hurtcomfortex Letter 2020

[thisbluespirit]

Dear hurtcomfortex Author,

Thanks for writing something for me! I wanted to do this exchange last year, but had to fall out, so I'm doubly pleased to have made it this time round. My letters tend to be on the long side, and if that's not your preference, then tl;dr: I love all kinds of things, I love these fandoms & pairings, and chose them carefully, so as long as you avoid my DNWs, I I'm bound to love whatever you come up with. I've largely included freeforms that should work as prompts, so I haven't added explanations for most of them. All other details are intended for inspiration, not to restrict your choices. Take what's useful and leave what isn't, and I hope you have fun.

That said, here is the long version...

General
Likes: hurt/comfort, rescues, fantasy, history, mysteries, ghosts, casefic,time travel, time loops, crossovers, banter, humour, missing scenes, tropes, trope subversion, trust issues, sensible people dealing with ridiculous tropes, trapped together, fake marriages/marriage of conveniences, forced to work together, (five) times, epistolary, apocalypse, spies/disguises, winning through hard times to happy endings, comedy of manners/cultural differences, canon divergence AUs, fantastical AUs for mundane canons, historical AUs. In shipping, I prefer implied sex or lead-ins/sensuality to it over explicit/graphic scenes - emotions, touch/sensation, first times, undressing, historical costumes, kissing, love conveyed by acts not words, hands.

For this exchange, I've tried to mainly choose tags that act as prompts, which means I've used less of the generic ones, but I like plenty of them lots if you like them too! - emotional hurt/comfort as well as physical peril/injury, and general comforting touches/acts (like stoic comforters, shoulder pats, forehead kisses, use of blanket/coats (!)). Fainting, bleeding, mortal peril, fever, treating wounds, trapped together, rescues - all good. (Most things not in my DNWs are. ♥) Also, obviously, I'm not expecting anyone to attempt to include all of my chosen tags, but equally, feel free to combine any that inspire you.

DNWs: over-eating/greed, character bashing, genderswap, age regression, pregnancy (save where canonical), incest, rape, porn without plot, kidfic, issuefic, body horror/unexpected physical transformations, identity headcanons, a/b/o, unrequested fusions, highschool AUs.

My AO3 pseud is the same as this one - thisbluespirit.

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1. Doctor Who (BFA)
I love canon-typical adventures, missing scenes, fixits & reunions (for sad endings), in-between moments in the TARDIS (& general TARDIS weirdness, or things going wrong with it), and the go-anywhere, experimental nature of DW that the BFAs also have in spades. Trap people somewhere and get them out of it again! Mostly I really love everyone's canon dynamics and want more of it.

Eighth Doctor/Charley Pollard (hurt Charley)
Eighth Doctor/Charley Pollard (hurt Eight)

As above (and I do love them as they are in canon, too as well as shippy). Fix the ending, bring them back together at last, even if only for a moment or two, or give me missing scenes, fluff, Charley pining, the weirdness and impossibility of their relationship mixed with the unbreakable bond they have.

accidental mating for life
Accused of practicing witchcraft
Being stuck together in a seemingly fatal situation
Bound & left to die - area is being flooded or otherwise becoming uninhabitable
Character A Somehow Convinced Character B Is an Impostor
Character Punished by a God
Entering a dream/nightmare to help the dreamer
Hallucinations
Hot tea for the hurt character
Huddling For Warmth
Hurt will kill character in specific time if not stopped
Hypothermia
Injury after encounter with a cosmic horror
Jumping in Front of a Bullet
laboratory accidents
Mistakenly Believes the Other is Dead (esp. in ref to canon)
Posession (by a supernatural force)
Pretending to Betray Someone to Save them
Rescue
Sharing a Bed
Shipwrecks
Stuck in a Blizzard (TOGETHER)
Thrown Into The Dungeon
Time Loop - Character A Keeps Failing to Save Character B
Time Loop - Escape by Revealing Feelings
trapped together
Unexpected reunion after long absence (YES PLEASE)


2. Doctor Who (BFAs)
Eighth Doctor & Lucie Miller (hurt Eight)
Hurt Lucie equally great. (Well, I'm sure Lucie would disagree, but you know what I mean.)

More them as per canon would be lovely. I finally got to the end of Lucie's run last year and of course now I just want more. Feel free to fixit the ending, too. (Or feed of the angst if that's more you cup of tea.)

Sixth Doctor & Charley Pollard (hurt Charley)
Am fine with Six hurt if you would like.

I love Charley with Six too (and am fine with Six/Charley as well, as you please). All the things she can't tell him, the adventures she's forgotten, the problem with Mila - wherever you want to go with them, really. Probably am not as in need of fixits here - I still mostly want Charley to find EIght again even more!


Sixth Doctor & Evelyn Smythe (hurt Evelyn)
Sixth Doctor & Evelyn Smythe (hurt Six)

Again, just more of them would be adored. Comfort may or may not involve chocolate cake. The ending may or may not need to be fixed. I love them both bickering at each other but worrying sick the moment anything happens to either of them, and the different sort of relationship Six has with Evelyn.

Accused of practicing witchcraft
Amnesia (esp. dealing with all the canonical amnesia here)
Being stuck together in a seemingly fatal situation
Bound & left to die - area is being flooded or otherwise becoming uninhabitable
chained to a wall
Character A Unwilling to Accept B's Death
Character Lies About What They Remember
Character Punished by a God
Entering a dream/nightmare to help the dreamer
Hot tea for the hurt character
Huddling For Warmth
Hugging
Hurt will kill character in specific time if not stopped
Hypothermia
Injury after encounter with a cosmic horror
Jumping in Front of a Bullet
laboratory accidents
A makes a deal with a devil or deity to save B's life
Pretending to Betray Someone to Save them
return from the dead
Shipwrecks
Stuck in a Blizzard (TOGETHER)
Thrown Into The Dungeon
Time Loop - Character A Keeps Failing to Save Character B
Time Loop - Looping Character Keeps Dying


Fandom-specific DNW: Any acknowledgement of the reveal of S12's finale "The Timeless Children." (I'm hiding in here the EU until I've decided how to deal with it.)

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3. Once Upon a Time
I loved OUaT to the end, and am generally still hugely fond of this ridiculous fairy tale soap opera crossover bar and everyone in it, so if you give me more of it & them, I will be happy. As is probably obvious from the relationships, Regina is my favourite. I love ridiculous tropes, magic gone wrong ("...again?), complicated and painful families, found family, fairy tales, in-canon crossovers and retellings (it's one giant big fairy tale/classic film/lit crossover/remix).

Cora Mills & Regina Mills (hurt Regina)
Once again, am totally fine with Cora hurt should your muse go there instead. I just love their complicated and painful relationship - Cora being the one hurting Regina (as she does, "for her own good") or genuinely trying to help her, or some mix of the two (because Cora often appears to think she is helping, (and the complicated nature of Regina's feelings if it was Cora in need of help, if you went that way instead). (I like Zelena, too, so no worries if you need to mention or involve her.)


Regina Mills & Snow White (hurt Regina)
Regina Mills & Snow White (hurt Snow)

I love the development of Snow & Regina, from the happy start to deadly enemies to a real friendship, so you can set the fic at any point and I'll be good. I love the combination of the two (and Cora, see above, as Snow tends to factor in to that relationship too).

Assassination Attempt(s)
Being stuck together in a seemingly fatal situation
Both Captured - Forced to Work Together to Escape
Character manages to injure arch-foe and realizes they don’t actually want to hurt them
Character Must Convincingly Pretend to Betray Others
Dimension Traveler A Has Had Bad Experiences With Other Versions Of B & Is Cautious
Doing Bad Things So Others Don't Have To
Effects of Cursed Object
Enduring Pain to Protect Another
Exposed to harmful magical item
Fairy Tale Curses
Impaled by Debris
Loss of hope
Magic Goes Wrong and Characters Have to Deal with the Aftermath
A makes a deal with a devil or deity to save B's life
No One Is Allowed to Hurt You Except Me
Posession (by a supernatural force)
Pretending to Betray Someone to Save them
Rescue
Shipwrecks
Thrown Into The Dungeon
trapped together
The Worst Person Is Also Comfortee's Only Hope


4. Once Upon a Time
Regina Mills & Emma Swan (hurt Emma)
Regina Mills & Emma Swan (hurt Regina)
Regina Mills/Emma Swan (hurt Emma)
Regina Mills/Emma Swan (hurt Regina)

I ship Emma/Regina but also really love their canon friendship as well, so you can go whichever way suits you and I'll be happy. I am equal opportunities as to which character gets hurt/comforted, whether it happens via curses, big bads, the past coming back to bite them, road trips, or just life in Storybrooke being as improbable as usual (from the oncoming end of the world to someone committing nursery crimes). I love them from their ridiculous foe yay to their enduring friendship and everything in between and all the fairy tale mirrors they make in my head, and basically will be delighted to have any bonus story with them in.

Being stuck together in a seemingly fatal situation
Character Must Convincingly Pretend to Betray Others
Character Sacrifices Self to Save Others
Collapsing on character's doorstep
Doing Bad Things So Others Don't Have To
Effects of Cursed Object
Enduring Pain to Protect Another
Entering a dream/nightmare to help the dreamer
Exposed to harmful magical item
Fairy Tale Curses
Hurt will kill character in specific time if not stopped
Hypothermia
Jumping in Front of a Bullet
Loss of Powers
Magic Goes Wrong and Characters Have to Deal with the Aftermath
Posession (by a supernatural force)
Pretending to Betray Someone to Save them
Shipwrecks
Thrown Into The Dungeon
Time Loop - Character A Keeps Failing to Save Character B
Time Loop - Escape by Revealing Feelings
Time Loop - Looping Character Keeps Dying
Time Travel to Save Friend or Loved One
trapped together
X Time Travels To Prevent Love Interest's Death/Trauma But Now X's Stuck There And Are Two Of X

Fandom DNW: No other setting AUs & no bashing/breaking up of canon couples. (For Emma/Regina to happen, please just use canon AUs like forks in the road/deaths etc. as seems best to you - I don't want ship bashing for it to happen.)

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5. Sapphire and Steel
Sapphire & Silver & Steel (hurt Sapphire)
Sapphire & Silver & Steel (hurt Silver)
Sapphire/Silver/Steel (hurt Sapphire)
Sapphire/Silver/Steel (hurt Silver)
Sapphire/Silver/Steel (hurt Steel)
('hurt Steel' also fine in the '&' set if you prefer.)

Basically I ship the OT3 but I tend to see their interactions in canon as shippy-for-elements anyway, so as long as you enjoy the relationship between them in any way, we'll be good. I love their quality of being genuinely 'other'. I love historical adventures, rescues, missing assignments, elemental weirdness, meeting other elements, future assignments, A6 fixits, familiar tropes subverted by the show's sheer strangeness. I do like the inhuman nature of 'elements' and their mystery, but this also encompasses a lot of real feeling for each other - Steel being afraid for Sapphire and needing reheating, Sapphire getting lost in the things she senses and being afraid for Steel, that bit where they sit down and are sad for loss of Silver in A3, Silver and Steel having to team up to save Sapphire, when they do and don't use their telepathy and what that signifies between them.

There's also the aspect of the show where they seem to almost take on the form of human echoes/ghosts and can be injured/bleed/'die', which seems especially relevant to this exchange - how far does that go? Could it happen for real if they lost themselves too far in it? (This is what I'm mostly thinking where I've included freeforms that deal with more 'human' types of injuries.) Also feel free to hurt/threaten people with all the unlikely terrifying mundane objects as per canon.

Altered Mental States
A and B risk safety/health to help C
Being imprisoned and aftermath of it
Character A Somehow Convinced Character B Is an Impostor (+C as you please)
Communication Suddenly Cut Off
Continuing to use superpowers even though they hurt
Dimension Traveler A Has Had Bad Experiences With Other Versions Of B & Is Cautious
Effects of Cursed Object
Entering a dream/nightmare to help the dreamer
Hallucinations
Haunted by a ghost
Hurt will kill character in specific time if not stopped
Hurting Oneself to Win/Complete the Mission
Hypothermia
Locked in a Box
Loss of Powers
Poisoning
Posession (by a supernatural force)
Psychic injuries
Sharing a Bed*
Shipwrecks
Soulbond Forms During Moments of Extreme Empathy
Stuck in a Trap
Telepathic Complications
Telepathic Connection Used To Provide Comfort
Time Loop - Character A Keeps Failing to Save Character B (+C as appropriate)
Time Loop - Looping Character Keeps Dying
Time Loop of Trauma
Trapped In Elevator


* Okay, I probably need to explain this one: Given how evil pillows can be, a bed could be so much worse. (And Steel would be there for business and glaring at the pillows while Silver would be having fun winding him up. Until he realised that the thing touching him under the covers was not in fact Steel or Sapphire.) (I was having similar thoughts for Trapped in an Elevator where the mundane is the threat.)


Fandom-specific DNWs: Silver being evil. No other setting AUs (unless it's a fake reality or something). No making elements human (unless it's Time doing stuff etc.).

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6. Spooks | MI5
I love Spooks and it certainly provides a lot of options for hurt of all kinds. Also I want all the things, as you can see! I am very good with canon typical stuff and all the angst and death that involves, or if you want to do missing scenes dealing with the fallout of any of those things. Plus, Spooks AUs are cool, especially supernatural/SF/Magic/historical ones, but it's a fandom where I'd be open to them in general, if you've got interesting ways to remix the fandom. Also apocalypses are a favourite Spooks AU for a reason. I adore 2.5 and that's the point of it - that is the fear they live with if they fail, so you can go full out for it if you want with any of these pairs (not just RUth/Tom). Or fix stuff, let people live for a change - whatever you prefer. I'll be good with canon-style bleakness and angst or early-Spooks style spy games & mishaps (let the cat out, spill tea on the stolen documents etc.) or a much-needed spot of comfort and fixing of all the death and brokenness.

Ros Myers & Harry Pearce (hurt Ros)
(Hurt Harry also fine!)

I love the combination of lethalness, respect, betrayal, competence, and daddy-issues that is Harry & Ros and both being stoic terrible hurt/comfortees, so whatever you want to play with here is good.


Jo Portman/Zafar Younis (hurt Jo)
Jo Portman/Zafar Younis (hurt Zaf)

I would so have loved to have seen more of them in canon, especially as a couple, and there's also very little fic, so I'd adore more for them. Fix Zaf's fate, flirting, missing scenes, undercover ops going wrong, or just wallow in full-on canon angst and death.


Ruth Evershed/Harry Pearce (hurt Harry)
Ruth Evershed/Harry Pearce (hurt Ruth)

I love Ruth/Harry - as they are in canon is pretty much one of my favourite ships, so all the little things in the lead up, the lengths they'll go to to protect each other, and all the difficulties of being together. Their combined super-competence at everything to do with MI5 and incredible inability to do the dating thing or admit their feelings for four series = ♥ And being in a threeway relationship with the job, and all the people they lose. I miss Spooks, basically. I'd be very happy to see more.


Ruth Evershed/Tom Quinn (hurt Ruth)
Ruth Evershed/Tom Quinn (hurt Tom)

I also have a weakness for Ruth/Tom and that mix of the way she hero worships him and then also runs him that time they had a fake apocalypse. Also, pretty. And Ruth is one of my forever favourites anyway. (I'll ship her with everyone and anyone given half an excuse.) Plus, Tom is the one Harry uses to get revenge for Ruth in the end. So, play with the possibilities in canon or go as AU as you please. There doesn't have to be an apocalypse, of course, but if there is one, Ruth being the power behind the throne while Tom wears the crown is just amazing ok. (Mind you, Ruth is kind of always secretly the power behind the throne anyway.)

Accidental time travel into apocalyptic future
Aftermath of a Case
Apocalypse
Assassination Attempt(s)
Canonically Dead Character Survives
Character A undertakes a dangerous mission and Character B's job is to keep them alive through it
Character Lies About What They Remember
Character Must Convincingly Pretend to Betray Others
Character who's killed before comforts character who killed someone for the first time
Communication Suddenly Cut Off
Doing Bad Things So Others Don't Have To
Fix-It - Surviving near-death experience
Haunted by a ghost
Hot tea for the hurt character (also handy for spilling on top secret stolen documents, of course)
Huddling For Warmth
Hurt/Comfort While Undercover
Jumping in Front of a Bullet
A makes a deal with a devil or deity to save B's life
Posession (by a supernatural force)
Post-Apocalyptic survivors find comfort with each other
Supporting Each Other Through an Apocalypse
Time Loop - Character A Keeps Failing to Save Character B
Time Loop - Looping Character Keeps Dying
Time Loop of Trauma
Time looping X forced to watch loved one die repeatedly; loop is broken by loved one’s survival
X Time Travels To Prevent Love Interest's Death/Trauma But Now X's Stuck There And Are Two Of X

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7. Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
I actually really love the Prequels - all the worldbuilding with the Republic and the Jedi and getting to see all the different planets, and Padme's outfits, and also Obi-Wan is my favourite (which is not to say I don't love Padme a lot too). So, yes, I love things set in this era of the GFFA, please have fun.

Padme Amidala/Obi-Wan Kenobi (both hurt)
Padmé Amidala/Obi-Wan Kenobi (hurt Obi-Wan)
Padme Amidala/Obi-Wan Kenobi (hurt Padme)

Padme/Obi-Wan is the ship that makes everything better! Whether that's just for them, or literally with a more positive future coming out of it, is up to you. Adventures, diplomacy, undercover missions, aggressive negotiations, politics, holidays - I just enjoy seeing them together & all the canon divergence possibilities. I also love that they have (or potentially have) a potential loyal knight/queen dynamic, too. So, post-canon Padme Lives! AUs or AUs where they get together instead of Padme & Anakin around AotC time, or Anakin dies in the Clone Wars, or Padme realises she's made a mistake, or RotS Aus (Padme and Obi-Wan go together to Mustafar/Anakin wins/Padme goes to kill him, like in the original concept plan/she asks Obi-Wan for advice etc. etc., you get the point; I get fascinated by all the AU possibilities and the fact that all of them would probably hurt in different ways), or whatever, it's all good. (No real infidelity, though; I can't see either of them going there, although pining/unrequited is fine.)

accidental mating for life
Assassination Attempt(s)
Being stuck together in a seemingly fatal situation
Bound & left to die - area is being flooded or otherwise becoming uninhabitable
Canonically Dead Character Survives
Character A undertakes a dangerous mission and Character B's job is to keep them alive through it
Character A Unwilling to Accept B's Death
Entering a dream/nightmare to help the dreamer
Fake couple living together in dangerous times for characters' safety
Forced Marriage
Huddling For Warmth
Hurt will kill character in specific time if not stopped
Hurting Oneself to Win/Complete the Mission
Hypothermia
Jumping in Front of a Bullet
Long Overdue Breaking Point
Non-powered character defends injured powered character
Posession (by a supernatural force)
Refuse to Leave Other Character's Side
Rescue
A rescues B from the underworld or afterlife
return from the dead
Stuck in a Blizzard (TOGETHER)
Stuck in a Trap
Thrown Into The Dungeon
Time Loop - Character A Keeps Failing to Save Character B
Time Loop - Escape by Revealing Feelings
Time Loop - Looping Character Keeps Dying
Trapped In Elevator
trapped together
Trying to prevent Hurt foreseen in vision - successful
Usually Powerful Character is Helpless Due to Drugs




Fandom DNW: No mundane other setting AUs.

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8. Timeless
I really loved Timeless and everyone in it. It was such fun, no matter how irresponsible they were with the timeline. I love Team!lifeboat and also wound up shipping Wyatt/Lucy hard. And I do like everyone else, too, very much, including Jiya and Flynn, so feel free to include anyone you wish as long as the focus is on the relationships I've requested.

Rufus Carlin & Wyatt Logan & Lucy Preston (all hurt)
Rufus Carlin & Wyatt Logan & Lucy Preston (hurt Lucy)
Rufus Carlin & Wyatt Logan & Lucy Preston (hurt Rufus)
Rufus Carlin & Wyatt Logan & Lucy Preston (hurt Wyatt)

Lucy, Rufus & Wyatt are a fun combination & I am happy to see them dealing with the injury of any one of the team, trapped in the past & away from proper medical help & emergency services! Undercover operations, fake relationship, pretty clothes, righting wrongs, meeting famous figures & messing up history, you know how it goes.

Accidental time travel into apocalyptic future
Accused of practicing witchcraft
A and B risk safety/health to help C
Being stuck together in a seemingly fatal situation
Bound & left to die - area is being flooded or otherwise becoming uninhabitable
Called up to fight on opposing sides
Character is Injured while Protecting Another
Dimension Traveler A Has Had Bad Experiences With Other Versions Of B & Is Cautious (+c as you wish)
Gunshot Wounds
Huddling For Warmth
Hurt will kill character in specific time if not stopped
Hypothermia
Injured/sick in the wilderness
Jumping in Front of a Bullet
possessed by ghost
Shipwrecks
Stranded Behind Enemy Lines
Stuck in a Blizzard (TOGETHER)
Stuck in the middle of nowhere with someone who's severely ill/injured & no way to call for help
Thrown Into The Dungeon
Time Loop - Character A Keeps Failing to Save Character B
Time Loop - Looping Character Keeps Dying


9. Timeless
Wyatt Logan/Lucy Preston (both hurt)
Wyatt Logan/Lucy Preston (hurt Lucy)
Wyatt Logan/Lucy Preston (hurt Wyatt)

I was so not going to ship these two, and then there was the Fake Relationship episode with Bonnie and Clyde, and how could I hold out? Dear Author, I did not. Given the typical canon events, they're perfect for this exchange, although I definitely prefer the focus on their interactions and/or historical situations rather than the S2 triangle(s? square(s)?). Dump them in the past, have more fake relationships, injuries without medical assistance that isn't going to kill you, surviving till Rufus can find them again, or whatever you can come up with via the freeforms

Being stuck together in a seemingly fatal situation
Bound & left to die - area is being flooded or otherwise becoming uninhabitable
Canadian Shack
Character A undertakes a dangerous mission and Character B's job is to keep them alive through it
Dungeons
Fake couple living together in dangerous times for characters' safety
Gunshot Wounds
Huddling For Warmth
Hurting Oneself to Win/Complete the Mission
Hypothermia
Jumping in Front of a Bullet
Kiss of Life (Mouth-to-Mouth)
Rescue
Shipwrecks
Stranded Behind Enemy Lines
Stuck in a Blizzard (TOGETHER)
Stuck in the middle of nowhere with someone who's severely ill/injured & no way to call for help
Time Loop - Escape by Revealing Feelings
Time Loop - Looping Character Keeps Dying
Time looping X forced to watch loved one die repeatedly; loop is broken by loved one’s survival
trapped together
X Time Travels To Prevent Love Interest's Death/Trauma But Now X's Stuck There And Are Two Of X