#whump prompts

[sickfictropes]

sometimes i think that we overlook how BORING it is to be sick or hurt. being unable to focus on TV, too nauseated to read, too tired to keep up with conversation. and i love caretakers who try to alleviate that. to keep them company even if most of what they're doing is sleeping. caretaker who takes whumpee home and sticks around after both to ensure that whumpee doesn't need anything and to show them that someone cares enough to make sure they're not going out of their mind with boredom.

[whump-in-the-closet]

a disorientated whumpee at a party with whumper's hand uncomfortably wrapped around their collarbone. There's a spiraling fear that they can't quite name-- they're losing themself in this nightmare of insinuating whispers.

The music is pounding and Whumpee can feel it in their teeth.

Whumper pulls them into a dark corner to push a drink up to their lips. "Your friends are coming," Whumper's voice is low, it's calm, it's measured, and Whumpee's skin crawls. "You're going to tell them you want to stay with me."

"No--"

"Or one of them will take your place."

[the-three-whumpeteers]

The whumper didn’t have to capture the whumpee to hurt them, after all they had enough dirt on them to threathen the whumpee to do anything for them. It was easy to keep the whumpee in line that way, any time they tried to fight back, the whumpee would taunt them with evidence that would destroy them.

[delicatewhumps]

lasting, visible impacts of a character’s injury.

scars!! so many possibilities. hidden, so that only the character is reminded of them; this can go great for intimate reveals with a loved one. or what if the scars are big and obvious? mottled burn scars climbing up an arm, a surgical scar winding around the side of their head, slashed scars from an attack on their face, or scarred rope marks around their neck!

canes, crutches, wheelchairs, walkers… any mobility aid. have they decorated it? do they use it with pride? maybe they’ve added spikes to the handles of their wheelchair, or whittled cool designs into the body of their cane.

glasses or an eye patch! or maybe even the lack of an eye altogether. combined with scars, this could be peak character design.

prosthetic limbs.. walk with me! facial prostheses, too. depending on the context / genre, you could go in so many different directions. fantasy prostheses are amazing. has the character built it themselves?

on the other hand, what if they choose not to have a prosthesis, or what if they can’t? a finger, a missing arm, a missing leg… a world of possibilities.

medical devices. maybe they need hearing aids now. maybe their injury has left them with an invisible disability, like diabetes or heart issues, and they need an insulin pump or a pacemaker! they could also have an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, which is visible as a lump under the skin of their chest, to jumpstart their heart if it stops. (these can come with a host of side effects…. for another post.)

as a disabled person, i just really love disabled characters. and i especially love when a character survives something amazing & they have lasting reminders of it.

[hurtfortea]

A whumpee who won’t stop fighting until they physically can’t anymore. A whumpee who will kick, bite, claw, pinch- anything they can manage in their current state or position. A whumpee who finally loses their will to fight when the hopelessness sets in, and they give up- only to immediately be filled with revulsion and self loathing. A whumpee who doesn’t listen when they’re told that they did everything they could. When they’re told anyone would have done what they did. When they’re told it’s okay.

Because it’s not. They said they would never give up. But they did. And now they’re sure they deserve what ever comes after.

Because you can’t lose as long as you keep fighting.

…And whumpee lost.

[eight-littlenightmares]

overly intimate whumpers who touch and hold their whumpees.

whumpees who a: have been there so long and are so touch-starved that they eventually just lean into it, or b: have been there as long as they can remember and think that’s what love is

caretakers who are horrified when they find out the reason whumpee braces themself when they’re hugged

caretakers being heartbroken at how touch-starved whumpee is, the way they’d do anything to be held

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

HOW TO WRITE A CHARACTER WHO IS IN PAIN

first thing you might want to consider: is the pain mental or physical?

if it’s physical, what type of pain is it causing? — sharp pain, white-hot pain, acute pain, dull ache, throbbing pain, chronic pain, neuropathic pain (typically caused by nerve damage), etc

if it’s mental, what is the reason your character is in pain? — grief, heartbreak, betrayal, anger, hopelessness, fear and anxiety, etc

because your character will react differently to different types of pain

PHYSICAL PAIN

sharp and white-hot pain may cause a character to grit their teeth, scream, moan, twist their body. their skin may appear pale, eyes red-rimmed and sunken with layers of sweat covering their forehead. they may have tears in their eyes (and the tears may feel hot), but they don’t necessarily have to always be crying.

acute pain may be similar to sharp and white-hot pain; acute pain is sudden and urgent and often comes without a warning, so your character may experience a hitched breathing where they suddenly stop what they’re doing and clench their hand at the spot where it hurts with widened eyes and open mouth (like they’re gasping for air).

dull ache and throbbing pain can result in your character wanting to lay down and close their eyes. if it’s a headache, they may ask for the lights to be turned off and they may be less responsive, in the sense that they’d rather not engage in any activity or conversation and they’d rather be left alone. they may make a soft whimper from their throat from time to time, depends on their personality (if they don’t mind others seeing their discomfort, they may whimper. but if your character doesn’t like anyone seeing them in a not-so-strong state, chances are they won’t make any sound, they might even pretend like they’re fine by continuing with their normal routine, and they may or may not end up throwing up or fainting).

if your character experience chronic pain, their pain will not go away (unlike any other illnesses or injuries where the pain stops after the person is healed) so they can feel all these types of sharp pain shooting through their body. there can also be soreness and stiffness around some specific spots, and it will affect their life. so your character will be lucky if they have caretakers in their life. but are they stubborn? do they accept help from others or do they like to pretend like they’re fine in front of everybody until their body can’t take it anymore and so they can no longer pretend?

neuropathic pain or nerve pain will have your character feeling these senses of burning, shooting and stabbing sensation, and the pain can come very suddenly and without any warning — think of it as an electric shock that causes through your character’s body all of a sudden. your character may yelp or gasp in shock, how they react may vary depends on the severity of the pain and how long it lasts.

EMOTIONAL PAIN

grief can make your character shut themself off from their friends and the world in general. or they can also lash out at anyone who tries to comfort them. (five states of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and eventual acceptance.)

heartbreak — your character might want to lock themself in a room, anywhere where they are unseen. or they may want to pretend that everything’s fine, that they’re not hurt. until they break down.

betrayal can leave a character with confusion, the feelings of ‘what went wrong?’, so it’s understandable if your character blames themself at first, that maybe it’s their fault because they’ve somehow done something wrong somewhere that caused the other character to betray them. what comes after confusion may be anger. your character can be angry at the person who betrayed them and at themself, after they think they’ve done something wrong that resulted in them being betrayed, they may also be angry at themself next for ‘falling’ for the lies and for ‘being fooled’. so yes, betrayal can leave your character with the hatred that’s directed towards the character who betrayed them and themself. whether or not your character can ‘move on and forgive’ is up to you.

there are several ways a character can react to anger; they can simply lash out, break things, scream and yell, or they can also go complete silent. no shouting, no thrashing the place. they can sit alone in silence and they may cry. anger does make people cry. it mostly won’t be anything like ‘ugly sobbing’ but your character’s eyes can be bloodshot, red-rimmed and there will be tears, only that there won’t be any sobbing in most cases.

hopelessness can be a very valid reason for it, if you want your character to do something reckless or stupid. most people will do anything if they’re desperate enough. so if you want your character to run into a burning building, jump in front of a bullet, or confess their love to their archenemy in front of all their friends, hopelessness is always a valid reason. there’s no ‘out of character’ if they are hopeless and are desperate enough.

fear and anxiety. your character may be trembling, their hands may be shaky. they may lose their appetite. they may be sweaty and/or bouncing their feet. they may have a panic attack if it’s severe enough.

and I think that’s it for now! feel free to add anything I may have forgotten to mention here!

[rookthebird]

love a fictional character who will scowl and tell people “I’m not sick” “I’m not hungry” “I didn’t get injured”

meanwhile he has an extremely high fever, he ate some soup last week, and the blood is soaking through his jacket

[bebx]

my taste in fictional men is just the unstable, traumatized and dangerous ones who radiate strong "I'm not a bad dog. I'm a wounded and terrified dog who bites to survive" vibes honestly

[whump-or-whatever]

I absolutely love when a character is trying to hide injuries or just how sore they are by moving around like normal. They’ve perfected walking without wincing, ignoring the pain as they sit down or stand up, maybe even running.

But then as soon as they’re out of sight, the second they make it home and the door closes behind them, they just collapse to the floor in tears.

[sufrimientilia]

incapacitation

content warning

drugs that make a character woozy and disoriented. slurring words and falling slack, everything too heavy and confusing and muffled

blown pupils, wandering eyes, breathing too much or too little. sweating, shaking, puking, so limp and pale it’s almost like they’re dead

fevers so high a character's mind just turns to mush. glossy eyes tracking the ceiling, listless and unaware until eventually there's sweat sticking all over the sheets and they start mumbling some vague responses to caretaker's questions

tranquilizer dart that brings a character down all at once. one sudden jerk or look of confusion, not enough time to glance at it much less pull it out before eyes are rolling back and they collapse into the dirt

tranquilizer dart that comes on slowly. pulling it out and running and running until each step becomes too uncoordinated, stumbling or getting dragged along by a teammate until even their begging to stay awake, let's go, becomes hazy and distant

struck so hard that everything rings in one ugly roar. staggering or falling, told to sit down, just stay down. so confused and lost, repeating the same questions and forgetting the answer over and over and over again

character so messed up they struggle to follow any part of the conversation. everything too heavy and confusing and muffled, just useless and incoherent and completely oblivious to the situation

nervous prodding or pleading by caretaker, begging them to just stay awake or focus

jostled around by captor, told to get the fuck up and follow orders, easily manhandled and restrained

mumbling nonsense and spilling secrets. stoic characters without any masks, so confused and broken and vulnerable, slipping and powerless in every sort of way

"you're okay, i promise you're okay"

“ah, shit. you’re a mess—”

“I guess you won’t remember this anyways…”

gaze drifting and blank, too faraway to track anything caretaker/captor is saying. nudged and prodded and pleaded at to no avail, just incoherent and out of it

too weak to move. beaten absolutely senseless or bleeding all over the place, a character just hurting and spent beyond means sprawled flat against the ground

getting dragged along or stepped on, pinned down as if they're in any state to go anywhere

hypnotized and stunned into mindlessness. repeated mantras and rewired thoughts, a character made pliable and blank and used like a puppet

paralyzed but fully aware, left slack and useless and desperate with limp muscles and depressed breathing. assumed dead and abandoned, grieved over or dumped aside like a corpse, forced to watch and unable to do anything

poisoned and just getting worse and worse. teammates desperately looking for a cure while character deteriorates, puking and passing out and getting high fevers, hallucinating and begging for relief

characters taken out of commission when they're otherwise the strongest one. exposed to a weakness, given magical restraints or cuffs with neural suppressors to keep them docile, targeted and taken out

vertigo taking a character side to side, brought down and useless

[misscrazyfangirl321]

When the unflappable character sees someone they care about in danger and the mask slips, it's great.

But when the unflappable character sees someone they care about in danger, and the mask DOESN'T slip.

Because they understand they need to be calm and unflappable now more than ever; if it protects them, it will certainly protect the person they care about. So their voice doesn't waver, their hands don't shake. They don't panic. From the outside looking in, they're as calm as could be. They handle it.

But after it's over-when the person they care about is safe, and the unflappable character is alone-they completely shatter. Gasping breaths, sobs, barely holding it together because someone they love almost DIED, and it was far, far too close for comfort.

(Optional: Character that they care about finds them in this state and comforts them.)

[whump-in-the-closet]

when a powerful figure is reduced to kneeling. when the lord is forced to bow. when the exile stumbles into an unwelcoming bar. when the “beast” is chained by their horns. when a god is dragged behind their enemy’s chariot, a captive and trophy. when the loyal “guard dog” character is muzzled and the silver-tongued thief falls silent in horror.

that’s the shit

it’s about the contrapasso. the reversal of roles and the sudden, plunging terror of being unable to hide.

[the-three-whumpeteers]

The whumper was tired of being looked down upon and mocked, they wanted to finally have power in their hands, and if they had to torture their way to power then so be it. Finally, the whumper felt strong, and finally, people looked at them with fear, and they didn’t feel guilty about hurting so many, after all, many of them had mocked them before- they deserved it all.

[delicatewhumps]

concept i'm a big fan of...

whumpee and caretaker normally have a relationship where they aren't very tactile with each other. maybe they don't know each other that well. maybe they do, but they try to keep things professional. maybe they're two guys who just don't really hug it out or hold hands because, you know, they want to seem masculine™.

but.

when whumpee gets hurt... all bets are off.

caretaker is desperately holding whumpee in their arms, trying in vain to keep the blood in whumpee's body. or maybe sitting by whumpee's bed -- holding their hand. or petting the hair of an unconscious whumpee. or a conscious whumpee. maybe whumpee is awake, barely lucid, and caretaker is just stroking their face as they beg whumpee to stay alive.

it's so good. because they're not usually like this, but the stakes have been ramped the fuck up, and everything is different now.

[sickfictropes]

characters who can't go to the hospital because they're on the run from the law my beloved