#dehumanised and humiliated non-stop for a week

[lilacthebooklover]

i finally finished watching hey melissa and got a little inspired by it. so i may have written a fun little 3000-word paul-centric piece for it here on ao3 based on my bad things happen bingo card. 'dehumanization' was too good a prompt to pass up >:]

EDIT: For some reason, this linked to a completely different fic by someone named DanieXJ before I fixed it? No clue what was up with that loll, many thanks to @charismabee for pointing that out. Legend

[pigeonwhumps]

Barcode

BBU Community Days: Day 8

@bbu-on-the-side

250 (aka Cass) gets his barcode.

Taglist: @littlespacecastle @whumpymirages @flowersarefreetherapy @painful-pooch

Finding Safety masterlist

CWs: BBU, pet whump, collared, non-con touch (non-sexual), discussion of future and past rape, amnesia, shock collar, electric shocks, humiliation, non-con nudity, crude language/sexual imagery and drawing on someone in Sharpie, sexual implications in body language, sexual harrassment, strapped down, gagged, muzzled, non-con photos, handcuffed, manhandling (brief, plus mentions of), non-con tattooing, dehumanisation, blindfold, sensory deprivation

"20 quid says he'll be a Guard Dog."

The other handler snorts. "Only 20? Not very certain, are you?"

"Well, what do you think he'll be?"

346250 sets his jaw best he can against the sharp pain as the needles prick against his skin, each one sending a pinpoint of ink into his arm. He doesn't know what they're drawing, his head's immovable like this, but he can guess. They tattoo it onto every pet, after all. He clenches his fist against the pain and receives a sharp slap on the knuckles for his troubles.

He can't see the handlers from this position, but he can swear he hears the shrug. "Could be a Guard Dog. The ladies would love those muscles though. And that scar... the heroic look's big this season. So, could be a Romantic."

346250 flinches as much as he can between the tight leather restraints as someone squeezes his arm, and there's two laughs. "Oh, yeah, I see what you mean about the muscles. Let me know if he gets assigned to your department. I want a turn."

"You always want a turn," says the handler, sounding exasperated.

"Boys, boys," says a woman, sounding amused. 'No touching the trainee until I've finished his barcode. You'll have plenty of time later."

"Sorry, boss."

"What do you mean, 'plenty of time later'? Do you know something we don't?"

"Just that Poppy says he's exceptionally defiant. He was the one who led 643 in the escape attempt, and he's resistant. So there'll be plenty of manhandling to be done."

346250 flinches again, his whole body this time. He was led in here by a choking hand on his collar and strapped in, ankles and legs and wrists and forearms, and torso and forehead too. Everywhere, in fact. The collar's too tight and he can't breathe properly, it's all he's wearing except for a black silicon gag that fits between his lips, pulling at his teeth, pinching the skin. And a blindfold, rendering everything completely black.

Clearly they want him to hear, though. At least for now.

A handler mentioned a fitted one. He doesn't want a fitted one. He wants to breathe.

He feels almost relaxed, though, like this. Like he's floating. As soon as the handlers stop talking he forgets what he's worrying about. He's sure there's something, it nags and worms at the back of his mind, but he doesn't remember what.

They said he's safe. He knows they're lying, they snigger behind their hands when they think he's not looking. He chose this. He didn't, he can see people in his mind that make him sad He can trust the handlers. He has to, he has to, he has to, or the electricity will come on again.

"Make the most of his compliance while it lasts, boys. I know you prefer the defiant ones, but best get him settled before he fights back."

"Right you are. I'm just about done. Anything you want to do to him?"

"Yeah, actually. Pass me that Sharpie."

346250 hears a pen uncapping and a strong smell of alcohol hits his nostrils. His chest tickles as someone draws on it.

"Mate, that might be a classic, but it won't win this week's competition. You know what Finn's prizes are like, you don't want to miss out."

"Yeah but, 643's untrained. No fun."

"I thought you boys liked the defiant ones. She's good enough without training, anyway." There's a stunned silence, and 346250's arm throbs. "What? You don't think no-one fucked her during her initial training? She was almost made into a Romantic then, after all. If it wasn't for 065 and the workers then messing it all up."

"See, this is why I'm adding you to the group chat. Like minds and all that." 346250 feels his face jostled as something metal is strapped over his mouth, and something is placed over his head that muffles all sounds. Noise-cancelling headphones, perhaps?

Someone undoes 346250's straps, leaving everything else in place. Then he's pulled to his feet and held tightly by his collar as the blindfold is removed.

There's a mirror in front of him, and he barely recognises the person in it. He doesn't remember himself, and yet it's possible not to recognise himself. He looks scared, smeared in blood, embarrassingly naked but one of the handlers cuffs his hands behind him, he can't cover himself. He sees his face go bright red. One of the handlers guffaws in the mirror, and the other makes a crude motion with his hands. The tattooist rolls her eyes.

346250 has scars he didn't know he had (and how does he know what scars he had?), injuries that he knows with a strange certainty weren't there before. The collar's black plastic, a small box attached to the front, metal prongs cold against his skin. It looks deceptively unthreatening. In his mouth is a gag, and over it, covering the lower half of his face, is a wire and leather muzzle. Like an animal. He hasn't been defiant for as long as he can remember, since they took him off that IV line. It must be a warning against misbehaviour. A threat. For fun.

He swallows a sob as he looks at his chest, a part of himself he'd been avoiding. He knew it was crude. Of course it was, they drew it in Sharpie and laughed. But somehow that's different to actually seeing it.

He has a penis drawn in black on his chest, semen spurting out of it. The words he can't make out, the handwriting's backwards and terrible and he has a splitting headache, but he assumes they're equally as crude.

It'll wash off eventually. It will. But that's the only comfort.

And on his arm... on his left arm is a tattoo. The tattoo. Black and bold against the tan of his skin, crisp, clean lines portray a barcode with a set of numbers below. 346250, he presumes. Marking him out forever as a pet.

It's okay though, he's safe here. He's not. It was his choice. It wasn't. It won't hurt too much. He doesn't know what they'll do to him.

He can survive. Whatever happens, he can.

Can he?

A handler steps in front of him, mobile phone in hand. He winks at 346250, pointing at a toy monkey on his head for the new trainee to look at. A flash goes off.

They're taking photos. Oh, god.

In the mirror, 346250 sees the other handler pull out the small black remote and turn the dial. Then he presses the button.

The trainee falls to his knees, attempting to claw at his neck as his vision goes white, gag-muffled screams reverberating in his ears, he can't hear them on the outside so they're all inside instead, shocks shaking his jaw and his limbs, sending them jerking and thrashing. All he can feel is pain, all he can think about is the pain of it, the sensation, he can barely breathe.

When he comes to, limbs twitching and jerking against the cold tile floor, he realises they're still taking photos.

[sunlitroom]

Gotham – s4e13 – Reunion

As I watched it, and some random observations here and there.

Previously on Gotham:

Barbara wore an upsetting flesh-coloured headband.  Jim searched for the Doc. Sometimes we search for things we really don’t want to find.  Sofia likes being queen!  And she has new ways to hurt Jim!  Harvey tells Jim he wants to feel clean.  You’ll need a water cannon to get the muck off Jim, Harvey.  Ed gloated, but Oswald claimed ‘you’re’ still there!  Ivy’s changed.  Lazarus water does things!  Bruce has a party boy breakdown.

As always, long post will be long.  There are likely to be rambling digressions. Gobblepot might appear (although I welcome all shippers and non-shippers alike :)).  There will be naked favouritism and naked not-favouritism.  Broader comments at the end on plotlines and parallels and general direction.

 At stately Wayne Manor, Bruce is opening the case that contains his proto-Batman suit.  He looks at it for a long moment, removes the mask, and throws it on the fire.  Overall, It’s been a very symbolic couple of days for him.  He needs to ease up a bit.  Do some light housework, a bit of reading.  Maybe bake something.

Harvey’s bar in the Narrows, where a man is eating a pickle very loudly.  Ivy enters, and regards him with some disgust.  Is it because they’re a kind of plant, or because he’s gross, or did whatever Ivy did to herself leave her senses a little heightened, maybe?

It’s hard to say whether it’s the light or the help of some Clairol, but Ivy’s hair is looking slightly redder.

She’s looking for Harvey. The cute barman says he’s not working today, but she can leave a message.  Ivy says she will – she’ll use them to leave a message, all their flesh and blood and what they’ll become.  She blows pollen onto them from a flower she was carrying.

(An aside.  Based on what we’ve seen of her so far, Ivy is virtually the most dangerous person in the city.  She kills indiscriminately, and seems completely without empathy or remorse)

 At Sofia’s mansion, Lee is looking at a framed photograph of her and Mario. Lee is wearing fingerless opera gloves.  That’s…definitely a style choice.  I wonder if Lee’s move towards a deliberate and out-of-the-ordinary aesthetic signals a definite move from the move conventional heroic side of things to the more villainous side of the board, which is all about aesthetic.

Sofia says that still Lee is still her sister, even with Mario gone.  Given that she murdered her dad, this doesn’t bode well for Lee.  

Lee smiles and says that’s nice – but clearly not why she was invited.  Sofia smiles back and tells her that while she owns the city, the Narrows never bent the knee.  With this kind of phrasing, and Lee’s fur collar, it’s all gone a bit Game of Thrones. Lee tells her that the Narrows has never bent the knee – but Sofia replies that there’s never been anyone like her.

She wants the Narrows under her thumb – in the form of a 30% tax on all income.  Lee tells her that the people there live hand to mouth, and will never be able to afford this – they’ll starve.  Sofia smiles coldly, and tells her that they all have to make sacrifices, and she wants an answer by the end of the day.

Lee gets up. She offers to kiss the ring, if that’s what Sofia needs – because the 30% tax is impossible.  Sofia tells her she’ll find a way.  Lee remarks that she thought she was all about family.  Sofia stares at her

I never said it was a happy family

At a diner in the Narrows, Alfred reads a paper.  Bruce walks in – but Alfred avoids eyecontact.  Bruce thanks him for agreeing to meet, but Alfred remains grumpy. He tries to talk to him about the annual foundation dinner, but Alfred is snappish

What exactly is it you want from me?

Bruce asks for his help to figure things out – he can’t do this alone.  Alfred refuses.  He tells Bruce he can’t just waltz in here and expect him to go back to washing his smalls and cooking his dinner.  Bruce tells him he’s changed – but Alfred says there’s a difference between showing and telling.  If he shows him, then he’ll reconsider.

Bruce asks how he can do that – but Alfred says that’s for him to figure out.  Oh, fuck off, Alfred.

Bruce pleads – and says he’s asking him as a friend, but Alfred says he’s not his friend – he was his butler, and he fired him.  He leaves, telling the waitress that Bruce will pay for the tea.  Bruce looks lost.

(An aside.  I’m sure I was supposed to see this as tough love, or something – but Alfred just seemed like a dick.  Bruce is basically a big pile of trauma in lanky teenage form, he doesn’t need weird passive-aggressive sulking.  Also – bad writing strikes in that Bruce nearly died a couple of days ago – and knowing that just makes whatever Alfred is doing here look worse.)

Presumably upstairs at Cherry’s, a desperate and dishevelled Ed is rifling through bottles of pill. Nearby, leaning against a wall, BadEd wonders aloud what Lee and Sofia’s meeting is about.  He asks if Ed doesn’t wonder, Lee being the love of his life and all.

Ed impatiently tells him that he and Lee are friends.  BadEd looks him over dismissively, and tells him that

The cuckoo pills won't keep me away

Ed replies that they might not – but they can stop him killing lee.  Walking over to a small table, we see a pile of letters, including the one Oswald wrote last week. Ed opens it, and reads sections out incredulously.

He wants…..Can we be friends?  I’ll never forgive him!

Bad Ed reads the letter over his shoulder and smiles snakily.

I think it’s a nice letter

He poses a riddle to Ed

What has two eyes but can’t see?

Ed stares at him, panicked. BadEd laughs.

Back at Harvey’s bar, where the worst investigation of a killer toxin/plant thing is taking place. Seriously, why don’t they just all make a salad out of it at this point and get stuck in?  No gloves, no masks…..

Jim enters, and asks Lucius where Harvey is – Lucius tells him that he wasn’t here, and Jim helpfully reiterates what the show reminded us of last week – Harvey shot Ivy’s father.   They head off.

Jim and a team of cops break into Harvey’s apartment.  They see Harvey sort of spread-eagled on the couch in.  One of the cops regretfully comments that they’re too late, but Jim shakes his head, and walks towards him – this is just how Harvey sleeps.  Jim wakes him up – because apparently the door being bust open didn’t do that

An irate Harvey asks what the hell is going on, and tells him someone will be paying for that door. Jim tells him Ivy attacked the bar. Harvey asks about the bartender, Donny, by name.  Jim says he’s sorry, and tells him that they have to think he was the target – since he shot Ivy’s dad.  Harvey angrily tells him that he only shot Ivy’s dad to save Jim’s hide

So don't put this on me

Jim, nettled, responds equally angrily

I’m not putting it on you

(An aside – he’s easily nettled because he has guilt brewing about how Harvey fared due to the whole Pyg fiasco, taking shame and humiliation that rightfully belonged to Jim.  At least – I hope he has guilt brewing)

They’re interrupted by a news report, which claims disturbing footage will follow.  It’s Ivy, filming herself.  

Plants love us.  They give us food, shelter – the air we breathe.  What do we do in return?  Kill them. That's our nature.  That's you.  We cause pain.  Everyone I've ever known hurt and betrayed me.  I’ve always known in my heart what I need to do.  I’m giving the city back to the plants - starting with the people who hurt me

(An aside - that's basically everyone – Ivy’s sensitive to slights, and also doesn’t really seem to like humans in general.)

Harvey looks worried

Starting with me

(An aside – Ivy’s improved since last week, when her entire rationale was ‘you hurt plants!’  Now that she’s referring back to her past and experiences, we get something else.  She hates the whole city.  It failed her – we got to see, specifically, how it failed her: watching her end up on the streets.  She’ll show no compassion, because she feels she was shown none.  She’s a good example of the city reaping what it sows – pun not intended)

As the news report is still playing, Jim and Harvey spot a sign in the background for an eatery they recognise, and manage to pin Ivy’s location.  Jim wants to take Harvey to the precinct, but he refuses to hide – he feels responsible.  Jim offers his badge, and Harvey angrily refuses.  He has more contacts in the Narrows than any of them.  He storms out, but then returns quickly – because he forgot to put on trousers.

Lee and Ed somewhere at Cherry’s.  They’re talking and drinking.  Lee is telling Ed about the meeting.  She says it makes no sense: Sofia knows there no money here, Lee offered to bend the knee, Sofia was deliberately asking for something she knew Lee couldn’t give. She wants to punish her.

Ed asks why – but Lee says she doesn’t know.  Ed tells her you can’t fight an enemy whose motivations you don't understand

(An aside – I wonder if this remark will become significant again later?  Feels a bit like it will)

We cut away, and see Ed has hired the Baker Street Irregulars.  He offers them a full set of encyclopedias minus T if they can find out why Sofia wants to punish Lee.  They look unimpressed.  He throws in 20 dollars, and they leap up.

Go get 'em

 A police team breaks into Ivy's lair of plants and discarded sequinned evening gowns.  As Jim looks around, he hears a voice.

Selina is sitting on the windowsill

What’re you gonna do?

Jim does what he does best – other than snarling and grabbing – and gets angrily judgy.

She killed four more people – and you knew where she was staying. If you’d told me, we could have saved their lives.

Oh shut up Jim.  Go contemplate your own trail of dead.

Selina’s having none of him.

Or not.  You couldn't stop her from hypnotising all your cops

Jim asks why she came. Because Selina doesn’t casually dehumanise and discard people, Jim?  Even when they’re behaving in ways she doesn’t like or understand?

Selina says she wants to try to reason with her.  Jim sneers and says she’s a fanatic – but Selina retorts that she’s her friend. Jim looks at her for a moment, and tells her that if she contacts her, then to call him, and he’ll try and bring her in quietly – otherwise, she should stay out of the way.

At that point, his phone rings.  It’s Harvey with a lead.

Harvey is in a big basement? Warehouse?  I dunno.  There’s lots of barrels.  

Harvey tells Jim that Ivy has been hiring muscle.  As he says this, Ivy strolls in.

She’s beautiful, don't you think, Jim?

He points his gun at Jim. Ivy tells Jim to drop his weapon.

Poor Ed is sitting on his bed, breathing heavily, in some discomfort.  He has his head in his hands.

(An aside – looking round, he's assembled a tidy bedroom like a cross between his apartment and lab. He’s really good at using found stuff and making it look nice.  He should totally do this instead of crime – just like Jervis and party planning)

Bad Ed tells him he doesn’t look good, and that he is exceeding recommended dose.  He picks up a pill bottle and starts rhyming off side-effects:

Trembling, cognitive impairment – still, how would you know?

He laughs, and Ed tells him to shut up

Bad Ed says he’s only getting stronger

Ed tells him that he won’t let him take over kill Lee.  Bad Ed replies that he probably will.

(An aside - But why?  They’ve really never made this clear.  The implication before was that he would kill Lee because she was Ed’s last anchor to a sense of his better self.  If he takes over completely, then what purpose would killing Lee after this point serve?)

Bad Ed smirks, and tells him the only way to get rid of him is to kill himself

Ed looks momentarily still as he looks at him

Well – I guess you're smarter than me

Bad Ed stares

You wouldn’t

Ed gains back a little power over him as he replies

Oh yeah

(An aside.  I’m not sure to which extent I’m supposed to feel this – but I just find all this pretty desperately sad.  We’ve seen since the early days that Ed fears BadEd, that he’s bullied and belittled by him.  He’s trying as best he can here to maintain some control over his sense of self, and keep safe someone who has become dear to him.  He’s constantly tired and agitated, and now unwell due to what seems like overuse/misuse of medication.  The brief moment of calm he has at the thought of suicide just broke me.)

 Back with Jim and Harvey. Ivy asks if Jim believes in fate – she went looking for Harvey, and he found her instead.  Then she realised she could make him deliver Jim too.

Jim tells Harvey that she’s controlling him.  Harvey answers.

I kinda like it - sweet surrender

Jim has a brief foray into compassion

You need help Ivy - let me find Selina.  She wants to help you.

Ivy brushes this off and leaves.  She tosses over her should that she has big plans, and tells Harvey to kill his partner, then shoot himself in the head.

Harvey aims at Jim, telling him not to try and talk his way out of it.  Jim tries to distract him

Is Ivy's hair more auburn or scarlet?

Harvey mulls this, and Jim runs.  They run about the warehouse, Jim taunting Harvey to get him to use up his bullets. Harvey is sore about Jim stealing his job. Jim says it was never really his and then lists his screw-ups.  Harvey shoots repeatedly, angry, and Jim is able to evade him until he’s out of bullets, and knock him out.

Sirens.  Bruce is looking for Selina’s help.  She tells him he’s an ass and that she’s busy.  He should go find Alfred. Bruce looks unsettled. Light dawns

You did, and he wanted nothing to do with you

She advises him to apologise to Alfred – whatever happened, she’s sure it was his fault.  She leaves.

 At Cherry’s, Lee and Ed sit opposite each other at a small table.  Ed gives Lee the information he’s found - according to his spies - Sofia and Jim have been carrying on an affair

So, technically, your ex has been sleeping with your dead husband's mafiosa sister.

Funniest line in the episode – narrowly followed by the speed with which Lee responds

Yeah - ok Ed I get it

She starts to hypothesise

If Sofia’s sleeping with the Captain of GCPD it’s a power play, and one that failed, if I’m her next step.  Maybe I should just just give her what she wants - power over Jim.

Ed is startled.

You would do that?

She seems pretty unmoved, and very sincere.

I’m not trying to get back at Jim, though he deserves it.  My job is to make sure the people of the Narrows are safe and I will do everything in my power to ensure that.

Ed looks her in the eyes. He’s completely, totally smitten. I’m not exactly sure how CMS does that ten emotions all at once thing with his eyes, but it’s genuinely amazing. Seriously.

She smiles back at him

What?

Lee – I...

He looks away from her

I… I have to leave

He exits, and Lee stares after him.

(An aside - Lee didn’t look entirely oblivious, there – nor did she seem unreceptive.  I don’t think the notion of her having feelings for Ed is outside the realms of possibility.  If she’s not entertained the idea already, then she’s not outright rejecting it.)

Harvey comes round at the precinct.  Jim asks if he can remember anything. Harvey says Ivy was talking about people who get rich by murdering plants.  Jim remembers that she seemed to have been trying on ‘fancy clothes and shoes’ at her lair.  Don’t hide your light under a bushel with those vague terms, Jim – we all remember those stunning 60s cocktail dresses your subconscious put Barbara in.  You should set up a business on the side.

Jim instructs officers to ring around – try to find what fancy event is on that Ivy might be trying to crash.  Eventually they figure out – the Wayne Foundation charity event.  Jim tells them to assemble a strike force.  Before he leaves, Harvey talks to him

Hey Jim.  I spent too long putting it all on you.  What happened – I’ve only got myself to blame

Not really, Harvey. But anyway.

Jim looks at him and ... still fails to own up.  He says he’ll call, and leaves.

 At the gala, we briefly see a photograph of Bruce’s parents.  Are we ever going to hear more about Martha?  Thomas is mentioned frequently, but they barely discuss Martha.

Still in his black polo neck of angst, Bruce takes to the stage.  The lettering spelling out ‘Wayne Foundation’ is awful.  It’s all uneven.  And I don’t really think much of the ambience of the room, either.  They should have hired Jervis on some day release from Arkham to arrange this.  Woeful.

We see Alfred enter the room, as does Bruce, which makes him stumble over his speech.  He changes what’s on the cards.  He says his parents spent their lives helping people.  He was proud of them and wanted them to be proud of him.  He saw them murdered, but survived because someone in his life kept him going. He was everything to him: teacher, protector, and father.  He hopes he can see that, and give him another chance.

Vaguely shocked applause

Bruce walks to Alfred. Alfred thanks him, and says that meant a great deal.  But he then annoyingly and confusingly tells him that he can’t tell him, not until he accepts who he really is.  Oh no – here it comes – ‘darkness’  chat again. Bruce needs to embrace that, apparently – but not really, because his heart and compassion are his strengths. He needs to accept altruism and darkness but it’s something he must do on his own.  This is terribly confusing, Alfred.  Go buy a parenting book from Amazon or something.  Jeezy Creezy.  No wonder Bruce ends up dressing like a giant bat.

Bruce looks let down and angry

I was stupid for reaching out

He walks away.  And who can blame him?  

 Ivy now takes to the stage

That was quite a speech.  I’m Ivy Pepper.

Panicked murmuring ensues. At least if Jervis had arranged this, you’d probably have had some really lovely hors d’oeuvres by now.  And probably special folded napkins.

Ivy tells them to stay seated and her thugs chain the doors.  Alfred runs.

Some empty space somewhere in Cherry’s.  BadEd is ranting and enraged.  We see Ed standing at a staircase with a noose in his hand

BadEd tells him he can’t do this – but Ed tells him it was his idea.  BadEd tries to play for time

Ok fine - you win - you beat me.  Is that what you want to hear?

Ed tiredly tells him that’s very nice, but he still has to do this.

BadEd is desperate.

Wait – there’s a way to do this where nobody gets hurt!

Ed flatly says he doesn't believe him.  But BadEd insists – there’s a way to save Lee without killing himself.  

Or us

I'm listening.

Back at the function - Ivy comments on the beautiful crimson flowers and tells a man he’s handsome before murdering him.

Bruce is walking away from the room as Jim runs towards it with his strike force. He asks Bruce if Ivy is in there.  Bruce doesn’t think so – but the they hear ruckus, and Jim advances

There’s weeping and panic, and we see the man’s corpse flowering.  Ivy looks blissed out by this, and says she’s going to turn this room into a gorgeous garden.  Alfred tries to attack – but is knocked out.  Ivy looks down at him

A volunteer

The strike force bursts the door open and Jim tells the thugs to drop their guns

Ivy strolls away, telling her men to kill everyone.

(An aside - What is Ivy wearing? Ivy – you are not Blanche Devereaux, and you do not have whatever it is that is required to convincingly wear sequinned palazzo pants.)

Bruce looks in at the chaos. Stealing a mask, he saves Alfred, who was about to be killed.  He tells him that he’s getting him out of here.  Alfred stops him though – telling him people need his help, and this is who he is.  Bruce looks at him, masks himself again, and runs off.

(An aside.  I kind of feel this is the problem with rushing the Batman thing along too fast.  Bruce still really reads as a child.  He’s tall.  He has a deep voice.  But he’s not an adult yet.  We’ve just seen him indulging in a specifically teenage style of self-destructiveness.   As such, telling him to endanger himself like this just comes off as cruel.)

Somewhere else in the building, Bruce watches from shadows, and then takes out a thug.  Jim comes upon this.  He yells at Bruce to drop it and, like, immediately shoots him.  He might as well have yelled drop it afterwards. Wtf? Isn’t there a recognised way to do this where you don’t just immediately shoot the person? He did the same with Krank in the alley.

Bruce is fortunately wearing something bulletproof, gets up, and runs to the roof.  No fucking wonder.  Even if he did try to explain, Jim might just shoot him again before he can inhale and start talking.  Jim chases him to the rooftop, but Bruce is gone.

Ivy’s lair.  She removes the police tape that has been thrown over her plants.  I’ve accidentally killed both of those specific plants in the past.  One of them,  a type of Calathea, is called a prayer plant – because it folds its leaves together at night, like hands in prayer.  Ivy rifles through the mess and finds what she’s after -  a tiny black bag.  

Hear the news?  Crazy Ivy Pepper attacks Wayne Foundation Dinner

It’s Selina.  Ivy tells her it didn't turn out as hoped. Selina affects mock-surprise

What – you didn't get to kill everyone in there?  You got out -you always were a survivor

She looks at her hands

What's in the bag?

It’s the little bag of life and death.  

Nah – it’s the last of the Lazarus water.

Selina nods

So you can make more plants to kill people?  Yeah -  ain't gonna happen

Ivy asks if she’s going to stop her.  Remind her of the old days.  Tell her she’s not this person.  Selina tells her they’re past words and uses her whip to trap her wrist and send the bottle hurtling away.

Ivy sneers – Selina Kyle turns out to be the hero.  Selina tells her

I'm no hero

They fight. Ivy reminds her that one scratch is all it takes, and no antidote this time.  Selina evades her.  Ivy tells her she can’t run – but Selina was picking up the bottle.  She threatens to drop it.  Ivy asks her to stop – tells her she’ll let her leave. Selina mocks her generosity.  She drops the bottle and puts her foot on it, not breaking it - yet.

No!  How can you side with them - all the people who hurt us?  You think they're innocent, they're guilty.  Every person in this city – they spew out poison.  How are you not choking on it?

Selina says the only thing she’s choking on is Ivy’s insanity.  She breaks the bottle.  Ivy screams and wraps her hands round Selina’s neck.

You shouldn't have done that.  You're going to die.

Selina maintains eye contact but tells her to look down.  She has a knife at Ivy’s gut.

Ivy asks her what what happens now.  Do they kill each other?  Selina tells her that’s an option.  Ivy starts to strop a little

You always thought you were better than me

Selina replies

We were friends

Ivy says that was a long time ago, and she’s a different person now.  Selina tells her that this isn’t what she wants and drops the knife. It’s a statement of trust - really, that Ivy still has a better nature somewhere, and she hasn’t altogether given up on that.  Ivy tightens the grip at her throat, but tells her not to get in her way again, before dropping her hands and leaving. Selina watches her go.

 The Narrows, where Sofia is meeting with Lee.

(An aside – wouldn’t she want Butch there?  I know he can’t be, to facilitate what comes next, but even a nod to explain away his absence would be nice.)

Sofia sits down, placing her handbag demurely on the table before her.  It’s a classic one with a clasp closure.  

Lee says she has something more valuable to offer than what Sofia asked for. This turns out to be Jim.

(An aside – Lee is clever, but this is a misstep.  You see Sofia’s eyes widen minutely – she doesn’t like the reminder that she might be losing her grip on him)

Lee says she knows about his other crimes.  Sofia says she has her own dirt – but Lee tells her that she must need more, or she wouldn’t be threatening her. She smiles, confident, and tells Sofia to take her deal.  And now the misstep is way more obvious.  Sofia is quietly livid at the notion of someone seeing her slip up in any way.  Her face hardens, and she tells Lee she has a better way to bring Jim to heel.

Sofia’s men shoot Lee’s guards.  Lee tries to save one, and tells Sofia she’ll never get out of there alive.  Sofia sneers

Your people.  Who do think planted the guns?

Samson enters, and tells Lee she should have killed him.  She really should have.  Sofia tells Lee Samson runs the Narrows now, and points out that Lee’s failure to kill him told her everything she needed to know.

She had her men pin Lee down, and place her hand forcibly on the table.  She talks out a hammer, and tells her that since she’s family, she’ll only do one hand.

Between covering my eyes and yelling ‘fuck!’ repeatdly, I could see that it was very gory – Sofia slamming the hammer into the back of Lee’s hand, mangling it, as she screamed in pain. When she’s done, she tells them to throw her on the streets and let the Narrows see its queen.

(An aside – I’ve talked about this elsewhere, but I think there’s a specific note of jealousy in Sofia’s actions, as well as her wider business concerns. Lee was loved by Mario and accepted by Carmine.  I don’t know how secure Sofia feels of either of those things.)

Jim gets a call telling him about Lee.  We get to the hospital and see him gazing through the window at her.  A medic approaches and asks if he’s family.  Jim looks tired.  There’s a long pause before he replies

I'm a cop

The medic tells Jim Lee wouldn’t say who did it.  Jim says she didn’t have to.

(An aside.  I have to admit – Like Ed, I was surprised earlier that Lee was willing to deliver Jim even more fully into Sofia’s clutches.  I assumed there were residual feelings, and they’d wind up back together, but now I’m not really so sure at all.  That seems underlined here – as Jim stares at her through glass, and disavows any type of bond to her.  I wonder if they have gone past the point of no return?   Especially if Sofia enlightens Jim to the fact that Lee was willing to sell him out.  Not that Jim doesn’t need to feel the salutary sting of what it would feel like to be betrayed  - hopefully it might teach him something – but it might be a nail in the coffin)

 Arkham.  A frazzled-looking Ed sits at a desk.  He’s signing himself in.  The chief medic asks if he’s sure.  Ed just looks tiredly at him

You do know who I am, don't you?

The man tells him to read and sign.  As he does, Ed tells BadEd

I hate that you were right, but it will keep her safe

BadEd repeats his two eyes riddle, as we see Oswald approach the room.

(An aside – Uh, how? Does Oswald just get to wander with impunity?  Did Jerome grant him his special charisma access?  He didn’t seem entirely trusting of him that we last saw.  If he did, does that access extend to stuff like this guy’s office?  Surely pretty easy to escape if he has that, no?  Oswald’s clever.  Or at least – only when the narrative doesn’t need him to be stupid)

Ed is sick of this riddle, and tells him

Who cares?

You should

Oswald enters the room, accompanied by his villainous jangly music.  He’s jubilant and faintly hysterical.

I knew you'd come

Ed is confused.  But Oswald says he’s not talking to Ed,

I’m talking to him.  I’m talking to him.  He laughs. He read my letter.

Bad Ed waves the letter in front of Ed’s face.

Read the first word of each sentence

‘Please bring Ed to Arkham so I can set you free’

Ed looks desperate - cornered.  BadEd repeats

What has two eyes but can't see?

Ed panics

No!  I came here to save lee

Oswald laughs again – bordering on hysteria.

He read my letter

No – I am Edward Nygma.  Lee believes in me and sees me for what I am.

Oswald lunges at his throat and grabs his collar.  

But I see him!  Lee Thompkins made Ed strong, but I see the other you. The one whose name I wouldn't speak.  But because you have earned it and I need your help….

(An aside.  This is a frightful guddle.  Oswald never thought that ‘Riddler’  was a separate persona.  He thought it was an absurd posey name Ed had adopted. The whole point of the grand Oswald/Ed friendship was apparently that Oswald saw BadEd and still thought that was fine and dandy. But now…..Oswald didn’t see that? Or the Riddler isn’t the combined Good and Bad Ed at all?  I understand that Ed’s personality is complex – but it’s important to maintain some kind of consistency in who he is and how people perceive him – otherwise you just end up with a gungey mess like this)

Ed is frantic and begging

No - please

I need you, Riddler

Ed grabs his throat and face

Oswald waits, wide-eyed.

Poor Ed.  We see several expressions chase each other across his face.

He puts the pen down

Shall we get to work?

Oswald laughs

Ed laughs

(An aside - Hmmm.   It’s testament to CMS that a scene with so many wild inconsistencies plays so well.  Ed realises he’s been trapped – but it’s too late.  Or is it?  It’s further testament to him that I think there’s some ambiguity at the end as to the precise nature of the amalgam that’s been created.  It didn’t feel as instant or clean as it might.

This scene is also fairly clearly intended as an echo of Ivy and Selina’s stand-off, right down to the hands on the throat, and the appeals to the sense of history and friendship. The difference here is that while Selina genuinely wanted to help Ivy, and while Ivy showed Selina mercy – this is not the case with Ed and Oswald.  Oswald shows Ed no mercy – despite his begging and pleading. Unlike Selina, Oswald wants to exacerbate his old friend’s insanity to get what he wants.  I suppose you could say that Oswald owes Ed nothing, not after what he did to him – and, indeed, he doesn’t.  

Still, it all seems rather ugly and selfish and sad, somehow.)

The kitchen at Wayne Manor. Alfred asks Bruce how he made it off the roof. Bruce tells him the fire escape.  He then asks why he ran from Jim.  Because Jim has a fucking twitchy trigger finger, Alfred, that’s why.  

Bruce says he doesn’t know. He says he wants to help people, and if that means accepting every part of himself, he will - it’s what his parents would have wanted

Would they fuck, Bruce. Your parents would not want this weird psychological assault course Alfred has you attempting.

Alfred tells him his parents would have been proud of him – that he’s proud.  He rises.  Bruce offers him a lift back to Gotham, but Alfred tells him he’s home.

 At GCPD, Harvey looks out over the desks.  Jim approaches.  Harvey congratulates him – he saved the day.  That’s why he’s captain and Harvey’s a 50-year-old screw-up pouring shots.  

Jim grimaces.

There’s a reason all right – but not what you think.  I screwed up bad, and I need your help to make it right. Sofia hired Pyg - and I knew.  I knew and I covered it up.

He’s teared up a little, but now he straightens up

And now I'm going to take her down

Harvey just looks at him.  I’m not so sure I saw forgiveness there, if I’m honest.

(An aside – Jim’s big moment here is undermined by how quickly he leaps to the notion of taking Sofia down.  It reads less like penance and making amends, and more like shifting the blame to the ‘real’ villain.  But Sofia was only ever in town because Jim went to Carmine in the first place.  I still don’t feel like he’s taking full responsibility for his actions.)

 General Observations

 Jim is making sort of vague movements towards making amends in confessing to Harvey – but it’s really not massively convincing.  Harvey pointed out, last week, that Jim’s desire to confess is more down to Jim’s need to confess – rather than a genuine desire to make amends.  He’s on a mission to take Sofia down, now – but, as I said, I still don’t think he’s anywhere near redemption.

Not a lot of Oswald, this week.  I note that – Oswald’s desperation to leave Arkham aside, and that was there anyway – there’s not really one real repercussion of that prolonged and unpleasant storyline with Jerome here.  Not one.  You’d almost think it was unnecessary.  

Aside from that, never mind what version of Ed we had - which version of Oswald was this?  I can buy that Oswald is desperate enough to escape that he’s temporarily willing to be completely pragmatic – putting small matters like, say, digging up his father’s corpse to one side.  But there are other logistical problems.   Previously, Oswald thought that the whole notion of The Riddler was Ed being a poseur – but now he totally gets that the Riddler is the source of Ed’s villainous genius?  And given how thoroughly dreadful Ed was on his last visit, why exactly would he think that any aspect of Ed’s dark side was being repressed?  On top of that, let’s hope he’s got a back-up plan for when he gets out, because if he should have learned anything, it’s that Ed has a sadistic streak, and would betray him for laughs – or even just to make the point that Oswald does not get to summon him to Arkham to do his bidding.

As for Ed, his story just made me… sad, if I’m honest. He’s not my favourite character, but watching him desperately trying to hit on a combination of pills that will keep Lee safe and buy him some peace, watching him willing to kill himself to do the same, to escape the incessant harassment of a version of himself that he fears – it was genuinely sad.  Ed’s ill, and he knows he’s ill.  

We’ve seen a few points, over the years, where Ed has tried to get help.  He tentatively told Kristen, on their first date, that he heard voices in his head – but she misunderstood him.  He seemed to be improving in Arkham, to the point that he had apologised to Oswald for turning him away, but was still plainly ill – and looked bleakly at the doctor who told him he was sane.  We see him struggle, here, to maintain control over his compulsions. But nevertheless, here he is again.  Ed’s been not waving, but drowning, for a very long time.

I was honestly surprised, as I said, to see Lee willing to sell Jim’s secrets – but I guess it’s a sign of how far her story has moved on.  She’s clever, and engaged ably with Sofia, but – at the moment, does not possess the ruthlessness to take her down, as Sofia herself pointed out.  From spoilers, it sounds like she is going to cross that line soon.  In crossing that line, there might also be common ground created with Ed (whatever version of him we have now), and as discussed above, I don’t think she seemed entirely closed off to the notion of him as a romantic option.

Selina and Ivy’s scene was one of the strongest – harking back to their shared past.  Ivy is much improved now they’ve moved away from femme fatale and just made her indiscriminately lethal.  A reassertion of Selina’s character was likewise welcome after getting lost in the boring catsuitted vortex of the Sirens’ storyline.  It’ll be interesting to see what happens when they next encounter each other.

I’m not wildly engaged by Bruce right now.  Sorry. I feel sorry for him – but the reasoning behind Alfred’s behaviour is absent.

Thoughts?  

[scripttorture]

Hi- this is the anon from the ask that was very general- character is a well trained female in her mid 20s- story is set in America in modern times. She is not with any kind of set organization but works as a vigilante type to stop an underground American group from committing countless atrocities upon civilians, she is not being tortured for information: simply put, she is being tortured because they hate her. They want her to suffer and then die, not as much physical torture but more...1/3

Psychological torture. They are trying to tear her down to nothing because in their minds, they are simply returning the favor. As i said they had the intent to kill her- however she does manage to get out- a rescue mission- not by her own accord but what would be a torture method that would stay with her and you would see lasting effects of? I guess what I would be trying to show to readers is that she physically survived but mentally she never left the torture. And apologies if I'm ...2/3 Asking a lot but what are the extreme tortures that would slowly kill someone? I hope this is the right amount of information and I hope that this is helpful- thank you so much in advance:) 3/3 

This is definitely theright amount of information, thank you. :)

 It’s also a veryrealistic set up. Which I very much appreciate. Though you should keep in mindthat ‘psychological torture’ isn’t really a thing so much as a phraseapologists tend to use to dismiss the impact of physical tortures that don’tleave scars such as sleep deprivation, starvation, solitary confinement etc.

 All torture has hugeeffects on victims’ mental health and it allhas a massive impact on their lives. Now there are a lot of ‘clean’ non-scarring tortures that could easily be lethalbut I’m not sure how well that fits with the idea that these torturers want todestroy this character. Because generally people tend to belittle and dismiss theeffects of non-scarring torture: they see scarring torture as ‘worse’.

 Which isn’t true, butdoes impact on what people chose to do.  

 Given the way youdescribe the set up I think this time I’m going to step outside the ‘NationalStyle’ of the country you’ve set this in. Modern torture is generally ‘clean’ ie non-scarring and although all torture can be lethal modern tortureis by no means guaranteed to be lethal.

 What I’m getting fromthis ask is that you want something scarring, possibly disabling. Somethingvisually wrenching for the audience that could instinctively inspire horror withouthaving to go into intensely detailed description. Something the character couldsurvive but could very easily havebeen lethal.

 To me that just screamsmedieval Europe.

 Let me be clear for allthe methods I’m about to describe even with modern medicine this characterwould be extremely lucky to surviveand many of these would result in her being disabled for the rest of her life.I suggest picking something based on the level of disability you’d becomfortable writing her with as well as what you feel fits the story.

 1)     Burningalive. Even a fleeting glance at European history turns up thisold method of execution. It is potentially a horrifically painful and slow wayto die. And with modern medicine it is potentially survivable. Let’s be clear,this couldn’t be the modern method ofdousing a victim with petrol or a similar flammable substance. For this to bethe slow, scarring process you want it would have to be a wood or gas fire.

WhatI’m picturing is essentially suspension over a flame. The suspension on its ownwould be extremely painful and cause nerve damage in her hands. But doing itlike this would keep her alive for longer, which appears to be what thetorturers want. By dangling her above a flame in this way her feet and legstake the majority of the damage, while her vital organs are at a greaterremove. The torturers could use this to burn her feet and legs to the pointwhere they’d be amputated, cause first and second degree burns to the skin ofher lower abdomen and genitals and the character could still survive.

You’dhave a lot of scope with this method to decide the extent of her disability andscarring. Her feet would likely be amputated however you did this, but how highup the leg the amputation would occur and the extent of the burns over her bodycould easily vary quite a lot.

 2)     Thewheel. This is a much more disabling scenario. For thoseunfamiliar with the wheel, this was a method of torture in historical Europe.It involved tying the victim to a wheel in an X shape and systematicallybreaking the bones in their limbs turning the victim into-

‘a sortof huge screaming puppet writhing in rivulets of blood, a puppet with fourtentacles, like a sea monster of raw, slimy and shapeless flesh mixed withsplinters of smashed bones’ Hamburg 1607.

Accountsfrom the time suggest that human beings can live for hours or days in this state.As a result you have a really large window of time in which she could berescued and the torturers could very well think when they leave her that she’sbound to die.

Iam honestly unsure whether her limbs could be saved in this scenario. I suspectit would depend on how exactly the bones were broken. Historically this wouldhave been something like repeated blows with a large hammer. That wouldprobably result in multiple amputations. Something that instead produced cleanbreaks (rather than splintering the bones) would be more likely to allow her toretain her limbs. She’d need multiple surgeries all over her body toreconstruct them and a lot of her bones would be held together with pins. She’dprobably suffer from chronic pain for the rest of her life and would havehugely reduced mobility in her hands and feet.

 3)     This one is a uniquetorture that the Vikings inflicted on one of the old Kings of East Anglia.I think it was Edmund.

Hewas tied to a tree and the torturers cut through his abdomen and removed hisintact intestines. They tied part of the intestine to the tree then untied the victim and forced him to walkrepeatedly around the tree, tangling his intestine around it.

I’dsuggest something similar with a post inside a building instead of a tree.

Nowthis is risky and there are a lot ofways it could just kill the character. But if it was done ‘carefully’ bytorturers who wanted her to suffer for as long as possible, then that doesn’thave to be the case. Any nick or cut to the intestine itself would likely causesepsis so that should be avoided. Likewise howthe abdominal cavity is opened up is important because the torturers would needto avoid slicing into major veins or arteries.

She’dneed surgery. The doctors would need to go over every inch of her intestines tocheck for the slightest cut. They’d need to clean it. If it had been damagedthey might have to remove a section (you can ask scriptmedic about how thiswould affect her day to day life, I understand it varies depending on how muchintestine is lost). She’d then have to have everything put back in place andstitched up. She’d be left with large scars across her abdomen which mightrestrict her ability to turn/move that part of her body.

Thisis less physically disabling than the other two methods but it is visuallyshocking and would likely have one hell of an impact on your readers.

 All of these would be aslow death and the torturers might well see them all as ‘humiliating’ deaths aswell. I think that fits with your concept of them dehumanising the character.

 I hope these fit with the kind of arresting, affecting visual youwanted. But if I’ve gotten the wrong impression from the ask and they don’t: ifyou’d prefer something that wouldn’t leave such obvious physical marks orlasting disabilities, feel free to drop me another ask and I can put togethersome ‘clean’ techniques that would fit.

 Just to round it outthere is one very straightforward thing they could do that would take a longtime, be painful, non-scarring and would be seen as humiliating: Starvation.

 I have a Masterposton the effects of starvation here, and anotheron the effects of solitary confinement here. Leaving her locked in a cellwith a supply of water to starve to death could give her a week or more ofpretty intense suffering.

 With hospital care she’dsurvive and probably wouldn’t have any scarring or permanent disabilities butit would certainly have an incredible impact on her mental health.

 As a final point youmight want to take a look at myMasterpost on the psychological effects of torture, which would applywhichever method you end up picking for your story.

 I hope that helps, andgood luck. :)

Disclaimer

[faewhump]

Unseelie Pet: 10. Chapter

Still rattled from the illusion Alex gets a comforting bath. But when he recovers Malachi uses the opportunity to humiliate him further than ever before.

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Content warnings: dehumanisation, humiliation, non-consensual touching (not sexual), drugging (faerie food), mentions of torture

Tagging: @castielamigos-whump-side-blog @whumpsideblog @frnkieroismydaddy @slaintetowhump @thewhiteraven73 @galaxywhump

After a while Alex’s crying calmed down to a quiet sniffling, and his panic subsided.

“Look at how dirty you got yourself again, such a careless pet,” Malachi chided gently, picking a few twigs out of Alex’s hair.

“S-sorry,” Alex mumbled, feeling ashamed. Malachi was right, his escape attempt had left him and his clothes soiled with dirt and sweat.

Malachi tutted. “We’ll have to wash you again, won’t we? Would you like me to give you a bath again, just like we did yesterday?”

Alex nodded shyly. It was weird to hear the bath being referred to as having happened yesterday, to him it felt as if weeks had passed since then. He remembered not being happy about it at the time, but right now he craved the feeling being taken care of, an assurance that he wouldn’t be abandoned and left for death, as well as the warmth of the water. Even though the dark cell hadn’t been real, he still felt its cold in his bones.

He followed Malachi to the bathroom, obediently took off his clothes, not even hesitating this time, and slipped into the tub. Malachi was rummaging around in a cabinet somewhere behind him, and he turned to look over his shoulder expectantly. Malachi chuckled when he saw Alex waiting so eagerly for the part he’d hated the most less than a day ago.

“Such a demanding pet already,” he mused and knelt down next to the tub. “How delightfully adorable.”

This time Alex had no troubles relaxing right from the start as Malachi washed him, melting readily under the Fae’s soft touches. He had been so starved for any kind of touch or attention during his isolation and was almost overwhelmed to receive so much of both now. He also loved listening to Malachi talk, the soothing voice and gentle praise reminded him again and again that he wasn’t alone anymore. His calmness increased even further when Malachi began to feed him pieces of freshly baked bread and other delicacies.

Seeing Alex’s much greater enjoyment compared to the day before, Malachi decided to give it more time and washed him very slowly and thoroughly, making sure to praise him for his lovely behaviour ever so often. When he was finally done he almost had to coax the drowsy human out of the warm water. He took his time towelling Alex off until his skin was dry and rosy, then helped him into a fluffy bathrobe to keep him warm.

“Will you comb my hair again?” Alex mumbled, blinking sleepily.

Malachi smiled. “Of course, darling,” he said and gently guided Alex back into the bedroom. “I like taking care of my pet, and I’m very proud of you for asking so sweetly.”

Alex obediently sat on the pillow in front of the bed and immediately sunk back against Malachi’s legs once he felt the familiar sensation of the comb being threaded through his hair. After the horror of his punishment it now felt like things couldn’t possibly be more perfect. He was so happy to finally be out of the cell; he couldn’t find the energy to be angry at the Fae for treating him like a lesser person. All he cared about right now was that he was warm, clean, sated and most importantly, not alone.

Although it probably wasn’t even close to night, he felt incredibly tired. When Malachi put the comb away he slowly climbed up onto the bed and allowed the Fae to tuck him in, grateful for the sense of safety the familiar gesture brought. Even the before dreaded goodnight kiss was nothing but reassuring this time, and he fell asleep before Malachi even left the room.

Utterly exhausted as he was, Alex slept deep and long, waking up on the following day when the sun already stood high. Compared to the day before the illusion of the dark cell now felt more like a bad dream than a real memory, and his mind was a lot clearer. Looking back he was embarrassed, he had acted like an absolute idiot, crying, begging and even going so far as to seek comfort with the very person that had hurt him.

He also felt stupid for blowing his chances of an easy escape, he should have known that it was useless. Just waiting for and grabbing the first opportunity he got had been a tactic that had worked on Darerca, but Malachi was of a different calibre entirely. No, his next escape attempt would need to be planned carefully if he wanted it to succeed. He would have to collect more information on the palace layout and Malachi’s schedule, making sure that he would be safely out of the forest before the Fae even noticed he was gone.

Routinely Alex dressed in the clothes that had been laid out for him and fed his breakfast to the crows in the courtyard. He couldn’t let Malachi ever catch him again. This time he had only punished him with an illusion, and despite the extreme effects it had had on him, an illusion probably wouldn’t suffice a second time. The day before Malachi seemed to have forgiven him, but Alex wondered whether that really would be all.

When the Fae entered his room around noon, he nervously got up to face him.

“How are you today, little human?” Malachi asked, stepped close and gently ran his knuckles over Alex’s cheek.

Alex turned his head away. “I’m fine.”

“That is very good to hear.” Malachi smiled. If he was disappointed that Alex’s clinginess from the day before had disappeared, he didn’t let it show. “You were so distraught yesterday; it was quite piteous.”

“And whose fault was that?” Alex snapped, fed up with the fake concern.

Malachi fixed him with a stern gaze. “No-one’s but your own, of course. Or must I remind you of your appallingly ungrateful actions? Or the way you lied and tried to deceive me?”

Alex swallowed. “No.”

“No what?” Malachi pressed.

“You don’t have to remind me. It was my fault.” Alex hated this; his mouth tasted like bile.

“Very good.” Malachi nodded approvingly. “Since you did not manage to do so before, please do tell me your name now.”

Alex looked away. This was what he had feared, now that Malachi knew ‘Kieran’ had been fake he would force him to reveal his true name.

“Well?” Malachi prompted.

“No.”

“What was that?”

Alex took a deep breath and met Malachi’s eyes squarely. “No, I won’t tell you my name.”

Malachi tsked. “That does not keep the properties, does it? How should I address you without knowing your name?”

“What, as if you don’t prefer calling me all sorts of ridiculous nicknames anyways?” Alex gave back and immediately regretted his tone when he saw Malachi’s expression.

“You are aware that I could simply torture it out of you, right?” Malachi said matter-of-factly, causing Alex to take a step backwards. “But then again, you could merely continue to lie to me, pretending to be controlled by one fake name after the other, wasting our precious time.” He sighed. “Ah, well.  It isn’t as if I’d truly require your name anyways. There might merely be a few inconveniences arising for you thereby.”

Alex didn’t like the smile Malachi gave him on that one bit. He didn’t dare to move away when Malachi stepped in close again and cupped his cheek.

“I felt quite betrayed by your unruly behaviour yesterday, and I’m afraid that I won’t be able to trust you again soon, especially not without knowing your name,” he said. “But it isn’t healthy for humans to stay inside for a long time, therefore we will have to make use of a slightly different method. Call it a precaution.”

Alex was confused as to what Malachi was referring to and stared in shock when he saw the Fae pull out a leash. He tried to jerk away, but Malachi kept him in place effortlessly with a hand on the back of his neck. Shame and humiliation burned through him as the Fae hooked the filigree gold chain into the front of his collar. He wanted to protest but knew it would be pointless.

“Now, now, cheer up, my sweet,” Malachi said good-humouredly and patted his cheek. “If you do well practising here today, I will take you outside again soon.”

What followed was one of the most humiliating experiences of Alex’s life. He wanted nothing more than to fight Malachi and refuse, but didn’t dare to upset the Fae even more than he already had. On the one hand he was very glad that no one else would see him like this while they “practised”, on the other he could barely imagine anything more humiliating than to be led around on a leash in a room. At first Malachi held the leash rather short and pulled steadily, forcing Alex to follow if he didn’t want to be chocked.

Eventually, Malachi stopped and yanked the leash down. “Kneel.”

Reluctantly Alex obeyed, internally dying of shame.

“Good boy,” Malachi praised and petted his head. “You are doing well so far.”

Alex swallowed and turned his face away; he didn’t want to see Malachi’s smugness.

“Well, what do you think? Doesn’t this just work beautifully?” Malachi asked, sounding way too happy for Alex’s taste.

“It’s awful,” Alex replied truthfully. “It’s humiliating and I hate it.”

Malachi forced Alex to look up at him with a hand twisted tightly in his hair. “Is that so? I think you should be more grateful that I allow you to walk upright and don’t make you crawl.” He smirked at Alex’s horrified expression, clearly enjoying himself.

Alex was so glad when shortly thereafter Malachi gave the leash a sharp yank again and said, “Up.”

Leading him around the room now, Malachi gave the leash more slack and seemed pleased that Alex still followed.

“Such a smart pet, learning so fast!” Malachi cooed, and Alex had to use all of his control not to punch him.

When they came close to the bed Malachi yanked down again, and Alex obediently knelt on the pillow at the foot, earning himself a head pat in praise. To his horror Malachi tied the leash to a bed post and strictly said, “Stay.” Then he left the room.

Alex shifted his weight, unsure of how long he was supposed to wait like this. He hated it, at least before he hadn’t been treated like a dog, but apparently Malachi had to humiliate him more every day. Even though he wasn’t in pain, Alex felt like crying. He hated the clinks the chain links made whenever he moved, despite their quietness each of them felt like a slap in the face.

What if that was it? What if he wouldn’t be able to escape and this was his life now? He was already a lot further gone than he would have ever expected; wearing a collar, tied to a bed post with a leash, kneeling obediently and waiting for his owner. He shouldn’t just sit here and accept it; he should fight every second and refuse to give in even one inch. But whenever he thought about fighting, he inevitably thought about the punishments as well.

When Malachi returned he was clearly pleased with Alex’s behaviour, immediately slid a hand into his hair and praised him.

“You’re doing so well, darling,” he murmured and sat on the bed, placing the tray of food he’d carried next to him. “You have earned yourself a treat.”

Of course Alex’s traitorous stomach chose that moment to growl loudly, rendering his hopes of pretending to not be hungry impossible. He obediently leaned in to take the sweet confection Malachi offered him with his mouth, closing his eyes in bliss at the marvellous taste. At any rate the faerie food would make it easier for him to forget the awfulness of his situation, at least for a little while.