#whump even

[haine-kleine]

i adore Dabi's japanese dub with all my heart, the inflections and the way he grumbles constantly are just so endearing but every time i hear the english dub i can't help thinking how this one does actually sound like someone whose internal organs were permanently damaged in a fire.

kind of explains why he was so quiet for his entire Dabi career when Touya has proven himself to be a certified yapper. hearing his changed, damaged voice when he had first woken up from the coma was so unpleasantly shocking, he had started a habit to consciously keep quiet.

[whump-it-like-its-hot]

So earlier in art class today, someone drew a characters hands in their pockets and mentioned that hands are really like the ultimate end boss of art, and most of us wholeheartedly agreed. So then, our teacher went ahead and free handed like a handful of hands on the board, earning a woah from a couple of students. So the one from earlier mentioned how it barely took the teacher ten seconds to do what I can’t do in three hours. And you know what he responded?

“It didn’t take me ten seconds, it took me forty years.”

And you know, that stuck with me somehow. Because yeah. Drawing a hand didn’t take him fourth years. But learning and practicing to draw a hand in ten seconds did. And I think there’s something to learn there but it’s so warm and my brain is fried so I can’t formulate the actual morale of the lesson.

[whump-in-the-closet]

give me whumpees with scars they can't hide. Not by a scarf, long sleeves, or even a mask. Give me whumpees whose hair has gone white with stress, give me whumpees whose hands shake and are always unsteady, give me whumpees with amputated limbs and scars that split their features. Uncomfortable scars. They aren't aesthetic they aren't pretty they just are. And then let them deal with hushed "oh god"s and the stares and the whispered conversations behind their backs. Let the recovery break them in ways not even the torture could.

[hurtmyfavsthanks]

We all know about magical fatigue as a whump trope for magical overuse. Now I raise you: Magical euphoria.

Magic that feels good to use. It leaves the user dizzy and lightheaded, a giddy energy rushing through their entire body. It's enough to leave the most stoic whumpee giggling madly, to make the most obedient soldier go rogue. It's a power that ultimately, inevitably, controls its user.

Mages aren’t trusted to act on their own. They can’t be, not when each spell costs them their sanity. Not when, in a daze of manic joy, they’re just as liable to destroy the enemy as their allies.

And so they need a handler.

Imagine Caretaker in this situation. Forced to watch Whumpee throw themselves into madness, to turn themselves into an unthinking weapon under the demand of some uncaring general. Having to put aside their affection for Whumpee as a person, and analyze them as a tool.

It’s Caretaker who decides when Whumpee is still fit for battle. It’s caretaker who has to look into their dazed and distant eyes, blood dripping into a too wide smile, and decide if Whumpee has anything else to give.

It’s Caretaker who decides when they’re too far gone, when Whumpee needs to stop. And if Whumpee can’t, it’s Caretaker’s job to make them stop. Even if that means using force, even if it means hurting them, because letting them run wild isn’t an option.

And when the battle’s over, when Whumpee is either led or dragged away to the medical wing, Caretaker’s the only one brave enough to tend to their injuries. They wrap bleeding, scorched fingers without a word, the only sound being Whumpee babbling, mad ramblings. Caretaker knows they won’t remember any of this. They still talk to Whumpee anyway, soft, comforting words they hope will bring Whumpee back faster.

And when whumpee’s eyes finally clear, when their body sags with exhaustion they’re just now able to feel, Caretaker feels nothing but grief, because it’ll start all over again tomorrow.

[captainkirkk]

I'm a big fan of hurt/comfort tropes where the hurt is ongoing and escalating. Characters trying to cope with their situation and insisting that it's fine, they're fine, even as things get worse and worse and worse - especially if no one around them knows what they're going through.

Characters hiding their illness, even as they grow sicker and sicker. Characters trying to cope as their homelife becomes increasingly abusive or neglectful. Characters ignoring their injuries, only for them to become infected. Characters being stalked/ tormented by a villain and pretending that everything is fine, even as the villain continues escalating. Characters left homeless as winter approaches and their money dwindles.

I could go on. There's something very satisfying about seeing a character frantically trying to pretend like everything is okay until eventually they can't hide it anymore and get caught (and helped) by the people around them.

[voidwolf]

anyone else prefer whump without a whumper?? just me??

i mean like. there’s a whumpee and a caretaker + the rest of the team (if there is one). but no whumper

like. instead of the whump coming from a whumper, it comes from natural causes instead. so like sickness, weather (think whump involving hypothermia, heat exhaustion, getting sick from the rain, etc), events (like getting injured from let’s say a building collapse or breaking a bone or something like that)

THAT’S the kind of whump that really gets me going. no torture tropes, nothing like that. idk i just feel very much alone on this one, so i think it’d be neat if there were others out there who feel this way too

[mintflavouredwhump]

A whumpee that everyone tries to possess or control the second they realise what Whumpee is capable of

[whumpitisthen]

Leashed to the floor by a short lenght of chain. The chain has just enough give to let them scramble back just a couple inches, low to the ground on their hands and knees, when they get scared. They can't even look up from how hard the unforgiving leash pulls their neck back towards the ground unless they stay where they are supposed to, right where whumper wants them to be.

[afraidparade]

butcher vanity reached 100k views on youtube! waow! i wanted to make a thank you piece like i did for the main character, so here it is: THANK YOU! ^q^

[roblingoblin285]

hi so not sure if anyone here knows but i actually like. paint. a lot. and i’m really proud of this painting i made, and it’s whumpy enough, so here!

[mischefous]

There’s this fic series I read and can’t remember the name of but in the first one I think Warriors passes out because of pain from an old injury and Time catches him and he can’t figure out what’s wrong with him, maybe u could draw something like that for ur whump art request?

first request LETS GOOOOOO! thank you Anon!

hmm, I've read a lot but this one doesn't ring a bell

but I tried to do your description justice! hope you enjoy! i apologize if i completely missed the mark on this one XD

one with the words and without hehe

EDIT! @articuno13 found the fic series this Anon was talking about!!! GO GIB IT HEEEEEAAPS OF LOVE!

[whumpninja]

In case anyone was still under the mistaken impression that I am a normal, sane human being and not a deranged madman…I am about to remove all doubts.

would anyone like to see the extraordinarily tiny knight I am holding prisoner in my room

[whump-in-the-closet]

The Small Moments

its the small moments in whump for me, those glimpses right before and after your character loses it all in no chronological order

-- the hitched breath after a blow to the face

-- the sound of footsteps in the hallway, and the flinching when the door opens

-- the soft sound, more animal than human, when whumpee pulls a blood-drenched hand away from their side

-- caretaker leaning over whumpee, whispering assurances that they cant keep

-- when the curses catch in whumpee's throat and all they can manage is a strangled, don't...please

-- when whumpee stumbles and clings to the doorway. better when they look up and meet caretaker's eyes. The slow, dreaded realization. caretaker lunges forward, but not in time to catch whumpee

-- when whumpee's head hits the tiles with a thud

-- the panic they swallow down when they see Whumper for the first time

-- the added details of used knives, splattered with dried blood, faded from crimson to rusty brown

-- the dead, hollowed-out light in whumpee's eyes after they're rescued

-- coughing that turns into whumpee doubling over, and desperately, so desperately trying to hide the fact they coughed up blood

-- a still hand, palm up on the floor, and no semblance of consciousness. The pool of blood around them is growing

-- caretaker pausing-- oh. oh god-- when they rush through the door to rescue whumpee, their eyes widening and stomach dropping, before cutting whumpee down from their restraints

-- Whumper tracing whumpee's jaw with the tip of their finger. "Now, isn't this nice."

-- When Whumper kicks Whumpee when they're already down and all Whumpee can manage is a small curse.

-- When Whumper yanks Whumpee's head up by their hair and Whumpee has to squint because of the sudden, sharp light

-- whumpee clutching a sink for a long moment before turning on the faucet and splashing water in their face to hide the fact they've been crying

anyway.

this.

[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."

[delyth88]

Omg! I completely missed this the first time I watched X-Men First Class!

Are we to assume Charles feels the coin kill Shaw?

I'd just thought Charles was pleading with Erik not to kill again, but damn, that adds a whole new horrifying layer to this!

He needs to stay connected to Shaw because otherwise Shaw will immediately kill Erik, and Charles can't live with that. So he pleads with Erik, even though he knows he can't hear him.

And I'd misread this as it getting harder for Charles to keep Shaw still when he was fighting for his life, but nooooo... he's psyching himself up to endure what's coming.

But nothing can prepare him for what it feels like to have a coin slice through the mind he is linked with.

Damn that's dark! I mean what the hell must that feel like. And he has to keep holding on to Shaw until he's dead - he can't let go.

And he had to, through Shaw's eyes, watch his friend do it to him.

Did Erik know what it would feel like for Charles? Or was he just so consumed by the moment and revenge.

[dragonsbluee]

So I've recently been re-reading TCF And chapter 196 is such an excellent example of how Cale interacts with the people around him, how he views himself and how they view him. This is also at the point in the novel where he hasn't really accepted that he is Cale now, not KRS, because he doesn't feel like he can.

So anyway, we start the chapter seeing the people of Rain City react to Cale's shield and they say something important!

"Won't he faint is he uses such a large shield? Why doesn't he just activate it when the northern bastards come?" "Can't you tell? He doesn't want to see us or the territory getting hurt at all."

At first, I thought this was just the regular drama of people reacting to Cale, but then Choi Han, the kids, and Ron tell him he's being ridiculous, and I realize the townsfolk are right.

The Wyvern Battle is only the 2nd or 3rd major battle Cale has been in so far but only as Cale. As KRS, he's done this before, and having read later chapters, we know Cale holds so much guilt over those battles and how he wanted to keep those he cared for away from it all but couldn't. After all, record only gives him information to guide them and make plans; he often couldn't physically protect them. How many times has he defended a shelter or teammates and wished he could have just covered them all with a shield instead of giving commands from the back? We know how guilty he feels over Choi Jung Soo and Lee Soo Hyuk's deaths.

He knows he doesn't have to keep it up, and he's the one who spreads a rumour that it's taking all of his energy, but he's already considering himself a "bad person" for taking military command and only giving orders. (except that's what it means to take military command?) There is absolutely another motive for keeping the shield around the city. Cale wants the opposing forces to view him as weakened, or he doesn't want people to think his power is as strong as it is. However, at the same time, he's absolutely protecting them because, just like the townsperson says, he doesn't want to see any of them get hurt by an attack he could have blocked.

Cale is doing what he can to undermine himself while claiming he's going to make everyone else the hero of this battle, but he won't drop the shield, which means no one can disregard or forget his involvement. It's not intentional! He's just literally made himself the first line of defense as a direct parallel to every time he was the last line as KRS. He wants to stay at the back, he does not plan to get involved unless he has to, but Cale won't let himself stay out of it. So the shield goes up and stays for multiple days.

Meanwhile, all Choi Han, Ron and the kids see is Cale surrounded by paperwork (because taking command of the entire Northeast is a lot of work), keeping a shield up that's known to make him cough up blood (they don't know about it getting stronger or the vitality of heart), and only sleeping 1 to 2 hours a night (thank you crybaby), so they assume it's a combination of work and concentration to keep the shield up. As usual, they're worried and frustrated at Cale's self-sacrificing tendencies.

We haven't even gotten to the actual battle yet, but this is such a great setup of how it's going to go and how the novel goes.