I have a list of recommended stories; most of my favourites are on there!
But in addition, because I've linked that list before... Here are five ongoing stories I've been reading and enjoying recently (though I'm not caught up on all of them):
Hamster Interactive Story by @whumpinthepot
G/t whump is hit-or-miss for me, but this one's definitely a hit, and a lot of fun. It's an illustrated(!) CYOA; most of the whump so far has been environmental, which I enjoy.
Author's intro: Hamster is a palm sized girl who is kept as a pet by a bubbly human named Ashley. Ashley is often at work during the day, leaving Hamster in her small cage for hours at a time with very little to do. Hamster gets lonely while Ashley’s gone, and wishes she could meet someone her own size so they can become real friends. Little does she know, someone is already watching her from inside the house.
Immortal Cannon Fodder by @pigeonwhumps
Immortal whump is always a good time (well - not for the characters), and this is no exception. Great team dynamics and tentative friendships.
Author's intro: Phoenix, an immortal hero, joins a team that hurts them and uses them as cannon fodder. But their teammates are only doing what's necessary to help them all survive. Phoenix's regular sacrifices are necessary. And it's not like they've got anywhere else to go anyway.
It takes the arrival of Kai, a wolf-shifter and telekinetic, to help them see what's going on. But a friendship and a promised eventual transfer can't fix everything.
Karita by @galaxywhump
Another, and different, take on immortal whump - here, it's less about a character's immortality enabling severe suffering of various sorts, and more about the immortality itself causing pain. Not that there isn't other unpleasantness going on too. :')
Nightmare's Shadow by @lilac-whump
D&D-inspired fantasy whump is always close to my heart, and this quest for freedom and vengeance is a blast to read.
Author's intro: Inrissa is a tiefling who was enslaved from childhood, then escaped and killed her captors to embark on a quest to get her enchanted collar removed and kill the smith who forged it. Contains emotional whump, torture, slavery, dehumanization, betrayals, and death.
Oasis by @theres-whump-in-that-nebula
I'm not entirely sure what genre this best belongs in, but it has a dreamy, somewhat surreal atmosphere with a slowly building sense of Wrongness. Excellent descriptions of the environment, and from a perspective I rarely encounter on here - first person.
Author's intro: A person finds themselves transported to a beautiful, but strange world. Written in diary format.
Nova could hear Gale talking, but his brother's words were just a jumble of sounds. He was still cold.
It was the one thing he was painfully aware of. The cold burned. It did made the rest of the pain a bit less noticeable. He wanted to move, but he couldn't get his body to move.
Even though he couldn't move, he was moving... which confused him.
Nova tried to open his eyes.
He managed to open his eyes. All he could make out was something grey and blue. Making him think of clouds.
Hold on... wasn't he outside?
And it was raining, wasn't it?
He wasn't sure. It could be. Why was his thoughts to jumbled? He wasn't sure about what was going on. His memories was just as confusing.
Someone talked, but he couldn't make out what was being said.
It hurt... Everything hurt.
The movement stopped and a figure appeared in front of his blurred and faded vision.
It took him a while before he realized that he person was saying something. He coughed, causing the pain in his body to get worse. The person in front of him, was talking again.
He could feel a hand on his shoulder.
"...nova?" the voice said.
The voice was familiar. It sounded like Gale.
Water... no rain was falling dripping on his face. He wanted to move, but his body did not want to listen to him.
"Hey..." Gale's voice "Don't try to move, kiddo..."
"Gale...." Nova groaned.
For a moment he could see the relief on his brother's face. "Yeah... It's me..." he said "Dammit... you scared me so badly.... I shouldn't have let you go in there alone"
Nova frowned slightly, but did not answer.
"I've taken care of your wounds... then we can go home and Lera will take care of you, alright?" Gale said softly.
"...Max...?" Nova coughed, feeling his world starting to fade around him.
"Max is alright" Gale said immediately, "You don't need to worry about him, just a few scraps and bruises"
Nova nodded slightly. Slowly the world around him started to fade again. He could hear Gale talking, but it just went back to jumbled sounds. The pain started taking over again, but the darkness pulled him down and it all faded until it was just blissful nothingness.
***
Gale looked down at his brother with a worried expression. It gave him some relief when Nova woke up for a bit. Only he was just so confused. With the bleeding and broken bones, he was not in a good shape.
Nova's room was quiet.
The only sound was his brother's struggling breaths. He managed to stop most of the bleeding. The broken bones he'll leave for Lera to fix.
A pained groan sounded from the bed and Gale leaned forward.
It looked like Nova was walking up. His breathing was off, almost sounding panicked.
"Hey.... Dami" Gale said softly "You need to keep still, Kiddo... Can you hear me, Nova?"
The miss matched eyes flickered open.
Nova's breathing caught for a moment, and then he started coughing. Quickly Gale helped his brother up a bit, clapping him gently on the back so he wouldn't hurt him.
When the coughing stopped, there was even more blood running down his chin.
"Lay back down..." Gale said as he let Nova lay down.
Nova's eyes focused on Gale. For a moment it looked like he wanted to say something, before groaning. He coughed.
"Easy now, Kiddo" Gale said, frowning as he noticed the bandages were dirty again. With a sigh he grabbed the first aid bag.
Before he could start undoing the bandages, the doorbell rang. He glanced at Nova. "Hold on... I'll be back in a little bit... Lera's here" he said, before he quickly left the room.
Lera stood on the other side of the door, holding her bag. "What happened?" she asked as she stepped into the house.
"A building collapsed on him and he must have gotten knocked out" Gale said "He got pretty banged up"
"Alright.... I got it" Lera said, immediately walking over to where Nova's room is. There was a worried frown on her face, but she did not say anything. If anything could hurt Nova enough to make Gale call her, it was usually bad.
The room was quiet.
Nova lay curled up on his side, taking small gasping breaths. The bandages around his wounds were already bloody and it looked like Gale was about to change them.
"How on earth did you manage to let this happen?" Lera asked as she quickly got everything out of the bag. One hand reached towards Nova, her power testing his body to see all the damage.
"Dammit, Dominic" she said as she turned back to her bag "How on earth did a building do this to you? Did you get distracted or something?"
Nova groaned as his eyes opened. ".... Lera..." he managed, pushing himself up a bit, only for his arm to give in beneath him and he collapse back against the pillows with a groan..
"Hallo, Dominic" Lera said, narrowing her eyes at him "Now.... I'm going to put you back together, but I will be knocking you out. Argue and I will make you regret it"
"...fuck you...." Nova groaned.
Lera rolled her eyes. "Let's get moving" she said as placed a hand over his forehead.
Within a few second, Nova's eyes rolled back and he went limp.
"You idiot" Lera said as she started treating his wounds. It did not take her very long before she finished.
"Lera" Gale said from the door.
"Come on in" she said as she focused on Nova's arm. It was a really bad break.
"How's it going?" he asked.
Lera huffed. "Like always.... I took care of the lacerations and bruising" she said "It's only his arm left now. I know this idiot has high pain tolerance, but he's going to hurt when he wakes up... So just keep an eye on him"
Gale nodded. "Thanks, Lera..." he said "I know he's difficult..."
"Not when he's sleeping" Lera said "then he's the perfect patient.... Now you either help or get out"
"Sorry Ma'am..." he said with a smile "But I know you'll ask if you need help"
"Exactly..." Lera said "So get out and let me work"
Gale nodded and quickly stepped out of the room. He breathed out and headed to Max's room. The kid was probably still sleeping.
"Hey, Kid" he said, knocking on the room.
"Yeah?" Max said from the inside "Come on in"
A slight smile formed on Gale's face as he stepped into the room. "You good?" he asked.
Max looked up from where he was playing on the laptop. "Yeah... I'm good" he said "Now's Dami?"
"Lera's with him now" Gale said "She said he'll be fine, but that it would hurt for a while"
Max snorted. "She's probably still mad at him so she would do her usually pain blocking on him" he said "So that's understandable.... He probably deserve it"
Gale chuckled and nodded. "Most likely"
***
Nova first became aware of the pain throbbing through his body. It was manageable, but still annoying.
It took him a moment before remembering what happened.
A building collapsed on him.
No wonder he felt like shit.
After that.... He couldn't remember exactly what happened, but somehow Amilia was there. But that could not be possible, because she was not in the country at the moment.
Maybe he just dreamt it. He did hit his head pretty hard.
A shiver ran through him, followed by a sneeze. Hopefully he wasn't getting sick. That would be terrible. With a groan, he slowly sat up. Immediately pain shot through his ribs and arm.
"Dammit..." he muttered before he continued moving. It hurt, but not enough to keep him from moving. His head felt foggy, so he needed to find out what happened.
Shaking his head, he slowly got up. His arm was broken, and he could still feel Lera's power lingering in the air and around his wounds.
For a moment the world turned, his knees buckled beneath him and he collapsed back onto the bed, gasping softly. He did not think that would hurt so much.
This time waited for a moment, before slowly getting up again.
Holding his broken arm tightly against his body, he slowly limped towards the door. With his other hand he patted his pocket.
His phone wasn't there.
With a sigh he turned slightly looking around. Maybe his brothers put it somewhere in his room.
He couldn't see it anywhere.
"Dammit..." he muttered "The Princess are going to be so fucking mad"
With a sigh he turned back to the door, feeling the stitches pulling painfully. Lera did not hold back as when she stitched him up this time. Mostly she just heal it enough so he wouldn't bleed.
Obviously she was still mad at him.
Nova shook his head and limped out of the room. Each step hurt, but he could push it to the back of his mind. Slowly he made his way down the stairs towards the living room and kitchen.
There were voices coming from the living room.
It sounded like he brothers where alright. He could remember a bit of what happened, but it was so jumbled up that he wasn't sure it it happened before or after the building collapsed.
"What are you doing up?" Max asked as he looked up.
Nova pulled his hand through his hair as he limped towards the couch, sitting down.
"Seriously...." Gale said "You look like crap, why aren't you in bed?"
"Because... It's fucking boring" Nova said quietly. Everything hurt, even breathing made his chest ache. He just did not want to stay in his room. It gets a bit cramped.
Gale shook his head. "How do you feel?" he asked.
"Like I've been hit by a fucking truck" Nova said, slowly leaning back. He breathed out slowly. There was no need to agitate his injuries any more.
"Then you should stay in bed" Max said, frowning slightly "Do you think you can eat something?"
Nova hesitated. "Depends on what it is" he said.
"Lera dropped some microwave meals" Gale said.
"fine..." Nova mumbled, "I'll try.."
Max got up and walked to the kitchen. Gale turned to Nova.
"Are you sure you feel alright?" he asked.
Nova looked at his brother. "I told you..." he said "I feel like shit.... Everything fucking hurts"
Gale nodded. "Do you want some pain killers?" he asked.
"No" Nova said "It's fine"
"Are you sure about that?" Gale asked "You look terrible"
"Yeah.... Thanks, Max already mentioned it" Nova snapped, flipping his brother off.
"I know... I'm just making sure you know that" Gale said, sitting back "You gave us a pretty bad scare"
"Where's my phone?" he asked, flatly.
"In the kitchen" Gale said "It was bloody and wet. We barely managed to save it"
Nova nodded slightly. "Did you call the Princess?" he asked.
"She called after we came back" Gale said, crossing his arms "She was worried about your stupid ass"
Nova pulled a face at him. "At least someone cares" he said, just as Max returned with a plate.
"Here you go, Asshole" Max said, holding out the plate.
A slight smile pulled on Nova's face. "Thanks, Bastard" he said.
Max chuckled and fell down on the couch. "Good to see you're not dead" he said.
Kade slowly moved so he could sit with his back against the wall. He had no idea anymore how long they've been in the cave. At times his body hurt so badly that he just wanted to curl up and cry. Other times, it dimmed enough for him to be able to think a bit.
The others were doing alright as well. Riley have recovered enough not to look like he's going to die any second.
What worried him at the times that his head was clear, was that they needed water and food. What they had were dangerously little and they weren't going to get more.
"...."
"....."
Sudden movement next to him, made him flinch. Immediately the pain flared up again, making his vision blur for a moment.
"Kade... It's just me" Killian said, as he knelt next to Kade.
Kade tilted his head slightly as he looked at Killian. "What... do you want?" he asked.
"How are you feeling?" Killian asked, before glancing at the others.
"In pain..." Kade said, shifting slightly to relief the pressure on his ribs "How long... have we been in here?"
Killian looked up at Beck and Riley, but they also just shook their head. With a sigh he turned his attention back to Kade. "I'm sorry man..." he said "You mind if I check your injuries?"
Kade nodded slightly.
Taking a deep breath, Killian unwrapped the makeshift bandage around Kade's head. That was the injury he was worried about the most. And the broken arm.
Kade could barely move his arm.
Winching slightly, Killian pulled the bandages away. The wound looked worse than before. He could have sworn that Kade's skin fell hotter than it should.
"Kay...." he said, glancing at Kade's pale and blood crusted face.
"It's.... not good...." Kade muttered.
Killian shook his head. "I'm sorry, man..." he said "We really need to get out of here"
Kade just closed his eyes. He was to tired to care at the moment. Everything had started to feel foggy and confusing. He could feel himself starting to fade again.
Killian clenched his jaw as he redid the bandages around Kade's head. They did not even have enough water for him to clean the wound. It worried him that Kade's breathing was so fast.
"How is he?" Beck asked as Killian limped back to them.
"I don't know...." Killian muttered "I think I should try and used my ability again... We need the water"
"Just don't exhaust yourself" Riley said "We don't know how long we'll be here"
Killian nodded before glanced at Kade. "he's not going to last much longer..." he said "His breathing's been getting worse and.... he's getting much weaker..."
Riley nodded. "I can feel his blood.... The flow is getting weaker and.... I think he might have blood poisoning" he said quietly.
"That is not good..." Beck said, clenching his teeth "If only I could make a proper portal for us to get out of here"
"It's not your fault Beck..." Killian said.
Beck looked over at Kade. The shadow user was pale, he could see it even in the faded light of their small fire.
"I'm going to keep an eye on him" Killian muttered "He's not good"
***
"Dammit..." Killian said as he reached for his power. He filled up the water bottle, before turning back to Kade. The other guy had gotten paler as time went by.
For a moment Kade's eyes flickered open. They struggled to focus on Killian.
"Hey..." Killian said as he leaned over Kade "Kay... Can you hear me?"
"...Kill?" he muttered, his voice barely had any strength in it.
"Yeah.... It's me buddy" Killian said, before taking his glasses off and cleaning them. He was surprised that they even survived everything that happened. "How are you feeling?"
Kade's eyes started flickering close again.
"No no..." Killian said, tapping Kade's cheek "Come on, buddy.... keep your eyes open for me alright?"
"...Don't... feel good..." Kade mumbled.
"I know, man..." Killian said, looking at Riley and Beck.
Kade nodded slightly. "....I'm... sorry...." he said as he tried to sit up, only almost pass out immediately.
Killian caught his shoulders, stopping him hitting the cave wall with his head again. "Dammit... Kade, stop moving" he said "You are in no shape to try and get up"
It took a few minutes, before Kade's eyes flickered open again.
"Thank goodness..." Killian said "Don't do that again"
Kade wanted to nod, but the pounding in his head had gotten much worse. He just wanted to sleep, but somewhere in his tired mind, he knew that it would be bad.
"...Beck..." he said, barely able to get his voice to work.
Beck jumped slightly as he looked at Kade. "Um... Yes...?" he asked, hesitantly walking over.
"... Your portals.... send... a message... to... Bella" Kade said, as a chill ran through his body, making him shiver violently.
For a moment Beck just stared at Kade, like he did not know what to say. Then he cussed and aimed a kick at the ground. "Why the hell did I think about that?" he said.
The corner of Kade's mouth pulled into a slight smirk, but he did not say anything as he started coughing.
Pain tore through his chest, leaving him gasping even worse than before.
Killian cussed, as he kept Kade from making his arm any worse. When the coughing stopped, Kade just slumped back and Killian looked at Beck.
"We have to try it..." he said "He's got a fever... And his heart is beating way to fast. I don't know how long he's going to last...."
Beck nodded. "What do we write the message on?" he asked.
"My phone" Riley said "I don't have signal, but it still works"
"You still have your phone?" Killian asked surprised.
Riley nodded. "Yeah..." he said "Let's get this going..."
Beck nodded and quickly turned to Riley. "Come on, Ri..." he said "Let's get this over with so we can get out of here"
Kade watched them for a moment, before closing his eyes. He didn't feel so sick, he could have teleported one of them out, but if he tried anything like that now, the person would probably end up dead, ripped to pieces by the teleportation.
Slowly his eyes started closing again. He was much to exhausted to stay awake anymore.
"Kay..." Killian's voice said "Try to stay awake... Alright?"
Kade coughed weakly before opening his eyes. Everything was blurred and in a haze of pain and confusion.
"Alright... we're done..." Beck said "I think the portal went to her room... So if she's there, she'll get it"
"That's a relief..." Killian said as he summoned more water, letting the temperature of the water drop. He turned his attention back to Kade. Carefully he tried to clean the wound on Kade's head again, but it only made the water turn bloody.
"Dammit..." he cussed softly.
"What's wrong?" Riley asked as he walked over.
"The bleeding's not stopping...." Killian muttered and looked over at Riley.
Riley glared down at Kade. "We're not going to let you bleed to death" he said.
".... Wouldn't..." Kade muttered.
He started fading again. At times he could hear the others talking, but other times it was just darkness. Time slipped away from him. He had no idea what was going on anymore.
***
"We still have some water?" Beck asked.
Killian nodded and handed Beck the water bottle. "There.... that's all we have left... I don't... Think I can make any more" he said.
"We're all hungry and weak" Riley said "So save your strength.. We might need it later on"
With a sigh, Killian nodded. "alright..."
Kade's eyes flickered open. His shadows felt strange, there was something agitating them. A light...
Killian looked down at Kade, just in time to see the other guy's eyes close and going limp.
"Kay?" he said, shaking Kade's good shoulder slightly "Hey... Kay... Come on... Wake up... Don't go to sleep now..."
No answer. Kade's breathing came in short uneven gasps.
"No no no..." Killian said, eyes widening "Come on, Kay... Please don't...."
Sounds came from the other side of the rubble. Small rays of light broke through the cracks between the fallen rubble. It became brighter and brighter.
Everyone covered their faces as the light became even brighter. Without warning the rubble started to disintegrate.
Killian immediately moved over Kade, making sure nothing it the other guy. Just in case more rocks started falling on them again.
Then the rubble disappeared. Figures moved into the light.
"Guys!" a familiar voice called out.
"Bella!" Killian said, his voice breaking slightly, as he shot to his feet.
Bella stepped into the cave, her light lighting up everything inside, showing just how bad the four guys looked.
"Hey" Bella said with a smile and quickly walked over to Killian.
He wrapped his arms around her. "I'm... so glad to... see you" he said quietly "Thank you..."
Bella breathed out and nodded. "You guys had us so worried...." she said softly "All of you"
Killian nodded and pulled back. "You need to get Kay out of here..." he said "He's hurt very badly.... The rest of us are not so bad... please just get him out of here"
With a nod, Bella looked over at the others.
They were all dirty and looked tired and hungry. Then he eyes went over to where Kade lay. He looked ghostly.
More people rushed into the cave, crowding the others.
Immediately Bella moved towards Kade, but stopped the moment his shadows started moving. Biting her lip she watched him for a moment. She did not want to cause him more pain.
"It's okay..." Killian said as he quickly went over to his friend. He knelt next to Kade. "Hey.... They found us... We're going back... It's okay... They will take care of you, Kay... So just open your eyes"
Kade's eyes flickered open slightly. For a moment his eyes focused on Killian, then they just rolled back.
Bella cussed, quickly walking over to where Kade lay. "Come on... let's get him out of here" she said "Now is not the time to be worried about what the light will do... We need to get moving" she looked over at the others that came with her "Get over here... We've got an emergency here"
One of the field healers came over. "What's going on here?" he asked as he knelt down next to them.
"He's..." Killian started, before he just shut his eyes, trying to get his emotions under control "He hit his head... really badly and his arm is broken... I think he... he's sick... Cause he has a fever... and chills... and he just... He keeps on passing out...."
The field healer nodded. His eyes studied the young man that lay on the ground. "He's got septicemia..." the field healer said "Blood poisoning... One of his wounds must have gotten infected"
Bella nodded. "Take him back to the academy... make sure they treat him" she said.
Immediately the field healer frowned slightly. "Why....?" he started to ask, before shaking his head "Right... I will make sure they take care of him"
"Thank you, Naro" Bella said.
Naro nodded, placing his hand on the young man's shoulder. "Come on, kid" he said as he send some healing power into the other guy "Let's fix you up a bit so we can move you"
"Thank you" Bella said and stepped back. As she moved away, Kade seemed to relax a bit. She turned to Killian. "Let me take a look at you"
"I just... hurt my leg" Killian said as he slowly sat down "It's not that bad... Well not as bad as Kay..."
Bella nodded. "I'll do some first aid and then we can get you out of here" she said "I will make sure Kade is taken care off.. Alright?"
Killian nodded.
It didn't take long before Naro called some of the other field healers over and they carried Kade out of the cave.
"Are you sure they will take care of him?" Killian asked as he watched them leave with his friend.
Bella nodded. "Yes... Naro will make sure of it" she said "He's a good man"
Killian breathed out.
"Killian..." Riley said as he walked over to the others.
"I'm alright" Killian said, glancing at the spot where Kade lay before "They've taken him back to the academy..."
Beck came over. "That's good" he said, "Thank you... Thank you Bella...."
Bella looked at them. "I'm just glad we got here in time..." she said "Now let's get you guys out of here..."
***
Kade fought his way back to consciousness.
The pain slammed into him and for a second he wanted to go back into the darkness.
Slowly he opened his eyes.
Nothing wanted to go into focus. His head hurt and his arm throbbed. Everything else felt sore and like he's been staining his body to much.
"There you are..." a voice said softly.
Kade turned his head slightly, trying to get his eyes to focus. He could make out something red moving in his field of vision.
His sluggish mind, refused to work.
A gentle hand touched his arm. It felt warm. And nice.
"It's alright..." the voice said softly "But please.... just rest... Don't try to force yourself"
The voice faded again as Kade started drifting between consciousness. Slowly the darkness started lifting again, followed by the voices. Nothing wanted to make sense.
He groaned and managed to open his eyes slightly.
Again everything was hazy, blurred and out of focus. His body still hurt. The light felt to bright, so he closed his eyes again. It felt like there was something over his mouth and nose.
His arm felt stiff. It did not want to move.
"Hey... He's awake" an unfamiliar voice said.
Immediately Kade felt panic surge through him. Where was he? What was going on?
"Hey wow... Kid, take it easy... I'm not going to hurt you" the voice said "You're in the hospital... It's okay"
Kade tried to open his eyes again. The light stung him, but he ignored the pain. He tried to focus on the person talking. Everything hurt.
"Wow there..." the voice said, gently placing a hand on Kade's shoulder "easy now... You'll be alright... just breathe"
Finally Kade managed to focus on the figure next to his bed. He could make out a young man, leaning over him. The person had black hair and almost look familiar.
"There you go" the person said "Just take it easy, alright? You're save now..."
"...who... are... you?" Kade managed to ask.
"Naro" the guy said "I'm a field healer"
Kade frowned. "...where..." he started but ran out of breath, struggling to breathe.
"Easy man... You're pretty beat up" Naro said "Just breathe... Take it easy. Don't try to talk to much"
Slowly Kade closed his eyes again.
"You're probably worried about your friends" Naro said "Killian has a fracture in his right leg, but it's not to bad... Riley got a pretty bad concussion, they took care of that and he's recovering a few rooms away.... then Beck... He just got a few scratches and bruises..." he took a breath "They are all still in the hospital, being treated for malnutrition and dehydration...."
"...how.... long...?" Kade asked, before he coughed, trying to ignore the pain that went through his chest.
"You were gone for about 3 days" Naro said "You guys barely survived with the help of Killian's water"
Kade nodded slowly.
The others were alright. He was glad about that, now he could stop worrying about them.
"I'll tell your friends that you've woken up" Naro said with a smile "See you later and take care man... I don't want to see you get into more trouble"
Kade barely register what Naro said, as he started drifting off again. The relief that Killian and the others were alright. It would have been really bad if they went with him and got into trouble.
***
Bella watched as Killian limped next to her with the crutches. He refused to stay in his room for any longer.
"And he said Kay woke up?" Killian asked.
Bella nodded, trying not to laugh. "Yeah... He woke up... he's still in pretty bad shape, but he's alright" she said.
"Good.... He looked very bad" Killian said, with a serious expression "I really hope he'll give us a chance to go with him again..."
"That's what you're worried about?" Bella asked.
Killian nodded. "Of course.... Do you have any idea how long it took me to get him to agree to one of these trips" he said "He's not going to agree again..."
Bella shook her head. "Alright.." she said "But next time... make sure you tell someone where you go"
She stopped in front of a door and opened it, so that Killian could go in. The other guy limped into the room, immediately his eyes went to the bed. It looked like Kade was asleep.
He had an IV in his arm, thick white bandage around his head. His arm was in a cast. There was an oxygen mask over his face. The bruises and small cuts looked even more prominent.
Killian frowned as he limped over. "... He looks really bad..." he said softly.
Bell nodded. "Yeah... but he's alright... how did it happen?" she asked.
"He took the blunt force of everything...." Killian said "We just got thrown around a bit..."
Kade listened to the voices. This time they were familiar. Killian.... and Bella. Why? Why where they there? The pain wasn't as bad as before. Slowly he tried to open his eyes again.
Everything were hazy again, but it slowly cleared.
Carefully he turned his head towards the sounds. He could make out Killian stand next to the bed, with Bella a few steps behind him.
"...hey..." he muttered, voice muffled by the oxygen mask.
Killian's eyes lit up behind his glasses. "Kay!" he said happily and relieved "You're awake... damn man... you really scared me..."
Killian nodded. "We're okay... You're the one that's been out for the last two days" he said.
A slight frown formed on Kade's face. "...Two... days?" he asked.
"Yes" Bella said "You were gone for about 3 days... and then you were unconscious for another two"
Kade's green eyes focused on Bella. ".. You came..." he said "You... came for us..."
Bella smiled and nodded, moving closer and taking Kade's hand "Yes... I got Beck's message... I was sick with worry. You guys should have told us where you were going"
Kade gave her hand a weak squeeze. "..Sorry..." he mumbled as his eyes started closing again.
"It's okay... I'm just glad you guys are back" she said.
A lot of my favourite whump includes no whumper at all! Environmental whump and angst are amazing. When there is a whumper, I like one who is... not necessarily impersonal, but not personally interested in whomever they're whumping.
Their motive can be almost anything - coercion, interrogation, 'justice,' revenge, etc. - so long as it isn't about the victim as an individual. Even something seemingly personal, like revenge, can be done without that connection, because the person the whumper really wants to hurt might be dead or otherwise beyond their reach, so the whumpee just serves as a stand-in.
I think the main reason personally-motivated whumpers, like intimate whumpers, don't work as well for me is that they don't view the people they hurt as worthless. Even if a whumper sees someone as a slave, pet, or pretty toy, those things all have value - not the value a person has, but still value, as unique 'possessions.' For me, whump hits hardest when the person being whumped is viewed as worth absolutely nothing. Just completely valueless garbage.
This is all in regards to characters whose sole or primary identity is 'whumper.' I like characters who play multiple roles, so to be technically correct, my favourite whumpers are also whumpees, caretakers, and none of the above at different points. But I probably wouldn't call them whumpers then, just characters.
This one is tricky. No words give me whumperflies all on their own, or really prompt me to think about whump; it's about how the words are combined! But I'm a big fan of environmental descriptions, so - I'll list ten words which I find evocative of settings in which whump might be likely to take place.
Hello! This is my second time doing Whumpmas in July. I probably won't do every day, but with luck might do most. Last year I wrote a longish intro, and I have an intro post on my blog, so this year I'll keep it short (and inspired by the WiJ template).
Name: [Redacted.] Just call me Verkja on here.
Gender & pronouns: Man, he/him.
On whumpblr since: February 2022.
Current project(s): Just one - my (slowly) ongoing longer story. It's novel-format fantasy/adventure whump with a lot of angst. I also have a BTHB card which I update occasionally.
Top 5 whump tropes: Mutual caretaking, older whumpees, social outcast whump, angst, gore. And friendship, but - not exactly a whump trope.
That's about it! Looking forward to seeing everyone's entries to this event.
Oh, and @verkja is a sideblog. My main blog is @oldwoolhat, so if you see likes from there, it's me.
