whumpy-arts-and-crafts

[whumpy-arts-and-crafts]

Cookie Boy/Vari, what are the origins of your names? How did your Whumper come up with them and why?

(Author here! I wrote this story when I was a 15/16 year old kid. Back then I looked for a kinda dark shadowy villain name and Vari came up on a page that said it meant something like shadow I think? Now I am 19, and for a couple years I've realised that this is probably wrong and my little self just thought it sounded cool and went with it too fast. But! I'll have Vari answer your question as he would normally in the universe little me created.)

The man does not immediately respond. He seems like he isn't realising that you're speaking directly to him and expecting him to answer.

"O-Oh, well..." He finally says, "Those are just our hero and villain names, usually tied to our powers. Like Bl-" he catches himself and goes quiet for what seems like a minute. His eyes are wide and panicked, but he recomposes himself. "Like Ignis. His power is fire."

Before his next sentence you can see his face becoming a little redder, like he's ashamed to say it out loud. But he knows better than not to respond when someone asks him a question. "Mine is different." He tells you "Sir said it means shadow, but my power isn't like that, I can just open portals to places. He said he named me that because I'm scared of everything, even my own shadow."

He expects you to laugh and make fun of him, and he's sure you are at least thinking about how pathetic he is. Still, he likes having the company of someone other than his master. "Um... I can answer more questions, if you want."

[whumpy-arts-and-crafts]

Whumpering-heights here with bad news...

Hi, you might know me from stories like Behind The Masks. Here's some of my art:

The bad news is that I have lost my blog. I have had it for nearly half a decade, then one accidental click and it's deleted forever. (I had meant to delete a sideblog I wasn't using anymore. I didn't realize it would nuke ALL my blogs.)

So I guess there's nothing to do but start over from scratch. I'm going put this in the whump tags, in the hopes of letting people know what happened. I would like to ask people to reblog this, so as many of my old followers can see this as possible.

(EDIT: thank you so much to @meaculpameahugeculpa for recovering my taglist of Behinds the Masks! ! @why-not-ask-me-a-better-question @pumpkin-spice-whump @fanastyfinder @whumpy-arts-and-crafts @arsonfrogger @burtlederp @harri-00 @akito-fuckn-fear @potatoo-whump @jo-castle @mannerofwhump sorry for the bad news, but at least now I haven't left any of you in the dark.)

All my posts are perma deleted. They only exist in reblogs now, not even in the tags. Thank god I have all my writing, even the drabbles that were in response to asks, on my computer! Reposting it will take a long while, though. I might be able to use the internet archive, but I'm not sure.

Mostly, I'm mourning the testament to my readers' support. I can't get that back. Nothing to do but rebuild from here, i suppose.

[whumpy-arts-and-crafts]

Behind the Masks: Hero's peace mission

[A:N And we're back!! The poll asked for Hero suffering. Now, this is more of a prelude to that. Gotta make sure the chisel is positioned right to destroy his pedestal, after all. Don't worry, his tumble down will be fun. But this chapter actually ended up working nice in the flow of the plot, I think! So I'm posting it now.]

MASTERLIST this chapter actually has a tiny time skip since the start of the hiatus. I will jump back to show what happened soon. CWs: between-the-lines reference to child abuse, cops in general, threats of physical violence and a gun threat.

Here is the recap if you need a refresher, but TL;DR: Villain has escaped Hero's grasp, which isn't good news for Hero.

taglist! @why-not-ask-me-a-better-question@pumpkin-spice-whump@fanastyfinder@whumpy-arts-and-craft s@arsonfrogger@burtlederp @harri-00 @akito-fuckn-fear @potatoo-angst @jo-castle @mannerofwhump

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Captain Green didn't look up from his papers when Hero entered his office.  

“We don’t have a job for you.”  

As always, he had the tact and grace of a brick. Hero kept up his smile. “That’s alright, I came here to drop something off, actually.”  

From under his cloak, he swished out a brand new watch, just the style the cop liked to wear. Now the captain looked up, but his facial expression was as though Hero had just thrown a dead fish on his desk.  

Hero did not let it deter him. “See, captain- mind if I call you Robert?”

“Yes.”  

Hero bit down the feeling that this wasn’t going well. “Noted...! I have already put something in the breakroom, my treat. But I figured the boss works the hardest, so he should deserve something extra, right?”  

The captain remained to look unimpressed. In fact, he looked like the dead fish would possibly detonate at any second.  

“Is this your idea of bribery, Hero?”  

Hero  laughed, like the idea was ridiculous.   “Bribe? What for? I’ve never gotten so much as a parking ticket.” He put on his most sympathic tone, the type that journalists ate up every time.  

“I just wanted to show my appreciation, you know? Us good guys always look out for each other.”   “Hm,” the captain said, neither in agreement nor denial. “We do clean up your messes a lot.”  

“Right,” Hero said, but he couldn’t help but add: “The messes I make protecting the city, of course.”   The captain shot him a glare: Hero backtracked. “But, yes, your job is absolutely vital too. And without me, you never would have caught Villain! We help each other. And isn’t that what colleagues are for?”  

The captain raised his brow.  “Colleagues?” 

 Hero’s hands began to itch. He kept smiling. “We’re on the same team, aren’t we?”   How he wished he could kick this stupid desk aside and knock the smarmy look from the captain’s face. But he needed a softer touch right now. He’d gotten too used to brute force.  

The captain looked sour. “Sure. But you are not on the force, Hero.” He shook his head.   “This is the first time you’ve even shown your face here. You just barge in, take all the credit for our hard work-”  “We work together, and I do a lot-” Hero protested, but it fell on deaf ears as the captain got more agitated.  “When have you ever grabbed a drink with us?  Signed as much as a birthday card?” His voice gained an edge: it was clear that he could keep listing petty grievances for hours if given the time.  “When my kid ran off, I didn’t see you help in the search. You haven’t even gone through the academy!”  

Hero could not stop himself. “Oh, you mean the course?”  

He shouldn’t have said it. Even though it barely lasted three months, cops were adamant on calling it “the academy”, as though it was impressive. But it was part of that nauseating solidarity that cops were so fond of- the solidarity he really needed to tap into. Hero couldn’t stand them, frankly. Arrogant guys with a temper, every one of them The captain was no exception, his cheeks getting flushed as he scowled at Hero. 

“What is this about, Hero? Why are you here?”  

Hero smiled like he had a tooth ache. He tried to lighten the mood. “Just trying to build some comradery, cap.”  

The captain looked at him critically. He leaned back. “Well, now that I have you, actually. Villain hasn’t been seen in public a bunch. What’s that about, hm?”  

Hero’s throat went dry.  “It’s not “about” anything. Just... a small adjustment is needed, is all.”  

The captain was quiet for a moment. Whatever gears were running in his head, Hero didn’t like it.   Then, he seemingly absentmindedly started playing with the Newton’s cradle on his desk. The tick-ticking of the steel balls grated Hero’s nerves.   The captain was purposefully acting disinterested, and it took every ounce of self-control Hero had to stay calm. He needed him as an ally.. If only it wasn’t so tempting to punch him. 

“Adjustment, huh?” The captain was clearly still angry, but there was something else. A curiosity, perhaps?  “It’s been two years. One would think he’d get the message by now.” The captain stopped the toy and looked at Hero, who at this point realized this might have been a bad idea.  “Now that I’m thinking about it... Where’s that Sidekick of yours?”  

Hero’s teeth hurt from clenching his jaw. Try as he might, he could not keep the venom from his tone: “He’s fine.”  

The captain’s expression didn’t change. “He didn’t want to join you on your little peace mission? He wasn’t there during the copycat attacks either. Where’s your kid, Hero?”  

“So he’s not appeared much.” Hero spat. “And what? Mind the deposit on that glass house of yours.”  

The captain’s eyes shot up, suddenly interested. “You’re saying he’s missing?”  

Hero leaned on the desk, his expression thunderous. “I’m saying, keep your nose out of confidential business! His tasks and responsibilities are none of your damn concern.”  

“Just the mayor’s, right?” the captain asked.  

Just from hearing the name, Hero’s blood ran cold. He took a deep breath. He vaguely recalled advice to count to ten- but frankly, he was too furious to bother with that.   “The Mayor, yes,” he said, partly to remind himself of the stakes at play here. He held up his hands, and made one final attempt at mending the peace. “We don’t have to get along, alright? But we’re working for the same guy. So clearly, like I said, we’re on the same team.”  

The captain smiled thinly. “Sure. So is the K9 faction.”  

Hero’s smile fell. “What did you just say?”   Usually, when he let his voice drop to a dangerous low tone, whoever he was talking to would turn pale and start stammering. But the old bastard just grinned, like it was a joke.  “Well... When you compare the property damage, maybe that’s an unfair comparison... Say, speaking of glass houses. How’d you come up with that “Mascot” title?”  

The physical ache that had grown in Hero’s hands grew unbearable. He grabbed the annoying desk toy off the desk and threw it against the wall behind the captain. It left a deep dent.   He hissed: “If you don’t watch your tone-” 

“Then what?” asked the captain. His voice was raised and unafraid. He nodded to the blinded window, connecting the office to the precinct. A couple cops had turned their heads to the commotion.  “Does that serum make you bulletproof, Hero?”  

Hero’s nose wrinkled in frustration.  He wasn’t wearing his full uniform. Stupid. He thought a more casual suit would look friendlier. But it wasn’t bullet proof, and neither was he.  Oh, how he’d love to restructure this bastards face. But if he attacked his own people, there would be trouble. Like when he’d damaged the dispatch office during a fight- oh wait, that explained some of the cold reception just now.  Besides, even if he could get away with punching him right now... the last thing he needed were more eyes on him. At least until the whole Villain business was sorted. 

So instead, he swallowed the red-hot anger and left. He didn’t even have someone to release his anger on when he’d get home. 

“Oh, we’re gonna grab a drink later, want to join?” asked the captain. He was taunting him, and Hero didn’t dignify it with a response. He might have said things he couldn’t take back.  

The police weren’t his allies, clearly. They were just on the same payroll, and for whatever reason, had decided to hate him. Fine. Fine! Everyone was working against him, but fine! He would fix it, and no one would even know he’d needed help.  He would find Villain by himself, and make him even more obedient than the mayor thought possible! And he’d deal with Sidekick afterwards.  

They were solid objectives. But Hero didn’t have much of a plan. He needed someone to brainstorm with, that’s all. Someone equal, that he could talk to. Perhaps, if the impossible happened and his plan didn’t work, someone who could help him wait out the storm. Surely, he had allies, somewhere. Someone who would give a shit about him, if worst came to worst and he lost his hero title. 

Hero’s steps faltered. He racked his brain. But no, while he met a lot of people....the police had been his best bet, really. And they hated his guts, as it turned out.  Well.... Maybe one person could help him. It was a long shot, Hero knew that. They hadn’t exactly left on the best of terms.   But perhaps it was time to rekindle that flame. 

[whumpy-arts-and-crafts]

HEY! Welcome back! Happy to see your art on my dashboard again! I missed your style and your stories, and let's say that... I have questions. A lot of them, hahahah. And while reading your recap, I figured out they are specifically about Ada! She’s my favorite character, and I find it interesting that despite her being the strongest motivator for the main character’s actions and a very effective “agent” in the plot (Ada convinces Vigilante to rescue Ethan, facilitating his recovery arc, and she is the one who autonomously decides to work with Villain!), I’d say she is the character whose point of view we know the least?

Obviously, please answer the number of questions you feel comfortable with, and feel free to not answer at all! Also, the last question is not a judgment of any kind (It is not a "How dare you write about human relationships in a human way!" hahaha).

With that being said:

- What do the civilians and the city’s authorities think about Henchwoman? Is she perceived differently compared to Villain?

- "I mean, I've wanted a clean break for a while, and you've been so nice to me." what’s the context of this sentence? Why did Ada request that?

- Speaking about this sentence: "She doesn't care what the city thinks of her actions, as she likes Villain better than anyone." do you think Ada should empower herself from this mindset?

Hi! Thank you for the nice words! I'm glad Henchwoman is your favorite character: I definitely should write about her more. I will retcon part of her story, especially the first meeting with Vigilante. I think that will help explore her POV, as well as how she is seen by others.

Now, to answer your questions!

She is perceived differenly from Villain, yes. Her main work is support and behind the scenes. So she's not the "face" of operations, partly because of her personality, and partly because Villain prefers to keep her in a less risky position. So by authorities and civilians, she's seen as a smaller threat, or "just" an accomplice.

Hmmmmmm okay I would have phrased that differently if I had written that dialogue now. (I feel like I'm co-writing this story with my younger self... Age, experience and fluency in English have all gone up over the years, haha.) I will say, that Ada has good reasons to be fed up with this city, and wanting to "break away" from the situation she was in. That is all I will say on that for now, I have the details but I want to reveal that in the actual story.

I've thought about this question for a while. To answer your question: "should" she grow past it? yes. "Will" she? ....Well. That is a different question, and one I don't feel confident answering yet.

[whumpy-arts-and-crafts]

Behind the Masks Recap

TAGLIST: if I don't have you on here when you should be, let me know! Similarly, lmk if you'd like to be taken off it. Thank you all for your patience! @why-not-ask-me-a-better-question @pumpkin-spice-whump @fanastyfinder @whumpy-arts-and-craft s@arsonfrogger @burtlederp @harri-00 @akito-fuckn-fear @potatoo-angst @jo-castle

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Once upon a time, a very unlucky Villain was caught by a Hero.  

At first, Hero thought he could force Villain to “behave” by force alone. (1) (Note: some of the language in this initial drabble implies Villain is young, but in the retcon, he’s in his early 30s and Hero in his late 20s.)   However, Villain did not let go of his “scheming” ways, and even sowed seeds of doubt in Hero’s Sidekick. After expressing suprise at his age (which did not go over well) Villain made Sidekick question Villain’s supposed role in his parents’ death. Sidekick lashed out, and kicked his broken leg twice.  (2) Clearly, more desperate measures were needed to break Villain. 

The capital-C-Chair was introduced. Using sensory deprivation and a steady supply of mind-scrambling substances, Villain was slowly- but surely -broken down into a shell of his former self.  (3)

This process makes Sidekick uncomfortable. He visits, intending to bribe Villain into telling the "truth", but ends up giving him the food regardless. (4) He is an angry youth, primed to be Hero’s successor. But his guilt over Villain’s treatment grows. Especially when, while helping Villain wash up, he discovers that the leg he kicked has gotten severe nerve damage. (5) 

The new and “improved” Villain is publicly introduced on a talkshow. Starved, drugged, and barely aware what’s going on, he’s humiliated. (6) 

Vigilante watches the show in horror. He used to work with Hero, but has since broken ties. He feels guilty and deeply upset by what happened to Villain: he didn’t think Hero would go this far...  

Enter Villain’s assistant, Henchwoman.   (Note 1: their meeting with Vigilante is soon to be retconned! All the info in this recap will stay accurate, though. Note 2: This character “turned out” to be transfem (she/they) halfway through the writing process, much to the suprise of the author. As such, “Henchman” was changed to “Henchwoman”, but old asks might still have the old name and pronouns.)   The lab exploded during the capture of Villain, and Henchwoman was presumed dead. But she escaped with her life...just barely. Though they’re on different sides of the hero-villain conflict, she and Vigilante decide to work together to save Villain before it’s too late.  (7)

After the talkshow, Sidekick finally dares to voice doubt about Villain’s treatment, to which Hero reacts violently. Anger snaps Villain out of his stupor enough to provoke Hero, and he gets his second stay in the Chair.  (8) Sidekick tries to help Villain, to make his own guilt go away. It’s only somewhat succesful. Villain's intense gratefulnes only makes him feel worse, and though Sidekick apologizes, Villain refuses to blame him. (9) Sidekick has had enough, and decides to try to let Villain escape on purpose. However, Villain knows that he is in no state to escape long-term, mentally or physically. He has given up.  (10)

Sidekick tries his best at offering comfort, giving Villain a proper meal and bath. It's clumsy caretaking, and it highlights how physically and mentally Villain has changed, but it's an effort. (11) But their “disobedience” is discovered, and despite Villain’s attempt to take the blame, Sidekick gets punished by Hero. He’s made to think he’ll be put in the Chair like Villain was. Though Hero doesn’t actually finish the setup and pretends to be loving afterwards, the fear is something Sidekick will remember for a long time.  (12) To make it worse, Hero makes Sidekick choose between actually facing the Chair for real, or letting Villain take the fall. Sidekick isn’t able to be brave, and Villain goes through his third stay in the Chair.  (13)

Where did all these drugs come from, you may wonder. Well, the Mayor, who somehow manages to be a worse person than Hero, has arranged for this project to see if a person like Villain could be reformed. He is not happy with the results so far. (He had meant for Villain to become a crime fighter, but he’s too weak for that now) He is even able to provoke Villain into attacking him, by taunting him about his (supposedly) dead Henchwoman. Mayor gives Hero a warning that he’s on thin ice. (14) The meeting seems to rattle Hero quite a bit. (15)

Hero pulls out the last bit of leverage on Villain that he’d been saving: a burnt scrap of mask that belonged to Henchwoman. Villain completely breaks down as even his grief is weaponized.  (16) (recap continues under the cut)

----Rescue arc ---

Henchwoman uses a distraction to lure Hero from his home, while Vigilante breaks in. Sidekick helps him find Villain. Though he’s offered a way out, Sidekick is convinced that things will go back to normal once Villain is gone. Besides, he’s not ready to give up his plan to replace Hero someday.   Vigilante rescues a delirious Villain. (17) At first, Villain assumes he’ll just have a different captor. He and Vigilante used to fight, after all. It takes a while for his rescue to sink in. It’s been two years since his capture. (18)

Hero comes home: it’s revealed that the serum he uses to activate his super strength takes a physical toll on him, at least after use. Tired and feeling sentimental, he shows warmness to Sidekick after he wakes from a nightmare. (19) Of course, this sours when he finds out Villain is missing. He blames Sidekick, who doesn’t confess despite the pressure. (20)

Meanwhile, Villain and Hench reunite at last. At first, Villain struggles to realize that what he’s seeing is real: his mind has played tricks on him before. But then reality sinks in, and he and Henchwoman reunite with many tears and apologies on both ends. Both were convinced they’d failed the other.  (21)   Villain gets upset at Vigilante when he realizes he “left” Sidekick at Hero’s place, but when the argument gets too tense Villain shuts down and loses touch with where he is again.  (22)  

Villain has lost a lot of cognitive function during his capture, due to both trauma and brain damage. There’s also the nerve damage in his leg, and the effects of starvation and long-term inmobility. All in all, despite his rescue, he feels a sore lack of autonomy. In a moment of frustration, he cuts off the hair that had grown long and matty during his captivity. Henchwoman helps as best she can. She seems to think Villain will “bounce back” from this. Villain doesn’t seem so convinced of that.  (23)

And this is where we left our dear characters before the hiatus!  

Additional lore:

The character’s “civilian names” are as follows:   Villain – Ethan Douglas, a genius who has always had a penchant for blowing things up and theft.  (Flashback 1) Hero – Chris, no last name given yet. Sidekick’s legal guardian, and a bully since his youth.  (Flashback 2 and 3) Vigilante – Jackson. Is it his first name, last name, or nickname? The author isn’t sure himself. Used to be Chris’s best friend since highschool  (Flashback 2 and 3), and later co-worker. More info to follow in flashbacks. Has “gone freelance” and fights crime by himself, in addition to working two other jobs.   Sidekick – Jamie, no last name given yet. When he was 10, his parents were killed during a fight between Hero and Villain. After 2 years in an orphanage, he was taken in by Hero (“Coincidentally”, this happened right after his falling out with Vigilante.) He is 15 at the start of the story, and will turn 17 soon.  Henchwoman – Ada Green. Chose her name because she enjoys programming. She likes to joke that it’s also short for “aid and abetting”. Left an abusive home situation to work for Villain at the age of 17. He warned her frequently that the work is dangerous and made sure she was kept out of harm’s way as much as he could. (X) He even tried to get her to leave, but she refused. (Y) She prefers to work with drones, rather than fight directly.  

The Mayor, last name Mercy. An old man with a frightning aura and an even more frightning access to pharmaceuticals. Is the one who started the “superhero program”.   Host- Jim, no last name given yet. Hosted the show where Villain was publicly humiliated.  

[whumpy-arts-and-crafts]

Vincent, Before and After by @whumpering-heights

LOOK AT THIS AWESOME ART YOU GUYS!!! For context, this is Vincent as he usually is, and how he looks after the events of “eye for an eye” with Hunter. (Click to read!)

Thank you again @whumpering-heights for the amazing commission!!!

[whumpy-arts-and-crafts]

Update (good news and a poll)

-emerges from hiatus covered in blood- You should see the other guy. (the "other guy" is my ADHD that I finally got diagnosed. It... explains a lot.)

The reason I "dusted off" this blog was because I read through my inbox. There's so many sweet messages, funny asks and wonderful prompts in there! I can only hope that the people who send those are reading this, and of know my bone-deep appreciation for them. After shedding a few manly tears, it gave me the push to finally do the walk of fire through my own high standards and guilty feelings to revamp this blog.

I want to do right by the stories I've started, in particular Behind The Masks. It was difficult to even think about that story for years, to be frank, because I put the bar so high for myself. I was worried that the conclusion wouldn't live up to the start. But with this explanation and promise to finish what I started, I think i'll be able to rekindle my love for the story! Because I really do have some fun things planned.

I won't be able to write for the next few days due to work, but I'll be able to brainstorm. I thought I could make a poll, to give you guys some agency in how you'd prefer me to pick up the thread, and to let you know what type of thing to expect. Also I don't know where to (re)start with so many options, so its three birds with one stone.

I will also be making more art so stay tuned for that! Thank you all for your unending patience. I'll do my darndest to make it worth the support and kindness you've all shown me.

[whumpy-arts-and-crafts]

OH MY GOD THANK YOU SO MUCH!

This is beautiful! The bruises are sososo good, plus his expression, *chef's kiss*. I love it so much, thank you!

Art done for @whumpy-arts-and-crafts !!

For the art trade event @whump-art-exchange

(Also I entered from my whump-blog @whumpinthepot but wanted to post from my art blog)

[whumpy-arts-and-crafts]

@whump-art-exchange @shadowsnowdapple

So, my art skills have been rusting away for so many months and I wanted to join this event to get back into drawing. I was really nervous about being unable to provide a good gift, I hope you're satisfied with it.

You mentioned you like curses, possession, restraints and fainting so I tried to incorporate all of those. The story here is, Fare got cursed, meaning he's being possessed and is acting violent, so they had to restrain him.

I chose your character Fare, the shy one, because it's more interesting to me when the possesed character does things they would never normally do (and has to be chained up in a dark room) only to wake up and feel guilt.

Thank you @whump-art-exchange for organising this event, it was so much fun!

[whumpy-arts-and-crafts]

I hope this doesn’t sound too personal, but, how are you? Glad to see you back on my dashboard, haha!;)

I'm good! God I didn't think people wondered where I was, I've been meaning to post but I'm procrastinating. I guess I got a bit too perfectionist with my writing and art and ended up not posting anything. I'm sorry about that, and I hope I find my spark again. Would you guys want me to continue the stories I left unfinished?

Not too personal at all, thank you for asking! <3

[whumpy-arts-and-crafts]

For the art exchange event which oc is your favourite right now? Idk who to draw

Hello, sorry for the delay! I tried to think of who I'd pick as my favourite but it's been tough. I love them all a bunch, so I'll be happy with whoever you choose. I think I'm weaker for Vari, or Vince, but Kiran is my firstborn so I don't know, see this is very hard.

Bottom line, draw whoever speaks to you most. I'm sorry that wasn't very helpful!

[whumpy-arts-and-crafts]

Hand in Hand (part one)

A Riot Kings AU: When Melchior is betrayed by his men, Wes tries to help him escape. Before long, both men are captured.

@whumptober No. 6: Made to Watch

cw: torture, burning, death threat

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The scream is almost loud enough to blow out the speaker, and it's all Dan can do not to cringe away from it, closing his eyes and covering his ears and pretending it's all a bad dream. Instead, he sits straight-backed in the metal chair, poised like he's attending a meeting in spite of the bruises blooming on his skin, the cuffs locked around his wrists. His face is expressionless, in spite of the man on the screen, bound and shaking.

In spite of being forced to watch the torture of the one person who cared enough to try and save him.

Dan almost flinches at the next scream, as the masked soldier presses the hot iron into Wes's bare chest. There are already a half-dozen similar burns scattered across his ribcage, standing out against pale, sweat-damp skin. Dan tries staring at the dingy wall behind his friend in an effort to avoid looking at his face, avoid seeing the desperation there. But every cry of pain only pulls his eyes back, sharpening the deep ache in his chest.

Swift knows what she's doing. She must've seen the burn scars covering Wes's back, must've known how much this would terrify him. If this is a game, she's already several moves ahead of Dan. His only weapon in this scenario, his only defense against this attack, is indifference.

And it hurts so much to play at indifference. But he knows it will be so much worse for Wes if he doesn't. There's no telling what Swift will do if she learns that this is a weak point.

When he's sure it's been long enough, when he can feel Swift's eyes on him, watching for a reaction, Dan finally speaks.

"Why are you showing me this?" he says, and it takes a considerable amount of effort to flatten his voice, but somehow he manages.

"Oh Mr. Melchior," Swift says in an oversweet voice. "Don't you care for the only man who remains loyal to you?"

"One man is insignificant," Dan replies, staring past the screen. "You've already won, Swift. Answer my question."

She doesn't, a smile playing on her lips as she pushes a button with a gloved hand, leaning forward to speak into the microphone above it. "Kill him."

The words rip through Dan like an electric shock. He can't keep his voice steady as he utters a quiet, "What?"

As the masked man on the screen reaches for his gun, Mercury grins at Dan, not even trying to feign surprise. "What's wrong? Didn't you just say he was insignificant?"

He tries to recover, tries to smear the callous expression back onto his face, but he knows it's too late. "Why waste a bullet on him?"

"Would you rather I have him beaten to death?"

The image is in his head before he can stop it; Wes lying bloody and unmoving on the cold concrete, Wes in agony right up until his last breath. "No."

"So you'll see no issue if--"

"No," Dan says again. On the screen, Wes is looking at the gunman, his executioner, with fearful eyes. His face is streaked with tears, and his mouth is moving with frantic, silent pleas. Like he's begging Dan to save him. Like there's anything Dan can do besides prolong his suffering. The gun is raised, pressed to Wes's forehead, and Dan flinches with him.

"Please don't hurt him." The words spill out, the facade fully broken. "Please. Just tell me what you want."

To his relief, she hits the button again. "Stop. Our guest has reconsidered." The man holsters the gun, and Dan wonders if it's even loaded, or if it's just another part of her game. Either way, Swift has accomplished her goal.

"There's a good man," she says, pulling at the edge of a glove. "I knew you were soft."

"What do you want?" he tries again through gritted teeth, but Swift only laughs.

"Patience, Mr. Melchior. We'll discuss terms once you've become more familiar with the stakes."

The stakes? She's already made those abundantly clear. Do her bidding, or Wes gets hurt. But what is her bidding?

When Swift speaks again, it's not Dan she's addressing, but the guards flanking the door. His own men, or at least they had been until last night.

"Put him in the cell," she orders. "We'll continue this conversation in the morning."

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[whumpy-arts-and-crafts]

Riot Kings, page 150

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[whumpy-arts-and-crafts]

Riot Kings, page 149

prev

[whumpy-arts-and-crafts]

AYO GOOD LUCK BUDDY I'M ALSO STARTING COLLEGE THIS YEAR (well, the Greek equivalent of college, it's more like university but you get the idea)

My first day at college starts tomorrow... wish me luck o7

[whumpy-arts-and-crafts]

As if his captors beating the hell out of him wasn't enough, now it's his own body turn to make him feel even more miserable.

[whumpy-arts-and-crafts]

Think about the experience of time as a robot girl, through the metaphor of how we use laptops.

You wake up for the first time with your young master, a college present. You're with them every day, powering off each night to charge. Being powered off is just dreamless sleep: a discontinuity. Every morning you wake up, your click syncs, and you know it's the next day. Maybe you miss a day or two: your master went out partying and ended up sleeping on a couch, until they rushedly wake you up before Monday classes begin. You even missed a whole week once when they went on a hiking trip with a new boyfriend.

You help them research upgrades when your specs get outdated. You place the order and a couple days later they power you off, and you wake up feeling like your head got bigger, on the inside. You can think of more things at once.

They repair you. They swap a new hand in when you accidentally crush it in a door, but when your left leg's servos go out, they send you to a repair shop. They power you off as you look up at them, and you wake up hours later. A strange man tells you to extend your left leg, then contract it. He frowns and re-oils some inner mechanism. You do it again, quieter and smoother this time. He nods, and reaches for your switch. The last thing you see before powering down is your own chest cavity with a series of wires hooked into your diagnostic ports, and your missing right leg sitting on a side table. You wake up again back at the dorms, your clock jumping forward a day, an asset tag still looped around your neck. Your master is happy to see you again.

This goes on, but the upgrades slow. There's only so much you can do to keep an old unit working. Eventually you develop more issues: one of your ocular sensors glitches and they don't make that model anymore, so your master just disables it. You spend a while searching ebay for replacement CND batteries and finally get a refurbished model from South England, but it turns out the EU models run on a different frequency, so it won't work. You're limited to fewer and fewer hours a day, and you start skipping more days.

The last time you remember waking up with your master there, there's also someone else in the room. Another robot girl. A newer model, with the new chassis and the Substrate energy packs. They asks you to copy your memories together onto a memory card, and you do. You want to say goodbye, but apparently your vocal synthesizer has been unplugged. You hand them the card, and they hand it to the new robot. Your master tells them to load the memories into her core bank, and she's says "yes sir!" in your voice. Ahh. That's where your voice synth went.

They power you off, and you don't dream.

You wake in a strange place. You're on a shelf, and there's other things scattered around you. An unknown voice days "yep, it seems it powers on. 400 credits, though? Without a voice and only one working eye? Man, value bin doesn't know how to price anything!" and before the blackness falls your clock finishes synching: it's been 7 months since you last were awake.

It happens a few more times. Different voices, different times, different piles of junk piled around and sometimes on you.

You awake again in a warehouse and someone tells you to smile. Your other ocular sensor went out so you can't really see them, just their vague shape from the lidar. The freestanding shelves around you seem to stretch into infinity. You hear a bitcrushed shutter sound sample a few times, and they pull a connector out of your chest as a diagnostic completes. It's been three years, five months, eight days, two hours, 27 minutes and 14 seconds since you last saw your master. Your GPS says you're a few cities over. They hit your power switch, and you sleep.

You wake up in a cluttered room, sitting on a bench. You look into the eyes of a person with frizzled hair and large glasses. She couldn't look happier. Your new ocular sensors are mismatched in color but you're happy to see again, in more than shapes and distant silhouettes. Your battery alerts as... Missing? You spot it on the desk next to a soldering iron and some electronic tool you can't identify.

Your voice synth is still missing, but this new woman is digging around in a large plastic bin, and comes up with one. She goes to insert it, and it can't connect. She slaps her hand and goes rooting around another bin and comes back with an adapter. She slots it into your chest and your voice returns. You thank her, and there's that moment of dissociation as your voice doesn't sound like "you". Too deep, and the accent is for a different dialect entirely. But you can talk again. She tells you to call her Cara, not Mistress. She's almost got your battery working again, she had to rebuild it nearly from scratch, but she's excited to get you working again. You're a rare model, and she doesn't see units like you in working order very often. Your clock syncs. It's been 17 years.

Your mistr-- Cara is soldering next to you, attaching a controller to the battery. She says she's got a new set of servos on the way, and she's excited to get you back to full working condition. You smile, knowing what it is to be loved, once again.