dandelion-writes

[dandelion-writes]

@p-laramen & @emilysaiditbetter i’m lucky enough to have two <3

Every unhinged fic writer needs an equally unhinged friend who "yes ands" their ideas and encourages them to write all their most far fetched and insane stories.

[dandelion-writes]

Dude if you lead me into temptation instead of delivering me from evil i fucking swear bro

[dandelion-writes]

anyway the thing about fanfic is that it's not essentially bad or good; it's essentially amateur. some people are absolutely out there writing award-worthy prose (some fic writers ARE award-winning writers IRL!), but that's not the point. the point is that we're all telling campfire stories. it's a community, and it's a way to spend some more time in the worlds and stories that we love.

[dandelion-writes]

hmmm... thinking about someone forcibly taking care of you. bathing you by hand, brushing your hair for you, dressing you and grooming you, brushing your teeth for you, hand feeding you etc etc. not just as a form of affection but also to assert control over your every breathing moment...

[dandelion-writes]

hyperfixation please stay with me long enough to complete the project. hyperfixation do not fade. hyperfixation finish what you started for the love of god

[dandelion-writes]

How to Write a Sick Character

╰ Being sick is boring as hell

Nobody tells you that. You think it’s gonna be poetic and tragic and emotionally moving, maybe a few tears on the windowpane and a soft piano soundtrack? painfully Wrong... It’s pacing in a waiting room for two hours to be told to come back next week. It’s reruns of trash TV because your brain fog is so bad you can't even process a podcast. It's Googling "why do my bones hate me" and finding nothing helpful, only vibes. So if you're writing a sick character and every scene is Deep and Heavy and Symbolic, I love you but no. Let them be bored and be over it.

╰ Sickness is basically a toxic relationship with your own body

And wow, the drama is unmatched. One day your character wakes up and thinks, “Maybe today will be normal.” Their body: “Plot twist, bitch.” Now they’re sweating through a hoodie, canceling plans, and pretending they're “just tired” because explaining the truth is somehow more exhausting than the illness itself. Let your character hate their body sometimes and feel betrayed by it. Let them mourn the version of themselves that used to just do things without needing a three day nap after. But also—let them fight for their body, too. Advocate. Adapt. Try again. Because it’s not all despair. Sometimes it’s really freaking brave just to get out of bed and put on pants.

╰ It’s not fuck**g cute

Hollywood loves to write illness like it’s an aesthetic. Clean blankets, sad smiles, a gentle cough. Yeah… no. Sometimes it’s vomit in your hair. It’s medical tape pulling off skin. It’s being too tired to shower but still scrolling through memes like your life depends on it. Give us the gross stuff.

╰ Let them be funny

Sick people are hilarious. Mostly because we have to be. You’ve got two choices when your body is a disaster zone: laugh, or fully unravel. So we joke about our failing organs. We flirt with the nurse while on IV fluids. We name our medical devices. We send memes from the ER.

╰ Sick ≠ broken

Please hear this: your character is not less than. They are not just here to suffer and die and inspire others with their angelic perseverance. They’re a person. Maybe a chaos goblin. Maybe a genius. Maybe a mess. Maybe a lover, a fighter, a giant emotional raccoon with a heating pad. Their illness is part of them, not all of them.

╰ Don’t wrap it up too clean

Recovery isn’t linear. Some illnesses don’t “end.” And that’s okay. You don’t need a miracle cure in the third act. Sometimes strength is just learning to exist in a different way. Sometimes it’s re-learning how to hope. Sometimes it’s finding a new rhythm instead of forcing the old one to work. So yeah—if you’re writing a sick character, you’re doing something important. You’re making space for people whose stories rarely get told with truth and teeth and tenderness. Just promise me you won’t turn them into a symbol. Let them be a person. A funny, scared, strong, exhausted, hopeful person. Like the rest of us.

@katrein05 I Hope This Helps a little... :)

[dandelion-writes]

Me thinking that I'm funny was probably the first problem

[dandelion-writes]

when I comment on a fellow writer's fic and they, in turn, comment on one of mine

[dandelion-writes]

thinkin about a whump scenario… too overwhelmed to write at the moment but i’m popping it here for future whumptober use:

[Character] is a hard worker. They’re not the most consistent but they always get things done, even if they have to rush. If they’re a student, they probably have a 4.0 GPA. If they have a job, they’re probably always ahead of the timeline on projects, or first to volunteer for extra work. If they’re on some kind of team, they’re probably there to help the other members.

They don’t mind the work— Until everything gets really stressful. They have to do everything at once, and do it well, or they risk their livelihood and future. There’s no way out but through, and they do make it through, by sheer force of will.

Afterwards, though?

They’re fine. They think they’re fine. They finally have time to themselves! Time to socialize, so they schedule lots of activities with friends. Time for hobbies, so they throw themselves right back into it.

Only they wake up one morning, on a day full of plans, and they’re not okay at all. Not even slightly— And it only gets worse. By the end of the day they can barely walk, they can only lay on the couch shivering. They don’t know what it is, a flu, a cold, who knows? All they know is that their body is finally telling them: Enough is enough.

[dandelion-writes]

Sick/tired Whumpee that will sleep literally anywhere if left unsupervised. The bed, the car, a dumpster, a ditch, the top of the fridge.

Caretaker can count multiple times when they found Whumpee asleep on the floor, NOT EVEN COLLAPSING. They would just stare down the floor when walking from the bathroom, think to themself “ah yes an adequate resting place”, get comfy lying down and fall asleep.

[dandelion-writes]

WHUMPTOBER 2025: PROMPTS LIST

Welcome to Whumptober 2025 — The Eighth Year!

WHUMPTOBER is a month-long, prompt-based creation CHALLENGE (think: Inktober, but whumpier). There are four prompts for each day of the month, giving 124 for you to play with! There is also a list of 18 alternative prompts that can be subbed in for any day to give participants as much creative freedom as possible.

All prompts are meant to serve as inspiration without being taken literally (e.g. you don’t have to include the exact wording of prompts into your work). Feel free to run rampant on interpretation. For example, if the prompt is “flame", you could create something with reference to a candle/campfire, your character could have suffered a burn, or the flame could be a reference to an ‘old flame’ - an old relationship. It’s truly down to you!

You can produce work in any media you choose, including but not limited to: writing, visual artwork, photo/video/audio edits, paper crafts and elaborate recommendation lists (not just a list of links). You can participate as much or as little as you want (i.e. you don’t have to do ALL the prompts if you don’t want to) and prompts can be used in any order. They are also free to use even after the event ends.

Please make sure to read the Event Info and FAQ carefully, as most of your questions will be answered there already. For everything else, you are welcome to come to our ask box or ask questions in our Discord server here.

Information on how to TAG is here.

This year’s AO3 Collection can be found here.

This year’s playlist can be found here.

The ‘Anatomy of a Whumptober Prompt’ post can be found here.

And our 'Resources for Writing Sensitive Topics’ post is here.

We’re very excited to see the community come together for yet another year of Whumptober! Go ham with the prompts, and support your fellow creators - we wish you all the best of luck, but most importantly: HAVE FUN!

Happy whumping,

Mods Vanne, Yenn, Kitty and Surro

Text versions of the prompts, including a google doc format, are posted below the cut!

A Google Doc of the prompts can be found here for easy copy-and-pasting!

Whumptober 2025 Prompt List

No. 1: “Please don’t cry” Lamb to Slaughter | Ceremony | Beg for Forgiveness

No. 2:  “You’ve got a lot of nerve to dredge up all my fears.” Prophecy | Sewer | Taking Accountability

No. 3: “I look in people’s windows, transfixed by rose golden glows.” Isolation | Candlelight | Found Family

No. 4: “Don’t be scared, I’ve done this before.” Non-Human Whumper | Iron Rod | Loss of Powers

No. 5: “My panic’s at the ceiling, but I’m face down on the carpet.” Quivering | Dream Journal | Phobia

No. 6: “No grave can hold my body down.” Caught in a Net | Medical Restraints | Pinned to the Wall

No. 7: “Tell me that you’re okay, and I’m fine.” Trapped with the Enemy | Elevator | Pushed Beyond Breaking Point

No. 8: “Oh horror, oh horror, what did you see?” Self-Inflicted Injury | Held at Gunpoint | Dissociation

No. 9: “We’ll make it alright to come undone.” Touch | Flashbacks | Scalding

No. 10: “There’s nothing you can ever say, nothing you can ever do.” Without Consent | Secrets | Lips Sewn Shut

No. 11: “Can you get through all the pain inside you?” Hidden Injury | Laceration | Forced Reveal

No. 12: “It’ll be for nothing.” Cardiac Arrest | Sacred Place | Withholding Medical Treatment

No. 13: “How dull is it to pause, to make an end, to rust unburnished.” Never Enough | Insignia | Forced Retirement

No. 14: “In the end, it’s worthwhile.” Ignoring an Illness | Body Bag | Wounded Caretaker

No. 15: “You can take a break, if you just tell me that it hurts.” Failed Rescue Attempt | Body Part in the Mail | Live-Streamed Torture

No. 16: “I’ve had the rug pulled beneath my feet.” Repressed Trauma | Permanent Marker | Disorientation

No. 17: “Tell me there’s a hope for me.” Internal Bleeding | Coma | Redemption

No. 18: “As the world caves in.” Dystopia | Ruins | Environmental Whump

No. 19: “You’re on your own, lost in the wild.” Dehumanisation | Living Weapon | On Patrol

No. 20: "That's New." Symptomatic | Fancy Event | Resignation

No. 21: “Sold my soul, broke my bones.” Kneeling | Makeshift Splint | Brainwashed

No. 22: “All the battles I want to win, nothing matters but giving in.” Self-Sacrifice | Collar | Hunted for Sport

No. 23: “How’d I get to this place?” Intubation | ICU | Choking

No. 24: “I must confess that I feel like a monster.” Came Back Wrong | Painful Transformation | Amnesia

No. 25: “Have you earned your stripes?” Lost Faith | Collision Course | Left to Die

No. 26: “Nothing like a relapse to rehash the kid who was scared.” Relapse | Drawn Curtains | Power Cut

No. 27: “Would you even want me, looking like a zombie?” Surgical Scars | X-Ray | Bedside Vigil

No. 28: “I could always see straight through you.” Backstabbing | Constellation | Creative Restraints

No. 29: “I hope you see the sun someday in the darkness.” Fainting | Broken Dishes | Last one Standing

No. 30:  “I’m putting my trust in an entire half-empty glass.” Burn it Down | Mirror | Confrontation

No. 31: “Even with the smallest cuts. You can still lose so much blood.” Bleeding Out | Gunshot Wound | Rescued by the Enemy

Alternatives List:

"A smile so bright, he’s the devil in disguise.”

“I hear you’re alive, how disappointing.”

“If all my days are numbered, why do I keep counting?” 

Concussion

Viral

Suicide

Immortality

Jealousy

Organ Theft

Ziptie

Deal with the Devil

Yearning

Innocent Bystander

Unreality

Soulless

[dandelion-writes]

Reblog to give prev the power to write their fanfiction

[dandelion-writes]

my friend and i have been losing our goddamn minds over the photography in this zillow listing and i feel the need to share it with you all too

the lighting??? the fog?? the atmosphere???

this shit is like high art and it's a ZILLOW LISTING . and that's not even all the photos!!! what the fuck!!!

[dandelion-writes]

My novel that I've been working on for the past three years : 80k, barely a wip, with missing scenes and a syntax so bad it could be a punishment in all the nine circles of hell

The fanfic I started writing four months ago : also 80k, published on Ao3, edited and beta read

My novel : are you fucking kidding me

[dandelion-writes]

Hardest part of writing is accepting that some people will not fucking get it & you just have to like cope with that because over-explaining it just makes it worse

[dandelion-writes]

the three most overused jobs for horror movie protags who investigate strange happenings that have nothing to do with them out of a sense of professional obligation are journalist, writer/filmmaker, and cop (which is both overused AND lame). here are some suggestions for other possibilities:

insurance claims investigator

grad student using excessive research to procrastinate writing their thesis

tradesman hired to fix the spooky house’s pipes

mafia debt collector

normal debt collector

middle aged woman who just wants to get a refund. who in this place can she to talk to who can give her a refund, she has the receipt right here

[dandelion-writes]

no