#trp og

[thatsroughpal]

Regarding potential post-whump reactions: The thing about hyper-vigilance is that there's an upper limit to it. Like, eventually, someone can be so on edge and so fried and trying to take in so much that they just stop taking in anything. Not flinching anymore, not keenly attuned to every escape route, not alert to possible dangers—internally restless and keyed up all the same, but it's all static, none of it useful because there's no way to differentiate signal in the midst of all that noise.

[thatsroughpal]

Whumpee who has a coping mechanism or something that brought them comfort in the darkness but that now, in their recovery period, makes them absolutely sick to think about because it's become so closely associated with that suffering. They try to engage with it/think about it and start to shake or dissociate or get irritable, and it takes them a while to even realize what's happening. Because this was something that made them feel good, that protected them, that helped them keep it together; there's a lot wrapped up in it for them, and maybe it was important to them before. But it's different now.

[thatsroughpal]

Whump where the whumper doesn't even have to command or threaten or direct. Whumpee already knows the routine. They have an understanding, almost, the two of them. They perform as expected, in silence, with no hesitation—just resignation, tense but exhausted, choosing not to waste energy they don't have on pointless displays of resistance, of protest.

But though they neither struggle nor speak, the hatred in their eyes speaks volumes.

And maybe whumper likes that they're still in there. That this dance still costs them something, even if they're compliant—that they're not quite broken.

Not yet.

[thatsroughpal]

There's just something about whump scenarios where the whumpee who ends up in the whumpee's crosshairs isn't even their main focus. Hero taking on the nemesis of a team member, friend in wrong place at the wrong time, whumper specifically targeting their former whumpee's current circle. Because there's an intriguing asymmetry to it, and there are so many layers. The one being whumped isn't even important—and what's worse, being the object of obsession for a sadist or being incidental and disposable?

But then there's the past trauma reveal potential. Because maybe they know what the former whumpee went through at the hands of this person—and so are boiling with a potent fury at what they've done threaded with fear for the knowledge of what they're capable of—but maybe this is how they find out. Maybe they realize on their own what must have happened and the horror rises like bile. Maybe whumper tells them, bragging, taunting, gleeful, possessive, matter of fact, solemn but unremorseful. And then if the former whumpee gets involved (rescue, negotiation, sent a message), maybe they're forced to watch, or they can see that current whumpee knows now by how they look at (or can't look at) them, or whumper tells them.

And now, whatever happens, they have this terrible shared understanding, but they experienced it so differently. Maybe whumpee says why didn't you tell me. Maybe they say I thought I understood but I had no idea. It changes things between them.

And in the end, whumper is still only truly interested in the former whumpee, who knows that whumpee would never have crossed paths with this person if not for their connection.

So many layers!