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whumpsmith-participates · 25 days ago

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Day 31 - Self-Sacrifice

CW: death trap, crushed alive, blood, permanent injury (<- imma be real, tagging it with this instead of "open end" or "implied character death" because bro does actually survive, he'll just never walk again 😇)

King of Hearts had seen some crazy situations before. It was almost normal to him, considering his arch nemesis' picture was in the dictionary if you look up the definition of 'Crazy.' But today's situation really took the crown.

After a very long day of being locked in a room and watching their sidekicks navigate past insane death traps, King and several other heroes now found themselves trapped in a room with their respective sidekicks and the walls slowly closing in on them.

King didn't blame the others for panicking. Their powers hadn't worked since they found themselves in the situation, and even if they had worked, he wasn't sure there was anything they could do to stop the walls from moving.

He didn't blame the sidekicks either, they were inexperienced and exhausted from their ordeal. Besides, he didn't even have time to blame or not blame anyone. Every second counted, and his body was moving before he could even think about it.

He spotted an imperfection on one of the walls and ran towards it, realising it was some sort of panel before he even came to a stop in front of it. He spotted the screws that held it against the wall and he knew he needed his own sidekick.

"Maggie! Screws!"

Magnetic Girl reacted almost entirely on instinct, using her powers to yank the screws out of the wall before helping King to tear the panel off and tossing it aside.

They both peered inside the opening, hoping to find an escape, but instead they'd found the large mechanism that slowly pushed the walls closer.

"Mags, can you—"

"I-it’s too big!" the girl replied tearily, not yet realising how much she would come to regret that statement.

But King still didn't blame her. He knew she was overwhelmed and putting the weight of the world on her shoulders right now wouldn't be fair. Besides, there was always a plan B.

He peered at the mechanism. The giant gears and pistons moving slow enough that he could probably slip past and maybe find a way to throw a wrench in. There was no time to hesitate.

"I'm going in," he said, shrugging off his jacket so it couldn't snag on anything.

"K-King?!" Magnetic Girl said bewildered.

King didn't have time to explain it to her. He just pushed his jacket into her hands to hold onto before squirming through the hole, which elicited a reaction from the others.

"What are you doing?!"

"Y-You could get gravely injured!"

"It's me or all of us, thank me later!" King replied before slipping through.

He carefully got to his feet, eyeing all the moving pieces, trying to determine whether it would be even worth it when he spotted a big red button on the other side of the room with a sign above it labelling it as an emergency stop button.

It was too good to be true, but he could hear the walls in the other room scraping as well as the fearful cries from the others. A massive gear was turning in his path towards the button, very slowly lowering, but he could probably squeeze through if he was fast enough.

It was now or never.

He had to time it correctly, jumping past a piston and vaulting over another turning gear, making sure his shirt didn't get snagged on it. Then he dove underneath the largest gear, scraping his elbows as he tried to drag himself forward, feeling the cold metal of the gear on his lower back. He tried to shimmy free, but soon realised his only hope was to pray he could reach the button.

The pressure on his back was starting to become uncomfortable, but his fingers could only brush past the button. The pressure became pain and he let out a cry of effort and desperation as he tried to stretch himself beyond his limit.

With each degree of rotation the pain got worse and worse.

It took several agonising seconds and cries before finally he felt the button move, followed by a soft click as it was pressed.

Cries of relief chorused between his colleagues and the other sidekicks as the walls stopped moving and even retracted, but their cheers soon trailed off when they realised King didn't emerge from the hole to celebrate his victory.

Magnetic Girl dared to take a peek at the mechanism, but was forced to retract, gagging and pale-faced as she burst into tears. The sight forever burned into her mind.

The blood smeared all over the large gear in the middle. King's still body bent at an odd angle. The terrifying silence. The realisation of what they just witnessed.

The last heroic action of King of Hearts.

@whumpay

Masterlist Main account

Fun fact, I covered the aftermath of this before in last year's whumptober. Read here!

#Whumpay2025 #Day 31 #Self-Sacrifice #death trap #crushed alive #blood #permanent injury #whump writing #whump event #oc whump #cafekitsune #<- banner credit

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whumpsmith-participates · 26 days ago

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Day 30 - Mistaken For Dead

CW: vampire whumpee, whump aftermath, buried alive (implied), rescue

Being immortal has its pros and cons. Too many of them to list, really. But in the context of the story one of the many cons is that you sometimes find yourself digging up several unmarked graves in a cemetery in France to find your adopted immortal son after he was left there by hunters.

"This grave is fresh too, let's try here next."

"Right away, darling."

Daedalus began digging while Ian stood to the side and held his jacket. Not because he found himself too good to dig, but because Daedalus insisted he didn't have to. Maybe he just wanted to give Ian a break from the stress, maybe he just didn't want to pass up the opportunity to get his hands dirty in a sleeveless top while his partner was watching.

Either way he did most of the digging, shovelling six feet of dirt out of the way until he hit something solid. At that point Ian hung his jacket on a nearby headstone, mentally apologising to the deceased, before hopping down into the hole to help break open the casket and see who was inside.

"That's our boy!" Daedalus exclaimed, recognising the familiar black-haired young man inside the casket.

But something wasn't right. For an immortal...he looked quite dead.

"I-is he okay?" Daedalus asked.

Ian crouched down to check on their son. He looked more pale than usual, his eyes were closed and he would've looked rather peaceful if it weren't for the curved blade pressing against his throat, bolted to the bottom of the casket to keep him pinned down.

Another, larger curved blade was bolted across his waist as well, smudged in black where it had cut through his clothes and into his skin.

"W-why isn't he getting up?" Daedalus asked.

"They must've put a spell on him," Ian said, "a vampire in slumber is often mistaken for dead. There's several methods to prevent a vampire from rousing. The blades across his body are supposed to keep him from physically getting up, what's keeping him in slumber however..."

He tore the blades loose, pulling the bolts through the wood and splintering it. He tossed them aside, before examining the slumbering vampire further.

"They didn't use a rose, so maybe..."

He gently pried his jaw open, finding an old coin inside his mouth. He pried it out and tossed it aside as well before cupping his face and lightly tapping his cheek to wake him.

"Adam?"

Adam blinked his eyes open, looking up at Ian, looking around a bit, looking back at Ian.

"...Fucking hunters." he murmured.

"Daedalus dealt with them." Ian said, "Let's get you home."

He helped Adam to his feet, after which Daedalus helped him climb out of the grave and pulled him into a hug.

"I'm so glad to see you, you had me worried for a sec," he said.

"Don't be so dramatic." Adam said, breaking free from his hug, "Why are you all sweaty?"

"I dug up about seven graves to find you," Daedalus said.

"......thanks." Adam said, "How long was I even out?"

"Anywhere between three days and three weeks." Ian said, "I can't tell how long you've been in slumber, but you disappeared three weeks ago."

"Gotta have been closer to three weeks then," Adam said, "I feel like it hasn't even been a day."

"You have no sense of time passing when you slumber." Ian explained.

"A day, three weeks, who cares? Both are way too long!" Daedalus said, "Not to mention too far. They took you all the way to France!"

"What the what...."

"We'll explain everything once we're home." Ian said, "Come."

@whumpay

Adam belongs to @illustriousshadow

Masterlist Main account

Nobody tell Adam why his mouth tastes like copper

#Whumpay2025 #Day 30 #Mistaken For Dead #vampire whumpee #whump aftermath #buried alive #<-implied #rescue #whump writing #whump event #oc whump #cafekitsune #<- banner credit

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whumpsmith-participates · 27 days ago

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Day 29 - Time Loop

CW: bad ending, Death as a character, tragedy

Being a superhero is never easy, but some days are harder than others. Specifically the days that repeat themselves hundreds of times, which doesn't happen often, but when it does...it sure is a challenge.

Today Eclipse and Borealis found themselves in exactly that predicament. Their day started normal enough and then went downhill fast until it ended in tragedy...and suddenly they found themselves back at the start.

Waking up in the bunk bed they shared as they both couldn't go home whilst the city was still recovering after a recent evacuation. The first time they thought they just had an adrenaline-fuelled fever dream that happened to be similar because of what they went through just two days ago. But when things from their dream started to play out exactly as they'd already seen, they began to realise something was off.

And when tragedy struck again, and they were back in their bunks as soon as it happened, they were certain that something was very, very wrong.

They had been through countless versions of the day since—Well, perhaps not countless, but they certainly lost count after 40 loops or so. Keeping track of the facts was also somewhat of a challenge. They couldn't write anything down as it ceased to exist whenever the day reset, which was especially a challenge for Borealis, who was very much dependant on their notebook to remember things.

Fortunately Eclipse had a somewhat decent memory. He wasn't as adept at reading, let alone writing, so he made sure to give Borealis a rundown of events whenever they needed it. Leaving out some unimportant details, his "reset-briefings" usually covered the following points.

They are stuck in a time loop and only they are aware.

Their day gets reset as soon as their mentor, Chaos, dies one way or another.

They can't ask their mentor for help as he is both unaware of the loop and the two times they did try to convince him the loop was real, he killed himself to call their bluff and sent them back to the start of the day.

No matter what they do to prevent one thing from killing Chaos, another will almost immediately take its place.

There is only one thing left to try.

Eclipse had gotten so desperate he was willing to turn to any deity to find a way out of the situation, and Death seemed to make the most sense as it was his very purpose that they were trying to prevent.

Fortunately, for reasons I'll explain some other time, one of their friends happened to be in a group chat with Death and he managed to get the message through that Eclipse and Borealis were looking to talk with him.

Unfortunately, however, Death did not have the answer they were looking for. He had an answer, but the boys didn't like it, so they tried to argue that it didn't count. Surely it couldn't be Chaos' time yet. That couldn't be the solution. That wouldn't be fair.

"I am inevitable."

If sympathy had a sound, it would be Death's voice when he told the boys the cold, hard truth.

"Letting go isn't easy. I see it every day. It's not easy on you, who have to learn to live on without him, but more so it isn't easy on Chaos, else he wouldn't be risking the balance of the universe by reversing his death before I can come to collect."

"But it's not fair!" Borealis argued, "H-he didn't do anything wrong, he isn't sick— He's not supposed to die yet!"

"No, wait..." Eclipse said, "Are you saying Chaos keeps resetting the day? To save himself?"

"Correct."

"That doesn't make sense!" Borealis said, "If he did it himself he would know, right? He always knows exactly what his powers do!"

"Whether he's doing it consciously or subconsciously doesn't matter." Death said, "What matters is that he stops before the balance is beyond saving. And I'll need your help with that."

"We've been stuck here for over a hundred loops and you're only telling us now?!"

"I wasn't aware of the many different versions this day knows." Death explained, "And I won't be aware in the next one, which is why your help is imperative."

"Why us?" Eclipse asked, "I don't want to watch him die..."

"You're the reason he refuses to die," Death said, "why else would you two be the only ones aware of the day repeating? He's trying to spare you to spare himself. You need to tell him that's not necessary. You need to tell him to move on."

"But we're not ready to move on either!" Borealis said, "There's gotta be something else we can do! Right? ....Eclipse?"

They looked at their friend, finding he had closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"We're not supposed to be ready," he said quietly, "no one ever is..."

"You understand..." Death said, again with such sympathy that Eclipse couldn't keep his eyes dry.

"If it's any consolation, you'll meet him again one day. Whether that's in this life or the next I daren't say, but some day...you'll meet again."

Borealis sniffled, beginning to tear up as well. They still thought it wasn't fair, but it was two against one now and they knew they would never see their other friends again if they kept repeating this one day.

"W-will I meet him again too?" he asked.

"Yes," Death said, "but if I tell you any more I'll get in trouble..."

"How do we convince him?" Eclipse asked.

"I'm afraid you'll have more answers to that question than I."

"Do you have to be so cryptic?" Borealis asked. Eclipse gave them a nudge to remind them not to be rude.

"I'm sorry, truly..." Death said, "Chaos' time is up. The day will reset as soon as I leave. You know what to do?"

"...the right thing." Eclipse said begrudgingly.

"Yeah...that." Borealis reluctantly added.

Death nodded, and just like that they were back in their bunks.

Neither of them moved for a moment. Neither of them said anything. Neither of them wanted to get up. Both of them knew they had no choice.

They reluctantly got out of bed and made their way to their mentor. It wasn't an easy journey. The subway wasn't running and half the city was still on lock down. Fortunately Eclipse remembered some details from the first couple of times they made the journey and managed to lie his way past the cordon with information he wouldn't have known if he hadn't been specifically sent there. Borealis wasn't questioned either after Eclipse talked them past. They were often seen together after all, as Chaos' sidekicks.

When they finally reached his cafe, they found him sweeping up glass from one of the broken windows. Borealis stopped, glancing at Eclipse uncertainly. They didn't know how to approach this. Eclipse put a hand on Borealis' shoulder before stepping forward.

"Still haven't gotten tired of sweeping?" he asked.

Chaos stopped sweeping, turning around with a frown.

"The hell are you on about?"

"You know," Eclipse said.

Honestly it was a gamble, he had no idea whether Chaos was aware or not, but pretending he knew for certain would be the fastest way to rule it out...hopefully.

"It's been over a hundred times." he continued, "We've lived through the same day over a hundred times...because of you."

"...and yet you still haven't found a solution." Chaos said, showing his cards, "How many more days do you need? I can do this forever."

"You knew?" Borealis asked, "This whole time...you knew?"

Chaos looked between them as he realised what had happened. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at Eclipse.

"Well played." he said, throwing his broom down, "I'm not going to explain myself to you. That's not what this is about."

"It's exactly what this is about," Eclipse said.

"W-we talked to Death..." Borealis added.

"You told him to back off?" Chaos asked.

"At first." Eclipse said, "Then he told us the truth."

"Don't tell me you fell for his inevitable balance of the universe bullshit," Chaos said.

"I-it didn't sound like bullshit..." Borealis quietly said.

"Balance of the universe be damned." Eclipse said, "No, he told us that you were doing this because you weren't ready to move on."

"You're gonna take his word over mine?" Chaos asked, raising a brow.

"I wouldn't," Eclipse said, "but...you did lie to us."

"I don't have to explain myself to you," Chaos said again.

"Death already did," Eclipse said, "said you keep doing this because you think we can't live without you."

"And I'm right," Chaos said, "look at you two. You're miserable!"

"We're miserable because we've been trying to save you for days on end!" Borealis said.

"And we're miserable because there's no getting out of this," Eclipse said, "we don't want to lose you. We don't want this any more than you, but we can't keep watching you die either... Death said you had to let us go. You have to move on!"

"Now you're just making shit up," Chaos said.

His sidekicks didn't answer, but the looks on their faces said enough. Borealis even sniffled, and then stepped forward to hug him. Chaos stiffened a bit, awkwardly patting their back.

"Don't cry," he said, "I taught you better than that."

"Y-you taught me everything..." Borealis said, "a-and I'm sure there's still more to teach, but...I-I'll do my best to figure it out."

"Can't do that when you're too busy sobbing." Chaos said, managing to dislodge from their hug and putting a hand under their chin, "You've already come so far and that was all you. Sure I told you what to do, but you put in the work. You can do that with any mentor."

"It won't be the same..." Borealis said.

"Of course not, there's no one like me," Chaos said with a shrug.

"Does this mean today won't reset anymore?" Eclipse asked.

"Jeez, I'll miss you too, kid." Chaos said, "I mean...I'll try. If you admit you'll miss me~"

"You know I will," Eclipse said, looking towards the cafe that Chaos ran. "Things will never be the same..."

"That's the beauty of it," Chaos said, "surely you noticed today. Life fucking sucks if it's always the same."

"Just had to cram in a last lesson, didn't you?" Borealis asked, managing to wipe their tears away.

"Teaching never stops." Chaos said with a shrug, before falling quiet as he looked between the two of them. "I was never a fan of the sidekick programme. Too many rules for my taste...but I'm glad I made an exception for you two."

In the distance, they heard an explosion of some sorts, and Eclipse realised they were headed towards the first way Chaos died. A rogue rocket that was never meant to be fired, landed right in front of the cafe just before the two sidekicks had managed to cross the street.

Chaos seemed to realise it too as he looked up.

"At least I'm going out with a bang." he said, "...you two might wanna back up."

Eclipse and Borealis reluctantly took a step back. Borealis turned around, checking the street to see if it was safe to cross, while Eclipse realised that this was his last chance to say everything left unsaid. Though when he opened his mouth he could only utter two words.

"Thank you..."

"Tell cool stories at my funeral," Chaos said, gesturing at him to get away.

Eclipse could only nod, before turning to follow Borealis. Once relatively safely on the other side of the street they turned back, determined to see it through til the end.

The first impact threw up so much dust and debris, they barely even saw the flash that would've otherwise blinded them. Borealis shielded them from the strong gust of wind that then spread out and threw debris in all directions.

Eclipse noticed they were shaking and wordlessly put an arm around them.

"We'll meet him again," he reminded them, "probably in another life apparently."

Borealis nodded, trying to keep up a brave face, but before the dust even settled they caved, wrapping their arms around Eclipse and pressing their face into his chest as they began to sob.

Eclipse looked away too, gently hugging them back and hoping this was the last time they had to go through it, which...honestly didn't make him feel a lot better, because that meant...he'd finally given in to Death.

He didn't know how long they stood there. It could've been hours. Just watching the remains of the cafe burn until there was nothing left to burn. If Chaos was still fighting it, the day would've reset by now, but it didn't.

They were finally free...

But at what cost?

@whumpay

Borealis belongs to @dr-abitat-blog

Masterlist Main account

Fun fact: I struggled with this one so hard I had to start over like 3 times, I basically time-looped myself. The real whumpee was me !!!!

#Whumpay2025 #Day 29 #Time Loop #bad ending #Death as a character #tragedy #whump writing #whump event #oc whump #cafekitsune #<- banner credit

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whumpsmith-participates · 28 days ago

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Day 28 - Grief

CW: implied depression, implied child neglect, intervention

Achilles paused, looking up at the building that he'd always known as home, even after he'd moved out a couple of years ago. He never simply visited. He just returned home.

But a couple of weeks ago things had changed...and now it didn't feel like home anymore.

The rooms seemed darker, devoid of warmth both literal and metaphorical. The silence felt pressing instead of peaceful. The creak in the floorboards felt more haunting than familiar. The very building itself seemed cast in a permanent shadow ever since that day...

Achilles didn't want to go inside, but he had no choice. He dug his old house keys from his pocket, using one to unlock the gate in the hedge next to the building. The next one was for the door.

The building mostly looked modern from the outside, but behind that hedge, in the private little garden, there was an ornate wooden door, painted green, with stained glass panes on either side of a brass knocker.

Beyond the door, the small entryway didn't at all match with the rest of the building. Achilles grew up living above a small private hospital. One filled with sleek and modern design in every room, except the private stairwell and the apartment it led to.

Behind the reception desk was a storage room, where they kept the printer paper, some files and even small amounts of prescription medicine as part of their in-house pharmacy service.

And in the back of that storage room, was a door that led to the same little entryway Achilles was standing in. The sleek and modern design now entirely replaced by ornate wooden panelling, and a sturdy wooden staircase that hugged the wall all the way up to the third floor.

Achilles climbed the steps slowly. He didn't mind the stairs. He was just trying to delay the inevitable. His hand sliding over the smooth banister that he'd often slid down on, much to his parents' chagrin.

There was a landing on the second floor, decorated with a round carpet and potted plants. It used to be Achilles' favourite hiding spot while playing hide and seek. The first time he crawled behind the large fern and hid underneath the steps of the stairs, he was hidden so well he made his brother cry.

He remembered the scolding he got that day. Not because his parents' words were so impressive. He didn't remember anything they said. He just remembered that they were trying really hard not to laugh, and they weren't very successful.

The fond memory gave Achilles the strength to make it to the third floor. This landing was a little bigger. Allowing space for a shoe cabinet, a coatrack, a standing mirror—which had been covered with a sheet since that day—and the double doors leading into the apartment.

Doors that had always been open...figuratively. Family and friends could walk in whenever. Something Achilles always appreciated growing up; To live in a home so warm and welcoming. A safe haven enriched with the presence of wonderful family and friends.

But everything changed that day. Including the doors. Achilles felt compelled to knock, before slowly pushing the door open.

"Dad?"

It was cold inside. The fireplace that usually worked surprisingly well in warming the entire space hadn't been lit in days. The curtains were still drawn, keeping the cold from outside at bay, as well as the light.

Achilles looked around for any signs of life, but there were none. The apartment seemed trapped in time since they came home after that day and Slade had gone around and overturned every picture frame, taken them off the walls or covered them with spare sheets.

An old tradition, he explained. To prevent the deceased's spirit from getting trapped according to some, or to help focus on mourning without distractions according to others.

He'd covered all the mirrors too, for the same reason, giving the apartment a somewhat haunted look. Achilles half expected to find the furniture covered too one day. He knew his father was having a hard time, which was the reason he came.

His brother, Ash, had expressed his worries. He'd been over almost every day to spend time with their dad. Not that Achilles was so neglectful, but Ash was just lucky to get more time off, while Achilles was stuck slaving away in a kitchen at odd hours. And his boss had already been lenient with time off before and after the funeral.

He'd had some catching up to do in his hours, but his hard work was thankfully rewarded with a day off, allowing him to check on his dad so he could put his brother and himself at ease.

But first he had to find him. And since he wasn't in the living room, he was either at work or in his bedroom. Achilles highly doubted the first option, so he headed to check the bedroom first.

Another set of double doors led to a long corridor, stretching the length of the apartment, leading to the three generous bedrooms, each having their own set of double doors.

The doors in the middle, right across from the ones leading to the living room, were slightly ajar. Achilles stepped forward, gently pushing one of the doors open and poking his head in.

There he was, lying in the canopy bed he once shared, caressing the empty pillow next to him, while staring at the one picture he hadn't overturned. After all, it was newly added only after the funeral, placed on the otherwise undisturbed nightstand in an attempt to remedy the absence of his late husband.

Achilles took in the pitiful sight for a second, before slowly walking around the bed to his late father's side, stepping into Slade’s view.

"Hey dad," he said, "Ash said you weren't feeling so hot."

Slade tore his eyes off the photograph and looked at Achilles.

"May I?" he said, "He didnae deserve t'die like 'at..."

"Of course you may," Achilles said, "but...he wouldn't want you to wallow away like this."

"Ah didnae plan t'mourn forever. But ah need mair time." Slade mumbled in reply.

Achilles needed a second to process his words. Even when he grew up with it, he never did quite get the hang of Scottish. Besides, Slade only slipped this hard in his accent when he was very emotional, and that's all Achilles needed to know.

"It's okay," he said, "I miss him too, but...I can't even begin to imagine how you feel."

"'Tis no' fair..." Slade said.

"I know," Achilles said, "he deserved better...but so does Elaine, dad. She needs you right now, and Ash tells me you can't even look at her!"

Slade blinked, wiping at his eyes, looking at Achilles with a different look in his eyes, as if he'd been awoken from a trance.

"Where is she?"

"At school," Achilles said, "Sandra and Ash have been taking turns bringing her, Ash usually picks her up, makes her dinner, washes her clothes, picks out a new outfit for her to wear. You haven't noticed any of that?"

Slade's silence was telling. Achilles honestly couldn't even be mad. He wanted to be, maybe that would make his dad see the light, but he couldn't bring himself to be angry. It's not what his other dad would've wanted anyway.

"Dad, if you aren't ready to look after her on your own, just say the word." he said, "We'll find a solution. She can live with me or Ash until you're ready...but she can't stay here, not when you're like this."

"...I'm sorry." Slade said, sitting up.

Achilles shook his head.

"Don't be," he said, "it's not your fault. And we're here for you. She's our sister, we're responsible for her too. We should've jumped in a lot sooner to help..."

"Naw..." Slade said, "Ah should've asked fur help..."

"You don't have to ask." Achilles said, "Why don't I make some tea? You can freshen up and then we'll talk...or not. Up to you."

Slade nodded.

"Aye. Tea sounds good..."

Slade managed to bring himself to take a shower, giving Achilles some time to boil water for tea and to open the curtains to let some natural light back into the room. He also made a fire in the fireplace, so they could have their tea in its warmth.

He searched the cabinets for some cookies as well, but all he found was an unopened package of his other dad's favourite. He decided it would be better left untouched, so he closed the cabinet again and decided to make do without cookies for now.

The tea was brewing in the pot when Slade joined him, looking over the tray that he was getting ready. The pot, the cups, the milk, the sugar...

"Um..." Achilles said, getting a hint of disapproval from his expression, "There was only one pack of cookies, but it was dad's so..."

Slade didn't respond. He just opened the cabinet and added a third cup to the tray.

"Are we expecting anyone else?" Achilles asked.

"No." Slade just said, going on ahead and sitting down on the sofa, staring sadly at the chaise lounge where he used to perch during tea time. Achilles picked up the tray and brought it over, placing it on the coffee table near Slade before sitting next to him.

"Milk?"

"I'll do it."

Achilles nodded, handing the milk jug to Slade and sitting back while Slade poured the tea. Adding some milk for himself, some milk and sugar for Achilles, and sugar in the third cup. He put the third cup on the table near the chaise lounge, before handing Achilles his tea, and then taking his own cup.

"Thanks." Achilles said, taking a small sip before looking at the third cup, "Do you do that a lot?"

"I cannae— ...I cannot not do it." Slade said, clearing his throat a bit. "I...I set his plate...for dinner. I make his side of the bed... I...tidy and clean his things...If I don't, then..."

"That makes it real," Achilles finished.

Slade nodded, putting his cup back on the table, the tea untouched. He leaned back against the backrest, looking at the covered portrait above the fire place.

"'Twas never easy," he said, "when I realised I'd outlive Lilean, I got so scared I ran away... When I married Aiden, I thought I'd have time to prepare..."

"Yeah it was...horrible." Achilles agreed, "Like, nightmares levels of horrible."

"I can barely sleep without reliving it either..." Slade said.

"How's Elaine holding up?" Achilles asked, "Or have you been too checked out to..."

Slade shook his head as Achilles trailed off.

"When we got back from the funeral, after everyone left, she must've stayed up after I put her to bed, because as soon as I went to get changed she came into our room for a cuddle and then she asked when dad would come home, because she hadn't seen him for a couple of days."

"What did you tell her?"

"Nothing." Slade said shaking his head, "Told her to go back to sleep. That's why I haven't been paying attention to her... What if she asks again? What do I tell her then?"

"...I wouldn't know." Achilles admitted, "Maybe...have you talked to Dr Myers since...?"

"No," Slade said, shaking his head.

"Maybe you should."

"Maybe I should..."

@whumpay

Achilles, Ash (mentioned) and Sandra (mentioned) belong to @dr-abitat-blog

Masterlist Main account

Losing someone is hard on everyone involved. Slade is avoidant when he gets scared.

#Whumpay2025 #Day 28 #Grief #implied depression #implied child neglect #intervention #whump writing #whump event #oc whump #cafekitsune #<- banner credit

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whumpsmith-participates · 29 days ago

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Day 27 - Resurrection

CW: vampire whumper, newly turned vampire whumpee, body horror, noncon transformation, autocannibalism (sorta), coughing up unknown substance, begging, crying, sensory overload, locked in a basement, dungeon-like basement

“I’ll miss you…”

Ian woke up with a gasp. Lord Gethin’s words still echoed in his ears, so he didn’t immediately realise it had been hours since he passed out. He didn’t realise anything at first. Only that he felt sore and exhausted. The soft and warm blankets and pillows he passed out on were no more. Only a cold and harsh stone floor.

Ian sat up and looked around, only he didn’t recognise the room. He didn’t know of any rooms like this in the manor. It was bare, no furniture, no windows, and only a small, narrow door. Ian thought of getting to his feet and trying the door, but just sitting up had taken up all his energy, and now he felt like an invisible force was slowly constricting itself around his chest.

He looked down, he was wearing a soft, black, silk tunic. It was too big on him, and he recognised it as Lord Gethin’s. He tried to remember what happened for him to end up there, when the squeeze around his chest tightened and he found himself coughing.

Something got caught in his throat. He leaned forward onto his hands, hacking and coughing until he spat out a mouthful of black, tarry, phlegm. He’d never seen anything like it before, but he didn’t get much of a chance to ponder on it, or he was coughing and hacking again.

He produced a decent puddle, and then got as far away from it as possible, pressing himself into a corner while trying to recall what happened.

He remembered standing before the fire with Lord Gethin. He remembered him grabbing his face, and kissing him, and then he— Ian reached for the side of his neck…but he felt nothing. No scabs, no discomfort when pressing on his bruised skin… He lowered his hand and looked at his wrist, but he saw no scabs or bruising there either. Instead his skin was fair, but pale, more grey than beige, and cold.

Had he passed out for that long?

Had he fallen ill?

He had to find answers.

Using the wall as support, he dragged himself to his feet, looking around for the door, only to find the room spinning around him. The cold stone didn’t provide a lot of grip, and he found himself crashing back onto the floor.

The room kept spinning. His stomach churned painfully. The sound of his tunic rustling and his skin scraping over the floor rang painfully in his ears. And what was that smell?

Ian retched, but he had nothing in his stomach to throw up, so that just hurt as well. All he could really do was let out the most pathetic sob as he curled up and covered his ears with his hands and squeezed his eyes shut.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when the click of a lock shot through the room like a gun being fired in the dead of night; like the thunderclap he heard just as Lord Gethin—

“Oh good, you’re awake.”

Ian looked up. He’d already recognised his voice, but seeing Lord Gethin stand in the door opening felt like such a relieve. Even if he couldn’t stand, he still wanted to go to him, so he crawled. Slowly, wincing at the sound and struggling to move in a straight line.

“M-my lord…”

He hated how weak his voice sounded. So hoarse and broken. But he couldn’t just say nothing either. He forced himself to at least sit on his knees, leaning on his elbows as he kept his head down.

“P-please, my lord…help me…”

“Hmm…I don’t hate this view,” Lord Gethin said, “but you are not yet ready…”

Ian still didn’t know what he meant, but he did reach for the hem of his robe, desperately craving some kind of comfort, some kind of familiarity. But Lord Gethin pulled his robes away before he could grab them, and stepped back.

“I’ll be back by nightfall,” he said, “you’ll have adjusted by then.”

And with that he turned around and stepped through the door, leaving Ian with his hand outstretched, grasping at air before collapsing onto his side, flinching at the sound of the door closing and locking.

It felt like he had been abandoned forever, writhing in pain, his own pained cries and panting driving him crazy. Why was everything so loud? Why did the room still spin? And that god awful smell! Nothing he tried alleviated anything, further skewing his perception of time.

He had no idea how much time had passed when for the first time he opened his eyes and the walls were still. He carefully sat up, still sore, but no longer in pain. He could still very clearly hear every little move he made, but it didn’t ring painfully in his ears anymore. Finally, he had some energy to think.

What was happening to him? This couldn’t be some kind of illness, or at least nothing he had ever seen before. Lord Gethin seemed to know exactly what was going on, but Ian knew if he asked him he’d just be upset with him.

He tried to think back of everything Lord Gethin had told him recently, as any word could have been a hint. But as he thought, he could suddenly feel his mouth filling up with something thick, slimy and rotten. Without second thought, he leaned forward and spat it out; a glob of black liquid with white chunks in it. Ian frowned, slowly reaching for one of the chunks and pulling it from the liquid, holding it up to see better.

It was a tooth.

Just as he identified it he could feel more liquid well up in his mouth, and now that he was paying attention he could feel some of his teeth popping out. He retched, spitting out more black liquid and teeth, coughing a bit from the wretched smell and taste. He whimpered as he stared at the small pile of teeth before him.

However, before he could even begin to panic about a life without teeth, he could already feel a pain he hadn’t felt in years.

His jaw ached, starting in the front of his mouth before slowly spreading towards the back and then radiating out through the rest of his head. Ian sobbed miserably as he laid down again, burying his head in his arms as he curled up on his side.

When the pain stopped, he could feel the unfamiliar shape of a new row of teeth. They fit together perfectly, but it was a foreign feeling. He didn’t know what to do with his tongue anymore, and…why were some so long?

He hesitantly opened his mouth, feeling how some protruded easily past his lips, before brushing his fingers past them. The longer teeth felt much sharper, and easily cut into his finger when he tried to find out how sharp they were exactly.

He winced and looked down, seeing a small, black drop beading on his fingertip, before the cut disappeared altogether, leaving only the black liquid behind.

Ian blinked, wiping the black away with his thumb, but there really was no cut.

Had he imagined it?

Without really thinking, he held up his arm and sunk his teeth in it, leaving a decent bite mark, only to watch it disappear as soon as he lowered his arm.

Maybe he hadn’t bitten hard enough.

He tried again, this time really tearing at the flesh, but it seemed he didn’t know his own strength, as he suddenly found himself spitting out that bite of flesh. It tasted as rotten as the rest of the black liquid, and as he looked back at his arm he saw the wound oozing more of it.

The black liquid…was that his blood? — Never mind that, the oozing soon stopped as the wound slowly but visibly began to knit itself together, until the only trace left was the black blood still staining his arm and face.

Ian couldn’t take it anymore. He needed answers, or at the least fresh air. He scrambled for the door, yanking desperately on the latch, but it did not open. He banged his fists against the wood until the sound became too overwhelming, and he sank back down into a sobbing heap on the floor.

@whumpay

Masterlist Main account

"Turning into a vampire isn't fun, and it definitely isn't sexy either." - Ian at some point probably.

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whumpsmith-participates · 1 month ago

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Day 26 - Funeral

CW: character death, religious themes, grief, unable/unwilling to say goodbye

It was a cold winter. The kind of cold that slips through the seams of your wind-proof coat and chills you to the very bone. The kind of cold that no fire or heater or warm blanket could protect against.

Not even the sun had enough warmth to offer. Its light only blinding as it reflected off of the snow that covered the ground like a glistening, pure white blanket. Undisturbed in the church graveyard, save for around the freshly-dug hole, and the shovelled path towards it.

Inside the church, soft music played while the pastor gave his sermon. He was struggling, needing to pause on occasion. He knew the deceased well. He'd been a member of the church since he was fifteen, the pastor personally baptised him when he turned eighteen, he officiated his wedding, baptised their daughter...

And now he had to watch their heartbroken faces as they sat in the first bench, having only a photograph to look at, and an empty casket.

His best friend, his best man, the father of his goddaughter and the godfather of his daughter was the only one who managed to bring himself to write a eulogy in the past couple of days, allowing the family to just grieve quietly in the front row without having to worry about public speaking.

Which was a good thing as his husband could only really stare ahead, the profound sadness evident in his absent-minded look. He was flanked by their twin sons, the oldest hugging his arm as silent tears slowly soaked into his sleeve. The younger sought comfort with his grandmother, the deceased's mother, who was facing what no parent should ever have to.

She was also holding the youngest of the three children, bouncing her gently on her knee to keep her as quiet as possible while the best friend spoke.

The rest of the church seemed rather empty, but only because they decided specifically to only invite their closest friends and the few blood relatives that they had.

After his best friend's beautiful words, which had everyone reaching for their tissues or handkerchiefs, it was time for the worst part.

His casket was carried by his best friend and two sons and their respective partners. A solemn, quiet procession leading everyone out of the church and onto the graveyard. A dotted line of black, crossing through the pure white snow, spreading out by the edge of the hole that was dug early that morning.

A final prayer, a final hymn, everyone joined in song as the casket was lowered into the ground.

The last flowers, their final goodbye.

The definitive clatter of the first handful of dirt.

The realisation that they would never see his smile or hear his kind words ever again.

The memories that now only existed in their minds.

The ache in their hearts caused by the void left behind.

A loss felt by every life he had touched.

But none more than his husband, who couldn't bring himself to move from the grave even after almost everyone else had already left. Stood in the cold for hours, not wanting to say goodbye just yet.

@whumpay

The sons™ belong to @dr-abitat-blog

Masterlist Main account

I hope the lack of names didn't get confusing lol. If u know whose funeral this is you deserve a cookie :3

#Whumpay2025 #Day 26 #Funeral #character death #religious themes #grief #unable to say goodbye #unwilling to say goodbye #whump writing #whump event #oc whump #cafekitsune #<- banner credit

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whumpsmith-participates · 1 month ago

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Day 25 - Character Death

CW: death, painful death, failed rescue, blood, coughing up blood, choking/drowning in blood, bruising, screaming, implied severe beating/abuse/torture

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

Ryan groaned as his alarm went off. He normally wasn't too bothered by an early wake-up, but when he felt so hungover it was a different story. His head was pounding, and his entire body felt heavy and broken.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

The sound made his eardrums tremble painfully, which then almost drowned out the alarm. As if he was submerged under water. Was that why he couldn't breathe?

Beeeeep! Beeeeep! Beeeeeep!

Wait. Was the alarm always this slow? Was his bed always this hard? This cold? This...sticky?

Ryan pried his eyes open, only to find himself surrounded by darkness, occasionally broken by a red light flashing through the cracks between the door and the door frame. Even in those brief flashes of light, there was still a unsettling dark fog at the edges of his vision.

Beeeeep! Beeeeep! Beeeeeep!

That wasn't his morning alarm. His morning alarm was just whatever playlist he last played on his phone. And this room wasn't his bunk, which he shared with one of the other nurses, it was much too small for that.

A brighter light flashed outside the door now, followed by a warm breeze spilling through the cracks. Ryan had to close his eyes again as his hair tickled his eyelids, sparing him the sudden flash of light when the door was broken open and two flashlights shone directly at him.

"Oh my God..."

"B-by the Elements!"

"Ryan?!"

Warm hands gently cupped his face, stroking his hair out of his eyes. Ryan blinked them open again, vaguely recognising the golden-blonde braids and deep blue eyes.

Hey Pipes...

He had no idea that his friends only heard a weak groan instead of what he actually wanted to say. Ryan had no idea how terrible he looked. His scrubs were torn and soaked in blood. If his skin wasn't painted red with blood, it was black and blue with bruises.

He thought he smiled to put them at ease, but half the muscles in his face weren't working, the other half was too swollen to show anything. He was sure he was making regular eye-contact, but the others could only see a vacant stare.

"We need to get him out of here!"

Piper turned towards her husband, who stood by the door to keep guard, frequently glancing over his shoulder to check on their mutual friend. Saturn nodded, taking a last look around the corridor outside before joining her at Ryan's side.

"There's so much blood..." Saturn shakily said, "I-is he...is he breathing?"

"Yeah, we just need to get him to a doctor and he'll be okay," Piper said. Saturn had a sneaking suspicion she was in denial, but he wasn't about to start arguing with her.

At least Ryan confirmed that he was breathing, wheezing out another weak groan, his hand blindly groping around near Saturn's knee, until he grabbed his hand. Saturn squeezed, only to find Ryan didn't have an ounce of strength in his grip.

"Y-you're going to be okay, Ryan." he said helplessly, "We're going to get you out of here."

"Hgn...."

"Hush, save your strength," Piper said.

But Ryan didn't listen. He had to know.

"T-the...ghh....the...t-the babies..."

Every single wheezing breath was a painful struggle. Piper and Saturn could tell from the way he was writhing on the floor with each breath, some blood spraying out with a strained cough.

"The babies are safe!" Piper quickly said, "They were evacuated before we launched our attack. We just have to get you out of here and we can burn this place to the ground. Saturn, help me get him up. He doesn't have a lot of time."

Saturn nodded, squeezing Ryan's hand again, as if to give a preemptive apology, before putting his other hand on the back of his neck and trying to push him to sit up. They'd barely raised him an inch before Ryan already cried out in pain. He was pretty much screaming, loud enough that it startled both Piper and Saturn and they couldn't help but to drop him again.

"O-oh my God," Piper gasped, "W-what do we do?"

Saturn looked at her worried expression, before looking down at their beaten and bloodied friend. Moving him would be painful, but if they didn't bring him, he surely wouldn't make it.

"Forgive me, Ryan," Saturn said, "The pain should be temporary."

He exchanged a look with Piper, and they both braced themselves for more screaming as they hoisted Ryan to his feet. They each put an arm around their shoulders, supporting him between them. They had to, as he put their full weight on them, unable to stand on his own.

By the time they had him in that position he wasn't screaming anymore. He was sobbing. They could feel his body shake, trembling in effort for each painful breath. They didn't have time to consider whether this was even the best way to move him. They just had to get him out.

Blood dripped steadily onto the floor as they hurried down the corridor as fast as they could with the added weight and without jostling Ryan too much. Guards rounded the corner on occasion, but they were swiftly dealt with by a wave of flames, or a painfully strong gust of wind...or both.

Saturn and Piper cleared the corridor ahead together, leaving the once spotless tiled floors and walls coated in soot and painfully warm to the touch. They were in a hurry, as they could feel their friend literally and figuratively slip away.

His breathing became less frequent, as if he was becoming too exhausted to keep fighting for air. And when he did manage to breathe, it sounded like he was drowning, in the very same blood that dribbled down over his chin and dripped onto the floor.

Saturn's grip on Ryan's arm slipped, and they were forced to stop to prevent him from smacking onto the floor, laying him down more gently. Piper began to panic, her eyes wet with tears.

"What are you doing?!" she cried, "We can't stop now! We have to get him out of here!"

Saturn's heart broke. He could tell his wife was desperate to save their friend, but when he looked down at Ryan...there was no air moving in his lungs. There was only blood, his body convulsing with each attempt to breathe, sucking in more blood and attempting to expel it again. The light in his eyes wasn't just fading, it was as good as gone.

"Piper..." Saturn softly said, "I'm so sorry..."

Piper had seen it too, but she wasn't ready to admit it, sobbing freely as she begged Ryan to hang in just for a bit longer.

But Ryan never responded.

It was already too late.

Saturn allowed for one tear to spill, before looking up in an attempt to blink the rest away. He thought it might've been the stress, or his mind playing tricks on him as the tears obscured his vision. But in that moment, he could've sworn, he saw Ryan again.

Not as the broken husk his wife was bent over as she grieved, but as the man they knew before the world went to shit. Wearing a smile that felt like coming home after a long day, his eyes twinkling playfully as he looked at Saturn...and nodded.

Saturn blinked once.

A cloaked figure now stood next to Ryan.

Saturn blinked again.

And both were gone.

He knew what to do now, even when it felt like his body moved before he could think about it. He grabbed Piper by her arm. They couldn't stay there. She didn't want to leave, nor could he leave her. She would thank him later, or not, but he dragged her away. She kicked and she screamed, but Saturn didn't care.

Ryan wouldn't want them to risk their lives when his was no longer at stake. Their own survival was more important than his...remains. And Saturn knew better than to disrespect the dead.

@whumpay

Saturn belongs to @dr-abitat-blog

Masterlist Main account

For context: Ryan is a future Heroes character who becomes a nurse at Slade's clinic. Later when evil scientists convince the government that all supers must be contained and they get free reign to experiment on them, Ryan goes undercover at one of their facilities as a nurse. He discovers their genetics department is actually a breeding experiment where they use cloning techniques to combine the DNA of powerful or useful supers to try and create more or even improved versions of them. The babies Ryan is worried about are the results of the experiment. He informs the resistance about what is going on, but is caught by one of his colleagues. He is tortured for information and as a punishment and subsequently left for dead when the facility is raided by the resistance.

#Whumpay2025 #Day 25 #Character Death #death #painful death #failed rescue #blood #coughing up blood #choking in blood #drowning in blood #bruising #screaming #implied severe beating/abuse/torture #whump writing #whump event #oc whump #cafekitsune #<- banner credit

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whumpsmith-participates · 1 month ago

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Day 24 - "I don't want to scare you, but..." "You're hurting me!" (Alt)

CW: I genuinely don't know if there's a word for it but uhhhh getting attacked by someone they trust, uncharacteristic behaviour, improvised weaponry, tag-team fight scene, (implied) PTSD, knife to the throat, getting thrown into furniture, some magic references and use

"Are you sure you don't need me to come with?" Ethan asked, eyeing his three younger siblings suspiciously as they chased each other around Charlie's car.

"I can handle them for a few hours." Charlie assured him, "It's your vacation too, Ethan. Try to relax a bit, have fun with your friends."

Ethan looked towards his friends. Elaine was helping Dusty climb a tree, while River was trying to get a caterpillar to crawl onto his hand.

"Keyword being 'try.'" he said, before leaving his younger siblings in Charlie's capable hands and going to check on his idiot friends instead.

"River, don't touch that, it's going to give you a rash again. Dusty if you fall, there's no emergency room nearby for hours."

"I'm not going to fall!" the blonde girl exclaimed, climbing onto one of the branches and letting herself hang upside down from her knees, reaching her hands out towards Ethan. "Want me to swing you?"

"No," Ethan said, folding his arms, "You'll throw me."

"I won't this time, I promise."

"You say that every time. I'm not falling for it anymore."

"You're no fun anymore," Dusty said with a pout.

"I'm a sidekick now, I can't keep falling for cheap tricks," Ethan said, puffing up his chest a bit.

"You got assigned a week ago, calm down," Elaine said, lighting a cigarette as she leaned against the tree.

"Two weeks ago!" Ethan said, "I already have my equipment and got my first draft briefing, and you never know when you might get drafted."

"There hasn't been a draft since the revolution though," River pointed out, "Sidekicks are rarely called into the field outside of the usual working hours."

"It could still happen," Ethan said.

"Even if the city would implode right now, they still wouldn't call you since you're in the middle of nowhere," Elaine said.

"You're just salty because you have a passive power," Ethan said.

"Don't make me curse you, scrub."

"Ellie you shouldn't curse people! That's dark magic!" River gasped.

"Neeerd!" Dusty hollered from the tree.

River rolled his eyes, and Ethan realised the jokes were going too far, so he grabbed River's hand and pulled him back towards his uncles' cabin.

"I'm thirsty, let's grab a drink," he said.

River just nodded and followed him. They took their shoes off on the porch, leaving them by the door before stepping inside, finding Luke, Ethan's other uncle, dead asleep on the couch. The book he'd been reading was left folded open on his chest. Ethan exchanged a look with River, before both boys tip-toed towards the couch.

Ethan carefully picked up the book, handing it to River so he could put it away, before grabbing a blanket from the basket next to the couch and draping it over his uncle a bit. Then they both carefully backed away until they were in the kitchen, where they wordlessly washed their hands before raiding the fridge.

River pointed at a can of lemonade, but Ethan shook his head. He knew Charlie had made it that morning, it still had to chill a bit and his siblings would start a riot if they so much as even tasted a drop of that lemonade without them. Then River pointed at Luke's beer supply, and Ethan was so shocked he slapped his friend's hand away.

River stifled a laugh in his hand while he waved his hit hand in an attempt to take away the sting. Ethan mouthed a "sorry" having to try really hard not to laugh with him. He could hear his uncle stir in his sleep, and he didn't want to accidentally wake him up.

They quickly settled for two random cans of soda, wanting to make their escape back outside before they would burst out laughing. Ethan couldn't even look River in the eye anymore, having to bite his lip to stay quiet as he closed the fridge door, only to be jump-scared by Luke in question, as he suddenly was standing behind the door and grabbed Ethan's arm.

Both boys yelped in surprise, before nearly laughing again.

"Oh my gosh you scared me!" Ethan said, "Sorry, did we wake you?"

But Luke didn't reply. He just glanced between both boys with an uncomfortably intense look, his grip on Ethan's arm tightening.

"Um..." Ethan awkwardly said, "Uncle Luke? You're um... You're hurting me..."

He tried to pull his arm away, but that only prompted Luke to pull back, twisting Ethan's arm onto his back when he stumbled, and snatching up a knife from the kitchen counter to press against his throat.

"Uncle Luke!" Ethan yelped, too stunned to even think about what to do next.

Luckily River was a little faster, quickly shaking one of the cans of soda and opening it, the liquid inside spraying right into Luke's face, which...honestly didn't do much, except obscure the second can, which he threw right against his forehead.

As Luke stumbled back, Ethan managed to push his hand holding the knife away while River picked up a skillet that had been soaking in the sink and used it to smack the knife from Luke's hand. He held it up to take another swing. Seeing this, Ethan ducked out of the way so he wouldn't get caught in the crossfire.

Luke was forced to let go of Ethan, just so he could jump back and avoid River's skillet. Ethan let himself fall onto the floor, rolled forward past River, and quickly scrambled back to his feet. Meanwhile Luke bumped against the china cabinet, and promptly yanked it open so he could pull out plates and bowls to throw at them.

While River clumsily tried to dodge or smack the porcelain flying at them, Ethan lurched over the counter behind him to throw open the kitchen window.

"Ellie! Get uncle Charlie!"

He could see both girls making confused gestures, but before he had the chance to even begin to think of a concise explanation, River had the bright idea to throw his skillet at Luke, forcing him away from the china cabinet and cutting him off from his ammunition.

"Don't let him escape!" Ethan said.

He wasn't even sure why he said that, but River listened anyway, moving to half-chase, half-block the path to the door. So Luke changed directions, eyeing the shotgun mounted above the fireplace. Ethan panicked, knowing he kept it loaded. Whatever had gotten into their uncle, it was probably better to keep him away from live firearms.

Ethan bravely (or stupidly) vaulted over the sofa and crashed into Luke, trying to tackle him to the floor or anything, but unfortunately for him Luke had a lot more training and a lot more experience under his belt. He easily grabbed Ethan and threw him over his shoulder right onto the coffee table, which was already being held together by hopes and dreams and thus collapsed immediately upon impact.

Ethan was stunned for...well, it couldn't have been more than a second, yet when he looked up, Luke was standing over him with a broken piece of table. A sharp-looking piece of table.

"No!"

Thankfully River remembered his training too, snatching up a pillow and throwing it at Luke, buying himself time to grab the discarded blanket from the floor and throwing that over him next, buying him even more time to grab Ethan and pull him out of harm's way and back to his feet.

Ethan didn't even get the chance to thank him or Luke had already thrown off the blanket. Fortunately, rather than attacking the boys, he instead dove towards his right. Unfortunately, he did that to grab a fire poker from the stand next to fireplace as his next weapon.

"Light the fire place!" Ethan ordered, before grabbing the sofa's seat cushion to use as a buffer between him and Luke's weapon as he charged forward to help River carry out his task safely.

River had no idea why Ethan needed the fireplace lit, but again he acted without question, darting forward as soon as Ethan pushed Luke back and feverishly tossing a couple of logs in before rubbing his hands together while reciting a simple fire spell.

In a normal, less stressful environment, the spell could work like a decent kindling, something just enough for the logs to catch fire. But River was stressed, and the sudden burst of flames startled him, causing him to fall backwards.

At the same time, Luke nearly poked Ethan's eye out as he tore through the pillow with the cast iron rod, forcing the teen back again and...causing him to trip over River as he fell backwards. Despite that, however, he still managed to twist the pillow and disarm Luke, grabbing the dropped poker and getting a mean swing in against his shins.

The sudden pain caused Luke to lose balance, falling down on one knee. Meanwhile Ethan scrambled back up and pounced on Luke, trying to pin him down and uh...well, he hadn't thought much beyond that. It didn't matter. It would've failed anyway.

Ethan did manage to work Luke against the ground, but he never managed to pin his arms, allowing Luke to throw a solid punch, hitting Ethan square in the jaw. Ethan fell backwards again, while Luke managed to hop directly into a standing position.

Ethan didn't mind that too much though, as his plan seemed to be working. After all, that morning, he'd seen Charlie close the vent of the fireplace to keep the cold out. Meaning that if they lit a fire without opening it, all the smoke would just waft into the cabin instead.

Luke coughed as he breathed in a sudden mouthful of smoke, his eyes beginning to water. He glanced towards the shotgun mounted above the fireplace again, only to find it missing. During the brief couple of seconds that Ethan had Luke pinned, River had gone for the gun.

Luke glared at River just as he shook the loaded shells out of the gun and dropped them on the floor, making the weapon harmless...for now. Ethan stumbled back to his feet as well, holding his cheek where Luke had struck him, grabbing at the shotgun with his free hand. River let him take it, taking a step back while Ethan snapped the gun closed so he could use it as a club.

The first two swings forced Luke back. The third swing he managed to catch. Ethan didn't stop though, beginning to push instead with a frustrated yell. After all, behind him, River had opened the pantry door, standing in wait with his leg out to trip him. Ethan couldn't let the opportunity slip by, so he put his back into it.

When the gun didn't have the leverage he needed anymore, he let go of it and instead slammed into his uncle like a linebacker, pushing him towards the pantry door. Just as improvised planned, Luke tripped over River's foot and fell backwards, allowing the boys to quickly grab the door and pull it closed before he could recover.

The door slammed closed. Luke slammed into the door. Ethan quickly reached for the key and turned it in the lock, before pulling it out and slowly backing away from the door as Luke continued to bash against it.

"H-holy shit..." he said shakily, "W-what just happened?"

"I-I don't know..." River replied, sounding like he was about to cry.

Ethan wasn't sure what to say that would comfort him, so instead he quickly opened the vent of the fireplace so they wouldn't suffocate while anxiously eyeing the pantry door.

"I-is that going to hold him?" River asked.

"I hope so," Ethan said grimly, "I don't hear Elaine cussing so she and Dusty probably went to get Uncle Charlie, like I asked."

"...he's going to kill us," River said, looking around at the mess in the cabin.

"We didn't even do anything and Uncle Luke also tried to kill us!" Ethan said, "God...Dad's going to freak."

"M-maybe...uh...maybe it was like, PTSD or something?" River suggested, "Like he was asleep just before, right? S-sometimes people get spooked by a nightmare and attack people in their sleep...usually their partner, but yeah."

"Thanks, that's horrifying." Ethan said, "Are you okay though?"

"Y-yeah...you? You're glowing..."

River gestured at his own face, to which Ethan rubbed the forming bruise on his cheek.

"I'll be fine."

@whumpay

Ethan, his unnamed siblings and Charlie belong to @illustriousshadow

Masterlist Main account

I had way too much fun writing the fight scene haha

#Whumpay2025 #Day 24 #“You're hurting me!”#alt prompt #getting attacked by someone they trust #uncharacteristic behaviour #improvised weaponry #tag-team fight scene #(implied) PTSD #knife to the throat #getting thrown into furniture #magic #whump writing #whump event #oc whump #cafekitsune #<- banner credit

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whumpsmith-participates · 1 month ago

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Day 23 - "Please don't leave me."

CW: medwhump, unconscious whumpee, uncertain prognosis, insomnia, grief, crying, uhhh pleading to the void??

Kind of a direct follow-up to Day 19

Jasper shuddered, pulling the blanket on his shoulders more around himself with his free hand. His other hand was locked firmly around Emmett's, where it had been ever since he sat down at his bedside. He didn't know how long ago that was. Probably hours.

Today had been...a day. A day filled with losses and successes. Jasper's mission had been a success, but he watched an innocent woman die, but Emmett was given a chance to live, but the chance was scarily slim.

Emmett's condition was stable, for now, but they didn't have the supplies necessary to fully heal him yet. They barely had enough blood to stabilise him, they certainly didn't have enough to perform surgery.

So Emmett had to wait, his wounds packed with temporary repairs, including one of the bullets that injured him, risking infection or internal bleeding, risking pain should he finally wake up.

Nothing was certain, only that they had to wait.

Clearly that meant Jasper couldn't risk leaving Emmett out of his sight for even a second. He was exhausted. He had been up for days at this point probably. But every time he closed his eyes and dared to doze, he startled awake as soon as Emmett's chest fell, afraid it wouldn't rise back up if he wasn't there to see it.

Emmett's breath was Jasper’s lifeline. So long as he could breathe, there was still a chance he would make it through. And that was all Jasper could bring himself to care about right now.

He didn't know what he would do with himself if Emmett stopped breathing. He couldn't imagine a future without him. He didn't want to imagine a future without him. He didn't want to have a future without him.

"Please..."

Jasper winced a bit at how raspy his own voice sounded, grating painfully through his throat. A lump formed on top of that too as he felt fresh tears welling up in his eyes.

"Please don't leave me..."

He dabbed at his eyes with a corner of the blanket, his skin too raw to wipe comfortably after hours of drying his face.

"There's still so much to do and see...and I can't do that without you...I can't lose you, not when we've come so far..."

And there he went again, sobbing quietly into his free hand. Shuddering from cold and exhaustion. His other hand locked firmly around Emmett's.

Waiting.

@whumpay

Emmett belongs to @illustriousshadow

Masterlist Main account

He'll be fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine...

Probably :)

#Whumpay2025 #Day 23 #“Please don't leave me.”#medwhump #unconscious whumpee #uncertain prognosis #insomnia #grief #crying #whump writing #whump event #oc whump #cafekitsune #<- banner credit

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whumpsmith-participates · 1 month ago

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Day 22 - "I've got you."

CW: failed rescue, collapsing building, explosions, siblings, bad open end

Luke cursed under his breath as he skidded around another corner, losing his balance as the building shook and falling against the wall. But he couldn't allow for that to slow him down, so he used the wall to kick off, hop to his feet and continue running.

A bright flash illuminated the abandoned hallways and Luke braced himself for another tremor. Dust rained down from the ceiling and the walls began to crack. The window shattered, but remained firmly in its frame, not raining glass all over Luke just yet, though he suspected it would only be a matter of time.

He had to get out of there, but he couldn't leave just yet. Not until he found what he came for...

The silence was deafening, only broken by the crunching of dust with each step and the heaving of his breath, which he barely had any left of. But all of that didn't matter. All that mattered was finding him.

His little brother.

If he could just ensure his safety, then all would be right in the world again.

Another flash lit up the building, allowing Luke to see further ahead and spot a familiar figure shoot past at the other end of a long hallway. It happened so fast, in the light of a passing projectile, but Luke didn't want to take any chances.

"LYALL!!!"

He peered into the distance, the light having long since faded, but it didn't take long before his brother's pale face doomed up in the darkness. Pale, but smeared with dirt as the dust that rained from the ceiling stuck to the sweat on his forehead.

"Luke!"

Another flash of light illuminated the rest of the boy and the hallway he was running through. And Luke's relieved smile made way for a look of horror as he realised the light was getting brighter and brighter.

"LYALL HIT THE DECK!!!"

This time glass shards did fly everywhere, but to be fair the projectile did explode exactly against the window. Luke had to follow his own advise as shrapnel and debris flew in every direction, accompanied by a cloud of smoke and dust, so you couldn't even see it coming...

Luke was lucky. He got away with some shallow cuts and scrapes, but Lyall had been standing right where it hit and exploded. Luke pulled himself back to his feet, leaning against the wall as he was dizzy from the blow, his ears ringing. He tried to look for any signs of life, but smoke now filled the corridor, irritating his eyes, making it harder to see.

And then he heard it. A cough echoing through the destroyed corridor, and a curse.

"Lyall I'm coming!" Luke called, pulling his shirt over his mouth and nose in an attempt to block out the smoke as he ran towards his little brother.

Lyall was covered in rubble, dust sticking to the blood that stained his face and hair. His sleeve had caught fire, but Luke managed to swat away the flames, leaving behind only singed fabric and the discomforting smell of cooked meat.

"Lyall?!" Luke said, shaking his brother to try and get him to respond, "Lyall talk to me! We need to get out of here!"

But Lyall could only groan in response. Luke cursed, pushing the rubble aside to check him for further injuries. But between the smoke and the thick layer of dust covering everything, it was impossible to tell. And then another flash of light lit up the hallway. They couldn't stay there. They were too exposed.

He pulled his brother closer, trying to get him in the right position to pick him up, but that seemed to cause him a lot of pain. Lyall cried out, accidentally inhaling a mouthful of smoke and beginning to cough.

"I'm sorry," Luke said, "just hang in there, I'll get you out of here."

He pulled his brother closer and lifted him off the ground, half-dragging half-carrying him through the hallway and darting around the corner, just as another projectile blew a hole in the side of the building.

he floors began to crack now, and Luke nearly tripped. The whole building was left standing crooked, and it wouldn't take long before the whole thing would come crashing down. He had to get his brother out of there. Going outside would risk capture, but that might be slightly better than dying today.

However, as he made his way towards the stairwell, he found the stairs down were gone, while the stairs up were beginning to crack under the weight of the floor above that had collapsed onto it.

Luke cursed, quickly backing out of the stairwell before part of the ceiling crashed down on them. Another explosion forced him back in what looked like a bathroom, taking refuge underneath the leaking sink, as if it would do anything.

He cradled his little brother close, trying to think of another solution. Anything that could get them out of there. Or at least something that would ensure Lyall's survival.

Anything...

"Cough! ...Luke?" Lyall croaked.

"Lyall!" Luke gasped, relieved his brother seemed to have regained consciousness, "Are you okay? Where does it hurt?"

"Everywhere..." Lyall said through gritted teeth, "But it's whatever...right? This is it..."

Luke didn't have the heart to try and tell him otherwise. He just hugged him close.

"It'll be okay," he said, "I've got you. And I'm not letting go."

They heard a distant explosion, followed by a loud rumble. The entire bathroom shook. One of the large mirrors fell off and shattered on the floor, while water began spraying from one of the stalls. The building was collapsing, Lyall could tell. He could feel it through the floor. Through the way his brother hugged him.

Lyall only just managed to lift an arm to hug him back, clinging weakly to his shirt.

"I"ll see you...on the other side..."

Luke watched the ceiling crack, beginning to fall down, while the floor below them gave way. Yet despite that. Despite staring their impending doom in the face...he smiled.

"Put in a good word for me..."

@whumpay

Masterlist Main account

I really quite liked this one. As much as Luke cares about Lyall, scenes like these actually rarely happen in canon, even the ones that end happily.

#Whumpay2025 #Day 22 #“I've got you.”#failed rescue #collapsing building #explosions #siblings #bad end #whump writing #whump event #oc whump #cafekitsune #<- banner credit

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whumpsmith-participates · 1 month ago

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Day 21 - "They'll be fine... Right?"

CW: uhhh forced in a leadership position, successful rescue, messy rescue, blood, hospitalisation, platonic fluff

Xander had just gotten into bed after a long day. Ballet practice, schoolwork, shopping, more ballet practice, patrolling as a sidekick, a long overdue shower, writing a report about tonight's patrol, a late-night snack... After double-checking with the handlers in mission control that there was nothing left for him to do, he finally headed to bed.

They all shared a bedroom at Frostbringer's headquarters. Bunk beds lined the walls between the door and the window on the other end, creating twelve sleeping spaces. Xander could tell he was going to bed earlier than usual, as only three of the beds were already occupied. Usually he was one of the last to get in.

The two top bunks of the girls' corner were already taken. Probably Noor and Sin, as they tended to sleep on top. Besides, Xander had just spoken to Dua, who was still at work in mission command, and he knew Cassie was still out on patrol.

The third occupied bed was the bottom bunk closest to the window. Harvey liked to sleep there, using the crack in the curtains as a night light. Xander made sure the crack was still there, finding a pink safety pin keeping the curtain from closing properly.

He left it as it was, returning to the bottom bunk closest to the door and flopping down, only then realising how tired he was, beginning to doze off as soon as his head hit the pillow...

And then the door opened.

"Xan! Wake up, something happened!"

Xander opened a bleary eye, not immediately recognising the silhouette against the light from the hallway in the door opening.

"Wha?"

"It's Frostbringer, we need you in Mission Command."

"Dua?"

"Yes! Wake up!"

Dua snapped her fingers in Xander's face until he rolled out of bed, crawled into the hallway, and got up, rubbing his eyes. Dua grabbed his arm, walking him towards the command centre as he still wasn't fully awake yet.

"What time is it?" Xander asked, suppressing a yawn in his free hand.

"Three AM," Dua replied, "you got about an hour of sleep if you slept right away."

"So next to nothing then," Xander groaned.

"You can have my coffee," Dua just said, dragging him into the command centre, where things were a lot less relaxed than usual.

Emmett, Laurent and Cheng were all talking at the same time, tapping feverishly on their keyboards and checking the different screens on the wall. Dua pushed her coffee into Xander's hands and sat back down at her work station, talking into her earpiece.

"I'm back, what's your status?"

"What is happening?" Xander asked, unable to process what was going on on the screens.

"It's bad," Emmett said, "Frostbringer and Kinetica stopped responding, Ghost can't get close enough to figure things out."

"With Circuit off in LA, that leaves you in charge for now," Laurent added, tossing Xander an earpiece.

Xander didn't even catch it, taking a sip of coffee first before picking it up off the floor and putting it in, so he could listen in on the conversations between the handlers and the remaining sidekicks or emergency services.

After some back and forth, and drinking the entirety of Dua's coffee, Xander finally got a clear picture of the situation. Frostrbinger and Kinetica had been caught in a collapsing building, and emergency services were refusing to let Ghost and Borealis onto the scene to help search for them.

"I get that it's a safety concern, but come on, this is Ghost we're talking about," Emmett said, "What should we do?"

"Frost's not gonna like this," Xander said, getting an idea, "but he can complain about that when we find him."

"What are you thinking?" Dua asked.

"Laurent, get Captain Carnahan from New York on the line," Xander said, "Ghost, Borealis...go in and begin searching anyway. I trust you guys can look after your own backs. If it really were too dangerous you would've resigned to the fire department's advise. Cheng, call Ian. We can use him in the field and probably back here in the med bay as well. Dua, wake Dr Elaris and Ryan. Tell them we have possible injured incoming."

"Heh, we should put you in charge more often," Borealis replied as they and Ghost immediately barged past the safety barrier to begin searching for their mentor and leader.

"You really shouldn't," Xander replied, already having lost track of how many rules he broke.

"Cap is gonna kill you if Borealis gets hurt," Laurent commented, still waiting to get through to her.

"Yup," Xander just said, "Emmett, call Circuit. He'll want to know Frostbringer might be hurt."

Emmett nodded, turning back to his computer and switching channels to make his call. Meanwhile Dua returned from waking the med bay staff.

"They're standing by," she reported, "how are you holding on?"

"Hoping I look calm enough on the outside?" Xander admitted, "They'll be fine though... Right?"

"Only Allah knows," Dua said solemnly.

"Well can't he give you a hint?" Xander asked, "You're psychic, aren't you?"

"I'll see if I can sense something from Cassie's or Evan's things," Dua said.

Despite the broken rules, causing a headache for Captain Carnahan as she somehow had to convince the Coral City chief of police that Xander was in the right, they managed to recover both Frostbringer and Kinetica alive. Quite injured, but alive.

Xander stepped out of the command centre in time to watch them bring them in. Frostbringer was covered in blood, lain on a stretcher, crowded by Ian, Dr Elaris, Ryan and even Adam. Stumbling after them on her own legs was Kinetica, but she was so in shock, Borealis and Ghost had to guide her towards the med bay.

Xander decided to focus on her, since there wasn't really anything he could do for Frostbringer anyway.

"Cassie, are you okay?" he asked, before noticing the deep red stains on Ghost's costume, "Dude, is that—"

"Not mine," Ghost interrupted, "Frost's..."

"I've got her, go get cleaned up," Xander said, "Kris, go with him. If there's anything, just shout."

Borealis nodded, moving to support Ghost instead, while Xander took over supporting Kinetica, taking her into the med bay as well, sitting her down on the bed the furthest away from Frostbringer.

"Cassie, are you hurt anywhere?" he gently asked.

"Um..." Kinetica replied, "I-I dunno....E-Evan was in so much pain, and...th-there was so much blood..."

"Shush, shush, it's okay," Xander said gently, taking her hand and squeezing it, "You made it. Frost will too. Everything will be okay, so just take a deep breath."

Kinetica nodded, trying to take a couple of calming breaths, giving Xander a chance to glance over at the other bed. The med bay staff didn't seem to be panicking over Frostbringer's condition. That meant he'd probably be fine...

Right?

@whumpay

Kinetica/Cassie, Dua, Cheng, Borealis/Kris, Dr Elaris and Sin belong to @dr-abitat-blog Frostbringer/Evan, Circuit, Laurent, Emmett, and Adam belong to @illustriousshadow

Masterlist Main account

Can u tell I was reaching with the CW? :p

#Whumpay2025 #Day 21 #“They'll be fine... Right?”#forced in a leadership position #successful rescue #messy rescue #blood #hospitalisation #platonic fluff #whump writing #whump event #oc whump #cafekitsune #<- banner credit

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whumpsmith-participates · 1 month ago

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Day 20 - "Let them go!"

CW: vampire whumper, vampire whumpee, multiple whumpees, newly turned vampire, manhandling, handgag, mind control (ish), forced to obey

Stupid fucking idiots.

Adam grit his teeth, wincing as he accidentally sliced open his lip again. How long would it take to get used to these damn fangs? Never mind that, he had better things to worry about. He glared at his so-called "master," wanting to tear his throat out, but being unable to, as if he was held back by invisible shackles whenever the thought of hurting him crossed his mind.

It had been on his mind this whole time, really. But right now the feeling was stronger than ever. Because right now, it wasn't just his life at stake, but that of his closest friends as well.

"Let them go!"

"And why ever would I do that?"

Adam hissed in frustration. He was touched that his friends came to save him. A couple hours too late, yes, but they still came. Unfortunately, it was just the two of them, and while Eclipse and Borealis were a powerful duo, they (apparently) weren't powerful enough to take on a 1000's years old elder vampire.

And his 500 years old slave.

And his newly-turned servant.

Adam didn't want to fight his friends, but the bond between a vampire and its sire made it so that he literally had no choice. Once an order was given it had to be carried out, no matter what. So unfortunately, Adam got to test his newfound powers on his two closest friends, as he had a personal hand in their defeat.

Borealis was pinned down by Ian—The 500 years old slave—Arms twisted painfully on their back. They were still bleeding where Adam had bitten them during the fight, getting his first taste of blood.

Eclipse was being held by the master, Lord Gethin, himself, his attempts to pull free from his grip looking weak in comparison to the elder vampire's strength.

Gethin had shown only one mercy: He had ordered Ian and Adam not to kill the two young heroes, but Adam suspected he was just drawing out the inevitable. He seemed to get off on making everyone around him miserable, especially the ones he'd already enthralled.

"Remember, Adam..." Gethin said, "when I asked you which one of your friends you'd want to keep as a pet?"

"...Yes, Master," Adam said with as much disdain as he could muster, "I also remember telling you I'd choose none of them, because I don't see myself as better than them."

"Well, if you still refuse choose..." Gethin said, tearing off Eclipse's mask and tearing open his jacket, "You shall feed from them."

"Don't touch mmmph!"

Eclipse tried to protest, but was subsequently silenced when Gethin clamped his hand over his mouth. Eclipse tried to pull his hand away, but he was still no match for the vampire's strength. And when he started probing his mind...Eclipse was defenceless.

Expose yourself...

Eclipse's struggle ceased as he sagged against the elder vampire and pulled at his torn jacket to bare his throat. Borealis picked up their struggle in Eclipse's stead, trying to buck Ian off of them, even if they were also painfully outmatched.

"E-Eclipse! Snap out of it! I-Ian please, let me go!"

"Silence him," Gethin simply said, to which Ian promptly put his hand over Borealis' mouth to at least muffle their protests.

"Leave them alone!" Adam pleaded, "J-just let them go, you don't need them! You already got what you wanted!"

"Silence, Adam," Gethin coolly said, "come here and feed from him."

Adam shook with rage, unable to stop himself as he stepped forward. He hated that he had to do this. He hated having no control over his own actions just because one old bastard told him to do something. At least Eclipse was calm under his spell. Maybe it wouldn't hurt while he was....

"Lmm gmmh— Ah! Adam stop!"

Borealis managed to pull their head free, but their efforts were in vain. The order had already been given. Adam stood in front of Eclipse, feeling put off by the blank look on his face, yet still wrapping his arms around him and putting his mouth on the side of his neck before biting down.

"Mmmgh!"

Eclipse cried into Gethin's hand as Adam bit him, beginning to struggle again as if the spell had been broken, but Adam was already drinking. He couldn't stop even as Eclipse tried to push him off, even as Borealis pleaded for him to stop until Ian managed to silence them again.

All Adam could do was glare up at Gethin, sickened by his sly grin.

"Good boy, Adam~ Drink your fill..."

@whumpay

Adam belongs to @illustriousshadow Borealis belongs to @dr-abitat-blog

Masterlist Main account

This is an alt ending. In the actual series of events, Eclipse and Borealis showed up with a bunch of other heroes and sidekicks — Still too late because Adam became a vampire, but at least no one else died :3

#Whumpay2025 #Day 20 #“Let them go!”#vampire whumper #vampire whumpee #multiple whumpees #newly turned vampire #manhandling #handgag #mind control (ish)#forced to obey #whump writing #whump event #oc whump #cafekitsune #<- banner credit

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whumpsmith-participates · 1 month ago

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Day 19 - "Don't make me choose."

CW: CPR attempt, multiple victims, blood, gun violence (implied), failed rescue, minor character death, medical whump, guerrilla/field medicine, open ending

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

When they were assigned this mission they were told they would be the safest, despite the initial apparent risks. Their location was supposed to be secure. How did they even find them?

27...28...29...30— Two breaths...

He stopped compressions, his wrists hurt from the strain, but he didn't have the time to worry about that, or even complain. He tilted her head back, squeezing her nose shut and blowing two breaths of air into her lungs. He listened and he watched for any response, but she didn't resume breathing on her own.

No response, thirty compressions...

He put his hands back on the middle of her chest and started pressing down, counting each compression under his breath.

2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10...11—

"Jasper, pulse check!"

Jasper nodded, finishing his compressions, the two breaths, and pausing, pressing his fingers on her throat, trying to ignore the tremor in his hand as he almost prayed for a heartbeat.

Whilst he waited, he glanced over at Mirage. She was sat next to another victim, about five steps up, on the landing halfway down the basement stairs. Blood was dripping steadily down the steps. The irony scent hung heavy in the air.

"N-no pulse, resuming compressions!" Jasper said, while doing exactly that, "I-is he...?"

"Losing a lot of blood." Mirage just said, before promptly using a pocket knife to cut through the fabric of her suit, tearing it off and beginning to use it on her patient's injuries.

"One bullet entered through his side and seems to have lodged in his pelvic bone." she reported, "The other, judging from the bone fragments, punched a hole in his shoulder blade and exited below the collar bone."

"I-isn't there a major artery there?" Jasper asked.

"Count your compressions." Mirage just said, cutting off more fabric from her suit.

Jasper shakily nodded, and focused back on his task: Attempt to resuscitate the young woman before him.

18...19...20...21...22...23...

It was his fault she was there, after all. When they infiltrated the space station she was working at, he shouldn't have allowed her to stay. He should've locked her in the escape pod with the others and sent them back to earth before everything went wrong.

But she insisted to help. After all, she knew all the ins and outs of the station. She'd been there for months, and could help him dismantle it all. Then their ground crew could focus on the location of key satellites and help Mirage and Eclipse to find them and send them crashing to earth.

Their ground crew being Emmett, using a long-abandoned control room and outdated equipment to guide them. There had been no reason for them to come looking for them there, but they did, and they quite literally shot him in the back while he tried to escape.

Hearing that, Mirage decided to abort the mission. Eclipse stayed behind to finish it, Mirage picked up Jasper and the young astronaut to bring them safely back to earth and to save Emmett. Jasper was prepared to help her no matter what, but then the young woman collapsed.

After months living with no gravity, the sudden return through teleportation was a shock on her system, and Jasper was forced to help her instead, leaving Mirage to feverishly try to locate and stop Emmett's bleeding.

"Pulse check!"

Jasper finished his two breaths and checked the young woman's pulse again, shaking his head.

"Still nothing," he said, "Emmett?"

"Getting worse, I need more hands," Mirage said, glancing at Jasper and his patient for a moment before making a decision. "We can't help both of them."

"W-what?" Jasper stammered.

"I can't teleport Emmett if I don't stabilise him first," Mirage said, "I need your help to do so, which means letting her go."

"N-no..."

"Or we take her instead, but honestly...I'm not sure there's much we can do for her. We don't have the right equipment to diagnose her, let alone treat her."

"B-but..."

"Emmett has more chance of survival, but only if you help me right now."

"D-don't make me choose!" Jasper said, beginning to sob, "W-we can save both! We have to save both!"

"Then I'll choose." Mirage said, "Stop compressions and check her pulse."

"B-but she..." Jasper sobbed, "I-I promised her...I-I promised I'd get her home safe!"

"Check. Her. Pulse!" Mirage repeated more sternly now.

Jasper stifled another sob in his hand, checking the young woman's pulse again. But there was still no sign of life.

"N-no pulse..." he reluctantly announced.

"And what time is it?"

"Um...t-two eleven," Jasper said, checking his phone.

"Make a note." Mirage said, "Time of death, fourteen-eleven. Then take a deep breath and get over here."

Jasper just took a screenshot to save time, taking several deep breaths in an attempt to steel himself as he climbed up to the landing, nearly slipping in the blood that dripped down the stairs.

Emmett's blood.

"Are you with me?" Mirage asked, noticing the pale expression on the young super's face.

"....no." Jasper admitted, "T-tell me what to do."

"Put pressure right here. Use your weight if you have to."

@whumpay

Emmett belongs to @illustriousshadow

Masterlist Main account

Emmett will be fine :) They manage to stabilise him and repair the damage and Emmett and Jasper live happily ever after. Trust.

#Whumpay2025 #Day 19 #“Don't make me choose.”#CPR attempt #multiple victims #blood #implied gun violence #failed rescue #minor character death #medical whump #guerrilla medicine #field medicine #open ending #whump writing #whump event #oc whump #cafekitsune #<- banner credit

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whumpsmith-participates · 1 month ago

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Day 18 - Falling Out

CW: helicopter/overbearing mom, homophobia, argument

Jasper had always been a mama's boy. Mostly according to his mom. How could you blame him? She had him glued to her side from the moment he was born. Cutting the crusts from his bread, and wiping the crumbs from his cheeks. She would even almost literally follow him around with a pillow if she could.

Her infinite love for her son was smothering. Despite her best intentions, her drive to protect him was driving him insane. Helicoptering hypochondriac hysterical episodes were the norm, and Jasper learned to coordinate with his dad so he could get at least some semblance of leading his own life.

And for just a moment, his mom seemed to be beginning to accept that Jasper was in fact his own person. And that she couldn't expect herself to always be around to protect him from all the evils in the world.

And then Jasper got a boyfriend, which, of course, was roughly the worst way he could betray his poor mother.

"Jasper how could you?!"

The front door slammed shut, paired with a sudden roaring thunder that made Jasper jump. The silence was deafening, even when it was broken by the rain drops that began hitting the windows.

Jasper swallowed hard. He'd finally worked up the courage to officially come out to his mom, even inviting his boyfriend over to break the news, never expecting for it to backfire this hard.

He knew his mother had always had her reservations about anything that wasn't hetero-normative, but he was her precious son, and she liked Emmett when he was just Jasper's best friend. Surely that could help open her mind just a little bit?

But it didn't. In a rage, she demanded for Emmett to leave, and then turned to Jasper with such a betrayed look on her face, it was as if he'd attacked her in one way or another.

"After everything I did for you!" she continued, "Why, Jasper? Why?"

"M-mom, I love him..." Jasper quietly said.

"No!" his mother cried, "You don't know what love is! You're just a child!"

"I'm seventeen, mom!" Jasper pointed out, starting to get annoyed.

"A legal minor!" his mom retorted, "You don't know the first thing about love! That boy poisoned you!"

"I know that he makes me happy, which you haven't done in years!" Jasper snapped, "I'm not allowed to do anything fun because you read some stupid Facebook urban legend about a kid dying from laughter or something, you drag me to the doctor over every little cough and sneeze, you act like I'm allergic to every known allergen out there, and you keep telling me I don't know anything while I'm graduating high school next year while you couldn't even manage something as simple as that! I'm miserable mom! I might not know everything about love, but I know yours is fucked up!"

"Jasper Daniel Duff!" his mother gasped incredulously, but Jasper ignored her, stepping around her and using his powers to phase through the solid door.

"Jasper!" his mom cried, jerking around and yanking the front door open, "Where do you think you're going?!"

"I'm going after my boyfriend!" Jasper shouted back, already soaked by the rain before he even made it to the end of the garden path.

"Jasper keep it down!" his mother hissed, "The neighbours—"

"I don't care about the neighbours!" Jasper yelled, "I don't care if they know! Because it's not a bad thing, that's just what you think!"

"Jasper get back inside right now!" his mom hissed, "You'll catch a cold!"

Jasper gave her a defiant stare, before turning around and putting his hands to his mouth.

"Carmen Duff's son is gay!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, "And she doesn't know how a virus works!"

"Jasper!!" she shrieked, both in anger and a tinge of fear as another thunderous rumble rolled through the sky. "Get inside right now!"

"Not until I find Emmett!" Jasper said, "And I'm not going inside anywhere you are!"

And before his mother got the chance to process that, Jasper had already turned on his heel and ran off in the same direction he'd seen Emmett head towards.

@whumpay

Emmett (mentioned) belongs to @illustriousshadow

Masterlist Main account

It wasn't just Jasper's tone that snapped >:3c

#Whumpay2025 #Day 18 #Falling Out #helicopter/overbearing mom #homophobia #argument #whump writing #whump event #oc whump #cafekitsune #<- banner credit

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whumpsmith-participates · 1 month ago

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Day 17 - Financial Trouble

CW: uhhh themes of poverty? Idk this might be the cleanest shit I've ever written

Payment declined!

"You've got to be kidding me..."

Evan resisted the urge to slam his head onto the greasy-looking belt at the checkout. There was a long line behind him, and he'd already taken off three items in an attempt to be able to make the payment.

"You sure you don't have cash, hun?" the cashier asked.

"Who uses cash?" Evan said, looking over his items, "Okay, um..." He groaned as he considered his options. Hair care...or dinner...

"Okay, fine, take off the hair mask and the conditioner, and the leave-in conditioner...and the heat-protection spray."

The cashier nodded, putting the overpriced bottles of hair products aside and re-scanning everything else. Evan's total was a whole lot less now, but he still got heart palpitations as he swiped his card for the fifth time.

Processing...

Accepted!

Evan sighed relieved, trying not to pay attention to the people behind him in line, awkwardly taking his groceries from the bagger and rushing out of the store. That was one of the most humiliating experiences of his life.

He'd never bothered looking at price tags before. Hell, he'd rarely done his own shopping before. Things he took for granted as normal, turned out to be ridiculously expensive. Fresh fruits and vegetables, ethically sourced dairy and meat, hair care?!

"Do poor people only use shampoo?" Evan grumbled, crossing the parking lot, not looking forward to taking the bus, when someone honked at him.

He stopped walking, watching a familiar white SUV pull up beside him, window rolling down.

"Hey Evan."

"...Aiden," Evan said coolly, "what are you doing here?"

"Elaine threw up on herself and I didn't have a change of clothes for her, so I bought some just now," Aiden said, "need a ride anywhere?"

Evan eyed the bus stop across the street, before shrugging and nodding.

"Sure, thanks," he said, "I'd be nice to be early for work for a change."

"Chaos will appreciate that," Aiden said as Evan pulled the passenger door open and got in.

"Tell me about it," Evan grumbled, putting his bag between his feet and reaching for his seat belt, spotting the little one year old girl in the backseat as he did so. Immediately his tone changed. "Hey there you little angel~"

"I know, isn't she just the cutest?" Aiden agreed as he pulled out of the parking lot. "So to The Joint?"

Evan's mood immediately soured again as he sat back straight.

"Yeah," he said, "I need to get a better job..."

"You and Chaos don't get along?" Aiden asked.

"No, that's not it," Evan said.

Aiden peered at him — in sessions of several glances as he also had to keep an eye on traffic — trying to gauge what was bothering him.

"Is it the hours? The late nights can be pretty brutal," he said.

"I'm used to late nights." Evan sighed, "No, it's uh...it's nothing."

"Okay," Aiden said, trying to respect his boundaries, "just...if there is something— Anything even, you can tell me."

Evan just nodded, mind set on pretending he was fine, when he remembered Aiden had the power to read his aura, so he already knew he wasn't fine.

"How do the twins put up with this?" he said under his breath, before speaking up, "My um...my card got declined at the store just now."

"Oh Lord, awkward," Aiden sympathised.

"Very awkward," Evan said, "now I don't have cheese, no conditioner— Why even are vegetables so expensive?"

"You didn't do a lot of shopping before your grandma cut you off, did you?" Aiden carefully asked.

"And if I did, I didn't have to pay much attention to the price tags," Evan grumbled, "and even when I do things are still always more because taxes. Even when I don't have to pay rent or a mortgage I can still barely scrape enough money together to eat normally. How the fuck do people deal with this?!"

"You just gotta budget accordingly," Aiden said.

"Budgeting doesn't make money that I don't have out of thin air!" Evan snapped a bit, "You can't tell me you managed to afford this car because of budgeting, I know you married rich!"

"I did," Aiden said, "but before I even knew my rich husband existed I was living on the street, trying to survive drug addicts, the weather, the demon in my head and high school. I had to pool money with Phil just so we could afford rent, we both put ourselves in debt with student loans that we tried to pay off on top of rent and utilities and food— Budgeting kept us alive pretty much, but if you think that's fake news, I can instead give you some tips on how to find the most edible food in the trash."

"...I really hope that last part is an exaggeration," Evan said, "but just in case it isn't, maybe when you next have time you can give me some budgeting tips?"

"When do you get off work?" Aiden asked.

"Midnight if I'm lucky," Evan said, "I have the next morning off though?"

"I know you've been keeping to yourself, so should I go to your place?"

"Yeah," Evan agreed, "thanks."

"Don't mention it," Aiden said, "you'll get through this, Evan."

"Maybe if I can prevent having to find food in the trash," Evan said, "if I sink that low I'd rather..."

He didn't finish his sentence. He didn't need to.

"Well, the difference between you and me is that you already have friends in the city." Aiden said, "You'll always have a place at our table. No questions asked."

Evan just nodded. He didn't like the idea of having to rely on charity, buuut it still beat the worst option, so he tried his best to feel grateful for the offer.

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Evan belongs to @illustriousshadow The twins (mentioned) belong to @dr-abitat-blog

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Based on future events where Evan gets disinherited and rich kid now has to survive in the real™ world

#Whumpay2025 #Day 17 #Financial Trouble #whump writing #whump event #oc whump #cafekitsune #<- banner credit

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