The Stockholm Meme

[socktacular]

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

[consultingscalpel]

[Molly chuckles, like her new plaything has just said something amusing, and boops her gently on the nose.]

That's where you're wrong, my lovely.

[nonsomno]

[She glares up at her and jerks her head away again.]

No. Stop poking me with that thing and untie me.

[consultingscalpel]

[Wrong move. Molly pulls her arm back and brings the crop across Talia's cheek, hard, her face contorting in rage.]

I give the orders here, not you. You'll do well to learn that, and quickly.

[nonsomno]

[The crop hurts, huts badly, but Talia doesn't acknowledge it. She stares down at the floor and smirks.]

Get fucked. How's that for an order?

[consultingscalpel]

[Molly inhales through her nose. Oh, this was what she had been afraid of. She's going to have to beat it out of this one. Without warning, she delivers a swift kick to the ribs with one pointy-toed shoe.]

All in due time, darling.

[nonsomno]

[She gasps sharply, the color draining out of her face. Her ribs aren't broken, but they're definitely bruised, and for a long few seconds she can't breathe.]

I'm not your darling.

[consultingscalpel]

[Molly's eyes fall shut, and shakes her head in a disappointed manner.]

You'll learn quickly enough. I hate to break a rib to get my point across, you know.

[nonsomno]

What's your plan? Beat me until I give in? Except I won't, so you might as well let me go and save both our time.

[consultingscalpel]

[She kicks her again, squarely in the ribs, in the same spot as before.]

Don't worry about my plan. [Her voice turns sugary sweet.] What would you like to eat instead, dear? I'll have someone upstairs make you a nice, warm meal.

[It's as if the interim exchange never happened, and she looks down at her charge expectantly.]

[nonsomno]

Meat. Vegetables. I don't care what kinds.

[Anything to keep her strength up. And now she's staring at the floor, because the sharp ache in her side is bad enough that her eyes are stinging with pain-tears, and she won't let her captor see that.]

[consultingscalpel]

[She pulls out her phone and taps out a message, ostensibly to whomever is in charge of the cooking, before sliding it back into her pocket and kneeling down. Her hands are surprisingly gentle as she feels along Talia's ribcage for possible breaks, before using the discarded blindfold to blot away her tears.]

There, there. We'll get you patched up. Do you have a name, dear?

[nonsomno]

Danielle.

[It's the first name that comes to mind. It hardly matters; Talia is as good as Danielle-- but there's something in her that doesn't want this woman knowing her true name.]

[consultingscalpel]

Danielle. [She croons the name softly, letting the last syllable fall from her tongue gently. It's likely a false name, but as they took her without any identification, it will do as any other.]

That's a pretty name, my dear. Almost as pretty as you are.