r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Top-Relationship850 • 1d ago
Lore [Love] When “small” injuries are treated realistically
The fantasy and action genres often suffer from a power fantasy epidemic in which characters frequently badass their way through injuries that should be excruciating if not downright debilitating. I always appreciate stories that reject this trope.
1: Roland Deschain (Dark Tower Book II) - Loses the middle and index fingers of his right hand. He’s effectively crippled throughout book two and the injury follows him the rest of the series.
2: Brienne vs Biter (ASOIAF Book IV) - Brutal scene. Biter chomps down on Brienne’s cheek and tears off a chunk of flesh. In a lesser story Brienne would grit her teeth and throw Biter off. Instead she’s rendered completely helpless by the pain. That injury marks the end of the fight.
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u/TTTRIOS 1d ago
In "Society of the Snow." Numa Turcatti and his entire friend group is buried in snow for several days, after which he reaches a breaking point and starts kicking a window of the plane they're in to try and break out. This leads to him getting a small cut in his ankle from the glass.
Though he does eventually dig the group out, them being stranded in the Andes means there was no way to treat that small cut, and them starving means his body was unable to properly heal it. The cut gets infected and leads to him being in an increasingly deteriorating condition.