ardebatis

[ardebatis]

Hello and welcome to this whump blog. This is a companion to my other blog @gran-maul-seizure and I like to talk about whumping Darth Maul in the tags. I'm not sure how active I'll be beyond reblogging things I really like :)

So far this is what I like and don't like

[esidvince]

whumpee propped up against caretaker’s chest when the fever takes away all of their strength, lucid enough to enjoy some company

whumpee propped up against the pillows, eager to be active but unable to move around all that much; perhaps tomorrow they’ll be able to sit properly, at least

whumpee leaning on caretaker’s shoulder when they try to get up and walk for the first time since the injury

whumpee held up in a saddle, caretaker sitting behind them with their arm wrapped protectively around whumpee’s chest

whumpee sitting at the backseat of a car, their head pressed to the cool glass; they’re still shivering but caretaker’s coat’s warm and cozy, it feels like home, and they can’t help but relax

whumpee leaning on the table, eyes closed and breaths shaky, when a sudden fainting spell washes over them

whumpee sitting on the ground with their back against the wall, too weak to get up while the adrenaline wears off

[kacchanot-fucking-deal-with-this]

So you know when you're writing a scene where the hero is carrying an injured person and you realize you've never been in this situation and have no idea how accurate the method of transportation actually is?

Oh boy, do I have a valuable resource for you!

Here is a PDF of the best ways to carry people depending on the situation and how conscious the injured person needs to be for the carrying position.

Literally a life saver.

(No pun intended.)

[that-bi-fan]

(in case you are unable to access the pdf)

will try to add alt id's later

[esidvince]

caretaker cleaning whumpee’s hands from dirt and blood

caretaker bandaging whumpee’s hands

caretaker holding whumpee’s hands in theirs, massaging the pain away

caretaker kissing whumpee’s hands, anywhere. kissing their palm, or knuckles, or freshly bandaged cuts and scrapes

caretaker blowing on whumpee’s hands to warm them up

caretaker holding whumpee’s hand while they’re asleep/unconscious/in a coma

caretaker holding whumpee’s hand while going through a tight crowd

caretaker steadying whumpee’s hands when they can’t even lift up a glass of water

caretaker discretely sliding their fingers down to whumpee’s wrist, feeling their pulse and counting every beat

caretaker giving whumpee their gloves

caretaker giving whumpee their ring(s) and smiling as they see whumpee’s eyes lit up

caretaker finding it adorable how much whumpee gestures: they’ve always been like that, and now that they’re healing, their habits come back to them

[lichen-soup-scribe]

Writing Traumatic Injuries References

So, pretty frequently writers screw up when they write about injuries. People are clonked over the head, pass out for hours, and wake up with just a headache… Eragon breaks his wrist and it’s just fine within days… Wounds heal with nary a scar, ever…

I’m aiming to fix that.

Here are over 100 links covering just about every facet of traumatic injuries (physical, psychological, long-term), focusing mainly on burns, concussions, fractures, and lacerations. Now you can beat up your characters properly!

General resources

WebMD

Mayo Clinic first aid

Mayo Clinic diseases

First Aid

PubMed: The source for biomedical literature

Diagrams: Veins (towards heart), arteries (away from heart) bones, nervous system, brain

Burns

General overview: Includes degrees

Burn severity: Including how to estimate body area affected

Burn treatment: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degrees

Smoke inhalation

Smoke inhalation treatment

Chemical burns

Hot tar burns

Sunburns

Incisions and Lacerations

Essentials of skin laceration repair (including stitching techniques)

When to stitch (Journal article–Doctors apparently usually go by experience on this)

More about when to stitch (Simple guide for moms)

Basic wound treatment

Incision vs. laceration: Most of the time (including in medical literature) they’re used synonymously, but eh.

Types of lacerations: Page has links to some particularly graphic images–beware!

How to stop bleeding: 1, 2, 3

Puncture wounds: Including a bit about what sort of wounds are most likely to become infected

More about puncture wounds

Wound assessment: A huge amount of information, including what the color of the flesh indicates, different kinds of things that ooze from a wound, and so much more.

Home treatment of gunshot wound, also basics More about gunshot wounds, including medical procedures

Tourniquet use: Controversy around it, latest research

Location pain chart: Originally intended for tattoo pain, but pretty accurate for cuts

General note: Deeper=more serious. Elevate wounded limb so that gravity draws blood towards heart. Scalp wounds also bleed a lot but tend to be superficial. If it’s dirty, risk infection. If it hits the digestive system and you don’t die immediately, infection’ll probably kill you. Don’t forget the possibility of tetanus! If a wound is positioned such that movement would cause the wound to gape open (i.e. horizontally across the knee) it’s harder to keep it closed and may take longer for it to heal.

Broken bones

Types of fractures

Setting a broken bone when no doctor is available

Healing time of common fractures

Broken wrists

Broken ankles/feet

Fractured vertebrae: Neck (1, 2), back

Types of casts

Splints

Fracture complications

Broken noses

Broken digits: Fingers and toes

General notes: If it’s a compound fracture (bone poking through) good luck fixing it on your own. If the bone is in multiple pieces, surgery is necessary to fix it–probably can’t reduce (“set”) it from the outside. Older people heal more slowly. It’s possible for bones to “heal” crooked and cause long-term problems and joint pain. Consider damage to nearby nerves, muscle, and blood vessels.

Concussions

General overview

Types of concussions 1, 2

Concussion complications

Mild Brain Injuries: The next step up from most severe type of concussion, Grade 3

Post-concussion syndrome

Second impact syndrome: When a second blow delivered before recovering from the initial concussion has catastrophic effects. Apparently rare.

Recovering from a concussion

Symptoms: Scroll about halfway down the page for the most severe symptoms

Whiplash

General notes: If you pass out, even for a few seconds, it’s serious. If you have multiple concussions over a lifetime, they will be progressively more serious. Symptoms can linger for a long time.

Character reaction:

Shock (general)

Physical shock: 1, 2

Fight-or-flight response: 1, 2

Long-term emotional trauma: 1 (Includes symptoms), 2

First aid for emotional trauma

Treatment (drugs)

WebMD painkiller guide

Treatment (herbs)

1, 2, 3, 4

Miscellany

Snake bites: No, you don’t suck the venom out or apply tourniquettes

Frostbite

Frostbite treatment

Severe frostbite treatment

When frostbite sets in: A handy chart for how long your characters have outside at various temperatures and wind speeds before they get frostbitten

First aid myths: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Includes the ones about buttering burns and putting snow on frostbite.

Poisons: Why inducing vomiting is a bad idea

Poisonous plants

Dislocations: Symptoms 1, 2; treatment. General notes: Repeated dislocations of same joint may lead to permanent tissue damage and may cause or be symptomatic of weakened ligaments. Docs recommend against trying to reduce (put back) dislocated joint on your own, though information about how to do it is easily found online.

Muscular strains

Joint sprain

Resuscitation after near-drowning: 1, 2

Current CPR practices: We don’t do mouth-to-mouth anymore.

The DSM IV, for all your mental illness needs.

Electrical shock

Human response to electrical shock: Includes handy-dandy voltage chart

Length of contact needed at different voltages to cause injury

Evaluation protocol for electric shock injury

Neurological complications

Electrical and lightning injury

Cardiac complications

Delayed effects and a good general summary

Acquired savant syndrome: Brain injuries (including a lightning strike) triggering development of amazing artistic and other abilities

Please don’t repost! Reblogging is fine, of course. You can find the original document (also created by me) here.

EDIT 3/20/19: This post is now approx. five years old. Yes, I am aware some of the links are broken. No, I’m not going to go through and fix them. I have a job now and that job is not “maintain a database of writing resources.” However, you are welcome to make your own post with updated links, or put updated links in your reblogs.

[ex-riddlecats]

sexy genre of making characters needlessly suffer for your enjoyment and yet its called "whump" the unsexiest name in the world

[ex-riddlecats]

"im a whumper" grow a spine and call yourself a sadist

[allthewhumpygoodness]

Once again, for the umpteenth time, whumpees with fevers:

Whumpees feeling a little shivery and worn out, not thinking anything of it

Whumpees growing more restless as their mind races relentlessly, trying to figure out why they can't get to sleep let along think straight

Whumpees feeling colder than ever all of a sudden, despite the burning just under their skin

Whumpees finally managing to sleep, but their rest is disturbed by rambling and terrifying dreams

Whumpees waking up much later than intended, with a parched throat and aching joints, so tired and shaky they can barely sit up on their own, let alone stand

Whumpees with sore, burning eyes, lymph nodes tender and swollen

Whumpees' vision swimming, growing dizzier and more lightheaded as the fever gets higher

Whumpees with chattering teeth, unable to stop shaking under a mound of blankets

Whumpee unable to eat but so, so desperately thirsty

Whumpees having to keep a light on through the night because the dark plays tricks on their feverish brain

Whumpees waking up not knowing where they are, feeling like the whole room is swaying around them, their bed shrinking and expanding, everything happening too much

Whumpees having to shakily change shirts because they're drenched in sweat (and leaving the old one on the floor by their bed because they're too weak to fold it)

[scifimedic]

Episode 2 of SciFiMedic Explains: How do I write broken ribs with primitive field surgery for a collapsed lung?

Original prompt submitted by @lancedoncrimsonwings.

“Character has broken ribs on one side, then fell from a horse (landing on the injured side and dislocating their shoulder by trying to brace to protect their ribs). Is it likely the fall would worsen the break, and if a rib punctured their lung, how would someone with them first aid that in the wilderness? (Medieval times, generally). They have access to water, a dagger, a form of herbal ish pain relief/sedative made from poppies, and reeds. Survivable or nay?”

This is a fun scenario!

Falling from a horse may seem fairly mundane, but many life threatening injuries can happen, especially if the horse steps on you. To end up with a dislocated shoulder, they would most likely land on their outstretched arm.

The instinct to fling out an arm when falling is stronger than the instinct to pull in and brace broken ribs. The shoulder would most likely dislocate anteriorly from this kind of injury. 

Source

Here’s a step by step guide on reducing a shoulder via the Hennepin technique: 

Lie down. Flat on their back with no pillow. 

The person who’s helping them should gently grab the injured arm by the wrist and bend the elbow to 90 degrees. Support the elbow with one hand, hold the wrist with the other. You can also hold their hand. 

Gently press the elbow to their side. 

Keeping the elbow near their side at all time, gently pull their wrist away from their body, externally rotating their shoulder away. This should go extremely slow, at least 10 minutes to allow muscles to relax. 

The shoulder will make an audible “pop” when it slides back into it’s socket. The pain goes away immediately, but is replaced with a dull throb a few hours later. You want to bind the arm to the chest to prevent movement of the joint as it heals. 

Source: Merck Manuals 

Now… it sounds like a dislocated shoulder isn’t the worst of their problems. Whoever is helping them may be more concerned about their obviously injured shoulder and focus on treating that first, while completely missing the fact that they’re showing symptoms of a pneumothorax, which is what happens if a rib punctures a lung. 

There are two ways you can play this. 

Option 1: Closed-Simple Pneumothorax

This can happpen when a broken rib pops a hole in the lung. This can be a tiny little nick, or a larger hole. Because it’s simple, that means that the air that’s coming into the pleural space (the area between the outside of the lungs and the inside of the chest, normall filled with slick fluid) is able to get back into the lungs again. There is a slight pressure build up, and the lung is slightly compressed, but you can have a simple pneumothorax and not notice it for literal months. The treatment is simple, let it heal on its own. There’s not much you can do, even with modern surgical practices. It’s better for everyone to leave it be. 

Option 2: Closed-Tension Pneumothorax 

Based on the supplies you’ve given me, this is probably what you’re thinking. A tension pneumothorax happens when that air coming into the pleural space isn’t able to get out. With each breath, more air is forced around the lung, collapsing it. The only way to relieve this pressure is to manually release the air by poking a hole in the chest wall. Before you do that however, we have to make sure they actually have a collapsed lung. Here’s the signs & symptoms: 

Decreased breath sounds on the bad side

Sharp pain in the chest

Panting

Fast heartbeat

Jugular Vein Distension (photo)

Tracheal deviation away from injured side (photo) 

Blue lips and fingernails

Jugular Vein Distention

Source

Tracheal Deviation

Source

While this is not a pneumothorax case, I could correctly diagnose a right-side tension pneumothoarx from this picture and listening to breath sounds. 

Alright, you’re sure it’s a pneumothorax? Fantastic. Now it’s time for the fun part. Here’s a step-by-step guide using the supplies (and time period) you’ve given me. 

Step 1: Identify the site you’re going to poke a hole. Refer to handy-dandy diagram for reference.

Source: PlumCast

Step 2: Clean as best you can. If you have strong alcohol, use that. If you have soap and water, use that next. Failing all else, use the cleanest cloth you have with some clean water to wipe off any dirt. The level you’re able to clean will determine the likelihood your character will survive. If you have alcohol, they’re more likely to pull through.  

You should be cleaning the chest, the daggar, and the tiny, hollow reed. 

Step 3: No time for pain medication, it’s not going to kick in anyways. DO NOT give them alcohol to drink for the pain. Use the smallest blade you have to make a small hole in the chest wall right between the 4th and 5th ribs. They only need to go about an inch if the patient is skinny. Most EMS units today use 3” needles, but not the whole needle is inserted. You probably won’t hear any air movement until you pull the dagger out, so it may take a few tries to get deep enough.

Step 4: Pull the blade out and insert the reed. Once the reed enters the pleural space, air and blood should come rushing out. Relief will be immediate, and the JVD and tracheal displacement should fix themselves in less than a hour. 

Step 5: Secure and prevent reoccurrence. That reed needs to stay in place. Use bandages or whatever you have to keep it there. You also need to create a one-way valve to prevent the air from just being sucked right back into the chest cavity through the convient hole you just made. Get a clean rag, soak it in lard, oil, or water if you have to and secure it loosely over the reed. The idea is that when they exhale, the free air in the chest is allowed to escape, but when they inhale, the cloth snaps shut over the reed and prevents air from entering. 

Step 6: And now it’s up to their body. The reed should be changed every 12 hours minimum to prevent infection, the one way valve as well. It’s important to note that if you’re using water on the cloth for your one-way valve, you’ll need to keep that wet. Now is the time for pain medication as well, boil the poppy seeds in clean water to make a tea. Poppy contains a similar chemical to morphine, so they will get some relief from this. It’s really hard to drink when lying flat on your back, so drip a washcloth in the tea and let them suck on it. 

Complications

Your biggest enemy is going to be infection obviously. There are several things you can do to prevent it. 

Clean the site. Alcohol or soap and water every 12 hours minimum (do it with the reed change). Make sure you’re cleaning the open wound, but don’t scrub into the chest wall, that’s going to push bacteria further into the wound. The signs of a local infection are: 

Red streaks coming from the wound

Pus

Warmth

Swelling

Green or yellow pus

Pain

If infection starts to develop, increase the cleaning to 4 hour rotations, and continue to replace the reed at that time. Signs of a developing system-wide infection: 

Fever

Nausea

Vomiting

Chills

Cold sweat

Fast heartbeat

Both honey and garlic have been clinically proven to have antibacterial properties . Apply crushed garlic and honey to the wound. Garlic also appears to be effective if consumed as well, honey is just topical. 

Sources:

Honey: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3609166/

Garlic: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4458355/

i can’t make this shit up

Pneumonia is a serious complication. Honestly, if they get pneumonia, they’re dead. They will have a high fever, start coughing, and die fairly quickly with a primitive chest tube in place. Sorry. :( 

Sepsis is also a death sentence. It’s a system-wide blood infection charterised by a high fever, low blood pressure, then sudden system shutdown and organ death. There’s not a lot you can do without real antibiotics, so avoid this if possible. 

Thankfully, the line between a bad local infection and sepsis is not easily identifiable without a hospital (a blood pressure cuff, really) so you can have quite a bit of angst around this and still have them pull through in the end. 

 What about the broken ribs? Leave them. There’s nothing you can do. Trying to manipulate them with your hands will only make it worse if you’re doing it blind (without X-Ray guidance.) 

It’s been awhile… now what? Normally, this patient would be rushed into the OR to repair the hole in the lung. Since you don’t have that, here are a few long-term options. 

The lung heals itself neatly. This is totally possible. You’re looking at at least two months though… and it’s a stretch. This character better have plot armor. Note: if you have pierced ears, you know that a hole in the body eventually seals itself off and doesn’t ever heal shut. Same with your makeshift chest tube. Once the lung has healed and it’s time to remove the reed, you may need to scrape the skin of the hole down a little to encourage healing. That’s another few weeks of healing. The lung can regain full capacity, and free air in the pleura will be absorbed into the bloodstream.

The lung heals poorly. As long at the hole in the lung is closed, the body will take care of the rest and absorb the free air. Same scraping for the chest tube site. They may lose use of the damaged lung- some people can learn to live without sections of their lungs but will never be able to do what they used to. It’s important to remember that the broken ribs may have healed in a place where they permanently damage lung function. 

The lung never heals. This means a permanent chest tube. The infection will eventually catch up to them, and they’ll die. 

Best case scenario survival odds: 60% 

Worst case scenario survival odds: 0%

Essentially, if you want them to survive, you can write it in a way it’s medically possible. But they have to fight hard, be strong, and have a healthy body with good fat stores before the accident. 

Disclaimer: Although I’m in school to become a medical professional, I’m not one yet. Please don’t sue. Can you even do that from a Tumblr post? I don’t know. All mistakes are mine, and I’m always open to discussion.

‘crimson, thanks for the detailed question. I had so much fun researching this stuff. Hope this helps, and feel free to ask clarifying questions. (Tension pneumo stuff can be really confusing.)

[gjdraws]

WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS

WHO IS USING THIS

AN APP??? THEY HAVE A FUNCTIONING WEBSITE

THE LAST FUNCTIONING WEBSITE

[iguanodonwildman]

Reminder that ao3 does not have an app. Any apps you see are third party and are making money off of the writers without their consent. They’re also probably harvesting your data. Do not support this garbage.

[fractalspaces]

Louder so people don't quick-scroll:

THIRD-PARTY APP. PROFITS OFF WRITERS, HARVESTS DATA. DO NOT DOWNLOAD.

[zorped]

SIGNAL BOOST

[ofishal-fish-posts]

Once again. Ao3 doesn't have an app. If you see an Ao3 app, it's not official and will probably steal your data. Don't download it, use the web version. It functions just fine on mobile.

[esidvince]

“i really don’t think it’s time for you to walk just yet.”

tiny holds onto their finger, slowly lowering themself back onto the pillow. their ears ring as dizziness washes over them again. deep breath.

“tiny, i… i’m glad you feel better but you need some more time.”

tiny nods.

they know. their legs are too weak to hold them, however little they weigh. no walking then, until they recover. and that means no flying. they wouldn’t try anyway, their wings were still early on in the healing, and even taking off would strain them way too much.

giant knows it too. they take good care of their tiny, they notice life and hope and energy coming back to them, but their efforts are just a part of healing. some things need to get better on their own.

it frustrates to see tiny failing to get up again. but they still gently smile, offering their hand to carry their little friend where they need.

“i’m sure it’ll get better soon. just you wait.”

[sickbayy]

Nice whumpy thing: when people are intensely pragmatic about their injuries illnesses.

“Listen, if I pass out…”

“If you let up pressure, I’ll bleed out. So just, don’t move.”

“I know it ill hurt, just do what you need to.”

[sickbayy]

#these are all so good #i’m always especially appreciative of the # ‘i’m going to scream. this is going to hurt and i won’t be able to help it. keep going anyway’ # but i think my very favorite is ‘you’re going to have to pin me down’ # (also this isn’t quite the same feeling but the polite ‘i’m sorry but i think i’m going to pass out now’ always delights me) (x)

[redwingedwhump]

“I need you not to freak out. You can freak out later, I’ll explain the whole thing but for YOU this is an emergency- for ME this is a Thursday.”

[hold-on-a-little-longer-whump]

Give me a rookie medic treating his mentor medic right now

[comfortingcatharsis]

An injured character is struggling to get up and gets so far as getting out of bed- but only so far as the floor immediately beside it- they either fall out of bed itself or immediately collapse upon trying to stand- and that's where their companion(s) find them; crumpled in a heap on the rug beside the bed, bedding tangled and askew, unable to get back into bed on their own and worse off now for the attempt- now their companion(s) have to maneuver them back into bed and set them and their injuries back to rights.

[den-of-whump]

I dont know if anyone has really noticed, but I've taken a bit of a step back from the whump community. You guys are phenomenal people, but I think I've just cone to the realization that... I don't like whump? Don't get me wrong, I love it when blorbo from my show runs the gauntlet, but that's the thing. It has to be blorbo from my show. I've noticed that I've stopped getting "Whumperflies" and I was trying to figure out why, and I think it's because I only really enjoy whump when it's a character I enjoy? It's started doing absolutely nothing for me when I'm not emotionally invested.

And that's the kicker, ain't it? Because the whump community has taken the trope of whump and kind of isolated it. It's not about "Character went through bad things" it's about "Character went through bad things". This isn't a criticism necessarily, but it's just a weird trend I've noticed.

[aceofwhump]

I am the exact same way! I think there are a lot of people in the community who are like that. I don't get whumperflies unless I am emotionally invested in the character going through the whump. For me, the trope doesn't matter so much as WHO is getting hurt. It's gotta be my blorbo or I just don't really care that much. That's why I'm so much more interested in the fandom whump side of the community than I am with the OC whump writing side. It's nothing against the OC writing peeps at all. There are some people's OCs that I've gotten very emotionally invested in. Heck I've got many whump OCs myself whom I love and really need to get back to writing for again. But I stay to my fandom side for the most. There are many different groups within the whump community and sometimes I do feel like the fandom side has gotten pushed aside in favor of the OC writing over the past couple of years. Sometimes it feels like people think of the whump community as ONLY a writing community, but it is not! The fandom side of whump is huge and important and been around a looooooong time (Stargate's Daniel Jackson? The Star Trek fandom? whump origins right there). Maybe try exploring the fandom side of whump (if you haven't yet already I mean)? Feel free to explore my blog if you want to. I'm like all fandoms all the time lol.

[jirote]

[ethereousdelirious]

Been thinking a lot about plot structure lately, so here are a few I just came up with for sickfic (you can sub out the vocabulary pretty easily for allergies or pain but I'm not gonna make this needlessly complicated by adding "is sick/has encountered an allergen/has a wound" every time haha)

Fluff: Character A is sick and remains about the same level of sick throughout the story, as Character B takes care of them

Slow Decline: A is sick and gets worse and worse as the story progresses, with no major reprieves

Striptease: A is sick, but it's not so bad. They start to feel a little worse, so they try a remedy. It kicks in and they feel better, but then it wears off and they start to feel even worse. They do what they can to stave it off, but it doesn't last and they end up feeling worse than ever. (Then B comes to take care of them. <3)

Back & Forth: A is sick. Every time they start to feel better, they push too hard and end up just a little bit worse, culminating in a situation they're going to have a really hard time bouncing back from on their own. (Enter B for caretaking)

Sudden Attack: A feels fine— until they suddenly feel the worst they can possibly feel. (Then 🥺🥺 B 🥺🥺🥺 comes to take care of themmm 🥺)

[allthewhumpygoodness]

If you don't mind I have thought of a couple more....

The double trouble: A is recovering from something and on the verge of getting better -- only to suddenly get hit with something else

The role reversal: A is the only healthy one in a pair or group, the rest are sick. They diligently look after them, confident their own immune system will have no trouble at all. Only, of course, for them to end up wrong right as their friend(s) start getting better.

The reveal: A is totally fine -- at least, that's what an oblivious B thinks. It gradually becomes clear that they are not, in fact, as fine as they seem and a guilty feeling B insists on doting on them when they collapse suddenly

The steep fall: A feels a little under the weather, enough to warrant some concern from B but not enough to really worry. And then, despite their attempts to take care of themselves, they get a lot worse practically (or literally) overnight

[comfortingcatharsis]

A character, weak after an ordeal of illness or injury or exhaustion, managing to get themselves more-or-less sitting up but visibly trembling with the effort of remaining upright, every muscle engaged in the feat and quivering as though with the exertion of supporting a tremendous weight, stubbornness about the only thing keeping the weakened character from immediately collapsing.

[monarchthefirst]

Whump prompts I can’t get enough of:

1. The shifty and embarrassed look in a stoic leader’s eyes as they finally are forced to reveal an injury to their friends, reluctantly allowing themselves to be treated for the first time. The awkwardness as they strip, and/or lay down to be examined. The subtle fighting to maintain some choice or control ( would rather sit up, “I can do that myself thanks”) and so on.

2. The limp warmth of a Whumpee’s sleeping body as they are treated in the middle of the night. The change in their breathing as the covers are gently pulled back. The clumsiness of their movements as they flit in and out of sleep, sudden gasps or flinching as their wounds are tended. The caretaker’s whispers of comfort, hushing them back to sleep.

3. Whumpee lashing out in sudden rage at some petty action of another, before collapsing and breaking down in sobs. Everyone standing around awkwardly in shock, before caretaker goes in to grab whumpee in a crushing embrace, trying to calm their shaking.

4. Stoic whumpee being humiliated by Whumper. Orders like: ‘strip’, ‘face the wall’, ‘kneel’, ‘down on your hands and knees’, etc etc.

5. Slightly delusional whumpee being tied/held down for some potentially lifesaving procedure and quietly begging caretaker to stop, please please stop. Then more loudly, desperately, until they are crying out and fighting in a panic. Caretaker meanwhile is (1)staring at them in stoic silence while their heart is wrung with pity, or (2) they are quietly reassuring them, telling them it’s going to be alright.

Feel free to use as you like.