#electrocution whump

[whump-is-love-whump-is-life]

Thinking about zapping a whumpee into awareness with a cattle prod

[bltzgore]

Dude dude dude dude, D U D E

Tw: Electrocution

So when I'm whumpester diving occasionally I veer off heavily into electrocution whump.

- whumper shocking their heart in and out of rhythm on purpose

- when whumpee finally starts screaming (or stops)

- the jagged motions of muscle that no longer respond properly as whumpee lays on the ground clinging to consciousness

I particularly love this trope when it's paired with a defiant whumpee.

- swearing and immediately flinching

- whimpering when they see the implement and immediately cursing at themselves. Because even though their pride hasn't picked up on how terrified they should be their body sure has.

- getting up each time until they physically can't

- the point at which they no longer respond

- or better still, they can't. There's not enough time between shocks for them to get a word in

- the burn marks after

- wrote some

[bamber344]

Any Means Necessary

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wrote almost 5000 words today but WE FINISHED IT BAYBEEE

whooo boy, this chapter. prepare yourselves. it is a ROLLERCOASTER, and the girlies do NOT keep their hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times.

No, seriously, heed the warnings. This is the whumpiest chapter yet. Though be wary that the warnings have spoilers in them. If you choose not to read them. Just. Be ready for Any Means Necessary :)

Grab a snack and a blanky, my dear readers, cuz it's a long one. Enjoy!

CWs: torture, interrogation whump, beatings, broken bones, waterboarding, electrocution, noncon undressing and touching, inappropriate usage of a car battery, self-harm (implied and explicit), sexual references, defiant whumpee, urination, drugging, addiction, so so many bad decisions oml

Any Means Necessary

“And I told him, I told him, you’re gonna cause an accident! But nope! He didn’t listen, and guess what he did. Guess!” Maddie said, eyes half-lidded with a big, amused grin on her face.

“Uhh,” I mumbled, trying to get my drug-addled brain to work. This time, I had – under Maddie’s guidance – taken a much lower dose of the dried plant than my accidental first experience with it a few days ago, so instead of the horrible feeling of melting into the floor, I was simply enjoying a buzzing numbness tingling through my limbs. Had I been somewhere else, somewhere less safe, it would’ve felt awful being so out of control like this. But here, in this cabin, with Maddie here to protect me should anything happen, I was free to let myself unwind without a care.

“He backed the fuckin’ forklift into a shelf and knocked the whole damn thing over!” Maddie said, continuing without my input. “We spent the entire rest of the day cleaning up after him, and the last I heard, he got the boot. He’s lucky no one got hurt. Man, what an idiot.”

“Wow,” I replied, trying to wrap my head around the scenario she was describing. It was a little difficult, as I wasn’t sure what a ‘forklift’ was, but I was pretty sure I got the gist.

It was just the two of us tonight. Vivienne was away studying at her school’s library. Apparently, it was too difficult to focus here. 

She’d been a little distant lately. I missed her.

I missed a lot of people. I missed Brianna, and the way she would make me laugh. The way she could totally pull all my tension away with nothing but a few kisses. God, but I could go for some positive physical contact right now. Leaning against Maddie’s shoulder was nice and all, but it wasn’t enough.

I just… wanted to feel wanted. Brianna made me feel wanted. Vivienne, for that brief moment, had made me feel wanted, right before my entire life fell apart in front of me, and then she told me she didn’t want me anyway. It still stung, even if I knew it was just temporary. It didn’t solve the problem I was having right now. I was lonely, and I wanted to feel wanted.

Would Madeline want me? Not for anything serious, just… enough to untie this little knot in the back of my mind. Just enough so that, for a single night, I could stop constantly thinking about Father and my sisters and Vivienne and Rosalyn and everything and I could just focus on my own body in the present moment. The weed was helping, but it wasn’t enough, and I didn’t want to take anymore in case I fell back into that vegetative state from before. Sex was a proven treatment to my particular brand of overthinking. To put it frankly, in the words Brianna had taught me: I was horny. I was sad and lonely and horny. And Madeline was the only one here who could help with any of that. Would she?

Well, there was only one way to find out, wasn’t there?

“Hey, Maddie?”

“Mm?” she mumbled.

“Do you wanna make out?”

Madeline’s body stiffened beside me. I turned and looked up at her. 

She frowned. “I… I thought you were with Viv?”

“Vivienne didn’t think a relationship was a good idea, with everything going on. This is just for fun though, if you want,” I clarified. “I could use a distraction.”

Maddie was silent for a long moment. She stared into the fireplace across from us, unmoving. Finally, she let out a breath.

“Fuck it. Why not?”

Something akin to relief flooded through me. I grinned, pushing myself up and clambering over her until I was straddling her lap, inches away from her face. Madeline put her hands on my hips, eyes jittering between meeting my gaze and looking down at my lips. I couldn’t quite decipher her expression.

“How’d you get that scar?” she whispered.

“Training accident,” I replied. 

She hummed, reaching up and stroking her thumb across it. 

Briefly, some small part of me acknowledged that that scar was one of the only things differentiating my appearance from Rosalyn’s. I wondered what this must be like for Madeline. What could be going on inside her head as she caressed my face; the face of her dead wife, only imperfect and damaged, stolen and repurposed? 

Was this a bad idea?

I had no time to consider it. Madeline kissed me like the first lightning strike of a thunderstorm. I sucked in a breath as her lips moved against mine, quick and bruising. It was intense and all-consuming, and exactly what I needed.

I moaned, stroking my hands through her hair and kissing back, sucking on her bottom lip and gently biting down. Madeline made a noise like a wounded animal, squeezing my hip with one hand and cradling my jaw with the other. Her tongue snaked into my mouth, flickering in and out almost like an invitation. I took it eagerly, pushing back with my own tongue and taking control of the exchange with practiced ease.

She whined, and the sound shot straight through my body to the heat between my legs. Every nerve ending lit up like an electrical surge. This was what this form had been yearning for since its creation. It almost felt like there was another pair of hands above my own, guiding me with the familiarity of years together. 

Madeline had always been the key. Rosalyn’s love for her was so strong that it persisted even beyond death, beyond the replication of her cells into a new body. It was the sight of Maddie that awakened my memories of Rosalyn, all those months ago when I was first deployed. This felt like finally fitting into place. This was exactly where this body was supposed to be.

A floatiness seeped through my limbs, lifting me away from myself and robbing me of the sharp edges of awareness. One moment, I had been present and in control – if slightly inebriated – and the next, it was like my body was moving on its own, and I was just a passive observer, watching from outside. What… was this feeling?

I watched on, still experiencing every wonderful sensation, as Maddie separated from my lips and feverishly kissed my neck. My body groaned, and I felt my throat vibrate with the noise, but I had no input over it. I tried moving my hands, tried saying something. Nothing.

Despite the inherent wrongness of being totally out of control of my own body, I wasn’t afraid. Somehow, I knew… Whatever this was wasn’t a malevolent force. All I could feel was… Love.

“Rosie…” Madeline whispered against my throat.

“Yes, my love?” my body said, in an accent that was not my own.

Maddie whipped her head back up, eyes going wide.

She screamed, shoving me off of her, and all of a sudden I was back in control, right as my skull slammed against the floor. My healing ribs loudly protested the impact.

“Ow.”

“Wh-why’d you say that?!” Maddie demanded, her breaths coming in rapid, shallow bursts.

I sat up, rubbing the back of my head. “I… don’t know.”

“Y-your eyes were… fuck. FUCK! I can’t do this. I can’t do this.”

She stood up, stumbling over to the kitchen counter and picking up the phone in fumbling hands. She held it up to her ear.

“Vivienne, I- I need you to come take me home. I can’t be here right now. I- I just need to go. I know, just… please.”

Maddie put the phone down and sighed, not looking in my direction. I was too scared to move.

Vivienne appeared, glancing around with a confused expression. Her eyes found Maddie and she frowned. “Seriously, what’s going on?”

Madeline walked up to her, grabbing her by the shoulders. “Please just take me home,” she whispered, voice husky with emotion.

“Maddie, it’s dangerous! De Vygon is looking for us.”

“I know, I- I’ll stay in the apartment. I’ll be quiet. I just… I need to get away from here. Just for tonight.”

After a long moment, Vivienne sighed. “Fine.”

With a pop, they disappeared.

…What was I thinking?! Making out with Madeline, of all people?! Was I stupid?! I might as well have just stabbed her in the chest myself. God, what an idiot. I deserved to be thrown onto the floor like that. I deserved worse. Screw this stupid body, pulling me to her when I knew it was a bad idea! My body may have wanted her, but she wasn’t right for me. The only person she wanted was Rosalyn, and I could never be her; just a poor imitation. Stupid foolish IDIOT!

I needed to get this feeling out of me somehow; this horrible, agonising burning in my gut. I wanted to tear something apart. I wanted to ruin the fucking idiot who caused so much pain to my friends. Father was right. I was just a useless, pathetic animal. I needed to be punished. 

I put the meat of my hand into my mouth and bit down as hard as I could. Pain spiked and flared, shooting down my arm, but it wasn’t enough. It was nothing compared to the pain I caused Madeline, just because I couldn’t bare to be alone for more than a few fucking days. I ground my teeth until my skin split and blood spilled across my tongue. An involuntary whimper crawled out of my throat, but I ignored it, digging deeper into my flesh. 

Stop it.

I froze, blood dripping down my chin; my entire body quaking and my cheeks wet with tears. Everything was quiet, all of a sudden. The burning was gone, replaced only with a still emptiness and the cold truth of reality. The hairs on my arms flattened with the ghost of a warm touch, and I carefully took my hand out of my mouth, examining the damage.

I would need stitches, that much was clear. But first I needed to clean myself up.

Time progressed in a blur as I stumbled to the kitchen, rinsing off the wound and washing the blood from my face. I found the first-aid kit, and picked through it for a needle and thread. Patching myself up was such a familiar routine that I barely even needed to think as I wiped the wound down with iodine and began stitching it closed. That was good. The silence in my mind was a refreshing reprieve.

Vivienne finally reappeared as I was about to dress the wound. She approached wordlessly, taking my hand and examining my handiwork with sad eyes. I let her take the bandage from me and wrap it around my palm, securing it with a metal clip.

“Jordyn,” she said, swallowing. “Please, tell me what happened.”

Slowly, I took a deep breath and sighed. My voice shook.

“I made a mistake.”

—

Madeline powered down the sidewalk, trying to focus on just putting one foot in front of the other as the world wobbled around her. Yes, she’d promised Vivienne she’d stay in her apartment, but she’d run out of alcohol, and the liquor store was only two blocks away. It wasn’t like she was gonna get noticed in such a short span of time. She needed something with which to try and cloud the memories she just made.

Maddie was trying very hard not to think about what she’d left behind in the cabin. That face, so familiar and yet different. Her lips felt the same, at the very least. Maybe that was why Maddie had gotten so lost in the moment that for a single, beautiful second, she thought Jordyn was Rosie. It was easy to remember the truth when they were apart, thanks to the scar and Jordyn’s dark irises and her lack of accent, but once they came together, the bounds of memory and reality became a very fine line.

Accidentally saying Rosie’s name definitely killed the mood, but that hadn’t been what scared Maddie. No, what did that was hearing Rosie’s fucking voice come out of Jordyn’s mouth – saying ‘my love,’ no less – only to look up and see Jordyn’s eyes were now a warm brownish amber. That wasn’t Jordyn’s eye colour. That was Rosie’s.

Madeline had never hallucinated from weed before. It sounded ridiculous to even suggest it. But it was the only plausible explanation for what she’d seen and heard. Maybe it was her brain's way of telling her that having any kind of sexual or romantic contact with Jordyn was a really stupid idea. She just wished it told her that a little bit sooner, before grief ripped another Rosie-shaped hole in her chest. It was like having her back, if only for a second. It was the thing she’d been craving for the past five fucking years, dangled right in front of her eyes before being ripped away again.

She needed to forget it, or she might not survive. Nothing was better for that than a dangerous amount of alcohol consumption. Fuck sobriety, she couldn’t do it. How was she supposed to face this world with an unclouded mind when it seemed that the very fabric of the universe itself was out to torment her?

Someone bumped into her; she hadn’t been watching where she was going. She didn’t see their face.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, looking back. The person had wings; big and covered in black feathers. Huh. Hadn’t she heard about someone like that?

Eh, not her problem. The night was dark and the chill of autumn’s end was setting in. She needed to keep moving.

It was a couple minutes later that it happened. Madeline felt a sharp prick in her neck, and the cold rush of something spreading under her skin. She jerked forward, stumbling and spinning around, holding the spot that had been attacked.

“What the hell?” 

A man stood across from her, watching her intently, hands hidden in the pockets of his trenchcoat. She tried to take a step towards him, but he just stepped back in turn, maintaining his distance. His footsteps were silent.

“What was that? What did you just do to me?”

Something fell over her head, plunging her into darkness. 

“Hey, what the- oof!”

A fist in her gut knocked all of the air from her lungs, preventing her from calling for help. She tried to reach out and freeze one of her attackers, but her power failed to respond. An arm snaked around her throat and constricted the sides, right as her legs were kicked out from under her. She could do nothing but scrabble ineffectually at her assaulter’s sleeve as her head became foggier and foggier from the lack of blood flow.

Fuck. Vivienne was right. She should’ve stayed home.

Madeline passed out.

—

 “Wakey wakey, Mrs. Garcia-Holmes.”

Something tapped her cheek. She opened her eyes, groaning at the pain in her neck. What happened? Where was she?

Madeline found herself looking down, head hanging. She was sitting in a chair, wrists secured to the arms with shackles. Her shoes and jacket had been removed, but otherwise she couldn’t see anything else missing. How did she get here? Everything was still so foggy…

She looked up, slowly lifting her head. Her neck ached.

Oh. Maddie didn’t know whether to be enraged or terrified.

Andreas de Vygon stood in front of her, in all of his terrible glory. The navy military blazer he usually wore during public appearances was missing, replaced with a simple white button-down; the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. They were in a small room, with a dim yellow light on the ceiling and sound-proofing foam lining the walls. Madeline recognised it as the interior of a van. If she focused, she could even hear the engine still running.

Behind him were an assortment of objects. A toolbox. A gas canister. A car battery. It didn’t take a genius to guess what they were for, given her situation, and what she was now finally remembering about how she got here. 

It was fine. She just needed to stay calm. She could get out of this.

She flexed her hands and focused, trying to see if there was any give in the shackles around her wrists. Nope. She tried to lower the temperature and freeze them; make them brittle, but nothing was happening.

“What… What did you do to me?” she mumbled, her words slurring from the alcohol still coursing through her system. “Why can’t I use my power?”

De Vygon hummed. “I had the boys down in R&D formulate a little compound designed to inhibit power usage. Surely you’re not so intoxicated that you don’t remember that little injection my man gave you?”

Ice flooded through her veins, contrasting with the hot burst of adrenaline in her chest. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears. If she really had no access to her power, there was no way out of this. She hadn’t let herself get scared yet because she thought she’d be able to just freeze this asshole and break free. If she couldn’t do that… 

Oh god. What was gonna happen to her?

“Hey now, shhh,” de Vygon whispered, gently cradling Madeline’s face as she began to hyperventilate, uselessly tugging at her bonds. His expression was almost soft. “There’s no need to be frightened. If you just tell me what I want to know, I can undo your restraints and let you go right now.”

For a split second, hope sparked in her chest that she’d be able to get away from this. Then it registered what he was actually asking, and that hope turned to ash in her mouth.

“What… What do you want to know?” she asked, in an attempt to play dumb.

The expression dropped, leaving a cold blankness in its wake. His grey eyes stared through her.

“I’ll give you one chance to answer this unscathed. Where is Jordyn?”

Giving him what he wanted was incredibly tempting, especially with the sight of those… implements behind him. They spelled a very clear picture of what would happen if she angered him.

But there was no way she could give Jordyn up. Not only would it mean that she would be back in his abusive hands, it would also give Andreas the means to free the Godling. There was just too much at stake. The entire fucking world was depending on her in this moment. She couldn’t do it.

Madeline could handle pain. She’d been soaking in it non-stop for the past five years. What she couldn’t handle was throwing away the last remaining piece of Rosie alive in this world. Jordyn had to live on. Maddie would just grit her teeth and bear it. Really, how bad could it be?

She glared at Andreas and spat on his stupid, horrible face.

Playing dumb was never gonna work, anyway.

Despite having prepared herself for it, the feeling of de Vygon’s fist colliding with her face and breaking her nose shocked her all the way down to her bones. She gasped, ears ringing, blood pouring down her lips, as pain blossomed in throbbing pulses, creeping under her skin like an infection. She’d been punched before, but not like that. He hit like a fucking freight train.

“Make this easy for both of us, Madeline. Where are you hiding her?”

Fear already threatened to overwhelm her, but Maddie clenched her fists and forced herself not to whimper. “Kill yourself.” 

Andreas actually chuckled at that.

“Good. I’ve been needing a new punching bag.”

It wasn’t just one hit this time. He came at her over and over, splitting her lips and blackening her eyes and straining her neck from the sheer force her head was getting knocked around with. He would sometimes wait a few seconds between punches, giving Madeline time to suck in a single ragged breath, just long enough for her to dare to hope it was over, before coming back in and crushing that hope in a single blow. The pain very quickly became a universal, constant buzz, rippling across her face with every new strike. 

She lost count of how many times he hit her. After a while, it felt like she wasn’t even present anymore. Like someone else was being beaten, and she was just along for the ride. By the time he was finally finished, it took her a second to get back in the driver’s seat and do something other than just try to breathe.

Blood filled her mouth; its coppery flavour permeating her taste buds. She gingerly leaned over the side of the chair and spat it onto the floor. Something solid came out with it. A quick inspection with her tongue found that her upper left-most incisor was missing. Huh. She didn’t really have the capacity to feel any sort of way about that right now.

“Thank you for that, Madeline,” Andreas said. “I really, really needed that.”

“Eeh… Eat a dick,” she mumbled, blood dribbling from her ruined lips.

He grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked, holding her head up and forcing her to look at him.

“I’ll ask again. Where is Jordyn?”

Madeline didn’t know if she could do that again. It felt like one more punch might kill her. Every instinct was screaming at her to just tell him the truth to make sure she wasn’t hurt again. But she wasn’t so weak as to give up after one measly beating. She took a breath to centre herself, and answered to the best of her ability.

“I… I don’t know.”

He sighed, letting go of her hair and crouching down so that he was still within her field of view once her head dropped.

“Do you know how many bones the adult human body has?”

Oh god. Maddie barely suppressed a whimper at the implication. 

“S- Save the clichéd speech and get on with it,” she grunted, forcing up a defiant facade to hide the terror.

Andreas huffed a laugh. “Very well.”

He stood up and grabbed the pinky finger of her right hand, too fast for her to try to hide it in her fist. In one quick motion that betrayed a terrifying amount of experience, he bent it backwards until it snapped. Maddie screamed, back arching, thrashing in her bonds in a futile attempt to get away from the pain.

“Want to try again?”

“I- I don’t know where she is! I swear! They didn’t tell me!”

“Not good enough.”

With her pinky already locked in an extended position, it was all too easy for him to wrench her ring finger out from her fist and do the exact same thing. Madeline sobbed; a wave of nausea washing over her. It wasn’t any worse than the first time, but that didn’t make it good.

“One last time?”

“V- V-Vivienne’s the one who knows, n-not me,” she whimpered, trying to keep her dinner down. “Wh- why would they tell me anything?!”

Guilt flushed through her body as the words left her mouth. It was risky to throw Viv under the bus like that, but Maddie’s resolve was quickly fraying, and Viv was much smarter than her. She wouldn’t get caught out like this. Maddie just needed to give Andreas something so that this torment ended.

Andreas sucked on his teeth, tilting his head. “See, I just don’t believe you, Madeline. You’ve been unaccounted for at the Union and your apartment for the past week. You have to have been hiding somewhere, and I’ll bet that if I can figure out where that somewhere is, I’ll find Jordyn. So, another finger?”

“N- No, no no, please! Not another finger!” She closed her eyes and winced, waiting for the next wave of agony, but it never came.

“Alright, we’ll do something else.”

“Wh… what?” she asked as she opened her eyes, more out of confusion than any real desire to know.

“I’ve found that if your target isn’t going to talk after two or three fingers, they’re likely not going to talk after ten. It’s a waste of time to keep going, and unlike some of my peers, I’m not a sadist. I’d rather we keep this as short as possible.”

“F-forgive me if I find that hard to believe,” she panted.

“It’s the truth. I don’t enjoy hurting you, Madeline. You simply leave me with no other option, and I don’t happen to have any qualms about it, either.” He turned and walked to the other end of the van, fiddling with something she couldn’t see.

“Wh-what about Jordyn, huh? What you did to her? A-all the… the scars and bruises? You’re telling me those aren’t the actions of a sadist?”

He didn’t reply. After a while, he turned back and approached her again, hiding something behind his back. She only had a moment to wonder what it was before he swung it around and slammed the wrench he was holding against her knee.

“FUCK!” she screamed, rocking back and forth as if that would make it better. 

“That was a punishment for asking a stupid question, much like the punishments Jordyn required before she functioned at her full potential. It was never about my own satisfaction. She’s closer to an animal than a person; she needs the extra guidance to ensure she’s on the right path.”

“Ffffuck you!” Maddie growled, breathing heavily. “You fucking monster. How could you say something like that?”

“What would you know about it? You didn’t raise her.”

“How…” she muttered, her rage simmering down from exhaustion and melting into sorrow. “How could you treat Rosie that way…?”

“Rosalyn Garcia-Holmes is dead, Madeline. I can’t do anything to her. Jordyn is an entirely separate entity. The only thing they share is a genetic structure, and even that isn’t exactly the same. Had to make a few edits to ensure she came out right.”

For some reason, that got to Madeline. She sobbed, letting out a quiet, broken whine. How could he do that to her? Rip the genetic material from her body, only to butcher and bastardize it, then use it to create a slave? What kind of man could do that to another person?

“We’re getting off track,” Andreas muttered, walking off again. Madeline had nothing else to say. All she had left were the tears, blood, and sweat staining tracks down her face.

She heard the sound of water swashing in a container as he approached again, but she didn’t care enough to look up and see what it was. There was something freeing in knowing whatever happened was totally out of her control. She clung to that small modicum of apathy, because the alternative was the all-consuming terror of her pounding heart.

Andreas kicked her chair over. She fell backwards and her head slammed against the floor, throwing sparks across her vision. It didn’t matter for long, though, as a wet cloth was placed over her face; the damp fabric sticking to her skin and becoming impossible to remove with her limited mobility. Ah. She’d heard of this one before.

Alas, the foreknowledge of what waterboarding was didn’t save her from the initial shock of the cold water coming down and drowning her. It flooded up her nose into her sinuses, blocking her airways, and there was no amount of thrashing and sputtering that could clear them, so long as the stream continued.

It was not a simple matter of holding her breath. Andreas had begun pouring right at the peak of her exhale, so there was no air in her chest to hold onto. She had nothing, and all the desperate expansion of her lungs was doing was choking her further, sucking water into her windpipe. 

Her entire body lit up in a panic, every cell crying out for help, shrivelling up from the lack of oxygen. Her body was dying. She was dying. She was gonna die. This was it. It was over.

She was dead.

Finally, the stream stopped. Madeline coughed and gasped, simultaneously trying to expel all the water from her system and suck in air while she still had the chance. It wasn’t easy with the saturated cloth still covering her airways.

“Where’s Jordyn, Madeline?” Andreas asked, sounding impatient.

She needed to tell the truth. She couldn’t handle dying like that again. She couldn’t. 

It was only then Maddie realised that she didn’t actually know where the cabin was. It could have been in another country, for all she knew. Fuck!

Her brain scrambled for an answer he would accept. Only one thing came to mind.

“Union!” she blurted between coughs. “She’s at the Union!”

“Mm, no she’s not. Already checked there.”

Maddie heard the swishing of the water can again. Her heart jumped into her throat.

“Secret room! There’s a secret room! A- uh, a safe room!”

“My officers were very thorough in their search. They would’ve found it. Nice try, though.”

“Please!” she begged, sobbing. “I don’t know I don’t know! Vivienne took us there, I don’t know where it is! Please don’t!”

Much to her surprise, he actually listened. Madeline heard him sigh, and after a few seconds, her chair was lifted up, its legs placed back on the ground. The cloth fell off of her face and onto the floor with a wet thwap. 

“For once, I believe you,” Andreas said. “Give me some details. I’m sure I can figure it out.”

Madeline’s entire body shook, her breaths coming in quick gasps. Okay. Crisis averted. She could salvage this. He broke her once, but he wouldn’t do it again.

“D-details? What kind of details?” she asked.

“Describe the place you’re staying at. Is it a house? An apartment? Something else? What’s around you? Any landmarks?”

She nodded slowly, trying to formulate a lie. “Okay, uh… It’s, um… it’s an apartment. Th-there are… lots of buildings nearby. I… I don’t think it’s in Tombguard. A s-smaller town, maybe.”

Andreas sighed harshly, scratching the beginnings of grey stubble on his cheek. “See, now you’re lying to me again.”

Madeline tensed. “No I’m not, it’s the truth!”

“You’re really not a good liar. Stop trying.”

“I’m not lying. I swear!”

He turned around, walking to the back of the room again. “Oh well, I guess we aren’t done after all.”

Fuck.

When Andreas came back, he was holding a pair of scissors. Thankfully, all the horrible ideas about their purpose that her mind came up with were quickly dashed, as he simply used them to cut through her shirt and bra, before pulling the pieces apart to expose her bare torso.

“Wh-what are you doing?” she whispered, almost scared to know. Surely he wouldn’t…

“Rest assured, I have absolutely no interest in your body, Madeline. There’s just something I want to try, and… well, your nipples are the best testing ground.” He shivered, shaking his hands as if they were wet. “Ugh. I hate that word.”

That just left her with more questions, and a horrible sense of dread filling her gut.

Andreas brought the car battery over, setting it down in front of her. He attached jumper cables to each of the nodes and clacked the ends together. A shower of sparks sprayed forth. Madeline swallowed nervously.

“Usually, the voltage of a car battery isn’t strong enough to get through our skin’s natural resistance, and under ordinary circumstances, something like this wouldn’t do anything but annoy you. However, should your skin be sufficiently wet, like yours is, it can deliver quite a nasty shock. Would you like to see for yourself, or are you going to finish telling the truth?”

Don’t break. Don’t break. Don’t break. Don’t break. Don’t break. 

“Just do what you have to do,” she whispered hoarsely.

Andreas nodded. “Very well.”

The pressure of the first clamp attaching alone was enough to have her writhing in her seat. Its sting was a pain she’d experienced before, albeit in a much more pleasant context. Having that memory juxtaposed to this… situation, was extremely uncomfortable. She felt dirty.

But it was nothing compared to the experience of the second clamp making contact.

Madeline’s entire body locked up, her back arching, her jaw clenching until it felt like her remaining teeth were about to crack. Fire slashed through every muscle, peaking in a horrible burning at her nipples. It was all-consuming, overwhelming. She could think about nothing but the feeling of her body being charred from the inside out and ripping itself apart all at the same time.

Andreas removed one of the clamps after a few short seconds, and Maddie’s whole body deflated. Something warm and wet poured out from between her legs, spreading over her inner thighs. She just pissed herself. That… wasn’t too surprising. She didn’t have it in her to be embarrassed about it.

At least she could take some satisfaction in knowing she peed all over Andreas’ chair. If there was any satisfaction to be gained from that, anyway.

“The truth, Madeline. All of it, this time.”

That was it. She was done. There was nothing left in her. All she wanted was to curl up and go to sleep. So what if she gave him details about the cabin? As if he’d actually be able to track them down by picking her dumbass brain. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered anymore.

“It’s, um… It’s a little cabin in the woods,” she admitted in a whisper, refusing to look at him.

“Oh? What’s around you?”

“Trees, I guess. I haven’t looked around that much.”

“What kind of trees?” 

She frowned. “I don’t fucking know. The green ones with the brown trunks.”

Andreas hummed. “That’s not very helpful. What’s the climate like?”

Maddie did her best to shrug. “Dunno. A little colder than Tombguard, I think. Hard to say.”

“Is that really all you can give me?”

“It’s a little fucking cabin in the woods, man. There’s not exactly a lot around.”

He sighed, rubbing his eyes. “What was the point of all of this fighting when the only information you have is useless?”

“I have more information,” she muttered.

He raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“You have a tiny dick.”

He pulled the remaining clamp from her nipple without loosening it, effectively shredding her already burnt skin. She shrieked, slamming her foot against the ground with her good leg.

“Charming as always, Madeline. We’re finished here.”

Hope blossomed in her chest as the pain subsided and her heart slowed again. “D-does… does that mean I can go home?”

“Of course,” he said, coming back from his tools with a medicine cup in his hand. It was full of unfamiliar pills. “Just take these, and I’ll let you go.”

She eyed them warily. “What are they?”

“You don’t need to know that.”

She shook her head. “No. I’m not taking anything unless I know what it is.”

“The thing is, Madeline, what I’m really offering you here is a choice. You can either take these pills and I can leave you on the side of the road where I found you, or I can slit your throat, watch you bleed out right in that chair, and feed your remains to my next batch of clones. Which will it be? There is no third option.”

The stark brutality of that threat was matched only with the horrific knowledge that Jordyn may very well have eaten human flesh during her training and been completely unaware of it. Madeline swallowed, her mouth filling with saliva at the onset of nausea.

“I… I’ll take the pills.”

Andreas smiled. “Good girl.”

He held the medicine cup up to her lips and emptied its contents into her mouth. Some water from the canister he used to drown her earlier helped wash it down.

“There you go. Isn’t it so much nicer to do as you’re told?” 

She grit her teeth, ignoring his patronizing goading. “Are you gonna let me go now?”

He pulled out a pocket watch and checked the time. “In a minute.”

Dread washed over her. “...What did you just give me?” she asked, afraid to know the answer.

“A lethal dose of sleeping pills. It should start having an effect soon, don’t worry.”

Her heart kicked into full gear, pounding so hard in her chest that she could feel it throughout her entire body. “Wh… what? Why?”

“You didn’t think I could actually let you go after this, did you? You know far too much.”

She clenched her good fist, rage burning in her gut. “You won’t get away with this, you bastard. They’ll… they’ll find my body! They’ll know you did it!”

“I assure you I will get away with it, actually,” he said matter-of-factly, approaching her. “Do you really think this will look like anything other than a suicide? It’s a well-known fact that you’re deeply depressed. I mean, just look at your arm.”

He pulled up her sleeve, revealing the dozens of neatly spaced lines carved on her skin, usually hidden by her clothing. Her cheeks burned with shame. “Th-that’s not… I haven’t done that for a long time.”

“Doesn’t matter. It’ll still just look like Madeline Garcia-Holmes finally had enough of life without her wife and overdosed on sleeping pills. That’s all any newspaper will ever report.”

“Wh-what about my injuries?!” she demanded, as if proving him wrong would change her fate; the fate she already sealed by swallowing those pills. Or maybe she sealed it the moment she agreed to kiss Jordyn. It was hard to say. It probably didn’t matter now. 

“You’re drunk. Maybe you got into a brawl with some other lowlife. Regardless, no one’s going to look into it very hard. I’ll make sure of that.”

The hopelessness of her situation finally set in, sinking to the bottom of Maddie’s stomach like a stone. She looked down at the floor, already beginning to feel the effects of the pills. There was so much left for her to do. She still hadn’t started a band. She hadn’t made a proper life for herself. She couldn’t apologise to Jordyn and Vivienne and Ashley for being such a constant goddamn burden. It was too soon.

“Don’t be sad. Isn’t this what you’ve been waiting for? Just think of it; you’ll finally get to see Rosalyn again. Won’t that be nice?”

Oh. Oh yeah. Rosie. She’d be waiting, wouldn’t she? Finally, after all this time, they could be reunited.

Fuck, that sounded good. Darkness pooled at the edge of her vision. Her heart rate sped up as if it knew something was wrong, but it was a futile effort.

“That’s right, Madeline. Just go to sleep. Just let all your pain drift away. Be at peace.”

Madeline closed her eyes, went to sleep, and died.

—

“The van just drove off. Do you have eyes on her?”

“Yeah, he dumped her in the alley. She’s not moving. What should I do?”

Maggie took a breath. There was still time. There had to be. She hung up the phone and leapt from the building, flying into the cold night sky.

—

Surprisingly, when Madeline woke up, it was not in whatever form the afterlife took. She was in far too much pain for that. The smell of cooking bacon and the sound of saturday morning cartoons assaulted her senses. Childhood nostalgia washed over her like a warm blanket.

She opened her eyes and found herself lying on a couch. Based on the view out the window in front of her, she appeared to be in some sort of apartment. If she looked down relative to the angle she was at, she could see the TV, and an armchair. In it was a girl who looked like Rosie, only she was young; maybe thirteen or fourteen. She was watching the cartoons with an intense, captivated expression. Huh?

Maddie let out an involuntary grunt as she tried to sit up through the pain. The girl looked at her, and her eyes widened.

“She’s awake!” she called to someone out of sight. She didn’t have an accent.

“Oh thank fuck,” someone replied. They sounded uncannily similar to Jordyn. Then again, everything about Jordyn was ‘uncannily similar.’

A person came around into her field of view. All Madeline could see was a pair of trousers, and the bottom end of a pair of wings.

“Here, lemme help you up.”

Strong hands supported Madeline until she could finally reach the promised land of up-rightedness. It was a massive downgrade from being horizontal. Her head throbbed like someone was doing construction work inside her skull. She groaned, rubbing her temple with her good hand.

Surprisingly, most of her memories of last night seemed to be intact, so she knew better than to use the hand with the broken fingers. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing remained to be seen.

“Water?” a new person offered – a man this time – holding out the glass from the edge of her peripheral vision. She reached out and took it, gratefully swallowing it down.

“Thanks,” she mumbled hoarsely. Her throat hurt. Probably from all the screaming.

Finally, she summoned the courage to look up, confirming what she’d already begun to suspect as her mind put together clues. Another clone of Rosie. The black-winged one Jordyn had mentioned when her identity was first revealed.

“Morning,” the clone said. “You’ve had a hell of a night, huh?”

Without Jordyn’s scar, and with the long hair, it was much harder to remind herself that this wasn’t Rosie. Thankfully, the lack of accent helped just a little. Not to mention the huge wings.

“Um, y-yeah.”

“The name’s Maggie. I’m number five. That’s Hex. Number six, if you couldn’t figure it out from the name.”

The girl on the armchair waved, smiling softly. Maddie awkwardly waved back. “Um, why is she…?”

“A kid?” Maggie clarified. “It’s a long story.” She sat down next to Madeline. “That’s Diego.”

Maddie looked where she was pointing, at the man with the tan skin and buzzed hair who’d handed her the water. “I… I see.”

“Hope you’re hungry,” he said. “I’ve got breakfast on the stove right now. You should get some food in your belly before we go to the hospital.”

Hospital. That reminded her. She turned back to Maggie. “What happened? How did I get here? I thought… I thought I was dead.”

“It was a close thing,” Maggie replied. “We found you in the alley. Managed to get you to throw up most of the pills. Brought you back here, cleaned you up and got you dressed, then laid you down to sleep and hoped for the best.

Madeline frowned. “But… how’d you know? Where I was, a-and… about the pills?”

“I bumped into you before, remember? Planted a listening device under the hem of your shirt when we made contact, so that I could keep track of… proceedings, if you wanna call it that. From there, I followed outside the van and waited.”

It took Madeline a second to register what she’d said. “Wait, but… If you knew it was gonna happen… Why didn’t you stop it? Wh-why… why would you let him… do that?”

Maggie winced. “Look, I’m really sorry about that. It’s just, I’ve gotta look out for myself and Hex. It was random chance that I happened to be monitoring de Vygon’s movements when they came after you. By the time I realised, they’d already locked on to you. The most I could do without risking exposing myself was bump into you while we were in a blindspot, and do damage control after. For what it’s worth, I am really, truly sorry that happened to you. Andreas is a bastard.”

That made enough sense that Maddie couldn’t fault her for it. She sighed. “I guess I should just be grateful that you saved me. So… what happens now?”

“You need to go to a hospital, Madeline,” Diego said. “We only had the equipment for basic first-aid here. I’m gonna take you there once breakfast is done, and after that…” He looked at Maggie expectantly.

Maggie nodded. “Well, I think it’s about time Hex and I introduced ourselves to the Union properly. Don’t you?”

Taglist: @steelandblood @sapphicwhump @urnumber1star @alsolucakairomi @thataquaticwhumper

@iamheretohurt @anoyedartist @dontyoubleedoutonme @seastarblue @lettherebepain

@bacillusinfection @sorcererfen

Told ya :3

real talk i have been waiting AGES to write this. it has existed in almost this exact form for months and months, since madeline was introduced, pretty much

also, excuse the inaccuracies with the car battery. I know they don't really do that much. But i took some creative liberties for the sake of the whump <3

Hope y'all enjoyed! lemme know what you thought! cya next time :)

[sickfictropes]

Thoughts on ptsd symptoms for a whumpee who was often electrocuted (via VERY strong taser)?

ooh okay!! i had to do a little research but an electric shock can cause a lot of long-term damage: physical, neurological, and psychological. to focus on the PTSD element, here's what i found from some case studies.

-Irritability, frustration, anger, and physically aggressive behaviour have been described after electrical injury in persons without preinjury mood or personality disorders.

-they might experience all the common symptoms of PTSD including mood changes, flashbacks, nightmares and insomnia, behavioral changes, etc.

-i couldn't find anything about what potential flashback triggers might be, but i can imagine it might include things like being cornered, situations in which another party might have a weapon, lingering physical pains like neuropathy, loud sounds, burns, and any other things that might remind the person of the specific circumstances of their injury.

thanks for asking me things and i hope this was helpful in some way!

[otter-chaos-violence]

mining but whump (especially pre-industrail safety guidelines)

black lung, silicosis, falling off the ladders, carbon monoxide poisoning, mayve whumpee's the bird they bring down, cave ins, electrocution, axphyxsiation, trapped under rubble, boss is working Whumpee until they die, dynamite accidents, amputation.

so many flavors

[bamber344]

Identity Crisis

prev/next

masterlist

i'm fast as fuck boiiiiiiiiiiii

prepare yourself, cuz it's the penultimate chapter of the Heroes' Union arc!!! how much longer can the status quo keep up? (hint: not very)

I shall say no more. enjoy! >:)

CWs: electrocution, minor stabbing, general Andreas nonsense, sexual references

Identity Crisis

Father turned the mask Vivienne gave me over in his hands, examining it. I stood in front of his desk, resisting the urge to rock back and forth nervously, clad in Vivienne’s borrowed clothes. My lie that I’d been knocked out for the entire afternoon had worked, but not before Father forced me into an extensive medical examination to document the state of my injuries for himself. It was just as I suspected and hoped: No patrol duty for at least another month. I expected him to be more angry about that, given that I’d only just finished recovering from my last major injury, but he’d seen the footage from my helmet up until the point that it broke during my rampage; there was no tangible way what had happened was my fault.

Honestly, it seemed like Father just didn’t really care about the patrols anymore. It wasn’t just that he hadn’t gotten angry; he’d barely reacted at all. He just sighed and said, “Good work with the monster. I’m glad you made it out.”

Was it genuine care for me, or something else? I couldn’t tell. As always, the inner workings of Father’s mind were an enigma. I would just have to settle for what I could see on the surface; a perfectly blank poker face. Typical.

Father grunted, putting the mask back down on his desk. “I suppose you don’t really have any other option right now, given your armour is a pile of scrap metal. I’ll allow it. Take it to R&D to get the camera and microphone fitted, and then you can be on your way. Try to take it easy until you’ve healed; you’ve taken too much time off already.”

Father seemed almost bored as he said it. I knew it; he didn’t give a crap about the patrols. Then… what the hell was the point of… of everything? 

I didn’t voice that thought, instead just grabbing the mask off of his desk and making for the exit. “Thank you.”

“Actually… hold on a second.”

I froze, my hand on the door handle. I could already tell this would be trouble. “Yes, Father?”

“What can you tell me about the fire power you exhibited during the monster attack?”

I frowned, turning back around. “What fire power?”

Father spun his computer monitor around, displaying a video that I recognised as from my helmet camera. In it, I was powering through the body of the monster, shadows and flame emanating from my hands as I ripped things apart. But… I had no memory of that. It must’ve been from when I went berserk, as Vivienne called it.

A sliver of pain shot through my head, and with it, a memory. I remembered a woman grabbing my arms with fire in her hands and rage in her eyes. But before I could properly capture it, the memory flitted away, and I was left clutching my head with nothing to show for it.

“Well?” Father insisted.

“I- I’m sorry, I don’t remember any of that. Everything after I got knocked out is just… blank.”

Could that really have been me in the video? I supposed it must’ve been. But… fire was so different from any power I’d ever exhibited before. I anxiously ran my tongue over my newly-sharpened canines. What the hell was going on with my body?? 

“Do you think you can replicate it?”

“I can try,” I answered, completely unsure if that was true.

He nodded. “Good.”

I pulled my sleeves up so that I wouldn’t accidentally incinerate Vivienne’s clothes, and focused. Shadows around the room all danced, wisping up out of the walls and floors and becoming physical, but that wasn’t what I wanted, so I furrowed my brow and pushed further. Fire was hot, right? I tried to imagine some sort of burning heat inside of me, and forced it to the surface. The shadows whipped around, but no fire appeared.

I dropped my hand, sighing and panting from the exertion. “Sorry, Father. I… I can’t.”

He raised an eyebrow. “This warrants further testing. Meet me in training room one.”

Oh boy. This was gonna suck, wasn’t it?

—

“Ah! Father, please! Stop!”

“Get angry, Jordyn! You want me to stop, you make me! Aren’t you furious that I’m doing this to you?”

No, I wasn’t. I was just scared and hurting and somehow surprised because for some reason it was still always a shock when Father hurt me. Why couldn’t he just be like the normal dads that I saw in movies? Hugging me and patting me on the back and telling me he was proud? Instead, it was electrocution and thumbtacks all over the floor and I was crying and he still wouldn’t stop.

I tried to curl up to lower my surface area on the floor, but another white-hot zap from the back of my neck made my entire body jerk, and I landed on another field of sharp spikes. I screamed, feeling each and every one pierce my skin and sink in deep from my body weight, the pain exacerbated by my broken ribs. I wanted to go home. I wanted Vivienne. Why did I ever come back here?

“PLEASE!” I sobbed. “I CAN’T DO IT!”

From what I could gather, he was trying to make me angry, because, for whatever reason, he thought that was the trigger to unleashing my fire powers. Why did he even care about them? It was so obvious he didn’t care about my patrols, and even if he did, I was doing just fine with only my shadows! This was so pointless.

I heard Father sigh somewhere behind me, and took that to mean that this torment was finally over. I was too scared to open my eyes and see the devastation of thumbtacks stuck in my body; feeling all several-dozen of them with every minute movement was hellish enough. Vivienne’s clothes had probably been ruined. The thought just made the tears squeeze out harder. Would she be mad?

“I don’t know what I was expecting, honestly,” Father muttered, something that would’ve sounded like remorse in his tone, if I believed he was capable of that. “You’ve never been the type to get angry.”

I forced myself to my feet, knowing that the punishment for continuing to wallow would be worse than the pain of standing. Shadows amassed under all the thumbtacks in my skin and I whimpered as they were all pushed out, clattering to the floor and leaving bloody trails on the white tiles.

“Go home and rest, Jordyn. We’ll retry this once you’ve healed a bit. Maybe take a…” He glanced up and down my shaking form. “A different approach. In the meantime-” He pulled another one of those odd little boxes out of his pocket. “-plant this at the Godling’s prison. This is the last one.”

I nodded, sniffling back the last of my tears, and limped over on bloody feet. The last one. That sounded like a promise, but of what, I didn’t know.

But, that was par for the course, wasn’t it?

Father handed it over and, quite unexpectedly, put his hand on my shoulder and gently squeezed. My whole body flooded with warmth, just the way it always did when he gave me a rare soft touch, but I still froze in fear.

“I know I’m hard on you, Jordyn, but it’s only because I want to see you reach your full potential. You’ve done good with this job. We’ll be moving onto the next phase once you heal. I’ll be sure to keep you updated.”

I looked up, meeting his eyes. Father smiled, and the ice keeping me in place cracked. I leaned forward, hugging him around his middle, breathing in that old scent I barely remembered from my early rehabilitation days.  

“Thanks, dad.”

He didn’t hug me back, instead just patting me lightly on the shoulder. That was okay. It was enough. Enough to tell that, despite everything, despite the horrible way he treated me most of the time, he really did still care about me. Maybe I didn’t want to keep living under his shadow, but… I didn’t want to lose him completely, either. 

No matter what the truth about me was, he would always be my father.

—

Andreas watched as his weapon limped out of the front door of the precinct, face hidden by that mask the other hero had given her, bloody clothes hidden in a duffel bag and replaced by facility standards. Today, she would be planting the last bomb at the door of the Godling’s prison. Andreas would be able to make his move at his leisure. He’d waited his whole life for his wish; another month to ensure Jordyn was in fighting form in case something went wrong wasn’t an issue.

The more he considered it, the more it seemed like a waste to dispose of her once her purpose had been fulfilled. Strong, loyal soldiers like her were hard to come by, especially now after that anomaly with the fire. Yes, he was currently losing sway over her to the friendship of the Union heroes, but that would hardly matter once all was said and done. Jordyn would remain at his side once he stood above all, because she would have no other option. Perhaps, if the final phase of the plan went well, he would even show mercy to her friends. They would make for good bargaining chips to keep her in line, and companionship was good for morale. It wasn’t like he was planning to go scorched earth, after all. Things would just be a little… different.

—

I gasped awake, clutching my chest as if that would stop my heart from bursting out of me in a violent spray of blood and bone. That was the fifth dream in a row – every single sleep since I’d come home from reporting to Father – where I’d been face to face with the woman who looked exactly like me, the one with the fire. Every time I woke from one, I retained just a little bit more. I remembered part of our conversation this time, but I still didn’t know who she was. 

Was she me? Well, not me me, but… the old me? The one from before the accident? Father said I’d been injured by a monster, and the woman said that she’d been killed by one. Maybe she was the person I used to be, somehow separated from me and trapped in that place. Maybe… I, or… we really did die in that accident. Her soul was taken from our body by the Godling, and I came in from… somewhere to take her place once her body had been revived. Or maybe that was thinking too deeply about it. After all, for all I knew that dream was just a weird side-effect of being almost-killed. It could mean nothing.

Still, I didn’t want to throw away the idea that I’d been given a huge clue about who I used to be. My past was important. I wanted to know the woman I was.

But, that was a question for when I was more awake and had some food in my belly. Besides, there were… other things on my mind recently. It was hard to focus on existential questions of the self when my entire being was filled with yearning for a beautiful girl. My past would always be there, but Vivienne only visited on certain days; days like today.

I got out of bed and tucked in the teddy bear Brianna had given me to cuddle at night, before putting on my mask and strolling out of my dorm, humming to myself. I’d spoken to Vivienne once since the night we fell asleep in each other’s arms; the night where I almost kissed her. I handed over the borrowed clothes with a profuse apology for the bloodstains after returning to the Union. Instead of getting mad at me for ruining them, she just asked how it happened. When I told her, her face scrunched up and she gently hugged me, and said, “don’t go back to him again.” It was hard to say no.

She was gonna be here later, and this time, I didn’t want to miss my chance to kiss her. But, what did I really know about kissing? I didn’t want to mess anything up. What I needed was advice from an expert. So, my next stop after breakfast was Brianna’s dorm.

I quickly scarfed down a bowl of Fruit Loops (which were delicious, by the way. I didn’t know how I ever survived without them at the facility), showered, and made my way over to Brianna’s.

It took about a minute for her to come to the door after I knocked. She looked bleary, like she’d just woken up.

“Yes?”

“Hey, Brea.”

She frowned. “Jordyn? What time is it?”

“Uhh, a little past 9am?”

She blinked. “Huh. Must’ve slept through my alarm. What’s up? You wanna come in?”

“Sure.”

She moved out of the way and I immediately beelined for her bed, flopping down on it. My nerves had been steadily rising since I woke up, and they weren’t gonna stop any time soon. I needed a distraction, or just someone to talk to.

Brianna joined me on the bed. “So, what’s got you coming to me first thing in the morning?”

“I wanna kiss Vivienne,” I blurted, forcing it out before I could change my mind.

Brianna hummed. “Good choice, she’s good at it. Are we talking casually or romantically?”

I didn’t really know how to put it into words, but what I felt for Vivienne was different from what I felt for Brianna. With her, it was a calm, pleasant safety. I knew I could always count on her to be my friend and hang out with me. But with Vivienne, it was like my whole body was on fire when I was near her. It wasn’t just physical attraction or the familiarity of friendship; it had become something new. Or, maybe it was always like this, and I only just noticed it recently. Either way, I knew I didn’t just want sex from her. I wanted what I saw in those movies and shows Steve had shown me.

“R-romance,” I answered.

Brianna sucked in a breath, thinking for a moment. “Well, I’m really not the expert on that stuff. But, I guess just talk to her? Like I mentioned, she’s a romantic. If you tell her honestly how you feel, she’ll eat that shit up. Top it off with a kiss and you’ll be golden.”

“But what if… she doesn’t feel the same? I don’t want to kiss her if she doesn’t want it back.”

“Y’know, I don’t think you really need to worry about that. She talks about you a lot. Besides, I know for a fact she’s a sucker for the surprise kiss. Even if she says no, the worst that could come of it would be you two still just being friends. It’s not like she’d run away from you for simple romantic desire. Seriously, you’ve got nothing to worry about, Jean Shorts.”

“You really think so?”

“Yup. Just don’t get so caught up with each other that you forget about little old me.”

I laughed, rolling over and wrapping Brianna in a hug. “I could never forget about you.”

Brianna chuckled, returning the embrace. “I’m definitely gonna miss the sex, though.” She sighed wistfully, though I could tell it was mostly for show.

I poked my head up, looking at her. “Why wouldn’t we be able to have sex anymore?”

“It is generally considered rude to have sex with other people when you’re in a relationship.”

I frowned. “Well… Vivienne already has sex with you. I have sex with you. If Vivienne and I are together, couldn’t we still both have sex with you?”

“Huh,” Brianna said. “Good point. You’d probably have to talk with her about it, but she has always been pretty loose about monogamy, from what I remember from her earlier relationships. She once dated a person who had three other partners.”

“Wow,” I replied. “That must’ve been complicated.”

Brianna barked a laugh. “Yeah! I still remember the stories she would tell me. Her partner was dating all of them, but they weren’t all dating each other, and boy was there some drama between the members who didn’t like each other.”

I laughed along, and Brianna continued telling me stories about Vivienne’s varied love life. Apparently, she and Brianna had joined the Union together at 16, meeting and befriending the at-the-time 18 year old Madeline and Rosalyn. From the sounds of it, the two of them had been friends since highschool. It made me a little envious, to be honest. I wished I could’ve experienced a childhood like that, or at least remembered the one that I had. Did I make friends in highschool too? Was I a good, diligent student like Vivienne and Brianna, or did I slack off and fool around like the people in her stories? Either way, I just wished I knew.

“I hope I remember someday,” I said after a period of comfortable silence.

“Remember what?” Brianna asked, as if it wasn’t obvious.

“Everything. I wish I had stories I could tell you, too. From… from when I was young.”

Brianna went quiet. She didn’t say anything for the longest time, and when I sat up to get a look, her face was twisted with sadness. She reached out and took my hand.

“Y-yeah,” she whispered, her voice hoarse. “That… that would be nice.”

Why did it always feel like I was the only one in the dark?

—

Vivienne teleported into Madeline’s living room and was immediately accosted by the raging sound of distorted guitar tones and Maddie’s heart-and-soul singing.

“I GOT YOUR PICTURE, I’M COMING WITH YA, DEAR MARIA COUNT ME IN!”

She grinned at the sight of her friend strumming away at her guitar, belting her heart out. Viv hadn’t seen Maddie this energetic and bright since… Well, she didn’t know exactly, but it had been years.

Maddie noticed Viv’s presence, and her face lit up. She finished up the last bit of the song, letting her final chord trail off into the white noise of the amp, before moving over to turn it off.

“Viv, hey! Didn’t know you were coming around today.”

She put her guitar down on the couch and approached, wrapping Vivienne in a hug that she gratefully returned.

“Yeah, I just wanted to come and see how you were,” Viv said. “Speaking of which, you look good! What’s got you so cheery?”

Maddie shrugged, walking over to the kitchen and getting herself a glass of water. “I don’t know, I’ve just been feeling good lately. I’ve got more energy, I’m motivated to do stuff, I’m drinking less. I dunno what it was. It’s not like I’ve stopped thinking about Rosie as much. It just… feels like I’m finally getting out of this slump, y’know? Lord knows it’s been a long time coming.”

Viv laughed, filled with elation at finally seeing a spark of the person she befriended all those years ago. “Well, whatever it is, I hope it stays that way.”

Maddie smiled, humming to herself. After a moment, she spoke again. “Do you play any instruments? I’m thinking about starting a band. Not like anything serious, probably just covers and stuff. For fun, y’know?”

Vivienne shook her head. “No, I’ve never gotten the hang of any. I think Brea plays piano, though.”

Maddie tilted her head. “Eh, maybe I could work that in. I’m thinking more along the lines of classic pop-punk stuff, though. Do you think Jordyn plays anything? Oh- wait, no, right. Somehow I forgot for a moment that she’s only been alive for a year and a half.”

Vivienne’s stomach flipped at the mention of Jordyn’s name. In truth, Viv’s coming here hadn’t been entirely for Maddie’s sake. She needed some advice.

“Uh, could I… ask you something?” 

Maddie raised an eyebrow, coming back around into the living room and taking a seat on the couch, moving her guitar out of the way. “Sure, what’s up?”

Vivienne sat down next to her, nervously rubbing her legs. “Okay, so… basically, I, uh… I think I might have a thing for Jordyn and I don’t know how it happened or what I should do about it.” She blurted it all out in one quick breath, partially hoping it was too fast for Maddie to parse.

Maddie grinned, so clearly Vivienne was out of luck. “I’m gonna be honest, Viv, but that is the least shocking thing I think I’ve ever heard.”

Vivienne blinked. “What?! No, this is, like, at least the fifth most shocking thing, surely! It just came out of nowhere and now I don’t know what to do!”

“Did it really come out of nowhere? Or have you actually been thirsting after her for a while and only just realised it?”

“I-” Vivienne cut herself off, because Maddie actually made a good point there. From pretty much the first day they met, Vivienne had been drawn to Jordyn. It was mostly because of her greek-statue muscles at first, but she couldn’t lie and pretend that the rest of the feelings had only appeared recently. “But… I don’t…”

“You’re drawn to neediness, Viv,” Maddie explained, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Why do you think you’ve stuck by me all this time?”

Viv frowned. “B-because it was the right thing to do, and you’re my friend?”

Maddie wagged a finger. “Because you can’t help but help people. It’s your favourite thing in the world. So when Jordyn came waddling along like the ugly duckling, alone and abused and out of her depth, you took her under your wing with no hesitation. It’s not shocking that more… romantic feelings might have bloomed from that. Especially after seeing the way she performed at the attack last week. The only thing you’re drawn to more than neediness is selflessness. It’s why you’ve always been my friend but never had a thing for me; cuz I’m a selfish bitch.”

Vivienne couldn’t help but laugh at the sudden tone shift. “Oh come on, you’re not that bad.”

“Hey, I don’t remember ever helping your drunk ass out of a puddle of vomit and getting you into bed before cleaning it all up, but I can’t count the amount of times you’ve done stuff like that for me. Compared to you, I suck.”

“Well, that’s just because I’ve never drank myself into a stupor, snowball.”

Maddie shrugged. “Eh. My point stands. You like that Jordyn threw herself into danger to save those people on the top floor. You like that she was capable enough to kill the monster while everyone else was at a safe distance. But you also like that she desperately needs companionship, because you love being the one to provide it to her. Like I said; least shocking thing in the world.”

Viv sighed, conceding the point. “Well, what am I supposed to do about it? It’s not like a relationship could work between us right now. She barely knows anything about… well, anything! It would feel… predatory. And, I don’t want her to fall into one with me just because she thinks she owes me for helping her, either.”

“You think being in a relationship would be predatory, but you think it’s fine that she’s been fucking around with Brianna since she joined the Union?”

“Well, that- that’s different.”

Maddie laughed. “How is it different?! Just because there’s no strings attached? The way I see it, regardless of Jordyn’s chronological age, physically and mentally, she is a grown adult. I have seen her exhibit the intellect of a grown adult. She’s just naive about stuff because she’s never had a chance to learn it. But, how’s she gonna learn if no one teaches her?”

“I… I see your point,” Vivienne acknowledged. “It’s still just… I’m nervous about it. I don’t want to accidentally hurt her. Her situation’s… sensitive, y’know?”

“You’re not a predator, Vivienne,” Maddie said. “You just have a crush. And besides, if it ever got to a point where it was dangerous for one of you, all of your friends would tell you. Do you really think Brianna wouldn’t be the first person to get up your ass if you started being a creep?”

Vivienne laughed sullenly, looking down at the floor. “Yeah, true. It’s just…” She rubbed her face. “Ugh. I don’t know.”

Maddie put an arm around her shoulders and Viv leaned into it. “All I can say is, If you like her; if you wanna be with her, then don’t waste your chance. No one’s promised tomorrow.”

Something about that struck a chord in Vivienne. Maddie was right. And, well… She’d know, wouldn’t she? If she and Rosie hadn’t gotten married when they were eighteen, they might’ve waited too long. And instead of three married years of bliss before Rosie’s death, they might have gotten nothing. No one was promised tomorrow. Vivienne wasn’t going to waste her chance.

She stood up. “You’re absolutely right.”

“I usually am,” Maddie replied.

“I’m gonna… I’m gonna ask her out. Tonight.”

Maddie clicked her tongue. “Go get ‘er, tiger.”

—

I stared at myself in the mirror, studying every detail of my reflection. The way my eyebrows weren’t neat and even like the girls’ in the movies, instead they were thick and surrounded by stray hairs. My nose; flat and wide. The scar stretching across my cheek, jagged and gnarled with raised tissue. My lips; thick and scarred from dozens of splits. My hair came down to my eyebrows once again, like how it was before Father first made me cut it. My jawline was soft.

I wasn’t pretty like people in movies or posters. But… this was my face. It was easy to forget that when most of the time my reflection was just a featureless black helmet. I liked my face. I wondered if the girl who was me before liked it, too. I hoped so, because, while it wasn’t anything special, it was still ours.

Why did I have to hide it from everyone?

Why was Father so adamant that no one saw my face? Was this combination of features so horrific that anyone who saw it would immediately be sent into cardiac arrest? No, because that was stupid, and if that was the case, I’d have killed everyone at the facility, myself and Father included. There was… really no good reason I could think of.

And I was sick of letting him dictate everything I was allowed to do.

I had no idea what the punishment would be, but if I never went back to the facility, he could never enact it, right? All my stuff was here at the Union. If he wanted to see me, he’d have to come here. And my friends would be here to protect me from any unjust punishment.

Maybe… maybe they’d agree with him that I deserve it for showing my face. But, if that was the case, I would accept it. I knew I had to be punished when I did bad things; it was just that Father’s rules on what was ‘bad’ didn’t seem to be all that accurate to the real world. If the Union decreed that I deserved a day in the penalisation room, then so be it. I still wanted people to see my face.

I wanted Vivienne to see my face.

But… that thought was still scary, so I put my mask back on for now. I could work my way up to it.

—

Vivienne arrived at the usual time, bearing all sorts of snacks and drinks that Father had warned would destroy my figure, but that wasn’t going to stop me from enjoying myself. She, Brianna, and I spent the evening gorging ourselves, chatting, and watching movies. Well, it was mostly Vivienne and Brianna chatting; I didn’t really have a lot to talk about, and I was worried that if I opened my mouth too soon, everything was going to come spilling out.

Throughout it all, Vivienne seemed kind of… nervous? She kept glancing at me before quickly looking away, a slight redness on her cheeks and shakiness in her voice. I couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking.

When the night was starting to stretch on into the later hours, Vivienne got up and went to the bathroom, leaving me and Brianna alone. She leaned over to me.

“So, are you gonna do it?” she asked.

“I’m… I’m working up to it. It’s scary.”

She put her arm around my shoulders. “You got this, Jean Shorts. Just be yourself. Tell you what; when she gets back, I’m gonna head off and go to bed, and leave you two lovebirds alone to figure your shit out. Sound good?”

I swallowed, nodding. Alone with Vivienne. “Y-yeah. I think so.”

“Good. And you better tell me all about it in the morning, okay?”

I smiled. “Sure.”

Vivienne came back in, and Brianna made a big show of stretching and yawning. “Aw man, I don’t think I can stay up tonight. You two have fun, I’m gonna go to bed.”

I struggled to hold back a laugh at the display. Vivienne frowned. “Are you sure?”

“Yep, yep. I can barely keep my eyes open. Don’t wanna fall asleep out here, y’know?”

“Okay,” Vivienne said with a pout. “We’ll miss you!”

Brianna laughed as she walked to the door. “You’d better!”

And just like that, Vivienne and I were alone together. Neither of us said anything for a long moment; awkward silence stretching on until I finally hyped myself up enough to speak.

Just do it just do it just do it just do it JUST DO IT JUST-

“Vivi, I-”

“Jordyn, I-”

We both paused, staring at each other, before bursting into laughter.

“You- you go first,” Vivienne said quickly, her lips curling up into a small smile.

Okay. Here goes nothing. Brianna said a surprise kiss was the best way, right?

“I, um… I have a surprise for you,” I said, trying to keep my voice from trailing off with nerves.

“Oh?”

“Y-yeah. Could you… close your eyes?”

Vivienne raised an eyebrow curiously, but complied. “Okay.” She smiled wider, laughing. “This is exciting.”

Now that she couldn’t see, I felt safe to take off my mask and put it on the floor. Father would be asleep by now, so I didn’t need to worry about any retaliation until tomorrow.  It was time.

I put my hand on Vivienne’s cheek, and her breath hitched. Her skin was soft. I leaned in.

The moment our lips touched, it was like fireworks went off in my chest. Vivienne gasped, but she didn’t move away. Instead, it was almost like she’d been expecting it. She leaned into me in turn and reciprocated the kiss, placing a hand on the crook between my neck and my shoulder and gently stroking with her thumb as her mouth moved against mine.

My entire body deflated, melting against her more with every brush of lips or hint of tongue. Her other hand trailed up my thigh to rest on my hip. I sighed into her mouth, savouring the humid scent of her breath and the taste of sugary drink still lingering from earlier. My other hand came up to properly cradle her face, holding on like I might float away from her if I let go. It was better than I could’ve ever imagined.

After what seemed like both forever and not long enough at all, Vivienne pulled back. Her eyes were still closed, but her mouth was stretched into the biggest, most elated grin I’d ever seen.

“Jordyn, that was…” she sighed happily, opening her eyes. Finally, she would get to see what I looked like. My heart pounded in my chest.

She froze, her eyes going wide. The grin disappeared, replaced with an open-mouthed expression of pure horror. The warmth that had previously been thrumming through my body from the kiss turned to ice in my veins. I didn’t know why or how, but I’d fucked up. Something was terribly, horribly wrong.

Vivienne’s mouth moved, forming three syllables that rocked through me, shaking my system down to the core.

“Rosalyn?”

taglist: @steelandblood @sapphicwhump @urnumber1star @alsolucakairomi @thataquaticwhumper

@iamheretohurt @anoyedartist @dontyoubleedoutonme @seastarblue @lettherebepain

@bacillusinfection

me when i cliffhanger

not much to say here, other than prepare yourself for the chapter that inspired this whole fucking story pretty much. The final chapter of the Heroes' Union arc: THE TRUTH. in cinemas within a week or two lol

let me know what you thought, and I'll see y'all next time! buhbye!

[3-2-whump]

Wow Birthday Event Day Four:

Electrocution

I’ve never drawn this specific torture circumstance before, so if the poses are off or the expression is bad, go lightly, I am still learning 🙇🏻‍♀️

[medicwhumpee]

whumpay day 2: "paralytic drug"

@whumpay

katya couldn't move. her eyes flitted across the ceiling, waiting for something- anything- to happen. the last thing she remembered... pain. and now, she could barely feel her limbs, let alone any painful sensations.

"hello, miss malinov."

she couldn't see who was speaking, since they didn't come into her field of view. and then, she couldn't see at all, as dark, thick glasses were placed over her eyes and fitted around her head with a strap.

"this virtual reality headset will track your eye movements. if you make the right choices, i will grant you certain privileges. if you choose wrong, you will be punished accordingly."

a terrible vision came to life in front of her eyes. xiaoyan was tied to a chair, her head lolled forwards with two black eyes, bruises and wounds littering her body. a gun was pointed towards her... held by hands that resembled katya's own.

"you need to kill her, my dear. put her out of her misery. if you blink twice in succession, you will end her life."

no, no. she couldn't. katya's thoughts were sluggish, and she didn't know what was real. but she knew she couldn't kill her friend.

"they've abandoned you, you know. they're not looking for you. go ahead. kill her. she left you for dead."

that couldn't be true, katya refused to believe that.

"you have five seconds to make your decision."

katya already knew her decision. she refused to kill xiaoyan, or anyone who didn't deserve it.

"tsk, tsk. perhaps next time, you'll make the right choice."

a horrible shock went through her, her body trembling and shuddering, her back arching from the intense tearing pain all throughout her body. she couldn't even cry out.

"now, let's try again. i'll give you one minute to reach your decision. i can do this all day, miss malinov... can you?"

[angst-is-love-angst-is-life]

I love reading fics where my favourites are electrocuted… because I love them so much… because I love Barry so much :) -Flash anon

As you should😌

It’s so fun!!!

And electrocution is such a good trope for him because of his powers. It’s that contrast between it and his own lightning. Electricity that hurts when it should heal, something wrong when it should be right, etc.

[auroragehenna]

AI-less Whumptober

Day 3 - Trauma Thursday (Shared trauma, survivor’s guilt, “It’s not your fault.”)

"No matter how much you squirm you won't get away" - Universe

TW/CW: Angel whumpee, demon whumper, electrocution, food whump, dehumanization, degradation, mind games, conditioning, physical whump, psycholgical whump, group whump(?), scared whumpee, reluctant whumpee, merciless whumper (here), Word count: 981

"And remember if anyone tries to help her you're all going to pay for it!", Electra warned her dolls. The group of them seated around the banquet table. Only one seat was still free, the one at the very top. The demoness standing next to the table. She gave the nixie sitting there one last gentle yet posessive pet over her head before leaving the room-letting the next events unfold.

Harmonia was let out of her room at the same time as Electra left the other one. They didn't cross each other but the angel had gotten pretty strict instructions on how to behave. Instructions she still didn't like but decided to disgruntedly accept to avoid more pain. At least she'd get food from whatever this was going to be. "Simple Dinner" she had said. Likely story!

Accompanied guarded by maids the former mercenary made it to the prepared room. The two servants halted at the door and gestured for her to go inside. They would wait outside.

Alright then, let's do this. She pushed open the doors and entered the, compared, small dining hall. Inside there were already a small amount and variety of creatures sitting around a banquet table. She scanned the room. Nobody was looking at her or rather dared to look at her. Of course, I'm new, the walking time bomb, the health hazard, she thought bitterly. Even if deep down she knew it wasn't fair of her. They most likely all went through the same things she had. Was going through. They were all stolen and captured creatures, imprisoned and trained for her profit. But wait-! Another hushed look around the room confirmed it. There was only one seat still free. At the top of the table. Harmonia's wings flapped nervously. Her muscles twitching as if before the hairy part of a mission. She Electra had instructed her clearly to be seated by the time she returned to the hall. And the punish for disobedience in front of other people was much higher than without other people, that much she had learned even in these few times. Still something about that seat didn't seem right to her. Something was off. But maybe she was simply over-reactive after all the torture. Most likely Electra just wanted to have her isolated and spotlighted and that's why she was seated there. Either way she didn't have time to waste, if she wasn't seated there would be hell to pay! So come on, just sit down! Now! Carefully she walked to the seat and sat down on it, examing her enviroment closely.

The nixie who previously had Electra's attention drops her head a little lower. The faintest ghost of a guluteral sound escaping from her body but otherwise nothing. Like all the others. Mute, still, waiting.

Then two decorated wooden door wings behind Harmonia opened. It made the angel shiver but she managed to resist the urge to jerk around and see what was going on and probably break a rule. They did nothing wrong, they did nothing wrong, they followed the order, they were seated. A pale hand appeared in Harmonia's peripheral vision. Moving forward until settling casually on the armrest of the lean chair she was sitting in. Then a cold voice.

"Harmonia, my dearest. What do you think you're doing?"

Oh. OH GOD. Her actual name. She used her actual name! Harmonia froze from head to toe completely without magic. Her spine felt as if drenched in ice water. She didn't dare speak-couldn't.

While the one hand stayed where it was Electra's other hand weaved into Harmonia's rosey, messy hair and at once pulled back harshly. "I asked you a question, doll. And when I do that I expect an answer! Understand!?", the demoness hissed coldly.

The angel whimpered. She forced herself to speak: "Yes, M'am. I apologize." With her head angeled she was forced to maintain eye contact with Electra. Vainly she searched in those glacier eyes for mercy. Or at least a sign that her apology had been good enough. But there was no mercy to be found.

"I'm waiting, Harmonia.", the demoness warned. Small strings of electricity crackling out of her fingertips into Harmonia's scalp.

Another broken whimper. Even with so little the pain was excruciating. Directly into her head. Question, right the question! "I-Your order was that I be seated when you arrive I only attempted to follow your orders, M'am."

"And you think you did well? Do you believe, my little angel, that I am satisifed with the result?"

"No-No, M'am. But I'm sorry I don't know what I did wrong."

Electra's grip in her hair tightened and at once she brutually pulled her head to the side and threw the starved body onto the surprisngly dirty floor, leaving the chair miraciously standing. Her ice blue eyes looked down at the sad figure in the dirt. "May this be a reminder to you to never. ever. attempt to sit where I sit. You are all but the dirt underneath my sole! Something like you could never be someone like me, doll! Remember this. And know your place!" And with those words she turned away and sat down, ordering her still seated dolls to look up and look alive and waited for dinner to be served.

Harmonia didn't get up, she just lay there in the dirt on her bruised side. Didn't dare move without permission. A silent tear rolling down her face-not shining. Her head still felt on fire inside. When the food was finally served Harmonia took a plate-probably originally known for her and threw it onto the dirty floor next to her, uncaring off the shards digging into her marble skin. Electra looked down at her angel, then without another word she stepped on the food and dug it deeper into the dirt with her heel.

"Eat!", she ordered simply.

Taglist: @ailesswhumptober, @yourlocalgaefae33, @princessofhe11, @greatkittencloud, @bisexuawolfsalt, @shattermind-8

[stagelightwhump]

Does it have to be a blorbo from my shows or can it be MY blorbo? Because I kind of want to know what they'd do to Mal https://www.tumblr.com/distracted-obsessions/750327129941639170/knock-knock-mal-groaned-at-the-knock-at-the

You can absolutely submit home-made blorbos! And I must say, this one is very interesting!

First of all, the ears would need to be stretched and molded into shape, which, thankfully, is rather easy, as ears are made of cartilage. Next, even though no tails are mentioned in the story, a retractable cord tail is still installed, so that the Unit can be charged. If requested, a wolf tail cover can be added.

Next, barring the presence of something like pawpads on the hands or feet (in which case, depending on how divergent it is from the human bauplan, they would either be fatty silicone implants, or the hands or feet would be replaced entirely), the Chip is then installed, and memories of the source timeline are implanted, as well as a weaving program.

Finally, in order to avoid issues with improper or unregulated voltage, a shock collar is installed directly and permanently onto the neck, integrated with the C6 vertebrae. This is to ensure that any voltage administered is low enough not to damage either the organic system, or the electronics within the Unit's repaired systems. For higher voltages, the Chip manually simulates the damages instead, resulting in the same mental effects and physical pain as a normal shock collar, without causing unnecessary damage or stress to the internals.

Once the Unit is fully repaired and functional, it is placed back into the crate it arrived in (or given a new one, if the crate is somehow missing or damaged), secured in place, and shut down until delivered to the purchaser.

Thank you so much for the ask! I love doing these :D

[echoingalaxies]

Heya how are you doing today?

Do they have any phobias or fears? If so, how would you use them against your OC in torture?

For Rina please and thank you.

Hey! I'm alright, how about you?

I think Riina would be afraid of losing her independence and mobility, as she is physically very strong and active. She loves to exercise and is very much a "I don't need help I can do this alone" type of person. She'll get embarrassed whenever that attitude fails her.

So, doing anything to make her to not be in control of her body, taking what she loves to do away from her, would be a very efficient way to torture her. Mess up her legs so she can't run, mess up her arms so she can't climb. Other people will have to help her with daily things, which will be hard to accept for her for a long time - she should be doing that to them.

Later on Riina will also develop a phobia of electricity due to what actually happened during torture, and sometimes she'll be scared of to touch anything that might give her "zaps" and trigger flashbacks. Poke her with a taser. She won't hold back her cries.

Then of course fear of letting people down, losing people, and even more so the fear of being the one responsible for it - Riina is the leader of her team and thinks everything bad that happens to anyone under her care is 100% her fault. Tell her she's right. Hurt her loved ones and blame her for it. She'll do stupid things to save them to save her own sanity.

[emotionyetpeace]

Purgatory

Rating: T

Pairing: Gen, Obikin if you look

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Summary: Vader faces his master after losing to Obi-Wan. Written for AI-Less Whumptober 2023.

Read on AO3

[whumpster-dumpster]

Electrocute your whumpees, please and thank you 🙏

[whumpypepsigal]

Whumptober 2023 | No. 8

Outnumbered

Titans s04e07: “There, there, now. Take it easy, old Teddy.”

+bonus:

@whumptober @whumptober-archive

[auroragehenna]

No matter how much you squirm you won‘t get out ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Failed Escape

AI-less Whumptober

Day 20 Dehumanisation, Master and Servant kinda,

TW/CW: Failed escape, electrocution, intimte/creepy-whumper, angel/demon whump, pet whump, petnames, quick mild gore warning, a bit of enviromental whump? Somehow??, more magic whump, light wing whump, Word count: 1'326

Harmonia had waited until the house had finally gotten quiet. She was incredibly battered after today’s torture but she had to bring up the strength for this. Since today’s torture had finally ended and she was dragged back to her quarters she had been pacing her room. Changing potions and places in unequal sequences. Harmonia suspected that she was being watched and she had to make sure she wouldn’t attract attention when she would get up eventually. She had to get out of this hellhole. She just had to. Out of here. Probably out of Gehenna. And then…somewhere. She didn’t know where and she didn’t have time to think about it any further now. Her next change was about to happen, and that one would be it. She got up from in front of the fire and walked over to the door. She leaned her back against the door and slowly slid down into a crouching sit. From there she knotted her hands into each other and tried as inconspicuously as possible to get the magic gem she stole out from under her skin. Where she shoved it in a few days ago through a cut Electra had given her. Harmonia tried her best to suppress any sounds of pain as she was forced to re-open the barely healed cut with her nails. She had to keep quiet. There! It was bloody and greasy, but it would still work. Slowly she shoved the gem towards the door and when they touched, she heard the most beautiful sound. The soft click of the lock. Carefully, she got up, ripped a part of her clothing, and make-shift-bandaged her arm with it. If she failed, Electra’s anger about the ruined clothing would be the least of her problems, she thought. Slowly she got up and squeezed herself through the door. No guards. That was weird. And concerning. Then again, the demoness had quite the ego. Wouldn’t it be like her to be so sure of herself? Doesn’t matter, she didn’t have time for this. Harmonia would have preferred to fly; she would have preferred to be as fast as possible. But she couldn’t risk the airflow alarming somebody and she had to stay low-key. So she conquered meter and meter. Hallway after hallway in this labyrinth. Always looking over her shoulder. Neck, eyes, and ears straining to pick something up. Heart racing. Finally, after what felt like eons she arrived at a backdoor that led outside. She pressed the gem at the door, praying even though it was useless down here. Blessedly the door opened and she walked outside onto wet grass. Quietly she hushed through the door and closed it behind her. Finally, she could spread her wings. They have been itching to move. She slowly flew a few meters straight into the air, keeping close to the house wall. Before she could go, she needed to make sure there weren’t any guards outside either. But even as she reached the pointy end of the roof, there was nobody in sight. There was a thunderstorm, but she was assuming that was always the case here with Electra being a lightning demon and all. Harmonia turned around and flew towards one of the edges of the mansion. The one where there were a lot of trees and bushes. The only test left was now the barriers. She had memorized and inquired how many and at what point the barriers were. As she reached the first one and fortunately passed though it started to rain. Maybe she could really do this. Through the second barrier, stronger rain now. She avoided the tree crowns, getting more and more reckless in the need to escape. She was soaked as she reached the third barrier and pressed the gem against it. It gave and then everything exploded in white.

--

Wet. Wet and constant. That was what Harmonia felt as soon as she was able to feel anything again. Anything aside from pain. She turned her head and something stung faintly in her cheek. Grass. She was laying on grass. “Get up! You weren’t even unconscious, so get. Up!”, Electra ordered her angel with a voice colder than a glacier and with a far more dangerous edge.

Groaning Harmonia got up on all fours only to be kicked in the side by Electra’s boot and end up on her stomach again and push herself back up on her knees. Truthfully damage control was useless at this point but she couldn’t help clinging to the hope that it would help at least a tiny bit. She only now noticed that her wings felt like they were on fire and as she turned her head a micro-bit she knew why. Countless feathers were black and scorched. Her beautiful wings. That and the realisation that she failed was enough to make tears well up in her eyes.

“I am not even going to waste my breath on you too much. You know what you’ve done. You will face the consequences for it tomorrow. Follow me, you won’t be going back to your quarters tonight, obviously, your loyalties are not sufficiently adapted yet.”

“This can’t be happening. I was so close”, Harmonia whispered to herself.

Electra who had already started walking back towards the house stopped in her tracks. She didn’t turn around but her cold expression suddenly started to melt a bit until it broke into a grin. She chuckled. “Do you really believe that?”

Harmonia looked up to her silhouette through the hazeof tears in her eyes.

“You really believe that was all you? Oh, my stupid, stupid doll. Never make the mistake of underestimating me again. All of it, from the gemstones to you stealing one, over the unguarded perimeter, all of it, was a set-up. A test if you want. And you failed. And in the morning you will pay the consequences for your actions. Now! Move!”

Harmonia got up on shaky legs and winced when her burned feathers shuffled. She didn’t want to make the demoness even more mad so she hurried behind her. They really didn’t go the way to her own quarters. Electra led her up the stairs. No word was spoken but there was a tension in the air around them and Harmonia was sure it wasn’t just her imagination. Who knew with that woman. Finally, they halted in front of a big double door. Carved into the wood were the outlines of jewels and lightning flashes and much more.

A maid waiting outside the door opened it and let the two of them in. It was a big room kept in low lighting, with a grand bed, many windows and another cheminee.

Electra ordered Harmonia to wait and walked to the bed. Once there she crouched down and pulled out a heavy chain from underneath the bed. On the end of the chain, there was a thin metal collar. She ordered Harmonia to come and kneel next to her.

Harmonia did as she was told and Electra closed the collar around her throat and connected the short chain to the bedpost next to her head. Then she walked to a cupboard and pulled out a rope. With that, she walked back to Harmonia and ordered her to stretch out her legs. After she had bound them together she spoke again: “You will sleep here for the next time. Until I feel you’ve learned your lesson. And a word of advice, you don’t want to disturb me. Now, sleep.”

Again Harmonia did as she was told, what choice does she really have? She turned around with her bound legs and laid down on her stomach, her head resting on her arms to prevent the collar and chain from digging into her. From the exhaustion and the pain, she fell asleep pretty fast, she could just hope, that she could bear whatever was going to happen tomorrow…

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