i like when the strong men feel pain

The Recruit s02e01: “Hey. Relax. You’re safe.”

+bonus:

chatty characters pale-faced and silent

quiet and reserved characters rambling deliriously

character who always resorts to humour clearly trying to think of a quip but coming up empty

no-nonsense character so loopy that they can’t stop giggling

a stoic character’s hands trembling in panic

an easily frightened character so far out of it that they aren’t aware of what’s happening to them, much less afraid

intelligent characters who can’t think straight

protective (self-sacrificial) characters letting someone else take the fall for them because they’re too weak to object

patient characters snapping at whoever comes near

affectionate character who wants to be alone

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)

As always, when writing about sensitive topics/injuries/illnesses, we encourage everyone to research and tag works appropriately. This is to ensure that the whump community can remain a safe space for everyone, as well as assist writers in creating well-informed works that avoid offending people and stereotyping, romanticising, or sensationalising hard topics.

We have also added some additional links that may be useful when creating characters.

Below are some links to resources we and others found useful - we'd like to thank the wonderful members of our community for helping us with finding great resources.

Blogs/Tumblr Posts:

@cripplecharacters - A whole blog dedicated to helping people write disabled characters.

^ A Guide to Writing Disabled Characters

@writingwithcolor - A whole blog dedicated to writing and resources centered on racial, ethnic and religious diversity.

^ Stereotypes and Tropes Navigation

@creatingblackcharacters - Creating Black Characters *with intent!

Resources for Writing Injuries (Tumblr Masterpost)

Resources for Writing Sketchy Topics (Tumblr Masterpost - please note that a couple of links are broken due to the post being 7 years old, but many are still working!)

A guide to designing, drawing or writing characters who use mobility aids (Tumblr post)

Writing A Blind or Visually Impaired Character (Tumblr Post)

Independent Websites

Avoiding Stereotypes in Fiction: Characters with Mental Health Issues (WritersHelpingWriters)

How Do I Depict a Disabled Character Respectfully? (Fay Onyx, Mythcreants blog)

Respectfully Depicting a Character Adapting to a Disability (Fay Onyx, Mythcreants blog)

Writing Deaf Characters (T. Frohock, author.)

How to Write Deaf or Hard of Hearing Characters (Melanie Ashford, Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association)

How to Write a Blind or Vision Impaired Character (AllWriteAlright)

If anyone has any additional sources, feel free to share them in the reblogs/replies!

POST CONTRIBUTERS - Thank you!

@psychologeek - Thank you for sharing some of the primary resources with us, it helped us a great deal :)

Whumpees- Cha Su Yeol played by Jang Dong Yoon, Park Min Jae played by Lee Chang Min, Choi Hyuk played by Kim Tae Jung

Where to Watch- Netflix, Viki

Genre- Thriller, mystery, crime

Synopsis- Jung I Sin is a serial killer with the nickname of the Mantis. She brutally murdered 5 men 20 years ago. Her son is Cha Su Yeol. He has loathed his mother for his entire life. He now works as a police officer. One day, a murder case takes place. The murder seems to be a copycat crime copied from Mantis. To catch this culprit, Cha Su Yeol enlists the help of his mother, Jung I Sin

~~~~~~~SPOILERS~~~~~

Cha Su Yeol

Ep1- cut on hand ; hand bandaged ; cuffed to his car, brief pain, confrontation, stressed, emotional ; stressed meeting mother, emotional confrontation ; talking about seeing mother, says he still has nightmares

Ep2- flashback beaten by bullies, bruises on his face ; chasing suspect ; angry confrontation with mother ; talking down suspect with weapon pointed at him ; doing CPR on victim, stressed

Ep3- angry finding out theres another murder, punches mirror ; bruises on his hamd, wife worried for him ; extremely stressed finding fathers dead body, emotional confrontation with mother, crying

Ep4- brief fight, stressed

Ep5- stressed, worried about wife, confrontation with mother ; stressed, emotional finding Min Jae injured

Ep6- stressed, chasing suspect, fighting, hit in the head with bat, blood at his lips, barely conscious, staggering, falls against car, head bleeding, collapses into teammates arms, wincing, head bandaged ; team finds out identity, stressful confrontation ; telling wife about mother, crying

Ep7- emotional moment with wife ; stressed, worried about wife

Ep8- worried about wife and mother ; shelf pushed over onto him, small wound on his face, gun pointed at him, confrontation with killer, saved by teammate ; searching for his mom, wanted by police ; startled, breathing heavy, stressed finding out disturbing truth ; emotional confrontation with mom and grandpa, stabbed in thigh with sedatives, passes out ; wakes up outside, runs into burning building to save mother, doing CPR

Kim Min Jae

Ep5- attacked by serial killer, punched repeatedly, blood on his face ; found tied up, large cuts across his chest, barely conscious, speaking weakly, passes out (dies)

Choi Hyuk

@whumpgifathon | Day 6 Skills/Theme - Tiny Details: "Bloody Handprints"

My Fault London (2025): "Hey, look at me, look at me, look at me."

@whumpgifathon | Day 14: “Comfort”

@whumpgifathon | Day 17: “Covered in blood”