#work whump

[whumpschild]

whats wrong?

[the-baby-storyteller]

“You need to stop.” Caretaker stared humorlessly at Whumpee.

“Just give me one more minute.” They said, head hunched over the page, scribbling furiously, “I’ve almost got it.”

“I don’t know what’s wrong with those people,” Caretaker flopped down onto the couch, shaking his head. “They work you to the bone and for what? It’s clearly not improving your work ability,” he said scornfully.

“You don’t understand.” They ignored him, intent upon their work until- “Aha!” They shouted, jumping up.

Caretaker raised an incredulous eyebrow at them from where he sat, taking in the scenery that was their state of being.

Ragged was the best word to describe them. They had a wide smile, somehow wildly triumphant, but it appeared unstable and half covered by the craggily, yet somehow still oily, hair that marred their entire face.

Enough was enough.

“I’m so goodatthis,” they slurred more than said, holding up the finished piece of paper drunkenly. “They’re going to be so happy.” They hiccuped, “I-I did it.”

Caretaker stood and gently took the piece of paper out of their hand and back onto the table before they crumpled it. “You need to rest.” He said, seriously.

“What?” They asked bewilderedly, “But I just got it! I just started doing it I have to do more now I have to get it all done-”

Caretaker put a hand on theirs. “Stop.” They hesitated.

“Breathe.” He said.

They inhaled.

“You need to rest.”

They stuttered on the exhale.

“You’re exhausted. I can tell you are even if you’re lying to yourself that you’re not. Even if you think you can keep going. You can’t.”

They stared up at him with wide eyes and began to shake. He took the hand he was holding and led it to his chest.

“Feel my breathing,” He said, drawing in an exaggerated breath. They tried to steady themself and copied the motion, chest heaving up and down in rhythm with his own.

“Good,” he praised, “Now do it again.”. They kept breathing in sync until he felt Whumpee’s muscles untense and their breathing steady.

“Good.” He repeated, slowly rubbing his thumb over her hand. They shuddered.

“I…I can’t -” They started to say quietly.

“Shh. It’s time to rest.” He said in a low voice before standing up and walking around then. In a smooth, swift motion, he reached out and swept Whumpee into a bridal carry, getting a gasp out of them, and started walking to the bedroom.

Caretaker felt them curl against his chest, tense at first, but as he walked he felt them loosen slowly until he looked down to find them asleep.

They deserved it. He looked back and the wreck of a workroom, papers strewn everywhere, half of the lightbulbs burnt out.

They would never be doing this again, Caretaker thought as he walked them slowly to go to sleep.

[writingphoenix]

Whump but it’s a beleaguered employee who told their manager they would have a project done by Friday of next week but when they come in on Monday ready to work on the project they have an email waiting asking if they can finish it by the end of the day.

[readitandwip]

SLOW SPIRALS SLOW SPIRALS SLOW SPIRALS

I'm thinking of a Whumpee (or maybe a new Hero/Sidekick) who has been raised in a toxic, manipulative environment where they've been underestimated and overworked to prove themselves. So when they grow up, they've built a hardened exterior, as if nothing ever gets to them, yet they are prone to acting out and breaking the rules for their own convenience.

When they cross the line one day and receive a cold, verbal warning to keep their behavior in check from an authority figure, Whumpee manages to keep their composure and brush off their supervisor's anger. "Alright, sorry, geez..." they mutter out with an annoyed look on their face while crossing their arms, almost as if irritated with the scolding rather than acknowledging they've made a mistake.

But they can't help but feel on edge.

Even if they do make up with their team leader/ supervisor later on, the sense of inner disappointment still remains. It doesn't hit them right away though. Instead it gradually eats away at them for the remainder of the day until they find themselves unable to sleep at night, angry moreso at their past self's helplessness than today's incident.

Anyway SLOW. SPIRALS.

[inky-here]

cw: past whump, protective caretaker, dialogue, implied whumpee breakdown, friendly work setting

caretaker and whumpee live together. they've known eachother for a while and caretaker knows about everything the whumpee's been through before they met.

they also work at the same company. when caretaker gets a text from supervisor, they head right to their office but before they can get to the door, they spot a person standing next to a water cooler by the office. it was whumper.

caretaker's heart skips a beat, but they try to not show it. they've only encountered the whumper about two times before, but they'd recognise that face anywhere. why are they here?

caretaker wonders if the whumper recognises them as well, the answer being clear as day the moment whumper gives them a patronising, smug smile they can only see for a second before they enter the office.

"caretaker! good to see you," their supervisor greets them with a smile, along with a few coworkers who were in the office as well.

"good to see you too," caretaker tries to reciprocate the warm greeting, but can't hide the way their throat suddenly goes dry. they swallow before continuing, "listen, who's that person outside your office?"

supervisor looks at them a bit confused, but answers anyway as they take a sip of their coffee: "their name is whumper, I just hired them. why?"

"is whumpee here?" caretaker shoots the next question immediately as they visibly grow worried.

"they just left, actually. looked like they were in a hurry, too."

"god damn- did they talk to eachother?"

"I don't-? caretaker, what is this?" supervisor puts their coffee mug down as they and the rest of the crew eye caretaker.

"supervisor, did they or did they not talk to each other," caretaker urges. if this wasn't a professional setting, they'd probably grab supervisor by the shoulders at this point.

"um, i think i saw them exchange a few words?" a coworker chimed in.

"fuck," caretaker uttered, "god fucking damn it. listen, we need to put a pin in this, i need to go find whumpee, like, right now. i probably shouldn't talk about it but i just know that they're not having a good time." they explain briefly as they gather their things.

"we'll help," supervisor put a hand on caretaker's back. "you know them best. where do you suggest we look?"

caretaker gives them a thankful look before the whole group storms out of the office.

[a-class-attempter]

“I’m fine, I’ll be at work tomorrow.”

“…Whumpee, you’re covered in bruises-”