Ostensiblywhump - The Drawer Where I Keep My Barbed Wire - Tumblr Blog

Ok here’s something I would LOVE to see more of in the whump community: intelligent but defiant whumpees. Let’s get into it.

(this is all just my opinion. Write whatever you want! I love purely defiant whumpees just as much)

We all know about the defiant whumpees. The ones who spit and snarl and fight the whumper the whole way through. The ones who hold out to the very end for their beloved team. And while these characters are amazing to read about, it’s all the more exciting when they’re (somewhat) cooperative. When they have a sense of self-preservation. For example:

Following the whumper’s orders, but only to the bare minimum. If the whumper tells them to get on their knees, they will. If the whumper tells them to put their hands over their head/behind their back, they will. But they’ll have a scowl on their face and a dangerous glint in their eyes as they do it.

While being tortured, they’ll scream all they want. They know there’s no point in struggling to stay silent, as whumper always manages to draw out their screams eventually. The whumpee will scream, but they won’t give up any information. They won’t say a word about their friends, and they won’t stop fighting.

This whumpee isn’t all about proving their worth to the whumper. They don’t care about their dignity. They just want to stay alive, or keep their team’s secrets under lock and key in their head. They’ll answer any questions the whumper asks, follow every order the whumper commands, as long as it has nothing to do with their team.

This whumpee usually begs. They’ll beg like their life depends on it (and it sometimes does), but they would rather die than let their team down. They’ll scream “please stop”, and whimper broken pleas and sometimes let out a fearful “nonoNO”, but they’ll never say “I’ll tell you anything you want”. They’ll comply to nearly everything the whumper says, but their quiet obedience betrays a spark of defiance still burning beneath the surface.

They usually don’t dish out as many insults as some other whumpees. They know it’s just going to end badly for them, and so does the amused whumper. They’ll bite down on their tongue and keep quiet, but in their head, they’re dragging the whumper’s ass in the mud. And it’s always great to see the whumpee finally break and snap out a retort, only for them to instantly regret it as a poisonous grin spreads across the whumper’s face.

They’re very well-rounded characters, and they’re easy to relate to. Their mind is a whirlwind of conflict 24/7, and they fight themselves just as much as the whumper. Good stuff.

Defiant but smart whumpees are at the top of the list for me. They’re fun to read about as they try to decide if the information they give the whumper is safe enough to tell, and it’s exciting to watch how they slowly become less and less defiant and more and more compliant. It’s always a puzzle to see how much it takes for them to just give up and break. Their bravery and quick thinking never fails to impress me.

things people do after having a nightmare that isn’t crying

struggle to catch their breath

grab onto whatever’s close enough to ground themselves in reality

become nauseous / vomit

shake uncontrollably

sweat buckets

get a headache

things people do to combat having nightmares if they occur commonly

sleep near other people so they can hear the idle sounds of them completing tasks

move to a different sleeping spot than where they had the nightmare

leave tvs / radios / phones on with noise

just not sleep (if you want to go the insomnia route)

sleep during the day in bright rooms

things people with insomnia do

first, obviously, their ability to remember things and their coordination will go out the window

its likely they’ll become irritable or overly emotional

their body will start to ache, shake, and weaken

hallucinate if it’s been long enough

it becomes incredibly easy for them to get sick (and they probably will)

add your own in reblogs/comments!

Slapping

A backhanded slap to humiliate them when they’re already kneeling hands tied behid the back at their captors feet, which is as much for show as it is about the pain

A slap to shut them up

A slap to snap them out of it when they’re panicking. Their friend knows it’s a shitty method, but it works and the whumpee is actually grateful

A slap to keep them from passing out, “hey! stay with me!”

A slap to wake them up after far too little sleep, still sitting in the chair they were tied to during an interrogation that lasted forever

A slap that leaves them sticking their chin out defiantly, insulting the whumper one more time

A weak, almost playful slap when they’re already lying defeated on the floor, delivered just to drive home how helpless they are

A slap as punishment for having said something rude or out of line to their superior, so hard it brings tears to their eyes

A slap each time they fail to answer a question to the satisfaction of their captor. It happens so often and in such quick succession the sensations merge into just a searing, throbbing pain, each new hit doubling its intensity

A slap to startle and disorient a blindfolded whumpee. They’re already scared and whimpering

A hard, sudden slap right across the face to change the scene from Suspenseful Conversation Between Equals to Hero Is At Their Antagonists Mercy

Thoughts in my whumpy mind.

Collars:

Prong collars

Choke Chains

Heavy leather collars

Martingale Collar

Tactical Collar with a handle

Spiked

Collar with a warning on it

Pretty collars with accessories

Bandanas

Best ways to restrain your Whumpees (a subjective scale)

Tied to a chair: 7/10. Classic, gets the job done. Rub their skin raw while you're at it.

Cuffed to the chair: 9/10. The more cuffs the better. Sure, cuff each wrist to an arm chair. But what if you also cuffed their wrists together with just enough slack so their circulation doesn't cut off? ... what if you didn't give them enough slack? What about their legs?

Chained to the chair: 4/10. Oppressive weight is nice and all, but unless you know what you're doing, these are easy to slide off and best used alongside other methods.

Strapped to the chair: 6/10. Better suited for impersonal settings.

Duct taped to the chair: 7/10. Potential 9/10 if you rip the tape off every time you move them. Do you do it hard and fast, listen to their sudden scream? Or do you do it slowly, savor each pitiful little whimper?

(Surgery required) Put magnets in their wrists: 9/10. Make them try to lift their arms, only to feel like their skin is ripping from the inside. Make sure they know you put the magnets in there. Nothing that will make them sick, you reassure. Just making sure they can't go anywhere without you un-magnetizing the arm rests.

Chained to the wall: 7/10. How much room do they have? Is it only one wrist, both on the same chain? Each one on opposite sides of the room? What about ankles? Do their steps rattle? Can they toss and turn in bed without making any noise?

Chained/cuffed to the floor: 10/10. Absolute humiliation. Forced to kneel, bow their head, cower like a dog before you. Their restraints holding them down every time they try to rise against you, reminding them of their place.

Ankles chained to a pole: 6/10. Oh sure, you can run. You just can't go very far. An interesting idea, but overall mediocre.

Leash wrapped around a pole: 8/10. Leave your pet unable to wander too far, perhaps keep their food bowl just out of reach. Make them dependent on you for bathroom breaks, food, and water.

Tied to a beam/pole: 8/10. How big is the pole? Are they tied so tight that all they can do is squeeze their shoulder blades together, and every time they try to relax the ropes tug them back? Is it large enough that their entire arms can wrap around it? A little too big for that? Did you tie up their feet as well?

Tied horizontally to a beam/pole: 9/10. So many ways this could go! Arms and legs above them like they're a pig on a spit, or one of those rotisserie chickens in the grocery store. Arms below, facing up, like they're laying in bed. Forced to look down at how high up they are, unable to do anything to get down.

Dangling by their wrists: 8/10. Once again, a classic choice. Rope or cuffs work here.

Dangling by their hair: 2/10. Not a long-term solution, hair will be pulled out. Only works with certain Whumpees. Only suited for short-term punishments.

Dangling by their neck: 7/10 if done right. Once again, a temporary solution best used to scare and threaten your Whumpee. I cannot overstate that you must be careful with this method if you like to reuse Whumpees. Remember to let your Whumpee down once they pass out!!

Dangling by their leash and collar: 6/10. Same concerns as above.

Dangling by their waist: 4/10. Has some potential, but have not seen it used much if at all.

Dangling by their ankles/feet: 5/10. A good way to disorient and weaken your Whumpee, but must be used in moderation. Excessive blood rush to the head can cause permanent damage and makes your Whumpee less fun to play with.

Standing in water: 4/10. A good short-term punishment, but can cause loss of toes and even feet of water gets too cold. Proceed with caution.

Gags: 9/10! Good for defiant Whumpees, Whumpees in transport, ones who can't learn the lesson not to speak. Just remember to take it off when you want to hear their screams.

Small rooms, holes in the ground, boxes: 8/10. Less about restraint, more containment, but still gets the point across. They cannot escape you, no matter how much they wish to.

I reiterate, leashes: 10/10. Hold their leash at all times, and you'll know when they try to run away.

via @bebx (♡)

Non-human whumper showing off their human whumpee like some rare pet and treating them as such

VERSUS

Human whumper showing off their non-human whumpee like some rare pet and treating them as such

FIGHT!!! (they are actually kissing)

whumpers who are impossible to bait. whumpers who never get angry. whumpers who dont entertain pointless arguments and screaming matches. whumpers who are so confident in themselves and the fact that they hold all the power that they know they dont need to engage in any of that. whumpers who can smile in the face of a raging snarling feral whumpee because theyre untouchable and theyve already won

Humiliation Prompts

These are all presented as sfw by default (but can be interpreted otherwise if that’s your preference)

Humiliate them by:

♠ Making them beg

♠ Forcing them to strip

♠ Spitting in their mouth

♠ Making them kneel

♠ Dressing them in a degrading outfit

♠ Mocking them for involuntary reactions

♠ Forcing them to lick something off the floor

♠ Hurting them in front of a mirror so they’re forced to watch

♠ Keeping their hands bound to make basic tasks difficult or impossible. Bonus: punish them for failing or making a mess

♠ Feeding them spoiled or disgusting food

♠ Hosing them down with cold water

♠ Calling them a mocking nickname or title

♠ Forcing them to crawl on their hands and knees

♠ Leaving them with obvious, hard to hide scars

♠ Branding them as a sign of ownership

♠ Forcing them to divulge past traumas or secrets

♠ Altering or ruining a part of their appearance they take pride in

♠ Rendering them mute or forbidding them to speak

♠ Making them lick clean someone’s boots/shoes

♠ Assigning them menial labor/chores

♠ Showing them off as a trophy at a party. Bonus: the party is for their enemies OR former allies/coworkers

♠ Offering them up as the entertainment to party guests to do with as they please

♠ Making derogatory comments about them to others (with them in the room/in earshot) Bonus: force them to agree with these assessments

♠ Gifting them as a slave/servant to someone they formerly outranked

♠ Leaving them at the mercy of strangers in a public display (stocks, pillory, cage, chained to something, etc)

♠ Grinding their face into the ground/mud/a mess they made. Bonus: With a foot on the back of their neck or side of their head

♠ Recording them being punished/tortured/etc. Bonus: send these to friends and family OR release them publicly online

♠ Fitting them with a collar

♠ Muzzling them

♠ Making them perform tricks or skills on command

More creepy/intimate whumper things

Part 1 can be found here! Happy Valentine's Day!

Cleaning Whumpee while they're tied up in bath

Playing with Whumpee's hair before roughly pulling it

Nuzzling Whumpee or possesively putting an arm around them while they're in public

Groping Whumpee in public

Holding Whumpee's face to examine them

Forcefully kissing Whumpee and biting their lip until it bleeds

Calling Whumpee pet names and refusing to use their actual name

Forcing Whumpee to undress Whumper

Making Whumpee sleep in the same bed as Whumper (tied up or not)

Forcing Whumpee to pretend they're in a romantic relationship with Whumper (in front of Caretaker)

Touching/kissing Whumpee while they sleep

Hand-feeding Whumpee

Whumper forcing their fingers into Whumpee's mouth

Whumper filming/taking pictures of Whumpee while they're in a compromised position

Creepy/intimate whumper things

Using their belt to strangle whumpee

Digging their fingers into bruises

Gentle kisses that turn into bites

Telling Whumpee that they belong to them

Caressing Whumpee while they're tied up and blindfolded

Putting their fingers into Whumpee's mouth, knowing they're too afraid to bite

Placing a knife or gun in Whumpee's mouth

Slowly undressing Whumpee or making Whumpee undress themselves in front of Whumper

Telling Whumpee how good they look when they're bruised and bleeding

Kissing Whumpee's wounds

Licking the blood off from Whumpee's skin

Whispering Whumpee's dirty secrets into their ear while hurting them

Making Whumpee choose between being tortured and letting Whumper touch them

Whumper manipulating/killing anyone close to Whumpee to isolate them

The Grand A-Z List of Whump 2/3

This list contains ~174 items listed I to Q

As always, I heavily encourage people to research topics thoroughly when writing. Whump is generally a 'dead dove' sort of topic, however it is important to avoid stereotypes/misinformation. This lists intention is to not glorify/romanticise sensitive topics in any way.

This is a comprehensive list of injuries, Illnesses and tropes - including those from the Whumptober 2023 trope vote!

All submissions are listed in italics, and those who wanted to be tagged will be included at the end. If you have any more submissions: please send them via DM/my ask box.

[A-H]

List below the cut:

I

ICU

Identity reveal

Ignorance is Bliss

Ignoring an Injury

Immersion foot syndromes (Prolonged exposure to damp and cold)

Immobilization

Immortal healed wrong

Immunodeficiency

Impalement

Improvised medicine/treatment

Indigestion

Infected (Blood, Wound, Tattoo etc)

Infested

Injured caretaker carrying an even more injured whumpee.

Injured whumpee instructs caretaker how to treat them.

Injury Discovery

Injury Revelation

Insecurity

Insomnia

Insults

Internal Bleeding

Interrogation

Interventions

Intimate whumper

Intubation

Involuntary whumper

Isolation

Isolation/Quarantine

Itching

J

Jailed

Jamais vu (The experience of being unfamiliar with a person or situation that is actually very familiar.)

Jealousy

Jet Lag

Jumping (to safety, forced to jump)

Just dying in general.

K

Keeping quiet because the enemy is nearby

Keeping the whumpee awake

Ketosis (body burning fat for energy)

Kidnapped by the opposing team

Kidnapping

Kidney Stones

Killed! (Again and again and again for the lovely immortal whumpees<;3)

Kneeling

Knife through hand and into wall/floor

Knocked Out

L

Lab Rat

Laryngitis

Late realisation

Left for dead

Leprosy

Lichenberg scars/Lightning strike

Limited Medical Supplies

Live-Streamed/Broadcast torture

Lobotomy

Locked Up and Left Behind

Losing a Bet

Loss of appetite

Loss of reality

Lost (In the woods, city etc)

Lost voice

Low Blood Pressure

Lumbago (lower back pain)

Lupus

Lured into a trap

Lying

Lyme's disease

Lymphoma

M

Magical exhaustion

Magical healing

Magic whump (using spells to harm someone)

Manhandling

Major Character Death

Makeshift Splints

Malaria

Malnutrition

Manhandling

Mauled

Measles

Medical trauma

Medieval Torture

Memory Loss

Meningitis

Menstrual Cramps

Mental illness after being kidnapping (and addressing it)

Migraine

Military lovers

Military whump

Mind control/Manipulation

Miscommunication

Missing

Missing Person

Mistaken Identity

Misunderstanding

Mono

Mopping a sweaty brow with a cool cloth

Mudslides

Muffled Scream

Mugging

Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Whumpees

Multiple Whumpers

Mumps

Muscular Atrophy

Mute

Muzzled

N

Nailed to a wall or floor

Nails digging into palms

Nail marks left in the whumpees skin

Natural Disasters

Nausea

Near-Death Experience

Necrosis

Neglect

Nerve damage

Nerve pain

Nightmares

No anesthesia

No goodbyes

Non-responsiveness

Nonhuman whumpee

Not allowed to die

Not Realizing They’re Injured

Nowhere else to go

Noxious (gas/fumes)

Numb

Numbness/Paralysis

O

Obsession (with finishing the mission, the whumper obsessed with the whumpee etc)

Open Fracture

Orthostatic hypotension (low blood pressure when standing)

Osteogenesis Imperfecta (brittle bone disease)

Outnumbered

Overdose

Overworked

Oxygen Deprivation

Oxygen Mask

P

Packing a wound

Panic attacks

Paralysis (this could be temporary or permanent)

Paranoia

Parent caring for sick child

Parkinson's

Passing out from pain

Passing out in arms

Permanent injuries that affect them long term

Phantom pain

Phobias (could lead to character stumbling and hurting themselves in an attempt to escape their fear)

Photographs/Polaroids ( Especially if they're of the kidnapped whumpee)

Physical Therapy

Piercing ripped out

Pinched nerve

Pinned Down/To The Wall

Plague

PMS

Pneumonia

Pneumothorax

Poisoning

Polio

Possession/possession recovery

Post-exertional malaise

Post-ictal confusion/any other symptoms (after a seizure)

POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome)

Power Fatigue

Praise (especially if it's from the whumper)

Pregnancy (morning sickness, self-conscious, hot flushes, tired and sleepy, general malaise, swollen feet, weird cravings...)

Presumed dead

Prisoner Exchange

Protecting friend from the whumpees own team (bonus points if doing it while injured)

Psychological Torture

Psychological Whump

Psychosis

PTSD

Pulled Muscles

Puncture Wounds

Q

Q-Fever

TAG LIST: Thank you very much to the following people for submitting ideas! (I apologise if some tags did not work, I'm not sure why tumblrs not letting me tag you!)

@I-eat-worlds | @greygullhaven | @letsgowhump | @cyberwhumper @firapolemos05 | @originaldeerhottub | @whumpilicious | @drawing-dinos82 | @carenrose | @stellarinuscronicles | @gottheseasonalblues | @marvelflame2010 | @sowhumpful | @avamcu | @courtneygacha | @lordofthewhumps | @autismmydearwatson | @kuddelmuddell | @the-most-handsome-ginger | @whirls-and-swirls | @painsandconfusion

Let’s talk about leg whump!

- Want an injury that isn’t lethal if left untreated but hurts like hell? Want something non-fatal that will nonetheless incapacitate Whumpee for days or even months to come? Search no more! Leg whump has it all!

- Broken legs! So much fun to torture Whumpee with, as they’re excruciatingly painful and will *not* let you forget about them for even a moment unless you’re seriously numbed out. Usually not serious enough to kill Whumpee, even if left unattended for weeks, it will make every movement from there on out a hassle.

- Wanna run away? With a broken leg? Oh joy! Maybe, *maybe*, depending on the fracture and Whumpee’s determination / pain tolerance, they can still walk on it, but it’s more of a hobble than anything else and it *hurts*.

- Broken bones can still puncture skin and tissue if fractured badly enough, so if you want Whumpee to slowly and miserably bleed out, leg whump has you covered as well.

- Speaking of bleeding out: Shot In The Leg is such a good trope, don’t even get me started. Potentially fatal, it can immediately take out Whumpee as their leg crumbles under them and pain flashes through their entire body. Severed arteries aside, this one is a lovely way of putting your Whumpee in a situation where death from blood loss isn’t immediate, thus giving you the opportunity to let Whumpee suffer for hours without any medical aid available.

- Shock! Listen, I’ve almost passed out once from a sprained ankle. The pain was barely worth mentioning but something inside of me tensed and twisted up so much from the shock of getting hurt and suddenly not being able to walk properly anymore that I couldn’t stand up for over an hour without getting extremely dizzy and seeing spots.

(This can very well include vomiting, passing out, violent shaking, cold sweats, uncontrollable crying and so much more that will leave Whumpee in shambles and humiliated. Shock takes a lot of different forms and they’re all valid, I just want to point out that being immobilised suddenly and violently would definitely be a good reason to go into shock, even with minor injuries.)

- On that note: Sprained ankles! If you want Whumpee to have to be carried around by Caretaker but don’t actually want them to be in grave danger, this is the way to go. Sprained ankles are so good, holy shit. Nasty swelling, bruises, constant discomfort and pain - it’s Whump heaven. Not being able to walk around because of such a “minor” injury would also very likely piss off Whumpee to no end.

(When I sprained my ankle and had to take a break from training for a while, I was already fed up by day two. Also, having to have someone do so much stuff for you can be extremely stressful for someone who already feels like a burden. Self-blame, guilt, anger at themselves for not healing quickly enough, constantly wanting to apologise for being “such a pain” - all of that, without any serious threat to Whumpee, is what Sprained Ankles can do for you!)

- Sprained ankles hurt even when you’re lying down. You laughed and your leg moved? Ow. You sneezed and your foot tensed up? That bitch is gonna be giving you hell for a couple of minutes now. Someone accidentally bumped into it? Whoops, you’re choking down tears before they even had the chance to apologise. Got a cat? Got a cat that likes to lay on your legs or feet? Have fun!

- Leg amputations are very valid but I feel like they deserve their own post, hence they don’t really feature here.

- Just. Whumpee, writhing on the floor because of a fucked up leg or foot while Whumper slowly walks up to them, knowing exactly that Whumpee can’t escape.

- Whumper pushing their heel down on the injury, causing Whumpee to scream in agony. That small, twisted smile on Whumper’s face at having so much power over Whumpee with so little effort.

- Whumper forcing Whumpee to get up, maybe pulling them onto their knees or dragging them up onto their feet with brutal force. Whumpee choking on more screams or whimpers or pleas of mercy as their weight comes down on their broken/shot/twisted/stabbed/sprained leg.

- Caretaker tries to rescue Whumpee, but they didn’t expect Whumpee to be unable to walk. How will they fight off Whumper’s lackeys while carrying Whumpee out? Can they even carry Whumpee? (With some luck Whumpee will be starved and emaciated enough at that point for Caretaker to carry them easily.)

- Caretaker has to put Whumpee down for a moment and Whumpee just. Drops to the floor from the agony. Bloody fingers wrapped around edges of furniture, knocking things off of tables, hoarse whimpers as Caretaker picks them up…

- Not convinced yet? Just think of how much Whump a badly healed leg can cause! Including, but not limited to:  Limping, constant need of painkillers, limited mobility, heightened sensitivity,  a ceaseless reminder of the hell they’ve been through-

- Just… Leg whump 😩👌

For members of the Whump community looking for book recommendations packed with whumpy content, I have provided:

Google Docs

Whumpy Book Recommendations

Whumpy Book Recommendations

This list focuses on books within various genres, tagged with their most prominent Whump tropes. It also focuses on queer inclusion.

Please note: if you have any questions or concerns regarding any book’s content, please message me! If you wish to add a book to the list, send me an ask with the book’s title and author. This list is ongoing.

Last updated: 29 December, 2023

power signalling

Kneeling.

Ordered to kneel as punishment or as a show of deference.

Shoved physically to the ground by hands on their shoulders, maybe a kick to the back of the knee.

Picking themself up off the ground but only getting as far as hands and knees.

Crawling because they haven't got the strength to stand anymore.

Dropping to their knees from exhaustion or despair.

Personal space.

Casually invading it.

Uninvited touch - from the deeply creepy to something as simple as a firm hand on the shoulder.

Standing too close - especially if taller or otherwise physically stronger.

Conversely, hurrying to get out of someone's way.

Eye contact.

Staring someone down. Who is the first to look away?

Averting eyes for one's social superiors. Trying to de-escalate by avoiding eye contact.

Too frightened or ashamed to look someone in the eye.

Insisting that someone maintain eye contact while you're talking to them. Insisting that someone never look you in the eye.

Singling someone out just by looking at them.

More generally, Attention.

The room falls quiet when they walk in.

Who cuts in, and who gets talked over. Ignoring those who are beneath your attention.

The excited attention given to the object of respect and idolization.

The careful, wary focus given to a potential threat.

Deliberately attending to something else to appear less threatening. Deliberately burying oneself in something else to avoid attracting unwanted attention.

Codified status behaviours.

Bowing to one's superiors. Bonus points if there are differentiated kinds of bowing for different status differentials.

Soldiers coming to attention when a superior officer comes.

Saluting. Who greets whom first?

Serving food in a particular order.

Standing up when a respected person enters the room.

Non-verbal threats.

Just resting a hand on a weapon, or perhaps even just near a weapon.

Cracking knuckles or rolling shoulders. Clenched fists. The little come-get-some-then life of the chin.

Stepping from a conversational stance into one that's balance for fight or flight.

Pointing a weapon at someone. Casually brushing aside a weapon.

Conversely, de-escalation and surrender.

Open hands, spread in front of them. Hands above head.

(Raised slowly, transitioning from the simple whoa-calm-down gesture to full on surrender as the situation gets tenser.)

Going still. Slow, careful movements being sure to keep hands where they can be seen. Laying down weapons.

Hands on head. Getting down on the floor. Deliberately making oneself vulnerable to prove non-hostile (or non-resisting) intent.

Alternately, deliberately showing "vulnerability" to demonstrate how little of a threat you consider the other person.

The slouch of villainy. Open posture, casual, relaxed in the face of apparent danger.

Casually putting weapons away or turning one's back, confident that they won't do anything.

Signs of fear.

Flinching. Trembling. Closed defensive posture. Tension. Backing away. Fidgeting. Lip-biting.

Arms hugged close to chest. Or refusing to lower defences. Checking for escape routes. Trying to insist that they don't come any closer.

Offer of or requests for help.

Extending a hand to help someone up off the ground. Reaching out a hand in silent plea.

Do they have to ask for help? Are they willing to accept it? Do they get a choice? Who has plenty and who has to rely on the other's goodwill?

Picking someone up off the ground. Carrying them. (Dropping them?)

Adjusting someone's clothes. Withholding aid.

credit:@just-horrible-things // @whetstonefires suggests:

A character can vastly expand their area of influence by laying a hand on a table, for example. If you're standing on opposite sides of a large table, and one of you puts your hand down, that can symbolically take you up into the other party's personal space in a much subtler and more deniable way than actually getting up in their face.

This can be used equally well to convey affection or threat.

Fantasy whump anyone?

- Elves getting their ears sliced off to be used as alchemy ingredients

- Horned creatures being yanked around like cattle by their horns and not being able to do anything about it as their hands are tied behind their back

- Vampires in a cell with a window that lets the sun in, cowering in a corner, barely able to avoid the rays

- Paladins being threatened by actions that would break their oaths, so they choose to endure the foulest torture instead :)

Forced body modification in Whump should be more popular, methinks.

Forcing Whumpee to get a tattoo, cutting or burning initials into their skin. Sharpening the canines of an “attack dog” Whumpee to make them look scarier. Giving them piercings they wouldn’t give themselves, or an ID tag to hang from their ear. Changing their hair color. Deciding what they wear, what they eat, how they speak, who they are.

Resouces Shaul finds useful for her writing - masterpost

(Because Tumblr is rubbish for finding stuff and I do not like organising with tags)

• Whump vocab for pain for my fellow non native speakers - and more - heck this was insightful actually - more - sounds

• Show, don’t tell examples

• Good traits gone bad one and two

• How to skip time in writing

• My last note to self on writing

• Neil Gaiman’s 8 rules for writing

• Writer’s workbook

• A bunch of resources I haven’t even read all myself but that I don’t want to lose - and some more

• Books on how to write whump!

Notes on passing out from pain

-it's a dramatic concept, but it's not dramatic for the person it happens to. There's no warning or noticable buildup, you just fade out

-by the time you're at the point of passing out, the crescendo of pain that causes it has been there for some time, there's not really a sudden spike that sets it off

-essentially your brain decides "this has been going on a really long time and it doesn't look like we can stop it so I'm just going to shut off and hope it goes away"

-it doesn't last long, just 5-15 minutes at a time, followed by you being awake and in pain for about the same time before your brain goes "whoops, guess it's not over" and shuts off again

-this on again off again bullshit can go on for HOURS, basically as long as you are in that level of pain (i.e. I woke up at 8am and it's now 1pm; I have passed out more than a dozen times)

-the worst part is that you don't notice it happening

-it's incredibly aggravating especially when you dream about being productive/somewhere else/wherever you planned to go before this bullshit wrecked your day while you're out, and then have to wake up to another round of passing out without having accomplished a goddamn thing

-it's also aggravating because you can't control it; you can't see it coming so you can't fight it, your brain just decides it knows better than you and shuts off

-so imagine a whumpee who keeps passing out and dreaming of rescue, or completing their mission, or escaping the whumper, or fighting back (and winning)

-imagine this happening over and over, not just aggravating but horribly traumatic and essentially a kind of torture in itself, their own body and brain betraying them

-passing out from pain is a pain in the ass, feel free to explore every aspect of it

no setting the scene this time, just some refs for the next time you wanna dangle a whumpee (feat. me being a drama queen at the crossfit gym)

more under the cut!

more whump art refs:

pet crate | basement | white shirt | gut spill

i do enjoy "living weapon" characters but specifically living weapons who did in fact do absolutely horrific things which at least a part of them enjoyed and thought was good and right at the time, and that no amount of not knowing any better or guilt they feel in hindsight will ever make up for. i love living weapons who are "irredeemable", and no it's not their fault that they were made that way or pointed in the directions they were by the hand that wielded them, and yes they are victims, but so were their victims. living weapons who some people will never be able to forgive, but who still wake up every day and try to do better than what's expected of them. a sword that uses its blade to cut wheat to make bread for the people who once lived in fear of its arc falling on their heads.

I’d like to write an open letter to the whump community about POTS. 

I have noticed a recent uptick in people giving their whumpees POTS. I can see the appeal: it’s a seemingly innocuous, invisible chronic illness that is perfect, as your whumpee is delicate and prone to fainting. Great for whump, right?

Maybe. I suppose it checks the whumpy boxes, though the appeal really pales for me since I have to live through this hell every day of my life. But I would like to put this out there before you decide your blorbo needs to struggle with POTS. 

First off, for those who aren’t familiar, what’s POTS? 

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome is a chronic illness that tends to manifest later in life, often as a result of trauma, extreme stress, genetics or viral infection (cough cough covid). POTS is typically characterized by heart palpitations, chest pains, trouble breathing, brain fog, dizziness, and yes, fainting, though that happens rarely. It is typically caused by a dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system that causes blood to pool in the lower body, though can be caused by other things as well. Upon sitting up, standing up, standing for long periods, exercising/exerting, bending over or simply being tired or hungry or upset (among other things), your body will go into overdrive trying to get proper blood flow, resulting in a drop in blood pressure and massive increase in heart rate. Blood will pool in the feet and legs, your hands may get tingly, you get extremely sensitive to changes in temperature, you get migraines or headaches, light sensitivity, cottony ears, etc etc etc. POTS is a lot more than just being dizzy or weak. 

I personally am lucky enough (/sarc) to have hyperPOTS, a new type of POTS, caused directly by covid infection. I was perfectly healthy before getting covid. Hyperadrenergic Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome causes an increase in blood pressure and heart rate upon sitting or standing, meaning my cluster of symptoms differs from regular POTS, though many overlap. To put it simply, WebMD does not really begin to cover the intricacies that are experienced with POTS.

POTS is an incredibly complex neurological and physiological issue that spans nearly every system in the body, including but not limited to the brain stem and central nervous system, the autonomic nervous system, the immune system, the cardiovascular system and the gastrointestinal system. POTS is an extremely hard illness to get diagnosed with let alone managed (because there is no cure), it is wholly debilitating (I am just finally clawing my way out of a year spent bed-bound; I am not exaggerating when I say it completely and utterly ruined my life), it has a shit ton of co-morbidities, it has various manifestations with different symptom clusters and it is very fucking hard to write respectfully. I would really consider, as an able-bodied or non-POTS individual, if you are capable of taking the time and energy to treat POTS with the respect we deserve and not create a voyeuristic caricature of our struggles for the sake of having an easy “fainting disease” cop out. 

I understand the appeal of it, really, I do. Personally I would never want to read POTS whumpees, especially considering how my experiences with fainting are some of the most traumatizing things to ever happen to me (and that’s saying something), but if you are going to write a character with POTS I really hope you will take the time to listen to personal statements, do your research, understand the complications related to it, and consider how individuals with POTS might feel about your use of POTS as an aid in whump. Do not use POTS as a tokenistic invisible disability. 

That said, if you are still wanting to write a POTS character, I will say this. Do you research, more than WebMD or whatever. What I am listing below is scarcely scratching the surface of what you need to keep in mind: 

Individuals with POTS do not have full mobility. Though it is invisible, everyone I know with POTS (and I know upwards of 5-6 people) has to use a form of as-needed mobility aid. Your POTS character would be really unrealistic and lowkey ableist if you don’t give them an as-needed mobility aid, such as a cane, walker or wheelchair. 

Individuals with POTS wear compression socks. This is one of the main things prescribed for POTS treatment. Do not exclude those just because it doesn’t fit your character’s aesthetic… again, I would hazard to say it borders on ableism to exclude the aids needed for functionality with POTS for the sake of your character’s aesthetic. (I cannot emphasize how much compression helps. If you want delicate fainting disease for your whumpee, then give them their fucking socks.)

Individuals with POTS have a lot of comorbidities, a lot of meds (I take my blood pressure 3x a day and meds 6x a day), a lot of experimental treatment, a lot of cardiac symptoms and a LOT of fucking doctor’s visits. I saw 9 doctors and went to the ER twice before my diagnosis. I currently have a specialist, a PCP, a dermatologist (blood related skin issues probably from POTS), a neurologist and a physical therapist. Others may have less, though some may have more depending on their symptom cluster. 

Fundamentally POTS symptoms are debilitating to the point where when I got my diagnosis, my doctor said, as I was laying down on the exam table because I couldn’t sit upright in a chair for duration of the visit, “You will need to work from home for the rest of your life, if you can even ever work again”. POTS is not an easy solution to wanting to whump your whumpee, and when you diminish it to fainting or dizziness, you’re doing the disabled community a massive disservice. 

Lots of individuals with POTS are fat from not being able to be mobile. At my worst, I couldn’t make it down a hallway without feeling like my heart was going to pop. People with POTS also have issues with developing muscle mass as they are unable to do cardio without having cardiac symptoms and flare ups, and also tend to skip basic grooming things such as shaving, because we only have so many spoons. 

That said, this doesn’t even really begin to cover everything related to POTS, tbh. 

I understand that people are not obligated to research the things they give their characters in fiction, and that whump writing is by and large a hobbyist thing, and therefore you can’t really fault a hobbyist for maybe not covering all their bases with realness. But I also would like to gently suggest that as a person, to keep in mind that you are portraying something that is an incredibly sensitive subject for the people who live it, and furthermore, you are closer to having this debilitating disability than you think.

As a final note, I have previously had people add “prompt lists” to past posts about things I struggle with & are poorly represented, so I would kindly ask for anyone missing the point of my post and getting “inspiration” or “whumperflies” to go ahead and not add your thoughts in that regard to my post. I am a real person. This is something that fundamentally has ruined my life, terrifies me and has caused me more pain than I thought possible. I am stuck with this condition for life. It is disrespectful to reduce my earnest frustrations about ableism in the community to inspo.

Make your whumpees go into shock. Do it.

Symptoms of hypovolemic shock (e.g whumpee has lost a lot of blood):

Hyperventilation

Confusion/anxiety

Sweating

Passing out

Clammy skin

Weakness

Low temperature and blood pressure

Rapid pulse

Symptoms of distributive shock (e.g sepsis, severe allergic reactions, asthma attacks)

Rash

Rapid pulse

Hyperventilation

Warm arms and legs

Skin that starts off warm then turns clammy and cold

Fever

Chills

Stomach pain

Confusion

Cough

Shortness of breath

Nausea

Throwing up

Either way, whumpee is most likely headed to the ICU. ASAP.

Whumpees who are chronically disconnected from their body. Whumpees who get asked if their pain is sharp or dull and literally don’t know the answer. Whumpee who doesn’t notice they’re cold until someone points out they’re shaking. Whumpee who doesn’t notice they’re hungry until they black out from standing up too fast. Whumpee who genuinely can’t tell when they’re over exerting themself because it all feels the same. It’s not that they don’t feel pain, it’s that they’ve learned to see pain as something constant and unavoidable, not something to be fixed, and they can’t distinguish between different kinds of pain anymore. They’ve learned to ignore the signals from their body while they were powerless, and now that they can prevent or fix pain they still aren’t attuned enough to their body to know how.

Just… whumpees who learned dissociation as a coping skill and now have to unlearn it. Whumpees who deeply benefited from being disconnected until they were safe, making it that much harder to unlearn