#team whump

[redd956]

Obsessed with the idea of an already wounded/exhausted character going "I... can take it." Like no bish you can't, but love enthusiasm and the horrified looks of your team.

[wlw-whump]

I'm a BIG fan of low ranking characters suddenly thrust into a position of authority they're unprepared for. a young princess, too far down the line of succession to merit any training, forced onto the throne when her whole family dies in one attack. a lowly technician on a team who finds themself the defacto leader when a mission goes wrong and every single person above them is captured or killed. a group of strangers comes together for survival, and the only person with any assertiveness gets assigned a leadership role, even though they have no special skills. do these characters rise to the challenge and lead their respective groups to victory? do they crash and burn under the pressure so hard no one ever trusts them again? do they massively restructure their whole society because any system that puts them in charge can't be doing things right?

[callithumpwhump]

Character A zoning out with a worried look on their face, stressing out and going quiet and Character B tilting their head to look at them with a soft smile and voice saying 'hey, where'd you go?' that's it that's the whole post I need a minute

[pain-in-the-everywhere]

Whumpee is able to provide a little too much information about Whumper during team meetings. Details that seem too personal to be dug out of research alone... the kind one would only know if they knew Whumper closely.

Team begin to suspect Whumpee is a traitor, a double agent. They stop listening to Whumpee's advice and suggestions during meetings because they think Whumpee is trying to trick them into one of Whumper's traps.

Now imagine the look on the Team's faces when they're captured because they didn't take the precautions Whumpee told them to.

Imagine the look on their faces when Whumper walks past all of them and goes straight to Whumpee because "It's so good to have you back, darling. I've missed you."

And Whumpee flinches.

[rooksshinies]

The pure, primal fear Whumpee feels after so long in captivity/being tortured. They’re being rescued, Caretaker and their team approaching.

No, no, fuck. No—

Whumpee scrambles back, eyes wide and breaths shallow. “Don’t— don’t..” They stammer, every muscle tensed with adrenaline and fear. Too close— too close now! They scramble to the side, dodging past Caretaker and team and making a beeline for the door. They can’t think, can’t breathe can’t anything when all they see is that door. Away from these people. Then suddenly they’re on the floor and there are hands hands hands pulling at them and touching their face and patting their leg but they can’t think of that. Just out. They need to get out— up, away from them. They struggle and try and get up, hardly comprehending where they are, just that they have to get away.

Eventually, Whumpee is held down until whatever primal instinct that overtook them has gone, or at least softened. They are completely exhausted, eyes dazed, shaking like a leaf. Quiet. Like a subdued wild animal.

[justlikeotherchemists]

Team Leader saying "Leave. That's an order." hits twice as hard, when they're the kind of person who hates hiearchies and avoids giving direct commands.

[peachbrine]

visible signs of illness or injury 🤝 characters who hate calling attention to themselves

grumpy team leader showing up on monday morning with their arm in a sling, coat draped awkwardly over their shoulders

young, bold up-and-coming captain desperately trying to hide a limp to avoid being benched

visible bruises hidden under a sweater that keeps riding up, or poorly covered with makeup, dodging questions as their friends get more and more concerned

medic counting on their team not paying too much attention to the slowly spreading stain underneath their field jacket and the way that their hands are shaking

reliable, steady intelligence source doesn’t get sick, and the way their voice is cracking over the radio is just a bad signal

a meeting that they have to lead in five minutes and a black eye that they’ve resigned themselves to not being able to hide

absolutely refusing to admit anything is wrong despite the poorly-muffled coughing and sniffling

fresh stitches underneath a suit or gown, shrugging off friendly hugs that land on just-closed wounds

[whooooomp]

I really really like it when Whumpee's friends know about their trauma and just subtly try to make them more comfortable without even saying anything.

Making sure Whumpee gets a seat from which they can see the exit doors.

Coming up with an excuse to go elsewhere if Whumpee looks uncomfortable in a crowd.

Always having their hands visible if they're gonna try to touch Whumpee (and going slowly so that they can prepare/react).

Avoiding all touch in general if they notice Whumpee tensing up/flinching

Directing conversations from topics that can trigger Whumpee.

Stealing the first bite of Whumpee's food and playing it off as being greedy (it's to show Whumpee that it isn't poisoned).

Making plans or randomly showing up at Whumpee's home on anniversaries that are bound to be rough for them. (!!!!!!!)

Not bringing unnecessary attention to Whumpee flinching or their hands trembling.

Noticing that Whumpee is in a worse mood but also knowing very well that trying to bring it up will only make them shut off more. So they just stay close as much as they can, to show that they're always here for them once they're ready to talk.