#whumptember day 28

[hurtmyfavsthanks]

Whumptember day 28

“I never should have let it come this far” Failed hero | Hospital stay | Begging for help

Content warning: Some of Whumpee’s dialogue could sound like suicidal ideation. Self-harm in the form of overworking. 

Whumpee couldn’t sleep. They rarely could, but it was especially bad when they were stuck in the hospital. They felt useless, desperate to claw their way from underneath the covers and get something done. More than that however, Whumpee was being kept awake by an overwhelming feeling of dread. Though they knew it was childish, they felt like a little kid waiting for a scolding.

They tried not to flinch when Caretaker walked in.

“Oh thank god–,” Caretaker rushed to their side, falling into the bedside chair and grabbing their hand. They were panting slightly, as if they’d run all the way to the hospital. “I came as soon as I could; I was so worried when they said you collapsed. What happened?!”

It was the question Whumpee had dreaded hearing. Not that it mattered, because Caretaker already knew the answer. As soon as their brain caught up, as soon as they noticed the bags under Whumpee’s eyes and the ink stains on their fingers, they’d realize. Whumpee averted their gaze.

Sure enough, Caretaker’s expression fell. “Whumpee–,”

“I know, alright? I overdid it. We don’t need to have this argument again,” Whumpee cut them off, pulling their arm away.

Caretaker didn’t look convinced. “We clearly do. You’re supposed to be in recovery Whumpee, not spending all day running yourself ragged. When was the last time you got a full night’s sleep? The last time you ate an actual meal?”

“I’m fine. I can do all that once this is over, and it won’t be until Whumper is caught.”

Caretaker sighed, some of the frustration in their expression fading. “We all want to see them caught, but we don’t know when that’s going to happen. You can’t put your recovery on hold for something that could take years.”

Whumpee squeezed their eyes shut, cursing themselves were the spike of terror that ran through them at the thought. Years. It could take years to find Whumper. What if Whumper found them first?

The beeping of Whumpee’s heart monitor sped up. Caretaker was kind enough not to mention it.

“You’re hurting yourself, and I can’t just watch you do it.” Caretaker’s voice wavered. “Do you know how scared I was when the hospital called me? Terrified. I thought,–I was so scared that something horrible had happened to you. You have to understand how much it hurts me to see you like this.”

Whumpee did understand, and they hated it. They hated making Caretaker worry, hated being the reason for their tears. It gnawed at Whumpee, making them feel guilt for something they had to do. They had to find Whumper.

Whumpee’s eyes stung, a shiver running down their spine. They bit their lip. “I should have never let it come this far. The reason I have to do this is because–,” because they’d been a coward. They’d been so terrified of Whumper, so terrified of everything, that they couldn’t bring themselves to leave the comfort of their bed. They’d wasted so much time. “--because I was being lazy. If I’d acted sooner, Whumper wouldn’t have had the chance to get so far. Now I have to catch up.”

“Lazy? Whumpee, you were recovering! You should still be recovering. You went through something horrible; nobody expects you to just be fine afterwards,” They could hear the tears in Caretaker’s voice. Caretaker grabbed their hand again, and this time Whumpee didn’t pull away. “Just–look at me.”

Whumpee did. Tears dripped down Caretaker’s face, their expression pleading. Whumpee could feel them shaking. “You’re killing yourself Whumpee, and I can’t watch it happen!” Caretaker shouted, choking back tears. “I can’t lose you again, not after everything that’s happened!”

Whumpee couldn’t stand to see them like this. “I’m right here, you’re not losing anything.

Caretaker shook their head. They held Whumpee tighter, as if terrified that they’d vanish right before them. “Please Whumpee, you have to stop this.”

But Whumpee knew they couldn’t stop. Not yet, maybe not ever.

At least if they were dead, Whumpee thought as Caretaker sobbed, they wouldn’t have to be so afraid of Whumper anymore.

[iwritewhump]

"I never should have let it come this far" + hospital stay + begging for help

day 28 of @whumptember

343 words

warnings: hospital setting, being abandoned

part one

---

Hero wraps the I.V. tubing around his fingers and tugs on it, watching the plastic flow over his finger and into his lap. The T.V. garbles in the background, cameras still filming over the charred remains of Villain’s apartment complex. 

She sits in the uncomfortable hospital chair, a leg propped up on the seat with her head resting on it. Hero smiles gently and picks at the fraying edge of the thin blanket the hospital provided him. 

Villain startles awake and jumps to her feet. For a second, her bandaged hands are raised in front of her, ready to fight. Then, she sees Hero laying on the hospital bed and the steady rise and fall of the line of his heart monitor and she calms down. 

“You alright?” Hero asks, pushing himself up with his elbows. “You didn’t sleep for very long.”

She smooths her shirt and sits down, “I’m fine, just…hospitals. They give me the creeps.” 

He chuckles, “Well then you’ll be glad to know that I’m being released today.” he coughs nervously and leans forward, “I was actually thinking…since your building burned down you could come stay with me for a little while? Just until you find somewhere to stay.” 

She stares at him for a second, absorbing his offer. Then, she stands and shakes her head, “I’m sorry, I just. I mean, come on, kid. It wouldn’t work.” 

“I’m not saying forever,” He interrupts. “Just a few days.” 

She grabs her bag and throws it over her shoulders, “I’m sorry, Hero. But I don’t think it’s the best idea. I never should’ve let it come this far in the first place. I mean, you have Superhero and I…well. You know.” 

“Geez, Villain. Do I have to spell it out for you?” Hero almost snaps. “I’ll need help. I can still barely get around myself. Superhero won’t be able to help me, so please. Stay with me for a few days while I get my bearings.” 

She shakes her head and walks out of the room, leaving Hero alone. 

[pigeonwhumps]

Hospital stay

Immortal Cannon Fodder masterlist

Taglist: @extrabitterbrain @wolfeyedwitch @whumpinggrounds @painful-pooch

Whumptember day 28: "I never should have let it come this far" | failed hero | hospital stay | begging for help

Set in the future, when Phoenix has been with Kai's team a while. After being kidnapped together and tortured for, Phoenix and Aaron have been rescued, Kai injured while doing so.

Joseph belongs to @i-eat-worlds, from their story Alex and Friends. Please go read it if you haven't yet!

1.5k

CWs: immortal whumpee, hero whump, caretaker turned whumpee, trans whumpee, mentions of superpower overuse, mentions of waterboarding and whipping, past torture, medical setting, coma, low self-esteem, self-degradation, wish to have committed self sacrifice, something that could potentially come across as a death wish but isn't, past self sacrifice, emeto, past temporary character death, past whump reveal (I guess? Idk how to label it)

Phoenix blinks back tears as they watch Aaron, still and silent in the medbay bed in front of them. He's lying on his stomach, trailing with monitors and IVs and all manner of medical equipment, swathed in bandages. They should've done better. They should be there instead of Aaron, but their stupid healing factor, their immortality that's been so useful in the past, means that he was the one who almost died.

It's not fair. He could've escaped if it wasn't for them. But they're stupid and they failed, and now people are worried about them, too.

"They're definitely out of the coma?" whispers Phoenix to the nurse currently taking Aaron's vitals.

"Yes. Just asleep now. They're safe, everyone is."

"It's my fault."

"No. No, it's not, kiddo."

"It *is*. They used me to control him, he could've, um, escaped. And to check they were right. If I'd died quicker then he would've been less hurt, I should've, um, I should've–"

"Don't you dare. Don't you dare talk about yourself like that."

Phoenix blinks, then bursts into tears. The nurse is so fierce.

"Why do you care? Aaron's yours, I got him hurt, you should–"

A hand falls onto their shoulder. "Do you think that after what we've seen of you over the past few years, how much you've helped, how much you've hurt, do you honestly think that we wouldn't care for you too?"

Phoenix cries. They watch Aaron's too-still body and they cry. Everyone else shouldn't care. But as they watch the nurse tend to Aaron, they can't bring themself to point it out again.

"You're sure they'll, um, they'll be okay?"

"Yes. He's recovering nicely. They should be awake in about six to twelve hours."

They're still too bandaged, too still, too too too, too little Aaron in there. Phoenix tries to comfort themself with the thought that he'll be awake soon, but it doesn't help much. What if he doesn't want to see them again? It's all their fault. They're a failure of a hero, a useless, stupid–

"Hey. Whatever you're thinking, that's enough. Joseph's sent you another cat meme if you want a distraction. Are you in pain?"

The answer is yes, everywhere still aches and hurts whenever they shift (and when they don't), but they can't say that. They know why the nurse is asking. But they're a waste of resources and they deserve this anyway.

"No, sir."

"Are you saying no because you really aren't in pain or because you don't want painkillers? I have standing orders from Aaron to remind you that, although you can of course refuse medication, it's perfectly fine to take painkillers or anything else and it's not a waste of resources."

"I'm, um, I'm okay without, sir," murmurs Phoenix, unsure whether they want the nurse to call them out on it or not. She sighs knowingly.

"Alright. Let me know if you need any. Do you want to see Joseph's cat meme?"

Phoenix nods. "Please. And, um, can I move over to Kai's bed? It's, um, it's his turn."

"Of course."

The nurse fetches Phoenix's phone and wheels them over to Kai's bed, then adjusts their saline IV.

"We'll start you off trying to drink again soon. No water for a while yet though."

Phoenix nods, feeling a burning shame. There's no physical reason they can't drink, they're fine. But mentally...

Mentally, they've spent too long without Kai or Aaron reassuring them on anything, and they didn't realise just how much they relied on that. They're useless on their own.

They clutch Mr Frosty to their chest, smiling weakly at Joseph's new message and making sure to reply. They barely see it, but they know now that he'll worry if they don't answer for too long.

It's their daily cat photo. They don't know what they ever did to deserve Joseph.

They slide their phone onto their lap and sink their chin down onto Mr Frosty's head, observing Kai. He's unconscious too, but a lot of that's because he overused his powers. The medics weren't worried about his unconsciousness so much as the stab wound.

Kai looks peaceful. Phoenix isn't sure if that's true.

They look between their two best friends and guilt wells up inside them. Guilt, and grief for something unknown, bubbling over like an old stone well, overflowing and unstoppable. They've both been hurt, everyone's been hurt, because of them.

"I wish I'd been tortured instead of Aaron," murmurs Phoenix, stroking Mr Frosty's fur. "He didn't deserve it. But it's partly so I wouldn't have to watch, so maybe that makes me selfish. What do you think, Mr Frosty?"

"Mr Frosty thinks you shouldn't be so hard on yourself," croaks a voice from the closest bed, and Phoenix looks up, heart in their throat, to see Kai squinting at them.

"Kai! You're awake! Oh." They press a small red button on the side of Kai's bed. "The nurse said to call if you woke."

"How long have I been out?" he asks weakly, as Phoenix helps him with a sippy cup of water.

"A few days? Not entirely sure," they reply quietly. "I was unconscious too for some of it."

Kai tries to sit up, a concerned look on his face, but he can't manage it. "Are you okay? I thought you'd be healing faster, what's wrong?"

"Dehydration, mostly. I'm fine." Kai's gaze flickers pointedly to the IV line in their arm and back, and they sigh. Can't Kai ever miss anything? "I'm... struggling to drink, after... well. It's simpler this way." Phoenix hesitates, and then reaches out a hand hopefully, laying it on top of Kai's uninjured one. Kai turns his own over and squeezes it gently.

Kai's hand is rough, and warm, and large, and it fills Phoenix with relief, to be able to hold it again.

"Where's Aaron? How are they holding up? I don't remember that well but I'm pretty sure they were in bad shape."

Phoenix's eyes dart to the next bed, and Kai struggles in another fruitless attempt to sit up.

"He... he, um, he took the last whipping for me. After everything else he took it, I don't know why, I'm, um, I'm immortal, I'd have been fine, but he– anyway, they're, um, they're out of the induced coma now. Asleep. They're healing. I've, um, been switching between you."

Phoenix is dreading the point where they have to find out exactly how bad things are, how much Aaron hates them now, but they know they deserve it.

"Okay. Phoenix? Firstly, being whipped and waterboarded counts as torture, yes, to you too. Stop being mean to yourself."

Phoenix frowns. "How do you, um, know about the waterboarding?"

Kai squeezes their hand. "They sent videos. To anyone who might care that they had you both. Our team, Joseph, Electrocus, Aisling and Gemma... and Aaron's parents and Alicia. Nobody's told you, huh?"

Phoenix shakes their head, but everything's muted, like they're underwater. They're drowning and they have no idea how to come up for air.

They understand why no-one would tell them. Everyone knowing... that's far too much for their mind to hold.

They gasp, trying to grasp onto something, anything, looking for a lifeline their mind can hold. Everyone knowing...

And they don't even know how much.

"My... my parents?"

"No idea. We haven't contacted them, they haven't contacted us. If they know they're not saying. But no-one can share either of your identities further."

Phoenix takes a deep breath, trying to steady themself. This means Aaron doesn't know either.

Of course he doesn't. Of course he wouldn't. He hasn't woken since the rescue.

"Stop, um, stop trying to reassure me when you were stabbed."

"Then stop claiming you weren't tortured."

"Wasn't bad torture."

They were experiments anyway. That doesn't count as torture.

There's footsteps from behind Phoenix and they cower down, throwing their arm above their head even though it'll do no good. He's going to hurt them, he's going to stretch their limits and kill them and hurt Aaron and–

"Easy. It's just me, I'm here to check on Kai, breathe."

Phoenix does so obediently, blood rushing past their ears still but seeing the medbay as if from miles away, someone in a white coat entering their field of vision.

"Hello Kai," the voice says warmly. "You're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Tell Phoenix there's no such thing as "not bad" torture."

"There isn't. But Kai, I asked about *you*."

"Thirsty, tired, sore. Not dying." He coughs. "What happened?"

"Let me check your vitals and monitors." There's a pause. Phoenix puts their head between their knees, trying to remember how to breathe. "You remember the rescue? Well, you got Phoenix and Aaron, but you had a dagger thrown in your back on your way out. You're damned lucky you were in wolf form. The healers patched you up, but you had a way to go on your own."

"And the others?"

"Lian's been in and out of sleep, Morfydd's in a sensory deprivation chamber, and Santhiya's recovering in a power-blocking room. You all overused your powers drastically, but you'll be okay."

The floor is mostly white with splatters of colour, swirling swirling splatter, and Phoenix throws up on the medbay floor.

[whumble-beeee]

The Bee's Whumptober Masterlist

* * * * 2023 * * * *

I'm doing Whumptober too! Woo! I'll do my best to do as much as I can (I say as I'm starting 6 days late lol), but I'll try not to push myself as much as I did last month, since I burnt out just a bit last month. It was fun tho, so I'm trying again. Think of Whumptember as a warm up, or test run. I'm so excited I get to share my writing with everyone again, and as always, I can't promise it'll be good, but I promise I enjoyed writing it!

Day 6: Recording | Made to Watch | “It should have been me.”

Day 7: Alleyway | Radio Silence (sketch)

Day 8: “I’ve got soul, but I’m not a soldier.” | Overcrowded ER | Outnumbered

Day 10: “Can’t you see that you’re lost without me?" | Broken Phone | Stranded

Day 14: Flare | Water Inhalation | “Just hold on.”

* * * * 2024 * * * *

Back at it again! Gonna go for completionist! No prep and I have less time this year on the whole to write, but I'm also more experienced! So much has happened in this past year, it's honestly so nice to look back at how far I've come! Hope you enjoy!

Note: I'm doing both Whumptober and AI-less Whumptober, and just picking prompts from both as i please

Day 1: Stress Position | Race Against The Clock | Search Party

Day 2: The Scream of the Machine

Day 3: Mission Log Write Up (A Supervillain's Child)

Day 4: To Keep the Monster Tame ((Un)Official Guide)

Day 5: Overstimulation | Migraines | Sunburn

Day 6: Protection Above All Else (art) ((Un)Official Guide)

Day 7: Save Us Both

Day 8: You Look So Much Prettier This Way (art/writing snippet) ((Un)Official Guide)

Day 9: The Giant Won't Save You

Day 10: What Happens When You Give a Tween The Power to Wreck Some Shit ((Un)Official Guide)

Day 11: Hallucinations | Seeing Double | Convenience Store | Loneliness

Day 28: You fixin' to get shot, doctor? (art/writing snippet) ((Un)Official Guide)

[bluegreenamber]

Whumptember 2023 Masterlist

Since I'm mostly posting my fics on Ao3 now and only really cross-posting them here for BTHB, I've decided that a masterlist with links to my Ao3 works would be simpler for Whumptember 2023 (partly because I actually understand Ao3's tagging and warning system, which are crucial to the event). Also, since I'm combining Whumptember prompts with the remaining prompts from my BTHB card, I'll still post the fics fulfilling BTHB on Tumblr, but all of the remaining Whumptember fics will just be linked on this masterlist.

Here is a link to my Whumptember 2023 series on Ao3 that has more info about how I'm tackling this writing challenge. Links to individual fics are under the cut and will be updated as I post. As always, I hope you enjoy!

Day 1: The Hubris of Our Forefathers

Day 2*: Like an Answered Prayer ch. 1

Day 3*: Between the Shoulder Blades ch. 1

Day 4: Blood of My Blood ch. 1

Day 5: One Foot In

Day 6: Blood of My Blood ch. 2

Day 7*: Blood of My Blood ch. 3

Day 8*: Between the Shoulder Blades ch. 2

Day 9*: Between the Shoulder Blades ch. 3

Day 10*: Like an Answered Prayer ch. 2

Day 11*: Lavender Tea

Day 12*: Home and Bodies

Day 13*: Talking Ghosts

Day 14*: To Steal and Steel a Heart

Day 15*: Absence and Adhesion

Day 16*: When the Caught Fly Spins a Web of Its Own

Day 17: Between the Shoulder Blades ch. 4

Day 18*: Between the Shoulder Blades ch. 5

Day 19: How to Play a Pair of Kings

Day 20: Empty Isn't Nothing

Day 21*: Like an Answered Prayer ch. 3

Day 22*: Between the Shoulder Blades ch. 6

Day 23*: Quicksand

Day 24: Living Metamorphosis

Day 25: Like an Answered Prayer ch. 4

Day 26*: Bury Us Together

Day 27*: Fading Visions of Grandeur

Day 28*: Between the Shoulder Blades ch. 7

Day 29*: We Were Out of Time

Day 30: Between the Shoulder Blades ch. 8

*Days demarcated with an asterisk also fulfill my BTHB card prompts and can be found on Tumblr and Ao3

[iwritewhump]

whumptember days 28, 29, and 30

title: the world trembles beneath us

prompts: bloody hands, “you can’t do anything...”, trembling

warnings: world ending, earthquakes 

characters: hero, villain

248 words

~

Villain stood next to Hero, a sad smile on her face. “I really didn’t want it to end like this.” 

Hero coughed into his hand and hid the blood plastered on it from her. “I know. You can’t do anything more than I can at this point.” 

He wiped his hand on his pants and hoped she didn’t notice that there was more blood on the fabric than there was just seconds before. 

“I’m glad it’s you and me.” she said. “Could you imagine if it was anyone else? I think I’d have killed them by now.” they both chuckle dryly and she takes his hand in hers and spins him around to face her. 

“Haven’t been spun like that since high school,” he said, smiling. He kept hold of her hand and she didn’t pull away. 

The world shook and they instinctively took a step closer to each other, feet nearly touching. Another building fell and Villain watched as the windows shattered and fell onto the cracked street below. The only building still standing was the one they were on. 

Hero exhaled deeply and stared into Villain’s eyes. He took a step closer to her and held his forehead against hers. 

“Well,” he breathed. “In the next life?” 

The ground shook again and Villain wrapped her arms around him, “In the next life.” 

They clung to each other, trying to ignore the trembling underneath their feet as the building fell to the ground, taking them with it.