As much as I adore a sick character in denial (we all do, let's be real)... I can also be so weak for a character who is just 100% open, honest, casual and unbothered by their own illness.

No whining either. They have simply accepted their fate and are not dwelling on it, you know?

"Bless you! Are you okay?" *shrug* "I have a cold."

"Jesus, you sound awful!" "Yeah, I'm coming down with something."

"You're sneezing a lot." "Oh, yeah, pretty sure I've caught a cold."

But they just... go about their day, you know? Sneezing, coughing, sniffling... Not denying it, but also not making a big deal out of it in any way. Not a hint of embarrassment about their symptoms either. Just truly... unbothered.

Newly obsessed with the idea of two characters debating whether cold or allergy sneezes are stronger/more forceful. ✨️

Since I don't have any allergies myself, I've got to ask the allergy sufferers among us! Help a girl out?

An authority figure who is super annoyed with somebody who has a bad cold. Think... conductor in an orchestra, sports coach... Somebody mean.

They go "What the fuck is wrong with you, [last name]?"

The person's voice is all thick and hoarse. "I have a cold, sir."

"A cold?" Cue the disgusted look.

Everyone feels so, so bad for this person, but they would never speak up. Too scary.

"Swear to god, if you don't stop sniffling right now, I'll stop being so polite."

A while later this authority figure is chewing the sickie out (again) for making some kind of mistake, yelling at them close to their face. They stop abruptly when a weird expression takes hold of sickie's face. There's confusion initially, then the cause becomes evident.

Sickie gets a withering look. "[Last name.] Don't you DARE -"

"heh'CHieWw!"

After that... the most intense eye contact ever. Sickie will either get... his throat ripped out or the most disgruntled "bless you" ever uttered.

You cough or sneeze, unable to suppress it. A friend (or crush!) turns to you and goes: "Oh. Right. You have that cold."

That's it, that's the post.

“You’re a little warm.”

With it’s variations, probably my favourite fever phrase. Not “burning up” or anything, but just a little too warm, perhaps a bit of temperature. It’s so very soft, and while not dramatic at all, it tells something about the caretaker, how for them something that should be insignificant - the sick character being perhaps a little too warm - is worth knowing, worth noting. 

And in a way it’s at the very heart of the fetish for me - one doesn’t need to be seriously ill to deserve comfort and care. A little pitiful is enough to tug at the heartstrings of the caretaker, because they do care, in a very soft, even a bit embarrassing way.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a dramatic fever, but the little too warm always takes the first place. 

Common cold symptom we totally neglect in sickfic: Clogged ears that make it difficult to hear what people are saying.

Sometimes blowing your nose makes it better, at least temporarily, because they pop. Sometimes it makes it so much worse and you have to ask people to repeat themselves because you can't hear shit.

Okay, INTERESTING.

Thank you so much, everyone! I said "yes" and I'm clearly in the minority, so let me explain.

I've come to terms with this kink. It's fine. I'm not ashamed or anything and clearly get some enjoyment out of it.

But family snz is hell on earth. And the fun I get out of this fetish is just not worth it for me. Also all of the awkwardness it creates even when it doesn't make me want to claw my own face off, like when I have to tell my boss that "I have a cold". I was in A&E once and had a cold. This was medically relevant. I was so embarrassed having to say it.

Just... being confronted with something that is sexual for me all the time in everyday life from people I am definitely not attracted to is... not great. 😅 If I was attracted to standard vanilla stuff, I wouldn't have to endure that. It's just not part of everyday life in the same way.

Also... my partner knows about the kink and is cool with it. But I'd much prefer if we got peak sexual enjoyment out of the same things...?

So yes. I'd either opt never to have had it (though I'd lose some amazing friends I've made 😭) or to not have it starting from now, though I remember it. Obviously part of the bargain would have to be me experiencing the same level of attraction to regular stuff instead.

If any of the "hell no"s would like to share, I'm so curious??

Listen, I'm curious.

*Note: Whether this means you won't have it going forward but will remember it, you won't even remember it or you never had it in the first place is your choice! Whichever option you prefer.

Something so soft about being the friend that is always low-key about illness. At least when it's mild.

The friend who will come to the meet-up, who doesn't cancel. But is just sort of... there. Rosey-cheeked, a bit spacey... Sniffling quietly. The coughs are small and polite. Nose-blows are rare and super gentle. She always turns away to do it.

She doesn't deny that she's ill but she doesn't complain at all. She's just a bit more vulnerable than usually. Not as chatty. Prefers to listen. Kind of wants a cuddle but keeps her distance to keep everyone else healthy.

Blows gently onto the hot tea in her mug so the steam can loosen her congestion. Sleeves pulled down over her hands because she's chilly. Gives a tired, affectionate smile when one of her friends asks how she's holding up and says "I'm fine, don't worry."

Listen, I'm curious.

*Note: Whether this means you won't have it going forward but will remember it, you won't even remember it or you never had it in the first place is your choice! Whichever option you prefer.

Okay but actually... going to work and reaching an important goal today even though I'm sick made me feel invincible.

I don't know, maybe hustle culture did a number on me. Or I'm too desperate to emulate my boss who goes to conferences and gives talks when he has a cold.

Anyway. Made me feel like a bad bitch. Will definitely do it again tomorrow.

Inspired by recent events: Somebody trying to take their temperature but failing, because they can't stop sneezing long enough for the thermometer to get a proper reading.

They try to stave off the sneeze until they hear the beeping noise, but... they lose the battle and quickly have to pull it out before then so they can sneeze without hurting themselves. And ultimately they just give up on the project altogether, because they already know their body is too warm anyway.

Inspired by recent events: Somebody trying to take their temperature but failing, because they can't stop sneezing long enough for the thermometer to get a proper reading.

They try to stave off the sneeze until they hear the beeping noise, but... they lose the battle and quickly have to pull it out before then, so they can sneeze without hurting themselves. And ultimately they just give up on the project altogether, because they already know their body is too warm anyway.

Not me making this post and - exactly five days later!! - sitting at my desk with a sore throat, runny nose, and low-grade temperature, refusing to go home, because I have a study to run and a manuscript to submit.

THE IRONY 😭

By the way, let me just say as a PhD student that we are totally underutilised in sickfic!

The pressure to perform. Late nights at the office. Forced to give talks while sick. Sick at a conference, trying to network while hiding the worst cold imaginable.

The camaraderie between PhD students working in the same lab! Always being aware when one of us is coming down with something. Bringing each other tea. Helping each other with work. Encouraging each other to take it easy or go home.

Or, you know, my supervisor is lovely, but what about a mean boss? Pep talking the sick person before their meeting with the PI? Or before an internal presentation during a lab meeting?

Forced to carry out experiments while ill because otherwise it will all have been for nothing and there is truly nobody who could take this off your hands because they don't know your work well enough. Forced to write while running a temperature, none of the words make sense, but you need to keep going.

I could go on.

Okay, great, I might have caught my partner's cold. 😔 So far, my only symptom is a sore throat, so perhaps my body will manage to fight it off at this early stage?

But having to talk lots at work with a sore throat is annoying enough honestly.

Also, I know many of us are mortified at being perceived by others when ill. And that's kind of true for me? But at the same time, I'm a whiny bitch who thrives on sympathy. Inside me there are two wolves. The whiny bitch usually wins.

I have another scenario to share!

You're on a date with an attractive man. Let's say you're at a pub. He is really handsome and charming and is really trying to make the date fun for you. The issue is... he is clearly coming down with a cold. And the thing is... it came on really suddenly, over the course of the evening! Otherwise he would have rainchecked, but no, he woke up feeling fine, but now his nose is drippy and he can't stop sneezing.

And, like, he's trying desperately not to make it awkward and not make a big deal out of it. The first three times he sneezes... he doesn't say anything about it, just kind of tries to keep the conversation going. When you bless him shyly, he goes "Ah, don't mind me. Anyway, you were saying, about your job...?"

As it continues, he kind of has to address it, though, so he sheepishly says "I'm so sorry, I might be coming down with something/I think I've caught a cold", trying to laugh it off.

And, like, just that mix. 🥰 Of him feeling progressively worse, having to procure a napkin or something eventually to wipe and blow his nose with... trying to fight off the sneezes but failing, slowly edging from mildly embarrassed to mortified. He thinks you're really cute, too, so the timing is really just the worst.

And, like, just picture the details!

You're perceptive, so you can spot his build-up face. The tiny hitch, the small frown, fluttering eyelids... This happens a few times. He always keeps the conversation going, all casual, but you can tell he's fighting the sneeze so hard. And yet again and again, he succumbs to it. And maybe when he starts sneezing he, like, motions for you to keep talking? Or he talks around his sneezes? "Don't... hh!... sorry, don't mind... hehh!... me. Keep go- hhh'IKSHH!"

Maybe when the date ends, you both address it sort of shyly. "Maybe you can... drink some tea when you get home", you say, blushing.

"Haha, yeah I better. Gosh, I'm so sorry about... this", as he vaguely gestures to his face, nose now distinctly pink.

You agree to go on a second date but maybe... when he's feeling better.

I got very excited in the tags of @undercover-horn-blog's post about phd students, because when I was a masters student and doing more field work there was a LOT of opportunity for great snz scenarios.

Like...a botanist or field biologist with seasonal allergies (and they absolutely do exist because I have worked with several of them over the years)

Their job is LITERALLY to be outside for eight hours a day, if not longer. I've had to camp on-site for multiple days for a project. Peak field season is spring/summer...which is also peak allergy season.

Trying to focus on the occasionally harsh, physically-demanding tasks at hand while fighting against steadily worsening allergy symptoms. Trying to dig trenches and take soil samples and walk transects and catalog environmental data with itchy eyes and persistent sniffles and increasingly desperate sneezing fits. Retreating to the truck between surveys to blow their nose and splash water on their face, but it hardly does any good because they have to go right back out into the very environment that they're allergic to. Having to call in a favor with a lab-mate on a day when their allergies are just so bad that they can't function enough to finish an array. Fleeing to the office to enter data, but the damage has already been done, and their clothes are covered in pollen, and the reaction isn't going to stop.

And that's their JOB. They're doing this work because they love it. But, unfortunately, it does not always love them back.

Words that always have the potential to undo me:

"Are you sure you're alright?"