#whumpees-r-us universe

[cepheusgalaxy]

so with whump

as a group? fandom? or any other word syebsj

usually it's fictional character and fics right but if you were to interact with other whumpees (that the term) like as roleplay or i dunno

would you or

okay maybe that's a confusing way of putting my question suwnsj

uh just tell me about your own experiences :3 if you wanna

Ok my experiences with whump? I'm not big on roleplaying (although it looks fun. just maybe not for me) so i'll talk about the community

They're awesome or at least the bubble I'm in like

There's one guy who got his acount deleted like a thousand times but he always swings back and he draws super well I like to reference from him and he's super nice

Then there this person who makes comics and they have so many I can't keep up

Then there's this uh lady? Woman? What's like a casual way to say it in english. Like guy but for girls. Anyway, she has a series that's so fun

And there's this person with such nice caracters I kinda picked my name from there.......

Oh, oh there's one thing that's like super nice and that's BBU

Its like a community worldbuilding like. Its premise is that there is a modern kind of world where humans are kept as slaves called "boxies" (because if people "order" them they arrive in packages)—thats why we call it the Box Boy Universe—and there's this organization called WRU (no idea what this name means i think its we r umpers or smth) that "trains" them and there are Safehouses for runaways and theres also The Pet Lib Movement

And it's a fun universe because everyone can use it! And so there's a lot of collaboration like, there's some part of the worldbuilding you don't wanna flesh out? This person here already did it. There is so much lore made by so many people and the fun is that you get to decide what is canom in your bbu

Also theres this person who took such a turn on it they (i dont remember their pronouns rn) imagined how it would be a bbu world but like in the black and white tv era. They did the origins of WRU (the evil slavery organization) and its like i haven't read it yet but it's such a fun concept

I also like the prompts. There's always some crazy thing I haven't thought about and it's lots of fun

There's also the community events (like febuwhump—one of the only i participed in lmao—where we get prompts for each day of february and write or draw something) idk they're fun people

[painonthebrain]

Im just generally curious because i saw one of your reblogs. What is BBU whump? I’m new to the community and never heard that or seen it called that if i have seen it… sorry for the ask i mean it with the utmost respect im just confused and dont want to go looking for it for it to be something im not interested in but getting into my algorithm bc i looked it up or something… -👻

Hello nonny! And dw, that’s a totally valid question!

BBU stands for “Box Boy Universe,” and it’s kind of an invented “genre”/trope of whump created by other whump creators. It began with the premise of “what if you could get a whumpee to order custom-made?” and became kind of this giant collaborative worldbuilding project across the community for those interested. Said whumpees are called Box Boys/Babes or Boxies because they come well, mailed to the receiver in a box. BBU is kinda like your average pet whump but on a much, much larger scale.

In this universe, people can sign up to become a Boxie and live a life of servitude - however in many stories these contracts are faked or coerced and people can be forced into this system. (The company behind it is called the WRU in-universe, but that just stands for Whumpees ‘R Us which I think is a little silly.) This process is otherwise legal, though, and Boxies are mostly normal (however there are groups against this, “Pet liberation/Petlib”). People who go into the system are processed kind of like animals, brutally tormented and conditioned/brainwashed and oftentimes memory-wiped via a drug called “the Drip.” The specifics can vary based on what the “customer” ordering them wants. (There are also different “kinds” of Boxies - Domestic, Platonic, Romantic, Guard Dog, etc. that designate what kind of “purpose” and tasks they are specialized in)

There’s some flexibility because it’s kind of a sandbox for creators to play in and experiment, but there’s a lot of extra worldbuilding stuff people have made!

Here’s a masterpost of info if you wanna look into it more (beware though, some of the links are dead and gone… a few can be plugged into the Wayback Machine but I haven’t tried all of them)

[ashintheairlikesnow]

every so often (maybe once every few weeks) i remember that wru actually stands for Whumpees-R-Us, and then i start laughing real hard, and then I have to log off for the day because i can't take the bbu universe seriously anymore. it's so silly when everyone's so scared of wru and then BAM it's just Whumpees-R-Us. imagine going to a toys-r-us with that very specific brand of Costco-like detached commercial atmosphere and instead of toys on the shelves its just a bunch of people sitting there. imagine begging your parents to buy you this really cool-looking person you saw on a shelf. oh my god

I don't think anyone who writes within the BBU actually operates with that being the meaning at this point just because the entire set of multiverse stories has moved so far from its kind of light-hearted and silly initial prompt. In my version, it's the initials of the founders of the company.

But yeah, the original idea was just an incredible mental image.

[maracujatangerine]

hey there! so ive known about the box boy universe for a while (years at this point i think?), but ive never been able to write something for it cause its so big and overwhelming lol, are there any good resources that can help me get started? like a masterlist of how the company and training works, different terms, etc.? thank you!

Hi @whimsagoth!

Thank you for this really fun ask!

I have made a list of resources which you can find here, but an important thing to keep in mind is that the Box Boy Universe is a shared universe, where people are free to do their own things with their stories, so ideas differ a lot from writer to writer and writing in the Box Boy Universe is a lot more about deciding what you like for your story than it is about learning facts or memorising what other people have written. If there are some things that other writers have woven into their BBU stories that you like, you can use that, but there are no rules for what you have to include. Feel free to be creative and add your own ideas! 😊

If you still want some guidelines, I think about the core of the BBU sort of like this, although other writers might have different ideas.

Most people who write in the Box Boy Universe imagine WRU (Whumpees R Us) as this really big and powerful corporation that sells people as very expensive pets/luxury slaves. Often the pets have specific kinds of training, like companions, domestic workers, romantics (sexual slavery), guard dogs or even objects. The people who are being sold are said to have volunteered to become pets, but there are rumours that some people are kidnapped or in other ways forced into becoming pets. The prospective pets are put through a very torturous training at WRU facilities (often described as prisons or laboratory-like complexes with empty white rooms) where handlers force the pets to comply with whatever they want them to do. Often, they are put on ‘the drip’ - a drug that makes them forget much of their past lives. After their training, the pets are sold to their new (usually very wealthy) owners.

For me personally, a lot of the fun with writing in the WRU is first, having this shared world to play in, and secondly, thinking about what sort of effects having people as pets has on the society. Other writers are interested in other things. My advice to you is to just throw yourself in and start writing! The box boy universe is a shared world, but there’s no canon that you have to adhere to and you can not go wrong, so just come on in and play with us. 😁

[whumpsday]

i've been confused about this for a while. ik BBU stands for box boy universe, and WRU is part of that. but what does WRU stand for.

originally, as a joke, whumpees-r-us. lol

nowadays in more serious settings it's an abbreviation of the initials of the founders of the company

[justplainwhump]

@dragonfireridge you asked what WRU stands for, well:

In the early days of BBU meta, back when it was little more than the thought experiment "What if you could just order a whumpee in a box to your doorstep?" ->"Oh, what if it was a company??" ->"Hm what could one call them?", somebody came up with "Whumpees R Us ". And ofc as an evil corporation, they'd use an acronym. Thus, WRU was born.

After the refinement of the stories and the universe, for obvious reason in most flavors of the BBU this did not stay canon. The abbreviation, however sticked and is sort of a running gag for those knowing - and now, this includes you ;)

[a-whump-dis-aster]

Basics At The WRU

Content warning for everything that goes along with the BBU because of some people not Whump-likers seeing this from crossed tags.

Institutionalized Slavery, Torture, Psychological Conditioning, blah blah blah. You know the drill.

I was not, unfortunately, the brilliant mind(s) behind this universe, but I did make this little sheet of things that I imagine happening during the initial training of boxies. I thought others might benefit, so here it is! (It's very long; I was procrastinating)

Basics at the WRU

Amnesiacs

Long term memory loss lessens the chances of an escape

“Restarting” with basic functions only to build what is needed from the ground up

Given a label

Keeps track of boxies and their future owner(s)

Dehumanizes boxies, making them easier to train

Organizes bonded pairs easily

Physical Training

Tazing / Shock Collars

Blunt Force Trauma / Beatings

Whipping

Burning

Deprivation of Basic Needs

- Dehydration

- Starvation

- Restricted air flow

Mental Training

Sensory Deprivation

- Extended silence

- Extended time in darkness

Sensory Overstimulation

- Flashing lights

- Extended exposure to loud noises

Obedience Training

Verbal Conditioning

- “I am an active participant”

- Speaking when spoken to

- Etiquette and manners

- Social cues

Knowing What Your Owner Needs or Wants

Respect and the Position Manual

For Domestics:

Cooking

Cleaning

Laundry / Ironing

Miscellaneous

- Setting a table

- Making beds well

- Cleaning efficiently without being in the way

For Platonics:

Knowing when to approach versus leave someone alone

Not embarrassing your owner(s) in front of guests

Basic knowledge of popular conversation topics

For Romantics:

How to please your owner(s)

Knowing what your owner wants, and when

Training if requested by owner(s)

[whumpy-daydreams]

2 - Sign on the dotted line

Part 2 of Nessa's Whumpees-R-Us experience

CW: drugging, dehumanisation, manipulation, implied underage whump, pet whump

Nessa was cold. That was her first thought when she woke up. Her second was 'shit'. What had they done to her? And where was she? The room she had woken up in was pale grey and bare except for a table and two chairs, one of which she was in.

On shaky feet she slowly got up, holding onto the metal table as she navigated round to the door. To her disappointment and panic the door was locked, and when she turned around Nessa noticed something she'd missed: a blinking camera in the corner.

A noise in the door made her jump, and a lady with a soft face walked in. "Miss Ó Daire, you're awake. My name is Felicity, why don't you take a seat and we can have a chat."

Nessa sat down carefully and Felicity took the seat opposite, placing a sheet of paper and pen on the table.

"You must be thirsty, do you want some water?"

"Where am I?" She was right, Nessa was hungry, but the thought of accepting anything made her feel ill. Perhaps that was just the tea though. "What do you want from me?"

"I'd like you to sign this. And then we can get you to a comfy bed and you can have something to eat and drink. Maybe a hot chocolate?"

She glanced at the paperwork and instantly knew where she was and what they wanted. They wanted her to sign away her life. To become a pet. "I don't want to be a pet..." she said cautiously, pushing away the papers in an attempt to distance herself from what was becoming more and more nightmarish.

"Now then, don't be rash. You'll get something in return. And pets are happy, loved, safe." She smiled. "Yesterday you asked about your brother. He's here at the moment, being looked after until he can either live on his own or consent to become a pet."

Nessa looked up. "Conan's here? Can I see him? Is he ok? Where-" Felicity stopped her with a simple hand.

"He's perfectly fine. Just sign on the dotted line and he can go. You might even be able to say goodbye before he goes home. How does that sound?"

"Why can't you just let us both go? I won't say anything I swear."

"I'm afraid that's not possible, either you stay or he stays. They are the only options. I know you care about your brother, just sign here and he'll be ok. He can go home."

Just consider it she thought Conan would be safe and free. And being a pet couldn't be that bad, could it? After all, they always look so happy...

And with the thought of Conan's freedom in her head, Nessa picked up the pen, and like an idiot signed her name on the dotted line.

[lecherous-lollipop]

"Fido"

MasterList:

[cubeswhump]

Box Boy/Babe Info Guide: Worldbuilding Compilation

This universe (multiverse) can be intimidating at a glance. So many writers, so many stories, so much lore. You might not know where to start. First thing us to remember that it's a multiverse and you can change things as you please, but you might want to follow some guidelines. I'm compiling worldbuilding posts from various writers to help new BBU writers get started.

Big thanks to @ashintheairlikesnow @haro-whumps @albino-whumpee @moose-teeth @the-host-and-colton @slaintetowhump @sweetwhumpandhellacomf for all their contributions and concepts created by them. A for writing some rad stories.

Warning for kidnapping, abuse (emotional, psychological, physical, sexual), violence, institutionalized slavery, brainwashing, etc.

I'll begin with a brief overview: Whumpees R Us is a multinational corporation with headquarters in five out of seven continents. They sell human pets who are forced into servitude under the guise of these pets being willing participants. In actuality, a large percentage is coerced or manipulated into signing away their human rights, and a smaller percentage even forced. It's said that all pets are over the age of eighteen but WRU has been known to kidnap and sell minors, especially those who can pass as adults. Peopke who sign up voluntarily are often desperate. They're poor and can hardly get by, they're isolated and lonely and the WRU promises to give them a happy home, they're mentally ill and the WRU promises to cure them.

These people are rigorously trained, brainwashed with a cocktail of drugs and abuse into forgetting their names and old lives. They are tattooed with barcodes and six-digit identification numbers. Once their training is complete they enter the market. Customized boxies and firsthands sell for much higher prices but those who are returned and refurbished are often sold for as cheap as a used car. They are often abused by owners and have few to no protections as they are considered property and what owners do to property is their own agenda. The WRU sends the message that boxies are happy but in actuality they're trained to convey happiness and not recognize feelings of displeasure, and they can't give consent.

There are liberation groups but these are few and far between. These liberation groups are considered crazy abd making a big deal out of nothing, pets are happy and cared for and it's an owner's right to have a pet!!! All these abuse allegations are LiES!!!! They're frowned upon and rescuing boxies is considered kidnapping and a felony so these organizationsmust operate in secrecy. Members of liberation groups have been known to disappear from society and end up on the markets as a boxie with their memories wiped.

Here is an overall FAQ.

The fairly new CEO of the entire multinational corporation WRU is Timothy Rahm. You can learn about him here.

The Director of Sustomer Success and Satisfaction at the North American branch of WRU is called Karen Renford. For info on her, check here.

The confidential documentation WRU keeps on trainees/boxies. I believe it was first made by ashintheairlikesnow for her character Chris, template made blank and posted ny albino-whumpee.

BBU Training: Common training phrases, all designations, disciplinary measures, rules held by company.

Common discipline by owners shown within a story, includes items shipped with boxies

Psychology of Torture in the BBU: Specifically WRU training techniques and effects

Training for bonded pairs

Injectable drugs used on trainees

What trainees are fed at WRU facilities

Cost of a boxie: new versus refurbished

Housing/rooms for trainees

History of BBU, tracing its origins and rise

Most or all boxies are taught various positions.

WRU propaganda is everywgere and takes various shapes and forms, including films.

WRU job advertisement and recruiting

Pet trade and social medua/Public viewpoints

How the pet trade may affect the working class and jobs (sorry to use my own post)

Affection felt by Platonics versus affection felt by Romantics

Pet libration and rescue resources

Therapy for rescues/stigma towards Romantics

Pet trade in various countries

Influence of sexual orientation

On escaped boxies picking a new name versus keeping their pet name: building a new identity as part of recovery

What if a boxie has a baby?

If a pet commits a crime

Rescues finding jobs

Ashintheairlikesnow's overall worldbuilding tag

Tag for BBU-related questions sent to the-host-and-colton

Interview of four popular BBU writers

Additional info: I can't find a post supporting it but in various stories I've observed that trainees are given the same uniform, loose white T-shirts and black shorts. They are often desperate for clothes that properly cover them after leaving the facility.

And the most important thing I'll say is this: You write what you want. The fun is seeing other people's interpretations and creativity. You do you and make yourself happy. Don't you worry about pleasing everyone else (of course, you better respect other writers or I'll give you a firm talking to. I'll warn you, I'm a teaching major and the oldest sibling, I can give some boring lectures).

If I missed anything that belongs on this list let me know!

[whumpfigure]

Whumptober Day 13, Breathe In Breathe Out

Aka 373916 has an asthma attack after Collars

CW: pet whump, conditioning, dehumanization, box boy universe, asthma attack, shock collars

373916 writhes on the floor as yet another shock hits his body. He doesn't know how many times he's been shocked. He lost count at 5. The pain and the drug in his veins made his thoughts blurred enough to be unable to hold on some numbers.

He tries so hard to stop screaming, or wailing, or whimpering, when the shock ends. To not set it off again. But the duration of the shocks seems different each time, and he can't get the timing right. So the next shock just comes right after.

And the next.

And the next.

And-

373916 feels it, then. The familiar weight starting to build up on his chest. Growing heavier and heavier, until breathing alone seems like the most difficult task on earth.

This time, the shock ends. So does the screaming. There is no air in his lungs to scream with.

373916 tries to breathe. He tries to force air through his closed airways, and into his lungs. And while doing so, his lungs make that wheezing sound they always make.

He opens his mouth to scream as another shock hits him. But nothing comes out. There is no air. There is no air and he can't breathe and he tries to breathe but nothing comes out and his lungs burn.

He heaves and gasps for air.

But he can't breathe.

He can't breathe.

He can't breathe-

A hand lifts his head up, and presses something on the small box on the back of his collar. Finally, the shock finishes, and his muscles relax. But still, no air comes in.

"I-I... I can't, I can't breathe, I can't-" He tries to say. But his voice comes in short gasps and whispered words.

"I know, '916." Handler Craine says as he tightens his fist in the trainee's hair. "But I'll just let you suffocate like this, if I hear one more word. Understood?"

He can't breathe and his chest hurts and the Handler's grip is too tight on his hair, but he manages to do the smallest of nods. Hoping for it to be enough.

"Good boy." Handler's other hand moves to cup 373926's cheek. "Now be a good cat and get in Position Two till I get you an inhaler."

Handler Craine lets go of his hair, and he collapses on the floor. His whole body hurts, but he still does as he's told, and gets himself into Position Two. Ignoring as his muscles - sore from both the shocks and now the lack of oxygen - protest the movement. And kneels there, in Handler Craine's training room, still wheezing and gasping for air.

Tagging: @slaintetowhump @ashintheairlikesnow @liliability @ohmywhump @whumptywhumpdump @raigash @castielamigos-whump-side-blog @simplygrimly @whump-it @misspelledwitch @inky-whump @whumppsychology @inaridriscoll @rivertamandspike @spookyboywhump @faewhump @thingsthatgo-whump-inthenight @whumpzone @sola-whumping @whumpsy-daisies @crystalrainwing @a-whump-muffin @tears-and-lilies @cupcakes-and-pain @whumptober2020

[whump-it]

Oh my whump!!!

So I had to have a ct scan today and they injected a contrast dye. It was on a drip in my arm and when it went in it heated me up from the inside and I wasn't allowed to move.

All I could think was "if this gets any hotter, I'll know what the trainees on the injectables feel like!"

[endless-whump]

Heres my logo design for Whumpees R Us in my written universe!  It what I imagine in my head as being on the handler’s uniforms, ID, company paperwork, etc.  You’re free to use it if you’d like with credit!

[ashintheairlikesnow]

Box Boy: Kauri

Credit for the whole concept here to @sweetwhumpandhellacomf, plus thanks to @shameless-whumper for being cool with me utilizing their ideas and characters for this!

And of course my thanks to you, you filthy enablers, for always being here to tell me to write the new worst thing I’ve thought of that day. Thanks to @dr-dendritic-trees and @iaminamoodymoodtoday for name choices!

I’ll just tag people who have been asked to be tagged in other things: @bleeding-demon-teeth, @spiffythespook, @special-spicy-chicken, @finder-of-rings, @whumpywhumper

P.S. I’m working on the dubcon Danny drabble too so I may get that up within the next couple of days!

CW: Implied noncon, intimate whumper, 

“Shit, I think that’s a new water bottle. Kauri, hold up, do you think this is a new one?”

Kauri drops into a crouch, tilting his head to look at the laptop set up on Owen’s coffee table. “I’m not sure, Mr. Owen.” Owen’s mouth widens a little further into a smile - he likes when Kauri calls him Mr. Owen, like a term of respect. Kauri had known when he left the box that it could be anything - you call them whatever they want to be called - and it could have been different, harder to say out loud, than something as easy as Mr. Owen. “It looks the same as the one you already have?”

He’d been warned his new owner would not want him to talk, but Owen doesn’t seem to care. He lives by himself in this whole big place - a condo, Kauri thinks, but the word doesn’t always stick, it bounces around and dances out and falls right out one ear if he tries to focus on it for too long. Owen lives alone, and that’s why he got Kauri, for companionship.

For company.

Jesus Christ, like my very own combination Martha Stewart and blow-up doll. Except that’d be the grossest fucking blow-up doll in the world. You’re really pretty, though. Are they all pretty?

I d-don’t know, Mr. Owen. I can’t remember-

I bet they are. I wonder how they get so many pretty people to sign up for this.

“No, this one is definitely new. See? I think he changed the logo, since he got his boy.”

Kauri might hesitate - even tense a little - but Owen doesn’t notice. “Right. So you’ll want to get it, then.” He still has the dustrag in one hand, and he nearly moves to stand, but Owen’s hand slides across the back of his neck to hold him, and Kauri instead shifts easily onto his knees on the floor, sitting on his heels. Position Two.

“I might. I don’t know. Do you think it’s worth it? I mean, I know they’re stainless steel, but he’s charging $24 a bottle.”

“You don’t care about money. Plus, you like watching him, Mr. Owen,” Kauri says, voice quiet. Owen’s hand slides up into his hair, catching in the black curls. When they told him he was going to leave, that he had been selected, he’d been told he was a custom order.

Curly black hair, blue eyes, thin build, not tall enough to be intimidating but tall enough to look good if Owen wanted to take him out. He was lucky he’d fit exactly what the customer was searching for.

He’s lucky.

The Roomba is hard at work across the room, and Kauri kind of likes the little thing - it’s like having a pet of his own - a pet with a pet - especially considering he routinely has to fish it out from under the entertainment center when it gets stuck and starts screaming for help.

Man, when they put the active learning language chip in Roombas, that was a game changer for sure, Owen had said when he introduced Kauri to it. The day he got his name. He’d had a number, before…

645898, wake up. 

645898 needs more time. 

645898, Position Twenty-Three.

645898, lights out.

Was there a name before the number, even? There’s something on the sheet of paper they’d given to Owen - the contract he’d signed. Kauri wasn’t allowed to see it, it was too distressing for Box Boys to see their contracts. Kauri can’t grip a pen super well - he gets shaky. 

It’s considered bad form to let a Box Boy see their old handwriting, because they’ll just get upset about how it doesn’t look the same any longer. But it’s not like Kauri even remembers what it looked like before. 

Things must have been really bad, for him to sign himself over, so really he’s grateful he has this opportunity. It’s like a fresh start, and all he has to do is whatever Owen tells him to do - and Owen’s one of the good ones, he thinks. Not that he has a comparison… but Owen is really, really nice compared to what Kauri, as 645898, had worried he’d get.

Owen was really concerned about the ethics, had asked Whumpees-R-Us to provide proof that Kauri - whoever he was, once upon a time - had signed himself over willingly and legally. Kauri was kind of proud that his owner cared so much about it being humane and ethical, because even in just the couple of months he’d been here, he’d seen Owen angrily typing posts out on message boards to owners that weren’t very good to their boys, telling them that you can’t buy real loyalty, real affection, you have to treat the pets right.

Other owners, Owen tells him all the time, are cruel.

He could have been sold to someone vicious or violent, but instead, the worst thing Owen does is make him watch the youtube channel for what must the loudest, most annoying human being on earth.

Not that Kauri knows any other human beings. He only knows Owen.

“Hey.” Kauri blinks, looking up at Owen, who is smiling down at him, the hand still in his hair, fingers running again and again through the curls. “You listening, Kauri?”

“I-I’m sorry, Mr. Owen, I got, um, distracted.”

“By what?”

Kauri’s not supposed to think about anything but now, and he feels himself tense, just a little. Even with Owen, who is nicer than he had any right to hope for, he couldn’t admit that he’d been trying to think again.

You’re an investment. You aren’t made to think. That’s not what I got you for, all right? I don’t mind the talking, I want you to talk. I need someone around me, here, I get pretty fucking lonely. But I don’t want you to think.

“The, um, I was thinking about the way your… the Host got a new boy. That’s all. It’s, um, it’s nice to see other ones.” 

It really had been. Owen had watched the videos with Kauri as they uploaded, excited that his favorite, absolute favorite YouTuber had picked one up, too. 

Lucky bastard got one for free and I had to pay for mine - but fuck it, that’s what the residuals for all that child acting I got pushed into are for, right? Millionaire before sixteen, cover of magazines, all that bullshit.

Had Kauri ever read a magazine? He couldn’t remember.

“Oh, cool. I was just thinking about that, too. You never watched the collar video with me, did you?”

“Um… n-no, Mr. Owen. Remember, we talked about how the, um, the shock collars make me uncomfortable-”

We have a situation with 645898.

645898, you will get in Position Twenty-Six, now, or you will regret it.

Get someone in here, 645898 threw up again.

“Right, right. But I want you to watch it with me, this time. I don’t like that you haven’t, I really want you to be a completionist on this with me.” Owen smiles at him, and Kauri smiles back, automatically. Owen’s smile is warm and wide, and Kauri’s is small and not quite forced, but it’s there.

It could be much worse. Sometimes Owen rants about how the people with pets hurt them, or burn them, in ways they can’t come back from. All Kauri has to do is take care of Owen, every way he wants taken care of. He’s always kind.

It could be so much worse.

Kauri is so grateful to him for being so kind, for caring so, so much about being principled. 

He signed himself over to be what he is now - he can’t remember it, but he knows it happened - and part of the risk you take is that you might get one of the owners who needs more than standard care. 

Owen pulls Kauri up by one arm, and he moves quickly, unfolding himself and then climbing up onto the couch, sitting with his legs across Owen’s lap and his arms around his shoulders, head tucked into the crook of his neck and turned to look down at the laptop, just the way Owen likes.

Across the room, the Roomba gets briefly trapped underneath a rocking chair, and screams three times - HELP, KAURI HELP, KAURI HELP, KAURI - before it gets itself back out and goes back to work.

There’s a part of Kauri that remembers screaming for help, but he’s not sure when he did it, or why. 

Owen finds the video he wants and presses play, sliding his arm around behind Kauri’s back.

Sometimes he thinks he hates that Owen touches him so much, but he can’t think of why he’d hate it, and he puts that hatred away in the dark somewhere else until he can’t find it again. It could be worse. Owen only hurt him sometimes, and then mostly only in ways you couldn’t see.

It could be so much worse.

Kauri watches the Host’s boy, with a hint of familiarity making him feel restless and uncertain. He knows the expressions too well - he probably has a few of them himself. The slight smile and tilt of the head things you don’t have on your own, they’re given to you, trained in. Like the positions, only your owners don’t get to know what the expressions are called.

“Now, see, you already have that one,” Owen says, his voice a low rumble against the side of Kauri’s ear, as he points at the Host’s boy trying on a plain brown leather collar. Kauri swallows hard as he watches the host tighten, and tighten and tighten it.

Then complain that it doesn’t tighten enough.

“Yeah, I didn’t like that one, either,” Owen murmurs, as though he hasn’t watched this video a thousand times already. “Here, look, look at this one - the chain link one.”

Kauri looks, obediently, and tries not to think about the heavy metal weight around his own throat. His didn’t come from the same place - Owen had custom-ordered his collar from a jewelry store and it cost nearly as much as he did, a heavy weighted white gold chain set with dark blue stones that matched the color of his eyes, with his name on a little tag that hung off a small gold ring on the front, Owen’s contact details on the other side. 

Look, I’m never letting you out of my sight, you’re a big investment piece and I’m not going to lose all this money. But still. Just in case you get lost, buddy, this will help the cops know how to bring you back home to me.

It unlocks with some kind of key, but Kauri’s never seen the key - he only felt the lock click into place when Owen put it on him, and it’s never come off again.

Kauri’s muscles lock when the Host and his boy try the shock collar - he remembers those, he thinks, the training for those went on and on and blurs together in his mind. 645898, you signed up for this, this was your decision. You legally consented to everything that happens in this building, and you know it.

645898, you are being very disappointing today.

“You okay, Kauri?” Owen murmurs, turning to press a kiss into the top of his head, tightening the arm that goes around his back. Kauri tries to curl himself up on Owen’s lap even further, because that is what he wants him to do, and if he doesn’t have to be commanded sometimes he can sort of fool himself that he wants it, too.

On the screen, the Host’s boy is wearing a collar with small metal prongs that press hard into his neck. “It hurts,” The Host’s boy says, in a stiff voice, every inch of his posture rigid with pain.

Someone get 687371 out of here, he’s causing a scene

Shit, someone get 645898 out of the way, 687371 is having a moment again

687371, lights fucking out for you

The Host pulled on a chain attached to the pronged collar, on the screen, and the boy’s hands snapped up to grab the leash. “Don’t-”

Don’t-… let go of me! Let go! Get your fucking hands off me!

The scene cut to something else.

Kauri froze, staring sightlessly, until Owen finally noticed the tension in him and shifted forward to turn off the video. “Hey, was that too much?” His voice was low, and compassionate.

“I know him,” Kauri whispered, lips barely moving.

“What? Yeah, you’ve seen the other videos with Colton in them, remember?” Owen reached up to take Kauri by the chin, tilting it up to look right at him, to look into his eyes. “What do you mean, you know him?”

“I saw him in training. We were in training together,” Kauri says softly, and it never occurs to him to lie. There are things he lies to Owen about - what he’s thinking, the way he hates how Owen eats spaghetti with about a pound of grated parmesan on it, that he drinks terrible coffee and someone with so much money should at least have better taste than that - but now, in this moment, he doesn’t lie.

He doesn’t have to.

“Shit, really?” Owen’s eyes light up, and he pushes Kauri roughly off of him, nearly knocking him to the ground until he catches himself on the coffee table. “Fuck, that’s great! That’s really great, Kauri! That’s awesome!”

“It… it is?” Kauri stands, warily, but Owen doesn’t tell him not to or order him into any positions. 

“Sure! Yes! It gives me an in, Kor-bore, I’ve wanted an in since I started watching this guy. Look, he’s got contact info linked in the video description, maybe I can just… you said you know his boy?”

“I don’t… I’m sorry, I meant that I recognized-”

“No, I get it, you’re not supposed to say you knew each other.”

“We didn’t.” Kauri hesitates, shifting from foot to foot, glancing down at the screen where Owen has paused the video, opened up his email, begun rapidly typing. “We didn’t know each other. There were… faces.”

Let go of me! Please!

“Right, right.” Owen waves one hand. “Here, I’m going to ask if he’d be up for playdates or some shit. I’ll just… I’ll just add in here that I was an actor, that I was in… do you think he’ll remember Swing for the Stars or Toast better? Those were my two really big blockbusters.” 

“I, um… Mr. Owen, I don’t-”

“Oh, right, because you don’t remember movies anymore. Got it. I’ll just list ‘em both. Oh, and add Dimmer Switch, that kind of horror didn’t play so well here but it’s kind of a cult movie now and it did fucknuts well overseas… Let’s see what he says.” Owen shoots a smile at him, truly pleased, and Kauri’s shoulders relax, instinctively, automatically.

There’s a pause while Owen finishes his email and sends it.

“Hey, Kor-Bore.”

“Yes, Mr. Owen?” Kauri, already heading back to the bookshelves full of movies to dust, pauses, and looks back. Owen watches him with a look Kauri knows too well, and he swallows against the instinctive sickness that settles into the pit of his stomach, the thing he can’t quite get rid of. The collar sits heavy around his neck, and he thinks, once again, that he’s not sure when he signed that paper that he knew he was signing up for this.

“I know you’re busy cleaning, but let’s take a break, yeah?”

Kauri swallows, and slowly nods, setting the dustrag down on the bookshelf. He turns around, fingertips going to the buttons on his shirt, and waits, his blue eyes settling on Owen’s, thoughtful and empty.

“Position Twenty-Six.”

Kauri’s hands drop from his shirt. “T-Twenty-Six, Mr. Owen?”

“You heard me. You don’t have to deal with the buttons, Kauri, I can handle that.”

“Yes, Mr. Owen.” Kauri shifts onto his knees on the floor, in the middle of Owen’s living room, and slides his arms behind his back, knees spread apart digging into the fibers of the carpet beneath him, and tilts his head back so he’s looking up at the cool brown wood of the ceiling fan, neck exposed.

He doesn’t tense up when Owen’s fingers start undoing the buttons on his shirt.

Owen told him all the time - some owners really hurt their Box Boys. And whatever he had come from - whatever life he’d been living that led him to sign himself over - must have been really, really terrible.

He’s really very lucky.

There won’t even be bruises when Owen is done.

645898, do you know how fortunate you are?

It could have been so much worse for you.

In the corner, the Roomba starts screaming again. Owen throws a shoe at it to shut it up as he gets to his feet but his shoe thumps into the wall instead, and Kauri keeps his eyes focused on the ceiling until the clockwork motion of the ceiling fan is all that he can see.

HELP, KAURI

HELP, KAURI

HELP

KAURI

[box-boy-universe-stuff]

concepts I’d love to see addressed in bbu fics:

second-hand box boys and babes

older box boys, babes, and pets

pets responsible for landscaping, chauffeuring, child care, etc.

pregnant box babes? sterilized box babes? box babes becoming surrogates for their owners?

healthcare for pets, hospitalizations, dental work, plastic surgery, do pets fall under their owners’ insurance plans, etc.

caregiver box boys and babes essentially serving as service animals, companion designated pets

the emancipation process for pets (see this post)

legal rights that pets still obtain

knock-off companies to Whumpees-R-Us

rehabilitation programs for emancipated pets, housing, etc.

feel free to reblog with concepts you’d also like to see for box boy universe fics!! tagging those who I think will be interested in this post:

@ashintheairlikesnow @deluxewhump @the-host-and-colton @moose-teeth @orchidscript

[mostlyjustwhump]

So uh

Apparently I never posted my version of the WRU logo

There it is! Not the neatest, but you get the idea! I imagine it being stamped on the boxes.

Tagging some people I think would be interested: @the-host-and-colton​ @ashintheairlikesnow​ @boxboysandotherwhump​