swiggity-swump

[swiggity-swump]

[swiggity-swump]

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.

[swiggity-swump]

“My poor baby. My poor sweet little boy,” I lament out loud over a whole grown adult man who is not mine but is in fact a fictional character with fictional hurts. What matters is my feelings are real

[swiggity-swump]

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

[swiggity-swump]

alright this is basic but we need to talk about fever chills

knowing something’s wrong because they’ve got goosebumps in a hot bath or shower (bonus points if they get extra chilled afterwards from their wet hair)

feeling achy and shivery hours after coming in from the cold rain, unable to get warm

curled up on the couch under a blanket, asking the caretaker to turn up the heat

hugging themselves and huddling near a space heater because they’re chilled down to their bones

someone covered in blankets, but they just can’t stop their teeth from chattering

sweat-speckled foreheads poking out from under a mountain of quilts

rubbing away the goosebumps that prickle on their arms and legs

shuffling around the house with a blanket tugged around their shoulders to keep them warm

being layered in warm pajamas, a sweatshirt, thick socks, a bathrobe, two blankets, and still shivering

crawling back in bed in the middle of the day because it’s the only place they can get warm

watching tv with a blanket pulled over their head so only their face is poking out.

in the summer - shivering in the AC, wearing sweats when everyone else is in shorts and t-shirts, covering up with a blanket on a hot day

in the winter - curling up near a crackling fire to chase away the deep, teeth-rattling shakes, battling both the wintry chill outside and the internal chill in their bones.

getting violent shivers just from shifting to a cold spot in the bed

“I just can’t get warm.”

clutching a hot water bottle to their chest, desperate for the heat to sink in and warm them

shaking hands wrapping around a mug of tea or a bowl of soup, teeth clattering against the rim when they try to take a sip

sitting up in bed with a blanket clutched around their trembling shoulders while the caretaker takes their temperature

weakly asking for someone to hold them or lay with them in bed because they’re just freezing

their friend cuddling with them in bed, rubbing their back to warm them up

welcoming the hot phase of the fever because at least they’re finally warm

[swiggity-swump]

yes "i'm fine" denial is amazing, but where's the love for "I don't know?"

"are you going to faint?" "do you have a fever?" "how long has this been going on?"

idk just try her out, walk around the store and see if she fits :)

[swiggity-swump]

"Woah, okay. I know you, and you'd never say that. Are you alright?" + Whumpee

"Uh. No. I am... very dizzy."

"I'm fine. It's fine. Don't... don't touch me."

"Hmm? Oh... uh. You're. Hi. Can you catch me?"

"I'm alright, I just--need to sit down, I think."

"I mean it, though, you're..... love you. I love you. I'm gonna... pass out."

[swiggity-swump]

Mundane disruptions to Whumpee's recovery that Caretaker can't do anything about. Like a whumpee who really needs rest but can't sleep because there's construction going on outside and it's not like Caretaker can go out there and tell them to go away or keep it down and they don't have anywhere else to stay and recover and it makes them feel a little overwhelmed and useless

[swiggity-swump]

I'm back with more Sickfic Theory

Presenting: A strategy for writing oneshots/short form sickfic for people who struggle with that

Once again, with feeling, this is a strategy, as in one single strategy, that you might find helpful if you sometimes struggle to write shorter sickfic that feels interesting or feels like it has a point. It is not rules. It is not something I believe in wholeheartedly as the best or only way to write sickfic. It's just something you can try if it seems helpful.

This strategy is adapted from screenwriting advice described by Robert McKee in his book Story

Intro

Sometimes I'll be writing a sickfic and realize that it feels like it's going nowhere and the only thing moving the plot is a character getting sicker, and if that doesn't happen then nothing is happening and instead of feeling like low stakes and cozy, it just feels placid and boring and pointless. I study creative writing as a hobby and I just stumbled across something that I think is really going to help me, so I thought I'd share with the class in case it helps anyone else

Vocab (read this! we're using very specific definitions of common words, you WILL be confused if you don't abide by THESE definitions)

Value: A binary quality of human experience that can be positive or negative; a pair of opposite feelings or experiences. (Informed/ignorant, excited/bored, self-aware/self-deceitful, behaving bravely/behaving as a coward, feeling love/feeling hate, feeling loved/feeling hated, etc)

Scene: A small section of a story, made up of energy shifts, in which a character pursues a want related to the immediate world around them. (Go to bed, take X's temperature, etc)

Sequence: A section of a story made up of Scenes, that culminates in an impact greater than the impact of any one scene within it. (Unless you're working toward a climax, don't worry about that too terribly much. Just know that the end of a sequence marks an energy shift in your story)

What Makes a "Short" Sickfic?

A short fic can consist of a single Scene. It can consist of a single Sequence. It can consist of several Sequences. But what is the upper limit?

Well, that one is honestly up to you.

When I'm in top form, I usually write fics in the 6-10k range consisting of a few Sequences. But what I usually write are fics containing one Scene or Sequence, in the 1-2k range.

Fics Consisting of a Single Scene

The protagonist must end the Story experiencing a Value in the opposite state as when it started. A Value, not every relevant Value.

The protagonist must end every Scene experiencing a Value in the opposite state as when it started.

Therefore, in Stories that consist only of one Scene, the Story and the Scene end when the protagonist changes how they are experiencing a single Value.

Examples, for the Value lonely/accompanied:

1. Character A is sick and lonely. They call Character B, who comes over.

2. Character A is sick and lonely. They try to cope by distracting themself, but it doesn't help. They call Character B, who comes over.

3. Character A is sick and lonely. They try to cope by distracting themself, but it doesn't work. They call Character B, who doesn't answer. They call Character C, who is busy. Then Character D drops by unexpectedly.

These are all examples of a Story that is one Scene long. The catalyst for Character A's Value shift is their pursuit of a want.

Fics Consisting of One Sequence

The protagonist must end the Story experiencing a Value in the opposite state as when it started. A Value, not every Value.

The protagonist must end every Scene experiencing a Value in the opposite state as when it started.

The protagonist must end every Sequence experiencing a Value in the opposite state as when it started.

Because the fic is only one Sequence long, the Story Value and the Sequence Value will be the same.

The Value shift that ends each Scene should contribute to the Value shift that ends the Sequence.

Example, for the Story/Sequence Value feeling unappreciated by their friends/feeling appreciated by their friends

Scene 1, Value lonely/accompanied

Character A is sick and lonely. They try to cope, but it doesn't work. They call Character B, who comes over

Scene 2, Value frustrated/soothed

Character B is mostly good company, but keeps nagging A about taking a medicine that A doesn't want. Character C arrives with well-wishes from all their friends, having heard from B that A is sick, and suggests a compromise.

In Scene 1, A has a want (company). They experience an obstacle, then their want is fulfilled.

In Scene 2, the fulfillment of that want has led to another want (stop being nagged/not take the medicine). That want is then fulfilled. Because this is the end of the story, no new wants arise.

In two scenes, we have taken A from: lonely to accompanied, frustrated to soothed, and feeling unappreciated to feeling appreciated. With the end of Scene 2, the Sequence, and thus the Story, ends. Note how both Scenes contribute to A's overall shift from feeling unappreciated to appreciated.

Fics Consisting of Multiple Sequences

The protagonist must end the Story experiencing a Value in the opposite state as when it started.

The protagonist must end every Scene experiencing a Value in the opposite state as when it started.

The protagonist must end every Sequence experiencing a Value in the opposite state as when it started.

Because the story now consists of multiple sequences, you now need a distinct Value for every Sequence, for every Scene, and for the Story as a whole. Try not to repeat Values in your story unless you are able to take them to new emotional extremes.

Every Sequence must be the culmination of all the Scenes it contains. Each Sequence must emotionally contrast the Sequence that came before it (from bad to good, good to bad, bad to VERY bad, very good to sort of bad, etc— you need not go Good Bad Good Bad Good Bad as long as there is sufficient contrast that the story does not feel one note)

This section is basically taking the previous section up to 11. Each Sequence must contribute to the Story's Value. Each Scene must contribute to the Sequence's Value, and thus by extension the Story's Value.

Example

Story Value: feeling unappreciated/feeling appreciated

Sequence 1 Value: feeling abandoned/feeling thought of

Scene 1 Value: lonely/accompanied

Character A is sick and lonely. They try to cope, but it doesn't work. They call Character B, who comes over

Scene 2 Value: frustrated/soothed

Character B is mostly good company, but keeps nagging A about taking a medicine that A doesn't want. Character C arrives with well-wishes from all their friends, having heard from B that A is sick, and suggests a compromise. A understands that B is only worried about them, and feels heard by C.

A starts the Sequence in a bad state, and ends it in a good state

Sequence 2

Scene 1 Value: comfortable/uncomfortable (If you want to get really complex with it, you can add values for B and C)

Because A spends so much time talking with B and C, that they don't drink enough water or sleep when they need to. Their throat hurts, their head hurts, they're starting to feel feverish and fussy and can't figure out how to communicate their needs to B and C.

B and C finally notice A getting worse, but can't agree on what they should do to help, and A doesn't feel well enough to advocate for themself. B is furious that C didn't let them give A their remedy earlier, C is defensive.

Scene 2 Value calm/frightened (B: passionate/frigid, C secure/embarrassed)

B and C argue. B storms out, C lets them go, A is feverish, not really understanding, and terrified. C feels horrible that they just had an argument like that in front of A.

Scene 3, Value lucid/delirious (C: at ease/terrified)

The night stretches on. A is so worried about B and C that they can't relax. Their fever rises and rises and they start to ramble and cry. C does their best to tend to them and eventually falls asleep by A's bedside.

A starts the Sequence in a good state and ends it in a very bad state

Sequence 3 Value sorrowful/overjoyed (B: justified/atoning, C worried/relieved)

Scene 1

B returns in the late morning with breakfast, medicine, and all of A's best friends, having rallied everyone.

A is feeling a little better and is overjoyed that all their friends came to see them

B takes C aside and apologizes, C apologizes as well, they kiss and make up

A starts the Sequence inna very bad state and ends it in a very good state

And that's about it! I've been at this so long my eyes are burning, so I really hope it's coherent! It makes sense to me, so hopefully that translates.

Further Musings and Advice

Sickfic Novel

You would think that you could keep up this pattern to write a Sickfic Novel and that's not entirely incorrect, but this pattern is only one factor of many in the complex art of novelcraft. There's also story structure to consider, as well as an actual climax and some sort of greater conflict.

If you keep simply adding Sequences like beads on a necklace, without considering structure or climax, you will end up with a very long, meandering, and quite possibly confusing river of a story. Whether that is desirable is up to you! A lot of popular fanfic takes that route.

Value Considerations

Big Values work better for longer, structured stories. For example, if you decide to take your sickie from Good to Evil for some reason, that's probably going to require a lot of in-story time to feel believable. That's why I didn't suggest well/sick as a Value, because I feel that to take it from Sick to Well demands a very long story. Well to Sick can be done fairly quickly, though.

Value Trivia

A Value can genuinely be any achievable dichotomy. Employed/unemployed, janitor/CEO, experiencing justice/experiencing injustice, enslaved/freed.

I personally think that big, concrete Values work better for certain kinds of movies and novels, and that smaller, specific, abstract Values work better for smaller or more personal, more introspective, less epic stories. But that's just what I like to read and write.

Final Takeaway

You can do whatever you want forever.

The best writing advice is the advice that gets you excited to write. If you read any of this and got that sick, insecure feeling, that "uh oh, having I been doing it wrong this whole time?" sensation, please throw this post in the metaphorical trash and set it on metaphorical fire.

[swiggity-swump]

A character, ill or injured, sleeping in a manner not usual for them as further illustration of their ailment's impact- a character who usually sleeps soundly and curled closely into themselves instead splayed out in a restless, feverish doze; a character usually quite active and liable to wake at the slightest noise instead huddled into a shivering fetal position and so deeply asleep it's difficult to rouse them; a character who usually sleeps under only a single light blanket smothered under a pile of quilts and comforters, or vice versa; a character with one habitual sleeping position instead lying on their opposite side or on their back or with one limb akimbo; a character who is usually very particular about their sleeping environment falling asleep without any of their usually necessary accoutrements or rituals or, conversely, a character who is usually able to fall asleep at the drop of a hat requiring much assistance and coaxing; a character having dreams or nightmares unusual for them, or sleepwalking or talking; a character sleeping with an unusual configuration of pillows or propped up in a particular position- any manifestation of a character's injuries or illness that extend even into their sleeping hours.

[swiggity-swump]

that show was soooo good computer show me the main character sick to the point of passing out in front of everyone

[swiggity-swump]

If you're reading this, give your blorbo meningitis

[swiggity-swump]

"I'm here, you're safe now"

[swiggity-swump]

i ❤️ the let-down effect

reblog if you love a character getting out of a stressful situation only to immediately fall ill

[swiggity-swump]

Other Stuff that can happen in "stagnant" whump fics

So I've been thinking about something and wanted to share it as an open conversation. A lot of the time my writing block when writing whump or sickfic comes from like...what can actually happen in the course of the story. Especially since my stuff tends towards the longer side (I'm a chronic overwriter), it's hard to keep things...interesting I guess? And I find my writing suffers when my Tales Of Woe don't have much structure to them.

(I say this as someone who writes primarily sickfic, or recovery-based stories that are caretaker/whumpee focused, with little or no whumper involvement, so that's what I'll be focused on here. Certainly if you're writing something like a character being held in captivity and tortured/attempting escape/encountering other prisoners/being searched for, you've already got plenty going on and probably don't have this issue at all.)

So I've made a list of Stuff That Can Happen during your whump/sick fic. If you would like. Of course, there will always be a market for stories that are mostly the same level of suffering and nothing else is really the focus, but if you do find you struggle with this like I do, this list might be for you.

Character arcs/Internal/social shifts:

1 caretaker, their relationship to the whumpee strengthens

1 caretaker, they find themselves growing apart from the whumpee

2 or more caretakers, there are complicated dynamics between all of them + the whumpee that shift around

Eg; there's a whumpee and 3 others, Caretaker A forms a closer relationship with Whumpee throughout the story, Caretaker B *was* close with them before but finds their place now "usurped" by A, Caretaker C tries to keep the peace between them while also helping out Whumpee

A caretaker realizes they're better at Caretaking than they'd thought

A caretaker realizes they're not as good at Caretaking as they'd thought

Whumpee realizes they have romantic feelings for Caretaker (or vice versa)

Whumpee discovers they only like Caretaker as a friend (or vice versa)

Whumpee learns to trust Caretaker (s)

Caretaker (s) learn to trust Whumpee

There was a previous misunderstanding (about their feelings for one another, their loyalties, an action taken from one of them etc.) between Whumpee and Caretaker (or between more than one caretaker) that gradually gets resolved

A misunderstanding occurs within the story that builds and is then resolved

One caretaker has to convince another to be honest with Whumpee about this misunderstanding (or has to convince Whumpee to be honest with Caretaker)

Someone unexpected arrives at the scene; whether that be a rival, a friend or family member of the whumpee, a potential other caretaker, or Whumper

Perhaps this is a relief for the caretaker, who needs a break

Or it's a stranger who causes tension in the situation

Maybe the caretaker knows this person is coming and is stressed out waiting for them

Physical/symptomatic shifts:

Whumpee is found injured and unconscious, and wakes up being cared for - their wounds later become infected, leading to a much longer recovery

Whumpee's condition quickly worsens

Whumpee steadily becomes delirious

Whumpee is feverish and goes from feeling freezing cold to boiling

Whumpee feverishly tries to stumble out of bed and into a different room (searching for Caretaker? trying to find a warmer spot?), and are found before, as, or after they collapse

Adding illness to injury: Whumpee is dealing with an injury, only to get sick, or sick only to also become hypothermic, they have heatstroke and then get hurt etc. Compounding whump.

Environmental shifts:

A caretaker could leave temporarily out of necessity, leaving whumpee and/or other caretaker(s) worried about them until they return

The weather changes (worsens? gets better? worsens and then gets better? gets better and then worsens?)

The characters have to shift locations for some reason

An important resource is run out of

Something necessary is destroyed or partially destroyed

A doctor/medic needs to be called

Somebody else becomes sick, injured, or lands in some other danger

Whumpee's newest symptom requires a different type of medicine than what they've been taking up until now, possibly one the caretaker doesn't have

The characters are in an intense situation (in hiding, in a warzone, on the run, trying to escape a natural disaster etc.) and the stakes suddenly become much higher due to something related to this

Maybe there's a flood and the waters have reached their safe spot

Maybe whumpee is some enemy they're sheltering in secret and members of their team/army/etc. come searching for them

There's lots more I could add and I'm not sure if this is explained in the best way, but there you have it.

[swiggity-swump]

A: *rough cough*

B: yeesh, I don’t like the sound of that-

A: *even rougher sneeze*

B: …or that.

[swiggity-swump]

Feeling soft about the intimacy of driving a sick, feverish date home. Poor thing tried so hard to make it through the date, but they were only getting sicker and sicker until they gratefully accepted to postpone the rest of the date for another time. After they sat down in the passenger's seat, they dozed off with their hot forehead/cheek leaning against the cool window, coughing and sniffling thickly now and then in their fever sleep, body limp and so hot you can almost feel it from the driver's seat. They were sneezing and rubbing their nose so much earlier it's a glaring red now, nostrils so inflamed you wince, it must really hurt. They loosely clutch a soggy, used tissue in one hand, just one of many they've decimated over the course of the evening. 🥺