#villain Whumpee

[whumppromptoftheday]

"you're going to help me," hero says, cutting the ropes around villain's wrists, "or i'll kill you and send your head to henchmen."

[whump-in-the-closet]

whumpee characterizations ? and what it takes to break them

thief whumpee: silver-tongued/ can't keep still/ uses humor as a coping mechanism-> gagged/ stress positions/ a casual whumper whose indifference immobilizes whumpee

royal whumpee: stoic/ proud/ seeks revenge after their imprisonment-> forced to kneel/ public humiliation, dragged around like a trophy, collared, branded etc/ enough scars to look like a constellation on their skin

healer whumpee: kind/ keeps up an image for the sake of others/ skilled in their trade-> pushed to the edge/ others have to take care of them/ hands or fingers so badly damaged they'll never be able to help anyone else again

innocent whumpee: naive/ trusting/ hopeful-> "no one is coming for you"/ left to die/ a whumper who twists whumpee's anger against their friends

bitter whumpee: apathetic/ shrugs off what they've been through/ exhausted-> "I'm fine." followed by collapsing/ vivid flashbacks where they wake up screaming/ refuses to fall asleep after their ordeal

leader whumpee: independent to the point of isolation/ tries to protect everyone/ mentally well-adjusted (mostly)-> set up to fail/ forced to hurt their teammates/ they come back changed, and everyone avoids them

villain whumpee: defiant/ insults whumper every chance they get/ so many failed escape attempts-> non-con drugging, left a shadow of their past selves/ conditioned to obey/ kneeling next to whumper at a press conferences

[distracted-obsessions]

Ok, but imagine Villain/Henchman/Assassin Whumpee being found by the heroes while they raided Supervillain Whumper's lair and they take Whumpee into custody. They don't handcuff Whumpee because they aren't fighting back (either too injured or in shock) but as they lead Whumpee out of the lair, Whumpee stops.

"Did you find them?"

"Find who?"

Whumpee pulls away from them and goes deeper into the lair. Every time the heroes grab them, they get more and more distressed, saying that they can't leave. They won't leave. After a minute, they start screaming out a name that the heroes don't recognize.

Just as one of the heroes goes to knock Whumpee out, they see a child crawl out from under the stairs and run straight for Whumpee who drops to their knees and hugs the child tightly, shushing their cries and whispering soft, comforting words. "Shh, it's ok. Mommy/Daddy is here. I'm ok. We're ok. it's ok. Shh."

[hurt-and-comfort-me-please]

Ex-Villain angst

Exactly what it says on the tin.

Ex-Villain from a crime family that has to watch and participate as their family is taken away by the heroes

Ex-Villain who spent their villain years chasing the approval of their mentor/villainous idol/villainous loved one, only to find themselves 'redeemed', now chasing the approval of the heroes

Ex-Villain changing their behavior, but never getting better. In fact, they're not sure they've ever felt worse

Ex-Villain only ever being seen as that, an Ex-Villain

Guilt tripping, so much guilt tripping. They don't even argue anymore, they just give in.

Nobody wants a villain, Ex-Villain is rejected almost everywhere, which can make it easier for hero organizations to keep them under control because they have nowhere else to go.

Ex-Villain losing sleep over their past, unable to think of anything other than what they've done wrong

Ex-Villains dyeing or cutting their hair and changing their appearance until they're unrecognizable, because maybe then they can at least pretend they're a different person now

Ex-Villain who still suffers with violent impulses, unable to ever get help for them because admitting they have them would make everyone distrust them

Ex-Villain who learns the hard way that that 'power of friendship' thing only applies to people the heroes like

Ex-Villain who's trying, they really are, but find it increasingly difficult to believe it'll ever actually make a difference

[chaotic-orphan]

Concussed villain gets kidnapped?

Villain showed up on Hero’s doorstep, heaving in breaths as they slammed their fist on the door. Their arm was ridiculously heavy, and it took everything in them to throw it mercilessly against the wooden door. The effects were meagre knocks that Villain prayed Hero would hear.

If Hero was even home.

What if they were working tonight? Fuck, why didn’t Villain think of that? Their head was pounding so they rested their forehead against the cool wood, letting out a shaky, shallow breath, trying not to anger the fire in their ribs. Blood continued to trickle from their hairline down over their eyes and dripping onto their cheeks.

That wasn’t good.

They heard footsteps behind the door and Villain almost broke down there and then, relief flooding them like a tsunami of feeling, washing away everything that was keeping Villain upright. Tears poured down their cheeks at the thought of safety, hero looking after them… their hero. They could tell them about Superhero’s plans.

They could tell them… Villain put a hand against the door and pushed themselves backwards. They would’ve fallen if not for the arm that snaked around their waist. Villain blinked dumbly and glanced down. Arm around—?

Before they cry out or scream in warning a hand clamped over their mouth and Villain was ripped away from the door and into the shadows. Villain thrashed, struggling in their attacker’s grip, all their screams and cries muffled to nothing but silent pleas.

The door opened and Villain’s struggles renewed but Hero wouldn’t be able to see them from here. Hero wouldn’t know they were even there!

“Hello?” Hero asked into the darkness and Villain whimpered against the hands holding them in an iron cage. Villain threw their body forward, back, trying to dislodge their attackers arms but they didn’t budge even a little.

“If you want Hero to continue to draw breath, Villain, you’ll come quietly.”

Villain froze at the voice. That was… Superhero… the reason why Villain was in this state in the first place. Villain’s struggles renewed as Hero stepped out of their house. If they could even sense something was amiss so close to them then they would investigate. Hero would have to investigate, right? And Hero was in danger too!

Villain had to warn them, they had to!

“Hello?” Hero asked, a note of agitation creeping into their voice.

I’m here! Villain wanted to scream. Hero please! I’m right here.

A pinch in their neck and Villain’s fruitless struggles seized, their blood running cold. They flinched as cold liquid was pushed into their neck. No… no, no, no, no. “That’s it, Villain,” Superhero whispered. “Don’t fight it.”

The hazy world blurred even more and Villain fell back against Superhero’s chest, the fight leaving them almost instantly. What did Superhero drug them with?

Their eyelids shut and Villain forced them back open, with a gargantuan effort. The last thing they saw was Hero frown and close the door before their entire world faded to black in the arms of their enemy.

[bamber344]

ok so superhero whump scenario:

Villain is Hero's favourite 'bad guy' to fight. Villain never really hurts anyone with their actions, and anything they steal is usually anonymously returned within a few days. The worst crime they've really committed is property damage. Hero is convinced they're just doing it for fun, as evidenced by Villain's very melodramatic and performatively cheesy attitude during their confrontations

Eventually, Villain disappears. Hero assumes they just decided to put down their cape and mask, though is a little saddened that they now don't have any real 'comic relief' in their day-to-day villain fighting.

A few months later, Hero is in Superhero's HQ when they come across a locked door they hadn't noticed before. Overcome with curiosity, they figure out how to get it open and take a peek inside.

Even without their iconic costume or mask, Hero would recognise Villain anywhere. Villain looks awful. Emaciated, bruised, scarred, curled up in a shivering ball in the corner of what Hero now recognises as a cell. How long has Superhero kept them here? And why? Hero doesn't know, all they do know is that this is wrong, and that their old rival needs their help, Superhero be damned.

[f1sh-bone]

Eheheh I'm daydreaming about this silly little whump story right now where a healer gets injured but the big scary villain carries him to safety but oh nooo villain gets captured and imprisoned and tortured for like a year and he's completely broken and and and

And then the healer finds him and barley recognizes him and he's very cautious of him but he still wants to help him but but but

Villain is scared of him cause he thinks he wants to hurt hiiim 🥺👉👈

Might try and write something about that idk 👀✨

[shywhumpauthor]

You Can’t do This

Cw: kidnapping, restraints, torture, mentioned mouth/eye whump (doesn’t actually happen), non-con touching, knives, threat of asphyxiation/choking

“Wait- wait,” Villain sputtered, the words tripping over their tongue, snagging in the back of their throat. “You can’t- Hero, this is illegal- you can’t do this!”

They twisted their wrists against the restraints that bound them to the chair, flexing their fingers to try to relieve a fraction of the pressure. The movement only pushed the cables deeper into their skin, dragging a hiss from their clenched teeth.

A warm hand wrapped around their neck from behind, turning their exhale into a wheeze as their head was shoved against the back of the chair.

“Since when have you cared much about what’s legal?” Hero responded, amusement adding a drawl to their words. They circled the chair, grip on Villain’s neck adjusting so their palm lay against the villain’s wind pipe, fingers digging into the sensitive skin on the side of their neck. Just enough pressure to fear, for Villain to feel the threat of their airway being crushed, but not enough to cut off their breathing. Not yet.

“He-Hero, this isn’t funny, stop.” Villain grit out, shrinking as far back as the chair would allow. Hero only pressed closer, moving in so their legs were on either side of Villain’s, their ankles bound to the chair legs.

“Was it funny when the roles were reversed? All those nights I spent tied up in your basement, bleeding and cold? Was it funny then?” Hero hissed, their other hand raising to Villain’s face with the speed of a strike. Barely in time, Villain braced themself, only for a warm hand to press against their jaw, fingers brushing over the curve of their cheekbone. The touch was stark against the chill in the air, a misplaced comfort—artificial. Hero’s stroked their thumb below Villain’s eye gently, before coming to a pause with both hands cradling either side of Villain’s face. “Was it?”

“No, no Hero, it wasn’t,” Villain’s voice wavered now, threatening to crack. “You can’t do this, you’re s’posed to be the good guy-”

Hero stepped back suddenly, tearing their hands away from Villain’s face like their skin had turned toxic. Villain tried to ignore the ache that swelled in their chest as the cold air drowned any remnants of the warm touch in moments.

“I guess I am, aren’t I? The ‘good guy’?” Hero repeated, turning their back to Villain. They stepped to the side of the poorly lit room, to something that resembled an old workbench, their body blocking Villain from seeing what they were doing. “I wonder what the press will say about your sudden absence. They’ll publish anything I tell them to, you know? I could feed them some story about you fleeing the city, the country even, and your name would be forgotten in a week.”

Hero turned around, bracing their palms against the workbench and leaning back.

“Everyone always believes the good guy, don’t they?” Hero shook their head. “No one cares about another pesky street criminal, do they? All they care about is Supervillain, the papers would move on from you the next day and you’d be forgotten. You wouldn’t even get one of those ten year follow-ups.”

“Hero, let me go. You can’t do this. You can’t,” Villain twisted their arms against their restraints in one last pitiful attempt to free themself, accomplishing nothing but to make Hero chuckle.

Hero pushed themself forwards, striding closer. It was only then Villain noticed something in their hand, slender and orange—a box cutter, they realized quickly, as the hero closed the distance between them in three steps.

“Tell me exactly what I can and can’t do, Villain? What can’t I do to you?” Their hand twisted in Villain’s hair, shoving their head back against the chair while the other flipped out the blade on the box cutter.

The words died in Villain’s throat. Their lips parted, eyes tracking the blade as Hero lifted it up to their face.

“I can do anything I want to you.” Hero’s eyes stared directly into Villain’s as they placed the blade against their skin, just below their eye. “You should be glad, your eyes look so pretty when you’re scared. Otherwise I would’ve plucked them out by now,” Hero began to move the blade to the side, putting just enough pressure to split a thin line of red below Villain’s eye.

Villain didn’t dare breathe as Hero paused, gritting their teeth against the sting as they felt the blade puncture a bit deeper. A drop of blood rolled down their cheek like a tear.

“I thought about this moment every night in your basement,” Hero muttered, pushing the edge harder into Villain’s flesh as they followed the track of the blood, drawing a half suppressed yelp from Villain as the pain suddenly intensified. “Planning out exactly what I would do to you, how I’d pay you back for everything you’ve done to me.”

Hero accented the last word with a sudden sharp twist, finishing the line to Villain’s jaw before pulling their hand back. Tears burning in the corners of Villain’s eyes, welling faster than Villain could suppress them.

“Ple- please, Hero, you can’t,” Villain’s voice trembled, any thoughts of maintaining their dignity gone with their fear.

Hero’s palm cracked against their bleeding cheek, catching them off guard. Pain like fire burned from the cut, their head snapping to the side with the force of the blow.

“This will be your only warning,” Hero began, their empty hand grabbing Villain by the chin and tugging them back to look at them. “I do not have the same reservations about your voice as I do your eyes. Another word from you, I’ll cut out your tongue and shove it down your throat and it’ll be the only food you get for a month, got it?”

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

villain whumpee — who's usually deranged, violent, seen as a danger and feared by society — runs to hero caretaker after having a break down from their own past and trauma haunting them, because despite the fact villain whumpee and hero caretaker are archenemies who take turns hurting each other, only hero caretaker can see them cry, only hero caretaker can see them be completely vulnerable and not take advantage of that. despite everything, hero caretaker is the only person villain whumpee has left.

— read a fic with this prompt here :)

[whumporama]

Villain/criminal Whumpee who is finally captured by the government. They're tied to a chair in a holding cell, waiting for the interrogation.

Whumper walks in, a smug smirk on their face as they observe them, Whumpee's face finally revealed, no more mask to hide behind. Whumper grabs Whumpee's face, turning it left and right to inspect them.

"How pretty you are," they muse, "you could've become something, with a face like that. Such a shame it's wasted on the life you chose."

Bonus points if Wumpee didn't exactly 'choose' this life, but the government's actions forced them into it.

[fleur-a-whump]

Overloaded (#1)

Preventative Measures

so like. this is a thing. been toying with this little guy in my head for a few weeks and like, almost nothing is concrete but I'm hoping I'll turn it into a series.

content: ex-villain whumpee, hero/leader whumper, manipulative whumper, just like a LOT of manipulation, collars/collaring, referenced electrocution, low self esteem, subtle threats, guilt trips

I've never done this before, let me know if I missed something!!

masterlist | next

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Villain has finally been given a chance. A chance to prove he's more than what the whole city has always thought of him, more than what his father raised him to be. He wanted to do good in the world. The heroes were finally giving him a chance to be more than they've always thought of him. 

...or so he thought.

He gulps as he stares at the shock collar in Team Leaders hands. It's a small thing, sleek and unassuming. But he knows exactly what it is because Team Leader had shown him how it worked.  The man is currently speaking to him nonchalantly. Villain should really be listening to the hero that holds the key to a better life. But that collar... shakes Villain's faith in Team Leader. Just a little.

"Villain," the man says shortly. Impatiently. Shit.

Villain jumped to attention, nerves only growing worse. 

"Sorry, sorry! I'm just-just a little confused. I thought... I was a part of the team..." He tries to keep the heartbreak out of his voice. He doesn't quite succeed. 

"If you'd listen..." the Team Leader sighed deeply. Villain was going to throw up. 

Team Leader began again, speaking slowly as if to a child. Or a stupid person. Villain thinks he fell into the latter column. "I was just saying this will help you better mesh with the team. I'm sure you've noticed people are a little nervous with you around."

Hostile. Villain would use the word hostile.

"Given your past, everything you've done," the man drawled. Villain can't hold back a wince. 

"So, to ease their worries, and allow them to see how great I know you can be, this is just a little precautionary measure. A bit of a show."

Ryan swallowed thickly.

"So... It wouldn't be used..."

He tries to keep himself from thinking about electricity burning the sensitive skin of his throat as it shoots down his spine and into his skull to paralyze him. He's familiar enough with the feeling; he doesn't need to imagine it.

Team Leader gives him an easy smile. "As long as there are no issues, of course not."

"...Issues?"

"Oh, stuff that'll never happen. Just breaking any of the rules."

Villain arched his brow, slightly dubious. "Rules.”

"Yeah, like, follow orders, don't fraternize with any of your old contacts, don't leave our level, don't work unsupervised, don't harm the team. Stuff you've been doing this whole time."

"Wait, don't leave the level?

"I mean, that's pretty obvious, bud. If we can't see you, we can't know that you're following the rest of the rules."

He nods mutely, gaze wandering. this whole thing just. He didn't know. It hurt.

Team Leader gently tilted his head up. "Villain, I'm only doing this because I trust you. I know you'd never do anything that could jeopardize your place here."

He doesn't trust that Villain is a hero though, obviously. That he's good. Because Villain could never be good. Not now. Not after all he's done. 

No, he can only hope to do good. And the only way he'll be able to do that is with the team. If this is what it takes to ease his team into working with him, if this is what it takes for him to stay, then he'll do it.

"O-okay."

"Atta boy, Villain! I knew you could do it, man."

Villain nods, trying to give him a smile.

Team Leader moves towards him all too quickly, and he can't help the flinch. The man doesn't seem to notice—or at least he doesn't acknowledge it—and is soon once again gently tilting Villain's chin up from where it had fallen. 

Villain fights the urge to lean into the touch.

While he's distracted, Team Leader swiftly brings the collar, already disengaged and bent open at the hinges, and presses it to Villain's skin. 

Villain jolts at the cold metal and fights to swallow as it's closed around his neck.

The locking mechanism clicks right up against his spine. He can't help the shudder that trickles down his back at the finality of the sound.

"I'm so proud of you, bud," Team Leader says with a big smile and a ruffle of Villain's shaggy curls.

The tightness in his chest eases, just a little. A little part of him flares in anger at how easily he's comforted. He doesn't deserve the comfort.

But he's trying. The collar now fit snuggly around his neck, like it was made for him, is proof of that.

--------------

ps ex-villain whumpee on the hero team but whumped by the hero team is my all-time favorite trope and it is so hard to find I have finally hit the point of needing to produce my own story to scratch the itch

[whumppromptoftheday]

"let me go home," villain sobs against the wall. "i'm sorry for everything"

[whump-in-the-closet]

A hero infiltrating supervillain’s base only to find a severely malnourished and miserable villain cleaning the floors.

They lock eyes and there’s a dead glint in villains gaze.

Hero is horrified. “I- I thought you were second in command.”

Villain slowly stands up, the chain on their ankles rattling. “I was. Until I let you go.”

A heartbeat of a pause. An almost apologetic look. “I can’t show you mercy again. Not now, not ever.” And then they call for Supervillain.

[clickerflight]

Jasper

Jasper from @fleur-a-whump's story here.

I adore villain whumpees. Especially when they were trying to change and were met with hostility!

Other Whump art list

[hurt-and-comfort-me-please]

Me: *sees an asshole of a character, just complete irredeemable scum of the earth guy with no redeeming qualities whatsoever* I need to see him beaten up and sobbing his eyes out. I need to see him suffering the worst pain he's ever felt. I need to see him collapse and melt down.

[thewhumpcaretaker]

⛓️ When the Whump is a Consequence ⛓️

I just think it’s so interesting when whumpee has done genuinely awful things that led to the whump.

Whumpee was a terrible leader whose people rose up against them

Whumpee is being justly punished for a crime

Whumpee hurt or betrayed someone who has come back for revenge

Whumpee has always gotten their way and looked down on people “below them” - now they have to experience being humbled

Whumpee was ignoring all warning signs, thinking they were invincible, and now look, if it isn’t the consequences of their own actions

Whumpee was acting on a tragic flaw like hubris or envy and it came back to bite them

Whumpee was formerly a whumper

How do they respond to the situation? Do they struggle with guilt, reflect, and change their ways? Maybe they even repent more than they deserve and start to hate themself. Or maybe they still deny any responsibility and rail against their punishment.

And how do other people respond? Do they enjoy whumpee’s punishment? Do they enjoy it a little too much, perhaps leading them to go down a dark path or question their own morality? Or do they have sympathy for whumpee out of a sense of unconditional acceptance/love/humanitarianism? Do people help them reform themself and get through the experience emotionally? Or do they take their unconditional acceptance “too far” and try to absolve whumpee of all accountability, becoming an enabler? Either way, we have so much interesting ethical conflict!