of course in the 3.5 Caribert quest the Traveler is sitting with them when it's casually revealed an Alberich founded the Abyss Order.

Anyway what I'm getting at it a fic where Kaeya, who values the Traveler's friendship and worry what they've come to think of him without having been directly told anything, has some sort of breakdown and anxiously confesses to the Traveler. Only for them to calmly say they knew the whole time and spend the rest of the fic comforting Kaeya.