#fever chills

[warmblanketwhump]

i just read an article that described fever chills as “shivering to heat this self-made winter”

…and if that isn’t THE most poetic way i’ve heard them described lately, idk what is

[whumpsmith-participates]

Day 9 - Magic Overuse

CW: whumpee's POV (eventually), passing out, fever, fever chills, magic exhaustion, illness caused by magic exhaustion

River Hill-Donovan seemed like a regular guy on the surface, but in reality he was anything but. He came from a rather famous family, and always felt like he had multiple big shoes to fill.

His grandfather, Liam Hill, was one of the best detectives the city had ever seen, and even though he had retired a decade ago, the police department sometimes still sought his advise. Fortunately, one of his aunts, Echo, was already working on following in his footsteps, having just made detective and thus being well on her way to live up to her father's name.

Then there was his other aunt, one of the sweetest women on the planet, and one of the city's more prolific superheroes. She had the power to turn into any animal, even mythical ones. River however...his powers only really allowed him to talk to and understand animals, which came in handy when gathering information...but that was about it.

His mother was twice as famous. Also a prolific hero, capable of manipulating the very air around her, the mention her alias alone capable of striking fear in any perpetrator with a base knowledge of heroes. But she was also a prolific rock star, often away on tour, leaving River with family or friends, since a tour life was no way to raise a child.

River could sing. He'd definitely inherited at least some of his mother's talent. Only he also had stage fright, and preferred to only sing in the shower. He did have one song on one of his mother's albums, but he liked to pretend that song didn't even exist.

And then there was his father, who everyone wanted him to be like.

River never knew his father. At least, not consciously. He died a hero before River managed to maintain any memories, but he'd grown up hearing stories about how great he was. The famous Blaze, aka Saturn Hill. A prolific hero, even in death, most known for his proficiency in fire magic.

River had his suspicions that everyone expected him to be like his father when they tried to talk him into learning magic, more specifically, fire magic. Only the problem was...River could only just manage the basics, and never really advanced in any type of magic.

So there he was, the son of two powerful heroes, with a barely useful passive power, and a basic grasp of some elemental magic. He tried to join the Sidekick Programme like his parents before him, in an attempt to improve on those basics, but it just didn't quite work out.

He quit the programme, and instead decided to assist one of his best friends with her ghost-hunting business — Which was more a "ask ghosts why they're still around and help them find closure" business, but ghost-hunting rolled better off the tongue according to his friend.

Elaine Carter-McLaughlann didn't seem like she had a lot in common with River, but underneath the surface, they were actually a lot alike. She, too, lost a parent at a young age, both of which were famous and prolific, so she, too, felt the unspoken pressure of living up to their legacies, while also sharing barely any personality traits, and only having a passive power to try and attempt that.

She had a slight interest in magic, but without an innate talent for it, she had to rely on totems, wards, shrines, sigils and herbs. Which finally gave River a leg up, as he could create something out of nothing with spells and incantations.

When things got hairy (which thankfully wasn't often), River used his stronger magic to protect Elaine. And when that wasn't sufficient, they could rely on a number of their other friends, though the first one to usually show up was Ethan Knight, aka Lightbringer, yet another child of prolific heroes with big shoes to fill, though Ethan was a bit more successful at it, having obtained the leadership position of the current Sidekick cohort.

Despite being younger than both River and Elaine, Ethan couldn't help but to feel responsible for them, given his position in the Sidekick Programme and the fact that his powers were marginally more useful in regular crime-fighting. Which was exactly why he tended to be the first to respond whenever they found themselves in distress.

Fortunately it really wasn't that often, but still often enough that Ethan worried about them when he lost contact with them in the midst of a calamity. Especially if he couldn't re-establish contact until after they had dealt with the source of the calamity.

River caught his breath a bit as the distant roaring finally died away, and concrete debris and glass shards finally stopped flying at them from all directions. He looked over his friend, who besides a couple of scuffs seemed unharmed.

Thank the Elements...it wasn't all for nothing.

She was talking about...something. River recognised her voice, but he couldn't quite process what she was saying. Not a good sign. Time to sit down.

He carefully lowered himself, hands groping around a bit until he managed to perch himself on the curb. Elaine joined him, still talking. Something about sleep. Sleep sounded really good right about now.

"You...okay?"

River wasn't even shure if that was exactly what she said, but that was the part his brain managed to translate. Now how to reply simply?

"Just tired..."

Nailed it.

Elaine started talking again, but River could barely hear her over the ringing in his ears. Another voice joined the conversation, and River vaguely recognised something familiar, something radiant keeping the darkness at the edge of his vision at bay.

And suddenly he was lying down. Someone was holding his face. He weakly pushed them away, or at least he thought he did. He gasped for air, opening his eyes, but only seeing blurry shapes.

"River!"

Hands returned to his face, gently cupping the sides of his head.

"Are you okay? You passed out!"

Obviously not...

But River couldn't really form any words. He managed some sort of groan, and then the darkness returned.

When he next woke up, he felt cold. So cold. His whole body shook, the tremors so bad he felt like he was about to fall. He held on for dear life, one hand clutching the...soft ground beneath him? The other squeezing something solid and warm.

Something cold brushed past his face, and his breath hitched. He turned his head away, whimpering a bit. What was happening? Was this what dying felt like?

"River...River! River!!"

River snapped out of his daze, finding several people staring down at him. Their faces were blurred, but he recognised Elaine's voice, and Ethan's too as he spoke up next.

"Breathe, buddy. Just breathe. We got you."

River realised he was clinging to his hand for dear life when he squeezed back to show his support, while Elaine dabbed his face with a cold, wet cloth.

"W-what's happening?" River croaked, still shaking.

"You used too much magic," Elaine said, "Your aunt is on her way to help, so just hang in until she gets here, okay?"

"A-auntie Sin?" River whined.

"Yeah, she'll be here soon," Elaine said.

"The doctor is gonna give you something to help you calm down so you can rest." Ethan added, squeezing his hand again, "We'll stay right by your side, okay?"

River nodded weakly, grateful to have his friends at his side. The edges of his vision were darkening again, but knowing he was in good hands, he decided not to fight it. Instead, he leaned into their touch and slipped away again.

@whumpay

Saturn & Sinnera (the shape-shifting aunt) belong to @dr-abitat-blog

Ethan/Lightbringer belongs to @illustriousshadow

Masterlist Main account

The kidssss! These blorbos are planned like 20 years in the future or so, but I already love them so much <3 I've included a picrew of Elaine, River and Ethan respectively

Also I redid this piece like twice, which is why there's a sudden POV switch (at least that's what it feels like to me) Because at first it was mostly banter between Elaine and Ethan and River dying in the background didn't feel whumpy enough, so I scrapped a huge part and replaced it with this.

[warmblanketwhump]

fever chills part 2 (a followup to this post)

forcing themselves to go to some outdoor event when they’re under the weather and shivering miserably in their coat the whole time

“how’re you feeling?” “I’m cold.”

catching a chill in damp, rainy weather. later, as the sniffles come on, they’re unable to shake the cold in their bones no matter how many blankets they wrap up in

teeth chattering against a glass thermometer

huddling in a thick bathrobe after their shower, too shivery to expose their wet skin to the air and change into warm, dry clothes

a heating pad on the highest setting, arms wrapped around it and clutching it to their chest

shivering deep internal shivers in the core of their gut that can’t be touched by external heat

goosebumps that creep and crawl across their skin

laying on the heating vent or by the radiator

shoulders hunched up to their ears to try and preserve body heat

enlisting their pet to lay on them because they’re so warm

when it’s the early stages of the fever, and they’re not shivering yet—they just feel chilled to their bones

big sweatshirts over two other layers of clothing, arms tightly folded against their body

blankets pulled up to their nose and staying in bed all day to try and keep warm

that horrible feeling when they’re sweating from their fever, then their layers ofclothes get damp, then they’re damp AND cold when the chills come back

[warmblanketwhump]

Regarding your wonderful fever chills post! Someone at a summer event sneeking away to rest in the oven of a car. "Where is A?" "They said they were going to sit in the car." "The car?! Its got to be 90 plus degrees in there!" (Just something I know from experience 😬 it is very cozy and convenient when in the midst of the fever chills but do tell someone where youre going) Love your stuff btw 💕

ohh this is GOOD!! (i actually have done this after work when the AC had been blasting all day - nothing like thawing out in a hot car when you’re freezing 😅)

but that’s a genius place to send a poor feverish person who just wants to get warm. just better make sure they don’t stay in there too long…or else! i actually also have a whole post on summer fevers that this fits perfectly with this too 😍

and thank you so much!!! it means a lot that you enjoy my writing and I’m so glad you’re here! 🥹🥰

[warmblanketwhump]

In response to your fever chills post... The first one is so true 😔 like you think a hot shower will help and you turn it to the hottest temperature possible, yet you still have goosebumps all over. Then it hits that something isn't right. Someone needs to write more about this!!

it’s seriously the worst!!! 😭😭😭 it’s especially bad when you get out of the water and feel even more chilled and shivery because you’re all wet, and you can’t warm up even in dry clothes….

I’ll definitely be writing more of it in the future - it’s such a miserable feeling that makes zero sense when it’s happening, but can be such an ominous warning of the illness to come 😈

[jennytwosheds]

I've just spent the last 8 hours nursing the worst migraine of my life, ama

[close-to-better]

I do t have enough blankets to counteract my fever chills

[healthwithtips]

Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis– Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment and Ongoing care

A diffuse inflammatory disease of the lung caused by an exaggerated immune response to repeated inhalation of airborne environmental antigens. Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis– Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment and Ongoing care