#whumptober day 21

[serickswrites]

The Chain

Warnings: captivity, torture, restraints, weapons, forced to watch

Caretaker struggled uselessly to try and free themself from the chains at their wrists and ankles. It was no use, the cuffs were too tight for Caretaker to try and slip them. But they couldn’t stop trying, not when Whumper made sure they had a front row seat to Whumpee’s torture.

Whumpee stood in the center of the room, standing cuffs pulling their arms so tight above their head they had to stand on tip toe to keep from putting any excess weight on their shoulders. But Caretaker knew it was only a matter of time before they slipped, before Whumper knocked their feet out from under them.

“LEAVE THEM ALONE!” Caretaker roared as Whumper circled Whumpee, baseball bat clutched tightly in their hand.

Whumper cocked their head to the side. “Why would I ever do that?”

“I swear to God I will end you if you so much as touch them,” Caretaker hissed.

Whumpee’s cry silenced Caretaker. Whumper had swung the bat, clipping Whumpee in the ribs and sending Whumpee flying. “OH GOD!” Whumpee shrieked as they struggled to regain their footing.

“What do you think, Caretaker? Think you can stop me?” Whumper raised the bat again.

“I WILL END YOU!” Caretaker shouted.

They flinched as they heard the sound of the bat connecting with Whumpee’s side. Whumpee wailed as they sailed through the air, shoulders pulled at a painful angle. “Stop! Stop! Please!” Whumpee gasped. Their breathing was so fast and shallow, Caretaker was sure Whumpee would hyperventilate and faint. “Please,” Whumpee begged.

Whumper smiled as they stood in front of Whumpee. “It’s not up to me if I stop, Whumpee. It’s up to your friend over there.”

“What do you want?” Caretaker didn’t take their gaze from Whumpee’s face. Whumpee had screwed their eyes shut as they tried to breathe through their nose.

“Tell them not to move and we’ll go from there.”

“What?” Caretaker would not, could not participate in Whumpee’s torture.

Whumper raised their bat again, pointing it at Whumpee’s head. “Tell them not to move, Caretaker, or you’ll find out what sound Whumpee’s head makes when I hit it with my bat.”

“Don’t move,” Caretaker hurried to say. They had to protect Whumpee in any way they could. “Please, Whumpee, don’t move.”

Whumpee froze as they opened their eyes to stare at Caretaker. Their eyes were filled with fear and sorrow. Caretaker tried to give Whumpee a reassuring look, but knew they failed. They had no way to comfort Whumpee.

“Good. See, we can all work together. Now, Caretaker, tell them to close their eyes and everything will be ok.”

Caretaker swallowed. There was no way everything would be ok. Whumper raised the bat once more and Caretaker opened their mouth. “Close your eyes, Whumpee. Please, just…just close your eyes. Everything….everything will be ok.”

Caretaker closed their own eyes as Whumper brought the bat down on Whumpee’s shin and Whumpee’s screams of pain echoed through the room. Everything was not ok. Nor would it be ok so long as Caretaker was restrained.

[finn-m-corvex]

Whumptober Day 21: Vows

Day 21! It took a while to get the ball rolling on this one, but I managed, and I'm actually somewhat proud of how it came out. It's definitely a bit of a bang-up job but hey, still works! And that's what matters!

Taglist: @splinnters @abigailxoxo @tornoleander @mondothebombo @ghostwalloper @toastingpencils37 @lightning-chicken

Words: 2.1k

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

It wasn’t supposed to be him standing here instead of her. He shouldn’t have been the one to make it out of there, thrown through a portal and watching as the only girl he had ever truly loved stayed behind, facing down her captors with the fiery spirit that reminded him of her brother and the calculating calm that he associated with her and her alone.

Jay flinched as he tried to get off of the bed in his parents’ trailer, his various injuries flaring up in pain as he leaned on his elbows. It had only been a day since he arrived and crashed into one of his family’s various junk piles, so he knew that he didn’t heal all that much, especially with the poor sleep from the night before. But he was healed enough to start walking, barely, and he needed to get out of this room before he started to go stir-crazy.

Both his mom and his dad were out, picking up various supplies to try and take care of him and for emergencies in case Nadakhan decided to take up this chunk just in case. Jay missed his mom and dad, but he wouldn’t lie; he was angry, and he was disappointed with them, and he hated the feeling that twisted in his gut whenever he saw his pa’s smile and his ma’s brown eyes.

Did Jay really have his pa’s smile? Or Cliff Gordon’s?

Thankfully, his parents had the foresight to clear the path to and from the front door, and Jay shuffled across the hardwood, regretting every step. Pain shot up and down his legs, making his snapped ankle throb in agony as he grit his teeth against the sensation. He deserved every second of this.

“C’mon Walker, you’re better than this,” Jay muttered angrily, finally reaching the door, “it’s in your name, goddammit.”

Picking up his foot, Jay was glad no one was around to hear him scream as he set it down. His knee buckled, and suddenly he was falling on his ass on the front stairs to the trailer instead of the soft sand. His back twinged in protest, and he started grumbling as he picked himself back up and plopping down on the bottom step. He rolled up his pant leg to inspect the damage, and immediately wished that he hadn’t.

The ring of purple bruises around his ankle was a sight that he was used to seeing, but it didn’t make it any easier to process.

So he was going to have to limp for a little while. Okay, that was fine. Not like he didn’t do plenty of limping on the Misfortune’s Keep, so it should just be like before. Except now he wasn’t lugging around a giant ball and chain with him, so in theory it should be even easier.

It was not easier.

Thinking about the ship only made all of his injuries ache even more, and Jay kept having to stop moving just so they would settle down and stop making his vision split in two. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity he reached the car that his pa was working on before Jay fell out of the sky, and he reached into Ed’s toolbox to grab up a screwdriver and start working on the engine. Might as well make himself useful if he was going to be stuck here for a little while, right?

He had to start coming up with a plan. But he didn’t even know where to start.

Absentmindedly messing with the timing belt, Jay tried to remember what his dad was talking about when he was explaining what was wrong with the car. It had something to do with the valves, right? Valves were pretty easy.

Bending down hurt like a bitch, but the pain was a welcome numbing from the guilt coiling around his heart. Sure, working on the car served as a good distraction, but Jay forgot how much his mind started to wonder whenever he engaged with anything mechanical. The phantom weight of the ball and chain was keeping him in place, making it very hard to work around the engine as he took out part after part.

Soon enough, he had an almost completely disassembled engine block laying next to him. He just undid all of his pa’s hard work.

“Dammit,” Jay muttered, feeling the tears sting at the corners of his eyes. Wiping them away only spread the motor oil from his hands to his face, but it was something that Jay was more than used to. Not just the oil, but the suffocating sense of uselessness that was drowning him

Oh well, broken things could always be fixed. That’s what Pa always told him.

Except the only person that knew how to fix Jay was a dozen miles or so in the sky, and he still had no idea about how to save her.

“You’re not broken,” he muttered to himself, but he knew that it wasn’t very convincing. “Lloyd was broken after he had to fight his dad, Zane was broken after he fought the Overlord, and Cole was broken when he became a ghost. You are not broken.”

…right?

Thinking back to the past was something that Jay tried to avoid doing, but it was the only thing he could do as he grabbed up the parts and put them back together. Part of him wished that he brought his old Walkman and headphones with him, just to help distract from all of the negative thoughts buzzing around in his head, but Jay did not have the energy to try and stand back up after plopping down into the sand.

He didn’t even know what music he would’ve listened to, because he took all of his favorite stuff with him to the first monastery, and he hated the old records that his folks kept around in a repurposed china cabinet.

Music. Music reminded him of Cole. His favorite big brother, the first one he ever had and the one that he would never be able to let go of. Cole was there for as long as Jay could remember, a steady presence at Jay’s as the blue ninja worried himself sick every night for the first two weeks at the monastery. They were so young when they made their first vows to each other; to always be by each other’s sides no matter what, to be the best brothers that they could be.

And of course, because Jay was a fucking idiot, he had to go and ruin their vows over a girl. Like Cole wasn’t there first.

His promises didn’t mean shit, did they?

But then Cole’s didn’t mean shit either, because the earth ninja promised to never go somewhere that Jay couldn’t follow. Then he went and became a ghost, and Jay was caught up in whether or not he should’ve marched his ass right back into Yang’s Temple and become a ghost right alongside his brother, just so that Cole wouldn’t have to go through that on his own. 

Thinking about that reminded him of Kai, who did insist that they stay at Yang’s Temple to try and fix it before begrudgingly admitting that they had no choice but to leave it behind. Kai was the brother that he could never get along with, the one who Jay had so little common ground with that it may as well not exist, and yet Jay knew that Kai would be one of the first ones to leap to Jay’s defense. He made Kai a promise too: he was always going to take care of Nya, to keep her safe no matter what.

Jay couldn’t keep that promise either.

Just like how he couldn’t keep the promise he made to Zane about how all of them would be together forever when the ice ninja had first joined them, pulling him into his and Cole’s brotherhood with ease. It took a while for Jay and Cole to adjust to the new person in their routine, but they managed just like they always did. It was the three of them against the world, and then the three turned to four, then five, and finally six.

Lloyd got his habit of promising things from Jay, and Jay knew that. The difference between them was that Lloyd’s promises were as strong as steel, while Jay’s broke like glass at every opportunity. Part of him wished had hoped that Lloyd wouldn’t pick up on it, or it would’ve been one of those things that he grew out of, but to Jay’s dismay neither of those things were the case. But at least his little brother managed to keep his promises.

His thumb was jammed in between two parts of the engine as his focus slipped, but Jay didn’t bother to try and free it. If anything, the pain was grounding, and Jay bit his lip as he jammed it tighter. There was something inside finally feeling satisfied at his actions, something saying that he deserved every speck of pain that he was receiving. It was some sort of twisted penance for his crimes, his sins.

But there was no sin greater than leaving her behind.

“I’m so sorry, Nya,” he sobbed. Jay brought his fist and banged it against his injured ankle, and the limb screamed in pain. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

Jay failed her. He promised Kai he would keep her safe, promised himself, promised her, and as soon as he finally had to step up to the plate he failed. Every broken promise, every shattered vow lay heavy on his heart, and if Jay closed his eyes and concentrated hard enough they twisted into the shape of chains. The same chains that used to keep him contained on the pirate ship. His lightning was angry, telling him to stop hurting himself, but Jay couldn’t stop.

The chains were heavy on his wrists, and no matter how hard Jay tried he couldn’t lift his arms more than a couple inches. Around his ankle was the ball and chain again, this time three times as heavy, and the irrational part of Jay’s brain wondered what it would feel like to pick it up and toss it over the edge of the ship—

No. No. He could not go down that rabbit hole again, not when Nya still needed him. There was a chance; a snowball’s chance in hell, but a chance nonetheless. Jay had to take it.

Oh hey, look at that. The engine was almost done.

“Probably should get that Walkman,” Jay muttered, lifting himself off of his ass and starting to make the trek back to the trailer. The burning pain in all of his limbs was a welcome change, and Jay relished in the way the pain numbed everything else that he was feeling. Every step made him want to throw himself back down into the sand, but he finally managed to climb up. His Walkman was sitting on the coffee table and Jay snatched it, throwing the headphones on over his head and starting to walk outside.

When something caught his eye.

It was a small photograph, hanging up by the wall next to the front door, and Jay felt more tears sting at his eyes when he realized what it was a picture of.

The first time Nya had come over for family dinner, all those years ago. She was smiling, her makeup covering her beauty mark smudged and fading, and she was laughing as Jay tried unsuccessfully to shove a piece of strawberry cake in her mouth. Jay looked overjoyed, the smile on his face practically splitting in half, icing covering his cheeks. There was a slight sheen on both of them from the flash of the camera, even though Jay never realized that his parents ever took this photo.

His heart squeezed when he took it off the wall and held the wooden frame in his hands; it was a frame that his mom made, he could tell. The date was carved along the bottom, and Jay was startled to see a couple of tears land on the clean glass. Wiping them away, Jay clutched at the frame.

This was what he was fighting for. What every single one of them was fighting for.

He couldn’t give in now, not when there were so many people counting on him to be able to smile tomorrow. Not when she was counting on him too.

Closing his eyes, Jay took a deep breath. “I will save you, Nya, and every day I will put a smile on your face for as long as we’re together.”

And this was going to be the last promise he ever made himself, because Jay broke it then he was going to break right alongside it.

[smilesrobotlover]

Whumptober day 21- restraints, don’t move

Continuation of day 7

It’s Vio’s turn to have a bad time :)

~~~~~~~~~

Vio sighed as he entered the dark room, collecting anything that he left down there. It had been weeks since he brought Shadow back from the dark world. Though it was hard in the beginning, with everyone questioning Vio’s loyalty, the tension started to ease up. His brothers quickly accepted Shadow despite what he did before. They understood him and his desire to be a part of the family, even Blue didn’t protest against him being there. But the knights, especially his father, were most distrustful. Vio’s relationship with his father was tested, but after a week, they reconciled. Vio still remembers his father saying how he didn’t trust Shadow, but he did trust Vio. So Shadow stuck around, and things were finally easing up.

Vio figured that there was no reason to keep the room where he brought Shadow back a secret, so he came down there to collect his things and to clear it out. He never liked it in there anyways. When he collected his things however, he heard something drop. He spun around, grabbing his sword, but saw nothing, except for something small and round on the ground. Vio set his things down and observed it, it looking like a nut of some kind. It was red and tiny, looking to be the size of a pea. It had strange lips on it that twitched slightly, and Vio scrunched up his nose. What was this thing? Vio had read about all the berries and nuts in Hyrule, but he’d never seen something like this before.

“I know what you’re thinking.”

Vio gasped and spun around, pointing his sword at the man who appeared suddenly behind him. He was tall, with long purple hair that dangled from his head in a messy manner. He had dark markings around his red eyes, which held nothing but fury as he stared at Vio. He grinned, fangs popping out from each side of his mouth, and he gave a dark chuckle.

“You’re probably thinking, ‘what is this thing?’” The stranger continued, moving closer to Vio, which caused Vio to realize that he was hovering in the air. “It’s called a jabbernut. Not many Hylians notice it.”

Vio didn’t move as his sword was pressed up against the stranger’s neck, and he stopped floating closer to him.

“Don’t come any closer,” Vio warned.

“My, you are rude, aren’t you?”

“I know dark magic when I see it,” Vio said, glaring at the stranger before him. “How did you get in here? Who are you?”

The man’s grin fell, and nothing but fury replaced his amused expression. Vio yelped as tendrils shot out and wrapped around his arms, pinning him against the wall. One snaked around his mouth, cutting off his voice so he couldn’t call out for help. Vio squirmed, but the tendrils were too tight. He couldn’t move.

“After everything you did to me, and you don’t recognize me?” He snarled, baring his fangs. Vio turned his head away from him the best he could, but the gaze stayed on him. The furious expression softened. “I suppose it’s unfair to you, I do look a little different…”

The snarl turned into a grin which made Vio’s skin crawl. He grabbed Vio’s chin so that he would face him and laughed.

“My my, you’ve grown up so much, you’re no longer a little brat.”

Vio let out a muffled cry of pain as his hands were forced behind him and he was shoved harshly to the ground.

“I would kill you, you know. I’ve wanted nothing more than to kill you heroes and that traitor. But,” his chin was grabbed again and forced to look at the stranger more aggressively, “it wouldn’t be right for me to kill the one who brought me back, right?”

Vio frowned, confused at what he meant. He only brought back Shadow, who else could’ve possibly been trapped like him? Unless…

No…

No…. No no no no…..

Vaati.

Vio felt his blood run cold as the wind mage grinned at him as if he knew that Vio discovered who he was. He stared at him for a long moment before standing up straight and moving towards the door. Vio fought against the restraints around his arms and wrists but they wouldn’t budge. Vaati stopped and gave Vio one more smirk.

“Do me a favor, and don’t move. I’d hate for you to interrupt me finishing business with this kingdom.”

Vio growled as he fought against the restraints, but Vaati only laughed at him, leaving him alone in the room where all he could do was helplessly struggle. Fear for Hyrule, his family, and Zelda overwhelmed him, and he stopped struggling, horror over what happened, what he did, building up inside of him.

Vaati was back, and it was all his fault.

What had he done?

[comfort-questing]

21. vows

it was easy enough to track someone in the snow; easier, if they were leaving blood splashes behind them as they went. and they needed to be hard to track, if they could manage it. so the two of them were hiding in the underbrush off the path now, huddled in the shadow of a giant spruce as the gray cloudy sky grew darker purple with the coming of night above them.

she tried to stand up as she let go of their shoulders, but slipped to her hands and knees, falling limp to the damp ground below. the scarf wrapped around her stomach was soaked through with blood, dark crimson in the fading light, and she gagged at the pain as she tried to catch her breath.

"lie down. here, on my coat." they spread the heavy canvas cloth out on the ground with shaky hands, and turned to rummage in their satchel. "we've got to stop the bleeding properly."

easier it was, to reduce the desperation to one task at a time. light a candle. thread a needle. water bottle and the cleanest bit of spare cloth they could find. easier to think of one necessity required and solved, than to think of the searchers behind them, the gathering dark, the snowdrifts. of her lying so still beside them, small sharp gasps for breath struggling against the pain, face sallow with blood loss.

she didn't cry out as they cleaned the long, messy gash with their water bottle and a sleeve of their spare shirt, only bit deeper into her bloodless lips, eyes flicking here and there without landing on a destination. her eyes were closed by the time they got to stitching it up, trying their best to pull torn skin and muscle back together, hoping darkly that there wasn't worse damage they were missing deeper down.

it was full dark by the time they tied off the bandages, and she didn't rouse as they shook her shoulder gently, her eyelids barely twitching in the candlelight.

"don't do this. we can't stop yet." they bent closer, tried again, rubbing a thumb across her sweat-clammy cheek. "wake up."

"I - can't." her voice was scarcely a whisper. "just - go on without me. I - don't think I can - walk, and I'd - just slow you down - "

their throat tightened.

"no. no, I'm not leaving you."

"idiot." something like a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "you'll - be fine - if you go on now - you'll reach the bridge by dawn - "

they grasped each side of her face then, thickness in their throat coming up as hot tears in their eyes. "look at me. look at me - I am not leaving you. we've been through far too much for that, do you understand?"

"but - they'll come - and - we'll die, you can't - fight them alone."

she was shuddering convulsively now, and they gathered her up in their arms, trying to share whatever warmth they could.

"no. please - "

they tucked the top of her head under their chin, hands fumbling to steady her. the part of their mind ticking through the possibilities - the blood on the snow behind them, the long miles to the bridge and safety, the helpless weight of her in their arms - all that they knew, and pushed away, as things of lesser importance.

"I am not leaving you," they said, fiercely. "did you hear that all right this time? I swear it on the sky above us - we go together or not at all."

she did not answer that time in words, but gave a little sobbing sound that could have almost been a laugh too, and turned her face into their shoulder as the snow began to fall once again.

[whumpncomfort]

Doctor Who: Journeys End | No. 21 Take Me Instead

"Please, I'm begging you I'll do anything. Put me in her place you can do anything to me I don't care, just get her out of there!"

[calinaannehart]

Day 21: Famous last words

Coughing up blood | “You’re safe now” | “Take me instead”

“What the hell is taking so long? You said an hour, it’s been almost three!”

“I know, and I’m sorry Damon, but it’s out of my control. I’m sure they’re doing everything they can to—”

“That’s not good enough! You get my brother here in the next twenty minutes or I’m going to start cutting pieces of this guy!”

The line goes dead and Athena sighs as she sets down the phone. Every face in the makeshift command center is watching her, and it takes every ounce of her years of training herself to school her features to not show any of the fear or frustration she is feeling. The situation is fraught enough without adding a vein of uncertainty in her leadership.

[fletcherwilbury]

@whumptober Day 21: Coughing Up Blood

Warning for illness, blood, hospital mention, coughing, and respiratory problems.

[happy-snake-noises]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Bakugou Katsuki & Shinsou Hitoshi, Bakugou Katsuki & Tokoyami Fumikage, Bakugou Katsuki/Shinsou Hitoshi Characters: Bakugou Katsuki, Shinsou Hitoshi, Tokoyami Fumikage, Yagi Toshinori | All Might Additional Tags: Bakugou Katsuki-centric, Sports Festival Arc (My Hero Academia), Shinsou Hitoshi Wins the Sports Festival, (can you tell this is a completely outlandish headcanon that I really like?), Yagi Toshinori | All Might Bashing, Quite Literally, No hate to All Might he could be worse, no beta we die like midnight, BAMF Shinsou Hitoshi, Bakugou Katsuki Needs a Hug, Mild Blood, Rated for bakugou’s language and the mild injury, Ficlet, Whump, Whumptober 2023, Pre-Relationship, so sorry if you were expecting hardcore Bakushin Series: Part 5 of Whumptober 2023 Summary:

The crowd around them roared. The cheering washed over him like a roaring wave, the sound muffled beneath the panic he was drowning in. Chains wrapped around his middle, the cuffs on his hands dragged his shoulders down, the muzzle clamped his jaw.

He couldn’t move.

He couldn’t breathe.

Or, the award ceremony of the Sports festival from Bakugou’s perspective and Shinsou has some complaints against heroes.

Whumptober - day 21 | Vows | Restraints | “Don’t move” |

[boowhumps]

Whumptober 2023

Day 21

(@whumptober)

By - B.W

⚠TW⚠

~ Swearing

~ Mentions of Blood

Enjoy!

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Amne took deep breaths, eyes scanning the empty room.

Long, heavy chains held her down. They dragged her down by her arms, legs, and neck.

Amne shook her head, moving her bangs out of her face. She silently waited, knowing that soon.. he would come.

Suddenly, with a click, the cell door opens.

Amne's eyes glanced up, locking gaze with Zaaron.

"You came.." She whispers.

Zaaron frowns. "I said I would."

He approaches silently, taking a seat on the floor with her.

"I don't like how they have you chained up.." He mumbles.

Amne raises an eyebrow. "Precautions.. I assume."

Zaaron sighs. "Either way, it's still you.."

"Not anymore.." She says. "..Karyme's gone.. permanently."

Zaaron shakes his head. "We both know that's not true.. She's just.. stepped down from control."

Amne sighs. "You're too hopeful.."

Zaaron places a hand on her shoulder. "..do you trust me.?"

Amne nods.

"Alright.. just.. let me do this.." He replies.

Amne says nothing as Zaaron reaches around to the back of her neck, and undoes the lock.

"Zaaron.." Amne mumbles.

"It's fine." He says as he undoes the other chains. "Selyna approved it."

Amne sighs. "I'm dangerous.."

"Not at all." He replies. "Selyna did a thorough reading.. you're passive."

Amne's eyes widen. "But the virus-"

"It's not in use right now." Zaaron explains. "That's why you're.. calm right now."

Amne frowns. "This makes no sense.."

Zaaron undoes the last chain and helps Amne stand. "In time, it will. For now, let's get you back to the surface."

Amne nods, letting Zaaron lead her out of her prison.

__

Amne lays in her familiar bed, darkness surrounding her.

She can't sleep. Not after everything..

She turns to her side, closing her eyes. She tries to find sleep to no avail..

"Ą̵̘̥͉̘͖̱̥̺̿̀̈̒̂̅̀̅̈́̓̏͊͘͝m̶̥͇͈̣̏͑̿͑̃̈͛̕͠️ṉ̵͓̬͈̞̥̭̥̇̓̔͋ẹ̷͓̺̰̽̍͛̉̐̔͋̓̚͜."

Amne's eyes snap open, and she shoots up with a gasp. She looks directly ahead, eyes scanning the darkness.

"O̸̙͙̺̰͚͎̙͔̦͇͗̒̋͛̄͐̓̽̄͛́͂̀̑̕ͅͅͅȟ̸̨̯̲̝̳͓͎̭͖͊̄̔̽̓̂̋̇̋̀̕̚͜, Ą̵̘̥͉̘͖̱̥̺̿̀̈̒̂̅̀̅̈́̓̏͊͘͝m̶̥͇͈̣̏͑̿͑̃̈͛̕͠️ṉ̵͓̬͈̞̥̭̥̇̓̔͋ẹ̷͓̺̰̽̍͛̉̐̔͋̓̚͜.. m̶̥͇͈̣̏͑̿͑̃̈͛̕͠y̷̧̰̲͍̝̘̗̩̑̇͐̾̽̏͊͑̇̃̉͜ d̴̨̢̤̗̦͚̺̭̤͙̹̃̕ẹ̷͓̺̰̽̍͛̉̐̔͋̓̚͜â̸̙͐͑̌̿͛̽ŕ̶̛̰̱̈́̀́̑̿̾͛͂̈́͗̓̈́̒͘͝️ Ą̵̘̥͉̘͖̱̥̺̿̀̈̒̂̅̀̅̈́̓̏͊͘͝m̶̥͇͈̣̏͑̿͑̃̈͛̕͠️ṉ̵͓̬͈̞̥̭̥̇̓̔͋ẹ̷͓̺̰̽̍͛̉̐̔͋̓̚͜.."

Amne turns around, locking eyes with it.

"Why are you here.." Amne whispers.

It doesn't reply.

Amne frowns. "You tricked me.. you wanted me to die.."

No response.

Amne feels her blood begin to boil. "Say something.."

It just stares as her, unmoving.

Amne breathes heavily. "..why won't you say anything.!?"

It begins to laugh.

The laugh escalates to a loud, booming laugh.

Amne snaps.

She jumps out of bed, charging at it.

She tackles it to the floor, hands wrapped around its neck.

Amne releases one hand, and punches.

One punch..

Two punches..

Three punches..

Amne feels tears go down her face as she continuously brings her fist down into its face.

It doesn't move.

It doesn't say anything.

Amne brings down a final punch, before letting go of it. She starts sobbing, seeing her bloody and bruised knuckles.

When she looks up again, its vanished.

She looks around quickly, not spotting it lurking anywhere.

Amne forces herself to stand, stumbling around the room. She walks past her mirror, only to back up.

She slowly approaches the mirror, spotting her reflection. She brings a hand up to her face.

She stares in horror at the state of her face. It's all bloody, bruised, and littered in scratches.

"..how-" Amne whispers out.

Her eyes dart behind her, spotting its reflection.

It smiles at her.

"W̴̪̼̩̘͔͒̏̓͐͂̆͑̐͝ẹ̷͓̺̰̽̍͛̉̐̔͋̓̚͜ â̸̙͐͑̌̿͛̽ŕ̶̛̰̱̈́̀́̑̿̾͛͂̈́͗̓̈́̒͘͝️ẹ̷͓̺̰̽̍͛̉̐̔͋̓̚͜ o̶̯͎̱͐̇͋̅̃̈́͋̽̊̀̓͊̃́͋̓️ṉ̵͓̬͈̞̥̭̥̇̓̔͋ẹ̷͓̺̰̽̍͛̉̐̔͋̓̚͜, Ą̵̘̥͉̘͖̱̥̺̿̀̈̒̂̅̀̅̈́̓̏͊͘͝m̶̥͇͈̣̏͑̿͑̃̈͛̕͠️ṉ̵͓̬͈̞̥̭̥̇̓̔͋ẹ̷͓̺̰̽̍͛̉̐̔͋̓̚͜.."

Amne shakes her head. "I don't want to be anymore.."

It laughs at her.

"W̴̪̼̩̘͔͒̏̓͐͂̆͑̐͝ẹ̷͓̺̰̽̍͛̉̐̔͋̓̚͜ â̸̙͐͑̌̿͛̽ŕ̶̛̰̱̈́̀́̑̿̾͛͂̈́͗̓̈́̒͘͝️ẹ̷͓̺̰̽̍͛̉̐̔͋̓̚͜ ️c̸̛͕̯͂̐̓͗͊͛͝o̶̯͎̱͐̇͋̅̃̈́͋̽̊̀̓͊̃́͋̓️ṉ̵͓̬͈̞̥̭̥̇̓̔͋️ṉ̵͓̬͈̞̥̭̥̇̓̔͋ẹ̷͓̺̰̽̍͛̉̐̔͋̓̚͜️c̸̛͕̯͂̐̓͗͊͛͝t̵̏͛̃̍́̈̚͜͝ẹ̷͓̺̰̽̍͛̉̐̔͋̓̚͜d̴̨̢̤̗̦͚̺̭̤͙̹̃̕.. ḟ̴̧̧̗͍͉͔̹͎̻͓̇͊̃̒̄̈̓̉̌̈͝͝o̶̯͎̱͐̇͋̅̃̈́͋̽̊̀̓͊̃́͋̓ŕ̶̛̰̱̈́̀́̑̿̾͛͂̈́͗̓̈́̒͘͝️ẹ̷͓̺̰̽̍͛̉̐̔͋̓̚͜ṿ̷̮͚̤͊̋̐͊͊̑̅̇̊̎̚͠ẹ̷͓̺̰̽̍͛̉̐̔͋̓̚͜ŕ̶̛̰̱̈́̀́̑̿̾͛͂̈́͗̓̈́̒͘͝️.."

Amne watches it disappear, unable to say anything.

Slowly, she begins to feel faint..

Everything around her blurs into nothingness..

She stumbles towards a wall, leaning on it in a poor attempt to steady herself..

Black begins to crawl in the corners of her sight blinding her..

...

And without any warning, she collapses, and everything goes dark.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

[whumpshots]

Whumptober #21

Trope of the day: “Don’t move.”

_

Whumpee doesn't understand why the team looks at them in horror. The pain hasn't even reached their brain yet, their body too full of adrenaline to realise what is going on. Only when their head feels dizzy, whumpee realises something is going on.

Something bad.

Almost as fast as they collapse to the floor, caretaker's by their side, the rest of the team following. Whumpee sees blood on caretaker's hands as they check their body and finally realises that it must be really bad. They hear the others talk, but their words don't make it to their brain.

A second ago, everything was fine, now whumpee has problems keeping their eyes open. "Eyes on me, kid," caretaker says with a stern voice, that kind of voice they only use when things are looking pretty rough. Whumpee wants to ask what is going on, their body in pain as they move their arms and try to gather strength.

“Don't move.” Caretaker's voice is low, but something doesn't seem right. Whumpee wants to protest, but a hand lands on their shoulder and squeezes it softly. “Don't move, kid. This will hurt.”

[serickswrites]

Safe Now

Warnings: blood, injury, wounds, self-sacrifice

The team huddled in the corner of the basement. They were trying to inventory all the wounds, all the aches and pains each of them had. That way they could make a plan. 

Teammate One’s cut above their eyebrow had clotted. But their head still hurt. Teammate Two’s wrist was most definitely broken, Smallest Teammate decided as they bound the wrist with strips from their tattered shirt. And Team Leader? Team Leader was wheezing. Whumper had repeatedly hit, kicked, and beat Team Leader’s ribs. After that, Team Leader was having difficulty taking a deep breath. 

Team Leader coughed, coating the back of their hand with red. “Smallest Teammate, are you ok?” They coughed again and closed their eyes as they tried to suck in a deep breath. 

“I’m fine.” Smallest Teammate said softly. And they were. They had some bruises around their throat from when they were first grabbed by Whumper. But other than that, they were fine. 

“We need to make a plan!” Teammate One hissed as Smallest Teammate tried to clean the wound on their forehead. 

“Well, what do you have, genius?” Teammate Two asked sarcastically knowing that Teammate One didn’t have any plan. 

Teammate One opened their mouth to respond, but clicked it shut as the basement door swung open and Whumper strode in. Whumper took a deep breath in. “Ahhhh, I do love the smell of terror in the morning.”

“Fuck you,” Team Leader muttered before dissolving into a cough fit. Smallest Teammate put an arm around Team Leader, supporting them as they coughed. 

“Thank you for volunteering for today’s activities, Team Leader,” Whumper said darkly as they started forward. 

Without thinking, Smallest Teammate stood up and rushed forward. “Take me instead.”

Smallest Teammate could hear the shouts of ‘no’ coming from the rest of their team. But they knew this was the only option. The only way to keep them all safe. 

“You’re volunteering?” Whumper cocked their head. “Why?”

“Why not?” Smallest Teammate sounded uncertain. “You can do whatever you want to me, whenever you want, you have to leave the rest of them alone.” Smallest Teammate thrust their chin out at the last. They could protect their team. 

Whumper considered for a moment. They grabbed Smallest Teammate’s arm in a bruising grip. “Very well. You have a deal, little one.” 

Smallest Teammate glanced over their shoulder back at their team, knowing they were making the right decision. As they met Team Leader’s fear filled eyes, they said, “You’ll be safe now.” And Whumper led them from the room. 

[skyward-floored]

Whumptober Day 21: Restraints, “Don’t move”

Blah blah finished this yesterday didn’t have time to put it here you know the drill. Finally the continuation to day 8! Poor Warriors and Hyrule have been stuck for a long time lol

Also this is. So long. I think it’s the longest yet. 😭

Day 8

Read on ao3

Warnings: effects of drugging, mentions of slavery/human(fairy) trafficking, very minor nonconsensual touching, a little blood, and injury

————————————————————

Warriors woke up to the floor rolling gently under his head.

He groaned, stomach rolling in time with the swaying underneath him, and cracked his eyes open, a pounding sensation taking up residence in his head. His vision took a moment to focus, but once it did, he didn’t like what he saw.

What looked like the belowdecks of a ship met him, bars blocking off any escape. Most of his view was cut off by a large stack of crates piled in front of the bars, making a temporary sort of wall, and when he moved to study it, he found he couldn’t go further then maybe a foot due to the chain fastened to his ankle.

Panic began to bite at him, and Warriors looked around more frantically, trying to remember where he was. A strange fog clouded his senses, and he winced as his head throbbed again. Had he been drugged? It felt like it.

Then his eyes landed on a figure collapsed next to him, and it all came rushing back.

“Traveler,” he gasped, and leaned over Hyrule, shaking his arm. “Traveler, hey wake up.”

It took a minute, but Hyrule eventually let out a low groan and opened his eyes, the greenish-brown color slightly milky-looking.

Hyrule blinked up at Warriors, his eyes squinted in pain as he continued to slowly wake. Then they widened in realization, and he abruptly sat up, face paling.

“Captain—!”

“Easy buddy,” Warriors said as Hyrule nearly fell over, putting a hand on his arm. “That drug was a lot, take it slow.”

Hyrule put a hand to his forehead, looking dizzy, and Warriors kept him up while he attempted to adjust. It had probably been a larger dose then was necessary for the skinny traveler, and along with the floor moving up and down below them, Hyrule wasn’t looking too great.

A voice called distantly overhead them, and Warriors glanced upward, dread pooling in his gut.

They were stuck on a ship heading who knows where, with men they didn’t know nearly enough about, and he had no clue how they were going to escape.

He’d been in some rough spots before, but this was shaping up to be one of the worst.

“Are we really on the river?” Hyrule asked, sounding a little nauseous. “They said something earlier about a river, but... the waves seem too big for that.”

“It gets wider downstream before it goes out to a bay,” Warriors explained, a small curl of dread running through him. The further downriver they got, the smaller their chance to escape.

“So... so where do you think they’re taking us?” Hyrule asked once he’d adjusted a little more, and Warriors breathed out.

“...my best guess is somewhere outside of Hyrule,” he said quietly. “Other countries are far less... strict, in regards to fairies and... slaves. In some places it’s entirely legal.”

Hyrule sank into himself a little further.

“So that’s it then. We’re going to be carted off and sold like cattle, along with a hundred or so fairies we couldn’t save,” Hyrule choked out.

His voice was thick and angry, and Warriors squeezed his shoulder. That was another problem. Neither of them was going to leave here without freeing the fairies that were also captured, but how were they supposed to do that if even they themselves couldn’t get free?

Hyrule swallowed, looking dizzy, and he closed his eyes, leaning back against the wall.

“Don’t suppose you have any ideas?” he asked in a tired voice, and Warriors made a negative noise.

“Not yet. We’ll... we’ll think of something, ‘rule. First off we should probably try and get out of these chains...”

Footsteps suddenly echoed nearby, and they both froze, glancing at each other as they approached. Warriors swallowed, and tried to look casual.

It was only a matter of time before they were visited, he supposed.

Three men walked into the cell where Warriors and Hyrule were sitting, and Warriors felt the unpleasant feeling in his chest tighten as he recognized them all as men from the tavern.

“Have a nice nap?” one smirked, and Warriors held himself back from rolling his eyes.

“What do you want with us?” he said coolly, and the one with the scarred arms stepped a bit closer.

“We’ll never pass up an opportunity to make a few extra rupees,” he replied, looking between him and Hyrule. “But we’ll be paid more depending on certain factors, and we’ve come to figure out what those factors are.”

“What, you get paid more for blonds?” Warriors snorted, and Hyrule almost smiled next to him.

The men ignored him.

“The both of you have a way with the fairies,” the man said, his heavily scarred arms crossed over his chest. Warriors felt a prick of fear for Hyrule. “Most normal folk can’t speak with them, no less have a coherent conversation.”

“If you’re talking about Proxi, anyone can understand her, she’s a navigation fairy,” Hyrule pointed out, and the man snorted.

“I know that, kid. I meant the fact that you were talking with healing fairies, and all the other ones we have. Normal Hylians can’t do that.”

“Call it a gift,” Warriors said with a casual shrug he didn’t quite feel.

The man’s eyes narrowed. “Makes me wonder if in fact there’s more to you both than meets the eye.”

The other two men moved forward and grabbed Hyrule, extending his arm out and gripping him so he couldn’t move. One of them drew a knife, and Hyrule was slashed on the arm, the traveler letting out a startled cry. The man collected some of his blood in a jar, then did the same to Warriors, slashing him in the same spot and putting his in a different jar.

“Blood can show a lot about a person it turns out,” the scarred man said easily, holding up both jars. “And lucky for you gentlemen, my crew has figured out a method for finding fairy kin by blood alone.”

Hyrule paled, clutching his wrist, and the scarred man chuckled.

“Now wrap yourselves up, I don’t want my merchandise bleeding out,” he said, tossing a roll of bandages over as he turned away.

Then the three of them left, leaving Warriors and Hyrule alone as their blood dripped onto the floor.

“Captain, my... my blood, I... if it’s in the wrong hands...” Hyrule began, but Warriors cut him off.

“They just want to see which of us is fairy related,” he reassured, wondering at the flicker of panic he could see in Hyrule’s eyes, but deciding not to push. Did magic blood have properties he didn’t know about? “I don’t think they’re going to do anything else with it.”

...I hope.

“Can they tell I’m fairy just from blood?” Hyrule asked nervously, and Warriors closed his eyes.

“I don’t know. But let’s hope they can’t.”

I might not be able to protect you if they decide I’m just a liability.

Warriors leaned over and picked up the roll of bandages, and took Hyrule’s arm in his, carefully wrapping it.

“I’m sorry they captured you too,” Hyrule said quietly as he finished, drawing his knees up to his chest. “They probably wouldn’t even have gotten you if I hadn’t been there.”

“Are you kidding Traveler? If you weren’t fairy kin, then they likely would have just killed us,” Warriors said with a sigh. He sent Hyrule a wry smile. “Besides. It’s a little nice knowing it isn’t personal for once. Usually when this sort of thing happens, it’s because they think I should have given myself up to Cia, or didn’t save enough lives in the war or something.”

Hyrule smiled just a little, and began to wrap Warriors’ arm.

“And Time is out there somewhere looking for us,” Warriors said as he leaned against the wall. “We’ll just have to do what we can with what we’ve got until he shows up.”

“Figuring out where the fairies are would be a start,” Hyrule said as he finished, setting the bandages aside. “You think they’re here with us somewhere?”

“It seems likely.”

They began to discuss possible escape ideas, waiting nervously for the men to come back. Warriors knew it was only a matter of time, but talking out a small semblance of a plan was helpful at least.

He wasn’t sure how long it was until footsteps rang out nearby, but he sighed, internally bracing himself. He’d do what he could to keep them away from Hyrule, but he wasn’t sure how much he could do.

If they separate us, escaping will be even harder.

The footsteps stopped, and the men came back into their cell, grinning widely.

Not a good sign.

“It’s our lucky day,” the scarred man said, strolling back in and grinning at the two. “The gods have given us good fortune! It seems we’ve had two fairy kin dropped into our possession.”

Warriors stared, and Hyrule’s eyes went huge, looking over at Warriors in disbelief.

What?

“...You’re mistaken,” he said a bit dumbly, and the men laughed at his disbelief.

“Oh even better, this one didn’t know!” the skinny one chortled, and stared at Warriors. “Our method doesn’t make mistakes, kid. You’re fairy kin, though not as pure blooded as the other one. No doubt about it.”

Another man chuckled. “Too bad you won’t get a chance to enjoy it.”

All of them laughed, but Warriors barely registered it, mind stalling on the information that had just been dumped on him.

Fairy kin? Him?

It wasn’t possible. Their method of figuring it out, whatever it was, had to be faulty, there was no way!

Sure he was a little more magically gifted than some Hylians, but not many. Time, for example, was way more magically gifted then himself, and so was Legend, and Wind was about equal to him. But none of them were fairy kin. He could also talk to fairies he supposed, and always could, but once again, so could Time.

If it were true, wouldn’t that Great Fairy have treated him differently? Or was that why she put him in a bottle?

...What about his mother? She hadn’t had a drop of magic ability in her, and surely she would have told him? He’d never known his father, true, but... wouldn’t his mother have known? Wouldn’t Proxi have known?

Why was he finding out like this?!

A hand grabbed his face and Warriors snapped out of his thoughts, the scarred man tilting his face around and studying it.

“Oh the buyer is going to love this,” he said as Warriors pulled away with a growl, grabbing Hyrule’s chin instead and eagerly studying his face. “You think we’ll get three times as much for them as for the blues?”

Hyrule yanked his chin out of the man’s grip, and the three just laughed, greed shining in their eyes.

“Who knows? But one thing’s for sure, we’ll definitely get our money’s worth.”

“Don’t you feel any remorse for what you’re doing here?” Hyrule snapped, but the men only laughed some more, and exited the cell.

Hyrule looked at Warriors the moment they were gone, but he didn’t look back, still running words and memories over in his mind and trying to figure out if what he’d just heard had any merit to it.

Was he really?

“Warriors, I...”

“Did you know?” he asked in a strangled voice, and Hyrule immediately shook his head.

“No, I didn’t, I... I’m sorry I didn’t,” he said quietly, meeting his eyes. “Then you wouldn’t’ve had to find out like this.”

Warriors swallowed, and Hyrule put a hand on his arm.

Then Warriors took a deep breath in through his nose, then let it out, putting his out of control thoughts into a neat little box in the back of his mind. He could think through all of it later, when they were in less extreme circumstances and had time to deal with... all of it.

...Or just leave it there.

“Wait,” Hyrule said suddenly, his head shooting up, “wait, fairy kin...”

“What about it?” Warriors said, voice slightly strained.

“No, listen Wars, if those men were right and you’re part fairy then I might be able to use my fairy spell on both of us,” Hyrule spoke quickly. “Then we could get out!”

“...You have a fairy spell?” Warriors said incredulously, and Hyrule waved him off.

“Yeah, I don’t use it much because it takes up a lot of magic, but I think I have enough to use it on both of us!”

“...But if it takes up a lot of magic, using it twice might use up everything you have,” he said worriedly, studying the still-shaky traveler.

Hyrule looked a little less ill then before, but his eyes were still a little off-color, and he wobbled when he moved too quickly. Adding the effects of magic deprivation on top of that...

Hyrule smiled. “It’ll be fine. We’ll be able to get out of these chains and slip through the bars, and then... we can find the rest of the fairies, and try to get them free.”

“What if it doesn’t work on me?” Warriors pointed out, setting a hand on Hyrule’s arm. “It’s still possible they were wrong about... all that.”

“Well then I’ll go out and find the key and get you out too,” Hyrule said as he stood up, wobbling a little. “Unless you can think of a better idea?”

Warriors sighed, and stood up as well, bracing Hyrule when he wavered. He couldn’t, really. It was a good plan, albeit a bit strange, but Warriors had found that sometimes the stranger the plan, the better.

Besides, he’d certainly done weirder.

He nodded, and Hyrule took his other hand, gripping them tightly as he closed his eyes.

Just as the traveler began to glow, the floor heaved underneath them, and Warriors clutched at Hyrule’s arm, stopping them both from falling over. It happened again, and Warriors heard shouting from above as they slightly shifted course.

A resounding thud came from under their feet, and Warriors looked at the floor, raising an eyebrow.

It felt like something was ramming the boat.

“...You think that might somehow be Time’s doing?” Hyrule said with a look around, and Warriors shrugged, nearly falling over as the floor shook again.

“I hope so, or we might be in even bigger trouble,” he muttered. “Better finish your spell.”

Hyrule quickly nodded and closed his eyes again, Warriors keeping him steady as the ship lurched beneath them. A soft glow spread across his skin as Warriors watched, a vibrant, healthy green. When it reached his hands, the glow paused, then slowly trickled over to Warriors’ hands as well, changing from green to a more blue color.

A fizzy, tingling sensation began to spread through Warriors’ limbs, starting in his hands, and he held on a little tighter to Hyrule. His stomach lurched as the world abruptly spun around him, and he slammed his eyes shut.

Blood roared in his ears, magic tingling all over him as he felt the weight of the chain at his ankle abruptly disappear, an uncomfortable tightness closing around him.

He felt suddenly like he was going to throw up, and his breath stuttered, pressure building in his ears and chest to an excruciating degree.

It’s not working, it must not have worked, Hyrule—!

But as suddenly as the feeling came over him, it faded away, and Warriors felt Hyrule’s hands in his give him a squeeze as he exhaled sharply.

Warriors blinked his eyes open, and saw Hyrule grinning at him, looking tired, but somehow more vibrant than he had previously.

Warriors blinked, suddenly realizing there were two wings protruding from Hyrule’s back. Small and delicate-looking, he was reminded of a dragonfly as he admired the green shine Hyrule had taken.

“Looks like their test was right,” Hyrule said with another squeeze, releasing his hands, and Warriors realized Hyrule wasn’t the only one glowing.

He whipped his head around, and stared.

Two wings, nearly identical to Hyrule’s, had appeared on his back, a deep blue glow surrounding his body.

“It... worked?” he said a bit incredulously, staring at the delicate wings that he now had. He tried moving them, and found it surprisingly easy, and gave them a flutter, unable to believe his eyes. It was also then that he realized he and Hyrule both had shrunk down to the size of fairies as well, and he looked rapidly between him and the wings that had sprouted from his back.

Hyrule laughed at his reaction, the sound bright and tinkling. “It sure did.”

The ground gave a huge lurch under their feet, and Warriors heard an angry shout, quickly followed by more. He and Hyrule looked at the ceiling as someone cried out, then exchanged looks.

“Time to go,” Hyrule said, and jumped up into the air, flittering over to the door.

Warriors watched him fly away, then swallowed, glancing at his wings again. You guys better work.

“Captain come on! It’s instinctive, trust me!”

Warriors shot him a look, then closed his eyes and jumped like Hyrule had, rapidly beating his wings. He didn’t open them until he was sure his feet were off the ground, and when he did he let out an alarmed chime at finding himself a good four feet off the ground.

“I told ya,” Hyrule smiled, and Warriors sighed, following him to the bars and squeezing himself through.

“Yeah yeah Mr. Expert, some of us have only had wings for a literal minute,” Warriors griped as Hyrule did a little loop. “Any sign of the fairies?”

Coming out of their cell had left them with a view of mostly crates and other supplies stacked around the hold, but no distinctive glow from any fairies.

“I can feel their magic, I think... this way,” Hyrule said, and fluttered quickly to a large stack of crates, disappearing behind them. Warriors sighed and followed, having trouble keeping up with Hyrule’s rapid flying. It was a bit of a good thing he wasn’t at full strength, or he surely would have lost him.

They swerved around several piles of crates, Warriors mostly following Hyrule’s wing tips. They’d nearly made it all the way to the other side of the boat when Hyrule suddenly froze, darting behind a corner as Warriors finally caught up to him.

“What’s up?”

“Someone’s there already,” Hyrule said, voice a low chime.

Warriors frowned and poked his head around the corner, blinking in surprise at the sight that met him.

A Zora was crouched in the cramped space, the jars of fairies they’d seen in the tavern secured to the walls with rope. Several were already free, and he seemed to be talking to them, popping open yet another bottle with ease.

Warriors squinted, sure that something about him seemed familiar. He’d never seen a Zora like that, and yet...

The Zora picked up another jar, then nodded, putting a hand to his face. Warriors couldn’t muffle an alarmed chime he let out when the Zora somehow pulled it off, but then he realized he’d seen that very act before. Just not with a Zora.

...who was no longer a Zora.

“Time!” he called, and the older hero turned, eyebrows raising as Warriors and Hyrule flew out from behind the corner.

“Captain?” he asked in surprise, and Warriors landed on the hand he offered, eager for a rest.

“In the flesh,” he chimed with a wry smile as Hyrule landed as well, and Time looked between them with a more surprised look on his face then he’d seen in a long time.

“Goodness. I leave you boys alone for half a day and look what happens,” he said in amusement, and relief. “Are you two okay?”

“Hyrule used up pretty much all his magic doing this to us,” Warriors reported, ignoring the dirty look Hyrule sent him. “He also got drugged pretty bad.”

“You did too,” Hyrule huffed.

“...but aside from that, we’re fine,” Warriors assured, and Time nodded.

“I’m sorry about the wait, I got a little held up myself,” Time said, and Warriors noticed a bandage that wrapped over his leg. “Took me a bit to find out where you went so I could follow. But we’re not going anywhere now. I ran the boat aground,” he grinned.

“Of course you did,” Warriors snorted. Typical Mask. “The crew?”

“Either unconscious or fled,” Time said as he picked up another bottle, popping the cork out.

“How are you doing that? We tried back at the tavern and couldn’t budge them,” Hyrule asked in surprise, and Time showed them a small, shiny stone he had in his hand.

He tapped it to another bottle, then popped the cork out with barely any effort, the fairies inside flying out with excited squeals.

“I found the key,” Time smiled.

He moved around the room tapping the rest of the corks, and the fairies pushed themselves out of the jars, chiming and squealing with happiness as they were free to fly around again.

At Time’s urging they didn’t linger, all of the fairies who were strong enough to fly quickly leaving the hold of the ship. Soon enough the only ones that remained were the several that were too injured to fly, and the ones that stayed behind to help them.

“Should we change back and help?” Warriors asked Hyrule from where they were perched on Time’s shoulder, and the traveler scratched the back of his neck, looking a little awkward.

“Normally I’d say yes, but... changing us both took a lot of energy,” he admitted a little awkwardly. “Changing us back will too, and I... won’t be much help once that happens.”

“You’ll pass out, basically,” Warriors said wryly, and Hyrule cleared his throat.

“...probably.”

Time began carefully setting the injuried fairies inside his bag, leaving most in jars so they wouldn’t be thrown around too much. He purposefully left the corks out though, and Warriors watched as he loaded up, a familiar blue catching his eye.

Time lifted up Proxi, and she saw Warriors, jingling in surprise at his appearance, then sending him a chime that made Warriors feel surprisingly warm and safe.

He smiled just a little, and returned it.

He had a lot of questions for Proxi, but they could wait until they had time to really talk.

“That’s the last one,” Time said, gently setting a fairy in an orange color into his bag, and shutting the flap. “Now let’s get out of here.”

“Do you have our things?” Hyrule asked as they made their way to the stairs, Warriors squinting at the bright late-morning sunshine.

“Picked them up on my way in, though I’m sorry to say your scarf has an unsightly tear in it.”

Warriors groaned. “Of course it does. Why does it always—”

Hyrule let out a sudden shriek, and Warriors whipped around, something colliding with him so suddenly that stars burst into his vision.

He couldn’t register anything for a moment, a ringing noise in his ears, but when he was finally able to focus again, he felt his heartbeat triple.

He was in a jar.

He felt his breath catch, but at the sight of Hyrule next to him, he shoved aside his panic and moved to the traveler’s side. One of his wings was bent, and there was blood on his leg, his face white as he clutched at it.

“I’m okay,” Hyrule said immediately, but his voice shook, and Warriors took his hand in his.

“Don’t move,” he said sternly, then startled as two large eyes he unfortunately recognized stared at him through the glass.

“You’re not getting away that easy,” the scarred man snarled, blood trickling down his forehead. “I’m not losing all of my profit just because of two fairy brats and a changing Zora man.”

Time took a step forward from nearby, and the man hissed in anger, holding the jar containing Hyrule and Warriors over the edge of the ship.

Right over some sharp rocks.

“Don’t move or I’ll drop them,” he spat, fury in his eyes.

“You won’t,” Time said in a careful voice, easing another step forward. “They’re all you have left, you won’t risk them.”

The man’s eyes blazed. “I will. If it means I get revenge on you for ruining all of my profits for the month then so be it.”

He shook the bottle slightly and Hyrule chimed shrilly in pain, Warriors holding him more tightly.

He looked around frantically for a way out, some way to break the glass, some way to help them both, and his eyes landed on the cork above their heads.

It didn’t look like the enchanted ones.

Time and the scarred man were exchanging words again, and Warriors looked between Hyrule and the cork, a plan forming in his head.

They’d have to be quick.

“I have an idea,” he said, and Hyrule breathed in a shaky breath.

“Do what you gotta,” he said unsteadily, and Warriors quickly pulled him up into his arms, glad that the traveler wasn’t one of the bigger Links in their group.

Hyrule’s breath hitched a little, and Warriors chimed an apology, making sure he was secure before he did anything. Come on Time, stall him a bit longer...

“Get back!” the scarred man suddenly shouted, and dropped the bottle.

Time shouted and Warriors rocketed up towards the cork, shoving it as hard as he could as the jar plummeted. He gave it one last frantic shove, and he and Hyrule both popped out, right before the jar shattered on the rocks below them.

Warriors didn’t even stop to catch his breath, pulling him and Hyrule back up onto the deck where they found Time running to the edge, the scarred man lying unconscious on the deck.

“Are you two okay?” he asked, sounding out of breath, and Warriors nodded, still catching his own breath.

There was always something, wasn’t there?

“We’re... we’re okay,” Warriors breathed, and Hyrule let out a sigh of relief in his arms. “We got knocked around, but we’re... okay.”

Hyrule let out a grunt, and Warriors looked down at him, realizing he was glowing.

“Hyrule don’t you dare—!”

The glow spread to Warriors again, and his world turned topsy-turvy, that same tight feeling squeezing him, a light pain at his back, spinning rolling stretching aching—

Strong arms caught him, and Warriors stumbled, Hyrule still clutched in his arms.

“Traveler why on earth—”

Hyrule gave him a dizzy look, his face paler than before. “Easier to... heal as a Hyli...”

His eyes rolled back in his head and he went limp in Warriors’ arms, the captain nearly dropping him. Time helped him lower him to the ground, and Warriors looked down at Hyrule with a sigh.

“He could have at least warned me,” he murmured.

Time put a hand on his shoulder, and Warriors looked at him, the older hero giving him a relieved look.

“That was much too close for my taste,” he said with a squeeze, and Warriors nodded in agreement. “You’ll have to tell me all of what happened once we get out of here. I’m curious as to how exactly Hyrule turned you into a fairy.”

Warriors sighed again, and looked down at Hyrule, an exasperated, but warm feeling settling in his chest as he squeezed his limp hand.

“Yeah. Later.”

[kybercrystals94]

If You Need to Talk

By KyberCrystals94

Read here on Ao3!

Whumptober 2023 | Day 21 | Alternative Prompt: Body Modification

Rating: G

Words: 717

Summary: Echo is processing how much his life is changed now that he’s back.

“I can help with that.”

Echo startles and looks up. Tech is standing in the doorway. How long has the commando been standing there, just watching as Echo tries to recalibrate his scomp with his left hand? Burning embarrassment creeps up the back of Echo’s neck and across his cheeks.

“No need,” he says, almost gruffly, “I’m almost done anyway.”

Tech steps into the room, eyeing the sprawl of tools Echo has been using to poke and prod his artificial limb. “I see,” Tech says, expression dubious. “Well, should you need assistance in the future, I hope you will allow me to offer my expertise on the subject. I am, after all, an engineer.”

Echo gnaws on the inside of his cheek. He hasn’t even been with Clone Force 99 a full rotation yet, and the awkward phase of his integration is still in full swing. He’s faced it before, when he joined the 501st after the disaster of Rishi Outpost; however, that had been entirely different, having Fives by his side.

Now, he is alone with a squad of deviant clones who mistrusted him a majority of the time they’ve known him (although that changed drastically after Anaxes, thank the force), along with having to become used to a mutilated body with an entirely new set of rules concerning its upkeep… all without his kriffing dominate hand.

Echo forces down the emotions of despair and self-loathing that eagerly rise to the occasion. “Actually, then, if you wouldn’t mind having a look at it…”

He earns a faint but genuine smile from the goggled clone. “It is no trouble,” Tech says, and sits down next to Echo at the table. “What seems to be the issue?”

“The joint feels tight…limited movement,” Echo explains, pointing to the area his right elbow used to be. “And I noticed my scomp attachment is not reacting like it was before…”

“You were electrocuted, I am not surprised the attachment will need to be recalibrated,” Tech interrupts. Not unkindly, simply removing the need for Echo to explain himself. Tech starts to reach for his arm but hesitates. “May I?”

“Yeah, sure, of course,” Echo says, shifting to make the offending appendage more accessible.

Tech sets to work, narrating the process as he goes. He explains each issue in detail, and then provides a detailed solution. “While it is advantageous that I understand the matter, it is vital that you understand. After all, it is your body. It must not be an easy adjustment…coming back as a cyborg.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Echo says, trying to keep his sarcasm in check.

Tech hums acknowledgment. “Would it be helpful to your mental and emotional wellbeing to discuss it?” he asks.

The question catches Echo off guard. “What?”

Tech meets his eye, pausing his work. “If you need to talk, I am more than capable of providing a listening ear, as it were.”

Honestly, Echo does want to talk about it. Everything since he fell out of that stasis chamber has felt like a lucid dream, one he will wake up from. Fives will be shaking his shoulders, the warmth of his breath on Echo’s face as he says in a voice all too loud, “Wake up, sleepy head! You’re wasting daylight!”

And even though his right hand has been gone for months, it feels like only moments ago it closed over the curve of Fives’ shoulder, grasped the grip of his favorite blaster, held a hand of cards during a game of sabaac.

He wants to tell Tech how much he misses the feeling of the ship rumbling beneath his feet, not the rattling of prosthetics against his thighs. Or how even his insides feel heavy and thick where machine now gives his body function. How he hates the feeling of air movement on his bare scalp where his hair used to be.

He wants to say all of this and more, out loud, into the universe. Into the recycled air of his new home, into the listening ears of his new squad.

He wants to. He wants to so badly it catches like a painful lump in his throat. But he swallows it all back. Instead, he says, “I’m fine.”

Even if it is absolutely the furthest thing from the truth.

END

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[comfort-questing]

"going into shock"

they had tried to come in time, hearing tell of her going off to investigate the creature seen at the foot of the mountain. they'd asked her the night before, only the night before, to tell them if she had the notion of doing something like hunting weird rumors on her own. but she was reckless as always and didn't wait for help - as always.

and so they had found her here, sometime past the finishing blow, with her back to a tree and her sword-tip resting between the roots, and she chuckled a little at hearing their voice calling her.

"I think... that I ought to sit down," she said, as they reached her.

the edges of her eyes were pinched tight, as if she were focusing very hard in the direction of something invisible and desperately important. not the dead carcass of the fey creature, fallen now in a tangle of gray wings and knobbly limbs, nor the splashes of blood spotting the trampled grass at her feet, but something further away, among the dusk-laden trees.

"I think you ought to do more than sit down." they caught her elbow as she stepped forward, weaving ever so slightly in her tracks. "you're bleeding."

"oh. am I?" she looked down, then, and brushed a hand down the front of her dark green ranger's smock. her eyes fought to focus for a moment at the bloody tips of her fingers coming away from the cloth. "oh."

they took a deep breath, fighting the panic rising in their chest. "let me see."

she didn't flinch away as they gently pulled her hand clear of her stomach. the dark cloth was soaked with blood by now, heavy and warm to their touch, and ragged with claw-marks. the linen undershirt beneath was only crimson shreds over the four long, deep gashes marked across her body from one side to the other.

"it's bad, isn't it?" she blinked slowly up at them. "I thought... it might be."

"you should have waited for me." their throat tightened around the words, hands fluttering helplessly between the two of them. "I would have come with you. helped you."

she smiled. "I know. I ... didn't want to trouble you. your work... is important, too."

"somebody else can sign and categorize the damn documents for a day and the world won't explode. you should have told me."

they eased her backwards towards the tree again, helped her slide down to sit in the hollow between the roots. she was shaking now in a fine and ceaseless tremor, her breath coming fast and light above the pain; the pale cast of her lips and fingernails made the panicked knot in their chest tighten further.

shrugging off their coat, they draped the heavy folds over her body, trying their best to cover her one-handed while also keeping pressure on her wounds.

"stay with me," they heard themselves saying, desperately. "I don't want - to have been too late."

"heh." she blinked again, slower still, with a longer pause before her eyelids opened once more.

too late too late too late... the echo of their voice rang in their head, unbidden. they scrabbled for the medical kit in their bag, unsure if their bandages would be enough, but knowing they had to try.

"do you hear me?" their throat was closing on the words, tears bitter in the back of their nose. "open your eyes."

this time, her eyes didn't open. but she smiled, which was better than nothing.

[whumpncomfort]

9-1-1: Kids Today | No. 21 Coughing Up Blood

"Buck are you okay?"

[aria0fgold]

Whumptober day 21 prompt: Vows and Whumptober day 23 prompt: Stalking | Shadows

Character: Hero (OMORI) -AU-

The streets were lit by the lampposts lining each side, in the starless night where the full moon's light was much too bright for the stars to shine, it would've been mystifying to merely look at the moon at the comfort of one's own room. Not for a particular woman however, with a name not worth knowing. It didn't matter really.

Walking all on her lonesome, the woman was quite alert of her surroundings, gripping her phone tightly in her hand in case something happened. She was unfortunate enough to do overtime for her job, even more so unfortunate to walk home without anyone to accompany her. Such is the predicament of living alone.

Her steps were quick, glancing over her shoulder from time to time, she seemed to even be distracting her thoughts as her lips subtly moved with her quiet mumbling. She can't shake off the feeling of being watched again, she jumped at the slightest of sound, from the rustling of the trees to the buzzing of insects. Her eyes darted from shadow to shadow, anxiety rising of a danger invisible to her eyes. It has been one of her biggest worries lately, a potential “stalker.”

Her pace got quicker and quicker, a bit more and she would've been running already. But something stopped her from actually doing so…

“Oh!” The woman slowed to a halt as she bumped into… someone, “I'm so sorry!”

“Ahaha, it's alright! Not meaning to intrude, but are you alright? You seem frightened.”

To have and to hold from this day forward,

The woman averted her eyes, seemingly embarrassed, “Ahh… It was just… I felt like someone was watching me…”

“Hmm, I see… It is truly terrifying walking alone at night after all.”

for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer,

“Ahah, right… A-anyway. I'll be going now, I'm sorry for bumping into you again.” She smiled awkwardly, an attempt to appear friendly as she walked past.

“Ah, no, it's alright. Umm… If it's fine with you, I can walk you home. My place is still quite far but I turn the corner over there.”

in sickness and in health,

The woman looked at the direction, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, glancing at her phone and the streets. She contemplated if she should take the offer, her house was on the opposite direction anyway.

“U-umm… O-okay… Okay! I'm so sorry again…” She finally decided upon an answer after a few seconds, even if it seemed as though she merely convinced herself to take it. In her eyes, it was better to have someone nearby in case her “stalker” was close by.

“Ahaha! It's fine! Thank you for trusting me. I'll walk side by side with you.”

to love and to cherish,

The woman's worries were eased now that she has a companion to walk with. The feeling of being watched seemingly gone too, their destination neared and it was time for the woman to part.

Just as the woman turned around, perhaps to say her thanks, a light flashed close to her neck. It was as if a star fell, it was quite romantic on such a dark night. The woman fell forward with a small yelp from the taser's stinging pain, most likely.

“Hmhmm… Not like I've tried it.”

until parted by death.

I hummed, laying the woman's body on the floor as I opened my luggage, she was a perfect fit inside it, thankfully. It would've been such a hassle if not, twisting her body just so she fits was far too time consuming. I zipped up the luggage as I stood, patting it once before turning around to make my way home.

Don't worry, don't worry… I just need a bit more materials, some more parts, please be patient. It'll all be alright, I'll find the perfect parts for you. It'll all be like the old times. So just wait for me, I'll fix you soon.

This is my solemn vow.

Mari…