so i've been on whumpblr for not very long at all so i might update this list one day just to be fair but here are a few things i've LOVED
ch3 of @cepheusgalaxy's espada series - 'consequences named pain' - it's so heartbreaking and has some of my absolute favourite tropes in it (living weapon whumpee + water whump my beloved <33)
i haven't read nearly enough of @goes-whump-in-the-night's work (yet!!!!) but both 'on call' and the follow up 'time off' were genuinely some of the best pieces of writing i've read
ch2 of haunted artifact - 'pearl clutching' by @thewhumpcaretaker was SUCH a fun insight into the characters (and so sad... and so well written :) !!)
'nick's bed' by @pretty-face-breaker was SO GOOD genuinely had whumperflies the whole way
this piece and the continuation of it by @friendlylocalwhumper has not left my mind since i read it. both SO good and so fascinating
🩹 Years of Whumpmas Participation: 1! this is my first and i'm super excited to participate
🔪 Favorite season: summerr (kill me but i love the heat)
🩸 Average amount of sleep: 6 hours?
🩹 Dream Job: honestly? doctor lol, i love medicine and i love all the intricacies and adrenaline that comes with it. maybe thats a cheat answer since i'm already on track for that, but it's been my dream job for like, 4 years so
🔪 Blog established date: june 14, 2025 (yeah that was like 2 weeks ago. im on holiday and i have nothing else to do SFKJH)
🩸 Username/blog meaning: me telling myself to go ahead darling, do your worst. i love darling as a name and nickname it just brings me so much joy.
🩹 Hobbies: embroidery, painting, umm writing whump...... and writing in general!
🔪 What you love about whump: i love that whumperflies are even a thing, like come on man i love that visceral reactions like that are even POSSIBLE. its genuinely beautiful and i love finding out all the different things i react to !!
🩸 Favourite type of whump/ee: i LOVE a defiant whumpee brought low especially if its physical, like manhandling? chin tilts? choking? god i eat that shit up every time. love a trauma reveal, love a breakdown, love a conditioned whumpee flinching away from whumper before they've even done anything yet. love a bit of begging >:) i have a lot of loves asdkjg. nothing really is off limits for me but these are my favs off the top of my head
🩹 Anything else to add: i'm a little british indian boyy :) and i'm learning arabic!
-> the full phrase amor vincit omnia, et nos cedamus amori means love conquers all, let us too surrender to love. i chose it because i cover recovery whump and relationship misunderstandings / miscommunications a lot and it just, idk, means a lot to me that love can still be such a driving force in a whump story - more on my reasoning in this ask :)!
main 6 character blurbs + portraits ☆ side character portraits
chapters are pov colour coded || calyx | tom | ada | elene | clem | amy
the story
Prologue | 2k
Rules | 4.2k
Marked | 4.7k
Trapped | 2.9k
Thief | 3.9k
Alone | 3.1k
Filmed | 3.6k
For clarity's sake, it's worth noting that while Filmed was written first & thus works as a standalone, it's ended up being ~Ch. 15 ^^', so if you'd rather read in order, it's perfectly ok to wait till the rest of the chapters are up!
bonus content
Interview [K and Calyx answer questions, set during Calyx's capture]
side stories (chronological order)
"I'm sorry." | 1.3k words [WIJ 2025; occurs between #4 and #5]
Dangerous | 1.7k words [WIJ 2025; occurs after #9]
Sick | 4.8k words [Calyx captivity sickfic]
Jewellery | ~900 words - slightly outdated in terms of Amy lore, so I'll probably rewrite at some point!
hero/villain au (complete but potentially ongoing)
Countdown | 3.4k - calyx's 'villain' (read: living weapon) origin and freedom story
Revelations | 12.3k - in which calyx learns and unlearns a lot about their friends
** ok i will say that i think this is sort of dubiously canon to me. something like this could happen but maybe not exactly in the way it is written... still. enjoy :) **
summary: in which Amethyst proves that she is just as dangerous as the rest of them. occurs during arc 2 of amor vincit omnia, pre filmed!
cw: captivity whump in the background, helplessness, guilt
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They were planning Calyx's rescue, floor plans and spellbooks out on the kitchen table, the door to the living room wide open, because there was more things in there too. This had to go perfectly, and Amy watched in fascination. They all cared so much.
"Right, so the plan so far, Tom and I - Tom fortified with that spell that Elene is working on-"
"Was working on, I've got it sorted now. Thanks to your blood, so I'll need a little more of it on the day-"
Clem flashed a smile, brushing a stray strand of their hair away to look directly at Elene. "Done. That's brilliant, El." If they saw Elene blush and look away, they didn't say anything about it.
"Okay. So, fortified Tom and armoured me go in first,"
Ada piped up, not looking up from the table. "No, that doesn't make sense." When she had everyone's attention, she lifted her head from her hands and spoke. "Someone should go in to scout the area first, then you two can come in for extraction. Calyx needs protecting, not us."
Elene spoke directly to her sister, hands on hips. "Ada, you cannot be suggesting-"
Ada's eyes blazed with righteous anger as she glared at her sister. "Why not, Elene? I didn't kill our father with luck. I have a very large sword, and magic, if you'd forgotten."
Elene started to speak, but Amy cut her off. "I can go with her." She had been quiet through the planning, but this seemed a perfect opportunity to speak. To her confusion though, everyone went silent. "What? I can fight."
Clem frowned. "Amethyst, it's - dangerous?"
Silence descended on the kitchen, and Amy looked down at themselves, then saw what they saw. "You think I can't handle myself. Where the fuck do you think I got this from, then?" They lifted their shirt, revealing the gnarled scar on their stomach.
Tom sounded world-weary when he answered. "I don't know, Amy, we don't just go around asking questions like that. It's your business to tell that story."
His honesty threw her a little, and where she'd been poised to tell it, somehow, 'stabbing myself to get out of my mother's gilded cage' suddenly didn't seem as awesome of an explanation as she'd first thought. "Okay, but I can fight. I could probably beat you, Clem."
Elene sputtered, and Ada leaned back in her chair, raising an eyebrow. Tom sized her up, and Amy stretched out, imitating casual. Clem just tilted their head, regarding her.
Amy spoke to them, getting up from her chair to look at them eye-to-eye. "I'm serious. If I beat you in a fight, you have to let me on the… mission. Escape plan. Whatever."
Clem looked at them, speaking completely neutrally, though Amy saw the way they tensed in anticipation. "I don't want to fight you, Amy."
Amy grinned, feeling reckless and excited. They summoned their sword, diamond and light and blue steel glinting in the kitchen, and Amy swung it once, relishing in the way it moved with them, an extension of their own body. "Well, I do. Better start swinging, sweetheart."
Clem raised an eyebrow, then bit back a smile as they looked at Elene, who had taken a step back and was staring at the sword in abject awe. Elene caught their eye, and shrugged, and then Clem nodded sharply.
"Fine, but no weapons."
"Oh, don't be boring, Clemency." Clem's eyes widened at their full name, and Amy let out an internal yell of joy. How does it feel, hm? "Neither of us can die, let's -"
"Wait, what?" It was from all of them in unison, Clem's pre-fight posture briefly forgotten in their shock.
"You guys have gotta get better at asking questions. Amber and Evan knew that in the first hour of meeting me." That wasn't exactly her doing, considering they found her when she was dead and she was brought back as they attempted to do CPR. Also, not the whole truth. They'd properly figured out the immortality much later. Technicalities.
Amy frowned, thinking of something she'd said a couple of weeks ago, when things were calmer. "I literally said I die every couple of months. I definitely said that. What the fuck did you think I meant?"
"Oh my god." Clem sounded frazzled, and Amy was almost thrown by how uncharacteristic it sounded. "I thought you were being melodramatic."
Amy was slightly affronted. No, quite affronted. Melodramatic? They were not melodramatic. "I - I should fight you just for that."
Clem continued, stupidly, endlessly reasonable. "I still don't want to kill you."
"Well, whoever's guarding the fort probably won't share that sentiment, so we can either stand around talking or practice for real."
"Please don't kill each other in my kitchen." Elene sounded incredibly tired, eyebrows pressed together in concern.
"Of course not, my lady. We'll, um. Hold off before that point."
Amy had to check, and held up their sword to emphasise the point. "But weapons are good?"
Clem sighed, pinching the bridge of their nose, but when they looked up, Amy saw that they were smiling. They threw out their hand, summoning a dark metal and orange-core sword. They tested the weight of it, pushing the table away with an easy action.
"Yeah, weapons are good."
Amy grinned, already tasting blood.
At one point, Clem had Amy pinned by the tip of their sword and backed into a corner, and they held their free hand behind their back like a prince at play. "Ready to concede, Amy?"
Oh, they were infuriating. Amy spun away, letting the sword graze her side, and summoned her sword back into her hand in time to face Clem again. Sweat made her hair cling to her forehead, and the taste of her blood in her mouth made her feel giddy with joy.
"Not just yet, Clem. Not yet!" They punctuated the last sentence with a feign to the left, then swiped right, aiming for Clem's knee. They got the intended impact as they stumbled for just a moment, letting Amy pin Clem's sword arm to the wall, putting just enough pressure on it that they dropped it to the floor with a thud.
Amy stepped closer, dismissing their sword with a smirk, but stayed pinning Clem's arm up and to the side with a hand on their bicep, laughing breathlessly as they both tried to catch their breath.
"Okay."
Amy raised an eyebrow, feeling thrills in their stomach at the way Clem's eyes flicked to theirs, then their lips. They were so close, and she felt so warm. "Okay, what, Clemency?"
They closed their eyes, throwing their head back to hit it against the wall. "Fuck. Okay, you can fucking fight. Holy shit, Amy. You hid that."
"All part of my charm."
They stood like that for about two more seconds, then Clem, not Amy, leaned forward and kissed them, hungrily. Amy moaned into the kiss as their hand drifted into Clem's hair and tugged a little, pulling them closer.
Then Amy heard a noise, and they both turned around to see Elene staring wide-eyed at them. Amy winced, having forgotten about their situation. It seemed like a will they, won't they, but Amy couldn't be sure.
Elene spoke quietly, reverently. She looked hot, hair out of place. "I… think that did something to me." Then she walked forward and kissed Clem on the mouth, and Amy had to move a little out of the way, but smiled as she did. Clem seemed to really, really, enjoy it, and Amy was once again thrown into a state of confusion about where the two of them stood with each other.
Did it really matter, if they could have moments like this?
Tom's slightly frustrated voice snapped them out of their reverie. "Guys, this is great, glad we're learning things about ourselves, but Calyx could be, I don't know, dying. Can we… get back to the task at hand?"
Clem looked suitably chastised, but Amy turned around, feeling a little like she was about to start swinging at a hornet's nest. That seemed to be her favourite pastime though, so the realisation didn't make her any less willing to do it. "Honestly, from what I know of Calyx, I think they would be thrilled that this is happening right now. I just know they'd come out with something like 'love despite it all'. Maybe they'd even have a quote about it."
Tom opened his mouth to disagree, but just ended up staring at them blankly, eyes going distant. Ada leaned over, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Tom. Let's be honest. They would."
Tom laughed wetly, putting his head in his hands and sitting further down in his chair. "God. Yeah, they would say something stupid and self-sacrificial like that." Then he let out a noise of anguish, a half-sob. "I have to take a walk. The plan sounds good. Let me kill a few people and I'm good, okay? Fuck me." The last part didn't seem directed at anyone, and Tom raked a hand down his face as he walked out.
Elene spoke, mostly to Clem, but loud enough for the rest of them to hear. "Fuck. I feel bad."
Amy turned to her, frowning. "Don't. There's one more person on the rescue mission. They can't kill all of us, and they quite literally can't kill at least two of us."
"I can bring people back." Ada chimed in again, and Amy grinned, all teeth.
"See? Foolproof plan. Tom's losing his mind because he can't go and save them right now, but we aren't exactly sitting around. Half an hour spent sparring isn't going to change anything." The words, for the first time, felt wrong in Amy's mouth, but they did believe them. Mostly.
A lot could happen in half an hour.
Somewhere, not nearly as far away as they thought, but far enough to be inaudible and untraceable, Calyx's face contorted with pain, and the only thing that kept them upright was the thought of their family, laughing round the table, a seat waiting for them to get back.
summary: an exploration of Calyx and Tom's relationship during the period of time in which Calyx is trapped in their own mind more than a physical location and can't tell him about it. occurs sometime between chapters 4 and 5 of amor vincit omnia
cw: gore? murder? (not permanent), nightmares, fear, angst, covert whump (in the background)
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"I'm sorry, I'm sorry- no! No, Tom, Tom- Not you! Not-" Calyx let out a guttural, anguished cry as they straddled their boyfriend's body. They were covered in his blood as it streamed from the wound in his chest, right over his heart, hands on either side of his head as it lolled and tilted to the side, eyes going glassy and distant.
Calyx held him as he died, and screamed with grief.
Then - Calyx didn't know how, or why, but their clothes were clean, and they stood in the hallway of their home. They looked around for him, confused.
"Wait, what? Ada? Is Tom - " They pressed their palms to their forehead, desperate for it all to have been a horrible nightmare.
"Oh, you killed him." She sounded impossibly casual, on her phone, not even looking at them. What?
"N- no, no - I didn't." A knife in their hand, an argument. Lunging at him. "Oh my god. I killed him? I killed Tom?"
Ada shrugged, oblivious to the way that Calyx couldn't breathe.
"Are you serious, I - I killed my best friend? I killed Tom?" Oh, God. They'd never see him again. They - they - Calyx stuttered through the thoughts, moving quicker, quicker. "I have to see him, where is he, where is Tom, I can't see him- oh, God, please don't let me have killed him, why didn't anyone stop me?" Then, when nobody answered, they fell to their knees, pulling at their hair, screaming. "Please don't say I killed the most important person in my life!"
Calyx woke up with a yell, tangled in the blanket, sweating, freezing and shaking, limbs heavy with fear as their brain came back online. They couldn't help but hyperventilate as the adrenaline dissipated and they blinked to face the dark room, letting out a whine of distress and relief, all in one.
"Oh, fuck." The image of him, bleeding and limp, seemed branded onto their retina. Still, they sighed in relief, and threw out a hand to - be reminded that they were sleeping on the couch. Tom was upstairs.
Fear gripped their heart. It didn't feel like a K nightmare, but they could never be sure. What if that was a message? They had to check. They just had to check. They'd never forgive themselves if they didn't check.
Calyx threw off the blanket, going to grab their phone to switch on the torch, silently cursing K for making them simultaneously terrified to cast spells, and of the dark. They didn't trust things that moved, saw cruel green eyes in every unclear light source. Trying and failing to calm their steadily quickening heartbeat, they made their way upstairs, sticking to walls and breathing deeply before turning corners, closing their eyes when they went past the mirror. They moved quickest past it, feeling a prickling at their back that they desperately tried to ignore. They really couldn't deal with seeing her right now.
Eventually, they reached their bedroom. Well, it was just Tom's, at the moment. He didn't know where they stood, and he hadn't asked them to, but Calyx had silently moved downstairs one day, aching like they'd been hollowed out at the loss of his warmth next to them. Calyx ran cold, and they had been cuddling together even before they were any sort of couple. They missed it, their early days, more than they could explain.
Tom was such a light sleeper. Calyx knew, logically, that pushing open the door would wake him, but they still hoped he wouldn't. Obviously, the universe wasn't in the business of giving them what they wanted. Calyx hadn't even been able to see if he was breathing, before he opened his eyes and curled away, protecting his middle. The sight made something twist in their gut. Disturbed sleep stuck with you, it seemed. They knew the feeling.
It meant something that when he registered that it was them, he relaxed, stretching out again. "Wh- Cee?" He pushed himself up the headboard, blinking blearily at them.
They didn't know what to do, so stood just inside the threshold with the torch pointed to the ceiling. "Um, I- I just…" They trailed off, unsure of how to finish the sentence. I just needed to check you were alive? They sighed, tired of not telling him the truth. "I had a nightmare."
They couldn't help looking down at his neck, exposed as it was in the harsh white light of the torch. Clean and unscarred. Safe, he was safe. Good. Calyx looked down at their hands, seeing the blood - his blood - covering them again, but the image was fading.
"About me?"
"How did you know?"
"Cee, come on. I know you." They felt warm, ashamed. He knows me. How long I wished for someone to know me, and now I'm pushing him away. "The only nightmares that you wake me up on purpose after are the ones where I get hurt." It worked the other way too, but Calyx hadn't realised it for a while. He was better at hiding his anxiety, when he wanted to. His tone shifted, and he sat up straighter, hands landing in his lap. Calyx felt horribly unworthy of the concern. "Was it bad?"
Calyx couldn't answer.
"So… pretty bad." Tom sighed, shifting and patting the bed next to him. "Come on."
Calyx perked up like a puppy. "Oh, are you sure? I was going to -" They pointed at the door behind them.
"Calyx Ambrosia, get in this bed right now. Please. I miss you so much."
They didn't need asking twice, shuffling into the bed, moaning quietly at the warmth and comfort of an actual mattress. Between the nights in K's basement and the nights on the couch, this was heavenly. "Oh, God. Me too." Tom held them, arms round their middle, and Calyx was grateful that he couldn't see their face when they winced at the pressure.
"That was fuckin' awful, Cee."
They laughed, quiet and dizzy. "Yeah. I'm really sorry. Am I forgiven?"
Tom hummed, and Calyx felt the vibrations of it more than heard it. "I don't know, Cee. I don't know what's going on with you, but if you just - promise me one thing?"
Calyx heard K's voice, a memory, in their mind. Remember, it's not just your life on the line. Not just your freedom that you should care about. They crossed their fingers, hating themselves as they did. "I'll - okay."
"Don't do anything stupid. Don't be like me, okay? Don't suffer in silence because you're too afraid to say anything."
Oh. They were already doing all of those things. "Right. Okay."
Tom sighed. "Calyx, I know when you're lying."
They froze, expecting Tom to press, to ask again, to kick them out of the bed, but all he did was rub soothing circles on their hand.
"It's - it's okay. Just… whenever you're ready to tell us, I promise I will listen. I've got your back, okay? You aren't stranded, even if all you think you can see is ocean."
The image was weirdly fitting. Calyx thought of the way they held each other now, otters in a current. Kids attempting not to get swept away in a storm. They couldn't say it, couldn't even begin to admit how right he was out of fear that it would be game over, that all they said was, "Poetic."
Tom snorted, and Calyx forgot their worry for a moment, stomach flipping out of joy of making him laugh.
"Yeah, I've been practicing it. Workshopping." Tom kissed their neck, and Calyx melted under his touch.
"That one line?"
"Yep. Took me three weeks. I am serious though, okay? Don't get yourself killed before we find out that anything's wrong."
-> Share a sneak peek of something you're working on!
this is a little snippet of chapter 5 of amor vincit omnia ! featuring... kindness? from K?? my terrible awful whumper?? shocking. surely nothing hinges on this at all :) no content warnings - Calyx gets a brief moment of reprieve yay yippee
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Calyx sighed, keeping their eyes fixed to the floor and hands twisted behind their back. Their ankles were manacled together today.
"Though…" K tilted their chin up. "I'm feeling magnanimous. Do you want anything? A treat?"
Calyx stared at her, slightly incredulous, but spoke quietly when they asked, "Is that… a trick question?"
K tutted and they winced. "No. Why would I do that, pet? Go on, ask."
They thought about it for a moment. Nothing too crazy. Nothing that'd make her mad. Nothing she'd deny, either. They shivered, and before thinking about it, said their answer.
"I guess it could be warmer."
Really, Calyx? Not food? Water? But their internal conflict ended when K clicked her fingers and a fire sprung up on the floor. They jumped back at first, eyeing her warily when the movement shifted them off their knees, then moved closer when she didn't react. They fixated on it - warm and blazing, casting shadows all over the walls.
"Woah." Then, panicking slightly that they weren't quick enough to say it, "thank you. Thank you. Oh, wow." It was warm. Warmth spread onto the floor, onto their outstretched hands, into their bones.
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avo taglist: @whump-is-love-whump-is-life (lmk if you want to be added or removed!)