#garrotte

i'm curious about your interpretations of the individual characters since we rarely see them, as well as their relationships with one other. in a recent ask, you said that you don't think the ten men don't really care much for one another and i found that very interesting :)

in short, this is just me prompting you to share whatever you want about the ten men in as few or many words as you'd like... ^3^ (i'm curious about your thoughts on their dynamics with other characters as well, such as SQ and curtain, but that's a loaded question for a future ask lol)

i’ll tell you my thoughts on them!!! what an awesome ask! it’s gonna be a bit of a longer one

i think as a whole they’re not people who generally care deeply about their coworkers, especially since they’re in quite a dangerous job. but they all know this about each other so they get along fine, why would garrotte care that sharpe will probably be indifferent if he dies/is captured if he feels the same vise versa? y’know? anyway that’s not to say they don’t have a grand old time being terrible people together. kindred spirits.

ok! now let’s get into characters

of course you’ve probably figured out mccracken is my favorite, in the ten men i think that partially he is the leader because he is the scariest, even the other ten men are scared of him to a degree, i really enjoy his demeanor it’s so. interesting.

i think crawlings has his lack of carefulness and he seems to have a more volatile temperament than the others, he’s more likely to complain and go overboard but he’s still skilled and willing so he stays. i have a vague head canon of him running (literally) into mccracken after stealing something and mccracken helping him not get caught in exchange for working for him.

sharpe in my head is the most amused by tormenting people he’s got a similar sort of cheekiness to him as mccracken but without the pressure or sway of being in charge, he finds crawlings very funny and humors him more than the others. he gets along well with most of them

my garrotte is very serious, he’s the one i remember the least about in the books but i haven’t had time to go back through. he’s a bit quieter and exasperated/annoyed. he and curtain will often eye twitch at the same things, but curtain doesn’t like him because he feels like garrotte is silently judging him and it pisses him off. garrotte is silently judging him.

the only other few i have anything on are: Mortis, the one at the beginning of book 2 (i’m pretty sure) who i think is very spooky and their best at following targets. the Katz brothers, they’re described as being scaredy cats and always prioritizing their own skins, i think they would be recon or long range specialists and generally disliked by the other ten men. McCraig is one of the few recruiters that has lines in book 1, he seems kinda laid back to me. i don’t have strong opinions about hertz or bludgins but i like their names

"Garrote them!"

Vincent Price as Prince Prospero //

McCracken: My ultimate goal is to punch God in the eye, just to spite him one last time.

McCracken: I just want someone to take me out. Crawlings: On a date? Garrotte: With a sniper gun? Sharpe: Both if you're not a coward.

McCracken: What’s up? I’m back. Hertz: I literally saw you die. You died. You were dead McCracken: Death is a social construct.

Sharpe: Next time I'm at the pet store, I'm gonna take a hamster and drop it in the scorpion cage. I wanna see what a hamster's face looks like when it goes, "oh, f***."

Crawlings: Sharpe, we need that! Sharpe, holding Garrotte over a trash can: Nope. Crawlings: Gimme it— Sharpe: It’s garbage.

Sharpe: There are three ways to handle a difficult situation. The right way, the wrong way, and the Crawlings way. Mortis: Isn't that the wrong way? Sharpe: Yes, but it's faster.

Bludgins: Did you miss me while I was gone? Sharpe: You were gone?

McCracken: Okay, let's split 'em up and make 'em sing. Sharpe: Two of you take Kate, the other two take Constance. Garrotte: Right. Bad cop, good cop. Crawlings: You know, it's interesting that they say "bad cop, good cop," because policing in this country is so broken it's really just "bad cop, bad cop". Sharpe: Garrotte, you're with them. Garrotte: Got it.

Hertz: Hey guys! I drew everyones soul! Sharpe: Why is Mr. Curtain's a monster? Mr. Curtain: Hertz, you forgot Sharpe's! Its only an empty space! Hertz, proudly: Exactly.

Mortis' unnamed partner is helping Mortis break out of prison Mortis' unnamed partner: Sooo… Does this make us partners in crime? Mortis: Don’t push it. Mortis' unnamed partner: Oh my gosh, we can be like Harley Quinn and the Joker! Mortis: If you don’t stop talking, they’re adding “murder” to the charges.

Crawlings, writing in their diary with a glitter gel pen: I'm losing my sense of humanity. Nothing matters. God is dead. There's blood on my hands.

Garotte | Forced to watch | Carried

@themerrywhumpofmay

CW: Lab whump, captivity, escape attempt, failed escape, garrotte, asphyxiation, guns, swearing, mentions of blood and injuries, self sacrifice, restraints (I feel like I've missed some, pls lemme know if I have <3

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Hollering klaxons screeched behind the pair sprinting in their desperate escape through the woods; running on pure adrenaline alone, pushing past the burning agony that running inflicted on their mangled, broken limbs. Caretaker's body screamed at them to stop, devoid of any energy, unknown chemicals still filtering through their blood, battered and bruised beyond belief and they could only imagine how exhausted Whumpee must be. The short and raspy pants of breath only just masked under the echoes of the ravenous, barking dogs and shouting men roaring orders to track down the escaped experiments.

They had to get away from that lab, they had to get Whumpee to somewhere safe - even if trying meant dying. Caretaker resented the idea of sulking in their cell day in day out, completely helpless as they watched Whumpee's physical and mental state rapidly decline. Every time they were whisked out for unspeakable experiments, they were inevitably heaved back in, days sometimes weeks later with a more violent tremble than before, plagued with vicious scars and wounds, fresh blood painting their entire body and resigning more and more each time. They had even begun cowering and shaking whenever Caretaker simply tried to talk to them or even call their name. That was the final straw, and so Caretaker put their plan into action.

But whumpee wasn't coping with the escape, they were in a far worse shape than caretaker - their face drained of all colour, their lips cracked and split. Dark bags cushioning their sunken in eyes from not being allowed the privilege of sleep despite the times they would beg and bargain for just an hour to close their eyes. They half limped, half-jogged their way through the sludging dirt with struggled hyper-ventilations. Hot tears blurring their vision as they bit down on their tongue and pushed through the excruciating pain, only focusing on the possibility of going back to their life. Caretaker could hear the diminished whimpers and gasps of pain coming from whumpee, a lump forming in their throat as they wanted to just carry them to safety but it would slow them down, they just needed to run.

"We have to keep going! We can't afford to slow down now!" Caretaker encouraged, the pair exchanging an exhausted but hopeful glare as they dashed and swerved between lines of trees, ensuring they don't snag on a root and trip like some cliche scene in a horror movie.

Whumpee lets out an ear-piercing scream as their body goes flying back towards the ground and choking out a cough from the harsh impact, something lurching out from behind the trunk of a tree and yanking them back by the collar of their scrubs. In a flash, an armed guard dives on top of a dazed whumpee and wrestles them onto their back as they cry out and groan from the heavy pressure weighing on top of them. Caretaker stops running the second they hear the wails erupting from behind them, spinning on the spot to see whumpee pinned to the floor, straddled on their back by a guard and a long length of cord being wrapped between their two knuckles.

The noises that choke out from whumpees vocal chords are almost animalistic as their assaulter begins garrotting them with the cord, they screech in panic, howling and choking as they writhe around in panic stricken jolts and twitches, trying to throw the man off their back and welcome beautiful oxygen back into their lungs.

Caretaker knew that stealing the gun off the guard they knocked out would come in handy, they aim it directly at the officers forehead ready to mercilessly fire. Before they are surrounded by a dozen clicking sounds all around them. Surrounded in a circle by what feels like hundreds of armed men aiming guns towards them, all holding blood thirsty canines back on a short leashes and slowly approaching behind the still fighting whumpee is head whumper.

"I'm amazed you made it this far, #338. Bravo." Whumper smirked, their eyes darting towards the ground and watching intently as whumpee kicked and flailed against the choking force around their throat, their already pale face losing what little pigmentation remained.

"Get him off before I splatter his brains on the ground!" Caretaker bellowed, their aim confident and still as it remained pointed at the assailants head, primed and ready for the shot.

"Go ahead. You kill my men, I make you watch as I kill little whumpee here and then you."

Caretakers breathing grew erratic, they gritted their teeth together as they huffed through their nostrils.

"You think I won't? You're disposable, #338. It'd be a shame to lose you both... a bit of an inconvenience. You're fun to fuck with but that doesn't mean I can't go grab some other vulnerable idiots off the street."

With a click of whumpers fingers, every weapon previously trained on caretaker diverts to whumpee on the ground. Caretaker let's out a distraught gasp of realisation, whumpee on the other hand hasn't even realised the new danger yet.

"Men. On the count of three if caretaker hasn't dropped their weapon. Shoot to kill whumpee... 1-" Whumper roared out their command. Whumpees fight was slowly dying, their knuckles bright white wrapped around the cord constricting their airway trying to pry it away from their throat - their body unnaturally heaving and jostling begging for air. They were beginning to go limp, their pupils rolling deep into the back of their skull as their grip on the garotte loosens and their wrists slam ungraciously against the ground.

"2..." There was a hint of excitement in whumpers voice, the safety of the guns all being clicked off in unison with fingers hovering eagerly above their triggers. Whumpee was too still, this was too scary and the worst thing was:

The only way to save whumpee was to submit.

Whumper wouldn't let them die. They wanted them for their twisted studies.

Caretaker swings the gun to the ground and sinks to their knees, throwing their arms in the air surrender style. Making sure to swallow back threatening tears that will make them vulnerable. The shuffle of feet closes in on caretaker imminently as they're roughly shoved by their face into the dirt, handcuffs slapped on to their wrists behind their backs - making sure they're excruciatingly tight and snagging already bruised, tender skin where they'd previously been restrained. But they allow it, they need to co-operate for whumpees sake. They watch with panic and concern as men approach whumpees breathless body on the ground, lifting them with ease and hoisting them over their shoulder, keeping a grip on to them by their waist.

Whumper strides over to caretaker, grinning as they tower above them - lifting their boot in the air to swing it with full force into caretakers face, a roar of agony breaking out as they felt their nose crook and snap, blood pouring down onto their lip.

"Let's go back inside, hey? You've had your fun..." Whumper taunted, lifting their head up with their boot scooping underneath their chin. Caretaker growled in retort, wanting to lunge and attack the sadistic fucker but withholding for whumpee.

"From now on, the two of you will be seperated. Different cells, different guards, different everything. Your unwarranted protectiveness of them is interfereing with my work. You'll never see whumpee again, Caretaker. That's on you."

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