#'doesn't it just set your whole brain on fire that illness words describe only a kind of thing but leave the degree of it vague? wowie guys

[hecticcheer]

Not a huge fan of illness denial but I do love understatement--characters saying they're "not feeling their best" when they're in mind-bending pain, that they've "got a bit of an upset stomach" when they were up all night throwing up and have just come back from another round, or that they "didn't sleep too well" when they've been awake for days. But what makes me so crazy for this is the idea they're not lying: that, yeah, sure, they phrase their ailments in an understated way to prevent others worrying about them, but that that's like. A calculated, rational decision rather than a self-disrespecting one

I.e. that they actually genuinely don't consider their condition unusual/scary/particularly worth remarking, and bring it up only in answer to questions or to explain their behavior

You know--the "to me, this is Tuesday" implication

That's hot