Hurt/comfort exchange: Dear Hurt/Comforter
Mar. 5th, 2019 08:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dorindaHello, hurtcomforter!
Thank you for writing for me or making me some art! If you already have a hurt/comforty idea in mind for a pairing I’ve selected, please go for it. My blanket Do Not Wants, as I mentioned in my signup, are 1) permanent character death, 2) all hurt no comfort.
If you’d find it helpful to know more about my preferences, read on!
Some of my general preferences:
* Happy or at least hopeful endings. That doesn't rule out bittersweet or melancholy or dark tones, and needn't be fluffy...in fact, I don't really find fluff comforting in general, for some reason. But I'm just not in a headspace for hopeless/tragic stuff. As I wrote to a friend, I thrive on a universe where hurts are comforted and tenderness prevails and the characters end up having each other's back, no matter how hard the circumstances.
* I asked for slash pairings, but that can be expressed at any rating level. You can have sex in your story or art if you like, or not, any level of explicit or not--whatever suits the work best. I do prefer sex to have underpinnings to it, emotions, needs, communication, etc.--something deeper than just sex for its own sake. If it suits the work better to have tenderness, intimacy, love, eroticism (repressed or un-), etc., without on-screen sex per se, that’s perfectly fine too.
Thoughts on my specific fandom requests, alphabetically:
Aubrey-Maturin series – Patrick O’Brian: Jack/Stephen (hurt either or both)
DNW: permanent character death, all hurt no comfort
Freeform tags:
Angst with a Happy Ending
Bathing/Washing
Captured
Cleaning/treating wounds
Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Historical Medical Treatment
Huddling For Warmth
Hurt to protect the comforter
Mutual Pining
Physically Injured Character Comforting Emotionally Distressed Character
Rescued After Torture
Sharing a bed
Shipwreck
Tenderness
Jack/Stephen! They have a lot of Feelings and also run into a lot of Danger, a perfect recipe for hurting and comforting. I love Jack’s protectiveness of Stephen and the way he underplays his own wounds; I love Stephen’s extreme competence at doctoring and how he himself is a terrible patient.
I love how they take care of each other, physically and emotionally—just recently I re-read the conclusion of the Waakzaamheid chase, Stephen nursing Jack through both physical injury and also PTSD; and the sequence in Far Side of the World where Stephen falls off the ship and Jack leaps in after him, and Jack spends his time keeping Stephen alive, keeping Stephen’s morale up (while becoming privately certain they are doomed), and protecting Stephen’s openly-admitted embarrassment at causing all the trouble. And sooo many more examples—some other canon favorites are of course all the times Jack worries over Stephen ashore on a mission, Jack rescuing Stephen from torture/captivity, the time they're adrift in a lifeboat after La Flèche burns...
In short, these characters are a cornucopia of this sort of thing, so have at it! No need to place them specifically in the book storylines or write a specifically O'Brian style pastiche if you're not inclined; I'm easy.
The Exorcist (tv): Marcus/Tomas (hurt either), Marcus/Peter (hurt either or both)
DNW: permanent character death, all hurt no comfort
Freeform tags:
Angst with a Happy Ending
Bathing/Washing
Captured
Character being protected isn't used to being cared about
Childhood Trauma
Cleaning/treating wounds
Demons
Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Huddling For Warmth
Hurt to protect the comforter
Mutual Pining
Physically Injured Character Comforting Emotionally Distressed Character
Self-sacrifice
Sharing a bed
Tenderness
Marcus/Tomas! There’s that whole big tempting six-month period between seasons when they were roaming the country doing exorcisms, following Bennett’s tips. Tomas has burning ambition and a lot to learn, Marcus has a veteran's wariness and a lot to teach, and all of it in the field without a safety net. Sounds risky! Exorcisms provide plenty of opportunity for physical or emotional hurt, given that the demonic toolbox includes both kinds of attacks. Plus of course there’s Marcus’s childhood, as a traumatically-orphaned child soldier, and how that might have shaped him; and there's Tomas now being suddenly and completely isolated from the normal life and support system he once had.
Marcus/Peter! Peter’s stable, normal world is not a world full of sudden peril to life and soul. But of course things happen—ordinary things, or, bad things crossing over from Marcus’s world into his. If Peter was imperiled by something from Marcus’s secret life, it seems like it would bring along a big helping of distress for Marcus along with the hurt to Peter (or to them both). Or maybe it’s more about Marcus’s suffering after season 2, and how Peter helps him.
Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World: Jack/Stephen (hurt either or both)
DNW: permanent character death, all hurt no comfort
Freeform tags:
Angst with a Happy Ending
Bathing/Washing
Captured
Cleaning/treating wounds
Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Historical Medical Treatment
Huddling For Warmth
Hurt to protect the comforter
Mutual Pining
Physically Injured Character Comforting Emotionally Distressed Character
Sharing a bed
Shipwreck
Tenderness
Jack/Stephen! You can see above under the book characters too, since I feel the movie did a great job with them and their hurt/comforty natures (even with differences, like movie-Stephen being a better patient than book-Stephen, or at least less crotchety). The way Jack suffers after losing Warley, for instance, and Stephen sits with him to comfort him; or the way Stephen so matter-of-factly starts checking wounded-Jack and Jack is obedient under his hands, having never noticed his own wounds; or of course, the amazing sequence of Stephen's wound and surgery and recovery. The way Jack runs to his side, the way Stephen's first response is to gasp "I'm fine, Jack...I'm fine", the way Jack worries over him, the way that Stephen in the middle of performing surgery on himself asks Jack "Are you all right?" And more! These characters have a lot of Feelings and run into a lot of Danger, which is totally suited to h/c, and the whole wide-open sea (and/or land or creatures or enemies...) is there to dish it up.
Person of Interest: Harold/John (hurt either)
DNW: permanent character death, all hurt no comfort
Freeform tags:
Angst with a Happy Ending
Bathing/Washing
Canon Disabled Character
Character being protected isn't used to being cared about
Captured
Cleaning/treating wounds
Drugged
Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Hiding Injuries
Huddling For Warmth
Hurt to protect the comforter
Mutual Pining
Physically Injured Character Comforting Emotionally Distressed Character
Sharing a bed
Tenderness
Touch-starved
Harold/John! They get (or are already) hurt a lot, and I love when they actually get a chance to look after each other, physically or emotionally or both. Harold's rescue of shot-John who's trying to quietly thank him and bid him goodbye! John's rescue of kidnapped-Harold, taking hold of him at once while gently checking his body for injury! John trapped in a bomb vest, trying to keep Harold away from him so he can blow up without hurting Harold, and Harold not taking any of his nonsense! And so much more, including things like Harold being drugged and John protecting him from his sudden openness; or Harold's trauma and panic attack after being kidnapped. I especially appreciate it when John is being stoic and self-sacrificing as a matter of course and Harold is like NICE TRY and takes care of him, even to John's surprise.
No need to connect specifically to series events or storylines if you don't want to, and no need to grapple with the series ending--unless you have a fix-it idea, which would of course be welcome!
Shetland: Jimmy/Duncan (hurt either or both)
DNW: permanent character death, all hurt no comfort
Freeform tags:
Angst with a Happy Ending
Blaming Themself for the Other Character Being Injured
Cleaning/treating wounds
Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Everyone Thinks They're Together - They're Pining
Huddling For Warmth
Loneliness
Mutual Pining
Physically Injured Character Comforting Emotionally Distressed Character
Sharing a bed
Tenderness
Jimmy/Duncan! They usually get hurt or offer comfort in more subtle ways—sometimes in very different ways, as with Duncan's response to heartbreak sometimes being "HEY I BROUGHT PIZZA". But something they have in common I think is playing their hurts close to the chest. I mean, Jimmy and his quiet loneliness, sure, but Duncan too—season 4 showed us that he has kept secrets he's ashamed of, and especially ashamed of revealing them to Jimmy.
Emotional or physical hurt (or both) is fine by me. They don't tend to get physically hurt in canon much, but feel free to do so yourself! Either your own scenario (it's cold there—there are boats—there are searches on foot or in boats for lost people or crime victims—who knows?), or a canon divergence like, what if Jimmy had actually been wounded when he walked between Duncan and the shotgun, or what if Jimmy had been too late and Duncan had been hurt, or other ways that hostage situation might have gone to let the h/c trope fully flower.
The Sting (1973): Henry/Johnny (hurt Johnny)
(Hurt Johnny is the only tag that got nominated, but I like them any way I can get them.)
DNW: permanent character death, all hurt no comfort
Freeform tags:
Angst with a Happy Ending
Bathing/Washing
Blaming Themself for the Other Character Being Injured
Cleaning/treating wounds
Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Everyone Thinks They're Together - They're Pining
Huddling For Warmth
Hurt to Protect the Comforter
Mutual Pining
Physically Injured Character Comforting Emotionally Distressed Character
Sharing a bed
Tenderness
Henry/Johnny! We got to see Henry's worry and protectiveness toward hurt (or at-risk) Johnny in canon, whether fretting, or tending to wounds from broken glass, or setting him a secret bodyguard, etc., and that's a dynamic I will never tire of. Especially post-movie, when they're partnering up, and Henry might end up feeling personally responsible and guilty over any hurt that might befall beautiful newbie Johnny—oh no. :D The thing where one is physically hurt, the other is emotionally suffering over the one being physically hurt, it's *chef's kiss*. And there are all kinds of risks they might run that can end up poorly—brushing up against the actual violent criminals, a job going bad and they're on the run, they end up having to hop a freight and get in trouble with railroad bulls or hobos, you name it.
Have fun with it, and thanks again!
Thank you for writing for me or making me some art! If you already have a hurt/comforty idea in mind for a pairing I’ve selected, please go for it. My blanket Do Not Wants, as I mentioned in my signup, are 1) permanent character death, 2) all hurt no comfort.
If you’d find it helpful to know more about my preferences, read on!
Some of my general preferences:
* Happy or at least hopeful endings. That doesn't rule out bittersweet or melancholy or dark tones, and needn't be fluffy...in fact, I don't really find fluff comforting in general, for some reason. But I'm just not in a headspace for hopeless/tragic stuff. As I wrote to a friend, I thrive on a universe where hurts are comforted and tenderness prevails and the characters end up having each other's back, no matter how hard the circumstances.
* I asked for slash pairings, but that can be expressed at any rating level. You can have sex in your story or art if you like, or not, any level of explicit or not--whatever suits the work best. I do prefer sex to have underpinnings to it, emotions, needs, communication, etc.--something deeper than just sex for its own sake. If it suits the work better to have tenderness, intimacy, love, eroticism (repressed or un-), etc., without on-screen sex per se, that’s perfectly fine too.
Thoughts on my specific fandom requests, alphabetically:
Aubrey-Maturin series – Patrick O’Brian: Jack/Stephen (hurt either or both)
DNW: permanent character death, all hurt no comfort
Freeform tags:
Angst with a Happy Ending
Bathing/Washing
Captured
Cleaning/treating wounds
Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Historical Medical Treatment
Huddling For Warmth
Hurt to protect the comforter
Mutual Pining
Physically Injured Character Comforting Emotionally Distressed Character
Rescued After Torture
Sharing a bed
Shipwreck
Tenderness
Jack/Stephen! They have a lot of Feelings and also run into a lot of Danger, a perfect recipe for hurting and comforting. I love Jack’s protectiveness of Stephen and the way he underplays his own wounds; I love Stephen’s extreme competence at doctoring and how he himself is a terrible patient.
I love how they take care of each other, physically and emotionally—just recently I re-read the conclusion of the Waakzaamheid chase, Stephen nursing Jack through both physical injury and also PTSD; and the sequence in Far Side of the World where Stephen falls off the ship and Jack leaps in after him, and Jack spends his time keeping Stephen alive, keeping Stephen’s morale up (while becoming privately certain they are doomed), and protecting Stephen’s openly-admitted embarrassment at causing all the trouble. And sooo many more examples—some other canon favorites are of course all the times Jack worries over Stephen ashore on a mission, Jack rescuing Stephen from torture/captivity, the time they're adrift in a lifeboat after La Flèche burns...
In short, these characters are a cornucopia of this sort of thing, so have at it! No need to place them specifically in the book storylines or write a specifically O'Brian style pastiche if you're not inclined; I'm easy.
The Exorcist (tv): Marcus/Tomas (hurt either), Marcus/Peter (hurt either or both)
DNW: permanent character death, all hurt no comfort
Freeform tags:
Angst with a Happy Ending
Bathing/Washing
Captured
Character being protected isn't used to being cared about
Childhood Trauma
Cleaning/treating wounds
Demons
Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Huddling For Warmth
Hurt to protect the comforter
Mutual Pining
Physically Injured Character Comforting Emotionally Distressed Character
Self-sacrifice
Sharing a bed
Tenderness
Marcus/Tomas! There’s that whole big tempting six-month period between seasons when they were roaming the country doing exorcisms, following Bennett’s tips. Tomas has burning ambition and a lot to learn, Marcus has a veteran's wariness and a lot to teach, and all of it in the field without a safety net. Sounds risky! Exorcisms provide plenty of opportunity for physical or emotional hurt, given that the demonic toolbox includes both kinds of attacks. Plus of course there’s Marcus’s childhood, as a traumatically-orphaned child soldier, and how that might have shaped him; and there's Tomas now being suddenly and completely isolated from the normal life and support system he once had.
Marcus/Peter! Peter’s stable, normal world is not a world full of sudden peril to life and soul. But of course things happen—ordinary things, or, bad things crossing over from Marcus’s world into his. If Peter was imperiled by something from Marcus’s secret life, it seems like it would bring along a big helping of distress for Marcus along with the hurt to Peter (or to them both). Or maybe it’s more about Marcus’s suffering after season 2, and how Peter helps him.
Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World: Jack/Stephen (hurt either or both)
DNW: permanent character death, all hurt no comfort
Freeform tags:
Angst with a Happy Ending
Bathing/Washing
Captured
Cleaning/treating wounds
Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Historical Medical Treatment
Huddling For Warmth
Hurt to protect the comforter
Mutual Pining
Physically Injured Character Comforting Emotionally Distressed Character
Sharing a bed
Shipwreck
Tenderness
Jack/Stephen! You can see above under the book characters too, since I feel the movie did a great job with them and their hurt/comforty natures (even with differences, like movie-Stephen being a better patient than book-Stephen, or at least less crotchety). The way Jack suffers after losing Warley, for instance, and Stephen sits with him to comfort him; or the way Stephen so matter-of-factly starts checking wounded-Jack and Jack is obedient under his hands, having never noticed his own wounds; or of course, the amazing sequence of Stephen's wound and surgery and recovery. The way Jack runs to his side, the way Stephen's first response is to gasp "I'm fine, Jack...I'm fine", the way Jack worries over him, the way that Stephen in the middle of performing surgery on himself asks Jack "Are you all right?" And more! These characters have a lot of Feelings and run into a lot of Danger, which is totally suited to h/c, and the whole wide-open sea (and/or land or creatures or enemies...) is there to dish it up.
Person of Interest: Harold/John (hurt either)
DNW: permanent character death, all hurt no comfort
Freeform tags:
Angst with a Happy Ending
Bathing/Washing
Canon Disabled Character
Character being protected isn't used to being cared about
Captured
Cleaning/treating wounds
Drugged
Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Hiding Injuries
Huddling For Warmth
Hurt to protect the comforter
Mutual Pining
Physically Injured Character Comforting Emotionally Distressed Character
Sharing a bed
Tenderness
Touch-starved
Harold/John! They get (or are already) hurt a lot, and I love when they actually get a chance to look after each other, physically or emotionally or both. Harold's rescue of shot-John who's trying to quietly thank him and bid him goodbye! John's rescue of kidnapped-Harold, taking hold of him at once while gently checking his body for injury! John trapped in a bomb vest, trying to keep Harold away from him so he can blow up without hurting Harold, and Harold not taking any of his nonsense! And so much more, including things like Harold being drugged and John protecting him from his sudden openness; or Harold's trauma and panic attack after being kidnapped. I especially appreciate it when John is being stoic and self-sacrificing as a matter of course and Harold is like NICE TRY and takes care of him, even to John's surprise.
No need to connect specifically to series events or storylines if you don't want to, and no need to grapple with the series ending--unless you have a fix-it idea, which would of course be welcome!
Shetland: Jimmy/Duncan (hurt either or both)
DNW: permanent character death, all hurt no comfort
Freeform tags:
Angst with a Happy Ending
Blaming Themself for the Other Character Being Injured
Cleaning/treating wounds
Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Everyone Thinks They're Together - They're Pining
Huddling For Warmth
Loneliness
Mutual Pining
Physically Injured Character Comforting Emotionally Distressed Character
Sharing a bed
Tenderness
Jimmy/Duncan! They usually get hurt or offer comfort in more subtle ways—sometimes in very different ways, as with Duncan's response to heartbreak sometimes being "HEY I BROUGHT PIZZA". But something they have in common I think is playing their hurts close to the chest. I mean, Jimmy and his quiet loneliness, sure, but Duncan too—season 4 showed us that he has kept secrets he's ashamed of, and especially ashamed of revealing them to Jimmy.
Emotional or physical hurt (or both) is fine by me. They don't tend to get physically hurt in canon much, but feel free to do so yourself! Either your own scenario (it's cold there—there are boats—there are searches on foot or in boats for lost people or crime victims—who knows?), or a canon divergence like, what if Jimmy had actually been wounded when he walked between Duncan and the shotgun, or what if Jimmy had been too late and Duncan had been hurt, or other ways that hostage situation might have gone to let the h/c trope fully flower.
The Sting (1973): Henry/Johnny (hurt Johnny)
(Hurt Johnny is the only tag that got nominated, but I like them any way I can get them.)
DNW: permanent character death, all hurt no comfort
Freeform tags:
Angst with a Happy Ending
Bathing/Washing
Blaming Themself for the Other Character Being Injured
Cleaning/treating wounds
Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Everyone Thinks They're Together - They're Pining
Huddling For Warmth
Hurt to Protect the Comforter
Mutual Pining
Physically Injured Character Comforting Emotionally Distressed Character
Sharing a bed
Tenderness
Henry/Johnny! We got to see Henry's worry and protectiveness toward hurt (or at-risk) Johnny in canon, whether fretting, or tending to wounds from broken glass, or setting him a secret bodyguard, etc., and that's a dynamic I will never tire of. Especially post-movie, when they're partnering up, and Henry might end up feeling personally responsible and guilty over any hurt that might befall beautiful newbie Johnny—oh no. :D The thing where one is physically hurt, the other is emotionally suffering over the one being physically hurt, it's *chef's kiss*. And there are all kinds of risks they might run that can end up poorly—brushing up against the actual violent criminals, a job going bad and they're on the run, they end up having to hop a freight and get in trouble with railroad bulls or hobos, you name it.
Have fun with it, and thanks again!
