Struggling with writing a medical scene? I can help!
Welcome to SciFiMedic Explains, where you give me a medical scene you’re struggling with, a question you have, or something your curious about- then I do the research and give you a concentrated and straightforward post that kickstarts *that* scene you were struggling with. :)
Episode 1: Feet Whipping
Episode 2: Field Surgery- Pneumothorax & Dislocated Shoulder
Kay, so you might be able to help me out with this, I'm trying to write a thing where in a character, wearing a leather jacket over some kind of softish kevlar vest, gets shot three times in the chest (I haven't really settled on what with yet but im leaning toward sassault rifle if at all possible) at a reasonably close range say 20 meters or so. I need him to somehow survive this kind of okay, like not fine or just bruises and broken ribs but not on his deathbed suffering from a punctured/collapsed lung or bleeding out internally. Man probably isn't going to get medical attention for a while, if at all and if he does it won't be great so is there a way that this works? And if so what kind of injuries might I be looking at and how would one go about treating them? I feel like his odds aren't great but I have hope for this working 😅
Episode 8 of SciFiMedic Explains: How do I shoot someone without killing them?
Alright THAT was a super deep rabbit hole. Suffice to say, I am not a gun expert and I am definitely on a few more watch lists than I was already. :P
Your scenario is impossible. According to The Internet, a soft kevlar vest cannot stop an assault rifle at that close range.
So, now what? There are a few things you can tweak to make it survivable.
According to this article about all kinds of weapons and things used to survive them- you're either gonna have to use better body armor, or a less powerful weapon.
Here is a chart of the various types of body armor available on the civilian market:
Source: nij-protection-levels.jpg
And here’s a quote specifically about the kind of body armor needed to stop the kind of gun you want at approximately the right distance.
“Rifle rounds must be stopped by hard armor. The .223 Remington, commonly used in AR-15 rifles, is one such round—and soft armor like Level IIIA isn’t equipped to stop it. The plates used in Level III or Level IV are specifically designed to defeat rifle fire.”
Sources for this image: 1 2 3 4
The highlighted vests are your options- a soft kevlar vest won't cut it here.
Now I don’t know about the distance. It seems a little close to be survivable, but screw it- reality can suspend itself a little in lieu of my ability to understand physics.
Anyways, for his injuries, he will absolutely have broken ribs, collar bone, sternum etc, depending on where you want him to get hit exactly. Remember all a bullet proof vest does is stop the bullet from going right through you, your body still absorbs the full force.
This chart shows the major bones in the chest area, you can pick and choose what you want to be broken:
Some suggestions for maximum pain and minimum permanent damage:
Both clavicles
A few cracked ribs without displacement (where they could puncture a lung)
Sternal separation (where the sternum isn’t attached to the ribs in the middle anymore. Could need surgery, but you can probably get away with winging this one. Will be really, really painful.)
There aren’t that many good options for being shot in the back. Broken vertebrae can cause intense pain and/or paralysis, and are probably going to need more than basic field medicine. The rest of the injuries listed above will cause lots of pain and deep bruising.
Depending on the severity and how much he strains the injured area, recovery time is looking to be a few months at minimum, and unless properly immobilized, it might never heal correctly.
For treatment, there’s not a lot you can do without a proper doctor except ice and rest. Try to keep taking deep breaths through the pain, else your lungs fill up with junk and you get pneumonia. A mild cold would be hell- coughing with anything in the chest area broken would be awful.
Disclaimer: Although I'm in school to become a medical professional, I'm not one yet. All mistakes are mine, and I'm always open to discussion.
Well I wish you luck on your story, sorry for such a late reply- life has been doin' its thing. Hope this helps and feel free to ask any follow-up questions!
Everyone else, feel free to send me an ask or reblog this or any SciFiMedicExplains Episode with a scene you'd like me to help you write!
Girl help I just realized that MacGyvers greatest strength is also one of his biggest flaws!
MacGyver is extremely self-reliant and optimistic. He believes that there is always a solution to whatever problem he's faced with. Moreover, he firmly believes that this solution is within his own power. There simply must be something he can do! It means he never gives up, even when his companions do. He keeps running, keeps fighting back, keeps looking around, keeps trying. Because he's also both physically fit and unusually good at making improvised gadgets, most of the time he does manage to solve the problem and save everybody.
Most of the time.
But those few times when he fails, his self-reliance throws him into a deep pit of guilt. It's strong enough that he says "I killed her" rather than "I failed to save her" or even "It's my fault she's dead". MacGyvers conviction that there was a solution, one that he could have found and implemented, never wavers. He won't believe his friends when they tell him that there was nothing anybody could have done. I think there's a good bit of pride at the bottom of it all: maybe most people couldn't have done anything, but surely he could have saved her! And he didn't, even though he could. That's morally equivalent to murder. This seems to be what he believes, deep down. It paralyzes him. And it appears that the only way to snap him out of it is to thrust him into a situation where there's another person needing his protection.
Rewatched Crystal Skull for fic purposes and I am absolutely fucking chewing on the hypothetical Ballard Family Dynamics like a dog dissecting a plushie
Like, what WAS Claire Jackson like as a mom? and how does what we see of Nick Ballard* inform that??
was she a workaholic, like her dad and her son? Daniel PRETTY EXPLICITLY takes after Nick, which begs the question: did it skip a generation? Nick VERY CLEARLY loves Daniel though he has ZERO fucking ability to show it. Did that come to him later in life, or has this always been true? Was it true for his daughter? Did he pass that on to her?
Also, in the episode where Daniel has to watch his parents die over and over, Claire seems frustrated and unwilling to deal with Daniel in that moment. Is that just how much she needed to focus right then? If I was moving a slab of stone that big, I might be uncharacteristically short as a parent. Or was it something deeper? Was she a little more inclined to tell Daniel he was fine when he complained about discomfort?
Or was it neither of those things? Can we even trust that this memory version of her is at all accurate to the real woman? After all, Daniel was only 8 and this was a major trauma, he might misremember who she was based on what happened with her. Maybe in all the times he played it over and over in his head, she shifted slowly to someone who would dismiss her son claiming to have broken an arm because Daniel knows that he didn't have one at the time, and that no matter how hard he tries, he cannot imagine a world where she lives, because that is not the one he lives in. Of course she would know he was lying about his arm. Stupid of him to think it would work.
In conclusion
*sidenote: mathematically nick ballard probably would have survived/maybe fled? nazi occupation of the Netherlands and I am also turning that over in my mind, trauma from that DEFINITELY DID NOT HELP his relationship to his family
WHUMPTOBER is a month-long, prompt-based creation CHALLENGE (think: Inktober, but whumpier). There are four prompts for each day of the month, giving 124 for you to play with! There is also a list of 18 alternative prompts that can be subbed in for any day to give participants as much creative freedom as possible.
All prompts are meant to serve as inspiration without being taken literally (e.g. you don’t have to include the exact wording of prompts into your work). Feel free to run rampant on interpretation. For example, if the prompt is “flame", you could create something with reference to a candle/campfire, your character could have suffered a burn, or the flame could be a reference to an ‘old flame’ - an old relationship. It’s truly down to you!
You can produce work in any media you choose, including but not limited to: writing, visual artwork, photo/video/audio edits, paper crafts and elaborate recommendation lists (not just a list of links). You can participate as much or as little as you want (i.e. you don’t have to do ALL the prompts if you don’t want to) and prompts can be used in any order. They are also free to use even after the event ends.
Please make sure to read the Event Info and FAQ carefully, as most of your questions will be answered there already. For everything else, you are welcome to come to our ask box or ask questions in our Discord server here.
Information on how to TAG is here.
This year’s AO3 Collection can be found here.
This year’s playlist can be found here.
The ‘Anatomy of a Whumptober Prompt’ post can be found here.
And our 'Resources for Writing Sensitive Topics’ post is here.
We’re very excited to see the community come together for yet another year of Whumptober! Go ham with the prompts, and support your fellow creators - we wish you all the best of luck, but most importantly: HAVE FUN!
Happy whumping,
Mods Vanne, Yenn, Kitty and Surro
Text versions of the prompts, including a google doc format, are posted below the cut!
A Google Doc of the prompts can be found here for easy copy-and-pasting!
Whumptober 2025 Prompt List
No. 1: “Please don’t cry”
Lamb to Slaughter | Ceremony | Beg for Forgiveness
No. 2: “You’ve got a lot of nerve to dredge up all my fears.”
Prophecy | Sewer | Taking Accountability
No. 3: “I look in people’s windows, transfixed by rose golden glows.”
Isolation | Candlelight | Found Family
No. 4: “Don’t be scared, I’ve done this before.”
Non-Human Whumper | Iron Rod | Loss of Powers
No. 5: “My panic’s at the ceiling, but I’m face down on the carpet.”
Quivering | Dream Journal | Phobia
No. 6: “No grave can hold my body down.”
Caught in a Net | Medical Restraints | Pinned to the Wall
No. 7: “Tell me that you’re okay, and I’m fine.”
Trapped with the Enemy | Elevator | Pushed Beyond Breaking Point
No. 8: “Oh horror, oh horror, what did you see?”
Self-Inflicted Injury | Held at Gunpoint | Dissociation
No. 9: “We’ll make it alright to come undone.”
Touch | Flashbacks | Scalding
No. 10: “There’s nothing you can ever say, nothing you can ever do.”
Without Consent | Secrets | Lips Sewn Shut
No. 11: “Can you get through all the pain inside you?”
Hidden Injury | Laceration | Forced Reveal
No. 12: “It’ll be for nothing.”
Cardiac Arrest | Sacred Place | Withholding Medical Treatment
No. 13: “How dull is it to pause, to make an end, to rust unburnished.”
Never Enough | Insignia | Forced Retirement
No. 14: “In the end, it’s worthwhile.”
Ignoring an Illness | Body Bag | Wounded Caretaker
No. 15: “You can take a break, if you just tell me that it hurts.”
Failed Rescue Attempt | Body Part in the Mail | Live-Streamed Torture
No. 16: “I’ve had the rug pulled beneath my feet.”
Repressed Trauma | Permanent Marker | Disorientation
No. 17: “Tell me there’s a hope for me.”
Internal Bleeding | Coma | Redemption
No. 18: “As the world caves in.”
Dystopia | Ruins | Environmental Whump
No. 19: “You’re on your own, lost in the wild.”
Dehumanisation | Living Weapon | On Patrol
