shelikescolds

[shelikescolds]

a very conscientious (…perhaps to a fault, even) person surprising everyone by nodding off in the middle of some kind of meeting they’d usually be paying rapt attention to

[shelikescolds]

Hmmmm that trope where character A is sick and restless and can’t sleep, and character B sits next to them and just talks quietly, telling them stories or just chatting about whatever they think of because the sound of their voice comforts A…and then eventually they look over and see that A has fallen asleep in a curled up ball beside them, so they look on fondly and tuck their blankets in around them.

[shelikescolds]

I don’t know what it is, but someone’s voice snagging on words like ‘allergies’, ‘hay fever’ ‘cold’, ect. It’s like the words themselves have the power to make the person sneeze, but they have to risk it to explain why they’re so close to losing control. Just the little hitches and gasps spent on those words.

“It’s just all-hhh-erghhies!”

“I think it’s my ha-hahh-hhHayfever!”

“It’s only a c-coohhh-ld!”

Anything with the word itself being what starts to cause the break in control hits some particular buttons very hard!

[shelikescolds]

Character A is sick and their partner/friend/character B takes care of them. And of course B ends up catching the illness but in all honesty they feel fine for the most part. Yeah they have a little headache, some congestion, the sniffles, and their voice sounds awful but they don’t feel terrible.

But A does not believe them because when they were sick they were barely able to get out of bed. Maybe B was downplaying their illness to make A not worry so much? Yeah that was probably it.

So they end up having a bit of a squabble between A wanting B to properly rest and B insisting that yes they’re sick but they feel fine.

[shelikescolds]

✿ appreciation post for girls with allergies, girls who sneeze louder than you’d expect them to, girls who carry tissues in their bag, who love flowers but maybe get set off by flowers, who get pink noses when it’s cold out, girls who wave their hands in front of their face when they need to sneeze ✿

[shelikescolds]

I am a slut for a thermometer sliding into their mouth. The clink of glass when their teeth touch it, the cold of the metal tip poking them while they try to keep it in the same place. How pitiful they look. Drives me wild that's what it does.

[shelikescolds]

fever checks but *casual* like when someone is so nonchalant about it and does it without thinking. Examples from the depths of my touch starved soul that are just *chef’s kiss*

• mid-conversation, slipping a hand onto the back of their teammate’s neck.

• wrist to side of the neck.

• back of the hand to forehead back of the hand to forehead

• lips pressed to wrist/forehead (platonic)

• fingers brushed across flushed cheeks

[shelikescolds]

someone who sneezes in short fits and their companions can always tell when the fit is over because their last sneeze is always a little more rough and forceful than the rest

[shelikescolds]

Autumn/ winter whump aesthetics

Waking up to a half lit room, warm blankets tucked up to their chin

Wind and rain rattling the windows as someone tries in vain to sleep

That first sip of warm, salty broth spooned in with shaky hands

The sharp cheeping of an electronic thermometer while a kettle steams in the background

Someone lying curled into a tight, trembling ball under a heavy quilt, cold light from a snowstorm-drenched world outside, a friend running a hand through their hair and speaking gently to them

The first sound they hear after waking up from a feverish sleep is a crackling fire near them

A pale face with raw, wind-reddened cheeks, a dark bruise under one eye and a split lip

A caretaker tenderly wrapping a whumpee's forehead in bandages to cover a shallow but scarily bloody cut

Someone huddled and shivering against an alleyway wall, knees bloody and a cold forming in their chest, throat burning every time they swallow and worsening as they start to cry silently

Someone found sick and half frozen in the snow, blood staining their jacket

A group or partnership huddled around a fire together, one of them shivering more than usual

Flannels, wool blankets, quilts, wrapped up around a whumpee who can't seem to get warm no matter what

Whumpee coming to half consciousness in another character's arms as they're carried to safety, wrapped in their carrier's coat

[shelikescolds]

Sneezes that overlap…in the midst of a fit, when the irritation is too strong, they erupt one on top of the other, with no breath, not even a fleeting exhale, in between. 

[shelikescolds]

Love sneezing as the result of an accident: maybe they dropped something and now there’s a cloud of ticklish powder in the air, maybe they’re burning dinner and the spices have made an irritating smoke, maybe they broke a perfume bottle.

Whatever it was, they’d love to fix it, or make amends, maybe even *apologise*, but their nose isn’t going to let them do anything voluntary for quite a while…

[shelikescolds]

apparently there are cough drop lollipops??? you mean to tell me that i can have my characters

conceal their symptoms by casually eating a sucker hahah what cough i’m fine guys

coax their cold-ridden S/O into taking at least some kind of medicine by offering it in candy form

signify that they’re sick to only the people who know them best because they always eat cough-drop lollis when they’re not feeling well

I think I need to sit down

[shelikescolds]

thinking about someone who is always the last to realize theyre sick. everyone else has picked up on it, and keep throwing concerned glances their way, but they keep brushing it off. not out of denial or hiding, but they honestly never realize, assuming theyre just tired or its just the weather or something is just bothering them a little bit, they promise! at least until its too late and theyre absolutely wiped out by whatever theyve come down with and are rewarded with gentle i told you sos…

[shelikescolds]

The classic “femme fatale” trope, but she has horrible allergies. 

That’s it. That’s the post. 

[shelikescolds]

i love!! sickfic dialogue and what it can say about the characters in very few words, but i know it can be hard to come up with different ways of conveying the same idea. i put this list together for my own reference, but someone else might find it helpful too, so here you go:

“Are you alright?” “Your face is a  little flushed.” “You’re so pale…” “You look like you’re about to fall over.” “Everything okay there?”

“I think so…” “It’s just hot in here.” “Am I?” “I didn’t get much sleep last night.” “I’m fine, why?”

“It’s just a cold.” “I feel strange…” “I’ve felt kind of ‘off’ all day.” “I’m little under the weather, that’s all.” “I really don’t feel good.”

“Let me take a look at you.” “C’mere, baby.” “Here, sit down…” “Can I check your temperature?” “Stay put while I get the thermometer.”

“You feel too warm..” “Mmm, yeah, you’re runnin’ a little hot.” “102? No wonder…” “You’re burning up!” “You’ve definitely got a temperature.”

“I’ll be okay.” “You’ve got so much to do, though…” “Please don’t call in because of me.” “I’ll be fine with a few hours’ sleep.” “I’ll take it easy, I promise.”

“My head hurts…” “My head is pounding.” “Please, keep it down.” “Do we have aspirin or something?” “Can you dim the lights a little?”

“Can’t talk. Hurts…” “My throat feels like it’s on fire.” “Sorry, I seem to be losing my voice.” “I can barely swallow.” “It’s so scratchy. I keep coughing.”

“I can only breathe through one side.” “My nose won’t stop running.” “It itches so bad but I can’t sneeze!” “I caaahhh…hh.. can’t s-stop sn-snee-heehhh..!!” “Do we have any more tissues?”

“I know you’re not hungry, but you need to eat.” “Try a little of the broth, for me?” “Drink your tea, it’ll help your throat.” “You need to stay hydrated.” “It’s a family remedy!”

“How do you feel?” “Can I get you something?” “Doing okay, babe?” “Is there anything I can do to help?” “Let me take care of everything.”

[shelikescolds]

when someone, for whatever reason (crowd, confined space, etc) has no choice but to turn toward someone to sneeze. instead of flinching away, the person they chose ends up embracing them and giving them amiable affection – whether it’s rubbing their back, squeezing their shoulder, or even kissing them if they’re romantically involved – to remind them that they’re loved and don’t need to be embarrassed.

[shelikescolds]

Currently weak for the image of red, inflamed, chafed nostrils — undeniable evidence of a character’s worsening cold provoking harsher and harsher treatment of a nose that won’t quit running or is just so terribly itchy that they can’t help themself.

And then in the presence of a partner or friend they reach to scrub at it again only to be caught by the wrist before they can do so, softly chastened by the words of someone who, at this moment, knows better:

    “Hey hey, be gentle.”