#Heather is just a regular scientist in this AU but she's not any nicer than her canon self

[toyybox]

What do you think Heather would be like as the whumpee, and Jackie as the whumper?

Like, how would their dynamics change, etc?

-Umi

I adore swap AUs so! here is what their dynamic would generally look like:

As they are, Jackie would not be a whumper (at least not long-term because he would lose interest in vengeance eventually), so in this AU Heather is the immortal and Jackie is the mad scientist !! Despite his rocky start to life, he teaches himself everything he knows on his own through sheer determination and spite. Their circumstances for meeting would mostly be the same: Jackie kidnaps her and inadvertently discovers her immortality.

Jackie is a lot more genuinely nice to her, as he allows her sufficient food and does not immediately vivisect her without anesthesia (cough cough). He is willing to give her anything she asks for—since Heather is still a researcher, this includes the materials she would need to continue her work—anything except freedom, of course. Most importantly, he sees her more as an equal partner rather than a lab rat. He even asks for her advice on whatever he's working on. Whereas canon Heather uses violence to keep her captive obedient, Jackie isn't really sadistic and prefers to avoid hurting her. He would only resort to punishment after the third or fourth attempt on his life.

Despite Jackie's best efforts, Heather keeps trying to escape in the beginning. However, she just gives up after a while. Especially when Jackie starts resorting to violence. She thinks it's hopeless and tries her best to detach herself from what's happening. So she is quiet, not trying to gain his trust or cooperate but also not trying to leave.

They eventually start getting along after a few months, but their relationship falls apart in the end like in the canon timeline. It's just not sustainable to build a friendship on kidnapping and coercion...

These are their rough designs. Jackie is more interested in testing his inventions on her (like fancy mechanical eyes and arms!! paving the way for the cyborg revolution :D ) rather than discovering the source of her immortality. The main advantage is being able to replace failed machinery as many times as needed without the risk of death. Heather still tries to find out why the immortality occurs, albeit less enthusiastically.