Dear Hurt/Comfort Exchange Writer
Mar. 15th, 2023 01:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alley_skywalkerAO3 name: Alley_Skywalker
Dear Hurt/Comfort Exchange Writer,
First, I would like to say thank you for the time and effort that you are willing to put into writing for me! Length of fandom sections or the order the fandoms are in no way indication of how much I want fic for any given fandom; I would be absolutely delighted to receive fic in any of the fandoms I asked for. I've tried to provide some details on the sorts of things I like (and don't) and give prompts for each of my fandoms/ships.
GENERAL STUFF
Hurt/Comfort & This Exchange Specific Things
FANDOMS
Game of Thrones
Fandom-specific DNWs
Theon Greyjoy/Robb Stark
I have so many feelings about this ship but also so many of them are really sad? Because, realistically, this relationship is kinda toxic. I’m not saying that in like a Purity Police way or anything, but just the power dynamics, and the fact that Robb is not above employing them when it suits him/when he’s ticked off, means that there is a lot of tension and angst and shit involved – it’s not just fluff and Cute ™. Also Alfie certainly chose to play this a Certain Way where Theon is basically making heart eyes at Robb the whole time. And Robb….never really reciprocates and is kinda cold/distant a lot? Like he sort of is generally reserved here, but it’s kinda jarring when Theon seems to desperately be giving his all – it reads a bit like unrequited love. Although! My favorite way to go here is that Robb is just kind of repressed/unable to deal with his feelings or whatever and never says the things he means/feels. Or maybe (if they’ve got a FWB type thing going) takes it for granted and just assumes that Theon knows his feelings, completely failing to understand that Theon does not actually expect for love and affection to be handed to him and does in fact need it spelled out.
I don't mind either POV but do usually have a preference for Robb's POV with this ship and hurt/comfort.
Hurt Robb
TAGS: "are you feeling any better?", “Hold on a little bit longer - help is coming”, Altered States - Character is out of it due to pain, Angry Broken Outbursts Resulting in Desperate Embraces, Bandaging wounds, Carrying A Sick/Hurt/Exhausted Character To Bed, Character A can barely walk Character B supports them, Character A is delirious and calls for B even though B is right there, Character pretends to be fine in front of others; is openly vulnerable with caretaker, Forehead Kisses for comfort, Forehead kisses poorly disguised as checking fever, Hand Holding - Comforter Encourages Injured Character to Squeeze Their Hand to Alleviate Pain, Helping hurt character to dress/undress, Holding someone while they cry, Kissing away tears, A pretends to fall asleep on B to get tenderness without having to talk, Sharing a bed to keep a close eye on hurt character's well-being & needs, Spoon feeding very weak sick/injured character, Tenderness,
A’s pining found to be requited as B helps them recover from serious injury, Being Cared for by Their Unrequited Love Interest, Character A reveals feelings for Character B while out of it from illness or injury, Delirious character asks for the one they're pining for, delirious character confesses feelings, Delirious Character Keeps Asking for the One They're Pining For, Mutual pining during slow recovery from near-fatal injury, Character A thinks they're about to die and voices their feelings for B; but oops A survives, Emotional hurt from (wrongly) believing their pining is unrequited,
Aftermath & Comfort For Canon Hurt, Breaking down under the pressure of responsibility, Comforting character whose loved one just died, Aftermath of losing everything, aftermath of near death experience, Alternate Universe - Character Lives but is still badly hurt, Canonical Character Death Replaced with Rescue and Comfort, aftermath of rape,
Distress due to an imminent separation from the other character, Character A hurt by realising too late Character B used to be in love with them, "You Were Everything I Believed In; What Am I Supposed To Do Now?"
Ok, I’m sorry for the like…wall of tags here. These progress/are grouped kiiiinda thematically? In any case, some are basically prompts in and of themselves, some are elements I just love in hurt/comfort. There are a lot. As you see *gestures vaguely* I love really sappy and tender caretaking. Also pining. The thing I love with Robb as the hurt party in this ship especially is like…the breaking down of his walls, perhaps against his will/non-intentionally (see the tags in the style of “delirious/out of it character does X”). He’s so…composed/repressed/walled-in canonically and putting up this strong heroic front that it’s very cathartic to see him lose that composure/break down, especially if he does do it at least somewhat willingly or subconsciously around Theon specifically as a sign of affection and trust. Love also in these scenarios Robb having (and wanting) to rely on Theon – for support, comfort, or just care – and doing so consciously/with acknowledgement and mmm perhaps even specifically wanting to, even if he tries/feels like he should hide it. The idea that Theon is the person he needs/wants that comfort from – I dig it!
Love especially the scenario where Robb’s got feelings he’s hiding/trying to not acknowledge but then he gets hurt and can’t hide them anymore and/or the sappy bonding they do during his recovery leads to feelings’ confessions in the end. Just— love that combination of pining + unrequited love angst + angst of trying to hide feelings but desperately needing the person you love + eventual happy ending. Although, like…just pining and angst over not being loved back which then turns out to simply have been an Idiots To Lovers scenario is also good :)
I’m not super picky about scenarios – could totally be pre-canon or a timeline stretch of the WOT5K so they have more time before Theon goes to Pyke, or AU where Theon doesn’t go to Pyke and other dramatic war stuff happens, etc. Perhaps they’re together at the Red Wedding/a similar planned betrayal but Theon manages to get Robb out/they manage to escape somehow, though Robb still gets really hurt. Especially would LOVE a scene where Theon comforts Robb after they get news of Ned’s execution. Or maybe this is a verse where Robb ends up a POW and gets tortured and then saved/escapes but needs help recovering. I promise I’m even that picky – I’m vibrating just thinking about any of these.
For some further more emotional hurt/comfort focused scenarios…really, they have so much angst… Distress over separating when Theon’s about to go to Pyke or Robb feeling regret that he never told Theon how he feels about him because he thought it was one-sided and only later finding out/realizing that it wasn’t but he missed (?) his chance. Theon dying (in battle? Balon-rebels-early and Robb has to execute him??) and Robb seeing a hallucination of him/his ghost and them getting closure? Really, really – whatever gives you the hurt/comfort fuzzies and comports to one of these tags.
.
Hurt Theon
TAGS: “Hold on a little bit longer - help is coming”, A’s pining found to be requited as B helps them recover from serious injury, accepting injury to protect someone, Accidental touch leads to discovery that character has a fever, Angry Broken Outbursts Resulting in Desperate Embraces, attempted self-sacrifice, Bandaging wounds, Bedside Vigils, Captured by enemy while trying to protect the other, Character A Confesses Feelings Because They Think Character B is Unconscious, Character A gives away Feelings by being Overly Tender with hurt Character B, Character A hurt protecting character B, Character gets hurt; comforter realizes they can't stand to lose them, Character was kidnapped as a child and raised by the enemy instead, Watching Hurt Character Sleep, Watching Sick Character Sleep, Checking For Fever With A Gentle Touch That Lingers, A hiding injury because they don't think B would care, Homesickness, Hostage Situations, A realises their feelings for B after B sacrifices themselves to protect/help A, Surrender to enemy in exchange for the other's safety, Taking care of hurt friend(s) leads to realization of romantic feelings
I’m not very fussy about the actual situation they get themselves into – I typically imagine it being something during the war, whether in a mild AU where there’s some timeline stretch or a more major one where things go majorly differently (e.g. Theon never going to Pyke) so they have more time to get into all kinds of mishaps, etc. But it could be some kind of pre-war scenario as well! But maybe also an AU where Theon does go to Pyke but then ends up choosing Robb and comes back (probably bitter about having to throw away his future like that, but also unable to abandon the guy he’s in love with), but is hurt during his escape/on the way back, and then Robb having to deal with the complications of political situation while also taking care of Theon and ah…bonus points for him pining extra hard the whole time, especially now that he’s realized how much Theon is willing to give up for him.
A BIG thing for me in throbb hurt/comfort where Theon is the hurt party is Robb's reactions/feelings/POV. Like Theon is absolutely very ride-or-die for Robb for a very long time but Robb always kind of has a lot of his own thing going on/Theon isn’t as much of a priority for him. So I love seeing a bit of a role reversal on that, where Robb becomes very protective or he comes to realize/really pay attention to the sacrifices/a sacrifice Theon makes for him and is like “oh shit” about it and then tries really hard to reciprocate/to be worthy of that kind of loyalty/sacrifice/affection. And/or has a realization about his own (romantic) feelings. Or at least, maybe he knows what he's about all along but doesn't communicate it well or doesn't know how to, so maybe if he realizes that Theon's hiding an injury because he thinks "no one" (Robb) would really care, it's a bit of a reality check that oh...maybe he's not been acting in a way that actually comports with how he feels and tries to make up for that, etc. Or the catalyst could be him almost losing Theon and realizing that suppressing his feelings isn't worth it because This Shit could happen.
Both Hurt
TAGS: Lovers to enemies who never fell out of love with each other, Mutual Protection, Mutual Protectiveness, Forehead Kisses for comfort, Kissing away tears, Captured and tortured together & doing their best to help each other through it, Escaping from captivity/torture together, Character A is forced to observe Character B suffer, Hostage Situations, character feels guilty after killing someone they loved
I love the idea of like...the ship getting captured together and having to provide care/comfort for each other after interrogation/torture or them being forced to watch each other’s interrogations or getting one of them to do/say something with the threat of hurting the other. My guess is this would be some kind of AU of Robb's war effort going...badly. Who they're captured by, when, how etc is up to you. I'm up for all sorts of canon-divergence AUs here. I just want them to have to rely on each other and provide comfort for each other and maybe finally confess some damn feelings :)
Alternatively, love the angst of them ending up in enemies either in purely canonical circumstances or with an AU element as needed but absolutely not being over each other and having to deal with that and maybe being forced into some situation where they're forced to realize that/feel compelled to provide care for each other due to the situation and being unable to leave each other in distress even if they are technically enemies now.
For Hostage Situations I always enjoyed those Balon-rebels-early AUs that explore the inevitable dark side of Theon's hostage situation. Usually, it's Ned who has to do the execution and Robb has to choose to get involved or not one way or another – which is always cool, and probably fits especially well for a hurt/comfort exchange. Maybe they end up running away together! But for a level up in angst – what if there’s some situation where Robb would be expected to do it? (Maybe they're already at war/Ned has been executed or maybe Robb is acting Lord of Winterfell during the time that Ned is in King's Landing but before they go to war.) And then Robb has to make a decision. How this ends is totally up to you. Canonically, I think Robb would probably go through with it because something something honor, but that’s super sad and doesn't allow for much comfort, so I'd certainly love another ending and the fallout from that, But even if Robb doesn’t go through with it, how does that affect their relationship? Does it lead to a realization of feelings for each other/leads to confession of hidden feelings? Does it actually screw things up because Theon is pissed that Robb even considered it/thought Robb should have put an end to the hostage thing as soon as he became Lord of Winterfell? Like it’s such a psychologically taxing situation to be in and definitely traumatizing for Theon…
A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Fandom-specific DNWs
A fandom-specific like: for post-Ramsay fic that's set further out into the future (post-war, etc), I really-really love the fanon that Theon's hair eventually starts growing back in dark/black. (Let him have nice things ahhh!!)
Theon Greyjoy/Robb Stark
Theon Greyjoy & Robb Stark
Ok, so given their age difference in the books (some 4 and a half years) I especially like the more platonic older/younger brother dynamic for the book version of these two. How close they are in the books is a bit more ambiguous too. We never get Robb’s POV at all, though he clearly trusts Theon at least in a professional capacity, and Robb is the one person Theon regrets hurting with his defection to his family/from the Starks. (I mean, to be clear, I don’t think he owed the Starks anything, including Robb, but canonically Theon has regrets about it, specifically when it comes to Robb.) But a lot of what I said about them in the above GoT section applies here too (and a lot of the prompts/tag overlap as well), and I think the tensions between them/in their relationship are similar ultimately, even if book!Robb is younger and thus reads softer and Theon doesn’t give off quite as strong unrequited love vibes as in the show + just generally there being a shift in dynamic due to the age gap). I would be cool with both a purely platonic brotherly relationship between them or one with a more romantic slant.
Hurt Robb
TAGS: "are you feeling any better?", “Hold on a little bit longer - help is coming”, Altered States - Character is out of it due to pain, Angry Broken Outbursts Resulting in Desperate Embraces, Bandaging wounds, Carrying A Sick/Hurt/Exhausted Character To Bed, Character A can barely walk Character B supports them, Character A is delirious and calls for B even though B is right there, Character pretends to be fine in front of others; is openly vulnerable with caretaker, Forehead Kisses for comfort, Forehead kisses poorly disguised as checking fever, Hand Holding - Comforter Encourages Injured Character to Squeeze Their Hand to Alleviate Pain, Helping hurt character to dress/undress, Holding someone while they cry, Kissing away tears, A pretends to fall asleep on B to get tenderness without having to talk, Sharing a bed to keep a close eye on hurt character's well-being & needs, Spoon feeding very weak sick/injured character, Tenderness, Back rubs/hair stroking to help a character sleep,
A’s pining found to be requited as B helps them recover from serious injury, Being Cared for by Their Unrequited Love Interest, Character A reveals feelings for Character B while out of it from illness or injury, Delirious character asks for the one they're pining for, delirious character confesses feelings, Delirious Character Keeps Asking for the One They're Pining For, Mutual pining during slow recovery from near-fatal injury, Character A thinks they're about to die and voices their feelings for B; but oops A survives, Emotional hurt from (wrongly) believing their pining is unrequited, Character A gives away Feelings by being Overly Tender with hurt Character B,
Aftermath & Comfort For Canon Hurt, Breaking down under the pressure of responsibility, Comforting character whose loved one just died, Aftermath of losing everything, aftermath of near death experience, Alternate Universe - Character Lives but is still badly hurt, Canonical Character Death Replaced with Rescue and Comfort, aftermath of rape
Distress due to an imminent separation from the other character, Character A hurt by realising too late Character B used to be in love with them, "You Were Everything I Believed In; What Am I Supposed To Do Now?", Comfort after a nightmare
Most of these are duplicative of a bunch of tags in this ship's GoT section and my thoughts on them are about the same. The last tag could be repurposed for a more romantic scenarios as well if needed, but if you'd be willing to write me some childhood Theon & Robb I'd love that! Like bb!Robb maybe being too embarrassed/ashamed to go hide in his parents' room after a nightmare and going to Theon like "hey wake up" pretending he just can't sleep and wants someone to hang out and Theon's annoyed that this kid woke him up but then figures out what's up and let's him stay and cuddle instead.
Both Hurt
TAGS: Lovers to enemies who never fell out of love with each other, Mutual Protection, Mutual Protectiveness, Forehead Kisses for comfort, Kissing away tears, Captured and tortured together & doing their best to help each other through it, Escaping from captivity/torture together, Character A is forced to observe Character B suffer, Hostage Situations, character feels guilty after killing someone they loved, Comfort after a nightmare!
With the exception of the last tag, these are duplicative of the tags in this ship's GoT section and my thoughts on them are about the same.
The last tag could be repurposed for a more romantic scenarios as well if needed, but if you'd be willing to write me some childhood Theon & Robb and the kinda awkwardly finding comfort in each other while suffering from childish fears, that would be adorable. Fir example, I always had this daydream of like...Theon going wondering around the castle one night after bedtime and runs into Robb on his way back who admits he'd had a nightmare and wanted to go to his parents but then felt too ashamed to crawl into their bad "like a baby" and asks Theon if they can hang out in his room. And Theon can't sleep so he's like fine, ok. Except Robb just promptly falls asleep in his bed because he feels safe there. Optional continuation that Theon doesn't kick him out and like decides they'll just sleep in the same bad. But this is his first year at Winterfell and he's still having frequent nightmares about the siege of Pyke; ends up waking up from one and waking up Robb.Theon prob refuses to admit to what just happened but he and Robb and up snuggling and comforting each other anyway...
Theon Greyjoy/Tristifer Botley
Theon Greyjoy/Tristifer Botley
The ship that seems to have come out of nowhere, but wouldn’t it be nice for Theon to have a happy ending with a nice ironborn boy? And you can't tell me Tris wasn't just made for some delicious pining, loyalty kink, and sweet hurt/comfort! (But...he really does need to get over Asha for his own good, so here's his chance lol.)
I'm totally into canon-compliant, post-canon fic for these two:what do they get up to in the WoW timeframe? How do they win the Iron Islands back from Euron? What happens during the war with the Others? Also, farther-future fic with Asha ruling the Iron Islands and Theon being one of her top commanders/councilors and finding his place on the Islands while also getting together with Tris sounds like such a feel-good happy ending, you know? That said, I also really enjoy various AU scenarios such as:
Hurt Tris
Both Hurt
TAGS: accepting injury to protect someone, aftermath of near death experience, attempted self-sacrifice, B got tortured or raped but haven’t sold A to enemy; A nurses B back to health, Captured and tortured together & doing their best to help each other through it, Captured by enemy while trying to protect the other, Character A hurt protecting character B, Character A is forced to observe Character B suffer, Character A thinks they're about to die and voices their feelings for B; but oops A survives, Delirious character asks for the one they're pining for, Emotional hurt from (wrongly) believing their pining is unrequited, Escaping from captivity/torture together, Forehead Kisses for comfort, Kissing away tears, Surrender to enemy in exchange for the other's safety
TAGS: are you feeling any better?", accepting injury to protect someone, Angry Broken Outbursts Resulting in Desperate Embraces, attempted self-sacrifice, Body worship focusing on the scars and aftermath of trauma, Character A Confesses Feelings Because They Think Character B is Unconscious, Character A gives away Feelings by being Overly Tender with hurt Character B, Character A is self-conscious about their scars; B touches them for comfort and affection, Character A Makes Significant Sacrifice for Character B; B Horrified and Upset When They Find Out, Character being protected isn't used to being cared about, Character was kidnapped as a child and raised by the enemy instead, Forehead Kisses for comfort, Forehead kisses poorly disguised as checking fever, Kissing away tears, Tenderness, Unexpected Kindness
The overarching theme(s) I was going for with these tags (aside from lots of tenderness as usual) is 1) loyalty/devotion, especially from Theon's partner, because that's a new experience I'd like him to have (*lolsob*) and 2) Theon getting some unconditional love from his partner even/especially with things he might be insecure about (e.g. the scars/lasting injuries post-Ramsay). Whether the hurt or comfort is a canonical thing or an AU or which canon hurt is being dealt with (e.g. I'd love Theon getting to really vent about how shitty it in fact was to be a hostage to someone who's willing to listen and understand) isn't as important as that overall vibe really, so plot is totally up to your preference. I'd also love either POV here!
Fire & Blood - George R. R. Martin
I’d like to say that first, I’m aware of the show canon but this is very genuinely a book canon request, although obviously the show has fleshed out a lot of the characters who feel flat in the books so I’m not going to mind if some of those characterizations bleed through/are borrowed or anything, as long as it doesn’t directly contradict book canon.
Second, I’m not about bashing any of the characters, but I have always been a Team Green person. Not out of any love for Aegon as a character necessarily, but more because Visery’s blatant parental favoritism seriously bothered me, and it was clear that he just wanted his favorite child to be the heir and not that he wanted to change the system or anything (and instead only destabilized it, traumatized his other children, and was a big, if not main, cause of the Dance, imo). For that matter, Rhaenyra showed multiple times that she had no such interest either. If anything, I think the Dance is fun and fascinating because everyone is kind of selfish and maybe a little power-hungry, everyone is various shades of grey, no one is completely right. There aren’t any obvious heroes or modern-day progressives/liberals – these are all characters that are very much working within their culture and system and playing the game of thrones. That said, Alicent made a lot of sense to me even as flat as she is in the book, and I always saw her primary motivation as her love for her children and her concern for their wellbeing and safety.
Third, I tend to consider Mushroom an extremely unreliable source and would rather his “versions” be ignored when there’s competing accounts, at least anything containing significant sexual violence (Aegon visiting a tween sex worker, brothel queens, etc).
Daeron is probably my fave book Dance-era character. He’s one of the very few characters that gets even close to the heroic-and-honorable side of the spectrum, though the war finally gets even to him (e.g. Bitterbridge). He’s someone who’s fundamentally an upstanding person, loyal and brave, values honor, but like everyone else is thrown into this devastating civil war and has to deal with all the suffering and moral ambiguity and tragedy that it brings. And isn't this just the perfect environment for some good old-fashioned enemies-to-lovers or friends/lovers-to-enemies-(to-maybe-lovers-again) type of ships?
I do realize I did not put this in my AO3 DNWs so I'm banking on good faith, but please I do not want Daeron switching sides to the blacks.
Daeron Targaryen/Addam Velaryon
Hurt Addam
TAGS: Lovers to enemies who never fell out of love with each other, Loyalty - torn between loyalties to two different people, "You Were Everything I Believed In; What Am I Supposed To Do Now?", Being Cared for by Their Unrequited Love Interest, Emotional hurt from (wrongly) believing their pining is unrequited, A’s pining found to be requited as B helps them recover from serious injury, Unexpected Kindness, unexpected tenderness, Canonical Character Death Replaced with Rescue and Comfort, Caring for someone who should be your enemy
I have a special fondness for a Daeron/Addam Velaryon AU idea. After Addam escapes KL to avoid arrest, he also hears about his grandfather’s imprisonment. Instead of deciding to try to prove himself to a queen who has so mistreated him and his family despite their loyalty and sacrifices, Addam goes to Tumbleton to find Prince Daeron. He means to secure his family’s safety, even if it means switching sides… Which then leads to Daeron and Addam working together and falling in love. Ideally :D
Another enemies-to-lovers AU: what if Daeron doesn’t die so quickly at the second Tumbleton and manages to get up in the air on his dragon? He wins his fight against Addam, taking him prisoner and winning the battle (or at least saving the greater part of his host). Maybe Addam is hurt in the battle and that's what prompts then to get closer and Daeron treats him well/takes care of him while he recovers.
I would also be really interested in a scenario where they used to be friends or knew each other before the war. Either as a backdrop to a during-the-war scenario or an actual exploration of what happens when they're torn apart by the politics and the family loyalties. Love the idea of Addam having a teenage crush on Daeron but thinking that surely a Prince is way out of his league.
Hurt Daeron
TAGS: “Hold on a little bit longer - help is coming”, Lovers to enemies who never fell out of love with each other, Loyalty - torn between loyalties to two different people, Character A is forced to observe Character B suffer, Caring for someone who should be your enemy, Character A gives away Feelings by being Overly Tender with hurt Character B, Canonical Character Death Replaced with Rescue and Comfort
Similar ideas for this ship as above, but this time with Daeron the one getting hurt and Addam being the one to provide comfort. Maybe instead of Tumbleton its an AU where they meet/are put into a Situation during another battle, or a story where they've already become allies, or a pre-war story works very well too!
Daeron Targaryen/Jacaerys Velaryon
Viserys made Daeron and Jace milk brothers in the hope this would make them closer. This doesn’t seem to have worked much, but what if it had? Or what if Daeron hadn’t been away from court so much/had spent more time with Jace and the two became close(r)? How do they deal with the rising tensions on the even of the Dance? Is their friendship/romance doomed to fail?
Hurt Jace
TAGS: Lovers to enemies who never fell out of love with each other, Loyalty - torn between loyalties to two different people, "You Were Everything I Believed In; What Am I Supposed To Do Now?", Being Cared for by Their Unrequited Love Interest, Emotional hurt from (wrongly) believing their pining is unrequited, A’s pining found to be requited as B helps them recover from serious injury, Unexpected Kindness, unexpected tenderness, Canonical Character Death Replaced with Rescue and Comfort, Caring for someone who should be your enemy
Hurt Daeron
TAGS: “Hold on a little bit longer - help is coming”, Lovers to enemies who never fell out of love with each other, Loyalty - torn between loyalties to two different people, Character A is forced to observe Character B suffer, Caring for someone who should be your enemy, Character A gives away Feelings by being Overly Tender with hurt Character B, Canonical Character Death Replaced with Rescue and Comfort
Some pretty similar thoughts to the Daeron/Addam above: I love the idea/exploration of two people who care about each other ending up in different sides of a war, either as enemies-to-lovers or as starcrossed lovers. With these two, I especially would love the idea of them having had the chance to get closer as children/preteens and maybe Jace having a crush that/he thinks is one-sided. Then the war happens and everything goes to shit but then SUDDENLY they're brought together again - during a battle, one getting captured by the other, whatever. And suddenly having to deal witht he old (and new) feelings and what they could have been and what they'd like to be vs what they're being forced to be. Love the angst, but also the idea of sweet hurt/cofmort and tenderness that momentarily forgets that they're supposed to be enemies.
Dear Hurt/Comfort Exchange Writer,
First, I would like to say thank you for the time and effort that you are willing to put into writing for me! Length of fandom sections or the order the fandoms are in no way indication of how much I want fic for any given fandom; I would be absolutely delighted to receive fic in any of the fandoms I asked for. I've tried to provide some details on the sorts of things I like (and don't) and give prompts for each of my fandoms/ships.
GENERAL STUFF
Hurt/Comfort & This Exchange Specific Things
- I really, really care about the comfort part of hurt/comfort. There can totally be lots of hurt and angst! But if there's not plenty of comfort during/after the hurt, then it's not very satisfying to me, tbh.
- I love my comfort to have both physical and emotional manifestations (e.g. both hugs and practical help but also encouragement or words of endearment). Usually, when I refer to emotional h/c vs. physical h/c I'm talking about the main type of hurt that is being suffered by a character.
- Regardless of whether the tone is more fluffy/mushy or more angsty, I love for there to be lots of tenderness. I want them to touch each other, to cuddle, hold hands, kiss (if applicable). Even if they start out not really being able to do too much of this (have a contentious relationship, haven't admitted their feelings yet), I'd rather they get there eventually to some extent. Or for it to be a necessary aspect of the comfort (like in the case that bandages need to be changed or trying to keep someone's fever down with a wet cloth, etc.) I enjoy loving details of tender, physical aspects of the comfort - I think the specific freeforms I chose are a good guide here.
- Feel free to sprinkle in endearments! Not cutesey pet names but like regular ones (darling, sweetheart, etc). To whatever extent seems even remotely realistic for the characters. That's a YMMV thing of course, but what I'm trying to say is that I don't mind if its a little more mushy/saccharine than might be typical for the characters - I enjoy my h/c to be very sweet.
- In that same vein, I love emotional h/c that involves reassurances from the comforting partner, maybe even sliding into praise!kink a bit, if it seems to fit the situation.
- "Practical comfort" is also very nice, though may not always reflect in the tags that I've chosen. E.g. some competency kink thrown in where the hurt character is not in the position to manage a responsibility atm or to get back at someone who hurt them and the comforter character takes care of that stuff for them - "don't worry I've got you."
- No heeling cock, PLEASE. Nothing where sex magically makes things better somehow. (Something where characters take comfort in each other over a shared hurt and that includes sex is fine, but not like..."oh we had sex! That makes things better!") (Really, I'd rather not have sex used as a primary solution to a hurt.)
Likes:
Genres/Themes (and such):
Likes:
- Outside of any ships I ask for specifically, I'm good with slash, het or fem for background ships!
- All ratings up to R.
- A focus on the romantic/emotional aspect of a relationship and some semblance of a plot/point rather than just sex.
- Mutual pining, especially if it's secretly requited pining and the parties think it's unrequited. (Unrequited pining is nice too.)
- Complicated relationship dynamics, love triangles, relationships that take some effort/time to work, loving each other but because [insert reasons here] not always being able to be together/communicate those feelings, etc in this vain.
- UST. Eventually resolved is probably better than not, however, not a must-have.
- Conversely from the above – romantic partners who just can’t help but adore each other.
- Kissing, hugging, holding hands, non-sexual physical contact in general.
- Praise kink (in the sense that there’s a lot of emotional investment in and getting-off on getting praised or otherwise acknowledged as worthwhile. Works especially well with characters who are deeply insecure. I’m generally fond of other related things, such as body worship, partners being encouraging during sex in a very sweet, reassuring way, etc).
- Threesomes/moresomes and polyamory, unless specifically requested/prompted.
- Incest (unless specifically requested or explicitly canon; this DNW does not include cousins).
- Parings with large age disparity (over 15 years) unless specifically requested.
- Minors under 16 in sexual/romantic relationships with adults; one-sided teenage crushes on adults are fine. I'd rather not read about teenagers under 16 having sex, even if both are 14/15, but romance/kissing and some groping and whatnot is fine; references to off-screen sexual experimentation/sex is fine if it's something that fits the characters/story.
- NC-17/Explicit and PWPs.
- Healing cock.
- BDSM, omegaverse, and most kink. (NOT included in this: foreplay; bantery/lighthearted roleplay for the purposes of foreplay; preferences for a certain sexual position, fascination with a partner’s physical trait, such as, e.g., preferring redheads or virgins or younger partners or being fascinated by someone’s shoulders; rough/aggressive/desperate sex or outside-of-bedroom inequalities that transfer into the bedroom, even though there may be pining down of wrists or some other element that could be considered a kink or part of BDSM; anything specifically listed as a “like”).
- Foot fetishes (I know I said liking specific body parts is fine, but this is the exception).
- Humiliation (both sexual and not).
- Non-con/rape (dub-con that leans toward/ends up as consensual is ok). For this exchange, rape not between characters of the requested ship is ok if it's baked into the requested freeform tag.
- Mpreg
Genres/Themes (and such):
Likes:
- Angst, drama. (Please don’t try to use this as a challenge to see how many angst/dark tropes you can fit into a single fic. I have no issue with dark themes, angst is my crack and things like character death don’t bother me, but if it feels like it’s just a marathon of horrible things happening…that’s a little too intense for me. Exceptions apply if a specific prompt calls for dark!fic or similar endless angst.)
- Humor is fun too, but I like it more as an element in the story rather than a story that sets out to be funny first and foremost.
- Hurt/comfort!!! Obviously :)
- LOYALTY KINK! Themes of loyalty and devotion in general. Protectiveness.
- Related to the above, I enjoy explorations of divided/conflicted loyalties in various contexts.
- Friendship, family (dynamics), platonic love.
- Backstories, especially childhood fics.
- Fluff, banter, cuddling/snuggling, kissing, general adorableness (and adoration!).
- Well-rounded characters, characters with emotions/sympathetic motives; the “other side of the story”.
- Politics, intrigue; plot (if you already happen to be that way inclined).
- Worldbuilding, especially in fantasy and historical settings.
- Anything to do with urine or feces; graphic depictions/descriptions of characters vomiting.
- Very graphic depictions of infected wounds, puss or bodily fluids generally (blood, sweat are ok),
- Crack!fic, parody.
- AUs that subvert the universe or drastically change the setting (eg: setting a modern fandom as a fairytale, turning a historical fandom all Sci-Fi, Coffee Shop/College AUs, etc. This includes stuff like A/B/O and inserting magic/supernatural elements into a non-magic/supernatural universe).
- Crossovers
- Time travel.
- Apocalypse/post-apocalypse scenarios, regardless of whether done as an AU or some kind of post-canon possibility thing. (Exception for when this setting is explicitly canon.)
- Character bashing. (Especially with requested characters.)
- Horror; graphic gore.
- Torture that involves amputations/other permanent injuries and/or is a means of execution, e.g. drawing and quartering. (mentioning things that explicitly happened in canon is fine).
- Humiliation; any sort of glorification of bullying.
- Ccross-dressing; genderbending/genderswap; non-canonical genders and gender headcanons in general.
- Narrative implications that “sex = love” or that romantic partners HAVE to have sex to have a “valid” relationship or to be “really” in love with each other
FANDOMS
Game of Thrones
Fandom-specific DNWs
- Fics set during Theon’s canonical captivity by Ramsay and AU situations where Theon is still captured by Ramsay, unless it’s a “captured together” scenario with Robb.
- Ramsay/Theon.
- The sort of Robb-survives-the-Red-Wedding AUs where everything in Theon’s storyline stays the same but Robb survives the Red Wedding and then they are brought back together when Robb takes back the North, etc along those lines. If he survives in some major AU where Theon doesn't defect/never goes to Pyke or Theon's storyline goes differently re: getting captured by Ramsay (e.g. he goes with Asha to Deepwood Motte or something) then that's fine.
- Reunited-in-the-afterlife fics for Theon/Robb.
- Theon begging Robb to take him back/get back together after a breakup/fight (normal apologizing for past hurtful actions is fine, though also, whatever mess they’re in I’d rather it not be/not be presented as all Theon’s fault).
- Theon thinking Robb is "too good" for him or having similar insecurities-tinged-with-hero-worship.
Theon Greyjoy/Robb Stark
I have so many feelings about this ship but also so many of them are really sad? Because, realistically, this relationship is kinda toxic. I’m not saying that in like a Purity Police way or anything, but just the power dynamics, and the fact that Robb is not above employing them when it suits him/when he’s ticked off, means that there is a lot of tension and angst and shit involved – it’s not just fluff and Cute ™. Also Alfie certainly chose to play this a Certain Way where Theon is basically making heart eyes at Robb the whole time. And Robb….never really reciprocates and is kinda cold/distant a lot? Like he sort of is generally reserved here, but it’s kinda jarring when Theon seems to desperately be giving his all – it reads a bit like unrequited love. Although! My favorite way to go here is that Robb is just kind of repressed/unable to deal with his feelings or whatever and never says the things he means/feels. Or maybe (if they’ve got a FWB type thing going) takes it for granted and just assumes that Theon knows his feelings, completely failing to understand that Theon does not actually expect for love and affection to be handed to him and does in fact need it spelled out.
I don't mind either POV but do usually have a preference for Robb's POV with this ship and hurt/comfort.
Hurt Robb
TAGS: "are you feeling any better?", “Hold on a little bit longer - help is coming”, Altered States - Character is out of it due to pain, Angry Broken Outbursts Resulting in Desperate Embraces, Bandaging wounds, Carrying A Sick/Hurt/Exhausted Character To Bed, Character A can barely walk Character B supports them, Character A is delirious and calls for B even though B is right there, Character pretends to be fine in front of others; is openly vulnerable with caretaker, Forehead Kisses for comfort, Forehead kisses poorly disguised as checking fever, Hand Holding - Comforter Encourages Injured Character to Squeeze Their Hand to Alleviate Pain, Helping hurt character to dress/undress, Holding someone while they cry, Kissing away tears, A pretends to fall asleep on B to get tenderness without having to talk, Sharing a bed to keep a close eye on hurt character's well-being & needs, Spoon feeding very weak sick/injured character, Tenderness,
A’s pining found to be requited as B helps them recover from serious injury, Being Cared for by Their Unrequited Love Interest, Character A reveals feelings for Character B while out of it from illness or injury, Delirious character asks for the one they're pining for, delirious character confesses feelings, Delirious Character Keeps Asking for the One They're Pining For, Mutual pining during slow recovery from near-fatal injury, Character A thinks they're about to die and voices their feelings for B; but oops A survives, Emotional hurt from (wrongly) believing their pining is unrequited,
Aftermath & Comfort For Canon Hurt, Breaking down under the pressure of responsibility, Comforting character whose loved one just died, Aftermath of losing everything, aftermath of near death experience, Alternate Universe - Character Lives but is still badly hurt, Canonical Character Death Replaced with Rescue and Comfort, aftermath of rape,
Distress due to an imminent separation from the other character, Character A hurt by realising too late Character B used to be in love with them, "You Were Everything I Believed In; What Am I Supposed To Do Now?"
Ok, I’m sorry for the like…wall of tags here. These progress/are grouped kiiiinda thematically? In any case, some are basically prompts in and of themselves, some are elements I just love in hurt/comfort. There are a lot. As you see *gestures vaguely* I love really sappy and tender caretaking. Also pining. The thing I love with Robb as the hurt party in this ship especially is like…the breaking down of his walls, perhaps against his will/non-intentionally (see the tags in the style of “delirious/out of it character does X”). He’s so…composed/repressed/walled-in canonically and putting up this strong heroic front that it’s very cathartic to see him lose that composure/break down, especially if he does do it at least somewhat willingly or subconsciously around Theon specifically as a sign of affection and trust. Love also in these scenarios Robb having (and wanting) to rely on Theon – for support, comfort, or just care – and doing so consciously/with acknowledgement and mmm perhaps even specifically wanting to, even if he tries/feels like he should hide it. The idea that Theon is the person he needs/wants that comfort from – I dig it!
Love especially the scenario where Robb’s got feelings he’s hiding/trying to not acknowledge but then he gets hurt and can’t hide them anymore and/or the sappy bonding they do during his recovery leads to feelings’ confessions in the end. Just— love that combination of pining + unrequited love angst + angst of trying to hide feelings but desperately needing the person you love + eventual happy ending. Although, like…just pining and angst over not being loved back which then turns out to simply have been an Idiots To Lovers scenario is also good :)
I’m not super picky about scenarios – could totally be pre-canon or a timeline stretch of the WOT5K so they have more time before Theon goes to Pyke, or AU where Theon doesn’t go to Pyke and other dramatic war stuff happens, etc. Perhaps they’re together at the Red Wedding/a similar planned betrayal but Theon manages to get Robb out/they manage to escape somehow, though Robb still gets really hurt. Especially would LOVE a scene where Theon comforts Robb after they get news of Ned’s execution. Or maybe this is a verse where Robb ends up a POW and gets tortured and then saved/escapes but needs help recovering. I promise I’m even that picky – I’m vibrating just thinking about any of these.
For some further more emotional hurt/comfort focused scenarios…really, they have so much angst… Distress over separating when Theon’s about to go to Pyke or Robb feeling regret that he never told Theon how he feels about him because he thought it was one-sided and only later finding out/realizing that it wasn’t but he missed (?) his chance. Theon dying (in battle? Balon-rebels-early and Robb has to execute him??) and Robb seeing a hallucination of him/his ghost and them getting closure? Really, really – whatever gives you the hurt/comfort fuzzies and comports to one of these tags.
.
Hurt Theon
TAGS: “Hold on a little bit longer - help is coming”, A’s pining found to be requited as B helps them recover from serious injury, accepting injury to protect someone, Accidental touch leads to discovery that character has a fever, Angry Broken Outbursts Resulting in Desperate Embraces, attempted self-sacrifice, Bandaging wounds, Bedside Vigils, Captured by enemy while trying to protect the other, Character A Confesses Feelings Because They Think Character B is Unconscious, Character A gives away Feelings by being Overly Tender with hurt Character B, Character A hurt protecting character B, Character gets hurt; comforter realizes they can't stand to lose them, Character was kidnapped as a child and raised by the enemy instead, Watching Hurt Character Sleep, Watching Sick Character Sleep, Checking For Fever With A Gentle Touch That Lingers, A hiding injury because they don't think B would care, Homesickness, Hostage Situations, A realises their feelings for B after B sacrifices themselves to protect/help A, Surrender to enemy in exchange for the other's safety, Taking care of hurt friend(s) leads to realization of romantic feelings
I’m not very fussy about the actual situation they get themselves into – I typically imagine it being something during the war, whether in a mild AU where there’s some timeline stretch or a more major one where things go majorly differently (e.g. Theon never going to Pyke) so they have more time to get into all kinds of mishaps, etc. But it could be some kind of pre-war scenario as well! But maybe also an AU where Theon does go to Pyke but then ends up choosing Robb and comes back (probably bitter about having to throw away his future like that, but also unable to abandon the guy he’s in love with), but is hurt during his escape/on the way back, and then Robb having to deal with the complications of political situation while also taking care of Theon and ah…bonus points for him pining extra hard the whole time, especially now that he’s realized how much Theon is willing to give up for him.
A BIG thing for me in throbb hurt/comfort where Theon is the hurt party is Robb's reactions/feelings/POV. Like Theon is absolutely very ride-or-die for Robb for a very long time but Robb always kind of has a lot of his own thing going on/Theon isn’t as much of a priority for him. So I love seeing a bit of a role reversal on that, where Robb becomes very protective or he comes to realize/really pay attention to the sacrifices/a sacrifice Theon makes for him and is like “oh shit” about it and then tries really hard to reciprocate/to be worthy of that kind of loyalty/sacrifice/affection. And/or has a realization about his own (romantic) feelings. Or at least, maybe he knows what he's about all along but doesn't communicate it well or doesn't know how to, so maybe if he realizes that Theon's hiding an injury because he thinks "no one" (Robb) would really care, it's a bit of a reality check that oh...maybe he's not been acting in a way that actually comports with how he feels and tries to make up for that, etc. Or the catalyst could be him almost losing Theon and realizing that suppressing his feelings isn't worth it because This Shit could happen.
Both Hurt
TAGS: Lovers to enemies who never fell out of love with each other, Mutual Protection, Mutual Protectiveness, Forehead Kisses for comfort, Kissing away tears, Captured and tortured together & doing their best to help each other through it, Escaping from captivity/torture together, Character A is forced to observe Character B suffer, Hostage Situations, character feels guilty after killing someone they loved
I love the idea of like...the ship getting captured together and having to provide care/comfort for each other after interrogation/torture or them being forced to watch each other’s interrogations or getting one of them to do/say something with the threat of hurting the other. My guess is this would be some kind of AU of Robb's war effort going...badly. Who they're captured by, when, how etc is up to you. I'm up for all sorts of canon-divergence AUs here. I just want them to have to rely on each other and provide comfort for each other and maybe finally confess some damn feelings :)
Alternatively, love the angst of them ending up in enemies either in purely canonical circumstances or with an AU element as needed but absolutely not being over each other and having to deal with that and maybe being forced into some situation where they're forced to realize that/feel compelled to provide care for each other due to the situation and being unable to leave each other in distress even if they are technically enemies now.
For Hostage Situations I always enjoyed those Balon-rebels-early AUs that explore the inevitable dark side of Theon's hostage situation. Usually, it's Ned who has to do the execution and Robb has to choose to get involved or not one way or another – which is always cool, and probably fits especially well for a hurt/comfort exchange. Maybe they end up running away together! But for a level up in angst – what if there’s some situation where Robb would be expected to do it? (Maybe they're already at war/Ned has been executed or maybe Robb is acting Lord of Winterfell during the time that Ned is in King's Landing but before they go to war.) And then Robb has to make a decision. How this ends is totally up to you. Canonically, I think Robb would probably go through with it because something something honor, but that’s super sad and doesn't allow for much comfort, so I'd certainly love another ending and the fallout from that, But even if Robb doesn’t go through with it, how does that affect their relationship? Does it lead to a realization of feelings for each other/leads to confession of hidden feelings? Does it actually screw things up because Theon is pissed that Robb even considered it/thought Robb should have put an end to the hostage thing as soon as he became Lord of Winterfell? Like it’s such a psychologically taxing situation to be in and definitely traumatizing for Theon…
A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Fandom-specific DNWs
- Fics set during Theon’s canonical captivity by Ramsay and AU situations where Theon is still captured by Ramsay, unless it’s a “captured together” scenario with Tris or Robb. The only request this DNW does not apply to is the Theon/Kyra one, since that one is necessarily set during their capture by Ramsay. There, I just don't want an overly significant amount of time spent on their captivity pre-escape (a little beforehand to set the scene is fine, but I'd want this to focus on what happens after/as they get away).
- Ramsay/Theon.
- The sort of Robb-survives-the-Red-Wedding AUs where everything in Theon’s storyline stays the same but Robb survives the Red Wedding and then they are brought back together when Robb takes back the North, etc along those lines. If he survives in some major AU where Theon doesn't defect/never goes to Pyke or Theon's storyline goes differently re: getting captured by Ramsay (e.g. he goes with Asha to Deepwood Motte or something) then that's fine.
- Reunited-in-the-afterlife fics for Theon/Robb.
- Theon begging Robb to take him back/get back together after a breakup/fight (normal apologizing for past hurtful actions is fine, though also, whatever mess they’re in I’d rather it not be/not be presented as all Theon’s fault).
- Theon thinking Robb is "too good" for him or having similar insecurities-tinged-with-hero-worship.
A fandom-specific like: for post-Ramsay fic that's set further out into the future (post-war, etc), I really-really love the fanon that Theon's hair eventually starts growing back in dark/black. (Let him have nice things ahhh!!)
Theon Greyjoy/Robb Stark
Theon Greyjoy & Robb Stark
Ok, so given their age difference in the books (some 4 and a half years) I especially like the more platonic older/younger brother dynamic for the book version of these two. How close they are in the books is a bit more ambiguous too. We never get Robb’s POV at all, though he clearly trusts Theon at least in a professional capacity, and Robb is the one person Theon regrets hurting with his defection to his family/from the Starks. (I mean, to be clear, I don’t think he owed the Starks anything, including Robb, but canonically Theon has regrets about it, specifically when it comes to Robb.) But a lot of what I said about them in the above GoT section applies here too (and a lot of the prompts/tag overlap as well), and I think the tensions between them/in their relationship are similar ultimately, even if book!Robb is younger and thus reads softer and Theon doesn’t give off quite as strong unrequited love vibes as in the show + just generally there being a shift in dynamic due to the age gap). I would be cool with both a purely platonic brotherly relationship between them or one with a more romantic slant.
Hurt Robb
TAGS: "are you feeling any better?", “Hold on a little bit longer - help is coming”, Altered States - Character is out of it due to pain, Angry Broken Outbursts Resulting in Desperate Embraces, Bandaging wounds, Carrying A Sick/Hurt/Exhausted Character To Bed, Character A can barely walk Character B supports them, Character A is delirious and calls for B even though B is right there, Character pretends to be fine in front of others; is openly vulnerable with caretaker, Forehead Kisses for comfort, Forehead kisses poorly disguised as checking fever, Hand Holding - Comforter Encourages Injured Character to Squeeze Their Hand to Alleviate Pain, Helping hurt character to dress/undress, Holding someone while they cry, Kissing away tears, A pretends to fall asleep on B to get tenderness without having to talk, Sharing a bed to keep a close eye on hurt character's well-being & needs, Spoon feeding very weak sick/injured character, Tenderness, Back rubs/hair stroking to help a character sleep,
A’s pining found to be requited as B helps them recover from serious injury, Being Cared for by Their Unrequited Love Interest, Character A reveals feelings for Character B while out of it from illness or injury, Delirious character asks for the one they're pining for, delirious character confesses feelings, Delirious Character Keeps Asking for the One They're Pining For, Mutual pining during slow recovery from near-fatal injury, Character A thinks they're about to die and voices their feelings for B; but oops A survives, Emotional hurt from (wrongly) believing their pining is unrequited, Character A gives away Feelings by being Overly Tender with hurt Character B,
Aftermath & Comfort For Canon Hurt, Breaking down under the pressure of responsibility, Comforting character whose loved one just died, Aftermath of losing everything, aftermath of near death experience, Alternate Universe - Character Lives but is still badly hurt, Canonical Character Death Replaced with Rescue and Comfort, aftermath of rape
Distress due to an imminent separation from the other character, Character A hurt by realising too late Character B used to be in love with them, "You Were Everything I Believed In; What Am I Supposed To Do Now?", Comfort after a nightmare
Most of these are duplicative of a bunch of tags in this ship's GoT section and my thoughts on them are about the same. The last tag could be repurposed for a more romantic scenarios as well if needed, but if you'd be willing to write me some childhood Theon & Robb I'd love that! Like bb!Robb maybe being too embarrassed/ashamed to go hide in his parents' room after a nightmare and going to Theon like "hey wake up" pretending he just can't sleep and wants someone to hang out and Theon's annoyed that this kid woke him up but then figures out what's up and let's him stay and cuddle instead.
Both Hurt
TAGS: Lovers to enemies who never fell out of love with each other, Mutual Protection, Mutual Protectiveness, Forehead Kisses for comfort, Kissing away tears, Captured and tortured together & doing their best to help each other through it, Escaping from captivity/torture together, Character A is forced to observe Character B suffer, Hostage Situations, character feels guilty after killing someone they loved, Comfort after a nightmare!
With the exception of the last tag, these are duplicative of the tags in this ship's GoT section and my thoughts on them are about the same.
The last tag could be repurposed for a more romantic scenarios as well if needed, but if you'd be willing to write me some childhood Theon & Robb and the kinda awkwardly finding comfort in each other while suffering from childish fears, that would be adorable. Fir example, I always had this daydream of like...Theon going wondering around the castle one night after bedtime and runs into Robb on his way back who admits he'd had a nightmare and wanted to go to his parents but then felt too ashamed to crawl into their bad "like a baby" and asks Theon if they can hang out in his room. And Theon can't sleep so he's like fine, ok. Except Robb just promptly falls asleep in his bed because he feels safe there. Optional continuation that Theon doesn't kick him out and like decides they'll just sleep in the same bad. But this is his first year at Winterfell and he's still having frequent nightmares about the siege of Pyke; ends up waking up from one and waking up Robb.Theon prob refuses to admit to what just happened but he and Robb and up snuggling and comforting each other anyway...
Theon Greyjoy/Tristifer Botley
Theon Greyjoy/Tristifer Botley
The ship that seems to have come out of nowhere, but wouldn’t it be nice for Theon to have a happy ending with a nice ironborn boy? And you can't tell me Tris wasn't just made for some delicious pining, loyalty kink, and sweet hurt/comfort! (But...he really does need to get over Asha for his own good, so here's his chance lol.)
I'm totally into canon-compliant, post-canon fic for these two:what do they get up to in the WoW timeframe? How do they win the Iron Islands back from Euron? What happens during the war with the Others? Also, farther-future fic with Asha ruling the Iron Islands and Theon being one of her top commanders/councilors and finding his place on the Islands while also getting together with Tris sounds like such a feel-good happy ending, you know? That said, I also really enjoy various AU scenarios such as:
- Theon makes somewhat better decisions after defecting from Robb to his family (a choice which, in and of itself I completely understand and support, let’s just say straight up) and either never takes Winterfell or takes Winterfell but leaves shortly after with Bran and Rickon as hostages… And then he has to deal with his internal conflicts and also earning his people’s/family’s trust even though he kind of resents having to, but Dagmer’s right that like…his ability to bond with them was disrupted by the time he was away. (Not that Balon is right or not a complete asshole.) Of course, this doesn't help anyone avoid war, politics, conflict, dangerous situations, etc...
- AU where Tris is one of the men of Theon’s crew when he goes raiding and takes Winterfell, and either Tris helps Theon make better choices/not spiral completely or Winterfell still falls and maybe they're captured together (by Ramsay?).
- Balon dies unexpectedly just prior to Theon’s arrival on Pyke and either Theon takes his place as heir (and does the alliance with Robb) or, hell, maybe Asha beats him in a Kingsmoot or whatever (although, I’m not sure how the kingsmoot would happen with a clear line of succession but whatever), but once she’s won, she’s less intent on alienating him than her father was, and decides to go along with the proposed alliance. Or! Maybe they don’t do the alliance and go to war with the North anyway but things pan our differently with Theon’s decision-making. So, Theon and Tris go to war together…
- AU where Theon is never taken hostage – because Balon wins the rebellion or because the rebellion never happens – and he and Tris grow up together. (I’ll say that I don’t think Theon’s relationship with his father, or Asha, would have been so strained if the hostage thing didn’t happen. I’d imagine him and Asha growing up pretty close and then with Balon…it would likely be complicated, given what kind of person Balon is, but far more within reasonable bounds than what we get in ACOK.) But just because the rebellion is won/doesn't happen as in canon, doesn't mean the iron islands wouldn't get dragged into some war/political drama still..
Hurt Tris
Both Hurt
TAGS: accepting injury to protect someone, aftermath of near death experience, attempted self-sacrifice, B got tortured or raped but haven’t sold A to enemy; A nurses B back to health, Captured and tortured together & doing their best to help each other through it, Captured by enemy while trying to protect the other, Character A hurt protecting character B, Character A is forced to observe Character B suffer, Character A thinks they're about to die and voices their feelings for B; but oops A survives, Delirious character asks for the one they're pining for, Emotional hurt from (wrongly) believing their pining is unrequited, Escaping from captivity/torture together, Forehead Kisses for comfort, Kissing away tears, Surrender to enemy in exchange for the other's safety
Things I was really going for when selecting these tags (aside from general tenderness things):
1) Loyalty and devotion. This would be interesting played from both sides and as a simultaneous/mutual thing. As much as I love seeing Tris being devoted to Theon, I also definetely get off on the idea of Theon, who initially maybe doesn't have the best opinion of/care much for Tris, coming to really care for him/realize how much he cares and then direct some of that capacity for devotion and fighting for someone that he showed to Robb intiially at a partner who's more able appreciate it/show appreciation for it.
2) Really enjoy captured together scenarios and the angst of the main ship trying to protect each other when they don't really have the means and the angst of having to watch each other suffer (as they pine).
3) PINING, mutual is great, but would especially love to see it from Tris.
TAGS: are you feeling any better?", accepting injury to protect someone, Angry Broken Outbursts Resulting in Desperate Embraces, attempted self-sacrifice, Body worship focusing on the scars and aftermath of trauma, Character A Confesses Feelings Because They Think Character B is Unconscious, Character A gives away Feelings by being Overly Tender with hurt Character B, Character A is self-conscious about their scars; B touches them for comfort and affection, Character A Makes Significant Sacrifice for Character B; B Horrified and Upset When They Find Out, Character being protected isn't used to being cared about, Character was kidnapped as a child and raised by the enemy instead, Forehead Kisses for comfort, Forehead kisses poorly disguised as checking fever, Kissing away tears, Tenderness, Unexpected Kindness
The overarching theme(s) I was going for with these tags (aside from lots of tenderness as usual) is 1) loyalty/devotion, especially from Theon's partner, because that's a new experience I'd like him to have (*lolsob*) and 2) Theon getting some unconditional love from his partner even/especially with things he might be insecure about (e.g. the scars/lasting injuries post-Ramsay). Whether the hurt or comfort is a canonical thing or an AU or which canon hurt is being dealt with (e.g. I'd love Theon getting to really vent about how shitty it in fact was to be a hostage to someone who's willing to listen and understand) isn't as important as that overall vibe really, so plot is totally up to your preference. I'd also love either POV here!
Fire & Blood - George R. R. Martin
I’d like to say that first, I’m aware of the show canon but this is very genuinely a book canon request, although obviously the show has fleshed out a lot of the characters who feel flat in the books so I’m not going to mind if some of those characterizations bleed through/are borrowed or anything, as long as it doesn’t directly contradict book canon.
Second, I’m not about bashing any of the characters, but I have always been a Team Green person. Not out of any love for Aegon as a character necessarily, but more because Visery’s blatant parental favoritism seriously bothered me, and it was clear that he just wanted his favorite child to be the heir and not that he wanted to change the system or anything (and instead only destabilized it, traumatized his other children, and was a big, if not main, cause of the Dance, imo). For that matter, Rhaenyra showed multiple times that she had no such interest either. If anything, I think the Dance is fun and fascinating because everyone is kind of selfish and maybe a little power-hungry, everyone is various shades of grey, no one is completely right. There aren’t any obvious heroes or modern-day progressives/liberals – these are all characters that are very much working within their culture and system and playing the game of thrones. That said, Alicent made a lot of sense to me even as flat as she is in the book, and I always saw her primary motivation as her love for her children and her concern for their wellbeing and safety.
Third, I tend to consider Mushroom an extremely unreliable source and would rather his “versions” be ignored when there’s competing accounts, at least anything containing significant sexual violence (Aegon visiting a tween sex worker, brothel queens, etc).
Daeron is probably my fave book Dance-era character. He’s one of the very few characters that gets even close to the heroic-and-honorable side of the spectrum, though the war finally gets even to him (e.g. Bitterbridge). He’s someone who’s fundamentally an upstanding person, loyal and brave, values honor, but like everyone else is thrown into this devastating civil war and has to deal with all the suffering and moral ambiguity and tragedy that it brings. And isn't this just the perfect environment for some good old-fashioned enemies-to-lovers or friends/lovers-to-enemies-(to-maybe-lovers-again) type of ships?
I do realize I did not put this in my AO3 DNWs so I'm banking on good faith, but please I do not want Daeron switching sides to the blacks.
Daeron Targaryen/Addam Velaryon
Hurt Addam
TAGS: Lovers to enemies who never fell out of love with each other, Loyalty - torn between loyalties to two different people, "You Were Everything I Believed In; What Am I Supposed To Do Now?", Being Cared for by Their Unrequited Love Interest, Emotional hurt from (wrongly) believing their pining is unrequited, A’s pining found to be requited as B helps them recover from serious injury, Unexpected Kindness, unexpected tenderness, Canonical Character Death Replaced with Rescue and Comfort, Caring for someone who should be your enemy
I have a special fondness for a Daeron/Addam Velaryon AU idea. After Addam escapes KL to avoid arrest, he also hears about his grandfather’s imprisonment. Instead of deciding to try to prove himself to a queen who has so mistreated him and his family despite their loyalty and sacrifices, Addam goes to Tumbleton to find Prince Daeron. He means to secure his family’s safety, even if it means switching sides… Which then leads to Daeron and Addam working together and falling in love. Ideally :D
Another enemies-to-lovers AU: what if Daeron doesn’t die so quickly at the second Tumbleton and manages to get up in the air on his dragon? He wins his fight against Addam, taking him prisoner and winning the battle (or at least saving the greater part of his host). Maybe Addam is hurt in the battle and that's what prompts then to get closer and Daeron treats him well/takes care of him while he recovers.
I would also be really interested in a scenario where they used to be friends or knew each other before the war. Either as a backdrop to a during-the-war scenario or an actual exploration of what happens when they're torn apart by the politics and the family loyalties. Love the idea of Addam having a teenage crush on Daeron but thinking that surely a Prince is way out of his league.
Hurt Daeron
TAGS: “Hold on a little bit longer - help is coming”, Lovers to enemies who never fell out of love with each other, Loyalty - torn between loyalties to two different people, Character A is forced to observe Character B suffer, Caring for someone who should be your enemy, Character A gives away Feelings by being Overly Tender with hurt Character B, Canonical Character Death Replaced with Rescue and Comfort
Similar ideas for this ship as above, but this time with Daeron the one getting hurt and Addam being the one to provide comfort. Maybe instead of Tumbleton its an AU where they meet/are put into a Situation during another battle, or a story where they've already become allies, or a pre-war story works very well too!
Daeron Targaryen/Jacaerys Velaryon
Viserys made Daeron and Jace milk brothers in the hope this would make them closer. This doesn’t seem to have worked much, but what if it had? Or what if Daeron hadn’t been away from court so much/had spent more time with Jace and the two became close(r)? How do they deal with the rising tensions on the even of the Dance? Is their friendship/romance doomed to fail?
Hurt Jace
TAGS: Lovers to enemies who never fell out of love with each other, Loyalty - torn between loyalties to two different people, "You Were Everything I Believed In; What Am I Supposed To Do Now?", Being Cared for by Their Unrequited Love Interest, Emotional hurt from (wrongly) believing their pining is unrequited, A’s pining found to be requited as B helps them recover from serious injury, Unexpected Kindness, unexpected tenderness, Canonical Character Death Replaced with Rescue and Comfort, Caring for someone who should be your enemy
Hurt Daeron
TAGS: “Hold on a little bit longer - help is coming”, Lovers to enemies who never fell out of love with each other, Loyalty - torn between loyalties to two different people, Character A is forced to observe Character B suffer, Caring for someone who should be your enemy, Character A gives away Feelings by being Overly Tender with hurt Character B, Canonical Character Death Replaced with Rescue and Comfort
Some pretty similar thoughts to the Daeron/Addam above: I love the idea/exploration of two people who care about each other ending up in different sides of a war, either as enemies-to-lovers or as starcrossed lovers. With these two, I especially would love the idea of them having had the chance to get closer as children/preteens and maybe Jace having a crush that/he thinks is one-sided. Then the war happens and everything goes to shit but then SUDDENLY they're brought together again - during a battle, one getting captured by the other, whatever. And suddenly having to deal witht he old (and new) feelings and what they could have been and what they'd like to be vs what they're being forced to be. Love the angst, but also the idea of sweet hurt/cofmort and tenderness that momentarily forgets that they're supposed to be enemies.
