swooningdelirium

[swooningdelirium]

someone who isn’t typically affectionate with their friends casually hugging/patting a shoulder as a sneaky temperature check because they have a feeling their friend isn’t feeling good.

then getting very soft and unusually touchy with their sick friend because they’re just so worried.

I'm thinking about fevers! Please share with me anything you like about fevers! Tropes, stories, things you like about them? I don't care I just need the content!!

(Actually I'd just be interested in whatever you guys got to say about sickfic in general lol. What's got you guys thinking things today?)

[swooningdelirium]

Caretaker finally gets Sickie to their home and into bed, but realizes Sickie should probably not be sleeping in their makeup. They hunt around for where Sickie keeps their makeup wipes before returning to their bedside, gently holding Sickie's burning face in place so they can get it all off.

But they hesitate. Why are they nervous? Sure, they've never actually seen Sickie without makeup on; they never leave the house without it, even today when they came in so ill. But they can't look that different, right? Determined, Caretaker begins gently gliding the wipe across Sickie's face.

"..oh,'

Caretaker is able to see every detail, everything the makeup hid, the pallor, the angry red flush on their cheeks, but what surprises them the most is the dark circles under Sickie's eyes. Those couldn't have appeared in just one day; just how tired have they been? How hard have they been working? There's so much to unpack, but for right now, Sickie just needs to rest.

[swooningdelirium]

caretaker doesn’t believe their sick loved one and grabs the thermometer.

caretaker blinks in confusion at the reading. their fever is high as ever. but that doesn’t make any sense.

“here,” the sick one’s eyes are sad as they turn the thermometer back on. “i think we should take your temperature too.”

carewhumpee with their hand to whumpee's forehead, exhausted, relieved: "I think your fever broke."

whumpee who is still very much running a fever, worried, upset that carewhumpee has been running themselves into the ground while they're sick just to care for them: "I think you're just burning up."

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Maybe she doesn’t even make an effort to pick up the thermometer, just groaning and rolling back over to go to sleep.

“Woah, hey.” Her partners’ brows furrow in concern as they pick up the thermometer themselves, brushing her hair back and holding it to her lips. She pliantly accepts, not even opening her eyes.

“You really aren’t feeling good, are you?” They press one hand to her sweaty forehead while the other keeps the thermometer in place.

When the thermometer sounds, they grab her charts and look them over, then take the device from her lips. They take in a shaky breath and place their hand on her forehead again.

“You’re three whole degrees hotter than you were yesterday,” they tut. “That can’t be good, honey.”

All they receive back is a weak little hum as their poor sick sweetheart drifts back off to sleep, flush high on her cheeks.

Small random thing that has turned me on lately: A woman who tracks her basal body temperature to understand her cycle (either trying to have a baby or trying not to have a baby lol). Because of this, she ALWAYS knows when she has a fever. She can even look back through her chart and track all of her illnesses throughout the last year. She hates colds all the more because they “mess up her chart”.

Maybe one night she isn’t feeling well but not sure whether she’s really getting sick. The next morning her partner is like: “How are you, babe?” She groans. “Worse than last night, I think.” He tosses her the thermometer with a grin and a wink. “Well, good thing you check for a fever every single morning anyway!”

[swooningdelirium]

A wakes with a violent shiver and a gasp as a tepid washcloth meets their forehead. They jerk upright, falling back against the headboard as they do so. Goosebumps rise on their skin as they try to bring the room into focus, but their vision keeps tunneling in and out.

“Sorry,” their friend’s voice cuts through the haze. “We really need to get your fever down.”

B stares into A’s glassy eyes as they shift lazily around the room, not particularly focusing on anything.

“Where am I?” A mutters as if embarrassed they had to ask.

B’s stomach lurches and drops to the floor. “You’re not feeling well. You’re in bed.”

“…Oh.” A’s eyes slip back shut as B darts across the room for the thermometer.

“Don’t go to sleep quite yet,” B whispers as they place the thermometer under A’s tongue and notice for the first time how intensely they’re shaking. Gently, they brush back A’s hair and remove the cloth, dabbing it all over their neck, cheeks, and temples. B is trying not to let on their anxiety as they await the reading.

The thermometer trills and flashes angrily, and B curses as they read it. If they can’t get their temperature down, it’ll be a trip to the ER.

[swooningdelirium]

WOO FINALLY, A FIC!!! This is something no one requested and it’s for me so you can read it too but whether you enjoy it or not, it was originally for me because sometimes self-care is writing angsty, plotless whumpfic of your faves

Richie was in the middle of a sentence when his face flushed red and he trailed off abruptly, blinking a few times and wavering despite that he was sitting in the hammock of the secret clubhouse. Perhaps on a different day, they might have let it slide as a lost train of thought (although Richie never lost a train of thought; he loved hearing himself talk too much ), but with everyone so on-edge, Ben frowned. 

“Richie?” he asked, sounding as concerned as Eddie felt. The light in the clubhouse was dim, but even so, Eddie could see that Richie had started shivering almost the second that he’d picked up the shower caps that Stan had left there. Memories, Eddie hoped, but he had a sinking feeling in his gut already. 

“What?” he asked, looking dazedly up at Ben. His eyes took a moment to focus and he pressed a hand to his forehead with a voiceless moan. “Woah.”

Keep reading

[swooningdelirium]

another scenario to consider surrounding this. a friend/partner who knows this about them takes the sickie’s temperature, and when they realize how high it is, they make an extra effort to make sure sickie has everything they need within reach/doesn’t need to get up.

just. a caretaker who intimately knows their loved one and takes care of them with preventative measures before something bad even happens

A whumpee who gets very tachycardic when they have a fever. Standing up makes them short of breath, they can just feel their heartbeat going faster than usual, reverberating through their whole body, making them feel desperately dizzy.

[swooningdelirium]

• Somebody pressing a concerned hand to their forehead, then sucking in air through their teeth in sympathy.

• Colors looking hazy/brighter as their temperature spikes

•Teeth chattering around an oral thermometer until it flashes in an angry red

• “I told you, I’m fine.” ‘Well, should I believe you or the thermometer?’

• Feebly curling around a heating pad/hot water bottle just trying infuse some warmth into their bones

• A friend notices they look unwell. Friend goes in for a hug or places a hand on their shoulder as a casual display of affection, but also to sneakily gauge their temperature. Just as they suspected, they’re burning up.

Fevers

Whumpees with aching eyes, too tired to keep open yet too sore to close, even the lightest pressure of their eyelids too much

Whumpee who's too weak and dizzy to do anything at all but lie in bed completely still, sweating through their blankets only to immediately start shivering after clumsily throwing them off

Whumpees with dry mouths, dry lips

The corners of their room are more shadowy than they should be, and they're too exhausted to bother to get up and see what's in there. The Hat Man will have to just wait his turn.

Strong enough to get out of bed but being so, so out of it. Caretaker finding them standing swaying in a doorway, pale as death, clearly seeing something that isn't there

Everything seems to be flickering. The air buzzes. Their skin prickles.

Getting to sleep is hard, because their mind is restless and racing. Once they're asleep though, they're down for the count

Chattering teeth. Their bones must be rattling, for how much they ache

[swooningdelirium]

ugh it’s especially soft when used by the caretaker. like

“oh honey you’re running a temperature”

it just feels very timeless and gentle

For some reason the phrase "running a temperature" makes me

IT'S SO GOOD

[swooningdelirium]

they wake back up and their fever has spiked again because they should have been RESTINGGG💗💗

Yoooooo characters who rush recovery. Passing out because they’re trying to run around the day after a high fever breaksssss 💖

[swooningdelirium]

based on the drabble prompt “i didn’t know it was this bad”

“Hey,” A groans, head pounding and muscles throbbing. “Can you grab me another blanket?”

B makes their way toward the couch where A is already nestled beneath a throw blanket and the comforter from their bed and presses a hand to their forehead. They wince, sympathetically sucking air in through their teeth.

“i don’t think so, honey,” B says apologetically. their eyes are sad as they push a stray lock of hair from A’s face. “You’re even hotter now than you were this morning. I want to take your temperature again, okay?”

A sighs but sits up, the room spinning a bit as they hear B gather supplies from the other room. They return with a damp washcloth, a small pill bottle, and a digital thermometer. They press a hand to A’s chest, gently ushering them to lean back against the cushions.

Taking A’s face in their hand, B gently pries their jaw open and slips the thermometer beneath their tongue. “Good job,” they murmur, placing the cloth against A’s sweaty forehead. They shudder violently, but don’t resist.

“I know, I know,” B reassures them. “I know it feels like you’re freezing, but it’ll help.”

A shudders again. The wet cloth is agonizing against their skin and the thermometer in their mouth is making them nauseous. It feels like it’s taking forever to read as the probe slowly heats up beneath A’s tongue.

B’s eyes are locked on the numbers as they slowly ascend.

As if on cue, the thermometer sounds in loud, angry trills that pierce through A’s throbbing skull. Though they’ve closed their eyes, flashes of red still infiltrate their field of vision with every beep.

B takes in a sharp breath as they pull the thermometer from A’s lips, rapidly feeling their face, neck and chest in succession.

“Fuck,” they mutter, tossing the thermometer to the side. A wills their eyes to focus on the reading, and it takes a moment for their body to cooperate, but eventually they see the reading glaring back at them.

104.2.

“Shit,” B curses again, planting a kiss on A’s boiling temple. “I didn’t know it was this bad.”

[swooningdelirium]

i love when the “just hanging out” part is integrated with some casual caretaking.

little things like pausing the movie because it’s time to take their temperature again or refilling their water between rounds of a game.

sweet, cozy, low-stakes fluff. love it.

This has probably been said before, but it's worth saying again: Friends/companions just, like, hanging out with the injured / recently ill one while they recover.

Not explicitly "taking care" of them or "cheering them up", just being together because that's what comes naturally.

Sitting around their bed, playing cards or dice together, swapping stories / songs / tunes, chatting over warm mulled drinks, sharing a meal of something better than their recent broth-tea-and-porridge fare.

[swooningdelirium]

#i faint/almost faint every time my fever is high #pots gang rise up #but really slowly

A whumpee who gets very tachycardic when they have a fever. Standing up makes them short of breath, they can just feel their heartbeat going faster than usual, reverberating through their whole body, making them feel desperately dizzy.

[swooningdelirium]

no because my gf did this for me once and i FOLDED.

“oh baby you’re at 102.3 :(“ it was so soft

Caretakers reciting the exact temperature of the sick person's fever will always get me

[swooningdelirium]

kissing their forehead in passing as a sweet little hello and realizing it’s far too warm. planting a second more prolonged kiss to their temple confirms they’re definitely running a fever.

Checking a partner’s temperature by kissing their forehead… really just gets to me

[swooningdelirium]

and now im curious about the other half. reblog with your favorite hurt/comfort / caretaking thing in the tags

[swooningdelirium]

caretaker has to hold them down because they’re refusing to hold still or let the temp register. they’re shivery and weak and they can’t fight back, but don’t want to admit how ill they’re really feeling. they lay their head down, still blearily protesting until the thermometer inevitably reveals A’s fever is much higher than B suspected.

A isn’t feeling well and is trying to hide their illness. However, B, their partner/spouse/friend etc, notices and gets the thermometer. A refuses to let them take their temperature. Cue B brandishing the thermometer at them