#caretaker
A ceiling fan twirls above the Whumpee, creating a blurred halo above them as the Caretaker looks up at them from the floor. The Caretaker coughs and still struggles to take in a breath after having been hit repeatedly by the Whumpee in their chest and stomach. The Whumpee clenches and unclenches their fist, staring at the door leading into the room they’re both in. Their shirt is stained with fresh sweat, and they wipe a bloodied knuckle across their forehead. “What’s it been, now?” the Caretaker asks from the floor. The Whumpee looks down at them with eyes that are both wild and glazed. “Where did you come from?” they ask the Caretaker, looking at them like a bear rug that is slowly coming to life as they squirm and struggle to get to their knees. Their fists stay clenched as the Caretaker lifts themselves up, nursing an arm across their bruised body. The Whumpee looks them up and down, still not able to wrap their brain around the reality in front of them. “It’s a dream, isn’t it?” the Whumpee asks. The Caretaker drops their head, and the ceiling fan above them slows as the whole world does too. When the Caretaker finally lifts their head, the face of the Whumper is on it instead. They close the distance between themselves and the Whumpee with an uncanny speed and grab them by the throat, pushing them back into a mirror hung on the wall. “What’s it been?” the vision of the Whumper repeats the Caretaker’s words almost fondly as they press the Whumpee hard enough into the mirror that it now cracks. When the Whumper eases up slightly, the mirror teeters on its nail but then falls with a crash behind them. The Whumpee shuts their eyes at the noise, but when they open them, they are looking at the worried face of the Caretaker kneeling next to them on the ground. The Whumpee’s breath heaves in their chest as they try and orient themselves, looking around for proof of anything they had just seen or done. No shattered mirror surrounds them - only the fan spins overhead as the Caretaker asks kindly: “How long’s it been since you got some sleep?” The Whumpee studies their friend for a moment before pulling them in for a desperate hug, unable to recall where reality ended and the hallucinations started.
The Whumpee closes their eyes as they think of what to say, then open them with a stare just as blank as when they closed them. Nothing surfaces in their mind. There is no thought to speak of, no gathering of many thoughts to distill into one, there is nothing. They look around to see if they can figure out where they are. They are sitting in the middle of an intersection at night, lit only by two sets of stationary headlights and the slow ticking of alternating red, yellow, and green traffic signals. Glass is shattered all over the ground beneath them, and the Whumpee lifts their hand up to look at it when they realize that there is glass embedded in the skin. They look over their shoulder behind them and see the Caretaker is lying on the ground next to one of the cars. They can’t remember what happened. Nothing is adding up. It’s then that another nearby car door opens, then gently shuts, and the sound of glass crunching beneath the boots of the Whumper grows louder until they stand over the dazed Whumpee. The Whumpee looks up at them, blinking away the blood from their head that streams around their eyes. “I don’t feel so well,” the Whumpee says plainly, albeit with a slight croak. The Whumper looks down on them. “Yeah, well. You don’t look so hot, either.” The Whumper crouches until their face is mere inches from the Whumpee. Their eyes look the Whumpee up and down almost hungrily, then looks over at the Caretaker to confirm they haven’t woken up. “I’m going to need you to come with me,” the Whumper explains in a slow and deliberate tone. The Whumpee nods without understanding why, then looks at the Whumper again as if for the first time. “I don’t feel so well.”
The Whumper sits at a high table near an airport window overlooking the tarmac. The sound of the Caretaker’s shoes echo in the empty space as they walk towards the Whumper from behind, nervously clutching a set of papers as they do. The Whumper stares blankly out the window at a plane about to taxi towards the runway and barely acknowledges the presence of the Caretaker. “May I?” the Caretaker asks. The Whumper looks over at them and says nothing, which the Caretaker takes as a signal that they can sit. They set down and place a hand over the papers and prepare to begin a rehearsed spiel about the evidence they’ve gathered. “I don’t need to tell you-” they start before the Whumper cuts them off: “Then don’t.” The Whumper pushes the paperwork towards the Caretaker until it falls off the table into their lap and onto the floor. “You think I don’t know what you know, but I got news for you - I know everything you know. Absolutely everything.” The Whumper points out the window towards the tarmac where a black SUV pulls up, conspicious in being both out of place on a runway and staged so plainly in front of the two of them. The Caretaker watches as someone gets out of the driver’s seat, goes to the trunk, and pulls out of it a person with bound hands and a black bag over their head. The Whumper watches the Caretaker’s reaction as the bag is pulled off. “I don’t know where you think you are, but allow me shift your little black and white world into colour for you.” The Whumper slaps their hand on the table between themselves and the Caretaker to demand their attention as they finish: “I am not afraid of you. You are not in charge here. And take whatever law, or rules, or whatever it is you think you have over me - and you realize that a tornado has come, and brought you over the rainbow onto my land.” The Whumper looks out the window and waves a hand that prompts the bag to be pulled back over the Whumpee before they’re shoved back in the car. The Caretaker feels helpless, and is pale and disarmed as the Whumper sits back like an executive in a meeting that they’ve deemed is a waste of their time. “Anything else?”
So casually cruel
A closes their eyes against the harsh sting of B’s palm slapping their face. They’re hunched over with their hands on their knees. There’s not enough air in the world. Their chest burns from running so fast for so long, it feels as if they’re about to throw up.
B’s hand cups A’s cheek, grabbing the skin on their cheekbone painfully. ‘Get up. Fucking get up A, I swear,’ B yells.
vs
A closes their eyes against the agonising pain of their wound. They keel over, dust parting as they thud onto the ground. It feels as if all they’ve ever known is blinding, burning pain. There’s not enough air in the world. Everything burns.
B skids to A’s side, cupping their cheek softly in their hand. They rub their thumb tenderly over A’s cheekbone. 'Get up. A please get up, I swear,’ B’s voice breaks on the edge of a sob.
Hidden Injury dialogue that makes my heart just stop beating
- ‘Whose blood is that?’
- 'Do you know how pale you look right now?’
- 'You’re burning up’
- 'You’re sick’
- 'You can barely keep your eyes open.. When was the last time you slept?’
- 'Take off your shirt. Don’t give me that look’
- 'What was that? You winced.’
- 'You’ve got to do better than that if you want to fool me’
- 'Walk then. Come on, walk towards me. I bet you can’t even take a step’
- 'You’re hurt’
- 'I know you’re hurt. And I’m tired of waiting for you to bring it up’
- 'You can trust me’ (Whumpee denies it) *Caretaker gives them a pat and leaves. The first aid kit sits in their place
- 'I knew it, you’re sick.’ 'Go away’
- 'I’m fine’
- 'Don’t give me that bullshit’
- 'We need to get you to a medic NOW’
- 'I just need to rest’
- Caretaker desperately shaking whumpee awake, calling their name over and over
- 'How could you let it get this bad?’
- 'I’m no use to you, injured’ 'You’re even less use if you’re dead’
EDIT: PLEASE TAG @whumpyourenemy IN YOUR WRITINGS IF YOU USE ANY OF THESE! I’D LOVE TO READ YOUR WORK
‘Help me’ - the moment of vulnerability trope
'Help me’
A normally stoic and stubborn character (A) painfully pushes the words out past their dry lips. The words themselves are wounded, barely unable to reach the other’s (B’s) ear. But they’re heard and the admission of weakness tightens B’s chest more than the sight of A writhing in a pool of their own blood. Their history doesn’t matter, really, when one is the picture of health and the other is closer to hell.
Help me - the phrase is so simple but it carries so much weight. Help you? For what in return? At what cost of my own? What if I can’t.. B’s eyes are widened as thoughts fill their mind. Yet they cannot waste time.
'Fuck it’
It’s a decisive thought, one to end all thoughts.
B bends down to staunch the wound and ties it up haphazardly. And when A starts to fade, they call their name. It’s almost casual at first but it grows in panic. And while they carry A to safety, they’re exhausted and panting but still, they call their name.
Why? Because they care. And seeing A hurt to the point they asked for help, wrenches them.
[The vulnerability trope is not just about a strong character succumbing to injury but also about the character who puts aside their coldness and finally admits that they’d seriously grieve if they lost the other]
Hoist the sails! It’s the Seasickness Trope, me hearties
- The walkway on the water giving way as whumpee steps off of land, causing their knees to buckle slightly before they quickly correct themselves
- Always being near the edge of the ship and keeping a firm grip on the railing
- When whumpee has never been on water before but they lie when asked
- Their pale face speckled with cold sweat
- Dry, cracked lips
- Gulping constantly, even hiccupping a bit when they speak to another character and pounding on their chest to try to get rid of that sickfeeling
- The constant sway and creak of the boards beneath them, they cannot stand still without feeling lightheaded and dizzy
- Walking or stumbling at a diagonal while the world spins around them
- A headache forming, a bad one, with high pitched ringing
- The contents of their stomach rising with a sudden heave
- Sneaking away from the rest of the crew to rush to the toilet
- Reaching for the edge of the seat and vomiting into it
- It’s a lot and they cough miserably at the end before they let themselves fall back and lean against the wall gasping
- But the ground beneath them won’t stop moving, their head is pounding heavier with every throb
- Yet they drag themselves up, afraid of what the captain will say if they are missing from their post but when they stand, the vomit rises again and they collapse back down to throw up
- ^THIS CYCLE OF COLLAPSING AND TRYING TO GET BACK UP
- The captain finding whumpee as a pale, sweaty mess on the floor and instead of being unkind they place whumpee’s arm around their shoulders and help them up
- [Pirate ship with a found family vibe] The rest of the crew helping to make a brew that will cure whumpee’s seasickness and being so relieved to watch the colour return to their previously pale, sickly face
Little things in the hidden injury trope that give me life more than water does
- Tying something between their teeth to stop their cries from being heard while they treat themselves in the dark
- Bloodied bandages stuffed into the gap between the wall and the bed
- Whumpee wearing long sleeves/pants but their bandages still finding a way to peek out
- Blood running down their limb from inside their clothes and dripping onto the ground
- Bloody footprints
- Bloody handprints
- Faint bloodstains on the floor that whumpee can’t get off no matter how hard they scrub
- Whumpee limping as soon as the other person turns their back
- Dark undereyes from obv no sleep
- Those sexy beads of sweat and pale skin
- Leaning against wall/ furniture whenever they get the chance
- When a normally talkative character is quiet
- Controlling their breath while they try to complete normal tasks but then doubling over and gasping for air behind closed doors
- When they peel back the bandages to check their injury and it’s gotten worse
- Whumpee trying to bring it up with someone but then deciding against it when the other person starts talking about future plans
- Someone in the team feeling like there’s something wrong with whumpee but not knowing what so they don’t bring it up and then the GUILTthey feel afterwards holy
- Whumpee FINALLY fainting - behind closed doors and being found by someone later or just dropping to the ground while they’re with someone else
- I mean just imagine character A talking and thinking whumpee is beside them and whumpee just drops out of frame with a sigh and a thud
- Whumpee trying to tell the others that they’re fine and that they can handle it while they’re literally bleeding out on the ground
- Bonus! The scene afterwards when whumpee wakes up and their wounds are bound in those crisp white bandages instead of the bloodied, dirtied torn pieces of clothing they’d used before
NOTE: I’D LOVE TO BE TAGGED IF YOU WRITE OR CREATE ANYTHING INSPIRED BY THIS LIST
Trope I couldn’t stop thinking about today..
When whumpee collapses and stoic caretaker instinctively touches their cheek to whumpee’s forehead to check their temperature
Tonight I’m falling asleep thinking about..
That hiss when the caretaker first touches the whumpee’s wound and the eye contact immediately after - whumpee’s tears welling up in pain and caretaker’s concerned gaze.
Tough love caretaker dialogue
- Don’t even think about trying to get up
- Why do you always insist you’ve got it covered when you so clearly don’t?
- Get your head out of your ass. You’re not strong enough to save us all on your own
- And where did that get you?
- I was going to have you punished for disobeying me but looks like they got to you first
- You were stupid enough to get hurt in the first place so you’re damn well not allowed to pass out now
- Quit your whining or I’ll shove the blade in further
- (yelling) Afraid I’d yell at you? Your punk-ass would rather die than get yelled at?
- Hey actually I do want your opinion on one thing- does it hurt more getting the blade shoved in (pulls blade out much to the painful surprise of whumpee) or out?
- (Upon seeing whumpee’s bandages drenched in blood) *Sighs. This wound is almost as stubborn as you are.
- You have to eat. Don’t make me beg you.
- Never show up in front of me like this again.
A character’s POV where a teammate offers a hand to help them up and they take it, grimacing and grumbling but relieved that everything is over. Yet when they are upright, the world tilts dramatically onto a sharp downward plane. They don’t feel themselves falling, but the teammate’s shocked face is moving further away. The sudden impact of the ground jolts their bones in their weakened body. Dizziness consumes them, the world spinning on a different plane to them. And pain creeps in - biting their brain, pinching their nerves, seizing their body to move awkwardly and pull at torn muscles.
There are snatches of voices - their name, reassurances, and they wish they could speak and tell them not to worry. But they are no longer in control. There is only dizziness and pain and soon, nothing.
Kidnapping prompt
Whumpee is kidnapped and tortured for caretaker’s identity. Every time they’re asked ‘What is their name?’, Whumpee always answers the same.
'They never told me. They never told me’
But the punches and the stabs keep on coming. Till Whumpee is on the ground, terribly wounded and barely conscious. They still painfully mutter the same thing.
Till Caretaker shows up after realising that Whumpee is missing. They beat up the kidnappers and untie Whumpee. Caretaker supports Whumpee’s weight, trying to keep them upright. But Whumpee whispers their name, Caretaker’s realname, before collapsing into their arms.
Caretaker had never told them their name yet somehow Whumpee had figured it out themselves. They told half-truths to their kidnappers to protectcaretaker and almost died in the process.
It’s all fun and games till I imagine my caretaker character throwing themselves over the severely injured whumpee, begging the whumper to hurt them instead.
Then I’m a wreck.
Dialogue that hurts and comforts
I love seeing dialogue that can be used in different ways. It’s so cool when it’s repeated, now with new meaning. As a reader, I feel a bit smart.
LIST
‘Get away from me’
- A yells, trying desperately to kick their attacker off of them.
- A cries, chest heaving as sobs wrack their bound body. 'I’m dangerous’
'Watch your step’
- B yanks A back by the arm, their foot about to cross into a place of danger
- Villain smirks as Hero stands on the other side of the room, traps separating them.
'Careful’
- As a threat. 'Watch your words or I’ll nail your tongue to the door’
- As concern. 'You’re still injured. If you must go then use me as a crutch’
- Villain challenges Hero who is gasping for air on the ground. 'I want a real fight’
- Caretaker crying over whumpee’s unresponsive form. 'Please get up’
'Can you hear me?’
- Communications crackle as Hero tries to radio into HQ
- Whumpee is fading and can hear Caretaker’s voice as if it is in the distance. Despite Caretaker shaking them, their eyes close and their body becomes limp.
'Here, let me’
- A is struggling to complete a task. Impatiently, B takes over.
- Whumpee tries to stitch up a wound themselves but their hands shake in fear and pain. Caretaker gently takes the needle and thread from their hands and hands them a bottle of alcohol instead.
'I can’t’
- Hero drops the dagger, shaking. 'I can’t. I can’t kill you’. Villain, tied up, huffs and retorts 'So what are you good for?’
- Tears run down caretaker’s face. 'I can’t leave you’. Whumpee smiles despite the pain and reaches up to cup Caretaker’s face, wiping their tears gently with their thumb.
'Where have you been hiding?’
- Whumper’s sinister call echoes as they search the woods near their property. With those wounds, whumpee couldn’t have gone far.
- A strokes hair out of B’s face as they lay beside each other. 'Where have you been hiding my whole life?’ they say softly.
AS ALWAYS, TAG ME @whumpyourenemy IN YOUR HURT/COMFORT WORKS IF YOU USE MY PROMPTS OR TAKE INSPIRATION. I’D LOVE TO READ AND SUPPORT!
I didn’t know this whump was a comedy
Classy (although cliche to most) examples of whump in comedies. I love them so much that even though the whump is minor it ends up being the most memorable part for me.
By trope:
Drunken misadventures
- Getting injured while incredibly drunk and not even knowing it. Then, upon waking the next morning, realising that something really hurts and it’s not just their hangover. Cue the awkward small talk about their heavily bandaged limb where someone asks about how it happened and they panic and come up with a crazy story that makes them sound like a hero
- Getting absolutely hammered and taking a stranger home. Yet the next morning, the stranger wakes up injured and blames them for it.
Reunited (and it does not feel good)
- Meeting a stranger while they’re both in sick bay (or urgent care). Bonus point if protagonist ended up there doing something embarrassing. They tell the stranger all about their embarrassing tale, since of course they’re never going to meet again. Cut to running into them later in life and they teasingly address protagonist by their injury (or a detail from their embarrassing moment).
- Protagonist gets into a heated argument with a stranger (be it road rage, they’re taking too long at the coffee shop), yet later they’re injured and find out that the stranger is their doctor
- Leaving after an argument only to get injured outside and then having to swallow their pride and call the other person to come get them
Impromptu mentor
- Professional (Athlete/ dancer/ musician..) gets injured before a big competition and ends up having to mentor their replacement
It hurts on rainy days
- Jokingly showing someone how their joint makes a fun clicking sound but the other person grabs them and tests it out. They cry out in pain, scolding the other person for twisting so hard but the other person just goes. ‘It’s broken’
- Trying to reason with others as their limb is being bandaged and casted and they’re told not to use it weeks. The dialogue is so chaotic - 'I’m fine’, 'It doesn’t even hurt’, 'Guys, come on, you’re joking right’, 'This is ridiculous’, 'I’m never telling you anything again’
Fool behaviour
- Any instance of dumb protagonist accidentally ramming into another person - be it a door, hitting them with their car, skating straight towards them while not knowing how to stop or steer away
- A clumsy protagonist that slips and panics, instinctively grabbing onto another person’s shirt. The shirt rips, causing the person to fall and blackout anyway
Good taste
- Character wears things for the sake of fashion rather than practicality:
- Thin clothing - they start sneezing and feeling feverish
- Tall heels - arguing with others that the heels are actually very comfortable despite how they look, then falling almost immediately and twisting their ankle
- Shoes with no grip - causing them to slip and fall hard on their bottom
- BONUS - if another character tries to help them but falls in the process too
Dialogue parallels *squeals in good character development
‘I don’t need anyone’
'I need you’
'Get out of my sight’
'Stay’
'I am never wrong about this’
'I was wrong. I was so wrong.’
'People like us don’t have the luxury of caring for others’
'Get behind me’
'I couldn’t care less how you spend your time’
'Where are you?’
'If you’re too slow, I’ll leave you behind’
'Get on my back, we’ve got to get you to a medic’
'You will never be one of us’
'On this oath, I pledge my loyalty to you; my leader (my love)’
Fantasy prompt on Immortals - Whump, H/C are always a given :)
Characters A and B are a couple that used to love to travel. One day, they’re deep in the forest and come across a cave. Inside, sleeps a minor God who is chained there as punishment for mischief. The couple accidentally wake them. The God is bitter for being woken and reminded of their imprisonment. They lash out on the two humans giving them immortality and no mortal weakness except one.
Each other.
If any other person tries to harm them, weapons will just pass through. No blade can cut them. No poison can kill them. But the catch is, as soon as they are near each other, they are more susceptible to injury. Normal blades can’t cut them but an enchanted one might. And not to leave out the most important part but any weapon or means of killing will work if done directly by the other person. They are completely at each other’s mercy.
The couple feel the ground shake as soon as the curse is given. The cave begins to collapse around them. They just manage to make it out. Adrenaline fading, they look at each other. Both are sceptical but something innate tells them it’s true. They decide to call truce, no longer able to stomach the fact that the other person is how they will die, and separate for centuries.
Until..
A walks out of their house into the crisp morning air. It’s a humble abode they’ve built for themselves in seclusion. The morning is silent save for the crunch of their footsteps.. and the explosive sound of a gun. It’s hits them in the thigh and pain explodes in their leg. They fall, blood immediately pooling on the ground.
Panic sets through A.
‘No, there’s no way.. Impossible,’ they mutter.
It cannot be B, they have always kept tabs on each other’s whereabouts and made sure it was always at least the diameter of the Earth away.
'B!’ A calls. Silence resumes.
Overwhelmed by pain which they have not felt for centuries, A maneuvers themself back inside. They haphazardly stitch themselves up and bandage their thigh. They couldn’t find a bullet so they figure it was a graze. Unable to get up, they lay there. Feeling cold and faint, they stay unmoving and pass out.
A wakes hours later to banging at their door. Grimacing, they pull themselves up using nearby furniture. They move from object to object, limping heavily until they reach the door. Delirious, they open it. Their half lidded eyes open wide in shock. It’s B.
A lunges for them. 'You bastard, you..’ A slurs curse words ancient and new. B grabs them by the shoulders, fingers digging in.
'I should be the one saying that..’ But their words falter when they see the state of A, feverish and bathed in their own blood. B lets them fall into their arms.
'Oof’ B groans at the sudden weight, hand reaching for their side.
When they look down at A, the latter is barely awake. Their face is drained of blood, their body is only held upright by B’s arm.
'Let me go’ A says coldly.
And honestly, B would love to. Holding A’s weight to their abdomen presses on their wound. Yet, they hold A up, helping them limp to a seat before collapsing into one themselves. Unbuttoning their shirt, B bares the bandages that bind an injury to their side. Blood has bloomed through. Face set in a wince, A stares at B’s wound.
'I didn’t..’ They start.
'You give me no reason to doubt that’
'How did you get here so fast?’
'It took me a whole day. That’s not fast.. When did you get hurt?’
'A couple hours ago, I don’t know, this morning’
'No I wasn’t close enough. It couldn’t be someone using the loophole’
'Then who?’
B’s fingers pinch the space between their eyes. They groan.
'The God’
'The God? But..’
'A, we were both shot but there is no bullet. Nothing’
Looking at their wound now, its placement on A’s thigh, they realise it couldn’t have been a graze. There should be a bullet in their thigh. But there wasn’t.
'So what now? We go hunting for a GOD?’ A’s voice is raspy. They’re fading and exhausted.
B nods and stands slowly, hissing in pain. They place a blanket over A’s bloody form as they watch as A’s eyes close.
'But the truce holds, darling. Now that we’re together, I cannot let you out of my sight’
“You’re safe here.”
The words were soft, whispered into the ear of a Whumpee who could hardly believe them. They were out, they were free. And they would never have to be scared again.
“I got- I got the message.” That menacing voice had been reduced to a bare croak, fingers trembling in a desperate attempt to keep their grip. Black bruises marked along their arm, in the form of what looked like… Bootprints. They’d been stomped on.
Who could stomp on Supervillain?
Supervillain and Civilian Pt. 2
Supervillain and Civilian Pt. 3
“I’m not sleeping on the floor.” Villain declared immediately.
“Neither am I.” Hero vowed.
The two turned to look at one another.
“It seems we have come to an impasse.”
When one thought of the word “collateral,” their minds most often went to the financial. A security deposit on a hotel room, an item given over to ensure a loan. The financial. The mundane.
Usually, this word wasn’t associated with prisoner exchanges.
They had been so ready to die. So much time running, so much time crying, failing to sleep… They’d been ready for the end of the hunt.
Yet, here Hero was.
Villain Collapsing Into Hero’s Arms
Villain Collapsing Into Hero’s Arms Pt. 2
