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kabie-whump · 21 days

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CYOA Whump - Part 11

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You chose: Yes! Father didn’t raise a quitter.

cw: metaphorical needles, coughing up blood

⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

You're exhausted but you choose to push yourself even harder, squeezing your eyes closed. Controlling the winds is your birthright. You shouldn't have to struggle for it.

You can feel your whole body trembling. The pain has spread from your head through the rest of your body, a sensation like being prodded with thousands of needles. Under the roaring of wind you can hear yourself crying out.

"This has to stop, captain! He can't-"

"Silence, boy."

"But he-"

"I said shut it!"

You can't get enough air. It's like your magic is pulling the very breath from your lungs. You gasp and cough, the metalic taste getting stronger as you spit out blood.

Rough hands grab your face, tilting your head back. "Kid? Open your eyes."

You can't. Your eyelids are too heavy. An open palm slaps you across the cheek and even that doesn't bring you any closer to awareness.

"Alright. You're done. Stop it."

You can't do that either. You've opened the dam that holds your magic at bay too wide and you don't have the energy to close it again. You can feel your life force draining away...

When you wake up it's in small waves of realization. First, you're horizontal, not tied sitting up like you have been so far. There's a thin mattress under you and a blanket covering you. Your hands are cuffed together and resting on your stomach.

You pry your eyes open. The room is small and dark except for the soft orange light of a lantern. Sitting at your bedside is Onthyes.

He looks up, smiling when he sees you awake. "Thank the gods. I wasn't sure if you've make it. You've been out for a whole day and night."

You groan, your throat painfully dry.

"Here." Onthyes helps you sit up, and a clinking sound catches your attention. There's a length chain attached to your cuffs that reaches out and connects to a similar cuff around Onthyes's left wrist.

He holds a cup of water to your lips, letting you drink your fill before he gives you some bread and jerky. You're able to feed yourself with your bound hands, but the chain connecting you and Onthyes serves as a constant distraction.

"Why are we chained together?" you ask when you're finished eating.

"Captain doesn't want you unsupervised for even a second now that you aren't tied up. And he said I'd discourage any escape attempts, since my body would be too heavy for you to lug around if you decide to kill me."

You raise an eyebrow at him. "I could cut off your hand."

Onthyes winces. "Please don't do that."

You hum, not making any promises. You're not even sure you're capable of doing something like that, but he doesn't need to know that.

⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

CYOA whump taglist: (let me know if you want to be added or removed): @scp-1296 @sapphicccici @acer-gaysimpstuff @morning-star-whump @rainydaywhump @whumperofworlds @hauntedroseart @3-2-whump @fleur-a-whump @whumpsday @whumpisfun @whumper-whimsy @ghost-whump @fabled-whump @violets-whumperflies @whumped-by-glitter @thewhumpening-thesequel @lumpofsand @whumpycries @unicornbeck @gala1981 @a-formless-entity

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whump-side · 1 year

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I changed the prompt a little bit for this request, hope you won't mind Anon ! What if it's a caretaker with healing powers, but they have to take onto themself whumpee's pain to heal them. While it's not life-threatening, it still hurts like real injuries. Pros : they don't have to ask whumpee what's wrong, because they feel it Cons : hurts like the real deal and can't be treated with medecine. So sometimes it can last hours before the pain vanishes

#whump art #whump #blood #magical exhaustion #power at a cost #nosebleed

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whump-or-whatever · 1 year

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uhhh got any prompts for an angel whumpee? maybe with a human whumper and/or demon caretaker? (sorry if this isn't specific enough i don't usually request prompts 😭)

Your wish is my command, I shall try my best 🧐 (I’m playing with different potential powers/weaknesses/celestial rules/etc.)

I feel like wing whump is a given (restrain them, injure them, pluck them, etc.)

Angel whumpee whose wings are so sensitive that mere touch can be painful

Angel whumpee crashes while flying

Angel whumpee overexerting their magical powers (MY BELOVED)

Angel whumpee who takes over a human host but the human body can’t sustain them and it starts deteriorating

Maybe a human whumper purposefully traps the Angel whumpee in their human host cause they know it won’t last long

Angel whumpee being tortured while in a human host but the Angel has never experienced pain before so it’s SO much worse

Alternatively, Angel whumpee who has a crazy high pain tolerance to the point that human whumper just tires themself out

Angel whumpee stranded on Earth alone, without their powers, utterly helpless

Demon caretaker wants to help Angel whumpee but whenever they touch each other their skin burns

Demon caretaker trying to help with their eyes closed because seeing the Angel whumpee’s wings is blinding to them

Angel whumpee falling from grace and having demon caretaker show them the ropes in hell

Angel whumpee being really reluctant to accept help from demon caretaker

Alternatively, demon caretaker being really reluctant to help Angel whumpee

What about an Angel whumpee who’s just, like… really bad at angeling? I’m not gonna elaborate on that lol

Angel whumpee who did something wrong is being punished in heaven and demon caretaker risks everything to go up there and save them

Demon whumper turned caretaker?

Human whumper doesn’t realize that whumpee is an Angel at first and when they find out they’re terrified, tripping over themself to apologize

Angel whumpee breaking free and blinding human whumper with their true form

Angel whumpee getting passed around between multiple whumpers because they heal instantly and therefore are endless fun

Demon caretaker going after human whumper for what they did to Angel whumpee

Angel whumpee actually just convincing human whumper that what they’re doing is wrong and they should stop

Demon caretaker who is usually super down for violence and torture and stuff, just not where Angel whumpee is involved

Feel free to add any others y’all can think of!

#thanks for the ask!#whump #whump prompt #whump idea #whump scenario #whump community #whump tropes #whumpblr #whump prompts #whumpee #angel whumpee #demon caretaker #human whumper #Angel whump #wing whump #magical exhaustion

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aceofwhump · 1 year

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No. 27 PUSHED TO THE LIMIT: Magical Exhaustion

@whumptober @whumptober-archive

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linecrosser · 6 months

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Whumptober 2023 - Day 26 - Magical exhaustion / Curse

#whumptober #whumptober2023 #magical exhaustion #curse #blood #unconcious #achaar djaanib #kujuun #recha #whump #whump art

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whumpsday · 9 months

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Annie's Prisoners

Writing Masterlist | G/t writing tag

g/t sideblog here! @smallsday

content: g/t, whump, tiny whump, fairy whumpee, begging, rescue, captivity, wing whump, magical exhaustion, bullying

Whumpmas in July Day 21: "Please" GT July Day 21: Secret

here's the last of the GT July "crossovers" i'm doing during WIJ! it was fun to write more tiny whump :)

"Okay, but you don't tell anyone."

Annie got down on the floor, pulling a pink plastic hamster cage out from under her bed.

Parisa could hardly believe what she was seeing. Inside the cage was what looked like a fairy, no more than four inches tall, cowering in the corner. He had wings, but they stopped abruptly about halfway through, leaving him with uneven little trapezoids.

The fairy didn't look pleased to see either of them, hiding himself as well as he could inside the plastic tube running up one wall of the cage- which wasn't very well at all, considering the tube was transparent.

Parisa knelt down on the carpet to see closer, star-struck. "What is this?"

"My fairy!" Annie boasted. "I caught him myself, he was drinking from the birdbath in the backyard! I just shot him with Calvin's Nerf gun and grabbed him while he was all dazed and stuff. Don't act surprised, it's not like you haven't insisted fairies were real since preschool."

Annie was right, Parisa had always been obsessed with fairies. Her notebooks were covered with fairy stickers, she'd spent her whole childhood playing Pixie Hollow, and she'd read book after book on faery mythology. A part of her had always believed that with so many different stories and accounts of them, fairies had to exist in some form, somewhere. Even as she got older and felt more and more that she was being silly, a small part of her always knew.

And she was right.

She would normally be jumping for joy, but... the fairy was obviously not as enamored with Annie's recollection of his capture. He teared up a little, hugging himself as he cringed as far away from them as possible, his severed wings tucked behind him.

Parisa frowned. "He looks kind of sad."

Annie waved away her concern. "He's always pouting. But I haven't even shown you the cool part. He can do magic and stuff!"

The fairy's head snapped up at that, a look of horror dawning on his face.

"But I already did a spell for you today!" Though it seemed like he was attempting to shout, his voice came out tinny and quiet, just as small as he was.

"You can do another for Rissie," Annie said firmly. "But yeah, seriously, you can't tell anyone. Can you imagine? Some government prick would totally take him away from me to experiment on him or whatever, like in the movies."

"Do your parents know?" Parisa asked.

"Oh god no. But I'm taking him to college with me in September, so I won't have to worry about that anymore." Annie sat cross-legged, picking the cage up and moving it into her lap to rest her arms on. The fairy grimaced as she began drumming her fingers absentmindedly on the lid.

"I've had him for almost two months now. I would've shown you sooner, but I wanted to wait until after graduation so you couldn't tell anyone at school. It's not like you talk to anyone besides me anyway, but can't be too careful. But Ciel can change that!"

She held the cage up triumphantly. "I knew you'd be totally helpless without me since we're going to different schools, so I wanted to make sure you were aaaaall set. He can't do like, big things, he's not a genie. But he can do little things. Like make you a little luckier for a while, stuff like that. I use it for studying, too. But I figured he could do a charisma spell on you or something, and it'd help you make new friends at your little state school!"

"I can't do another spell yet, please, I already did one! I don't have enough magic left," Ciel pleaded, looking up at Annie as his tears started to fall. "You said college isn't something that starts until autumn, there's time! It'll hurt too much if I do another now, please no more!"

Parisa's shock slowly gave way to horror as the fairy's deplorable conditions became more and more apparent. She wanted to say something, but she knew Annie would just get defensive and guilt her if she did.

"Yeah, it'd probably be more effective closer to September anyway," Parisa agreed quickly, unable to push down a feeling of hope that Ciel would like her for agreeing with him.

"Fine, whatever," Annie sighed, roughly shoving the cage back under the bed. Parisa got the feeling she was more interested in showing off than actually helping. "Then you can see him more then. He's my fairy, after all. Let's go back downstairs."

Parisa followed Annie, but didn't take her eyes off the dark space under the bed until the door was firmly shut behind them.

It was hard to go back to hanging out normally, and she couldn't keep herself from asking question after question about Ciel. Parisa really wanted to just see him again, but she knew he would hate that, so she didn't ask to.

But as Annie told story after story, it only solidified the fact that what was happening here was wrong. She was practically torturing the delicate little creature, draining him of magic to his absolute limit.

Parisa dreaded the answer, but she couldn't not ask. "What happened to his wings?"

"Don't be a baby about it, but I had to trim them after he tried to fly away one time," Annie said, like it was nothing.

"Wouldn't that hurt?" She tried to do what Annie said, to not be a baby about it, but it was getting ridiculously hard. She wanted to cry, hearing her best friend had done something like that.

"No, it was like getting a haircut, I think. Except permanent. He didn't like, scream or anything." Annie shoved her lightly on the arm. "I said don't be a baby."

"Right. Right." This was all wrong. This wasn't how discovering fairies were real was supposed to be. She had to get out of Annie's face. "I feel like I'm gonna be sick," she lied.

"Ew, go." Annie pointed upstairs. "God, you're so sensitive."

Parisa darted up to the bathroom, where she felt like she could breathe a little better. How was she supposed to live the rest of her life knowing Annie was torturing a fairy? They weren't even going to schools in the same state. She wouldn't be able to do anything to help. She might not ever get to see him again after whatever spell Annie wanted him to do.

Unless she took a peek right now.

Parisa snuck into Annie's room, hoping she wouldn't come to check on her, and carefully pulled the cage out from under the bed.

Ciel clung to the metal spout of the water bottle, like she'd interrupted him while he was drinking. He looked around wildly, relaxing a little bit when he realized Annie wasn't here. "Is she coming?" he asked, his voice so quiet Parisa could just barely hear him.

"No. I'm not supposed to be in here," she admitted. "I just wanted to see you again. And, um, check if you're alright."

"I'm not," he answered without hesitation, eyes still shining with tears. "I don't know how much longer I can go on like this. Please, I desperately need help, Miss." He tentatively stepped forward, though his little hands shook. "Rissie, she said your name was?"

"Parisa. You're Ciel?" she asked.

"I am. Please, I can- I'll come back and do a spell for you, once I've had a chance to rest. If you would just..."

He pointed toward the window with a trembling finger. "Please?"

Oh, Parisa wanted so badly to help. "But your wings? How will you get down?"

Ciel sobbed. "I don't know. I need to be away from here, she plans to keep me imprisoned for life. She's careless, she's going to kill me and I won't even get to die outdoors!"

Parisa had to do something, even if it meant she would lose her only friend. She was probably going to lose her either way anyway, once they left in September.

She unlatched the cage, holding a hand bigger than Ciel's whole body out to him. "I'll help. You just have to trust me."

It was obvious from his face that Ciel had a strong distaste for being grasped in human hands. But with no other options, he climbed readily into Parisa's palm. "Please be gentle," he begged.

She was holding a real fairy. It was like a dream, but Parisa couldn't get caught up in that now, she had to focus on protecting him. She brought Ciel to the front pocket of her hoodie, carefully placing him inside. "Try not to make any noise or move around too much. I'll keep you safe, I promise."

Parisa could feel the fairy's little heartbeat thrumming away against her as she headed back downstairs.

"Yeah, I'm really not feeling good," she told Annie. "I think I'm just gonna go home."

"'Kay, whatever." Annie shrugged. "If you get over yourself by tomorrow, you can come watch him do a spell for me."

Annie would figure out it was her, Parisa knew. But what could she do? It wasn't like she could tell anyone she stole her fairy. And now that they'd graduated high school, she could just... never see Annie again, if she felt like it.

"Goodbye, Annie." Parisa walked out the door without another word.

She waited until she'd walked far enough away from Annie's house and she couldn't see anyone else around to stick her hand in her pocket, offering it to Ciel. "Coast is clear."

He crawled into her hand, and Parisa lifted him out. His eyes instantly went up toward the stars, and she saw him smile for the first time.

"Thank you," he breathed. "It's really over?"

"It's over. I won't let her take you back," Parisa assured him. "What do you want to do?"

"What I want...? I can't just fly off," Ciel lamented. "I'm not sure yet. I- I sort of just want to rest now. She keeps me so tired all the time."

"You can rest. Do you wanna go back in my pocket?" Parisa asked.

He nodded. "Yes, I think I do."

Parisa softly set him back down inside, both of them feeling freer than they'd ever been as she walked them home.

tune in monday for some alien whump! 👽 and the following thursday for some kane & jim

this is ciel's cage btw. never put a living creature in this monstrosity

everything taglist:

@lilac-and-lemon-whumps

@t0rture-me

@whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump

@dismemberment-on-a-tuesday-night

@whumpshaped

@pigeonwhumps

@the-scrapegoat

@whumpycries

one-shots taglist:

@icyheart-and-friends

@kira-the-whump-enthusiast

@whuarri

@reborrowing

g/t whump taglist:

@whumpinthepot

@cupcakes-and-pain

@reborrowing

event: @whumpmasinjuly @gianttol

#gtjuly #gtjuly2023 #whump #g/t #whumpmasinjuly2023 #wij23day21 #my writing #tiny whump #fae whumpee #fairy whumpee #rescue #captivity #begging #wing whump #magical exhaustion #whump writing

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adrift-in-thyme · 6 months

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Whumptober Day 25: "They're not breathing!" + Storm

Read it on Ao3

- Hyrule & Legend

- Summary: Hyrule uses the last of his magic to save his brother's life

CW for temporary character death, blood and injury

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He’s not breathing.

Hyrule stares down his brother, his predecessor (for goodness sake, they just figured that one out), broken and bleeding and pale.

“Legend…”

He murmurs his name as a prayer, a plea, a demand. His voice cracks at the end, betraying the sorrow that swells within him like the waves he has seen in Wind’s Hyrule.

He waits for the response, reassuring and teasing, probably with a hint of sarcasm. And while he waits, the rain pours down and the thunder shakes the earth and the lightning streaks across the sky. It storms in a mockery of the boy who hates storms, yet faces them with all the ferocity they embody, all the fervor and bravery.

The boy who has fallen before them and risen again.

“Come on, Ledge.”

Shaking fingers press to a pulse point, searching for the weakest flutter of a heartbeat. Nothing.

No response. No thunder of a hero’s pounding heart.

Hyrule chokes on a ragged sob.

It had all happened so fast, too fast to understand, too fast to stop. The fight had been long and arduous. The monsters just kept coming and with it only being the two of them, it had begun to grow exhausting. And when a towering stal-monster had swung its claymore there had been no time to lunge for his brother.

Hyrule cringes, remembering the nauseating sound of the weapon connecting with Legend’s body. He had gone flying, hit the ground in a tangle of bloodied limbs, and not moved since.

But I need you to. Please, Legend.

Their potions are gone, horribly understocked to begin with (they hadn’t thought they were headed towards a fight; it was just supposed to be a quick patrol), and drunk early in the battle. He’s all but drained of magic. There is hardly enough to perform something simple, much less a healing spell.

But he has to do something, he can’t just sit here and wait for the moment when the others arrive (if they ever do, if some of the plentiful monsters didn’t slip away and attack them too). He can’t just sit here and watch Legend die.

(No, he’s not already dead even though his chest no longer rises and falls and he is limp and pale and devoid of the life he holds and fights for. Hyrule won’t let himself believe anything else.)

Doing nothing isn’t an option. So, Hyrule takes a deep breath and steels himself. Using magic that isn’t truly there is always excruciating (he would know, he has done it more times than he’d like to admit). But he’ll live. And most important of all, so will Legend.

The rain beats down and the thunder still rolls across the plains. Hyrule turns his face up into it, eyes closed, allowing it a moment to wash the blood from him, the fear. Lightning flashes so bright he can see it through his eyelids.

And in one swift movement he reaches out and places his hands on Legend’s chest.

Usually, magic pours out of him, an effortless waterfall of the power that fills his very being. This time he drags it out kicking and screaming, forcing it through his veins, scraping as it goes. It shoots through his trembling fingertips, hot and agonizing, and Hyrule directs it into Legend. Every little bit of it.

He will give everything until that heart beats again. Even down to the last drop of magic.

His body protests, desperately trying to hang on to the fading shreds of power, shrieking in warning. Hyrule’s vision swims with shades of light and darkness. The rushing in his ears drowns out even the thunder. Everything hurts. His insides are on fire, his veins burning up, his head pounding out the rhythm of his erratic heartbeat.

Let go, everything within him screams at him, begs him. Stop this before you lose everything.

He cries out, sharp and strangled and hoarse, face upturned to the sky. The rain is like molten lava now, yet he shivers beneath its touch. His world has narrowed to nothing except this – pain and the goal he endures it to achieve.

Not much longer now and he will have no choice but to succumb to the rising darkness.

It comes like the onward march of life, inevitable and terrifying. Hyrule battles against it.

Not yet. I can’t stop yet.

Come on, Legend. Breathe!

The chest beneath him jolts and spasms. Someone begins to cough, hacking and breathless. A slumbering heart flutters to life.

Hyrule drags open his eyes. A pair of sharp blues meet his hazel, blinking dazedly at him.

“R-rulie?”

Hyrule lets out something between a sob and a laugh.

It worked. Oh, thank Hylia, it worked!

“H-hey Ledge,” he slurs, voice thick with exhaustion and remnant pain. His body still aches, phantom agony snaking up his limbs.

You pushed too hard, it whispers, in his veins and in his head. He ignores it.

It’s nothing he doesn’t already know. And to be honest, he doesn’t care. Legend is alive, and that’s all that matters.

“What happened?” Legend glances around, pupils dilating slightly as he tries to comprehend the rain-drenched destruction around him. Then, he looks back at Hyrule, taking in his undoubtedly sorry state. “Rulie did…did you...”

He drags his gaze up to meet his once more, something broken within them. It makes Hyrule startle slightly. He has never seen Legend look like that before. So open and vulnerable, so hopeful, yet so sad.

“Did you save me?”

Hyrule gives him a shaky smile. “I couldn’t just let my best friend die.”

Legend swallows, throat bobbing with the effort. “But…but your magic…”

Hyrule leans forward and puts a hand on his shoulder. The ground tilts threateningly in response. It won’t be long and he’ll be lying down beside Legend.

Ah, well. A nap sounds nice anyway.

“I’m…I’m okay, Ledge. It’ll replenish. It’s not the first time I’ve done something l-like this.”

Legend just stares at him for a moment. Then, he lets his head fall back into the mud with a defeated splash. A shaky chuckle escapes from cracked, bloodied lips. But it is a triumphant sound, a declaration that he is back, that he is alive.

“You idiot.”

The urge to lay down is too strong to deny any longer. With a trembling sigh, Hyrule settles down beside his brother, cringing a bit as the chilly mud clings to his battered body. His hand travels down to find Legend’s and he entwines their fingers, smiling a bit as he realizes his grasp is warm.

It had been growing cold just a few moments ago. And Legend is all flame and fire, all blinding light that can’t be put out. It isn’t right for him to look and feel like ice.

“You’re the idiot who almost died on me,” he mumbles, scooting a little closer. “Don’t you dare do that again.”

Legend gives his hand a weak squeeze. For a long moment he is quiet and Hyrule begins to drift off in the serene embrace of the dwindling rain. When he speaks his voice is hardly above an exhausted, strained whisper. But Hyrule hears it all the same.

“Thanks, Rulie. I owe you one.”

And as Hyrule fades away, he smiles.

He’d do it again. A thousand times, he would do it again.

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sasuga-whump · 10 months

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Kamen Rider Wizard - ep 5

Haruto collapses from magic overuse

#magic overuse #magical exhaustion #magical whump #collapse #sudden collapse #concerned caretakers #bedside vigil #power exhaustion #exhaustion #concerned teammates #toku whump #whump #asian whump #whump blog #whump community #japanese whump #jwhump #whump gifs #kamen rider wizard

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blackrosesandwhump · 10 months

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June of Doom Day 12

Prompt: “It’s no use.” (Explosion | Fainting | Trembling)

CW: magical exhaustion, bleeding out, near death, fainting (obviously)

"It’s no use," hero whispers. On his knees, he slumps forward, his hands shaking. "I can’t heal you. The wound’s too deep.” It’s too deep, and his power is used up. Weak and empty, he has just enough consciousness left to focus on breathing. He can barely get enough air. Even his lungs feel shriveled. Each shallow exhale puffs out in the cold, a little haze of fog in the dark.

“It was…worth a shot.” Villain’s skin has turned ash-grey. His hand, clamped over the bleeding wound in his side, tenses once and falls to his side, limp. "Too soon…for the pun?"

"Too…" hero starts, but a wave of weakness threatens to topple him, and he clenches his teeth instead. He doesn’t have the strength to smile anyway.

Villain smiles for him, a tiny curl of his bloodstained mouth. "It’s okay...you tried."

The encroaching darkness is so close now hero can almost taste it. Or maybe it's his own blood, his exhaustion starting to destroy him from the inside. "But…supervillain…"

"Supervillain...can go…to hell."

Villain’s words. The last thing hero hears before he collapses into…nothing.

@forthetaintedsorrow-whump @whumping-to-conclusions @whumping-out-of-time @juneofdoom

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crash-bump-bring-the-whump · 6 months

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Day 12 - Self Harm

Hehehe a little bit of a twist on the prompt, but Mariano is indeed harming himself, along with like 95% of the other people in this building :)

Ping list: @ailesswhumptober, @whumperofworlds, @whump-captain

TWs: blink-and-you-miss-it reference to the threat of noncon, blood, self-harm, hand whump, dislocated fingers, captivity (the moment of escape), death, murder, burns, starvation mention, self-sacrifice, Dimitri being himself about pain

Mariano stood steadfast as alarms blared, the only one of the war mages who'd managed to slip his restraints. Laredo watched as he trembled, knees threatening to give out as more and more people continued to try to take him down. Mariano's magic gathered at his teeth, broken wards no longer keeping the plasma contained. It sparked at his fingers and palms, spitting and hissing in fury and exhaustion.

Laredo didn't remember Mariano fighting like this when he was younger. He was always efficient, and terrifying to see. Luis had picked him for a reason--Mariano could wipe a town off the face of the earth with no hesitation or change in his posture. He'd seen him do it; mechanically tackling every structure, killing every living person inside before he did so that they weren't trapped and waiting for an even worse death. That Mariano was a lot.

But this Mariano put that one to shame.

This Mariano, with scars and eyes that burned with more than just fear, moved like a predator. Laredo realized that it was almost too easy to think that he was some fragile little waif when they usually saw him next to his seven-foot-tall dragon, curled up on the couch to cuddle, or standing as one of the smaller members of their group. This Mariano burned holes through guards' heads without blinking, without missing a shot. This Mariano loomed and leaped, hands wreathed in blinding magic. He pinned the lead guard with little more than just his weight.

They'd seen how that guy had been looking at Manuel, at Mariano. Had heard whispers about what he wanted to do. Laredo glanced at Manuel, and saw the same fury and joy and catharsis in his eyes.

Mariano wrapped his fingers around the lead guards' throat. Mariano didn't let go until the man stopped screaming. He wasn't dead. Mariano didn't seem to care that much.

He didn't seem to care when his magic flickered, either. It shorted out, suddenly dimming before cutting off completley. Laredo's heart dropped. There were still more men to deal with--but they'd been held here for weeks, and hadn't even gotten to free Bastian yet. The starvation seemed like it had taken too heavy of a toll on the youngest war mage.

"Mariano!" Laredo called. Mariano didn't look at him, never looking away from the hallway that the threats had been pouring into. "Cut us free! Let us take over!"

Mariano didn't even seem to hear him.

More men appeared at the end of the hallway. They raised their guns. Suddenly, the hallway was lit by that same brilliant sunlight. For a moment, Laredo thought one of the others had broken free. Mariano's silhouette stood alone, though.

The men fell. They kept appearing. They kept falling.

Mariano was still casting. Laredo saw how horribly his palms were burned. They hung at his sides, loose and swaying as Mariano lurched forward, firing more magic from his teeth.

"Laredo." Dimitri said, drawing Laredo's attention away from Mariano. "Help me out. I'm almost free. I'm not as flexible as I used to be." Dimitri met his eyes, some grim determination filling his expression. His hands were almost free from the cuffs. He just needed a little help to dislocate his thumb. "His nose is already bleeding."

Laredo's stomach dropped. Mariano had already pushed himself too far. Mariano intended to keep going.

Laredo realized how horribly they were outnumbered. This whole place was meant to hold them for as long as necessary. Every single person here had a vested interest in keeping them under control. Many of them would be willing to die for it.

Laredo hooked his shoe up under the chain keeping Dimitri's cuffs linked. "I won't count you down." He saw how the metal bit into Dimitri's hands, into his skin, how it threatened to draw blood.

"Good. You know I like surprises." Dimitri shot him a grin as he leaned forward to give Laredo the straightest shot possible. He didn't scream when Laredo yanked his foot towards himself.

"Mm," Dimitri groaned, and Laredo couldn't quite tell how Dimitri felt about his newly dislocated thumbs. "Yes, I see why he didn't come unlock us after doing that to himself."

Dimitri staggered to his feet, grimacing as he sparked his magic and started slicing through the metal keeping Laredo bound. One cuff fell, and then the other. Laredo's skin smarted from how hot they'd gotten during the removal process.

Mariano was still casting, and people were still coming. His magic started to flicker and short out again. "Rookie, stand down!" Laredo tried as he began slicing through Manuel's restraints.

"He's not able to hear us right now." Manuel muttered, shaking his hands as he and Izan were freed next.

Just as Mariano managed to get his magic back at his teeth, Laredo grabbed him by the back of his collar and yanked him off of his feet. The cast fizzled and he stumbled, only avoiding dropping to the floor because of Laredo's arms around his waist.

Mariano blinked hard as Laredo pulled him away from the opening of the hallway, letting Izan, Manuel, and Dimitri take over the attack. "Laredo...?" Confusion was clear on his face.

"Yeah, it's me." He lowered them both to the floor, supporting Mariano's weight on the way down. "Dimitri dislocated his thumbs like a weirdo and slipped his cuffs. You don't have to hurt yourself anymore. We have you."

Mariano rested his cheek against Laredo's shoulder and nodded. "I...okay." He settled on, closing his eyes. His hands rested on his lap, skin burned and bleeding. "Okay." Laredo reached up to smooth some of Mariano's hair back and wipe some of the blood from his face.

Laredo held Mariano there against the wall until Dimitri's triumphant call heralded their victory.

35 notes · View notes