#powerful whumper
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wintertimewhump · 5 months ago
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Power Source Whumpee
Power Source Whumpee my beloved..
Whumper carefully crafting a machine to fit Whumpee's body and hold them in place.
Whumpee hooked up to the machine nearly all the time, only allowed a four hour break to sleep each night.
The power being extracted by hundreds of needles attached to wires, sticking out of Whumpee like a pincushion.
Whumper telling Whumpee that this is their only purpose and to just be good and fulfill it. Whumpee technically not needing to eat, as the produce their own power, so Whumper doesn't even bother to feed them, causing Whumpee to feel lightheaded and dizzy.
Whumper using the power they extracted from Whumpee to hurt their friends, blasting them back with the same energy Whumpee had once used to fight Whumper.
A reluctant Whumper placing a damp cloth on Whumpee's sweating forehead, saying they're sorry, but this is necessary for the plan.
Bonus: Bad Caretaker
Caretaker defeating Whumper, about to pull Whumpee out of the machine, but then realizing how useful the power is, and thinking about how much their city needs it.
The hope in Whumpee's eyes fading when Caretaker, who was about to release them from the machine's grip, steps back and turns it on again.
Caretaker guilt tripping Whumpee, telling them that if they were to be released, a whole city would suffer in darkness.
Caretaker thanking Whumpee for their involuntary sacrifice, telling them it won't be forever, but it sure seems to last that long.
Caretaker telling Whumpee that this is what they were made for, sounding just like Whumper now.
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mintflavouredwhump · 7 months ago
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A whumpee that everyone tries to possess or control the second they realise what Whumpee is capable of
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jordanstrophe · 1 year ago
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Whumper was interrogated while caretaker watched from beyond the glass. Whumper gleefully spoke about everyone they tortured, recalling in great detail. Whumpee in particular was a prominent subject; they seemed to be whumpers favorite.
Each word ate at caretaker; whatever whumper spoke of, caretaker imagined a worse thing to do as revenge.
The interrogator comes back and caretaker demands "just 5 minutes alone" through fuming tears. The interrogator notes caretakers hands in fists, their body shaking with anger, their eyes pure hatred.
"No." They gently shake their head.
"Why." Caretaker spat.
"Because I know what you can do in 5 minutes and I need them alive."
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whumpanini · 2 years ago
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Okay so picture this... a line up of heroes, all bound and forced to their knees in front of whumper.
Whumper paces in front of them calmly. They have their hands clasped behind their back as they begin to threaten or make demands of Leader. Then they slowly stop in front of our whumpee. Maybe they look the youngest, most inexperienced, or the most scared but something about them catches whumper's eye.
Leader's eyes go wide as they try to redirect whumper's attention back to them, but it's too late. Whumper places a hand under Youngest's jaw and lifts their gaze to force eye contact. They see the barely hidden fear behind a shaky mask of indifference and they *smile.*
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unforgivenn · 2 months ago
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Aww, Andrey is humiliated that Noah saw him this way.
Be a shame if Noah had to watch him get whumped while he's begging and crying.
MASTERLIST
CW: injuries, suffering, whumper turned whumpee, torture, angstt, Power Dynamics, Self-Loathing, Shame, forced to watch
After dragging Noah away from his tormentor, the bulky men threw him in a room. He had tried getting answers out of them. To know what was happening. To know why was this happening. In any other situation, Noah would've loved to see Andrey go through the same pain that he did, to know what it felt like on the other side. But now that it actually happened, he couldn't help feel the pit of sorrow in his gut.
Noah curled into himself on the ground, didn't even try escaping. He only waited and waited for someone to come in again as he was left with the shouting of his own ringing thoughts.
Soon enough, the door creaked open again. Noah held his breath, and jerked upwards to stand. Heavy footsteps thudded against the ground, before he caught a glimpse of the men again. They started walking towards him, and suddenly the air seemed much more thicker and suffocating. A hand grabbed the back of his hair, pulling it back roughly and before he could comprehend what was happening, a white vial was injected into his neck and he fell into unconsciousness.
Noah's head throbbed when he woke. His body felt heavy, his limbs refusing to move. Panic instantly surged in through his chest when he realized why - his arms were tied behind him, his legs strapped to the legs of a chair. Why did every situation end up with him being the one getting tied up and drugged? A groggy haze clouded his mind, as he tried shaking the drug off.
Then he saw it.
Andrey.
The man was on his knees, the same man who had forced him to kneel for hours until either he got bored or Noah's knees threatened to shatter beneath him. His head was hanging low, his black hair matted with blood and sweat. A few feet away, the same men stood, waiting, watching. One of them cracked his knuckles, another flexed his fingers around a blade. But the one most noticeable was a mysterious figure that stood infront of them, covered in loose black clothing, their face covered with a weird mask.
Noah's blood ran cold.
"Andrey-" He squeaked out, voice barely above a whisper. But Andrey didn't move, didn't react, didn't even glare at him.
"Ah good. You're awake." The figure spoke and he couldn't quite lay his finger on the person's gender. Ah as if that mattered anyways.
"Please- Don't hurt him- Don't-" He choked out before he was rudely interrupted by their captor again.
"Shut up. Didn't ask for your opinion boy. You're only here to watch."
A cruel laugh rippled through the room, echoing in the heavy silence that followed. Noah barely had time to process before the first blow landed on Andrey.
The sound of flesh meeting flesh, a sickening thud made Noah's insides curl. Andrey didn't give much of a reaction. Just a sharp intake of breath, his hands twitching and fingers tightening in an attempt to brace himself. Not only a while ago, Noah would've been the one being beaten up, and the Prince would've been the one watching it with sadistic delight. That's how it should've happened. Not like this. Neither of them were meant to be like this.
Then the second strike came, and the third, and then another one until Andrey violently coughed. His arms buckled beneath him as he collapsed fully onto the floor. Noah’s breathing turned ragged as he watched the blood drip from Andrey’s mouth, a stark contrast against his pale, fever-flushed skin. Somehow he felt like he was the reason this was happening to Andrey in the first place. That he was the reason of someone else's torment.
"P-please," Noah managed to croak out, his throat raw. He dig his nails into his palms, his whole body shaking. "Please stop. Please—"
As a response, a boot connected with Andrey’s ribs, sending him sprawling onto his side with a pained groan.
"Hm? Say that again why don't you?" The figure hissed, his voice sounding so cruel, so poisoned.
Noah’s throat tightened. His body trembled as he fought for breath, trying better than to start hyperventilating. His eyes burned, his mind screamed at him to fight, to do something,for fuck's sake anything—but all he could do was just sit there, frozen, tied up, his voice catching in his throat like it was being strangled from the inside.
And then Andrey whimpered.
The sound was soft, almost inaudible, but to Noah, it shattered everything.
Noah had never heard Andrey whimper before. Not even in his worst moments, not even when he was at the receiving end of a knife or a bullet or a broken bone. And yet here he was, shaking, curling in on himself, a sound of raw, broken misery slipping through the broken man's clenched teeth.
Noah’s stomach lurched, his vision blurring.
"Please—" he sobbed, desperate. "Please, just stop, please, I—"
Another blow. Another pained gasp from Andrey. Another laugh from the men.
"You should be thanking us, boy," one of them snickered. "Teaching your master a little humility."
Noah clenched his fists so tightly his nails nearly pierced his skin. He felt sick. He wanted to run. He wanted to claw his way out of this living nightmare.
Andrey let out a weak, broken laugh, breath hitching with every painful exhale. "You enjoying the show, Noah?" he rasped, barely audible. His fevered eyes flickered toward him, glazed over with pain and something almost like mockery—but no more strength left in it. Only the last remnants of his pride clinging to the edges of his words. "I bet… I bet you are. Watching me like this. I hope—" A sharp cough, more blood. "I hope you're savoring it."
Noah choked back a sob. "I’m not—I swear, I—"
But his words meant nothing. Not here. Not now.
Andrey’s body trembled as another kick landed against his stomach, knocking what little breath he had left out of him. He curled in tighter, his fingers twitching weakly against the stone.
Noah could only watch. 
Taglist: @miireux134/ @nuriiz134/ @noeul-whumpsss/ @morning-star-whump/ @parasitebunny/ @anutz1234/ @whatwasmyprevioususername/ @whumped-by-glitter/ @lordcatwich/ @someoneoninternettt/ @natthebatt/ @noeul-whumpppssssss1234/
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whumpitisthen · 3 months ago
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Limbo
Previous I Masterlist I Next
CWs: dissociation/derealisation [whumpee thinking they aren't really alive], mentioned torture, mentioned character death, a candid conversation about death with Death the jolly fellow himself, angel whumpee, deity whumper, religious themes, carewhumper, the poor boy has no idea what's coming the boy is not doing so well :/ if only there was someone who cared :pensive: ( <- actively making him worse)
“Am I dead?”
The angel looks far away, grey, foggy under his skin. He perches on the bed he was provided, in the lavish guest room he was given. It's an emperor-size bed; it makes him look little with his bruised-up legs hanging off the edge.
Sitting at the long dinner table, legs propped up as he leans back in his chair, Grim hums distractedly. — “Hm?”
“Am I dead?” — Auden repeats after a swallow of consideration, this time at least managing to sound like he wasn't just talking to himself.
The Reaper’s lips curl with a slow hum. He forgets about the pen he was twirling — always playing, always busying his hands with something. A pen, a blade, someone's hair. His hand pauses only briefly, then he continues spinning it between his fingers like he never stopped. — “Mm. It feels like that, doesn’t it.”
There is the sound of thunder, far away, but close enough that Auden can hear it rumble. The sound of his Fall. It scares him so much he can barely breathe. His hands dig into the heavenly soft sheets, feeling undeserving. A moment passes.
“Mori,” — he starts quietly, voice breaking, — “they um… I did not mean to, I really didn't, but I asked them how uh, h-how they got,” — he gestures vaguely in the direction of the intimidating double doors leading into the bedroom, — “...here.”
He feels so similar to how he felt on the day Grim brought him home. Weak and hazy, no particular colour to him. Just tired. Shaken, commanding about as much presence as a ghost.
“It was really stupid, I know. It would be insensitive to ask anyone that, right? Especially so out of the blue, like I did. But I did not m-mean it um, literally. I just thought — I thought they were so nice. So kind. They, I, I did not expect anyone here to be nice. Not to me. I-It surprised me.”
They never found out what he really meant. He meant it to be a compliment. They took it as an order. — “That is what I had meant,” — he tells the Mori in his memory, a small murmur, as if they could still hear him, still trying to explain himself.
“They had gone quiet, and I um, I told them they didn't have to t-tell me anything they didn't want to. I felt horrible. But I asked them, so they answered.”
Now Auden is the one going quiet. He doesn't know how to continue, or if he even wants to. His melancholic rambling isn't even fully directed at the Reaper. Grim’s interest has been piqued, however. — “And what did they tell you?”
Auden squirms, frowning. — “Not pleasant things.”
“Is that so,” — muses the deity, expecting this to be the end of the conversation. For a minute it was, but then the angel finds it in himself to continue.
“They told me they came close to dying, many times. They told me they did die, but not literally — that confused me a little, but I’m, uh, I think I am starting to get it.” — Stealing a glance at the Reaper, he sees a bit of humour glint in his vermilion eyes. He must know the story as well as Mori, though, unlike them, he clearly finds the tale a lot more amusing. — “They said they barely remembered who they were before… before you um, saved them.”
The way he is saying all this makes it seem like he has some sort of conundrum he must solve. Like every bit of information Mori had relayed to him is a puzzle piece. However, while it is fun hearing about how Mori remembers their meeting, Grim does not enjoy long roundabout tangents that go on forever. Setting aside the pen, he stretches, swinging those heavy boots off the table, and fixes Auden with a questioning look. — “This is a lovely retelling darling, but is there somewhere you are going with this? Or did you just feel like sharing with me something I already know?”
The thunderstorm flies ever closer. Static ruffles the feathers on Auden's wings. His shoulders hitch higher, hiding him.
“You saved Mori…”
“Mhm.”
“And you saved me, from the, the dragon lady.”
Grim laughs. — “I did.”
“S-So, since Mori was saved by you when they were dying, and I was saved when I was near death, and we both ended up here, here w-with, well, with you…” — he trails off, hesitant to finish his train of thought. It's like he can't even bring himself to say it.
Finally, Grim's expectant gaze forces the words to tumble out of his mouth anyway.
“I was wondering if maybe… I did die.”
The silence is so loud Auden doesn't even dare to look up, afraid that all he would find is a pitying, mocking grin. His guess at the Reaper's expression is not far off.
“Are you asking me?” — Grim asks belatedly. The fanged smile is clear enough in his voice.
“...Nothing really felt real since then,” — Auden finishes vaguely, weakly, eyes stuck to his own shaky hands clasped around each other in his lap. He feels silly, now. Saying it all aloud made it sound like it's either the most obvious or the most stupid assumption in the world. He can't tell which one it is from the Reaper's mood, but shame sears his cheeks nevertheless.
It takes another moment of cruel silence before he is granted a curious reply; — “Where do you suppose you are right now?”
Auden curls up a little more. — “Somewhere between alive and dead.”
Oh, the poor thing is lost, in more ways than just one.
Grim thinks for a minute, leaning his temple onto his fist. The angel's reality has been all but turned upside down, and now his mind is fracturing. Perhaps the shards could be built into something vastly different. His Lord does find moulding minds especially enjoyable, though such a process can be unfathomably delicate. Still, for now, the safest way forward may just be care and patience. The angel is confused enough as it is, and while hilarious, he doesn't want his lamb losing all touch with reality before meeting his new master. He will have a difficult enough time keeping track of what is real under his care anyway.
“Where do angels go when they die?” — he inquires instead, half interested in Auden's answer himself.
“They don't…”
Grim rolls his eyes. Of course. — “Where do Fallen go?”
“To Hell,” — Auden answers promptly, but then thinks further, and finds the answer insufficient. He doesn't really know what happens to Fallen Angels besides ‘eternal damnation’, since that is just a sentence, not reality. He just never thought to think further than that. Because Fallen can die. They do die, swiftly, once they reach here, once demons find them and tear them apart. — “But, but when they die… I am not sure.”
“Would you like to know?” — the Reaper asks with an easy smile.
Auden lifts his head, a little surprised to be offered to be let in on such secrets of life and death. Asking questions rarely lead to straight answers back up in his Heaven. Most of the time, he was met with disdainful expressions and waved off, told that these kinds of matters should not interest him, or, more humiliatingly, that he should already know the answer. Embarrassed, he learned not to ask questions, and only now is he starting to realise how much of his present knowledge is made up of his own assumptions.
To think he would be learning of death from Death himself — and for his silly question to be met with an unexpectedly straightforward desire to answer; no mocking, nor judgement, nor annoyance…
A small glimmer returns to his eyes as he looks to the deity intently. — “Yes please,” — he whispers, amazed, a little reverent.
The Reaper lifts a claw and beckons Auden over. The angel slides off the mattress and begins walking over obediently, only to stop in his tracks all of a sudden, hesitating.
“W-Wait, no, no I don't,” — he stutters, waving his hands out in front of him, seemingly swiftly having changed his mind. — “You don't have to, to show — I'll, I'm sorry…”
Grim is confused for a moment, not understanding the sudden reluctance, his outstretched hand sinking ever so slightly. Then, he chuckles, light as a cloud. He waves his hand dismissively. — “Oh, no, not like that. That did sound somewhat threatening, I will admit. No need to fear; you are a smart boy, you do not need such demonstration.”
Being beckoned to come closer by the Reaper after inquiring about what happens to Fallen when they die — Grim can't exactly fault the angel for hesitating. Nevertheless, with a small bit more encouragement, the nervous dove sulks up to him cautiously in the end, keeping his hands close in front of him.
“Choose one,” — the Reaper says, motioning to the jade porcelain vase filled to the brim with fresh roses set in the middle of the table. Auden saw so many bouquets arranged in large pots lining the hall as he was looking for a way out. He wonders just how much work it takes to keep every one of them filled and replenished in such a massive mansion.
Once he has made his choice — sliding free the flower that least upsets the balance of the rest as he takes it out — he looks to the Reaper. The Reaper picks one for himself and lifts it to his nose.
“When angels die, their souls float towards Heaven.” — He flips the rose downwards, letting it flop on the table. — “When demons die, their souls remain stuck here. And when Fallen die — ”
The radiant red petals are suddenly wilting, growing limp and dark, then dry and ugly in the Reaper's hand. Auden watches the healthy, beautiful flower rot, and then finally completely erode into black ashes, floating in the air like smoke after a wildfire, leaving nothing behind. Some sort of twisted awe leaves his mouth open and raises the hairs on the back of his neck in seeing the effects of Death's touch. Obliteration, destruction, extinction — with just a single touch…
He held that same hand from Miss Thu’lin’s palace all the way here.
“When Fallen die,” — Grim repeats as he rubs the pads of his fingers together to rid them of the flower's remains, — “their souls have nowhere left to go, so they disperse, just like that. Like a warm breath on a cold winter night.”
Auden clutches his own rose close to his chest, far, far from those deadly talons of shadow. — “Do they just… cease to exist? Permanently?”
The angel's wide eyes bring fondness to the Reaper's smile. He asks, instead of answering; — “do you think you exist?”
“...I don't know,” — Auden admits, a hushed whisper.
The fondness remains as he puts his hand out, scaring a flinch out of the angel. Auden goes to carefully place his rose into Death's hand, but he takes hold of Auden's wrist before he could, plucking it from him and returning it to the vase. He holds his hand gently, but firmly, feeling resistance. It's hard to tell the difference between his silver jewellery and icy skin.
“You are alive, my dear,” — assures Grim, making sure Auden hears him, looking directly into his eyes, — “you are here with me, and that should be all the evidence you need that you still exist as, if you didn't, I could never find you again.”
The young angel's lips quiver, his eyes growing misty, but he listens, and tries in earnest to believe those words. His eyes flicker down as the Reaper's thumb runs across the back of his hand. Back and forth, slow and gentle. Auden's face never crumbles fully, his tears silent as they flow.
Death's frigid kiss presses onto his knuckles like a curse, and the angel forgets to pull away.
<3
Masterlist | Ko-fi
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pretty-face-breaker · 1 month ago
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original sin, ch. 19 snippet!
Polished stone. Chains, running from one end of the cathedral to his ankles. 
His hands were bound in front of him, heavy iron shackles locked around his wrists. The links pooled at his knees like spilled ink. Suddenly, a firm weight pressed onto his shoulder and he flinched back into—
“You’re trembling,” Nick said, much too quietly. “What’s so scary?” 
 Hayko’s pulse thrummed beneath his skin. He glanced up over his shoulder, self-conscious of the submissive posture. Nick stood behind him, dressed in black, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, the lines of his forearms cutting sharp against the dim light. Hayko felt his palm but not his fingers. He could feel the way they traced the air around him, all the same. 
“I’m not scared.”
“You've said that one before, haven't you? Didn't said you were scared of me, this time.” 
“Just do it,” Hayko rasped. His voice didn’t sound like his own.
A gloved hand tilted Hayko’s chin up, forcing him to meet Nick’s gaze. His green eyes gleamed in the candlelight—intent, hungry in a way between divine and demonic. Nick ran a thumb over his lower lip, dragging slow and deliberate. 
“Not until you say it, my dear.”
Hayko swallowed the incense, barely breathing.
Nick’s fingers traced down, over his collarbone, pressing against his pulse point. His other hand curled around Hayko’s bound wrists, the cool metal biting into his skin.
“Say it,” Nick repeated, patient as a python.
It was like his spine had been given an electric shock. He wanted to bite back something sharp and defiant, but when Nick pulled, the chains rattled and yanked his head back. The sound alone had his stomach tightening. 
Faint chanting, just behind one of the three cathedral doors, getting closer. A hymn? A chorus rising and falling like waves, beating on the door. Hayko could hear it now, his mother’s voice—more of a scream, now, shrill and splintering the wood. 
Nick exhaled against his ear, dragging his nails down Hayko’s throat. “Say it.”
He blocked out the screams. The words left his mouth before he could stop them.
tagging (for an AU but still their whump content!): @doveotions @heathenville @thewhumpstuff @thatsthewhump @adamantem-rose @lonesome–hunter @whumpsorbet @whumpasaurus101 @lektricfergus @downrivergirl914 @burtlederp @redwingedwhump @nicolepascaline @ifbtnna @oh-so-skeletal @whumperfully​​ ​@brittaunfiltered09
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letitbehurt · 1 year ago
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Powerful Whumpees who are absolutely capable of killing Whumper, but are kept from doing so through magic, threats, or similar means.
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neon-kazoo · 3 months ago
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A Misunderstanding
[Context: A vigilante and a villain have an arranged, cooperative deal between them. That is, until something goes wrong, much to the vigilante’s confusion. This story takes place from the POV of the vigilante, beginning in the middle of an unrelated mission/project that the villain is unaffiliated with.]
(Warnings: threats, kidnapping, gun mention, knife violence, blood, fairly descriptive cut/stab wounds, interrogation/torture, helplessness, self-harm kinda, more language than usual, sexual harassment mentioned with implied past experiences)
Note: Technically these are ocs of mine, so if you catch any unexplained details that’s where they’re from. This whole snippet was intended to develop their dynamic, but at this point it’s really just whump lol. I just realized I had over 4000 words written that would otherwise never see the light of day so I made some tweaks to post it. If I missed any name replacements you saw nothing; there was a lot of words ok?
This is extremely long and heavier than most of my snippets, so be careful!
———
“Vigilante, grab some tubes from that room down the hall. I think it’s the third door on the right.”
I left the room to grab the materials for the project. Walking down the hall I lazily counted: one…two..
I reached the third room, and I could see the PVC from the doorway. Eyes locked on the stack at the back of the room, trying to figure out how I was going to carry so many large pieces, I missed the uninvited guest lurking beside the open door, allowing him an opportunity to catch me off guard and shove me into a wall. I opened my mouth to yell for the team but my eyes processed faster than my mouth and stopped me in my tracks.
What was Villain doing here?
I must’ve looked shocked- because I was. A personal appearance from this man could mean nothing good.
I racked my brain for any reason he might have to come find me. I came up empty. I certainly didn’t remember doing anything to him worth wall-slamming me over.
The slight ease I had at identifying the familiar face disappeared when I looked closer at his expression. There was a subtle anger painted on his usually-carefully-blank features.
“I’d suggest coming quietly,” he stated in his signature effortlessly-menacing tone. He spoke easily, like he executed an impromptu abduction every Tuesday morning.
“Come where?” I questioned, immediately suspicious. What was this?
“Somewhere to answer some questions,” he replied. His words were vague. Empty. His tone suggested I wasn’t going to get anything more out of him, but I felt the urge to press.
(Why not here, why now, what was so important?)
I knew better than to argue, but I hadn’t quite grasped the gravity of my situation yet. I shifted, ready to plead that I was in the middle of something rather important, when a knife appeared at my throat, pulling me right back down to Earth.
“Or we can skip the questions.”
Questions it was.
I walked obediently when prompted and he held solidly to my arm. We exited the building via fire escape (how did he know I was here?) We reached the doors of a black SUV parked conveniently in an alley a block over from my operation. As slowly as I could manage, I worked my fingers up into my sleeve. PSAs about the odds of surviving being taken to a second location flashed in my head but were interrupted by the introduction of a gun at my side.
“Press it, and you’re dead.”
Well, fuck.
On second thought, I actually adored second locations. I dutifully climbed into the back and used my remaining energy trying to stay calm as my hands were secured to the seat and a bag placed over my head. My bracelet was, of course, removed.
I love car rides. I tried to imagine this was just another trip, it was just….dark out. At 9 in the morning. Yeah, and I had no idea where we were going. I would be trying to think of how I was gonna play this—whatever this was—but I genuinely didn’t think I had ever risked pissing Villain off. As a result, I was painfully unprepared for whatever was about to happen. I wanted to say how unnecessary this all was, that I would come willingly if asked, but something stopped me.
Fear. Something was wrong.
It was probably just a misunderstanding.
Probably.
I lost track of time and turns, instead just counting my breaths. In for four, hold for four, out for four, repeat. I successfully held my panic at bay and was able to stand on my own two feet when I was finally pulled out of the car and led to who-knows-where. I blindly shuffled all the way through somewhere to a chair in front of a table to which my ankles were secured. My hands were left free and the blinding sack was removed.
The ceiling was covered in fluorescent lights that my eyes struggled to adjust to. I dropped my gaze to the floor, which was clean white tile with a silver disk in the center. Villain stood by the door, and apparently the ride had given him enough time to re-craft his careful features back into a perfectly smooth slate. The air in the room was uncomfortably cold, enough to raise goosebumps on my arms if it weren’t for my jacket.
A proper interrogation, but for what.
“Empty your pockets onto the table.”
He was all nonchalance now, and it was extremely off-putting. He studied me closely, and I barely refrained from squirming under his gaze. In the spirit of cooperation(survival), I obeyed the order, laying out a substantial array of multi tools, first aid, gadgets, and more onto the table top. When I finished, Villain strolled over to the table, studying the items before swiping them into a bag which he settled by the door. All but a switchblade, which he left sitting closest to his side, out of my reach.
He rounded the table to my seat, gesturing for me to slide off my jacket—which he threw by the door, much to my chagrin—and kneeling to pat the rest of me down. He found nothing.
He was silent as he returned to sit in the chair opposite me across the table.
Logic told me to copy his stare and his silence, but my anger and confusion made me reckless. The urge to speak overrode my rational mind.
“Dude, what the fuck.”
Hopefully, that statement would confirm my innocence, as it was definitely designed to do. I was not at all pissed about the deliberate jacket move, or being dragged out of an important mission against my will. Humanizing myself. That’s good, right?
“What? Are you surprised your actions have consequences? Did you think I wouldn’t find out?” His voice dripped with condescension.
He placed his hand over the switchblade and I came to the sickening realization that there was a drain in the floor.
“I thought you were smarter than this, I really did.”
“What the fuck,” I repeated slowly, “are you talking about?”
He stood, and the knife was open. I ignored the blade and kept my eyes locked on his.
“I cannot defend myself if I don’t even know what you think I did.”
“You do not play dumb with me. I do not give second chances.” His voice entered a register that I had never had the misfortune of hearing before.
This was not the man I knew. This man was somehow more dangerous, and he wasn’t making sense. He wasn’t listening.
“I wonder if you keep your knives sharp,” he spoke aloud with mock curiosity, twisting and turning the tip of the blade against his fingertip. He advanced around the table and I could do nothing to stop him. This stubborn, arrogant man was about to hurt me over nothing.
I had my hands, but they could not reason with him. They could only hold tightly over his wrist as he held the knife close to my skin. Rapid acceptance flushed through my brain as reality finally registered like a heavy weight descending upon my shoulders.
If he could be stubborn, so could I.
“Fuck you, Villain.”
The tip of the blade pierced the skin of my arm and I held my mouth firmly taut. He was cutting right above where the foundation and concealer covered the tattoo on my upper arm. The leaking blood was going to ruin my careful color correcting.
Blessedly, he skipped over the rest of the upper arm and focused his efforts on my lower arm instead, which he now held in an iron grip. I hated the feeling of being grabbed but I wouldn’t show it. He did not need any more power over me.
“You’ll take a lot for that man,” he noted incorrectly as he traced down my skin with the metal.
I was at a loss.
“For who?” The pain made my words fierce. I was angry and there wasn’t anything I could do about it except let it leech into my mouth.
“I am not an idiot, [real name].” He leaned in, and fuck him.
I seethed, “Apparently, you are, since you’re spending your time cutting up someone who doesn’t know shit about what you’re on about.”
The knife plunged deep into my forearm, and I gritted my teeth hard.
“Is he worth it?” Villain taunted.
“WHO?” I demanded, still trying to guess, to figure it out before I got diced like a vegetable but the pain made my brain foggy and I just couldn’t concentrate. The knife twisted slightly, and with it brought heat and a sickening pulling sensation.
This was not what I signed up for.
The blade came up to my face, mixing blood with sweat and the salt of involuntary tears as it slid across my cheekbone.
“To think, all this time, you were just [Politician]’s bitch,” he whispered.
Affronted was an understatement, but my offense was overridden by confusion.
“Who the fuck is-“ I stopped as the gears in my brain finally started to turn, greased by the crimson dripping across my skin.
“Are you talking about that asshole counselman?”
The gears were rusty but- what was his name? CM [Olitic]? [Politi]? [Politici- Politician]! CM [Politician]. The man I blackmailed into tipping me off about low-profile cases because he couldn’t keep his hands off interns? I was getting scored like sourdough dough with my own knife for HIM?!
Villain didn’t react, just continued to drag the knife down my neck and lined it up at my collarbones. He had to cut and pull my tank top down slightly for better access.
“You’re his spy. What have you told him?” He hummed, and I took a second to gather myself despite the biting pain.
“His WHAT. Where the fuck did you get that from because let me tell you I would not kill an ant for that man let alone spy for him-”
The knife slashed over my other collarbone, and I raged.
“ARE YOU INCAPABLE OF A CIVIL CONVERSATION? LISTEN, YOU ARE WRONG. Wrong. Use your fucking words.” I wanted to spell it out. One more cut and I would be sent over the edge. “You absolute. Mother. Fucker.”
“Just a loyal. Little. Dog.”
He punctuated his dig at my supposed obedience with a hand wrapped around my throat. Possessive.
Oh, so he was trying to make me angry. I really should have seen the angle earlier because damn him it was working.
I couldn’t keep giving him the satisfaction. I took one deep breath and then another, ignoring the sting it brought up across my chest, and the restriction around my neck.
“Ask me a question, and I’ll answer it.” I looked him dead in the eyes when I continued, “or kill me and go fuck yourself.”
“What is your deal with him?”
A silent sigh of relief. Finally, something productive.
“He tips me off for counsel cases,” I explained-rather graciously might I add, given the circumstances. “He didn’t ask me to do shit for him, nor would I. I am not his personal spy. I keep the association off his back, and that is it.”
I reserved a few more choice words about his questioning techniques and waited while he absorbed my response. I sounded far more civil than I felt.
“And why would he do that for you?”
I thanked every god I knew that he seemed to finally be playing ball. Words I could work with, knives I could not.
“Blackmail,” I answered simply.
“Explain.” He raised an eyebrow, and also my knife.
“The association opened a case on him for sexual harassment. I have evidence that would prove rather unsavory for him, I hold on to it in exchange for his information. Basically, he tells me shit and I don’t bury him.” I looked to Villain expectantly. I had nothing else to say on the matter.
He tilted his head. He wanted more, or worse, he knew I had more.
My lips stayed shut.
He had a dangerous glint in his eyes when he spoke, “You don’t withhold from me.”
“Since when. That was not part of our deal.” Anger, deeper and older, burned cold inside me.
“It is now.” It was not that simple.
“I gave you enough,” I told him. I intended my words to be final. He had no right to ask anything of me anymore.
“You don’t get to decide.” Like Hell I didn’t.
“It is none of your business,” I spit back.
“I’m making it my business.” He just kept going. What I wouldn’t give to wipe that self-assuredness right out of every cell in his body.
“Cut me again and I swear you’ll never hear another word out of my mouth,” I blustered. With every fresh drop of blood, he was taking a middle finger to our entire arrangement, everything I had built.
“I highly doubt that.” He flipped the knife around in his hands. He ran his eyes along each of my new, bloody, decorative lines. Fine, maybe I was all talk. But he definitely didn’t need to know that.
“Put the knife away.” I smiled sweetly, but I was getting angry again, and I was losing the will to stop it. My self control spilled out of me in the streams of crimson blood that ran down my face and chest and arms to where it would ultimately flush down the drain and leave me defenseless. Still, that was exactly what he wanted. I couldn’t let him win.
“Or are you too scared of an equal conversation?” I challenged. Two could play at the angering game.
Unfortunately for me, Villain was focused elsewhere and didn’t take the bait. He had found a thread and he intended to pull it.
“Tell me the proof.” Impressively, he just didn’t know when to stop.
“No.” Welcome, Villain, to the hill I was willing to die on. “You cut me up for being a spy, which I’m not. I didn’t break our deal, but you just did. I owe you nothing. I will give you nothing.”
I wanted to tell him that he would never see another cooperative action out of me for as long as I lived, that he should watch his back, that he should expect to see me again soon, but I still needed to live through this and threats were definitely not in my best interests. I wouldn’t betray myself like that.
My skin burned and my arm throbbed. My heart beat aggressively against my rib cage but my adrenaline was crashing. I hurt and I was tired and I just wanted this to be over.
All that trust, and all for nothing.
Villain did not get the hint that I was done. For real this time.
When he brought the knife back, I grabbed it. I pulled it towards me to catch him off guard, sinking it inches into the flesh of my hip before ripping it from his hand and flipping the blade back towards him. He must not have thought I would do it, because he stayed close enough for me to be able to sink the blade into his stomach before he wrestled my arms under control.
A second later, I couldn’t move and I knew it was over.
“I hope it fucking hurts,” I spit coldly, blinking away my burning tears.
A flash of something–maybe surprise?– passed briefly over his face. I hoped it was fear. I needed the win. Before this all got worse.
My wrists got strapped to the chair and Villain was out the door quickly, knife still sheathed in his abdomen. I rolled my head towards the ceiling, eyes unfocused and blinking out tears. I felt satisfaction, then something darker tried to push its way to the surface.
I paid it no mind, just breathed and let it pass. That wound would not be fatal.
Exhaustion soon sent me into a state that was a pitiful excuse for rest. My head rolled forward and the burning faded into the background. I floated for an indeterminate amount of time.
The door opened, closed. A prick. I didn’t care.
I dreamt in flashes of hands and grabbing and helplessness. Fingers, digging into my arm, pressure, where there shouldn’t be-
When I awoke, I was on a cot covered in a thin layer of sweat. I was confused by the freedom of movement and the light smell of laundry detergent. I must’ve slept like a rock, because my cuts were cleaned and my forearm bandaged. I was also bundled in my freshly-clean jacket.
What on Earth-
Was this a motel?
No sooner than thirty seconds after I sat up did the door open and none other than the devil himself appear.
“I figured we’d try again,” the ghost of a grimace passed over his face as his eyes landed on me. “…differently.”
I blinked.
Unconsciousness had returned a bit of my clarity, and if I looked closely, Villain appeared…sheepish. A slight hunch, face pained like he was trying hard not to avert his eyes. Was he…remorseful?
I almost laughed at the thought, but managed to maintain a plain face.
“Uh huh,” I sounded cautiously, shaking off the last of my sleep-induced disorientation. What exactly did that mean: differently?
I gathered something had changed, but I did not voice this, knowing the man in the doorway would never bother to explain himself to me.
Instead, I added humorously, “be a shame if I didn’t believe you.”
I rubbed my eyes and smiled ruefully and he actually looked away. Villain, the original Big Scary Man, was unable to make eye contact with me. Instead, he pointed out a bathroom and said he’d be back in five minutes. The win was too good to be true.
It wasn’t until I made to slide down my waistband that I remembered the self-inflicted wound on my hip. It had also been tended to, a medium size gauze pad taped over the opening.
Now that I was once again aware of its existence, I noticed certain movements did send a shooting pain along the skin and into the fat that had been cut. I wondered how I didn’t notice it earlier. I suspected I would find stitches if I removed the patch.
Carefully pulling the elastic back over the medical tape, I stood in front of the sink, cupping my hands under the faucet and drinking until it no longer burned to swallow. Water drenched the front of my tank, but I didn’t care.
I checked my bandages and studied the open cuts in the mirror. A few had the skin held together with butterfly closures, the rest slathered in Vaseline or Neosporin. I ran my fingers gingerly along the cut on my cheek and wondered if it would scar. Keeping still had worked in my favor though, it didn’t seem too deep.
My left arm took the brunt of the damage. The rose on my upper arm was uncovered and wiped clean, and I thanked several deities it was untouched. I opened and closed my fist to make sure the hole in my forearm didn’t take out anything too important. I was no doctor, but I determined it was probably fine. Villain knew what he was doing, after all.
I studied my reflection one last time, shrugging my jacket back over my arm carefully. I took in my face, discarding the uncertainty and anger and leaving my features assured and closed. The Villain special. I walked out the door.
Villain was waiting.
He didn’t touch me, instead we walked side by side back into the room I had woken up in, which now had an apple sitting on a table to the right when we walked in. Ignoring all of it, I went straight to sit on the bed. I didn’t know what to make of his complete 180, so I drew one knee up to my chest and waited. I let a little hope trickle into my thoughts.
Maybe it just took a good stabbing to force some common sense into Villain.
He paid my refusal to sit at the table no mind and just casually tossed the apple to me after taking his own seat. The hunger I felt must have been built over many, many hours because I did not hesitate to take a bite. And another. And another. The juice dripped down my chin and I didn’t bother to catch it.
Villain respectfully waited until my more ravenous bites had passed before he spoke.
“I propose a trade.”
I just about spit out my apple. Pushing past my knee-jerk response of dignifiedly telling him to “eat shit,” I studied the man to try and determine if he was being serious. His gaze was unwavering. He seemed to be waiting for me to respond, but I wasn’t exactly in a talking mood. I felt clearer but also…off.
“Information for information,” he continued.
Wow this was a really good apple. I turned it over and studied it in my hand. A gala, maybe?
He clarified, “I want your evidence on the counselman.”
Yeah, no shit. So he does know how to use his words after all.
My apple was reduced to just a core. I supposed I had to speak sometime, lest the knife make a reappearance.
“Do you slice, dice, and drug every person you want to make a deal with, or am I just special?” I cocked my head but cast my gaze past the table towards the door.
In my peripheral, I caught his face still impassive.
“I acted on bad intel.”
Villain? Explaining himself? And I thought anger-inducing Villain was scary. Remorseful Villain was straight up terrifying. I was probably reading too far into it, just telling myself what I needed to hear, but—if I squinted—I could imagine it was an apology.
But on further evaluation, I accepted that it was all an act. Every moment I’ve spent with him carefully crafted. This was just another angle.
But what could I do about it?
Knowing didn’t make it better. The cuts were real, my fear was real, my pain was real.
In the end, I still put myself into this world, and I wasn’t going to stop.
“And what do I get out of this?” I questioned. My life? To leave? Some negotiation that would be.
“What do you want?”
Putting the ball in my court is new. Concerning. Is this a trick? How badly does he want to bury this guy?
A terrible, horrible idea hit me. I wouldn’t. I shouldn’t.
I couldn’t resist.
“Apologize.”
I stood up, walking over to the table and taking a seat, looking him dead in the eyes, and waited.
It was his turn to blink.
For what I presumed to be the first time in his life, the man in front of me had been stunned to silence.
Because of me.
Joy flooded me with the thought.
“I-“ he coughed, and I smiled with a sweetness that would send anyone without a functioning pancreas scrambling for insulin.
“My apologies,” he started, and to his credit, it didn’t sound too forced.
“For?” I pushed, and the look in his eyes suggested I was seriously pushing my luck.
I didn’t care.
“For,” he forced out, “the ‘slicing’ and ‘dicing’. The drugging, I believe, was justified.”
“You stabbed me first,” I shrugged nonchalantly, adding, “You got a pen?”
He held my gaze for a moment, before slowly getting up to retrieve a branded notepad and pen from the nightstand across the room.
He slid them towards me, and I clicked open the pen with a motion that jolted my forearm. I hid my grimace and somehow refrained from dropping the writing utensil onto the carpeting. I wrote down the number with a degree of difficulty. I pushed it towards him, but kept my fingers on it for a second.
“Wait 24, then call it.”
I could tell he wanted to ask for more details, but he wisely considered this ordeal to be over and my civility worn out.
I walked right out the door, and he didn’t stop me.
I thought about trying to get word to the team, but decided against it. I wasn’t integral to the plan. They could go on without me, and most definitely had considering the importance of the mission and the estimated time I had been gone. If they even knew I had been taken—I seemed to remember the building we were using having cameras—the chances that they would interfere in my business were limited.
So I probably had about 12 hours, give or take. Long enough for a natural nap and a rushed processing session with fuzzy pajamas and ice cream. I would have also indulged in a nice warm bath, but unfortunately I was correct about the stitches, making the whole watery adventure ill-advised.
After I had totally-effectively self-cared the whole experience away, I went out on the town.
I was making a round up City avenue when I spotted a shadow trailing behind me.
Round two, baby. Let’s go.
I stopped, and the shadow closed in.
“What kind of game are you trying to pull?” The shadow confronted angrily.
“You didn’t call the number,” I stated plainly.
“I traced it. It comes back to one [full legal name]. Do you think this is funny? We had an arrangement.” I couldn’t say why, but his words just didn’t seem as scary.
“You’re one to talk about the sanctity of arrangements. We did have one. One that you spit on. Or have you already forgotten?” I could tell he wanted to advance on me, but he was hanging back. “Speaking of which, I don’t really know when to take these stitches out.”
“So you think you can just walk away from this?”
It didn’t seem like he really believed that. It didn’t really seem like he knew what to believe.
“‘I am not an idiot’, Villain.” I threw his words back at him. It was the least he deserved. “I don’t work with people who break my trust. I made an exception. Do I need to take it back?”
He’s smarter than this, isn’t he?
He took a single step forward.
“Wow, you are thick lately. I gave you exactly what you asked for but you just can’t open your eyes and see it.”
“I didn’t ask for this,” he held the scrap of paper up in a tight fist. “I asked for evidence, and if you’re not gonna give me what I clearly asked for-”
“Put your threats away and use your brain for once. Dust off the cobwebs and whatever the fuck has you so messed up and just think.”
I wasn’t angry, just exasperated. I knew my words were entering dangerous territory, but I felt they had to be said. This was not what I was used to dealing with. A brick wall would be more reasonable.
“If I was trying to trick you, I’d give you the number of the local pizza place. If you can’t get this I can’t help you.”
A pregnant pause.
“You,” he breathed.
Finally. A connect-the-dots champion.
“Me,” I confirmed.
“Witness?”
So close.
“Victim.”
I could almost hear the click. His whole demeanor shifted, his walls building back up, self-assuredness back in place.
“I see.”
He looked me up and down one more time with newly-appraising eyes before abruptly turning around and walking away. He melted back into the darkness, disappearing without so much as another word.
Asshole.
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villainsandheroes · 2 years ago
Note
Hi, I like your writing, and I really liked your "A Discussion" idea with the hero and villain jailed together! I would love to see any other writing you have on that, though only if you want to post it. Have a wonderful day! 💜💜💜
Aw thank you so much! I love you anon :)
Here is that post
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hero paled a little. “What?”
“You heard me.”
They all eyed each other for a minute. “What happens to the other person?” Villain frowned. 
“Well, I’m kinda bored of two pets.” Supervillain pouted. “I think it’s time I get to know one of you more closely.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Supervillain left to give them time to decide, Hero thought Villain would have gotten up and gone to get free. Making a sneering comment to Hero which was supposed to be a joke but in actuality hurt.
But instead, Villain carefully settled back. Moving his chained hands to his lap. “You ready to get out of here?”
“What?” Hero mumbled.
“I’ll stay.” Villain offered quieter.
Hero frowned. “Hold on. Wait-”
“Discussion over Hero.”
He winced at the harshness. It had been a while since Villain had shown such an attitude towards them. Despite it all, they had grown close. They used to fight each other till blood was drawn. Now they were the ones patching each other up after a torture session with Supervillain. 
Hero stayed quiet for a minute, knowing time was running out but trying to figure out what to say. “My job is to help and protect others. If I have the chance to help you and I don’t-“
“Hero. You have the chance to go help hundreds, maybe even thousands of people. I'm not gonna be a hero after this. I won't go out of my way to save people. I won’t return the favor, I'm not like you.”
Hero held back a whine of sorts. “Villain, you are important.”
Villain quietly considered that. Looking down at his arms and legs scattered in scars before over at Hero, some were the same, others were different. They’d been tortured together for years now. He didn’t know why the supervillain was doing this, or why now he wanted one of them gone, but he knew it wasn’t for any good reason.
“Hero. You need to go.”
“B-“
“Ssh.” He mumbled softly. He moved closer before gently wrapping his arm around them, careful not to tangle their chains up. 
Hero looked at him before carefully hugging him back. “I hate you.” He mumbled, gently pressing his face against him for comfort. 
“I know.” Villain chuckled softly. “Hero? Just… don’t forget me. I know saving me may not work-“
“Oh, I will save you.” Hero hissed quietly. 
Villain laughed at that, harder than he had in a long time. After a minute grinning. “Alright. I’ll give you that. Just. If you can’t- please don’t forget me?”
Hero frowned. “I would never.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Supervillain took Hero away Villain could barely watch. Just praying he hadn’t made a mistake and Supervillain was going to kill him.
Supervillain didn’t though. They kept to their word.
They took Hero outside the facility and even took them on a plane flight before going to a random street. Hero’s hands were tied and he was struggling to keep up with Supervillain’s longer stride.
Suddenly he stopped and Hero ran into his back. “Now. I wanted to try this new power on you.”
Hero frowned, looking around at the streets that were full of people. “Wha-“
Supervillain released his arms and held Hero’s head. “I can take away memories.”
Hero thrashed suddenly while trying to get away but Supervillain pinned them onto a wall.
Hero’s memory was wiped in seconds flat.
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chaotic-orphan · 9 months ago
Text
Intoxicating Fear (XVII)
Unforeseen Side-effect
Part One // Masterpost // Continued from here
~*~*~*~*~*~
Kit sat up with an effort, his entire body tensing as he moved. Aftershocks still singed his nerves as he moved, eliciting sharp hisses of pain.
What the hell was that thing, that red lightning? And why did he only get it around Ambrose?
“I assume that it’s a wild manifestation of your abilities,” Ambrose said from the kitchen. Kit rolled his eyes, about to curse the villain out if a sudden wave of nausea didn’t hit him and stop him in his tracks.
The world was spinning, lethargically slow, and closing his eyes didn’t exactly help matters. What the fuck was that red lightning? Why did it leave him so… weak?
Kit stopped beside the couch, pressing his back against it while he caught his breath and stifled the whine that threatened to spill from the back of his throat.
“You are as pale as a ghost,” Ambrose told Kit with a smirk. “Except for those eyes of course. And your veins.”
Kit’s eyes widened. His veins? What was Ambrose talking about now? Kit brought his hands in front of his eyes, any colour left in him draining as he saw the same angry, neon red colour had permeated all of his veins. Kit rolled up his sleeves, and there they were. Then the cuffs of his jeans, and the veins were there too.
“You’re like a walking glow-stick.”
“For fuck’s sake, just shut up.” Kit said with a groan, gfalling to his hands and knees and pushing himself to get up. He froze, hitting an invisible wall and plopped back down to his arse again. Red eyes met Ambrose’s black ones. “Can you let me stand up?”
I thought you told me to shut up, Ambrose’s voice sounded in Kit’s mind, the same stupid smirk on his same stupid face.
Kit banged his head against the couch with a groan. “You’re such a dickhead! You can give commands through thoughts! Why are you even here?! Why do you love to torture me?” Kit demanded, his voice turning hysterical. “Is this all part of Supervillain’s plan? To drive me mad too?”
The humour vanished from Ambrose’s face in the blink of an eye. “Do I look like I work well with others, Mallory?”
Kit blinked, his eyebrows pinching together, forming a furrow between. “What?”
Ambrose walked forward, closing the distance between them, stopping in front of Kit’s outstretched legs. “Do I look like I take orders from people?”
“No?”
“Then why,” Ambrose began, his voice darkening. “Would you think that I would throw my lot in with Supervillain of all people?”
Kit bent his knee and pushed himself into a straighter sitting position. He threw his hands up in a helpless gesture. “Then what the fuck were you doing on the docks that night?”
Ambrose’s features hardened. “The night I met you?”
“No, the other night on the docks.” Kit deadpanned.
“That wasn’t my fault,” Ambrose said with a shrug. “You can blame that preppy little water hero, what was her name again?”
“Tides.”
“That’s it,” Ambrose said with a click of his fingers. “Tides. The perfect foil to your electricity, Kit. Maybe I should bring her over someti—”
“If you touch her, I’ll fucking kill you.” Ambrose raised his brows, slightly taken aback. Maybe it was the vibrant crackle in his eyes or the echo in his voice, but something about him at that moment didn’t feel like Kit. It felt like something else. Something… wild.
“Promises, promises,” Ambrose said with a wave. “You can stand, Mallory. Clearly, we need to have a long overdue conversation.”
Ambrose walked back to the kitchenette, and grabbed two mugs from the cabinet preparing their coffee and tea. Kit slowly, achingly slow, got to his feet, his entire body zapped of energy. He dragged himself to his table and settled heavy into the chair, ignoring how breathless he was from such a light movement.
Ambrose joined him a few minutes later, neither of them speaking to each other. Ambrose set the coffee in front of Kit, and Kit said: “thanks.”
“Don’t mention it,” Ambrose told him lightly. Ambrose stood again and walked towards Kit, reaching out.
Kit flinched back, throwing his hands up, red eyes pleading. “No, Ambrose no more, please.”
“Relax, Mallory. I’m just undoing the tie.” Ambrose told him. He waited until Kit relaxed, his hands lowering, a wary glint in his eyes as Ambrose started forward again. He quickly undid the knot in the tie, Kit refusing to look at him, instead focusing on the wall behind him. He could smell Ambrose’s expensive cologne from the space between them. It smelled nice, but it was deathly silent.
It was awkward, to say the least.
Ambrose finished with a flourish, gently pulling the fabric from Kit’s throat, sending shivers down his spine. Ambrose folded the tie neatly as he sat down again opposite Kit. When his black eyes flicked up to Kit’s he let out a low whistle, his eyes going to the red bruise around Kit’s throat. It would fade in an hour or two.
“What?” Kit snapped.
A ghost of a smirk flashed over Ambrose’s lips as he picked up his steaming mug. “Let’s just say you have a necktie of your own, now.”
Kit rolled his eyes. “Oh fuck right off, Rosey.” Kit took his own mug and took a sip of the steaming black coffee. His arm spasmed as the liquid met his tongue and spilled coffee all over his arm. Kit hissed, cursing as he wiped the liquid off, humming the pain away.
Ambrose’s dark eyes narrowed over his cup. “Aftershock?”
Kit shook his head. “I don’t know what this is,” he said weakly.
“Hmm.” Ambrose set his mug down on the table, clasping his hands on the table in front of him. “In any case, we need to discuss your theory on Supervillain.”
“You said you’re not working for him.”
Ambrose didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely not, but I am interested to hear your theory.”
“That night on the docks,” Kit repeated.
“I didn’t start a fight with Tides on the dock, Kit. She started a fight with me. I was simply defending myself.”
“And I’m sure you forced her to radio for help, right?”
Ambrose blinked. “No.”
Kit scoffed. “Sure you didn’t.”
“No,” Ambrose said again, straightening his spine. “I didn’t. If I did, I would tell you, Mallory. I’m an honest man.”
“She radioed Superhero and I while we were fighting a fire Villain that was threatening to burn down the residential area in seventh.”
“I never told her to do anything like that, Mallory. I wanted a quiet night. Tides somehow recognised me, and then I had my fun with her.” A shadow of a smirk passed over Ambrose’s face. “Though she wasn’t half as fun as you were.”
Kit frowned. “But that night there was— it felt like there were a series of co-ordinated attacks across the city.”
“Except I didn’t attack your water hero. How many times must I repeat myself?”
“Sorry if you’re a little hard for me to trust right now, Rosey!” Kit growled, slamming his hand on the table. The red in his veins pulsed and burned brighter. Even the blood vessels inside his mouth were emitting light, as if he had just swallowed the sun. “All you’ve done since I’ve met you is torture me, use my own powers against me, broke into my apartment—”
“Kit—” Ambrose said, but sparks flew from Kit’s body as he continued, getting angrier and angrier. Burning hotter and hotter, the light getting brighter and brighter.
“Laughed at me while you beat me, terrorised my every waking moment, kidnapped me and tied me up so you could hurt me some more, or shall I go on?!” His voice crackling at the end like static over an old radio that had lost signal.
“Kit, you need to calm down.” Ambrose said softly, eyes weary at the sparks and heat that was coming off the hero in front of him.
“Wow, look at you, Rosey. How far we’ve come. You’re scared of me for once,” Kit said, planting his hands on the table and rising to his feet. “Good.”
Kit raised his hand, pointing his index finger at Ambrose and raising his thumb, curling his hand into a finger gun. Then he lowered his thumb with a soft: “pew.”
Ambrose went hurtling back against the wall to Kit’s room, cracking the plaster on impact. Ambrose groaned as he fell to the ground, forcing his eyes to focus, but his brain was fried. Everything was coming too slowly for him to react.
Kit stepped around the table, following the telepath. Each step sent jolts of energy through his limbs but Kit couldn’t help it. He kind of liked it. This raw power coursing through him. It made him feel in control.
He ignored the voice in the back of his head telling him to stop. That this was wrong, that this wasn’t him. Oh this was Kit alright. This was all of Kit’s bottled up emotions, finally breaking free and showing Ambrose who really had the power in their relationship.
Kit stopped in front of Ambrose, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and yanking him to his feet. He shoved him against the wall, not shocking him, not yet. He just wanted to savour the look of fear in the villain’s face for once. The villain’s disheveled state, where strands of his perfect hair fell over his face, out of his control.
“Mallory, this isn’t you,” Ambrose told him.
Kit tilted his head. “Aww, is that really all you can think of in your defence, Rosey? It’s hard to think with electricity shocking your nervous system, isn’t it?”
“Kit—”
“Kit’s not home right now,” Kit cut in, chuckling darkly. The sound echoing in static across the apartment. “Or, well, he is. He’s me, I’m him. Let’s just say, his compassionate, heroic side isn’t steering the ship at the moment.”
Ambrose clenched his jaw. “Then which part am I speaking to?”
“The one that you created, Rosey.” Kit told him with a threatening purr. His smile widened as Ambrose paled. “The beaten, pathetic, powerless one that gathered every time you told us — not to use our powers. Every time Kit reached for them and couldn’t find them, guess what happened? I was born. A well of kinetic and potential energy, bubbling under the surface, safe in Kit’s subconscious.” Kit laughed and Ambrose flinched. “I liked you, Rosey. You just kept building, and building, and building me up until I spilled over. But y’know what? I like being in the driver seat. It’s fun being conscious.”
Ambrose didn’t know what to do as he stared at the monster in front of him. The monster that he created? Nobody had ever had side effects like this before, well, none that he of. Certainly not enough to make another personality emerge in the subconscious, but then again…
Ambrose set his mouth into a thin line. Kit was top of his class for a reason. Mentor chose him for a reason, and if Kit wasn’t lethal enough with just his skills his ability — electricity — was pure energy, pure force. It would take a lot for Kit to be able to control it, let alone suppress it. Ambrose vaguely recalled studying electricity in school, and all the different types of it.
No, that’s not what he should focus on.
His mind quickly poured over Kit’s words again until he found it, the important information. “Kit’s not home right now. Or well, he is. He’s me, I’m him. Let’s just say, his compassionate, heroic side isn’t steering the ship at the moment.”
Perfect. That meant all Ambrose had to do was reach in and pull the real Kit out to the forefront of his mind. Put him back in control.
Ambrose reached into Kit’s mind, quickly searching the strange cavern until he saw him. Not Kit, but a pulsing ball of blue electricity buried deep in the darkness.
“Mallory!” Ambrose called, his voice echoing in Kit’s mind. “Mallory wake—”
Ambrose screamed as he was pulled out of Kit’s head. It felt as if his body was burning under a stream of molten lava, singeing every nerve and fibre of his being. Every muscle seized and contracted, robbing every thought from his brain before eventually it stopped and he fell forward. His head fell onto Kit’s shoulder, his body riding out the aftershocks with a cry.
“Naughty, naughty Rosey. It’s rude to ask for someone else to join us when the fun’s only beginning! You get to play with Kit all the time, I never get to play with you.”
“Kit—” Ambrose said with a breath, his voice coming out weaker than he had ever heard it.
“Don’t worry. I know how much volts it takes to kill a human, and I only used a fraction of that on you, Rosey. See? We’re still friends! I would be nothing without you.” Kit grabbed Ambrose’s head and straightened him back against the wall. “So, how about we make this party really fun and use half the amount it takes to kill—“”
Kit shut up suddenly, stepping back. Ambrose slid heavy down the wall, mind racing. He had the right mind to glance up at Kit to see a resolute expression grace his lips.
“Ambrose, put me to sleep. Now! Fucking—” Kit dropped to his knees, screaming as red and blue sparks erupted around him. No, not around him. From him. Ambrose looked away, throwing his elbow up to shield his eyes. “AGGGGHHH! NOW! DON’T—”
Ambrose took a sharp breath and slammed his hand out. He reached into Kit’s mind and pulled the plug. Kit’s muscles went rigid, his arms dropping to his sides before he fell to the ground. Ambrose let out a gasp, falling forward to his hands and knees.
Ambrose sucked in a breath, his muscles trembling to keep him up. Fuck.
He pushed himself back onto his arse, eyes locked on the unconscious hero in front of him. His body still pulsed with energy, but at least he was out cold. Ambrose pressed a hand against his chest, still feeling the burn from Kit’s hand on his chest.
He glanced down, brows pinching together when he saw the char mark in the shape of a handprint on his shirt. Ambrose scoffed. “You little shit,” he said to Kit. “This shirt costs more than your apartment.”
Ambrose got to his feet with a groan. It has been a long time since somebody hurt him like that. Well, not counting all the times when Kit had surprised him. He let out a breath, that sounded eerily similar to a laugh, when he remembered Kit knocking him out and waking up tied up and gagged. Oh, those were the days.
He walked over to Kit’s coatrack by the door and rooted around in his overcoat pockets until his fingers touched the metal rings. He pulled them out and released them with a dull thunk.
He personally preferred not having to use Kit’s power dampeners. They weren’t exactly a tool that Ambrose needed. Besides, it was much more fun to force Kit to inhibit his own ability, but Ambrose had told him not to use his powers. He had done that, and somehow, the other Kit somehow managed to access his electricity to overpower Ambrose.
Ambrose walked over to the Hero, staring down at him with something unreadable crossing his expression. This was the kid that Mentor took under his wing, huh? He could see why Mentor would choose him, of all the heroes in the world, never mind the city, he’s the Hero Ambrose chose too, coincidentally.
Entirely coincidental.
It was strange.
There was something about Kit, something about him that drew people in like moths to a flame, but looking down at him now, Ambrose took in how young Mallory looked.
He was everything Ambrose wasn’t; where Ambrose was pale, Kit had a honeyed tan to his skin, and where Ambrose was dark haired, Kit’s hair was light brown. Not to mention the differences between Kit’s ridiculous haircut and Ambrose’s. Honestly, would it kill him to run a comb through his hair every once in a while?
Then again Mentor always had a soft spot for broken things, and who could ever compete with some scrappy orphan?
Ambrose sighed as he crouched in front of Kit, reaching forward to grab the boy’s wrists. A jolt of electricity passed through Ambrose’s arm and he cursed, yanking his hand back and shaking it.
“Even unconscious you’re still a pain in the ass,” Ambrose muttered, carefully reaching forward again and snapping the cuff around Kit’s wrist without touching him. The brightness in his veins dimmed and went out completely after Ambrose snapped the cuff on other his wrist.
He touched Kit’s hand again, testing the waters, and there was no shock or jolt that ran through him. Good. Ambrose got to his feet, satisfied that Kit wasn’t a live wire anymore and walked towards Kit’s bedroom. He opened the wardrobe and grabbed one of Kit’s sweaters, then paused, stretching the fabric.
God. The boy didn’t look this skinny. Ambrose had broad shoulders, something he was proud of, but at the moment he wished he was the same build as the young hero. He put the sweater back in and pulled out a larger hoodie. It was ugly but it’d do.
All of his insulators were back at his house, which meant he’d have to take Kit back too. He needed answers. He needed to understand why Mentor chose Kit, why he took him, why he raised him to follow in his footsteps.
He needed to know why Kit thought Ambrose was working with Supervillain. Too many unanswered questions for his liking, too many variables, and all of them hinged on the volatile hero in front of him. Well, Ambrose never got to where he was today without a little hard work.
At least, he noted, it was dark outside, so he could throw the unconscious hero into the backseat without too many questions.
*~*~*~*~*
Continued here
Orphanage roll-call (lmk if you wanna be added or removed): @beatenbruisedandbloody @404lunar1216 @whumpyworld @nameless-beanie e @andithewhumper @annablogsposts @whumpasaurus101 @0eggdealer @rejectedbytheempty @sleepy-pearl @n3rv0usn0v4 @whumpatize-me-captain @sunshiline-writes @burningkittypoet @honeyed-euphrates @sacredwrath @theonewithallthefixations @acer-gaysimpstuff @m3rakii @xxgalgurlxx @princess-bubble-blossom @blood-enthusiast @steh-lar-uh-nuhs @andtheysaidspeaknoww @dutifullykrispyland @mononeigbour @tippytappytyping @stefaniesblogs @shinokoro @bedtimescenarios @whatwhump
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littlelambramblings · 4 days ago
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Thievery 101
How Jace and Theodore meet! talk about a rough start
———
Fuck, fuck, fuck..! The cold of the night buzzed around Jace as he walked down the barren alley in just his hoodie. The hoodie was ran-through after 6 years of usage and the memory of receiving it as a Christmas present from his then boyfriend, now ex, felt more of a mockery now. Just thinking of how it was the only thing he had against the cold after being kicked out by said ex made him flush in shame. 
Hell, first getting kicked out by his parents for liking guys, and now he gets kicked out by his boyfriend? The one who he disobeyed his parents to be with? His life was a joke. 
It’s his third night out on the streets and the cold was getting worse. On top of that, he had started running out of cash. His empty stomach was a testament of that. 
Jace stumbled deeper into the alley, trying to find a quiet place to sit down on. After being kicked out from stores, libraries, hell, even public parks, he didn’t really care if he had to sleep on the cold concrete anymore. He slumped down on the wall, trying to twist his body to cushion against the hard slab, but concrete was concrete, not some room in a 5 star hotel. 
Jace sighed, watching as his breath frosted in the air. 
All of the sudden, he heard movement. Footsteps, to be perfectly clear. And they were drawing nearer. 
Jace felt a rise of goosebumps on his back and these ones were not from the cold. He reached into his pocket, gripping his pocket knife as he crouched low. Was it the police again? Or maybe another homeless person trying to steal his spot? The steps got louder and louder, resonating like thunder inside the closed-off alley. 
Finally, a face appeared and Jace finally relaxed. It wasn’t the cops or other homeless people. No, this blond, tall man dressed in a black trench coat was clearly very, very out of it. His onyx eyes which were partly obscured by his messy hair were dazed and red. Was he lost? On drugs? 
Jace’s stomach rumbled. He looked at the man’s warm coat and what appeared to be expensive jewelry. If he could just get one bracelet, he would be able to sell it at the pawnshop down the road for quite the price. His hand tightened around the grip of his blade. 
Jace had never robbed anyone before and up until this point, he never thought he would even consider thievery, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Jace crouched low, stalking closer and closer, making sure to stay covered in the night. 
He lunged out, flailing out his blade, trying to hide the way his fingers shook from nerves, guilt, and probably the cold. “If you don’t want me to fucking rip you apart, you better hand over all your valueables! Now!” He demanded.
Surprisingly, the man didn’t flinch, didn’t scream, or even widen his eyes. He calmly turned to face Jace, his expression dark. 
Jace gulped. 
Just a few seconds ago, the man looked completely dissociated, so why does he have the growing feeling he was the one being hunted all of a sudden? He’s not the one who had a knife pointed at him! 
“D-Didn’t you hear me?! I said-!” Jace was interrupted with the sensation of rough hands shoving him into the wall. He yelped as his wrist was roughly pulled behind him and the man’s weight crushed him into the concrete. “Hey!”
“Fuck, this day couldn’t get worse,” the man grumbled, sighing irritated. “Where the hell are your parents, kid?” Jace jolted, confused, “What? Why you asking?” “Well, obviously to call them. Either that or I call the cops on you. Someone’s gotta keep you accountable and I assure you, you would not like me to be the one to,” Jace couldn’t see the man’s face, but he got the distinct feeling the man was rolling his eyes as he said this. 
“Fuck,” Jace whispered. “Listen, man. Um. Please don’t call the cops. I was - I was just so. Hungry.” Jace pleaded, turning face to try and look back at the man. 
The man sighed, seemingly softening, “Your parents should really teach you better than this. If you’re hungry, they should feed you. So just give me their number and we can work something out.”
“But,” Jace paused, “they kicked me out…”
“... You serious?” 
Jace coughed, “Well, I’m not joking…” 
The man paused as if taking in Jace’s appearance for the first time. Jace knew he probably looked (and smelled) awful. “How about I take you home with me? Set you up a meal?” Jace’s stomach gurgled happily at the thought, but he wasn’t stupid. Desperate, yes, but not stupid. “No, I’m fine. I am not a kid anyway. I already turned nineteen.” “Sure, sure,” The man laughed. “How very grown up you are. Well, it’s either you go with me or you go with the police in handcuffs if you’re such an adult.”  
… 
And that’s how Jace ended up in the passenger seat of the stranger he tried robbing a couple minutes prior. “Safety first~” Theodore chirped, reaching over Jace and fastening his seatbelt. “Oh, and the name’s Theodore, by the way.” Jace shuffled nervously at the touch, feeling the man linger against him. Snapping his attention to the window, he watched as buildings turned into trees before finally the car glided to a stop. “Well, here we are!” 
Jace turned his face, his jaw dropping at the woodland mansion before him. He should have known from the man’s - Theodore’s - attire, that he was well off, but this was just ridiculous. 
Theodore leaned over the steering wheel, staring at Jace amused, “You like it?”
“ . . . It’s okay,” Jace admitted. 
Theodore laughed, “Sure. Let’s go in then?”
Jace paused. This man was a stranger. One who was clearly stronger than him. Is it really the right choice to enter this stranger’s house? His stomach growled. . . . Well, it was already too late to worry about that now considering he’s in the middle of the woods with him. 
Reaching for the handle, Jace nodded, sealing his fate, “Let’s.”
Taglist: @whatwasmyprevioususername
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Text
cw age gap, implied kidnapping, implied torture, intimate whumper, power dynamic 
“Isn’t it past your bedtime?” 
They glanced at the doorway, a cigarette between their full, pink lips. They raised an eyebrow and smirked at Whumper, blowing out a cloud of smoke before replying, “What makes you think I have a bedtime?” 
Whumper smiled and leaned against the wall next to them. Leaving enough distance between them to be casual. “I don’t mind,” they said, not answering the question. “I mean, we do all ages shows for a reason. I think it’s great for kids to see live music.” 
Big, innocent eyes narrowed into a glare. “I’m eighteen, actually. But thanks for your concern.” 
Oh, this one was going to be fun. “Sorry, you just look young is all. Didn't mean to insult you—maybe we could start over? I’m Whumper.” 
“I know, I came to see your band.” Another drag on their cigarette. “I’m Whumpee.” 
Whumpee. The name suited them perfectly. Whumper could imagine saying it tauntingly as they did horrible things to Whumpee. Or whispering it as they comforted them afterwards. Whumper didn’t expect to be so lucky tonight. “Well, Whumpee,” they said, testing it out. “I haven’t seen you at any shows before, but you seem cool. There’s an after party at my place if you wanna come.” 
The kid looked hesitant. “I don’t know, I have class in the morning.” It wasn’t a no. 
They watched Whumpee stub out the cigarette on the wall behind them and flick it over the porch railing into the grass. They imagined lighting one of their own just to put it out on Whumpee’s skin. They would probably scream so beautifully as it burned into their wrist or their neck. Delicate, unmarked skin. Oh, Whumper was going to have so much fun breaking them. “Your call,” they said with a shrug before closing the space between them. “But I'd really like it if you were there.” 
Whumpee looked up at them, visibly nervous but making no move to back away. “Yeah?” they breathed, seeming to catch the unspoken implication in Whumper’s statement. 
The other people milling around outside paid them no attention as Whumper placed one of their hands on the kid’s cheek, cold from the winter air. Their nose was red, too—how cute. “Yeah—come party with the rockstars. I promise you’ll have a good time, honey.” 
What Whumper didn’t mention was that once Whumpee made it to their house, they wouldn’t be leaving. Not for a very long time, at least. 
“Okay. I'll come,” Whumpee agreed without much convincing. God, they were easy.  
Whumper smiled, tucking Whumpee’s hair behind their ear. Fingers ghosted down their neck, picturing a collar around it. Imagining how that sweet, young face would look covered in tears. “Awesome. Let me pack up my equipment and then we’ll get going.” 
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pretty-face-breaker · 1 month ago
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original sin, ch. 20 snippet!
“Lie down.” 
Hayko’s breath caught. He looked at Nick sharply, his throat working, his lips parting—but nothing came out. Of the cutting remarks he was expecting on his failed script memorization, it wasn’t that.
Nick didn’t hesitate. He simply nodded toward his bed.
“Now.”
Hayko hesitated for half a second, curling away from the vulnerability of it—Nick’s audacity to fucking order him around after they had a whole conversation about how inappropriate that was—but his body was already moving. He stretched out on his back, feeling unbearably rigid and stupid and watched. He could still taste his heart in his throat. His breaths came and went with no identifiable rhythm. 
Nick hopped up on the bed and slid down so they were level, watching him with that same measured, unreadable expression.
Hayko watched him back, warily. 
“Close your eyes,” Nick said quietly.
Jesus. Hayko’s watching sharpened into a glare and he nearly told him to fuck off, that this was ridiculous, that he wasn’t a child, that he could handle himself. He just needed a minute to collect himself and he would be fine. He just wasn’t feeling well. He just didn’t get enough sleep, so it’s fine. He skipped lunch so his memory was—
But he couldn’t say anything. All of it was true and none were the reason he had stopped functioning.
He let his eyes slip shut.
Nick exhaled slowly, then, without preamble, began counting him through a simple box breathing exercise. In for four. Hold for four. Out for four. Hold again.
Hayko tried to follow, but his body wasn’t listening. He was still too tense, his thoughts still too loud. He heard Nick shift closer, felt the faintest tap of a finger against his wrist, guiding his breath through sensation rather than sound.
Inhale. Tap, tap, tap, tap.
Hold.
Exhale. Tap, tap, tap, tap.
Again.
Again.
Hayko’s chest began to loosen, the breath slipping through easier, the tight coil of panic unwinding, thread by thread. Within a few moments, he realized that he had wrangled control of his breathing. 
Slowly, he let Nick pull him away from the ledge. 
A long silence stretched between them, broken only by the steady rhythm of breath.
Then, Nick said, “Keep them closed for a second.”
Something hot and mortifying electrified Hayko. He clenched his fists. “I’m fine now,” he muttered, willing the tension back into his limbs, willing his composure to snap back into place. “I don’t need—”
Nick cut him off. “While you’re having an anxiety attack, I’ll let you know what you need.”
Hayko felt a flush crawl up his neck. What the fuck—
tagging (for an AU but still their whump content!): @doveotions @thewhumpstuff @thatsthewhump @adamantem-rose @lonesome–hunter @whumpsorbet @whumpasaurus101 @lektricfergus @downrivergirl914 @burtlederp @redwingedwhump @nicolepascaline @ifbtnna  @whumperfully​​ ​@brittaunfiltered09
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uuuhshiny · 7 months ago
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Tumblr media Tumblr media
Vladimir Verevochkin in Survival game (Игра на выживание)
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hurtmyfavsthanks · 1 year ago
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HI!! okay so with the magical euphoria thingy i screamed into my pillow like twenty million times while reading AUDHSHXH /pOS YOUR WRITING IS AUAHDHAHX!!:?:!;!;:!, ANYWAY.
whumpee uses WAY too much magic in a fight. they’re completely giddy, out of it, and have just horrifically defeated something/someone.
looks around and notices that everyone is silent and terrified of what whumpee is capable of, because holy fuck. they did not need to go that far????
meanwhile whumpee thinks they were doing the right thing and, still incredibly excited from winning, runs over to caretaker!! and doesn’t understand why caretaker flinches away from them!! ^_^
sorry for the heinous grammar its like almost midnight rn :(((
(context)
I’m glad you liked my writing! I’m grinning like a fool rn.
And yes!!! Not every battle ends with Whumpee exhausted and ready to collapse. Sometimes they’re still sparking with energy, too deep into the high to realize they’re acting oddly, but not deep enough to be entirely gone. And honestly? For the people who care about them, for the people who are afraid of them, I think that state would be far, far worse. Awake but not quite aware. Unpredictable.
So like, hear me out.
The squadron is returning back to camp after a long day of missions. Their mage is still with them, in both senses of the word. They’re not fallen into total lunacy yet, still conscious and mobile. Whumpee’s bouncing on their toes, head swiveling on their shoulders like an excited puppy. They’re chatting excitedly, near incomprehensibly, at a soldier that made the mistake of getting too close. The soldier can only nod along to the stream of consciousness leaving Whumpee’s lips.
Caretaker is keeping a hold on Whumpee’s arm, making sure they don’t run off. They know Whumpee will be fine after a night’s rest.
It’s a rare moment of calm. They’re sore and exhausted, but the warm pride of a job well done leaves them feeling satisfied. The atmosphere is light as they trudge through the forest. Peaceful, all things considered.
But then Whumpee freezes, body stiffening all at once as something catches their attention. They turn, eyes focusing on something. A flash of enemy colors flicks in their vision–
Whumpee’s moving before Caretaker can react. Light bursts from their hands, illuminating the dark forest, and the squadron freezes on instinct. Whumpee’s attention, fractured and fleeting moments ago, has sharpened into a deadly edge to focus on a single figure.
Whumpee reaches out a single glowing hand, fingers curling as if grabbing something.
Flanked by two petrified guards, hands shackled behind his back, is a single enemy soldier taken as prisoner. His eyes widen as Whumpee’s attention focuses on him, the man’s bruised and exhausted face contorted in terror. His mouth is open in silent, terrified scream.
Just as Caretaker is reaching out to stop them, Whumpee reaches out with an open hand. Their fingers curl inward as if grabbing something. With a sharp movement their hand is pulled back, fingers clenched shut. The prisoner’s body lurches forward in response.
The crackle of energy cracks through the air, and suddenly something red and dripping and squirming is hovering mere feet from the man. He’s never laid eyes on it before, but the emptiness in his chest tells him exact
The human heart, still beating, falls to the forest floor. Its owner falls a moment later.
Silence follows. Fear and shock runs through the squadron, their minds struggling to comprehend what had just unfolded. Some freeze like a deer in the headlights, terrified that moving will bring Whumpee’s wrath. Others are inching their hands towards their belts, looking for a weapon. Others still are simply trembling from shock, suddenly and violently reminded of the danger in their midsts.
The terror that grips Caretaker is different. They’re afraid for Whumpee. Training kicking into overdrive, Caretaker’s eyes dart over the scene, calculating. Assessing the panic, assessing how long they have until fear turns into action.
They know they have to take control of the situation. Caretaker’s footsteps are firm as they approach Whumpee, exuding confidence they don’t feel, and praying it's enough to keep the situation from escalating.
Caretaker places a hand on Whumpee’s shoulder. Whumpee turns to face them, expression blank
“Whumpee,” Caretaker speaks with trained calmness, voice gentle yet firm. Their smile is a weak, trembling thing, doing little to mask their anxiety. The smile Whumpee gives in return is genuine and bright, oblivious. “We need him alive. We’re taking him in for questioning, remember?”
Whumpee doesn’t respond. Their eyes are more clouded than they were a moment before, their sanity strained even further by that display of power. For a long, breathless moment Whumpee simply stares, a vacant smile plastered over their face.
Caretaker keeps their expression calm, but the tension is suffocating them. All they can hear is the gurgling of a dying man.
And then the moment breaks. Whumpee blinks, and awareness flicks back into their eyes. A tittering giggle creeks out from between their teeth.
“Oh! Right, yes. We need that one alive, don’t we?” Whumpee laughs.
The clearing is still as Whumpee all but skips over to the twitching body. They grab the heart from where it dropped.The muscle is still pulsing weakly, spilling blood over Whumpee’s arms. They don’t seem to notice.
Whumpee calls their magic again, the organ vanishing in a flash. In that same instance, the prisoner’s eyes fly open, bloodless lips widening with a desperate gasp. His next inhale comes out as a sob. He curls inward, limbs close to his chest, as if desperate to keep his heart in its place.
Whumpee doesn’t even give the man a second glance. As their would-be victim sobs, broken and terrified, on the ground, Whumpee happily returns to Caretaker’s side. They reach their hand, now coated a deep red, expectantly towards Caretaker. Caretaker holds Whumpee’s hand with a trained smile, and tries not to flinch at the warm wetness.
Caretaker starts walking, not daring to look back. They know the terrified, hateful, dangerous looks they’ll see if they did.
Whumpee doesn’t notice the way Caretaker's grip tightens, or how they’re maneuvered to walk some distance away from the other soldiers.
The rest of the trip is done in silence.
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