#we're putting the whump in whumptober

[lilaccatholic]

Catholic Lockwood and Co fandom hold onto your hats because the brainworm squad and I have evil, evil, beautiful things in our brains, and we might just put them to paper

[whumpninja]

Tried out a whole bunch of new things with this piece- superhero whump, whump without a whumper, that thing where the characters don’t have assigned names and use neutral pronouns…I had fun!

Prompt used: Whumptober, slurred words/passing out from pain

Featuring: hero whump, impaled on debris, blood, ambulance

Whumptober Day Ten: Stay

The good news was, the monster was dead.

The bad news was, it fell with a crash right down the length of Main Street.

Hero winced as the cloud of dust dissipated, several car alarms wailing their displeasure at the giant alien...thing that had fallen too close to them. Those cars were the lucky ones. Several had gotten fully crushed under the weight of the massive creature. Thankfully Hero and Sidekick had managed to clear the area of people before the battle had taken off in earnest.

Where is Sidekick, anyway? Hero glanced around, but their young protege was nowhere to be seen. "Sidekick!" they called.

"Over here!"

Hero turned at the sound of the voice, heading down the street in the direction of where it had come from. Sidekick stood at the edge of the curb, smiling wearily. They waved when they saw Hero, their other hand hovering over their side.

"Chalk that up to another successful one?" Hero asked.

Sidekick chuckled breathlessly. "Y-yeah. We did it. Hooray for- for us."

"Are you all right?" Hero raised an eyebrow.

Sidekick's grin slipped. "I- yeah, I'm- fine." And then they were falling, crumpling to the street.

Hero barely managed to catch their head before it hit the pavement. "Hey, hey! Talk to me!" they shouted. "What's going on, what happened?"

Sidekick's head lolled like a rag doll's. They were unconscious, dead to the world- and Hero had no idea why.

Until they looked down.

A snapped-off piece of metal debris- likely from the fight- jutted out just above Sidekick's right hip. Their suit was soaked in blood around the wound, the fabric stained dark. Hero sucked in their breath sharply. That's not good.

They knew basic first aid, but not enough to deal with this. The likelihood of getting a call through to 911 was slim- they would be stretched thin with the aftermath of the battle.

The heroes were on their own.

Hero shook Sidekick's shoulder and was rewarded with a small moan. "Hey, can you hear me?" they asked urgently.

Sidekick's eyes fluttered. "What- happened?" they murmured.

"You passed out. Pain, shock, blood loss- I don't know."

"Blood loss?" Sidekick shook their head. "No. Didn't lose- we won."

"I know, but you got stuck with a piece of debris. I can't take it out without risking you bleeding to death, and I think we'd both prefer that not happen."

Sidekick laughed weakly. "Yeah." Their face had turned gray, layered with a sheen of sweat. "Hurts- a lot."

Hero found their hand, squeezing it. "I know. I know it hurts. I'm gonna get help as soon as I can, okay? Stay with me."

Sidekick nodded, but their eyes had started to slip closed again. "No, no," Hero urged. "Stay. You can't drift off, okay? Look- talk to me."

"'Bout what?"

"Anything. Just talk."

Sidekick frowned, their eyebrows knitting together as they thought. "...you're a really good hero," they finally mumbled. "And I like workin' with you. We- we fought the monster?"

"Yeah. It's dead."

"Oh, good. I think it- think it crushed a couple of buildings. Cars too, lots of cars." Their voice was beginning to fade, the words slurring together.

"I'm going to try and call an ambulance," Hero said.

Sidekick grabbed at their hand weakly. "Don't go."

"I won't, I promise. I'm staying right here. Yes? Hello? This is Hero, my sidekick is badly injured and I need an ambulance right now."

"You put your hero voice on."

"My what?"

Sidekick flopped a hand up and down. "Your hero voice. Y'know, the one where you tell the civilians to get out the way cause we're here to save the day." They smiled. "That rhymes."

Hero squeezed their hand. "You're a good sidekick, you know. The best I could hope for."

"Awww. Thanks."

Sidekick's smile slipped again, and Hero dropped to their knees beside them, pulling Sidekick onto their lap and cradling their head in their arms. "Stay with me, now," they whispered. "I see the ambulance coming up the road. Can you hear it?"

Sidekick nodded faintly. "'S loud."

"Yeah. They're gonna help you, okay? You're going to be just fine." Hero kept up the stream of comforting babble even as the paramedics got their sidekick loaded into the van.

"I'm coming with them," they said firmly.

"Sorry, immediate family only."

Hero took a deep breath. "I'm their parent," they announced, and shoved their way into the ambulance to take hold of Sidekick's hand.

[whumptober]

Tried to put my fic in the collection but it says it's not open. Did I choose the wrong one or does it take a while for the collection to start?

Happy whumping! Excited to share all the things I wrote.

You want this one: Whumptober 2024 (Whumptober2024).

We're excited to see what you've written!

[whumperofworlds]

Whumptober 2024 Day 27: Contained Werewolf

Now on AO3!

TAGS: @gala1981 @whumptober-archive @crash-bump-bring-the-whump @rebelxwriter @expressionless-fr

@fourwingedsnake @whumble-beeee @whumpninja @kingxlinkwrites (let me know if you wanna be added or removed!)

CWS: Kidnapping, muzzled, tied up, rescue, minor character death, blood, death mention, non-human whumpee, guns, male whumpee, male caretaker, whumpee x caretaker.

A/N: N/A

ENJOY!!!

_____

Laboratory / Muzzled / "I have no mouth and I must scream."

Kiba could only glare as the werewolf hunters passed him by; he would have snapped a remark at them, but due to the muzzle, he was unable to. The chains that held his body and the small cage he was shoved into didn't help matters.

He wasn't sure how it happened—he left his and Damien's cabin to go shopping at a nearby town when a tranquilizer dart knocked him out. When he came to, he overheard his kidnappers—they were exclaiming how they finally managed to catch a werewolf, and they planned on going after the vampire next, using Kiba as bait.

Goddamned bait.

He never felt so humiliated in his life. First he was ambushed, now he was being held captive like a damsel in distress waiting for her knight in shining armor. He absolutely hated it. Hated the werewolf hunters. Hated his situation.

He hated it so damn much.

"How cute," one of the hunters—the leader, Kiba guessed—sneered when Kiba glared at him, "you act all tough, yet you look so much like a rabid dog that needs to be put down. That's why we're after your kind; you're all nothing but filthy vermin who need to die."

Ouch. Rude, much?

Kiba couldn't help but wince at his captor's words. He was a werewolf, yes, but he wouldn't do anything to harm someone. That was why he moved into that cabin—to keep everyone safe when it was time for him to transform. He wasn't a vermin or a rabid dog. He deserved to live like everyone else.

"The same goes for that vampire friend of yours," the hunter continued, "vampires have done nothing but cause harm in our communities, and we sought to kill every last one of them for it."

Kiba glared, his pupils briefly slitting, as he lunged at the door of the cage. He snarled and growled, the muzzle keeping him from forming any words. His previous thoughts be damned—how dare he threaten to hurt his Damien. How dare he say such things about him. Damien was a sweet, friendly man, and this asshole had no right to say such things about him.

"Oh, look at you," the hunters chortled, "you're proving my point. Your anger-filled rage could kill everyone around you. Tell me, am I wrong?"

Kiba began to settle down, his pupils returning to normal. Letting out a small sigh through his nose, he looked down at himself, resigned to his fate. What was he supposed to do?

That was when chaos ensued. Glass shattered at a distance, along with gunshots. Kiba and the hunter leader could hear screams of fear and pain from outside, and the hunter cursed under his breath.

Taking his rifle, the hunter left the room, leaving Kiba to his own devices.

Kiba knew what the commotion meant. Damien was here, and he was fighting these dangerous hunters trying to save Kiba.

Idiot, Kiba thought frantically as he struggled against his chains, run! They'll kill you!

He could still hear screams and gunshots, which eventually deadened, until he heard one voice: the hunter leader.

"Stop!" The hunter cried frantically, "I-I'll leave quietly! Your friend is in there!"

The gun was cocked.

"You don't deserve to live after taking my Kiba!" Damien's voice roared outside. A gunshot. Then silence. Kiba stilled then, his heart pounding in his chest as he heard footsteps approaching.

The door opened, and standing in the doorway was Damien, his gun smoking and with an intense frown on his face. Blood—not his own—was on his black jacket, and Kiba couldn't help but blush at the sight. Damien looked so hot like this, covered in blood and looking like a badass.

Upon seeing Kiba bound, muzzled, and in the cage, Damien's gaze softened as he holstered his gun. He rushed forward, kneeling down to the cage's level.

"Kiba," Damien whispered in a soft voice, a stark contrast to his anger-filled voice when fighting the hunters, "Oh love, are you hurt?"

Kiba shook his head, whining under his breath as he stared at Damien with pleading eyes.

"Hold on," Damien said, taking out a pin and inserting it in the lock. After a few moments, he managed to unlock the cage and gently helped Kiba out of it. Kiba was relieved that he wasn't cramped in that place anymore; his legs were starting to hurt.

"Hold still, love," Damien whispered, reaching behind Kiba's head to unlock the muzzle around his face. A click echoed, and Damien removed the muzzle. Kiba sighed, glad that the damn thing was off.

"Damien…" Kiba muttered, realizing how hoarse his voice was.

"You're safe now," Damien soothed as he began his work on the chains holding the werewolf. "Those hunters won't hurt us anymore."

Once the chains fell, Kiba immediately wrapped his arms around Damien, burying his face in his shoulder. Breathing in his beloved's scent, his heart began to slow.

"My hero," Kiba couldn't help but whisper.

Damien chuckled, patting Kiba on the back. "You would do the same for me, dear. We'll protect each other."

For once, Kiba didn't care that he was a damsel—he had his knight in shining armor, and Damien had the same in the form of a werewolf that was Kiba.

[vee-week]

Even More Prompts!

Now that we're done with @vee-week 2024, if you're itching for more prompts to make Vee-centric fanworks:

keep using the 2024 prompts if you like and tag @vee-week to get reblogged (you can also keep posting to the AO3 Collection)

@candyskiez put together a TOHtober prompt list

@flufftober 2024 prompts are out

@angstober 2024 prompts are out

@whumptober 2024 prompts are coming super soon

@whumpcalendar keeps track of a bunch of whump events throughout the year

We'll also try to signal boost other The Owl House and multi-fandom events.

Happy creating!

[writing-in-spades]

WHUMPTOBER 2024 DAY 001

|| public torture / public use || stress position

|| "If you cry, we'll go easy on you"

Contains:: magic whump, torture (from the prompt), mentions/implications of trafficking

Hissssssssssss

Whumpee bit down on the inside of her mask to stifle a pained cry. Her companion huffed, pressing the bronze glyph more forcefully into her stomach. "You're not supposed to make any noise, honey," Whumper said, tone low, words dripping with false remorse. "Now I have to start over."

Slowly, they pulled back. Whumpee silenced a sigh of relief.

She wasn't fully sure how she'd gotten to this point, though there were enough unknowns floating around in her memory that she could almost fit them together into a passable photo-negative. Whumper had been pacifying her with their magic, that much was clear. They'd brought her out of the dungeon with a blinding spell (not wanting her unconscious, of course, that would draw too many stares) — disoriented, but not enough to miss the acrid scent of fire and coal smoke, the rumbling under her feet. They'd boarded a train. Deep in her gut, she knew what that meant.

Whumper was tired of her. She was being relocated.

The metal touched Whumpee's upper arm, faux fire digging through her muscles and nerves. She flinched harshly, bracing her hands against the bar top in front of her, but managed to keep from making any sound. Whumper hummed thoughtfully, letting her go, and she collapsed forward with a sob.

"Very good," they said, "that's one." Whumpee chanced a look at their expression — they seemed to be calculating where to burn next.

(It didn't matter, of course. Magical fire couldn't scar, at least not on the surface, especially not when stored in runes or sigils. Nearly always harnessed cruelly, it bored straight to the mind, leaving you with only the weight of pain you couldn't prove. Whumpee knew Whumper was only stalling, trying to make her more anxious, more easily startled.)

(Though she'd never admit it, it was definitely working.)

Without warning, they put their hand rather gently on her shoulder. It didn't burn, so she quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and sat up a bit straighter. An older couple, arm in arm, were walking through from the previous compartment, presumably off to their room.

Whumpee had nearly forgotten that they weren't alone here, so used to being in a place completely cut off from the outside. She put on her best smile for the two — though she was certainly still crying, barely disguising her sharp breath as Whumper placed the glyph just below her wrist.

"It's okay," Whumper said softly, sickeningly sweet, moving their free hand from her shoulder to her face. "Everything will be just fine." The couple, of course, stopped next to them, and Whumpee closed her eyes, begging them to just move on.

"Is everything alright?" the woman asked, adjusting her mask to be better understood. Whumper made a show of attempting to fix their own without using either of their hands.

"These times certainly don't make anything easy," they said, putting on an impression of genuine grief. "We're going to see her brother. He's very ill. The family isn't sure he's going to recover."

(That part was true. It was one of the last things Whumpee heard from her parents, right before Whumper grabbed her, back when the plague ravaging the country was barely a rumor. She wasn't sure if he'd gotten back on his feet, or if he'd died some time ago. She didn't even really know how long it'd been.)

Whumper took the glyph away from her arm and pressed it to her face instead, using their other hand to properly adjust their mask. Somehow it felt worse — more degrading, perhaps, pain shredding what remained of her composure. Whumpee reflexively scrunched up, barely silencing a scream and instead nearly bursting into tears.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she desperately hoped the couple would recognize that this wasn't just part of the act, that they'd see the signs point to something else, something worse — subtle flinches every time Whumper spoke, the pained twitches in her eye. She hoped, irrationally, that they'd fight Whumper for her, take her away from them, let her go home.

"Oh, you poor dear. You know what," the woman wondered aloud, eyes bright, "I think I've got some spare wellness charms in my bag. I'll go get them for you."

Whumpee's heart shattered.

"You don't need to do that," Whumper said, though Whumpee knew they didn't mean it — they wanted them to come back. An unwilling, clueless audience must've been the point from the start, one final knife to her self-worth before passing her along. No one was going to help her, even those watching it happen.

"It's no problem," the other bystander, presumably the woman's husband, replied, looking intently at Whumpee. "Only if you believe it'll help."

Whumpee held her tongue until Whumper turned to stare at her, eyes cold. They pressed the burning metal further into her cheek, and she slowly managed to choke out, "I– Y-Yes, thank you—" before her voice broke. The two simply nodded, turning to walk away.

"It's the least I can do, dear," the woman said. Agonizingly slowly, she and her husband made their way through the door to the next compartment.

Once they were alone, Whumper sighed, finally taking the glyph away from Whumpee's face. "Too bad," he said, still with that same false emotion. "Seems I'll have to start over again."

[ailesswhumptober]

I am personally very against generative AI content as it is today, but I was prepared to overlook the main whumptober blog's somewhat mushy stance on it because... Well, whumptober! I didn't participate last year because I didn't like the prompts, so when this year's prompts came out and I didn't like them either, I was very happy to see a mutual reblog your list instead! A more firm stance against AI *and* better prompts? Count me in, I'm participating on your side of the fence this year!!

(and as a brief aside, one of the things that I really am not vibing with on the other prompt list is that a lot of the prompts feel... Modern? "Convenience store", "amusement park", "fingerprints"... I write in primarily medieval-fantasy or historical settings, so your prompts are much more conducive to my fandom in general. I'm not sure if that's something you did on purpose, but it is something I very much appreciate. Thanks for giving us options!)

We're always happy to see people interested in this event!

Our list of prompts was not made with anything specific in mind outside of whump tropes we enjoy (and we also used a Google Form so people could vote for prompts they'd want to come up). I can say from experience as the mod who ended up mainly putting the final list together that it can definitely be a lot more tricky than it seems haha. We're glad a lot of people seem to be inspired by them!

[amethystfairy1]

Hello and welcome to...

✨Amethyst's Scribbling Corner✨

Also known as "I wanna practice writing short/get new ideas and this seems like fun, and I'm curious to see where it goes so let's give it a shot."

I've always wanted to try writing prompts/requests for the sake of trying new things and stretching my writing style a bit, it's always seemed like a ton of fun. I participated *cough* am participating almost done 😭 *cough* in Whumptober for the first time this year, and recently with TTSBC and Traveling Thieves, as well as this blog picking up steam, I figured it was a good time to give it a try!

SO HERE'S THE DEAL

Once a week(ish I promise nothing my brain is a pinball machine with a bunch of AUs and fandoms slamming into each other like demented bumper cars) I will make a poll tagged 'Amethysts Scribbling Corner' and I'll put in the poll a handful of requests/prompts that I've either dug up on my own or that I've received from anyone who would like to send one in! Whichever prompt wins the poll, I'll write it and post it! I'll probably make a new series on my A03 account just for fics that come out of this titled 'Amethysts Scribbling Corner' as well!

Use reblogs, replies, asks, messages, I'm not picky!

They can be as broad as a simple one-word prompt, or you can even give a brief description of a couple sentences!

Requests for certain ships or characters are encouraged for sure! Just know I'm more likely to use the ones that're for ships I already write for...but I mean...looks at TTSBC notes...there's plenty to choose from!

Also feel free to submit asks or requests for other fandoms, I'm currently living my best Hermit/Traffic/Empires fanfic gremlin life, but I've also written a ton for Haikyuu and Jojos, if those interest anyone! Pretty much any fandom that I've posted for on my A03 account is fair game!

Last thing: Feel free to request where you want the fic to take place! Especially when we're taking Hermit/Traffic/Empires stuff, if you want it to be within the Minecraft server world of that specific series, within a certain one of the Life Series, a modern AU, a fantasy AU, or even TTSBC or Traveling Thieves if you have ideas for them! Just know that if anything requested for TTSBC or Traveling Thieves contradicts or maybe overlaps with any future plans for those AUs, I might not be able to accept them 😓

As far as rules go...I do not write NSFW. I am happy to write romance and let things get a little spicy 🔥 but keep in mind I'll always end up fading to black...also no heavy gore, violence, body horror, things of that nature. I am very much a fan of writing whump and hurt/comfort though, so please send those ideas my way!

I think that's all...I hope for this to be something fun to give me a way to try out some new things in my writing and give everyone who has so kindly supported my stories so far something fun to engage with!

Requests are open now! Reply to this post, reblog, or send me asks or messages! I'm excited to see what we end up creating together!

💖💖💖

TL:DR: I'm opening prompt requests for short writing/short story practice! Rules in the post above!

[whumpookies]

@Whumpookies, you're so right! I'd love to participate in more whump challenges but the prompts are always geared more towards writing whether it's deliberate or not. It's disheartening. I was so excited to partake in Whumptober but the prompts were so difficult even with the 4 prompts a day and the alt prompts. I wish more consideration was put into thinking about us poor gifmakers lol. Anyway happy new year to you! And loving the new icon 😉

Cookies!

I think for most the fear of making gifs thinking it takes "forever" stops people from trying, so it's not really thought about or explored.

Yet things like Photoshop, imgflip, and Make a GIF are out there to make it easier compared to once upon a time 🤣

Someone told me that for one recent prompt challenge, there were only 8 GIF makers.

There was a list by @whumpty-dumpty back in 2021 and was updated in early 23 I think 🤔 that had a list of over 50 gifmakers at the time.

When it comes to prompts it's a case for gif makers to think "out of the box" For instance take the word: broken.

To a writer it's easy, artist pretty simple...to a GIF maker well we start thinking..broken, so broken-hearted? broken leg? Broken family? broken mind? And so on.

It's a head-hurting concept! But yet it's also intriguing at the same time.

Yet like I was talking to @aceofwhump yesterday we burn out, we think about the gif and go all out...23 gifs later for one prompt and we're burning out and wondering what next.. it's not easy.

Yet I do wonder if a prompt challenge just for gifmakers was out there somewhere would it bring us together? Would it make the gif makers broaden their horizons from their cliche genres?

Would a vintage whumper gif create a futuristic gifs?

Would a Kdrama giffer create a vintage drama scene?

It makes you wonder and yet it is the pure fact it sounds like bloody fun to consider it could happen!!!

Happy New Year and thanks I love my new icon, though I keep getting cookie peckish every time I see it 😁🤣

[lennsart]

This Is Starting To Feel Like Bullying please

Fjfkkdkfidi ok so a little context :

- The title isn't referring to anything in the wip, it's just that I kept writing whump, and since Legend is my favourite character it was CONSISTENTLY him getting in troubles, and it was starting to feel like bullying.

I didn't put a lot of my old whumps in this wips list, but I thought this one was surprisingly well written and earned its place here ! (when I say old it's like the end of last year, I was just starting to write for the fandom)

- When I read short fics, especially during events like whumptober, I often crave for the aftermath. I know the authors often didn't even plan what would happen next, but especially with whumps, I want to know how the characters would recover from the terrible things that happened to them ! How the others would react ! And sometimes, when I read whump and I really really want an aftermath, well, I write something.

ALL THAT TO SAY, I am sorry if you expected something silly, but "This is starting to feel like bullying" is a wip that is about a torture aftermath ��

There is nothing happening on screen, only the result, but still, it is kind of grim.

I don't know how much I should tell about it... I have to admit I've stopped working on it a while ago, but I'm mostly keeping it as a wip because I feel like I could rework it for a Whumptober prompt !

If you'd like me to go into more details you can ask ! It's the first time I'm talking about my wips so I'm not sure how much I should share gfnjgnjfgfjjn

I'm going to put a snippet under the cut, but be warned, it stops right before the good part lmao (it's the very beginning, I just like how it started) !

“ - Don't think we haven't noticed, ” The traveler hissed, bitter.

His arms were crossed, his brows frowned, and he looked like he was barely stopping himself to just walk away.

“ - What ? ” Twilight asked, genuinely lost.

Hyrule clicked his tongue in annoyance, and scowled at him.

“ - That you're on babysitting duty. ”

The affirmation made Wind roll his eyes and Four turn to him, indignant.

“ - What, you don't think I'm right ? ” Hyrule said to the two younger heroes. “ They think Lege is in the other spot ! They sent us here because we don't know in what state we're going to find him ! Time looked like he had swallowed vinegar when he swapped Wild with Twilight, and it was just because he had the slate. ”

They decided to check the two simultaneously, because they wanted to get their friend back as soon as possible, but one place clearly made more sense than the other.

Unfortunately, Twilight was pretty sure the traveler had a point, there. They had two leads concerning where their veteran was trapped.

One would be practical and discreet, and was closer to where Legend had last been seen.

The other had one witness, who hadn't been convinced himself that what he saw was important.

And Warriors and Time had not so subtly suggested to send all the younger heroes on the probable red herring.

Wild had argued that they'd probably need to stay in contact, and Wind and him had to be in two different teams.

Then, Twilight had felt burning and emphatic looks thrown his way, and he nicely suggested to go with the younger team.

They were supposed to check quickly, call the others when they were done, and go directly to them after. 

Wind was fine with the plan : he just wanted to find Legend as soon as possible, and the lead was worth being checked.

Hyrule and Four... Weren't as thrilled.

Twilight felt just the tiniest spark of relief upon seeing he had one ally in this.

“ - What does it matter ? ” Four shrugged, irritated. “ Let's just do this quickly, and then we'll get to the others. 

  - I don't understand what's with you two, ” Wind declared, staring at his friends. “ We need to check there anyway, right ? If it's empty, well, the others probably got him out ! How is that a problem ? ”

“ - The problem isn't whether we find Legend or not, ” Hyrule explained. “ The problem is that the captain and the old man sent us on the less probable lead because we're younger. ”

He threw a pointed look at Twilight.

“ Tell me I'm wrong. ”

The rancher sighed. He hated this debate, and currently resented Warriors for putting him in this situation.

Twilight rolled his eyes (but not without a smile).

“ - If I'm being honest, I think you're right, ” he admitted. “ But like Wind said, we need to check what's going on here anyway. What's dumb is that Wars really made it sound like the vet was in the other spot, and promptly sent y'all here with me. 

  - So you agree that you're babysitting us, ” Four commented with a smirk.

“ - Both of you have to remember we're not doing a useless job just to keep you occupied, ” he declared, putting a hand on the two boys' shoulders. “ We're going to find him no matter what, but  we need to check that house. ”

At that, Hyrule's shoulders shrunk just a bit. He looked less angry, and more... Miserable, frankly.

“ - I'm so worried, ” he admitted, and rubbed his face with both his hands.

Twilight pat his shoulder twice.

“ - Me too. But we're here for him, alright ? ”

[whumpninja]

Should I be doing another event when I haven’t even finished my Whumptober fills? Probably not. But I’m doing it anyway because @writingwithsnails’ Twelve Days of Whumpmas looked fun and chill. And predictably, I am already three days late. But who cares. NEW STORY GO BRRRRRR-

Featuring: elves (not the Santa kind), emotional whump and angst (it’ll get physical later don’t worry), magic whump, magic rituals, fantasy whump, my attempts at worldbuilding

Taglist: @whumperofworlds wanted to be tagged, and this is a brand new story, so. You are my taglist, you’re my taglist, boogie woogie woogie-

Prompt used: candle

——————————————————————————

Twelve Days of Whumpmas Day One: Hollyoak, Part One

From the doorway, Kelyn watched his father put on the Crown of Two Realms. The silver half, with snowflake shapes worked into the metal, King Cyprian positioned so that the tallest central point reached up just between the base of his antlers. The golden half- engraved with sunbeams- faced the back of his head, its tallest point turned downward. When the Oak King took the crown tonight, he would turn it over and place the golden half upright and forward, while the silver half faced back and down.

"Is it heavy?" Kelyn asked.

The Holly King turned around, and attempted a smile. "Not on most days," he replied. "But today, yes. It is very heavy."

Kelyn slipped into the room and put a hand on his father's shoulder. King Cyprian sighed deeply, and his voice trembled. "It's a hard thing, you know, Kelyn. For half the year I am not a king. And that I could stand. But for half the year, I am also not a father."

"I'll be all right, Father." Kelyn forced cheer into his voice. "It's only a formality, really, there's never been any trouble. The Summer Realm isn't all that far. Don't worry about me. I'll be enjoying myself exploring the forest and seeing if I can make friends with the deer this year."

King Cyprian chuckled. "Still won't let you near them, eh? Flighty things. Not like our reindeer." He fastened his fur-trimmed cloak around his shoulders. "Speaking of the reindeer, we had better get them going soon. If we're not at the Tree by midnight-" The Holly King didn't finish his sentence. He opened the door of the royal lodge, and the two of them stepped out into the clearing.

The procession was a fairly small one. Not all the Winter Elves could come to witness the exchange of magic- most imitated the ceremony with their own families. Still, there was a small herd of reindeer saddled and bridled, and a dozen or so guards mounted on their white bears. There could be no weapons at the Tree, but the guards came anyway.

Three reindeer waited patiently at the front of the procession- one already had a rider. The Oak Prince, Adaire. He sat somewhat awkwardly on the reindeer's broad back, clutching the reins. His bag had been strapped behind him.

Kelyn's heart twisted a little at the sight. Adaire was going home tonight, while Kelyn was leaving it. The Summer Realm was only a day's journey away, but in that moment it felt like it was much too far.

Kelyn shook himself. You've done this before. It'll be all right. He tucked his staff underneath his arm and whistled softly to his black reindeer, Duff. The handsome bull blew a gust of air out of his nose and knelt down, letting Kelyn climb onto his back. Kelyn's own bag had been tied behind the saddle, and as Duff stood up he placed his staff in the special holder that had been made for it at the side. At the head of the herd, King Cyprian clicked to his own reindeer, and the procession began the solemn march to the Tree.

The Elves called it the Tree, but really it was two. An ancient oak, heavily laden with mistletoe, and a young holly, their roots intertwined with each other. It stood on the border between the Winter and Summer Realms, and that was where all meetings between the two kingdoms took place.

The most important of those meetings were the Solstices, winter and summer, when the crown and the power passed from one kingdom to another- and when the prince of one realm spent the next half a year in the realm that was not his own. In the old days it had been a hostage law, but now it was considered a show of trust and solidarity between the Oak King and the Holly King.

Kelyn stole a glance at Prince Adaire. His small horns and green skin marked him obviously as not belonging to the Winter Realm, and he looked strange on the back of a reindeer. But soon enough, he would be home among his people, and it was Kelyn who would be the outsider.

"Hmm," King Cyprian said softly, just loud enough for Kelyn to hear. "They're impatient tonight."

The Tree stood in front of them, only a little distance off. The Summer Elves already filled the edge of their half of the Circle surrounding it, dismounted from their mounts of brown bears and much smaller deer. At their head stood the Oak King, Adaire's father, King Aritz. Adaire leaned forward to wave at him and nearly fell off of his reindeer.

Kelyn wasn't looking forward to spending six months with Adaire in the Summer Realm. The two of them had been together in one court or another since they'd turned twelve, and had never quite gotten along. Kelyn was quiet and preferred to be by himself; Adaire loved the company of others and could talk for hours on end. And he always seemed louder and more boisterous when he was in his own kingdom.

The Winter Elves lined the edge of their own half of the Circle. The glances that passed between the two realms were tense, but not hostile. The exchange of power did its job in keeping the peace, but Kelyn suspected there would always be unease between the two.

He whistled to Duff, and climbed down from the reindeer's solid back, slipping his staff and bag from the saddle. He patted Duff's soft nose. "See you in six months, my friend," he whispered.

Adaire now stood on the other side of the circle with his father, and Kelyn moved to join King Cyprian, leaning on his staff more than usual because of the rocks that jutted up from the ground. The Circle and the Tree could not belong to either realm- it remained in a perpetual state of spring thaw or fall freeze, Kelyn could never tell which.

The elders waited under the Tree, one Winter Elf and one Summer Elf, their inside wrists tied together with a cord. King Aritz stood in front of them. King Cyprian gave Kelyn a glance that said everything, squeezed his shoulder, and took his place beside the other king. The two elders moved as one person, bending down to light a white candle that had been implanted in the ground. As they lit it, tiny blue candle flames sprang up at the feet of each Winter elf. Kelyn bent down to brush his hand through his- it was cold fire, magical. It clung to his fingers as he pulled it away.

"We are well met," began the Summer elder, his voice deep and sonorous. "Upon this Solstice Eve, when dark passes into light, when Winter gives way to Summer."

The Winter elder took over. It was always mostly the same speech, but who began it depended on whose solstice it was. Kelyn always liked to see the Winter elder, for she too leaned on a staff with her unbound hand. Hers was to assist blind eyes instead of a weak leg, but it made him feel better anyway. Blind or not, she seemed to be looking at Kelyn as she spoke. "We relinquish our power, to keep the peace between us hale and healthy. It is a sacrifice that we make freely, and await in peace the days when we will receive our magicks once again."

The Summer elder bowed to her. "We accept and acknowledge," he said quietly. "King Cyprian, King Aritz- the Crown of Realms."

The two kings stepped forward as one. Kelyn saw his father shift, straightening his back and lifting his head, before he knelt. King Aritz remained on his feet, his expression impassive.

The Summer elder moved behind King Cyprian. Kelyn braced himself, digging his staff more firmly into the ground. I hate this part.

The elder spoke words of magic in the secret language only magicians knew, and then lifted the crown from King Cyprian's brow. As he did, the Winter Elves collectively gasped, and a few cried out with the shock. The blue candle flames sputtered and died with a gust of wind like a last breath. Kelyn gritted his teeth and stayed silent, feeling the magic drain from his body. He couldn't explain how he felt it, he just felt it. It didn't leave fully- that would kill an elf, having their magic drained- but the spell left them just enough to keep them alive. Not enough to use any longer. For six months, there would be no winter magic. The snowstorms and cold would fade away as the magic sustaining them died, replaced by green leaves and sunshine.

It had to be this way. Kelyn understood that. But he hated it all the same.

King Aritz accepted the crown from the Summer Elder. Kelyn watched him turn it over in his hands, flipping the sunbeams upright, before he placed it on his head, golden half in front. The Summer Elves sighed almost as one, and a ripple of energy coursed through them as their own magic returned to them. Flames sprang up at their feet- hot golden flames, shimmering like the blue ones had, and Kelyn saw Prince Adaire reach down to touch his just as Kelyn had. The Tree shivered, and the grass in the Circle seemed to grow just a little greener.

"The wheel turns again," both elders said together, and ended the ceremony.

Kelyn breathed out, once, twice. Now was the part he had been dreading most of all.

Now, he had to say goodbye.

[inklingofadream]

I think we're gonna wind down all my updating fics once I put out this most recent batch, and resume in november so I can spend non-whumptober work in september and october rebuilding buffers. That's 2 Little Archives (counting tomorrow's), 1 teen jon, 2 cult aus, and 1 extras. So barring one shots written to clear the air between whumptober fics (i am THIS close to finishing the advice fic) there are no planned fics going up after the 11th until October 1st. Oh, except vampire au, I ended up in a vastly different direction than I planned there so it hasn't come out yet, but I HAVE to finish it soon bc one of my completed whumptober fics is a direct sequel

Emotionally, we will be leaving Little Archive a few steps further into the 2 steps forward/1 step back holding pattern we've been crawling through but without a real cliffhanger; teen jon at a cliffhanger a couple steps further from the recent cliffhangers; cult au with a joke I think is pretty fun but not much plot progression; and extras with the fluffiest chapter yet bc i did have to write their proposal scene (in this case writer's block is a good thing, bc the next one I had half done was pre-martin whump lol)

Hoping to focus on teen jon, because we're almost to the end and hopefully I can iron out the last kinks; little archive bc i still have some plot gas in the tank before we hit the unplanned bit of the id fic thing again; cult au a bit? kinda working through a bit of stuff but probably going dormant before the end of the year; polychives, bc i have left them alone too long; mom's been on a parenting kick if i can remember where they were supposed to be WALKING to; mayhap some lighthouse au and/or ttab

[marointhemoon]

FAQ & fandom list

Please read this before asking any questions. In the interest of keeping my inbox clear, I will be deleting any asks that pertain to things discussed here. However, if you have a question that I didn't answer here, please send me an ask!

What fandoms do you currently write for? (updated as needed)

Star Trek (TNG, DS9, and ENT)

Stargate Atlantis

And whatever else I'm in the mood to write at the time. This is not a hard-and-fast list, but if you want to request something, these are the fandoms I will take requests for.

What fandoms do you have works for? (updated as needed)

Stargate Atlantis

Star Trek (ENT)

Do you have a set schedule?

Not really.

I'm busy as hell and I have moderate-to-severe ADHD that I can't afford to meaningfully treat. There is a non-zero chance of me posting a dozen things over the space of three days and then not posting at all for six months.

If I'm posting consistently, it's probably stuff I've had queued for a while, especially if it's for a writing challenge (e.g., Whumptober).

Do you take requests?

Sometimes.

I'm infuriatingly picky with what requests/prompts I take, so take that as you will. The higher up the fandom is on my "currently writing for" list, the more likely I am to take it.

However, I may just not be in the mood to take requests for a while, at which point I will make a post and put something in the blog description.

Do you accept DMs?

Not unless we're mutuals.

What do you typically like to write?

Often:

Emotional whump (including hurt/comfort)

Found family

Drabbles and other short works (generally 1,000 words or less)

Weird songfic things (think "fic + youtube/spotify link to the song + some analysis maybe)

Headcanons (I will also be taking requests for these!)

Bottom line: If I'm writing it, it's gonna be short, sad, and/or sappy.

Sometimes:

Detailed smut

Rarely:

Descriptions of torture

AU stuff (nothing wrong with it, I'm just not enthusiastic about it)

Works over 1,000 words

Multi-chapter works

Multi-day writing challenges

Never:

Reader insert stuff

Detailed descriptions of gore

Most kink content (exceptions will be tagged "cw ___")

*denoted by a CW in the tags (cw <insert trigger here>)

You might want to have these tags handy:

cw torture

cw drowning

I have very few hard nos, but I take my boundaries very seriously. If you give me reason to believe you've ignored them (including failure to read this post), you will be blocked.

[charismabee]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thanks for the tag @lilacthebooklover!!

How many works do you have on AO3?

11

What’s your total word count?

On published fics? 218,198. More in my google docs

What fandoms?

Kindergarten, Omori, and Owl house. Though I do plan on branching out into more soon!

Top 5 fics by kudos

Febuwhump 2023 (Omori), Febuwhump (but Hero?), Whumptober 2023 Omori, Wilting Flowers, Whumptober 2022 Kindergarten. (It's mostly oneshot whump collections lol)

Do you respond to comments?

Yes! Of course. I love getting comments.

What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

If we're counting fics in my oneshot collections, probably my Found Footage chapter from Febuwhump (but Hero?), if we're not then Abscence. (if we're counting non published then it does get worse lol)

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

hmmm, I'm such an angst writer lol... Probably my currently unfinished Prison Visit BTHB fic. It doesn't have an... unhappy ending planned?

Do you get hate on fics?

Not really? I've had negative comments and comments that upset me, but nothing I'd consider hate.

Do you write smut? Nope.

Do you write crossovers?

Sometimes, if you count 'put characters in other stories/worlds' crossovers, which I do.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I'm aware. Not good enough for that lol.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Lots w/ Lilac

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Probably SpaceHero (Hero/Spaceboy). It holds a special place in my heart

What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

Probably the space themed original fic I wrote an entire first draft with a friend, but they don't really write anymore, and it doesn't feel right continuing without them. So into the void it goes.

What are your writing strengths?

Planning, I'm great at planning. Also short form stories with lots of emotions in them.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Actions, getting characters to do stuff in an interesting way. I also struggle with longer form content, I tend to loose the thread if I go on for too long, I'm working on that though!

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

It can be fun! I enjoy it as a reader, so I have no problems doing it in my own fics if it feels right. I'm always a little wary tho, bc I'm terrible with languages and have to stick with google translate to help me.

First fandom you wrote for?

First fandom I wrote for was Harry Potter. I did a crack-y colab fic with a friend when we were young, it's so bad in hindsight lol

Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

OoO, this is hard one... I'm going to stick with published and go with Magical Girlz: Omori! (2 chaps published, 3 and a bit written) I like how it's turned out so far (:

[set-phasers-to-whump]

thank you for the tag!! i love love love things like this <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

262 (soon to be 263, and so on til the end of the month lol)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

404,314. not bad!!!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

atm, mostly tmfu (just recently posted my 50th fic without even realizing it oops) but also karppi, 911, and babylon berlin, with assorted others such as poi in there from time to time.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

at fault (lucifer) (this fic is my enemy...it's so close to not being the top in this category anymore yet it persists!), you're not losing me (911), a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day (911), safe (911), and i just thought it didn't rain in california (911). do we see a pattern...

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

yes, always!! it still blows my mind that people enjoy my writing enough to tell me about it, so obviously i'm going to respond! i adore getting comments and i appreciate every one i receive <3

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

maybe i don't wanna reach out in the dead of night and find no one to hold me ? it's a prodigal son fic with a not super hopeful ending, but idk for sure if this is the angstiest ending. i don't do a ton of angsty endings tbh

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

this one's a toss up since a ton of my fics are ships getting together which is uniformly happy endings, but the first one that i can think of is you are everything (didn't you know?) which is a buddie fic with no whump wow!! (hence why it probably comes to mind - i didn't put anyone thru the wringer first lmao)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

i'm really lucky and haven't - perks of writing for (mostly) pretty small fandoms i think.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

nah, not for me.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

i don't - i like to keep my characters in their usual settings, for the most part.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

i think so? i've had people ask, but never got confirmation (they were going to post to other sites)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

i haven't...i'm not sure if i could do it tbh

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

bro this is hard...i'm gonna say it's a toss-up of spirk or buddie - they've been with me the longest.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

i feel like this is going to sound like a flex but i promise it isn't - i really don't have WIP's, at least not for very long. generally i either finish or abandon things with no desire to complete them lol

16. What are your writing strengths?

maybe action? i know i do a lot of fics with minimal to no dialogue, so i'm guessing i'm decent at conveying things with not much interpersonal talking.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

endings!! the bane of my existence. also i notice sometimes when i reread my stuff that i have a tendency to use the same phrases throughout multiple works which annoys me a bit 😭😭😭

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i love doing it! though i generally don't do it a lot as i feel like it needs to be used sparingly and well to avoid seeming sort of obnoxious, and i only write what i know. also idk the best way to provide translations - i sometimes don't do them, if it's only a word or two and/or they're commonly known, or else i've done parentheses right after. i don't like when people put the translations down in the notes bc i'm not going all the way down there every time i don't know a word lmao.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

if we're talking first fic ever, i'm pretty sure it was supernatural, but i never posted any of it.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

i think maybe fight, flight, or freeze from whumptober last year. it's tmfu (big surprise) and writing it made me Feel Things for sure.

not tagging anyone in particular but if you wanna do this then i tag you!

20 questions for fic writers

I was tagged by @cha-melodius, thank you! <3<3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

439! The plan is posting two more tonight so hopefull that will soon be 441 LOL.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

939,623! Almost a million yay!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

At the moment mostly TMFU, I have been getting into writing Banana Fish fic too, and I write for The Witcher, though less frequently than TMFU.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Stretch (Buck/Eddie+Christopher, 911, 3x02 AU)

Everywhere I'm looking now, I'm surrounded by your embrace (Harvey/Mike, Suits, soulmates AU)

I held your hand as you shook in the middle of the night (Geralt/Jaskier, The Witcher, 1x06 fix-it)

Leave it unspoken (Harvey/Mike, Suits, a serial killer on the loose AU looool I had forgotten about this one)

Concession (Geralt/Jaskier, The Witcher, Geralt likes being the little spoon fic)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yesssss, I'm like constantly behind and sometimes I answer months late, but I love answering because 1) comments make me so happy and I want the readers who took the time to let me know they enjoyed the fic to KNOW THAT, 2) talking about fics is SO much fun, I think that discussing things in the comments is the best part of posting.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

LOOOOOOOOOOOL filter for MCD on my Ao3 and take your pick. But I'd go with either Forever is the sweetest con (Napoleon/Illya/Gaby, TMFU) because the story is told backwards, so you start with post-MCD and end pre-MCD, so the ending is happy but. well. the happiness is gone already and you know it LOL, or maybe Meaner than my demons, colder than this home (Napoleon/Illya/Gaby, TMFU), purely because generally speaking when I play with MCD I kill just one of them off and leave the other two to pick up the pieces, but here there's just Napoleon left, so. probably worse than the others LOL.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Sooo, I tend to write one-shots, and I HAVE written fluffy fics, but I think I'll go with Something gets lost from a safe distance (Napoleon/Illya, TMFU) because it's part of a three-part series that's all emotional hurt/comfort, and then it ends with fluffy kissing so.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Eh, it has happened, I think it's inevitable if you have been doing this for long enough LOL.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Nope.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not usually, I did write a TMFU/Supernatural crossover though LOL.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I’m aware of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yesss, more than once and it's always extremely flattering that someone would want to go through all that effort <3

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Right now I feel particularly strongly about the TMFU OT3 but like. I love so many.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I HAVE MULTIPLE LONGFICS SITTING IN MY DRAFTS DAMMIT. I just never want to post longfics unless I have either a first draft for every chapter or at the very least an extremely detailed outline for every chapter, which means that I end up always posting one-shots LOL. Two notable mentions among these longfics are a "Napoleon gets amnesia and bullshits his way through it to avoid telling anyone because he has trust issues" fic and an AU with Illya as a ghost that's a whole angsty mess. help me.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Eeeeeeeh the emotions I'd say. Or I HOPE so, since that's pretty much 80% of my writing loooool Also there a lot of lines of dialogue that I come up with that I unironically like.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Plots for one, I just tend to write snapshots with no real plot most of the time, and action. I don't LIKE writing it, which means I can never tell if it's boring or if I'm just projecting, and I tend to avoid it. ...also romance/attraction/getting-together. My aroace ass never knows what is believable romance and what are just tv show tropes that are not actually real LOL.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I generally don't do it and keep to the language of the narration, just clarifying "X says in German" if there's a change of language. I write limited third POV, so I just see it as "filtering" everything through the lens of the person that we are seeing the perspective of. If I'm writing from Gaby's POV, for instance (she's German but fluent in English), I feel like TECHNICALLY the narration should be in German, so by writing in English I have already chosen a filter that is not 100% accurate. But that's the filter I'm going with, so English is the language that Gaby is communicating to the reader in, so everything should be communicated through English lens: if she's talking to someone in English, I will just write the lines with no specifications, if she's talking in German I still write in English and write "in German" in the narration, and if someone speaks a language she doesn't know I don't write the actual dialogue because she doesn't understand it, so the reader doesn't get to see it either.

I hope this makes some sort of sense LOOOOOL, I don't really mind any way I've seen this done, but this is how I prefer to go about it.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

The Fallen book series. LOL.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Evil question, go directly to jail, do not collect 100$. This answer will absolutely change every five minutes, but right now I'm particularly feeling Souvenir from a life left behind (Napoleon/Illya, TMFU), just a tiny dissolution of UNCLE fic with Napoleon angsting.

.

Tagging: @imgoingtofreakoutnow @ikeepwatchinghelicopters @thetamehistorian @huggiebird @deducitetemporacarmen @set-phasers-to-whump @cherryjuicegf @geralt-of-vengerberg and anyone else who hasn't done this yet and wants to play <3

[beautifulterriblequeen]

oh hey, my angst hat! *puts it on* *maniacal villain laughter ensues*

Got a quick and extremely angsty Viren & Runaan/Ethari theory for you today, because I've started writing for Whumptober (my villain origin story or my redemption arc, you decide). Pulling together "Runaan has an unfinished redemption arc and he can't just waltz into it, he has lore" and "Viren gonna Viren" and "Ethari please be a clever badass" and then drowning them all in an angst vat.

This one is genuinely angsty af, not joking, proceed at your own risk.

tw: body horror, death, undeath, psychological trauma

Ready?

Hold onto your butts.

Back in S1, Viren kept the Moonshadow assassins' weapons after they died on their mission, and he found use for them later. He keeps and collects things in case they prove useful to him at a later date, but what he collects is usually meant to be spent, like magic components for spells, so he's never attached to these things past the purpose they may serve. Those assassin weapons showed up one more time, and Viren sent them on their way, content that he'd found one last use for them.

So yeah, he's definitely got Runaan's bowblade. He's got it on purpose. And this next bit could go two ways:

1) he uses Runaan's broken horn, or

2) (my favorite) he uses the ashy remains of Runaan's magically spent body to power his own coining. All dark magic needs a spell component from a living/once-living creature, and there was nothing else magical in that cell aside from Runaan himself. When Viren cast the smoky spell with the other assassins, he used their cremains as his source of magic. There needs to be something in Viren's spell that matches those cremains.

Either way, Viren resurrects the smoky ghost of Xadia's best assassin.

And then he hands Runaan's smoky self his bowblade and quiver and gives him a mission, smugly confident in the assassin's skill set.

Ohoho, where are you going? I'm not even close to done yet.

Runaan's target could easily be someone who will recognize that bowblade on sight. Might Viren sic Smoke Runaan on Rayla, for various upstart teenager hero things and also for killing him? Yes, he would absolutely do that.

But what if he sends his smoky minion after a new threat? What if Ethari has entered the larger arena as a player on the big board, and he has to defend himself against his own creation as well as the ashy and bespelled remains of the beloved elf he gifted it to?

Mhmm. Here we go.

Ethari is the one person who stands the best chance at defeating Runaan's shade, I think. He doesn't have assassin skills, but those shadows can't do much damage without a weapon in their hands. And that weapon is one that Ethari knows intimately. He can't fight off Runaan's attacks, but he could probably disable the bowblade itself, perhaps by disenchanting it, breaking its magic bowstring, something like that. If he can render that precious gift unusable, he'll be safe.

Except from his feels.

None of us felt good watching Runaan shoot arrows at his daughter from the castle roof. Imagine if we have to watch him shooting arrows at his husband, too. Imagine if one of them hits him before he can disenchant the bowblade. Ethari's in love, and he's very soft, it's true. But it's also true that the work of his hands has enabled the deaths of many humans. No amount of soft smooches and tears can erase Ethari's participation in the angsty choices of this show. Sorry, Ethari.

Extra cruel angst version: Viren knows who Ethari is to Runaan now, and he leaves a little bit of instruction in Runaan's smoky spell, should he actually fail, so that Viren can count either option as a win of some kind.

If Ethari manages to destroy the gift he lovingly made for his husband, thus saving his own life at the cost of Runaan's most treasured possession, Smoke Runaan could stop and stare at him as if in recognition long enough for Ethari to draw closer, desperate for any vision of his lost husband. And then Runaan could explode in ashy bits all over him. Actual ashy bits of actual Runaan (whether horn or whole), blowing all over Ethari, right in his face. Wearing his husband's ashes in his hair, having to taste his last mortal fragments, and knowing that he himself is partly responsible for these horrors, because he placed that weapon in Runaan's hands himself.

Can you imagine. I can, and it's horrible. Poor Ethari.

Viren would love it. Psychological warfare ftw.

*hands you a baby wipe and an adoraburr therapy session*

Okay, so.

Ethari gets overpunished for crafting a world-class weapon of war. Runaan gets overpunished again for being the guy who agrees to do the stabbing, whatever his motives are. Viren gets overpunished by losing another fragment of his dying empathy to dark magic, leaving him unable to truly understand love in any form anymore - not his enemies', not his kids', no one's.

Ahh. Balanced. As all things should be.

*takes off angst hat* Okay, I can only wear that thing for so long. It gets itchy.

Final thoughts from outside the angst bubble:

could Viren create a smoky version of Runaan if his soul still lives somewhere, or does the soul need to be dead dead?

is there some way that distinction could be used as some creepy sort of test for Harrow? Or Runaan/Lain/Tiadrin?

would Runaan's missing horn be enough to power that smoky spell? And is there a difference between using a pinch of cremains when the whole body has been destroyed and a pinch of horn when, say, the body remains intact somewhere? Would Viren just summon a floating half-a-horn and get really mad and tell it that it was supposed to be something special, something important?

what if it's not Viren who casts it, but Claudia? She knows how. If she knows where Viren stashed Runaan's bowblade (which probably yes, because she knows where Viren's primal stone was), this could be a big step for her as far as what her skills are and where her limits aren't. And passing the Villain Hat to Claudia has so much angsty potential! What if Viren wouldn't actually send Smoke Runaan after Ethari... but Claudia, never having been married/in love, doesn't see a limit there, and Viren does? (especially since he seems to have been resurrected without the gray taint of dark magic, like he's his original self again, and even as his current villainous self he still had a soft spot in his heart for Lissa in Book Two: Sky) Woah.

Thank you for coming to my Angst Talk. I hope you're all okay. Feel free to yell at this post if it helps. I did.