Gunshots burn clothes, make ugly, bloody, painful holes in bodies, and take weeks to heal And they leave scars.

So do knife wounds. And they hurt, too. A LOT.

Wounds get infected. They hurt. They ache. They throb with every shift and twist of muscle.

Pain-killing drugs dull the mind, make the mouth cottony and bad-tasting, and leave you disoriented for hours as they start wearing off.

People tied up for hours on end lose the feeling in their hands and feet. Their shoulders, calves, and thighs cramp up. It takes quite a while (depending upon how long they were tied) for the sensation to return. Sometimes days. And the sensation returns slowly and painfully.

Someone hit in the head hard enough to knock them out for more than just a brief second is going to have a headache the size of New York when they come to. They'll probably also experience double-vision and acute nausea if they try to stand up. Their balance is likely to be affected--they may find it hard to stand or walk without help. In fact, just trying to stand up might be enough to make them vomit and/or pass out again.

Likewise the physical consequences of rape, which do not heal overnight. These are delicate tissues. When they are ripped and torn, or bruised or abraded, the damage can take weeks to heal completely. Not to mention the potential of infection. Someone who has been violently raped may fool themselves into thinking that sex with their lover is just what they need to "cure: themselves, but their body (if the rape was penetrative) isn't going to be able to tolerate sex for quite some time.

Don't even get me started on emotional and psychological damage and its consequences.

Try not to ignore these realities. I know, it's fanfic and we're all free to do whatever we want. At the same time--the only excuse for ignoring stuff like this is sheer laziness. Authors just don't want to put that much work into their writing. *

You don't have to go overboard. Just a small indication that smacking some guy's bony jaw with your bare fist smarts a little, you know?