This, m'boy, is what we call Whump

I love characters who would die for each other but will not, under any circumstances, communicate a single honest feeling.

concealing a terrible wound not out of pride, necessity, or even a guilty lack of self-worth, but for the simple pleasure of knowing something that nobody else does

I feel like a whumpee who has been under constant surveillance would do this. Finally have something nobody else knows. It's theirs.

a character who truly, legitimately goes “but why does that matter?” about their feelings when someone who cares about them asks. and the sudden falling of everyone around them’s faces as they realize that this person doesn’t recognize themself as someone who needs or should be taken care of. i want Everyone to hurt. surprise at the idea, worry for them, horror at not having noticed. do you see this person who doesn’t think of themselves as a person?

when the author describes someone dying and you can just tell they’ve never actually died by the way it’s written

when an already injured character gets tossed like a ragdoll into their buddy by some violent force/explosion/magic/collision (pick your poison) and they both go down hard. the shredded and bruised elbows and knees don’t matter, nothing else matters because they have their friend back… except their friend hasn’t moved or talked or made a sound, limp in their arms. so they roll them over in their lap and sure enough they’re passed the fuck out. hey. no, no, no, no. the pleading spills out of them as their hands scurry over the slack planes of their friend’s face, but no matter how much they shake them, or call their name, they remain ashen and bloody, their breathing shaky and stuttering, there but barely, dead to the world for now. stay with me. they pull them close. please stay with me.

waiter! waiter! more characters grieving something they can't even remember please!

does anyone know if it’s okay to want things or let yourself have them

books are so awesome. my friend murderbot is in there

I love characters who are extremely hypercompetent and simultaneously massive losers

what do you mean you havent used mindfulness techniques to accept the state of the torture labyrinth as is yet. its like youre not even trying