The Maker was…satisfied, with Audra’s recent results. He wouldn’t go as far as to say he was pleased, but something close.
She was always so eager to please, to have his approval. Of course, he had always engineered it that way. It had been so easy…he had slipped under her bedroom door all those years ago, offering a pearly white smile and praises. You know you’re special, don’t you? You’re more than this village, than these people. Don’t you want to use that genius, Audra? How would you like to come with me, where you can truly put that brain to good use?
She’d never misbehaved, never intentionally. Of course, there had been a few…slip-ups, in her late teens, which he had always quickly corrected. She was brilliant, of course, but controllable—the perfect assistant. So much more manageable than the “hero” she would’ve become without his intervention.
This week, she had delivered on his requests for a functional and efficient facial recognition system. She had already helped him identify and “manage” multiple targets…a fact she had been very happy about, when the Maker had told her. He had omitted the more…grisly details, of course, for her sake.
Today, however, there was a more urgent task for her.
Audra was up earlier than her written schedule dictated. She was reading one of the novels she had been given by the Maker as a reward for her hard work, deeply invested in the characters as she read from her bed. I know you have a fondness for romance stories, Audra. This is a reward for your efficiency.
The Maker stepped into her room, silent and smiling wide. She jumped on instinct, quickly putting her book away and sitting upright—nervously pushing the curl of black hair that fell over her eyes.
The Maker chuckled, approaching until he was right beside her bed. “Audra, you’re still in free time until six o’clock. You don’t have to hide your reading from me, you know.”
“…Right. O-of course, sir. What did you need?”
“Oh, it’s very simple, Audra, don’t worry,” he began, his grin tilting his words. His smile showed almost all of his teeth—far wider than a normal human could ever smile.
“You’re going to be working with Doom, for the foreseeable future.”
Audra felt her chest get tight. Doom? The man in the metal mask? She had seen him so many times on her cameras, but they’d never exchanged a word. She had always been under the impression she wasn’t allowed to, his labs were generally off-limits. He was intimidating, in her opinion…tall and silent, his mask expressionless and hidden under the shadows his cloak provided. She had been tasked with working with Howard Stark on some projects, and he had been fine…if a bit uncomfortable around her. But Doom? Him? He was new, and that was unnerving. She knew nothing about him, and she knew very well she was forbidden from asking.
Evidently, Audra had hesitated too long. The Maker tilted his head, silently demanding an answer.
“Understood, Maker,” She managed, rushing her words. “What will we be working on?”
“Nothing you can’t handle,” He answered, reaching out his arm to stretch and brush a hand over her hair. “A new re-education device. Doom is finalizing the mechanics of it, you will be looking over the code he created for it.”
“Yes, sir. I’d be honored.”
He grinned wider. “Of course you would be,” he agreed. “But I have another task for you, for your expertise.”
She only nodded, knowing he had more to say.
“Keep an extra close eye on Doom, for me. I fear he may be unstable, and I’d love to have some reassurance from you.”
Audra swallowed, her dark eyes shooting to her blankets in her lap.
“Will he be a risk to me?”
“No, of course not. Would I send you to work with a man who posed any danger?” He asked, his voice rising slightly.
“No…but—“
“Then you already know, he poses no threat. I merely need you to keep watch on him, to look for any defiance or rebellion. He isn’t as…loyal, as you are, Audra.”
“I understand, sir.”
“Good. Work starts at six thirty, report to Doom’s lab. I have a meeting to attend in Brasília, but I expect to return to sufficient progress tomorrow.”
“Hey, you’ve done everything you need to, alright? Now it’s our turn. We’ll take it from here, all you need to do is keep your eyes open. Nice and easy, right?”
one thing i love in whump is... implications. when the damage isn't immediately obvious but it's easy to put the clues together if you're paying attention.
bruises in particular shapes. certain types of injuries. offhand comments that add up. odd periods of not being reachable, someone goes out of contact for a few days and comes back moving strangely, stiffly, like they're- like they're hurt. a new traumatic reaction, a new fear, a new trigger that came out of nowhere.
something happened. something has happened and anyone paying attention knows it. and anyone paying attention for longer than a moment, anyone who truly knows them, can probably figure out what.
Caretaker holding whumpee’s head up gingerly, their fingers in whumpee’s hair, while bringing a glass of water to their lips.
Whumpee being too weak to hold their head up for long and only taking a couple small sips. They then drop their head back on the pillow and breathe heavily, already tired, with their eyes closed.
Caretaker places the glass on the nightstand and wipes whumpee’s face and neck with damp cloth. Whumpee sighs in relief.
When the Caretaker is big and scary looking, and Whumpee assumes he’s their new owner and just, quails because oh my god he wouldn’t even need to try…
Hands that could crush them gently helping bandage their wounds, a voice that could shake brick walls offering comfort and kind words, arms that could rip limbs from trees gently carrying them to bed.
It takes a long time to get over the knee jerk reaction of fear and dread at just, everything about him, but eventually, Whumpee sees them as they are, kind and gentle and strong in more ways than physical.
Whumpee almost forgets how intimidating Caretaker is until Whumper finds them again. And while watching Whumper experience the full force of Caretakers strength, they’re reminded that yes, Caretaker was gentle, but it was a choice he made.
caretaker finally finds missing whumpee after a long time (days? months? years?) searching. whumpee is bound, scrawny, dirty, weak. (maybe as soon as they see caretaker, they start struggling against their ropes, trying in vain to reach out.)
caretaker rushes to whumpee’s side and touches them. “oh god, whumpee?! oh thank GOD!”
whumpee smiles weakly. tears glisten in their eyes. “you found me,” they breathe.
caretaker unties them, and—after checking for injuries—takes whumpee into their arms. whumpee melts into the embrace.
When they stop trying to pull their hands free and hunch over trembling
Jumping when captor first speaks
Even someone trained for intense situations is going to hyperventilate--you just see it in their stomach more than their chest. Trained to breathe deeply, unable to breathe slowly. Too much oxygen to push around as the adrenaline spikes over and over.
Looking anywhere but their captor
When they try to respond, their voice is too husky, and it breaks. They have to try again. "I--" they clear their throat. "I don't know what you mean..."
"You want to tell me why you can't make this easier on yourself?" Captor walks around the chair, sending chills up captive's neck. "I'm not--it's not that simple." --captive
"This... isn't about me." --captive
When captor makes that corny "you're a little tied up now, aren't you?" And captive breaks into loud, tension-relieving laughter, only to hunch over their body as far as they can go and go quiet again.
panicked character desperately clutching onto the only person they trust.
face hidden in their neck. gasping for breath as they try to calm down from the spike of adrenaline. biting back a whimper when the other moves to stroke their head, trying to reassure them that everything is alright now, they're safe.
Do I Dare Disturb The Universe? @whumpy-bi - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
