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fullupwithfire) wrote2022-03-11 03:55 am
fullupwithfire) wrote2022-03-11 03:55 am
Entry tags:
Hurt/Comfort Exchange 2022 Letter
Dear creator,
Thank you for making me something! (Or considering it, if you're a potential treater!) This is my first time in this exchange, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what you come up with. On AO3, I'm![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p2.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
ifimightchime. I have treats enabled and they are very much welcomed!
As the freeforms already offer some guidelines, I've leaned more towards talking about what I like about these fandoms and pairs rather than more specific prompts. While I've only added commentary to certain freeforms, that's not a matter of preference so much as only having things to add to some of them, and also trying not to make this so long I can't get it done in time to sign up.
All requests for this exchange are for fic!
Table of Contents
DNWs & Likes
DNW:
General Likes:
Hannibal (Request #1)
The Abigail Hobbs section! As is probably clear, I love Abigail; she's an all-time favorite character for me. I want her to have as many good things as possible, and also I want terrible things to continue to happen to her, so hurt/comfort is a perfect fit; feel free to handwave or outright AU around the show's timeline to fit things in. Other things I love in this show generally is the dreamy tone, the not-quite-grounded-not-quite-fantasy grey area it's in, all the manipulation going on around Abigail's stories, the layers present in so many shots and conversations, and the dialogue in general.
✦ Abigail Hobbs & Beverly Katz (hurt Abigail)
Beverly is my second-favorite character in the show, and I want that whole accepting, caring manner she has with Will directed at Abigail as well, even if trying to make it work with the canon situation is a pain. ("Bev is trapped with Hannibal instead of killed immediately" is slightly easier, as is both of them being ghosts at the time, and I'm also here for both of those -- however you want to get them in a space together!) Abigail could use a genuine friend, and it seems like Beverly would work well in that role.
✦ Abigail Hobbs & Hannibal Lecter (hurt Abigail)
All the way on the other side, I love the way Hannibal out-manipulates Abigail, the way he pulls her into his game, because she could be useful and he feels like it. I like how it's unclear if there's any genuine affection or feelings at all there from Hannibal, or how much Abigail follows along to keep herself safe vs actually trusting him, and I'm interested in basically any way that could go on both ends. Basically just fuck me up on this one as much as you'd like, I'm here for it.
✦ Alana Bloom & Abigail Hobbs (hurt Abigail)
Abigail needs a friend, but Alana is really the closest thing the show has to that for her, and I'd love to see more of the two of them together. I love how Alana actually tries to help without the same complicated motives as everyone else, and I'd love to see that succeed a little bit in the way she didn't really manage to in the show, even if it's just succeeding in comforting her for a moment before the inevitable rest of the story.
✦ Bedelia Du Maurier/Abigail Hobbs (both hurt)
I wish these two had interacted on-screen, and I would love to see what they make of each other, how Bedelia treats Abigail, and if Abigail puts any trust in her or not. This is all about potential for me -- they've both been put in difficult situations and both of them have their own ways of trying to handle that, and I'd love to see how that collides.
✦ Will Graham & Abigail Hobbs (hurt Abigail)
✦ Will Graham/Abigail Hobbs (hurt Abigail)
✦ Will Graham/Abigail Hobbs (hurt Will)
Putting the & and the / together, because I want more or less the same things from both -- I really like how complicated and how messy the relationship between the two of them is, and all a romantic relationship does for me is magnify that. I love Will's strong feelings and the way they cloud the way he thinks of her, Abigail's wariness and the way she seems to try to connect back at him as soon as she feels like he might accept her, the way they're both manipulated by Hannibal through season one -- the scenes the two of them have together (or three, with Hannibal) are some of my favorites in the entire show, and I'm always interested in more building on there, and especially in how either they might hurt each other, or try to help each other through some of the shit that goes on.
Freeforms:
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Hannibal (Request #2)
Freeforms:
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Life is Strange: True Colors
✦ Alex Chen & Gabe Chen (both hurt)
✦ Alex Chen & Gabe Chen (hurt Alex)
✦ Alex Chen & Gabe Chen (hurt Gabe)
I have absolutely loved every single Life is Strange game so far, but True Colors might be my favorite, and Alex and Gabe have a lot to do with that. Alex is such a great protagonist, and even knowing what was coming, I was immediately drawn into their getting to know each other again. And then when Gabe was such a big part of episode five, and even ended it on a conversation between them, I was so happy they got more use out of their relationship. There is so much pain for both of them to deal with, and I'd love to see them get a chance to help each other through that, whether Gabe's alive for it or not. I'd also love to see a fix-it where Gabe gets hurt, but doesn't die, and Alex has to help him through it. Really any way you want to give them a little more time together, I'm here for, because their relationship and all that missed potential was one of the best and most painful things in this entire series to date for me.
✦ Alex Chen/Gabe Chen (both hurt)
✦ Alex Chen/Gabe Chen (hurt Alex)
✦ Alex Chen/Gabe Chen (hurt Gabe)
...and I'm also always up to add something to an already-complicated situation to make it even more so. I liked Alex's romance options and Charlotte, but this is the only ship I really came out of the game interested in. There's something interesting in taking the existing secrets, estrangement, and possibilities for angst, and turning it up just that extra notch by adding taboo feelings in there. I'd much prefer this to be something that newly develops after they meet each other again at game time than for there to have been feelings before they got separated, but otherwise, I'm down for anything, unrequited or mutual.
Freeforms:
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Sanctuary (Request #1)
There isn't much time in canon as it stands for her to interact with any of them, though if you want to slip things into the brief gap between season one and season two I'm fine with that. But if you want to bend canon, I'm here for slight alteration -- 'shady figure in the back of Anna Griffin's funeral', 'brief interaction as a kid/teenager', etc -- to full-fledged AU set-up -- 'Nigel didn't die and Clara grew up around him/the Sanctuary', 'ended up taken in/stolen by one of them when they discovered she existed as a kid', whatever you want to do with it. I just want to see Clara dealing with the messiness that is the Five, and to see how that would come out in them comforting her, possibly because of reasons that are actually their fault. This one really is all about what could have been, so please run with it as far as you'd like to go!
Freeforms:
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Sanctuary (Request #2)
And on to the Five. As I said above, pretty much since Nikola's first episode, this show has been the Five show for me, and I've watched the highlight reel version with the handful of Five-centric episodes way more than the rest of the show. Friends/lovers-to-enemies is an all-time favorite trope for me, and the way this show does it is pitch-perfect -- the complicated residual feelings, the pain and resentment, the way they work together when they have to, the sense of so much shared history that every single conversation gives off. I can never get enough of any combination of the group, and I would have nominated every single one if I'd had room.
That said, I didn't, and the hurt here especially tends to revolve primarily around three of them. I love Helen and Nigel just as much, but there's just a little something extra to consider with the other three that leads me towards wanting more H/C around them. With John, it's his betrayal, and the question of what would send him back to the others for help and how they'd react when he did; with Nikola, it's the vampirism. For James, it's the machine, and I am absolutely fascinated by the idea of H/C that revolves around the machine -- people helping with the machine, helping to do every day tasks, especially as it starts to break down, any pain or side-effects it might cause, or anything else you can think of. Some freeforms do specifically point towards one of these things I highlighted; however, I love role-swaps and AUs, so feel free to switch things around with who got what power if you want to use those freeforms for other requested pairings instead!
✦ Helen Magnus/James Watson (hurt James)
I really like what canon set up between these two, and I'd love to see more of it. It seems like it took the longest for them to start to drift away from each other, and it was the least complete separation overall, and that opens up so much potential for bitter, bittersweet, or melancholy times between the two of them. I also really love the idea of post-Tempus Helen seeing James again at least a few times, so if you want to go that way I am here for it!
✦ Montague John Druitt/James Watson (hurt James)
On the explosive end, every moment these two are on screen together I end up having feelings. Whether it's before James knows about John being the Ripper or after, whether they're getting along at the moment or not -- all those things I love about the Five in general are the most concentrated when these two talk to each other, and I'd love to see some h/c in that context. On a related note, one of my favorite little things is John helping James to walk in Revelations, even before they have their confrontation, and anything on those lines, where there's still that resentment brimming but they have to help each other anyway, is always great.
✦ Montague John Druitt/Nigel Griffin (hurt John)
Nigel is kind of an enigma -- he got so little screen time, and in Normandy seems to still be close to the group (minus John), but the way only Helen knows he's had a kid, and only after he dies, in Revelations, always led me to believe he'd separated from the others at some point. It seems reasonable that if John did need help he might go to Nigel for certain stretches of time, since the reasons not to go to the others are clear, and there's such a huge question mark about how Nigel might react that I'd really love to read any kind of take on the scenario. On the other hand, I'm just generally interested in the question of how Nigel interacts with the other, so something pre-John breaking away from them all is also good!
✦ Montague John Druitt/Nikola Tesla (both hurt)
If any of them seem to come around to being enemies without all the complicated emotional residue, it's John and Nikola, and you could make a case for them butting heads even before then, which is what makes the idea of both of them being hurt so appealing to me. The two of them being put in a situation where they have to rely on or help each other is really interesting, both in what could get them there and how they'd react to it.
✦ Nigel Griffin/James Watson (hurt James)
Little as there was, getting to see these two together in Normandy was so satisfying. I like the bit of onscreen friendship we got between them, and how Nigel is as competent as the other two and ends up being the one to save them. Nigel feels a little more practical or grounded than the others in some ways, and I'd love to see how that comes out between these two in a hurt/comfort situation and what their relationship together would like like.
✦ Nigel Griffin/Nikola Tesla (hurt Nikola)
This is another pair where there's so little between them, but I love what little we get, with the moments of teasing between them in For King and Country. With Nigel it really is about the potential for what there could have been as much as anything, and I'd love to see anything that brought these two together and how their little corner of all this history would play out.
✦ Nikola Tesla/James Watson (both hurt)
✦ Nikola Tesla/James Watson (hurt James)
✦ Nikola Tesla/James Watson (hurt Nikola)
When it comes to breaking down the web of the Five into one-on-one ships, this is one of my favorite dynamics. There's the clear separation, with more of a question mark as to why they drifted apart or if it was more intense than that, and things like the both of them being inventors, which opens the question of if they ever worked together at all, if Nikola ever tried to get James' help with his work or Nikola had a hand in the machine's creation. There's so many options for how the two of them work together and not quite enough screen time to rule out any of them, so I love to see any and every potential take on how they interact.
Freeforms:
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The Bifrost Incident (Request #1)
✦ Loki/Sigyn (both hurt)
✦ Loki/Sigyn (hurt Loki)
✦ Loki/Sigyn (hurt Sigyn)
Bifrost is such a short canon, and these two get so little interaction, but I loved them immediately. The tragedy of their story is so lovely, and the way things end up just break my heart every time. And there's so much in their story that could lead to interesting hurt/comfort scenarios -- with the end and the two of them trapped on the Ratatosk, certainly, or in some AU where they end up escaping the end or thrust somewhere else because of Cosmic Reasons; but there's also all that time spent leading the revolution together that I would love to see explored! How long people even live is kind of up in the air based on the album and the profile snippets, so however many years they had together is such an interesting void to fill in. There really isn't time to do more than lightly suggest a lot in the album, so go run with whatever interests you, and I will happily follow along.
✦ Sigyn & None (hurt Sigyn)
Just fuck me up, creator. I put this in thinking of Sigyn mourning her wife and trying to comfort herself while leading the revolution, and I would be happy to hurt however you want to hurt me. That said, if you want to go another way -- exploring Sigyn before Loki, Sigyn trapped alone before Loki's death, even something weird with the ending -- I'm also here for that. I just love what we get of Sigyn as a character, and I want so much more of her.
Freeforms:
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The Bifrost Incident (Request #2)
Freeforms:
(back to table of contents)
The Hunger Games
Freeforms:
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The Umbrella Academy
I love how dysfunctional the relationships between the Hargreeves is, and how they keep coming together as a family and caring about each other anyway. Whether they're continuing to be a mess together or trying to be less of one, it's this dynamic between all of them that really keeps me coming back to this show. It's also part of why there's more or less no combination that I can't ship between them all -- pretty much every combination would be really interesting to me! I like the idea of that complicated mess including all sorts of romantic tension, so if you feel the urge to include nods to other ships I've requested or even put more than one in, that's fine with me.
I generally prefer season one over season two, but I'm happy with any point along the timeline for fic! I also have a real weakness for AUs that pairs the Hargreeves together in parts of the story where they'd canonically split apart, if you want to go that way -- having them leave home together, or have gotten together in the time between leaving home and getting back together for the funeral, or even landing together post-S1 time travel.
✦ Allison Hargreeves/Ben Hargreeves (hurt Allison)
✦ Allison Hargreeves/Ben Hargreeves (hurt Ben)
My little ship that, so far, cannot. I think there's a lot of potential there; there's some similarities -- both seem to care a lot for the others and call them on their shit, but also have a tendency to lash out or be prickly when they're confronted or feel powerless, and seem better at finding problems than fixing them -- that seem like they'd lead to interesting ways of dealing with each other. There's also the parallel of Allison being so wrapped up in her power while Ben doesn't seem to have been thrilled by his, but both of them being strongly defined by them in their own way, setting up interesting contrasts as well. In the end, I just like the idea of it a lot, and I'd love to see someone else's take on it, so go wherever your heart takes you!
✦ Allison Hargreeves/Diego Hargreeves (both hurt)
✦ Allison Hargreeves/Diego Hargreeves (hurt Allison)
I really fell for this ship early one in season one, when, after all that arguing and sniping at each other, they still fell into fighting together seamlessly and end up working together so well, and I like how they keep making little comments, even when they start working together more. Their dynamic works really well for me as it plays out on screen, and I'm always wanting more of it; I feel like they'd balance out in an interesting way, and I'd be interested to see how that plays into a hurt/comfort context especially.
✦ Ben Hargreeves/Klaus Hargreeves (hurt Ben)
I just want Ben to have good things for a little while. And I love the way these two are thrust together, without much of a choice, unless Ben wants to walk away altogether; there's such a great set-up for codependency, or for reluctant bonding, or whatever way you want to take it. I love how they argue, and I love the way they clearly care for each other, despite the less than ideal circumstances. Whether it's with a ghost-Ben who can't be physically comforted, or one who's temporarily coporeal, or before dying, or even a Ben who never died, however you want to take it, I'd just love to see Klaus do his best to make him feel better over whatever hurt you want to throw in.
✦ Diego Hargreeves/Vanya Hargreeves (both hurt)
✦ Diego Hargreeves/Vanya Hargreeves (hurt Diego)
Hargreeves Family Champion Grudgeholders, unite! Basically every single moment these two have in S1 just fueled the shipping fire for me -- all that tension ripe for exploration, Diego’s pissiness over the book and over Vanya’s place in the family, the way she stands her ground against him when he brings things up multiple times. I like complicated feelings between people as ship fuel, and both of them really bring that to the table with basically the entire family. Doubling that down by putting the two of them together and letting things either explode or unexpectedly turn out well is one of my favorite things.
Freeforms:
(back to table of contents)
Thank you for making me something! (Or considering it, if you're a potential treater!) This is my first time in this exchange, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what you come up with. On AO3, I'm
As the freeforms already offer some guidelines, I've leaned more towards talking about what I like about these fandoms and pairs rather than more specific prompts. While I've only added commentary to certain freeforms, that's not a matter of preference so much as only having things to add to some of them, and also trying not to make this so long I can't get it done in time to sign up.
All requests for this exchange are for fic!
Table of Contents
- DNWs & Likes
- Hannibal (Request #1)
- relationships: Abigail Hobbs & Beverly Katz (hurt Abigail); Abigail Hobbs & Hannibal Lecter (hurt Abigail); Alana Bloom & Abigail Hobbs (hurt Abigail); Bedelia Du Maurier/Abigail Hobbs (both hurt); Will Graham & Abigail Hobbs (hurt Abigail); Will Graham/Abigail Hobbs (hurt Abigail, hurt Will)
- Hannibal (Request #2)
- relationships: Beverly Katz/Brian Zellar (both hurt, hurt Beverly)
- Life is Strange: True Colors
- relationships: Alex Chen & Gabe Chen (both hurt, hurt Alex, hurt Gabe); Alex Chen/Gabe Chen (hurt both, hurt Alex, hurt Gabe)
- Sanctuary (Request #1)
- relationships: Clara Griffin & The Five (hurt Clara)
- Sanctuary (Request #2)
- relationships: Helen Magnus/James Watson (hurt James); Montague John Druitt/James Watson (hurt James); Montague John Druitt/Nigel Griffin (hurt John); Montague John Druitt/Nikola Tesla (both hurt); Nigel Griffin/James Watson (hurt James); Nigel Griffin/Nikola Tesla (hurt Nikola); Nikola Tesla/James Watson (both hurt, hurt James, hurt Nikola)
- The Bifrost Incident (Request #1)
- relationships: Loki/Sigyn (both hurt, hurt Loki, hurt Sigyn); Sigyn & none (hurt Sigyn)
- The Bifrost Incident (Request #2)
- relationships: Sigyn & Thor (both hurt, hurt Sigyn, hurt Thor)
- The Hunger Games
- relationships: Annie Cresta/Finnick Odair (hurt Annie, hurt Finnick)
- The Umbrella Academy
- relationships: Allison Hargreeves/Ben Hargreeves (hurt Allison, hurt Ben); Allison Hargreeves/Diego Hargreeves (both hurt, hurt Allison); Ben Hargreeves/Klaus Hargreeves (hurt Ben); Diego Hargreeves/Vanya Hargreeves (both hurt, hurt Diego)
DNWs & Likes
DNW:
- Graphic violence or gore. In particular, please avoid lingering descriptions of how wounds look, and particularly describing damage to eyes or eye sockets.
- Graphic, onscreen non-con. Implications, discussion of, or as backstory is fine. Dubious consent is fine, especially if it's due to an outside force, or a partner being unaware of reasons a character's consent may be dubious.
- Character or ship bashing, including unrequested ships.
- Insects or infestations. Brief figurative mentions (like saying the people far below look like ants) are fine, as long as no insects actually appear.
- Vomiting in detail. Brief mentions are fine.
- Characters having cancer or dementia. Other severe illnesses are fine.
- Smut DNWs: Scat, watersports, anal penetration, daddy kink, impregnation/breeding kink
General Likes:
- Characters dealing with moral questions, difficult choices, mortality issues, guilt, self-doubt, or self-loathing
- Characters are in love, but can't ever find the right moment to make it work/act on it
- Characters loving each other even though they fight or hurt each other
- Roadtrips, especially ones that involve struggling with some internal issues/running away from something emotional
- Stolen moments of quiet/comfort in dangerous situations
- Bittersweet stories and endings
- Codependency
- Secret or hidden relationships
- Confessions or secrets coming out
- D/s or other kinkplay as a way to take somebody out of their own head, distract from emotional/mental issues, distract from physical pain, force a needed emotional release, etc
- Alternate Universe, particularly: what-ifs and "road not taken" scenarios based on canon; roleswap/role reversal; alignment swap; soulmates, especially with identifying marks; daemons; any kind of fantasy or supernatural creatures
- Outsider point of view, second person POV, any kind of weird/nontraditional points of view
- Nonlinear storytelling, five-and-one (or whatever number) fics, any other weird/nontraditional story formats
(back to table of contents)
Hannibal (Request #1)
The Abigail Hobbs section! As is probably clear, I love Abigail; she's an all-time favorite character for me. I want her to have as many good things as possible, and also I want terrible things to continue to happen to her, so hurt/comfort is a perfect fit; feel free to handwave or outright AU around the show's timeline to fit things in. Other things I love in this show generally is the dreamy tone, the not-quite-grounded-not-quite-fantasy grey area it's in, all the manipulation going on around Abigail's stories, the layers present in so many shots and conversations, and the dialogue in general.
✦ Abigail Hobbs & Beverly Katz (hurt Abigail)
Beverly is my second-favorite character in the show, and I want that whole accepting, caring manner she has with Will directed at Abigail as well, even if trying to make it work with the canon situation is a pain. ("Bev is trapped with Hannibal instead of killed immediately" is slightly easier, as is both of them being ghosts at the time, and I'm also here for both of those -- however you want to get them in a space together!) Abigail could use a genuine friend, and it seems like Beverly would work well in that role.
✦ Abigail Hobbs & Hannibal Lecter (hurt Abigail)
All the way on the other side, I love the way Hannibal out-manipulates Abigail, the way he pulls her into his game, because she could be useful and he feels like it. I like how it's unclear if there's any genuine affection or feelings at all there from Hannibal, or how much Abigail follows along to keep herself safe vs actually trusting him, and I'm interested in basically any way that could go on both ends. Basically just fuck me up on this one as much as you'd like, I'm here for it.
✦ Alana Bloom & Abigail Hobbs (hurt Abigail)
Abigail needs a friend, but Alana is really the closest thing the show has to that for her, and I'd love to see more of the two of them together. I love how Alana actually tries to help without the same complicated motives as everyone else, and I'd love to see that succeed a little bit in the way she didn't really manage to in the show, even if it's just succeeding in comforting her for a moment before the inevitable rest of the story.
✦ Bedelia Du Maurier/Abigail Hobbs (both hurt)
I wish these two had interacted on-screen, and I would love to see what they make of each other, how Bedelia treats Abigail, and if Abigail puts any trust in her or not. This is all about potential for me -- they've both been put in difficult situations and both of them have their own ways of trying to handle that, and I'd love to see how that collides.
✦ Will Graham & Abigail Hobbs (hurt Abigail)
✦ Will Graham/Abigail Hobbs (hurt Abigail)
✦ Will Graham/Abigail Hobbs (hurt Will)
Putting the & and the / together, because I want more or less the same things from both -- I really like how complicated and how messy the relationship between the two of them is, and all a romantic relationship does for me is magnify that. I love Will's strong feelings and the way they cloud the way he thinks of her, Abigail's wariness and the way she seems to try to connect back at him as soon as she feels like he might accept her, the way they're both manipulated by Hannibal through season one -- the scenes the two of them have together (or three, with Hannibal) are some of my favorites in the entire show, and I'm always interested in more building on there, and especially in how either they might hurt each other, or try to help each other through some of the shit that goes on.
Freeforms:
- Aftermath of Resurrection
- A rescues B from the underworld or afterlife
- Character A can not be rescued from their situation so Character B helps them endure it
- Character A is ashamed of their actions; Character B offers forgiveness
- Character blames self for abuse they suffered
- Character expected to die but didn't and has no idea how to live anymore. Other helps & comforts.
- Character feels deep loyalty to the person who hurt them
- Character Losing Grip on Reality
- Characters live together while one recovers from hurt
- Comfort focusing on little hurt because the big hurt is massive and unapproachable
- Cooking food to comfort but it doesn’t go well
- Disordered eating--character afraid to eat/drink because of fear/paranoia
- Estranged Characters - Injured A shows Up on B's doorstep Saying "I didn't know where else to go"
- Feigning normalcy to forget trauma
- Ghosts still feeling their illnesses/injuries even after death
- Mourning one's past self
- Past wrongs result in not quite forgiveness and not quite not forgiveness either
- Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
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Hannibal (Request #2)
- ✦ Beverly Katz/Brian Zeller (both hurt)
✦ Beverly Katz/Brian Zeller (hurt Beverly)
Freeforms:
- A's unrequited pining found to be requited while B helps them recover from serious injury
- A rescues B from the underworld or afterlife
- Character A helps character B cope with PTSD
- Character hiding a sleep deficit gets caught rubbing their eyes/nodding off
- Character pushing through an illness/injury hits a wall & shuts down; can no longer keep going
- Characters keep hurting each other but refuse to break up
- Characters live together while one recovers from hurt
- Codependency - you're the parallel universe counterpart of my dead loved one
- One thing I really love for this trope is when it's mutual -- A is dead in B's home universe, B is dead in A's; though one-sided is also great!
- Comforting a Hurt Character by Indulging Them in a Way That Reveals You Really Know Them
- Comfort through bad jokes
- Concealing illness/injury at a formal event
- Emotional distress when partner is injured on the job
- Ghost(s) so desperate to comfort loved ones they rematerialise
- Helping hurt character to dress/undress
- Intoxicated character confesses that actually things are NOT okay
- Nearly losing someone reveals deeper feelings
- Subtle and considerate gestures of care where overt comfort is inappropriate or can't be offered
- Usually competent character is so dazed they can only comply with trusted companion
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Life is Strange: True Colors
✦ Alex Chen & Gabe Chen (both hurt)
✦ Alex Chen & Gabe Chen (hurt Alex)
✦ Alex Chen & Gabe Chen (hurt Gabe)
I have absolutely loved every single Life is Strange game so far, but True Colors might be my favorite, and Alex and Gabe have a lot to do with that. Alex is such a great protagonist, and even knowing what was coming, I was immediately drawn into their getting to know each other again. And then when Gabe was such a big part of episode five, and even ended it on a conversation between them, I was so happy they got more use out of their relationship. There is so much pain for both of them to deal with, and I'd love to see them get a chance to help each other through that, whether Gabe's alive for it or not. I'd also love to see a fix-it where Gabe gets hurt, but doesn't die, and Alex has to help him through it. Really any way you want to give them a little more time together, I'm here for, because their relationship and all that missed potential was one of the best and most painful things in this entire series to date for me.
✦ Alex Chen/Gabe Chen (both hurt)
✦ Alex Chen/Gabe Chen (hurt Alex)
✦ Alex Chen/Gabe Chen (hurt Gabe)
...and I'm also always up to add something to an already-complicated situation to make it even more so. I liked Alex's romance options and Charlotte, but this is the only ship I really came out of the game interested in. There's something interesting in taking the existing secrets, estrangement, and possibilities for angst, and turning it up just that extra notch by adding taboo feelings in there. I'd much prefer this to be something that newly develops after they meet each other again at game time than for there to have been feelings before they got separated, but otherwise, I'm down for anything, unrequited or mutual.
Freeforms:
- 'Platonically' comforting a family member you secretly have romantic feelings for
- Aftermath of Resurrection
- A rescues B from the underworld or afterlife
- Bedside Vigils
- Body Swap - A overwhelmed by and unsure how control B’s powers; B tries to help them
- Character A doesn't know how to comfort Character B
- Character A feels ashamed of ugly emotions; Character B accepts them
- Character A sings Character B to Sleep
- Character has no sense of their own boundaries
- Character overuses powers/magic/etc to protect a loved one
- Characters live together while one recovers from car crash or other accident
- If you want the hurt one to be Gabe, feel free to handwave around him planning to move however you'd like -- maybe something to do with not wanting Ethan to see him in recovery?
- Character who's been forced to be independent is finally taken care of
- Codependency - you're the parallel universe counterpart of my dead loved one
- One thing I really love for this trope is when it's mutual -- A is dead in B's home universe, B is dead in A's; though one-sided is also great!
- Comfort focusing on little hurt because the big hurt is massive and unapproachable
- Cooking food to comfort but it doesn’t go well
- Driving with a sick/hurt character in the passenger seat
- Feigning normalcy to forget trauma
- Female character protective toward physically or emotionally hurt man
- Ghost(s) so desperate to comfort loved ones they rematerialise
- Ghosts still feeling their illnesses/injuries even after death
- Hurt character notices comforter is upset that they’re hurt and attempts to comfort them
- Inexperienced comforter does their awkward best
- Materially deprived character experiences small comforts/pleasures for first time
- Non-powered character standing protectively over hurt superpowered character
- Superpowers have nasty side effects
- Time Travel Fix it - lingering trauma of things that haven't happened in new timeline
- Touch Starved - Character Startled by How Good Being Touched Feels
- Unresolved childhood trauma catches up to adult character
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Sanctuary (Request #1)
- ✦ Clara Griffin & The Five (hurt Clara)
There isn't much time in canon as it stands for her to interact with any of them, though if you want to slip things into the brief gap between season one and season two I'm fine with that. But if you want to bend canon, I'm here for slight alteration -- 'shady figure in the back of Anna Griffin's funeral', 'brief interaction as a kid/teenager', etc -- to full-fledged AU set-up -- 'Nigel didn't die and Clara grew up around him/the Sanctuary', 'ended up taken in/stolen by one of them when they discovered she existed as a kid', whatever you want to do with it. I just want to see Clara dealing with the messiness that is the Five, and to see how that would come out in them comforting her, possibly because of reasons that are actually their fault. This one really is all about what could have been, so please run with it as far as you'd like to go!
Freeforms:
- A comes to care deeply for B and tries to get hurt B to trust and believe in them
- A comforts B for selfish reasons
- Character A feels ashamed of ugly emotions; Character B accepts them
- Character A helps character B cope with the loss of a loved one
- Character A helps frustrated Character B re-learn humanity after vampiric transformation
- Character A loses home; Is taken in by Character B
- Character A ruins B's other relationships so B has to turn to them for comfort
- Character Comforts By Taking Immediate Action To Solve The Problem
- Character loses everything and can only turn to stranger/acquaintance for help
- Character who's been forced to be independent is finally taken care of
- Difficult Relationship With A Parental Figure
- Ghost comforting living character
- Hurt character believes rescue/help has a price tag; surprised when there isn't one
- Kidnapped and used as leverage against the other character
- Lying So That The Other Will Accept Comfort Or Help
- Magically de-aged character receives comfort they were too proud to ask for as an adult
- Nonhuman character's illness requires unusual cure
- Protectiveness - Character being protected isn't used to being cared about
- The Worst Person Is Also Hurt Character's Only Hope
- Unresolved childhood trauma catches up to adult character
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Sanctuary (Request #2)
And on to the Five. As I said above, pretty much since Nikola's first episode, this show has been the Five show for me, and I've watched the highlight reel version with the handful of Five-centric episodes way more than the rest of the show. Friends/lovers-to-enemies is an all-time favorite trope for me, and the way this show does it is pitch-perfect -- the complicated residual feelings, the pain and resentment, the way they work together when they have to, the sense of so much shared history that every single conversation gives off. I can never get enough of any combination of the group, and I would have nominated every single one if I'd had room.
That said, I didn't, and the hurt here especially tends to revolve primarily around three of them. I love Helen and Nigel just as much, but there's just a little something extra to consider with the other three that leads me towards wanting more H/C around them. With John, it's his betrayal, and the question of what would send him back to the others for help and how they'd react when he did; with Nikola, it's the vampirism. For James, it's the machine, and I am absolutely fascinated by the idea of H/C that revolves around the machine -- people helping with the machine, helping to do every day tasks, especially as it starts to break down, any pain or side-effects it might cause, or anything else you can think of. Some freeforms do specifically point towards one of these things I highlighted; however, I love role-swaps and AUs, so feel free to switch things around with who got what power if you want to use those freeforms for other requested pairings instead!
✦ Helen Magnus/James Watson (hurt James)
I really like what canon set up between these two, and I'd love to see more of it. It seems like it took the longest for them to start to drift away from each other, and it was the least complete separation overall, and that opens up so much potential for bitter, bittersweet, or melancholy times between the two of them. I also really love the idea of post-Tempus Helen seeing James again at least a few times, so if you want to go that way I am here for it!
✦ Montague John Druitt/James Watson (hurt James)
On the explosive end, every moment these two are on screen together I end up having feelings. Whether it's before James knows about John being the Ripper or after, whether they're getting along at the moment or not -- all those things I love about the Five in general are the most concentrated when these two talk to each other, and I'd love to see some h/c in that context. On a related note, one of my favorite little things is John helping James to walk in Revelations, even before they have their confrontation, and anything on those lines, where there's still that resentment brimming but they have to help each other anyway, is always great.
✦ Montague John Druitt/Nigel Griffin (hurt John)
Nigel is kind of an enigma -- he got so little screen time, and in Normandy seems to still be close to the group (minus John), but the way only Helen knows he's had a kid, and only after he dies, in Revelations, always led me to believe he'd separated from the others at some point. It seems reasonable that if John did need help he might go to Nigel for certain stretches of time, since the reasons not to go to the others are clear, and there's such a huge question mark about how Nigel might react that I'd really love to read any kind of take on the scenario. On the other hand, I'm just generally interested in the question of how Nigel interacts with the other, so something pre-John breaking away from them all is also good!
✦ Montague John Druitt/Nikola Tesla (both hurt)
If any of them seem to come around to being enemies without all the complicated emotional residue, it's John and Nikola, and you could make a case for them butting heads even before then, which is what makes the idea of both of them being hurt so appealing to me. The two of them being put in a situation where they have to rely on or help each other is really interesting, both in what could get them there and how they'd react to it.
✦ Nigel Griffin/James Watson (hurt James)
Little as there was, getting to see these two together in Normandy was so satisfying. I like the bit of onscreen friendship we got between them, and how Nigel is as competent as the other two and ends up being the one to save them. Nigel feels a little more practical or grounded than the others in some ways, and I'd love to see how that comes out between these two in a hurt/comfort situation and what their relationship together would like like.
✦ Nigel Griffin/Nikola Tesla (hurt Nikola)
This is another pair where there's so little between them, but I love what little we get, with the moments of teasing between them in For King and Country. With Nigel it really is about the potential for what there could have been as much as anything, and I'd love to see anything that brought these two together and how their little corner of all this history would play out.
✦ Nikola Tesla/James Watson (both hurt)
✦ Nikola Tesla/James Watson (hurt James)
✦ Nikola Tesla/James Watson (hurt Nikola)
When it comes to breaking down the web of the Five into one-on-one ships, this is one of my favorite dynamics. There's the clear separation, with more of a question mark as to why they drifted apart or if it was more intense than that, and things like the both of them being inventors, which opens the question of if they ever worked together at all, if Nikola ever tried to get James' help with his work or Nikola had a hand in the machine's creation. There's so many options for how the two of them work together and not quite enough screen time to rule out any of them, so I love to see any and every potential take on how they interact.
Freeforms:
- Accidental Soulbond - distance and lack of touch causes characters pain and illness
- Adaptive Equipment Fails; Character Has to Accept Help
- Character A demands answers from Character B about past hurt that Character B caused to Character A
- Character A is a reluctant vampire who doesn't want to drink from Character B but has no choice
- Character A ruins B's other relationships so B has to turn to them for comfort
- Character is ashamed of needing help/comfort
- Character is frustrated by need for help with every day tasks
- Characters know exactly how to hurt each other emotionally
- Characters trapped together in psychological hellscape
- Comforting dimension traveler who can't go home
- Complicated relationship between comforter and comfortee
- Dangerous Character Willing to Destroy World to Save and Protect Hurt Character
- Delirious character asking for the one they're pining for
- Disabled character A will only let B help with adaptive equipment
- Enemies calling a temporary ceasefire while one of them is injured/ill
- Estranged Characters - Injured A shows Up on B's doorstep Saying "I didn't know where else to go"
- Helping hurt character to dress/undress
- Hurt A allows B to comfort them despite the fact that B hurt them in the past
- Lying So That The Other Will Accept Comfort Or Help
- Memory issues make one character forget that the other is an enemy
- Mourning one's past self
- Neither comforter or comfortee will directly acknowledge that comforting is taking place
- No One Is Allowed to Hurt You Except Me
- Reconciliation while Trapped and Injured
- seemingly in-control character actually terrified inside
- Time Travel - Character changes the past to prevent traumatic events and succeeds
- Time Travel - Comforting future loved one while trying to figure out what the fuck happened to them
- tormented by guilt over pining for someone you shouldn't
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The Bifrost Incident (Request #1)
✦ Loki/Sigyn (both hurt)
✦ Loki/Sigyn (hurt Loki)
✦ Loki/Sigyn (hurt Sigyn)
Bifrost is such a short canon, and these two get so little interaction, but I loved them immediately. The tragedy of their story is so lovely, and the way things end up just break my heart every time. And there's so much in their story that could lead to interesting hurt/comfort scenarios -- with the end and the two of them trapped on the Ratatosk, certainly, or in some AU where they end up escaping the end or thrust somewhere else because of Cosmic Reasons; but there's also all that time spent leading the revolution together that I would love to see explored! How long people even live is kind of up in the air based on the album and the profile snippets, so however many years they had together is such an interesting void to fill in. There really isn't time to do more than lightly suggest a lot in the album, so go run with whatever interests you, and I will happily follow along.
✦ Sigyn & None (hurt Sigyn)
Just fuck me up, creator. I put this in thinking of Sigyn mourning her wife and trying to comfort herself while leading the revolution, and I would be happy to hurt however you want to hurt me. That said, if you want to go another way -- exploring Sigyn before Loki, Sigyn trapped alone before Loki's death, even something weird with the ending -- I'm also here for that. I just love what we get of Sigyn as a character, and I want so much more of her.
Freeforms:
- Amnesia - Emotional distress from pining for partner who can’t remember them
- Character A abandons plans in order to rescue Character B
- Character feels comforted by wearing loved one's clothes
- character is having difficulties sleeping after being in prison
- Character Losing Grip on Reality
- character struggles with "it should have been me" feelings
- Codependency - you're the parallel universe counterpart of my dead loved one
- One thing I really love for this trope is when it's mutual -- A is dead in B's home universe, B is dead in A's; though one-sided is also great!
- Comforting a Hurt Character by Indulging Them in a Way That Reveals You Really Know Them
- Emotional and Psychological Trauma from Prolonged Solitary Confinement
- Forced To Relive Trauma for Mission Report/Debrief
- Grief over lost memories
- Haunted by having looked into Lovecraftian abyss
- Injury after encounter with a cosmic horror
- Mourning one's past self
- Sick/Hurt Character Still Has To Get Their Job Done
- Subtle and considerate gestures of care where overt comfort is inappropriate or can't be offered
- Survivor Guilt
- Time Loop - Character A Keeps Failing to Save Character B
- Time Travel - Comforting future loved one while trying to figure out what the fuck happened to them
- Touch Starved - Character Startled by How Good Being Touched Feels
- Younger version of character comforted by time-traveling older version
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The Bifrost Incident (Request #2)
- ✦ Sigyn & Thor (both hurt)
✦ Sigyn & Thor (hurt Sigyn)
✦ Sigyn & Thor (hurt Thor)
Freeforms:
- A comforts B for selfish reasons
- Both Captured - Forced to Work Together to Escape
- Character A being their usual awful self is actually strangely comforting to hurt Character B
- Character loses everything and can only turn to enemy for help
- Circumstances force enemies to patch each other up
- Enemies calling a temporary ceasefire while one of them is injured/ill
- Haunted by having looked into Lovecraftian abyss
- Hurt Character A at mercy of enemy character B; B decides to help them
- Hurt character believes rescue/help has a price tag; surprised when there isn't one
- Hurt character who hates showing vulnerability is cruel to the person comforting them
- Injured Character Can't Complete Rescue Mission Without Help From Unlikely Source
- Injured character shows up on enemy's doorstep saying "I didn't know where else to go"
- Injury after encounter with a cosmic horror
- Involuntary mindmeld with someone you hate
- Memory issues make character run away from allies so enemy ends up helping them
- Neither comforter or comfortee will directly acknowledge that comforting is taking place
- Normally antagonistic characters are both hurt and must cooperate to survive
- terrifying eldritch rituals
- The Worst Person Is Also Hurt Character's Only Hope
- Time Travel Fix it - lingering trauma of things that haven't happened in new timeline
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The Hunger Games
- ✦ Annie Cresta/Finnick Odair (hurt Annie)
✦ Annie Cresta/Finnick Odair (hurt Finnick)
Freeforms:
- Anxiety over unplanned pregnancy
- Bathing together as comfort
- Character A hides illness/injury perfectly; Character B can still tell
- Character A thinks B don't want them; they are wrong
- Character has a history of pretending to feel better than they do
- Character has no sense of their own boundaries
- Character hiding a sleep deficit gets caught rubbing their eyes/nodding off
- Character pretends to be fine in front of others; is openly vulnerable with caretaker
- Character struggles with paranoia
- Character(s) ashamed of their sexual desires
- Codependency - you're the parallel universe counterpart of my dead loved one
- One thing I really love for this trope is when it's mutual -- A is dead in B's home universe, B is dead in A's; though one-sided is also great!
- Comfort focusing on little hurt because the big hurt is massive and unapproachable
- Comfort makes the pain worse
- Comforter helps hurt character through panic attack
- Difficult Pregnancy
- Distress due to an imminent separation from the other character
- Downplaying Trauma
- Emotional/mental scars manifesting as physical wounds
- Female character protective toward physically or emotionally hurt man
- Ghost(s) so desperate to comfort loved ones they rematerialise
- Hurt A is so out of it they initially don’t recognize B and assume they’re there to hurt them more
- Refusing to Leave Hurt Character's Side
- Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
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The Umbrella Academy
I love how dysfunctional the relationships between the Hargreeves is, and how they keep coming together as a family and caring about each other anyway. Whether they're continuing to be a mess together or trying to be less of one, it's this dynamic between all of them that really keeps me coming back to this show. It's also part of why there's more or less no combination that I can't ship between them all -- pretty much every combination would be really interesting to me! I like the idea of that complicated mess including all sorts of romantic tension, so if you feel the urge to include nods to other ships I've requested or even put more than one in, that's fine with me.
I generally prefer season one over season two, but I'm happy with any point along the timeline for fic! I also have a real weakness for AUs that pairs the Hargreeves together in parts of the story where they'd canonically split apart, if you want to go that way -- having them leave home together, or have gotten together in the time between leaving home and getting back together for the funeral, or even landing together post-S1 time travel.
✦ Allison Hargreeves/Ben Hargreeves (hurt Allison)
✦ Allison Hargreeves/Ben Hargreeves (hurt Ben)
My little ship that, so far, cannot. I think there's a lot of potential there; there's some similarities -- both seem to care a lot for the others and call them on their shit, but also have a tendency to lash out or be prickly when they're confronted or feel powerless, and seem better at finding problems than fixing them -- that seem like they'd lead to interesting ways of dealing with each other. There's also the parallel of Allison being so wrapped up in her power while Ben doesn't seem to have been thrilled by his, but both of them being strongly defined by them in their own way, setting up interesting contrasts as well. In the end, I just like the idea of it a lot, and I'd love to see someone else's take on it, so go wherever your heart takes you!
✦ Allison Hargreeves/Diego Hargreeves (both hurt)
✦ Allison Hargreeves/Diego Hargreeves (hurt Allison)
I really fell for this ship early one in season one, when, after all that arguing and sniping at each other, they still fell into fighting together seamlessly and end up working together so well, and I like how they keep making little comments, even when they start working together more. Their dynamic works really well for me as it plays out on screen, and I'm always wanting more of it; I feel like they'd balance out in an interesting way, and I'd be interested to see how that plays into a hurt/comfort context especially.
✦ Ben Hargreeves/Klaus Hargreeves (hurt Ben)
I just want Ben to have good things for a little while. And I love the way these two are thrust together, without much of a choice, unless Ben wants to walk away altogether; there's such a great set-up for codependency, or for reluctant bonding, or whatever way you want to take it. I love how they argue, and I love the way they clearly care for each other, despite the less than ideal circumstances. Whether it's with a ghost-Ben who can't be physically comforted, or one who's temporarily coporeal, or before dying, or even a Ben who never died, however you want to take it, I'd just love to see Klaus do his best to make him feel better over whatever hurt you want to throw in.
✦ Diego Hargreeves/Vanya Hargreeves (both hurt)
✦ Diego Hargreeves/Vanya Hargreeves (hurt Diego)
Hargreeves Family Champion Grudgeholders, unite! Basically every single moment these two have in S1 just fueled the shipping fire for me -- all that tension ripe for exploration, Diego’s pissiness over the book and over Vanya’s place in the family, the way she stands her ground against him when he brings things up multiple times. I like complicated feelings between people as ship fuel, and both of them really bring that to the table with basically the entire family. Doubling that down by putting the two of them together and letting things either explode or unexpectedly turn out well is one of my favorite things.
Freeforms:
- 'Platonically' comforting a family member you secretly have romantic feelings for
- Anxiety over how to navigate boundaries of unestablished relationship
- Body Swap - A overwhelmed by and unsure how control B’s powers; B tries to help them
- Character Accepts Bad Comfort as Better Than None
- Character Comforts By Taking Immediate Action To Solve The Problem
- Character has no sense of their own boundaries
- Character has to learn new way of fighting following injury
- Character is ashamed of needing help/comfort
- Characters know exactly how to hurt each other emotionally
- Characters live together while one recovers from hurt
- Character So Desperate They Ask Family for Help
- Characters who hurt each other but want to fix it
- Character who regularly takes risks gets hurt while doing something that is usually safe
- Codependency - you're the parallel universe counterpart of my dead loved one
- One thing I really love for this trope is when it's mutual -- A is dead in B's home universe, B is dead in A's; though one-sided is also great!
- Comforted after a stressful day by realizing they accidentally settled into a happy domestic life
- Dreamworld featuring worst memories/fears
- Emotional Distress After Meeting An Evil Version Of Yourself From An Alternate Universe
- Estranged Characters - Injured A shows Up on B's doorstep Saying "I didn't know where else to go"
- Forced To Relive Trauma for Mission Report/Debrief
- Media uncovers something the character considers a touchy subject
- Mind Control - Guilt in the Aftermath of Hurting Loved One While Mind Controlled
- secret relationship revealed when one character is badly hurt
- Sharing a Bed – Normally independent character can’t sleep without sharing a bed after hurt/trauma
- Time Travel - Comforting future loved one while trying to figure out what the fuck happened to them
- Time Travel - Meeting younger version of loved one and finding them in a bad state
- tormented by guilt over pining for someone you shouldn't
- tormented by guilt over sleeping with someone you shouldn't have slept with
- Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
- Unresolved childhood trauma catches up to adult character
- Usually competent character is so dazed they can only comply with trusted companion
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