plasmodiumpyrexia

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How to Ignore Magical Healing

One of the things I encounter often in media or when writing is the existence of magic, and therefore healing spells. In most magic systems, it renders long-term whump, recovery, or even classic medical tending unnecessary, or just irrelevant. That can be discouraging and uninspiring at times.

We can��t all choose what world The Blorbo™ heralds from, so sometimes we get stuck with a universe that complicates the whump instinct. So, here are some prompts for avoiding magical healing in your whumping!

Wound-based

Prompts that prevent wounds from healing

It’s Just TOO Bad: Uh oh, the healing isn’t working because the wound itself is too bad to fix

Unnatural Origins: The healing isn’t working because the wound itself isn’t natural and so cannot be healed by magical means OR the whumpee is inhuman/the in-universe equivalent, and the magic doesn’t recognize them as something that can be healed (robots, aliens, vampires, etc)

Ailments: The Whumpee has a curse/illness (like the Malady effect in Metaphor: ReFantazio) preventing them from healing at all, so that ailment must be cured before they can heal up 

Prior Requirements: Something must be done before a healing spell can be cast (removing a bullet so it doesn’t fester, stitching the wound so it can heal smoothly)

Poison: The weapon was laced with a poison that, amongst its many effects, is preventing any healing magic from reaching the wound

Situation-based

Prompts to stop your party from casting because of the predicament they’re in

Exhaustion: The party is already at their limits, and they can’t afford another healing spell OR the party doesn’t want to spend anymore magic until it’s absolutely necessary OR The party has already used all of the items in their disposal that provide magical healing (like life stones in SMT)

Prevention: The party cannot reach Whumpee to heal them (barriers, cells, or perhaps the party is otherwise occupied by fighting?)

Dangerous Territory: If the party were to stop and heal Whumpee, they would waste precious time/make too much noise/put themselves in a bad place, so Whumpee has to make it a little further before they can fix the problem

Fear Response: Whumpee has prior poor experiences with magic or healing, and is refusing treatment for as long as they can hold out OR whumpee is magically convinced the party is going to hurt them (fear effects, brainwashing, feeblemind spell in D&D)

Magic Nullification: Magic isn’t allowed (a tournament) or possible (area of effect magic prevention) and the team must make do without

Universe-based

Prompts to engineer/alter the universal requirements to stop magical healing

Risky Measures: Healing spells rely on the wounded person’s energy. If a powerful spell is cast on a poorly off Whumpee, it could use the last of Whumpee’s energy, and kill them

Exchange Theory: Any pain healed on Whumpee is transferred to the person casting the healing spell OR the wound itself is transferred onto someone else

Fine Print: This particular healing spell requires a very specific item (like diamonds in resurrection for D&D) and the team has to find/buy it before they can heal the whumpee

It Just Hurts: Healing spells don’t include pain relief, so when casted, Whumpee can feel every part of their wounds healing (like bones readjusting or flesh stretching)

They Don’t Exist: Healing spells themselves don’t exist, and instead creative ways of wound care are invented like slowing down blood flow or encouraged immune system responses

Final notes

Something you can play with here is if the characters have never practiced first aid! Your caretakers might have no idea how to pack a wound or splint a fracture. Lots of mistakes and tension can grow from there.

Don’t be afraid to alter the universe you’re writing in. Fuck it up, really. There’s something enchanting about adding specific rules in a given world. Adding those requirements gives depth you can play in as a sandbox. Or you can throw the team into a completely different universe, if that’s your fancy!

And remember: you never need to write it realistically. Ignore the healing spells, throw the whumpee in a no-magic AU, hell, just take healing away from those specific people to prevent it–do whatever you want, whatever seems interesting, and have fun doing it. There’s no need to make it seamless. Make it bloody first.

Now, go beat the shit out of your blorbos. 

Love yall! 

- Seth

post dividers by @/saradika-graphics

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whumpee ignoring caretaker asking if they're okay because they don't know how to answer

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i'm truly a simple girl; i see a pretty character and immediately i imagine him sick with a fever or hurt in some way!

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i can't express how absolutely important it is that when you make an edgy, brooding, badass character who's tough as nails and good at fighting and whatever, you HAVE to give them at least one reason to become completely helpless and pathetic. you have a panic attack quota to fulfill.

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„Are you threatening me?“

„I don‘t know..*Do I have to*?“

„…No…“

„*Good.*“

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I'm here. You're not alone.

THUNDERBOLTS* (2025) dir. Jake Schreier

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Someone deciding to take a nap while sick with the hope of recharging, but then they wake up feeling so much worse.

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"I thought I was ready."

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extremely good trope: injured character sees their own blood on someone else who's otherwise unscathed and gives a concerned "are you hurt?" double points if they're so injured they're barely lucid

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The soft "oh" that comes from a caretaker after the whumpee does something extra pitiful - stumbles and has to cling to the wall with a shaking hand so tightly their knuckles turn white; makes the smallest, saddest sound after a bad coughing fit; lets out a few silent tears with their lips clamped tight together....oh, it's that bad, isn't it, baby?

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When someone is so tired they physically cannot keep themselves upright and don't even notice that their quiet, tough, removed teammate has noticed them wobbling for the last 10 minutes and quickly moved across the room to stand next to them. When their eyes eventually slide shut and they pitch forward, their teammate is already prepared; they grab them gently, and knowing full well they are in no shape to walk, scoops them up, carries them to their bunk and tucks them in.

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Free!: The Final Stroke

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Sickie groaning and shifting over to cuddle caretaker as they announce, "I don't feel so good.."

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I love when whumpees backpedal when they see a concerned expression they weren't expecting. Maybe they are picking up on the strength of emotion and not registering the tone or maybe they're just generally afraid of where the concern will lead.

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caretaking

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Caretaker begins to lean back from a hug, but Whumpee pulls them back in. "No, please - please j-just hold me. Just for a minute."

Caretaker holds them close. "Okay. It's okay, I've got you."

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Whumpee who is in pain but also very snappy and defensive because of that. Caretaker wants to help them, they're also talking to them in an attempt to calm them down, but Whumpee just yells at them to shut up, that it hurts and to leave them alone. They're overwhelmed and in pain, everything feels too loud, too much.