A Fanfic Trope that bother me!

[sasha_feather]

A bad ass character is laying in a hospital bed and is badly injured, but they refuse pain meds or are reluctant to take them because they want to "keep their mind clear."

Guess what? Pain clouds your mind also. Sometimes all you can think about is pain and nothing else. The meds make it so you can actually function to interact with the world in somewhat normal way.

I am probably preaching to the choir here, but just once I would like to see a bad ass warrior character in hospital who is accepting of pain medication.

----

I seem to have this internal conversation with the world a lot; it goes something like this: "I know that I'm an outlier in a lot of ways, but seriously? Seriously?

One of the great things about fandom and the internet is that I can find the other outliers.

Here is a really great post about body and fat acceptance that I think can apply to anybody despite the title: Ten Rules for Fat Girls by Dianne Sylvan.

Comments

[laceblade]

omfg, at the pain meds trope.
Guess what? Pain clouds your mind also. YES! Yes, yes, yes.

I got really pissed after my surgery, I was trying to reread this FF7 for comfort, which I hadn't read in about a decade. But my favorite character (Tifa) was trying to recover from this massive chest wound she gets in the game, from a sword - it slices through like, her entire torso, leaving her scarred and shit.
I think this fic had her "walking around just fine," and mad at being made to stay inside and shit, after like, TWO FUCKING WEEKS. I could not handle it.

[sasha_feather]

I can sometimes accept that kind of thing with Buffy or whatever-- she has super healing!-- but oh mean, yeah. Not what you need when you are laid up. D:

[jesse_the_k]

Pain clouds your mind — I love this so hard (well gently enough not to cause pain).

I've also discovered that pain clouds my heart. Chronic pain has fueled many a depressive or paranoid episode. I was astounded at how happy I was when I first started using mild narcotics.

[laceblade]

Yessss to all of this. I should do a post on how much better my depression is now that the pain is lessened. IT IS LIKE MAGIC.

[sasha_feather]

That is awesome sauce!! ...I need better pain management. :(

[wintercreek]

Pain clouds your mind also.

Yes, this. The other argument that gets me is the one about pain being a signal from your body about what's happening (something wrong, attempting a position outside your range of motion, whatever) - sometimes pain is just pain. And even when it's a signal you don't need to keep experiencing the pain after you've received the message. Now that you know that your ankle is sprained (or whatever), you can take pain medication AND deal with the injury! (Rather than refuse pain medication AND go running around in hostile territory, I'M LOOKING AT YOU JOHN SHEPPARD.)

[sasha_feather]

John Sheppard is a terrible horrible no good role model!

And yes, this idea that the body and it's messages are sacred or whatever... is b.s.

[thingswithwings]

ugh, yes, I hate that trope. Also the idea that people are so tough that they're capable of refusing pain medication even in extreme circumstances. It totally furthers the idea that if you need pain meds, you're just not tough enough. HATE IT.

[sasha_feather]

I want a story where Natasha grabs somebody by the throat and *demands* they give her the drugs!! Which would be the opposite of the otherwise generally lovely story I read last night.

[thingswithwings]

that would be excellent! especially if Natasha were like, no, I need to be able to function, give me the drugs.

though for me I think I see that trope more in popular culture/on tv than anywhere else, so what I really want is tv shows where tough awesome people demand pain meds.

[sasha_feather]

Sadly, this was handled so incredibly badly in House, which had a really good opportunity! I mean, House did demand drugs for his pain, but then the writers couldn't decide if he was addicted or really needed them or what.

But, agreed, more representation would be wonderful.

[kalmn]

When twu wuv cured his pain I screamed so loud I bet you heard me.

[sasha_feather]

Oooooh boy. Luckily for me I had stopped watching long before that.

[violetemerald]

Oh gosh, that point about House is so true. I watched till the end though, and idk, I still loved the show. He was never really cured and his pain seemed real enough to me.

[meloukhia]

And the way it reinforces the idea that only weaklings ask for pain medication or use it, which has very dangerous real-world implications for pain management. Know so many people who are unrelenting jerks because of poorly managed chronic pain since they're internalised this message.

[sasha_feather]

Wait, are you describing me? ;)

[meloukhia]

Oh no, I've been favouring active instead of passive aggression these days! :P

[the_andy]

Ugh, I hate that trope too. Last time I had surgery there were no options that allowed for mental clarity. It was either slightly out of focus on the meds or grumpy, distracted, and irritable, while also being in pain. At least on meds I wasn't being a jerk to people the way dealing with pain all day made me behave.

[sasha_feather]

Yep!

[torachan]

Ugh, thankfully I've never encountered that, much less enough to realise it was a common trope. But I don't really read action/adventure or H/C fic, which is where I would assume it shows up the most.

[j00j]

Word.

Also, seriously, Tough Character, you're in the hospital and you want your mind clear? I mean, my understanding of this is probably colored by doing bedside vigil on a two week hospital stay with a partner who has spent far too much time in them, but... being in the hospital seems at best dull and uncomfortable (even if your pain and discomfort are well managed, it still ain't home and the beds and food suck), and at worst painful and scary. Distractions are needed (perhaps I should write a fic about the ridiculous things the Avengers do to entertain someone in the hospital-- I tried just about everything!), and being a bit dopey and sleepy probably is a *good* thing in a lot of cases.

I guess I can sort of see the "I want a clear mind" thing if a character is worried about not being safe for some reason, but even then, see: pain clouds the mind. And it's fanfic, so hopefully they have a trusted buddy/partner/etc. to keep watch.

[eggcrack]

Guess what? Pain clouds your mind also. Sometimes all you can think about is pain and nothing else. The meds make it so you can actually function to interact with the world in somewhat normal way.

THIS. *nodnodnod*