#caretakers

[askthecaretakers]

What would you say was the dumbest thing you saw a guest do in Gardenview?

[💙] "Let's just say it was handled appropriately."

[💚] "He got a write up for confronting her.. I think she deserved it"

[sicktember]

Official Sicktember 2023 Prompt List!

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[How to Submit Content Post]

[2023 Sicktember Collection on AO3]

[2023 Content Promotion Changes]

** Please remember to read the FAQs before asking event related questions**

[text version of the prompt list below the cut]

Prompts:

1. Hopelessly Bad at Self-Care

2. Quest for a Cure

3. "What happened to your phenomenal immune system, huh?"

4. Hiding an Illness

5. Preventative Measures (Not Taken)

6. Sick and Injured

7. “You’re a Jerk When You’re Sick”

8. Persistent Fever

9. White Coat Syndrome

10. “The only place we’re going is to the pharmacy”

11. Beginner’s Guide to Faking Sick

12. Old Wives Tale

13. Anxious Stomach

14. ‘‘I shouldn’t be worried about you, but for some reason I am’’

15. Sick in an Inconvenient Place

16. Consulting the Internet/Web MD

17. Magical Remedy/Healing Potion

18. “Wear Your Coat, You’ll Catch a Cold”

19. Curled Up With a Pet

20. Cramping Pain

21. "But if you stay, you'll get sick too"

22. Terms of Endearment/Nicknames

23. Coughing Fit

24. “Did you just sneeze?”

25. Confused/Disoriented

26. Pink Eye/Conjunctivitis

27. Uncooperative Patient

28. “I should have stayed home”

29. Side Effects/Adverse Reaction

30. Patient 0

Alts.

“I Could Really Use a Hug Right About Now”

Fuzzy Socks

Pounding Headache

Forehead Kisses

“I’m so sorry”

[ashintheairlikesnow]

She Wasn't Sure She Believed Herself

Bleeding in Moonlight: Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four |

CW: Werewolf whumpee, escaped whumpee with caretakers, referenced abuse, dehumanization by captors, and captivity

-

Anaya swayed lightly as she made her way up the steps. The front door to Vanessa’s house was painted the same deep shade of blue as the underside of the porch ceiling.

Between that and the fact that the porch was painted a flat and blinding white, Anaya felt a little like she was standing upside down in the ocean, a wave breaking beneath her and the depths of the ocean over her head. 

It was deeply disorienting.

Then again, maybe that was the sleep deprivation talking.

Every other house on the block was the same basic set of shades - gray house with black shutters, white house with gray shutters, pale yellow house with black shutters, another gray, a different white, light brown that was nearly beige, actual beige… Vanessa’s house, with all its dancing blues, had stood out like a beacon as soon as they turned onto the street. 

Eden was right behind her, one arm supporting Misae and his own eyes moving over the porch swing that moved gently in the wind. A small black cat sat on the swing, watching them with intense curiosity. Its tail flicked as it took in the sight of Misae. They’d managed to find an old hoodie of Eden’s and some of Anaya’s sweatpants for Misae to wear, and the boy looked absolutely swamped in the hoodie, hood pulled up to cover his face as much as he could and sleeves long enough to completely hide his hands. They couldn’t help his lack of shoes, but Anaya had managed to get some white socks on him and had decided to just hope for the best. He could limp, with support, and Eden had kept an arm around him, taking most of his weight as he slowly struggled up the steps. 

The boy’s face was white with pain, and his eyes kept dancing wildly trying to take in everything at once, but he stayed upright and he didn’t pass out again, so… Anaya called it a win.

“Why don’t you knock?” Anaya asked, nervously picking at her fingernails with her other hand, trying to calm her nerves. “You’re better at talking to people.”

“First off, that’s a gigantic lie. Secondly, she isn’t my friend,” Eden answered easily. This wasn’t the first time they’d had some version of a conversation like this one. She had the distinct sense that if he could, he would have shrugged. As it was, he was holding nearly all of Misae’s weight by now. “She’s your friend. You should knock.”

“I mean, I may have… I may have exaggerated how well I know her, a little bit?” Anaya found a bit of skin sticking out near her cuticle on her thumb and absently picked at it, staring down. “We just talk on the internet. I don’t even know exactly how old she is. I’ve never seen her face, and now I’m showing up with my boyfriend and a werewolf.”

“Hey. Look at me, baby.” She raised her eyes and found Eden smiling at her, weary but warm. She couldn’t help but smile back. “You’ve got a good sense for people, you always have. And you said she agreed to let us crash, right?”

“Yeah, she did. She said no problem, just…” Anaya looked over at Misae. “I might have not mentioned… him.”

The boy was staring at the cat now. The cat met his gaze with slitted pupils, ears slightly back, fur slightly raised. There was a flash of what might have been sharp teeth, the subtle whisper of a warning hiss.

Misae’s lips pulled back from his own teeth in tandem. 

Anaya stared with wide eyes as she realized his canine teeth were longer than they should be. When she looked down at his hands, she saw fingernails that stretched even as she looked at them, hardening into obvious claws even as his fingers started to thicken and turn blunt.

Was he... growing paws?

The cat turned and leaped gracefully up onto the railing and then down to the ground on the other side, disappearing in a flash around the side of the house. 

Anaya's eyes jumped back to Misae's face.

His lips were closed, and his hands had gone back to normal. Maybe she was imagining it?

“Maybe,” Eden suggested, tone irritatingly mild, “Maybe we all just stay calm and don’t bring the werewolf thing right off the bat.”

"... but did you just see-"

"Mmhmm. I know what I think I saw, anyway."

"You cannot possibly still not believe-"

“I didn’t say that I don’t believe it. Just, let’s not like fling that info around willy-nilly, Naya, yeah? And you, Misae, keep a hold on those teeth. We'll keep the wolf thing to ourselves for at least a little while. Besides, I flat out cannot drive anymore until we get some sleep. So…” Eden shifted a little and then gestured at the door. “Knock.”

Anaya took a deep breath, and turned around, stepping up to the door. Beneath her feet, a pale doormat read Welcome, witches and there was a sign hanging right at Anaya’s eye level: Live laugh lobotomize.

Right.

This was Vanessa. She had nothing to worry about.

Not that having nothing to worry about had ever once stopped Anaya from worrying. Camping had always been the only time she ever felt totally calm, and even that was a little ruined now. How many secret homes with hidden people kept like animals were there in the world, and she just didn't know about them?

The thought kept spinning circles when she tried not to think at all.

The door swung open just as Anaya's knuckles touched the door and she jerked her hand back in surprise. Behind her, Misae straightened a little, leaning against Eden while trying to look like he wasn’t hurt. His eyes kept shifting, as if he was trying to look everywhere all at once. 

God, they looked like such a mess. 

The wooden sign clacked as it swung forward and back, and Anaya’s first impression was of a pair of sparkling brown eyes. “I thought I heard voices,” Vanessa smiled. She was a tall, broad woman with a deep, melodic voice, totally unlike Anaya’s mental image of her. Her eyes matched her ponytail and she looked very much like every high school art teacher Anaya had ever imagined. Right down to the paint-splattered tunic and leggings. 

She took in the three of them in a moment, and then her smile widened and she stepped back and to the side. “Well, you’re clearly Anaya,” She continued. “It’s nice to see you in person for the first time. So, if you’re Anaya, then this must be the hottie boyfriend… Evan?”

“Eden,” Anaya corrected absently, still trying to connect this warm and soft woman standing before her with the acerbic, dryly sarcastic online voice she’d been chatting with for years. 

“Oh, right. Sorry, Eden.”

“That’s okay.” Eden shrugged, a shy smile playing around his lips, flushed a little still from hearing hottie probably. He was always weak to compliments. “Evan actually was on my shortlist for names, anyway, actually.”

“Oh, was it?” Vanessa’s eyebrow quirked up. “You’re not just saying that so I feel less like I just face planted into a mud puddle in public, are you?”

Oh, okay. Now that was the Vanessa that Anaya knew so well.

“Ha, no, it really was. But then I thought of Eden, and, well, I just… liked it better than all the others.”

“Well, I like Eden better, too. It fits - you’re clearly paradise on two legs.” Vanessa winked, and Eden turned tomato-red. Anaya felt herself nearly knocked over by a wave of something between her usual full-throated adoration of her awkward boyfriend's struggle to take a compliment and relief that things were going so well when she’d been so scared they wouldn’t. Vanessa laughed, her laugh as mellow as everything else about her appearance. “Seriously, though… come, come on in, all of you.”

Anaya’s pulse jackhammered in her throat and at her wrists as she stepped forward, moving from the sunset light outdoors into the darker house. The first thing she saw was a wall painted a beautiful deep evergreen, a wall of a dozen or so pieces of framed artwork that had every rainbow shade and probably a few colors Anaya had never even heard of. Side lamps were lit everywhere, and a ceiling fan turned lazily overhead. This looked like somebody's perfect cozy escape from the world.

Anaya wondered how it would feel, to have a home like this. Somewhere that you owned outright. She and Eden had always been renters, and half the time these days they lived out of Eden's car.

“So… there’s you two, and there’s also… who is this you have with you?” Vanessa asked, voice lilting just a little in curiosity. “A brother? Cousin? What’s your name, honey?”

Misae didn’t answer. His chin had lowered, even though his eyes were locked on Vanessa now, watching her every movement. 

Anaya cleared her throat. “This is… um, this is Misae. We… met him on the trip.”

“Oh, okay. I knew you were camping this weekend in Idaho, so… oh, that’s why you texted me for somewhere to stay? Because of meeting him?” 

“Yeah.” Anaya tried to keep her voice casual, unruffled. “He just needs a safe place, he, uh… He r-ran away from home.” It was close enough to true. Really it was true, she just… left out a few minor details. He was being hunted by a man with a gun and oh, hey, he also turns into a wolf. That’s not a problem, right? “I know I didn’t mention he was with us, and I'm so sorry. We will completely understand if you don’t want to deal with-”

“Hey, I didn’t say that.” Vanessa raised her hands, as though showing she was harmless. Or thought they were. “It’s definitely not a problem. I just wasn’t thinking about you needing more than bed. Seriously, it is no problem, I can blow up the air mattress for an extra bed.” 

“Okay, okay, thank you so much, Vanessa. We’ll just get settled, and if you could tell us where the shower is-“

“Oh, honey,” Vanessa interrupted. “Are you hurt?”

Anaya opened her mouth to reply, but realized Vanessa wasn't looking at her at all. Vanessa moved towards Misae, hands out.

To Anaya's horror, Misae recoiled, snarling with lips pulled back from his teeth, before he lost his balance, trying to catch himself and accidentally putting too much weight on his injured leg.

His knee buckled, and he went down hard, losing his balance with a high-pitched cry, somehow ending up turned around and falling right off the steps onto the stone path that led up to the porch.

He desperately grabbed at Eden's arm to try and catch himself and instead pulled Eden down with him.

Eden grunted when he landed hard on his left elbow, but he had the good luck of falling a little to the side and landing in the grass. Misae smacked down into concrete, catching himself with his hands but Anaya watched his ankle twist in the process.

His whine turned to whimpers, deeply canine. He hunched his shoulders and curled up, still snarling and making a sound somewhere between whimper and growl, and Anaya wondered if everything she hadn’t said about this strange boy was about to spill out anyway, whether she liked it or not.

When Vanessa took one more step forward, Misae snapped at her from where he lay, teeth clicking together sharply. His canines were growing again.

Anaya tried to think of an explanation - something logical that didn't involve breaking the news that at least one totally mythological creature had turned out to be absolutely real - but nothing came.

She only stared with her eyes and mouth both wide.

“Oh, shit,” Vanessa whispered. She didn't seem to have noticed Misae's teeth changing, and Anaya was hit with relief that cut as sharp as any knife. “Oh. I am so fucking sorry, I didn’t-... I didn’t mean-” She moved again, and Anaya caught her by one arm. Tears welled up in her eyes as she turned. “I swear, Anaya, I didn’t mean to scare him!”

“No, I know, he’s just… really jumpy about people who move too fast,” Anaya soothed, watching as Eden moved to Misae and murmured to him. The boy's expression gradually changed and he shook his head, eyes down and hair covering as much of his face as he could manage. At least he stopped making that face. Eden nodded, murmured something not quite audible in reply, and very slowly reached out. 

Misae sat back, holding his hands palms-up, letting Eden take them in his own hands to look them over. Blood welled where skin had been scraped away by catching himself when he fell. 

Misae looked up through the curtain of his messy hair, watching Eden's face. Anaya swallowed hard as she saw a spot of red where she knew the bandage was on Misae’s leg. Was that damn wound ever going to stop bleeding?

“He got used to getting hurt where he lived before,” Anaya said in a low voice, keeping her hand on Vanessa to keep her from potentially scaring the poor kid all over again. She told herself she wasn’t lying - those scars Misae was covered with, hidden thanks to Eden’s shirt and Anaya’s sweatpants, proved that pain had definitely been something Misae understood very well indeed. Maybe the only thing he seemed to understand. “It’s made him jumpy. Let’s, um, let’s go inside and then Eden and Misae can come in after us?”

Vanessa slowly nodded, reluctantly turning away. “Okay. I really am so sorry.”

“It’s totally fine,” Anaya said. She had no idea if it was fine or not. The words just came out automatically, an instinctive reply to try and soothe the unsettled air around them. “He’ll be okay. We’re just trying to get him far enough away that he feels safer.”

“Yeah. I can… I can see why.” Vanessa seemed to remember this was her house and straightened up a little. She shot one more hesitant glance over her shoulder, and then led Anaya through a small living room stuffed with too many hand-me-down couches draped in deep brick-red covers and throw pillows and blankets, into a small hallway with four doors. “So, we have… a linen closet, towels are in there-” She pointed at the first door. Then, across the hall, the bathroom with a tiny shower-bathtub, a toilet, and a sink and mirror. “My water heater isn’t great, but if your showers are fast they can be hot. Otherwise, you might have to settle for more or less warm. And here, right here-” She opened the last door on the left. “This is the guest bed. I’m sorry there isn’t more space-”

“It’s perfect,” Anaya said, forcing her voice to brighten up. Her mind wandered back to the boys outside. “We’ll get settled and get clean and then, if you don’t mind, we might just want to like… nap for a while.”

“Not a problem. I have some work to finish up, anyway.” Vanessa smiled, even as she still looked a little worried and guilty. “Any requests for supper? I’m afraid delivery in this neighborhood isn’t happening, but I’ve got some frozen pizzas and garlic bread, or I could make pasta and sauce, or… if anybody’s low carb, uh, I could run to the store for steak or something…”

Anaya thought of Misae’s thin face, wiry arms, knobby knees, the way his stomach pulled in too much, how he swam in clothes that shouldn't have been oversized. The way his eyes seemed to sink a little into his face. “Um… No, carbs are definitely a good idea. Pizzas?”

“Okay. I’ll get the oven preheating. You three just… you get settled. Let me know if there's anything you need or you can't find.” Vanessa disappeared back out the door and Anaya stepped further into the little room.

There was a side table with a little lamp and she switched it on, absently. It gave the little room, walls painted blue, a cozy glow. She dropped her backpack onto the fluffy oversized comforter - clearly made for a king-sized mattress but laid out over the queen-sized bed - and sat down, slowly leaning over with her hands over her face.

She was so tired.

At least Vanessa had been a lot less bothered by the sudden appearance of two disheveled adults and one teenager than Anaya had expected, but the last bit had clearly thrown that initial lack of bother away. Now they not only had a teenage runaway with them, he was visibly injured and he’d reacted to Vanessa attempting to touch him in a way that made it equally clear he hadn’t come from anywhere good. Plus, the noises he'd made, the way he snarled and snapped like an animal... If Vanessa got too curious, or decided to call the fucking cops... Anaya didn't know why exactly, but she knew that would end badly.

A throat cleared in the doorway and Anaya looked up. Eden stood there, smiling a little, Misae leaning against him again. The boy’s eyes darted around, never landing on any one place for long. He’d been limping before - now he was flat out hopping on one leg, using Eden to keep himself upright. His injured leg was pulled slightly up. 

“He’s okay,” Eden said, in a tone that said he was soothing them both. “Just a little scrape on the hands. I’ll get my kit from the car, we’ll get him a good shower and then I can bandage him up again.”

“Good.” Anaya breathed the word out. Even that felt like it took more energy than she really had left. She hadn’t realized how hard she was working to hold herself together until she didn’t really have to any longer. 

She wanted to sleep for a week.

Maybe a month.

But she’d settle for patting the bed next to her. “Misae, why don’t you just come over here and lay down for a minute with me, okay?”

Misae’s eyebrows briefly furrowed. He licked at his lips - something Anaya was realizing he did almost compulsively when nervous - and then slowly shook his head. “Not allowed,” He said, voice low. He sounded a little confused.

“What? Why? Because you’re bleeding?” 

Misae stared at her for a few long seconds, then shook his head again. “No. We're... not allowed on the furniture.”

Eden’s eyes closed, tightly, for just a second. Anaya watched a vague flush of anger move over his face and be just as quickly pressed down and done away with. She knew what she was seeing, though, and knew Eden would smile soft and sweet even as he turned that over and over in his mind all night long. The same way Anaya would.

Not allowed on the furniture because he's been treated like he’s a dog.

“Well, here you are allowed on the furniture, and I’m saying you should lay down on the bed and get the weight off that leg. Okay?” She patted the bed again. This time, Misae hesitantly nodded and let Eden support his slightly absurd little bunny-hops forward until they made it close enough for him to more collapse than lay down. Misae curled himself up as tightly as he could, arms tucked against his body and only his injured leg out straight, the other one curled with his knee nearly to his chest.

"Oh," He whispered, eyes wide.

Anaya blinked at the look of surprise on his face, and tilted her own head as she looked down at him, slipping a firm pillow beneath his head only for his eyes to widen even further. She fought back a faint smile, worried he might think she was mocking him. “What’s that look for?”

Misae swallowed, those strange golden-brown eyes shifting to meet hers. He returned her smile. “I didn’t know beds were so soft,” He explained. “I’ve never been in one.”

Anaya couldn’t think of a single thing she could possibly say to that.

Eden backed away from them. “I’ll go get our things from the car and then I’m just going to get right into the shower,” He said, voice tight and hard, and turned away, closing the door a little too hard behind him as he went. 

Misae winced when the door shut with a loud thunk, shifting until the top of his head just brushed against the side of Anaya’s leg. She let her hand drift down to run fingers through his hair like she had while Eden stitched him up in the car - oh god, that was less than twelve hours ago, somehow it felt like so much more time had passed than that - and the boy breathed out in something that seemed like pure pleasure, eyes fluttering shut. 

“He’s angry,” Misae said, voice low. Just above a whisper, a little hoarse. "At me."

“He's angry, but not at you," Anaya replied, shifting until her back was against the headboard, keeping her fingers sifting through soft strands. Her own eyes closed and she could feel her exhaustion weighing down every corner of her mind. “Definitely not at you. Just at… what it seems like life has been for you. It’s not going to be like that for you anymore, okay? We’ll figure out how to find some place better for you.”

Misae didn’t reply.

Anaya knew that he was silent, this time, not because he had nothing to say in response, but because he didn’t believe her. 

She wasn’t sure she believed herself.

-

@finder-of-rings @burtlederp @deluxewhump @scoundrelwithboba @shrimpwritings @yassifiedinformation @wildfaewhump @whatwhump @honeycollectswhump @tundra-tiger @dont-look-me-in-the-eye @there-will-always-be-blood

[just-whump-and-suffering]

@whumpgifathon Day 2: Fever

Shardlake, Ep 01, Simon Whelplay

[auroragehenna]

I think we spare our Caretakers too much from bystander trauma✨

If you capture your Caretakers alongside your Whumpees don‘t be shy. Give them the trauma from watching Whumpee get whumped! Make them suffer!!

Think of the possibilities!!

Guilt! Imposter Syndrome/pushing their own suffering down (how do they have the right to feel this bad after all they weren‘t hurt)! Do they become overly clingy toward Whumpee?! Paranoid?! Overprotective! Does Whumpee get what‘s going on!? Or do they get mad?! Confused?! Guilty?!

Just sheisbkd. Don‘t spare them✨✨

[promptsforyourwhumpfic]

Whump Prompt #1334

Submitted by Anon - thanks!

I think we need to take a second to appreciate dumb caretakers. Like, caretakers who accidentally set the thermometer to Fahrenheit/Celsius and flip out when they see the temperature. Caretakers who never really know what medicine to get, so they just get all of it (or call a smarter character or even their mom in a panic). Caretakers who see blood and start screaming. They have the spirit, the execution is just ...off. Their poor whumpee is very well cared for, eventually. It just takes a lot of trial and error.

[whumporama]

I heard someone say caretakers are a glorified prop in a whump story. Which I disagree with. They are important, just as much as whumee and whumper, and can be just as fleshed out. But what do you think?

It depends on the story. Any character can be a 'glorified prop', really. And Caretakers can certainly be very one dimensional and only be there for one purpose, but so can a Whumpee, or a Whumper, or any character.

But every character also has the potential to be written amazingly, with their own wants and needs, and personal issues and arcs. So it really depends.

And hey, even if they aren't, so what? If the point of the story is to put Whumpee is Whump, and you want to give them comfort and focus on nothing but them, so the Caretaker is only there for that and has nothing else going on? Hell yeah, go for it. Not everything has to be deeper. If it does what you want it to do, then there you go.

But yeah, the idea that all Caretakers are like that is just... dumb lol

[dreamweave01]

How many handlers/caretakers are there, do their methods ever differ, and do the boys have any favorites?

There are two main caretakers who spend the most time with the boys:

Kaze, and Aijin.

Kaze is somewhat of a specialist when it comes to elemental abilities, so he was brought in to help the boys uncover their true potential.

Kaze isn't necessarily a good caretaker, often being the role of abuser, but he does care a lot for the boys, and deep down, he hates hurting them.

He is just a strong believer to the Order's cause.

And Aijin is one of the best scientists/doctors the Order has, so she was brought in to make sure the boys' health is all well and taken care of, (aka she's there to make sure the experiments don't kill them.)

Aijin is definitely the most "kind" to the boys, and is the best at emotionally manipulating them. She's the kind of person who would sing them a lullaby during a surgical procedure haha.

Another handler that the boys interact with is Jūryoku, who you could say is in charge of the project.

He is definitely hands down the most cruel to them, having no emotional attachment whatsoever, (unlike Kaze and Aijin.) He shows no mercy, and more than once has nearly killed the boys.

However, Jūryoku knows their limits to a T, so they're never in actual real danger of death. (doesn't make it any better though.)

He doesn't spend as much time with the boys as the other two.

There are a few others that have come and gone, but these three are the main ones who have been around since the start of the program.

[cryptidclaw]

hi! apologies if this has already been asked, but i was wondering what exactly 'caretakers' in your roc au do! i am very interested in this!! would they ever go on patrols? or take part in battles?.. if not, would it be a privilege for a clan to have caretakers? sorry for my rambling but oooo cool interesting role!

I love Caretakers so now i shalt ramble about them hehe

There are almost always fewer Caretakers than Warriors, though sometimes the numbers are equal, just depends on how large the clan is!

The title covers a lot of different jobs, some may specialize in specific things, but generally Caretakers main jobs are to care for the camp and the clan!

their jobs generally include stuff like:

keeping the camp in proper shape: reinforcing strictures, expanding dens, collecting new moss and other materials, keeping the campfires going (especially during the colder seasons).

making sure the clan is fed: they are the ones who store the food (drying meats and such for the winter), they keep an eye on all clan members and make sure they have eaten their share, and have not over eaten as well!

crafting: they craft items like cloaks (for winter), bags and baskets, books and other materials!

they care for Queens, Kits and Elders: they basically have taken on the apprentice duties from canon, making sure that the elders are clean, happy and comfortable. They also are the clan babysitters and midwives, they help queens with their pregnancies, kitting and caring for their kits (this is done alongside the Healer of course).

they can also kinda be therapists, though a healer might also serve that role!

No one Caretaker really takes on all of these roles, they often just specialize in one or two! for example Specklesnap is mostly in the nursery helping the queens; Dustpelt is mostly reinforcing dens, caring for the fire and food stores; Thrushcloud cares for the elders mostly though he also likes to watch the kits; etc.

ALSO! all apprentices are trained in both the skills of a Warrior and a Caretaker! though generally training focusses more on Warrior skills. Cats who choose to be Caretakers often learn while on the job and working with their fellow Caretakers!

this is so that a Caretaker can contribute to hunting and fighting if the clan needs it! in times of harsh winter or a war caretakers may need to take on more warrior duties!

though on the other hand, Warriors also know he general skills of a Caretaker so they may be able to aid them in their work if needed, like if the camp is destroyed!

[3-2-whump]

Made a meme instead of updating with the next chapter

Based off of conversations I’ve had with @whumped-by-glitter as we talk about the backstories of our caretakers and the motivations one may hold for taking care of whumpee.

As always, we encourage discourse about this meme but pls keep it civil, folks.

[beelzebubsbois]

ARE WE SURE SANDER SIDES ISNT RELATED TO OSDDID? BECAUSE FOR SOMETHING NOT RELATED TO OSDDID IT DOES AN AMAZING JOB AT SHOWING DID SYSPTOMS AND SYSTEM SHIT.

[askthecaretakers]

silly little waffle back again coufh cogubh cough ahem

whats an activity you enjoy doing when you arent handling toons? or while you’re handling them, whichever ^^

(basically juat what hobbies ig im eepybsorry)

[💙] "Typical Guy things I suppose"

[💚] "Fun fact! I can do more sit ups then Chris"

[sicktember]

We, @yes-i-am-happyaspie and @obsessionoftheday , have been discussing making Sicktember 2024 our last year for quite some time. Long enough that we considered making 2023 out last year… Not because we haven’t enjoyed being a part of such a spectacular event. Interacting with all of you has been amazing and coming up with new and exciting prompts has been great fun. However, we have reached a point where we feel we are no longer capable of offering the event the amount of time and attention it requires and deserves. 

The good news is, just because we are stepping back doesn’t mean Sicktember will be coming to an end. After much thought and consideration, we decided it would be in everyone’s best interest to pass the blog over to a new mod. We are certain they are up to the task and we are looking forward to seeing where they take Sicktember in the future. We hope you are too!

Without further ado, we’d like to introduce you to our Sicktember successor. 

Starting October 8th, @itsmechara426 will be running the Sicktember blog!

--

Hi everyone! I’m Alex from @itsmechara426, though I’m better known for my prompts blog, @irondadmadlads

Despite rarely participating in Sicktember as a writer, I love reading all the stories you guys come up with! Everyone is so creative and I’d like to continue inspiring your creativity by running this event!

I’m excited to continue Sicktember and can’t wait to see everyone’s ideas!

[ashintheairlikesnow]

Fly by Moonlight

CW: Vaguely fantasy, hunting, possessive whumper referenced, bullet wound, guns, blood, makeshift surgery, implied dehumanization, scarring

Chapter One

-

The sky above them was an explosion of stars. With her head tilted back until it tipped against the sleeping bag, providing her the barest protection from simple dirt, she could see the Milky Way itself, winding its ghostly way from one horizon to the other. It was funny, to think that she was a part of that winding, sinuous length of endless light. 

The people who think they came from stars, she thought, must have been people who thought highly of themselves. There was nothing more incredible than this, and it seemed impossible to understand how something as amazing as stardust could coalesce into the reality of wind rushing through leaves around their campsite, the simple beauty of her own heartbeat and blood.

Alongside the universes she could imagine above her, the moon hung heavy and full. Supermoon time, it was so much larger than usual, blocking some of the stars when Anaya tried to find them. 

The moon, she thought, felt like what it was - a piece of earth thrown into space by asteroid impact. Like a mother who loses the grip of her child’s hand, and all of history had been the story of their slow reconciliation. Or maybe of the child running, always staying just ahead of her mother’s reach.

Anaya Cross laced her fingers together behind her head, her heavy, dark hair providing as much softness as any pillow. Beside her, in another sleeping bag, her boyfriend Eden had long since fallen asleep. His heavy, soft breathing and the sight of his ash-blond hair falling over his forehead was another kind of peace. Eden only slept well in the wilderness, and Anaya never slept well at all. 

Even if she didn’t sleep much, here, she could rest by watching the stars. Her eyes traced a constellation, catching on the edge of the corona borealis and following its C-shaped swing from one end to the other. 

Then, she heard a sound.

It was a faded sort of boom, as if someone in the park had set off a huge firework, one of those big mortar kinds Anaya had been terrified of as a child and still avoided today. She frowned, shifting uneasily and pushing herself up a little onto her elbows.

At first all she heard was the wind, the soft whispering of the leaves.

Then it happened again.

Boom.

Anaya took in a quick breath and sat up fully, head tipped to one side. This time, the sound was followed by a high-pitched squeal, almost a scream, but totally inhuman. Anaya’s breath caught, and she scrambled to push herself out of the sleeping bag, leaning on her knees over to shake Eden’s shoulder. “Eden-... Eden! Wake up!”

Eden groaned, slapping ineffectually at her hand, before his eyes finally blinked slowly open. They looked fogged over, still half-asleep, but he moved to sit as Anaya popped up to standing. “Wh-... what’sit?” It was all one run-on sound, hardly language. “Naya? What’ss… what time’sit?”

“I don’t know,” She answered, shifting forward slowly. Between the stars and the moon, the night around them was nearly as bright as daylight, only with a cool, almost blue tint to everything around them. “I heard something. Like a-... like a gunshot. I think. From a really fucking big gun.”

“You heard-...” Eden’s brain was still struggling to come online. He raked a hand back through his hair, leaving it standing up in wild chunks all over his head, before he started wiggling his way out of his sleeping bag, too. He stood, scratching at his stomach underneath his ratty old t-shirt, gray sweatpants hanging low on narrow hips. “A gunshot? Here? But-”

“Protected reserve, I know. But I definitely heard it. Do you think…” She trailed off. All she heard now was the wind, rushing through the trees. Only-... was it only the wind? Or was there a discordant note, crashing of something desperate running for its life?

Boom.

This time she could see Eden heard it too, his eyes widening. The sound was closer, louder, more immediate. Anaya and Eden’s gazes met, and then without a word spoken the two of them half-ran, half-walked as one to the edge of the clearing and away from the obviousness of their campsite. Eden’s car was parked at the camp lot a three-hour hike away, and they were deep within a part of the reserve no one was supposed to go to. It had seemed romantic, when they came here and chose this space, carefully marking their trail to ensure they could make it back. It had seemed like a way to get away from it all and really find peace, let Eden get some real sleep.

Now, though, it seemed to hit Anaya all at once that coming out here - alone, with only her boyfriend, with no one really aware of where they’d gone other than ‘camping’ - had been monumentally, impossibly stupid.

Anaya crouched down behind a tree, keeping the campsite in view. Woods like these could get you lost within a few feet of where you’d been, the trees so close together that they hid you from your own trail unless it was well-marked. Eden moved to be just slightly in front of her, shielding her a little.

Not that it would matter against a gun that could make a sound like that.

“Poacher?” She whispered. 

“Probably,” He whispered back. Now the crashing seemed close, and Eden’s body was warm against hers even as both of them were shivering. “But what is there even to hunt here? You can find deer anywhere in this stupid state, you don’t need-”

The answer to his question came flying out of the woods in front of them.

A huge wolf that somehow still looked half-grown and spindly, with too-long legs and giant paws, flashed through their campsite in a reddish-gray gleam lit by moonlight. Until it tripped over Anaya’s cooler full of beer and went tumbling, high-pitched whimpers and whines filling the air. Anaya jerked forward when she realized the cooler now had a red smear along the white lid, but Eden grabbed her arm to pull her back out of sight. 

“It’s bleeding!” Anaya hissed. “That poacher shot it! We should go help!”

Eden’s grip only tightened. “It’s not a dog,” He hissed back. “It’ll just attack you. Not to mention the poacher will shoot you, too. Just stay here, Naya!”

The wolf stood on shaking legs, a low soft whine in its throat. The light of the moon seemed to turn the tips of its red fur to silver, reflected in its strangely human-looking eyes. Anaya blinked at the sight of scarring around its snout, like something had been wrapped there at some point until it dug in. It limped to the edge of the clearing, tumbling hard to one side before righting itself. Blood streamed from one back leg, clumping the fur and leaving a dark stain. 

The wolf’s tongue hung from its mouth and it panted heavily even as it tried to lick at the blood and the wound beneath it, ears pricked and moving constantly. Its tail was tucked between its legs. Its nose went to the ground, picking up the scents of Anaya and Eden probably, and Anaya shivered when it growled.

The low rumble was more frightening than the sound of the gun.

At least the gunshots hadn’t been about her.

After a long pause, the wolf’s growl ended. It did what Anaya could only call taking a deep breath to steady itself, and then limped heavily away, out of the clearing in the general direction of the main hiking trails where Anaya and Eden had started their hike out here. Its nose stayed low, and Anaya heard Eden let out a breath in a rush once it was out of sight.

“Uh… what do we do now-”

Anaya clapped her hand over Eden’s mouth, shushing him and yanking him further back around the tree trunk.

The man with the gun - and holy shit, Anaya didn’t even know they made guns that big - stepped into the clearing, taking in the sight of the destroyed campsite smeared with wolf blood with a baffled, incredulous expression. He wasn’t too much older than them, maybe in his thirties, but he had a hardness to his jaw that said whatever his age, the years had definitely sucked the life out of him.

“Well… shit.” The man huffed, moving forward and using the muzzle of his gun to nudge the blood-stained cooler, lifting up the sleeping bag Eden had been in only a few moments ago. He ran a hand back over his crew cut, looking around. “Hey! Is anyone here? Anyone hurt?” The sound of concern in his voice seemed real. 

But Anaya and Eden were alone, in the woods, in the middle of nowhere. And this guy had an enormous fucking gun. They stayed silent, in the dark.

“God damn it.” The poacher sighed, looking down at the sleeping bags. “Shit shit shit. If he killed somebody… that little shit. Fucking campers on our land. Bet he chased them off. I’ll have to call Bill and report it. He’s gonna kill me when he sees Rusty got out, let alone that he made a mess out of campers… if they find bodies on our land again, we are going to have the government up our fucking ass…”

He pulled out a compass and looked at it, then looked ahead, eyes scanning the ground. He must have seen some of the wolf’s blood on a leaf in some underbrush, because he moved forward confidently then. He went through the clearing, from one side to the other, and then was gone. 

Anaya and Eden waited until the sound of the man moving through the forest had faded into the distance, and then looked at each other. 

“... Did we go too far and end up on private land?” Anaya asked.

At the same time, Eden said, “Did he say ‘if they find bodies on our land again?’”

Both of them stared at each other in silence for a few seconds. Then, as if they’d come to some agreement that didn’t need words, they moved out to the wreckage of the campsite. Anaya rolled up the sleeping bags while Eden checked on the small cooler, wiped the rest of the blood off of it with a shudder, and then shifted it back into the heavy pack he’d carried out here. Anaya felt the tension rising between them, until it was tight enough it might snap. Her heart pounded so hard it found its way up her throat, making her occasionally stop to catch her breath. The two of them pulled their socks on and then laced up their hiking boots after. Neither even bothered to dress in daytime clothing. Their sweatpants and t-shirts seemed like enough, for now. 

The hike back was silent and slow.

They put one foot carefully in front of the other, following the markings Anaya had left wrapped around trees in non-obvious places. She undid each and every colorful ribbon, packing them back away. Taking back everything they’d brought with them. No sign they’d ever been here at all, ideally.

She found herself wondering where the park ended and private land began. There’d been no signs, no warnings. Not any that they saw, anyway. Then again, it’s not like you could mark every square inch of a wild forest like this one.

Above them, the moon hung heavy. When its light cut through the canopy overhead, it made everything otherworldly and beautiful.

If only Anaya could appreciate it, and not take every quiet step sure she’d see the end of a gun between her eyes the moment she looked up.

At some point, they got close enough to the trail for cell phone signal to come back, and her phone buzzed with a handful of missed messages. Nothing that suggested anything big had happened while they were out of reach. She didn’t dare check it - not yet. Not until she felt sure that the light from her screen wouldn’t draw in either an injured, probably hostile wolf and a healthy, definitely hostile guy with a gun.

She kept cycling her thoughts back to the sight of the thing. Something had been off about it, but she didn’t know enough about guns to even begin to know what. Hell, she didn’t know enough about guns to even know if anything was actually off, or if she was just thinking of movie-guns and not understanding that the real thing was different.

Exhaustion dragged at the edges of her mind, even as adrenaline kept her so wired that she knew she couldn’t possibly have fallen asleep even if they simply laid down right here. Hours passed, Eden and Anaya saying little to each other. They heard the boom just once more, far enough away that they felt themselves finally able to relax.

Wherever the guy had tracked the injured wolf, it wasn’t in the direction they were going. 

Finally, they stumbled back out onto the trail. 

Anaya checked her phone, as surreptitiously as she could.

It was almost three in the morning, and they had another good two hours of hiking on the trail before they got to the parking lot. 

“I say we sleep in the car,” Eden said, voice heavy and husky. When Anaya glanced over at him, his half-lidded eyes reminded her of a sleepy kitten, and she found herself smiling, briefly overwhelmed with love for him. He frowned back at her. “What?”

“You’re cute,” She said. He shook his head and started walking again, but she caught the edge of his smile before he turned to hide it from her.

“Pretty sure the T was supposed to make me handsome, not cute,” He said over his shoulder as he started walking again.

Anaya had to stifle a laugh - talking might be okay, might be safe, but laughter carried further. Especially Anaya’s laughter, which had a tendency to be too loud, according to her mother. Too loud, attention-taking. Just like all her emotions. “Well, you’re definitely handsome,” Anaya said brightly, falling in behind him. “You’re just also cute. You were handsome before the T, too, by the way.”

He didn’t say anything, but his shoulders straightened a little, and she caught the edge of a flush to his cheeks.

Her feet ached by the time they had Eden’s car in view, the ancient Subaru with its huge trunk thanks to the removed backseat a white gleam in the pinkish light of early dawn. The moon was still visible, just now beginning to fade as sunlight overtook it, wiped it out. Each throb was in time with her pulse, and Anaya’s brain seemed to have become mush at some point.

They could sleep in the back of Eden’s car, if they made it to a safe parking lot or something in town. Maybe the diner where they had parked before they came up here, those people had seemed pretty cool about it. 

Eden came to a sudden stop, and Anaya walked into him so hard the two of them both stumbled, Eden with a huffed breath, an oof that any other day would have been funny. But now Anaya just groaned. It better not be the poacher having found them. She was too damn tired to deal with that, or even be scared of it anymore.

At least if he shoots me I can get some damn rest, she thought.

Out loud, she only mumbled, “What?”

Eden swallowed. Anaya could hear it. Something about that woke her back up all at once, sent brand new adrenaline flooding through her. Her head began to pound in time with her feet and her heart. Would anything not hurt by the end of today?

“There’s something under our car,” Eden said, voice hushed. 

Anaya stiffened. “The wolf?”

Eden took one step forward, and then another. He squinted. “... No. I think it’s… a person.”

“A what?”

Who would be out here? Thanks to flooding on the more well-known trails, this park had been more or less empty of tourists. It was one of the reasons Eden and Anaya had chosen this for their off-trail campsite. Eden moved slowly forward, and Anaya followed him. Once she got closer, though, she moved more quickly, dropping her bag next to the car and moving into a crouch.

The sound of her pack hitting the pavement made the boy curled up under the car flinch, his arms jerking to cover his head with his hands, knees nearly to his chin. Anaya caught a glimpse of reddish-brown hair through his fingers, a swath of pale skin marked with brown freckles at the shoulders, the tip of his nose.

“Hello?” Anaya whispered, reaching slowly out. Her fingertips just touched the boy when his eyes snapped open and he looked at her with wild, animal terror.

His eyes were the same color as the wolf’s. 

His hair was the same color as the wolf’s fur had been, reddish brown, maybe tipped with some gray.

His left leg had a wound blown right through it - bullet wound, Anaya thought a little wildly, I’m looking at the entrance and the exit’s at the back, he’s lucky it didn’t hit the artery there - and the blood was… everywhere.

The boy’s lips pulled back from his teeth in a useless snarl. His teeth were flat, human, except for maybe his incisors being a little too long, a little too sharp. He had scars marked across his face, around his neck, all over his arms. Some old, simply silk-soft skin marked in risen lines, some fresher, still bright red. A couple even looked like they’d been bleeding recently, too. He made a sound that Anaya only realized after a beat was an attempt to growl.

“... This is the wolf,” Anaya said, voice low. “Eden… Eden, this is the wolf.”

“What? No. That’s clearly a dude. The poacher must have seen him and shot him.”

“No, this is-... his eyes Eden-”

“That’s not a wolf, Naya. End of story. That is a dumbass teenager who did dumbass things. Somebody’s probably looking for him.”

Anaya thought of the poacher’s confusion, his angry concern. “... Yeah, somebody probably is.”

Eden dropped into a crouch beside her, casually pulling out the knife he always had on him, flicking it so the blade showed. “Naya, something’s wrong with this kid.”

The boy’s eyes went to the gleam of sharp metal and he whined, curling up tighter. Anaya frowned, looking at his leg. The blood. The wound. The way the boy’s skin was ash-pale under his freckles. The scars, half of them rough but the other half precise.

Knife-blade scars. She had some old ones herself, although hers had been self-inflicted.

She reached out and laid a hand on his arm, felt it trembling under her touch. She could barely reach him, he was so far under the car. “Hey.” She gentled her voice as much as she could, rubbing lightly. Goosebumps rose where her fingertips went, but the trembling seemed to settle a little. “Hey, kid. You’re… you’re really hurt. We’re gonna call someone-”

The boy scrambled backwards away. “No!” His voice came out hoarse, as if he wasn’t used to speaking - or speaking with a human mouth, anyway. “No! Don’t! Don’t call!” He made it to the other side of the car, scrambling to his feet. Anaya went to chase him, but in the end she didn’t have to - as soon as he tried to put weight on his leg, he went down hard, scraping the palms of his hands on the pavement and letting out a pained cry.

Anaya swallowed. “Eden-”

“I’ll call 911-”

“No,” she whispered. “He’s scared of that. Let’s just… let’s just put him in the back of the car, yeah?”

Eden paused. “Naya, are you fucking out of your mind? Where are we gonna take him? He needs a hospital.”

“Or a vet clinic,” She muttered, ignoring the look Eden gave her at the dark joke. “No, let’s just. Okay, let’s just… we have our first aid kit. You know how to do stitches-”

“Stitches, sure, but I’m not exactly qualified to treat wounds like that.”

“Try. Let’s get him into the car. Hey, kid? Kid, hey.” Anaya went to the crumpled heap of teenager, grasping onto his arm. He shivered and tried weakly to pull away, but between the pain and the blood loss, he wasn’t exactly able to put up much of a fight. Eden opened the trunk of the car and threw in their packs while Anaya helped the boy to stand. She could hear Eden laying down the towels and sleeping bags, opening up the first aid kit.

That’s why she loved him. He might think she’d lost her mind on this, but he’d still follow her lead.

The injured boy gripped onto her once he was upright, his eyes dancing in terror from Eden to Anaya and back again.

“Don’t,” He whispered. “Don’t.”

“We’re just going to get you bandaged up and something to eat,” Anaya said, voice soothing, easing him into the trunk until he could lay down in there. “Then we can talk, okay? First off, we need to stop the bleeding.”

Those odd eyes stared at her, but he laid down on his side slowly. Anaya had been vaguely aware the boy was naked, but only now did it hit her that the boy didn’t seem to notice. Or maybe he just didn’t care. 

“I’m Anaya,” She said, softly, taking his hand and holding it while Eden took a wet cloth and began to wipe away the blood to try and get a better look at the wound. “I’m Anaya Cross, and this is my boyfriend Eden Yarrow. We’re going to help you.”

“There’s no exit wound,” Eden muttered, looking at the backside of the boy’s thigh. “He needs a surgeon, Naya-”

“Well, good thing you trained to be one, huh?"

"Yeah, before I quit residency-"

"Eden, just... can you get the bullet out?”

Eden exhaled, rubbing a hand over his face. “Probably. It's a pretty clean wound. I definitely shouldn’t, but…”

“Well, try.” She turned back to the boy, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles, back and forth, back and forth. The kid stared at her like she’d grown a second head, but he didn’t pull his hand back. He just… watched her, with those strange canine eyes. “Hey. We’re gonna get the bullet out of you, and then we’ll help you get somewhere with people.”

“No,” He said again. His eyes moved from one to the other. “No… people.”

Eden’s eyes closed. He muttered something under his breath that Anaya didn’t quite hear. Then he moved to dig around in the first aid kit again. 

“Okay. Well, we’ll figure that bit out as we go, then. Can you tell us your name?”

She thought of the poacher mentioning Rusty.

The boy was quiet for a long, drawn-out silence broken only by a hiss when Eden used a sanitizing wipe on the wound, cleaning it out again as best he could. Finally, almost under his breath, he whispered, “Misae.”

“Missy?” Eden said, nose wrinkling. “Your name is Missy?”

The boy’s odd eyes narrowed. “Misae,” He repeated, a little louder. Mih-say-eh. Some of the gravelly hoarseness was leaving his voice, the more he spoke. Anaya wondered if he didn’t speak often. 

“That man with the gun called you Rusty, I think,” Anaya said, keeping her own voice gentle.

“... their name for me.” Misae hissed through his teeth, lips pulled back in a snarl again as Eden began to probe into the wound, eyes closing tightly. Tears leaked fro the corners of his eyes. Anaya gave him both her hands and he gripped on tight enough to hurt, making a sound that was clearly meant to be a canine whine. “Not… my name.”

“But Misae is your name.”

“Y… Yes.” His head lowered until the top of it, the shaggy reddish hair, pressed against her. He kept pushing against her, until she twisted one hand free and laid it there, scratching her fingers against his scalp. His whining softened, then. It was all so terribly… doglike.

No.

Wolf.

Anaya tried not to look as his leg twitched and oozed blood even as Eden carefully worked one of the tools he kept on hand into the wound, searching for the bullet. Misae didn’t answer at first. She leaned over, hoping her voice could carry through the pain. “It’s okay, honey. You’re going to be okay.”

Maybe.

Hopefully.

Misae groaned, finally laying his head directly in her lap. She could feel his tears soaking into her sweatpants, the hitching of his breath as he fought not to sob. His voice was a whisper she barely heard, twisted around his pained, frightened whimpers.

“Th-thank… thank you…”

“Found it!” Eden shouted, triumphant. He might have been reluctant to do this, but there was a reason he’d worked so hard to fill his first aid kit with anything you might need to stay alive in the wilderness when medical care was too far to get to in time. There was a reason he’d trained as a surgeon. He was good at this, he always had been. He wiggled the little tool, making Misae cry harder, but then something bloody and shimmering beneath the red came out, and Eden dropped it on a towel beside Misae. “Intact, even. Nice.”

Eden was focused on getting the wound closed up and stitches sewn. Anaya though, watched blood slide along the surface of the bullet, too big, a terrifying size. The gleam of the metal, though, along with the strange runes carved into it, made her eyebrows furrow. “... Eden.”

“Mmmn?” He dipped the needle, pulled it through skin. Anaya knew if she looked she’d faint dead away, so she kept her eyes on the bullet. On the shine. 

“That’s… that hunter shot him with silver.”

Eden stilled and looked up, his eyes catching on the bullet, too. Then shifting over to Misae, who was shaking like a leaf, eyes open now, wide and almost sightless. In shock, Anaya thought, not that she knew for sure or even really understood what being in shock meant. But it reminded her of people going into shock in the movies, on television. Eden’s eyes moved to meet Anaya’s.

“Once I finish stitching him up,” He said, voice low and calm, “We drive this car as far away from here as we can get before we stop.”

“We’re taking him with us.” 

“... Naya-”

Anaya’s jaw set and she raised her chin. “We’re taking Misae.”

Eden looked down at the boy, who didn’t seem to hear or even see the two of them any longer. Then he huffed and went back to what he was doing, sewing slow, careful, precise stitches even as he had to continually wipe away blood, too. “Fine. We go as far as we can with him, and then we… think about what we do next. Figure out how to call his family or something.”

“Fair.”

“Good.”

“Great.”

They paused, and smiled at each other.

Then Misae whimpered, and Anaya realized she’d stopped scratching his head. She started up again, and felt some of his shaking settle once more. “Do you have family?” Anaya asked, trying to distract him as Eden finished up. “Someone looking for you?”

Misae was silent for so long that she thought maybe he hadn’t heard her.

Then he answered, voice low, “No family. Not… anymore."

"Did you run away from them?"

"No.” Misae's body shuddered, and Anaya found herself rubbing her thumb in little circles just behind one ear. "No."

"Then-"

"Dead. Everyone... is dead. But me."

-

[jjbabies]

hello caretakers! how many kiddos came to daycare today? how many do we have on a regular basis? also please give this tiny crocheted sea star to jotaro for me! :))

Let’s see, today was a grand total of 200 kiddos! That includes our infant classes too! A lot of parents are back to work after Thanksgiving, so we see a spike in how many little ones come to daycare.

On a regular day, we have around 120. Our most abundant day is Wednesday while our emptiest is Sunday.

And I’m happy to deliver the sea star! Jotaro cuddled it all day, including nap time!

[android-anthology-hub]

Caretakers

“So, why then do you wish to work for us? Biorobotics is a challenging field.” “Honestly?” she looked past the Overseer, her gaze tracing the fine circuits and servos that glimmered in the light. “Hoping to be a designer one day.” The Overseer walked around the front of her desk, watching the smaller woman through the eyes of the drones, “Ambitious, miss Himari..."

Here is another character short, this time exploring Himari's past. Before she joined the Workshop, before she'd changed...

Explore this story below the cut, on Ao3, Fictionpress, and Tapas (Parts One and Two).

OS-R-311 was unlike any model she'd seen before. Most androids were built with function in mind, shaping the body to purpose. But this android was a showcase, every joint and bit of metal polished and beautiful. She stood with authority, golden mechanical eyes studying her from across the desk.

“You may refer to me as Overseer 311 or simply Overseer,” the android said, straightening her dark gray suit as she sat down. “And you must be-”

“-Himari. People just call me Himari, ma'am,” she said with a smile. “Thank you for taking the time to see me.”

Overseer 311 smiled as she leaned back in her chair, tapping the link in her temple. A pair of drones whirred to life at her command, orbiting them both with a dull hum.

Her office didn't feel like something that belonged in a factory. It was more like an art gallery, with glass cases and projection panels lining the walls. Every case held a display - skeletons, musculature, and nerves rendered in ivory plastic; standing out against the white, golden circuits and machinery were woven into the displays. But the case behind the Overseer - a towering wall of glass - was the most eye-catching. Clean and polished cybernetics hung suspended within, arranged into a human figure, the mechanics of the android body laid bare.

“Now then, Miss Himari, your record is certainly an impressive one,” Overseer 311 mused, eyes flickering as the projection panel in her desk ignited.

A wall of projected light rose between them, the records of Himari's entire life laid out like the display.

She sorted through Himari’s history with a single gesture, “Full member of the medical union for five years, with licenses in cybernetics as well as mechatronics. A rather eclectic work history.”

“Mechs were the family business, ma'am,” Himari said, leaning forward with a smile. “I’ve learned the trade since I was small.”

“And yet you chose to study medicine.”

“That I did.”

“So, why then do you wish to work for us? Biorobotics is a challenging field.”

“Honestly?” she looked past the Overseer, her gaze tracing the fine circuits and servos that glimmered in the light. “Hoping to be a designer one day.”

The Overseer walked around the front of her desk, watching the smaller woman through the eyes of the drones, “Ambitious, miss Himari. But it takes more than ambition to design models for us.”

Himari rose to her feet, standing firm despite how the android towered over her, “I'm aware. I'm prepared to do the work, to earn that title.”

“So you are,” Overseer 311 said, the doors to the factory sliding open with a mere wave of her hand.

Himari had done her research on how androids were made. And still, the scale of the factory astounded her. All around the factory floor were bays of assembly tanks, androids of varying stages floating in bio-polymer fluid. The air was filled with the hum of life support, countless machines working tirelessly to bring the androids to life.

Moving about on the factory floor were the caretakers, going from tank to tank, keeping a watchful eye on their patients.

“You'll be joining a crew of caretakers for one of our batches,” Overseer 311 said, her drones flanking close to Himari on either side. “You understand the length of your contract?”

“Three years,” Himari said, fighting back a grin as she watched robotic limbs go to work inside the tanks.

“Very good. Your job is to monitor the construction and development of the batch. Once they are online, you are to help assess before they are shipped.”

Himari bit her cheek in thought as she followed the Overseer, curiosity burning in her mind.

"Ma'am, if I may-" Overseer 311 paused at the door to another chamber within the factory, golden eyes glinting with curiosity. "-I... I've never seen a model like you. I mean, support androids have wireless uplinks, sure. But I've never seen... You're fully integrated! Sharing senses across multiple systems, directing them at a whim."

She tilted her head as her two drones circled her in a slow orbit, “Miss Himari, understand that my model is proprietary to this facility. I am designed to assist and oversee the staff from anywhere in this factory.” she stepped so close that Himari had to stare up at her to meet those golden eyes, “Does this satisfy your curiosity…?”

“Incredible,” she whispered as she stumbled back. “Your designer, your caretakers, they must be proud. I know I would be.”

The Overseer pulled back, a curious look on her face, “I… I like to think they are.” she beckoned Himari into the chamber beyond, lit at first by the many monitors within, “Now then, we still need to create your imprint.”

The chamber lit up once they were inside, the noise of the factory floor vanishing as the door hissed shut. Code rippled and streamed over the monitors mounted on the walls. Images - memories - flickered from the projection panels built into the consoles that dominated the room.

“I-I've never heard of an imprint,” Himari said, watching the dream-like memory of an android learning their first word.

“Despite the circuitry incorporated within, android brains still behave much like a human’s. And so they require a human touch,” Overseer 311 led Himari into a glass booth at the center of the room. “As part of their basic programming, we imprint them onto their caretakers. This protects the health of the batch and ensures they will recognize and trust you.”

With a wave of her hand, the Overseer made the rest of the chamber vanish. The projectors within the booth enveloped everything in light, before resolving into the image of a dormitory. Trees were scattered about the strangely peaceful space, and light panels provided simulated sun from overhead.

This–It had to be another part of the factory. Somewhere for the androids. Maybe the workers too?

“All you have to do is interact with me,” she said, moving Himari across from her.

“With you…?”

The Overseer’s gaze flicked to the side, a prompt window projecting just above her head, “You have a script, Miss Himari. Follow it and you’ll be fine.”

Himari looked at her hands, uncertainty weighing heavy in her chest.

Was it really that simple? Just a few words and they’d just trust her?

Overseer 311 took her by the hands as she spoke, drawing her attention, “It is a simple call and response. Talk to me as you would a patient, Miss Himari.”

She took a breath and closed her eyes, centering herself.

Focus on the job…

She shook her head and went to work, striding along the aisle of assembly tanks she’d been assigned.

The floor boss walked alongside her, hardly even glancing at her, “We usually test newbies on a single model batch. But you’ll be working with us on what the suits call a ‘Multi-Service Batch’.” he chuckled - more to himself than her - and leaned against one of the tanks as Himari took her time to examine the tank’s readouts, “I wouldn’t have put a newbie on an assortment like this, but you got dropped on me from on high.”

“So…” she did her best to ignore his dismissive tone as she focused on the work. “What models are we working with?”

Her boss just raised a brow and jabbed a thumb to the tanks behind him, “No better way to get the hang of things than to check it yourself, newbie.”

“Stop calling me that,” she muttered, keeping her voice even as she went to check the readouts on the next tank. “I have a name–”

“Well, hold onto that for next year, if you’re still here by then,” her boss lightly punched her shoulder, walking off across the bay. “For now, you better get a move on, newbie!”

“Son of a…!” Himari grit her teeth, rubbing her shoulder with a frustrated growl, and turned back to the tank.

She buried herself in her work, moving along with her fellow caretakers. She studied the readouts of each tank, noting down the models as she went. They were working a batch of fifty, half of them were all industrial models. The rest were slated for security and emergency rescue. 

She couldn’t help but smile at the golden-haired android floating in the tank in front of her, laying a hand on the glass. 

They were still in their infancy, but already she could see what they’d be in the future. She could almost picture it, the android’s figure stepping through fire and smoke to rescue a survivor.

“You’re gonna save people someday,” she mused to herself with a proud smile. “Let’s get you there, hmm?”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” one of her fellow caretakers said, leaning against the neighboring tank.

“Wouldn't do what exactly, Mr…?”

“Samuels,” he said with a gentle smile. “You don’t wanna get too attached at the beginning. Odds are we’re gonna lose a few.”

“Wha–” Himari blinked, confusion and disbelief settling in as she looked back at the tank and the sleeping android inside. “I thought they would have–”

“Fixed it? Look… There’s always gonna be mistakes that show up. Sometimes there’s just something wrong with the template, some flaw in the cloning process. Don’t take it too personally when you lose your first one.”

“I’m not… Isn’t there anything we can…?”

“We all lose one eventually… We can help, sometimes. But others… They’re just broken from the start,” he said with a shrug. “But it could be worse. I had a whole batch fail once, genetic errors,” he chuckled and shook his head, but he couldn’t hide the bitterness in his voice. “Someone up in the labs got fired over that, I’m sure.”

“You don’t know?” Himari asked, clenching her fists tight at her sides.

“You’ll get used to it. They don’t tell us anything other than what they have to.”

She went to the next tank over by Samuels, her hands aching from how tight she’d been holding them.

Just focus on the job. That’s all she had to do. 

She closed her eyes, took a shaking breath, and got back to work.

She would fix it, she just had to get higher up the ladder first.

“Hey,” Samuels laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, offering a sympathetic smile. “Don’t think you’re alone in this. This whole crew’s gonna have three whole years to get to know each other. So, lean on us. Okay, newbie?”

“I’m not–” Himari bit her cheek, speaking softer as she looked at him. “My name’s Himari…”

“Himari,” he hummed, nodding along as he moved on to the next tank in his lineup. “Like the sound of it.”

She smiled to herself a little as she worked, watching the android’s projected growth on the tank monitor.

Maybe three years wouldn’t be so bad…

The years passed, the work continued, and Himari watched them all grow before her eyes. Each had the same face, the same genetic template. And yet she quietly named a few - under her breath - when no one else could hear.

She could see how different they would be. It wasn’t how they were built, the way the cybernetics shaped them. It was in the way that they moved. How they stirred in their three-year-long sleep, every little expression that flitted across their faces as they dreamed.

“Okay…” she hummed to the android inside the tank, smiling at them as if they could see her, hear her. “Looks like your construct download is going just fine. Polymer circuits are integrating and cybernetics…” she idly tapped the console screen, watching as mechanical fingers curled and flexed at her instruction, “Okay, cybernetics are operational. Half a year and you should be moving around just fine.”

“How are our patients?” Samuels called out from down the aisle.

“They’re in the green, developing on time,” she called back. “I’m looking forward to meeting ‘em!”

He chuckled softly, shaking his head as he moved across the bay to check on the rest of the tanks, “Aren’t we all, Himari. Aren’t we all…”

“Look alive everybody!” the floor boss barked out, stomping along the bays as the assembly tanks finally began to drain. “Three years of work! Let’s make it across the finish line!”

The androids began to stir for the first time, eyes fluttering as they started to come online. Some choked and sputtered as the fluid drained below their faces, their first breaths in a new world.

“Himari,” the floor boss called out, his attention more on the androids than her. “What have we got?”

Himari tried to keep her hands steady, fumbling with the panel as she checked the readouts of the tanks, “Forty-six coming online. Vitals are holding… They’re no longer on life support!”

The tension broke as a cheer cascaded up and down the bays, the excitement of the moment numbing the ache that sat in Himari’s chest.

They’d lost four…

The tanks lowered to the floor and slowly began to open. At first, many only leaned against the supports, coughing and gasping as they breathed for the first time. But one by one the androids began to step out, their caretakers at the ready for those that stumbled. Himari quickly steadied the one closest to her as they emerged, holding them up.

They looked to her as they held her arm and all she could do was smile, small and proud, “Welcome to the world.”

Even after the month they’d spent running them through their paces, Himari couldn’t help but watch as the first airships were loaded up. They’d be heading off soon to deliver the androids - their androids - to wherever they were needed.

“Do you ever think to check?” she asked softly, looking out towards the sunset as it painted the open sky.

“Think to check what?” Samuels asked with an exhausted shrug.

“On the androids,” she said, nudging his shoulder with a small smile. “Ya know, after they’re rolled out.”

What had been a smile slowly fell as Samuels looked at the horizon, “Don’t…”

“What? I’m just curious.”

“And I'm telling you, don’t. Company doesn’t pay us to make house calls. Nor do they want them.”

“I…” Himari shook her head, thumping her fist on the docking bay floor. “Don’t you wonder?”

Samuels sighed and ran a hand over his face, giving her a tired smile, “Of course I did, when I first started…”

She frowned in thought as she stared at him, “What happened?”

“Got over it,” he said, but she didn’t think he believed it either. The look on his face was too worn, too hurt, “You see enough batches, the novelty wears off. You get used to it.”

She… She didn’t know what to say. And she tried. She tried to think of something. But, whatever she thought of she knew he’d already heard it, already said it himself once…

She hated the quiet pity on his face as he smiled and lied to her face, “They’re just numbers, ‘Mari. Sooner you get used to it, the easier the job gets…”

It felt like a lifetime since they’d talked on that docking bay floor. In some ways it was. A lifetime of mistakes…

Himari rolled her shoulders, wincing as she strode through the workshop. Sunlight poured in through the skylight above, so much warmer than the cold lights of the factory. Even the machinery felt warmer, well worn with use and care.

It was home, plain and simple.

She called out, racing up the steps to the common room and into their little makeshift infirmary off on the side, “Alright! Let’s help get our guest patched–”

She froze, staring at the android on her table, their body covered with burns and scars across their skin.

It had been years, but she knew that face. She’d watched them grow up before her eyes after all…

They were hurt - blood and polymer leaking through cracks in their cybernetics, and still, they smiled when they saw her, “Hello… H-Hello again - miss Himari.”

“You… You remember me?” Himari shook her head, quickly getting to work as she checked their injuries. “L-Let’s get you patched up…”

“Miss Himari?” her heart ached at the sound of their voice, like they didn’t blame her at all, like they still trusted her after all this time.

“Y-Yes?”

“It’s good to see you again, miss,” they said with a smile that made her resolve crack.

She shouldn’t, but she couldn’t help but smile back, her voice shaking, “It’s good to finally see you again too.”

They winced and clutched their shoulder as a short surged through the circuits and nerves in their arm. Worry twisted in Himari’s gut as she looked over the cybernetic limb with care.

“Will I… Will I be okay?”

“Everything will be alright,” she whispered, more to herself than them.

And yet- “Now that you’re here…” -that half-remembered phrase echoed back at her, made her stare at them.

She cradled their face in her hands, brushing their golden hair like a child she’d lost and found again.

She wasn’t their caretaker anymore. Maybe she should never have been. They’d deserved better than her youthful ambitions, better than the burden she’d helped make them for. And yet-

“I mean it,” she said, soft and desperate. They had to know she meant it, that it was more than just the imprint, “You’re safe here and I… I-I’ll help you, I promise.”

-she was proud. Damn her heart, she was proud to see them still standing, to see this life she’d made still here. They had done so much to help people, that much she was sure. Now, it was her turn.

They closed their eyes, relief on their face as they leaned into her hand, “Thank you, miss Himari…”