#whumperless whump event prompt 2

[alicewritingstories]

Whumperless Whump Event: Scattered in the Mountains

@whumperless-whump-event

Fandom: Linked Universe

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Prompts for this chapter:

2: "Eyes open, ambulance is almost here." (except that there are no ambulances in the setting)

25: "I know it hurts. Breathe."

29: Wrong place, wrong time

30: "I can't stop crying, I'm sorry..."

31: "We can't just sit here and wait."

Central characters: Time, Hyrule, Legend, Warriors, Sky, and (though he doesn't know it yet) Twilight

***

Legend had been walking for an hour or so and guessed it was about noon when he finally saw a thread of smoke rising above the trees. He sighed in relief; that looked like it came from a chimney and that meant someone was living out here who might be able to at least give him some directions and a look at a map. He had no idea how Hyrule was so comfortable just wandering around the wild.

He turned and headed in the direction of the smoke, still moving carefully in case he'd misjudged and to avoid losing his footing on the rough ground. Four had already found out how badly that could go.

At that thought, he couldn't help speeding up a little more. While leaving Four and Sky to look after themselves was better than leaving Sky alone, Four wasn't exactly in a position to fight if he had to.

Soon he could see the source of the smoke: a wooden cabin nestled in a sheltered corner against a cliff. He sighed in relief and broke into a careful jog as the slope evened out a little.

As he approached, a hylian walked out of the door, calling over his shoulder, "I'll be back before long. Make yourselves comfortable!"

Then he saw Legend hurrying towards him and immediately tensed, feet moving into guard as his hand moved towards the sword hilt Legend could see poking out from behind the pelt he was wearing as a cape.

"Woah…" Legend slowed to a walk, raising his hands and ignoring the still-raw memories that Sky's delirious ramblings had brought to mind. This man was reacting to seeing an armed stranger running towards his home and family, that was all. "I'm not here to cause trouble," he called. "I need some help. At least some directions."

The man tilted his head curiously, his eyes narrowed between angular black tattoos.

Then the door opened and Warriors walked out. "Legend?" he said, then his eyes brightened as he saw Legend.

"Hey, Pretty boy," said Legend, folding his arms. "Trust you to land on your feet."

Even as he spoke, he noticed the shadows under Warriors' eyes, the spots of fevered color on his cheeks, and the blood on his sleeve. He had not landed on his feet.

"One of your friends?" asked the stranger dryly, looking over his shoulder at Warriors.

"Yes. Have you seen anything of the others, Legend?"

Legend nodded. "Sky's sick and Four is injured. How about you?"

"I found Wind, but he's the only one." Warriors gestured to the stranger. "This is Link. He knows the area and helped us."

At the name, Legend couldn't help a small double-take. Link apparently noticed and a flash of self-consciousness went across his face.

"Well, we'd best get Sky and Four back here as well so you're all in one place," he said thoughtfully, rolling his shoulders. "Then… you said you were a party of seven, Warriors?"

"Yes, that will leave Time and Hyrule unaccounted for."

Legend's heart skipped a beat and he tried to ignore it. If one member of the Chain was well-suited to being lost in a completely unfamiliar mountainside range, it was Hyrule. He'd be fine.

"Right." Link's eyes drifted up to another part of the slope. "Well, come on, Legend; let's go."

Legend nodded, but before turning away he asked, "Where's Wind? You said you'd found him."

Warriors glanced worriedly back at the door of the cabin. "He's been poisoned, but he's recovering."

That raised more questions, but there wasn't time to ask them right now, so Legend just nodded and hurried back up the slope with Link at his side.

~~~

Hyrule had calmed down as much as Time thought he was going to be able to; at least his breathing had steadied and he wasn't trying to struggle any more. Time hoped that was a good sign.

"OK, I'm going to have another try at digging you out," he said, squeezing Hyrule's hand. "Stay awake."

Hyrule swallowed hard and nodded. Though steadier, his breathing was still quick and shallow and he was horribly pale; even his lips seemed to have lost their color. Time started work on moving rocks, occasionally speaking to check that Hyrule could still respond.

Then, suddenly, something shifted. He heard a rustle of falling sand and soil and, although he didn't see any movement from the rock resting on Hyrule's back, Hyrule's scream told him all he needed to know. Time lunged back to his side and took his hand again.

"Time… it hurts…" wailed Hyrule. "It hurts…"

"I know," said Time, keeping his voice steady with an effort. "I know it hurts. Breathe. Just keep breathing."

"Am I… am I going… to die here?"

"No. I'm going to get you out. It's going to be OK."

"It hurts…" Hyrule tried to pull free, tried to wriggle out from under the rock, but fell still with a sob.

"I know," said Time, wishing there was something else he could say. He helplessly pressed Hyrule's hand between both of his. "I know."

Hyrule gulped again, tears spilling down his face. "I… I can't stop crying, I'm sorry…"

"Just breathe. You've faced apparently hopeless situations before and survived. You can survive this."

Agonizingly slowly, Hyrule managed to calm himself as Time held his hand, resting his other hand on his shoulder to remind him to stay as still as he could.

"I'm going to try again to dig you out, OK?" asked Time.

Hyrule sniffed and nodded. Time gave him a few sips of water, then went back to trying to move the rocks.

~~~

It seemed to take forever to get back to the cave where Legend had left Four and Sky. Four was sitting by the opening and as he saw them approaching he waved.

"Hey, Four," said Legend. "This is Link. Link, This is Four and that's Sky. Has he woken up at all, Four?"

Four had been looking at Link with slightly-narrowed eyes, but at the question he turned his attention back to Sky. "No, he's stirred slightly but no sign of waking."

"What happened?" asked Link, kneeling down beside Sky.

"Sickness," said Legend. "He'd been hiding it - trying to push through - but a fever hit him hard overnight."

Link nodded. "And you?" he asked, looking at Four.

"I injured my ankle falling down a hill," said Four.

Link smiled slightly. "Y'all really aren't used to this area, are you?"

"Nope," said Legend curtly, biting down any more acid remarks.

"Well -" To Legend's shock, Link simply scooped Sky into his arms - bedroll, sword and all - as easily as if he was carrying a child. "If you can help Four, we'd best be going."

"How are you -" Legend couldn't see any obvious strength-enhancing items on him, but admittedly he was wearing several layers, including gloves, so that didn't mean anything. He shrugged and helped Four back to his feet. "Link found Warriors and Wind," he told him. "Time and Hyrule are still missing, so the faster we get moving the better."

"So you should carry me," said Four with a wince. "Fine."

Legend boosted Four onto his back and followed Link back down the slope.

"So… you're all called Link as well, huh?" asked Link as they walked.

"Yeah. It's… a long story," said Legend. Time was much better at explaining this and he didn't want to attempt it if he didn't have to.

"Warriors was cagy too. I'm starting to wonder if that story's fit to hear," said Link.

Legend bristled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Four tapped him gently on the shoulder and said, "It's genuinely complicated and a bit weird and I don't think either of us is the best person to ask."

"And Warriors has two modes, one of which is 'cagy'," added Legend. It was unfortunate; Warriors had taken to the idea of the portals and their shared spirit remarkably quickly.

Link tilted his head thoughtfully. "Yeah… that's consistent. Plus it sounds like he's had a rough time since he lost the rest of you."

"What happened?" asked Four.

"He said he'd gotten separated, had stumbled on a monster camp - and I think I know the camp, it was a nasty one - and had cleared it but got wounded in the process. He found Wind shortly afterwards and they were able to camp together, but by morning the wound was infected, Wind had poisoned himself with mushrooms, and they were looking for help when they met me."

Legend couldn't help a wince. This was a hell of a thing to happen for Warriors' first portal.

Despite his best efforts to ignore the anxiety, given what had happened to all of them he shuddered to imagine what might have happened to the two still wandering the wilderness somewhere. Though they were moving as fast as they could, he could feel the time burning.

But at last they were back at Link's hut and Legend set Four down to open the door so Link didn't have to disturb Sky.

"Light Spirits, man, it's my cabin!" exclaimed Link. Startled, Legend looked past him to see Warriors sheathing a knife and moving from his protective stance in front of the bed, looking embarrassed.

"Sorry about that," he said, taking a step forward. "How's -"

"Asleep, as best I can tell," said Link, laying Sky on the floor to one side. Warriors crouched by him to take his pulse.

"Yes, this seems strong enough," he murmured, "though his breathing doesn't sound good…" He glanced up as Legend and Four limped in and shot them a relieved smile.

"If you can keep things under control here, Warriors, I think Legend and I should go and keep looking for the rest of your party," said Link.

Legend nodded agreement and helped Four to sit down on a stool, then hurried after Link.

"Any ideas?" he asked as they walked.

"Well… I don't want to worry anyone, but before anything else I'm going to check that landslide," said Link.

Legend swallowed hard and nodded.

~~~

Time scrubbed a hand over his face with a sigh, looking up at the tangled mess of rubble just waiting to crash down on the boy lying at its base. He suspected he'd cleared as much as he could. He'd freed Hyrule's other arm and splinted it to secure the broken bones and had at least made sure his head was probably going to be safe, but he was starting to realize that there was nothing else he could do alone. To get Hyrule out from under that rock, he needed someone to help him lift and brace it and someone to move Hyrule, since he wouldn't be able to move himself.

"Time? I… you can't get me out, can you?" asked Hyrule, his voice cracking.

Time knelt down beside his head again. The traveler's breathing was shallow and he was shivering despite the blanket Time had laid over him.

"I'm going to need to go and get help," he said, as calmly and clearly as he could manage.

Hyrule's eyes flickered open, wide and fearful.

"I can't get you out on my own and we can't just sit here and wait in the hope that someone will stumble by who will be able and willing to help."

Hyrule looked away. "I just… I…" His breathing was speeding up, jagged and desperate. "Not alone… Don't… leave me…"

Time winced. That was the choice. If he left to try to get help and Hyrule didn't survive, he'd die alone. But he meant what he'd said: they couldn't just sit and wait. There was nothing more he could do; if he stayed, he would be staying to watch Hyrule suffer and giving up any real hope of saving his life.

"Hyrule," he said quietly, "I'm not abandoning you. I need to go and find help to give you any chance to survive. I'll be back before nightfall."

Hyrule shivered, tears in his eyes again, his breath still too fast, too uneven.

"It's OK," said Time, stroking Hyrule's hair. "I'll be back. Just… just breathe."

Hyrule screwed his eyes closed, biting back a whimpering sob. "P-promise? Promise you… I don't… want to die alone…"

"I am not abandoning you," said Time. He laid Hyrule's sword within reach, then added the rations he had left in his bag and his water bottle. "Try to keep sipping water and eat something if you can. And…" After a moment's hesitation he took a neatly-folded handkerchief from a pocket in the lining of his bag. He never used it; it was just a little reminder of home, with the cow-head badge of Lon Lon Ranch clumsily embroidered on one corner. He remembered Malon sewing it when they were so much younger.

He gave Hyrule's hand one last squeeze and then put the handkerchief in his palm instead.

"What's this?" asked Hyrule.

"A promise I'll come back. Keep it safe for me."

Hyrule swallowed hard and nodded. Time got up and, before he could change his mind, he hurried away.

~~~

Sky felt like he was made of lead. He often struggled to wake up, but this was different. He felt like he was smothered under a nesting loftwing, held down by something soft but huge and too heavy for him to lift it.

Perhaps the easiest thing to do would be to just accept it and he started to sink back down into unconsciousness, but then he heard a muffled voice in the distance. Familiar. Worried.

He took a breath and it snagged in his chest, making him cough. A groan bled out of him. He ached.

"Sky?" The muffled, familiar voice was a little clearer and a hand took his, steadying him in the dark. "Can you hear me?"

He thought he'd garbled something out and the hand clenched around his.

"It's OK. You're safe."

The surface under him felt more solid and the weight on him a little easier. Gradually, he peeled his eyes open and was met with a vague blur mostly dominated by blue.

Zelda's loftwing?

"Bluebell?" he slurred.

There was a pause.

"How's his fever?" asked someone further away.

A hand slipped under his bangs. "His temperature feels normal."

"Yes, but you're feverish."

"Blue… Bluebell?" Sky blinked sluggishly. Hadn't he been with Legend? He remembered the portal, and Legend, and he didn't think they'd been on the Surface in his own era, but maybe… "Zelda?"

"It's OK, Sky. Get some more sleep."

But Sky was finally managing to blink the blurriness of weakness and exhaustion out of his eyes even as he remembered collapsing in the cave and a vague impression of Legend caring for him.

It was Warriors leaning over him now, he realized. The blue was his scarf.

Sky cringed.

"Sky?" asked Warriors gently.

Sky started trying to sit up, but the floor under him suddenly swirled and tilted and Warriors had to catch him.

"Hey, easy!"

"I'm OK."

"You are not OK. Take it easy. You're safe for now." Warriors eased him back down onto his bedroll. He lay still, bracing himself for the tongue-lashing he was about to get.

Soft child of peace.

Too slow.

Too weak.

"So, why did you lie to me when I asked if you were all right?"

"Give him a break, Warriors," said Four from somewhere in the distance.

"It's OK, Four," said Sky. He could at least try to fight his own battles. He blinked up at Warriors. "I didn't realize how sick I was."

Warriors frowned. Then, after a moment, he lowered his voice to a murmur and asked, "Sky… has anyone ordered you… has anyone told you… not to say so if you're struggling?"

Sky stared at him.

"If so, I think I should know," said Warriors, an odd solidity in his tone. "I've… encountered commanders with that attitude before and I will not tolerate it."

"Do you… you think…" Sky stumbled over the words, unsure what Warriors was suggesting or how to really answer the question. "I… no. No, nothing like that."

You were late and you failed to protect her.

"And the closest… wasn't from anyone you know."

"If you'd told Time you were sick…?" prompted Warriors.

Sky shrugged as best he could. "I'm sure he'd have told me to rest, but… a portal is a portal and I…" Then it struck him. "Wait, you think Time would punish me for being sick?"

Warriors smiled, some tension going out of him. "Not given that reaction," he said with a relieved sigh. "As I say, it… is something I've seen before. Cruel and unproductive, but sadly not unheard of."

Sky stared at him. He was the one he'd expected judgment from. But he was tired and the fog was starting to fade back into his brain and he couldn't work out how to ask the question that was now vaguely drifting in his mind.

"Well… in future, if you're sick don't hide it, OK?" said Warriors gently. "Maybe I don't know as much as you do about these portals, but forcing yourself on when you're too sick to continue is counterproductive in the long term. Yes, sometimes it's necessary, but as a rule any unit must move at the speed of the slowest." He gently laid a hand on Sky's shoulder. "Taking care of the sick and wounded will slow us down, yes, but it's far too important an obligation to lightly be ignored. Now get some more rest."

Sky felt ridiculous, but nodded, the fog growing deeper. "OK," he murmured. But as he closed his eyes he realized something: Warriors wouldn't have hinted something like that about Time if Time were in the room. And Four's was the only voice he'd heard. "Wars… th'others?" He wrenched his eyes open again. "Where… where are the others?"

Warriors had been drawing back, but he looked over his shoulder. "Wind is here; he's asleep. Four is here too."

"Time and Hyrule were still missing, so Legend went with the owner of this cabin to go search for them," said Four.

"His name's Link too and he's been trying to clear monsters in the area and make the roads safer," said Warriors. He smiled. "I think I may not be the newest member of this group for long."

Sky only just noticed the remark as he started trying to sit up again. "Time and Hyrule are missing?" he asked. "I can…"

Again, Warriors caught him as his head swam. "Sky, we just talked about this," he said. "You're still healing and you need to rest. If it's necessary for you to push past that, we'll tell you, but in the meantime the best thing you can do for them is to recover and regain your strength, understand?"

Sky tried to argue, but he felt like he was floating and - little though he wanted to admit it - Warriors had a point. He let himself be helped down again and dropped once more into the dark.

~~~

Time hadn't gone far from where he'd left Hyrule when he saw movement on the path ahead. With a gasp of relief, he hurried towards it, ready to draw his sword in case the two vague shapes were monsters but rushing nonetheless.

He felt his heart jump into his throat when he recognized Legend's red tunic.

"Legend!" he called, just remembering not to break into a run on the uneven ground. He would be no help to Hyrule injured.

Legend waved and rushed to greet him, his companion trailing behind.

"Time! Are you OK? Have you seen Hyrule?" he asked.

Time nodded. "I'm fine, Hyrule isn't." He turned to point to the scar in the mountainside that the landslide had left.

Legend made a horrible gasping noise.

"He's alive, but trapped and badly injured. I had to leave him to search for help."

Legend pointed to the other hylian who was hovering a couple of steps away. "This is Link. He knows the area."

"And I can help move rocks," said Link. "Is there anything else you need? I don't have any potions on me…"

"Will he be able to heal himself?" asked Legend. "Wait… he hasn't already?"

"It was too risky given the way he's trapped," said Time. "We need to pull him out and brace the rocks while we do so."

"Warriors isn't in a good state to help, but out of all of you…" mused Link.

"You've found the others?" asked Time, glancing from one to the other of them. "And what do you mean he's not in a good state?"

"It sounds like he landed right in a monster camp," said Legend. "And on top of that, Wind's poisoned himself, Four's broken his ankle, and Sky was hiding the fact that he was already sick." Even as he spoke, he was starting in the direction Time came. Time caught his shoulder.

"Link," he said, "You said you can move rocks?"

Link nodded.

"Legend, we're going to need all the help we can get. Go back and get Warriors; Link and I will work on getting Hyrule safe. He was conscious when I left; we just need to hurry."

Legend balked, but before he could argue Time beckoned to Link and started back towards where he'd left Hyrule.

"This has been on the point of coming down for a while," said Link as they ran, Time pulling out ahead. "Y'all have been really unlucky."

"Story of our lives," muttered Time. The ground was getting easier to cover and he broke into a run, leaving Link behind as he rounded the last corner and crashed to his knees beside Hyrule.

Hyrule stirred, hand reaching feebly for his sword, but Time gently caught it in his.

"It's me," he said softly. "Eyes open; help is almost here."

Hyrule's eyes flickered open and he looked up at Time, then sighed, his hand clenching for a moment. He'd laid the handkerchief by his cheek, perhaps picking up the sweet, homely smell that still clung tenaciously to it.

By now, Link had also arrived and he swore as he took in the situation.

"I think if you and I can get that one rock lifted and braced, Legend and Warriors will be able to drag him clear," said Time.

Link nodded, stepping closer. "And I see why you couldn't do anything on your own." He moved into Hyrule's field of view and crouched down to smile at him. "Hey, Kid. I'm Link."

"Me too," murmured Hyrule.

"I thought you might be."

"'m Hyrule too."

Link nodded and looked sidelong at Time as he said, "I have a lot of questions that nobody so far has been willing to answer, but let's solve this problem first."

Time nodded, then looked round at the sound of running, scrambling footsteps. Legend sprinted around the corner and stumbled to a halt, his eyes going wide. Warriors joined him a moment later.

The captain was clearly sick, unsteady on his feet and his complexion livid, but his eyes narrowed and he drew himself up, his expression going strangely blank.

"Right," he said. "Time, Link, I'll need you two to move that rock. Get ready, but do not touch it until I give the order."

Time was startled by the sudden change in manner - and unspoken transfer of authority - but it was in line with the plan he'd already made, so he glanced at Link, shrugged, and gave Hyrule's hand one last squeeze, putting the handkerchief back in his palm before he moved. Legend immediately took his place.

"Legend, don't let him move," ordered Warriors.

"What are you -" blurted Legend.

"The damage is probably already extensive, but movement will make it worse." Warriors knelt down beside Hyrule as well, by his waist, and gently removed the blanket. "Hyrule, I'm afraid this is going to be painful, but I need you to relax as much as you can, OK? Let us move you."

"OK," whispered Hyrule.

"Legend, you and I will need to drag him clear. We'll move along the line of his body and must not twist him, do you understand?"

Legend was scowling, but nodded. Though he could be hot-headed and prickly, he wasn't stupid and wasn't going to argue when Warriors clearly knew what he was doing.

"Hyrule, I'll have to take hold of your hips to brace them."

Hyrule nodded. "OK."

"Right. Link, Time, get ready. I will count 'one, two, three', then call 'lift'. At that, lift the rock. When I see it's clear of Hyrule, I will shout 'move'. Legend, at that, we move him. When it's safe to lower the rock, I'll shout 'clear'." He turned his head to look square at Legend. "Understand?"

Legend nodded. "Got it." He pulled off his belt and slipped it between Hyrule's teeth.

Warriors looked at Link. "Understand?"

"Yeah." Link braced his shoulder against the rock and planted his feet.

Finally, Warriors looked Time in the eye. "Understand?"

"Yes." Time slipped his hands under the rock as best he could.

"One. Two. Three. Lift!"

Time hauled the rock up with all his strength, trying to ignore a muffled cry from Hyrule.

"Move!"

He gasped with relief, only just managing not to let himself relax.

Hyrule let out a horrible agonized groan.

"Clear!" shouted Warriors.

Time and Link let the rock down carefully, then Time dashed back to where Hyrule now lay, Warriors and Legend beside him. Legend was trying to tip a green potion between his lips: a difficult task given that he was lying half on his front and looked like he was struggling to stay conscious, his breathing coming in desperate, shallow gasps. Warriors was bracing him so he didn't roll. Link knelt on his other side to help support him, his eyes wide and horrified as he stared at the visible kink in Hyrule's spine.

"However are we…" he started.

"He can heal himself," said Time. "He'll be OK." He tried to keep his voice as steady as possible. Hyrule's magic was astonishing, but that injury was so brutal that he suddenly had doubts. "Come on, Hyrule," he whispered as another mouthful of green potion went down. "Come on."

Hyrule took a breath and gritted his teeth, his eyes screwing shut. The familiar glow of healing magic began to creep through him, gleaming through his torn, filthy clothes. He relaxed his head into Legend's supporting hands as the glow centered on his broken spine. Time found himself holding his breath as well, his vision narrowing to that hideous twisted step in what should have been the smooth curve of his young friend's back.

"Come on," he whispered, trying to will the magic into working. Wishing he could pour just a little of his own strength into Hyrule.

Hyrule made a soft, gasping noise of effort and the glow brightened for a moment, then he yelped as his spine suddenly snapped back into line. Link recoiled with a curse and even Warriors jerked back, but Legend ran a hand through Hyrule's curls and tipped the green potion to his pursed lips again.

Hyrule didn't drink, breathing hard through his nose.

"Hyrule…" said Time, forcing the name from a tight throat. "Can you… feel your legs again?"

For a moment he wondered if Hyrule had heard him as the traveler went limp, panting. The glow faded.

"I can… I can feel them," whispered Hyrule, tears spilling from under his closed eyelids. He moved his feet feebly. "I can…"

He sighed as he finally lost consciousness.

***

Note: there will be one more chapter to wrap this up, but not as part of the event.

[whump-for-comfort]

My second entry for the @whumperless-whump-event! This one is two prompts combined.

Day 2: Alt Prompt: Seizure + Day 3: Like a record, baby: Vertigo

Characters: Generic (whumpee + caretaker + medic)

Warnings: None, appart from a breif mention of nausea.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

“Whumpee? Whumpee, can you hear me, love?”

Everything was sore and Whumpee groaned. Their head was pillowed on something soft, yet the rest of their body was lying on the hard floor. Caretaker’s capable hands were carding through their hair, and despite all the pain and the unknowns, they relaxed into the sensation.

“They're coming back,” Medic said somewhere above them, and Whumpee recognised their hand clutched around their wrist. “You ok, Whumpee?”

Whumpee groaned again and cracked their eyes open.

They was lying on the floor, curled on their side. All they could see from their vantage point was the bottom of the bookshelves, Medic's knees as they crouched in front of their prone body, and their own hand curled in front of them. Their other hand was resting in Medic's lap, Medic's fingers over Whumpee's pulse point.

They attempted to move their head to locate Caretaker, but shut their eyes against the barrel of vertigo that hit them. They moaned and curled further in on themself.

“Dizzy?” Medic asked. Whumpee grunted an affirmative; nodding was not an attractive idea.

At least Caretaker’s hand in their hair was a welcome distraction.

“First aid kits still under the sink, right?” Medic asked Caretaker, and Whumpee heard Caretaker's affirmative before Medic stood to retrieve it.

“Let’s get you sitting up, love,” Caretaker said softly. “Come on, you can lean against me. Up you come.”

With Caretaker's hands under their armpits, they helped Whumpee up into a reclined sitting position. Even with their eyes closed, the vertigo made itself known, it was as if they were on board a ship on rough waves.

They were pulled between Caretaker’s legs, their head against Caretaker's chest, cradled in their arms. They relaxed against them and let them take the entirety of their weight.

“What happened?” Whumpee grumbled. They kept their eyelids pressed firmly together; opening their eyes would do no good for their stomach.

“You had another seizure,” Caretaker provided. They rubbed up and down the side of Whumpee’s arm in a comforting gesture and pressed a kiss into their hair. “You might have hit your head on the floor as you went down.”

Whumpee groaned again. “Hurts.”

“Your head?” Caretaker began to run gentle fingertips through Whumpee's hair, stopping only when Whumpee winced. “Ah. You’ve got a little bump.”

“And perhaps a concussion,” Medic added as they re-entered the room, presumably with the first aid kit, but Whumpee didn’t want to risk opening their eyes to find out.

The air stirred as Medic crouched down in front of Whumpee. They heard a zipper being pulled and rummaging in the kit, then a click and a burst of light that made the insides of Whumpee’s eyelids glow red. “You’re gonna have to open your eyes, Whumpee. I’m sorry, but I need to check your pupils.”

Whumpee cautiously opened their eyes as if preparing to squint into the sun.

The light burned, and it took all of Whumpee’s willpower to not cringe away from it. They forced themselves to look into Medic's face as they brought the light into their eyes and away again in brisk movements. Whumpee must have made a noise of discomfort, for Caretaker had begun to shush them softly.

“A mild concussion,” Medic reported finally, clicking the torch off again. “You should be alright, but I’d recommend bedrest for the rest of the day. No falling asleep, though. Caretaker, you’ll have to stay with them.”

“Of course,” Caretaker said readily, and Whumpee couldn’t help the affectionate smile that leaked out behind the pain.

With help from both Medic and Caretaker, Whumpee stood on two feet, though it felt like they were falling. They gasped, despite the two strong presences at his sides holding them up.

“Can you walk?” Caretaker asked.

Whumpee shook their head, an action that had them pressing their lips together against the sudden wave of nausea it elicited.

“All right,” Caretaker said soothingly. Slowly, ever so slowly to avoid upsetting Whumpee's head any further, they lifted them into their arms and cradled them to their chest.

It wasn’t long before they were placed gently on the bed, and Whumpee let out a sigh of relief as they were enveloped by soft pillows and plush blankets.

Distantly, they registered Medic's farewell pat on the arm, and then Whumpee and Caretaker were alone.

They felt the mattress dip beside them, and they reached their hand out blindly. Caretaker tangled their fingers together.

“Here,” they felt the nudge of two pills against their lips, which they parted to let Caretaker place on their tongue. They swallowed them both dry; they had gotten quite good at that recently. “No going to sleep, remember?”

“I know,” Whumpee grumbled. They wished they could sleep off the remaining symptoms, but it was not to be. “You’ll stay with me though?”

They heard the smile in Caretaker’s voice. “Of course. For as long as you need.”

[whumpbug]

whumperless whump event day 2: does your insurance cover this? @whumperless-whump-event

car (motorcycle) accident / bystander caretaker / “eyes open, ambulance is almost here.”

here with good 'ol A and B because 2 of my ocs live in the 1800s and the other two wouldn't touch a motorcycle with a 10 foot pole.

caretaker: A

whumpee: B

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

A heard the accident before they saw anything. 

They heard the shrill sound of the metal frame being scraped across the asphalt as the bike skidded to the side of the intersection.

They smelled it next. The smoke, the burnt rubber, and the exhaust coming from both the bike and the car that had caused the accident in the first place.

Finally, their eyes landed on the scene and.. yeah, it looked as bad it sounded.

The biker was sprawled out a few feet from their bike, limbs twisted in awkward positions and clearly bloody from road rash. The biker’s helmet was also… not on their head. No, it was lying uselessly a few feet away. They must not have strapped it in properly.

A was up from their table and moving before they could even think about it.

“I’m a nurse! Stand back please, I’m a nurse!” They found themselves exclaiming at the bystanders that tried to approach the biker and get in their way.

They kneeled beside the biker’s crumpled form, and to their credit, A could see they were desperately trying to wake up and gain their bearings.

it just.. wasn’t working out very well.

The biker let out a soft groan as they tried to push themselves to sitting, but immediately cried out in pain as the movement pulled at their raw skin. Their gaze was unfocused and hazy as they tried to make sense of their surroundings. Nothing made sense and they felt so wrong and they felt like their heart was going a mile a minute. A choked whimper escaped them.

“Hey, hey, easy.. don’t try to get up just yet.. just.. relax for a minute,” A began. “I’m A, I’m a nurse. Can you tell me your name?” They asked, trying to gauge their lucidity.

The biker blinked up at them, and stared for a few moments before answering.

“B.. m.. name’s B..” They slurred. They grimaced as blood leaked from their nose and into their mouth.

Not a good sign.

A leaned closer, observing B’s pupils intently. One was completely blown and the other was a tiny pin-prick.

Not a good sign.

A brought their attention to the rest of B’s body. Their left leg was snapped in a very unnatural position, and yeah, it was broken. B was probably in shock, and wouldn't notice the pain now, but they most definitely would later.

“Alright, just.. try not to move too much, okay? We’ll get you an ambulance..” A said softly, rubbing a comforting hand over B’s shoulder. 

The next few moments went by in a blur to B. They vaguely heard someone mention 911, and they heard a phone call being made, but as the seconds passed, the harder it was to keep their eyes open. It didn’t make sense, because it felt like every muscle and nerve in their body was on fire so there was no way they could knock out, yet they still felt the unrelenting pull of unconsciousness threaten to take them.

B wasn’t sure how long they laid there, but then they felt a nudge and blinked their eyes open to look at A hovering above them.

“Eyes open, okay? The ambulance is almost here.. you’re gonna be just fine..” A said comfortingly, keeping a hand on B's shoulder.

B tried to oblige, they really did, but their eyes were slipping closed again before they even heard the sirens.

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

[mellowwhumps]

Whumperless Whump Event Day 2: Bystander caretaker 

OCs: nameless (thought i’d try)

It’s all a blur to Caretaker, the way everyone rushes to Whumpee’s help. Collapsed in the middle of the busy street, limbs splayed, so many people rushing to call an ambulance or shouting for assistance or something else. Caretaker knew Whumpee like the back of their hand, was by their side for most of their time healing, and yet they find themself rooted in place, unable to speak or even take a step forward. The urge to help overwhelms them so much they can’t even do a thing. How horrible they were.

Caretaker could run right now. Run away, pretend the blame wasn’t on them because in the end, Caretaker and Whumpee were nothing more than strangers to each other. Caretaker knew inaction was a crime. Just how much had they helped, if it had gone this wrong? Ever the fearful one, they never wanted to confront their own mistakes.

Even so, Caretaker blankly watches as Whumpee raises a weak arm. They hear as Whumpee calls their name, barely heard yet resonant in their mind. The moment breaks like a glass pane shattering, the barrier now gone. What they want to do is clear in their mind. Caretaker rushes forward to Whumpee’s side, cradling Whumpee’s hand in theirs. “Are you their kin?” The medics ask, and in the next second Caretaker’s only answer is yes, yes, of course they are. 

Whumpee smiles and closes their eyes.

[ailesswhumptober]

Prompts for AI-less Whumptober 2024

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

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

FAQ and Rules

What sort of content can I create for this event?

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

Do I need to make 31 things to participate?

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

What are these alts about?

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

What are these themes about?

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

How do I tag and is there an AO3 collection?

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

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

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

---

Plain text versions of the prompts:

October 1 - Torture Tuesday

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

October 2 - Whumperless Wednesday

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

October 3 - Trauma Thursday

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

October 4 - Fright/Freaky Friday

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

October 5 - Sensory Saturday

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

October 6 - Surprise Sunday

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

October 7 - Medical Monday

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

October 8 - Torture Tuesday

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

October 9 - Whumperless Wednesday

Hypothermia, heatstroke, “You look pretty pale.”

October 10 - Trauma Thursday

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

October 11 - Fright/Freaky Friday

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

October 12 - Sensory Saturday

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

October 13 - Surprise Sunday

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

October 14 - Medical Monday

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

October 15 - Torture Tuesday

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

October 16 - Whumperless Wednesday

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

October 17 - Trauma Thursday

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

October 18 - Fright/Freaky Friday

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

October 19 - Sensory Saturday

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

October 20 - Surprise Sunday

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

October 21 - Medical Monday

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

October 22 - Torture Tuesday

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

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

October 24 - Trauma Thursday

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

October 25 - Fright/Freaky Friday

Humiliation, betrayal, “How could you?!”

October 26 - Sensory Saturday

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

October 27 - Surprise Sunday

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

October 28 - Medical Monday

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

October 29 - Torture Tuesday

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

October 30 - Whumperless Wednesday

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

October 31 - Trauma Thursday

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

Alt prompts:

1) Pistol whipped

2) Co-dependency

3) Animal bite

4) Zombies

5) White room torture

6) Shock collar

7) Pulling teeth

8) Kidnapping

9) “You always make everything worse!”

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

[augusnippets]

Prompts are out!

plain text and "rules" under the cut

path of hurt:

day 1: gaslighting/hypnosis/brainwashing

day 4: amputation/degloving/vivisection

day 7: waterboarding/drowning/choking

day 10: execution/fake execution/begging for mercy

day 13: drugging/poisoning/cannibalism

day 16: humiliation/dehumanisation/conditioning

day 19: collared/branded/chipped

day 22: captivity/recapture/tearful goodbye

day 25: intimate whumper/sadistic whumper/reluctant whumper

day 28: mind control/body control/betrayal

bonus prompts: forced to watch/whipping/stalked

path of comfort:

day 2: platonic bathing/hair care/make-up

day 5: drunk caretaking/concussed caretaking/feverish caretaking

day 8: reunion/found family/friends

day 11: escape/breaking the conditioning/safe and sound

day 14: toys/gifts/celebration

day 17: forgiveness/grace/resolving a misunderstanding

day 20: homemade meal/quenched thirst/favourite treat

day 23: massage/wiping away tears/gentle touch

day 26: nightmare/warm blanket/snuggling

day 29: singing/first words/inside jokes

bonus prompts: tending to nonhuman whumpee's nonhuman parts/protective caretaker/whumpee wearing caretaker's clothes

secret third path — whumperless whump:

day 3: thunderstorm/blizzard/heat wave

day 6: car accident/plane crash/ship wreck

day 9: hypothermia/overheating/dehydration

day 12: lost/trapped/avalanche

day 15: food poisoning/starvation/throwing up

day 18: apocalypse/infection/self administered medicine

day 21: delirium/vertigo/hallucinations

day 24: animal attack/bear trap/land mine

day 27: migraines/chronic pain/phantom pains

day 30: self-harm/addiction/overdose

bonus prompts: flashbacks/relapse/medical complications

day 31 — bonus day :) write whatever you feel like writing today or have a nice day of rest

AuguSnippets is an event that encourages the short and sweet of the whump genre. Ideally, your drabbles would be under 500 or even under 100 words, maybe even just a dialogue prompt. This, however, does not mean I won't reblog longer prompt fills! Don't stress too much on that limit. I just think it's sometimes nice to challenge yourself to write shorter drabbles, and it can also work as a very good exercise to write daily or semi-daily, and it doesn't need a lot of prep.

As for tagging your work, please use the appropriate trigger warnings. This is so everyone can stay safe and avoid potentially triggering topics while participating. Also, if your work is nsfw, please don't forget to tag it as mature content! If your work is not tagged properly, I won't be able to reblog it! Thank you!

Our special tag will be "#augusnippets day [x]". On the first day that would be "#augusnippets day 1". This is so I and others can find your work easier! You can also tag the blog, that's an even more surefire way to get me to notice your prompt fill :)

Is this a writing only event?

Yeah, this one is exclusively writing focused.

Do I have to use the special tag or tag this blog?

Not if you don't want to get featured on this blog :) It's just so I can find your work easier and reblog it here! If that's not something you're interested in, just scribble away without it.

Is the "under 500" a hard limit for the word count?

No, but I encourage everyone to try and keep to it in the spirit of this event.

Can I submit nsfw works?

Yes! Just please tag it properly :)

Can I mix and match the prompts from different paths?

Yes! Have fun!

What do I need to do to get the completionist badge?

Either you need to complete one whole path, or complete 10 prompt fills altogether while mixing and matching. Those who complete all 30 days (and maybe even the bonus day) will get something extra special!

Can I write fandom related things?

Yes! This event is both for original characters and fandom related writing.

Will there be an AO3 collection?

Yes! Here

[starsandmindhkhk]

whumperless Whump Event day 2!!!!!

bit of Jules and Shawn angst for your soul, YET AGAIN!

(I'm on a roll no one stop me)

prompt is "keep your eyes open!" might write something for it l8r

(click for better quality)

[omgubler]

Day 2!!! And my first fic for the Hudson & Rex fandom! @whumperless-whump-event

“Rex?” Charlie rasped out. A soft whine sounded next to his ear as a fuzzy head landed on his shoulder. He sighed in relief as slobbery kisses covered his cheek. “Good boy, you’re okay,” Charlie whispered, trying to reassure both himself and his partner.

Day 2: "Does your insurance cover this?" Prompts: Does your insurance cover this? Fandom: Hudson & Rex Characters: Charlie, Rex, Jesse, Joe, Sarah

[panthera-dei]

Whumperless Whump Event Day 2

Prompt: "Car Accident" / "Eyes open, ambulance is almost here."

Fandom: Knight Rider (1982)

Story Title: "K.A.R.R. Accident"

Story Info:

Characters: KITT, KARR, & Michael Knight. (Bonnie Barstow is mentioned but does not make an appearance.)

Rating: T to be safe

No warnings apply

Canon compliant (mostly. I think.)

Story Link & Summary:

KITT picks up a distress call that can only have come from one source... He has to decide how to respond, and time is running out.

KARR is in rough shape, with limited battery power and severe damage. Yet he knows better than to expect a miracle...

@whumperless-whump-event

[teine-mallaichte]

"hey hey, stay awake ok? Start awake"

From the high pain threshold lost for fenders

I'm combining this with day 19 (dirilirous / half conscious ) @whumperless-whump-event to make of Part three of my "fenris got injured and hid it" Fenders series that started with the day 1 prompt

Part 1

Part 2

@dadrunkwriting

The room swayed gently around him, or perhaps it was his own mind that was unsteady. He felt weightless, adrift on a sea of half-formed thoughts and sensations. There was warmth seeping into him, not just from the physical touch of healing magic, but from a deeper place—a warmth he couldn't quite place or name.

"… should have told me sooner…"

Words reached him as if from a great distance, muffled and indistinct. He struggled to make sense of them, his mind grappling with the fog that clouded his thoughts

"…bloody stubborn fool… almost bled out…"

Fenris recognized the frustration in the voice, tinged with concern. He tried to piece together the words, but they seemed to dissolve into the haze surrounding him.

"… lucky… worse…"

A cool cloth brushed across his forehead, soothing the feverish heat that seemed to burn beneath his skin. He shivered involuntarily, the contrast between the cool touch and the warmth within him disorienting. His breathing felt laboured, each inhale and exhale a conscious effort as he fought against the pull of unconsciousness.

The room shifted again, and he felt himself being moved, he wanted to protest, to insist that he could take care of himself, but the words remained lodged in his throat.

"Anders?" He managed to force out as his eyes fluttered open briefly, unfocused and glassy. Trying to look at Anders's, but the world around him felt distant and surreal, colours blending into one another—a swirl of moonlight and shadows.

Anders's voice came to him through the haze, a steady presence amidst the chaos of his thoughts. "I'm here, Fenris."

Fenris struggled to focus on the familiar voice, trying to piece together the fragments of reality that slipped through his grasp. His mind felt like a puzzle with missing pieces, the edges blurry and undefined.

"blood loss… infection… fever."

Anders's voice drifted in and out of Fenris's foggy consciousness like the ebb and flow of distant waves. The healer's words, though muffled and indistinct, carried a weight that Fenris struggled to fully comprehend.

"Fenris, can you hear me?" Anders's voice cut through the haze once more, his tone gentle yet urgent. He brushed a cool cloth against Fenris's brow, trying to soothe the fevered heat that radiated from the warrior's skin.

Fenris mumbled something unintelligible in response, his words slurred and disjointed. His hand twitched feebly as if reaching for something just beyond his grasp. He glimpsed fragments: the moonlight through broken windows, the scent of blood and alcohol, the rough texture of bandages against his skin. But they slipped through his grasp, like sand slipping through fingers.

“You’re lucky,” the mage murmured, “could have been far worse.”

Fenris wondered what he meant—worse than this disorienting haze? Worse than the ache that seemed to engulf him?

He reached for Anders, or perhaps he only imagined it, nothing felt entirely real. "Anders?" he murmured.

Fenris's eyes fluttered open, but the effort only revealed a world of shifting colours and blurred shapes. Moonlight filtered through broken windows, casting erratic patterns across the room. Shadows danced around him, and the familiar features of Anders were indistinguishable, blending into the confusion.

Anders's voice cut through the haze with a steady calmness. "I'm here," the mage said softly, though the words felt distant, like they were coming from a far-off place.

The pain in his side was a dull, throbbing presence, ebbing and flowing with the rise and fall of his breathing. The pressure and discomfort were sharper now that the immediate effects of the magic had begun to wear off. The room seemed to pulse and shift with every breath he took, the once-familiar surroundings now a surreal tableau of shadows and fragmented light.

"“Hey! Hey! Stay awake, alright? Stay awake.”

The urgency in Anders's voice cut through the disarray, but it felt like a distant echo rather than a direct command. Fenris’s eyes fluttered open again, fighting against the weight of weariness that seemed to press down on him. He tried to focus on Anders’s face, but the contours were blurred, his partner’s features dissolving into the shifting shadows as his consciousness suck back into darkness.

Part 4

[vicvinegarandhughhoney]

Appendicitis for Jack 👀, maybe the pain starting right in class, needing to be rushed to hospital (maybe by Mary 👀 or whoever works best). Only if you want! Your writing is awesome!

Jack gets appendicitis- Prompt: Appendicitis, Whumperless Whump Event Day 2- "Eyes open, ambulance is almost here."

“What’s wrong, boss?”

Jack sighs. “Goddamn Chinese takeout is what's wrong, Heather. Stupid thing’s been giving me cramps all night.”

As if on cue, his insides seize again, and he squeezes his eyes shut, paling a little with the force of the spasm.

(Spoiler alert: It is not the takeout.)

@whumperless-whump-event

[alicewritingstories]

Whumperless Whump Event: Scattered in the Mountains

@whumperless-whump-event

Fandom: Linked Universe

[Previous] << Chapter 2 >> [Next]

Prompts for this chapter:

3: Struggling to stand / "Is the room [ground] spinning, or is it just me?"

4: "I'm used to it"

10: Forced to work (at killing monsters) while ill

11: Hate to be sick

Central characters: Legend and Sky

***

As they walked out of the portal, Legend immediately looked around, alert for any danger. They hadn't yet been ambushed as they left a portal, but there was no reason to get complacent.

There were no monsters, no apparent hazards, and, more worryingly, no sign of the members of the Chain that had walked through ahead of them. Behind him, Legend heard the portal quietly close, leaving only him and Sky.

Sky, who was probably going to continue to insist he wasn't sick despite the fact that his face was flushed, his eyes were glassy, and Legend could hear that he was breathing rapidly even standing still.

And he was standing still, not even looking around on the alert.

"Sky, I can see you're sick," he said with a sigh.

"I'm fine," said Sky, raising half-lidded eyes. "I can manage."

Legend wrinkled his nose as he looked at the taller Hylian, but at this point he was starting to think that if that was the way Sky wanted to be it would be best to let him get on with it for now. He'd talk to one of the others when they found them.

"Right," he said briskly. "Let's see if we can find some high ground and look round for any sign of the others. Maybe we can find some landmarks and figure out where we are."

Sky nodded after a pause that was slightly too long.

Legend let out another huff of breath. He did sympathize - he'd pushed himself plenty of times when he shouldn't have. But it was going to be a problem.

"Come on," he said, and set off up the path, trying not to make it obvious that he was going slowly.

He wasn't subtle enough; after about five minutes of walking Sky murmured, "Sorry, Legend, I'm slowing you down, aren't I?"

Legend sighed. "Yeah, because you're sick."

"Well… also slow."

"Sky, it's… it's fine. We'll just take it easy."

When Legend looked at him, Sky looked like he might actually cry. "I'm too slow," he said again as if Legend hadn't even spoken. "I… I'm always too slow. Being sick just makes it worse."

Legend patted his arm, unsure what to say. "Let's keep going. We can take it easy for now and then you can rest up once we find the others. All you have to do for now is keep walking."

"I hate being sick," mumbled Sky, but kept walking.

About halfway up the rocky hill they were climbing, it started to become clear that Legend wasn't going to be able to keep that promise.

"Monsters," he muttered, standing up from inspecting some tracks. "Lizalfos, maybe? It's something with clawed feet. But the stride isn't right; I can't be sure." He swore under his breath. "We might be in a new era."

Sky nodded and coughed: a nasty, thick, chesty sound.

Normally, they would probably at least check out the situation with the monsters, but Legend wasn't taking Sky anywhere near a monster camp in this state. Fortunately, Sky seemed to have enough self-preservation that he didn't suggest it either and the two of them continued on up the hill, moving more and more slowly, Legend wondering at what point he should mention that Sky's breathing was getting faster and shallower.

The time came when Sky suddenly broke down in another horrible, wet coughing fit. Legend darted back to his side and supported him with an arm around his shoulders as he coughed up and spat out something nasty and green-tinged.

"Sky, you're smarter than this," snapped Legend. "I can hear that you're having problems breathing. We're going to have to stop."

Sky shook his head again and cleared his throat. "I'm used to it," he said. "I can keep going longer. It's… not great, but I can manage."

Legend stepped back and looked around, turning slowly in place as his eyes flicked from one gap between trees to the next and up to the mountainsides he could see beyond, but there was nowhere promising they could stop, especially with monsters around. He growled under his breath.

"Really, Legend -" Sky broke down coughing in the middle of whatever comforting lie he'd been about to tell.

Legend hurried back to his side, though he wasn't sure what he could do and he ended up hovering over his sick brother, his hands outstretched as if to support Sky but not actually touching him.

Again, Sky spat out green-tinged phlegm.

"How much worse is it?" asked Legend.

"The… coughing's new," said Sky, straightening up. "Until now it's just been… a stuffy nose."

Legend reached up to lay a hand on Sky's forehead, but Sky stepped back before he made contact, smiling thinly.

"You don't need to check my temperature," he said firmly.

"I do when I can't trust you to tell me if you have a fever."

"What difference would it make?" asked Sky with a bitter note Legend would have assumed was aimed at him if it came from anyone else. "We have to keep going either way."

Unfortunately, he was right.

"Well, we'll keep an eye out for somewhere we can rest up and find some shelter, OK? The first safe place we see."

Sky wavered for a moment, but then nodded with a heavy sigh that turned into another coughing fit. "OK. Just… just for the night. Maybe some sleep will help me shake it off."

Legend nodded and asked a question he already knew the answer to. "You've been making sure you get enough rest, right?"

"I'm -"

"Don't lie to me."

Sky winced. "I'm not. It's just… I just don't want to hold us up. I know I'm slower and less accustomed to traveling far on land and that I can't cope with as much exertion, so I have to try harder. You know that."

Legend had thought they were past this stage with Sky, but he didn't argue; once again, if that was how Sky wanted to be, Legend could let him get on with it for now. He just scoffed softly and walked on, keeping his pace slow and making sure Sky was keeping up. With any luck, they'd soon find shelter.

Luck tended to be in short supply for the Chain, but he could still hope.

As they walked, he kept his eyes on the ground, watching for the few traces of monster tracks that showed up in damper, softer patches of earth. It was increasingly clear that this was a dangerous area and the monsters were using this road, but it couldn't be helped. Normally, he might have gotten under cover, tried to make his way across country and just keep an eye on the road from a distance, but Sky wouldn't be able to do that.

If he could find somewhere safe to hide Sky, perhaps he could track down those monsters and deal with the camp they presumably had in the area. That would at least be a weight off his mind. Hopefully he could persuade Sky to wait for him somewhere out of sight.

But he didn't get a chance to find out. They heard an unfamiliar hissing noise and there was just enough time for Legend to draw his sword and put himself in front of Sky before a large lizard scuttled into view.

Legend stared at the unfamiliar form for a split second before it took a deep breath and he realized what was about to happen. Sky had apparently realized too and even as Legend went to shove him to the side he was already diving, drawing the Master Sword.

The stream of fire the lizard breathed out passed harmlessly between them.

In moments, they both had their shields on their arms and were flanking the new monster, but Legend could hear that Sky was struggling; his breathing was too loud, too fast, especially given that the fight had only just begun.

"Sky, get back!" he shouted as his sword skated off the hard scales on the monster's head. "I'll handle this!"

Sky didn't even try to reply; he dashed past the lizard and Legend saw that a second was scurrying through the trees. With a hissed curse, he slashed at the first one again as it spun round and started to inhale again, aiming for its eyes this time. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sky stab downwards into the second one, stumbling to his knees as he threw his whole weight behind the blow.

One more better-placed cut took off the lizard's head and Legend turned to help Sky as it dissolved into smoke, but the downwards stab had done the job; Sky's was fading away too.

Sky, meanwhile, was still on his knees, coughing hard. As Legend reached him, he struggled half up, then stumbled back down.

"Easy, Sky," said Legend, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Is… is the ground spinning, or is it just me?" asked Sky with a humorless laugh that turned into a cough.

"It's you," said Legend. "Take it easy, OK? Just breathe." He looked around, gnawing his lip. They had to find somewhere to shelter. There was no way Sky could go on like this.

Sky, meanwhile, had managed to calm his breathing back down to an uncomfortable wheeze and he started to get up carefully, leaning heavily on Legend's shoulder.

"There are probably caves in these mountains," said Legend. "We're going to find one and stay there until you're recovered."

This time, Sky didn't argue.

[comfortlesshurt]

July 2024 Plans!

I'm trying something new to see if it works for keeping me more consistent, so don't mind me.

Still insanely obsessed with Keith Kogane so uhh... sorry, that's all you're probably going to see from me this month if you read my stuff.

General Goals:

Get more comfortable with writing shorter fics instead of pushing for record word counts

Work on finding better end scenes for fics

Brainstorm for some longer multi-chapter fics for the future

Newly published word count: 19,920/15,000

Come up with a consistent writing schedule before August

Drafting priority - aim for the minimum viable amount of initial editing (then go back and refine everything in September)

Whumperless Whump Month:

7/1 (emergency first aid) - published

7/3 (like a record, baby) - published

7/10 (your work is never finished) - published

7/16 (say goodbye to filters) - published

7/19 (the whump morning after) - published

7/30 (I don't mean to get emotional) - published

Looking into 1 or 2 more days between the 19th and the 30th, but I haven't picked any yet! (Got sucked into another project and moved on to that!)

Really pushing to finish the days on time for this and move on no matter what at the end of the month. No completionist attempt here!

Bingo Prompts from @builder051:

Addiction/withdrawal - published along with whumperless whump fill

Self-surgery - published along with Whumperless Whump fill

Outlines for 3 other TBD squares, but unlikely to finish those fics in July (I'm short on my projected word count goal for August, so I'm expecting to get these finished and posted then)

Apologize profusely for taking 6 years to get to this

Augusnippets:

By mid-July, decide between path of hurt and path of whumperless whump

Resist urge to say I can do both because I simply cannot

Complete all outlines for chosen path by end of July (did I say outlines? because I accidentally made rough drafts for all of these instead)

Draft the first week by the end of July (I suspect work will be busy in August, so we're getting a buffer ready)

July and August are both planned writing months, but I'm expecting to take September to publish less and focus more on editing some stuff I've posted in the past without polishing as well as I could have. I also think I'll burn myself out if I try to write a ton three months in a row, so this just works out well.

Quick overview of the rest of 2024:

July - Whumperless Whump Event focus

August - Augusnippets focus

September - 1 or 2 short fics and a big round of editing my backlog; start to get a detailed outline on my Klance series

October - Whumptober focus

November - NaNoWriMo (either original fiction or a longfic I've been outlining, depends how I feel by October)

December - probably a heavy editing month (I want to get that NaNoWriMo fic edited so it can start to be published as we ring in 2025, but that probably means I won't publish anything new in November or December)

[whumpbug]

If you're still doing prompts for your guys...

How about used as bait? Make of that what you will! I would love to learn more about your OCs :D

-- @whumperofworlds

thank you very much for the prompt!!! i must say, i've never really written anything like this but omg. being used as bait/its a trap/kidnapping is truly an underrated trope, at least on this blog

i know i said i wouldn't write hurt/no comfort but HEAR ME OUT. this isnt no comfort. its SUSPENSE. i will most likely be writing a part 2 for this during the whumperless whump event so TRUST ME these boys will get comforted.

also bear with me, writing whumper stuff/situations like this isn't my strong suit and i feel like there are definitely plot holes at certain points.. (-｡-;)

onto the fic!

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

This was just Simon’s luck.

He really should be used to getting himself into these situations. This was the second time in only two months that he’d been harassed by Archie’s enemies.

They have just.. never taken it this far before. He’d never been kidnapped before.

Simon was starting to worry. From the way his arms were tied behind him, it was getting hard to take a full breath. He needed to force himself to calm down. Hyperventilating would only make things worse. He needed to analyze the situation at hand.

He was bound to a chair in the middle of a dusty, abandoned warehouse.

Well, at least, he thinks it’s a warehouse.

Truthfully, he’d been blindfolded and gagged since they shoved him into the back of the van and sped away from the city.

He only assumed it was a warehouse from the way the doors sounded as they were being opened and the echo of the chair being dragged toward him. Also, the air around him felt vacant and cold. It smelled of wet cement.

Also, there was the matter of his restraints. Sure, the rope around his wrists were itchy and his back was beginning to ache from the angle he was forced to sit at, but he silently chose to count his blessings. 

His captors hadn’t hurt him, save for the initial bonk on the head to subdue him. No, he was relatively unscathed, which was.. odd.

Usually the lackeys tried to beat information about Archie out of him, to no avail of course. He found it strange that no one had come around to yell at him or intimidate him with half-empty threats. In fact, Simon was fairly sure he was completely alone in the building. He hadn’t heard the shuffling and breathing of bodies around him since they first tied him up. The whole situation was abnormal.

Still, he needed to focus on a way out, and therein lies the reason he was beginning to panic. When the guys first knocked him out, they took his phone, wallet, and every accessory he had on him, including the emergency signal bracelet he had to communicate with Archie.

Without it, Archie had no way of knowing where he was or that he was even in trouble. Considering the time of night, Archie would be on patrol. There was at least a chance that he’d get injured enough to pay a visit to Simon’s apartment, but even that could take hours.

Hours Simon wasn’t sure he had.

What game were these guys trying to play? 

If they wanted information, they weren’t doing a very good job of getting it. If they wanted to kill him, they surely would have done so already. What was their goal?

Just when Simon was almost sure they had forgotten about him, the sound of a metal door scraping open reverberated throughout the building. He heard slow, deliberate footsteps make their way towards him, and then felt a calloused hand yank off his blindfold. He squinted.

The man bent at the waist to meet Simon’s gaze. “Rise and shine.” 

His breath was uncomfortably warm, and if Simon could have told him to give him some personal space, he would have. Instead, he narrowed his eyes.

“Oh, someone doesn’t seem too happy,” The man sing-songed, harshly grabbing Simon by the chin and forcing his gaze up. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you. Not yet, at least.”

Simon swallowed convulsively against the gag.

“You’re probably wondering what we all plan on doing to you,” He said, motioning to the door off to the side of the building. Simon could only assume that that was where the rest of the men that kidnapped him were.

“Well, patience is a virtue, my friend. I promise that all will be answered. But until then, if you wish to see this through with your life, you’ll have to do a little something for me.” He explained, thumbing saliva away from where it was pooling down Simon’s chin.

He glared. We’ll see about that.

The man pulled out a camera.

“I have a guy on the inside, who will feed whatever I want directly into Vigil’s not-so-secret little broadcast channel. As soon as he knows his precious nurse is in trouble, he’ll come for you right away,” he chirped. “All I need from you is a video proving your wellbeing, just so the brat knows we haven’t killed you yet and knows to tread carefully. You’ll do that, won’t you?”

Simon blinked. 

Did he really think he and his 4 other cronies would be able to handle a pissed-off Archie? Simon didn’t notice any of the tell-tale signs that they were hopped up on enhancers, so for all intents and purposes, it was just.. five regular humans against one livid superhuman.

Simon stifled a snort.  

If a video was what the man wanted, a video was what he would get! He was practically giving Simon the keys to his freedom!

The man pointed his camera at Simon and grinned.

“All you have to say is that you’re uninjured, and that if he doesn’t come within one hour, that won’t remain the case. Nothing more, nothing less, got it?”

The man reached around Simon’s head and pulled off the gag, to which Simon gasped for air. He shot a glare at him, and saw the camera light flick on. He cleared his throat.

“Oh Vigil. Oh please come save me. I am uninjured and terrified and these men will hurt me if you are not here in one hour. Whatever will I do without my knight in shining armor,” He deadpanned, tone dripping in sarcasm. He hoped Archie would appreciate his joke.

The man scowled and replaced the gag, taking extra care to tie it even tighter, and disappeared into the side room. Simon was alone once again. 

God, no one told him being kidnapped would be so boring. 

He wasn’t sure how long he sat there. It could have been three minutes, it could have been thirty, but he felt a pang of relief when he heard a window breaking from outside.

Finally. Things could get moving.

He saw Archie’s blonde hair peeking over the sill of one of the high windows, and a soft smile spread across his face. Not that he had any doubt, but it felt nice to know someone would always come to rescue him.

When Archie pulled himself up and over, landing on the cement floor in a low crouch, Simon saw it.

Resting in the slit of the door he had seen earlier, was the end of a rifle.

It was with a sickening lurch of his stomach that Simon realized this whole thing was a trap.

Looking back, he had no idea how he hadn’t noticed earlier. Why else would they be trying to draw Archie to them?

He saw Archie rear up for a fight. He jerked against the restraints in the chair, but it was no use. Simon tried to scream. He tried to warn him, tell him to turn back and go, but no words would make it past the gag.

He watched as the tranquilizer dart stuck Archie right in the neck.

Archie froze. He locked eyes with Simon as if confirming his worst fears. Simon’s heart sank.

He saw Archie take a step. Then another, this one more unsteady. Finally, Archie’s eyes rolled back in his head and his knees buckled as he dropped into a heap on the cold floor.

When Simon saw the captors approach his body with boxes of medical instruments, he could only be silently grateful that Archie wasn’t awake to see the size of the needles.

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

[mellowwhumps]

Whumperless Whump Event Day 24: Drowning | Rescue Breaths | “Why did you think that was a good idea?!”

OCs: Cicadas (all)

masterlist (for them only)

CW: dubious cpr

@whumperless-whump-event

——

The planet they chanced upon was undoubtedly unnamed, possibly uninhabited by things other than flora and fauna. They were the outliers here, no doubt, something that had to either adapt or be killed. 

Well, they could skip a few steps. Merely on a trip here to gather something that one of their acquired books had said was nothing short of a miracle, and then they would be gone. It was a pit stop that was more than common to people like them.

Telios had to admit the lake was a natural marvel. It was not the typical colourless-blue, no. There must have been a multitude of corals or something else entirely beneath the surface, painting the entire body of water a wonderful shade of lilac. Clustered around the edges of the lake were the items they were looking for, plant-like transparent objects that swayed even without wind. 

“The shade looks kind of like your eyes, doncha’ think?” One of the Cicada’s newer additions remarked, smirking as she looked up at them. Oryizyx, if they recalled correctly. 

They jolted, immediately turning away with a curt nod. They hadn’t expected her to speak. It certainly wasn’t the first time she’d attempted to garner a reaction from them, tense as they always were towards her. The young boy beside her smiled at her attempt, however, and they found themself forgiving her for the umpteenth time.

“It’s open enough to keep watch easily. Ship’s a fair distance away, sun's setting. We camp here for the night, I should think,” suggested Kyrai, playing the leader as always. 

They had to agree, just like all the others were. They hadn’t yet been here long enough to assess the nighttime conditions accurately, and if their estimations proved right, the nights here were the freezing cold type. All of them ought to prepare. First, head count. One, two, three, four, five…

Someone’s not with them. It took them a moment to figure out who, then another to figure out where. Itaph, crouching by the shore. Itaph, taking a hold on one of the crystal-clear weeds.

The ‘plant’ moved, yanking the teenager back as a fisherman might reel in their catch and pulling them into the lake so quickly that not even a scream escaped his lips. Slowly, the rest of the growths receded from the shore back into the water, as though they were never there to begin with.

Kyrai was running without a second to spare, unsheathing their weapon and diving in. The waters were no longer still, ripples blooming as some unwitnessed battle unfolded. Telios could tell that a vast majority of the rest wanted to join in. Zyx was already leaning forward in a pose that could only mean anticipation, Lotti clearly also contemplating.

What should they do? Zyx clearly didn’t like them, and there was no reason why he wouldn’t kill them right then and there, and Lotti was smart enough to not do something dumb, and, and— and they trusted Kyrai’s ability to come back alive.

Because they knew the other’s strengths, and swimming was one of them. No matter how much they didn’t like speaking up, they had to. Trust was the foundation of everything, like how water was essential for survival.

Not that they didn’t betray that before. No amount of repentance could have undone their sins, but right now, words must have counted for something as Telios put a hand forward to stop them.

——

Kyrai surfaced with a gasp after what felt like forever, coughing wildly as they dragged Itaph’s limp body onto the ground, water soaking their scratched-up clothes. “Safe,” they choked out, “thing’s dead. Kept trying to drag the both of us deeper, I had to.”

“Hope it stays dead. It was either the medic or it, anyway. I think I care about our lives more, thank you very much.”

“Shut up and help me, Oryizyx. You too, Aelyeau.” The familiarly monotone voice of Lotti chimed in, taking off her bag and throwing anything unneeded at the general direction of the other two without a single care in the world. Aelya, as though receiving some divine revelation, snapped out of his thoughts and got to work.

Back to the main concern here.

Telios, thankfully, was more knowledgeable than them on the process that actually happened after rescuing a half-dead person. They pressed down on Itaph’s chest in continuous rhythm, muttering something that Kyrai could only assume were numbers in their native language. 

Their hand on Itaph’s nose seemed to prevent air from entering or exiting it. Telios was leaning in to put their mouth on his and doing…magic? Not quite, Itaph’s chest was rising at the same time as the action, so probably giving air. It seemed to be working. Hopefully.

They should really have paid attention during that singular first-aid lesson some kind soul bothered to give to a being like them, even if they knew they’d never get close enough to anyone to even attempt that. Were all their body parts in the same place as well? It felt quite odd to have a universal technique for most species, but not all.

No point thinking about that. If it worked, then it worked, and if it didn’t, adapt. That was how any of them lived.

Even if Kyrai hadn’t known how to help, it was clear that Telios was slowing down, as miniscule as it was. They were inhaling and exhaling heavily, barely able to get a full rescue breath in between all the chest compressions. Tired, they realised.

“Can I take over? How fast do I need to go?” Kyrai asked, moving forward to stand beside Telios, admittedly a little unsure. They shifted a little to the side in response.

“Don’t worry, I can count for you. Compress… hmm, a third of the chest in. Three, two, move— One, two, three, four, one— mhm.” 

They reckon they were holding their own breath themself when Itaph coughed, water trickling down their lips. Telios rolled him onto his side, still panting from their efforts.

It worked. Despite their lack of expertise, it somehow worked. 

They hadn’t even noticed the others gathering around them, all with varying expressions. Aelya all but threw himself onto Itaph together with the blankets, not letting go even after. Yet another oddity to them, but at least nobody was hurt.

“Aelyeau, change of clothes first before the blanket, remember? Are you feeling alright?” Lotti inquired, a bundle of cloth in her hand. 

“I’m okay, you didn’t need to—”

“—Load of shit you are. Little mousey over there tried their best and now you want to throw yourself into the lake once more, don’t you—”

“I never said that, stop putting words in my mouth—”

“And you, kitten, why did you think that was oh so good of an idea to go that close—”

“The lot of you, shut it! Especially you, Oryi, especially you!” Everyone quieted down not a second after Aelya instructed them to, leaving only breaths and the faint call of an animal somewhere beyond. “Thank you. Telios wanted to say something…?”

At the sudden attention, Telios buried their face into the bandana on their neck, voice a little muffled as they spoke. 

“It’s not over yet, night’s going to arrive and he’s at high risk of hypothermia and I can’t remember what but a lot of things might happen after that, so—! We should. Still pay very close attention. Yes, um…” 

They trailed off, leaving silence in their stead once again. Kyrai couldn’t recall when they had ever said that many words in one stretch. Telios didn’t look like they would do that again, already squatting on the floor and burying their head between their knees. 

They should really talk about that someday, it was getting a little unreasonable. It was true, so why be so nervous about it? Though, they doubted the other would tell them that easily.

The two suns of this place, one big and one small, were already falling behind the treetops, the otherwise vibrant scenery slowly turning to darkness. Though they weren’t too affected, they noticed Zyx shivering in the corner of their eye, Itaph following suit as though it were some chain reaction. 

Night was coming, and with that came danger and uncertainty. If the waters could hide such a monstrosity, the creatures on land would be similar, nature’s persistent efforts to chase them out. By themself, it had always been decently alright. 

They weren’t so sure it would be the same with others, especially with some they couldn’t yet trust.

[itsjustdg]

Kinda shocked I managed to pull off Day 2 of the @whumperless-whump-event, but I'm not complaining. (Although Wyatt might be.)

Remember: Fuzzy details are key in a challenge like this month's. As is posting without thinking too hard.

Slowly, the world started to come back into focus— a fact he immediately regretted because of the sudden wave of pain that washed over him as his senses also righted themselves… slowly at first, but then all at once.

Day 2: "Does Your Insurance Cover This?" Prompts: Car accident / Bystander caretaker Fandom: Timeless Characters: Wyatt Logan, Rufus Carlin, Lucy Preston, OMC