#burtlederp writes

[burtlederp]

They slept, curled up in bed, their exhausted body finally able to rest.

[burtlederp]

As soon as Coworker had turned the corner out of sight, Whumpee slumped against the wall, sliding down to the floor. They buried their face into their knees. Their shoulders did not shake, and they did not sob, at least not audibly. Breaths came deep and slow and purposeful, trying to calm themselves down. They could do this. They could do this. They could do this. Just a couple more hours of work.

[burtlederp]

Elias leaned against the wall of the living room, staring at the floor. Candy was talking to him, but he couldn't hear a damn thing she was saying. He was lightheaded, and dizzy, blistering hot and then freezing cold and then hot and then cold again.

Someone was standing in front of him, suddenly, a pleasantly cool palm pressed to his forehead. Somebody said something to him, and he just hummed in response. His head was pounding, and the world felt like it was shifting under him, around him. He was moving--no, the world was moving, and he was standing still, and falling, falling--

----

Candy caught Elias as he fell forward, cursing. She eased him down a bit, then lifted him, carrying him to the couch. "Oh, bud..." she sighed, lying him down. "Why didn't you say somethin'?"

[burtlederp]

As the creature at his neck sucked the life from him, Whumpee felt at peace, despite it all. Limp, slumped against the monster, they could say goodbye to all their worldly cares.

[burtlederp]

The world swam around Whumpee, the ground moving even though they knew for a fact that they weren't moving.

"Whumpee! I told you to get started on your work already!" Boss' voice was distant, and Whumpee only sort've knew where Boss was. Their body was too hot, their skin prickling with heat, and then suddenly it was freezing, goosebumps rippling over them.

"Whumpee...?" Boss' voice again, just as Whumpee felt their body going weak. Before they could admit to Boss they didn't feel well, Whumpee collapsed, falling in a heap on the floor.

[burtlederp]

A Collection of Unfinished Blurbs: Part 6

taglist: @whumpers-inc Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!

Written 6 July 2020: Finn is not my oc, obviously, they belong to @whump-tr0pes and her story Honor Bound. I believe this is set just after the family's escape from captivity with Colleen, when still on the run. Why a manticore, and not a human or something, to confront Finn and offer assistance? In the words of Marge Simpson, "I just think they're neat!"

TW: Big monster, nonspecific magical pain/torture, branding, mentions of branding, fear, very minor graphic descriptions of gore (nothing terrible).

---

"A trade?" They blink, back pressed against the rough wood of an ancient oak. Their heart is pounding and the stupid brand on their arm is burning and stinging and they want to run away, to flee, to get away from the monster that stands before them and shouldn't exist. It was something that didn't exist, couldn't have, but it did, because Finn was trapped beneath its heavy gaze. It pierced them and they felt like an open book whose pages were made of their own flesh and bone, being read practically aloud to the beast as it saw into their soul, they could feel it.

"A trade," it rumbled, and Finn could feel its voice in their chest, like a gunshot or an explosion or thunder, but nothing like any of those things either.

"I--I-I don't have anything to give you," they gasped, fingers digging into the bark behind them as much as it did into their back.

"You do," the creature assured them. It was huge, it was terrifying, a human face staring at them with slitted eyes, but the heavy body of a lion much larger than any lion Finn knew of. Its wings, great and large and black and webbed, were half-folded on its sides, seemingly doubling the size of the beast. Its tail hovered inches above the ground, curled gently around the other half of the clearing, completely blocking Finn's means of escape with a bristle of spikes. They knew the name for this being, a manticore, even if it didn't have the scorpion tail that all the legends claimed it did.

But of course, none of the legends mentioned that they could being found in the southern forests, either.

"You have a family," the manticore rumbled, and Finn felt their knees go weak.

"Please," they wheezed. "Please, please, god, no, not my family, please, I'll give you anything, I'll--"

"Silence," it boomed, wings flaring, and Finn slid down to the ground, their tongue as limp as their legs. The manticore continued. "I am not looking for your firstborn or for your brother's blood or anything. Family means allies, materials, resources. Things to trade. It also means prolonged life. Death is not nearly so imminent when you have a family, so you are good for a favor."

"A f-favor?" Finn questioned, breathless and shaking and feeling faint. What in god's name did the manticore mean by a favor?

"Yes," it dipped its head. "At this moment, I don't know what you can give me, but I have things I can give you." Finn wanted to ask just what this monster thought it could offer them that they would want when it stepped forward and they felt their breath leave their chest. Their heart was hammering away, a constant thrumming in their ears that could barely be called a beat.

"You have been branded," the manticore observed, its huge humanoid face just a foot or two from Finn's, its large eyes lowered to the brand on their forearm. They instinctively clapped a hand over it, ignoring the subsequent stinging from the movement. The manticore didn't seem bothered.

"Humans are remarkable," it rumbled. "Able to give power to the most insignificant of things. From turning stone into a tool of mass destruction, to making a tiny, non-magical, mediocre scar a mark of death." It raised its eyes to Finn's, so much wiser than they anticipated as it searched them. "I can remove it for you."

There was a space, a pause, where after a moment Finn realized it was waiting for an answer. They struggled to arouse their faculties to speak, stammering out a response.

"I, I-I, um, I--" they stumbled over their words, struggling to make sense of the manticore's offer. They took a deep breath, thinking. "I--y-you can?" they choked out finally.

"Yes," it replied, ever so slightly dipping its head. "You will be indebted to me, and I will come to collect when I need to."

Finn's brow furrowrd, and they paused, forcing themselves to calm slightly, to think. They closed their eyes, taking another deep breath. At length, they spoke. "What... what if I die before I can return the favor? What would that favor even be?"

"Then your children would have the responsibility passed on to them," it answered simply. "And unless you have need of me for anything beyond this, that favor will be trivial."

"Need of you...?" Finn blinked. "You mean... I don't..."

"If we should meet again before I call upon you, and you need me to do anything else for you..." the manticore canted its head thoughtfully. "Of course, the favor shall be increased accordingly."

Finn thought for a moment. Their family had so many enemies, powerful enemies, and here was a most powerful ally, literally asking if it could be of service... at a price, of course, but nonetheless...

"If... If I need you, how can I... contact you?" they questioned slowly, unsure of how to word it. The manticore studied them, eyes narrowed slightly, and Finn squirmed under its gaze.

"...I can brand you," it replied finally. Finn swallowed, staring up at it.

"What?" they asked quietly, eyes wide.

"If I brand you, you will be able to call upon me when needed. My brand is very unlike the one you already bear. It will connect us in a way you are likely unfamiliar with. And, well... it will hurt," it added. Finn considered this, holding the manticore's gaze for a long time. They could not pierce its soul anything like it could theirs, but  Finn tried. It saw no guile, no attempt to decieve in its eyes, no guard. It seemed... it seemed to be telling the truth.

They gulped shakily and slowly offered their right arm, displaying the brand. "Please." Their voice was soft, barely more than a whisper, softened by fear. "I'd like to be branded by you."

One of the manticore's ears flicked in surprise, but otherwise no emotion passed over its face. It dipped its head.

"Very well," it said, voice equally quiet, almost reverent. "I will do this, Finn."

It opened its mouth, and Finn felt their heartbeat quicken at the sight of the huge, sharp teeth that lined its jaws just as they closed around their wrist. They were yanked forward abruptly, away from the tree, yelping as one of its paws was pressed against their head, pushing it into the dirt of the clearing. They cried out, panic taking over, oh god it was lying, it was lying, it's going to eat me, it's going to eat me it's going to eat me--

"W-wait, wait, wait wait wait, please, stop, stop--" they begged, seeing its mouth close on their arm, except this time, it broke skin, teeth sinking into their flesh. They screamed as they felt the canines scrape their bone, pluck at their tendons like guitar strings. White-hot pain engulfed their body, their mind, their vision whiting out as they writhed mindlessly beneath the manticore's paw, all the agony centered around their arm. Their body convulsed, eyes glazing over and blind to the world as they were rendered completely thoughtless, back arching and feet kicking uselessly while the manticore worked.

At some point, though they'd never know when, they mercifully passed out, sinking into a blessedly unaware unconsciousness.

[burtlederp]

oops, looked like my finger slipped again... i really swear im not doing this on purpose. anyways here’s some characters y’all have probably never seen before.

---

Grant stared off the rooftop at the city below, the blanket pulled tight around him as the wind blew, cold and biting. He thought of all those he once called friends, wondering what they were doing tonight. Probably snuggling down with their families in warm places, or dancing with others at a party, drinking and laughing and talking. Being together. Kids were going to bed, likely not to sleep, waiting for Santa to come visit and leave presents behind, still under the delusion that the big man himself even existed. He shivered, wishing for a fire in a hearth, a cup of hot chocolate in hand, a Christmas tree, his family.

Birdie chirruped, bringing her wings closer around Grant, nuzzling his head with her beak. He sighed shakily, a lump in his throat as he pressed his forehead to the pterodactyl’s beak, eyes watering. He loved this giant, vibrantly-colored dinosaur, he loved her to death, but sometimes… he just wished she wasn’t the only one who loved him back.

[burtlederp]

A Collection of Unfinished Blurbs: Part 1

Written 9 June 2020; Thanks to being the main media I watched when I was somewhat younger than now, NCIS is my default world setting for new OCs. Pretty much all OCs start out as fan OCs as a technicality. To avoid... some of that, I have begun slowly formulating my own version of the NCIS baseline. Faust is Gibbs, basically. This situation is your run-of-the-mill captive-torture scene, cutting off before it even gets started, really. Shame. No TWs even necessary.

-----

Faust didn't know Elias very well--he could even go so far as to say he didn't know Elias at all--but he knew that Elias didn't deserve this. The young man did not deserve to have the rough fingers of their captor digging into his jaw, forcing his wide, fearful green eyes meet Faust's icy grey, he knew Elias didn't deserve to have his head tossed by the captor, he knew Elias didn't deserve to be in this situation. Elias was just some kid, an agent in name only, he didn't ever even pay much attention to cases unless they actually needed him--he shouldn't be here.

"Now, let me guess..." Their captor circled around them like a hungry lion circling a gazelle. "You don't know anything." A finger jabbed Elias in the head, and the young man flinched away, barely swallowing a whimper.

"He doesn't," Faust assured the man through gritted teeth. "He doesn't know anything, leave him out of this." Faust tugged a bit at the plastic zipties that kept him bound so tightly to his seat, desperate to put himself between the man and Elias.