oh my gosg steven universe!! i may have a couple ideas:
- you know how the diamonds used to do forced fusion experiments from shattered gems? do that but don't shatter the gem, so they'll be fully aware.
- i imagine a lapis whumper has many torture opportunities with their water ability, like using their own tools like saws and chains, but also with their projection abilities to make whumpee stare at what is happening to them. gems can't drown to my knowledge but humans can...
- whumper threatening to crack gem!whumpee's gem if they misbehave
- leaning into the pre-era 3 pressure on regular gems to be perfect, a higher ranking whumper (someone like holly blue agate, can i say i loved her introduction?) with many whumpees they would be conditioning, so many opportunities
- someone threatening a sapphire to predict the end of some conflict
- i'm not too sure how the recovering mechanism for poofed gems works, but perhaps the gems NEED light to recover after poofing, and then not getting it
- shapeshifting whumpee being made to hold uncomfortable forms for whumper's amusement
- whumpee who is an era 2 gem, being made to feel inferior by the same gem type, but from era 1 (quote peridot(i think?) saying that they don't make them like they used to)
- or flip that to an insecure era 2 gem whumping the same gem type from era 1 to feel superior
- pearl whumper keeping whumpee in their gem, not being able to escape
- multiple ruby whumpers but one of them feels bad for whumpee so theres internal conflict in the bigger ruby fusion
- white diamond's possessive powers, the psychological horror of whumpee getting possessed and then "waking up" with no memory of what she could've made them do
can you tell i love pre-era 3? endless whump possibilities