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steviewashere · 3 months

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Our Love Ain't Compromised

Rating: General CW: Minor Vomiting/Dry Heaving (I have emetophobia so I made sure that it was minor, don't worry.) Tags: Sick Fic, Established Relationship, Married Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, Future Fic, Steve Harrington is a Sweetheart, Steve Harrington has Anxiety, Worried Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson is a Sweetheart, Sick Eddie Munson, Steve Harrington Takes Care of Eddie Munson, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Medical Accuracies (Surprising, I Know, But I Actually Know Somebody Who's Had a Transplant), Mentioned Kidney Transplant

For the @steddielovemonth prompt: "Love is being taken care of when sick/love is taking care of them when they're sick."

💕—————💕

Eddie’s immune system is shot to shit. Has been since March of 1986. When he had awoken after his little stint in the Upside Down, it was to patches of scars, a missing nipple, and a brand new kidney. Turns out, that when alternate dimension bats chew you to bits and pieces and you’re helpless against them, they bite a little further than you could imagine. The ones that attacked his torso took a little more than necessary. Though, it wasn’t what caused him to get a kidney transplant.

No, in fact, he only has a brand new kidney because his body was fighting against the skin grafts and other surgeries. His downstairs business—the bladder and one kidney—were compromised. Luckily, his bladder was able to heal. But the scarring on his left kidney was too severe to come back from.

Hence, one new kidney.

The downside to this transplant, though, came in the form of one prescription drug. The immunosuppressant. A bunch of little capsules that he takes daily; in the morning and at night. And, get this, they’re forever pills. Meaning, they follow him to the day he dies. But knowing his luck, he’ll be up there arguing with God, one palm full of pills, and a glass of water in the other.

Surgeons and doctors told him that the suppressants were going to compromise his immune system. They were going to make him more vulnerable to infections and illnesses. And he’d been mostly careful in his life so far. If he catches a cold, he stays home and rests. If somebody he knows gets sick, he stays far away.

Though, when you’re a grown adult with a husband who works around snotty children all the time, the illnesses come whether you like it or not. It started with Steve getting pretty damn sick, knocked down by the yearly flu season. Which, granted, Steve had received his vaccine—but even then, the strongest still can be K.O’d.

Steve’s sick state is…well, less than ideal. Eddie loves him to bits and pieces, but man is his husband a miserable thing when he gets ill. Like a desperate wet cat in a thunderstorm. Mewling and rolling about and picky to a fault. So, Eddie did the logical thing (admittedly, the dumbest), he took care of Steve. Hand fed him spoonfuls of soup. Draped a washcloth on his heated forehead. Changed out his puke bucket. Ran lukewarm baths and did the laundry and tucked Steve in and kissed his forehead and…ran himself dry.

The karma is Eddie gets sick now.

It’s only a few days after Steve is able to return to work. When he’s been fever free for forty-eight hours, that Eddie gets severely sick.

We’re talking many trips to the bathroom. Heat shivers like nothing else. Sweat stains and chilled bones and clicking teeth. Heavy chest and congested nose and an appetite the size of Rhode Island.

When Steve comes back from work, it’s a Friday, he comes through just in time to hear Eddie dry heave into the toilet for the—give or take—eighth time that day. Did he mention that it’s only four? Has he said that he hasn’t had anything to eat except for toast this morning, some that Steve made before he had to leave? Steve’s class starts at eight. He eats at six.

Immediately, Eddie hears the rush of heavy footsteps clamber down the hallway. Skittering into their bedroom. Practically sliding into the tiled, small bathroom. A hand carefully bunches up his hair, ties it back loosely—just enough so it’s out of the way. And another runs up and down his spine in long stripes. The t-shirt Eddie is wearing gets stuck a few times with the movement of Steve’s hand, due in part to the tacky sweat on his back, and also because Steve moves his hand anxiously. He’s an anxious guy when the people around him aren’t doing too hot.

With his last round of dry heaving, Eddie spits into the toilet bowl, reaches up and clumsily flushes the toilet, and then settles loose on the floor. Collapsed halfway on the toilet’s seat. His butt sat on his folded legs. He sighs.

“Oh, baby,” Steve coos above him. “Baby, why didn’t you say you were sick? I would’ve stayed home with you.”

Eddie’s voice is raspy and exhausted when he speaks. “Didn’t know,” he says, “started after you left.” A chill runs up his arms and he full body shivers with it. “Was gonna call, but I knew you were excited to see your kiddos again.” He shrugs. “I can manage for a few hours.”

“Yeah, but you’re miserable,” Steve relays, as if Eddie wasn’t aware. He’s very much aware. Too aware, actually. But he lets Steve make a fuss. “Okay, uh, okay plan. I’ll run a bath for you and I’ll—I’ll, fuck, I’ll make you that chicken broth that you like. And I can change out our bedding while you relax in the tub and I can—“ He stops to swallow. His hands flap at his side. Steve never does well when Eddie gets sick, he immediately goes high strung and scrambled.

With a weak hand, Eddie reaches out and soothes his palm down Steve’s calve. “Honey,” he whispers, coaxing. Steve’s breath is heavy, yet short. And his eyes are darting when they finally look at Eddie. “Honey,” he repeats. “It doesn’t help me when you get worked up. One step at a time, alright?”

“Right,” Steve mutters shortly, “right, you’re right.” He flutters out of Eddie’s space. Instead, he leaves the room. Eddie hears him shuffling about their bedroom, changing the sheets. And then he retreats back into the hallway, to the linen closet for a towel. (Eddie knows him a little too well some days. Especially on high strung days.) Then, he’s back in the bathroom with new clothes and a towel. Just in time for Eddie to be up off the floor, a cup of mouthwash swirling around his tongue. Steve’s talking a mile a minute when he comes back in. “Okay, so I got clothes and a towel. And my phone is on the charger so that I can call your doctor just in case things get really bad. And I—Honestly, I already texted him and he said to just take a couple tablets of Zofran for the nausea. Also, I checked the fridge while I was putting away my shoes—I forgot to take them off, sorry about the little bit of mud by the door—but I couldn’t find any of the bay leaves for that broth. So, I hope it’s okay that the chicken broth is a little bland. Actually—“

He spits out the mouthwash, holding back his laughter. Eddie’s not sure if the rambling is something Steve picked up from Robin or if it’s something associated with his anxiety. Honestly, if he allows himself to think about it, it’s probably a bit of both. But he watches Steve leave the room again. His mutterings about the space are loud to his ears.

“—God, we have like no seasonings,” is what Eddie picks up on when he exits the bathroom. Steve continues, “And the pot I need is in the sink. I’ll do the dishes and then I’ll make the broth and…Well, no, if I make the broth in the smaller pot, then he can eat while I clean. But what if he needs me while he’s eating? I can’t be in a different room when he needs me. What if he gets sick on the couch while I’m cleaning and I don’t hear him and then he’s too tired to clean himself up and then he’s just sitting there and then—“

“Steve,” Eddie calls from the kitchen entryway. He’s stood still in front of the open pantry door. Hands nervous at his sides. Eddie’s never actually been a witness to the rambling before. It’s usually that Steve stays stuck in place, eyes far away, head full of a thousand thoughts that he needs Eddie’s help to parse through. The thoughts don’t typically all leave his mouth at once, though. It’s a little bit concerning. “Baby, I need you to calm down. How about you draw me a bath? Help me wash my hair, because I think I got a little bit of puke in the ends. And then, we can order Chinese food or something? I’ll just get plain white rice.”

Instead of saying anything, Steve nods. Eyes not exactly far, but still somewhere distant. Yet, he crosses the room anyway. A hand to Eddie’s forehead. The other on his chest. Then, he mutters, “You’re burning up. Let me grab the Tylenol.”

“I already took some, Stevie,” Eddie says. “I just need you to run me a bath, please.” He reaches up for the palm on his chest, squeezes, and holds tight to it as he drags them back to the bathroom. Without much prompt, Eddie slips out of his dirty, sweaty clothes. And with a silent demeanor, unusual for somebody like him, gazes on as Steve patters about—bending over to turn the knob to warm, going to the sink’s cabinet for the bottle of lavender soap, reaching up on the shower shelf for the hair products. And for the first time since Steve got home, he goes completely quiet, now sitting on the lip of the tub, hands out in silent offering for Eddie’s. Which he takes with a soft hold and allows himself to be maneuvered into the water.

He lets Steve pour a cup of water over his hair. A hand settled on the side of his neck. Washcloth on his forehead. Eddie relaxes into Steve’s gentle touches, for once today, the idea of being sick dissipates from his mind.

It’s not even ten minutes into the bath that Steve speaks up again.

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs.

Eddie opens his eyes, not even realizing that he closed them. Steve’s hands just feel that good. “Why are you sorry?” He asks genuinely.

Steve shrugs. “For getting all overbearing and whatever. It’s hard to—“ Sometimes, it’s difficult for Steve to find his words, the emotions. Always has been a bit of a thing for him, but Eddie never minds. In fact, he kind of adores watching Steve work his way through his thoughts, actively seeing in real time as the sensations click for him. “—It’s hard to see you sick. Especially when I know that it’s because of my bug that I had. And, you know, considering the bullshit back in Hawkins.”

“Hey,” Eddie says softly, “don’t say it like it’s exclusively your fault.” He rests his left hand over Steve’s own. His skin is soft under Eddie’s palm. The heat radiating from him is grounding. “I made the decision to help you. And it wasn’t something you just decided to bring home from work. It’s okay. Just the flu,” he tries to reassure.

“But what if you get sicker than I did? Like…So sick that we have to take you to the hospital and then you’re there for several days and the bed is empty of you and I—“

“Stevie,” he cuts in. “Honey, you need to breathe for me, alright? I’m right here. And, yes, I’m sick and miserable. But it’s just the flu. I know what it is, you know what it is.” He takes a deep breath, it mingles with Steve’s own stuttered inhale. “If something happens, we contact my doctor. Remember why I get sick easily, baby. It’s just the suppressants doing their job, nothing else. We’ll be alright.”

Steve nods, going completely quiet. Almost still with it.

“What’s on your mind, baby?” Eddie questions.

“I—Do you even like it when I’m the one taking care of you? Like I get when Wayne does because he’s all calm and collected about it, but.”

Eddie soothes his hand up to Steve’s left forearm. Fingers tapping, waiting for Steve to completely look at him. When they lock eyes, he states firm yet soft, “I love it when you take care of me. You make sure I have and get everything I need. There’s nobody else that I’d rather have here with me.”

“Even when I can’t shut up about what needs to happen? Even when my brain goes a mile a minute because I’m just…scared?”

He nods subtly. “Yeah, sweetheart,” he whisper-rasps. “I feel so loved when you take care of me. Because you actually care. It’s hard for both of us when I get sick, I understand that.”

Steve nods back at him. Teeth sunken into his bottom lip. “Is it weird to say that I love taking care of you? Like it makes me feel useful to help you out?”

“Not weird, just welcomed,” Eddie assures. Because that’s the beautiful truth.

A few moments of silence lull between them. The washcloth goes a little cold against Eddie’s skin and he senses the prickling of shivers mingling under his skin. “Help me out of the tub and just lay with me in bed for now? I’m not hungry yet.” Steve bounces back into action. At the snap of fingers, ready to tend to anything Eddie needs of him.

And when they’re back in bed, Steve’s ruffled feathers finally flattened back to his body and Eddie’s fever dropping a single degree, Eddie is content. He lays on his back with Steve curled on his left side. Their legs tangled with each other. A palm heavy on his t-shirt clad stomach. Eddie’s own toying with Steve’s hair. The shirt is stuck to him from the VapoRub that Steve applied.

It’s warm in their room. Radiator on and lowly humming. Curtains closed so that it’s dark, though lit by Steve’s bedside lamp. Eddie’s got his own bucket settled on the floor, just in case. A sleeve of saltine crackers on his table. Poncho is curled up by his feet, purring incessantly, fur shifting and tickling his soles.

This treatment is one of a million reasons why he adores the man he married. “I love you, Steve. You take good care of me; you should know that,” he mutters into the soothing silence.

Instead of receiving an answer, Steve’s snore is muffled into Eddie’s shoulder. Puffing in warm bursts against his neck. He shifts his hand to press between Steve’s shoulder blades. And smiles a little to himself when Steve shuffles in impossibly closer. He feels like crap, that’s pretty hard to miss. Though, he’s comfortable. Comfortable enough that he can slip into a peaceful, syrupy, boneless sleep.

His immune system is shot to shit. But the love that fills his soul sure isn’t.

💕—————💕

#stranger things #steddie #fanfiction #steve harrington #eddie munson #sick fic #hurt/comfort #fluff #steddielovemonth #day 21

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axailslink · 1 year

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can you do riri x reader where they go to mall and riri buys/ gifts the reader a promise ring

I love you baby

Riri Williams x poc FEM reader

Gif created by me @azailslink

Summary: "you got me a promise ring" she nods as she gently grabs your hand but all you can do is laugh "I'm sorry but that's some white people shit you couldn't have just you know promised me what you were going to promise me?'

Christmas. Riri loves this time of the year while you're not upset by it just not too fond of the constant shopping for people you don't really like to get gifts they might not like. "Babe you do know your mother is getting twenty dollars for Christmas?" You laugh at the random question "why is that?" She hums "well your mother is picky and she's not about to curse me out because I got her a carpet or something" you laugh and kiss her hand "I think we need to up it to forty dollars remember when she walked in on us?" Riri immediately closes her eyes "I don't want to relive that right now" you laugh "then she had the audacity to go 'Riri is the top!?' not only did we scar her we confused her....you give her twenty I buy her some bath and body works." She nods "okay I can deal with that."

She catches herself staring at you when you turn and stare back "I know I'm finer than wine but you ain't got to stare at something that's already yours" she immediately bursts into laughter "okay miss finer than wine how you getting your nails done?" You shrug and smile at her "does it really matter? As long as they look good around your neck I think they're fine." She looks you up and down and kisses your hand she glances at your third finger but quickly back up at you "I'll pay for your nails imma continue to do some shopping you smile and nod giving her a quick peck on her lips.

When you leave her side she takes a quick stride to the ring store and looks at the rings "I could buy her a ring pop and she'd love me forever... She's going to hate this." She talks to the woman behind the counter and she just smiles and explains that she already has a ring here waiting and the woman goes to look for it "Riri Williams right?" She glances over looking at the woman how the fuck she knows my name? "That's the name you gave me over the phone miss" oh she nods and her smile quickly returns to her face "yeah" she hands her a box and she smiles at it as she opens it. She could upgrade it when she decides to marry you but this was only one of the first rings she'd be gifting you. She decides to get you some Chinese food before walking to the nail shop inside the mall she overhears your all too recognizable voice "she's amazing I'm glad you asked she's a bit of a control freak but Mrs. Lin I think I love her." The woman filing your nail screeches "no way love her!?" You smile and nod "I couldn't ask for anyone better" you feel a kiss on your cheek causing you to jump "Riri you make her jump! You gone pay if I mess up!?" Mrs. Lin causes Riri to laugh "Mrs. Lin I'm paying anyways you know she boujee she doesn't pay for half of the things when she's with me I'm using all my work money." You laugh at the bold-faced lie she just said you're paying for most of everything while she's paying for your nails.

"Oh is that food?" she nods and Mrs. Lin looks over "so you buy no one else food?" Riri laughs and shrugs "I may have got you a little something Mrs. Lin" she digs through the bag and gives her a tiny to-go box "don't tell Mr. Li he'll ban us again for feeding you after midnight" Mrs. Lin does not find your joke funny however your girlfriend finds it hilarious as she covers her face and laughs "she called you a fucking gremlin!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you two finally get back to the comfort of your apartment you're on the floor wrapping gifts for your siblings and family. "Babe bring some tape!" Riri comes behind you and back hugs you it immediately brings a smile to your face but instead of placing tape in your hand she places a black box "baby that's not tape..." Shuri sighs "open the damn box" you do as told and smile at the ring "it's cute who's it for?" Riri has never wanted to kick you down the stairs more in her life than right now. "It's for you...dumbass it's a promise ring like I promise to be with you for at least another year" you laugh "girl you ain't going nowhere but I'll take it... Riri how much was this?" She snatches the box and grabs the ring putting it on your finger and kissing it "don't worry about that." You stare her down "you bet not have paid more than 100 for this ring" she nods slowly "like said uhm... Right here's that tape" She tosses you the tape and runs out of the room leaving you just laugh at her "I'm serious Riri Williams!" Riri yells from a distance "I love you baby!"

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mermaidsirennikita · 4 months

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Hi! Do you have any recs for rly good mafia romance? I'm trying to get into it but my friend recommends the TikTok popular ones that are just....not well written

Yes, but there aren't main. Like. Three authors. Two of which I already liked for other things. (I do REALLY want to read Annika Martin's dark books, which I think are Russian mafia or Russian mafia adjacent?)

I am very picky with mafia romances because a) I was a little ethically eh on reading them for a long time because b) based on where I've lived and what I've studied, I know a bit more about the mafia than your average romance reader I think, that's not a brag it's a nerdery c) a lot of them are based in America, modern, and I've gotta say, that's corny as hell because while there are absolutely VERY powerful criminal organizations mafia-related today, they! Are! Not! V powerful! In! America! The Italian-American mafia took a huge hit in the 1980s that hasn't really let up, and while they exist and they're bad... Tony Soprano ain't doing it like like the Camorra is doing it in Italy, today, y'know? The power isn't there, and when you see, like, the billionaire Italian-American mafia guys in romance today it's too much for me. I get why it's not too much for other people. I suspend my disbelief on MANY CRAZIER THINGS. I just can't with this lol.

(Also, I have a personal issue with Italian-American romance heroes who are like "I'm Italian". Lol no you aren't. You're Italian-American. You're usually Sicilian-American. You are EYETALIAN.)

Anyway, after that preamble of why my recs are limited:

Mila Finelli's Kings of Italy series. Literally some of my favorite books I've read in forever. Set in Italy, though the heroines are from Italian-Canadian extensions (which, like, Canada for sure has a more powerful presence than America, so I'm guessing that was smart research from Mila). I also love Mila's books because while they are crazy, they're not INSANELY dark, and tend to be more on the fun side. They're super, super hot. There are usually good grovels. The heroines are actually pretty bold and, aside from the last one, not virginal (which is an issue in many mafia books tbh). They break down to:

Mafia Mistress--Frankie is traded by her father to a powerful capo, Fausto, ostensibly to marry his son Giulio. However, two issues: a) Giulio is in fact gay b) Fausto ends up wanting Frankie for himself after she puts up a fight. But he doesn't want her as his wife--he wants her as his mistress. His MAFIA MISTRESS.

Mafia Darling--Direct sequel to MM, wherein Frankie and Fausto deal with their various issues, both mafia-related and like, relationship related. I also really love Fausto and Giulio's relationship, it's so sweet and takes time to work on, and it has a culmination here that made me tear up. Heads up: Frankie is 18 and Fausto is 38. I didn't care about this. Do with it what you will lmao.

Mafia Madman--My favorite, best read after the first two but can go solo. Enzo D'Agostino (king of my heart/body and soul as TSwift would say) was one of the villains of the previous books. He kidnapped Frankie, Fausto like cut off his finger and tortured him for a month, and he escaped to hide out on a yacht for four years like a Bond villain. Enzo is... incredible. He is the richest hero in this series because of his "computer business" (????) which @triviareads and I have concluded means he's running Nigerian prince scams and holding the economies of small nations for ransom. He and Fausto have a relationship that I can only describe as "Alexis (Fausto) and Dominique (Enzo) if they were mafia dons". The champagne is BURNT!!!!

Anyway, he randomly sees Gia, Frankie's wild, bratty little sister, and is all "a-HA, a foolproof plan I have just concocted within five minutes to get revenge and free myself from the prison of living on a fabulous yacht IS HERE" so he naturally invites her out for a drink, blows up the bar, fakes her death, and puts her in a cage on the yacht. Sadly for him, the only person who can match Enzo's crazy is Gia, and she starts doing naked yoga (queen of my spirit) and they promptly enter into an intense enemies to lovers back and forth in which ONLY ONE CAN WIN (her).

If you want an OBSESSED alpha... this is it.

Mafia Target--Giulio is back! He's on the run because he's Fausto's son and the mafia is hella homophobic (true). Unfortunately, the world's DEADLIEST SNIPER, disaster bisexual Alessio Ricci, has been deployed to kill him. Unfortunately for Alessio, Giulio is DUMB HOT and so naturally Alessio blows him in a club before Giulio realizes he's out to kill him, and they end up on a tiny Scottish island, trying to kill each other while also being like "let's take a month off of trying to kill each other... to.... do things...."

This is arguably the most outright SWOONY ROMANTIC of the books, I love it with all my heart. Giulio and Alessio have one of those relationships wherein it's kinda love at first sight, tempered by the whole assassin thing, and it totally works.

Mafia Virgin--Emma, the other Mancini sister, wants to be a doctor and is super sweet. She's forced to marry new don Giacomo, who doesn't want to be with her either. And, oh yeah, they have to conceive a baby in six months or less!

This is probably the softest book in the series. Giacomo is not quite as hard as Fausto, Enzo, Giulio, or Alessio. He's like, the thinking man's mafia don (but everyone thinks he's stupid because he's big and fights!!!). And as it turns out, he and Emma are very, very into the whole making a baby thing.

Mafia Brute--This is an m/m Russian mafia novella, about Theo, Giulio's designer friend, who's fallen into a fling with the very dangerous Nikolai. A lot of hooking up on a yacht (again). A lot of very romantic sweetness fringed with violence. A lot of heat. Great!

Ummm I also love Kresley Cole's Gamemaker series! These are Russian mafia books.

The Professional--The heroine is adopted, and finds out the big scary guy who's been watching her is her biological father's enforcer/surrogate son... when he kidnaps her to take her back to said father. They immediately have an attraction, but he refuses to give in because if they get together (she's a virgin) he'll be like, obligated to marry her. While she's not so hot on the marriage thing, she WANTS him. She's a total brat, it's all very teasing and great.

The Master--This one has a billionaire mafia dude order the heroine, an escort on the run from her past. They have this insane hookup, major connection, it's amazing, but then he finds out she was trying to pull one over on him (or was she???) and he takes her captive. Also, there is a chastity belt. This one is amazing and has a fabulous grovel.

The Player--This hero is really more mafia-adjacent because the other two heroes are his older brothers, but he's definitely into some shady shit, and he is OBSESSED. He fixates on the heroine and is another SUPER possessive guy with a dark past. Has one of my favorite sex scenes ever (he fingers her to orgasm in front of a table of other people who are also getting off on it).

Run, Posy Run by Cate C. Wells--In this one, the heroine is the (American but it works here) mafia hero's longterm girlfriend, and she's basically always been around the life and accepts a subpar relationship because he keeps her comfortable and she thinks he loves her. Then, he's sent this video that makes it look like she cheated on him; and she realizes he's like, a sociopath and goes on the run. However... he then realizes that he can't actually live without her, and begins stalking/chasing after her lol. It's actually a good "fix the relationship" book, with an edge of kidnapping and a feeling-less hero learning how to have a feeling. I also really loved the heroine's development.

#romance novel blogging #romance novels #book recs #[cut to me handing out copies of kings of italy books like the book of mormon]#anyway i think sierra simone should write a mafia series #.... lyonesse is p close so far lol

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mannatea · 7 months

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This is about the post you made asking to send you questions about fanfic tropes! I'm excited, fanfic tropes are so interesting to me!

How do you feel about kidfics/pregnancy fics? I feel like that's a controversial one. Personally, it's a squick for me, but I'm always interested in hearing differing opinions!

Angst/torture is also a controversial one despite its popularity. I really like angst a lot but I will admit that there are some fics that drew out torture scenes a little too much for my taste.

What about fix-it fics? I'm fine with this one, I think it's completely subjective and depends on the fic. I've seen fix-it fics where I've loved the source material's ending, and other times, it can save a fandom from a terrible ending.

Finally, how about miscommunication? This is another controversial trope and most people will agree that it's a result of lazy writing. How about you? Do you think that miscommunication can be utilized well or do you think it's always a cop-out?

I apologize if I ended up asking too many questions! I'm really interested in your opinions when it comes to fic writing!

Send me a fanfiction trope and/or fanfic AU and I'll talk about my opinion(s) on it!

These are some great ones, thank you for sending them! 🙏 Even though some of these are sort of listed together I've broken them up into separate tropes because I feel like the nuance of their differences can and does sometimes matter to readers!

Kidfics: I have so many opinions about kidfic. I don't even know where to start. I feel like I could record a one hour long essay on this alone because there are so many subcategories of this trope and I feel a little bit differently about each one. I guess if you want me to expand on anything, feel free to ask. 🤣

I hate fankids. I just...do not like them as a general rule. No offense toward people who have fankids for their favorite blorbos, or even love the concept of fankids, but that specific subgenre just ain't for me.

I'm ambivalent toward stories that are like "the characters are married with kids and this story is about them as a family." These can be really fun stories but it depends a lot to me on the canon, the characters, and their kids—the "family dynamic" if you will. Sometimes this hits right and sometimes it's a huge miss. I feel like if the children are canon children this has a higher chance of hittig the mark, though.

I'm excessively picky about characters and characterization with kidfics because there are some characters I can't stand seeing written as a parent (usually because I find the portrayal chosen for them in that role as OOC). Have I written these characters as parents anyway? Yes, and I regretti spaghetti that choice.

Related to the above: I tend to not read many kidsfics because I just hate how the kids are written or how the parents are written in relation to their own children. (See: Single Parent AUs where the kids are LITERALLY NOTHING MORE THAN A PLOT DEVICE FOR ROMANCE! 🤮)

I'm obsessed with adoption storylines. It's a personal fave. Am I coping with something? Um...maybe. I was literally planning some bullshit about this yesterday wrt Regal.

I also like "oops there's a baby now" stories, but only as a writer (I don't trust others to write my blorbos in these situations).

Generally speaking I like to write child characters, but they HAVE to have a real place in the story and they have to have a believable and reasonable impact on the characters. Like, they're children but they're still characters and should be treated as such. This can be difficult as a writer because you're more or less creating a whole new character, but it's imperative that this be done properly or you end up with characters who feel more like table decorations than people...and nobody wants to read about that.

Lastly, I also very much believe in talking/discussing/exploring the negative (and neutral!) components of parenthood. I like including things like PPD, regrets, characters feeling overwhelmed in their role as parent, parents who need to get to know their kids as people to form a close bond to them, the stresses of work/home balance, and so on. I feel like this is just a very safe environment to talk about those things.

Pregnancy fics: I love writing them but I don't love reading them. I feel like too many authors have obviously never been pregnant or have never been around a pregnant person, and I tend to find those stories hard to read. They also tend to just skip talking about topics that are difficult, and lean into how cutesy pregnancy is (+ morning sickness weeee), which makes me want to shrivel up and die.

There's nothing wrong with liking that, and certainly nothing wrong with writing it, but it's not for me. I tend to lean into more complicated feelings about pregnancy and birth, and I think this might also be related to the fact that I tend to lean into characters who would also by default have complicated feelings about these things.

I think I'm mostly here to just explore how such a big life-changing event might impact a character/characters, not so much for the miracle of birth.

Angst: Used to really love writing angst, and I still do like using it in longer-form stories. That like sad heavy introspection thing is definitely right up my alley, though these days I tend to not write a lot of angst for its own sake. I like it to be mixed in with hurt/comfort and happy endings lmao.

Torture: Very much not up my alley if we're talking literal torture of a character. If we're talking about a more broad "blorbo torture" (i.e., putting guys in Situations That Suck), then sign me up. My stupid ass loves putting guys in situations. I do think this can be taken too far though, and then it becomes unfun to read (and I am not here for what is essentially torture-porn).

Fix-it fics: People who write fix-it fics are braver than any US Marine. I'm generally too lazy to write them myself but I will spew 3,000-word-long essays on how to fix a terrible tv show plot at my poor unsuspecting and innocent friends on Discord.

Miscommunication: Real life is full of dumbass miscommunication on the daily. I don't think it's unreasonable to use it in a fic, but it does have a tendency to feel quite dull sometimes, and I personally won't use it as a writer unless the miscommunication makes a lot of particular sense (and usually has some component of intention to it).

To explain that last point a bit better, I feel like the best "miscommunication" in a story relates to intentionally poor communication, rather than a misinterpretation of something someone said, or a misunderstanding regarding a situation.

The reason I feel this way is because miscommunication is used too often for great dramatic effect, when I think it serves its role best as a quieter sort of drama. People can and do misinterpret one another all the time, and they do leap to conclusions and suffer a misunderstanding, but if these things are done even a little wrong they just feel like cheap drama. Miscommunication that feels more subtle tends to not fall to pieces in the event that the author fails to present it perfectly.

As an example, the RP I'm doing now has my blorbos in a pretty bad situation. Tethe'alla has turned on them in the wake of a tragic event and they've been forced to flee under very poor circumstances and go into hiding. They've chosen to pass this time (that they both know could be years and years) posing as a married couple in a small town in Sylvarant, because it's pretty much the only way they can live in society without looking suspicious...and they very much need to be in society to stay up on what's happening in the world. They're both hiding a lot from the other but it's very intentionally done. They haven't had the time or space to process ANYTHING they've been through, yet. Naturally this lack of communication will cause problems later, but when it does it should feel like a natural progression of their lives and lived experiences—not something done for easy and cheap drama.

#redheadlesbianfreak #thoughts about writing

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