the beautiful relief of being unknown

a no-judgment kink blog

[seasnz]

a gentle “you don’t look well ..” trailing off into a “woah, hey, hey-“ as they lurch forward to steady, or perhaps catch, a most definitely sick character.

[sillylittlesickfics]

need to write about a cowboy type ranch hand who is trying to push through the day despite feeling awful.

walking out in the fields to retrieve equipment despite his body aching, despite the exhaustion in his bones.

Smiling at a passerby only to drop it completely when they look away, back to an expression that showed how he really felt.

Cleaning the horse stalls only to double over momentarily with stomach pain, a queasiness in his gut.

Who knows how long he'd be able to pull through without someone stopping him. Or worse, getting to a point where he can't do anything at all.

[weirdstrangeandawful]

One thing about the flu is that it worsens fast. I'm talking actual influenza, not the colloquial 'stomach flu' which has nothing to do with influenza. A character can go to bed almost perfectly fine and wake up a few hours later at hospital levels of bad. They can be dying before they even know what hit them.

I'm especially thinking of a whumpee coming home from a trip exhausted and kind of run down but their partner just chalking it up to travelling or maybe stress as they go to bed. Only, the next morning, Whumpee has a horrendous fever and they have such a bad cough their chest sounds like it's crunching as they cough.

[allthewhumpygoodness]

Fevers

Whumpees with aching eyes, too tired to keep open yet too sore to close, even the lightest pressure of their eyelids too much

Whumpee who's too weak and dizzy to do anything at all but lie in bed completely still, sweating through their blankets only to immediately start shivering after clumsily throwing them off

Whumpees with dry mouths, dry lips

The corners of their room are more shadowy than they should be, and they're too exhausted to bother to get up and see what's in there. The Hat Man will have to just wait his turn.

Strong enough to get out of bed but being so, so out of it. Caretaker finding them standing swaying in a doorway, pale as death, clearly seeing something that isn't there

Everything seems to be flickering. The air buzzes. Their skin prickles.

Getting to sleep is hard, because their mind is restless and racing. Once they're asleep though, they're down for the count

Chattering teeth. Their bones must be rattling, for how much they ache

[swooningdelirium]

• Somebody pressing a concerned hand to their forehead, then sucking in air through their teeth in sympathy.

• Colors looking hazy/brighter as their temperature spikes

•Teeth chattering around an oral thermometer until it flashes in an angry red

• “I told you, I’m fine.” ‘Well, should I believe you or the thermometer?’

• Feebly curling around a heating pad/hot water bottle just trying infuse some warmth into their bones

• A friend notices they look unwell. Friend goes in for a hug or places a hand on their shoulder as a casual display of affection, but also to sneakily gauge their temperature. Just as they suspected, they’re burning up.

[comfortingcatharsis]

A character finally released from the throes of a coughing fit that leaves them gasping for air, sagging against their pillows or their companion's chest, aching from the series of chesty, tearing coughs that ripped through them and lightheaded for want of oxygen.

[softsicknose]

when you can tell that a person doesn't feel well by the way they're moving. maybe they're slower than usual because they're exhausted, or moving gingerly because they're achey or stiff. so underrated

[comfortingcatharsis]

Blood dripping from a character's fingers which clearly originates from an injury far higher up their arm or shoulder but has run all the way down as their arm dangles loosely, their hand wetly stained with blood but uninjured beneath.

[galwithalibrarycard]

I am having Such a Bad Gut Night (something i ate), and it is inspiring me to complain about the lack of gastrointestinal whump and hurt/comfort in fanfiction. Yes, bathroom distress is gross, but vomiting is gross and fevers and flus are gross, and there’s whump about those. So why not fic for those of us whose intestines hate us?

- Character A has ulcerative colitis. Character B cooks them gut friendly meals on the regular, joins them in avoiding dairy and spicy/greasy/fried things, and when a colonoscopy is coming up for their partner, B goes shopping for clear liquids and low-residue foods for bowel prep day and the day before prep day respectively.

- Character A is doing bowel prep and feels like hell warmed over. A can’t stand to be seen by anyone or do anything but groan feebly. Character B camps out outside the bathroom door and talks to A through said door, so they have their privacy but aren’t alone.

- Or, Character B goes away, but keeps catching themself hovering outside the bathroom door anyway, wanting desperately to provide comfort but knowing that A wants to tough it out alone.

- Character A is sleeping off the anesthesia from their colonoscopy. Character B is curled up sleeping next to them, after a night of being woken up unintentionally and then laying awake worrying and feeling guilty that their partner has to make themself sick for this medical procedure and there’s nothing B can do to ease their discomfort. Little do they know A was also feeling guilty for keeping B up all night.

- Character A has ulcerative colitis and is having nausea and/or abdominal pain and/or tenesmus. Character B massages Character A’s stomach until they feel better.

- Character A is in the mood to complain about their IBD. Character B listens and commiserates and even cracks a few jokes to cheer A up.

- (I don’t have a stoma but for those who do) Character A has a stoma and Character B is instrumental in helping A still feel sexy and at home in their body.

And I don’t care how much you like anal stuff, colonoscopy is not sexually pleasurable at all (looking at you, that one fic on ao3).

[philosophicalparadox]

In honor of my not feeling good:

Some Signs of having a Fever (and you might not know it)

Feeling cold even when the temperature is warm or you are buried in blankets

Chills that come and go

Headache (very common, particularly behind the eyes)

Mild to moderate nausea

Feeling like your body is really hot and your extremities are cold

Racing or thudding heart

Changes in breathing, faster and shallower usually but sometimes the opposite

Cold sweating

Fatigue

Wandering or incoherent thoughts or severe brain fog

Achy joints

Weakness

Feeling sick when you drink something cold or if room temp water feels cold

Noticing your eyes water a lot

A hot, sticky feeling in the back of the throat

Getting dizzy all of a sudden or experiencing vertigo when moving

Your eyes physically hurt

extra crackly joints.

Restlessness

Just. Odd behavior in general. Maybe you got the sudden urge to call someone you haven’t talked to in years. Maybe you just feel like laying on the floor for no apparent reason. Maybe you get the idea that the wall might taste good. Goes along with wandering and incoherent thoughts.

Sudden anxiety that compels you to find other people. Anyone’s company is better than none and you can’t explain why. The idea of being by yourself is suddenly unpleasant. I refer to this as the Puppy Response.

Alternatively a compulsion to hide and bunker down away from everyone else. I call this the Cat Response.

What I call Panic or Manic Circling where you’re a specific kind of restless that’s compelling you to find somewhere to be but you don’t know where “it” wants you to go or why, so you just kinda go in circles hoping the answer jumps out at you.

Bizarre emotional states. Maybe you’re extra moody, or you’re ugly crying for no obvious reason. Maybe you’re unusually elated or happy, (that one’s always sus to me) or get upset over absolutely nothing. Maybe a depression spiral hits you out of nowhere and won’t quit.

Perhaps it’s because I have OCD too(brand spanking new diagnosis), but I find that compulsive comfort behaviors are suddenly much more frustrating or nitpicky when I have a fever or don’t feel good in general.

Now all of these can happen independently of a fever and for lots of other reasons, but I have found that if more than like three are happening all at the same time, I should check my temperature.

I have an unusual quirk (though it’s not really odd for ADHD or autistics, much less AuDHD) in that my body is absolutely terrible at telling me something is wrong and tends to find the weirdest ways of expressing that.

I have, for the record, checked my temperature when I had like 9 of these all coinciding and I actually really felt like I had a fever, and have a temp of a whole whopping 99.5. (Like now) I have also checked my temperature when I only had 3, all the emotional ones, and my temperature was 104.2. For some reason the higher my fever gets the less able to feel it I become, so I’ve learned to do a self check of these symptoms often.

I feel like these may be useful for anyone writing a sick character and wondering how they could possibly not know they’re feverish, especially very feverish. Plus it’s interesting to see if other people experience these odd things.

[bubble-up]

Pushed to the limits

Character vomiting from dehydration or lack of food—for mundane reasons or not. Maybe they’ve just been too busy running around that day to drink or eat much, and the nausea hits them like a truck. Or maybe they’re in a much worse situation. Stranded, or away from home, injured and unable to get help, vomiting from dehydration after they exert themselves even a little.

Character pushed to the brink of the sheer pain they can handle. Maybe they have a high pain tolerance, and this is so blinding that they roll over and puke before being forced to carry on. Maybe they don’t have such a high pain tolerance—more average—and they say, shaky and sweaty, “I think I’m about to puke.”

Character puking from a fight, punched in the guts one more time then they can handle.

Iron stomach, but pushed past a limit they confidently thought they didn’t have.

Pushed past a medical limit—too much anesthetic, and they wake up vomiting. Swallowing too much blood from a nosebleed, or an injury much worse. Hit way too hard on the head. Given too much of a drug.

Limits are fun.

[iliterallyjustlivehere]

i just really really love physical sickness as a result of mental sickness.

something so beautiful about characters having panic attacks and immediately throwing up afterwards. or when depression manifests along with a cold.

[iliterallyjustlivehere]

"you're done, babe, you're empty." but the character keeps dry heaving, their stomach refusing to settle. yeah.

[comfortingcatharsis]

An injured character whose chief concern is getting blood on their companion's shirt- the companion doesn't care in the least, their only concern regarding the character's bleeding is treating the injury, but the injured character is fixated on and endlessly apologetic for leaving bloodstains on their shirt, protesting being held or supported against their companion on the basis of not wanting to bleed on them.

[feverflushed]

Trying to go upstairs with a fever.

They're so weak and wobbly, leaning heavily on the handrail. Everything is spinning, and the effort leaves them out of breath, so halfway up they just... plop down, sitting on a step for a moment and trying not to pass out.

They try to motivate themselves, knowing that a cozy bed is waiting for them just a few steps away, but they just can't bring themselves to stand.

[allthewhumpygoodness]

Nooo but like. So we all love 1) sickness that worsens in the middle of the night and also 2) sickies that go to bed not knowing they're sick waking up the next morning feeling Rough but consider. consider. a sickie waking up in the middle of the night all of a sudden feeling terrible out of nowhere. They went to bed fine. But now they're feverish and wracked with chills, sore all over, dizzy -- and it's the middle of the night. Anyone they might call to for help is asleep and they're sure as hell not about to wake them up. The dark is freaking them out. It's so much colder than it was. And they can't get back to sleep.

[alaskan-wallflower]

Sickfic Prompts (I’m in the mood)

Dialogue

Caretaker

“You’re burning up…”

”Are you okay? You don’t look too well.”

”That didn’t sound good.”

”Are you going to be sick?”

”You’re all sweaty, do you feel sick?”

”Shit, shit, shit, you’re okay, it’s okay…”

”Why didn’t you tell me you weren’t feeling well?”

”Dont lie to me, [name], I can tell when you’re not feeling well.”

”Do you think you can eat/drink something?”

”Its okay, let it out…”

”We need to call an ambulance.”

”I’m taking you to the doctor.”

”If you try to leave this bed I won’t speak to you for a week.”

”[insert food{ isn’t agreeing with you?”

”Do we need to move to the bathroom?”

”Do you need a bucket/trash can?”

”Your stomach doesn’t sound too happy.”

”I told you not to play outside without a jacket!”

”You probably regret eating so much/that, huh?”

”How long has [jnsert body part] been bothering you?”

Sickie

“Please don’t touch there…”

“Bucket—bucket, please—“

”My throat feels like I’ve gargled glass…”

”I feel like I’m going to pass out…”

”You don’t have to waste your time on me.”

“Don’t get too close, we don’t need you getting sick too.”

”I’ve gotta go to school/work! I can’t waste my time in bed!”

“Oh god, I shouldn’t have eaten that…”

”Can you please turn out the light? My head’s killing me.”

”Please don’t leave me…”

“Please don’t tell [insert name]…”

”God damnit, when will this end?!”

“Please don’t take me to the doctor!”

”Its probably just a cold, I’ll be fine…”

”I don’t know if I can stomach anything…”

”Leave me alone! Please!”

”I knew I was going to regret that later…”

”I get it, I’m an idiot. I don’t need you berating me…”

”You’re going to regret cuddling me when you catch this too…”

”Ambulance. Call an ambulance.”

Actions

Caretaker

Feeling a sickie’s swollen lymph nodes

Rubbing a sickie’s stomach to ease the pain

Holding back sickie’s hair while they vomit

Kissing sickie’s forehead after they vomit

Making sickie’s favorite sick food

Tucking sickie into bed

Rubbing sickie’s back as they fall asleep

Helping sickie walk around

Holding sickie’s hand at the doctor’s

Carrying sickie to their room

Bringing sickie homemade get better gifts

Driving sickie to the hospital

Spoon feeding sickie

Catching sickie as they pass out

Helping sickie clean up after throwing up

Rubbing sickie’s stomach/back as they throw up

Feeling sickie’s heart

Snuggling sickie despite the risk

Massaging sickie’s aches and sores

Visiting/leaving sickie in the hospital

Sickie

Sipping on ginger ale/soda to help them burp

Crying from the pain

Swallowing down nausea and vomit

Sickly hiccups/burps

Pushing caretaker away so they don’t get sick too

Whining is the only form of communication

Delirious talking/asking for things

Burrowing themselves in blankets

Passing out

Working too hard despite the sickness

Crying for caretaker

Fever dreams/nightmares

Rubbing their own aching body parts

Not being able to make it to a trash can

Shaking/shivering

Falling/tripping from delirium

Having to sit down because of dizziness

Asking for their favorite sick food

Begging caretaker to stay/to snuggle them

Forcing themselves to eat/drink so they look fine

[xghostlightx]

Early morning half awake thought:

Someone waking with a groan and swatting their alarm clock off only to have their partner pull them close and murmur "Good news, you get to ignore that alarm and go back to sleep, you're burning up" because they woke fifteen minutes ago to the sweltering heat of feverish skin against theirs and there's no way they're letting them go to work today.