Happy Endings

I don’t know what I’m doing XD 18+

[unheardoracle]

Your dialogue is stiff because everyone is being too honest

Great dialogue can come from radical emotional honesty. But in most real conversations, people

dodge questions

answer indirectly

lie (badly)

change the subject

crack jokes to avoid serious answers

lie (convincingly)

say half of what they mean

tell the truth but get so anxious/angry/defensive others now think they're lying

If your dialogue feels unnatural, it might be because everyone is saying exactly what they think, or articulating their thoughts too well. Try letting characters hide things instead.

Subtext is where tension lives.

[dopedyk]

more so,

people don’t always speak in full sentences,

slang can change depending on age range, demographic, etc. &

don’t be scared of vocal pauses (uhm, uh, err)

[whump-tr0pes]

My favorite way to write dialogue is treating it like a filter or a bunch of layers. I.e.:

Layer 1: the actual information the character is trying to say

Layer 2: any intentional manipulation (neutral) the character is trying to put on the message (them trying to get what they want, them trying to be seen a certain way, etc.)

Layer 3: how the character would say this *to the person they're speaking to*

Layer 4: the unconscious biases and fears that bleed into the conversation. What does the character think is normal? What are they afraid to be seen as?

Layer 5: the meta. Maybe we see the other character reacting in a way that is not interpreted the way our POV understands them to be reacting

[jordanstrophe]

The process of un-binding a terrified whumpee.

Having someone hold them still as they drill/saw a chain off.

Untying them gently to reveal bad bruises and cuts from weeks of fighting.

Whumpee staying still until the second their restrains come off.

Restrains that are actively hurting them.

Rescuers know the restraints are the only thing keeping everyone safe, so they leave them on until sedation kicks in, or whumpee collapses from exhaustion.

Having to move them from chains right on in strapping them down on a gurney.

Whumpee pulling themselves to the end of their chain to keep distance from the strangers in uniform.

whumpee who has to be dragged out of a hiding spot by the chain.

Weak restrains that didn't do much, but it didn't matter because whumpee was kept in an exhausted/drug state to even try anything.

[whumporama]

Whumpee taking off a piece of clothing a revealing their scar(s). They didn't think about it, it was dirty or ripped and they wanted to put something else on.

But the room goes quiet.

When Whumpee turns around, they notice the sudden weird vibes.

"What?"

Did the team/Caretaker know, but they've just never seen it?

Or did nobody know, and this is the first time they realize there is something more to Whumpee/ things click into place now?

[eyelessfog]

a character who truly, legitimately goes “but why does that matter?” about their feelings when someone who cares about them asks. and the sudden falling of everyone around them’s faces as they realize that this person doesn’t recognize themself as someone who needs or should be taken care of. i want Everyone to hurt. surprise at the idea, worry for them, horror at not having noticed. do you see this person who doesn’t think of themselves as a person?

[allthewhumpygoodness]

Imagining a sick character coming up to their friend/partner and, rather than announcing that they're sick, simply leaning against them like a cat. Cue the other's exclamation of "wow, you feel warm," and the sickie mumbling "I know" into their shoulder. Bonus points if they're not usually this touchy feely.

[justbreakonme]

Caretaker reaching an arm out across Living Weapon Whumpees chest to protect them, but Whumpee thinks it’s to hold them back.

They feel ashamed that Caretaker trusts them so little, that they have to be held back instead of just instructed. Until Caretaker does it in the car after a car in front of the brake checked them and Whumpee can’t figure out what they were stopping them from.

They ask, hesitantly, hoping that at least if they were punished for asking, they might figure out how to prove themselves, but Caretaker explains that they were trying to protect them, that was what that always meant. Caretaker laughs, asking if Whumpee thought they were strong enough to hold them back anyway, and it finally clicks.

Whumpee spends the rest of the drive staring out the window, tracking each memory back, recontextualizing it through this new information. Caretaker had a point, they were far stronger than them, and by extent, that meant that realistically Caretaker’s arm of protection would do very little to protect them but that wasn’t the point.

No one else had ever tried. 

[sickfictropes]

"Were you hurt?"

"I'm fine."

"I'll rephrase. Where are you hurt?"

[justbreakonme]

Caretaker offering a hand to whumpee, but instead of holding hands, whumpee puts their wrist in Caretakers hand, expecting to be grabbed and yanks around as opposed to helped.

[justbreakonme]

A random little idea I had:

Big scary living weapon whumpee following around their little old lady caretaker ready to defend her with his life on her trips to the grocery store after she saw him sitting in the rain and brought him in for tea.

He’s at least two feet taller than her and built like a tank, meant to fight and destroy and kill but she just politely asks if he’ll carry the big bag of cat food to the car as she’s “not as young as she once was”. He carries the cat food and doesn’t feel sick to his stomach following orders any more.

She retired years ago but still keeps up her errands, writing letters and playing cards with her other lady friends, all of whom coo and fawn over him (after their initial concern) and he becomes the recipient of many a homemade craft. His closet overflows with grandma sweaters and his bed is layered with quilts, and it’s the first time he’s been surrounded by such softness and warmth. And they never have to worry about having some big strong man to help get their Christmas decorations out of the attic.

He calls her Miss and ma’am, as if he was afraid of her name, while she calls him honey like it was his name. He likes it better. There were no bad memories tied to “honey”, only those of tea and cookies in her mismatched kitchen chairs and walks down to the park when the weather was nice.

They look an odd pair everywhere they go, but she simply tells anyone that asks that he’s her son, and slowly it starts to feel like it. She mentions that she’d always wanted a son (or daughter, she wasn’t fussed really), and doesn’t the universe have such a funny way of making things happen? He swallows hard and doesn’t mention that he’s always wanted a mother too.

[sickficbay]

to suffer is (in)human. here’s some android/mechanical whump prompts for your android/mechanical whump needs :]

glitchy speech

pop-up windows or flickering lights in their vision

audible rattling or squeaking from joints/cogs that aren’t quite where they should be

sensors failing, losing all feeling on rusted casing

fans kicking into overdrive

system overheating, human caretakers snatching hands away because they literally burn to the touch

reverting to default ‘new user’ programs when their memory drive fails (forgetting caretaker’s face)

the absolute, total stillness of their body when caretaker finally shuts them off for repair

[defire]

Stoic whumpee ptsd

Instinctive reaction is a freeze response

Or not responding at all. Pretending it doesn't bother them just by reflex

Getting slapped on the back in a friendly way over the lash scars under their shirt. Going rigid and waiting there for a moment before they realize they're not in that place anymore

Getting hurt and having zero reaction. "Are you okay? That looked really bad." "I'm used to pain."

Or, trying not to be stoic anymore now that they're out and their response is "no, it hurts like hell." While continuing whatever they were doing.

[fabled-whump]

Whumpees who don’t hide their trauma, or talk about it between stifled sobs. They don’t even joke about it. They speak matter-of-factly, with an almost clinical detachment. It’s Tuesday, they need more milk, and whumper used to beat them with a crow bar.

[goldenanonygoose]

huge fan of unneeded manhandling of a compliant whumpee

[the-cypress-grove]

Prompt: 220

"You've been stabbed, you're going to medical!"

"It's fine. I've been stabbed loads of times. I know what a serious stab wound feels like, this is more of a scratch."

"..."

"Ah."

"You've been stabbed 'loads of times.' "

"That sounded more reassuring in my head."

"You're going to medical."

[adisturbedwriter-deactivated202]

Whumpee and caretaker doing shots where they tell each other one random thing about them.

There is a lot of giggles shared until Whumpee tells them something completely horrific that they went through, they are rolled over laughing hysterically at it whilst an intoxicated caretaker stares back at them in shock.

Whumpee’s laughter dies and they look ashamed. Their first instinct is to run so he does, but caretaker stops them midway and envelops them into their arms.

Whumpee gives a nervous chuckle as caretaker cards his fingers through his hair, shushing him when his chuckle turns to full on sobs.

[chiswhumpcorner]

This is an extremely weirdly specific thing but. I love dysfunctional characters who are stoic but too rational to completely be in denial of their problems.

Just enough awareness of their questionable thought processes and suppressed needs to occasionally call themselves out.

“I’d say I’m fine but the five times I accidentally bashed my head on the kitchen cabinet in the last hour beg to differ”

“Listen it’s not like I’m skipping meals on purpose, I simply keep forgetting- ok yeah I see what you mean now”

“Wait you’re telling me people are not constantly aware of absolutely everything happening around them in case shit goes down? Is that why everyone has terrible reflexes- aaand you’re giving me the sad stare again”

“Ok fine yes I probably need therapy. But eating chocolate and having sex is cheaper and less time consuming, so ya know”

That beautiful dance between deeply ingrained coping mechanisms and noticing the very obvious symptoms of dysfunction when confronted with them. And a lot of deadpan sarcasm to deal with it all.

✨ Honorable mention  ✨ …Oh. Fuck.

[silvercap]

In the mood to be wounded and rescued but not in the real life way where you get lifelong injuries and mostly just feel pain, rather in the novel protagonist way where you are tenderly cared for and comforted by your loving friends/family/unlikely allies while you drift in and out of consciousness and just kind of get worried about

[eldest-daughter-syndrome]

wow so I'm not the only one???

[silvercap]

Far from it!!