#sickfic shit

[musashi]

Hi Wendy! As someone who's never really been a fanfic person (I've never really been able to articulate why), I'm trying to understand the appeal of sickfic; is it just the appeal of seeing a character being cared for and receiving help while in a state where they need it? I imagine it varies by case if the state of being sick is more of the draw versus the being cared for; do you have any observations of note regarding that? It's one of the many aspects of fanfiction that I've always been intrigued by and wanted to understand, and I'd love to hear the thoughts of someone who actively thinks about and enjoys it!

the only way i can really like, break down the appeal for me is just stream of consciousness list form so i can try my best

illness allows a fanfic author to explore the realm of blatant oocness. a character can behave exceedingly different when they are sick, often depending on how sick they are. that is interesting

on the flipside, a character might act exactly the same when sick, which can be an interesting point of character in its own right

illness is humanizing. every single person you have ever met has gotten sick with a minor illness at some point in their life. for a big, larger-than-life force of nature type of character, this can knock them down a peg or offer a certain humanity to them.

(my favourite flavour of sickfic often happens to these beacons of tenacity and perfection! BREAK THEM!)

in illness, a character who is normally guarded and aloof may allow someone else to look after them. alternatively, if someone they are fond of is ill, they may lower that guard to extend care.

illness can force the plot to skid to a halt--whether that be due to needing to mitigate contagion, or because a character is too sick to carry on, it can add some necessary drama.

on the topic of contagion, it is my favourite part of sickfic. mostly because i am a huge pervert with a fetish, but beyond me being horny for it, it all just kinda goes back to vulnerability and what i call "reckless care."

if someone is contagious they are dangerous, and logically you should stay away from them for your own self-preservation. but, when people we love are feeling unwell, we often take that risk just to make them feel better. not even to cure them, just to alleviate their discomfort!

i am a person who is very abrasive and difficult to love. i am chronically avoided, untouched, unloved, i am "marked" as someone who should never be extended care or even friendship. so nothing will ever drive me more crazy than the idea of someone looking at whatever it is that makes me dangerous and unlovable (still don't know) and saying 'who cares?'

that is most of the emotional release i get from sickfic. loving you is a danger, but it is a danger i will gladly face just to offer you the smallest modicum of joy.

since we're airing our psychological laundry, it is also something that might force the reluctant to care for you. because i am chronically unloved and uncared for, most of my daydreams involve me being so egregiously sick or injured that some random passerby has no choice but to allow their human sympathy to overcome how repulsive i am to others. surely, there must be a state of indisposition that is "enough" to make someone, anyone, demand i lay down and rest. i spend most of my days just dreaming up scenarios where that enough might happen.

tl;dr: vulnerability, loss of control, forced love, reckless love, humanization. i love sickfic.

[musashi]

Your sick hcs for Maya gave me life. May we please have some for Franziska?

ANY DAY ANY TIME ABOUT ANY CHARACTER

FRANZISKA SICK HEADCANONS:

immune system of fucking steel. genuinely can expose herself to all manner of illness and come out of it unharmed.

when she falls, though, she falls hard.

most often catches what i can only describe as the most emphatic headcolds known to man. relentlessly symptomatic. incredibly sneezy. watery-eyed and sniffling. red and sore and pale. she has no hope of hiding it.

obviously does not take sick days

almost always loses her voice within 48 hours time which is unfortunate because as you might have noticed she is a trial lawyer

will simply go about her day the same as always and if anyone asks her if she's feeling unwell they get flogged.

is polite as can be about her symptoms (this woman carries monogrammed handkerchiefs around) but will growl at them like a dog. like she will sneeze oh so daintily into her handkerchief and then growl. at the sneeze. like, to scare it off.

i waffle between headcanons because i like them both: a.) she is almost always unmedicated because she doesn't get sick enough to justify buying medication, or b.) she is always medicated because she is a von karma and a von karma is prepared for every and all situations.

either way she usually has cough drops on her because i hc that even when she's not ill she gets chronic sore throats

her tell that she's getting sick is usually that she starts flagging in the cold / getting uncharacteristic chills. usually she really likes cold weather.

only a very special few are allowed to know this, but her sick day comfort food is ice cream. it's all she ever wants.

sorry there's more for her but she is my muse! i made this post about what my ultimate sickfic muse would look like 6 years ago, long before franziska, and i described her almost to the letter. she is a godsend and it is no wonder i have written 30+ sickfics about her. i want to paint ten thousand pictures of her. sniffling.

[musashi]

Who do you prefer writing sick and why out of the franmaya pair?

easily franziska and it isn't even close. she is my ultimate sickfic muse. i was waiting my whole life for her.

a while ago, long before i'd gotten into AA, someone asked me what my perfect sickfic would theoretically look like. in it, i detailed my perfect sickfic muse:

there are other things that make the perfect muse that i kinda left out, but they are:

vain or obsessed with their image/appearance in some way. almost inhumanly kempt in their day-to-day

strong constitution in all else. the kind of character who can stay up for days at a time with no problem, or suffer a grievous injury and get right back up.

not the type of person who is prone to illness. not the type of person you could imagine with an illness. in some way or in all ways, they seem like a force rather than a person, and thus they seem untouchable by something as insignificant as germs.

workaholic

mean

most of my kintypes fall into the majority of these categories but no kintype hits quite all of them. jessie was the closest thing for a really long time but she wasn't quite perfect.

and then i played turnabout big top

and then a while later she got shot and tried to go to court and it was all over for me.

franziska is the character i have been waiting for all my life. if you look at my archive, my sickfics for other fandoms were slowly-made and once every few months. by contrast:

forty fucking seven. forty fucking seven fics. almost 100 individual AA fics. that is more AA fics than the previous 25 years of writing combined. that is the sheer power of franziska von karma with a headcold.

i love maya and am violently attracted to her and writing about my kintype lovingly doting on her is a lot of fun wish fulfillment but getting into AA happened to coincide with the loneliest and most "oh my god i'm doomed to never be cared for again" period i have ever had in my life so writing about the meanest and most resistant-to-care woman in the entire universe gnashing her teeth and writhing in the arms of someone who loves her is pretty much the only thing keeping me from killing myself rn <3 god bless franziska von karma

[musashi]

Do you research specific illnesses for the sickfics or do you focus more on symptoms without a specific illness in mind? Do you prefer acute or chronic illnesses? What qualifies as a sickfic for you? ie: if a character has an infection after a surgery, would that be a sickfic? If they break an ankle, would that qualify?

Do you research specific illnesses for the sickfics or do you focus more on symptoms without a specific illness in mind?

only in the rare event that i'm writing an illness i'm not intimately familiar with, but that's not really something that applies to me because infectious diseases are my special interest & i research them all the time just for fun.

the thing is you really don't need to write the illness before the symptoms if its respiratory because there are hundreds of thousands of rhinoviruses & coronaviruses that make up "the common cold" and every last one of them can have wildly different symptoms, onset, progression, etc. a cold can either be a very light ad sniffly annoyance for a few days or it can be a fever-causing mess that knocks you out for days, it all depends on the illness itself and who is suffering it.

some illnesses i have done additional research on are mono, strep, and sun poisoning, but overall i don't really have any interest in anything more severe than influenza (which i know intimately) so it's all kind of moot really. this stuff just lives in my brain and i am subscribed to newsletters and shit that tell me when there's a Big Microbiology Update lol.

Do you prefer acute or chronic illnesses?

acute, i have 0 interest in writing or reading chronic illness.

What qualifies as a sickfic for you? ie: if a character has an infection after a surgery, would that be a sickfic? If they break an ankle, would that qualify?

i feel like i've talked about this at length but i can't find it. to preface i don't think anyone should take me as an authority on this topic but the sickfic community does have some consensus in that we share a lot of memes being annoyed when sickfic is tagged incorrectly lol.

in my personal opinion, a sickfic needs the following elements:

LOW STAKES illness, unless tagged otherwise

caretaking or h/c in some form

a focus on the illness, even if it is a catalyst for something else. if your fic is about, like, two characters staying in because one of them is sick, but then the fic is more about what they're watching than the illness and how it matters, i don't feel like that's sickfic. sickfic is ABOUT the illness.

things that get tagged sickfic that imo are really not sickfic:

terminal illness (we fucking hate this one)

chronic illness

mental illness

injury

deadly secondary infections

ALL OF THE ABOVE ARE STORIES WORTH TELLING AND IMPORTANT TO WRITE ABOUT AND READ ABOUT. what's annoying is the mistagging, because people looking for sickfic are generally not looking for the above.

like i dislike "just a fever," anything stomach-related, allergy flare-ups, stuff thats 90% coughing, and 'silent' illnesses like mono but i recognize that all of those are still sickfic. whereas with the stuff listed above, i just straightup do not think those constitute sickfic.

but again like i'm just one guy i don't make the rules. my only request is that if u tag the above stuff sickfic, you also tag what the illness is so i can filter out stuff i don't wanna see lol. that's the best possible outcome here.

and if you DO write sickfic please use the sickfic tag! i can't tell you how many gems i have found buried on fic websites and forum because the OP did not say shit about the illness in the tags/description ;_;

[musashi]

I absorb Franmaya through you and I must ask; what are their respective go-to 'feel better' meals when the other is sick? Or does Maya still down burgers when she's sick?

god i love people who absorb franmaya through me. literally my fave thing people tell me. theyre my OCs now.

when maya is sick she likes spiiiiiicy food but especially spicy ramen, she just wants to full body cleanse all the snot out of her head. not on purpose but franziska is the opposite--the only thing she wants when she is sick is ice cream. the more delectably self indulgent the better.

[musashi]

in one of your asks you mentioned that writers not knowing how to write the flu in sickfic is a turn off. what does good flu rep look like for you? asking as a budding sick fic writer myself.

OH I LOVE THIS ASK

PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE FLU IS. people think it is just a word for a very bad cold.

it is not.

did you know? most people who get the flu for the first time check into the ER because they think they are dying.

people think the flu is a stomach thing for some reason??? its literally not??? that is not a symptom???

like every so often having a high fever can make you sick to your stomach but that is not. a symptom characteristic of the flu.

the flu is not a slow burn!!!! for the love of god!!! your character will not slowly get the flu over the course of a few days!! the flu hits HARD AND FAST. this is characteristic of it. this is often how you DEFINE the flu. if youre unsure if what you have is the flu or a really bad cold, look at the onset! did it come on fast? INFLUENZA

if you have the flu, moving even a single finger HURTS. blinking hurts. the ache is bone-deep. it is unrelenting. your fever will be high. you will be knocked the fuck out. only the STEELIEST character would be able to move/work through the flu.

at the end of the day this is fanfiction and we can do whatever we want. if i don't like something i simply do not have to read it. but it makes me craaaaazy when im reading a sickfic and a character will be like "i think this is the flu..." about an illness that could not more clearly not be the flu. WHY NAMEDROP THE FLU IF YOU'RE NOT WRITING THE FLU?!?! there are a thousand rhinoviruses and coronaviruses out there that mimic the flu's severity without being ~the flu.~ just use one of those. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

literally none of this matters i just love diseases

[musashi]

Out of curiosity, how would one go about writing a fever? An escalating one that just gets warmer and warmer?

OK SO THIS ASK HAS TWO PARTS: A MORE CLINICAL PART AND A MU IS A SICKFIC WRITER WHO LIKES TO WRITE SICKFIC PART.

PART ONE: I ACTUALLY HAVE A GUIDE ON THIS FROM A NURSING MAJOR THAT GOES INTO DETAIL ABOUT PHASES OF A FEVER AND EVERYTHING, literally like, i don't find myself following this to a point when i write but i think about the broken down phases so much just subconsciously it has stuck with me for years and i think would be really helpful so here it is. i think this will be really helpful for the escalation aspect.

PART TWO: if you want something a little less clinical and more casual here are some fever tips i wrote for all my friends during sicktember last year copypasted onto this ask. NOTE i am not a medical professional i'm just an autistic who both 1. has a narrative fixation and 2. likes to study diseases and immune responses

SO fevers are cool cause they're kind of unpredictable which means you can tailor them to your sickie. some people run hot some people run cold. some people feel so exhausted they cant move others get hyper and cant calm their heartrate down. you can really just do whatever the fuck.

uhhhh a couple misconceptions about fevers:

theres this old saying thats like feed a cold starve a fever. this is wrong its an old wives tale. all sickies need food to strengthen their immune response, the stronger the immune response the quicker their fever will fuck off. UNFORTUNATELY even the lowest fever will suppress appetite. the first stage of a fever is usually a lack of appetite--not necessarily nausea just, like, a general distaste for food and outright lack of hunger. this is good for drama

some people will claim that, like, after a certain age you don't really get fevers when u have something like a common cold? this is untrue. your body will give you a fever over literally anything. you can get a fever from an infected wound, or a simple illness, or even just from working too hard. never let anyone bully you out of not making your character feverish.

what constitutes a fever really kinda is different person to person. 98.7 is the average body temperature and anything above that is a fever but like i usually run 96-97 so i consider 98 something to worry abt. some people will say its not a fever until you hit 100 but thats WACK to me i'll get 99s all the time when im sick.

ok so symptoms

lack of appetite, like i said this is the most basic of basics its almost a guarantee.

chills or hot flashes, again depends on what you find most interesting. you can do both! you can rapidly oscillate. sometimes sickie might feel freezing cold from the neck down but their head is on fire. sometimes they might be cold all over, put on a blanket, and immediately be too hot. just a general lack of temperature regulation but it straightup does not matter the key is just that they are uncomfortable in whichever direction.

body aches body aches oh my god the most underrated symptom. a low fever might make raising your arms above your head feel like an ordeal, a higher one can all but immobilize you. im talking like can barely move an inch. generally with a fever it feels like you just spent the day walking or exercising and are recovering, just wiped out.

kind of with the above but outright exhaustion. sickie might just start falling asleep wherever they are. on a desk. standing up. who knows. just being conscious is a Task

if their fever creeps into higher digits like 102+ they might get delirious. they might say and do stupid shit, or out of character shit at the very least. this is super fucking awesome cause u can make them act out of character and scare the caretaker a lil if you want. walled in characters might start getting emotional. serious characters might get silly. its basically an instant lack of inhibitions, you have an excuse to make them say what they are feeling in their heart without them worrying about saying it. or you can just make them shitpost if you want something more lighthearted.

you didn't ask about caretaking but if anyone reading this wants that here's caretaking:

feed them, but more importantly HYDRATE THEM fevers dehydrate you so bad. hydration is the key to every ailment but fevers ESPECIALLY need to be fought with lots of electrolytes. water the sickie,,, water them like plant.

meds if applicable

help them regulate their temperature! a cool towel on the forehead really does work, but wrap em in a blanket too if they're shivering. as a rule shivering is bad. i dont remember all the science behind it but shivering generally stimulates more heat which makes the fever worse, so keep cooling them down to a minimum w something like a cold pack or wash cloth.

keep them company. if delirious sickie is having a breakdown a thing their caretaker can do is talk them through it. sometimes a fever will make you overstimulated but if sickie is good with touch, hold their hand or stroke their hair perhaps. verbal affirmations that its gonna be ok. on the flipside if your sickie is talking absolute nonsense or acting like a fool you can make the caretaker fucking babysit them like sweet jesus ok im not leaving you alone.

related to the above but staying with them is good if theyre too sick to do much besides lay there. reading to them so they dont get bored. telling them a story. putting on a show for them and just kinda chilling. or just talking! boredom is the worst part of being sick i think.

massage underrated. give sickie shoulder massage. back massage. they are full of bone hurting juice help them get that shit out. every time i had a fever my bestie would give me a back massage and im gonna think abt it for the rest of my life perhaps.

HI I REALLY REALLY LIKE TALKING ABOUT SICKFIC ASK ME ABOUT SICKFIC ANY TIME

[musashi]

You reblogged that post about Legend having the designated Kitten Sneeze so i have to ask oh sickfic monarch-how do the rest of the chain sneeze?

oh here we fucking go

Sky: he's so loud. is anyone shocked that he's loud? he's loud. this bitch is like cannonfire. look i love it when the personality contradicts the sneeze, it fucking gets me every time its so charming. sweet unassuming sky. with his ridiculously deep voice. he sneezes once and wild fucking jumps into a tree from the startle. which does not bode well for anyone cause he's allergic to everything.

Four: depends on who's fronting much to the general confusion of everyone else. when i'm not HCing him as a system i view him as Quiet(tm). he doesn't really stifle and he doesn't really do the high-pitched thing he's just kinda breathy and silent.

Time: there is a canon answer! he's kinda rough-sounding and squeaky. unrelated when i was like 17 i would just go into the windmill hut because i wanted to listen to the song of storms on infinite loop and i got so fucking tired of him sneezing every five seconds put on some fucking pants you piece of shit i'm trying to jam

Wind: scream-sneezes. that dude at the party who makes a spectacle of it so it's like a fun quirky aspect of his personality. tetra thinks its the most annoying shit ever but everyone else on the ship loses their mind laughing. you could not pay him to sneeze normally

Twilight: that thing where it sounds like he's just coughing. 0/10. annoys sky most of all because he chronically says bless u to everyone and he can never fucking tell if he should with twilight. if fi were still sentient and traveling with the chain every other week sky would summon her specifically to ask 'hey was that a sneeze.'

Legend: as previously mentioned, the one with the cutest little kitten sneeze. whatever you're going to fucking say about it, he's already heard it, so best to pretend like it never happened and if you value your life say nothing.

Hyrule: sounds kinda raspy and unassuming but always looks like he's been hit in the head afterwards. blinky boy. faltering a little on his feet. cannot help blushing every single time. like he's always caught off guard!!!

Warriors: dramatic bitch. does the hand flap thing. pretends like he doesn't want to command any attention but absolutely does. high pitched and somehow ~pretty~ about it. dipping off to the side with perfect grace and orchestration. Legend will bet his entire life savings that the captain has practiced this in front of a mirror.

Wild: pre-calamity was the most adept stifler. It was freaky. he could make no noise at all, dude would barely move. the shrine literally just said no to that. he does not remember that. now he's the second loudest right behind sky, and sky only wins out because his voice is so fucking deep. you know that yell wild does when he finishes a spin attack with a two handed weapon? thats what he sounds like when he sneezes. it's an event.

thank you for this question this is my area of expertise. also i might have accidentally given myself a new fic idea in the course of writing this. Hell World