#tbp outset

[whump-is-a-fabled-thing]

@whumperless-whump-event Day 10: Cuddle Pile

Summary: A shared pain day encourages a cuddle pile.

Contents: Chronic pain, crying, blind pov character, platonic cuddles

Characters are from @thatbrokenpromise

Read on AO3

Please reblog if you enjoy the fic so more people can read it!

[triforce-of-mischief]

Distractions

Summary: Outset has a migraine and Skyloft does his best to help.

Words: 500

AO3

Characters are from @thatbrokenpromise

Outset pulled his blanket over his head and groaned. His head hurt, it had been hurting all night and he had barely gotten any sleep which hadn’t improved the pain at all. The brightbloom in the center of the tent, which usually provided a comforting glow, pierced through his eyelids like a knife. Sunrise was unavoidable and terrible, just like the pounding pain in his skull.

“You alright, Outset?” Skyloft’s soft voice asked above him, and Outset groaned again.

“Doing great.”

“Mmhm. Can I see your face?”

Outset reluctantly sat up, his head spinning even though he moved slowly. He squeezed his eyes shut against the light and Skyloft carefully touched his face.

“What’s wrong?” Skyloft asked as he moved Outset’s face, checking for marks that weren’t there.

“My brain’s being squeezed,” Outset complained. Staying upright was too much, between the pain and a rising wave of nausea, and he let himself fall forward into Skyloft’s chest. That was better. It was dark here, and warm.

Skyloft’s arms moved down to hold him. “You haven’t hit your head recently, have you?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’m not concussed, I swear.”

“It might just be a migraine then.” Skyloft felt the back of Outset’s head, still not finding anything because he was telling the truth.

“Is this what they’re like? It sucks,” Outset said, then frowned when Skyloft’s hands fell away from his hair. “Wait… do that again?”

“Do what? Touch your hair? I didn’t miss something, did I?”

“No, it’s just-” Outset huffed. “It feels nice. It’s a distraction from the pain.”

“Oh! Of course,” Skyloft laughed quietly, and Outset was able to ignore the headache for a while as gentle fingers scratched his scalp.

Morning came swiftly and Outset buried his face in Skyloft’s shirt in a futile attempt to hide from the sun. Blankets shifted as the others in the tent woke up, and Outset flinched when Four’s voice hurt just as much as the light.

“Aw, how sweet,” Four cooed, and Outset pried one hand out of Skyloft’s hug to flip him off.

“’S not sweet. I have a migraine.”

“And you haven’t asked Hateno for a cold cloth for the back of your neck?” Outset could hear Four roll his eyes.

“Isn’t he still asleep?”

“Nah, he’s awake. He’s just quiet.”

“I hadn’t noticed,” Skyloft admitted. “Hateno?”

“Yeah, I heard you. Give me a sec.”

Outset heard Hateno tap the pad, then the odd sound of it materializing some items. Hateno handed them over and Skyloft murmured, “Thank you. Outset, here-”

The warning was appreciated, and Outset practically melted in relief as Skyloft pressed the cool cloth to his skin. It didn’t make the headache disappear, but it was another layer of distraction from the pain. Skyloft held the cloth in place with one hand, idly finger-combing through Outset’s hair with the other. Hateno left to get started on breakfast while Four did something to make the tent slightly darker. Outset didn’t expect that the migraine would vanish immediately, but at least he wasn’t completely miserable while he waited for it to pass.

[whump-is-a-fabled-thing]

@febuwhump alt 7: Body Horror

Summary: After weeks lost at sea, Link has fallen ill. Tetra doesn't expect the toll that it has taken on his body.

Warnings: blood, mild body horror, past torture

Notes: Set post- Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass, pre- @thatbrokenpromise. Tetra and Link are older teens, probably.

Words: 890

AO3

Please reblog to show your support! Likes do nothing on their own. Do not reblog to communities.

By the gods, how was it so easy for one kid to disappear on a ship this size? Tetra had exhausted almost all of Link’s favorite hiding spots, and he wouldn’t even respond to her calls. They had avoided each other since their fight the other day, but they were all irritable and now wasn’t the time for this. An extra few weeks turned around at sea would bring out the worst in anybody, and it was Tetra’s job to ensure that her crew was fit as they could be. They’d been surviving on dry meat and crackers longer than they expected to, and at this rate Tetra just wanted to see for herself that Link would eat any of it.

“Link, I know you didn’t jump overboard so stop hiding!” Tetra yelled, striding to the center of the deck. Likely he was tucked into the crow’s nest, sleeping or ignoring her or both. She huffed angrily as she was once again confronted with silence, and climbed the ladder on the center mast to poke her head into the crow’s nest.

Link was up here, of course, and had the nerve to open his eyes when Tetra jumped over the side to crouch opposite him. He was laying on his side, and his hands looked bruised though Tetra didn’t know how he had managed that.

“I know we still have no idea where we are, but you need to eat,” Tetra hissed. “Your attitude isn’t doing anyone any good. Come on.”

“I’m not moving,” Link grunted, half of his face pressed to the sun-warmed wood. “Just leave me alone.”

“Can you at least go down to your hammock? I need to focus on getting this ship to land, not worrying over where you are at any given time.”

Link’s face scrunched up, and Tetra was considering just throwing him down when he agreed, “Fine. But you better not bother me once I’m down there.”

“I won’t,” Tetra groaned. “Just stay where I can see you.”

She reached down to grab his hand, and saw that the bruising on his hands crept up his forearms too. “What did you even do to yourself?”

“Nothing,” Link protested, but he winced as Tetra pulled him to his feet.

She frowned, knowing better than to believe him, and sidestepped to give him a full once-over. Something caught her eye and she grabbed his shoulders to spin him around. He yelped, but she couldn’t apologize through the nausea crawling up her throat.

The back of his blue shirt was overtaken by crisscrossed lines of seeping blood. It reminded Tetra, too much, of that day a few years ago when she had been handed a body that had been beaten an inch from death. Link moved impatiently away from her, and she grabbed his mysteriously bruised hand.

“I’m going down first,” Tetra said, trying not to let her voice shake. “You need to let me look at you where we have more room.”

“What, why…” Link started, but she climbed down the ladder without answering.

She stood at the bottom, looking up to watch as Link swung his legs onto the first rungs. Did he even realize how unsteady he looked? He slid down, too, into Tetra’s waiting hands as his own lost their grip.

“Take off your shirt,” Tetra ordered, and he glared at her in disbelief. “Link, please.”

That startled him into obedience, and she stepped forward to help when he struggled against the blood plastering the fabric to his skin. They pulled it free and-

“Fuck,” Tetra breathed, and put her hand over her mouth as bile filled her throat.

Link’s wounds, the long- scarred over myriad of gashes that covered his back, had reopened. Blood pooled freely, painting him bright red like the whipping had happened just minutes ago. Tetra wanted to believe it was a curse, but she knew exactly what had caused this, unlikely as it was. They hadn’t been lost for that long, this didn’t make sense…

She swallowed and placed a trembling hand on Link’s shoulder, above the worst of the terrible sight. “Bed. You- You’re going to bed. Come on.”

“What is it?” Link demanded, more angry than afraid. “What do you see?”

“It’s-” Tetra glanced down and immediately back up. That was a mistake. “I don’t know how, but you have scurvy.”

“But we’ve only been out here a few weeks!”

“I know! I don’t know how this happened either but your back looks like death and I need to- I don’t know, bandage it I guess!” Tetra resisted the urge to throw her hands in the air, instead grabbing Link’s hand and pulling him across the deck.

“Um, aren’t we heading the wrong way?”

“No, you need to lay on a real bed. We’re going to my room.”

“Oh.”

They didn’t have much for medical supplies, but there was enough gauze to wrap thick layers over Link’s back. He didn’t fight the care for once, visibly tired from the illness and lack of food.

“Stay here and I’ll bring you some food, okay?” Tetra said, worry keeping her voice quiet. “I’ll have Gonzo look over the maps again for a fairy fountain, and Niko can search every corner of this damn boat for fruit. You… We’ll figure this out. You’re gonna be okay, I promise.”

[triforce-of-mischief]

some art for the second chapter of snap crack pop, in which everything is fine now :)

(please read the content warnings for the first chapter, though.)

outset and prince's hand from @thatbrokenpromise

[triforce-of-mischief]

Degrees of Fine

@sicktember day 12, "You're not fine, you're throwing up."

Characters are from @thatbrokenpromise

Summary: Skyloft is fine. He's used to throwing up frequently, after all. He definitely doesn't have toxic shock syndrome.

Warnings: vomiting

Words: 680

AO3

Please reblog to show your support! Likes do nothing.

Everything was supposed to be fine. None of them were injured and they hadn’t seen any monsters before making camp for the night. Chief knew that his bag, and plenty of the others’, were well-stocked with potions and fairies, alongside his own collection of medicines. He sat in his tent as a few of the others retired early, talking with Smith until Hateno came to interrupt them.

“Skyloft’s sick,” Hateno said abruptly, the two words enough to make Chief jump to his feet even as his stomach lurched.

Please, not Skyloft of all of them. Not the man who was so compromised already, who already tried so hard not to look weak in front of them. Chief had training and supplies for common illnesses, minor ailments, but for Skyloft-

He prayed to every spirit he could name as he ran to Skyloft’s tent that whatever was wrong, he could do enough.

The retching was audible first. That was nothing new; they had discovered the hard way that Skyloft’s lungs bled within a few days of their meeting. Then came the smell, and Chief coughed from the shock of it. He had expected the metallic tang of blood, not the sour, acidic stench of pure vomit and bile. He pushed past Hateno and saw Skyloft laying on his side, wheezing as he clutched his sick bucket to his chest. Chief knelt beside him and Skyloft’s eyes cracked open, the other man attempting a weak smile when he saw the medic.

“’S okay, it’ll pass in a minute,” Skyloft rasped. “You didn’t need to come see me, I’m- I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine, you’re throwing up,” Chief snapped.

“Happens all the time…”

Chief’s nails dug into his palms. “You’re not throwing up blood. You’re actually sick. Do you think you can try to take something soon or-”

Skyloft rose to vomit again and Chief sighed, unsurprised. He reached to support Skyloft with a hand on his back, and dove to catch him when the man nearly collapsed. Chief carefully lowered him back down and wordlessly handed the bucket to Hateno to be emptied.

“He felt warm,” Outset said, shifting nervously on his own bedroll.

Chief could already see that Skyloft’s normally pale face was flushed red, slick with sweat, but he pressed the back of his hand to his forehead for the sake of it. He flinched at the heat rising from his skin and hissed, “Shit, that’s a bad fever. He seemed fine earlier, how fast did this happen?”

“I can’t say,” Outset admitted.

“I can use the pad if he can’t keep medicine down,” Hateno offered, and Chief took the cue to look through his bag.

“Please. I only have so many syringes and he needs fluids, antibiotics, possibly potion…”

They had discussed this method before, when they had a chance to breathe after the cave in Hateno’s past. Chief drew doses of medicine and Hateno, in turn, placed his hand on Skyloft’s arm and transferred them to the Purah Pad then directly to Skyloft’s bloodstream. Ordon came to see what the fuss was about and Chief immediately sent him back for damp cloths. Skyloft was on the far side of semiconscious, his fever keeping him in discomfort once his insides had nothing left to expell.

The night dragged on as Skyloft’s condition fluctuated repeatedly. Chief asked Outset to hold Skyloft’s hand, monitoring him as the medic prepared more fluids, and ended up rushing to get potion into the sick man as his pulse plummeted. Chief almost feared the worst, that he had been too late, too inadequate to save him… then, just before sunrise, Skyloft stabilized. His pulse held steady, the fever diminished, and Chief assessed whether he could properly take fluids, and even broth after that.

Chief leaned heavily against Hateno, worried and stressed even after the worst had passed. Outset was curled up at Skyloft’s side, one of Skyloft’s hands pressed between both of his. Skyloft was barely awake, mumbling apologies, and Chief shushed him tiredly.

Don’t ever scare us like that again. “It’s not your fault.”

[triforce-of-mischief]

Confused/disoriented with Far and/or Outset from That Broken Promise.

It was hot by the fire, and Far didn’t really know why he had found himself sitting near it. He had a fever, he could tell, and he wasn’t going to hide it very well if he let himself overheat. On top of that, the fire was the natural gathering place, and Far couldn’t hide at all if he set himself up in the middle of camp. Too many eyes, they would know that something was wrong, that Far was weak, and he couldn’t let that happen because… because that’s always how he went about it. Being in a large group meant less danger, but sometimes more danger, and right now it was more.

So he stood up, and walked in a very normal and steady and straight line and didn’t wobble at all, and then he ran into Outset.

“Far?”

“Hi,” Far said.

“Hi,” Outset said. “What are you doing?”

“Um.” Far thought for so long that he forgot that he was supposed to be thinking of something in the first place.

“Right,” Outset said after a while. “Well, while you’re here, do you mind leading me to the fire?”

“Huh? Yeah, sure,” Far agreed, and Outset took his arm in one hand and his cane in the other and they walked back to the fire.

If Far had hoped to sneak away again, he was instantly trapped when Outset casually pulled them both to the ground and practically draped himself over Far’s lap. “Got a blanket?” Outset asked.

“You’re still cold? Tha’s no good,” Far frowned, and quickly found one. It was shaking in his grip before Outset pulled it from his hands. Weird.

Outset wrapped the blanket around them both, and this time Far wasn’t bothered by the fire at all. In fact, the heat from the flames and his friend felt… really good. His head felt heavy and he rested it on Outset’s, who didn’t seem to mind. Far struggled to keep his eyes open and he let himself rest… just for a moment.

[whump-is-a-fabled-thing]

@ailesswhumptober alt 7: pulling teeth

Summary: Prince has information, and Outset is tortured for it. It doesn't take long before Outset stops caring why.

Contents: blood, torture, mouth trauma, tooth trauma, blind whumpee

Words: 540

Characters are my friend's oc's from @thatbrokenpromise

AO3

Please reblog to show your support! Likes do nothing.

Whoever had captured them were, in Outset’s opinion, very annoying. He was pretty sure that they had only snatched Prince, too, and the captain must have been their main target because nobody had addressed him at all. Even if Outset’s vision was good enough to see the hand-gesture negotiations, the figure standing directly in front of him would have interfered with that anyway.

He tried to turn his head, hoping to turn shadows into something coherent, but they didn’t like that. A large hand grabbed his jaw and twisted to face him forward again, and Outset snarled. They didn’t let go, thwarting his hopes of taunting them into acknowledging him.

Ouset heard fingers snap- Prince or the enemy?- and wondered what that meant. The hand on his jaw pried his mouth open further and he heard a metallic clatter beside him. From his peripheral, Outset thought he saw a pair of pliers before they vanished into his blind spot.

A click reverberated through his mouth as a dull pressure closed around one of his front teeth. Outset yelped as he realized, yeah, there was a negotiation going on that he wasn’t privy to. He was the incentive, and his heart pounded in his chest because he knew that Prince didn’t easily crack under pressure.

Outset’s teeth, on the other hand, did.

He screamed as the enamel splintered and the raw nerve inside was crushed. He tasted blood, feeling it run down his throat as what was left of his tooth was yanked out. He gagged, shivering from the shock of the pain he hadn’t had time to prepare for.

Prince gave an angry cry, and nothing happened for another minute. Outset didn’t expect that they would release him that easily, and he was proven correct when the pressure came for the next tooth.

This one was a swift pull, roots tearing from his gum in between one blink and the next. Outset’s yell was a moment late as he processed that another was gone, just like that.

Could their healing even regenerate lost teeth? Did they have to preserve the old ones so the nerves could find their way? Outset had seen plenty of pirates with half-empty smiles, and he couldn’t say he had ever wanted to join their ranks.

Prince snarled, and Outset let the blood dribble from his mouth as he waited for them to speak. He coughed, unable to spit it out while the hand was holding his jaw. He still felt horror, but no surprise, when his mouth was invaded by metal again.

The last time felt like a mercy, now. Slowly, delicately, his tooth was loosened from his gum like a kid tooth but it wasn’t a kid tooth, this one was still alive with nerves and pain. Outset whined, wanting to jerk away or fight back, but he was helpless as the person took their sweet time pulling his tooth. He swore that he could feel the root pop out, unleashing a renewed flow of blood that coated his tongue and throat. He sobbed, choking on blood and tears, his mouth singing with agony.

Prince didn’t give in. The pliers found the next tooth and Outset didn’t either.

It wasn’t his choice to make.

[triforce-of-mischief]

Medication Bribery

@sicktember day 20, medication bribery

Characters are from @thatbrokenpromise

Summary: Outset refuses to take his medicine, and Skyloft plays into his game.

Words: 270

AO3

Please reblog to show your support! Likes do nothing.

“C’mon, Outset, why won’t you just take the medicine? I know you’re upset that Chief tricked you into taking some earlier but it’s obvious that it’s helped.” Skyloft held the drugged tea close, not wanting to spill it if Outset smacked his hands away again.

Outset shook his head, his face still turned away. “I’m just fine without it. I can recover by myself, I don’t need some stupid medicine.”

Skyloft groaned and set the tea aside. “Fine. You know, I was going to keep you company if you were willing to take it. I know how boring it is to be sick, I can tell stories and I don’t mind cuddling…”

The brief look of longing on Outset’s face was quickly replaced by stubbornness. “Oh yeah, and what’ll you do when I don’t?”

Skyloft shifted, sitting back out of Outset’s reach. He could be stubborn too.

Outset huffed, figuring him out instantly. “Ha ha, very funny, Skyloft.”

Skyloft stayed silent, settling in anticipation of a long wait.

After only a minute of this, Outset caved. “Sky? Are you still there?” Blind eyes scanned the tent, one hand outstretched in search of him. “Sky, Sky where are you?”

That wasn’t playing fair, Skyloft admitted. He leaned into Outset’s space, touching his wandering hand. “I’m right here, sailor.”

Faster and stronger than Skyloft expected from the sick man, Outset grabbed his wrist and pulled him down. He wrapped his arms around Skyloft, laughing triumphantly.

“Hey- I said after you take your medicine!” Skyloft protested.

“I’m the one who’s sick, and I want cuddles,” Outset declared. “Now, you said something about stories?”