STDs/STIs haven't be touched much outside of the soaps tackling HIV/AIDS during it's height. A character who wants a family and realizes they are sterile because of an STD/STI their hated ex gave them long ago would be very compelling. There is also the direction of severe, long term health issues related to such illness.

18 minutes ago, ReddFoxx said:

STDs/STIs haven't be touched much outside of the soaps tackling HIV/AIDS during it's height. A character who wants a family and realizes they are sterile because of an STD/STI their hated ex gave them long ago would be very compelling. There is also the direction of severe, long term health issues related to such illness.

Y&R had this storyline for Dru. She learned while pregnant with Lily that she had an untreated STI.

4 hours ago, Soaplovers said:

Perhaps the Connie/Allison story could be that Allison isn't really Connie's daughter..that she was abducted as a baby and the real mother believes Allison is dead.

You could even amp up the scandal factor and have Connie revealed to be a womb raider ripped from the headlines.

9 hours ago, Khan said:

And the Craig/Leo story, IMO, is a perfect example of why late-in-life coming out tales don't work on daytime.

Especially if a writer only writes it because of his own ignorance and biases

I hope Bradley Bell doesn't read this topic. 😂

I don't know why, but I would love if they told a story about someone abusing meds like Ozempic. It's so widespread right now... Show a popular woman who reads about herself in the magazines or forums/blogs/social media (they could touch on online bullying too) and starts to inject herself without prescription... show the side effects and how hard it is to stop if it's paired with distorted body image. I swear if soaps told some hardcore storyline like this... it could have impact.

1 hour ago, Maxim said:

I don't know why, but I would love if they told a story about someone abusing meds like Ozempic. It's so widespread right now... Show a popular woman who reads about herself in the magazines or forums/blogs/social media (they could touch on online bullying too) and starts to inject herself without prescription... show the side effects and how hard it is to stop if it's paired with distorted body image. I swear if soaps told some hardcore storyline like this... it could have impact.

I could see Erica Kane doing this if AMC was still on the air.

12 hours ago, All My Shadows said:

I think I might've suggested a hoarding storyline years ago when the reality show was still a huge hit, but it takes time. IMO, had Charita Bauer not passed at such a young age, Bert would have been the perfect candidate for a hoarding storyline in the 90s. Boy mom whose boys have grown up and left the nest, husband left/died/left years ago, and as she ages, her usefulness in the community seemingly diminishes. Maybe after years of not actually seeing her house on screen anymore, Ed and Maureen start whispering about "how bad it's getting at Bert's," and then an episode opens on closeup on a random hoarded item, the camera pulls back to show much more of the horde, and then we realize we're in Bert's house. Meta makes her return during this storyline to give her a dose of "Girl, what is you doing?" and start on the road to recovery.

Ooh, chile, now you've got me thinking about Bert Bauer and her "collection" of soiled adult diapers. You are so wrong for doing that, lol.

But, yeah, you'd need time - a LOT of time - to tell that kind of story properly. To go from the beginning stages of the disorder, to full blown crisis, to intervention and recovery in a 13-week span would be detrimental to educating people about the disease.

Edited July 13Jul 13 by Khan

To be honest, on GL.. Lillian would have been the right person to do a hoarding story with considering all the angst and guilt she felt. We also never saw her house nor did she really seem to go on dates and seemed like everything was ok on the surface... but maybe we find out that she's hoarded things from Beth, her grand daughter, even items/pictures of Maureen (i.e. a shrine).

Hoarding is due to severe self-hatred and being unable to properly deal with emotions or guilt over things they may, or may not, have done.

Speaking of Ozempic, have U.S. soaps done a story about a botched cosmetic surgery? Looks like Coronation Street did one (I didn’t see it).

26 minutes ago, Faulkner said:

Speaking of Ozempic, have U.S. soaps done a story about a botched cosmetic surgery? Looks like Coronation Street did one (I didn’t see it).

I guess David Kimble having KILLER scrawled on his forehead doesn't count...

We are so far away from Carla Gray, the early Vietnam stories of AMC, or the way they told the Stone/Robin HIV storyline. A long way. Or even trying something like Will’s coming out or B&B’s Trans storyline.

Imagine a story with a young Afghani refugee who is a woman, and she’s stuck in the current system seeking asylum while at home women’s rights have been stricken away. If AMC was still airing imagine Erica Kane’s granddaughter trying to get reproductive care and a medical abortion and can’t because of restrictive laws, and how that could be explored with Erica and the women of Pine Valley.

Or even something simple like Liz has all her children and Cameron’s current girlfriend moving into her house because none of them can afford to live on their own anymore. And let those dynamics play out!

A character with Pica where they want to consume strange things like drywall, foam rubber, dirt or a character with a strange addiction. Sharon Newman on Y&R might sneak out to the garage and soak a rag in gas, place it a plastic bag and huff till her heart's content. It might explain her erratic behavior and SC's acting choices.

18 hours ago, Soaplovers said:

I'd love to see both far left and far right extremist storylines since both sides have become bonkers

Sorry, what are far left extremists like? I don't understand what you're referring to.

As for the hoarding storyline, I'd rather see a storyline where a sociopath hoards capital thus becoming a multi-billionaire and being rightfully despised by their community. I don't see the long-term soapy drama in a character hoarding stuff and knick-knacks.

27 minutes ago, Aback said:

I don't see the long-term soapy drama in a character hoarding stuff and knick-knacks.

It's there.