#joseph stormbeck

[whump-tr0pes]

How many playthings did Joseph had before his beautiful untimely death?

He smiles serenely. You can see the couch through his body... come to think of it, he barely seems to be there at all. It's like the more his son heals, the more he fades.

"Oh, who keeps track of such things?" he says, and waves a translucent hand.

(The answer is less than twenty. He always kept his playthings far longer than Gavin did - months or years. He liked slowly watching a plaything break, grinding them into nothing. Gavin broke people quickly, usually never taking more than a few days before he killed them. He would exorcise his sadistic feelings and then put the plaything out of their misery before the guilt and shame could really start to make itself known, wheeeeeee!)

[eatyourdamnpears]

I found my new favorite tiktok and I just... had to make this @whump-tr0pes

[whump-tr0pes]

Fact

honestly, i think my favorite type of whumper is “sad, lonely, rich bastard.” do i feel bad for him? absolutely fucking not. like here’s a man who could’ve been decent and maybe done something charitable with his money, but instead decided to make other peoples’ lives hell just because he can. it’s so very clear that this man has never faced A Consequence in his entire life, and it’s given him a completely undeserved sense of confidence.

it’s like, aww, did someone get addicted to torturing people as a replacement for genuine interpersonal relationships? did you?? well get fucked, and while you’re at it get some THERAPY and maybe also let those people out of your basement.

[ashintheairlikesnow]

Ryan and Danny have a conversation. While Ryan is a delight and charming, he’s still Syndicate - and Syndicate sons take what they want. The latest in the Honor Bound/Daniel Michaelson AU with @whump-tr0pes! You guys are going to be so mad at us soon…

CW: Referenced past torture, referenced past noncom, some sense of dehumanization but nothing direct 

“Come on, jackass, don’t act all shy now. You and I both know I can feel your stupid crush floating all around you like snow.” Ryan elbowed his brother in the ribs, and Danny pushed back lightly, rolling his eyes, red already flushing along his cheeks, nearly canceling out the scars there. “You like him, admit it.”

 “Okay, fine, I do.” Danny shrugged, kicking awkwardly at a stick in their front yard. Forty yards away, Michaelson men (and more than a few women) roamed armed and ready for any threat, but so far none had materialized. “I do, I like him.“

 "There, was that so hard?” Ryan asked with a tone of exaggerated patience. Danny rolled his eyes and kicked at him this time, only to have Ryan step lightly back and to the side.

 "Fuck off. Anyway…  Nate does, too - and that’s important.”

 “Sure. You’ve had him in your room for like… five days now. That doesn’t happen unless Vandrum likes him, too.” Ryan nodded, glancing over his shoulder back at the house. Nate had moved the battered, beat-up car the team had arrived in behind the house and to the side the day before. The team was due to leave tomorrow afternoon or evening, but Nate had said he had a feeling, something that kept sticking in his mind, and he’d feel better if the car was ready to take the secondary track.

 There was a path, through the woods. Rarely used. Wide enough on the ground for a car and covered with the tree canopy over it, so it was harder to track someone from the air. It’d take them through the woods and out the back side of the summer estate grounds, onto a small unmapped road. A getaway road, just in case, that as far as Ryan knew, had never been used.

 There had been no threat, nothing to fear - but when Nate Vandrum had a hunch, even Ryan just shrugged and let him do what he wanted.

 Jackass.

 "Are you gonna date him together, then, or just you?“ 

 Danny’s face went bright red, and he ducked his head low, letting his wavy hair hide it as best he could. Ryan had always liked making his big brother blush - redheads blushed so easily, and honestly, how could anyone expect him to resist? “I, uh. I don’t know. Probably mostly just, um, just me. But we’re not going to-… they’re going to leave like, um, tomorrow night, Ryan. And they can’t exactly just swan in and out of, um, of Mom’s territory.”

 Patrick Michaelson was the nominal head of the Michaelson syndicate - but everyone knew that Corrine Michaelson was the one in charge.

 “I guess that’s true.” Ryan leaned himself back against a low stone wall that cuts across the front lawn, and Danny stayed standing, rubbing idly at the scars cut so deeply into the backs of his hands. Ryan had spent nearly four years spending every resource, calling in every favor, desperately working to find his brother. 

 When he found him, Danny was sitting in a mercenary’s truck, and Nate Vandrum was standing in front of a house on fire with seven people inside. Ryan had come with his own people planning to shoot the place until it fell down from all the bullet holes but instead he had found himself shaking the hand of a man who had been held captive alongside Danny and offering him a job.

 Ryan put one hand up to his mouth, flickering at his thumbnail with his finger in thought. The breeze was gentle and warm on a pretty day, and he knew their guests were no doubt largely outside in the back by now, enjoying the sunlight themselves. 

 Out of earshot.

 “You could have him stay, you know,” Ryan offered, gently. 

 Next to him, Danny stiffened. “What?”

 “Don’t be mad.” Ryan put both hands in the air in a don’t shoot gesture. “I know what you think I’m about to say. But… you know, it’s been a long time since you looked at anyone but Nate, right?”

 Danny went quiet, his blue eyes traveling over the lush green grass, the trees that line the drive up to the summer house, the wide, cloudless blue sky over their heads. “Right.” His voice was soft, and a little shaky, but Ryan knew his brother well - worry but not panic, concern but not slipping away into the nightmares that follow him through the waking world as well as the sleeping. 

 They might have been skirting a line, but he hadn’t crossed it. Not yet.

 “We’re in charge, here,” Ryan said, firmly. “This is our territory. We did a nice thing, a  generous thing, offering them safe haven and a way through here without being picked up by bounty hunters or worse-”

 “Being picked up by Mom,” Danny muttered, and the two of them snorted nearly in unison.

 “Right. Exactly. Look, I like them all-”

 “You like everybody, Ryan, that doesn’t mean shit.”

 “Not everybody.” No, Ryan wasn’t prone to hatred, but he could feel it. He was the one bankrolling Vandrum’s occasional forays into being a bit of a bounty hunter himself. Nate saw another face he remembered, heard a name that rang in his mind from the fucking parties where the Denners had passed his brother around like a cheap whore, and he came to Ryan for cash, a couple of armed men, and permission to kill. 

 Ryan gave him whatever he wanted, every single time.

 Every new corpse was one less motherfucker walking the earth that had raped, beaten, or tortured his brother. Every dead body was worth the cost.

 He and Nate would keep Danny safe, protected, and make sure that he would have what he needed from here on out. What he wanted. And the moment Ryan had seen Danny lay eyes on the man, he had known that Danny wanted      Isaac.  

 “I’m just saying,” Ryan said quietly. “I’m saying that they’re not our friends, Dan. They’re on the run from the Stormbecks, and I like fucking over Collen and her shit family as much as any other Michaelson, but… but we don’t owe them any of this. This is all out of generosity. Goodness.”

 Danny gnawed on his lower lip, sitting on the stone wall now, crossing his arms in front of himself. “We don’t have to be cruel, Ryan. Just because every other syndicate is, that doesn’t mean-”

 “Yeah, we do. You can’t run the world without at least a little cruelty, you know. We’re lucky to be born on this side of the equation. And we should take the advantages that fortune gives us. You like him.”

 “I do.” Danny knew what he was going to say, Ryan could tell. The blush had faded and been replaced by pale uncertainty. Once upon a time, Danny had been angry as shit but he’d been a good syndicate kid, too. It was all still in there, but the Denners had wrecked it, dismantled a lot of the easy assumptions Danny had once held.

 Ryan hadn’t been able to save him or protect him, when it mattered. But he could make sure Danny never wanted for a single thing for the rest of his life. 

 “Then… he should stay here with us. With you and Nate.”

CLICK TO READ THE REST

[whump-tr0pes]

Honor Bound 6 - 30

This is a series. Start here, continued from here.

This is a sequel to Honor Bound, Honor Bound 2, Honor Bound 3, Honor Bound 4, Honor Bound 5, and the prequel Vera.

AO3

Masterlist

Contents: attempted murder, strangulation, sort of generous use of the word 'bitch', past death, pretty ungenerous thoughts about the death of a partner on Vera's part, Gray lore drop, past abuse of a minor, attempted restorative justice

~

Vera was across the room with her hand planted in the center of Rosa’s chest before anyone else could move. She shoved Rosa hard enough that her back slammed against the wall. Rosa’s eyes went wide, the smirk erased in a moment of shock and fear. Vera couldn’t even find the space within herself to enjoy it. There was no room for anything but cold fury that enveloped her like a second skin. She cursed herself for leaving her gun and knife behind. In the same moment, her hands curled around Rosa’s throat and pressed down, hard. Rosa’s eyes went wider. Her fingers dug at Vera’s hands.

“—no!” Kali’s admonition reached Vera through the ringing in her ears. Kali’s small hands curled around Vera’s wrists and pulled. Still, despite her wiry strength, she couldn’t make Vera’s hands budge. Vera’s jaw clenched. She leaned harder on Rosa’s throat. Her mind felt as coldly clear as when she had ripped her teeth through Joseph Stormbeck’s throat, and fired a bullet into Colleen Stormbeck’s forehead. She stared into Rosa’s reddening, bulging eyes without any mercy whatsoever.

You should never have hurt Isaac, she thought viciously.

“Vera, stop,” Kali barked. Vera felt rather than saw Kali’s gaze flick from her to Gray and back. Gray was silent where they stood behind Vera.

“You have about ten seconds to give me a good reason to stop before she passes out,” Vera said flatly. “And maybe another twenty after that before she’s dead.” She felt Rosa’s throat spasm under the relentless pressure of her palm.

“We don’t let anyone stay who harasses, intimidates, or—” Kali yanked at Vera’s arms again. “—goddammit, kills someone else here!”

“That’s fine,” Vera murmured, her lips barely moving. “I haven’t really unpacked yet.”

Rosa’s eyes rolled into the back of her head.

Kali let out a cry of frustration. She looked behind Vera. “Gray,” she gasped. “Please.”

Gray let out a huff of breath. Then, slowly, they said, “Tori won’t be happy if you make her leave, Vera.”

Vera stood perfectly still, the only sounds in the room being the squeaks coming from Rosa’s collapsing throat, and the weak shuffles of her boots against the floor. Vera’s hands spasmed. Then, despite the furious ache in her chest, she loosened her hands and let Rosa go.

Rosa crumpled where she was released, coughing and massaging her bruised throat. Vera spat indelicately and took one step back. She fixed Kali with a loathsome glare.

“Fine,” she said, her lip curling. “You bought that bitch twenty more seconds.”

Kali wasn’t looking at Vera, though. She was staring, wide-eyed, at Rosa. She trembled where she stood, hands at her sides and open as if in supplication. She wet her lips and whispered, “Rosa. What did you do to these people?”

“N-nothing,” Rosa croaked. Her voice itself sounded bruised. “I just—”

Vera stepped forward to kick Rosa in the face with a heavy boot. Gray pulled her back this time, holding her firmly by their side. Vera glared at them. They weren’t looking at her, though; they were looking at Kali.

“This is the second time someone in their group has met you and… well, tried to kill you straight off,” Kali said softly. “I don’t condone the behavior, but… Rosa, Jesus Christ, you did something to Isaac Moore, didn’t you?”

Rosa pushed herself onto her hands and knees. “I did something to him?” she snarled, raising her head to fix Kali with a hateful glare. Vera could see bruises in the shape of her handprints already forming. Her stomach roiled.

“You’re shitting me, right?” Rosa bit out. “You’re fucking shitting me. This has to be a joke. He killed my fucking partner, Kali, he killed Jordan. He—” She flinched back when Vera lunged forward, held back only by Gray’s iron grip on her upper arm.

“Tell her the truth,” Vera hissed through clenched teeth.

Rosa trembled as he glanced between Kali and Vera. “Kali, I’m not having this conversation in front of this fucking—”

“TELL. HER. THE. FUCKING. TRUTH,” Vera bellowed. The tiny corner of the building shook with her rage. Her eyes blazed as she stared down at the woman cowering at her feet, and she tried once again to throw off the hand that held her back from ending Rosa once and for all.

Kali drew in a deep breath, slowly pushed it out. Then, she stepped between Vera and Rosa. Vera’s rage flared and she tensed, ready to shove this newcomer out of the way so she could handle the monster cowering behind her—

Her fury was tempered for the briefest moment by the unflagging kindness in Kali’s eyes. Even as Vera’s muscles braced to attack, even as her face contorted in an expression of rage, Kali looked at her patiently, unafraid, her posture open, her hands down by her sides. Vera’s jaw clenched harder.

“She’s not being fucking honest with you,” Vera said stiffly.

“Yeah, I’m getting that,” Kali said.

Vera blinked.

Rosa scoffed. “You’re fucking kidding me,” she mumbled to herself, every word dripping venom. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. He killed my fucking partner and—”

“Who fired the shot?” Gray ground out. Vera felt her fists relax, felt her shoulders begin to drop from where they hovered around her ears.

Rosa raised her gaze to Gray for the first time since Vera had choked her. “I feel like you should know that you don’t have to be the one to fire the shot in order to be responsi—”

“A syndicate guard fired the shot that killed your partner,” Gray said, a steely calm finding its way into their voice. “And who sent your team into that compound?”

“Isaac was supposed to watch our backs on that mission,” Rosa snarled. “It’s not my fault he failed, it’s not my fault he’s a fucking failure of a human being who—”

“I’ll fucking kill you—” Vera growled.

“Who is the one who organized that mission?” Gray continued tightly, their lips thin. “Who is the one who failed to adequately plan for the guard rotations? Who is the one who purported to lead your team and therefore held the responsibility for such things?”

“You know what? Fuck you,” Rosa snapped. She pushed herself fully to her feet and wobbled when she got there. “I don’t have to fucking listen to this. My partner died because of someone on your crew and now I—”

“Who is the one who went rogue on that mission in the first place?” Gray said, their voice growing in volume but not wavering once. “Who is the one who decided that collaboration wasn’t in the spirit of whatever the fuck you were doing in your little personality cult, and decided that instead of going forward with twinning the radio taps placed on the Defense Corps antennae, like what was supposed to happen, you were just going to blow it up instead?”

Vera paled and glanced at Gray. Old rage and resentment hung on their face like a shadow as they glared at Rosa. She fell back a step, even as Gray stood firm and unmoving.

“Who is the one who ended up causing dozens of deaths with that little stunt?” Gray breathed, hands in fists at their sides. “Who is the one who invited syndicate retaliation against rebel groups that weren’t even involved with that plan? Who is the one who set our cause back months, because we had to scramble to find another way to track their radio signals without that tower? Go ahead and answer. I’ll wait.”

Rosa opened her mouth. Tears of rage shone in her eyes. “I don’t have to fucking listen to this,” she hissed.

“Of course you don’t,” Gray snorted. “Of course you don’t want to listen. You’ve been telling yourself for the past seven goddamn years that your every little problem is Isaac’s fault because it’s easier to tell yourself that than admit to yourself that—” They took a forceful step forward, brushing past Kali as she raised a half-hearted protest. “—you’re the one who fucked up a mission, misjudged a syndicate guard’s rotation schedule, sabotaged the entire rebellion’s cause, and got your partner killed.” Gray’s eyes narrowed to hateful slits. “Because it’s easier to blame someone you had been abusing and conditioning since the age of fif-fucking-teen.”

“Fuck you,” Rosa growled. She whirled and stalked out the door, taking special care to slam it as she went.

For a long moment, the sound was the three of them breathing. Vera could hear her pulse pounding in her ears. She turned to look at Gray, who stared at the door as if Colleen Stormbeck herself had just walked out of it. She wet her lips to speak.

Kali beat her to it. “Gray,” she croaked. “I had no idea.”

“I know,” Gray said. “I was going to talk to you about it soon. Just not… today. I was hoping for more time to think about what I was going to say.”

“She…” Kali took a deep breath. “While I understand your frustration, we can’t hold a botched mission against her. I’m sorry that it affected your—”

“I don’t hold the mission against her,” Gray said coldly. “The cause attracts all types, even the stupid. We can’t all have a knack for considering how our actions affect others.” Their lip curled with contempt.

Kali tilted her head. “Not sure if I would have put it that way, but yes. We all make mistakes. Her treatment of Isaac Moore, on the other hand…”

“I’ll work on Isaac,” Gray said flatly. “I’m working on it. Forgive me. I know he’s… trigger happy. But his partner was almost just killed by Daniel Schiester and now he’s dealing with—”

“Gray,” Kali said gently, with that same unflagging kindness. “I understand. What I’m trying to say is that… her treatment of him is unacceptable.”

Vera’s breath caught. Her gaze flicked from Kali to Gray and back.

Gray betrayed no movement as they stared down at Kali. They wet their lips. “Define… unacceptable,” they said delicately.

Kali wiped her hands on her jeans. “I mean, clearly there’s some abuse there. Clearly she mistreated him. And, given how she’s reacted whenever she’s seen your crew… no accountability, and calling the Uriah kid a, a pet…” Kali threw a look of disgust at the door. “I’ve never seen her use language like that. But the way it just rolled of her tongue…”

“I can absolutely fucking guarantee that’s how she talks when she’s not here,” Vera sneered.

Kali heaved a sigh. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to let our minds go too far down the road to speculation. But…” She braced her hands on her hips and stared at the ground as if something profound was written there. “I… I’m not going to say that we should just let bygones by bygones. Obviously she deeply hurt one of yours. And that’s not something that just goes away.”

“She had him trained, Kali,” Gray said, their voice low and intense. “She took him off the street at the age of fifteen and turned him into a bodyguard for them. His life depended on keeping them safe, and keeping her happy. That’s how you treat a goddamn plaything. And… I’m telling you, it wasn’t his fucking fault that her partner died.”

“I know,” Kali said with a distracted wave of her hand. “I know.”

“Then—”

“Then what do we fucking do about it?” Vera cut in. “No offense, I’m sure this place is great, but I’m not going to fucking stay here if she lives here, too. And I’m not going to ask Isaac to, either.”

Kali’s eyebrows pulled together. “What? No… Rosa doesn’t live here.”

Vera froze. Gray blinked.

“Sorry… what?” Vera croaked through dry lips.

“No,” Kali said. She glanced at Gray. “Rosa doesn’t live here. She was just passing through. She does that from time to time, gets her mail here. What I was going to say was, maybe I should have a talk with her about letting us know when she’s coming through so people here can, ah, prepare.” She gestured at Rosa’s empty mail bin. “Maybe collect her mail in another town.”

Vera found herself leaning toward Gray. She glanced up at them and met their eyes for a long moment. They returned her gaze with an unfathomable expression.

Softly, they cleared their throat. “We…. don’t want to make any kind of imposition,” they said, forming each word carefully. “We’re very well aware that we just arrived, and Laporte has been running for a long time before we got here.”

Vera bit her tongue against the flood of protests that threatened: fuck that, Gray, Rosa doesn’t deserve to be breathing my fucking air let alone living in the town I’ve just settled in. She can find somewhere else. I’ll run her out of town myself.

It’s not like she has a life to move with her, she’s made that perfectly fucking clear. I guess that’s Isaac’s fault, too. Couldn’t possibly be her personality that’s the reason she’s still single.

Guilt rushed in behind the venomous thoughts, and behind that another wave of hatred followed.

Fuck that bitch and everything she’s ever done. I don’t give a fuck what happens to her. She could defeat the syndicates for good and I’d still want her gone.

She shuddered against the rage inside her and forced herself to listen as Kali opened her mouth to speak.

“Laporte is built on the notion that people can make mistakes and still be good people,” Kali said carefully. “But it’s also built on the fact that everyone deserves to be safe. And Rosa… doesn’t seem interested in looking at her mistakes. Or letting Isaac feel safe.”

“I’m not super interested in letting her feel safe either.” The words slipped out before Vera could stop them. Gray’s hand landed on her shoulder and squeezed.

Kali chewed her lip and met Vera’s gaze. “We don’t condone violence here,” she said patiently.

“If you let her stay, you condone more than just violence,” Vera seethed. The back of her neck prickled with sweat, and she fought the urge to throw Gray’s hand off her shoulder. “You have no idea how much she fucking broke Isaac.” She was horrified to feel tears stinging her eyes as she glared down at Kali.

Vera squirmed under Kali’s gaze as Kali looked up at her, gaze soft, contemplative, composed. “How about this,” Kali said. Vera let out a breath when Kali dropped her gaze and looked at Gray. “I’d like to try and mediate this, if possible. It’s obvious a lot of damage has been done. And my top priority is making you feel safe.” She leaned in. “You,” she said softly. “Because you live here. This is your home now, and I don’t want you feeling unsafe. Especially after… everything you’ve been through. As a group.”

“Part of what we’ve been through is her,” Vera snapped.

“That would be very gracious of you,” Gray said raggedly. They squeezed Vera’s shoulder again, then let go entirely. “If it’s alright, though, I’d like to bring that suggestion to Isaac and see if that’s something he thinks he could… handle, right now.”

Kali let out a heavy breath. “Of course,” she said, her shoulders relaxing. “I understand. It’s been a stressful few days. Please let me know when you’re ready, and we can perhaps set up a time to meet? Somewhere neutral, where we can talk things out.”

“Sure.” Gray nodded. The movement was jerky and stiff. “Thank you, Kali.”

“Any time,” she said. She reached out and squeezed one of Gray’s hands in both of hers. “Any time.” A tired smile pulled at the edges of her mouth. She turned to Vera and seemed like she was about to say something, then thought better of it.

“I’ll… head home and tell him your suggestion, then,” Gray said, moving toward the door. Vera found herself following them, suddenly exhausted.

“Of course,” Kali said. “Take care, both of you.” The crow’s feet at the edges of her eyes deepened as she looked at them both. “And we’ll make this work.”

Even as bitterness curdled in Vera’s throat, the kindness in Kali’s eyes seemed as real as the floor under her feet, or the air she passed through on her way to the door. Even as her anger drove her toward the door so she could go hunt Rosa down and beat her to death in the street like she fucking deserved, Vera somehow knew that Kali meant every word she said.

She had never known that she could trust someone so implicitly before. Except for Gray. She had felt this before, when she first met Gray.

She swallowed hard and let her feet carry her to the door. “Yeah,” she said roughly. “Okay.”

Gray pushed the door open, and she followed them out.

Continued here

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[whump-tr0pes]

#9 and #22 for Vera and Gavin 👀👀👀 - newbornwhumperfly

@newbornwhumperfly oooh yes

9. What is one quality they have in common?

They both have no qualms being devastatingly violent to protect the people they love. They've both been horrendously manipulated and abused by Joseph and Colleen Stormbeck. They are both Isaac Moore’s best friend.

22. When were they the most vulnerable with each other?

I'd say probably this chapter! They had just escaped the Stormbeck house, they were banged up and exhausted. Gavin finally poured his heart out about all his pain for having been forced to hurt the family. Vera gave him back to himself and forgave him.

[whump-tr0pes]

For the lovely cry babbies...y'all a bunch of pussies!!!! XD XD

Omg Tatiana 😂😂😂

[whump-tr0pes]

YES

@whump-tr0pes leaked Deleted endscene of Honor Bound

[whump-tr0pes]

Honor Bound 2 - 32

This is a series. Start here, continued from here. 

This is a sequel to Honor Bound. 

AO3

Thank you to everyone who came to the livewrite for this!!! I had the time of my life watching y’all scream over my dumbasses. You have no idea how hard it was to write this with y’all screaming MAKE THEM FUUUUUUUUCK and not actually do it. So I love you. You’re my people. 

The spice will come later I promise.

Cw: blood, gore, nightmare monsters with pointy teeth (idk dude I creeped myself out writing it), mention of past rape and torture, mention of really, really bad parents enabling/encouraging torture, tricky ex-whumper/whumpee dynamics

Gavin was home again.

He knew it immediately. The walls, the pictures on them, the carpet, the light, the smell, it was all exactly how he remembered it. Years ago, or weeks ago? He wasn’t sure. He just knew he was home. 

He wandered through the front door, dragging his fingers along the wall, looking around at the place that seemed frozen in time. 

When’s the last time I was here? Years ago, or weeks ago?

He shrugged and kept moving. 

He passed the grand staircase, disappearing into shadows upstairs. Where his bedroom was, and his parents’ bedroom. And his play room, now turned into a study for when he wanted to work from home. A coat closet to his left. A bathroom to his right. Past a corner, into a living room. A kitchen, off to his right. A room at the end of the hallway, where he had spent hours playing under his father’s desk while he worked. “Come here, Gavin. Look at this map. We’ll learn the cities together. Soon it’ll be yours.”

It was exactly the same as he remembered it— Years ago, or weeks ago? What did it matter? It was perfect. He ran his hand along his father’s desk, the low set of drawers along the wall.

The hair on the back of Gavin’s neck stood up. He heard breathing behind him. Not the kind of breathing that comes from a normal human throat. 

Icy terror poured down his spine as his hands clenched into fists. No. No no no no no.

“Gavin.”

The sound of his father’s shredded voice clutched Gavin’s heart. A shudder rippled through him. He closed his eyes, praying that if he didn’t look, it would go away. He wouldn’t have to see it. Tears rolled down his cheeks and he felt breath on the back of his neck. 

He spun around in a panic, his hands flying out in front of his face to protect himself. Still several feet away, his father stood, looking at him. 

His throat was completely torn away, gaping raggedly, blood bubbling in the deep tear that disappeared into his neck. His father’s eyes were blank and clouded, like his soul was already gone, as he stood there staring at Gavin. 

Gavin pressed himself back against the drawers, heart beating out of his chest. “D-dad…”

His father’s voice gurgled out of him. “Hello, son.”

“P-please, no, I don’t… please…”

His father grinned. “Want to see me make her good again?”

Gavin’s stomach dropped, and he gagged. “No. No no no no I don’t want that. Dad. No.”

Gavin blinked. 

There was someone else standing behind his father. She looked like Vera, felt like Vera. He knew she was Vera. 

But her mouth gaped open with razor sharp teeth, pointed and deadly. 

She looked like a monster. 

Gavin shivered. “No. No no fuck, Vera, I’m sorry, please no…”

His father’s hand closed around Vera’s hair and forced her to her knees. 

“No no no, dad no…” Gavin staggered a step forward, his hand outstretched. 

Vera lunged forward and snapped her teeth at Gavin’s hand. 

He screamed and fell backwards, bashing his head against the drawers behind him. His father barked out a wet, shrieking laugh. “I told you. She’s feral.” He jerked her back to her knees and stared down at her with a smile on his vacant face. “This is why I had to make her good.” 

“Dad, you…” Gavin got to his feet, forcing down the bile that clawed up his throat as he stared at his father. “You made her like this!”

His father chuckled and loosened his hold on Vera’s hair. “You want me to let her go, then? You want me to let her get you?”

“N-no, please, just… Why did you…” Gavin choked down tears. “Why did you do this?”

“I told you, son,” his father croaked. “I told you from the beginning. What you feel is right, no matter what. They exist to be our—”

“No!” Gavin shouted. “They don’t! You… she wouldn’t be this way if you didn’t…” He gasped and his eyes snapped to Vera.

She was fighting his father’s hold, writhing against the hand in her hair, clawing her way towards Gavin. Her eyes bored into his, and blood dripped down her chin from her teeth. She snarled at him wordlessly. 

“Please,” he whispered to her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” 

Her lips pulled back over her teeth. She broke his father’s hold and threw herself on top of him, snapping at his throat. 

“No!”

Gavin pushed away from the weight on top of him, sobbing. “No no no no no please!”

“Gavin.” 

He knew that voice. It wasn’t Vera’s. 

“Gavin.”

“No,” he whimpered, flailing in the dark. 

“Oh, for fuck’s sake…” The weight disappeared, and Gavin slumped back to the bed, sobbing with relief. The light blazed on and Gavin flinched back, covering his eyes. The sheets tightened around him and he thrashed, panicking. 

“For fuck’s sake, Gavin, calm the fuck down. It’s me.”

Gavin shuddered. “I-Isaac?”

“Yeah, dumbass.” Gavin’s eyes slowly focused. Isaac was standing by the door, his arms folded over his chest, his face like a storm cloud. 

Gavin trembled and pulled at the sheets. “I… Fuck, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Isaac grit his teeth. “Well, you did. I’m going back to bed.” He reached for the nightswitch. 

Gavin’s stomach lurched. “Isaac, please.” Isaac stopped at whatever he heard in Gavin’s voice. “Can you just… just wait?”

Isaac stared into the hallway, his throat working around a swallow. A muscle stood out in his jaw as he clenched his teeth. 

Tears burned in Gavin’s eyes, and he looked down, mortified. “I… I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m… just really fucking freaked out right now.” 

Isaac dragged his hand across his face. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he mumbled, so quietly Gavin almost missed it. Then he turned and leaned up against the doorframe. “Okay. What do you want?”

I want to not be so fucking scared all the time. “Please. I just…” Gavin’s head fell forward into his hands. “I don’t know. I’m sorry.” 

Isaac crossed his arms across his chest. His hands were squeezed into fists. He stared at Gavin with a look that could have been disgust, if there wasn’t that flicker of fear behind it. Gavin’s heart clenched with shame. Yeah, no shit, dumbass. You fucking tortured him. 

I never broke him, though.

Gavin picked at the bedspread. “I’m sorry it was, um, you.” Gavin stole a glance at Isaac where he stood. 

Isaac’s eyes narrowed. “Sorry what was me?”

“I’m um, sorry you’re the one I woke up. I guess I…” He fell silent. 

Isaac blew out a scornful-sounding breath. “It’s not exactly like you have your pick here of people you haven’t fucking traumatized.”

Gavin swallowed. “I… I know. I’m s—”

“Don’t,” Isaac growled. “Don’t fucking say you’re sorry.”

Gavin chewed his lip. “Then what the fuck do you want me to say?”

Isaac ground his teeth together and for a moment, Gavin thought Isaac might beat him to death right here. If I’ve gotta go out some way…

Instead, Isaac slid to the ground. He pressed his face into his hands. “Ugh.” The sound came out muffled.

Gavin twisted the sheets between his hands, his heart still beating hard in his chest. 

“I…” Isaac dropped his hands and stared at the ceiling. “I want you to say…” Isaac shook his head. “I don’t know what the fuck I want you to say. The damage has been done.” 

Gavin’s throat tightened with a sob. “I… I kn-know I, um, damaged you.” 

Isaac’s eyes snapped to Gavin’s. “Oh, fuck you.”

Gavin swallowed. “I’m sorry.” 

Isaac smoothly got to his feet and took a step towards the bed. “You don’t know fucking damage. You don’t know a fucking thing.” 

Gavin pressed himself back against the headboard. “I—”

“Shut up,” Isaac snapped. “You don’t know how it feels to look at your two best friends and watch them fucking break because of something some entitled, sadistic asshole decided to do because it was a fucking Tuesday. You don’t know how it feels to watch every single person you love dragged into the middle of a room and tortured in the worst possible way. You don’t know a fucking thing.” Isaac’s hands curled into fists. “Do you fucking understand?”

A tear escaped to run down Gavin’s cheek and he nodded, cringing backways. “Yes. I’m… I’m sorry.”

Isaac’s body shuddered forward. “I don’t understand why Gray won’t let me fucking kill you.”

Gavin held a hand out in front of him. As if he could protect himself from Isaac. As if he could try. “P-please don’t.” 

Isaac squeezed his eyes shut, his chest heaving. “Fuck,” he whispered. He blew out a slow, forceful breath. “Fuck.” He took a step back. Then another. He opened his eyes. His face was pulled into such a look of anguish that Gavin felt it like a physical pain. Isaac fell back another step, against the doorframe, and slid to the floor again. 

Gavin cast around for something that would be helpful to say. 

“Um…” He bit his lip. “I’m… I’m not a sadist anymore?”

Isaac looked murderous. 

Oh. I fucked up.

Gavin frantically backpedaled. “Oh, fuck. I mean, um, I… I won’t do it again. And… and I don’t want to do it again. I just want—” He cut himself off as Isaac turned an alarming shade of red. Gavin’s mouth snapped shut. 

“What,” Isaac snarled through his teeth, “Do you want. I’m dying to fucking know.” 

Gavin’s vision blurred with tears. He bit down hard on his lip, trying to keep the tears from spilling. If I tell him, he’s going to kill me.

He’s never going to fucking trust me until I do.

Gavin swallowed, pressing the sleeves of his sleeping shirt against his eyes. “Um. I…” He blew out a shaky breath, considering for a moment it might be his last. “I… just… want to feel like I have a family again.” 

Gavin held his breath. Waited for Isaac to launch himself across the room and bash his skull in like he so looked like he wanted to do just about constantly. Gavin didn’t move an inch. Waiting. 

He started to get dizzy from the lack of oxygen. He dragged in a gasp and dared to peek over his hands at Isaac’s face. 

Isaac had gone a ghostly white, looking at Gavin with something that surpassed horror. Gavin’s heart sunk in his chest. 

“And you want… you want… my family?” Isaac rasped. His lips trembled.

“I don’t want to… to steal them, or anything, I mean…” Gavin wrapped his arms tight around his chest. “I mean…” He shook his head. “I thought…” His voice wavered. He tried again. “Everything about my family was, um. Was a lie. I thought they loved me. I thought they… they gave a fuck about me. But I’m, um… I’m starting to realize… they only ever loved me when I was, um. Like them. They… they ignored me when I did anything else. When I, um. Wanted. Anything else. And I…” He gasped, holding his hand out to Isaac. “I’m not trying to say I had it worse. Okay? I’m not. I swear. But… I never knew there was, um, anything else. I should have fucking known, okay? But… it… um… h-hurting people was, was all I was ever good at. And I was good at it. I never had to do anything else. I never had to, um, learn to be anything else. And then… when I didn’t want that anymore…” Gavin swallowed the burning sensation in his throat and closed his eyes. “Um… as soon as I was, um, someone else, someone who was, um, broken, they… she… threw me out. But you…” Gavin shuddered, sure he was pushing too far, that he would say the wrong thing, that he would ruin everything more than it had already been ruined. “Everyone’s, um, broken. Here. And you all…” He couldn’t say it. 

“We what?” 

Gavin opened his eyes and looked at Isaac. He had his hands at his sides, still curled into fists, his breaths moving fast through his chest. Gavin steadied his breath. 

“Everyone’s broken here. And you all still love each other.” 

Isaac leaned back against the doorframe, his eyes still fixed on Gavin. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and breathed slow. 

Gavin swallowed hard. “And I want that, too.” 

Isaac opened his mouth to speak. Closed it. Opened it. Closed it again. 

Gavin buried his face in his hands. Fuck. 

“You wanted a family, so you went and found the family you tortured?” There was something in Isaac’s voice Gavin couldn’t place. He didn’t raise his head. 

“You are, um, good people. Good people are easy to hurt but, um, I don’t want to, uh, hurt you.”

“You almost took my family away from me,” Isaac whispered. “Do you fucking remember that? Is that even real to you?”

Gavin lifted his head. The pain that dragged at Isaac’s face made Gavin’s throat tight. 

“Do you fucking remember holding a gun to Sam’s head and telling me you’d kill them if I didn’t fucking torture them? My fucking sibling?”

Gavin clenched his teeth together. He nodded. 

“Do you remember torturing my best friend with the man who raped her and tortured her for months?” 

Gavin opened his mouth to speak.

“Don’t fucking say you didn’t know about the rapes. I’ve already fucking heard it. If you didn’t know, then you’re an idiot.”

“I am an idiot, Isaac,” Gavin whispered. “That’s what I’ve tried to fucking tell you.”

Isaac laughed once, bitterly, and rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. “Are you even the same fucking person?”

Gavin swallowed. “Yeah. Just… minus everything that made me who I was, yeah.”

Isaac snorted. “Then there wasn’t much to you in the first place, was there?”

Gavin’s mouth twisted. “Don’t be an asshole, Isaac.” 

“God forbid there be two in the room,” Isaac snapped. 

Gavin laughed tightly, darkly. “See, this is why I—” OH GOD DON’T FUCKING SAY THAT. 

“Why you what?” Isaac’s eyes narrowed.

—why I loved torturing you. The rapport. Gavin shook his head. “Can I just say it was something really, really stupid that I don’t wanna say and call it good?”

Isaac stared at him for a moment, then let his head thump back against the doorframe. “Sure. Why the fuck not.”

Gavin breathed out a desperate sigh of relief. “Thank you,” he wheezed. 

Isaac tapped his fingers against his legs. After a moment, he said, “Dare I ask what your fucking nightmare was about?”

Gavin’s eyes widened. “Um. No. Oh no no no.” He really will kill me. I can’t fucking tell him that.

Isaac tilted his head. “No, I really wanna know. What scares Gavin fucking Stormbeck?” His tone was taunting, but he wasn’t radiating the murderous rage Gavin always seemed to cause in him. 

“Um…” Gavin closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again as an image of Vera with teeth like a fucking anglerfish flashed through his mind. “Ugh. Fuck. You have to, um, promise not to get mad.”

Isaac’s face darkened. “No I fucking don’t.” 

Gavin bit his lip. “Well, I… I can’t fucking help what my subconscious thinks of, right?”

Isaac said nothing, just stared at Gavin with a snarl on his face. 

Gavin’s head thumped back against the headboard. “Fucking fine.” Just thinking of it made his stomach clench with fear. “Um… I had a dream I was um, at my house, where Vera, um… Where my, uh, dad was killed. And he was there, looking all bloody and fucking horrifying. And Vera was there, too, looking like a fucking… well, like a fucking nightmare, with sharp teeth and shit, like she always does…” 

“Wait… ‘like she always does’?” Isaac’s eyes narrowed. 

“I, um.” Gavin looked down at the bedspread thinking, for not the first time tonight, that this is when Isaac would kill him. “I’ve, um, ha-had nightmares about Vera, um, killing my dad. Every…” He drew in a deep breath and blew it out. “...every fucking night.” 

Isaac leaned back, considering that. “Oh. Holy shit.” A smile quirked at his lips. “She’d be fucking thrilled to know that.” 

“Yeah, I bet she fucking would,” Gavin grumbled. He glanced up and saw Isaac’s eyes fixed on him again. Agh, fuck. He shook his head and kept going. “So she, um, was there, with my dad, and my d-dad said he would, um, let her…” Another slow breath. “Let her get me if I didn’t want to…” Gavin’s eyes flicked to Isaac’s again. Yup. He’s gonna fucking murder me for this. “He said he would let her get me if I didn’t, um, want to watch him…” He squeezed his eyes shut, terrified to look at Isaac while he said it. “...make her good.” 

Gavin flinched back, eyes still desperately squeezed shut, at Isaac’s soft intake of breath. He braced himself, shivering against the headboard. 

Nothing moved for a moment. 

“And what the fuck did you say?” Isaac growled at him. 

“I… I didn’t want him to. I wanted him to stop.” Gavin shuddered. “I just wanted him to fucking stop.” 

For a moment there was nothing but the sound of their breathing. 

There was a rustle of movement and Gavin’s eyes flew open. Isaac stood from his spot against the doorframe and leaned against the wall. 

“I…” Isaac said softly. He wet his lips and tried again. “I don’t know how I can ever trust you.”

Let me earn it.

Can I earn it?

I want to earn it.

“I… I know.” Gavin’s voice creaked out of him, heavy with sadness. 

“No. Do you understand what you’ve done to me and my family?”

Gavin was silent. 

Isaac shook his head. “I don’t know how I can trust you,” he said again, quieter. He turned to leave, his hand reaching for the lightswitch. 

“No, please,” Gavin breathed. 

Isaac paused in the doorway. 

Gavin swallowed. “L-leave the, um, the light on. Please.” 

Isaac dropped his hand and left. 

Continued here

@untilthepainstarts, @womping-grounds, @free-2bmee, @quirkykayleetam, @walkingchemicalfire, @inpainandsuffering, @redwingedwhump, @burtlederp, @castielamigos-whump-side-blog, @insomniacscoprio, @cursedscribbles, @whumpywhumper, @stxck-fxck, @omega-em-z-02, @whumps-the-word, @slaintetowhump, @finder-of-rings, @neutralcinnamon, @thatsthewhump, @im-just-here-for-the-whump, @orchidscript

[whump-tr0pes]

Ooh this is interesting. I'm gonna do what @shameless-whumper did and do a sliding scale.

Least likely: Colleen Stormbeck. She's convinced to the level of religious zealotry that her family not only deserves to be in control, but *must* be in control because that is the way things are. She has absolutely no remorse and will tear down anyone who gets in her way, without prejudice.

Very unlikely: Joseph Stormbeck. An act of god would have to happen (or, you know, a lobotomy).

Unlikely: John Graylan. Graylan didn't even realize he was a sadist until he had Nia in his clutches (because he's an idiot with no self-awareness. Like...come on Graylan). If he had survived My Name Is Human, he might have been convinced to leave Nia alone once she was rescued...but probably not.

Slightly likely: Gavin Stormbeck. Gavin met his match with Isaac and Vera, and is now very uninterested in pursuing them again. Now that they're in his mother's crosshairs, he might not have a choice.

Likely: Ryan Pearson. Look, Ryan didn't even want to be here, ok? If he had his choice he would've been pulling guard duty for some rich prick in their ivory tower. He had no idea what he was in for when he was assigned to help "break in" Vera, whatever that means. Once he finds out the horrific things Joseph does to her, he might start reconsidering his role in her torture.

@sableflynn @whumblr @friendlylocalwhumper

New whump game

Ok, I came up with one I like. I don’t think I’ve really done this before so sorry if this is meh.

Which of your whumpers would be most likely to have a redemption arc, whether that means becoming a caretaker, just stop whumping, or whatever meaning you can come up with?

I was about to say Oliver from “Fallen,” but the story starts with the beginning of his redemption arc, so I’m going to say that doesn’t count.

Therefore, I will say Kate from “Government Scandal,” which is my Box Boys thing. Kate is a complicated person. Yes, she is involved in a large group of federal employees forcing people to become Box Boys, but she also has seen terrible things happen to Box Boys. Very extreme forms of torture and brutal murder. The reason she wanted Jesse to love her unconditionally was so that she wouldn’t have to hurt Jesse. She’s perfectly fine with normal pet disciple, anything recommended by the people in charge at Box Boys. But when it starts getting any worse than that, she will use her power in the FBI to stop it. She doesn’t want to discipline Jesse at all because she doesn’t want to become a pet torturer and worries that if she starts small itll get worse and worse. It’s all very complicated and I don’t plan on making her redeem herself, but she would be the most likely.

I’m gonna tag people and I hope I’m not being annoying. Like I said I really don’t know what I’m doing.

@shameless-whumper @deluxewhump @untilthepainstarts @whumping-every-day @haro-whumps @redwingedwhump

[whump-tr0pes]

i saw in your response to the ask about how the family feels about kids that gavin didn’t play with other kids when he was young and doesn’t know how to be around them. is that normal for syndicate kids to be isolated like that or is that just a stormbeck thing? (either cause his parents wanted to control him totally or cause it was a security issue due to their high status?). did little gavin ever want playmates? were other parents scared of him around their kids? 🥺 - newbornwhumperfly

I'm thinking Gavin is probably one of the younger syndicate kids. But even if there were a lot of other kids, I think Colleen specifically would still have wanted him isolated. Joseph might have wanted him to meet other kids, get into mischief, discover torture on their own, you know, just regular "boys will be boys" stuff. But Colleen wanted to make sure her son was surrounded only by the very best company, and what do you know, all the "best company" is her and her friends.

I think Gavin was probably lonely for other people his age, but that was probably overshadowed by the crushing oblivion of being cut off from his parents' love. If he had been around other syndicate kids, the other parents would have called him a delight to be around. Because of course he was. He was so good. He had to be.

@newbornwhumperfly

[whump-tr0pes]

Inspired by the TikTok you reblogged... does Gavin have like. A Rich Syndicate Son manner of speech? Idk how to explain how I imagine it sounds but like very articulate and smooth. Because if that’s the case, I think it would be a hilarious contrast to the rest of the fam. Idk it’s just a cool concept 😂

So... I imagine Gavin talking somewhat like this. (Btw, he is @ashintheairlikesnow's faceclaim for her OC Ryan, and that's the reason I know of this gorgeous man's existence.) Very nice elocution, speaking measured and poised, that kind of thing. He was well-educated, after all, and he was expected to act the part of a syndicate son! Although, he did prefer to be more informal, which we can see from the beginning of knowing him.

However, sometimes he slips into something that sounds a bit more like Michael Fassbender in... this. (Michael Fassbender actually is Joseph Stormbeck's faceclaim.) And when that happens, Vera has a very, very had time being around him.

[newbornwhumperfly]

baby… 😭😭😭

This is random but I must know: what does gavin’s new haircut look like (Or Joseph’s old style I guess)? I like to imagine the characters correctly and now that his hair is different, I don’t know to picture it 😂

You've woken the beast. I love sharing faceclaims

Gavin's hair is like this when Isaac meets him, and stays about the same:

And DFS has his hair cut... like this:

[newbornwhumperfly]

i …. 💔😰💔

(calmly walks into another room to grab a very sharp knife to fucking eviscerate gavin’s parents)

@whump-tr0pes, i now am just … thinking about (cathartically fantasizing) what would have happened if, say, there had been a raid on the stormbeck mansion and the parents were fucking murdered and the rebels found gavin - still a kid - hiding under his bed.

and maybe some of them wanted to murder the stormbeck heir and others said “he’s just a kid, we can’t” and they end up taking him prisoner and then they just…give him to gray to look after.

so a much younger but still presumably awesome gray has this terrifed, confused, grieving kid (who may or may not have seen his own parents’ bodies strung up when dragged from his house) on their hands.

and they learn what he’s been through, what he’s done, been forced to or guided to do by his sick parents, what he’s seen - and they help him, teach him better, and gavin grows up as gray’s son from the start. 🥺😭🥺

i have a question about this devastating thing you once wrote about how gavin’s parents not thinking he was a good son anymore when he started talking & saying Wrong Things 😰😰😰 what exactly was he saying “no” and “i don’t want to” about? in relation to the “stop hurting that man”, did gavin’s disappointing behavior have to do with not wanting to watch/being sad when playthings were hurt? i need to know 💔🥺💔 - newbornwhumperfly

@newbornwhumperfly whaaaaat? Noooo, it totally had nothing to do with Gavin seeing his parents hurt a plaything for the first time. He tooootally wasn't sobbing in the corner at the age of 5, terrified out of his mind, as his father cut someone open and invited him over to get close. His parents tooootally didn't tell him that there were two types of people in the world, Stormbecks and playthings, and he had to decide which one he was right now. He tooootally didn't cling to his mother with tears rolling down his cheeks as she pulled his hand forward and forced him to touch the cuts his father had made.

Why do you ask?

[whump-tr0pes]

I need to gush about Honor Bound for a bit, I apologize for how long this might get, but I figured it can’t be too wrong to show gratitude for something you hold dear! I found Honor Bound through the “Bleeding through the Bandages” chapter in book 4. I got into whump around that time, mainly as a coping mechanism for my own pain, and I saw that chapter pop up on my dashboard and I didn’t really consider it was part of a bigger story and I needed a distraction so I was like, might as well. And then it ended up being the best depiction of what I was feeling that I’ve ever read; not just the pain, but the frustration, and the exhaustion, and the mind-numbing boredom shown in other chapters too. I read the previous chapters of book 4 and then decided I wanted Context and also More Sam and then I read the first three books in two days. And then I reread them all in one day because I needed to reprocess the journey that was. And then I reread all of them again with book 4 when it finished, and then religiously followed book 5 through the worst time I’ve ever had, and reread the previous books multiple times as 5 was updating as well. Needless to say it quickly became my comfort series, and on multiple occasions waiting for a new chapters was one of those little joys that kept me going. I am so, so thankful I found it when I did. The Honor Bound family is like no other found family, at least to me. All of them are such complex individuals, but their interpersonal relationships are just so deep and meaningful and each is so incredibly unique, I could honestly write essays upon essays analyzing each one. And the way you connect everything and weave tropes into the overarching plot is just Insane, it’s truly like you’re… retelling a story that actually happened, you know? Like these are real people and real stories. Because I can’t com prehend how you come up with some of this stuff. And there are so, so many “cinematic” moments that are just. So raw and hard-hitting and just stay with you. Big and small moments alike. The Ryan reveal, Joseph Stormbeck’s death (best death scene ever by the way?? I’ve told everyone I know about it when I read it I was absolutely in Awe. Never recovering from that), every moment between Sam and Isaac (I also have a sibling who I’m not technically related to by blood but would like, probably die for, so I just really appreciated everything about them and we need more stories like theirs) (and also every time Sam called Isaac out. Good for them), Sam talking Gavin through his caning holy shit that was a religious moment, Gray’s slowburn adoption of Gavin and when Gavin decided he wanted to be a Uriah (and how his initial thought to getting asked what he wants to be called was “Moore”. And then he was like “Well fuck.” Love that dumbass), just every single thing Finn ever did for the family, Finn and Ellis and Gavin’s monologue about giving Finn a concussion (!! chills!!) and their reunion after Coleen, Vera and Tori and the Work Song scene??, Vera and Tori lowkey adopting Edrissa and Edrissa’s character development and her rants about pretty things and her and Sam and Zachariah’s adorable Young Love that made me so giddy right along with them and Sam and Zachariah’s meet-ugly (I mean it was kinda sweet), Gray being the parental figure we all needed, and Nata and Zelda and Nata helping Sam (and now Gavin!!) and Vera being so proud of her puppy. Also, Isaac and Gavin’s relationship…Insane. The most dramatic enemies to lovers and I love them for it. Invented love. It’s so crazy to read the beginning and see how far everyone’s come and think about everything that has happened from that one Whumptober prompt. It’s a lot but it also makes so, so much sense. I can’t imagine a version where Isaac and Gavin aren’t together in some way (and since I started out of order, when I realized it was a enemies to lovers I was really excited to see how all of that happened. Especially after reading the first book, because it (1/2)

(2/2) was like, how the hell are they gonna get from point A to point B. No way those are the same characters, how is this ever going to get justified? And then Gavin ended up having the best character development Ever, and I love that, I love that he had to work for it and that we as the readers have to work to love him too, because it pays off). And now the ending of book 5! Oh God. On that note, you’re so good at writing villains; making them human and also absolutely detestable and killing them off in the most satisfactory way tailored to them. There was never a point after a major arc where I thought ���oh, I wish this had happened instead of x, I wish this had gone this way instead”. Also, to go back on the topic of pain (physical and mental both)! The way everyone copes with it differently, it’s the same thing but it’s unique to the person dealing with it and that’s so clear in your characters, and I also love, love how you made a point of showing how pain changes people because that’s something that I find so often gets ignored, whether voluntarily or not, even in whump. But, yeah, pain definitely changes people. And that’s not always bad, and it’s not always drastic, but it happens and it’s not a shameful thing. Everyone breaks. And HB made me believe that I was allowed to break, and that it’s still possible to live a life you think is worth it. And I won’t even get into how much it’d taught me about friendship and family and how it made me reflect on my own relationships with my loved ones (especially Isaac’s perspective, oh God). It’s just such a rewarding journey. That’s the best word to describe it, I think. And this latest chapter: “The sun shone brightly on the hood of the car, so bright Isaac almost had to close his eyes. The wind moved through the trees that swayed on either side of the lane. Isaac rolled his window down, and he could hear the birds calling to each other, and the sound of the wind rustling the long grasses that smelled so green. With each heartbeat, Gavin relaxed in his arms, his head falling against Isaac’s shoulder, his breaths becoming deep and slow again. A tear rolled down Isaac’s cheek, and he hid his smile against Gavin’s hair.” That image. It’s so vivid and visceral. It gives me the exact same feeling as spring after a long winter (which is…super fitting, actually). It’s that moment of pure contentedness when you realize it’d all been worth it. I don’t know, it just really, really struck me, and I’m so glad the book ended on that note. Despite knowing more hurt awaits, even that feels okay, because happiness will always find a way to seep through. And God, do they deserve that! It’s gonna be heartbreaking when their story ends, but I also know it’s gonna feel right. Like a peaceful retirement. Just, thank you for sharing this world with us, Athena. I hope you’re aware how meaningful this story is to so many of us. And being able to follow it in real-time and hear your inputs and chat about the characters and scream in the comments and reblogs is such a privilege (and being able to read it for free at all? Five books (six counting Vera)! For free! Though I will be getting books 1 and 2 soon hopefully actually). I cannot wait for book 6 and I Will be crying about book 5 until then (and long afterwards, most likely). And I wish you all the best in everything you take on next.<3

Wow, I... wow. I had to set down my phone and just sit in silence after I read this. I’m just... so humbled and amazed that you were able to connect so much with the story and the characters. I’m so glad that you saw something of yourself, and that you were able to find comfort in it. I find comfort in them, too, just knowing that the characters are there when I need to write them. 

It’s important to me for things to turn out ‘right.’ That’s part of why I write whump: the bad guys can be defeated, the good guys emerge safe, and love prevails. Writing Isaac and Gavin’s love story was absolutely the biggest surprise for me, it really did feel like I was the last to know. But I treasure them both so much and I love writing them. The family is so fun to explore, with each relationship being so different from the other. I’ve poured so much of myself into this story and into every single one of the characters. 

Book 6 is going to be such a challenge. It’s the last book in the series, and the one that’ll (hopefully) tie everything together. I’m giving myself a little break, but I’m also a little scared to start it because once I start it, then each chapter will be closer to the end, and then it’ll be over. I have a few more things in store for the family but at the end, I hope they’re safe, happy, and together. These characters mean more to me than I can say and I’m so happy I’ll have you with me along the way.

[whump-tr0pes]

Honor Bound 5 - 7

This is a series. Start here, continued from here.

This is a sequel to Honor Bound, Honor Bound 2, Honor Bound 3, Honor Bound 4, and the prequel Vera.

AO3

Content warning: permanent injury, chronic pain, mild implied spice, PTSD, accidental triggering, past captivity, really fucked up parenting

~

“What kind of tea do you want?” Edrissa said, her head in the tea cabinet. “I have chamomile, mint, the spice tea, basil and mint, lemon balm, green tea, Gavin’s headache tea, and that new black tea I got yesterday that’s really really good. It’s almost like Oolong but it’s a little more, I don’t know, intense? Maybe it’s an Oolong blend. I haven’t figured it out yet. Mx. Sadey said the labels fell off when the box got wet and so it’s just kind of a surprise any time they pull teas from that box…”

Sam glanced at her from where they stood at the counter kneading bread dough with one hand. Their right arm was slinged. It was feeling better since they’d hurt it again three days ago, but Finn wasn’t taking any chances. It still throbbed sometimes, still sent those agonizing stabs of pain through them when they moved just wrong. Still, it didn’t feel like anything more was wrong.

Edrissa’s blue eyes met theirs. Their heart squeezed as she blushed.

“Umm…” They scrunched their nose as they thought. “Chamomile, please.”

Edrissa nodded and turned her gaze to Zachariah, who stood across the kitchen at another counter chopping onions for the stew that would feed the family tonight. Her lips curved into a faint smile.

“I’ll, um, take chamomile too, please,” Zachariah said softly.

Edrissa nodded once and pulled the tin from the cabinet. She flitted to the stove and began to heat the kettle. Then she spun and went to Sam’s side, her hip just brushing against theirs. Sam wanted to pull her close and kiss her, right there.

“How’s the bread going?” she murmured, and Sam flushed, hoping she was dropping her voice so she’d have an excuse to draw even closer. The faint, sweet flowery smell of her shampoo wafted over Sam, that and the smell of sunshine that seemed to follow her wherever she went.

“Um, good,” they said, and their voice cracked. They cleared their throat. “Good. I think it just needs to sit… right?”

Edrissa beamed. “Right. We’ll let it rise, then place it in the pans. Speaking of.” She darted to the oven. “I should preheat this.”

Zachariah set the knife down on the counter and crossed to the stove. He steered clear of Edrissa as he slid the onions into the stew pot. She watched him carefully, her gaze following his hands. Her eyes flicked to his face and back, and she smiled again.

It would be so good if she liked him, too, Sam thought with a flush.

“Celery next?” Zachariah said, already crossing to the refrigerator.

“Yeah,” Edrissa said. She pulled three mugs down from the cupboard as Zachariah took a giant stalk of celery from the refrigerator and began to cut it into bite-sized pieces on the cutting board. Edrissa scooped three spoonfuls of chamomile into the tea strainers and set them each into the mugs.

“What’re you making us?” Vera said as she walked into the kitchen. Sam looked up at her and saw her smiling, wandering over to the stove. “Need any help?”

“Not yet,” Edrissa said. “Actually…” She glanced around the kitchen at Sam and Zachariah. “I think we might have it covered.”

“Fair enough,” Vera said with a nod. She turned and went to the barstools that stood along the counter that looked into the kitchen. She sat down with a groan.

“Where’s Tori?” Sam said as they gently placed the dough into a bowl and covered the bowl with a cloth.

“Reading,” Vera said with a shrug. “She wanted some alone time, so I’m out here harassing you.” She laughed. “Are you feeling harassed?”

“No,” Edrissa said, raising her eyebrows at Vera.

“Yes,” Sam said at the exact same time, throwing an impish grin Vera’s way.

Vera snorted and looked to Zachariah. “What about you, kid? You break the tie. Are you feeling harassed?”

Zachariah’s eyes went wide and his face went pale as he looked up at Vera. His gaze darted to Sam and Edrissa and back to Vera. He swallowed hard, his hand curling around a stalk of celery. “Um… y-yes?”

Vera burst out laughing and high-fived herself. “Mission accomplished,” she said with a smile.

Sam looked towards the back of the house as the door opened. They smiled as Isaac and Gavin wandered in, Isaac’s arm slung over Gavin’s shoulders. In the corner of the eye, they saw Zachariah tense and turn back towards the cutting board. Edrissa didn’t seem to bat an eye, but returned to Sam’s side, winding her arm around Sam’s waist and pressing a kiss to their cheek. Sam flushed as they pulled her close and kissed gently into her hair. Their flush deepened as they noticed Vera look at them – and then waggle her eyebrows at them with a wide grin on her face.

“How’s the lake?” Vera said from her seat at the counter.

Isaac drew his free hand through his hair and laughed. “Completely devoid of fish, as far as I can tell,” he said with a shrug. “At this point we’ve put lines down the whole way around the lake and caught nothing.”

“It doesn’t count if you’re making out the whole time and not watching the lines,” Vera said, and cocked an eyebrow at Isaac.

Isaac and Gavin both flushed an almost painful-looking red. Isaac opened his mouth to protest. “I…”

“Oh, just ignore her, Isaac,” Sam said good-naturedly, their arm still around Edrissa’s waist. “She’s been harassing us since she sat down.”

Vera idly chewed a fingernail. “Which, as I said, was my mission,” she said. “And I think I’m pulling it off beautifully. Who else am I supposed to bother if Tori’s not around?”

“Where’s Tori?” Isaac asked as he went to the sink and filled a cup with water. He drank the whole thing and filled it again.

Vera shrugged. “She wanted some time to herself. She’s reading. And I wanted to come bother you lovely people.”

“Lucky us,” Isaac grumbled, and shot a winning smile in Vera’s direction. “I think it might be worth it to talk to someone in Burmingham about stocking the lake. Having meat around would be good.”

Edrissa wrinkled her nose. “Oh, good. More fish.”

The kettle on the stove began to whistle. Edrissa left Sam’s side to go take it off and pour steaming water into the three cups on the counter. “I can make tea for you guys, too,” she said, and looked up at Vera, Isaac, and Gavin.

“No, no thanks,” Gavin said quietly, his cheeks still red. Isaac shook his head.

Vera smiled. “I’m okay, thanks,” she said.

Edrissa nodded and put the kettle back on the stovetop. She picked up two of the mugs. She took one to Sam, carefully passing it into their left had before she kissed them gently on the cheek again. Then she went to Zachariah’s side. He dwarfed her, standing as tall as Isaac, and broader in the shoulders and hips. Sam’s heart skipped as Edrissa handed him the cup, having to crane her head back to look up at him, her pale blonde hair looking almost like white gold against Zachariah’s warm brown skin. Sam’s throat bobbed as they swallowed, their mouth going dry at the thought they’d had ever since Zachariah appeared into their life again.

Maybe…

Zachariah smiled shyly at Edrissa as he took the cup. “Thanks, Edrissa,” he murmured. “You’re a sweetheart.”

The smile on Sam’s face disappeared. Their stomach lurched. Gavin and Vera both gasped.

Edrissa spun around to look at Vera, and her gaze drifted to Gavin. “W-we don’t say that word,” Edrissa said tightly.

Zachariah fell a step back, his hands still clutching the mug. He seemed to shrink before Sam’s eyes. “I’m… ‘m sorry,” he said through trembling lips. “I didn’t… I… I’m sorry.”

Sam glanced at Vera. She was staring at the counter, drawing in slow, deep breaths, her hands clenched into fists in front of her. She squeezed her eyes shut and rolled her neck, and Sam could hear it pop from across the kitchen. They chewed their lip.

Movement in the corner of their eye drew their gaze to Gavin. He stood huddled against Isaac’s side, his eyes wide and filled with horror – and staring right at Vera.

“Oh, fuck,” Gavin whispered.

Vera opened her eyes and blew out another breath through her lips. She met Gavin’s gaze. “Well,” she breathed. “That’s a fucking horrifying realization.”

Zachariah blinked and looked at Vera. “Wh-what? I’m… I’m sorry, I didn’t—”

“It’s okay, you didn’t know,” Vera said evenly, but her hands shook as she clasped them together. She looked up at Gavin, and the pain in her eyes made Sam’s chest ache. “And I didn’t even… make the connection.”

“N-neither did I,” Gavin whimpered softly. His fingers tangled in Isaac’s shirt. Isaac pressed an anxious kiss against Gavin’s temple.

Sam wet their lips. “Um, Zachariah…” They walked to Zachariah’s side, standing just beside Edrissa. They could feel everyone’s gazes on their back. “We, um, don’t say that word because, um… that’s what Joseph Stormbeck used to call Vera when he… captured her.” They gently rested their hand on Zachariah’s arm, and felt Zachariah relax slightly under the touch. “And that’s what Colleen Stormbeck called Gavin while she, um…”

“My whole life,” Gavin said with a hollow voice. “That’s what she called me my whole life. That’s what she called all her playthings. And I never even… noticed.”

“I’m sorry,” Zachariah said in a small voice. “I’m sorry.” He drew himself up to his full height and looked at the others. Sam turned and saw Gavin still looking right at Vera, and she looked right back at him with a matching expression of horror and understanding. Sam’s hand slipped from Zachariah’s arm, and they flexed their fingers as their hand fell to their side. Edrissa’s eyes were fixed on Sam, a strange sort of sadness crossing her face.

Slowly, Vera pushed herself up from the barstool and crossed to Gavin’s side. Tears shone in Gavin’s eyes. Vera’s were dry, looking almost fevered. She held out a hand to Gavin.

Gavin slid from Isaac’s embrace and fell against Vera as she wrapped her arms around him and crushed him to her chest. He squeezed her tight and laid his head on her shoulder.

“Now we know,” Vera said heavily, her voice tight with tears.

“H-how did we… miss that?” Gavin said, and his voice broke.

Vera huffed out a broken laugh. “Don’t make me remind you this early in the afternoon that you’re a dumb—”

“I’m a dumbass,” Gavin grumbled against her shoulder. “I know.”

Isaac stepped forward and wrapped his arms around them both. “I’m… um… s-sorry,” he croaked. “For both of you. That they… hurt you that way.”

Vera sniffed and pulled away from them both. She still held Gavin by his shoulders. “Yeah,” she said weakly.

Zachariah shifted his feet next to Sam. “So… so they… Gavin, you…”

“Yeah,” Gavin said, and swiped at his eyes. “I mean, I knew she… used me, but I didn’t realize… she…” He cleared his throat. “Um…” He blew out a slow breath, and shrugged out of Vera’s grip. “Isaac… I’m going to go, um, change.”

Isaac met Gavin’s gaze, and Sam’s heart ached at the pain they saw there. He always blames himself. He always feels like he has to fix it.

Isaac nodded. “Okay. Do you want—”

“I just need a minute,” Gavin rasped, and sidestepped Isaac. He disappeared down the hall, with Isaac looking after him.

When Isaac finally looked away from the hallway, he turned to Vera. “Do you…?” He held out his hands to her.

“Yeah, sure,” Vera said brusquely, and dragged Isaac into a crushing hug.

At Sam’s side, Zachariah crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the floor. “Is there, um… any, anything else I shouldn’t say?”

Sam glanced at Edrissa. “Edrissa… Do you—”

“Honey,” she said with a tremulous voice. She set her jaw. “They called me ‘honey’.”

Zachariah nodded.

Sam wet their lips. “And… please don’t call me, um… Sammy,” Sam said, looking up at him, their heart speeding up as his light brown eyes found theirs. They glanced to Edrissa, and to Vera and Isaac, who had let go of each other and now stood close enough that their shoulders were touching. “Guys, can you think of anything…?”

“I think that about covers it,” Vera said, a hint of bitterness in her voice. “I mean, I’m guessing we’ll be finding shit like this for a while.” She fixed Zachariah with her gaze, and he seemed to wither under it. “But it’s not your fault, kid. Okay?”

Zachariah swallowed loudly. “Um…”

“It’s not,” Sam said gently, finding their own hand once again settling on his shoulder. “We all make mistakes with this stuff, and you didn’t know.”

Zachariah’s mouth twisted. “But I do now,” he said. He looked at Edrissa as she crossed to Sam’s side and tucked herself under their unslinged arm. “And I’ll… I’ll remember.”

Sam nodded at Zachariah, and turned to look at Edrissa. She was looking at them both with a sad, wistful smile on her face.

Continued here

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