Obligatory Whump Sideblog

Then they stop living together, or Whumpee goes away for a while, but when they're re-united and they resume their old set up, Whumpee always stays fully clothed when they sleep next to each other. It's not really that weird of a thing, but Caretaker starts to notice other things are off, too. Whumpee is always tense, they don't cuddle like they used to, Whumpee's eyes suddenly become fixed and alert whenever Caretaker strips off to sleep - just sleep - in their bed.

It's subtle, but the evidence is there. So while Whumpee lies awake at night panicking and re-living things silently in their mind, Caretaker lies awake and wonders if something really bad might have happened while they were gone.

god this is good, the habitual bed sharing between friends, the casual intimacy and little-to-no clothing that was just normal between them. cuddling as they fall asleep, or waking pressed together, someone's hand reached out and resting on the other's hip, face tucked against the back of their shoulder, legs hooked together. it was so... normal. it was routine for them.

and then after this break, after they return to this habit, and things are different. things have changed. it is so clear that whumpee doesn't feel safe anymore, and it's becoming frighteningly clear what they're afraid of. it's not entirely set in stone but... the math adds up. caretaker's heart hurts in their chest with the way whumpee watches them, regards their body and its proximity as a threat.

the fact that they still do this makes me crazy. does whumpee think they have to? do they think they can't ask not to sleep like this anymore, they can't say no? or is it that they really do want this piece of normalcy, this normal, grounding intimacy back, they're just fucked up now in ways they weren't before. are they angry at themself? do they wish they could roll over and bury their face in caretaker's chest like they used to, feel their skin press against that of this friend they trust so much?

Tumblr has eaten this ask like three or four times every time I’ve tried to post it with an addition so I’m posting it like this for now.

I absolutely love team dynamics in whump.

That is, except for the shaking. They hide their hands in their pockets, but their shoulders and legs shake too. They swallow, but it doesn’t keep the trembling fully out of their voice. They sit, pretend to cough, give a reassuring smile to their friends. Whumpee is strong. Whumpee has standards to keep up with. They’re better than their body’s betrayal.

Team begin to suspect Whumpee is a traitor, a double agent. They stop listening to Whumpee's advice and suggestions during meetings because they think Whumpee is trying to trick them into one of Whumper's traps.

Now imagine the look on the Team's faces when they're captured because they didn't take the precautions Whumpee told them to.

Imagine the look on their faces when Whumper walks past all of them and goes straight to Whumpee because "It's so good to have you back, darling. I've missed you."

Really love it when Whumpees finally figure out that they're loved.

Be it when they're rescued by people that care about them when they were convinced at the first moment no one was coming to save them. Or a mentor figure calling them their kid (bonus points if it's a moment of: "don't you fucking dare touch my kid"). Or a lover coming to seek them out, insisting they care about them and want to help.

Being convinced that they shouldn't open up about their insecurities and keeping their feelings to themselves about wanting attention. Wanting someone to tell them "I love you being around!" Not daring to voice these thoughts in any way, otherwise it might feel fake or like they're just going to get sympathy reassurances. That if they do voice these one too many times, then everyone will be sick of them or annoyed at them.

But the people around them do this unprompted after a while. Maybe because Whumpee finally opened up. Maybe because they figured it out. Either way, Whumpee finally getting the comfort and reassurance they craved.

The whumper singles out the whumpee for torture. They don't lay a finger on the caretaker, but they brutally beat the whumpee every day.

They force the caretaker to watch.

As the wounds pile on, never having the chance to heal properly because the whumper never stops, the caretaker starts begging the whumper to hurt them instead.

Helpless, desperate, they promise anything. Just let the whumpee have a break. Just please don't hurt them today.

The whumper smiles. They say that yes, of course, since the caretaker's been asking so nicely, they'd be glad to do as asked and switch them out for a while.

But the whumpee has to want it, too. The whumpee has to say that they want the caretaker to be hurt in their place.

The caretaker's eyes land on the whumpee, shivering on the floor and barely able to move. "Please. Tell them you want me to be hurt."

There's silence. In that silence, the caretaker's heart aches, because they know what the whumpee's going to say.

"N...no. Don't hurt them."

"Please! You can't take much more of this. I can't stand watching you suffer!"

"...no."

I loveeee this. The way that the trauma and abuse can truly warp Whumpee's thought process and mind into believing that all they're good for is sex or abuse, that all sexual contact or desire is inherently exploitive, and working in conjunction with Caretaker to rewrite what all these things truly mean!!

and then they run into someone they knew before, back when it was bad. maybe it's someone else who was being abused in the same way, or someone who knew what was happening but also couldn't stop it for reasons out of their control. and this person regards whumpee's new people with nothing less than unbridled suspicion. and whumpee is the one to reassure them - it's okay. it's not like that anymore. they... they're good to me. they take care of me. they trust me, and i trust them. nobody- nobody fucks me anymore. nobody makes me... do things. they're safe. i'm safe.