#emry whumptober 2023 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

uniasus · 7 months

Text

Whumptober 23 - Day 15 - BBC Merlin

“You’re favoring your wrist,” Arthur points out as he watches Merlin prepare the hearth.

Merlin hums. “Fell earlier on the stairs. Used it to catch myself.”

Arthur shakes his head, only Merlin. He is injured regularly, clumsily doing daily tasks. It is a true miracle he hasn’t cut himself caring for Arthur’s sword. It is a mite alarming how often the man hurt himself, but Arthur has seen his clumsliness in action – dropping pieces of armor on the pitch, watching goblets slip between his hands, misjudging a corner and hitting his shoulder on the stone.

But for all that Merlin is constantly injured, it doesn’t seem to hamper his ability to do his work so Arthur doesn't press.

He watches from his desk as Merlin works, using his right hand to sweep the old ashes into a sheet. He keeps his left on his lap, out of the way. It's obviously a protective posture, but it is a bit odd that Merlin caught himself with his left hand. The man is right-handed. Maybe he’d been carrying something.

Ashes in the sheet, Merlin sets about tying the bundle for easy carrying. Prior to getting a good grip, Merlin pushes back his sleeves and Arthur’s pen freezes.

Just below Merlin’s wrist is a very obvious handprint.

There is no way he got that catching himself on the stairs.

Merlin hoists the sheet up into his arms, carrying the bundle in front of him. His sleeves fell, covering the bruise, but Arthur still sees the four purple imprints of fingers. For it to be that bruised, it couldn’t have happened in the past few hours. Last night maybe?

“I’ll be back soon with supper,” Merlin chirps. Then he is gone, out the door, leaving Arthur reevaluating every nursed hurt Merlin displayed in the past month.

----

A week later, there is a bruise on Merlin’s cheekbone. Not in itself an unusual thing, he has seen Merlin smacked in the face by everything from flying gloves to loose chickens. This one is caused by rolling out of bed and not catching himself.

“Woke Gaius up with my swearing,” Merlin chuckles and Arthur shakes his head.

“Only you.”

But he’s suspicious. Of course, he is. So he asks Gaius.

“Oh, that’s my fault, Sire. I opened his door this morning while he was preparing to do so himself. Caught him right in the face.”

All of which leads Arthur to decide that Merlin has been punched in the face.

-----

Arthur watches Merlin sweep his chambers. There are no visible bruises, no hand he’s using less or limp, but there is still something off about the way he moves. He’s twisting less to get into the corners, turning his head to look somewhere without his shoulders moving.

It takes Arthur a moment to recognize it. He’s seen that behavior on knights, who he then quickly gives a break to so they don’t overwork themselves.

Rib injuries.

Arthur marches up to Merlin and steals the broom.

“You’re injured.”

“I’m not.”

“You’re lying.”

Merlin snags the broom back, and there’s nothing on his face that hints at pain. No wince around the eyes or lines around his face. He's even standing straight. He’s good at hiding pain from his face, Arthur realizes, and that alarms him for so many reasons.

“You are. And this is not the first time. Someone is hurting you. Who is it, Merlin? I’ll see them punished.”

“There’s nothing to help with.”

Arthur grabs the broom again. “There is.”

Merlin tries to yank the broom back, but Arthur tightens his grip. If Merlin really wants it, he can’t rely on arm strength. He’ll have to put his torso to use, add a bit of shoulder strength. Maybe his abs. Merlin grimaces, tightens his grip, but he doesn’t pull.

It’s as good as an admittance.

“Your ribs. Someone hit you. Or kicked you? Who, Merlin?”

Merlin lets go of the broom and moves on to other chores. Arthur catches his jacket and Merlin freezes. Quickly, before his servant can brush Arthur off, he pushes Merlin’s jacket out of the way and lifts his shirt.

Bandages circle Merlin’s chest. Not Gaius's clean linen, but something with ragged edges as if they’d been ripped. And that’s what exactly they are – ripped sheets.

“Sit,” he barks, forcing Merlin to sit at the table.

Merlin bounces up as soon as Arthur releases him. “I don’t need you to help me. I can handle things myself.”

“What things, Merlin?”

Merlin presses his lips together. “Secret things.”

“I gathered that if you didn’t even let Gaius help you wrap your ribs. Tell me anyway.”

“No.”

“No?”

“No.” Merlin stands straight, and Arthur remembers the handprint on his wrist. The bruise on his cheekbone.

“Someone is hurting you, Merlin. I won’t have them escalate to breaking your arm,” Arthur growled.

“No one is hurting me.” Merlin looks straight at Arthur as he says it. Two months ago, Arthur would have fell for it.

“I don’t believe you,” he whispers. “Is a lord blackmailing you or Gaius? Is that why you can’t say anything?”

“No.”

“Do you not know who they are?”

“No.”

Arthur glares. He can’t think of any other reason why Merlin wouldn’t ask for help, other than sheer stubbornness. But he’s never thought of Merlin as that independent a person. He and Gwen help each other with chores regularly. Pride?

“There’s no honor in suffering, you know.”

Merlin looks away. “I know.”

“So there’s no reason for you to work through pain other than wanting me to not know you were hurt.”

Merlin is quiet, which Arthur means he guessed right. Sighing, he pushes Merlin back into the chair. This time, Merlin stays put and Arthut sits in the chair across from him.

“Fine. If you won’t tell me who’s hurting you, at least let me know when you are hurt. I’ll lighten your workload.”

Merlin looks at him in disbelief. “You’ll let me handle this?”

“For now,” Arthur answers. “But if it gets worse, or doesn’t stop in the next few months, you’ll tell me.”

Merlin nods eagerly, and Arthur so, so wants to believe him. But the only thing Arthur believes in right now is Merlin's ability to lie.

“Since you were sweeping before, go back at it, but you can forget bringing up water for my bath. I’ll ask someone else.”

“Thanks, Arthur.”

Arthur gentles his voice. “Of course. And don't forget to get those ribs wrapped correctly before you finish sweeping the floor.”

He leaves Merlin in his chambers with free access to the broom and goes searching for Lancelot to ask him to follow Merlin around. Lancelot is too loyal and honest to hide what he finds.

#whumptober 2023 #n 15 #lyric #suppressed suffering #makeshift bandages #bbc merlin #fic #protective arthur #whump #hurt/comfort #my fanfiction #arthur pendragon #merlin emrys

121 notes · View notes

h1myname1sv · 7 months

Text

NEW FIC: Meaning 1/7

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: blood and injury, torture Fandoms: Merlin Relationships: Merlin & Arthur, Merlin & Morgana Characters: Merlin, Arthur, Morgana Additional Tags: Whumptober, Whumptober 2023, Whump, Hurt/Comfort, Torture, Hurt Merlin, Hurt Arthur Pendragon, Hurt Morgana, Merlin Needs a Hug, Merlin's Magic Revealed, Arthur Pendragon Finds Out About Merlin's Magic, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence Wordcount: 870 Summary:

Merlin is abducted by Morgana for the second time, so it isn't all that abnormal. However, this instance will unravel much of his life as he knows it. A coin cannot exist without two sides. (Based on the Whumptober 2023 prompts on tumblr.)

Excerpt:

Merlin does not know where he is. He does not know how much time has passed.

He only knows that it is dark and damp in this dungeon cell, and that Morgana has the key, and that he can't escape.

Oh, he's certainly tried. He's tried to break out with his magic when she's not here (she thinks him so weak that she doesn't even leave any guards behind), but he hasn't been at all successful.

"I've spelled the bars and your shackles," Morgana comments casually on the second night, or the third, or the fourth. Time blurs. "Or, well, I had them bespelled for my own use."

Merlin tenses for just a moment, thinking Morgana has figured out his secret. "How lovely," he says sarcastically.

Morgana rolls her eyes. Merlin misses who she had been. "They're magic dampening, though of course you wouldn't know it. You don't have a drop of magic in your blood."

Merlin coughs awkwardly and relaxes a little. The situation is not ideal, but at least it isn't as bad as it could be. "Why are they bespelled, then?" he asks. His voice scratches at his dry throat.

"For Emrys, obviously," Morgana says. Merlin blinks at her, uncomprehending. "I am well aware that you are in league with him. If he comes..."

"Right," Merlin says, "of course."

#whumptober2023 #no.11 #no one will find you #merlin #fic #blood #torture #whumptober #whump #whumptober 2023 #meaning #he's a bit of a mess but we love him for it

3 notes · View notes

emry-stars-art · 7 months

Text

Whumptober day 9: scar reveal/interrogation/presumed dead (full under the cut)

Find the royal au masterpost here

Abram thought he’d be just fine if the prince never so much as knew about this particular scar; luckily his fears are (as we all know) unfounded, and Andrew gets the chance to prove that he doesn’t think any less of him for it.

#this can’t be that long after he’s back #Abram’s still pretty fragile to make these assumptions about Andrew #he’s still weak and needs help #day and Andrew made sure there was a space sectioned off for the infirmary’s showers #since Abram can almost never be convinced to bathe #also pay no attention to the fact that like #medical tape wouldn’t exist yet #Abby is a miracle working alchemist okay #she’s my excuse for a lot here. 😅#fan art #my art #aftg #all for the game #neil josten #andrew minyard #royal au #whumptober #emry whumptober 2023

203 notes · View notes

emry-stars-art · 7 months

Text

All right so. I forgot to mention I am planning on doing some of this whumptober prompt list and it’s like. All about Abram and Evermore 🫣

Day one: drugging/sick/poisoned (full under the cut)

Find the royal au masterpost here

We’re messing with the idea of Lola and Nathan being sent with an entourage late-timeline to try and ‘reclaim the Wesninski house heir’ the ‘fair and correct’ way. It’s announced to Palmetto, Nathan coming with intention to fight for his heir back, challenge Abram directly; Lola came just in case Nathan somehow ended up losing. There are very strict instructions from the Moriyamas not to come back without a Wesninski heir.

162 notes · View notes

emry-stars-art · 6 months

Text

Whumptober day 20: dehumanization/stockholm syndrome/master and servant (full under the cut)

Find the royal au masterpost here

In his efforts to wear Abram down to breaking, Prince Riko adopted a slightly different technique into his repertoire: respite. Abram didn’t get a place at the table - eventually most of his suppers were spent underneath it, sitting beside Riko’s chair and occasionally being relegated some scraps. As long as Abram didn’t act up, retaliate, or otherwise rebel against the treatment, Riko would simply leave him alone. One of precious few times he wasn’t in danger of being harmed for others amusement.

The first time Abram was too weak to fight back or make a comment or move much at all, Riko found a whole new kind of amusement in having begun to properly “train” Nathaniel. And it kept on like that. Anytime Abram was too overwhelmed, hurt, sick, or whatever else, he at least knew he’d get a couple hours of rest at the end of the day if he allowed Riko the satisfaction of a quiet supper with his loyal plaything.

132 notes · View notes

emry-stars-art · 7 months

Text

Whumptober day 15: experimentation/muzzle/transformation (full under the cut)

Find the royal au masterpost here

“Too many bitten fingers.”

#handwriting got a tiny bit messy there I apologize #let’s see #um Nathaniel had the misfortune of returning to Evermore as Abram #maybe I’ll grab ash’s tags because 100%:#nathaniel was able to survive growing up in evermore because he didn’t know anything else #and he had no self worth or even sense of self to make it more difficult for himself #but Andrew and Day and the rest gave Abram that sense of self worth #and it absolutely almost kills him when he goes back #anyway #fan art #my art #aftg #all for the game #neil josten #riko moriyama #royal au #muzzle #whumptober #emry whumptober 2023

125 notes · View notes

emry-stars-art · 7 months

Text

Whumptober day 6: conditioning/mind control/forced to hurt someone else (full under the cut)

Find the royal ay masterpost here

No version of Neil/Nathaniel is easy to break - there’s a lot of persuasion involved in Evermore Kingdom’s quest for their next butcher to do his work without a fight.

(Or POV you’re realizing the young butcher is just as scary as you’ve heard but for vastly different reasons than the rumors imply)

143 notes · View notes

emry-stars-art · 7 months

Note

I have a question: for your poisoning whumptober fic is that how Abram gets back to Evermore or is that after Evermore similar to cannon?

[post in question]

If we use it that would actually be like much later in the timeline! Wayyy after andreil start courting, it’s been a good while since Evermore at that point. It would be Nathan, the senior Wesninski, finally deciding to take matters into his own hands (or the Moriyamas deciding they may as well try this route to get their younger Wesninski back). Going to personally challenge or negotiate with Abram for his return to Evemore and the people be still by law belongs to. Lola is part of the entourage that accompanies him. It would be extremely tense because technically it’s a matter of the Wesninski line’s honor, and Nathan announcing himself and his intentions to Palmetto means that Aaron has no real choice but to host and allow it (though he hates it just as much as everyone else in the court). Even Andrew can’t use his usual brash personality to refuse like with other stupid nobles.

Like we said, Lola is basically Evermore’s backup plan. Should Nathan somehow fail, she’s supposed to take slightly more drastic measures. All with the Moriyamas’ blessing, of course.

#so I guess it’s the Baltimore equivalent?#right? I’m pretty sure that’s what was said about it #evermore = christmas break #Nathan challenging Abram for the right to bring him back to Evermore = baltimore #Lola doesn’t torture Abram like in canon #but she uh. she’s still not great #luckily Andrew notices Abram missing like immediately and takes day to go find him #because Abram would NEVER leave Andrew alone or let himself be left alone with these visitors #so it’s pretty clear something is Wrong #but again!!#thats if we use this #I will have to gauge the angst content as we go #balance it out ya know #we got a lot going on already TT #not art sorry guys #asks #royal au #lola malcolm #emry whumptober 2023

47 notes · View notes

uniasus · 6 months

Text

Whumptober 23 - Day 17 - BBC Merlin

This whole fill turned into 2.5K so I'll add it to my whump 23 collection on Ao3 once I edit it, but for now have the bit related to today's prompt.

-----

Merlin tries to think of it as a game. Dress up. Just like when other royalty comes to Camelot dressed in their finest with well-crafted leather tack and embroidered cloaks, so Arthur has to dress up when he visits another kingdom. And just like sometimes visiting princesses like to dress in red or gold as homage to their host (and maybe show off how good they’d look in Camelot’s colors) so too is Arthur partaking in Midden’s fashion sense.

Which so happens to be slaves.

He does his best to ignore the itch, but it’s hard. The collar around his neck was a gift from Midden’s new king, Catmor, and engraved and enameled the way a pendant might be. He was too new a king to have had it commissioned, so it had to have been something from his backers across the sea. Backers that allowed him to sail to the Isles and capture a small kingdom.

His sudden arrival, and vilent taking of a chunk of the ruins of Daobeth, made many rules nervous. Not enough for Uther to come himself, but for him to send his heir at least. A sign of respect, Uther had claimed, to the man sitting in a ruined citadel that had once been the greatest in the Five Kingdoms and had that potential again, despite the dragon-chared stone.

“Don’t upset him,” Uther had told his son. “Do what he wants, for this trip at least.”

And King Catmor had requested small retinues – one representative, two guards, and one slave for serving.

Arthur had apologized as he put it around Merlin’s neck before they came in sight of the new kingdom, Leon and Gwaine looking on as Arthur promised to remove it any chance he could. Merlin had believed him, of course he did, and Arthur had held true to that promise.

It’s just hard tonight.

It’s their third night. Arthur had begged tired the first two, first from their travels, the second from a tour around the city, which had really been excuses for Arthur to hang out in his chambers and remove the collar from Merlin’s neck.

He’d hissed when he saw it the first night, swore the second. There was no mirror for Merlin to look into to see how bad it was, but he could guess the severity by the grimace on Arthur’s face. Merlin told him that it was fine. He’d survive. It was just chaffing.

It wasn’t just chaffing.

From the outside, the enamel made it hard to tell what the collar was made of. Yet Merlin knew exactly what it was from the first click around his neck. Iron. It’d been tempered with some other metal, it wasn’t the cold iron that disrupted magic, but it was pure enough Merlin could feel the effects. Itching where it touched his skin. A strain on his throat, like it was being squeezed and hard to breathe. A hitch in his lungs as the longer he wore it, the harder it became to breathe.

#whumptober 2023 #no 17 #collar #bbc merlin #fic #merlin emrys #slave collar #suffocation

8 notes · View notes

uniasus · 7 months

Text

Whumptober 2023 - Day 14

Going back to my roots with this one - have some poetic Merlin angst.

------

Merlin knows Camelot isn't the place for him after his first month, when the newness disappears and he settles into a pattern of helping Gaius and serving Arthur.

The stone of the castle makes his body heavy, and he wakes every day remembering the one time he fell asleep in the neighbor's barn and three sheep slept on him. He'd been warm, but the weight had made it hard to breathe, hard to move, and he'd felt trapped half the night.

Every night in Camelot fells the same.

He also finds himself oddly drawn to flowers and plants. Gaius would catch him absently fingering herbs still drying, Gwen shyly sneaks him a flower from Morgana's room on occasion. He craves the greenery in a way he doesn't understand, smelling flowers and sticking his head out of windows to catch the sight of trees. He loves heading to the pitch to watch the knights train because it means he can subtly touch grass and bask in the sun, his magic slowly spreading until it snaps back at Arthur's bark of his name. Merlin always feels bereft then, as if someone had slammed a door into his face.

Because that's exactly what had happened. He'd suddenly cut himself off from the natural environment he grown up in, cooped up and cramped and craving craving craving.

Craving the space to stretch. Free time and free will. Safe spaces.

There's none in Camelot, not even Gaius's chambers. His uncle's paranoia is infectious, Uther's propaganda oppressive. Soon, it's not just Merlin's magic that feels cramped and itchy and wrong. It's Merlin too. He wants out out out.

But at the center of that is a kernel of hope. Kilgarrah's words. They sounded like candy - sweet hope and a solid purpose – and were so easy to swallow. But it wasn’t dissolvable sugar. Those words sit in his stomach and they make him do things – he lies and hides and hurts. Those festering emotions sit in his stomach, and Kilgarrah’s words turn into a hard candy shell around them.

He can swallow the harshness because it’s surrounded by sweet words. He can hurt people, kill people, because it’s necessary for a better, honeyed world. But with each deed he does, each terrible thing that the candy shell expands to cover, to excuse, the pain in his gut grows and grows until it becomes a pearl of poison.

It’s not just Camelot that has Merlin trapped, it’s Merlin himself. Magic restrained. Morals turning brittle and bitter. Even as he saves Arthur week and week, he feels his blood getting more and more toxic. The boy he was is gone, drowned by blood and twisted by hope and crushed by stone-cold reality.

His mother gives him pained smiles. Gaius just calls him ‘my boy’ and offers hugs and advice Merlin takes even as he wishes it is different.

Merlin is drowning in a drought – no free magic, no happy days, no sign of Albion – waves of despair cresting higher and higher over his head while the dragon’s poison both feeds him and makes it hard to stand.

Maybe, maybe, Arthur will notice and swing open the floodgates of equality.

Until then, Merlin swallows his poisonous hope, his dream he’s done such dreadful things for, and wonders what will finally end things – Arthur’s sword or Merlin’s inability to recognize the boy he used to be.

#whumptober 2023 #no 14 #lyric #bbc merlin #fic #merlin emrys #angst #my fanfiction

5 notes · View notes