I Love It When Caretaker Breaks Whumpees Trust. Maybe They Have To Drug Them, Or Restrain Them, Or Lie

I love it when Caretaker breaks Whumpee’s trust. Maybe they have to drug them, or restrain them, or lie to them to get them to do something or go somewhere.

I love it more when Whumpee begins to distrust and fear Caretaker because of it. And if they can’t trust Caretaker… they can’t trust anyone. Not even themselves.

“You touch them and you’re dead.”

“I’ve done plenty more than touch them, and yet here I am.”

Whumper grinned. Caretaker lunged.

I had eye surgery a few years back. It was so whumpy. Just a brief thing inspired by this experience. Could be whumper, could be Caretaker doing necessary medical care. Whatever

Whumpee: *whimpering*

Other character: *pauses, slows down*

Whumpee: just do it already!

Other character: *continues*

Adding onto this: one day Whumper comes back and has Whumpee pinned in a painful position. Whumpee’s training kicks right back in, and they don’t fight it or Whumpee at all.

Caretaker’s not far away, but they don’t know where whumpee is and is calling for them. Whumpee wants to call back out, so desperately wants to tell Caretaker where they are, tell them Whumper is there with them.

But they just can’t, because they’re in pain.

Does their training keep them in check? Or are they able to shout back?

I don’t think this is physically possible but…

Whumpee who’s trained not to move. They’re not paralyzed, if Whumper commands they go somewhere, they can. But when whumper tortures them, they’re not allowed to move or make a sound. I mean to the point that their reflexes are completely shut off, if someone pokes their eye they won’t even blink.

They can’t whimper, their breathing can’t change, can’t jerk away or flinch or twitch.

But the long hours of training and punishment don’t just go away once they’ve been rescued. So at first, doctors and even caretaker believe whumpee is fine or can’t feel pain. They perform their operations and procedures without anasthesia because they think whumpee can’t feel any of it.

But then later Whumpee tells Caretaker about one of the procedures and how much it hurt. And Caretaker is horrified!

“Why didn’t you say so? We never wanted to hurt you!”

“I can’t… do anything when it hurts.”

So that becomes Whumpee’s tell. When they’re feeling okay, they talk, they move, but the second something starts hurting they stop everything. Completely shut down.

“Does this hurt?”

“No.”

“Does this?”

“That tickles a little.”

“This?”

“…”

“Your shoulder?”

“…”

“Okay, what about here, on your arm?”

“No, there’s fine.”

It started with a lack of tiredness. The whole party takes turns keeping watch during the night, and Whumpee usually dreaded their turn, sometimes accidentally falling asleep during it. But tonight they felt oddly energized, and volunteered for first shift. Then stayed up to chat with second shift, and third…

Then they were oddly hungry that morning. Whumpee was fairly small, and usually didn’t eat much. But this morning they ended up asking for more, and then finishing the Archer’s leftovers as well, and complained they were STILL hungry after that.

It was only after breakfast did Caretaker start to get concerned. Whumpee was a careful person, they didn’t trip, or bump into things, or veer sideways. But as they walked to their next destination they did all of those things and more. Once Caretaker looked back and found Whumpee had stopped walking a while ago, one hand to their forehead and taking shallow breaths.

Caretaker held their hand for the next few hours as they walked.

Even with that, Whumpee kept lagging behind, slowing the whole team down. At one point, the Barbarian started to complain about it. Usually Whumpee would be quick to defend themself, have a snapback harsh enough to shut them up, but they didn’t say anything this time. Just nodded, wiping sweat from their forehead.

A few miles later they vomited.

Caretaker had never seen Whumpee so pale and grey, their hair soaked to their forehead with sweat. Their pupils were blown wide as they gagged and coughed between bouts of vomit. Archer cursed themself for letting Whumpee have so much food, then cursed Barbarian for being mean.

It was Leader who suggested they all take a rest and check Whumpee’s temperature. It was Caretaker who reminded them that Whumpee was the one who checked everyone’s temps, with magic.

“Caretaker?”

“Yes? Whats wrong, does anything hurt? Do you feel better?”

“Why are there three of you?”

Caretaker didn’t have a chance to interpret what they meant before their knees buckled and they fainted, leaving the whole party panicked and confused.

Magic whumpee magic whumpee magic whumpee

Fantasy whump where whumpee is the only magic user of their party, and they focus on healing magic. All their teammates come to them when they’re hurt or sick.

But they’re doing some serious adventures, and whumpee ends up using so much magic they get sick- like really sick.

Like ‘I have no idea who is feeding me soup right now but the soup is too hot too hot and I’m so cold and everything hurts I can’t see I can’t think I can barely breathe it’s too cold out here the soup is too cold get these blankets off me I’m so hot’ kind of sick.

And their teammates can do NOTHING for them because they don’t know anything about magic burnout or basic health skills.

Ahhh my favorite

this little fic is heavily heavily inspired by this post from @whump-kia because i just couldnt get the idea out of my silly brain so i brain vomited onto my notes app

context →

kinda sorta wilderness/sci-fi/apocolypse setting.. it honestly could go all ways but the important factors are 1) they are in a team 2) there are enemies they are on the run from and 3) there isnt really magic healing or anything available

i wrote it as medic kinda being the most competent one in general while leader and teammate are frazzled as hell at the situation and could be read as newer to the team but that isn't necessarily my intention!

whumpee: Medic

caretaker(s): Leader and Teammate

[all characters gender neutral]

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The room fell silent. All eyes were suddenly trained on Medic who threw open the door and staggered in.

With a dagger wedged in their side.

The team had been on the run from enemies for the better part of a week now. Even though they weren't completely in the clear, the team was completely worn out. They all needed a good rest.

They were setting up camp at one of their many bases, and Medic offered to scout the area alone. Leader honestly didn’t think it was a good idea, but they were too preoccupied to think to argue it further.

Now, they sincerely wished they had.

“Medic.. oh god, oh god” whispered Teammate.

“Ambush,” They explained. “It’s.. it’s okay, I took care of it..” Medic replied cooly, but the color was quickly draining from their face. Teammate frowned and continued questioning them, but Leader heard none of it.

Leader took a shaky breath, but their feet were planted. They couldn’t move. They were frozen. This wasn’t supposed to happen. No, Medic was untouchable. Medic was steadfast and reliable, always there when the team needed them.

Medic wasn’t supposed to go out like this. Medic wasn’t supposed to get hurt.

Leader’s breathing hitched again. Their head was reeling. What were they going to do?! No one on the team was qualified to fix this other than the person dripping blood all over the floor, yet it was still Leader’s job to do something. It was too much, it was too—

“Leader.”

Medic’s voice cut through the room like a knife through butter.

“I need you to listen to me. Carefully. Can you do that?”

Leader swallowed the lump in their throat. They nodded.

Medic took another step forward, only for their foot to catch on the ground, sending them stumbling forward. Teammate caught them by the upper arm and unceremoniously lowered them to the ground.

“Alright,” Medic began. Their face was scrunched up in pain. “Leader. I’m going to walk you through how to fix this, okay? I'm going to be fine.”

“Right. Right, I can help you.. just- just tell me what to do.” Leader said, forcing their voice to remain steady.

“Do you see that fire poker over there? I’m going to need you to grab it and stick the end of it into the fire. We want it to get really hot, okay?” Medic explained methodically.

If it weren’t for the blade sticking out of Medic’s middle, you’d think there was nothing even wrong with them. They seemed like everything was under control. They really seemed fine.

But not to their team.

No, their team didn’t miss Medic’s pallor, the way their eyebrows were pinched together, the way the sweat was beading on their brow. Their team didn’t miss the way their hands were trembling, the way their gaze was glassy, and the way they were slumped against the wall, seemingly sapped of their strength.

Medic was fighting to hold on, but it was a losing battle. They really didn’t have much time before they passed out from blood loss, or worse.

Leader’s resolve came back to them all at once. They nodded sharply and did as they were told, sticking the poker into the fire and leaving it on the hearth. While the team waited anxiously for the poker to heat up, Leader took the opportunity to adjust Medic into a more comfortable position against the wall. This earned a strangled grunt from Medic.

“Okay, Leader.. this.. this is important. Once that poker gets red-hot, you’re.. you’re going to have to pull out the blade from my wound and cauterize it.. immediately.” They choked out, shifting to give Leader a better view of their abdomen.

Leader’s face blanched.

“Cauterize?? Why not sutures? Surely that’s less painful,” Leader protested, only to be shushed by Medic raising their hand.

“I don’t have.. I can’t stay awake to walk you through that.. cau.. cauterization is.. quicker..”

Leader could tell Medic was reaching their limit. The wound, despite being partially plugged by the dagger, had been steadily dripping blood for a while now. Leader could tell by the way Medic’s voice was faltering and the way their shoulders were drooping that they were utterly spent. They had to hurry up.

Leader glanced at the fire poker, and upon seeing it burning hot, they grabbed a towel and picked it up.

“Alright. What’s next.”

Medic steeled their nerves and spoke.

“You and Teamate will have to work together. Leader, you’ll.. you’ll need to pull out the dagger and immediately press the poker along th.. the wound.. As soon as you pull it out, it’s going to start bleeding even faster.. you need to seal it immediately, just until the bleeding stops..”

Leader nods, though they hate this with every fiber of their being. They’ve never had to have had a wound cauterized before, thanks to Medic’s dilligency. Still, they know the procedure is agonizing and not one they are thrilled to perform on Medic.

Medic gaze flits to Teammate.

“You.. you have a very important job.. I need.. I’m gonna need you to hold me down. As soon as that metal hits my skin, I’m going to scream. I mean really scream. I’m also going to jerk away. I need you to hold me down, no.. no matter what happens, even if I pass out, so Leader doesn’t end up making the wound worse. Can you do that?”

Teammate frowns, but gives a quick nod. Teammate was always more timid, but now, in this moment, their jaw was set and there was a determined glint in their eyes. By God, they were going to help Medic.

Leader got up and sat on Medic’s legs to restrain them, and held the fire poker at their side. Using their free hand they gently grasped the handle of the blade sticking out of Medic, careful not to jostle it in the wound. Still, Medic inhaled sharply.

Teammate got behind Medic looping their arms behind theirs and holding them tight.

“Alright.. just.. just give me a count down..” Medic says, their voice low.

Leader nods.

“3.”

Medic sucked in a breath.

“2.”

Teammate tightened their grip.

“1.”

Everything that happened after that countdown couldn’t have been more than 10 seconds, but to Medic, it felt like 10 years.

As soon as the dagger was removed, Leader pressed the hot metal into the wound. The guttural scream that tore from Medic’s throat was nausea-inducing.

Immediately, every muscle in their body seized up as they violently thrashed against the white-hot pain. Medic’s sobs rang out through the entire facility. Everyone in the vicinity flinched at the sound.

Their Medic, their savior, was now reduced to gut-wrenching cries.

Leader adjusted themself to sit on Medic’s thighs, effectively immobilizing them.

Teammate had to yank Medic’s arms down, using all their strength to keep them still.

“I’m sorry.. I’m so sorry..” Teammate whispered softly, tears blurring their vision.

Right as Leader was about to finish sealing the wound, Medic let out a gurgling gasp as their eyes rolled back into their head and they went limp.

“Medic? Hey, Medic?” Teammate mewled, lightly tapping their cheek.

Both Leader and Teammate finally loosened their grip on them and lowered Medic to the ground with as much care as they could muster.

“Hey, c’mon Medic.. wake up for us, yeah?” Leader coaxed, brushing a strand of hair from Medic’s eyes.

Medic’s eyelids finally fluttered open, but they looked utterly exhausted. Their face was streaked with sweat and there were tears tracks lining their pale cheeks. Still, they gave a weak smile.

“You.. you guys did great..” They managed, but not before their eyes slipped close yet again.

Both Leader and Teammate exchanged a laugh at how absurd it was that Medic was praising them for doing well. Still, the worst of it was over and everyone could breathe again. They knew they should get Medic up and into medbay, but they silently agreed to let Medic rest for a few moments longer.

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