V

do we fw it

also alt version of the first one just because

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.

[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

-----------------------------------------------------

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.  

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.

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

-----------------------------------------------

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)

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!)

-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.

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

For the art trade event @whump-art-exchange