So lately I've been finding stories on AO3 with a title and a summary but once I click on it all it says is: chapter coming soon.
Which... I don't even know what to think, I'm so confused. What is the point? I am baffled. Can someone explain this to me? What is the logic behind this?
It's not like you can't use the title if somebody else already used it or anything. It's not a first come, first served basis. That's why I don't understand the logic. All you manage with this is making people think: oh, I know this author, there won't be any content in there if I click this link.
So here I am, trying to understand the point. People who do this have to have a reason. So which is it?
I honestly kind of link the rise of authors who originally started with fanfiction to this. They’re 100% thinking they’re advertising their work. ‘Coming soon to a website near you!’
That’s not how it works. You want people to read? Give them the content.
Also I think in a way people are uber wary of their ideas being stolen. So the younger people, hearing that people have their stuff posted on other sites without permission, go about trying to do this to prevent stealing.
Which… yeah no. I get tempted to try their idea or use the basic one to make a story out of it. Out of spite if not. Similar to reading a fic with a great idea but the execution is flat. You wanna try it out.
I just think really it’s young authors who don’t know how AO3 works.
I could see the advertisement aspect, so I have to agree. I do not think this is a good method, though. I've seen promotion of a fic be done successfully but that usually is managed by the author throwing sneak peeks on their own blogs. Or making a tiktok or something talking about the story. AO3 does not have that culture and it has so many fics already there that if I click on a story and there's no story, I just go on and look for another and maybe ignore that particular author in the future.
On the whole ideas being stolen... Hmm yes. Bots using our stories with AI narration or random people simply re-uploading our stories somewhere else for fun and profit is a problem but I don't think it applies here. Just creating a story and filling the chapter with "chapter soon" or something like that won't prevent it from being stolen (this way) in the future. If what you mean is that they have an idea for a fic and don't want anybody to write that idea before they do. Then I suppose that what they are doing is publishing the story first even if they have no story to publish to legitimace themselves as the originator of the idea . And well, do I have bad news for them: AO3 lets you backdate your work.
Adding to that I find the concept of "this is my idea and nobody else can write their version of this" fascinating in fanfiction. You, as a fanfic author, are taking another author's story and characters for a spin. Sometimes you do that to fix what you consider mistakes in canon, or maybe to explore different scenarios. The reason doesn't matter, the basic idea is the same: you are playing in a sandbox you did not originally create and I believe you have every right to do that. But now you're defending a little piece of that sandbox with a stick and claiming nobody else is allowed to play and that's a startling disregard of self-awareness. Now, if somebody else is quite literally copy pasting your story that's a different thing but grabbing the idea itself and doing something with it should be allowed.
So lately I've been finding stories on AO3 with a title and a summary but once I click on it all it says is: chapter coming soon.
Which... I don't even know what to think, I'm so confused. What is the point? I am baffled. Can someone explain this to me? What is the logic behind this?
It's not like you can't use the title if somebody else already used it or anything. It's not a first come, first served basis. That's why I don't understand the logic. All you manage with this is making people think: oh, I know this author, there won't be any content in there if I click this link.
So here I am, trying to understand the point. People who do this have to have a reason. So which is it?
So lately I've been finding stories on AO3 with a title and a summary but once I click on it all it says is: chapter coming soon.
Which... I don't even know what to think, I'm so confused. What is the point? I am baffled. Can someone explain this to me? What is the logic behind this?
No matter what a post on tumblr tries to tell you, your moral and ethical stances will never be determined by what you reblog and what you scroll past. Don’t let manipulation tactics force you into doing anything you don’t want to do.
I find it very interesting to note the times in which this post has a sudden resurgence. It often follows very stressful, upsetting events, where a lot of “REBLOG THIS OR YOU SUCK” posts start appearing on this site.
So I’ll say it again: it is okay if you come to tumblr to escape upsetting news. It is okay if you’re just here for fun and fandom. It is okay if you do not want to use your tumblr as a place to read about or spread the current events that are circulating. It is okay if you need a place to decompress and just relax. There are other ways to be involved in/support causes and you are allowed to set boundaries on social media platforms without it being indicative of your belief systems.
Your beliefs, values, ethics, and moral stances are not determined by whether or not you reblog something.
So I have another "what if" prompt that is very out of left field. Jon gets brought back as his 14 year old self in the 8 year old body (same as Rhaegar) only he's not the only version of himself that the got Summerhalled. They managed to grab 19 year old war vet Jon who is transported into the actual conception child Rhea and Daemon would have had. Rhaegal and Ghost come with (he doesn't get an emotional support twin so he gets 2 service pets to compensate). He's the one who stops in and saves the twins and inadvertently helps sell Daemon's fiction that the twins are true born because he is literally an older version of Jon.
This ask predates Restoration AU, I think, which is funny because it's sort of a reverse Restoration AU? Two Jons but in Resonant era, and one of them the same age as Winterfell!Jon in Restoration, while the other is the nineteen-year-old vet version.
I don't think the math quite works out for 19-year-old Jon to be the consummation baby of Daemon and Rhea's marriage unless he's a few years younger in the Dance era, and Daemon wouldn't have abandoned a trueborn son (nor would early marriage Rhea have hidden him). Maybe it works if he's 14, aka born 3 years into Daemon's marriage with Rhea, when she was much more embittered against him, though again we have to handwave that Rhea was willing to hide an actual trueborn son when Jaehaerys himself was still alive!
The logistics of Rhaegal suddenly appearing in the world would certainly be...interesting. Vet!Jon would have to be pretty clever with his explanation there! Once the Volantis shenanigans are known to him, maybe he can claim that he was kidnapped by them as a child and only recently escaped/returned to Westeros.
What if there was an older Jon who was kidnapped! Can you imagine 19 year old Jon waking in the body of a 14 y/o? With Rhaegal and Gohst? The initial anger and confusion of waking somewhere he doesn't know? And how does he go back to Danny, this somewhat stranger who is the only family he has access to and can protect? What would happen to his sisters if Jon doesn't make it back?
And depending on how long they've had him (which should be quite a bit), original Jon Redfort would have been brainwashed. So that increases the likelihood of Jon being able to just run away. Or fly away. Yhey could be confident that they have their claws on him. And if Rhaegal follows the pattern of huge dragons, my boy is big enough to carry Jon and a strapped down Gohst. Also, it might explain why they were after Daemon's twins. After all, they had success with the eldest. And it would make an interesting play of 3 heads has the dragon.
So older Jon shows, has the devastating catharsis of managing to save these siblings and having nowhere to go and what? Where does he go? How can he maintain their safety? They're all he has left. Would it have occurred to younger Jon and Rhaegar to call for Daemon without the added incentive of Jon's trauma about losing siblings? Maybe not. Can you imagine Daemon? Daemon who is actively inviting death to take him in the middle of a war if some random huge dragon shows up, burns his enemies to ashes and then the baby dragonrider just stumbles towards him trying to be so brave but obviously in the middle of losing his shit because they have nowhere to go and please, these kids need protection and education and home. Can you imagine if this is how Daemon finds out? With his eldest breaking apart in his arms and his youngest 2 traumatized and trying to hold the older together with ducktape? The angst, the fury!!! Also, soldiers talk. The gossip would be unstoppable.
Now closest place? Dragonstone. And the babies need medical attention. Daemon and Jon's combined motherhening would be epic. The dynamics would be interesting too. If their first stop is Dragonstone, Rhaegar will latch on to Rhaenyra incredibly fast, younger Jon to Daemon himself but older Jon? He's probably on fixing everything and ensuring everyone is safe mode. How does Daemon deal with that. At least he has backup with Rhaenrya there.
That said: the political implications! Because this older Jon has more lee-way than the younger resonant Jon. If only because in Westeros 14 is almost grown. And can't see him giving up Runestone when he knows having his own castle and men will be a way to keep his family safe. Especially with a possible war coming. And leaving Runestone to Allard after figuring out he's part of the reason his baby brothers almost got kidnapped? Nope. Except they have no proof and Jon needs a regent. Can you imagine Allard as Jon's regent? The many ways that man tries to get rid of him?
Also, Volantis wasn't only trying to get dragonriders, they had at least one. What is to say they don't have more? And all 3 of them are growing fast.
The Daemon Jon dynamic would be an interesting mixture of longing, alliance in the name of the babies and awkwardness because what do they even do with the other?
But listen: Viserys. Fuck that guy but the Viserys older Jon dynamic would be the stuff of legends. Listen, this Jon? Zero shits given, he has Daemon but he doesn't know him and his siblings here are not allies, they're protected charges. He loves them but he's not going to treat them like Jon treats Rhaegar in Resonant. He's going to try to shield them. This guy will walk all over Viserys and give 0 fucks. And Viserys? What is he going to do? His methods of dealing with this is banishment or reminding people that the King. Jon cares nothing about his crown and banishment? Viserys won't banish one of the prophesied kids! Which leaves Viserys with no choice but to adapt to this insanity. But also, I think Viserys would appreciate (after a while) having at least 1 person to whom he is nothing more than Viserys. Viserys who has influence and power, yes, but simply Viserys at the end of the day. Otto would be seething because he doesn't know why Viserys won't banish this one when it tends to work on Daemon and this Jon has a huge dragon who will 100% be on the other side of the war. And to top it off, a horse sized direwolf.
Sorry it's not an ask,but I can't save asks as drafts so I c keep going when I have the time. So reblog it is
You make some compelling arguments, love it! The Volantis stuff is...complicated by "canon" Resonant standards, but I could see a version where Volantis managed to successfully betray (or stonewall) their mysterious warlock allies into letting them have sole possession of their stolen dragonrider/PTWP for a while, especially if they expect there are more coming--they can let Volantis have one, if it makes it easier to obtain more, and perhaps they don't quite have the same resources they do in Resonant so they're more reliant on Volantis anyway.
Summerhall isn't a physical doorway, so I think Rhaegal would end up in whatever dragon had hatched for Jon here? It could be that there are other young dragons on Volantis's possession, depending on whether Jon's presence was enough to kickstart a few into hatching, though obviously they need riders still.
Assuming this Jon is Rhea's own child, she probably told him about his twin brothers, so vet!Jon has some memories of that, enough to know that he has two "Redfort" brothers hidden away in the Vale. Once he escapes Volantis, that's a logical destination, and he could easily slot in for Daemon in terms of the rescue. The boys have their hatchling eggs and their trauma, and Jon has new siblings: one who reminds him of his Stark siblings, albeit eerily like him rather than with the Tully coloring, and one who reminds him of Dany.
And then, like you said, the only "safe" place Jon can think of is the middle of a warzone. baby!Jon probably wasn't as ruthless as Resonant!Jon, so he doesn't get his ribs/arm broken in a nighttime attack on Crayne and probably lacks the paranoia to hide his bronze knife to begin with. So vet!Jon barebacks his way to the Stepstones with them, a grueling 6-day flight, where he has to hunt for food to feed them (maybe that's where he meets new!Ghost? and somehow communicates to him that he'll come for him later).
And then congratulations Daemon, it's a boy! Three boys! All of them uniquely traumatized! And the eggs hatch for additional chaos, and Daemon goes from one heart attack to another. (BAREBACK on a dragon? For SIX days? WHAT IF THEY'D FALLEN?) Since there's hard evidence of vet!Jon being Rhea's son, that lets him make the argument that the twins were as well, similarly hidden away. (Heck, he might even assume that himself!)
vet!Jon would be so perfect for ruling Runestone. Like, yes, he's gonna have to deal with a regent and it's not like being a lord is a vacation, but for Jon it kind of is? He's been a wartime leader, forced to make ruthless wartime decisions over and over. Runestone is a place where he can build and heal, while also preparing for an uncertain future.
And all those dynamics you mentioned! I am so curious how things would develop with the twins and him. vet!Jon and Daemon would be fascinating, because you have Jon Royce's own years in captivity that they have to reckon with, and vet!Jon is also very independent? And protective. (Imagine being the twins and trying to get anything past either him or Daemon.) And poor vet!Jon dealing with teenage hormones all over again, and all those complicated feelings that come with it.
(I wonder if Viserys sees more of Jaehaerys in Jon than Baelon, given how grim/unforgiving he must seem to him.)
Hmmm... So I was reading the comments here and vet!Jon coming back to a dying mother is fascinating the hell out of me. Mostly because we have Jon, who is wary of motherly figures but desperate for family. I feel like he shows up mostly for his siblings. I mean, even if Rhea hadn't died, I think his siblings would be his focus. But he does show up, maybe a little earlier than Daemon, looking for his younger siblings only to what? Not find them and find a dying mother instead.
I mean, can you imagine the maester's POV in this? A dragonrider shows up, claiming to be Lady Rhea's son and looking for his younger siblings. Maybe he sees enough of Rhea in him to be like "maybe? I think so. Either way, let me show him to his mother (?). Lady Rhea should know." And so he guides Jon to Lady Rhea because what other option does he have? There's a huge dragon backing this 14 y/o up.
This entire scene's angst potential is living in my mind rent-free.
Rhea who is already in pain and dying, is confronted with her lost baby. It's a gift and a torture all at once. She gets to see him one last time, apologize, and give him the heirship she might have always thought he was owed but she will never get to know him, spend time with him, or bond with him. He is more an idea to her than a person and she will never get the opportunity to change that. Maybe that's why she gave the older twin Jon's name and maybe that's why she was considering giving him the heirship. A small way to give back what she felt her eldest lost.
And Jon? Jon is probably watching this woman fall apart and thinking ....what? He came here for his siblings and she is the one with the answers he needs but this woman is sobbing. Does she look enough like a Stark that he can see Arya in her? A fierce warrior woman, brought low and in pain? Does he comfort her? Does he hold her as she cries, wishing she was Arya instead? The emotional hit is going to be HUGE.
Then Daemon shows up. Daemon, who is coming to pick up his twins and who has choice words for his supposed wife right up until he is thrown into the chaos of reality. The woman is dying, the maester says. And at this point, the maester probably heard enough to confirm that Jon and the twins and Rhea's children. These are heirs to Runestone, of the lady's blood. Allard is so far down the line of succession now. (It's kind of funny, actually. But we'll go to Allard later.) So the maester probably says something like your wife is dying, and your eldest is with her. Because I highly doubt the maester thinks Rhea hid royal children from the Targaryen. He maybe thinks they knew but hid them to protect them or something, since the eldest boy was apparently kidnapped. Except Daemon enters the room expecting Jon the younger, only to see a whole 14 y/o there. So either his twins are much older than rumored or he has 3 sons.
So Daemon comes into the room, expecting his dying wife and an 8 y/o, and is hit with the grief of knowing he lost a decade and a half with his children, not a little less than a decade. And with his wife holding onto his teenager and the teenager's obvious distress, Daemon doesn't even get the small catharsis of accusing Rhea directly. He gets to find out he has 3 sons just as Rhea is confessing and writing the succession of Runestone into law from the sidelines, doing his best to handle his own grief while supporting his baby.
The impotent fury this poor man must be feeling. The pain, not only of knowing his teenager was lost to him for so long but of seeing him in pain and Daemon doesn't even know him well enough to support him. But things don't make sense because this one was apparently stolen to Volantis, so what about the fostering? What does any of this mean? Was his son kidnapped all this time and Daemon, clueless, fighting a war while he should have been scouring the Free Cities for his own son? His flesh and blood? And his eldest has a dragon, Daemon saw him when he first came in. A huge dragon that was somehow hidden from them. What does all of this mean? How much of a traitor was Rhea? Did she herself send his son away? Or was it Allard? That greedy would-be usurper? (At this point, Daemon probably thinks Allard and Rhea are the devil in disguise.)
Rhea dies, without having to answer for her crimes, with her secrets safe in her chest. And neither Jon nor Daemon gets long to process that this woman is gone before Allard shows up. Fucking Allard who is coming to what he thinks is going to be his castle, only to be told that Rhea has 3 heirs. And yes, he might have gotten rid of 2 and ensured his ability to hold the castle for at least around a decade. Maybe he even thinks he could pull a Bernard Stark. Except, no. He can't. Because the eldest, who he never even knew existed, is 14 y/o and present when Daemon accuses Allard of not only treason but also trying to get rid of the twins to keep the same castle vet!Jon is now heir to. I don't care how much fast-talking to save Allard in Lady Lynda's Rheagar does now, vet!Jon will see this man executed for treason. Sure, he'll keep Lady Lynda and her baby in the castle, protect them to the best of his ability, and provide a good life for them. But Allard is a dead man walking. Especially once Daemon is like: give me my sons and I will let you live. Only to find out they're gone already.
Worse yet, now in comes the maester and tells Daemon (who is still reeling from all this insanity) and Jon (who is probably halfway into a breakdown and half holding to his sanity by a thread) that the twins have been kidnapped. Now Daemon not only gets the angst of desperately trying to reach his babies in time, but he also gets to have a full-blown heart attack when he sees his eldest climb into a dragon bigger than Caraxes with no saddle. No protection. No nothing. Poor Daemon is going to need so much therapy.
I don't think enough people respect just how brutal Jon can be when he needs to make difficult decisions. The man is brutal. And yes, we have this mindset that Jon is bad at politics but he isn't that bad. He is just more military leader than a politician because that is what he has needed to be. But he is stupidly good at making allies, and allies that are fiercely loyal to him. I forget the quote but I remember a part in the book where someone was talking about Jon and said something along the lines of: It's not Jon Snow you need to fear, it's all his friends coming to his aid.
My point is, that in the books, Jon makes some harsh decisions - sometimes sacrificing his honor - because he believes they're necessary. He hates to do it, but he does. In the books, he exchanges Manse's baby with Gilly's because the Red Priestess was sniffing around and talking about King's blood. He is fully aware of what that could mean for Gilly's baby when he sends her away with Manse's child but he does it anyway because he doesn't want to see what the Red Priestess could do with King's blood. And in the show, he gives back the castles to families that betrayed Rob and when Sansa confronts him about it, claiming it's a political mistake, Jon's response boils down to they will be empty soon enough. It's brutal! This man saw two basically children kneel before him and beg for mercy and pretended to give it to them. He sent them back to their castles to act as canaries in the mines, knowing full well he was condemning them to die. He sacrificed these 2 traitor families as a warning system to find out if the White Walkers breached The Wall so he could keep more people whose loyalty he was sure of around him.
What I mean is, this Jon would see Allard as a threat to younger!Jon and Raymar and he would not lose any sleep over getting rid of him. And he has such an easy solution to do it. Maybe they can't reach for Otto on this one, but vet!Jon spent time in Volantis and heroically escaped only to see his mother die and rescue his siblings. His street cred is probably high as hell, there would be songs written about him. But also, he gets to lie with a straight face. "Oh yes, I came back because I knew my siblings were in danger so I knew I had to risk it, I heard the warlocks talking about the twins. They said Allard had assured them they could have them, even sent them into a fostering so they could easily kidnap them without any attention falling to him." vet!Jon would do it and sleep like a baby. Allard can say he didn't all he wants, there's enough proof he hid the twins and that it was him who had them sent for fostering. And if Viserys tries to refuse? Hmm... Good luck stopping vet!Jon, because he's used to beheading traitors. He'll do it himself if he has to. Daemon can watch the kids for a week while he handles the issue. Or better yet, Daemon and vet!Jon can grab one twin each so vet!Jon can both make sure they're unharmed and deal with this situation himself since the King won't. Or maybe he'll just demand a duel and be done with it. Sooner or later Allard is going to be called to KL.
Goddammit @syndrossi, look at this monstrosity. How very dare... I am having so much fun, though. Also @kk88888gh, take your share of the blame. This idea has consumed my life.
PS: About the idea of Viserys comparing Jon to Jaehaerys... The way Otto would lose his mind the first time he hears it. Jon - black-haired, looking more like Rhaenyra's children than Alicent's, and with the biggest dragon except for Vaghar - getting compared to Jaehaerys the wise by the King? PUBLICLY? Otto will cry.
But also, the PR nightmare. Because in Resonant we can have Daemon (with the reputation he has) and his little family, looking more like what a Targaryen family should look like in the eyes of the people than declining Viserys and his mess of a family. Daemon's bad reputation alleviates that unflattering comparison somewhat. But here you have Daemon, returning with Caraxes and with his heir showing this amount of promise? I think it hurts both the Greens and the Blacks. It definitely hurts Viserys. Depending on how active vet!Jon is, he might end up looking more like a King than Viserys does.
That said, in this scenario, with an almost of age heir/PTWP, does Viserys seek to marry Daemon quickly again or does he prefer a Laena/vet!Jon match? Age difference and everything, I wonder who Viserys would make Jon marry because if he jumped at re-marrying Daemon, I don't see Jon escaping his matchmaking. Or does he wait for Jon, hoping Rhaenyra will have a daughter soon? The irony of Viserys spending so much time hoping for a son only to now beg for a granddaughter... Or, if Laenor dies before either Jon or Daemon marries, which one does Viserys go for once he matchmakes Rhaenyra again? Jon or Daemon? A prince that was promised or the progenitor of the fire-proof babies?
PS: it's @zerousernameideas, I just somehow messed up the blog I was reblogging with... Insert shame face here
I've been re-reading this fic! I know it's not KHR but it's so good!
A Long Way From Home (And No Way Back)
by Vivia_wants_boba
Summary:
“Oh,” the kid says, head turning to look back at the bathroom. “It’s fine. I’ve got it figured out.”
Dick’s face pulls to a pinched expression, shaking his head slowly. “As much as I’d love to believe you, I can’t. That stuff can’t just be emptied down the drain.”
The kid’s own face scrunches this time. “Why not?”
Jason has a feeling this kid doesn’t remember quite as much of his experience in the pit as Jason did himself. With a sudden jolt, Jason realizes this kid might not know he’s dead.
Great.
So I decided that I want to learn how to draw. I'm going to do that.
I'm going to upload my little exercises to keep a log of my progress. So here it goes.
Made different layers.
As a side note: I noticed that each time I want to upload something in this blog, my 1 1 st tought is: which day will it belong to? When do I schedule this? It stresses me out now. I'll try to stop doing that because it means I write and upload nothing.
Welcome to Whumptober 2024 — Seventh Time's a Charm!
Please make sure to read the Event Info and FAQ below carefully, as most of your questions will be answered there already. For everything else, you are welcome to come to our ask box or ask questions in our Discord server here.
This year’s AO3 Collection can be found here.
This year's playlist can be found here.
The 'Anatomy of a Whumptober Prompt' post can be found here.
And our 'Resources for Writing Sensitive Topics' post is here.
We’re very excited to see the community come together for another year of Whumptober! Go wild with the prompts, and support your fellow creators - we wish you all the fun!
Best of luck and happy whumping,
Mods Vanne, Yenn, Kitty and Surro
(Text versions of the prompts, as well as event information, rules and FAQ are posted below the cut!)
Whumptober 2024 Prompt List
No. 1: RACE AGAINST THE CLOCK
Search Party | Panic Attack | "If only we could hold on.” (Icysami x Renegaderr, Strangers.)
No. 2: TRUST ISSUES
Amusement Park | Role Reversal | “You got away with the crime while the knife's in my back.” (Charlotte Sands, Rollercoaster)
No. 3: SET UP FOR FAILURE
Fingerprints | Wrongfully Arrested | "I warned you."
No. 4: HALLUCINATIONS
Hypnosis | Sensory Deprivation | “You're still alive in my head.” (Billy Lockett, More)
No. 5: SUNBURN
Healing Salve | Heatstroke | "If my pain will stretch that far." (Lottery Winners, Burning House)
No. 6: NOT REALISING THEY'RE INJURED
Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms | Healed Wrong | "It's not my blood."
No. 7: ONLY FOR EMERGENCIES
Unconventional Weapon | Magic with a Cost | "It's us or them."
No. 8: SLEEP DEPRIVATION
Isolation Chamber | Forced to Stay Awake | "Leave the lights on." (Coldplay, Midnight)
No. 9: OBSESSION
Broken Window | Bruises | “Frame me up on the wall, just to keep me out of trouble.” (Fall Out Boy, Irresistible)
No. 10: BLOW TO THE HEAD
Slurred Words | Passing Out from Pain | "I can't think straight."
No. 11: SEEING DOUBLE
Convenience Store | Loneliness | “Leave no trace behind, like you don't even exist.” (Taylor Swift, Illicit Affairs)
No. 12: STARVATION
Underground Caverns | Cannibalism | "Just a little more."
No. 13: TEAM AS A FAMILY
Familial Curse | Multiple Whumpees | "Death will do us part." (Set It Off, Partner's In Crime)
No. 14: LEFT FOR DEAD
Hunting Gear | Blackmail | “Because I want you to know what it feels like to be haunted” (tiLLie, kooL aiD mAn)
No. 15: CHILDHOOD TRAUMA
Painful Hug | Moment of Clarity | "I did good, right?"
No. 16: NECROSIS
Swamp | Wound Cleaning | "No, I can't feel anything."
No. 17: NOWHERE ELSE TO GO
Ruined Map | Shipwrecked | "We had a good run."
No. 18: REVENGE
Unreliable Narrator | Loss of Identity | “I see what's mine and take it.” (Panic! at the Disco, Emperor's New Clothes)
No. 19: BLOOD TRAIL
Abandoned Cabin | One Way Out | "Is there anybody alive out there?" (Bruce Springsteen, Radio Nowhere)
No. 20: EMOTIONAL ANGST
Shoulder to Cry On | Giving Permission to Die | "It's not your fault."
No. 21: BODY HORROR
Body Horror | Tattoo Gun | Spirit Possession | “Let the bedsheet soak up the tears.” (Apparat feat. Soap & Skin, Goodbye)
No. 22: BLEEDING THROUGH BANDAGES
Tourniquet | Reopening Wounds | "Oh that's not good."
No. 23: FORCED CHOICE
Public Display | Broken Pedestal | "I'm doing this for you."
No. 24: RADIATION POISONING
Collapsed Building | Equipment Failure | “I never knew daylight could be so violent.” (Florence + The Machine, No Light, No Light)
No. 25: SURGERY
Stitches | Being Monitored | "It's for your own good."
No. 26: NIGHTMARES
Breakfast Table | Parting Words of Regret | “I'm haunted by the lies that I have loved, the actions I have hated.” (Poe, Haunted)
No. 27: VOICELESS
Laboratory | Muzzled | “I have no mouth and I must scream.”
No. 28: DENIAL
CCTV | Exposure | "They caught me red handed."
No. 29: FATIGUE
Labyrinth | Burnout | "Who said you could rest?"
No. 30: RECOVERY
Hospital Bed | Holding Back Tears | "What have I done?"
No. 31: ASKING FOR HELP
Therapy | Making Amends | "I'm alive, I'm just not well." (Elliot Lee, Alive, Not Well.)
Alternatives List:
Body Swap
Communication Barrier
Finding Old Messages
Forgotten
Friendly Fire
Motion Sickness
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown
Regret
Secrets Revealed
Shivering
Survivor's Guilt
Time Loop
Used As Bait
Venom
Vermin
Event Info & Rules
WHUMPTOBER is a month-long, prompt-based creation challenge (think: Inktober, but whumpier). There are 31 official themes this year - one for each day of the month - which can be used, skipped, or combined in any way you’d like. They are meant to serve as inspiration without being taken literally (e.g. you don’t have to include the exact wording of prompts into your work). Feel free to run rampant on interpretation. For example, if the prompt is “flame", you could create something with reference to a candle/campfire, your character could have suffered a burn, or the flame could be a reference to an ‘old flame’ - an old relationship. It’s truly down to you!
In total, there are 4 prompts for each day. These are optional suggestions and can be used in conjunction with the theme, or as options/alternatives. We want to give everyone as much creative freedom as possible, as well as increase event accessibility for folks with triggers and squicks. There is also a list of 15 alternative prompts that can be subbed in for any day, again to give participants as much creative freedom as possible.
Creators can PRODUCE work in any media they choose, including but not limited to: writing, visual artwork, photo/video/audio edits, paper crafts and elaborate recommendation lists (not just a list of links). Creators can PARTICIPATE as much or as little as they want (i.e. you don’t have to do ALL the prompts if you don’t want to) and prompts can be used in any order. They are also free to use even after the event ends.
When uploading Whumptober content to your blog, be sure to tag it with:
#whumptober2024 …..(the event tag)
#no.1, #no.2, #no.3, …..(theme number)
#bruises, #stabbing, …..(the theme or specific prompt you chose)
#altprompt …..(if you use an altprompt, tag the post with the number of the prompt you replace)
#fandom or #OC, …..(ironman, original content, oc, etc.)
#medium …..(gifs, fic, podcast, art, etc.)
#teeth, #etc …..(trigger warnings & any additional tags. Keep in mind not to add “tw” in front but only use the word/trigger itself)
#nsfwhump …..(only for nsfw content)
#your own tags go here
PLEASE BE DILIGENT WITH YOUR TAGGING. Only properly tagged posts are considered for archiving on the official @whumptober-archive blog. They must be tagged in the order above. An elaborate post about our tagging system can be found [here]
Unfortunately, due to the sheer number of participants in recent years, we cannot guarantee your work will be archived. A random selection of properly tagged posts from all genres will be reblogged each day.
Whumpers who produce content for 31 total theme days are considered event completionists and will be tagged in a masterpost at the end of the month. A form will be published at the beginning of November asking you to tell us if you completed. This is based on trust and we will not check this.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please read this before you send an ask!
TIMELINE
July: Trope voting form released.
Late August: Prompt list is released for at least four weeks of preparation time. Tropes cannot be posted earlier than August 25th because of Moderator obligations in real life. (But, you know, go ahead and start writing/drawing, and add the themes in later, if you want!)
September: Do as much or as little on your works as you want. You can prepare everything in advance or let September go by with vibes and start working in October. It’s up to you.
October 1st: Challenge begins! A storm of whump breaks upon us all! During this time, some posts will be reblogged to the whumptober archive blog. We open the yearly AO3 collection for posting (optional).
November 1st: The challenge is officially over! Completionist form opens for those who want to be included in the hall-of-fame.
Early November: We release completionist and participant badges, solicit feedback, and post a hall-of-fame list of completionists by the 10th.
PARTICIPATION AND COMPLETION
Q: What counts as participation?
Create or continue at least one work inspired by one of this year’s prompts.
Q: What counts as completion?
Creating work(s) inspired by at least one prompt from each day (or alts), for a total of 31 unique prompts.
Q: Do I need to create 31 works?
No. You can, if you want. Or you can create one work that you add to every day with a new prompt. Or several works that combine prompts. You can also update an existing work by adding new material with the current prompts.
Q: Do I need to post my works somewhere to be a completionist or a participant?
No.
Q: How do you know I actually completed the challenge?
We’ll take your word for it!
Q: Do I have to finish my work(s) to be a completionist?
No, you can post WIPs. And you’re not obligated to finish them in October, but if you want it to count towards being a completionist, you must have completed 31 prompts by the end of the month. So for example, if you’re writing a long fic and you fit 31 different prompts into the writing you did in October, it’s okay if that fic isn’t finished by the time October ends, you’ll still be a completionist.
Q: Is co-writing/illustrating allowed?
Yes, absolutely, and it would count towards being a completionist for both/all of you.
Q: Is there a min/max limit on word count for written works?
No.
Q: Is there a min/max limit of quality for art?
No.
Q: Do I have to do something each day to be a completionist?
No. You can skip days whenever you want, and as long as 31 daily prompts (or alts) are in your works done in October, you can be a completionist. For example, if you wrote a 1000-word ficlet that covers prompts in days 2, 3, and 17, you can check all three days off your list even though it’s only one work.
Q: Is this challenge just for fics?
No! Artworks, GIFsets, headcannons, rec lists, poetry, moodboards, or any other creative work is encouraged.
Q: Can I combine Whumptober with other creation challenges?
Absolutely, as long as the other challenges allow it too.
PROMPTS
Q: How do the prompts work?
There are FOUR prompts per day: a theme and three ideas. You can use one, two, three, or all four prompts for each day. If you don’t like any of the daily prompts, you can substitute one of the ALT prompts instead.
Q: How strictly/literally should we interpret the prompts?
As literally or as figuratively as you want. For example, if the theme is WATER, that could mean drowning, waterboarding, raining, swimming, take place underwater, be lost at sea, construct a metaphor about a character’s mood that changes like a flowing river, crying, or whatever else you can think of that fits that theme.
Q: Can I combine prompts? Is there a limit on how many?
No limit and combine as many as you’d like. If you create a work that checks off multiple prompts, that work will count for a fill of multiple prompts. You need to address 31 different prompts to be an official completionist, but you don’t have to produce 31 separate works.
WORKS
Q: What’s whump?
Hurting a character, whether that’s physically, emotionally, intellectually, psychologically, or any other way you can think of. Comfort afterwards is optional. Angst is emotional whump, so it counts.
Q: How do I know if it’s whumpy enough?
If your character is just mildly inconvenienced, it probably needs more whump. However, no participant has to prove whumpiness to the mods. Whatever you write is up to you.
Q: What kind of characters can I create for?
Anything. Generic “whumpee,” OC, PC, NPC, major characters, minor characters, or whatever you want. There are no limits.
Q: Does it have to take place in a specific fandom?
No, you can create works for your own worlds or for fandoms or for both. You can also create more generic or pan-fandom works. You can do cross-overs or use OCs, whatever you want.
Q: Can I create AI-created works?
We will not reblog or promote any works we know to be generative AI-created.
Q: Is there anything we’re not allowed to write?
As long as it contains whump and is based on our prompts, it’s fine. Please courtesy tag your works if you post them so people who follow the #whumptober2024 tag can filter according to their preferences.
Q: What about sex, minor characters, and potentially disturbing content?
You can create whatever works are legal in your country and post them accordingly. Please courtesy tag anything you think might be objectionable if you post to Tumblr so people who follow the #whumptober2024 tag can filter according to their preferences.
POSTING
Q: Where can I post my work?
Post where and how you want. You don’t even have to (cross)post it to Tumblr. Just keep in mind if it’s not on Tumblr we will not be able to add it to the blog archive. There is an AO3 archive for Whumptober 2024, as well as the parent collection for works completed outside of the event.
Q: Can I start posting early?
You can, but this is an October event and wouldn’t it be more fun with everyone doing it at the same time? We won’t be reblogging any work predating October 1st.
Q: Can I post late?
Yes. For the sake of our hardworking Post Fairies, only a day’s themes will be reblogged to @whumptober-archive each day of October. But you can post whenever. Some of us are still working on and posting Whumptober fics from years ago.
Q: Do I have to use your tags?
Only on Tumblr and only if you want us to reblog your work on @whumptober-archive.
Q: How do I have my works reblogged to the archive?
Properly tagged posts will be reblogged to @whumptober-archive. If you want the official archive blog to reblog you, post on Tumblr and tag correctly (see this FAQ link for more info on tagging). Please note not all posts will be reblogged each day.
Q: Can we @ you?
For questions and comments, of course. We’ll be getting a flood of notifications, so if you really want us to see something send an ask.
Q: Can I cross post on other blogs?
Yes, multiple platforms and blogs are perfectly acceptable, as long as they allow cross-posting (to us). You can also post different works to different accounts under different names, without posting them everywhere at once. If you post some works under your main and others under an alt blog, that’s fine for completionist purposes.
Q: Can I upload/repost my Whumptober content to other social media platforms?
Of course! We’ve created an AO3 Collection to archive any fics posted there, which can be found here. The blog is the official archive, so please respect the personal boundaries of any whumpers in your social circle (don’t out anyone as a participant who would prefer not to be outed).
Most importantly, have fun, create, and enjoy all the whump posted this October!
Thoughts on the idea of Tim being Gotham’s child in a “the city has a conscious and pushed Jack and Janet together” kind of way? As in Jack and Janet separately made deals with Gotham in order to be able to fund their company/travels and Gotham was like “I’ll help the two of you conceive and you will leave give me a child, to be left within my boundaries, so that I can raise him”
Tim growing up as a cryptid/eldritch child because Gotham wanted a champion that could communicate with her people, and would do her bidding. His bat stalking and becoming Robin being Gotham pushing him to get to a place where he’s ready to hear her and help her. Her going to his aid in a way the bats can’t ignore, them questioning Tim and Tim just being like “that’s normal??” And “she’s always looked after me, how do you think I managed to follow you when I was little without dying???”
Hmm... So, it's kind of like a combination of "give me your first born child" and that one pregnancy thing where someone else carries the child to term for you? Except, do the Drakes still have some parental rights, or do they actually never return to Gotham?
Regardless, how communicative is Gotham? I've seen some stuff where she'll do subtle things (such as pull the shadows tighter around her chosen ones, ruffle their hair with the wind, make clues easier to find, and slowing down criminals). I've also seen her have an actual personification to chat and hug.
It'd be lonely, but it would be kind of cool if Gotham didn't have an actual personification in this. Tim would see the signs and thank Gotham after he figures it out.
The other Bats would range on how much they believe that Gotham is a real spirit and whether she specifically is there for Tim (particularly if Tim never mentions the cost of her aid [i.e. Tim being her champion]).
As an extra cruel dagger, maybe Tim turns more to Gotham when everyone around him dies. Maybe this is an added layer to the belief of "Tim's losing it."
When Tim leaves Gotham, how does that affect his abilities, his relationship with Gotham, and everything? Does she feel him dying in that desert?
You know what this reminds me off? There's this song called "hijo de la luna." It's a gorgeous song, and it literally means moon's child. If I remember correctly, it's about a woman who wants a guy so she asks the moon to help her marry him. And the moon agrees because the moon has been having baby fever. So she says: you will get your man but your first child will be mine. And the woman agrees.
So when the baby is born, they don't look anything like the man because it is not the man's child. They're the moon's baby. And the moon is overjoyed, she sings her baby lullabies and rocks the baby to sleep. On that side, it's adorable.
Of course, the man loses his shit because the child looks nothing like him and he doesn't know about the deal his wife made with the moon. So the PoS murders his wife. So yeah, fuck that dude. Or rather, don't. It's a rather lethal activity, apparently.
inspired: merfolk actually have very different concepts of gender to humans because they’re an entirely different species with their own unique culture
It’s a biological fact that fish do indeed change their sex to keep the male/female ratio balanced in their school population. So this fluidity actually makes more sense from a scientific standpoint than the silly idea that merfolk are born with a strictly assigned sex like humans.
Human: (invites merfolk friend to a boat party with their friends)
Merfolk: oh man, there are a lot of women here. Haha don’t worry guys, I got this :) *changes into a man to keep a balance because that’s culturally polite for merfolk*
