swooningdelirium

[swooningdelirium]

A friend group out at coffee and one of them has a cold and somebody feels their forehead and then EVERYBODY needs to feel their forehead.

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B finally admits they “don’t feel so hot,” which prompts A to rest a hand on their forehead for a moment.

“I don’t know,” A mutters. “You’re feeling pretty hot to me.”

just something to consider

something about the phrase “i don’t feel too hot” just gets me

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can’t believe i’ve never told this story on here

i had mono when i was in sixth grade. it was brutal and took a massive toll on my body since i was so young. after spending a few weeks the sickest i’ve ever been, i returned to school still weak and easily exhausted, but on the mend. (that recovery was a bitch and it took a very long time to feel *myself* again.)

for the following couple weeks, a friend of mine repeatedly dragged me to the nurse’s office for every little thing. every time i looked pale or needed to sit down or if he thought i felt even slightly warm. insisting i was okay never did anything to dissuade him.

‘you might need help,’ was all he’d say.

he has been a lifelong friend and this is one of my favorite memories :) feel free to use this cute lil scenario

(also, this is so eddie kaspbrak)

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not only is death becomes her (1992) an underrated movie, it graced us with *these* images:

god. she’s so beautiful

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temperature taking <3

• a hand on the forehead and thermometer under the tongue at the same time. their temperature hasn’t registered yet, but the poor thing is definitely running a fever.

• a mindless little forehead kiss followed by a second more prolonged forehead kiss followed by “… are you sick?” when they realize their partner is far too warm

• having to check someone’s temperature in their ear while they’ve got a raging ear infection.

“i know it hurts, but you have to be still. you’re burning up and i gotta see how bad it is, okay?”

•sick stubborn character insisting there’s no reason to check their temperature because they don’t have a fever. they’re sure of it. stop asking. but when they zone out for a moment, they come to with a thermometer beeping between their lips.

“one hundred and four?!” their friend exclaims in equal exasperation and horror. “you fucking idiot.”

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everyone loves a character who doesn’t know (or won’t admit) that they’re sick. and for good reason. but there’s something equally sweet about someone who doesn’t hesitate to tell their loved one something’s wrong:

• “i’m a little dizzy… my head is killing me.”

• “i don’t feel so hot.”

• “yeah, i think i’m coming down with something”

• “you think i have a fever?”

• “i woke up a little sniffly and tired, but it’s taken a turn for the worse.”

• “can you come pick me up? … yeah. apparently i’ve got a high fever and they’re sending me home, but i don’t think i can drive like this.”

• “i’m really cold.”

• “i can’t stop coughing. and sneezing. … oh, and shivering.”

• “my whole body hurts.”

maybe this isn’t the first time they have been sick around caretaker. maybe it took some time but now they know they can tell their person when they’re not well. or maybe this is the first time caretaker has seen them like this but the sick one is simply too delirious to keep their guard up. either way awww

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OHOHHOOHHO

the aching softness of someone who wants their forehead felt eventually getting their forehead felt

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And isn’t that command the truest essence of this world, that which makes everything tick? Forward, forward.

The brink of insanity lies at 102 degrees, but not far below, at 100.4, there’s a clearly discernible valley where I wouldn’t mind spending my days. In that band your guard drops, and figures from the past are given access, though not as ghosts. 100.4: a temperature where the body’s ability to stay alive is intact even as your interest in being an alert and informed social being cools, so as long as you can bear to have the past slinking about your legs like a pack of dogs, this valley offers a pleasant lassitude…

100.4, a day of soporific dissolution, the walls thin between the world and me. At 100.4 degrees there’s nothing in me that whispers “forward” anymore. And isn’t that command the truest essence of this world, that which makes everything tick? Forward, forward.

— Ia Genberg, The Details: A Novel (translated by Kira Josefsson) (HarperVia, August 8, 2023)

[swooningdelirium]

102 fever yeehaw

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update i fell asleep on my roommates’ shoulder and mumbled something half coherent about how nice and warm they felt. they put their palm to my forehead and said “no, it’s you that’s warm. you have a fever.” so i stumbled to my room and fell asleep for a little while longer. gonna take my temp now so stay tuned

my throat’s a little sore. my temp is still normal but i’m feeling Much Too Warm and a little shivery. i can feel the fever brewing behind my eyes. my head hurts. i really can’t afford to miss any classes this week so im just desperately praying i can fight this off.

oh, the irony…

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PLATONIC CARETAKING APPRECIATION POST

• cuddling up to a sick friend they’re not typically affectionate with (nothing has been able to warm them up, and caretaker is getting worried.)

• a lil forehead kiss to check if their fever is going down

•comforting the other person with terms of endearment they don’t normally use (ex. “shh, it was just a bad dream. go back to sleep, honey.”)

• calling other friends/their partner in a panic because they don’t know what to do

•carrying them to bed

• “once you’re better, you’re never gonna live this down.”

[swooningdelirium]

my throat’s a little sore. my temp is still normal but i’m feeling Much Too Warm and a little shivery. i can feel the fever brewing behind my eyes. my head hurts. i really can’t afford to miss any classes this week so im just desperately praying i can fight this off.

oh, the irony…

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this post has been made One Billion times but i never get sick of it so here are more terms of endearment in caretaking:

“bless you, honey.”

“103? no wonder you’re not feeling well, sweetheart.”

“baby, you should’ve told me it was this bad!”

“i don’t like the sound of that cough, love”

“i know, angel. i’m sorry it hurts.”

“take a deep breath for me, honey.”

“let me feel your forehead, babe.”

“you’re definitely running a fever, my love”

ESPECIALLY IF THE CARETAKER ISN’T TYPICALLY ONE FOR PET NAMES UGH

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the infected wound trope my beloved:

“let me see it. …please?”

“i know you’re cold, but i’ve gotta clean it. i’ll be quick, i promise.”

“shit. you’re burning up.”

“are those meds kicking in yet?”

“i know it hurts. hopefully you’ll be able to sleep once your fever comes down a bit.”

“shhh. it was just a dream. you’re safe.”

“how does it feel today?”

“i’ll get you something for the pain. … and for that fever.”

“let’s change those bandages and then you can go back to sleep, alright?”

[swooningdelirium]

in bed. straight up "watching it." and by "it," haha, well. let's justr say. it (2017)

[swooningdelirium]

15 feminine (and gender neutral) dialogues between caretakers

all love to those who primarily write masculine scenarios but i feel like it’s all we ever see and i know im not the only lesbian in this community! so here are some feminine whumpees for your dash!

1. “does she feel warm to you?”

2. “oh…she’s burning up.”

3. “i know she’s going to fight us, but i really think we need to bring her into urgent care…”

4. “how long have they had that cough?”

5. “they’re really dehydrated. we gotta wake them up and try to get them to drink something.”

6. “i don’t like the sound of her cough.”

7. “should we call their wife to pick them up?”

‘if my partner were this sick, i’d want to know.’

8. “what are her other symptoms?”

9. “where’d you put the thermometer? i’m worried their fever is climbing.”

10. “she really needs to stay awake long enough to take the medicine.”

11. “what was their temp the last time you checked? …oof. poor thing.”

12. “a hundred and four? no wonder she wasn’t making any sense.”

13. “just a low-grade fever. she’ll be fine.”

14. “ope. i hear sneezing. she’s awake.”

15. “how is she?”

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whump tropes that make my brain go brrrrrr

-caretaker is on the phone with whumpee and can tell how sick they are just from their voice and their futile attempts to cover their coughs/sneezes

-stress fractures (repeated stress is put on a bone, slowly breaking it until it just d i e s )

-“Damn, is the A/C off in here or what…?” *faints*

-whumpee’s feeble twitching as they lay on the brink of death

-coughing until gasping for breath/nearly suffocating

-a sore throat so bad that whumpee can barely whisper

-ribs broken during an explosion that leaves whumpee coughing from soot and smoke, despite how painful it is

-“My god, [whumpee], you’re burning up! *checks whumpee’s temperature* “A hundred and four?!”