v-the-adventurer

[v-the-adventurer]

a character with a cold mumbling “i’m up, i’m up” when their alarm goes off, to be met with “are you sure you should be?” from their partner.

[v-the-adventurer]

thinking… long buildups but specifically with fluctuating urgency.

it’s not entirely clear whether or not the sneeze itself is actually gonna show up. as if it’s still trying to figure that part out.

so their expression goes hazy, their breathing gets a little shallower, and they kinda pause like that for a sec.

maybe or maybe not a test breath in, pause—

—and then it hits hard, and they’re taking a quick little flurry of inhales. maybe it doesn’t come out and they let out a sigh, rinse and repeat. but maybe it does and they finish it off with a big, desperate gasp, and then sneeze.

that’s what im talking about. good shit.

even hotter still is when they’re trying to hold it back, because then this whole display is very clearly telegraphing their fight with it. you know exactly whether they’re winning or losing the battle against it. SO good…

[v-the-adventurer]

Been thinking about the opportunities of the "only one bed" hotel trope where one of them has a cold.

Think about it. The sickie politely facing away, laying as far away as possible to avoid contamination or annoyance.

Sneezes that rock the mattress.

Sniffles and sneezes that wake the other person.

Sickie embarrassedly muffling into the pillow.

Getting up to sneeze and blow in the restroom.

B feeling bad for A and rolling over with a "hey, can I get you anything?" And A just feeling guilty while B takes care of them through the night. "Stop worrying about it. We all get sick."

B catching it later and hiding it so A doesn't feel extra bad."

Aaaand ofc what if one is a snzfucker...

[v-the-adventurer]

when someone leans heavily against something after a long day, and that’s really the first indicator they don’t feel well. it’s confirmed to their ( friend / partner / team ) by an exhausted, muffled sneeze and they have to wonder how on earth they didn’t spot this

B: you wanna tell me something?

A: …no?

B: too goddamn late - what is wrong with you? why on earth would you do this to yourself?

[v-the-adventurer]

Me @ snzblr & whumplr

[v-the-adventurer]

An itch that takes multiple good tries sneezes to get rid of.

One, to break the surface tension, a first hard hammer swing at the carnival game contraption, just barely enough to ring the bell at the top.

Two, to help it along. It’s followed by a mindless sniffle, and those have been much more plentiful, generous even, sometimes scratching the itch and sometimes shifting against the sensitive nasal membrane just the wrong way, and then they’re leaning back in the chair, knowing they’re about to reach-

Three, and at this point, they’re panting a little. Eyes that were once softly focused are now blinking, and wincing at the pressure and burning pressing into the left side of their sinuses, they sniffle again, gently pressing their fingers against warm, wet nostrils. 

Four and Five tear out unapologetically, seeming to barrel like cattle through a flimsy gate. They suck in a rather soupy sniffle, and sigh. Annoyance swims in their bleary eyes, which dart around for a couple of seconds before their other hand quickly reaches to pull a tissue from the box on their left. But the box’s contents are dwindling, and they have to shake the white delicate three-layered sheet for it to come out. They know they’ll need a second one, the fetching of which requires the same silly method. Quickly, they layer the tissues, and with their chest heaving with more preparatory breaths, lift them with a fairly dramatic gasp.

Sihh- Or... No. Not… Not yet? Siiii…. Sihhh’HIHH’—- No. Fuck.

They sigh, and sniff loudly, blinking down at the soft, neatly-folded landing pad they’ve acquired. In their frustration, they lift two fingers to scrub aggressively at the sore, indecisive appendage at the centre of their face, which can only offer a watery stream down their upper lip, through rounded nostrils that blush more deeply at the abuse. Clicking, squeaking, and another harsh sniffle whistles through the troubled, swollen passages, introducing cool air against newly aggravated, reddened stretches of irritated nasal membrane, their fingers finally relent, and-

Six. Seven. Some watery blinks, and an improvised series of eighth note breaths, and-

Eight, Nine, Ten; wrenching and useless,

Then a long, high-pitched gasp, pulled from the depths of their thorax, and out bursts Eleven, which mercilessly tears through damp layers of tissue. They feel the heat of a tear create a thin trail down their stiff, reddened face, before they sniffle again noisily and reach for more tissues that pull the poor, steadily hollowing box with them, tumbling across the table. Clutching the sodden wad of tissues to their disruptive nose, they one-handedly fold the new tissues and have to pinch the mess away from their warm, still-leaking nostrils before replacing them.

Twelve rips against the roof of their mouth, scraping the back of their throat and sending a hurricane blast of air and moisture that the tissues can barely contain. Awful, and the same time delicious - it sweeps the ticklish sensation away in one violent, punctuating go.

A pained, shaky mix of a sigh and groan creeps from their lips. That one must have hit the bell. Sitting there in a soft daze, they can feel the brass reverberations ringing between their temples.

[v-the-adventurer]

11. sorry ~

[v-the-adventurer]

When a sniffle triggers a sneeze

[v-the-adventurer]

"I think I'm sick" said with an almost prophetic level of certainty, the think might as well not be there.

The phrase is uttered in a slightly nasal voice due to congestion and pressure that's building right in the back of the sinuses, that same nasal voice is also slightly husky or strained at the edges due to a scratchy throat that could almost be mistaken for a fluke.

The phrase is said after a random and out-of-character series of statements, sentences that trailed off multiple times without warning, conversations that continued to stray from their focal topic even as they struggle to stay focused.

They're struggling to stay coherent and awake, confused as to why they're acting so strangely, why they sound just slightly different, why everything feels out of whack as they interrupt their previous point about breakfast cereal to talk about birds, only to press their palm against their face in frustration, sleepily rubbing at an eye as they announce their groggy revelation to their confused friends.

"snf!- I think I'm sick..."

[v-the-adventurer]

In praise of forehead feels.

[v-the-adventurer]

A sneeze caught in a tissue or a handkerchief is the hottest sneeze BECAUSE (a) the person has Prepared For Snz which means (b) their nose has been tingling and itching Very Recently, hence lifting tissue to nose and (c) their nose has been acting up Since Earlier, hence keeping tissues close by (d) therefore this person has likely Caught a Cold and (e) they’re being all considerate trying to keep their Highly Contagious Germs to themself (f) or if alone, they’re practising good Self-Care by keeping themself tidy and clean.

[v-the-adventurer]

Someone with a sloppy cold

Especially if it’s not even that it’s that messy (although yeah, that’s certainly part of it), but they’re just so comfy around their partner that they’re not hiding it *at all* and they’re doing nothing to really keep it to themself because they’re too focused on how gross they feel to really think about politeness. Their partner figures they were going to catch it anyway, so they just sigh a little as the sickie sneezes all over themself for the umpteenth time and rubs their back and kisses their flushed forehead.

[v-the-adventurer]

where's that post about two coworkers who are trying to hide their relationship at work but a cold gives them away

[v-the-adventurer]

A usually downplays or stifles their sneezes, but just now they have whipped out a tissue. They smash their sneeze(s) into it and then keep it in place. Sheepishly, they meet B’s eyes over the top of the tissue.

B realizes A has a cold.

[v-the-adventurer]

“something’s making me sneeze today” when the ‘something’ is a massive cold coming on but they don’t know it yet 🥰🥰🥰

[v-the-adventurer]

A thing I love in fiction specifically: Stress sickness. Not getting a cold because of stress but just the general malaise and unwell feeling that comes after a long, busy, difficult week.

A character who's dragging because they finally have the time to be exhausted and they come home ready to fall into bed. Getting little chills because being so tired makes them feel cold. Feeling so fatigued they waver on their feet. Being so spent that they have to stay in bed for a day. Saying they "just don't feel right."

And the caretaking potential. A friend or partner dotes on them while they recover, or guides them to bed, cuddles with them, encourages them to rest (whether they do or can is up for debate). It's just so good.

[v-the-adventurer]

How did you discover you had a sneeze fetish? What made you realize?

Double sneeze