#ok this is slightly less whumpy than some of the others but i think it still counts

[jianghushenanigans]

Whumptober Day 28: Sacrifice

Peizhi looks awful. Truly awful. And Gu Qingzhang… he has a job to do. He can’t sacrifice everything he’s worked towards just for this.

Except…

He had approached Lan Jue because of who his father was. He had befriended Lan Jue as a means to an end. He had meant to stay with Lan Jue in order use him.

He had stayed with Peizhi because he was utterly entranced by him.

He can see himself in him. They’re of a similar age. They’re both orphans (or, in Gu Qingzhang’s case, as good as). They’re both determined to go through anything to get justice for their families.

Peizhi doesn’t know this about Shulin, of course, but he must have seen something, because for all Gu Qingzhang had tried to chase him, Peizhi had not tried hard to escape. Had pushed closer himself.

And all this, now, has led to Gu Qingzhang’s heart beating faster as he watches Peizhi pour poison into his own wine.

Gu Qingzhang has too much at stake to risk anything. He has to avenge the people who raised him. He has to have revenge on the Empress who left him to die.

And yet... and yet.

He swaps the wine with a deft hand. Tips it back without giving anything away. Slips away into the dark, feeling his insides burning but knowing, at least, that Peizhi will be alright.

Some sacrifices are worth it.

Peizhi looks awful. Truly awful. And Wang Yan… he has a job to do. He can’t sacrifice his good name, his family’s reputation just for this.

Except…

When he had met Lan Jue, he had been a nobody, selling calligraphy in the street, his own family’s reputation nothing but dust. Wang Yan hadn’t even noticed him, until he had been given no choice not to.

He can’t imagine his life without Peizhi in it, now.

He can see himself in him. They’re of a similar age. They both want their father’s to be able to look at them proudly. They’re both desperate to prove themselves in the political sphere.

Peizhi knows about the struggle Mowen has had, getting his father to approve of him. They had held each other close, one of them wishing his father cared, the other wishing his father was there. It made Wang Yan feel selfish, thinking about it afterwards, but somehow it had only drawn Peizhi closer.

And all this, now, has led to Wang Yan pausing to think as Peizhi begs him to hide evidence that he says is being used to frame him.

Wang Yan has too much at stake to risk anything. He has to prove his worth as the Minister for Justice to the Emperor. He has to prove it to his father.

And yet... and yet.

He nods, briskly. He swaps the evidence with a deft hand. Hides it without giving anything away. Slips back to the investigation, ignoring the potential political ramifications because he knows, at least, that Peizhi will be alright.

Some sacrifices are worth it.

*

Crossposted here on ao3

[starrywhump]

Here’s a little Caspian story, it’s not super whumpy, it’s more emotional pain than physical.  It’s also developing the characters a little more.  Hope ya’ll like it!

Tag list:  @nerdingz-prompts @whoopsalittlewhumpy @fanmanga1357-blog  @real-gen-z-hitchhiker  @newsies-lesamis-oz-and-me @mermy-blogs @whatwasmyprevioususername

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It had been a week.

A week dealing with broken bones, stab wounds, and bruises with no pain medication other than Advil. It didn’t do much to help.

A week of awkward, infuriating conversations with Cole. Every second with that guy was confusing.

He’s a murderer, he kidnapped you and tied you to a bed, he’s crazy!  

So why don’t I hate him?

Caspian wanted to hate him. He was so angry with everything, so angry that all this happened. But more than that, he was afraid. For a second there back with Damien, Caspian really thought he was going to die. It was scary.

After dealing with that it was kind of nice to be around someone who didn’t treat them horribly. 

Cole really had tried to make Caspian comfortable here. 

But he’s still keeping you captive Caspian. Jesus Christ stop excusing this guy. 

Caspian shook his head. He was tired, he didn’t want to think about this right now. 

A soft knock at his door caught his attention.

“Can I come in?” Cole’s voice came from the other side of the door. 

“Yes,” Caspian sighed, he didn’t want to get in a fight with Cole right now, he just wanted to sleep.

“I uh... brought you this,” Cole placed an orange pill bottle down on the bedside table, the label was scratched off, “Oxycodone, I got it through... uh work.”

“Work? Is that what we’re calling your gang now?”

Cole grimaced nervously, “It’s pain meds, I know you need them. And since we can’t go to the hospital, I just thought... well I don’t know, for uh, your injuries,” Cole scratched the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable.

Pain meds do sound amazing.

“How many do I take?” Caspian winced as he pulled himself up to a sitting position.

“Just one,” Cole handed Caspian the bottle. 

Caspian held the bottle in his weaker wrist, opting to use his wrist that hadn’t been dislocated to open the bottle.  

“Ah fuck,” Caspian dropped the pill bottle, wincing. As soon as he tried to use the muscle in his sprained wrist it lit up with pain.

“I can do it if you’d like,” Cole muttered. 

Caspian nodded.

Cole easily opened the bottle, he handed Caspian one of the pills, as well as his water glass from the bedside table. 

The weight of the water hurt, but he could manage it.

Caspian looked down at the pill laying in his bandaged hand. There was no real way to tell what it was, he had no idea what oxycodone was supposed to look like. 

“Are you drugging me again?” Caspian spoke in a tired voice.

Cole looked down, he looked guilty, “I’m not, really.”

“Either way,” Caspian placed the pill between his lips, taking a drink and swallowing it. 

Cole took the glass back from Caspian, putting it back on the bedside table.

“So I uh, am going to the store today. For groceries. I was wondering, or uh... wanted to ask you if I can get stuff you like. I mean if you have things you would like. Like meals I can make or uh snacks.”

Snacks?

Caspian wanted to laugh. He couldn’t believe they were talking about snacks. Only a few days ago he was bleeding out in an underground cellar, and now he was being asked if he wanted any snacks. 

He couldn’t even think about it. His mind had been consumed by survival, and his other thoughts hadn’t come back yet.

“I’m sure whatever you get will be fine.”

Cole looked slightly disheartened.

“But uh, thanks.”

Cole’s eyes lit up. He smiled at some of the only kind words Caspian had ever said to him.

What the hell are you doing? Why are you being nice to him?!

Caspian felt crazy, this guy was torturing him less than a week ago and now Caspian was worried about not hurting his feelings.  

No.

He didn’t care about Cole’s feelings. Why would he? It was just because that is what he would say in a normal conversation.

Or because you have Stockholm Syndrome, ever thought of that Caspian?

No.

Oh god, is that what this is? Is that how Stockholm Syndrome works?

Caspian squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn’t think about this. He... he didn’t have Stockholm Syndrome that’s stupid.  

“Can you leave, I want to sleep,” Caspian laid back down on the bed, he spoke with malice in his voice.

“Oh,” Cole was surprised at the sudden change of tone, “ok yeah, um totally. Uh sleep well,” he walked out, closing the door behind him.

You hate him.

Caspian did, he did hate him. Cole hurt him and he hadn’t forgiven him for that. All of this was Cole’s fault.

You hate him.

So why did he need to convince himself so much?

[sableflynn]

Summer nights

Written for the “attacked in their sleep” prompt for @badthingshappenbingo​ and requested by anon. I’m sorry anon I wanted this to be more whumpy, but it ended up being pretty low stakes and kind of goofy! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ also just to clarify Kailo’s like nineteen in this, everyone just calls him kid lol

Also on Ao3

---

Kailo stared at the innkeeper, not fully understanding what she was saying. "What do you mean it's not enough? It was enough last night…”

“But it’s solstice week now, yeah? Everything’s gonna be pricier with all the tourists coming in.” The innkeeper gave him a sympathetic smile, but she was drumming her fingers along the bar like she was waiting for him to leave. “Listen honey, you should just go home. Your mom probably misses you.”

“But I…” He bit his lip. Home was so far away, and he didn’t come all the way to the city just to run away as soon as things got difficult. “Is there somewhere else nearby I could stay?” This had been the cheapest inn he could find, but there was so much of the city he hadn’t seen yet and he easily could've missed something.

But she just shrugged, already turning her attention to the next customers. “Might be. Good luck finding a place with an open room this late at the start of solstice week, though.”

And so Kailo found himself on the street again, pack slung over his shoulder, trying to stay positive. This isn’t the only inn in the city. There’s got to be somewhere with a room I can afford. Tomorrow he would wake up early and see what odd jobs he could pick up around the city. He just needed a place to crash for the night.

But the next three places he checked were completely full, and the two after that were even more expensive than the one he had left behind. He was starting to feel desperate. Each time he stepped back outside, the streets seemed a little bit emptier, the shadows a little bit darker. The owner of the last place he stopped had actually laughed in his face when he told them how much he could pay. He rubbed away the tears of embarrassment and frustration that pricked at his eyes. Why is everyone here so cruel?

As the night went on, exhaustion overcame any sense of self-preservation; he stopped looking at inns and started eyeing the secluded, winding alleys criss-crossing the city. It’s just one night… He could tuck himself somewhere out of the way and curl up for a few hours. Just enough to take the edge off his exhaustion. At least it’s not raining.

He eventually found a dead end behind what looked like a bakery, closed for the night. Maybe if I wake up early enough, they’ll give me some bread before they open for the day. Surely there had to be some kind people in this city. He curled up on the cool cobblestones, arms tightly wrapping his pack. The city was never truly silent, but here the sounds of the late night life became a sort of ambient background noise, muffled by the walls of the buildings surrounding him. He could see the crescent moon in the sky between the rooftops, and he could almost convince himself this was peaceful. Letting his eyes drift shut, he slowly fell into an uneasy sleep.

***

Kailo woke with a start to the sensation of something tugging at the bag clutched in his arms. He jolted up to sitting and threw himself back, his mind struggling to catch up to where he was and what was happening. I slept outside, and now I’m not alone. He squinted in the dim moonlight and made out the figure of a man crouching at his side.

“Hey, don’t worry,” the man said in a voice that absolutely made Kailo worry. “I don’t have to hurt you. I just wanna see if you’ve got anything good in that bag.” The man advanced on him, reaching for the bag once again.

“I don’t have anything!” Kailo’s back hit the wall and he hugged his bag closer, eyes scanning the alley for some way out. He could only see the man looming over him, blocking his line of sight. He kicked out in desperation. “Get off of me! I swear I don’t have anything! Leave me alone!”

The man’s fist smashed into the side of his face, whipping his head against the wall as pain exploded across his cheek. Stunned, he sat helpless for a minute as he felt the bag being lifted out of his arms. No. Kailo shook the stars from his vision to see the man digging through the pack, counting out the small amount of money he had. Reaching back in to pull out the blanket from home.

“You don’t have anything?” The man held the blanket aloft, and Kailo froze. It was hand embroidered with the waves and foam of the sea, a gift from his mother, the only keepsake he had from home. He grabbed for it, but the man pushed him back down easily. “This is cute. Dunno if it’s worth much, but I’m sure someone would buy it.”

“No!” Fear forgotten, Kailo threw himself at the man. He had no clue how to fight, but he scrabbled at the man’s arms in an attempt to wrestle the blanket from him. An erratic fist collided with the man’s face, and Kailo felt a brief thrill of victory before he was slammed on his back, knocking all the air out of him.

“Now you’re pissing me off,” the man growled, and Kailo felt a cold bite at his neck that he realized was a knife. “This isn’t worth dying for, is it? Just let it happen, kid. Maybe you’ll be more careful where you sleep next time.” Kailo was scared to move under that knife, scared to even breathe, but he couldn’t let this man walk away with everything he owned.

“Hey, leave him alone!”

A voice rang out from the other end of the alley, and they both paused. The man eased off slightly to turn and look, and Kailo was able to lift his head to see a woman standing at the edge of the alley. Even as he was grateful for the distraction, his stomach dropped. Now this woman is going to get hurt too, because I was stupid enough to think I could move to this city by myself.

“Why don’t you mind your own fuckin’ business?” The man dropped Kailo’s things and stood to face the woman. Not taking his eyes off the scene unfolding in front of him, Kailo grabbed his bag, shoving the blanket back in, and scrambled back against the wall. He should run, or try to help, or do something, but he felt frozen.

As the woman stepped closer, Kailo managed to find his voice. He had to at least warn her that this man was dangerous. “Watch out! He has a knife!”

“I can see that,” the woman said with a laugh. “Do you even know how to use that thing?”

Why would she taunt him like that? Now the man was enraged, rushing towards her with the knife in hand. She wasn’t even moving, just watching the man with a smirk on her face as he got closer. Kailo was holding his breath, wondering if he was about to sit here and watch this woman get stabbed while he did nothing.

Instead, he blinked, and suddenly the man was sprawled on the ground, swearing, and the woman was kicking the knife out of his reach. How did she…? Kailo crept forward, torn between wanting to get a closer look and needing to get as far away as possible.

The man rolled over on the ground, clutching his arm. “What the fuck? What was that for?”

“That was for you running at me with a knife!” The woman snapped, heated. She picked up the knife and tossed it to Kailo. Too stunned to catch it, he let it slip between his fingers and clatter to the ground at his feet. “And stop bothering people when they’re trying to sleep,” she added, dragging the man back to standing. “Seriously, just go rob a fucking mansion or something if you need money. This is just embarrassing for you.”

“It was going fine until you decided to stick your nose in!” The man seemed a lot less intimidating now, and a lot more flustered.

“Well I did stick my nose in, so you’d better leave now.” The woman gave him a rough shove towards the street. “Unless you really want to try your luck against me, but let’s be real, we both know you would lose.” Kailo expected the man to attack again, but to his surprise, he instead continued out the alley and vanished onto the street.

Kailo stood rooted to the spot, trying to calm his frantic breathing. The woman walked over to him and looked him over. “You ok, kid?”

A thousand thoughts were racing through his mind—he could’ve killed you—he tried to rob me—are you ok?—I hate this city—but absurdly, the first thing to come out of his mouth was, “I’m not a kid!”

“Fair enough, sorry!” She smiled, and it was oddly comforting despite the streak of blood across her cheek. “But seriously, you seem pretty shaken up.”

Kailo realized he was clutching his pack to his chest like a lifeline, and he tried to relax himself. “I just...he was gonna kill me. And he could’ve killed you, and I don’t even know you!”

“What, that guy?” To his shock, the woman laughed. “Nah, he’s harmless. Thinks he’s cool because he can wave a knife around, but he really doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing.” Then she seemed to realize her comments weren’t making him feel any better, and her expression softened. “But hey...why are you out here so late anyway? Don’t you have a place to stay?”

“I…” Kailo looked down, scuffed the cobblestones with his foot. He was exhausted and terrified, and he wasn’t sure if he could trust her but she seemed honest enough. “Well, I was just staying in an inn, just for a little bit until I could find a place. But then they raised the prices and I couldn’t afford a room, so…”

The woman rolled her eyes. “Fucking tourist season. Sorry that had to happen to you. But listen, if you’re new here…” She paused, looking thoughtful. “I have a couch, you can totally come crash with me. Just for a little bit, so you can get your feet under you.”

“You would do that for me?” Part of his mind was telling him there had to be a catch, but he was just so tired and just wanted to be somewhere safe. “But you don’t even know me!”

“True, that would help!” The woman stuck out her hand in greeting, easy grin back on her face. “I’m Darya, nice to meet you!”

“I’m Kailo.” He shook her hand. “Thanks, by the way. For saving me back there.”

“Don’t even worry about it!” She headed back towards the street, looking back at him over her shoulder. “Come on, home’s not far from here, and I promise I have a really nice couch!” Kailo paused for a moment, slowly smiling despite his exhaustion. Then he followed her out onto the street and walked by her side, their forms casting long shadows in the glow of the lamplight.

[set-phasers-to-whump]

taking a bullet

whumpee: will riker

fandom: star trek tng

here it is @has-a-blonde-sidekick !!! i’m really sorry it’s not very whumpy but i do plan to write the other prompts you gave me and i promise those will be more whumpy!! i hope this is ok anyway!

Everything had been going so well. The away team, consisting of Riker, Data, and Worf, had beamed down to the city of Ender, which served as a sort of world capital for the planet Angore. The planet was considering becoming a member of the Federation, and the Enterprise had been sent to begin the process. 

The away team had had a brief meeting with the governor of Ender, which had been highly productive. They had then been told they could wander around the building which housed most of the government offices of Ender, while they waited for a few officials from various cities around the planet to arrive for discussions. 

So the trio had decided to explore the building, which was extremely large and ornately decorated. Most of the doors in the hallways were locked, but occasionally, one would open, revealing a small library, or a supply closet, or a file room. Data had just pushed open an unlocked door, which swung open to reveal a dark room illuminated by several screens on the walls. The three of them had stepped inside for a closer look, and a man had suddenly stepped out from behind a cabinet and pointed a phaser at them.

“What are you doing in here?”

“We don’t want any trouble,” Riker said calmly, raising his hands slightly to show he wasn’t a threat. “The door was unlocked, and the governor told us we were welcome to explore the building.”

“Did she now?”

Beside him, Riker could feel Worf begin to reach for his own phaser. “Don’t,” he whispered. “It’ll be fine.”

“No, it won’t!” shouted the man with the phaser. “Don’t think I can’t see you reaching for your phaser, Klingon! Don’t test me, or I’ll shoot all of you, I swear I will!”

“Commander, I can-”

“Negative, Worf. Just stay calm. We really don’t want any trouble. Nothing that might make the Federation reject your planet’s application to join,” Riker said, hoping to explain to this man why shooting them would be a very terrible idea.

“You think I care about your stupid Federation? You came and busted in on my work, I don’t care if you’re the governor!”

Data stepped forward. “You must think this through,” he said. “You would not risk-”

His sentence was cut short by the blast of a phaser. Something knocked into him, and then fell on him, pinning him to the ground. There was a shout, and a thud.

Worf stood up, having stunned the man, and kicked his phaser away. He turned to the other two members of his team, both of whom were on the ground. 

“Commander? Data? Have you been injured?”

“Negative, Lieutenant,” came Data’s voice from beneath Riker. 

“Commander?”

There was no reply.

“Commander?” Data asked, gently pushing Riker off of him and to the floor. He sat up, then rolled the Commander over onto his back.

“He is alive,” Data reported. “Merely unconscious.”

There was a long burn mark across Riker’s chest, curving down from his right shoulder as he’d tackled Data to the ground. His shirt had been burned away there, his skin charred underneath.

“I will stay here with him.” Worf poked at the stunned man with his foot, addressing Data. “You and the Commander beam up to sickbay.”

Data nodded sharply and tapped his combadge. “Data to Picard, two to beam directly to sickbay.”

A second later, he and Riker were in the middle of sickbay. Immediately, two nurses were upon them, quickly transferring Commander Riker to a bed and pulling Data to his feet.

Doctor Crusher hurried into the room. “What happened, Data?” 

“Commander Riker was struck by a phaser. He is alive, but unconscious.”

Doctor Crusher nodded. Her nurses had already set to work-phaser wounds were fairly easy to treat, especially if the patient was already unconscious. 

“What exactly happened?” she asked. “This wasn’t supposed to be a dangerous mission.”

“He...pushed me out of the way, Doctor. The phaser blast would have hit me, but Commander Riker pushed me aside and took the blast instead.”

He was having difficulty understanding why the Commander would do such a thing. He was an android, after all, and less susceptible to damage than a human.

“I do not understand why Commander Riker would do this,” Data confessed, wondering if Dr. Crusher might be able to offer some insight. “I am far less damageable than he.”

Dr. Crusher glanced to the bed where the two nurses were diligently healing Riker’s wounds. She smiled slightly, then turned back to Data.

“He feels responsible for...well, basically everyone on this ship. Even the Captain,” she laughed. “He is the first officer, and a big part of that job is being ready to protect your crew. He’d do just about anything to protect you, Data, or to protect me, or Worf, or any crewman, no matter who they are, regardless of whether he even knows them. But,” she continued, “it’s more than just a duty to him. It’s...innate, the same way healing people is for me. It’s part of him.”

Data took a second to process this. “I believe I understand, Doctor. I had not previously considered this information.”

Dr. Crusher smiled at him. “Maybe don’t tell him I told you all that?” she asked. 

“Indeed, Doctor,” Data agreed. “I believe I shall thank him, however, for, to use an old Earth expression, ‘taking a bullet for me.’”

“You can thank him now,” Dr. Crusher told him. “He’ll be coming around any second.”

Riker blinked open his eyes. His chest ached, and he felt exhausted. He thought about what had happened-they’d been down in Ender, exploring the government building, then they’d opened a door, and there’d been-a man with a phaser! He had to find Worf and Data, and see if they were alright! 

He bolted up, then took a second to examine his surroundings. Much to his surprise, he found himself not on Angore at all, but instead in sickbay. He glanced around confusedly, until his eyes landed on a familiar face.

“Data! What happened?”

Data sat carefully on the edge of the bed and briefly explained the events that had occurred after Riker had been shot. 

“Is Worf back yet?”

As if in response to his question, the door to sickbay slid open, and Worf walked in, hurrying over to Data and Riker. 

“Commander, it is good to see you have been healed. The man who shot you is in custody in Ender, and negotiations will resume tomorrow. The governor sends her apologies.”

After delivering his news, Worf turned to Dr. Crusher. “How bad were the injuries?” he asked.

“Not too severe,” she told him. “The burn was fairly bad, but it’ll hardly leave a mark.”

Worf nodded, then turned his attention back to the Commander. “If I may speak freely,” he began, not really waiting for permission, “that was an incredibly foolish thing to do.”

“I am more resistant to phaser fire than you,” Data agreed, then remembered his conversation with Dr. Crusher. “However, I appreciate you preventing me from being harmed. Thank you,” he said, attempting a grateful smile.

Riker smiled back at him, then closed his eyes slightly. “I’m tired,” he remarked. 

“Getting shot by a phaser will do that to you,” Dr. Crusher said. “Just get some rest, Will. You’ve earned it.”

Another small smile ghosted across his face before he closed his eyes, falling asleep almost immediately.

Sorry the ending sucks my endings are always just Bad and i should probably fix that,,,anyway again i’m sorry this has barely any actual whump content but i hope it was alright!!