#needles+

[hexmotel]

[callithumpwhump]

Whump classics ya just can't beat

Coughing up blood into a hand and then looking at it with shocked/terrified eyes

The Tension™ of one character tenderly patching up another character's wounds and scolding them for being reckless

Apologizing right before passing out

A hand cupped to a forehead to check for fever

A hand going under a jacket or shirt and coming away bloody

Forced to kneel with a sword under their chin

Lying about the severity/hiding of an injury

Collapsing after a big magic spell/magical exhaustion draining them

The comic relief character joking about their trauma/injury to dissuade worry from them

Hero injured/collapsing on villians doorstep or vice versa, "I didn't know where else to go"

Being curled on the ground and then kicked in the ribs (literally being kicked while they're down)

Being injected with a needle of drugs/potion by villian that knocks them out

Having a terrible nightmare and waking up with a cry in a cold sweat

Fighting against unconsciousness (unsuccessfully)

'Bonus points if'

[hoaxghost]

nothing more than a taxidermized angel

[ponypaltrail]

time for your shot

[radioactivebf]

[rayofsun-art]

Happy One Year on T, Gift for a Friend

Paint markers, alcohol markers, acrylic paint, and pen on cardboard testosterone box, 2026

[foldingfittedsheets]

My beloved wife and I give each other allergy injections every week. It’s usually not that bad, two quick jabs for each of us and it’s over.

The last time we replenished our needles that changed.

We couldn’t figure out what the hell was different at first. A few times my beloved tried to stick me and the needle just. Wouldn’t go in.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“It just… didn’t pierce,” they said in perplexed frustration.

“I guess try harder.”

It grew too frequent to ignore though and we started voicing it to each other. Weren’t the needles easier to use before? Didn’t they hurt less? That’s when we started to realize it was indeed different needles. We speculated that they’d changed distributors. We regretted restocking so many packs of these horrible new needles.

Today we went in for a vial test. That’s where they make sure the new antigens react as expected so you have medical supervision in case anaphylaxis happens. It hurt more than usual.

As we were leaving we stopped by the front desk with our doctor in tow.

“We need more needles,” my wife said.

As the doctor reached into their supply to grab them for us I piped up, “Except, did you guys change suppliers…? The first ones we got were fine but the last ones were… thicker, it felt like.”

The receptionist and our doctor immediately became flustered. Our doctor started apologizing profusely. “It’s all my fault, I’m so sorry. I’m in charge of ordering and the regular needles were like $100 more per box so I got one gauge thicker because I didn’t think it would be a big difference.”

With her face in her hands she said, “it’s a big difference. You’re like the fourth people to complain. We had a whole staff meeting about it. I’ll never get that gauge again. We’re using the thicker ones here in clinic but these new needles are the right gauge.”

We were both laughing and trying to accept her apology and assure her things were okay. I’m so excited to have good needles again but tragically we have more of the chunky ones to get through first. But today I learned that one gauge of thickness makes a very big difference for injections.