Day 10: Share a sneak peek of something you're working on WIP
@whumpmasinjuly @whumpmasinjuly-archive
Haven’t really gotten to the whump portion of this fic yet (and, spoiler alert, there’s lab whump goodies) but it’s the only WIP I can share currently so have some pseudo transformation angst (Yes I’m writing more Tomorrow’s Catch-22 AU with Xavier shh)
I jumped at the sound and watched as Xavier simply snapped the Praedator’s neck with a vicious twist, then lunged for the next one.
I rolled out of the way and snatched my gun, but by the time I had aimed it, the rest of the Praedators were already down, dying or maimed.
Xavier stood among them, shoulders tense, panting, small tremors running through him.
“Xavier,” I said firmly, scrambling to my feet and striding over to him.
He spun around, eyes wild with the Frenzy, teeth bared. His eyes darted instantly to the dripping wound on my arm and he took a quick step forward.
I met him halfway, side-stepping to grab him by the chin, pushing his head up, as my other hand slid to his lower back and pressed the spot where his activator was.
Xavier gasped and his body loosened, slumping against me.
I caught him and he took several deep breaths before snaking his arms around me. I held him for a long moment, waiting for him to calm down, my own breaths coming hard as the adrenaline wore off.
Still Here, a JayVik Arcane drabble (10. WIP sneak peak for @whumpmasinjuly @whumpmasinjuly-archive)
So this was supposed to be a fic directly inspired by the tags @rio-19 left on an ask for @warmblanketwhump that I can’t find now. But I know I’m not going to finish it so here, have some JayVik post-canon angst <3
Viktor knows the nightmares are his fault. Of course they are. Jayce won’t say it, but it’s obvious what he’s dreaming about when he claws at the bedsheets and gnashes his teeth. When he shakes and sweats through to the mattress, his muscles tensed so stiff that in the morning Viktor can tell he aches because of it. He knows this, because the next day Jayce’s limp will be worse. Not that Jayce is complaining about that either - Viktor’s not sure if Jayce doesn’t want to admit to the pain or if he simply chooses to ignore it - he just runs his fingers up and down his leg, taking tiny sharp inhalations when he presses too hard on those tender nerves that never really healed.
“Jayce?”
There’s no answer. Viktor leans forward, peering over him with worry. He doesn’t know what Jayce is seeing, not really. It was a different version of him, an old man that Viktor can’t picture, because he never thought he would live that long. And yet. Here he is, lying in bed - their bed - the sound of the bubbling stream that runs past their cottage blending with the rushing blood in his head. He can hear his own heart sometimes: steady. Mechanical. Human. An inexplicable combination of both.
Jayce whimpers in his sleep, and Viktor can see tiny beads of sweat dotting his forehead in little light that flickers through their bedroom window. Viktor lifts one arm and wipes Jayce’s skin with his bare hand, flesh and metal touching flesh and blood. They don’t really know what, exactly, Viktor’s body is anymore. More human than mechanical being, sure, but he still has traces of purple lines that glint metallic in the sun. His skin is harder than it should be, and sometimes a flash of the arcane makes itself known in pale eyes and glittering veins. They don’t know how to use that part of Viktor either, but they’ll figure it out eventually. They have time now, after all. And there were other things at the forefront of their mind when they realized they had, somehow, been given a second undeserved chance at happiness. Even if this is all just a hallucination, Viktor worries sometimes, or even the afterlife, it doesn’t matter as long as they get to stay together.
But in Jayce’s nightmares, he’s all alone. Jayce doesn’t talk about them much, but over time Viktor has pieced together a vague image of desperation. Of piercing cold, aching hunger, and the madness that forced isolation brings on terrifyingly quickly. Viktor can see it play out live behind Jayce’s eyes each time Jayce grabs his forearm and says with a sob of relief, “You’re still here.”
“I’m still here,” Viktor always repeats after him. Not the version of him that managed to torture Jayce through multiple timelines; not the version of him that causes Jayce to grip his throat when a bad memory catches up to him.
Share a sneak peek of something you're working on WIP
Like everything else I've been doing for the writing prompts of this event, here's some more of "Their Sacred Vow"! This is set within my planned Prologue of the story, aka the day of Evangeline's capture and Callisto receiving the ransom note. The beginning of "used as bait" that got me starting this story in the first place, lol.
Their Sacred Vow Masterlist
Callisto
Callisto marched straight into the tent and slammed the chest down on the table. Everyone fell dead silent, staring at her.
"If this is one of your ideas as some sort of sick joke, I'm not laughing." she growled.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Odrith's head general open his mouth, anger sparking in his gaze. But Muirgel held a hand up and he backed down.
Holding her mentor's gaze firmly, Callisto struggled to keep her breathing level, to find some sort of calm as Muirgel crossed around the war table to take the chest from her.
Others came forward out of curiosity, though standing back to stay out of the princess' circle of wrath. Several let out gasps and some swore as they saw the bloodied feathers and ashen stained braid laid out within the velvet interior. Maybe the impact would have been more if she'd left the ring inside, but she felt better knowing it was safely hidden inside her pocket.
"This was with it." she said, handing Muirgel the short letter.
As her mentor read the letter aloud, Callisto didn't hear her. Instead her ears fixed on the sound of far off commotion. Horse hooves headed their way. Ignoring the generals and military heads beginning to argue behind her, she left the tent so see a harried and frantic rider already halfway through the camp towards the war tent. The world tilted around her as he dismounted nearby and went inside. She followed him just in time to hear him pant:
"The Kingdom of Golatis has fallen. The royal palace has been destroyed. There are no survivors."
Her knees hit the ground first. Ringing drowned out the burst of noise as everyone started talking at once.
No survivors. No. There was one. Unless she failed to fulfill an impossible task. Then there would be none.
Hands took her shoulders and she looked up to see Muirgel watching her closely. "Don't let them see you crumble." she said firmly. "Emotions later, mission first."
Letting out a slow breath, Callisto nodded, clenching her jaw as she stood to join the rest around the table.
Share a sneak peak of something you're working on!
Jack bent sideways, tapping Dani on the back of her left knee. “Proverbs 23, verses thirteen through fourteen. Withhold not correction from the child; for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.” He whipped the back of Dani’s knee with such vigor that it sent her crashing down onto them, inhaling shakily. “Thou shall beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from Hell.”
Share a sneak peek of something you're working on WIP!
TW: BBU setting, implied non-con body modification
An excerpt from the short story I'm working on:
"Where's handler Weaving? He supervises my medical visits?" There was a lump in his throat making it really hard to get the words out. He had no right to question the handlers, - and he never would, he knew better, - but the stranger in the pristine white lab coat set him off.
"There's no need for supervision here, it's a simple aesthetic procedure, not one of your regular check-ups," they grinned, and pushed the cart they'd prepared closer to the bed '09 was strapped to. He could easily see the neat rows of syringes and scalpels of various sizes, laid out for their convenience.
-> 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!)
Day 10: Share a sneak peek of something you're working on!
“Stop,” Tobias choked out. He staggered back a half-step, hand falling from the vampire’s face.
What— what the hell—
The girl immediately obeyed. Her body language shifted abruptly, from— temptress? What the hell had she been…?— It shifted back to her usual timid obeisance.
Fuck.
He ran a hand over his face. He—
He couldn’t deal with this.
---
In which Tobias, a sex-repulsed asexual, deals with the after-effects of an incredibly messed-up vampire hitting on him.
Day 10: Share a sneak peek of something you're working on!
I'll give a few from different stories!
(Under read more due to it being a little long)
This is my fault.
He strapped the bow and arrows on his back.
If I hadn't argued with him, this wouldn't have happened.
He let out a deep sigh, an attempt to calm himself before he would head out. This rescue mission was going to be a dangerous one, and he needed to have a clear head before he left.
Alder…
He turned on his heel and left the room.
I will save you. Just hang on!
"I don't like this at all," Keme said for the tenth time today. Drusus rolled his eyes in annoyance at that. While he understood why his husband would believe something was up, the monk was sure there was nothing nefarious happening.
Just a few days ago, they helped rescue a noble from some bandits. The noble was thankful of them, and when he realized that the two were the legendary Warriors of Light, he offered them dinner at his place. Drusus declined politely, but the man insisted on treating the two. Eventually, Drusus accepted.
Keme, however, was suspicious. He pointed out how no one had heard of this noble; not even Queen Sarah heard of him, according to her letter to Keme. Plus, the way he insisted on treating them to dinner rubbed him the wrong way. However, Drusus didn't believe him, shaking his head when Keme pointed those out.
Edelgard held out both of her hands to Byleth, as if she beckoned him to take her hand despite being rendered unconscious. As the two continued to sink to the bottom, Edelgard kicked her legs to try to get closer to her husband. Every kick caused her to inch closer. And closer.
Eventually, her hand brushed against Byleth's fingers. Once she was close enough, she grabbed his hand before pulling him into her arms.
As she held his unconscious, bleeding form, her lungs began to burn from the lack of oxygen. Her cheeks puffed up, and her chest began to hurt. Her eyes widened as the adrenaline slowly began to wear off, forcing her to realize the situation at hand.
I can't swim.
