caddy-whump-us

[caddy-whump-us]

Please reblog this post if you belong to the whump community.

Let's see how many reblogs this gets!

#whump #whump life

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I'm extremely interested in people talking about the whumpee in 3rd person around them. Maybe they're semi-conscious, or maybe fully conscious and just being ignored. Whether those people are whumper or caretaker it's all good

#whump #gosh yes

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I know this is extremely specific, but the little flail that a prisoner or ex-prisoner does when someone walks in on them and they scramble from laying down to a defensive position

#whump #absolutely

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Some backstory fluff in which Jonathan and Nikolai meet again and wherein some of Jonathan's history is revealed (he's named after Anne Radcliffe).

---

At the base of a tree, a pair of shoes lay tumbled among the leaves with a pair of crumpled gray socks dropped over them. Jonathan followed the trunk of the tree up to where a black-haired boy was perched in the crook of a branch and reading a book. Jonathan shook his head gently and turned away.

A voice came down from the tree: "Jonathan Radcliffe."

Jonathan turned again to see the boy smiling down at him, something sly in his smile.

Jonathan put his hands in his pockets and smiled back, softly. "Hello, Nick."

Still grinning: "Bonny Jonny, I hadn't heard you'd come back. Last I'd heard you were studying somewhere far afield, even some other country. Did you escape? Climb out of a window on your bedsheets?"

"No, nothing like that. My mother has taken ill."

Nikolai made a small sound, and looked away and aside. His smile faded. "I'd not heard that either."

"Well I'd heard the same about you, that you were away at school too."

"Perhaps I'm the one who climbed out a window and escaped," Nikolai said, leaning against a nearby branch. "My nuncle's sending me to the school in town now. The schoolmaster's good enough." He held up the book he'd been reading. "He's been loaning me things from his library. And," he went on, looking aside coyly, "he said he'd recommend me for university next year."

"Will you go?"

"Will you?"

"If Mother is well enough, yes, certainly."

"Then perhaps I will too. Then I'll at least know you among everyone else there. Medicine still?"

"Yes," Jonathan answered, looking down at the leaves around his feet. "Now more than ever."

Nikolai opened his mouth, closed it again, tried again. "I hadn't meant--I'm sorry, I didn't mean to start you worrying again."

Jonathan flicked his eyes up again. "What does the schoolmaster think you ought to study?"

Nikolai lounged against the branch. "Languages. Or literature." He paused. "Or both; I wouldn't mind. If I go, of course."

"Why wouldn't you?"

"Because of the city, of course. Why would I put myself in the city? Do you know what a city is? A cage. A massive cage made of bricks. Why would anyone lock themselves into a cage like that? And willingly!"

Jonathan looked out of the copse of trees and towards the fields and hedges just beyond. "It wouldn't be forever."

Nikolai looked over his shoulder across the same fields and hedges. "It might be."

They were both quiet for a while until Nikolai turned back, wearing his smile again. "Well, I suppose I'll see you about more, now that you're here again. I'll even pay a call on you at home. Will you dare receive me? Bonny Jonny?"

"I think I will. I'll tell Mother you're there to see the library."

"I'd be delighted," Nikolai said.

"So would I," Jonathan answered.

#not whump #nikolai #jonathan #fluff #backstory

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I had the flu recently and it sucked and it set me back on my plans for my boys here! Unfair, unfair!

But feeling as bad as I did, I wound up lying bed, thinking about fluff and some vague filler scenes and I'm going to be posting some of that shortly. (Maybe a wee bit o' sickfic too, pr'aps?)

So if you're looking for the harder stuff, hang in there. I've got suffering box boys and vampires being horrible coming soon.

#not whump #noises from cat #got some characterization for jonathan sorted too #finally

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A Visit to Ruslan

This is woefully incomplete but tl;dr: Viktor finally goes to visit his (wilder, less formal) brother, Ruslan, during one of Ruslan's huge gatherings. Of course he bring Etienne with him.

A handful of frail-looking figures, men and women both, were gathered on high-backed couches drawn up near the fireplace and all of them wearing red ribbons tied loosely around their necks; one of the young women wore a white bandage under her red ribbon.

As Etienne crutched towards them, they turned to look at him and, as he drew closer, Nikolai rose up slowly and came to meet him.

Nikolai’s black eyes flicked down at the brace around Etienne’s leg and the crutch under his arm. He drew in closer and whispered with some fear in his voice,“Etienne, what did you do?” And then, without waiting for an answer, he hissed, “You are an absolute fool.” But he still took Etienne’s free arm and led him over to the couches.

Etienne half sat and half collapsed into a seat with his braced leg stretched out in front of him. There was laughter in the room beyond them but here it was warmer and quieter.

“This is Etienne,” Nikolai said softly. “His master is Viktor [Surname], my master’s brother.” And there were nods and demure looks among them all.

Etienne nodded to them and then silence fell among them. What was there to say? They all knew what their red ribbons signified, and that kept them separate from the gathering beyond them. Etienne cast a glance at Nikolai’s bandaged hands and Nikolai tucked them closer to him and turned away. There was loud laughter somewhere behind them. One of the young men looked out over the high back of the couch. Another young woman’s hands were trembling.

“Have you been to visit Lord Ruslan before?” the young woman asked at last–a soft voice; a sweet, rose-scented voice.

Etienne stammered a moment. “No, I–I have not.”

One young man was lounging back in his seat, swinging one foot idly. He had been eyeing Etienne’s brace for a while but now looked him full in the face. ”No wonder.”

Nikolai gave an irritated sigh and closed his eyes. “Phillip…”

Etienne, though, turned to Phillip and, smiling politely: “I do beg your pardon, but what do you mean?”

Phillip leaned forward, languid. “Yes, please excuse me. Perhaps I misspoke. I mean your leg. He was smiling now. “Lord Ruslan lives so far afield from anywhere. It’s quite a long journey. And, well, most of them like to keep us as perfect as possible.” His voice dropped low now: “Your lord and master wouldn’t hobble you like that unless you were inclined to run. And he wouldn’t risk you running on your journey here. He might never find you again.”

“And you haven’t tried to run?”

“Of course I have,” Phillip answered. “But only once. Unlike you, it seems I can learn my lesson the first time.”

“How disgraceful,” Etienne said; Phillip rolled his eyes. “You try once and then give up entirely. It’s pathetic, really.”

Phillip was lounging in his seat again. “I wonder if he thinks your leg will mend itself when he takes you.”

“He won’t–take me, I mean.”

“Are you so sure? What are you going to do–run away again?”

“Yes. As many times as I have to,” Etienne said, his voice rising. “I was taken against my will and I refuse to bend to his expectations of me.”

“Etienne, please,” Nikolai whispered, looking at him sidelong and through his eyelashes.

“Imagine a crippled vampire,” Phillip said, still staring at Etienne. “Imagine you hobbling along after your prey.”

Etienne jumped up unsteadily, balanced on his better leg. “I will never–”

“Etienne.”

The voice came from out in the room beyond the couches. Nikolai closed his eyes. The chatter in the room quieted. Etienne turned his head slowly to see Viktor in the crowd. He straightened up just as slowly; both wore faces like blank masks. Viktor held out one hand and crooked a finger to beckon Etienne over.

Etienne grabbed for his crutch and seemed fit to stab it through the floor as he made his way over. When he was within reach, Viktor caught him by the scruff of his neck and held him there, half hunched. The chatter in the room began again.

Phillip turned his attention to Nikolai. “He’s going to end up a wanderer. He’ll be half-mad and eating goats.”

“He’s a childish idiot,” the girl next to Phillip said. “To be given something so precious only to throw it back in his master’s face.”

“Please,” Nikolai said again. He was clenching his hands tighter now; he’d not been given his usual dose yet and the wanting was beginning to gnaw at him. And since he’d not been given it yet, then it would be later, which would mean that he was to be shared, which–and he realized The girl’s gray eyes were on him. He looked at her, then looked away.

She, though, tipped herself onto the couch so she was half-sitting, half-lying, and close enough to whisper with Phillip. Phillip dropped down with her and they lay there, propped on their elbows, face-to-face.

“Can you imagine,” she said, not whispering, “if Nikolai is taken and then that Etienne turns out to be his black swan?”

“Is it possible?” Phillip asked, beginning now to grin. “I’ve never heard of a black swan shared between two.”

“It must be! Only if they never meet, then they’ll never know.”

“But why our Nikolai?”

“Did you see how he was with our new friend Etienne?” And they both giggled.

“Lily–how badly do you think Nikolai wants him?” Phillip asked, his eyes sly and narrow.

“Terribly,” Lily answered, just as sly. “So many hours spent pining and weeping, perhaps even–” The girl beside Lily, with the white bandage under her ribbon, touched Lily’s shoulder gently, a warning. Lily paused for a moment. Then: “Nikolai, how badly do you want him?”

Nikolai was gazing into the coals at the bottom of the fire. “Not at all,” he said. And suddenly his hand felt emptier of the ring that should have been there.

#whump #vampires #ocs #etienne #nikolai #oh hey y'all #what's up? #i come bearing a little whump-adjacent fragment

[caddy-whump-us]

full disclosure this is the person who messaged you about Gravity’s Rainbow like several years ago then went on for an uncomfortably long time about the robert jay lifton brainwashing method. BTW I reread GR and it's actually a tie for my favorite book of all time now so thanks for that. But you're legit the single best writer I've ever seen on this webbedsite and I check every month to see if you'll come back. PLEASE come back 😭the American people need weird goth content 🙏

ANON YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE ME CRY REAL GHIBLI-STYLE BITCH TEARS IN A MINUTE.

My new year's resolution is to come back and actually post some stuff. As the poet said, "my life got flipped, turned upside down" but it seems to have settled some. I'm feeling...pretty good actually.

My main new year's resolution is to fix the vampires because the internal issues and discontinuity are Bothering me. (That whole series needs a genuine name. Suggestions welcome.)

IF YOU NEED WEIRD GOTH CONTENT, I'M GONNA GIVE YOU THAT.

AND I THINK why am i yelling? that describing my stuff as "goth" makes it make more sense? If that makes sense?

Whatever. I've got a guy here who was Oliver then Gravesby then 8204 then Riddle and he needs kicking around.

#not whump #noises from cat #oh hey y'all #what's up? #happy new year

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spending a long time scrolling the hurt/comfort tag, call that whumpster diving…

#not whump #i love this #whumpster diving #yes good

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Also also I’ve pinned the links list of all the vampire pieces at the top of the blog here. Enjoy(?)

Hey, um…

Working on some new vampire stuff, so hopefully I’ll have that posted soon, if anyone is still around.

Also, hi, it’s me!

[caddy-whump-us]

Hey, um...

Working on some new vampire stuff, so hopefully I’ll have that posted soon, if anyone is still around.

Also, hi, it’s me!

#NOT WHUMP #coming soon #noises from cat #i'm back #apparently

[caddy-whump-us]

Are you going to come back to tumblr? Your stuff is so good, I've never read anything like it, I really hope you update again

Oh anon... Oh anon...

The last year or two haven't been easy for me (covid infection, job loss). I'd love to come back. I'm just not sure whether I can provide anything for you. I'm spending so much time job-hunting and scrambling for cash that I have no brainpower for anything else.

I want to come back. I want so much to come back. I just don't know if I'll be able to come back.

#not whump #noises from cat

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Okay, not gonna lie, it does feel good to be hanging around here again. I missed y’all and I didn’t even realize it.

#i love everyone in this community

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A Reminder

Just cause you enjoy writing/drawing/reading pain and suffering does not make you a bad person, you are valid.

Also drink your water.

[caddy-whump-us]

Ohhh new idea tell us more please 👀👀👀

Well, I guess... Basically it’s about Those Elves again--I’m sure they have their own name for themselves. I should come up with that...

I’ll focus down on just one elf OC (I’m debating about names, but I may just go with Elyr again, lmao) but here’s too much backstory:

(This is seriously a data-dump and I am really, really sorry.)

Humans are encroaching on Elvish territory and tensions are rising between the two countries (these elves don’t quite think of their territory as a “country” the way the humans do, but they know they have to operate in that kind of thinking when dealing with humans). The elves, fortunately for them, have a lot of magic while the humans have very little. It’s just how it goes. But the humans have other capabilities and they outnumber the elves by, like, a lot. Meanwhile, the elves have what amounts to the magic equivalent of the atom bomb. Humans want it, but there are treaties, &c &c.

Although there’s technically an ocean (not a huge one but an ocean) between the two countries, there are some little pockets of elven-held land near and even in the human country (countries, really). This is dangerous but the elves are very quick to point out, um, treaties + powerful magic. So most of the time travelers can go to and move within these little pockets (mostly religious sites).  

However, that’s had to be curtailed lately after a spate of kidnappings and disappearances along the (human-approved) routes to and from these places. It had been dangerous before but not like this. 

And now there are little skirmishes going on near the borders of the elf territory, humans trying to encroach or claim bits of land. That’s not good. And there have been disappearances connected with that as well. Meanwhile, in the major seaside city, trading and selling and travel is still going on with humans (probably a different country than whichever one is their main frustration, one that seems less interested in taking over). But now disappearances are starting to happen there too. And then the disappearances were happening in other cities where humans are sometimes seen (with acceptable papers or tokens for being there--mostly ambassadors, emissaries, their assistants, &c).

As you may have guessed, these kidnapping victims are being held captive and smuggled into Adversary Human country, whereupon they are sold to the nobility, the aristocrats, the wealthy, the elite, the important humans in the capital of Adversary Human country. 

The elves are rarities and curiosities. They’re used as a conspicuous show of wealth (while implying the dominance of humans over the elves). They’re not really used for anything except to be shown off. So they’re dressed up in what amount to parodies of real elvish clothes and sent around the richest districts to do useless things like buying spices and fruit and flowers or delivering notes to someone or other. Any excuse to have these very expensive, very rare creatures shown off, right? They’re like dolls or exotic pets. 

They’re all governed by certain rules, like there can’t be more than two or three of them talking together, they have a curfew unless they are with their owner, they are expected to speak in the common human language at all times, they have to wear identifying markers of ownership at all times, they’d better have a good reason for being away from their owner’s house and property (and may be asked to prove it), &c. Training, discipline, and household tasks are left up to the discretion of owners (and there’s talk among the elite about best methods, best practices, “oh, how did you teach him to do that?” and so on). Some are kept chained up, some are kept collared and leashed, some are caged, it really depends.

But they really are quite trapped: they’re surrounded by humans who are all looking at them essentially all the time (for good or ill), they’re far enough inland that rescue would be difficult, and they’re in a city and a country that views their country as another place to conquer. And now, they begin to realize, they’re being used more or less as human shields: the elves aren’t going to use their Strongest Magic in a situation like this (there are 15 or maybe 20 elves in the whole city).

I should note that the elves that are captured are “younger” elves. As is customary in fantasy fiction, elves have very long lifespans. For these elves, there’s sort of two maturation periods. They’re born basically the same as human babies (though their ears are floppy for a while) and they grow fairly similarly to human children but slower. When they’re somewhere between 4 feet and maybe 5 feet at the tallest, they stop gaining height for a while--though they may be 20 or more years old at this point. There’s more brain maturation going on. I’ll borrow from Tolkien and say that their 20s (their “tweens” as JRRT put it) are a rather rambunctious part of their lives, but they use their 20s, 30s, 40s for learning, studying magic, &c. It’s only after they’ve lived 50 or 60 years that they start going through another maturation phase: they grow taller, they begin to look somewhat “elongated” (if that makes sense), their emotions settle, and they finish growing and top out at 6 feet tall and often a little more. At that point, they’re more ready to serve on councils or in teaching younger elves, &c. (It’s quite rare to encounter an elf who hasn’t hit that second growth spurt in any kind of leadership or significant position.)

They generally have very pale blue or gray eyes and very fine-textured, light-colored hair (verging on white sometimes) that tends to be a little fluffy in younger elves. Fully mature elves tend to let their hair just grow long and wear it braided or pinned up in elaborate constructions. It’s customary to have long and/or braided hair--at least one long braid anyway, so The Rebellious Youths will often cut most of their hair rather short but have one long braid just at the nape of their neck (sort of gathering the bottom 1/3rd of the hair on the back of their head) to keep their elders more or less happy. Some wear it in two braids more behind their ears, but the idea is basically the same: “It’s a braid, like you asked, so you can’t complain.”

Elyr is (or was) a student (more like scholar, though he hasn’t hit that second growth spurt and won’t for a few more years) in one of the major scholastic cities in his own land. He wears a dangling silver earring in his left ear (and some other silver earrings because that’s in fashion) to show his rank and accomplishments. His mother is somewhat well known and has served on councils and contributed a great deal to magic work (so Elyr had quite a lot to live up to). It’s one of the visiting humans who orchestrates Elyr’s kidnapping, with certain promises being made to this human by the elf-sellers (idk what to call them).

SO BASICALLY...all I gotta do is write some dialog and descriptions, you know?

#not whump #whump adjacent #maybe #schemes and plans #worldbuilding #i do enjoy worldbuilding

[caddy-whump-us]

In other news, I’ve had some captivity whump ideas with some new characters of late and I may play with those for a bit here soon...

#not whump #whump adjacent #I guess #schemes and plans

[caddy-whump-us]

I realized I need a surname or two in the vampire WIP--especially for Nikolai (because his parentage figures into his backstory a bit). And my subconscious volunteered “Wrenfield” and I thought “Hey, that’s pretty good.”

It was only after I’d settled on it that I realized, oh wait, I’ve already got a Jonathan in this story and now I’m gonna have a (W)Renfield too???

I’m just gonna embrace it. I mean, why not?

#not whump #vampires #thinky thoughts

[caddy-whump-us]

Well of course I'm not gonna forget my fav writer !! Ayyy I hope you see better days soon ! Sending hugs and love you way

Gonna make me cry, no lie! I put in another job application for a really great job so cross your fingers for me!

In terms of Writing Stuff, I've started editing (and reworking a little) That Vampire WIP and I've been posting it on Ao3 on the grounds of "whump" being a fandom:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/36144154/chapters/90098476

Ao3 has such a good system for adding chapters and connecting separate works. But if it's not legit to keep it there, if "whump" isn't sufficiently a fandom, then I'll figure out some other place to post it (or I'll just make more of a point of the things I borrowed from because those are actual works).

So, yeah, the vampires in their longer form will be appearing on Ao3 for now. I'll try to post shorter bits or one-off things here, though. I just need to get my act together a bit, though I have some...kind of whump-ish ideas? Kind of?

And I've got some seriously dark stuff but IDK if I want to go there, you know?

#not whump #noises from cat #vampires #i missed my vampire whump