#ongoing whump

[survivesurvivingwhump]

I love the many ways Whumpee's mentality can deteriorate during a domestic/covert violence situation. They could become irritable and reckless, lashing out at their loved ones for seemingly minor reasons. Or they become withdrawn, avoiding socializing and attempting to be unnoticed as they go throughout their day. Maybe they seem fine, at least to most people. But those close to them can sense something off. Its like Whumpee is not all there.

yes!!!! YES

"sorry." whumpee's voice is quiet. it hadn't been, before. they'd not... it wasn't yelling, but they'd snapped, and it had been loud, and unfair. they press their hands over their face. shame and guilt churn in their chest. "sorry, that was- you didn't deserve that."

there's a strange, somewhat strained quiet over the room. they can barely bring themself to look up at caretaker, but they have to. they have to see how badly they've fucked it up. except that, when they do look, the dominant expression on caretaker's face is concern.

"something's going on with you," caretaker says.

whumpee flinches and looks down again. their body aches. the truth lodges in their chest and sticks there. they can't say it. they want to - that's maybe the worst part. that they do want to tell caretaker about what's happening. about whumper. about the pain, and the fear, and the way they feel like they've been gutted and their insides filled with something poisoned, rotting. but they can't. they just- they can't.

"i can't," they say. it's quiet and grief-stricken. it's an admission at the same time that it's a denial of the truth. and caretaker hears the part underneath the surface.

i can't tell you means there's something to tell.

"that's okay. i mean, it's not. it's not okay, whatever is happening, it's not okay, you're not okay, but-" caretaker breaks off, exhaling sharply. "i just mean that you don't have to tell me until you can. but just- i'm here, okay? try to... no matter what, i'm here. call me at three in the morning, i'll come get you. okay?"

whumpee nods silentl.y they can't speak. if they do, they'll say other things, too, things that they just can't say. and they don't deserve this, fuck, they don't deserve it. they're being sharp, snappy, awful. they don't deserve it. no matter how bad they might want to call, they don't deserve to.

[survivesurvivingwhump]

specific prompt, really sorry, but i wanna yap about this so bad one thing that realllly gets me is when all the whump happens in a casual/domestic setting when whumpee is a subordinate/assistant/captive or has any role that allows whumper authority over them. slapping or punching whumpee just because they can, because they're always in such close proximity, why would they need anything else? groping whumpee when they're performing a task. randomly pulling them against their own body & grinding against them or making them feel the erection just to remind them of their place. making everything deliberately sexual as a mockery of routine. all so whumpee will associate even the most mundane things with shame. like fingering them when they work. or pleasing whumper as they work. pushing whumpee over a desk or counter and spreading their legs, making their intentions clear. taking whumpee then and there regardless of their pleas and begging. leaving them all used and trembling, no regard for their wellbeing. and whumpee can't escape any of it.

groping them while they're doing some other task, interrupting and just. forcibly sexualizing whumpee and any casual, normal, regular moment. anything that should be safe.

slapping. grabbing whumpee's hair and yanking. pinching, even, just casually pinching whumpee all over. their arms, stomach, thighs, their chest. the groping and grinding, and days when it doesn't escalate any further. it's just that constant, inescapable enforcement of power and control. your body is not yours. you are not your own. you belong to me. i can do whatever i want to you, whenever i want. grabbing their hand and shoving it between whumper's thighs to feel their erection, down their pants to feel that they're wet.

whumper playing chicken with other people seeing - or at least making whumpee think that they're going to assault them in front of others. creating the terror and the unpredictability. it can be any moment. any time, any place.

there are days nothing happens at all. whumper acts so normal. they go about their lives. they do their job. the only contact made is brushing by each other, or a casual nudge or brush by or tap on the shoulder. if whumper is amused by it, if they enjoy it, they manage to keep it under wraps. to whumpee, whumper is acting completely normal, like they can't see whumpee's flinching and fear at all. it makes them feel crazy. they're still sore inside, still bruised, they carry it in their skin every day, and whumper's got this expression of calm, mild bewilderment.

the hypervigilance this would cause. the constant terror, the constant sick feeling. seeing a desk, or a kitchen counter, or a couch, a bathroom sink. normal furniture, normal activities. normal interactions. all of it means violation to them, means abuse, means shame and sickness and pain and terror. there's never any indication of when it might change, when it might turn, when the abuse might start. (it never stops. it never truly stops.)

[survivesurvivingwhump]

Scenario where Whumpee must submit to Whumper again and again, because if they don't show up willingly, Whumper has threatened to hurt someone Whumpee loves in their place. Whumpee cannot let their loved one endure the same torture, so no matter how horrific each visit is, they keep showing up at Whumper's door. Sometimes Whumper invites guests over to hurt Whumpee in worse and more humiliating ways. When Whumpee goes home limping and bruised, they must keep up appearances to not stir up suspicions, and continue with their life as if nothing was out of the ordinary. But over time, the person Whumpee is protecting knows that something is wrong, no matter how much Whumpee denies it and how well they have managed to fool everyone else.

this hits on so many of my favourite things: ongoing abuse where they're otherwise pretending everything is fine, hiding the trauma and the pain that they're going through. a character who is 'willingly' walking into a situation where they know they're going to be abused or assaulted and all the internalized victim blaming and ongoing horror of having to walk their own body straight into that abuse. could be a fun place to put in one of my other favourite things: a whumpee who has previously been sexually abused/assaulted and whumper knows that, and says well, i mean, i could use [loved one] for this, but if you wanted to save them from that, i'd make do with you instead. you do already have some... experience in the area.

inviting guests over is such a horrifying detail, too. the number of ways that could go... if it's random to always keep them off-balance and scared of worse. if it's used as a punishment for whumpee acting out in some way, maybe they were summoned to whumper like usual but failed to show up, so whumper has to make them understand how much worse it could be.

i love the specific detail of it being the person they're sacrificing their body and safety to protect being the one who pieces together what's going on, too. that something is wrong, something is so wrong. this is someone who knows them well, someone who they're close to. and how can they possibly tell this person, when they've allowed themself to be abused in this way for so long? how can they tell when this person will surely blame themself for it, when whumpee can't bear to think of them carrying so much unearned guilt? this is whumpee's fault. they're the only one who should carry any of it.

[survivesurvivingwhump]

Whumper 1 brags to Whumper 2 about raping Whumpee quite often. So much so that Whumper 2 becomes curious and a bit jealous. So, they try to rape Whumpee behind Whumper 1's back. They're nervous about Whumper 1 finding out, though, so they just hump without leaving marks in Whumpee or penetrating them.

god whumper 2 getting so anxious about getting caught that they don't complete the planned rape they just... sexually assault whumpee and make a quick escape. the dynamics here make me crazy. why is whumper 2 so worried about whumper 1 finding out? is whumper 1 that possessive? is whumper 1 whumpee's partner who they've been abusing in a domestic context? do they just think whumper 2 hasn't earned the privilege yet?

and from whumpee's perspective... it's often. it's ongoing. they're used to being raped by whumper 1 at this point. they expect it. whumper 2 hurts them in other ways, or doesn't hurt them at all. whumper 2 might even be someone they let their guard down around somewhat.

then this happens. and they're so shocked. it's so fast, it's so unexpected, it comes from fucking nowhere. and they have to either process that whumper 1 is bragging about raping them or grapple with having no idea why this has suddenly happened. and then, after, they hate themself for how violated they feel, how completely it's floored them. after all, they weren't even penetrated. whumper 2 didn't even get their clothes off. why do they still feel so shattered? whumper 1 does so much worse, all the time.

[survivesurvivingwhump]

awkward caretaker who knows whumpee’s being abused and can’t do shit about it. they hardly know how to comfort people in general, let alone someone whose ordeal isn’t over. so they do what they can to get whumpee cleaned up and comfortable and just sit with them.

they hate the silence, and they don’t want to force whumpee to talk, so they start telling stories—any that come to mind. what it was like falling down the stairs in the house they grew up in, the time they snuck out and got a piercing against their parents’ wishes, even folktales from their family’s culture. anything to distract whumpee from their shitty reality for a little while.

they’re not good at talking, but if it’ll help whumpee at all, they’ll try.

(it's sweet if caretaker is the one whumpee chose to go to even knowing it would be awkward, but i think it's more fun if there's no choice involved. caretaker is all they have right now. caretaker has to step up and do something even if they make a fool of themself. there's no one else. (bonus if they barely know each other!!!))

oh i go bananas for this any day of the week this is so so good to me, i ADORE it.

i love a character who feels like they don’t know what they’re doing. who truly DOESNT know what they’re doing. they care and this person is suffering and they want to help but they’re shit at it.

all that’s implied in cleaned up and comfortable is making me wild, too, there’s so much potential there. what kind of actual physical care they’re offering. help washing away blood. clean clothes. letting whumpee sleep in their home, on a couch or in a bed.

and the talking… ugh. talking to whumpee like a person. maybe even asking their advice, talking about their own problems, even if whumpee doesn’t answer. (and it means so much to whumpee, honestly. to still be treated like they could be capable of helping. of having good advice.) they’re bad at caretaking, bad at talking. but they’re who’s here. they have to help.

this is especially appealing to me too if the ongoing situation is finally revealed or stopped or generally now public knowledge, and then someone else like… is there, available to step in and take over. but that’s not what whumpee wants. and this awkward caretaker (one of my all time fave ‘x caretaker’ variations tbh) is reluctant to step back, having grown incredibly protective of whumpee throughout this process, but, well. there’s someone better at this here now. someone softer, kinder, gentler.

but no, whumpee wants awkward caretaker. whumpee trusts awkward caretaker, feels safe with them. they’ve proven over and over that they’re safe and can be relied on, and they’re the one that whumpee wants with them now. (if they want to… maybe they shouldn’t have to be stuck with someone who knows so little about how to comfort a person in pain. (awkward caretaker who’s so convinced they’re terrible at this, that whumpee deserves so much better than them.))

there was no choice somehow when initially awkward caretaker is the one to be supporting them. but there’s a choice now. and they’re choosing awkward caretaker still.

[survivesurvivingwhump]

domestic whump where whumpee works an incredibly high stress job (ie medical field) only to have their free time taken away from them by a whumper who uses them as stress relief for their own problems. taking their anger out on someone who has to get up and keep moving the next day because people depend on them. every step is agonising.

bonus points also if the whumper is in a position of power over them like physically, emotionally, financially (or all of the above) and they are in some way reliant on that relationship despite the pain it causes them. the kind of guilt and shame that would result in.

idk is this anything

oh that’s ABSOLUTELY something. i’m extremely listening.

those are some of my favourite things to explore in whump contexts especially with interpersonal violence and less of the like… captivity scenario type stuff. power and authority and reliance. trust and the abuse of trust, abuse of power.

taking out their frustration and stress on whumpee who then has to drag themself up and keep going day after day, no choice, no option. they’re counted on. they’re relied on. they’re known to be strong, too. they have to be. they don’t have a choice.

the pain doesn’t matter. the physical pain, the emotional pain, the toll of constant fear and shame and guilt and heartbreak of a person they have SOME kind of meaningful relationship with hurting them, none of it matters. it’s not supposed to. they don’t matter, not like this.

until their body and their spirit gives out and they collapse and someone, maybe multiple someones, are suddenly confronted with the fact that something horrible has happened and has been happening for so, so long.

[survivesurvivingwhump]

More touch averse whumpee being respected post whump or even simultaneously by caretaker who maybe doesn’t know why Whumpee is like this rn but respects their boundaries nonetheless and Whumpee is so grateful even though it makes coping with what Whumper does harder

absolutely. absolutely, absolutely. ugh, i love that.

one particular detail of this that i'm caught on is caretaker not knowing why whumpee doesn't want to be touched but respecting it anyway. there's a dynamic in a book series that i love that depicts an incredibly close friendship where one of them has some stuff in his past that has clearly traumatized him and that he doesn't, kind of can't speak about. and his best friend just... lets it be. he obviously wants to know, it kills him not to know, but his friend doesn't want to talk about it, and he accepts that. he even goes out of his way not to let other people tell him what happened to his friend, because the only way he's going to find out, he says, is if his friend tells him. (a third party ends up forcibly revealing... some of it to him. which is delicious)

but just. the acceptance of 'they don't want to talk about it' combined with the obvious fact that something happened. this person is hurt and someone who cares for them is here and seeing that and not pushing. allowing them that choice, that privacy. that respect. even if it's killing them not to know. they just. they don't touch whumpee. they give them space without leaving them abandoned, alone.

and i love the detail about it making coping with what whumper does harder. and they're grateful anyway. do they want physical comfort, they just can't? do they want caretaker to know, they just... can't, yet? and the fact that it's ongoing. god i love that. whump continuing while someone knows something is wrong is so, so good. but the fact that they're making a choice, that they've asked for something - verbally or just through their reactions - and they're getting it? caretaker is respecting their boundaries, is giving them the space they need, even if it's painful, even if they might want something else, even if they couldn't tolerate anything else, they're getting it. they're being hurt. someone is hurting them. but someone else is caring. is doing what they need, even if it's hard. even if it doesn't make sense. even if they don't understand.