Getting Whumped Upside the Head

My repository for whumpy prompts, writing and general hurty-ness. Be advised that this blog may contain unsettling, disturbing and sometimes triggery content. You have been warned.

[whump-galaxy]

God, I had this image of a sci-fi setting, where caretaker/leader is a well known warrior/mercenary/soldier. The enemies know this, maybe even made them like this with brainwashing and technological modifications.

In their rush to recapture their best combatant, they find and capture the caretaker’s charge. Some weak little runt that they have no problem roughing up. They use the kid for ransom and demand an exchange.

So the caretaker meets at the rendezvous with murder in their eyes. Till they see their charge, all bloodied and beaten up. The kid knew it was a possibility when they came along, but now it’s real. It’s real and they’re trembling.

The caretaker, knowing they’re being surrounded, asks that they be able to hug their charge one last time. The captors know they’ve got the upper hand, and so, toss the runt towards the caretaker. The caretaker catches them in an embrace.

“Close your eyes.” They whisper, protectively putting the kid behind themselves.

Their charge is frightened but obeys, covering their eyes.

And the caretaker rips through their enemies, decimating their forces, slashing and destroying without a thought, every enemy eviscerated in mere moments.

The caretaker stands above the bodies, hands shaking, blood that isn’t theirs dripping from their face. They turn to their charge, who clearly didn’t listen when they said to close their eyes.

Between their hands, their eyes show nothing but horror. True fear. They’re frozen to the spot.

The caretaker slowly approaches without a word, and cups the kid’s cheek in one hand.

“You’re safe.”

[whumpster-dumpster]

I've been trying to look for this everywhere and I can't seem to find a specific word or phrase for this trope: A character's arms are held by two other characters (one person for each arm on each side of that character) to restrain them from fighting back/protecting themselves and then another character punches them in the stomach and stuff. I've seen it a lot in movies and TV shows but it doesn't seem to be called anything in particular that I know of. Just wondering if you happened to know. Thanks in advance!

Hmm, I’m not sure either! I guess it could be considered part of the “Let me at him” trope, where the character is held back from attacking someone? But that’s typically by the character’s allies who don’t want them to go that far or whatnot. I’m not sure if it being the whumper’s lackeys makes a difference in the name.

[whumpedupsidethehead]

No. This is a fairly different animal from "Let Me At Him!"

"Let Me At Him!" is when a character is really, really pissed at someone and has to be held back by their friends from attacking that person, often with plenty of taunting to be had by the person in question.

What this is is being held fast so that you can't fight back while someone else kicks the living shit out of you. It's a well known tactic used by bullies, mob dudes, authoritarian thugs and other whumper types the world over.

[whumpedupsidethehead]

Here is your card for Bad Things Happen Bingo. Happy writing!

[painsandconfusion-moved-shoo]

Sassy Kidnapped Whumpee Prompts

Here's a list of sassy kidnappee quotes/prompts for those defiant little whumpees who are just asking for it. Enjoy!

(Shoutout to @prisonerwhump for the idea!!!)

"Oof, big scary speech. Nice. Did you practice that in front of the mirror this morning?"

"Are these new ropes? I hope you didn't go to the trouble just for me, you know I don't judge."

"Ah. Blindfolds again. How original."

"Okay, I'm awake. You can make your entrance now. [...] Don't play dumb, I know that's a two-way mirror. Let's just get it over with."

"You know, I always assumed if I were kidnapped it would be some creepy stalker yandere thing, but no. I get you instead. That's better, right? So...Thank you? I think? Ah, that's a knife."

"Listen, I know you're trying to be intimidating and everything - and normally it would be. Really, I mean it. Choking me against the wall is real scary, but... Like. Your hands are so soft, I can't even take you seriously. What kind of lotion do you use?"

"Not to critique you when you're doing your zappy thing, but you had better up the voltage or something before I fall asleep. I get bored easily."

" "How much did that hurt"? Really? Like, I mean. It hurt, it wasn't pleasant, but - you know when you're a kid and your parents spank you when you don't clean your room? Yeah, that happened to me a lot as a kid. I felt really bad making her get after me because she was always sick and frail and stuff. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make here is my mom hits harder than you. Does that answer your question?"

"You know, Einstein said that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. And you seem like a smart person. Really, you do. But you keep asking me the same fucking question and I keep giving you the same fucking answer and now I'm starting to think maybe you aren't as smart as you look."

"Make me, bitch."

"I get it, I get it. You knock me around, make me bleed, I scream a bit, bla bla bla. You don't have to give me a full itinerary."

"You won't do it. You don't have the balls."

"Wow, what an impressive collection. Very daunting. Very scary. Just checking, but you do have a life outside of collecting torture implements, right? I don't judge, but I'm a little worried about you."

"All you want to know is where Caretaker is. Honestly, you could ask a few questions about me first. You don't even know my favorite color yet."

"Geez, you can at least buy me dinner before choking me out."

"Are you sure you know how to use that? I don't know, man. Maybe you should let me try it on you to make sure. Just untie me real quick."

"Mmm yes! Harder! Please hit me harder! Oh, I'm sorry. Am I making you uncomfortable? No no, don't stop hitting me now, asshole."

"F-fuck! Shit dude. You know humans need air, right? I can't just go indefinitely with that bag on my head because you're in a bad mood. Did you even get past third grade science? You can't even - No. Nonono, don't put it back! Ple-!"

"Strip? Oh honey if you want my clothes off so bad, you take them off. - Gezz! Fuck. I didn't think you'd actually do it. No, back off weirdo."

"Loving the 'dark scary basement' vibes. Really, this level of design takes time. The lightbulb is even flickering - did you plan that? It's honestly impressive. That or you're just this much of a slob. Either way, very effective."

"Oooooo! I've always wanted my own dungeon cell. Can I put movie posters on the walls? I think they would really spice the place up. Do you have any extra sticky tack?"

"Really? You bought me for that low of a price? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'll never see that much money in my entire life, but I think I'm worth more than that. I mean, look at me. I'm adorable."

"You can at least give me a deck of cards or something, it's soooooo boring down here when you're gone. Not that it's better when you're here. Hm? No no, not because of the pain or whatever, you're just still boring. Really, if I had as much money as you, I could buy a personality."

"Ah, the whip again. Let me ask, do you ever have any new ideas or do you just find one and let it play like a broken record until you die?"

"Honestly I'm starting to get genuinely concerned about your hearing. I said I'm. Not. Telling. You. Anything. Do I need to talk louder? Maybe write it out for you? Ow! Jeez, you can cut me all you want, but that's not going to be nearly as effective as just talking to an otolaryngologist."

"You call that a hit? Untie me quick and I'll show you how it's done."

"Gooooooooooooodevening, Kidnapper! How are you today? How was work. Did you drink enough water? How was - oh my, you look angry. Is it something I said?"

"Blech! Finally! Wow it feels good to have that off. I can finally talk again. You ever miss the sound of your own voice so much you hear it in your head? No no, I'm not answering any questions, I need stretch my jaw back out first. Oh, am I annoying you? I'm very sorry to hear that. Know what else is annoying? When a fucking psycho ca- Mmmph!"

[waywardwhump]

Give me an angry caretaker.

Give me a caretaker who can be gentle with the whumpee, but who will tear the whumper apart in ways even the whumper would be horrified by.

Give me a caretaker willing to stain their hands with blood.

Not a caretaker who is secretly a whumper, mind you.

I want a caretaker who is capable of deep cruelty when their charge is harmed or threatened. A caretaker who won't heal an injured whumper out of some moral obligation. A caretaker who will torment the whumper with everything they have and view it as justice served.

Give me a caretaker out for revenge, and make the whumper regret every choice they've made in their life.

[whumpster-dumpster]

do you know of any gun-related whump that doesn't involve directly shooting the whumpee? (like hitting them with the blunt end, etc)

Sure! Like you said, there’s pistol whipping, as well as things like: 

Gunpowder burns

Bayonet stabbing

Misfires at the worst moment

Hearing loss/burst eardrums from gunshots

Stun guns (still a sort of gun, eh?)

Nail guns (same point)

Fantasy or sci-fi: a magic bullet or laser burns

That thing where they stick the barrel in the whumpee’s mouth

Whumpee loses their gun and it ends up being used in a crime to frame them

[whumpedupsidethehead]

Being forced to do degrading/humiliating things at gunpoint.

Being forced to watch the whumper shoot people or animals (preferably those the whumpee cares about), or being threatened with such if the whumpee doesn't do what they tell them to.

Gun barrels get hot enough to burn when they've just had a number of rounds put through them.

If fired too close to someone's eyes, a gun's muzzle flash is perfectly capable of blinding someone (there's an old Hong Kong action movie called The Killer where Chow Yun-Fat's title character does this to someone by accident during a shootout).

Two words: Russian Roulette.

[redstainedsocks]

I don't know who else besides me needs this reminder but just in case:

It's okay if your taste in fiction changes over time. This is particually true for whump and darker content. It's fine if tropes and themes you once loved and eagerly consumed don't hit the spot anymore in the same way they used to. You don't have to read and write the same things for the rest of forever, or the rest of your time here among people who write whump.

You can change, by choice or necessity. You can drop old series and still think fondly about when you liked them, without wanting to read or write anymore of them. You can appreciate great writing, and also be aware that it isn't something you want to read, or produce, any more of.

Whump is particularly strange and changeable in this regard, as we grow and experience life the things that gave us escapism in the past shift, sometimes naturally, sometimes with one big overhaul of emotion. But this can be especially true if your experience, or begin to process, your own trauma. And not even trauma, but just coming to terms with hurts or old wounds, and as new things happen in your life.

Whether you are a writer or a reader, you don't have to be beholden to things you began once upon a time. Let yourself move on, if you need or want to.

Squicks and triggers can change over time, but sometimes it's not even that strong, sometimes it's just... not for you, anymore.

I promise there will always be something new to read, or write, that makes you feel good. There are always stories being told that will light you up with joy, there's new tropes and new prompts and new characters that you will grow fond of, once you find them.

You don't have to hate what you used to love to need to step away from it, but it is okay to change what you read and write. Treat yourself well, and don't keep going back to things that no longer make you feel good. Your favourite authors won't hold it against you (or they shouldn't), your own readers will still have the old pieces to come back to. You can do whatever you want with the time you spend creating and consuming content, let it be guilt free.

[whumpthisway]

ABSOLUTELY THIS 👏🙌 well said Socks, and an important point <3 <3

[whumptopia]

A train whistles in the distance, and the whumpee’s frantic thrashing only tightens the ropes securing them to the tracks. 

“Help!” they shout, struggling helplessly, and the whumper chuckles, watching, standing a safe distance away from the rails. 

“No one can hear you out here, sweetheart.” The whumper gestures to the miles of empty forest surrounding them. “Scream all you like.”

[whumpedupsidethehead]

As much as we like to mock the "tied to the railroad tracks" thing as being a ginormous cliche, it's still a bad and whumptastic situation for someone to be in. And people have died this way before.

[sickbayy]

I firmly believe that magically healing can and should be whumpy – Hollywood’s just a bit confused, that’s all. They’ll come around eventually.

There are two main ways to have your whump AND your magical healing: limiting the scope of your healer’s powers, and/or making the healing process itself whumpy. (As a bonus, you can also whump your healer!)

So! Here are a whole host of ways to approach magic healing that don’t take the fun out of the whump. Most are original or relatively generic. A handful of examples were cribbed from existing media, noted as relevant. Feel free to add your own ideas!

Limit the scope and/or availability of healing magic:

magical healing can only be used for magical injuries. (Got stabbed by a boring old knife? Sucks for you, magic can’t help you here.)

magical healing can’t be used for magical injuries.

healing magic, like any “normal” surgery, requires great skill.

certain characters are immune to magic – including healing magic.

healing magic can only be used on other magic-users

healing magic can only be used on non magic-users

healing magic requires other elements

only ceremonial magic can heal, and it requires time and preparation. (Gods forbid your poor whumpee bleed out on the table while your mage is scrambling to prepare…)

healing magic is witchcraft and requires certain ingredients

either healing potions must be prepared in advance and are therefore in limited supply, or take time and supplies to make and your whumpee, once again, must wait.

healing magic requires multiple people to be present

magic can only be used to aid natural healing – shorten recovery time, dampen pain, etc.

magic healing is temporary – after a given amount of time, the injury comes rushing back. (Ars Magica)

healing requires knowledge of the whumpee’s true name

Make the healing hurt

pain/injuries can only be transferred, not actually healed.

the healer must take on the hurt.a willing party must take on the hurt. (Is the strongest person in the party willing to take the injuries of the weakest?any living party can take on the hurt, whether or not they’re willing. Hard choices for your heroes.in addition to any of these, consider “splitting” the hurt. (One critically injured person can have some injuries off-loaded to someone else. I really like this one – you get a lot of angst from the initial injury, deflect a major character death, and end up with TWO injured parties for the price of one, with even more angst.)

pain concentration – all of the pain the whumpee would experience over the course of natural healing gets crammed into the time it takes to heal them. (Sounds traumatic for all parties involved, if you ask me.) (Smoke series.)

healer black-outs

make ‘em happen every time! your healer knows that if they heal someone, they’ll fall unconscious for an unknown amount of time. This limits healing to only critical situations and also keeps whump and angst (caring for the caretaker) in the equation.

healing requires blood magic. the more healing, the more blood.

healing requires the healer physically touching the part to be healed. massive internal injuries? you’re gonna have to cut that poor whumpee open.

if you’re going the “healing magic requires as much skill as surgery” route, consider the painful implications of healing magic attempted by an amateur.

make healing magic addictive, either for the whumpee (perhaps it heals everything, giving them a high? see Stargate SG-1 ep 2.05 ) or for the healer (perhaps they find the amount of power flowing through them during healing addictive).

make the healer your whumpee

healer and friend are captured. friend is brutally tortured, healer is forced by the whumper to bring them back from the brink of death again and again, just to be tortured again.

healer and friend are captured. friend is brought near the brink of death, and healer is only allowed to go to them if they give up critical information.

oh, healing magic requires the use of your hands? so your healer would be upset if, for instance, the whumper were to relieve them of their hands?

the team relies on the healer to keep them on their feet – too much, perhaps. The villain incapacitates the healer because of their skills.

healer is forced to transfer wounds from the villain to an innocent party/teammate/themselves.

[sweet-sounds-of-whump]

QUICK, which of these is the best way to tie up a whumpee?

One is good, a strong contender. Bound and helpless but with the arms above their head so they go numb. Definitely leaves their stomach and torso exposed where it wouldn’t usually be On Display so blatantly. keeps them at the same level as the whumper, good for initial torment because it puts them up as equals.

Two is solid for the same reasons, but it stops the lack of bloodflow to the arms and when they collapse they still kinda have some room to go down. It leaves their arms Totally out of the way, of course, which is good for conveniences sake. they’re face-to-face, like one, which still keeps them on an equal sort of playing field. 

Now- three is kinda classic? you’ve got the hands behind the back, the sitting position, its comfortable in the most uncomfortable way. Reminds me of interrogation scenes with the single lit ceiling light above their head. good to make the whumpee seem inferior, but not totally. gives room for the dramatic hanging of their head and lets the whumper grab their hair to lift their head up.

Four is good but kinda basic. No props, no details? leaving them lying frail on the floor is good, of course, but maybe it leaves them too vulnerable and helpless? means the whumper is always looking down, not comfortable for them, but it does do well to establish the inferiority of the whumpee.

I think I like the second the most, just for the idea of the whumper and the whumpee being at the same level. gives the whumpee a chance to spit defiantly in the whumpers face, or lets the whumper get a good look at all of their expressions while they do their work.

rb with which is your favourite!! or which your whumpees would hate the most!! (daniel would hate the third one the most)

[whumpedupsidethehead]

I’m honestly a fan of all four.

1 is good for the initial torment as mentioned above, though there’s also the possibility of hanging like this in an open room, which opens up the back for punishment (a whumper with a whip would be a classic use of this). Though if dealing with a combative whumpee, one might also want to get the legs too.

2 is also good for much the same reasons as 1, though the narrowness of what the whumpee is tied to is a recipe for pain if the whumper likes to slam or kick the whumpee against the pole. Unlike 1, however, the head is exposed for whatever the whumper wants to do, save anything involving the back of the head (because pole).

3 is your classic “we have ways of making you talk” position, it shares 2′s allowance for the whumpee to spit right in the whumper’s face, and the whumper can do all kinds of things to the whumpee’s head, which the arms-up position of 1 doesn’t really allow for.

4 is where a whumper can really start getting vicious. Kicking or stomping a whumpee while they’re down. Kneeling down and applying a blunt instrument to the head, or grabbing them by the hair and slamming their face down hard into the cold and unforgiving floor. Dragging them back by the ankles as they try to crawl or wriggle away. Placing one’s foot on the whumpee’s windpipe and applying pressure. Pinning the whumpee down (either prone or supine) and either strangling them or doing even uglier things.

[wildfaewhump]

So am I like, the only person who'd rather not read whump stories where there's no rescue/caretaking? I mean don't get me wrong, captivity, whumpee x whumper dynamics and the whole falling apart of the person whumpee used to be can be hella amazing, but I'm still over here looking for some scraps of kindness to have them thrown to the whumpee 😅

I don't think you're alone in that at all!! i'm that way too, I like to go deep into misery and, like you said, the whole falling apart of the person the whumpee to be, but I like to know there's a light at the end of that tunnel! I think part of it is that we want to see the pain, sure, but the healing and attention to those hurts (whether physical, emotional, or mental) is just as important when considering what we as readers and creators get out of whump.

[whumpywhumper]

Put your whumpee through hell, but for the love of god give them a happy ending!

[wildfaewhump]

me when whump is all hurt no recovery:

[whumpedupsidethehead]

Indeed. I’m not what you would call a pure sadist when it comes to characters. Characters getting put through hell isn’t too bad when done in moderation, but nonstop torture-fests where the whumpee doesn’t get better? Fuck that noise.

[whump-my-darling]

Restraining Ideas

First, Kinds of things to restrain with:

Obviously we got rope. but there’s also really rough rope, like the kind that even if you touch it you get little bits of fiber stuck in your hand

personally I like barbed wire but just plain old wire is great too. it cuts into the whumpee’s skin with ease if pulled on too much

classic handcuffs 

zip ties

duct tap

chains

also mental restraining, like if the whumpee moves even a muscle then the whumper will kill their friend or whatever. my favorite is when the whumpee is being whipped and has to hold themselves to the post, otherwise someone else will be punished for it.

next, how they’re restrained 

my favorite thing for a while was the whumpee being suspended from the ceiling, their toes just brushing the floor. honestly it’s still one of my favs.

whumpees being hogtied is great. there’s a movie called Barracuda that has a great hogtied scene in it. however, if I’m remembering correctly, the movie is in french. but I’m also pretty sure you can find it for free on youtube.

the whumpee’s wrists are tied and pulled to each side of the room. pulling their arms apart and forcing them to stay on their knees

also just being tied down on their knees.

I like it when necks are also restrained. like the whumpee is tied to a post with the rope also around their neck, keeping them from moving their head. or maybe the neck is the only thing that is restrained. the whumpee putting them on a leash or leaving them chained up with the cold metal tight around their throat. ugh imagine the bruises.

only having a leg or a wrist restrain with juuuust enough slack to almost reach the door.

also what if the whumpee was being restrained by the neck but like, if they move they get hung? or hanged? hung…..? anyways, the whumper puts them up on a stool or something of the like. the whumpee has to fight after a while because the fatigue is starting to get to them and if they fall off then their dead. or the whumper puts them on a stool and begins the torture. the whumpee can do nothing but stand as still as possible so that he doesn’t strangle himself

[wingedauthor]

I remember a scene from an old movie (I think it was one of the Rambo movies? Or in that same style) where this guy was hanging from the ceiling by his wrists. He was dangling just above a device that if he slumped down even just a little, it would fire a gun. That gun was pointed at a child tied to a chair.

All they could do was stare at each other until the strength in his arms gave out and he touched the trigger causing the kid to be shot. I still remember so clearly the whumpees pained, defeated expression. Purely delicious

[whumpedupsidethehead]

And this reminds me of that famous scene from Once Upon a Time in the West, where Frank, the main villain of the movie, pulls probably his most despicable act of the movie. He uses Harmonica, who at the time was just a little kid, as a human hanging stool, forcing him to support his older brother such that, the instant Harmonica’s strength gave out, the brother would die by hanging. This scene was quite powerful, and did wonders to inform the older Harmonica’s reason for wanting revenge on this evil bastard.

[redstainedsocks]

what kind of situations might make a character afraid of insects?

Oh this is an interesting question!

Warnings: vague talk about bugs, but I've avoided specific mentions of any particular creepy crawlies, mention of dead things, mention of being buried alive

From a real-world perspective, anything unnerving or upsetting that happens in early development can have a deep impact as people grow up, I think. So if it's something from a character's past, it could just be being stung or crawled on by something as child, that they had a big emotional reaction to it and the fear stuck with them. I think, without looking into research, this is how some phobias can develop.

If you're talking new whumpy scenarios for a character that might make a character hate bugs afterwards these sprang immediately to mind:

Being trapped in the dark where they can't see what's around them/touching them, but they can feel and hear them

Being locked outside for prolonged periods of time somewhere with scary, dangerous, or intrusive bugs

Having to run through woodland or fields, feeling things brush up against them, not having time to stop and get the insects off

Being forced to clean up rubbish and spending lots of time around the insects that collect on trash heaps. Or being forced to garden/forage for food, and being inexperienced and having to deal with the bugs even when they don't want to or know how to

More extreme things:

Being buried alive under piles of dirt and whatever else might be down there

Coming across something that's died, or some rotting garbage, and it being crawling with flies, and having to spend more time in that situation than is healthy or safe

I hope this helps with whatever you have planned or whatever whumpy daydreams you're building! 👀

[dramaticcollapse-deactivated202]

I’d like to submit accidentally disturbing a nest and getting swarmed, especially by something that can sting or bite. The whumpee keeps running and swatting but they’re everywhere and for the next few hours every tickle and twinge on their skin makes them panic.

[whumpedupsidethehead]

Yeah. Getting stung’ll stick with you for a while. I’m still not very fond of bees due to getting stung several times as a kid. And I hate wasps.

[iwhumpyou]

Building a Whump OC

Throw aesthetic choices out the window.  Pick random colors out of a hat when they’re needed.  There are only four shades of eye colors anyway.  Besides, does it really matter if your OC is tall or short when they’re always on the ground?  Does their weight matter if they’re always being carried around?  No, no it does not.  Don’t give continuity a greater reason to weep.

Use your favorite character for description in a pinch.  No, no one will notice that all your OCs look alike.  Well, don’t call attention to it.

Pick out a name.  No, you’ve used that name ten times already.  That one too.  That was the villain in the last story.  Stop picking names that all start with A.  There are 26 goddamn letters in the alphabet.  No - you know what, we’ll come back to this.  I mean, they don’t really need a name, do they?

Onto the fun stuff.  Create a whump scene.  Imagine them in pain, imagine them screaming and crying and shuddering.  Blood stains a dark shirt, a razor-sharp knife gleams in the light, electricity crackles, eyes slowly slide shut.

Find their core.  You may need more than one whump scene to reach this, if they’re particularly stubborn.  Find out what matters to them, when all else is stripped away.  Find out how they wear fear and pain.  Find out their deepest regrets and their worst nightmares.  Reduce them to a sobbing, curled up ball.

Cover it up.  Give them a tattered cloak of dignity.  Give them sharp words and stubbornness and blank faces and smirks and carefree laughter.  Build their armor and make careful note of where the chinks are.

Break.  Them.  Down.  You know where the weak spots are, where the holes in their pride lie.  You know exactly where to strike.  Do it.  Again.  And again.  And again.

Alright, perhaps it’s time for a name.  The use of she/he/they is getting confusing with too many characters in the scene.  Besides, you need a name for a menacing hiss or a frantic shout.  Open a name generator.  Close it in disgust.  Open a baby names app and close it in frantic bewilderment of the number of options.  You need a name quick.  You don’t have nine months to pick one out.  Cast a glance around the room.  Pick an object and add a vowel to the end.  Scramble some letters.  Change the spelling of your favorite name.  There are 26 letters in the alphabet.  Get creative.

Imagine their screams.  Imagine them breaking, over and over again.  Imagine their face when they’re betrayed, imagine the trail of tears that curve down their face.  Imagine them after they break.  Imagine building them back up, piece by careful piece, making sure your hands don’t slip.

Write?  What do you mean, write?

[whumblr]

Caretakers who are scary. Caretakers who are intimidating. Caretakers whom the Whumpee is very glad to have on their side (because they’d hate to have them against them).

Caretakers who are cold. Calculating. Threatening, even, maybe.

But once Whumpee, their friend, is hurt, they show a completely different side. They are kind, gentle, concerned. Still a little pushy. Definitely makes sure Whumpee takes their medicine on time. They only need to shove some food into Whumpee’s face and they wouldn’t dare not eat it. 

And if the Whumpee is hurt, and Caretaker is on the war path, even Whumper is starting to have second thoughts about having messed with them.

Just intimidating Caretakers, man.

[ao3commentoftheday]

Ive been researching motivation and turns out there's decades worth of research saying extrinsic motivation (work for rewards) doesnt work in the long term and actively murders your intrinsic motivation (work enjoyable bc u like it) in a task, and that for creative tasks it's got a specially bad effect so like... now i get what people mean on the write for yourself front, setting yourself doable challenges and enjoying the task itself seems to be what builds up long lasting motivation

That’s exactly what it’s all about. 

The problem with the phrase “write for yourself” is that it’s shorthand for so much more than that. 

write to amuse yourself, because you are your own best audience

write to soothe yourself by giving a character the chance to do or experience something that you’re missing in your own life

write to excite yourself - have a thrilling adventure or kinky sex. Be a hero. be a villain. All from the safety of your home. 

write to express yourself, slowly and with the ability to think about which are the right words

write to improve yourself by experimenting with genres or learning new techniques - or just getting better at grammar or spelling or upping your typing speed

write to indulge yourself in exactly the kind of story you wish existed in the world, with all of your favourite characters doing all of your favourite things

write to challenge yourself with a new word count or by writing every day or by finishing a story with 30+ chapters

Write because you love to write and keep writing, even if no one else cares. Because you care, and you’re the most important person you know. 

[whump-me-baby-one-more-time]

Noncon NSFW writing help

I was trying to make a list of things I find helpful to remember when writing noncon whump, and then I thought maybe someone else would be interested? So here’s the very long, very very NSFW summary of noncon fic pointers based on experiences I’ve had and things I’ve thought about a lot. It’s kind of graphic as I tried to go into detail as much as I could, so proceed with caution. 

MINORS DON’T INTERACT. 

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