That moment when a defiant whumpee is getting tortured for information/to get them to do something, and the whumper pauses for a second to ask if the whumpee has had enough.  The whumpee is in so much pain they can barely think, but they manage to choke out “F-fuck you.”   That’s my shit right there. 

Together

Based on our conversations with @pythagoreanwhump, I'm thinking about two characters going through a military academy in a slightly dystopian world, where violence is the norm, and public punishment is seen as a good form of discipline.

Picture two cadets, trying to work their way through the system. It was a good job, they were told. Two bright students like them would definitely rise through the ranks, defend their country and provide for their families. They've never questioned their leadership. Never had any reason to think that things weren't as good as everyone said.

But now they're here, and it's hard. Everyone is constantly competing. Rumours spread like wildfire. They're scared, lonely and surrounded by people who want to succeed at their expense.

And yet these two find each other and they stick together. They help each other with the work and they keep each other's secrets.

Sometimes the senior officers like to dole out extra punishment. It's not official, but everyone knows it happens and nobody dares to question it. Nobody talks about it either, hiding their injuries as well as they can to avoid attracting attention from coursemates.

But in the middle of the night, when everyone is asleep, they climb into each other's bunks, showing their friend the injuries and receiving comfort and support in return. Their bond is what gets them through it, and they hope it can stay that way.

One day, they do something reckless. They break the rules and sneak out onto the roof to watch the stars glitter in the darkness. They're caught, but the punishment is worth it. They take the whipping together, facing the crowd with dignity, and later, when they're alone, they hold each other, careful not to touch the welts from the lashes, and silently cry into each other's shoulders.

Eventually, they specialise. Maybe they end up in the same place, except now they have a shared room instead of a bunk bed in a hall full of dozens. A nice private place to cry. But the pay is decent, and the reputation is good, and they've come so far, they can hardly quit now.

Do they stay friends until the bitter end? Or does one of them end up betraying the other, spilling their secrets to the others and leaving them ostracised and ashamed? Do they die, believing in the glory of their nation? Or do they live long enough to see the change that's coming?

I love this!!!! Especially how they sneak out together for something so seemingly unimportant, yet it is poignant enough to them to endure punishment for...

I'd like to think they stay friends, and they may question their government but all they can do is work from within to make things just a little better. They can't do too much because they have to stay low, but their friendship awards them some freedom in that they can cover for each other at least, and somehow, that little glimmer of hope that things may change never leaves them.

Maybe at some point one of them is forced to punish the other, or give the order for it at least, lest they be exposed. They do it, grimly but without hesitation, knowing the other will understand and it is better in the long run. This way, the issue can be dealt with and then hopefully forgotten, without much further consequence. Maybe afterwards they hold each other again, like all those years before, making sure that no one sees but feeling assured in their friendship and their life choices by having their friend so close.

Maybe sometimes, they go without seeing each other for years, but still they know their friendship hasn't faded, as they see it reflected in the other's actions they read about in the newspaper, in a subtle way only they would understand.

Maybe they adopt star symbolism to remind them of how a fleeting experience of something meaningful can be worth the pain it comes with. Maybe they wear it as a hidden symbol even when they have to publically speak against each other, or against their values, to signify that there is another truth beneath their words.

What they can do isn't much in the grand scheme of things, but so were the stars that night, and they still were worth the punishment that followed. So it isn't too bad. It's endurable, if only you can hold your friend every now and then, and know they’re still there to understand.

Self Sacrifice

I’ve been thinking a lot about this trope lately. Especially when it comes to whumpees offering themselves up as the sacrificial lamb:

It’s my favoite kind of whump. 💜

The Untamed | Lan Zhan kneeling

The Untamed | “I dare ask uncle, what is right and wrong, what is black and white?”

Now You Know (Source)

NOW I CAN BE A TRUE MERMAID

I actually did a report on this last year! The substance is called perfluorocarbon and because of its unique nature, it can hold enough oxygen inside of it for you to breathe it. You can breathe safely while inside it, but sometimes the transition from breathing in the perfluorocarbon and the air can be painful or uncomfortable as your lungs try to push the liquid out of them. In Dan Brown’s book The Lost Symbol, the process of reverting back to breathing the air can feel like being birthed.

thank you friend

how the fuck do they know what being birthed feels like

FACT:

This liquid is used in modern torture. It is similar to water boarding. A victim is placed in a small completely dark box. The box is then filled with the liquid. The victim thinks they are drowning as they breath the liquid in. Most pass out from fear at this point or they just sit there in the liquid in pitch black, apparently breathing ‘water’. Often it leads to the thought that they are in fact dead. It is completely terrifying. Then the box is opened and they are violently pulled from it. As said before the transition from liquid to air is none too pleasant. You might be told something like, they resuscitated you and to tell them what you know or they will “drown” you again.

You can “drown” someone and be sure that they won’t be harmed

You all needed to know this. 

holy shit

That went from cool to horrifying is 0.05 seconds

guys….who’s gonna write me some sweet new torture fic ft. this magic science Not Water?

@withalittlebitofwhump ME.

Near-drowning is my THING.

I’ve been looking for this!! I love how this started out as a cool science fact and then the whumpers got ahold of it *evil laughter*

@wildfaewhump please. I beg of you. Do this with Iesin.

Oh shit oh fuck I gotta

I've written about this! Here! It's about the dark box scenario... a whumpee is subjected to it as a form of torture but gets, shall we say, increasingly good at dealing with it. Started out as a writing prompt but turned quite descriptive.

Held at Gunpoint

So I was thinking about this, and then the lovely @straight-to-the-pain brought it up to me, and we had a very nice and whumperflies-ful conversation about it. And then I went off to math class, thinking about this, and proceeded to go home and had a dream about it.

So I wrote it down! Here it is.

CW: Gun, uh just general creepiness from the “whumper”

Keep reading

The whumper slams the whumpee against the wall and keeps them up with an arm to their neck/hand around their throat. The other hand is holding a sharp knife which is slowly brought up to their face, cutting into their skin just a bit.

Chin lift

I'm being inspired by @scath001 again, but don't you guys love a good chin lift?

You know, that moment when the whumper has their captive on their knees, but they're defiantly looking anywhere but at the whumper?

So the whumper just grabs them by the chin, nails digging in, and forces them to look them in the eyes?

Or maybe the whumper uses something else. Maybe it's the handle of a whip, carrying with it an altogether different threat. A boot, to demean the whumpee and put them in their place. Or maybe it's something a little more dangerous? A gun, the edge of a knife?

Whatever it is, does the whumpee carry on glaring at the person standing above them, eyes bright with defiance, daring the whumper to do their worst? Or are they trembling, eyes filled with tears, terrified of what the whumper will do next?