Emotional Whump - Blog Posts

CW for implied underage drinking

Forty minutes into the party the hero disappeared. The villain found them alone on the back porch, surrounded by other people's discarded red cups and cigarette butts, staring up at the moonless sky. They did not turn, even as the villain slid the door shut with a whoosh and a click on the noise of the house party.

"These people are weird," the villain said.

The hero laughed, but hollowly. "I'm pretty sure it's you and me that are the weird ones here."

"Oh no," the villain said, leaning against the railing beside them. "I've checked it out thoroughly. We're the normal ones. Everyone else is strange."

The hero glanced back. "I was wondering when you'd come looking for me," they said softly.

"You could have found me," the villain protested.

They shifted, letting their shoulder just brush the hero's sleeve. Once the hero would have tossed the villain 30 feet for daring to come so close. Now they didn't so much as flinch, eyes locked on the sky.

The villain shrugged.

"Do you miss it?" the hero whispered. "Flying?"

"Don't bitch to me about it," the villain said, with more snap than they'd intended. They took a swig from the bottle of something they'd picked up inside. It was awful, just like everything else. "This is the world your boss made. No more powers. No more battles. You and me, free to be normal teenagers."

The hero looked down. "He wouldn't have done it if your boss hadn't murdered me."

The villain choked mid-sip. The hero gave them a sideways glance. "You didn't know? I mean, maybe I flatter myself, but it was the last thing I remember before everything changed. What it felt like to die."

"Shit," the villain said weakly, for lack of anything better to say. "Huh. Congrats on having the universe rewritten to bring you back?"

"Thanks, I hate it." The hero took the bottle, took a swig and gasped. "That's foul," they sputtered, wiping their mouth. "Speaking of bosses, you seen yours?"

"No. Well, yeah. Sort of." The villain grabbed the bottle back. "She's some kinda CEO now. Said I'm worthless to her now, she has no time for sniveling children, blah blah blah. Normal stuff. You?"

The hero shook their head. "He might be hiding. Or. He might. Be gone," they said, voice disjointed and jumbled. "There was a reason he didn't rewrite the universe everyday."

Silence fell between them. Inside, a new song had come on and the other kids were screaming along to the chorus. Something about being a teenage dirtbag, baby.

The hero looked over to the villain, tears in their all-too-human eyes. "I'm not going after her. If that's what she sent you to find out. I'm not gonna try and arrest her or attack her for killing me in an alternate timeline." They raised their hands, laughed again. "What could I possibly do now?"

"Hm. Well, finance undergrad, law school, government service, take over the SEC, give it teeth, and then in just 15 years you're primed to use teeth to rip your enemies apart where it hurts- their bank accounts," said the villain promptly. "Just to spit ball it out there."

The hero looked at them - actually looked at them - for the first time. "Oh damn," they said. "You hit the ground running."

The villain leaned in again, dropping a hand over the hero's. Sort of to hold them in place. Sort of just to hold them. "Join me. Or don't. We can make this, like, normal teenagers hating each other if you're more comfortable than that. We can fist fight right here."

The hero looked at the villain like they'd lost their mind, tried to pull away. "What is wrong with you?"

"Same thing that's wrong with you." The villain held on. "You're the only other one who remembers what we were, what we did. I don't want to be alone. And, God, you died? Do you want to go somewhere talk?"

The hero looked down at the protagonist's hand on their theirs. "Yes," they said, in a high, broken whisper. "Let's get out of here."

After that they were inseparable. At least, until the world changed again.

Whump Prompt #595

Submitted by Anon - thanks!

There’s a huge misunderstanding and character B ends up hurting character A out of anger for something it turns out they didn’t actually do. B’s guilt when the truth is revealed is immeasurable.

Kidnapping whump can be so good, theres so many options,,,

Do they get drugged and wake up in an unfamiliar place?? Do they get a gun dug into their back and a whispered threat to comply?? Do they get jumped on the street and manhandled into a van??

What about once they’re there?? How do they react?? Are they stoic and unbreakable?? Defiant and quippy?? Or are they terrified, begging to be let go?? Do they cry?? Scream?? Or stay silent no matter what??

And what do their captors want?? Information?? Does b tell?? Or perhaps they want to send a message, to hurt someone close to b. Or maybe its personal, maybe they just want b.

What do they do to b?? Just rough them up a bit?? A couple strong punches or kicks?? Some threats, maybe?? Or do they go further?? Broken fingers, water boarding, whips?? Severed toes, extracted teeth, eye puncture?? Do they condition them or use non con or dehumanize them??

How does it end?? Are they rescued by their team, friends, caretaker or even enemy?? Do they escape on their own or with other victims?? Are they set free, after the captors are done with them?? Does their story end with the sweet release of death?? Or does it never end??

Ahhhhh, kidnapping,,,

((Any feedback is greatly appreciated!))

Whump Prompt #539

Submitted by @im-a-tired - thanks!

Friends hearts breaking as they try not to show it as: whether through words or actions, the whumpee paints a horrifying picture of their life under the whumper, of the “rules” they have-had to follow.

i love characters angstily refusing to look at someone

when they’re ashamed or guilty or scared and they want to keep the peace for just a little longer. they know it’s going to go downhill soon so they’re holding onto the last little shred of calmness they have even if it’s fake

and then the character they’re worried about being mad gently grips their chin and says in a quiet voice “hey, can you look at me?” AAAAA then they hesitate. there’s no way that character isn’t mad at them, this is too good to be true. it just makes them refuse to look up more because they want this dream to last forever and ever

but after a few moments of holding back, they slowly look up, tears in their eyes, to see that the character truly isn’t upset with them. if anything, the character visibly relaxes when they finally make eye contact, confirming to the character that, maybe they’re not okay right now, but they will be eventually

bonus points if they’re injured somehow, esp on their face, and the person that’s holding them drags a finger near the wound in concern, examining it and making sure it’s not worse than it looks 😍😍😍

Whumper fakes whumpee’s death so they don’t have a vengeful caretaker after them. But later: the grief stricken caretaker sees whumpee again for the first time after they’ve escaped and can’t believe their own eyes.

"We all start out the same, with simple naive trust.

Shielded from the many ways that life's not fair or just.

But then there comes a moment;

A simple truth that you must face.

If you depend on others, you'll never find your place.

And as you take that first step upon a path that's all your own,

You see it all so clearly;

The best way to survive is all alone."

~

-Open Up Your Eyes, Emily Blunt

Whumptober No. 3

She was supposed to be the one to save them all, but here she was, unable to save herself.

(Click for better quality)

"Don't believe the narcissism

When everyone projects and expects you to listen to 'em.

Make no mistake, I live in a prison

That I built myself, it is my religion.

And they say that I am the sick boy;

Easy to say, when you don't take the risk, boy.

Welcome to the narcissism

Where we're united under our indifference."

~

-Sick Boy, Chainsmokers

Whumptober No.2

Not even the one with the most walls built was immune to the enemy's will.

(Click for better quality)

June of doom, day twenty-eight:

You’ll get used to it: knife // hostage // surrender

CW: blood (mentioned), kidnapped whumpee, unconscious whumpee, gagging (described), gagged whumpee, cruel whumper, hostage situation, trade, self sacrifice Whump, powerless Whumpee’s, multiple Whumpee’s, choking (described), forced submission (described), handcuffs, chains, collar

*~*~*~*~*

Leader arrived like Villain asked, alone, without their team, their hands raised in surrender as they emerged onto the roof. Villain stood at the opposite end of the roof, half sitting on the ledge looking over the city, the wind pulling at his clothes and hair, a lollipop between his lips.

He looked almost innocent like that. Not realising Leader was there yet. Taking in the city he threatened to destroy time after time after time after time again, and everytime Leader stopped him. Leader and their team.

Never quite caught him. Never got that far, he wasn’t the type to be arrested. Far too smart for that. Too smart for Leader, as it turns out.

Leader’s eyes trailed down to Villain’s hands to see a length of chain wrapped around his knuckles, turning the flesh white in his hand. Leader followed the short length of chain to an unconscious Whumpee at Villain’s feet, the chain tied tight around their hands that were drawn behind their back, a cloth gag in their silenced mouth. There was blood on the tip of the cloth, and twin streams of blood dripping down Whumpee’s nostrils and onto the rooftop.

“They wouldn’t shut up,” said Villain without turning his head, taking his lollipop out as he continued, “they weren’t worth the ransom.”

“Got me here, didn’t it?” Leader asked with a self-deprecating smile on their face. Villain finally turned to face Leader then. Cold, intelligent eyes scanning Leader’s casual outfit. It was unusual to see them without their protective gear, but Villain just turned away to look out at the view again.

“Drop the knife, then we’ll talk,” said Villain, almost bored, popping the lollipop back into his mouth.

Leader’s eyebrows knit together in confusion, taking a cautious step forward, their hands still raised in surrender. “I don’t have a knife.”

Villain didn’t answer. Instead he nudged a foot to the unconscious Whumpee’s shoulder. Leader jolted forwards, their hands dropping but stopped when Villain halted them with a cutting, icy stare. Villain leaned down, lower back resting against the roof wall, pulling the gag from Whumpee’s lips and letting it fall under their chin.

Villain poked Whumpee’s cheek, and again harder. Whumpee barely moved. Villain took his lollipop from his mouth and rammed it down Whumpee’s throat. Whumpee jumped to life then, gagging and gasping on the sweet, but Villain kept Whumpee down by a hand on their throat and a gentle ‘shhh.’

Whumpee calmed slightly when Villain stopped shoving the lollipop down their throat, panicked eyes turning hard as they let their breath out through their nose.

“Don’t look at me like that,” said Villain, adding a little pressure to their grip on Whumpee’s throat. Leader stepped forward again, and Whumpee gasped and struggled under Villain’s hands and Leader stepped back again. Villain let up the pressure, and said to Whumpee: “Look who’s here for you, Whumpee.”

Whumpee turned their head to the roof opening and almost gasped, dropping the lollipop but Villain slammed a hand up to Whumpee’s chin, clamping it shut. “If you drop that lollipop I’ll make sure Leader doesn’t get off this roof alive, Whumpee, understand?”

Villain let go of Whumpee’s chin before they could nod, their lips shut tight now, weary eyes going to Leader who stood a few feet away. Alone. Without their combat gear. Whumpee wanted to scream and punch themselves for being so stupid. For ever trusting Villain…

Villain stood up, putting a foot on Whumpee’s sternum. “Leave them alone!” Leader cried, stepping forward again. Villain just kept pressing down until Whumpee was almost crying out, barely holding their lips together to keep the lollipop in. Villain suppressed his grin at the sight of it before letting up on the force on Whumpee’s chest, letting them catch their breath.

“I told Leader to come unarmed, unprotected and alone, Whumpee. That was our arrangement of this little hostage agreement, and what do ya know? Leader comes unprotected and alone, armed with a knife that they think I don’t know they have,” Villain said, leaning down again on Whumpee’s chest, watching Whumpee struggle uselessly against him and fight to keep their mouth shut. “The one they always carry, the one that was a gift from their rotten dead friend, y’know, with the wooden handle and the nice engraving that says—“

Before Villain could continue there was a clatter on the rooftop beside him and he glanced over to see said knife near Whumpee’s leg. Villain took his foot off Whumpee’s chest and Whumpee let out a pained stuttered huff of relief from their nose as they half rolled to face Leader and Villain better.

Villain scooped the knife up from the ground and clicked the button, the blade shooting from the top with a shink. It really was a beautiful knife, Villain had to admit. The blade was a polished slate grey, the edges sharpened daily no doubt, glinting the moonlight back at Villain.

Villain finally looked back at Leader and put the blade in his jacket pocket, folding it before putting it in.

“Good,” said Villain, stepping over Whumpee and leaning back against the railing, folding his arms over his chest, “Now we can speak.”

“It’s a trade, right?” Leader asked, though it sounded more like a demand. “Me for Whumpee.”

“I can be persuaded to that,” said Villain, tilting his head side to side, as if debating it. “With a few conditions.”

“Name them.”

“NMmph!” Whumpee protested, still gagged by the lollipop in their mouth. Villain let a small smile grace his lips at Whumpee’s distress. That’s what they get for not knowing how to shut up.

“I leave Whumpee here, knocked out, you take their chains and you don’t fight me.”

“Ngh!” Whumpee tried again, their useless struggles accompanied by the jangling of the heavy chain tied around their wrists.

Leader didn’t say anything at first, just licked their lips and opened their mouth, then glanced at Whumpee and shut it again.

“You don’t knock them out,” Leader tried and Villain chuckled darkly, shaking his head.

“Nuh-uh Leader, you don’t get to make demands anymore,” Villain sang. Whumpee pushed their hands off the ground, trying to sit up but Villain kicked them back down, planting a boot on Whumpee’s back.

“I— I—“ Leader began, but they gave up before they uttered another sound. Villain could see it. The way their eyes searched the roof for some other thing, some saving grace that wasn’t there because Villain had made sure this hostage negotiation was airtight. Villain waited with baited breath. “Please Villain… you already hit them! Just let them go and I’ll come willingly—“

“How do I know you don’t have your little team waiting downstairs to collect Whumpee? To try and stop me?”

“You told me to come alone so I did,” Leader said hotly.

Villain tilted his head, icy eyes zeroed in on Leader. “I also told you to come unarmed. Then maybe I wouldn’t’ve had to hurt Whumpee more than necessary, hmm?”

Leader licked their lips. Villain smiled. “Okay,” said Leader softly, shoulders sagging in defeat. “Okay. Just, fuck… okay. Me for Whumpee. No tricks.”

Villain pushed off the wall with a grin. “Good. I know you’re not used to taking orders Leader, but don’t worry… you’ll get used to it. Like Whumpee did. Isn’t that right Whumpee?”

He stepped over Whumpee again, and bent low, his back to Leader, covering his conversation with Whumpee. “Well done for keeping your mouth shut for five seconds, Whumpee, I’m proud.”

Whumpee moved the smaller lolly to the side of their mouth before pleading: “Villain please. Please, don’t take them. It’s my fault—“

“Come on Whumpee,” Villain tsked, not unkindly. “Give me some credit here. I was just very convincing. It’s not your fault. It’s your team’s little weakness. I’m just shocked it took me this long to realise how pathetic you all were.”

“Leader—“ Villain jammed their hand under Whumpee’s chin again, silencing them with a huff.

“I prefer you better when you don’t speak, Whumpee.”

Whumpee wrestled their head free, as Villain grabbed the stick of the lollipop and dragged it out between Whumpee’s clenched teeth. “Villain—“

“Is the lollipop all gone?” Villain asked. Whumpee wanted to protest, but instead they bit the small nugget left of the cherry lollipop and swallowed. Then they stuck their tongue out.

“Happy?”

“Ecstatic,” Villain said. Without hesitation, Villain grabbed Whumpee’s shoulder and turned them over onto their stomach. Whumpee opened their mouth again and Villain took that as an opportunity to drag the gag between their teeth again and tied it tight behind Whumpee’s head. Whumpee groaned into the gag, struggling again. “Shhh,” Villain said, putting his index finger and thumb on either side of Whumpee’s neck.

Whumpee struggles lessened, they rested their forehead on the ground with a strangled protest. Villain grinned, then looked over his shoulder at Leader.

“Hey, Leader. Come here.”

Leader didn’t move for a second, and that was a second too long. Villain pressed down hard on Whumpee’s neck and Whumpee’s whimpers of pain were accompanied by rushing footsteps and Leader was beside Villain now. A test.

“I want you to do it,” said Villain, sitting back on their arse against the roof.

Leader glanced over at Villain with narrowed eyes. “No.”

“Yes,” said Villain and Whumpee grunted behind the gag.

Leader shook their head, fingers curling into fists at their sides. “No. I won’t.”

“Oh come on, Leader,” Villain chastised softly. “I’ve seen you do it to other villains and petty criminals.”

“That’s different,” Leader ground out through clenched teeth. Barely containing their anger. “They’ve hurt someone, or did something wrong. Whumpee didn’t.”

“No?” Villain asked and Leader knew it was a trap before they replied. “No.”

Villain leaned forward, looking up with cruel, smiling eyes at Leader. “If it wasn’t for Whumpee, you wouldn’t be here. In this mess. The city wouldn’t have to lose their number one Hero. Isn’t that right, Whumpee?”

Leader’s fists were shaking and Villain clicked their tongue. “Nothing to be done then I guess. Whumpee, I’ll just slam your head into the ground and hope it doesn’t kill you.”

As Villain leaned over, hand fisting Whumpee’s hair Leader’s hand shot out and clamped down hard over Villain’s wrist. Villain clicked their tongue again.

“Take your hand off me, or I’ll chop Whumpee’s off just to prove my point.”

Leader yanked their hand back as if it burned, and said: “okay… okay. I’ll do it.”

Whumpee whimpered behind the gag and struggled in their chains. “Relax, Whumpee. Leader’s here to save you. Again. Just Co-operate.”

Whumpee screamed against the gag, thrashing wildly. Leader surprised Villain who thought they’d take a less violent approach. A punch to the temple and Whumpee went still. Villain whistled, long and loud as he took the key out of his pocket and unlocked the cuffs around Whumpee’s wrists.

“Didn’t think you’d do that,” said Villain, feeling Leader’s glare on him as he worked on the second cuff. Individually locked, Leader noted, an excuse to not focus on what they just did to Whumpee of all people.

Villain stood, grinning at Leader as he pulled another lollipop from his jacket pocket. He pulled the plastic wrapper off it and popped it into his mouth. He lifted his hand and drew a circle in the air with his finger.

Leader turned around, putting his hands behind his back like Whumpee. “No, no, no,” Villain said, putting a hand on Leader’s shoulder. “I changed my mind. Turn around again.”

Leader did, rolling their eyes. Villain put the metal cuffs on and tightened them as far as they could go, Leader drawing their arm up when it started to pinch, but Villain didn’t let them go far.

“It’s okay. It’s okay,” Villain cooed reassuringly as he cuffed Leader’s other hand in front of them. Villain then wrapped the chain around Leader’s neck and Leader recoiled but Villain yanked them forward again. “If you think I’m not going to enjoy this exactly how I want to Leader, you are not as smart as you look. Do you want me to take Whumpee with us on our little road trip?”

The fight went out of Leader at the mention of Whumpee, guilt washing over their face before they reached acceptance. Villain said: “good. Quick learner. It’ll help you… adjust.”

Villain tightened the chain until Leader squirmed a little then padlocked it shut, wrapping the free length around his knuckles and palm, before yanking Leader forward.

Leader jolted, putting a steadying foot out in front of them to stop themselves from falling. Then levelled Villain with a harsh glare. Villain just smiled. “Oh I can already tell…. This is gonna be fun.”

My Personal Favourite Whump Series :>

Hi! These are just some of my favourite works that I’ve found while lurking. I love these works so much, the whump community has so many talented writers, I just want to shower you guys with compliments ❤️❤️❤️

Honor Bound - by @whump-tr0pes (NSFW)

^ This altered my brain chemistry

Behaviour Modifcation - by @whumpcereal (NSFW)

Brother’s Keeper - by @darkthingshappen (NSFW)

The Kennel - by @whumpcereal (NSFW)

Written in Blood - by @as-a-matter-of-whump

The Crow and the Dove (Kai and Kyriel) - by @there-will-always-be-blood (NSFW)

Written in Blood

Jonah & Vincent masterlist

When Jonah meets Vincent he is nothing but delighted - the handsome stranger takes him out on a date and even offers to help him get the job he’s always dreamt of.  But what started as a little flirt soon becomes the worst experience of Jonah’s life…

cw for the story in general: abusive relationship, creepy/intimate whumper, mentions of and actual torture, non-con touching, drugging and references to past drug abuse

Keep reading

Hostage Situation

(tw: gun, death threat, brief gore mention, restraint, forced to hurt (restrain others), hostage whump)

“You.” Whumper gestures toward Whumpee with the barrel of their gun.

Whumpee glances over their shoulder at the other hostages.

“Yes you, idiot. Stand up.”

Whumpee keeps their hands raised as they take a shaky step forward.

Whumper tosses a package of zip ties at them. Whumpee catches it clumsily, almost dropping it with shaking fingers.

“Tie them all up.”

Whumpee’s eyes meet Caretakers. They give Whumpee an encouraging nod. Whumpee glances down at the plastic. They know Caretaker’s training is their best chance of getting out of here. Can they really doom everyone in here by restraining them?

Whumper cuts off their thoughts. “Make em tight - fuck it up and I’m blowing your brains across the wall.”

Whumpee flinches back, but takes one out of the package.

Whumpee tries to be sneaky. They loop the zip tie over Caretaker’s thumb before tightening it down over the visible wrist.

A gun clicks against the back of Whumpee’s head.

Whumper voice is soft in their ear. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

Whumpee trembles “J-j-just what y-ou sai-”

“Fix it.”

Whumpee trembles, reluctantly pulling out another zip tie, puting it around Caretaker’s wrists. They cinch it tight with sweating fingers.

“Tighter”

“But it’s-”

“Tighter”

Whumpee flinches back, but snugs the zip tie tighter yet.

“More.”

Whumpee turns to them. “I can’t any more - it’s-”

“For fucks sake.” Whumper reaches around them, jerking the tail up and down until Caretaker hisses at the pain. It’s digging deep into the skin now.

Whumpee whispers harshly against their ear. “If you can’t learn to follow orders real fast, I’m not going to have a use for you.” The barrel grinds against their skull, bowing their head forward. “And guess what happens when I don’t have a use for you?”

Whumpee shivers, swallowing thickly. “I-I’ll be good. I can - I. I won’t do it again.”

“Good.” The barrel eases slightly. “Now keep going.”

.

(tags: @prisonerwhump @whumpawink @mabledonut @jadeocean46910 @paleassprince @distinctlywhumpthing @tropes-for-my-md-daydreams @batfacedliar-yetagain @suspicious-whumping-egg @lav-whumps @wormwriting @meowsikbox @villainsvictim @throwawaywhumper @wild-selenite-caffine @whumpasaurus101 @thecitythatdoesntsleep )

Hostage

Whumper keeps a gun trained on Caretaker and tosses a roll of tape to Whumpee.

“Hands behind your back, Caretaker,” they say. “Whumpee, gag them and tape their wrists together.”

Whumpee shakes their head. “Please, Whumper, don’t make me…”

“You can do it or I can shoot them.”

“It’s OK, Whumpee,” says Caretaker, forcing a smile. “Do as they say. It’ll be OK.”

A few ways to say “I can’t”:

Angry and frustrated “I can’t!”: shouted at someone making another unreasonable request.

Or with regret: they couldn’t help even if they wanted to.

“I can’t, I-” between rapid breaths they can’t control, shaking, unable to calm down.

“I can’t”: Tired and worn out - they have nothing left to give.

Alternatively, spoken like a quiet surrender, finally admitting defeat.

Desperate and pleading; they honestly can’t and fear the consequences.

“I can’t” Choked up and breaking down because everything is too much.

I’m going to print this one out and frame it.

"You poisoned me." Hero's hand goes to their throat, already feeling the burn, the effect of the toxin. They realized the moment they took a drink from pretty red wine Villain suggested they share.

"Not poison. Not exactly." Villain tuts. "Truth serum. It's considered a minor toxin but by no means dangerous to the average person."

Hero's eyes widen. They feel the sting of betrayal, harsher than the burn in their throat.

"Why?" They croak. "Was this the only reason you suggested dinner together?" Their eyes burn.

Villain eyes them for a moment. "You're privy to a lot of useful information about the other heroes. Information I could find useful. As for your other question," They drawl, "Why? Would you be upset by that?" Villain almost smirks.

Already feeling the effects, Hero is unable to lie. "Yes." They answer quietly. They try to avoid Villain's gaze, waiting for the interrogation to begin, meal abandoned. "I was happy when you asked me." Their words spill out of them unbidden.

They miss the surprised look on Villain's face at this admission. Quiet settles over them for a long moment.

"Looking forward to trying to mend my villainous ways?" Villain eventually huffs. "Did you hope that a nice dinner together would have been enough to change me?" Their tone borders on defensive.

Tears threaten to spill over Hero's lashes. They try to get control of their emotions, but the serum is doing something to their control, their inhibition.

"No." They confess. "No. I just wanted to spend time with you." They still can't meet Villain's gaze, the table below beginning to blur.

"Why?" Villain asks, sounding incredulous, sounding almost spooked. "We're enemies. I've nearly killed you countless times."

Hero gulps, trying to stop the words from coming out, mentally clawing at themselves to stop speaking. They tumble out anyway.

"I like spending time with you." Their hand goes to grip the table, to steady themselves as they lose control of their own voice. "I like spending time with you especially when we're not fighting."

"Stop it." Villain demands. Now it's their turn for their voice to wobble.

"I really like you." Tears brim over Hero's cheeks now, and they hear Villain suck in a harsh breath. They can't stop the words now that they're flowing out. The dam has been broken.

"Stop talking. Stop it." Villain sounds more desperate now.

"I was hoping you'd kiss me tonight."

The table shakes loudly as Villain stands, dining ware nearly falling over. Hero finally looks up at them, trying to blink away their tears. They see Villain's hollowed expression. They let out a rattling breath.

"This was a mistake." Villain finally says. Hero sees the way they dig their nails into the table cloth, before their vision is blurred by more tears. "I shouldn't have done this."

"Dinner..? Or tricking me?" Hero's voice is rough, raspy.

Villain is silent for a long moment. "It doesn't matter. What's done is done." Now it's their turn to not meet Hero's eyes.

"I'd let you take me to dinner again." Hero gulps, the truth still spilling out of them with ease. "I wish you'd take me to dinner again. Even if you trick me another time." Shame swirls in Hero's gut as they admit to this pathetic truth. It doesn't matter how many times they get burned, it won't change how much they imagine Villain's lips on theirs, their hands on them.

"I need to go." Villain's throat bobs. They shove themselves away from the table harshly, the wine spilling over. Hero watches them leave as their tears drip below.