#sickfic asks

Sickfic Asks!

💯 - Do you prefer to see the number of the fever or that part be kept a mystery?

- 🌞

🌡- Favorite type of thermometer to be used? Mercury? Digital? Ear? Those futuristic laser guns?

Ummmm I think my favorite is under the tongue! Pretty sure those are digital. Actually, it’s mostly because those were the only ones I thought existed for a while.

👀 - Would you rather the limited third person be from the sickie or the caregiver? Would you rather it focus more on the sickie’s thoughts and feelings or the caregiver’s?

I like it from the caregiver! When it’s from the sickie, my chest like physically hurts because I feel so bad for the sickie sometimes. Yeah, I like it focused on the feelings of the caregiver. But honestly nowadays, I’ll take what I can get ^.^

🛒- Pick between cold symptom fics and stomach symptom fics

🎈 - When it comes to fevers, do you have a favorite temperature range?

Yes!! My taste varies but in general I like it around the 38.5°C/101.3°F to 39.5°C/103.1°F range.

Anything below that doesn’t really do it for me except when it makes someone underestimate the severity of their illness and think they’re OK, only for their temperature to spike later 😈

Anything above that can definitely have its charm (40C/104F holds a special place in my heart because I do love my fever dreams and delirium ❤️) but I don’t like fevers to get too severe for too long, because then I get worried idk 😭 I want the sickie to be absolutely miserable, but not in actual mortal danger, yk?

My favorite think is fluctuating fevers that cycle. For example, sickie might be sweating like crazy because their temperature is finally going down, and even though it’s terribly uncomfortable they’re hopeful that the fever is finally gonna break, only for it to… not break, and just be reduced to a simmer. Alternatively, if (when) it starts going up again and they start getting chills, the fact that they’re covered in sweat and kicked off their blankets is going to make the process so much more painful and exhausting. Gotta love adding just a pinch more of misery 😌

I’ve been wanting to do this for a while to compile my favourite dialogue, so here it is!

Thank you, anon!!

Ask Game

hold my hair back: do they like to be alone or have company when they feel ill?

Absolutely alone. He generally prefers to be alone when he's in a vulnerable state, but at the time of the story taking place, he's got something extremely private and embarrassing going on, which he desperately doesn't want the others to witness.

thermometer: how do fevers effect your character’s stomach?

CW: Facility whump, medical whump, BBU, whump of a minor (OC is 17), dehumanizing language

Follows on Accidental Overdose

"There we go, love. That's all right, another couple days and you'll be right as rain again, hm?"

It's the nurse that he likes, the one with the soft voice, who doesn't really use his number, just calls him sweet things like 'love' and 'dear'. They did something to his stomach, put a tube down his throat, and now his throat is aching and hoarse.

The nurse bustles around the room, and 499 manages to open his eyes a little, squinting at them as they write things down on a clipboard they hold in their hand. Machines beep softly around him, and when he shifts, he's aware of the tape pulling at the skin on the inside of his elbow.

He shivers, a thrill of fear down his spine, and makes himself hold still. It's... easier, right now. The soft pastel walls of the clinic room are warmly bright, nothing like the cold light in his cell room.

He doesn't want to get better, he'll have to go back.

"I see you sneaking peeks," The nurse teases him, and they poke at the tip of his nose with the end of their pen. He can't quite help his slight smile in response. "Don't worry, 499, you can stay here all cozy for a bit longer, your numbers still aren't where I want them. You'll be happy to hear Handler Petrus got put on discipline after that accident report was put on Renford's desk."

At the mention of the Director, 499 whimpers, softly. He can barely make the sound, wincing as it aggravates his throat.

There's a silence, and then the shifting sound of the nurse's scrubs as they sit in a chair next to his bed. He feels their hand close around his. His fingers are long and cold even in the relative warmth of the clinic room, but their hand is warm and dry.

"You're all right, 499," The nurse says, soft and affectionate. "You're all right. You've been working so hard, you won't be in trouble for this. Just a few more days here, and you'll be ready to finish up, hm? Right back on track."

He turns his head slowly, opening his eyes fully only with effort to look over their face. They smile, but he can't quite smile back this time.

"L-... like it... here... better." He's careful to keep his words coming out one at a time. Just how they want him to.

The nurse sighs, and squeezes his hand a little. "I know. But that's not how it works, is it? You have to remember, dear-"

"Signed... I signed... up for this."

"Exactly." The nurse smiles at him, and he warms at their pride and happiness. He said it just right, and it's what they want to hear. "Maybe not this, exactly, but... oh, you're such a good boy. You'll be out of here and home with your prospective in no time, huh? Let me go get you something to drink for that throat."

Thanks for the ask, @scriptrix-eclectica !

🎱 - What matters more: a particular character(s) being used or the trope itself? Does a certain character have to be used, or does the prompt itself matter more?

Okay, that’s a puzzler. My first reaction was “it has to be a certain character,” because in any fandom I’ve been involved in, there exists My Type™ and those are the characters, because of certain defining personality traits, that I adore whumping. But I also enjoy writing/reading those same characters when roles are reversed and they are the caretaker.

And I also have tropes I love that I use over and over in my stories (the sudden onset of symptoms, physical collapse following hours or days of denial, the begrudging admission of illness, a worried caretaker hovering at the bedside, a gentle touch to check for a fever, a touch-averse stoic seeking comfort and reassurance when ill.) In my fandom mind, those tropes fit certain characters best. So por que no los dos, I guess, and if you read my stories, it’s going to be 90% Spock, 5% Bones, 3% Kirk and 2% any other character.

💊 - What type of medicine do you like best? Liquid? Pills?

Okay, so Spock-centric sickfics open up some interesting complications concerning medication administration...because the hypospray Spock receives in The Apple nauseates him and he then intimates that every hypospray, regardless of the medication being administered, has a similar effect on him. (Side note: awwwww, my baby.) But what’s going on here, really? I have so many questions with no good answers:

1) Is this a common reaction for all Vulcans, or is the nausea an unfortunate result of Spock’s human/Vulcan hybrid physiology?

2) Is the nausea provoked only by certain medications? Or is the nausea caused by the aersolization process of liquid medication within the hypospray mechanism?

3) If it’s a reaction common to all Vulcans, wouldn't pharmaceutical formulations that don’t trigger nausea have been developed by now? And wouldn't they be stocked on the Enterprise?

4) If the reaction is only a problem for Spock, couldn’t McCoy, with his wide-ranging medical knowledge, convert a liquid medicine into tablet or pill form for Spock?

I HAVE SPENT TOO MUCH TIME THINKING ABOUT THIS. AND I DIDN’T EVEN ANSWER THE QUESTION.

Oh it’s so nice to receive questions from old ask games! Thanks dear :)

✖ - Least favorite symptom to read

I’m not much into coughing or sneezing, unless it’s the indication for something worse to come or just adds to the character’s general level of misery, if they have a hard day, for example.

🌡- Favorite type of thermometer to be used?

I like the one you put under the tongue because then you have half a minute of waiting time to describe just how miserable the character is feeling. Plus the caretaker knowing before the whumpee just how bad the fever is and then being either openly worried or trying to downplay it as not to upset the sick character even further.

💊 - What type of medicine do you like best? Liquid? Pills?