Whumptober 2023

Carnivàle S02E05

I’m dead. The sounds he makes. I am dead.

Mediwhump May - Stitches

(BBC Merlin)

@mediwhumpmay

Merlin didn’t know how long he had been hiding in the thorn bushes. The shouts of the bandits and their crunching footsteps in the snow had long died away. But he dared not move. He could not move. 

The deep wound in his thigh made it impossible.

Merlin shivered. The sun was going down.

The frigid, wet snow has soaked deeply into his clothes, contrasting with the hot and sticky blood oozing from his leg. Merlin sighed. Closed his eyes for only a moment. Just a moment. He was so tired.

So tired.

Snow had begun to fall again.

“Merlin!”

Merlin was shaken awake, thigh throbbing with fire. He gasped.

Bandits.

They were after him.

His eyes flew open and before he really saw anything, he sprang away from whatever had grabbed him. He struck out and tried to twist away from the grip on his arm.

“You idiot! Stop it!”

Merlin stopped. The voice was familiar. His vision cleared and Arthur’s face swam into view, cheeks pink with cold.

“What are you doing here?” Arthur’s voice was entirely too loud. The bandits would hear. They would find them. And Merlin was too tired to protect Arthur.

Merlin opened his mouth to warn Arthur.

Prince Arthur stuck his torch upright in the ground and began to haul his manservant to his feet, dusting snow from his clothes. “We have been looking for you for hours. What are you doing napping in a bush? In the snow?”

As soon as Arthur let go, Merlin crumpled, pain flaring in his leg. He gasped as he hit the ground. 

“What is wrong with you now?”

“Leg.” Merlin whispered. 

Arthur didn’t try to pick him up this time but instead brought the torch closer to examine Merlin’s leg.

“You’re hurt.” A rough gloved hand probed the wound.

Merlin jumped and cried out. “Yes.” He panted. “Bandits… attacked me while I was-”

“Gathering herbs for Gaius.” Arthur finished, removing his hand quickly. “I know, he asked us to look for you when you didn’t come back. This is still bleeding, Merlin, we should- What should we do?”

Merlin saw Arthur looking at him for help, eyes wide, face white. Arthur was scared. Arthur didn’t know what to do.

Merlin swallowed and nodded, trying to focus. What would Gaius do?”

“I’m cold and-”

Before Merlin had finished speaking, Arthur had taken off his cloak and wrapped it around Merlin’s body.

Merlin smiled a little at the warmth and closed his eyes. 

“And?” Arthur prodded him. “What else?”

Merlin opened his eyes again. “The wound, I need to look at it. Either bind it or sew it. Got to… got to clean it.”

“Can’t I just get you back to Gaius?” Arthur frowned. “He can fix you up.”

“No.” Merlin shook his head, the world spinning a little. “No, it’s still bleeding. I might not get back in time.”

“In time for what?”

Merlin gave Arthur a look. 

Arthur met his gaze then nodded. “Right, yes, dying. Sorry.”

“Obviously.” Merlin sighed. He thought a moment more. “Can you start a fire?”

“It’ll be difficult with the snow.”

“I know.”

“I’ll do it.” Arthur got up. “I’ll get kindling. Don’t die while I’m gone.”

Merlin huffed out a laugh. “I’ll try.” He tried to put pressure on the wound and winced in pain.

Merlin drifted a little. Arthur came back pretty quickly and using the flint that Merlin carried in his bag, started a little campfire. Merlin finally began to warm, the feeling returning to his fingers and toes.

“Better?” Arthur asked, finally sitting down nearby.

Merlin nodded.

Arthur leaned forward. “Now what?”

Merlin swallowed hard. “I need to look at the wound, close to the light of the fire.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Arthur stood up again and helped Merlin slide closer to the fire. 

“Thanks.” Merlin grunted and looked down at the slit in his pant-leg, dark with blood. “Do you have a knife so I could-”

Arthur leaned forward and just ripped the pant-leg open, revealing Merlin’s thigh and the ugly, oozing wound.

Merlin sighed. “Thanks again.”

“No problem.” Arthur looked at the wound. “That looks bad, Merlin.” His voice had become tight.

“I know.” Merlin opened his bag and began to dig around. “I think-... I think I have to suture it.”

“Like sewing? What are you going to use for needle and thread out here, idiot? I should have taken you to Gaius.”

Merlin held up his small sewing pouch under Arthur’s nose.

“What’s this?”

“My sewing kit.” Merlin smirked a little.

“You carry a sewing kit everywhere you go? You are such a girl, Merlin.”

“A prepared girl.”

“You have me there.” Arthur admitted. 

Merlin unrolled the pouch and pulled out the roll of gut and a curved, sharpened fish bone. His trusty needle. He’d made it last summer and was rather proud of it.

Merlin prepared the needle and thread and sat up against his bag and Arthur’s rolled up cloak. This was the best view he was going to get of the wound. Merlin raised the needle.

“Wait, wait.” Arthur stopped him.

“What?”

Arthur gestured towards the wound. “Is that it? You’re not going to clean it? Or take something for the pain?”

Merlin frowned. “Arthur, Prince Dolt, we are in the middle of nowhere. There’s nothing to clean it with. And I have no herbs for pain, nor any way to prepare them. My main concern is just not to lose enough blood that I die. So I will suture this. Bind it. And then we can get back to Gaius for the other things. Understand?”

Arthur had gone a little pale, but nodded. 

Merlin took a breath and began to sew.

The first suture was awful. The second was worse. 

Well, they were very neat. Gaius would be proud. But they hurt so much on top of the fiery pain of the sword wound. 

The third made sweat bead on Merlin’s forehead and upper lip. The fourth had him panting.

In the middle of the fifth, Arthur asked. “Does it hurt?”

Merlin didn’t take his eyes off his work and couldn’t really form words. He had just enough energy to grunt.

“Right, sorry.” Arthur kept quiet after that.

The sixth made the blood drain from Merlin’s face. He stopped counting after that. Or he lost count.

He tied off the last suture and cut the gut. Arthur pressed some strips of cloth into his hands and Merlin managed to bandage the wound, tying it with numb and blood-stained fingers. 

His whole leg throbbed. The forest spun around him. Merlin closed his eyes. 

A strong arm wrapped around his shoulders and the other supported his knees. He floated away.

“You’re safe, Leo. It’s me.”

            “Mattie.”

—Why is his pain so slutty?

Graceland 1x09

MedWhump May - Day 2

Running out of time

Fandom - The Man from UNCLE (2015)

@medwhumpmay

Solo let out a soft: “Oh.”

Illya turned.

For one weightless moment, he saw Solo listing to the side. Head drooping. A flash of eyes, whites, rolled backwards. Illya caught him. He helped lower Solo to the floor while Solo apologized over and over.

He shouldered out of his jacket and folded it. “Here.” He murmured. He reached down and placed his hand under Solo’s head. “For your head.”

Solo lifted his head and let Illya place his jacket under it.

“Thanks.” Solo said. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I do.” Illya settled beside Solo. He gently pulled back Solo’s shirt. Blood. A lot of blood. He found the wound on Solo’s side.

Solo hissed in pain. “It’s fine. Don’t-” Solo gasped and jumped as Illya pressed his handkerchief to the weeping wound.

“How long have you had this?” Illya looked away from the wound and leaned over Solo, looking into his eyes. Solo was still sweating from running earlier.

Solo averted his gaze, looking up at the ceiling instead. He smiled, but the lines of pain in his face told a different story. “Not sure.”

Keeping one hand on the wound, Illya placed his other hand on Solo’s cheek. “Solo.”

Solo still didn’t meet his eyes.

Illya stroked Solo’s cheek with his thumb. “Solo.” Illya repeated.

Finally, Solo met his gaze.

“This is a bad wound.” Illya stated, his fingers becoming wet as blood seeped through the handkerchief already.

“It’s not.” Solo panted softly. “It’s not.”

“You should not have hidden it. You just had surgery-”

“We were busy!” Solo ground out. He was paler than before.

“You are taking blood thinners!”

“I was covering you!”

Illya sighed. He got up. “I’m going to see if there’s any medical supplies.” He took Solo's hand and placed it over the wound to keep pressure on it.

Illya didn’t find much, a few band-aids, expired aspirin, and an ancient thermometer. He found some old bedsheets however and carried them back to Solo’s side.

When he returned, Solo was a few shades paler, sweat beading on his forehead. Illya held his hand to Solo’s cheek again.

“You’re cold.”

“No, I’m good. I’m good. I just need a minute to rest.” Solo murmured. His hand had fallen away from his side, no longer putting pressure. There was a small pool of blood on the floor beneath him.

Illya began to rip the bedsheets and press them to the wound. Illya piled more makeshift bandages on top. He looked back at Solo's face. His head was sagging to the side. His eyes were half closed.

“You are running out of time. As soon as you’re out, I’m picking you up and we’re going.”

Solo was deathly white. “M’fine.” He sighed.

Illya bandaged the leaking wound as best as he could with the bedsheets. He tied it as tight as he dared around Solo’s ribs.

“We are getting out of here now.”

No answer.

“Solo?” Illya looked up from his work.

Napoleon’s eyes were closed and he lay very still.

“Napoleon?” Illya reached up and pressed two fingers to the pulse point on Solo’s neck. His heart rate was quick. Much too quick.

Illya grabbed Solo and pulled him into his arms. “We’re going.”

Solo said nothing, limp and clammy against Illya’s body.

Sean Bean in Sharpe’s Honour

The Outfit (2022): “The Wound Needs To Be Sealed. We Have To Stop This Bleeding.”

[PART 1] [PART 2]

Calling all lovers of darkfic, grimdarks, creepypastas, and scary stories! I had yet to see a monthly writing event themed around horror, so I made one! The event will occur in September, so you have plenty of time to get ready.

If you feel like participating, tag your fills with #horrortember2024, and I'll reblog as many as I can! Fanfic is strongly encouraged, but original fiction is accepted as well. And, depending on how many people join, I'll post a list of completionists or participants at the end of the month!

A written list of prompts is under the cut:

1. AND THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN WHAT I DESERVE, FOR MY TEETH TO JUST FALL OUT: body horror, parasite, gore

2. BUT THEY SAW SOMETHING THAT’S REAL: pretending to be human, identical, visceral

3. WHO’S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD WOLF: vampires, zombies, werewolves

4. IT’S ALWAYS BEST WHEN THE LIGHTS ARE OFF: music, silence, echoes

5. BURIED ABOVE THE GROUND: dust, overgrown, forgotten

6. WHAT HAVE I DONE: losing memories, possession, cursed

7. DREAMLESS SLEEP: sick, survivor, injury

8. NOW ONLY DOGS WILL FOLLOW ME: cannibalism, eaten alive, maggots

9. HAVE YOU HEARD THE STORY OF THE RABBIT IN THE MOON: meta, cosmic horror, forbidden knowledge

10. WE DIDN’T GO IN THERE ALONE: hunted, solitary, darkness

11. YOU CAN’T RUN FROM ME FOREVER: obsession, yandere, overpowering emotions

12. I WEEP AND SAY GOODNIGHT, LOVE, AS MY ORGANS PACK IT IN: doomsday, apocalypse, certain death

13. WHAT DO YOU KNOW: nightmare, prophecy, inevitable

14. I CAN MAKE THE WORLD SEEM SLOW: polaroid, motel, record player

15. DON’T KNOW WHO I AM ANYMORE: doll, reflection, facet

16. NEVER SHALL WE DIE: immortality, decay, cyclical

17. WHAT DID YOU BURY BEFORE THOSE HANDS PULLED ME FROM THE EARTH: oops, self-made monster, playing god

18. SHE’LL SAY SHE LOVES YOU, EVEN THOUGH SHE ONLY WANTS TO STEAL YOUR SOUL: haunting the narrative, inseparable, devotion

19. ARE YOU ALIVE, AM I AWAKE: chills, hallucinations, paranoia

20. IN THE RED, YOU’RE BETTER OFF DEAD: hunger, craving, unconventional needs

21. HOW DO I BREAK YOU BEFORE YOU BREAK ME: unreliable narrator, serial killer, manipulation

22. THERE IS NO END: help isn’t coming, final girl, trauma

23. LIFE CAN BE LIKE A DREAM: gone wrong, descent into madness, distrust

24. HEAR THEM LAUGHING UNDERNEATH: hollow, below the surface, remnants

25. I’LL SAY GOODBYE SOON: timeloop, lesson learned, consequence

26. NO CURE IS COMING NEAR: animals, rabies, primal fears

27. WHY DON’T YOU LET ME BE FREE: hanahaki, soulmates, trope inversion

28. AND THEN HE STARTED LAUGHING UNTIL HE CRACKED HIS JAW: butterflies, roses, sunshine

29. WHERE LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL ALL THE TIME: man-made, perfection, out of place

30. YOU ARE CALLED TO THE TREES: climb, descend, mass migration