No Setting The Scene This Time, Just Some Refs For The Next Time You Wanna Dangle A Whumpee (feat. Me

no setting the scene this time, just some refs for the next time you wanna dangle a whumpee (feat. me being a drama queen at the crossfit gym)

more under the cut!

more whump art refs:

pet crate | basement | white shirt | gut spill

i do enjoy "living weapon" characters but specifically living weapons who did in fact do absolutely horrific things which at least a part of them enjoyed and thought was good and right at the time, and that no amount of not knowing any better or guilt they feel in hindsight will ever make up for. i love living weapons who are "irredeemable", and no it's not their fault that they were made that way or pointed in the directions they were by the hand that wielded them, and yes they are victims, but so were their victims. living weapons who some people will never be able to forgive, but who still wake up every day and try to do better than what's expected of them. a sword that uses its blade to cut wheat to make bread for the people who once lived in fear of its arc falling on their heads.

power signalling

Kneeling.

Ordered to kneel as punishment or as a show of deference.

Shoved physically to the ground by hands on their shoulders, maybe a kick to the back of the knee.

Picking themself up off the ground but only getting as far as hands and knees.

Crawling because they haven't got the strength to stand anymore.

Dropping to their knees from exhaustion or despair.

Personal space.

Casually invading it.

Uninvited touch - from the deeply creepy to something as simple as a firm hand on the shoulder.

Standing too close - especially if taller or otherwise physically stronger.

Conversely, hurrying to get out of someone's way.

Eye contact.

Staring someone down. Who is the first to look away?

Averting eyes for one's social superiors. Trying to de-escalate by avoiding eye contact.

Too frightened or ashamed to look someone in the eye.

Insisting that someone maintain eye contact while you're talking to them. Insisting that someone never look you in the eye.

Singling someone out just by looking at them.

More generally, Attention.

The room falls quiet when they walk in.

Who cuts in, and who gets talked over. Ignoring those who are beneath your attention.

The excited attention given to the object of respect and idolization.

The careful, wary focus given to a potential threat.

Deliberately attending to something else to appear less threatening. Deliberately burying oneself in something else to avoid attracting unwanted attention.

Codified status behaviours.

Bowing to one's superiors. Bonus points if there are differentiated kinds of bowing for different status differentials.

Soldiers coming to attention when a superior officer comes.

Saluting. Who greets whom first?

Serving food in a particular order.

Standing up when a respected person enters the room.

Non-verbal threats.

Just resting a hand on a weapon, or perhaps even just near a weapon.

Cracking knuckles or rolling shoulders. Clenched fists. The little come-get-some-then life of the chin.

Stepping from a conversational stance into one that's balance for fight or flight.

Pointing a weapon at someone. Casually brushing aside a weapon.

Conversely, de-escalation and surrender.

Open hands, spread in front of them. Hands above head.

(Raised slowly, transitioning from the simple whoa-calm-down gesture to full on surrender as the situation gets tenser.)

Going still. Slow, careful movements being sure to keep hands where they can be seen. Laying down weapons.

Hands on head. Getting down on the floor. Deliberately making oneself vulnerable to prove non-hostile (or non-resisting) intent.

Alternately, deliberately showing "vulnerability" to demonstrate how little of a threat you consider the other person.

The slouch of villainy. Open posture, casual, relaxed in the face of apparent danger.

Casually putting weapons away or turning one's back, confident that they won't do anything.

Signs of fear.

Flinching. Trembling. Closed defensive posture. Tension. Backing away. Fidgeting. Lip-biting.

Arms hugged close to chest. Or refusing to lower defences. Checking for escape routes. Trying to insist that they don't come any closer.

Offer of or requests for help.

Extending a hand to help someone up off the ground. Reaching out a hand in silent plea.

Do they have to ask for help? Are they willing to accept it? Do they get a choice? Who has plenty and who has to rely on the other's goodwill?

Picking someone up off the ground. Carrying them. (Dropping them?)

Adjusting someone's clothes. Withholding aid.

credit:@just-horrible-things // @whetstonefires suggests:

A character can vastly expand their area of influence by laying a hand on a table, for example. If you're standing on opposite sides of a large table, and one of you puts your hand down, that can symbolically take you up into the other party's personal space in a much subtler and more deniable way than actually getting up in their face.

This can be used equally well to convey affection or threat.

Thoughts in my whumpy mind.

Collars:

Prong collars

Choke Chains

Heavy leather collars

Martingale Collar

Tactical Collar with a handle

Spiked

Collar with a warning on it

Pretty collars with accessories

Bandanas

Ok here’s something I would LOVE to see more of in the whump community: intelligent but defiant whumpees. Let’s get into it.

(this is all just my opinion. Write whatever you want! I love purely defiant whumpees just as much)

We all know about the defiant whumpees. The ones who spit and snarl and fight the whumper the whole way through. The ones who hold out to the very end for their beloved team. And while these characters are amazing to read about, it’s all the more exciting when they’re (somewhat) cooperative. When they have a sense of self-preservation. For example:

Following the whumper’s orders, but only to the bare minimum. If the whumper tells them to get on their knees, they will. If the whumper tells them to put their hands over their head/behind their back, they will. But they’ll have a scowl on their face and a dangerous glint in their eyes as they do it.

While being tortured, they’ll scream all they want. They know there’s no point in struggling to stay silent, as whumper always manages to draw out their screams eventually. The whumpee will scream, but they won’t give up any information. They won’t say a word about their friends, and they won’t stop fighting.

This whumpee isn’t all about proving their worth to the whumper. They don’t care about their dignity. They just want to stay alive, or keep their team’s secrets under lock and key in their head. They’ll answer any questions the whumper asks, follow every order the whumper commands, as long as it has nothing to do with their team.

This whumpee usually begs. They’ll beg like their life depends on it (and it sometimes does), but they would rather die than let their team down. They’ll scream “please stop”, and whimper broken pleas and sometimes let out a fearful “nonoNO”, but they’ll never say “I’ll tell you anything you want”. They’ll comply to nearly everything the whumper says, but their quiet obedience betrays a spark of defiance still burning beneath the surface.

They usually don’t dish out as many insults as some other whumpees. They know it’s just going to end badly for them, and so does the amused whumper. They’ll bite down on their tongue and keep quiet, but in their head, they’re dragging the whumper’s ass in the mud. And it’s always great to see the whumpee finally break and snap out a retort, only for them to instantly regret it as a poisonous grin spreads across the whumper’s face.

They’re very well-rounded characters, and they’re easy to relate to. Their mind is a whirlwind of conflict 24/7, and they fight themselves just as much as the whumper. Good stuff.

Defiant but smart whumpees are at the top of the list for me. They’re fun to read about as they try to decide if the information they give the whumper is safe enough to tell, and it’s exciting to watch how they slowly become less and less defiant and more and more compliant. It’s always a puzzle to see how much it takes for them to just give up and break. Their bravery and quick thinking never fails to impress me.

Non-human whumper showing off their human whumpee like some rare pet and treating them as such

VERSUS

Human whumper showing off their non-human whumpee like some rare pet and treating them as such

FIGHT!!! (they are actually kissing)