Stockholm Syndrome Meme

[cornichaun]

 THE STOCKHOLM MEME

WARNING: Meme will contain TRIGGERS, including kidnapping, dubious consent, and general uncomfortable content. Please do not click if you don't want to see, and please respect your fellow role-players.

Stockholm Syndrome is a psychological phenomenon in which hostages express empathy and have positive feelings for their captors, sometimes to the point of defending them. These feelings are generally considered irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims, who essentially mistake a lack of abuse from their captors for an act of kindness. 

Stockholm syndrome can be seen as a form of traumatic bonding, which does not necessarily require a hostage scenario, but which describes "strong emotional ties that develop between two persons where one person intermittently harasses, beats, threatens, abuses, or intimidates the other."

HOW TO PLAY:
1) Comment with your character and their series in the subject line of the comment. Include any preferences you might have on type of scene/squicks/etc. 
2) Comment around to start scenes! Use random.org if you get stuck for ideas. 

PROMPTS:
1. KIDNAPPED. You've been taken, either for ransom money or just because you've pissed the wrong people off. Or maybe your kidnapper just wants company. Maybe they need someone to be their companion, to be their confidante, and they chose you. 

2. CAPTURED. Maybe you were a soldier, fighting in a battle. Maybe a spy, or a political dissident. Either way, the military has caught up with you. 

3. IN CUSTODY. It's a law enforcement agent that has you locked up. Maybe you're a criminal and you're in prison, or on house arrest so that agent can keep an eye on you. Maybe the agent doesn't have enough evidence, so they took matters into their own hands. 

4. ASYLUM. This person isn't keeping you here against your will. It's for safety. Maybe you're in the Witness Protection Program. Maybe you sought asylum from your own country. Maybe your criminal life got a little too heated and you had to go underground somewhere. 

5. HOSTAGE EXCHANGE. A war, between countries or gangs or even planets, and the two sides have decided to exchange important hostages as a gesture of trust. You're one of them. It might even involve arranged marriage -- a way to unite your two peoples. Hope you enjoy staying with your enemy. 

6. HIRED. Someone's being paid to keep you. Maybe a new parent or guardian keeping you at home, or perhaps an evil uncle has had you tossed into a discreet asylum in order to claim your inheritance. 

7. SLAVERY. Through birth or misfortune, you've become the property of another. But they're not such a bad master. You might even grow to love them, if enough time passes. If they treat you with the right combination of cruelty and kindness. 

8. WILD CARD. For anything not covered by the other options!

Comments

[captainawesome1701]

"I'll see what I can do."

[therealmccoy_1701]

"Just get us back to a port. Any port. I'll get us a cab from there."

He still hasn't looked up. He's worried that lifting his head will just make him sicker, but now the cold is creeping through that blanket and it's becoming a lose-lose situation for him.

[captainawesome1701]

Jim reaches up to stroke his friend's hair and apologetically smiles. "We won't make it to port before you freeze out here. Come downstairs with me?"

[therealmccoy_1701]

He finally looks up, half to shake the hand off and half to get a look at the guy's face, and he frowns.

"You're not gonna lock me up, are you?"

[captainawesome1701]

"Of course not." He's still smiling, and he really means that too. Friends aren't friends if you have to lock them up. He grabs the towel and glass and stands up again and offers his hand to his friend. "Can you make it down, or do you want some help?"

[therealmccoy_1701]

"I don't need help."

So he says, but once he stands up he's a little wobbly. He's not used to walking on boats, but he'll still refuse every and any offer of help as he makes his way back down below. Part of that is the complete distrust in the captain's word. He has no faith that he won't get locked up. On the other hand... he's on a boat? Where is he going to go?

[captainawesome1701]

"Your legs are saying otherwise." But fine, if he doesn't want help, Jim won't help him.

And yes, exactly. His new friend really doesn't seem like he's gonna dive overboard and make a swim for freedom. Locks definitely won't be needed.

[therealmccoy_1701]

Once downstairs, he drops down on the first surface that looks like it can hold his weight. There, he wraps the blanket tighter around himself to try and stop the shivering.

"So... where are you taking me?"

[captainawesome1701]

While he sits, Jim pulls out the drawer beneath the bed to get more blankets to wrap around his friend.

"South. It's warmer there."

[therealmccoy_1701]

"..... how far south?"

[captainawesome1701]

"Until it's warm enough for you."

[therealmccoy_1701]

"And then we can go back to land?"

[captainawesome1701]

"Maybe." No sense in lying, but if they get far enough south and become close enough friends, why not? Jim smiles at him. "Come on, let's get you into bed."

[therealmccoy_1701]

"We can't just float around forever, you know!"

No, he's not going to bed. He needs confirmation that he'll have his feet on solid earth soon, or the blond will have to drug him again to keep him from going into another fit.

[captainawesome1701]

"Do boats really bother you that much?" Jim's completely the opposite. He LOVES the rocking of the boat when they're out on open water. It's comforting to him in a way that solid ground just never will be.

[therealmccoy_1701]

"Bad experiences," he barks out. "Boats are a vessel of death. Nothin' good comes from being out at sea in a wooden dingy."

[captainawesome1701]

"These things are pretty safe, you know." He wraps those extra blankets around his friend and sits down next to him.

[therealmccoy_1701]

"Don't you pander to me, kid. Do you realize how much can go wrong on a boat? One crack in the hull and thousands of gallons of icy water will fill her up before you know what's goin' on. It'll suck us down into darkness and keep us there. If you fall overboard, and you're lucky enough to not get shredded by the propeller, there's the evil creatures that live there. Let's see if you're so calm when there's goddamn mako chewing on your leg. Don't even get me started on how dirty it is, the kinda infections you could get just from swimming out there. The sea is nothin' but a festerin' pool of disease and death, hidden under lies of calm silence."

[captainawesome1701]

He's about to start in on some speech about how his craft is perfectly safe, thank you, and hasn't caused any injuries or deaths (well..... none that he didn't instigate, but still. The boat was more an instrument than a cause in these cases), but he's also pretty sure this guy will have none of it. Instead, he just slaps a hand down on his friend's knee, both as a sign of greeting and of friendship. "I'm Jim."

[therealmccoy_1701]

He looks down at that hand, looks at it a long time before he looks up at Jim.

"Why am I here, Jim? What do you want with me?"

[captainawesome1701]

He's quiet for a few seconds, immediately breaking eye contact with him. This is just massively embarrassing, having to admit the truth, but this friend is the first to even ask that. Well, ask that and not be screaming at the same time. "I just want a friend. And you seemed interesting."

[therealmccoy_1701]

That makes him laugh, but it's sarcastic and kinda worried rather than amused.

"You kidnap me because you want a friend and I seem interesting? Kid. I'm the last person you want for a friend. I'm no good. I'm too mean for people."

[captainawesome1701]

"Yeah, and I'm too..." He waves his hand vaguely. Crazy? Clingy? Much? They all work. "For people too. ....maybe that'd make us good friends."

[therealmccoy_1701]

He ponders what to say next. There's a lot complaints that wanna come out. A lot of yelling, but there's one need that stands above all else.

"Listen. You wanna be my friend? Get me off this boat. I don't care where you take me. It can some deserted island in the middle of shark infested waters. I don't give a damn. Just get me off this goddamn death trap!"

[captainawesome1701]

There's a few seconds silence while Jim stares straight ahead and decides what to do. There's absolutely no emotion on his face while he weighs his options, but when his mind is decided, he hops up from where they're sitting and sulks towards the stairs. "Okay."