#Left Behind PArt 5

[scribbles97]

Left Behind - Chapter 50

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 Chapter 48 / Chapter 49 Read on Ao3

Aunt Val had been quiet on their way home. In itself, it wasn’t an unusual occurrence, yet, the way she had snapped at Gordon when he had tried to lighten the mood suggested there was something more wrong than met the eye. 

Virgil had been preoccupied with Scott and Tia on the scene. He had almost forgotten about the conversation he had witnessed between Mom and Aunt Val. It was apparent that he wasn’t meant to know about it. Or maybe, Mom had just forgotten too, Tia distracting her as much as she had him. 

Except, it seemed that Aunt Val hadn’t forgotten.

So the flight home had been painfully silent. 

That Kay had met them in the hangar, ready with crates of supplies that needed restocking, had only seemed to worsen their Aunt’s mood. Virgil had noticed the way she had stiffened when Kay had appeared, the way her brow had dropped into a deep frown and her lips pressed into the thinnest of lines. 

Had she and Mom been discussing her?

Kay had been out the previous day, tracking something that he wasn’t allowed to ask about. Virgil hadn’t seen her in over forty-eight hours and was sure Aunt Val had gone even longer without seeing the younger woman. 

The glare she had received though hadn’t put Kay off, she had simply turned to him with a smile.

“Eos sent me a stock list. I thought I’d help, then we can go and see Scott.” 

It wasn’t like Kay, not that she was ever unhelpful, but she knew he liked to check his ship’s stock himself. It was his responsibility, and she always left him to it. 

As Aunt Val huffed and stormed off across the hanger though, his tired brain finally gave in and decided to leave her to it. 

“Do you know what’s up with her?”

Kay was watching after her too, a frown replacing what must have been a forced smile. 

“Her and Mom had some words at the scene.” He murmured with a shrug, “I don’t know what about.”

Kay paused for a moment, her frown deepening before she turned to look up to him, “I think you should go and talk to her.”

Virgil startled, looking down to her with a frown, “Me?”

“Yes.” She nodded, “It was when I mentioned Scott that she reacted.”

He was too drained to question how she had noticed that tiny detail, or to press any further just why it was down to him. It was Kay after all, and if there was anyone’s judgement he trusted it was hers. 

So he had headed off to get washed and changed. If he passed the kitchen in the hunt of coffee before he went looking for his Aunt, it was simply so his brain was firing on all cylinders. 

“Oh.” 

She looked up from the frying pan as he froze at the bottom of the stairs, the statement falling from his lips before his brain booted enough to stop it. 

Aunt Val snorted and waved towards the coffee machine with the tongs, “There’s coffee in the pot.”

He didn’t say anything as he grabbed his mug from the cupboard and the cream from the fridge. If anything, the last thirty seconds had proven the need for his fuel before any form of conversation was going to happen.

“Every Saturday, your Uncle Lee and I used to make a fry-up breakfast.” She started as Virgil settled onto one of the stools with his drink.

There was a vague recollection of his Aunt and Uncle cooking together, though the where and the when escaped him. When the last time the pair had cooked together had been, he wasn’t sure, Mom and Dad had done most of the cooking when they had all moved to the Island. 

“Then it was your Mom and Dad’s thing,” she continued as she poked at the sausages in the pan, “I think they did pancakes because they knew Lee couldn’t make them.”

He was listening, quietly absorbing every word he could, even if his brain hadn’t quite woken up enough to interpret the point behind her words. Taking a sip of coffee, he watched as the fat in the pan bubbled and spat, landing on the glass of the hob and settling there in a splattered pattern. 

“Then your Dad went, and your Mom still made pancakes. Every Saturday, she made sure of it. It killed her though, every time, she did it knowing that Jeff wasn’t ever going to make them with her again.”

Virgil remembered the Saturdays after Dad vanished too well, remembered how Mom’s smile had been too tight every morning, how her hand had always shook as she passed the syrup across the table. Scott had always covered when she had slipped away in the middle of breakfast, eyes brighter than they should have been. 

For all he had wanted to follow her, he knew that his own mental state hadn’t been strong enough at the time. Back then he would have done anything to never see Mom cry again. 

“What would you do Virgil?” She asked him, “Would you just put on a brave face and carry on?”

She might as well have shoved him off of his seat and onto the floor. 

“What?” He blinked, setting his mug down, “I don’t-- what do you mean?”

She was focussed on the pan in front of her, avoiding looking back to him as she turned the bacon. He wondered if she regretted the sudden question out of nowhere. It was so out of the blue, even with coffee in his system he wasn’t sure he could connect the dots.

“If something happened to Tanusha,” She murmured, turning off the pan and setting down the tongs on the counter as she turned to face him, “Like it did to your father, like it has to Tia, what would you do?”

He understood the question, but the answer was far from simple. 

Aunt Val had lost Uncle Lee. 

Mom had lost Dad. 

Scott might have lost Tia. 

He could so easily lose Kay.

“I don’t know.” He admitted softly with a shrug, the thought of Kay stuck under the rubble in Tia’s place sending his stomach lurching. 

Looking back to his Aunt, he swallowed. She was braced against the countertop, head bowed over the pan of forgotten food as she slowly shook her head, eyes distant and unseeing.

“You will never understand the pain until it hits you square in the chest.” She whispered, “And then it’s too late.”

He knew what she was saying, could attempt to fill the holes that he knew he had missed earlier. 

“I don’t think we can choose who we fall in love with.” He murmured softly, hands cradling his coffee, willing the warmth to replace the stone cold dread that had filled his chest. 

She shook her head where she stood, Virgil wasn’t sure if she was capable of words any longer. 

Yet what did he say to fill the silence? What did he say to make it all better? 

None of them had any idea where Uncle Lee had gone. He had vanished without a trace and without a word. They had tried all the possible routes, contacts, and places, yet he was simply gone. 

It had taken the rest of them months to get over Dad’s disappearance. 

Why should Aunt Val be any different for the man she loved?

“I think that’s the thing about love,” He murmured softly, “It opens us up to the worst hurt we could ever imagine, and yet we walk into it anyway.”

And he could only hope that he would never put Kay through that kind of pain. 

It was the life they had chosen though, a job they had gone into with their eyes wide open. They had all seen the risks, heard the reports of missions gone wrong, watched when their own family had come back injured. 

He didn’t doubt if he had to do it all again he would make the same choices again. They did good, they helped people that truly had no other hope, they saved lives. 

It was an unfortunate truth that maybe doing what they did made other aspects of their lives so much more complicated. 

“I’m not so sure it’s worth it,” She whispered, eyes closed as she sucked in a breath, “The love doesn’t seem quite so good as the pain is bad.”

It wasn’t the time to point out that things hadn’t been good between his aunt and uncle for some time. Mom always said there was a very fine line between love and hate, and he could see how Val and Lee were prime examples of the case. Both still loved each other immeasurably, but so much had happened to drive them apart in life. Even when he had been young Virgil had been able to see the fear and hurt bubbling over as anger towards one another. 

Was it maybe the case that their love just hadn’t been strong enough? 

Was his and Kay’s love any stronger?

“I don’t want you boys to get hurt like that.” She swallowed, straightening to look at him with tears in her eyes, “It hurts too much to let any of you go through.”

He sighed and let go of his coffee, hopping down from the stool to go to her. He wasn’t taller than her, but he was definitely broader and it was easy to engulf her in a hug. Instinct would have been to tell her it was okay, that none of them were going to get hurt like that ever. 

Except it was a fools promise to make, the kind of thing just said in the moment to put a plaster over a wound that needed much more attention. 

“I love her Aunt Val,” He sighed, “I can’t change that. Being paranoid about what might happen isn’t any way to live. But, if the worst does happen, I know that I’ve got people around me that understand.”

It wasn’t much consolation, he knew. She was obviously still hurting, still grieving and afraid of what else might go wrong. 

“And so have you.” He added, “You’ve still got the rest of us.” 

She nodded wordlessly, eyes still screwed shut against the tears that hadn’t fallen. 

“We’re all here for you Aunt Val. Whatever you need, we’re here.”

[danwhobrowses]

Due to time zones I have never had the pleasure of catching any of Critical Role as it released except for perhaps a few minutes of the end when I arrive for work, but the last hour of Downfall Part 3 has sent me through a lot of emotions that I can't quite articulate right now, what a show.

[probablyaseamonster]

Things I’m excited to see in s5

- Azure Lion finding out who was pulling the strings the whole time (his eyes glowed ink green when he achieved his goal and I think that that’s something)

- The reveal of who stole the scroll and presumably gave it to Jin & Yin or AL (I firmly believe it wasn’t Azure because the person in the cloak had human proportions)

- Azure getting stuck with leaderly responsibilities (this could very well be played for comedy)

- Everyone learns why exactly the Jade Emperor being absorbed(?) is such a bad thing for the universe

- Peng insulting more people down to their core (I am firmly on the side of the fandom that likes that bird and I think he’s got an interesting role in the group dynamic)

- Yellow Tusk being wise in a significant way (like maybe a line where he’s like “Hey Azure, something’s up with you, maybe calm down a little?”

- Nezha being taught that he has value beyond what post he can take up and maybe having a cute moment where he at least smiles

- More content regarding Princess Iron Fan’s days as a celestial (this one I’m fine with because that shot with her and DBK’s first meeting is everything to me)

- More DBK angst (dude clearly has an issue with being called “weak” and I want to see another adorable shot with him and his wife saving each other from the ink)

- Red Son confronting his own issues + maybe even his parental abuse (maybe we could get flashbacks if we’re lucky)

- MK OR MEI RESCUING RED SON (if the show ends up leaving the fam in the scroll because they’re villains and it gets them out of the way I will be PISSED)

- MK, Macaque and the audience finally seeing what mind games Wukong was being put through (because we didn’t actually get to see that in s4 and since he never got out I bet we’re being set up to finally see him and Mac’s fallout in s5)

- More monkey form MK (hopefully him eventually coming to “embrace it” without “accepting his destiny”)

- MK finding out what exactly Subodhi meant by the stone being remade to make another celestial / demon monkey, but MK not actually being born from the stone (maybe getting to meet that goddess in the artwork who potentially shaped him (Quanyin?))

- Finding out what happened to the Samadhi Fire (we haven’t seen Mei use it since LBD and the only time it was mentioned since was Subodhi talking about it in past tense, and honestly if the writers nerfed her simply because they had trouble write conflict while Mei had that universe-destroying power I’m kinda chill with that)

- Sandy’s being “too nice for [his] own good” becoming a character flaw that he has to get past in order to save his friends (someone on tumblr came up with the theory that Sandy’s hiding something and being super nice on purpose and I haven’t been able to stop thinking of it)

- Seeing WTF happened to the Mayor after LBD’s defeat (did he shrivel up and die because his source of immortal power was destroyed? did he actually get arrested by the Megapolis law enforcement that we’ve never seen because everyone saw their mayor hanging behind the demon freezing and destroying the city + he’s more closely connected to human society than any of the other villains so he deserves a human punishment? Or did he actually get away and is currently plotting revenge while having an identity crisis? (please writers even if he anticlimactically died off-screen I WANT TO KNOW))

[comixandco]

i think something people forget about pink diamond is that she had compassion for life long before she went to earth

the pebbles assume steven is pink not because of his gem or aura but just because he says ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’ to them, a basic common courtesy that nobody else has given them in thousands of years

in steven’s pink visions, blue is yelling at pink about the little bugs she let loose on homeworld. when one of them is found in her cell, she is quick to check it’s okay before helping it out of the room. even before encountering humans she valued organic life.

even the garden, the setting of pink’s cruellest moment, is proof of her care for organic life. Unlike every other part of homeworld, the garden is teeming with plant-life, which was kept healthy enough that it continued to grow even after pink abandoned it. the only other homeworld structure that tends to organic life is the human zoo. who’s to say the garden wasn’t another attempt by the other diamonds to placate pink after she expressed concern for the life on one of their colonies? or maybe pink picked the plants herself from the many different colonies she visited and grew them there.

pink wasn’t perfect. she had a bad habit of acting on her emotions and impulses without considering the consequences of her actions, and she hurt a lot of people because of it. but she considered all life precious and worth protecting, it just wasn’t until she had a colony of her own that she fully understood that the expansion of homeworld was intrinsically linked to the destruction of life, and the moment she realised that is the moment she stood against it.

[gumy-shark]

ive seen so much bullshit in this fandom about lizzie's permadeath and the canary curse. so lets fight this the best way possible: thinking of meta explanations that DONT make her death all about a man. please share them with me i want to talk about SECRET LIFE LIZZIE. AND HER TRAGIC FUCKING STORY

[schadenfredde]

If I see one more horrible take about how Giorno wanted power and manipulated his friends to take it I'm gonna

I'm

I'm gonna write a Giorno analysis essay

[lavend3r-stardust]

Idk i just wanna be held and comforted or some sappy shit. I just wanna feel worthy of affection and know that people actually want me for who I am instead of what I do for them, i don't wanna the back-up friend anymore. I don't wanna reach for shit that isnt even there anymore, like i'm trying to hold onto nothing. And i keep embarrasing myself by trying to start talking with them and they just sit there like . . . They don't care. They're not looking at me, they're just working and waiting for someone else. That's all they do. Tolerate me and always talk with other people. They never fucking needed me and that's ok. I'll cut them off for my sake. I can't keep going back to people who don't care for me when i could have better conversations with gravedirt.

[dirt-str1der]

Idk anything about Yakuza but your posts seem imply Kiryu is a faggot. Can you confirm?

He likes both girls and boys but has a finicky nature about when and where he likes them because sometimes he cant get enough and other times he doesnt even realise that people are real but he is in fact a gigantic slobbering faggot thank you so much for asking

[aro-aizawa]

sighs in contentment......

[beatriceportinari]

Another reason immortality would suck is you'd always know this was there so in 10000 years when people find it you'd have to be like ouuuh I wonder what's in there 😑 and you'd be the only one not having fun being surprised

[rise-my-angel]

.

[scribbles97]

Left Behind - Chapter 49

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 Chapter 48 Read on Ao3

According to the nurse she had spoken to, Scott hadn’t moved from the floor outside the theatre since they had rushed Tia in. He was still in his blues, his hair and skin greyed out by the dust from the disaster site. Blood stained his arm from someone Lucy had seen him helping much earlier on in the day. 

“You’re no use to her sat out here dwelling.” She murmured as she approached him, only sparing the briefest glance to the double doors before returning her focus to the eldest boy.

He shook his head, lips pressed together in a thin line as he glanced up to her, “I screwed up Mom.”

Tutting, she sighed, “Well I’m too old to be getting down there, so come on, up you get.”

His eyes darted past her to the door, and she didn’t need to hear his protest to know that he didn’t want to leave. 

“The doctors will call as soon as she’s out.” She assured him, “You need a shower, and a coffee, minimum.”

He still hesitated. 

“She’s in good hands Scott.”

He shook his head again, hands rubbing through his hair sending a plume of dust up to dance in the fluorescence of the lights. 

“She told me she loves me.”

She didn’t need him to add the next part. 

“But I didn’t say anything back.”

With a sigh she reached down to his shoulder, shifting most of her weight through that arm she eased down next to him to sit on the hard lino floor. 

“I told you I’m too old for this.”

Scott scoffed, leaning over to rest his head on her shoulder, “Sorry.”

“Tell me about it?”

He shrugged, “What’s there to tell? Just before Virg moved her she called me back and said it and I just stood there like a goldfish.”

Tia had been out of it when she and Virgil had emerged from the hole, a combination of blood loss and a concussion he had told her at the time. Lucy had stayed with the pair through the short flight to the hospital, trusting Scott’s ability to fly whilst they focused on their patient. 

“Do you wish you had said something?” She offered, rubbing her thumb across the back of his glove as she rested her cheek against his hair. 

He had only seen Tia briefly she knew, a dash from the cockpit to the medbay as the doctors had swarmed the ship. The slightest of nods from Lucy and he had been away with the stretcher, desperate to keep up with what was happening to her. 

“I should have told her.” He whispered, “That I love her too.”

There had undoubtedly been other things in his head in the moment, bigger thoughts about her condition and getting her out of danger. If his reaction early on in the day was anything to go by, he had barely come to the realisation of his feelings. A disaster zone was hardly a suitable place to organise ones thoughts. Lucy was hardly surprised that he had stumbled at her comment. 

“I’m not just saying that.” He added, “I do mom. I really love her. How didn’t I see it sooner?”

She knew the feeling, had been dealing with the same kind of thoughts herself since she had woken up in the infirmary weeks ago. 

“The thought of losing her…” Scott trailed off with a shake of his head, “It’s like… just thinking about it leaves this gaping ache.”

“Love is a funny thing.” She murmured quietly, “I don’t think you can quite describe it, but if you’ve felt it, you know what it is.”

“I didn’t realise that was what it was.” He sighed heavily, “I thought it was just stress and the relief of getting it off of my chest.”

The comment was filed away for later, something to keep a close eye on in the coming weeks. Scott getting burned out with stress had always been her biggest fear, but she had always thought he had coped with it in his own way. 

She just hadn’t anticipated the methods used. 

It was easy to see how the two feelings could get confused though, how ranting and raving made everything feel better. Who was it that she always went to for those kinds of conversations though? Deep down, she knew there was only a real satisfaction of relief when she spoke to one person in particular on the topic. 

“But it’s not,” Scott continued, “It’s different. It’s not like when I talk to you or Virg about what’s on my mind.”

“I love her Mom.” He sighed with a shake of his head, “And I only just realised it, right as I might lose her.”

“She’s a strong woman.” Lucy whispered to him, “Have faith Kid, you’ll be able to tell her everything soon enough.”

She wasn’t sure if she would ever have the courage to voice her own feelings. 

“As always,” A warm voice commented from the door at the far end of the hall, “Your mother is undoubtedly right, Scott.” 

Lucy’s stomach twisted as she met his eye, her heart suddenly in her throat as she wondered just how much of the conversation the man with the cane had heard. 

“Hey Hugh,” Scott forced a tight smile, “I thought you were back in London this week?”

The older man shook his head, “Penelope has it all in hand, I had planned on surprising your mother until circumstances changed.”

She hoped the heat that rose in her cheeks would go unnoticed by them both. Hugh surprising her wasn’t an uncommon thing, and she certainly never complained about his visits. 

Except, recent conversations had her mind wandering elsewhere.

“Trust what she says kiddo,” He murmured holding his free hand out to Scott, “Swing by the relatives room, get a shower and some food. We’ll call you as soon as there’s any news.”

He glanced between them both, eyes young and wide, “You’re sure?”

“Promise Scotty.” She smiled, stroking his hair, “Go and get rid of this muck.”

He accepted Hugh’s hand up, looking down himself with a grimace as he stretched out. 

“Take your time, good lad.” Hugh murmured as he patted Scott’s shoulder, “The slightest news and we’ll call.”

Scott nodded, looking back to his mother and holding a hand out, “Thanks Mom.”

She accepted the help up, using the wall for support as her bad leg took a moment to wake up and catch her weight. Scott hugged her briefly before turning and heading away.

“So,” Hugh started as the doors swung shut behind him, “Kid’s in love, huh? Been there myself, know the feeling well.”

Avoiding his eye wasn’t an option, there was something that just drew her to him, left her unable to just ignore anything he said even if she wished she could. Both of them knew there was too much left unsaid. 

Hugh knew Jeff was coming home. 

She had told him as soon as she could. 

He had been enthusiastic on the holo-call, but the light hadn’t quite reached his eye. 

There was the same sort of sadness there then.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered, a lump catching in her throat. It seemed like the only thing that there was to say, yet hardly felt like enough at the same time. 

He huffed with a shake of his head, “Don’t be. There’s nothing to be sorry for.” 

Except there was. She felt like there was so much to be sorry for. For drawing him in, accepting the company and the closeness. For letting him in but still keeping him at arms length without quite realising it. For falling in love when they were only ever meant to be friends. 

“Come here,” He murmured, holding his arm out to her. She hesitated, pursing her lips as she folded her arms around her torso, not trusting herself to go to him.

Hugh sighed again and nodded, dropping his arm as he did. 

“I understand.”

“Jeff-” She started, not trusting her voice to say any more. 

He swallowed visibly, “I know. I always knew that was where your heart truly lay.”

Clearing her throat, she blinked hard, not sure where the sudden swell of emotion that had tightened her chest had come from. 

“I’m still here for you though,” Hugh added, “I’ll always be here Luce.”

Something in her broke, snapping hard and sharp in her chest. His arm was held out again, and that time she didn’t hesitate in going to him and hiding herself in his chest. 

“I’m sorry.” She whispered again as he stroked her hair. 

“Me too Luce,” He sighed softly, “Me too.”

[notyourmoon4528]

Day two of fever dreams

I remember why I stopped taking my allergy medicine in the first place

This one messed me up bad

I don't think I'll ever financially or

Emotional

Recover.

[ppulverse]

my baby 😞

(I actually want to cry look at him 😞)

poor bomu 🥺 i know he definitely wanted to go bc we all know he doesn't like being idle while the others work but this is so sad 😔 i hope he recovers soon

[whumptober]

WHUMPTOBER 2024: PROMPTS LIST

Welcome to Whumptober 2024 — Seventh Time's a Charm!

Please make sure to read the Event Info and FAQ below carefully, as most of your questions will be answered there already. For everything else, you are welcome to come to our ask box or ask questions in our Discord server here.

This year’s AO3 Collection can be found here.

This year's playlist can be found here.

And the Anatomy of a Whumptober Prompt post can be found here.

We’re very excited to see the community come together for another year of Whumptober! Go wild with the prompts, and support your fellow creators - we wish you all the fun!

Best of luck and happy whumping,

Mods Vanne, Yenn, Kitty and Surro

(Text versions of the prompts, as well as event information, rules and FAQ are posted below the cut!)

Whumptober 2024 Prompt List

No. 1: RACE AGAINST THE CLOCK

Search Party | Panic Attack | "If only we could hold on.” (Icysami x Renegaderr, Strangers.)

No. 2: TRUST ISSUES

Amusement Park | Role Reversal | “You got away with the crime while the knife's in my back.” (Charlotte Sands, Rollercoaster)

No. 3: SET UP FOR FAILURE

Fingerprints | Wrongfully Arrested | "I warned you."

No. 4: HALLUCINATIONS

Hypnosis | Sensory Deprivation | “You're still alive in my head.” (Billy Lockett, More)

No. 5: SUNBURN

Healing Salve | Heatstroke | "If my pain will stretch that far." (Lottery Winners, Burning House)

No. 6: NOT REALISING THEY'RE INJURED

Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms | Healed Wrong | "It's not my blood."

No. 7: ONLY FOR EMERGENCIES

Unconventional Weapon | Magic with a Cost | "It's us or them."

No. 8: SLEEP DEPRIVATION

Isolation Chamber | Forced to Stay Awake | "Leave the lights on." (Coldplay, Midnight)

No. 9: OBSESSION

Broken Window | Bruises | “Frame me up on the wall, just to keep me out of trouble.” (Fall Out Boy, Irresistible)

No. 10: BLOW TO THE HEAD

Slurred Words | Passing Out from Pain | "I can't think straight."

No. 11: SEEING DOUBLE

Convenience Store | Loneliness | “Leave no trace behind, like you don't even exist.” (Taylor Swift, Illicit Affairs)

No. 12: STARVATION

Underground Caverns | Cannibalism | "Just a little more."

No. 13: TEAM AS A FAMILY

Familial Curse | Multiple Whumpees | "Death will do us part." (Set It Off, Partner's In Crime)

No. 14: LEFT FOR DEAD

Hunting Gear | Blackmail | “Because I want you to know what it feels like to be haunted” (tiLLie, kooL aiD mAn)

No. 15: CHILDHOOD TRAUMA

Painful Hug | Moment of Clarity | "I did good, right?"

No. 16: NECROSIS

Swamp | Wound Cleaning | "No, I can't feel anything."

No. 17: NOWHERE ELSE TO GO

Ruined Map | Shipwrecked | "We had a good run."

No. 18: REVENGE

Unreliable Narrator | Loss of Identity | “I see what's mine and take it.” (Panic! at the Disco, Emperor's New Clothes)

No. 19: BLOOD TRAIL

Abandoned Cabin | One Way Out | "Is there anybody alive out there?" (Bruce Springsteen, Radio Nowhere)

No. 20: EMOTIONAL ANGST

Shoulder to Cry On | Giving Permission to Die | "It's not your fault."

No. 21: BODY HORROR

Body Horror | Tattoo Gun | Spirit Possession | “Let the bedsheet soak up the tears.” (Apparat feat. Soap & Skin, Goodbye)

No. 22: BLEEDING THROUGH BANDAGES

Tourniquet | Reopening Wounds | "Oh that's not good."

No. 23: FORCED CHOICE

Public Display | Broken Pedestal | "I'm doing this for you."

No. 24: RADIATION POISONING

Collapsed Building | Equipment Failure | “I never knew daylight could be so violent.” (Florence + The Machine, No Light, No Light)

No. 25: SURGERY

Stitches | Being Monitored | "It's for your own good."

No. 26: NIGHTMARES

Breakfast Table | Parting Words of Regret | “I'm haunted by the lies that I have loved, the actions I have hated.” (Poe, Haunted)

No. 27: VOICELESS

Laboratory | Muzzled | “I have no mouth and I must scream.”

No. 28: DENIAL

CCTV | Exposure | "They caught me red handed."

No. 29: FATIGUE

Labyrinth | Burnout | "Who said you could rest?"

No. 30: RECOVERY

Hospital Bed | Holding Back Tears | "What have I done?"

No. 31: ASKING FOR HELP

Therapy | Making Amends | "I'm alive, I'm just not well." (Elliot Lee, Alive, Not Well.)

Alternatives List:

Body Swap

Communication Barrier

Finding Old Messages

Forgotten

Friendly Fire

Motion Sickness

No-Holds-Barred Beatdown

Regret

Secrets Revealed

Shivering

Survivor's Guilt

Time Loop

Used As Bait

Venom

Vermin

Event Info & Rules

WHUMPTOBER is a month-long, prompt-based creation challenge (think: Inktober, but whumpier). There are 31 official themes this year - one for each day of the month - which can be used, skipped, or combined in any way you’d like. They are meant to serve as inspiration without being taken literally (e.g. you don’t have to include the exact wording of prompts into your work). Feel free to run rampant on interpretation. For example, if the prompt is “flame", you could create something with reference to a candle/campfire, your character could have suffered a burn, or the flame could be a reference to an ‘old flame’ - an old relationship. It’s truly down to you!

In total, there are 4 prompts for each day. These are optional suggestions and can be used in conjunction with the theme, or as options/alternatives.  We want to give everyone as much creative freedom as possible, as well as increase event accessibility for folks with triggers and squicks. There is also a list of 15 alternative prompts that can be subbed in for any day, again to give participants as much creative freedom as possible.

Creators can PRODUCE work in any media they choose, including but not limited to: writing, visual artwork, photo/video/audio edits, paper crafts and elaborate recommendation lists (not just a list of links). Creators can PARTICIPATE as much or as little as they want (i.e. you don’t have to do ALL the prompts if you don’t want to) and prompts can be used in any order. They are also free to use even after the event ends.

When uploading Whumptober content to your blog, be sure to tag it with:

#whumptober2024 …..(the event tag)

#no.1, #no.2, #no.3, …..(theme number)

#bruises, #stabbing, …..(the theme or specific prompt you chose)

#altprompt …..(if you use an altprompt, tag the post with the number of the prompt you replace)

#fandom or #OC, …..(ironman, original content, oc, etc.)

#medium …..(gifs, fic, podcast, art, etc.)

#teeth, #etc …..(trigger warnings & any additional tags. Keep in mind not to add “tw” in front but only use the word/trigger itself)

#nsfwhump …..(only for nsfw content)

#your own tags go here

PLEASE BE DILIGENT WITH YOUR TAGGING. Only properly tagged posts are considered for archiving on the official @whumptober-archive blog. They must be tagged in the order above. An elaborate post about our tagging system can be found [here]

Unfortunately, due to the sheer number of participants in recent years, we cannot guarantee your work will be archived. A random selection of properly tagged posts from all genres will be reblogged each day.

Whumpers who produce content for 31 total theme days are considered event completionists and will be tagged in a masterpost at the end of the month. A form will be published at the beginning of November asking you to tell us if you completed. This is based on trust and we will not check this.

Frequently Asked Questions

Please read this before you send an ask!

TIMELINE

July: Trope voting form released. Late August: Prompt list is released for at least four weeks of preparation time. Tropes cannot be posted earlier than August 25th because of Moderator obligations in real life. (But, you know, go ahead and start writing/drawing, and add the themes in later, if you want!) September: Do as much or as little on your works as you want. You can prepare everything in advance or let September go by with vibes and start working in October. It’s up to you. October 1st: Challenge begins! A storm of whump breaks upon us all! During this time, some posts will be reblogged to the whumptober archive blog. We open the yearly AO3 collection for posting (optional). November 1st: The challenge is officially over! Completionist form opens for those who want to be included in the hall-of-fame. Early November: We release completionist and participant badges, solicit feedback, and post a hall-of-fame list of completionists by the 10th.

PARTICIPATION AND COMPLETION

Q: What counts as participation? Create or continue at least one work inspired by one of this year’s prompts. Q: What counts as completion? Creating work(s) inspired by at least one prompt from each day (or alts), for a total of 31 unique prompts. Q: Do I need to create 31 works? No. You can, if you want. Or you can create one work that you add to every day with a new prompt. Or several works that combine prompts. You can also update an existing work by adding new material with the current prompts. Q: Do I need to post my works somewhere to be a completionist or a participant? No. Q: How do you know I actually completed the challenge? We’ll take your word for it! Q: Do I have to finish my work(s) to be a completionist? No, you can post WIPs. And you’re not obligated to finish them in October, but if you want it to count towards being a completionist, you must have completed 31 prompts by the end of the month. So for example, if you’re writing a long fic and you fit 31 different prompts into the writing you did in October, it’s okay if that fic isn’t finished by the time October ends, you’ll still be a completionist. Q: Is co-writing/illustrating allowed? Yes, absolutely, and it would count towards being a completionist for both/all of you. Q: Is there a min/max limit on word count for written works? No. Q: Is there a min/max limit of quality for art? No. Q: Do I have to do something each day to be a completionist? No. You can skip days whenever you want, and as long as 31 daily prompts (or alts) are in your works done in October, you can be a completionist. For example, if you wrote a 1000-word ficlet that covers prompts in days 2, 3, and 17, you can check all three days off your list even though it’s only one work. Q: Is this challenge just for fics? No! Artworks, GIFsets, headcannons, rec lists, poetry, moodboards, or any other creative work is encouraged. Q: Can I combine Whumptober with other creation challenges? Absolutely, as long as the other challenges allow it too.

PROMPTS

Q: How do the prompts work? There are FOUR prompts per day: a theme and three ideas. You can use one, two, three, or all four prompts for each day. If you don’t like any of the daily prompts, you can substitute one of the ALT prompts instead. Q: How strictly/literally should we interpret the prompts? As literally or as figuratively as you want. For example, if the theme is WATER, that could mean drowning, waterboarding, raining, swimming, take place underwater, be lost at sea, construct a metaphor about a character’s mood that changes like a flowing river, crying, or whatever else you can think of that fits that theme. Q: Can I combine prompts? Is there a limit on how many? No limit and combine as many as you’d like. If you create a work that checks off multiple prompts, that work will count for a fill of multiple prompts. You need to address 31 different prompts to be an official completionist, but you don’t have to produce 31 separate works.

WORKS

Q: What’s whump? Hurting a character, whether that’s physically, emotionally, intellectually, psychologically, or any other way you can think of. Comfort afterwards is optional. Angst is emotional whump, so it counts. Q: How do I know if it’s whumpy enough? If your character is just mildly inconvenienced, it probably needs more whump. However, no participant has to prove whumpiness to the mods. Whatever you write is up to you. Q: What kind of characters can I create for? Anything. Generic “whumpee,” OC, PC, NPC, major characters, minor characters, or whatever you want. There are no limits. Q: Does it have to take place in a specific fandom? No, you can create works for your own worlds or for fandoms or for both. You can also create more generic or pan-fandom works. You can do cross-overs or use OCs, whatever you want. Q: Can I create AI-created works? We will not reblog or promote any works we know to be generative AI-created. Q: Is there anything we’re not allowed to write? As long as it contains whump and is based on our prompts, it’s fine. Please courtesy tag your works if you post them so people who follow the #whumptober2024 tag can filter according to their preferences. Q: What about sex, minor characters, and potentially disturbing content? You can create whatever works are legal in your country and post them accordingly. Please courtesy tag anything you think might be objectionable if you post to Tumblr so people who follow the #whumptober2024 tag can filter according to their preferences.

POSTING

Q: Where can I post my work? Post where and how you want. You don’t even have to (cross)post it to Tumblr. Just keep in mind if it’s not on Tumblr we will not be able to add it to the blog archive. There is an AO3 archive for Whumptober 2024, as well as the parent collection for works completed outside of the event. Q: Can I start posting early? You can, but this is an October event and wouldn’t it be more fun with everyone doing it at the same time? We won’t be reblogging any work predating October 1st. Q: Can I post late? Yes. For the sake of our hardworking Post Fairies, only a day’s themes will be reblogged to @whumptober-archive each day of October. But you can post whenever. Some of us are still working on and posting Whumptober fics from years ago. Q: Do I have to use your tags? Only on Tumblr and only if you want us to reblog your work on @whumptober-archive. Q: How do I have my works reblogged to the archive? Properly tagged posts will be reblogged to @whumptober-archive. If you want the official archive blog to reblog you, post on Tumblr and tag correctly (see this FAQ link for more info on tagging). Please note not all posts will be reblogged each day. Q: Can we @ you? For questions and comments, of course. We’ll be getting a flood of notifications, so if you really want us to see something send an ask. Q: Can I cross post on other blogs? Yes, multiple platforms and blogs are perfectly acceptable, as long as they allow cross-posting (to us). You can also post different works to different accounts under different names, without posting them everywhere at once. If you post some works under your main and others under an alt blog, that’s fine for completionist purposes. Q: Can I upload/repost my Whumptober content to other social media platforms? Of course! We’ve created an AO3 Collection to archive any fics posted there, which can be found here. The blog is the official archive, so please respect the personal boundaries of any whumpers in your social circle (don’t out anyone as a participant who would prefer not to be outed).

Most importantly, have fun, create, and enjoy all the whump posted this October!

[beardedhandstoadshark]

What is your thoughts on "the protagonist is actually insane/in a coma" fan theory?

Omg lowkey rant in the tags incoming, but outing myself here I used to be really into them back when they were popular. You name it, I‘ve probably heard of it and been genuinely into them, too.

But as fun as they are for babies first edgy fan theory, once the novelty wore off, they just suck out any fun and nuance of things for clickbait and edge. How dare a story be fantastical, surely the writers secretly conspired these minute details to overshadow the dark and sad reality lying underneath! And not just that they. Wanted to write something cool and fun.

Plus for me the fun thing about theories is that chance that it could be true, or the way things can build in fun way from there - the what if? But with these, it’s kinda…missing? "Ash is in a coma and pokemon are fake“. "The very happy girl in a happy kids show is addicted to antidepressants“. Ok. What now? There’s nothing to pull from here, no where to go, no lines to draw. It’s empty.

The one exception I‘ve got is when there’s some genuinely weird things going on with the worldbuilding and plot that it actually fits in as a proper theory. Then it’s cool! But in that case the " - is in a coma“ part is also just happenstance lol.