Hi I really like your stuff. It'd be cool to see another one where Villain kidnaps an obviously burnt out Hero or otherwise forces them to take a freaking break. Or perhaps Hero does the same for a clearly exhausted Villain.
(may or may not be inspired by my current death by college essay + way too much else)
Hi there friend! I can absolutely write this for you! I adore this scenario so much. I’m so sorry you’re going through it yourself though, it’s awful irl. I hope this snippet helps, here you go!
Break or Burn-Out
“Hero…”
Hero ignored Villain. They zipped to and fro in their workroom, pulling blue string across different photographs. They had ran out of red string, and they hadn’t had time to buy more yet. So blue string it was.
“Hero.”
Hero pulled the cap off of a marker with their teeth, circling important newspaper clippings. They went to put the marker down, but wait, where was the cap? Hero searched and searched the mess of papers on their workbench.
“Hero!”
Hero jumped, the marker’s cap falling out of their mouth. Ah, there it was. They bent down and slid it on the marker until they heard a click. They picked up a mug of tepid tea and drank all of it in one gulp. They made their way back to the board, but promptly bumped into Villain’s chest.
Villain looked down at them with a mixture of sternness and concern. They took Hero’s wrists in their hand.
“You need to stop,” they said, “I’ve been calling your name for the past five minutes. When was the last time you took a break?”
“No time for breaks,” Hero said.
They tried to free their wrists from Villain’s grip, but it was as though their own strength had been sapped by tepid tea and blue string.
“Supervillain is going to strike in three days, I have to expose them before that happens.”
Hero swayed a little on their feet. They shook their head, and let ice flow through their hands. Villain yelped, letting go of Hero’s wrists. Hero pushed past them and returned to the board. They read the news article pinned there.
City in shock as Supervillain destroys beloved monument-
City in shock as Supervillain de-
City in shock-
Shock in city as destroys Super-
Hero must have read the same sentence at least five times, but it wasn’t sinking in at all. What did sink in, however, was the needle Villain had just jabbed into the back of their shoulder.
Hero took far too long to react to it. They rounded on Villain, the turning motion making them dizzy.
“Hey!” Hero said indignantly.
Villain watched them with their arms folded across their chest.
“That is going to kick in in two minutes,” they said, “I suggest you lay down before that happens.”
“Psh. Two minutes is two minutes,” Hero huffed, “you can’t stop me that easily.”
They turned their attention back to the article.
City in shock as Supervillain destroys beloved monument to Hero. Several attendees were injured, with three in critical condition.
City in shock as Supervillain-
C… sh… S…mon.. att…
Hero shook their head, blinking rapidly in hopes to clear their vision. The words on the paper looked much smaller than before, like everything was zoomed out. The letters were also wiggling around for some reason.
“You said two minutes…” Hero muttered, feeling their knees buckle.
Villain caught them in one swift movement.
“Did I?” Villain asked, “hm. How curious.”
They repositioned them so that Hero was supported in a bridal carry.
“Justsetmeonthecouch,” Hero slurred in defeat.
“I don’t think so,” Villain asked, “I have a better idea.”
Hero’s brow couldn’t furrow, and their lips wouldn’t part to ask what they meant. Their body relaxed of its own accord. Their eyes fluttered shut, refusing to open back up. They went under to a gentle rocking sensation.
…
Hero blinked the sleep from their eyes, staring up at a chrome ceiling.
“Where’m I?” they groaned.
Hero already knew the answer, of course, but maybe, just maybe, Villain hadn’t done what-
“My base,” Villain replied.
Never mind. Villain had totally done what Hero was afraid of them doing. Hero glanced at the screen on the wall. It had the date and time in a large font. Hero’s bleary eyes widened.
“How much stuff did you give me!?” they asked.
Villain pushed themselves off the doorway they had been leaning on. They approached Hero in a few short strides.
“I only gave you enough to knock you out for two hours,” they said, “but you slept for over thirteen. Your mind and body were completely spent, Hero.”
“Not true,” Hero argued, “my mind was still sharp as a tack!”
“Is that why you were circling the ‘free puppy’ ads instead of information regarding your Supervillain case?” Villain asked.
“Supervillain,” Hero breathed.
They pushed up in an attempt to assume a sitting position. Thick, thermal straps immediately stopped them from doing so. Hero’s gaze bounced from the restraints to Villain and back again.
“Do you mind?” they asked, nodding to the straps.
Villain blinked, glancing down at them.
“Of course,” they said.
Villain reached down, but instead of removing the restraints, they pulled a soft, plush blanket up to Hero’s chin.
“Don’t want you catching a cold.” They smiled.
“That isn’t what I meant!”
Villain stood, adjusting their gloves. They checked the time. They started to leave.
“Wait! Villain! You have to let me go! Supervillain-”
Villain turned on their heel, eyes burning like an all-consuming wildfire.
“I do not want to hear one more thing about Supervillain,” they said, “I don’t want their name to pass your lips. The only thing you’re going to do is rest. Understood?”
“But the attack-”
“Hero, so help me, I will drug you again and stuff you in a straitjacket!” Villain shouted, “you are exhausted. You’re burnt out. You did all you could and then some. I don’t need you to die trying to prevent one crime.”
They opened their mouth, then closed it. They approached the bed again and tucked a strand of hair behind Hero’s ear.
“I’m taking over your little investigation,” they said, “I’ll handle everything. Rest. That’s not a suggestion.”
At that, Villain finally left the room, closing the door behind them and locking it with a click. With all other options taken from them, Hero finally relaxed with the assurance that Villain would take care of things. Would take care of them.
Hi I've been trying to recover from being badly burnout for the past few years. it's affected my creativity and my writing I haven't been able to write for so long or get good ideas yet.
One of the things that come up for me while trying to recover is fear I have missed my chance back when I had more creative energy. I feel scared and anxious that I don't have it in me to come up with good stories. that I've already peaked. it's like I've lost confidence in my abilities to write. what if the things write from now on sucks. is there any advice you could give for what I'm going thorough?
The thing about burn-out is that you cannot rush healing from it. You are burnt-out because your mind has hit the very end of its limit, and no amount of forcing things will make you recover from it faster.
I completely understand feeling anxious that you've lost your chance and will never write again - especially now, frankly. But many, many people have been in that place before, and came out the other end. The world will still need art. Your voice is not dead, it just needs time to find its place again.
Start small. Take time to do non-writing hobbies - walks, art projects, reading books. Work by hand in a journal you don't have to share with anyone. Try a prompt a day, and the minute that feels like it's too much, go back to resting again.
The words will come, and you will want to share them, with time. But just as you cannot heal a broken leg by trying to run a marathon, your brain cannot overcome burn-out without rest first.
Allow yourself to rest. Sometimes that's the most radical thing you can do.
This morning I did take a call on the new line, to prove to myself I could do it & I did good. Mentally the switch is just too much for me right now. There's too much new information and I'm not able to process it all in order to do my job without feeling overwhelmed, anxious & panicked, hours before my shift even starts.
At least I tried and I'm very proud of myself for that.
Its been a while now since I first identified the ADHD aspect of my wiring “type” though I still recoil from using it often, even to myself, because I struggle with the “deficit” part. There is no “deficit” to my attention, quite the contrary actually. I have found a more comfortable home within the definition VAST (Variable Attention Stimulus Trait) which I wrote about earlier this year.
Yet…
