Ireadpast-mybedtime - Untitled

Low level/continuous pain tips for writing

Want to avoid the action movie effect and make your character's injuries have realistic lasting impacts? Have a sick character you're using as hurt/comfort fodder? Everyone has tips for how to write Dramatic Intense Agony, but the smaller human details of lasting or low-level discomfort are rarely written in. Here are a few pain mannerisms I like to use as reference:

General

Continuously gritted teeth (may cause headaches or additional jaw pain over time)

Irritability, increased sensitivity to lights, sounds, etc

Repetitive movements (fidgeting, unable to sit still, slight rocking or other habitual movement to self-soothe)

Soft groaning or whimpering, when pain increases or when others aren't around

Heavier breathing, panting, may be deeper or shallower than normal

Moving less quickly, resistant to unnecessary movement

Itching in the case of healing wounds

Subconsciously hunching around the pain (eg. slumped shoulders or bad posture for gut pain)

Using a hand to steady themself when walking past walls, counters, etc (also applies to illness)

Narration-wise: may not notice the pain was there until it's gone because they got so used to it, or may not realize how bad it was until it gets better

May stop mentioning it outright to other people unless they specifically ask or the pain increases

Limb pain

Subtly leaning on surfaces whenever possible to take weight off foot/leg pain

Rubbing sore spots while thinking or resting

Wincing and switching to using other limb frequently (new/forgettable pain) or developed habit of using non dominant limb for tasks (constant/long term pain)

Propping leg up when sitting to reduce inflammation

Holding arm closer to body/moving it less

Moving differently to avoid bending joints (eg. bending at the waist instead of the knees to pick something up)

Nausea/fever/non-pain discomfort

Many of the same things as above (groaning, leaning, differences in movement)

May avoid sudden movements or turning head for nausea

Urge to press up against cold surfaces for fever

Glazed eyes, fixed stare, may take longer to process words or get their attention

Shivering, shaking, loss of fine motor control

If you have any more details that you personally use to bring characters to life in these situations, I'd love to hear them! I'm always looking for ways to make my guys suffer more write people with more realism :)

hello!! i checked your faq and couldn't find this question, but you seem like the person who could answer it. when you acquire pre-loved or vintage plushies, how do you disinfect/wash them? especially beanie babies? like beyond spot cleaning

This turned into my masterpost of how to clean plushies! I also have a tag for plush care where i’ve answered asks about damaged fur, and brush recommendations + more!

How to wash and clean stuffed animals:

🧸 1. Prep! 🧸

I vacuum/lint roll the plush to get any stray hairs/dust/debris etc. I have a soft bristle brush attachment for my vacuum that i bought off amazon that i use exclusively for stuffed animals

I always hand wash my plushies when possible, but i’ve included a section on both spot cleaning for less dirty plush and machine washing under the wash section!

NOTE: if your plushie has a voice box or joints or anything inside that is incompatible with water then don’t submerge it!!

🧼 2. Soap! 🧼

I use Woolite brand soap because it’s gentle and safe for synthetics. I dilute the detergent with water in about a 1:4 soap:water ratio in a small container (i usually use the detergent cap)

i use woolite but any gentle detergent safe for synthetics will work. Stuffed animal fur and stuffing is generally made of plastic! NO FABRIC SOFTENER! it can leave a residue.

🫧 3. Wash! 🫧

Hand washing: I soak the plush under COLD running water first, and then with my hands i apply and lather the soap in to the fur/fabric and make sure i thouroughly saturate it with the soapy water.

For plush that can’t be bathed/aren’t super dirty/only need a spot clean I use a damp microfiber rag dipped in a mixture of lukewarm water + a tiny (like a drop!) of soap (woolite or dawn) and rub them down all over with it. Then I go over them with a rag damp with clean, soapless water until all the soap is gone. If your plush has medium or long fur you still will want to brush it out to make sure the fur dries soft and not clumped up! Check my section on drying/detailing below.

For machine washing put them in a pillow case to protect the eyes, and put some pillows/ blankets/ towels in the machine with the plush to pad it. use gentle detergent and wash it on “delicates” (or your machines gentlest cycle) with COLD water! Top loading machines do best for this and you’ll want to arrange them sitting up with their backs to the wall of the machine if possible. For front loading machines just throw a bunch of extra pillows/blankets to pad it. skip to step 5 if you end up using a washing machine. NEVER PUT PLUSH IN THE DRYER!!!

🚿 4. Rinse! 🚿

Use cold running water! Make sure no soap remains. I smell the plushies periodically to be extra certain i’ve gotten the soap out. You can gently squeeze the plushie depending on the stuffing type. Some plush may need to be washed twice depending on the filth-level.

Beanie babies and some other plush can be squeezed because of their beans, but plush made out of purely soft stuffing can have their stuffing deformed if you squeeze them too much. Some brands like douglas have stiffer plush with beans and stuffing and they actually can be squeezed too. (DO NOT “WRING OUT” ANY PLUSH!!)

🧽 5. Pre-dry! 🧽

after the soap is 100% out and you are happy with the cleanliness of the plushie, you have two options to pre-dry them:

My favorite way is to put the plush in my washing machine and run it on “spin” cycle only, which is very effective at getting excess water out. In my experience the plush barely moves in my top loading machine, but you can always put the plush in a clean pillow case or put a bunch of clean towels in with it to pad/stabilize the plush in a side loader or if the plush is fragile

If you can’t use your washing machine for any reason, then try your best to get as much water out without damaging the plush. Consider wrapping it in a towel and making a sling with a second towel and spinning it around you, lol. It will be okay if you can’t do any of these things, though! PLEASE don’t “WRING OUT” your plushies as this can deform them!

I NEVER put my plush in the dryer, it can melt the fur fibers and cause matting/damage!! Some people use the “air dry/no heat” but i don’t like to take risks

🧺 6. Dry! 🧺

⭐️ This is the most important part, you must set your plush up to air dry thouroughly!! I prefer to use a fan pointed at the plush. but if you don’t have access to any kind of fan then a hair dryer set on cool could work, and plain air drying works too, it just takes longer.

I brush the fur out with a soft bristle brush once or twice while it’s drying to make sure the fur dries fluffy and soft. I use a build a pear paw brush. You can also use a plastic slicker brush and brush backwards with the direction of the fur to avoid pulling the fur fibers out. Don’t use a brush/comb that’s been used on humans or pets without super disinfecting it first, as the skin oils/dirt can damage your plushies fur!

For beanie babies or any plush with beans you must make sure the beans dry completely, they take way longer than the stuffing!

You need to rotate the plush every few hours or so to make sure it’s drying throughly. Try not to dry it in a humid room! There is a risk of mold if a plush doesn’t dry completely before being packed up/sealed up.

✨ 7. Detail! ✨

(optional) after the plush is completely dry i go back with the brushes and detangle/fluff up the plush! This is almost necessary for any long/medium furred plush to keep the fur soft and detangled. I use the soft bristle brush for all, and plastic slicker brush for long fur. You can get a small plastic slicker brush for kittens/small dogs at walmart for like $3. Just make sure to be gentle with any combs/slicker brushes to avoid damaging the plush/ripping out the fur. ^_^

This was super long! I have hand washed like 25 plushies of all different sizes at this point and this is what works for me. I have a lot of thrifted plush and they dont always come in great shape. you can reply to this post or send me a message if you have any questions!

extra tip from reblogs:

I recently discovered laundry stripping and y’all, no matter how much of a crock of shit you think fast fashion is, you’re underestimating.

Aight y'all. Here's a lesson I learned from my wife, and I wish I'd learned it years ago:

Before you buy anything, take 5 minutes to search (preferably with a non-Google search engine like DuckDuckGo) "best [whatever] for [specific purpose if necessary]."

Make sure you look at who the reviews are from; there are a lot of bad spam sites out there, but you can find good lists on reputable sites. However, you'll get some of the best lists on Reddit.

Most of what you'll find at the top of the lists on Amazon (and Walmart) are people who have paid for that spot. You'll still have to use discernment to make sure you're picking a good review site, but I'm not kidding when i say that the last time we had to buy a plunger, I ended up on a thread on a plumber's forum where they were discussing which plunger they keep in their own bathroom. (The overwhelming winner was something called a Toilet Saber, and... it's much easier to use than the usual style of plunger, actually.)

She searches "best potato peeler" and "best pastry blender" and "best standing desk" and it seems so obvious, right, but she does it for literally everything and the average quality of things I own has gone way, way up since I started taking 5 minutes to search "best yoga socks" and "best cuticle trimmers" and then going to buy whatever it is.

Her research skills go into overdrive when it comes to big purchases; she's the one who researched our sublimation printer and found the desk I currently use. If there's an extremely passionate subreddit out there about the thing she wants to buy, she'll find it and then read half a dozen reviews.

I cannot stress enough how much she does this. About. Everything. And how much everything we own is better as a result.

It's amazing, honestly.