Tonight’s mood is devotion.

Hands grasping at each other, mutually promising to never let go, even as the world is falling apart. Reaching through the bars of a prison cell, swearing to save whoever is inside. Arms wrapped around another body, a human shield to protect them from harm.

Kneeling at a leader’s feet, pledging eternal service and loyalty. Looking upwards with pleading eyes, searching their face for approval, for recognition of such a sacrifice. Being met with gratitude. Being met with praise. Being met with indifference.

A caretaker giving their life to someone, putting themself in harm’s way, bleeding themself dry, anything to protect the person they love. Sleep deprived nights, keeping watch so their loved one can get some rest. Giving them the last painkiller, the last sip of water, their own share of the food. Forsaking themself so that another will suffer less.

Undying love and devotion to someone who doesn’t want it, who doesn’t share the feeling, who will never love them back. The caretaker giving themself anyway. There’s only one bed, so I will sleep on the floor.

Loyalty sworn to two different people, former friends now on opposite sides of a war. A trio broken apart, with one caught in the middle, being ripped in two. Having to choose which hand to hold, and which to let go of.

Devotion to a cause, not to a person, not even others devoted to the same cause. A single minded focus on a goal, no matter the cost. No matter who might suffer as a result.

Devotion to someone evil. Committing horrific acts for them, maybe unknowingly. Going into battle to defend them, being captured and taking torture to protect their secrets. Being used by them, treated as disposable. A character not realizing until it’s too late that the person they swore their life to is the person hurting them.

Trope: Enemy to Caretaker

See also: Unconventional Caretakers.

Reasons Why I Love This Trope So Goddamn Much (not anywhere near a description of the totality of my feelings on this topic, but a start):

- The vulnerability.  The sheer terror of being exposed in front of someone you hate (who hates you).  The panic and stoicism of attempting to cover up the pain until it’s too much.  Until you can’t.  Until the agony is worse than letting them see your tears.

- The mistrust.  The constant second-guessing.  The suspicion of every move they make.  The concocting of escape plans, one after the other, because how can you tell the difference between being restrained for your own good and being captured?  The cuffs sure look the same.

- The surrender.  Hitting rock bottom.  Watching you give in and knowing that you’ve given up on everything because if you can’t fight against your enemy, you can’t fight against anyone.

- The unexpected compassion.  A hand where you expect a fist.  A bandage where you expect a break.  Snappish words and voices raised in anger and understanding, finally, that their bark is worse than their bite.

- The lack of safety.  There is no one to catch you when you fall.  No one who’s safe, who’s reliable, who’s trustworthy.  You are hurt and alone and you curl up and wait for the blow.  The slow relearning of trust.  The hesitant steps towards hope.  (The shattering, sometimes.)

Enemy.  To.  Goddamn.  Caretaker.

Please.

More Reasons Why This Trope Is My Life (still not a complete list because mortal words can never fully explain my soul):

- The flinches.  Your body says threat.  Your mind says threat.  They watch you like a predator watches prey and you’re supposed to believe that they won’t hurt you?

- The hypocrisy.  They’re scrambling away from their attacker, wide-eyed and bleeding, and a little voice in your head asks ‘how is this different from what you did to them?’.  You don’t know.  You don’t know how it’s different, but it has to be different because this time you step between them and the blade.

- The fights.  The testing of limits, the ‘they’re going to snap, I know it’, the push and push and push until it’s finally too much.  Until you get what you wanted - cowering away from a raised hand as they show their true colors.

- The hesitation.  The reluctance to help.  The way the bandages are wrapped a little slow, the way the meals are delivered a little late, the way the room doesn’t have windows and the escape routes are blocked off.  You still haven’t figured out whether they’re a guest or a prisoner, and you’re running out of time to make a choice.

- The secrets.  What you did to them.  What they did to you.  The rumors, the suspicions, the crimes that no one confessed to.  Until now.  Because the truth always comes out at the most inconvenient time.

Because sometimes you need to destroy it all before you can build it back up again.

A Shock Collar for Lysander

Ah how could I miss out on the opportunity of some nice collar whump for Lysander? He’s such a nice soft boi ;) and of course I gotta add some choking and electricity to the mix as well.

Keep reading

Intimate Whump 

I was thinking of things that Maia would do to Sam, because she is of the intimate and sadistic whumper type, so here’s a list of some fun ideas that I’ve collated (with additions from @pythagoreanwhump and @questionable-references, thanks!)

- the whumper sitting on the whumpee’s lap while hurting them 

- carving their name into the whumpee as a permanent mark of ownership

- putting out cigarettes on the whumpee 

- stabbing them while holding them close so they have no choice but to cling to their torturer as they whimper and shake with the pain (this one is all @pythagoreanwhump‘s, thank you for my new favourite trope)

- digging their fingers into the whumpee’s wounds 

- whispering threatening things into their ear while they stroke their hair 

- alternating between being gentle and hurting the whumpee

- gentle hair petting turning into harsh grabbing 

- the whumper giving their pet a collar to demonstrate exactly to whom they belong (shoutout to @thesithwhumper ;)

I think that’s all I can think of, but please add your own suggestions, and I will be sure to credit you if I use them! 

Okay, I love all of these, but I raise you with more participants in the whump.

- intimate whumper holding whumpee in place very closely from behind. A second whumper/henchman mechanically hurts the whumpee, be it knives or punches or anything, while intimate whumper strokes their damp hair, supresses every twitch of their body and whispers pet names and possessive threats into their ear from behind (similar to @pythagoreanwhump s but with more free hands)

- intimate whumper accompanying whumpee while a teammate is being tortured by another  in front of them, the whumpee doing his best to hide their fear and pain but can’t with the whumper observing them from up close… When a silent tear runs down their face, the whumper gently wipes it away and whispers “You can make it end, you know…”

… and further additions to the intimate list that only involve whumper and whumpee

- the whumper being in their cell in the morning and gently waking the whumpee up, taking them several seconds to readjust themselves and realizing whose kind touch and soothing whisper they have waken up to - the horror upon realization!

- the whumper telling the whumpee they’re carrying a photograph of the other to always be reminded of them, even when they’re not “together”

Ideas specifically inspired by thoughts of Maia: -Starvation paired with tying them to chair and eating dinner in front of them. Maybe hand feeding them a few bites. Calling it a date.  -After torture they are tied up, taken to a couch, laid down, their head in the whumper’s lap. Whumper stroking their hair while watching a movie. Every now and then the whumper wanders down to one of those still fresh wounds, pressing against it to feel the shake and tremble of their victim against them.  -Stopping torture when their voice gives out and they can’t scream anymore. Giving them some hot tea with honey, only so the next day they can scream for them again. 

-Videos are taken of them being tortured. They think so they can show their team, their team will know they are here, a hope of being rescued. Turns out, the whumper just watches them for fun sometimes, when their whumpee is too damaged to take more right now. Makes whumpee watch them to remind them all the fun things they did together.