Department of Fluff and Miseries

gotta love that h/c ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

[courtmartialme]

given orders not to die

[wlw-whump]

as much as I love badass characters pushing through pain to fight, I also love when they hit a point where they just can't. something structural is wrong or broken, so they can't stand. their muscles are simply too weak and overworked to hold them up. their bloody hands slip off the handles of their weapons, they can't aim through their vertigo or tunneling vision, they shake from blood loss or exhaustion even if not from fear. they've just reached their limit, and no amount of willpower will change that!

[cannibalings]

have you reopened the wound? will you reopen the wound? when will you reopen the wound?

[possessable]

blorbo sickfic that turns into a possession fic halfway through

[drudg30n]

what does this meannnn

[possessable]

well you see,

[throwingmenthols-deactivated202]

“denied the catharsis of punishment” is an underappreciated but hugely effective narrative consequence imo 

[unabashedlyseveresandwich]

#it’s so tasty and it comes in so many flavors#does the character self-loathe and feel anguished by what others intended as an act of forgiveness and grace?#does the character know they need to change but sort of madly wish they could trade the unceasing exhausting improvement journey#for a flash bang of slate-clearing repentance so they don’t have to *think* about it anymore?#is is a creeping horror as the character realizes no one is going to punish them because everyone else still thinks what they did was okay?#does the character have to live the rest of their life just feeling ever so slightly untrusted by everyone with no way to stop it?#sorry for leaving pretentious tags on tumblr dot com it will happen again 

Peer-reviewed tags by @annabelle–cane

[scribeherself]

the absolute devastating intimacy of a forehead rest. when you are both just so tired from existing in a world that demands you to be a rigid, functional individual, and you finally collapse into each other and just lean your forehead against theirs, or against their shoulder. it’s the physical equivalent of dropping your shields. it’s saying i am entirely heavy right now, and i am trusting you to bear a piece of that weight. and the most beautiful part is that the other person doesn’t even flinch. they just adjust their stance, tuck you a little closer, and absorb the impact. we were designed to divide the burden of being alive.

[hard--byte]

the hottest thing a guy can be is barely conscious on the floor while someone lifts his head up by the hair so that you can see his glazed out eyes and the blood running down his face

[byjove]

MILD hurt/comfort? nuh uh. torture him. sepsis. swept downstream in a frozen river. 6 month convalescence. commit to it.

[byjove]

booboos on his body AND his soul AND his dignity

[byjove]

humble that man. he should have to be nursed back to health my his romantic interested and accidentally throw up and pass out on them when they try to clean his wounds

[byjove]

he has the sniffles? aww. now have him be thrown from his horse and dragged for half a mile.

[fineiguessimintowhump]

nothing quite like a whumpee no one knows existed. caretaker inheriting a house and oh god- there's someone in the basement. taking over a ship and- Is that a prisoner? hero getting kidnapped or infiltrating a base, stulbling into a room where they find a bleeding whumpee. spy getting interrogated by someone with suspicious wounds. getting thrown into a cell with someone who's been there for a long time.

[nocturnaltigerrevelation]

>have problem

>recognize it as part of my divine punishment

>no problem

[luna-azzurra]

Ways I Show a Character is Emotionally Burned Out (Before They Even Realize It Themselves)

I love writing characters who think they’re fine but are actually walking emotional house fires with bad coping mechanisms.

They stop doing the things they used to love and don’t even notice. Their guitar gathers dust. Their favorite podcast becomes background noise. Their hobbies feel like homework now.

They pick the path of least resistance every time, even when it hurts them. No, they don’t want to go to that thing. No, they don’t want to talk to that person. But whatever’s easier. That’s the motto now.

They’re tired but can’t sleep. Or they sleep but wake up more tired. Classic burnout move: lying in bed with their brain racing like a toddler on espresso.

They give other people emotional advice they refuse to take themselves. “You have to set boundaries!” they say—while ignoring 8 texts from someone they should’ve cut off three emotional breakdowns ago.

They cry at something stupidly small. Like spilling soup. Or a dog in a commercial. Or losing their pen. The soup is never just soup.

They say “I’m just tired” like it’s a personality trait now. And not like… emotionally drained to the bone but afraid to admit it out loud.

They ghost people they love, not out of malice, but because even replying feels like too much. Social battery? Absolutely obliterated. Texting back feels like filing taxes.

They stop reacting to big things. Catastrophes get a blank stare. Disasters feel like “just another Tuesday.” The well of feeling is running dry.

They avoid being alone with their own thoughts. Constant noise. TV always on. Music blasting. Because silence = reckoning, and reckoning is terrifying.

They start hoping something will force them to stop. An accident. A missed deadline. Someone else finally telling them, “You need a break.” Because asking for help? Unthinkable.

[bulkhummus]

its a long journey to erid

[spielzeugkaiser]

I swear Rocky is looking at Grace like he’s his 15 year old dog who is starting to make strange sounds in his sleep-

[comfortingcatharsis]

An incredibly sleep-deprived character, in desperate need of sleep, to the point they keep involuntarily nodding off, but they're in this state because up 'til now they absolutely couldn't allow themself to sleep- because they had to monitor or care for another character, because they had to keep watch or wait for a signal or message, because they had to keep moving or succumb to the cold, because they were in a precious situation where if they fell asleep they might lose their grip or balance, whatever the reason- so every time they begin to fall asleep they jolt awake in a panic, forgetting it's alright to do so now.

[spookyboywhump]

Guy who never feels like his problems are “bad enough” to be taken seriously: what if I hurt the character so horrifically that everyone around them could not possibly deny the severity of their pain even if the character themself tries to downplay it.

[summer-oil-inactive]

forced caretaking as a trope i think is like cocaine to people who know they need to be taken care of but have mental blocks in the way like yeah please do gently force me into a state of vulnerability so my body learns it is a safe thing to feel around you

[fluffiest-fox-kira]

This has gotta be a hit with the girlies who have always wanted something terrible to happen to them just so people realize they're in more misery than their outward appearance lets on

[boltlightning]

need that man haggard and frail with pain but trying very hard to hide it if i'm quite honest