Getting off to a good startâŚ
Whump Tropes for Butch/Femme Knights and Nobles
You know the ones. A noble lady (what kind is up to you of course) in danger/captivity is in need of rescue. Butch knights and their ladies are all over the place on tumblr! Letâs hurt some and shake up the tropes a bit while weâre here :)
Of course youâve got the classic of a butch knight going to save a noblewoman (femme or otherwise).
The would-be rescuer successfully finds the woman sheâs been hoping to save from captivity. But on her way in, sheâs been injuredâmaybe wounded from a fight, or hurt by terrain/the effort to infiltrate the strongholdâand when they finally meet sheâs badly hurt.
Maybe tries to do some impromptu field medicine, and then hides the injuries as best she can, neither of them realizing the extent of them until later. The rest of the escape is agonizing, so thank goodness itâs a team effort.
Or, itâs too bad to hide and sheâs forced to stop. It takes the nobleâs help with patching her up, with a torn piece of a sleeve or skirt or a makeshift split, to get her in a position where the two of them can collaborate on escapingâand this time they both know the hazards which allows them to succeed.
Maybe the knight is trying her best not to show pain, to stay strong and do whatâs needed for the good of both of them (she wonât flinch at being bandaged; she grits her teeth to keep from biting her tongue, and breathes through her nose to not scream), but almost as soon as sheâs led them out of the worst danger, sheâs overwhelmed by it all and collapses.
Now for the dynamic mix ups!
How about a clever butch noblewoman who tricks her way into enemy territory under a guise of false surrender in order to rescue someone whoâs been taken as a war captive?
She comes in with the book-learning side of things that the warrior will need to know in order to make it outâa floor plan of the prison or castle committed to memory, an excuse for why she must see this person, a lock pick in hand, but isnât going to be able fight her way free. She knows sheâs taking a big risk, and fears ending up as a liability rather than a help, but she steels herself and does her best to prepare anyway.
The captive struggles with her sense of honor, feeling as if she should be able to free herself or dealing with shame at having been defeated/taken alive.
Maybe survivorâs guilt is a factor; maybe her capture was so traumatic she froze up. Sheâs left feeling that she not only shouldnât need to be rescued, but she doesnât even deserve it.
The noble makes it to the captive knight, but sheâs gone through something unanticipated by the time she gets there. Perhaps she was put through an interrogation to be certain she was no threat, and lied through her teeth but was deeply shaken by the psychological harm and physical threat sheâs under.
Or things have been a little too normal, to the point where itâs suspicious, and she realizes a trap is being laid for her as well, with the captive knight she has a connection to serving as bait. She finally reunites with the knight⌠when sheâs thrown into the same prison cell. (Itâs a good thing she still has her lockpickâŚ)
The knight is in an absolute state when the noble gets to her. Sheâs stubbornly refused to talk when interrogated, or tried to escape repeatedly, and suffered for it. Maybe sheâs taken a beating or deliberate torture injuries, or maybe sheâs hurt or incapacitated by restraints intended to prevent further escapes (any restraints will turn into a torture device pretty fast if theyâre left on too long).
Another two-butches scenario: a soldier set to guard a noble whoâs being held against her will, who instead slowly finds herself pitying her stoic captive and realizes she wants to free herâbut that would mean defection on her part.
The noble is being held prisoner but in a kind of gilded-cage situation due to her status. Sheâs not supposed to be physically injured, sheâs not behind bars, but the room is locked and she has no qualms about complaining to the guard whoâs meant to stay at her side. It could be superficial, or could be confiding her fears of her captor (maybe theyâre hostile and itâs a hostage situation; maybe she was sent there on purpose only to find herself under the control of a tyrant as a courtier or bride, and itâs only captivity to her, but either way she wants out).
She keeps trying to trick or wheedle her way into getting more freedom, with the soldier not being impressed, but when the soldier reports it to the superior and it gets up to the highest-ranking person holding her (the other noble whose estate sheâs at), her treatment worsens as a result, leaving the soldier feeling guilty.
The noble makes a failed escape attempt that results in security being subtly increasedâmore visits from her captor whoâs now taking notice, for example, and decides it will require some psychological breaking down to keep her from trying to run. Sheâs perfectly willing to get into some verbal sparring, and her ingratitude requires punishment. It could be gaslighting or outright lies about the state of negotiations, or whatâs become of the person/people sheâs hoping to see on the other side: lies that they donât want her back, or canât afford to ransom her, or are dead/captured themselves. Now itâs part of the soldierâs duty to hide the truth, even as she watches the emotional devastation the noble is trying so hard to hide.
The physical security is tighter now, like before could wander around a certain area before, and now sheâs locked in one room, or theyâre trying to subdue her psychologically on a more blunt level by drugging her to keep her from scheming (she may or may not know itâs happening; the soldier definitely does).
Or, sheâs being held in more of an outright prison or dungeon, and the soldier can tell sheâs not really cut out for itâeither she hasnât seen combat or is new to it, maybe, but from the soldierâs dangerously-detached, used-to-trauma point of view sheâs âsoftâ. Sheâs certainly never been tortured or deprived of adequate food/sleep/etc. and any part of that is rough on her. The visible trauma from things the soldier is almost used to shakes the soldier up. But she canât do anything to stop it.
The soldier is made to witness the noble being tortured by her comradesâmaybe theyâre even her friends. They have no understanding or perception of the soldierâs discomfort, or why she has to try not to flinch at every pained sound she makes, every cutting remark and humiliation thrown at her (possibly about traits they share in common, in terms of presentation/gender/suspected or open queerness, threats that the group donât realize will make the soldier view them differently).
She could even be made to participate in harm to her, maybe because sheâs starting to be seen as too lenient with the noble, too kind. Sheâs in a risky position, with other guards or superiors observing, and she canât get away with trying to make the blows lighter or do less damage.
Whatever the final straw is, the noble will need serious help getting out of it, with the damage thatâs been done.
snowghoul
kaledo-art
2087
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