After the Summer Masterlist

Sinopsis: After being sold to the WRU, trained as a pet and then rescued by their family, Noelle has to relearn how to be human once again. Memories from when they were just a Filthy Rat flood their brain everyday, preventing them from recovering, and hope relies on a furtherer past yet to be remembered.

Started: May 31th, 2023

Last updated: September 5th, 2023

Total works: 6

Main Story

I wish I could help with money, I really do, but that's out of question. However I hope people donate. My blog is really really small, I rarely post stuff in here, but I hope I can help you extend your reach. I'm sending you my prayers.

After the Summer #6: What you deserve

Masterlist: here!

Content: BBU; institutionalized slavery; dehumanization; it as a pronoun; pet whump; minor whump; whipping; inflicted burns; blood; begging; non-sexual nudity; physical torture; non-con (implied); starvation.

In a certain night, there was a dream. In the dream, Rat was royalty living in a palace made of light and music. Servants came inside the huge bedroom to help it out of the soft silk sheets and into clothes made of the finest fabric. Rat smiled kindly at them, and even though it could not see their faces, it knew they were smiling in return.

After that, breakfast was almost a banquet, full of the most tempting dishes. Everything was so delicious, and Rat once again thanked the faceless servants with a smile as bright as the sun shining through the windows. The atmosphere was so warm and welcoming that after the rich meal, Rat decided to take a stroll and explore every corner it could find in that impressive building.

It walked slowly through the corridors, admiring each and every work of art hanging on the walls. Most of the paintings exibited green scenarios, some of them with people playing around, dancing and singing. There were flowers, majestic animals and the most astounding landscapes, but nothing captured Rat's attention more than the garden it saw when it looked out the next window.

On the outside, Rat felt the sunbeams like a joyful hug. Fresh air was like a caress for its lungs and the grass was as soft as the bed from before when it took off the comfortable shoes to feel the earth. Rat's clothes flicked smoothly by the breeze as it made its way among the infinite flowers of the garden. Roses, dahlias, lilies, violets and sunflowers, it looked like every color of every type was there, shining happily as if they were saying hello.

While appreciating the sweet scent and the feeling of freedom and peace, Rat heard gentle footsteps behind it. It looked over its shoulder and saw a young man dressed like a prince. He stopped a few steps away and reached out his hand in an invitation Rat could not say no to. In the garden of the palace made of light and music, they danced and laughed and spun around each other for what felt like seconds, but also a little happy lifetime.

But then the prince spoke, and just like his face, his voice was nothing but static. As Rat didn't respond, confused, his posture shrunk in worry. He repeated himself again and again, becoming gradually more desperate, but Rat couldn't make sense of his words. The sky got darker as the flowers withered and their pleasant smell became metalic and putrid. The white palace begun a slow and horrifying melting process, threatening to swallow the entire garden, but rough hands grabbed Rat's arms, ankles, waist and neck and pulled it away from the anguished prince.

Tearing up the soft fabric of Rat's clothes, the huge hands left bruises all over its body as they put a heavy collar around its neck. It cried and tried to reach out for the prince, but soon the hands also covered its mouth and nose, keeping it from even breathing. So it fell down into a jet black abyss, unable to escape the hands when gravity became overwhelming. Rat gave up and closed its eyes, knowing the palace made of light and music was not made for bad pets that disappointed their masters.

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Rat woke up on the floor, wrapped in the blanked Master gave it a long time ago. Its back felt sore as it got up, but the smallest noise could wake Master up, so it kept silent. Sound asleep, when his face was not filled with rage, he looked very handsome, like every single feature of his had been designed by a talented artist. He is nothing like me, Rat thought while admiring him. Master is so perfect. He is intelligent, cunning and so very generous. This is why he took me in, a filthy mutt, and still cares for me after so many failiures of mine. I'm so grateful to be his pet.

On its tiptoes, after finishing the morning chant, it left the suite still wrapped in the blanket. Rat looked through the window and saw the thick snow still falling down. If there was a sun, it was well hidden behind the heavy coulds. December was as dark as the sky from the fading dream.

Knowing the blanket was a reward, not a right, Rat ignored the shivering cold and went downstairs, into the basement, to leave the folded cover in its crate. It was so greatful for the nights Master let it sleep on his tile floor instead of the crate that it didn't really mind doing its least favorite job and serving him.

I'm a bad pet for not actually enjoying it... But at least I can pretend well enough so Master has a good time. I'll learn to like it eventually. I just need to try harder.

After tightening its own muzzle on its face, Rat let out a small whimper before going upstairs to prepare breakfast. As much as it hated being gagged, it was determined on deserving food and maybe sleeping on the floor again, and for this to happen, it would need to be the best pet.

The morning went on swiftly. Ignoring the growling stomach and focusing on work was Rat's specialty. After lunch, it was massaging Master's feet when he spoke, and his deep voice felt like it grabbed and twisted Rat's guts.

"I'll have a work meeting this afternoon. Be sure to have that japanese tea I bought last week ready at four o'clock, this asian guys are very punctual. If I close the deal, we will have more pets like you. Isn't it great?"

Rat didn't really think it was great. It knew it was a different kind of pet, trained with a different method, and it also knew that normal pets truly adored their masters, unlike this filthy rat that still wished for more than it deserved. But Master was way more intelligent than it, so it would not doubt him. If he thought more pets like Rat would be a good thing, then it would.

"And if you don't fuck this up" he continued. "I will let you have something for dinner."

Now this was promising. After so many hours without anything but water, it would do whatever it takes for some crumbles. Maybe he would even give it leftovers! With a new goal, it was twice as determined to be perfect!

Right on time, Rat prepared a very nice afternoon tea with matcha and snacks. It welcomed the guests and led them to the studio where Master waited for the foreigner duo.

Both men were way shorter than Master, but one of them was also shorter than Rat itself. Well, not that it was that short. They had fancy suits on and carried heavy-looking suitcases, however, their stolid faces didn't reveal much more, unphased by Rat's nudity nor the muzzle.

While Master welcomed his soon to be associates, Rat went after the small meal. Everything was running greatly as it served the tea, watching out for its posture and avoiding spilling even the slightest drop.

It was ready to retreat and kneel down by Master's feet when one of the men took a sip. His face remained steady like a stone, but he looked at his partner and said in a low voice, almost a whisper: "totemo nigai."

No, it was not good. Rat was supposed to be perfect, so no guest would be unsatisfied. It came back and, with an apologetic bow, put some sugar on his cup. Then, it silently offered the same to the other man, who accepted. They both approved the tea, and only after this Rat took its place by Master's feet, without even noticing his shocked glare.

"So" begun the man who complained. "Did you teach your pet to speak Japanese or it already knew and you just left the memories there?"

And it was only then that Rat realized that he had not said "too bitter". He had, but not in English, not in the only language Rat was supposed to know. But it didn't know Japanese... did it? How would it know, being nothing other than a filthy mutt?

Its stomach dropped cold as it finally felt Master's sharp glare. None of it really mattered if the damage was already done. Rat was not supposed to know anything but how to please its master.

"I taught it some basic words. I thought maybe something like this would happen, so I have prepared it to better serve you" Master lied. Behind his smile, his voice had a dangerous semitone that made Rat feel small, too small.

"That's impressive" said the shorter partner, eyebrows raised. "I don't think anyone thought of using The Drip to teach another language to a pet before, much less doing it without any drug. We only use it to make them forget, not learn."

"So as you can see, my method is a success. WRU don't think so, but I am sure your company sees its potential."

"That's right, Mister Holloway. But let's talk. Unfortunately, my partner and I didn't bring all the necessary instruments to examine your pet, so we would like to hear about your theory and schedule another meeting exclusively to take a look at it."

"Of course" Once again, Master's voice had that hidden semitone. Not only he was unsatisfied, he was pissed.

And Rat was screwed.

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Complaining about the crate was a distant memory. It was so more confortable than hanging by the wrists! Rat's toes could barely touch the cold floor, not enough to really support its weight. Its limbs were numb and staying awake was becoming more chalenging every minute. Even so, it knew that passing out would make things worse, so it fought against the pain and the exhaustion.

Master had put them there after having dinner, which meant he would not come back until morning. The worst part was knowing this torture was just a warm up. Rat knew better than to expect mercy at this point, and that is why there was no relief when he finaly came down the stairs, slowly, as if he had all time in the world to savor his pet's dread.

His suitcase made a loud bang against the metal table just before it cracked open. Rat could not see that far. Even if it wasn't dark down there, its eyes were too blurry to make sense of the world from a certain distance. Another one between its thousands flaws.

"I give up" Master harshly pulled off Rat's muzzle. Its sore jaw hung loose as it whimpered, too week to even try to say something. "I swear to God I thought I could do it, but you left me with no options."

He went back to the table, and from the suitcase, he took something Rat had never seen before: a thick needle.

"You are the problem, you know? This is your fault! I did everything I could, I gave you everything! I took you in, I gave you shelter, I gave you a purpose! And how do you repay me? You humiliate me in front of my guests! You hide things from me! How am I supposed to make you perfect if you insist on being a mutt?!"

"I'm... I'm sorry... Master" Rat tried, its throat too dry to produce anything more than a raw whisper.

"Sorry doesn't fix anything!" His shout made the whole basement quiver, or maybe Rat was already hallucinating from hunger. Or from thirst, or from the pain. Maybe everything altogether. "I don't give a fuck if you're sorry! Do something, anything right, and then I'll stop punishing you! But how could you do such a thing, I wonder. You are a catastrophe!"

Rat sobbed as tears rolled down its cheek. Another day, another failure. How could it be a good pet if it couldn't even notice when it did something wrong?!

"I'm done with you" Master's murmur came with a sharp pain in Rat's neck as the needle made its way in and it swore it could feel the liquid burning in its veins.

Next thing Rat felt was a white-hot pain on its chest when the whip cut the air towards its skin. And again and again, against its limbs, face, back and torso. Each cut burned more than the previous one, but Master's hatred was even fierier, and Rat's screams only seemed to make him stronger.

More than once, it lost its balance and strenght. Rat felt as if its hands were getting separated from its wrists for the seconds before its toes found the floor again, and the blood between the skin and the shackles made it feel so slippery. How could it get any worse?

This question had its answer when the man grew tired of the whip. After the long session, he decided the lighter was next.

"Please..." Rat whined, knowing it was useless. "Please, Master..."

In response, he touched its cheek, and it unconsciously leaned against his touch. He was so close Rat could feel his warm breath fondle its face as he said: "I must admit... you are a lot more attractive when you are like this. Blood suits you so well, my little rat. I like it when you beg. Then beg."

So it did. It begged and cried while the small flame painted red spots all around its once fair body. The burns stung like hell, and Rat wondered if it was not actually there. Sometimes it felt too human to be a pet, but in moments like this, it felt like less than an animal, less than scum. Nothing.

"You are beautiful like this" Master's voice sounded distant. Sunlight was almost visible upstairs, meaning time had flown by. Maybe he was almost done, finally? Would he be kind and benevolent enough to let Rat down, even if it deserved the punishment?

He grabbed its ankle and let the flame burn its foot sole. Too week to move or support itself, Rat once again lost the floor and cried, the handcuffs tearing its skin apart under its weight. Blood drops dripped on its face, but every inch of their body was in so much agony that some more blood wasn't even relevant anymore.

"I love it when you make this face" he let go of Rat's ankle and hugged its body from behind. His hand slipped through the cuts and bruises, as if it was exploring, looking for an undiscovered spot to harm. "I love it when you are week and helpless. If only you could stop being so useless... if only you could deserve my love..."

While his hands strolled around its body, invading Rat's soul on their way, it felt Master pressing himself on its back. "Please" it muttered. "Forgive me, Master..."

"I will" was his answer. "I always forgive you in the end, don't I? I can't help it... I have invested so much on you already. My money, my time, my resources..." but as he finally let go of it, Rat felt a dither. It was not over yet. Master always needed a grand finale.

He encircled Rat once, twice, pondering about how to finish this punishment, or maybe just admiring his work: a broken bloody mess... that was not yet broken enough.

So he made up his mind and grabbed Rat's shoulder, taking his time to analyze and visualize the plan. When satisfied, a crooked smile reached not only Master's mouth, but also his void eyes. "I want you to think, to really think, about how bad you did yesterday. I want you to know I'm doing this for your own good" he said while depositing a bittersweet kiss on the corner of its lips.

"Y-yes, Master" Rat lowered its eyes, exausted, imagining what else this man could do to punish it, what else it deserved. Please just let me down.

It let out a wail when the man, with two clean movements, dislocated both its shoulders.

And then he left.

Someone on Tumblr, but not the Whump part of Tumblr, asked to read my fic and I'm kinda freaking out because it's BBU of all things and I want more people to read it but I don't want to traumatize someone from the outside heeeelp what do I do???