Dear Hurt/Comfort Exchange Creator
Mar. 11th, 2025 11:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alley_skywalkerAO3 name: Alley_Skywalker
Dear Hurt/Comfort Exchange Creator,
First, I would like to say thank you for the time and effort that you are willing to put into creating 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 or ship - I just have more (specific) ideas about some things than others. 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.
I...apologize ahead of time for the wall of tags on some of these requests. H/C is like my favorite genre, and I think it shows...
GENERAL STUFF
Hurt/Comfort & This Exchange Specific Things
FANDOMS
A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Fandom-specific DNWs
Minors-under-16/adults DNW is waived for Robb/Theon, although not sure that would come up with these requests.
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!!)
Tristifer Botley/Theon Greyjoy
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 and loyalty kink! (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:
Both Hurt
TAGS: "are you feeling any better?", “Please don't leave.", "Stay with me.", "What did they do to you?", "Who did this to you?", A’s pining found to be requited as B helps them recover from serious injury, accepting injury to protect someone, Aftermath - Character doesn't tell anyone they were tortured/raped; is found out anyway, Altered States - Character is out of it due to fever, Altered States - Character is out of it due to pain, attempted self-sacrifice, B got tortured or raped but haven’t sold A to enemy; A nurses B back to health, Begging for Mercy On Behalf of Third Party (Mercy Granted), Both Captured - Forced to Work Together to Escape, Captured and tortured together & doing their best to help each other through it, Captured by enemy while trying to protect the other, Character A comes to B's rescue then passes out due to sustained injuries/exhaustion once B is safe, Character A gives away Feelings by being Overly Tender with hurt Character B, Character A is delirious and calls for B even though B is right there, Character A's loyalty to B is used to hurt A, Character gets hurt; comforter realizes they can't stand to lose them, Checking For Fever With A Gentle Touch That Lingers, Delirious character asks for the one they're pining for, delirious character confesses feelings, Escaping from captivity/torture together, Feverish Confessions, Feverish disoriented A loses track of time; is always surprised and happy to wake up and see B, First kiss after almost dying, Hurt character is too nauseous and weak to eat; needs to be coaxed and fed, Keeping Sick/Hurt Character Warm, Love confession to/from sick/hurt character who is out of it, Loyalty - A didn't realize how deep B's loyalty ran until B was badly injured saving A's life, Loyalty - A refuses to betray B even under threat of torture/death, A must hurt B to save B from worse pain but B doesn't know true reasons for A's action, Mutual pining during slow recovery from near-fatal injury, Surrender to enemy in exchange for the other's safety, Taking care of hurt friend(s) leads to realization of romantic feelings, Torture - Hurt!A sacrifices themself to protect B; B is forced to watch, unexpected tenderness, Waking from coma or deep sleep to discover caretaker is near
TAGS: "are you feeling any better?", "I didn't know where else to go", "What did they do to you?", "Who did this to you?", Angry Broken Outbursts Resulting in Desperate Embraces, B Tends to and Massages A after they have a Chronic Pain Flare Up, Back rubs/hair stroking to help a character sleep, Bathing together as comfort, Body worship focusing on the scars and aftermath of trauma, Carrying a sick/injured/unconscious character to safety, Character A gently wipes away character B's tears, Character A holds hurt Character B after B has fallen asleep, Character A is delirious and calls for B even though B is right there, Character A is self-conscious about their scars; B touches them for comfort and affection, Character being protected isn't used to being cared about, Character being protected isn't used to being comforted, Character isn't used to being loved and shown tenderness/affection, Climbing into bed with injured character to comfort them, Comforting cuddling and snuggling, delirious character confesses feelings, Falling Asleep As A Sign Of Trust, Forehead Kisses for comfort, Forehead kisses poorly disguised as checking fever, Gentle acts of caretaking, Gently coaxing out-of-it sick/hurt character back to bed, Hand Holding - Comforter Encourages Injured Character to Squeeze Their Hand to Alleviate Pain, Hiding injuries from onlookers but comforter knows, A hiding injury because they don't want to seem weak, Holding someone while they cry, Hurt/Sick Character is soothed by Comforter's Voice, Keeping Sick/Hurt Character Warm, Love confession to/from sick/hurt character who is out of it, The one person you trust to be weak in front of, A pretends to fall asleep on B to get tenderness without having to talk, Protectiveness - Character A verbally defends B when B doesn't stand up for themselves, Staying awake to watch over hurt character, Tender hair and eyelid kisses as comfort leading to first kiss on the lips, Using a heating pad to relieve pain, Vulnerability - allowing someone to remove your armor, Waking from coma or deep sleep to discover caretaker is near
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!
Interview With the Vampire (2022)
Fandom-specific DNWs
Armand & Théâtre des Vampires coven (hurt Armand)
TAGS: accepting injury to protect someone, Bargaining - Victim Offers/Sacrifices Self to Protect Others, Bleeding from the nose/eyes/ears after psychic injury, boss hurt in front of subordinates, Character A gets in trouble or injured protecting character B, Character coughs up blood due to overuse of powers/magic, Character gets hurt saving their friends/teammates; is comforted by them afterwards, Character is Exhausted From Overwork, Character isn't used to being loved and shown tenderness/affection, Closing ranks around hurt leader, Group of friends take care of hurt character, A hiding injury because they don't want to seem weak, Hurt by overusing powers/magic, Others discuss/worry about character's illness/injury, Others discuss/worry about character's illness/injury; get overheard by hurt character, poison (magical), Poison (slow-acting and insidious), Poison which prevents usual healing methods from working, Technically awful attempts at comfort are actually comforting, waiting to see if someone both/all characters love recovers from serious illness/injury
At its most basic what I’m going for here is: Armand being protective of his coven + the coven actually appreciating him (for once). Clearly, in canon, Armand hates his leadership position and resolving all manner of petty day-to-day issues – it’s tedious, it’s stressful. I get him. The coven is also clearly not super-duper loyal to him or at least very much not willing to overlook his missteps. That’s not to mention the various intra-coven conflicts/dynamics/general toxicity of such a volatile group being in constant close proximity without much outside connections and outlet. But! 1) I’m soft and like platonic, caring in-group connections and also want Armand to occasionally experience appreciation, support and care. 2) I do generally think that despite all of his annoyance with them, Armand was attached to the coven (I mean, 200 years together isn’t nothing) and he took his leadership responsibilities seriously, especially when it came to big things like coven safety. And 3) I do think – and find it interesting – that even within this kind of toxic coven environment there was (or could be) still a fair amount of in-group loyalty and interpersonal affections. Like, realistically, I think there would have been a range of opinions on Armand and a range of levels of loyalty to him.
But yea, I’m not picky about scenarios – maybe there’s some trouble during the WWII occupation or maybe there’s some territorial tussle with other vampires. Anything where Armand kicks ass but overextends himself and the coven – as a whole or a selection of members – helps him recover. I especially love the idea of Gustave and Basilic, who were also part of Armand’s grub coven, would retain a heightened level of loyalty to him. (You can totally ignore this, ofc, but I do have a bit of pet rare ship in Gustave/Armand). I’m also partial to Eglee, Estelle and Romaine. But really, I’m down for almost anyone you’d like to spotlight – the only coven member I’d rather not have a ton of focus on is Santiago.
Armand/Louis de Pointe du Lac
I just love them so much!! The high romance of like every scene they have in Paris, but then the tragedy of them loving each other and that not being enough (for Armand to trust it; for them to not end up splitting up even if they did almost make it, etc…) So much of their tragedy is that they keep miscommunicating/talking past each other in Paris and that their hang-ups get in the way – Louis can’t/won’t commit for too long and refuses to acknowledge the danger the coven presents and by the time he does, Armand is too insecure and the moment it seems like Louis is back to disregarding his fears/feelings/boundaries (Mad’s turning) he lets that fear be a deciding force when he’s put before an ultimatum. Aghhh. But I do think they stay in love, even post-trial. Like, clearly, from the SF flashback, they go through a looooot but by Dubai? I think they reach a place where their relationship is settled and comfortable and maybe stagnating/troubled, given Louis’ continued depression and various trauma neither of them has dealt with but. I don’t think it’s all an act for Daniel? Like, ok, the holding hands like teenagers and sitting in each other’s laps is a bit of overkill performance, but everything about the way look at each other and touch each other, just screams love and intimacy to me…. (For the purposes of this exchange, it might actually be fun to play a bit with an interpretation that neither of them are particularly comfortable with PDA and even in private they tend to be a bit reserved, but all of that goes completely out the window when/if one of them is hurt/really upset and needs comfort/care.)
So, the way I've kind of sorted these tags/requests is the "hurt" character is the one who I imagine suffering the physical injury in the scenario and/or whose hurt I see as more prominant/focused on more. But that doesn't mean the other character doesn't have to suffer any hurt just because the "both hurt" tag isn't in there. Go with whatever feels natural for the story - if they're in a fight, both are likely to sustain some amount of injury; Armand is clearly sturggling emotionally in the 60s/70s when Louis' going through his addiction/acute self-harm phase, etc.
Hurt Armand
TAGS:"Who did this to you?", "You never wanted me! You wanted an idealized version of me that doesn't exist!", A agrees to be raped to save B; unsuccessfully tries to hide it from B, Altered States - Character is out of it due to pain, B got tortured or raped but haven’t sold A to enemy; A nurses B back to health, Bedside Vigils, A believes the love they’re shown is conditional; they expect to be cast aside, Carrying A Sick/Hurt/Exhausted Character To Bed, Character A Comforts Character B After Character B Has a Horrible Nightmare, Character A Gets Head Injury; B Cares For Them During Concussion/TBI Recovery, Character A gets in trouble or injured protecting character B, character A has a flashback and character B comforts them, Character A holds hurt Character B after B has fallen asleep, Character beaten within an inch of their life by OC bad guy, Character being protected isn't used to being cared about, Character gets hurt; comforter realizes they can't stand to lose them, Character is tended to while drifting in and out of consciousness, Character isn't used to being loved and shown tenderness/affection, Character pressing into caretaker's arms for comfort when feeling worse, Comforter spoils the comfortee with lots of physical affection, Difficult recovery after an injury, Forehead Kisses for comfort, Gentle acts of caretaking, Helping hurt character to dress/undress, A hiding injury because they don't want to seem weak, Holding someone while they cry, Hurt character being carried with eyes closed and shallow breathing while clearly in intense pain, Hurt character is too nauseous and weak to eat; needs to be coaxed and fed, Keeping Sick/Hurt Character Warm, Kissing away tears, Mutual pining during slow recovery from near-fatal injury, Nightmares that are memories, old abuser shows up in character a's new life, Poison which prevents usual healing methods from working, 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, unexpected tenderness, Vampire hurt by sunlight, Weakened character needs help with basic tasks (eating/bathing/using bathroom/etc.)
This is already a wall of tags but trust me, I had the hardest time getting down to 40! Armand is my favorite woobie just right now and beating him up just to have someone he loves/who loves him care for him and show him tenderness (which he probably doesn't even expect) is like catnip to me. So honestly, while I'll go through some specific scenarios I was thinking about while picking/reading these tags, I'm sure that I'll love whatever crazy vampire shenanigan situation you'd like to put them in. Run ins/accidents involving mortals? Hostile vampires? I'm up for all of it as long as I get the h/c fix and the feels!
I think the things that reallly do it for me in a "hurt Armand" configuration are (non-exhaustive list and in no particular order):
Another related idea: I think Armand might actually struggle with some delayed grief re: the coven burning. And he can’t share that with Louis, of course, which makes it worse. But also I think what would make it worse for him is – yes, borrowing from book canon – that when he was kidnapped by the CoD with the other palazzo boys, the CoD burned the mortal kids and Armand had to watch and hear them beg for his help, though there wasn’t anything he could do. And then many in his first coven burned after Lestat’s little “revolution” (in the book, this was largely his own doing, but with the show we’re free to take him at face value that these were suicides). So I could see Armand really struggling with the whole concept that this was another group of people he felt responsible for who ended up burning alive. And Louis might not know/be told all the details, but he’d see Armand is having some kind of trauma-related emotional episode.
The 70s are so fraught for them – I bet Daniel situation wasn’t the first time Armand went looking for Louis during his disappearance. What if he gets caught out at dawn during one of such search for Louis? Maybe it’s when he’s also somewhat resistant to the sun but not entirely, so it does still hurt him?
Love scenarios exploring Armand finding out Marius is alive! Could be during the relationship or post-S2. Maybe Armand getting himself into trouble or having some kind of breakdown over this is what brings him and Louis back together. Maybe an adaptation of Armand’s book-canon suicide attempt and it’s Louis who looks after him in the aftermath? For another post-S2 idea: the vampires angry about Daniel's book come after both Louis and Armand (he was part of the interview too, after all), and/or they're mostly after Louis but Armand hangs around to make sure he can step in and protect him if anything happens. And Armand getting hurt during one of these skirmishes is what brings them back together...
Hurt Louis
TAGS: "are you feeling any better?", "Please don't leave.", "Stay with me.", Aftermath & Comfort For Canon Hurt, Aftermath of unsuccessful suicide attempt, Altered States - Too Delirious To Know What's Going On, Altered States – withdrawal, Angry Broken Outbursts Resulting in Desperate Embraces, Back rubs/hair stroking to help a character sleep, Bathing together as comfort, Bathing weakened/injured character, Carrying A Sick/Hurt/Exhausted Character To Bed, Character A attempts suicide; character B finds & stops them in time & helps them recover, Character A discovers Character B self-harming and helps to talk them down and treat them afterward, Character A gently wipes away character B's tears, Character A has mental health issues (suicide;self harm) and other characters take care of them, Character A is delirious and calls for B even though B is right there, Character A must talk Character B through bad drug trip, Character Cradling Hurt Character's Head In Their Lap, Character pressing into caretaker's arms for comfort when feeling worse, Comforting a Hurt Character by Indulging Them in a Way That Reveals You Really Know Them, Comforting cuddling and snuggling, Crying from pain turns to crying from unexpected comfort, Curled up in caretaker's arms while halfway unconscious due to pain/illness/injury, Drug Addiction, Entering a room to find sick/hurt character asleep on the couch, First kiss after almost dying, Forehead Kisses for comfort, Gentle caretaking of sick/hurt character leads to gentle making out (initiated by hurt character), A hiding injury because they don't want to seem weak, Holding someone while they cry, Hurt/Sick Character is soothed by Comforter's Voice, Kissing away tears, Mutual pining during slow recovery from near-fatal injury, A pretends to fall asleep on B to get tenderness without having to talk, Substance Abuse, Telepathic Connection Used To Provide Comfort, Unhealthy coping mechanisms – drugs, Vampire hurt by sunlight
With Louis as the hurt party, I especially get of on like…him needing Armand and wanting Armand’s comfort and presence, despite maybe wishing he didn’t. Almost like a feelings realization thing, where having to be vulnerable leads to clinginess and to realization/acknowledgement that you no, you in fact don’t want to do this without your partner. (And, of course, Armand obliging with lots of comfort and tenderness.)
Louis is really self-destructive, particularly in the SF era, but not only. I think from what we see in Dubai it’s reasonable to gather that he still struggles with depression and possibly bouts of self-harm. In the 2x5 fight, it’s so obvious how exhausted Armand is – Louis is going through an intense phase of substance abuse, maybe even addiction. That’s gonna be rough for everyone involved, especially since these guys don’t have access to therapy and probably normal rehab, and not even any kind of support network outside of each other. I’d love to read about them managing best they can – Armand doing his best with few resources, both practical and emotional, and Louis spiraling but also always running home to take refuge in his lover at the end of the day/when things actually get way bad.
Both Hurt
TAGS: A Bond is Cemented or Repaired Through Nursing an Injury, Characters A and B both suffer after breakup but their friends help them get back together, characters currently on the outs or in a fight having to take care of each other or work together, I hurt you and you hurt me and now we have to find some way forward together, Romantic Reconciliation After Canon Break-Up, Addiction - Relapse
Here, what I was thinking about is some kind of post-S2 getting back together fic! Whereas in the other requests I had a firmer idea of who I wanted to be more of the hurt party, with these scenarios I’m a little more agnostic on who gets into some kind of “physical” trouble, if any – whether that’s an adaptation of Armand’s book-canon suicide attempt or Louis finding himself relapsing into active self-harm or drugs, or one or both of them getting attacked by someone/something – and I want to see them both suffering from the break-up. I think it’s an accepted given that Armand will suffer emotionally because he was the one who was left, but I loveee fics where, even though Louis does the leaving and he’s (understandably) angry, he finds himself desperately missing Armand and being unable to fill that hole in his life. I’m up for whatever scenario you feel like writing that fits any one of these tags, as longs as it ends with the boys ending up together again or well on the road to that.
Vampire Chronicles Series - Anne Rice
Fandom-specific DNWs
Armand/Sybelle (hurt Armand)
TAGS: "Please don't leave.", "Stay with me.", "Who did this to you?", accepting injury to protect someone, Aftermath & Comfort For Canon Hurt, Aftermath of unsuccessful suicide attempt, Back rubs/hair stroking to help a character sleep, Back rubs/hair stroking to help a sick/hurt character sleep, Battle - Waiting & worrying for lover to return from dangerous battles, Bedsharing while one of the characters is injured, Bedside Vigils, Char A accidentally reveals tragic backstory to B while out of it from illness or injury, Character A comes to B's rescue then passes out due to sustained injuries/exhaustion once B is safe, Character A gently wipes away character B's tears, Character Cradling Hurt Character's Head In Their Lap, Character isn't used to being loved and shown tenderness/affection, Characters heal together, Climbing into bed with injured character to comfort them, Comforting cuddling and snuggling, Distress due to an imminent separation from the other character, Female character protective toward physically or emotionally hurt man, Forehead Kisses for comfort, Helping hurt character to dress/undress, Hurt by overusing powers/magic, Hurt/Sick Character is soothed by Comforter's Voice, Injury takes longer to heal than the character anticipated, Kissing away tears, Love confession to/from sick/hurt character who is out of it, Mutual pining during slow recovery from near-fatal injury, Mutual Protectiveness, poison (magical), Poison (slow-acting and insidious), Poison which prevents usual healing methods from working, A sends B away to protect them. B does not want to leave A in danger., Tender hair and eyelid kisses as comfort leading to first kiss on the lips, Tenderness, This fandom is small; I consent to any hurt/comfort scenario you think I'd like, Vampire hurt by sunlight
Ahhh but they're so soft, I love them!! Yes, I ship them a lot. After Armand/Louis, this is probably my favorite ship. Fandom stop infantilising Sybelle challenge. Anyway. This really is such a tiny ship that I'm serious about that "consent to any h/c scenario you think I'd like" tag. I also admit to not being full of concrete ideas. I really adored the whole thing in TVA where Sybelle (and Benji) find Armand after his suicide attempt and take care of him, the tenderness in that whole thing, the way Sybelle can tell it’s hurting Armand to keep up the glamour he’s using to not scare them off and she tells him to stop doing it because she doesn’t want him to hurt himself anymore… Just aghhh the whole thing. How comforted he by just listening to her play… So yea, I was definitely thinking of that and wanting more of that as I was picking some of these tags, because his recovery period was quite short in the book. Which, made sense for the needs of the book, but feel free to stretch that timeline some to allow for h/c opportunities!
Otherwise, really any vampire shenanigans you want to put them into at any point of time. I have not read the Prince Lestat trilogy or most of the later TVC books, tbh, but if there are events there that feel like good set up here, feel free to use them – just fyi that I won’t necessarily automatically know what you’re referencing and might need a tad of context, depending lol. Also just up for Armand being able to share his trauma with Sybelle at some point and getting love and comfort from her and them being sweet with each other.
Also! Totally optional obviously, but if you're also show fan, I would totally love an intra-universe cross-over with either show!Armand in the bookverse or Sybelle in the showverse.
Dear Hurt/Comfort Exchange Creator,
First, I would like to say thank you for the time and effort that you are willing to put into creating 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 or ship - I just have more (specific) ideas about some things than others. 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.
I...apologize ahead of time for the wall of tags on some of these requests. H/C is like my favorite genre, and I think it shows...
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.)GG
Likes
- 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 can be 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 (and I'm more interested in the romantic tension getting resolved, than the sexual tension anyway).
- Conversely from the above – romantic partners who just can’t help but adore each other.
- Kissing, hugging, holding hands, cuddling/snuggling, non-sexual physical contact and intimacy in general. (Special shout out to face touching, forehead kisses and hand kisses!)
- Physical affection in non-romantic relationships.
- 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).
- Hurt/comfort!!! (Both physical and emotional. With physical hurt/comfort I love a lot of touching and tenderness and stuff like that.)
- 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, flirting.
- 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.
- 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 and things like character death don’t bother me much in most cases, 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.
- Romantic asexual characters and asexual romances
Art Likes
- Bright colors and/or well-lit scenes.
- Nature settings.
- Water imagery and settings (oceans, rivers, rain).
- Tenderness and physical affection – kissing, holding hand, cuddling, etc.
- Re above, special shout-outs to forehead kisses, face touching, hand kissing, rubbing noses.
- Caretaking and hurt/comfort – everything from bandaging wounds to spoon feeding a sick/injured. character to holding someone as they cry to fixing someone’s tie or helping them put on cufflinks/armor/other item of clothing.
- Fancy clothes (and armor); heraldry; culture-specific costumes/clothes.
- Balls, festivals, scenes of dancing generally.
- For my het ships: weddings; family portraits; scenes with their children.
- For requests involving Theon: love that boy with a bow!
- (Please don't feel limited by this list! I'm sure I'll love whatever you draw! These are just some things that came to my mind, but I'm not that great at describing art/what exactly I like in it, so don't take this as any kind of comprehensive list.)
- Threesomes/moresomes and polyamory (unless requested/prompted or canon).
- Incest (unless requested or explicitly canon; this DNW does not include cousins).
- Pairings with age gaps over 10 years (unless canon for a requested ship; does not apply to vampire years in the IWTV/TVC fandom).
- Minors under 16 in sexual/romantic relationships with adults (one-sided teenage crushes on adults are fine; mentions of canon relationships are fine).
- On-screen sex with characters under 16 (mentions/reference to teenage sexual experimentation is ok; kissing/low rating romance-y stuff also ok).
- Explicit rating and PWPs; above T rating in art.
- Healing cock.
- BDSM, D/s, omegaverse, and most kink, but especially those that involve causing pain/humiliation or feature bodily fluids. (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.
- Humiliation (both sexual and not); glorification of bullying.
- Non-con/rape (dub-con that leans toward/ends up as consensual is ok).
- Mpreg.
- Crack!fic, parody.
- AUs that subvert the universe or drastically change the setting (e.g.: setting change AUs (e,g, Coffee Shop, In Space, etc), non-magic for canons with magical settings (e.g. Harry Potter), etc. This includes stuff like A/B/O and inserting (non-canon) magic/supernatural elements into a universe where those things don't canonically exist).
- 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.)
- Horror (beyond what is canon-typical); gore, very graphic violence (including graphic depictions of infected/open wounds)
- Anything to do with urine/feces; depictions/descriptions of vomit(ing) beyond a cursory mention
- Non-canon permanent injuries/disabilities
- Torture that involves amputations/other permanent injuries and/or is a means of execution (mentions of explicitly canon events is ok.)
- Parental favoritism presented in a positive/non-negative light by the narrative.
- 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
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.
- Ramsay/Theon (and Jaime/Brienne).
- Stories where the narrative implications/main theme/point is that Theon should have chosen the Starks over his own family and/or that they were the best thing to happen to him, etc along those lines – this can be a point of contention/conflict between characters but not a narrative posture or widely accepted POV outside Northern characters.
- Theon begging Robb to take him back/get back together/be friends again 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.
Minors-under-16/adults DNW is waived for Robb/Theon, although not sure that would come up with these requests.
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!!)
Tristifer Botley/Theon Greyjoy
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 and loyalty kink! (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. (Do things still happen as in canon and they're doomed or is Tris able to counteract Ramsay's bad influence/keep Theon from spiraling so completely?) And relatedly -- if they're still doomed and get captured together, I love the scenario of The Ship having to provide comfort/care for each other while being held captive together, maybe their captors using them against each other (or trying to). Especially sweet if they're secretly pining for one another during all this or have a Feelings Realization moment! And really, the captured together scenario doesn't have to be via Ramsay - could be any other AU set-up.
- 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…and fall in love.
- 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..
Both Hurt
TAGS: "are you feeling any better?", “Please don't leave.", "Stay with me.", "What did they do to you?", "Who did this to you?", A’s pining found to be requited as B helps them recover from serious injury, accepting injury to protect someone, Aftermath - Character doesn't tell anyone they were tortured/raped; is found out anyway, Altered States - Character is out of it due to fever, Altered States - Character is out of it due to pain, attempted self-sacrifice, B got tortured or raped but haven’t sold A to enemy; A nurses B back to health, Begging for Mercy On Behalf of Third Party (Mercy Granted), Both Captured - Forced to Work Together to Escape, Captured and tortured together & doing their best to help each other through it, Captured by enemy while trying to protect the other, Character A comes to B's rescue then passes out due to sustained injuries/exhaustion once B is safe, Character A gives away Feelings by being Overly Tender with hurt Character B, Character A is delirious and calls for B even though B is right there, Character A's loyalty to B is used to hurt A, Character gets hurt; comforter realizes they can't stand to lose them, Checking For Fever With A Gentle Touch That Lingers, Delirious character asks for the one they're pining for, delirious character confesses feelings, Escaping from captivity/torture together, Feverish Confessions, Feverish disoriented A loses track of time; is always surprised and happy to wake up and see B, First kiss after almost dying, Hurt character is too nauseous and weak to eat; needs to be coaxed and fed, Keeping Sick/Hurt Character Warm, Love confession to/from sick/hurt character who is out of it, Loyalty - A didn't realize how deep B's loyalty ran until B was badly injured saving A's life, Loyalty - A refuses to betray B even under threat of torture/death, A must hurt B to save B from worse pain but B doesn't know true reasons for A's action, Mutual pining during slow recovery from near-fatal injury, Surrender to enemy in exchange for the other's safety, Taking care of hurt friend(s) leads to realization of romantic feelings, Torture - Hurt!A sacrifices themself to protect B; B is forced to watch, unexpected tenderness, Waking from coma or deep sleep to discover caretaker is near
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 definitely 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 initially at a partner who's more able to 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?", "I didn't know where else to go", "What did they do to you?", "Who did this to you?", Angry Broken Outbursts Resulting in Desperate Embraces, B Tends to and Massages A after they have a Chronic Pain Flare Up, Back rubs/hair stroking to help a character sleep, Bathing together as comfort, Body worship focusing on the scars and aftermath of trauma, Carrying a sick/injured/unconscious character to safety, Character A gently wipes away character B's tears, Character A holds hurt Character B after B has fallen asleep, Character A is delirious and calls for B even though B is right there, Character A is self-conscious about their scars; B touches them for comfort and affection, Character being protected isn't used to being cared about, Character being protected isn't used to being comforted, Character isn't used to being loved and shown tenderness/affection, Climbing into bed with injured character to comfort them, Comforting cuddling and snuggling, delirious character confesses feelings, Falling Asleep As A Sign Of Trust, Forehead Kisses for comfort, Forehead kisses poorly disguised as checking fever, Gentle acts of caretaking, Gently coaxing out-of-it sick/hurt character back to bed, Hand Holding - Comforter Encourages Injured Character to Squeeze Their Hand to Alleviate Pain, Hiding injuries from onlookers but comforter knows, A hiding injury because they don't want to seem weak, Holding someone while they cry, Hurt/Sick Character is soothed by Comforter's Voice, Keeping Sick/Hurt Character Warm, Love confession to/from sick/hurt character who is out of it, The one person you trust to be weak in front of, A pretends to fall asleep on B to get tenderness without having to talk, Protectiveness - Character A verbally defends B when B doesn't stand up for themselves, Staying awake to watch over hurt character, Tender hair and eyelid kisses as comfort leading to first kiss on the lips, Using a heating pad to relieve pain, Vulnerability - allowing someone to remove your armor, Waking from coma or deep sleep to discover caretaker is near
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!
Interview With the Vampire (2022)
Fandom-specific DNWs
- Armand/Daniel Molloy
- Explicitly autistic!Armand (i.e. the fic explicitly stating/discussing him being autistic)
- Abuse between requested pairing. (Canon-typical toxicity and baggage is fine obviously, but where there is some room for interpretation for certain canon moments, I lean away from an abuse interpretation. Certainly not anything intentional. So, like, I don't think Armand was mind controlling Louis or re-writing his memories or being intentionally controlling or actively manipulating him. But like...saying insensitive things sometimes? Enabling? Being overly clingy? Yea. I make an exception for interpreting the SF mindwipe as non-consensual - although I'm not personally convinced that it was but I'm open to interpreting it as something Armand did with good intentions but...yk, without asking. )
- interpretations of Armand/Louis as never being in love/no longer in love in Dubai or only with each other post-Paris “out of spite” or their relationship as being primarily about Lestat.
- Minors-under-16/adults DNW is waived for Marius/Armand. Mentions/discussions of Armand's CSA backstory also fine, just no graphic scenes, please.
- Don't mind/ignore the "horror" DNW to the extent that this canon and its tropes can be said to be part of that genre. Really, mentions or non-graphic depictions of anything canon-typical is fine. I just don't want like....lengthy, very graphic depictions/descriptions of gruesome wounds or something.
- To the extent Armand and Louis engage in D/s kinks in canon, its fine to mention it, but I don’t want a 24/7 dynamic interpretation or for this to be depicted as more than a “sometimes they do this” type of brief mention. I would rather explore/read about their relationship outside of that part of their sex life.
- Noncon DNW waived if baked into a requested tag, but please keep the rape itself off-screen - I'm interested in the aftermath angst/comfort.
Armand & Théâtre des Vampires coven (hurt Armand)
TAGS: accepting injury to protect someone, Bargaining - Victim Offers/Sacrifices Self to Protect Others, Bleeding from the nose/eyes/ears after psychic injury, boss hurt in front of subordinates, Character A gets in trouble or injured protecting character B, Character coughs up blood due to overuse of powers/magic, Character gets hurt saving their friends/teammates; is comforted by them afterwards, Character is Exhausted From Overwork, Character isn't used to being loved and shown tenderness/affection, Closing ranks around hurt leader, Group of friends take care of hurt character, A hiding injury because they don't want to seem weak, Hurt by overusing powers/magic, Others discuss/worry about character's illness/injury, Others discuss/worry about character's illness/injury; get overheard by hurt character, poison (magical), Poison (slow-acting and insidious), Poison which prevents usual healing methods from working, Technically awful attempts at comfort are actually comforting, waiting to see if someone both/all characters love recovers from serious illness/injury
At its most basic what I’m going for here is: Armand being protective of his coven + the coven actually appreciating him (for once). Clearly, in canon, Armand hates his leadership position and resolving all manner of petty day-to-day issues – it’s tedious, it’s stressful. I get him. The coven is also clearly not super-duper loyal to him or at least very much not willing to overlook his missteps. That’s not to mention the various intra-coven conflicts/dynamics/general toxicity of such a volatile group being in constant close proximity without much outside connections and outlet. But! 1) I’m soft and like platonic, caring in-group connections and also want Armand to occasionally experience appreciation, support and care. 2) I do generally think that despite all of his annoyance with them, Armand was attached to the coven (I mean, 200 years together isn’t nothing) and he took his leadership responsibilities seriously, especially when it came to big things like coven safety. And 3) I do think – and find it interesting – that even within this kind of toxic coven environment there was (or could be) still a fair amount of in-group loyalty and interpersonal affections. Like, realistically, I think there would have been a range of opinions on Armand and a range of levels of loyalty to him.
But yea, I’m not picky about scenarios – maybe there’s some trouble during the WWII occupation or maybe there’s some territorial tussle with other vampires. Anything where Armand kicks ass but overextends himself and the coven – as a whole or a selection of members – helps him recover. I especially love the idea of Gustave and Basilic, who were also part of Armand’s grub coven, would retain a heightened level of loyalty to him. (You can totally ignore this, ofc, but I do have a bit of pet rare ship in Gustave/Armand). I’m also partial to Eglee, Estelle and Romaine. But really, I’m down for almost anyone you’d like to spotlight – the only coven member I’d rather not have a ton of focus on is Santiago.
Armand/Louis de Pointe du Lac
I just love them so much!! The high romance of like every scene they have in Paris, but then the tragedy of them loving each other and that not being enough (for Armand to trust it; for them to not end up splitting up even if they did almost make it, etc…) So much of their tragedy is that they keep miscommunicating/talking past each other in Paris and that their hang-ups get in the way – Louis can’t/won’t commit for too long and refuses to acknowledge the danger the coven presents and by the time he does, Armand is too insecure and the moment it seems like Louis is back to disregarding his fears/feelings/boundaries (Mad’s turning) he lets that fear be a deciding force when he’s put before an ultimatum. Aghhh. But I do think they stay in love, even post-trial. Like, clearly, from the SF flashback, they go through a looooot but by Dubai? I think they reach a place where their relationship is settled and comfortable and maybe stagnating/troubled, given Louis’ continued depression and various trauma neither of them has dealt with but. I don’t think it’s all an act for Daniel? Like, ok, the holding hands like teenagers and sitting in each other’s laps is a bit of overkill performance, but everything about the way look at each other and touch each other, just screams love and intimacy to me…. (For the purposes of this exchange, it might actually be fun to play a bit with an interpretation that neither of them are particularly comfortable with PDA and even in private they tend to be a bit reserved, but all of that goes completely out the window when/if one of them is hurt/really upset and needs comfort/care.)
So, the way I've kind of sorted these tags/requests is the "hurt" character is the one who I imagine suffering the physical injury in the scenario and/or whose hurt I see as more prominant/focused on more. But that doesn't mean the other character doesn't have to suffer any hurt just because the "both hurt" tag isn't in there. Go with whatever feels natural for the story - if they're in a fight, both are likely to sustain some amount of injury; Armand is clearly sturggling emotionally in the 60s/70s when Louis' going through his addiction/acute self-harm phase, etc.
Hurt Armand
TAGS:"Who did this to you?", "You never wanted me! You wanted an idealized version of me that doesn't exist!", A agrees to be raped to save B; unsuccessfully tries to hide it from B, Altered States - Character is out of it due to pain, B got tortured or raped but haven’t sold A to enemy; A nurses B back to health, Bedside Vigils, A believes the love they’re shown is conditional; they expect to be cast aside, Carrying A Sick/Hurt/Exhausted Character To Bed, Character A Comforts Character B After Character B Has a Horrible Nightmare, Character A Gets Head Injury; B Cares For Them During Concussion/TBI Recovery, Character A gets in trouble or injured protecting character B, character A has a flashback and character B comforts them, Character A holds hurt Character B after B has fallen asleep, Character beaten within an inch of their life by OC bad guy, Character being protected isn't used to being cared about, Character gets hurt; comforter realizes they can't stand to lose them, Character is tended to while drifting in and out of consciousness, Character isn't used to being loved and shown tenderness/affection, Character pressing into caretaker's arms for comfort when feeling worse, Comforter spoils the comfortee with lots of physical affection, Difficult recovery after an injury, Forehead Kisses for comfort, Gentle acts of caretaking, Helping hurt character to dress/undress, A hiding injury because they don't want to seem weak, Holding someone while they cry, Hurt character being carried with eyes closed and shallow breathing while clearly in intense pain, Hurt character is too nauseous and weak to eat; needs to be coaxed and fed, Keeping Sick/Hurt Character Warm, Kissing away tears, Mutual pining during slow recovery from near-fatal injury, Nightmares that are memories, old abuser shows up in character a's new life, Poison which prevents usual healing methods from working, 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, unexpected tenderness, Vampire hurt by sunlight, Weakened character needs help with basic tasks (eating/bathing/using bathroom/etc.)
This is already a wall of tags but trust me, I had the hardest time getting down to 40! Armand is my favorite woobie just right now and beating him up just to have someone he loves/who loves him care for him and show him tenderness (which he probably doesn't even expect) is like catnip to me. So honestly, while I'll go through some specific scenarios I was thinking about while picking/reading these tags, I'm sure that I'll love whatever crazy vampire shenanigan situation you'd like to put them in. Run ins/accidents involving mortals? Hostile vampires? I'm up for all of it as long as I get the h/c fix and the feels!
I think the things that reallly do it for me in a "hurt Armand" configuration are (non-exhaustive list and in no particular order):
- Armand getting care/love/comfort, particularly when he's not expecting it. Maybe he's not expecting it b/c of a specific situation - he and Louis had just had a fight, he did something "bad" (actual or he's projecting/overly anxious), he doesn't believe (reasonably or not) that Louis in love "enough"/comitted to him, etc. Or Maybe he's just generally so not used to recieving genuine care and tenderness that he's learnt to not expect it, so he's really overwhelmed when Louis is super sweet and caring with him and DOESN'T want him to hide how much distress he's in.
- Feelings realization on Louis' part when Armand gets hurt. Could be the typical "I knew I liked him but then something happens and I realized it was LOVE" early in the relatioship type thing. Or could be at some point post-trial or even post-breakup where almost losing Armand/Armand being hurt makes Louis realize he (still) loves him.
- The wish-fulfillment of Armand protecting/choosing Louis (and Louis being deeply moved by that). And on the reverse, Louis feeling really protective of Armand, especially in the face of past abuse Armand's been through.
- Just the tenderness activation button to be pressed for both of them. I do kind of agree with the headcanons that the more vulnerable and "out of it' Armand is, the easier Louis would find it to be emotionally free and expressive with him, to love him without reservation. Armand genuinely being vulnerable to him would allow Louis to let down his guard, imo, and let his protective/care-taking side come out.
- Armand has a last minute change of heart after he hears from Maddeline the confirmation that Louis does love him deeply. Maybe they have to fight their way out?! Maybe Armand tells the other three to run and stays behind to delay/fight the coven. (Like, my thought on this is...13 x.1 are kinda shitty odds, even if Armand is a lot more powerful than any single vampire there. They would really get him fucked up before he managed to take them all down.)
- Armand just tells the coven no when they confront him. How does that go?? (Badly, for our purposes here lol.) Maybe he wins the fight but is badly hurt. Maybe it's some extra whumpy situation where Armand is held prisoner by the coven and Louis has to save him. Or he escapes but Bad Things have happened. (Fanfic is for tropey wish fulfillment, ok?)
- Like the above, but instead of fighting/killing/locking him up, Santiago makes him a (different) deal: accept some kind of really awful punishment (rape? extended degrading torture? feel free to bash Santiago, honestly, dnws notwithstanding lol) or forfeit Louis's life.
Another related idea: I think Armand might actually struggle with some delayed grief re: the coven burning. And he can’t share that with Louis, of course, which makes it worse. But also I think what would make it worse for him is – yes, borrowing from book canon – that when he was kidnapped by the CoD with the other palazzo boys, the CoD burned the mortal kids and Armand had to watch and hear them beg for his help, though there wasn’t anything he could do. And then many in his first coven burned after Lestat’s little “revolution” (in the book, this was largely his own doing, but with the show we’re free to take him at face value that these were suicides). So I could see Armand really struggling with the whole concept that this was another group of people he felt responsible for who ended up burning alive. And Louis might not know/be told all the details, but he’d see Armand is having some kind of trauma-related emotional episode.
The 70s are so fraught for them – I bet Daniel situation wasn’t the first time Armand went looking for Louis during his disappearance. What if he gets caught out at dawn during one of such search for Louis? Maybe it’s when he’s also somewhat resistant to the sun but not entirely, so it does still hurt him?
Love scenarios exploring Armand finding out Marius is alive! Could be during the relationship or post-S2. Maybe Armand getting himself into trouble or having some kind of breakdown over this is what brings him and Louis back together. Maybe an adaptation of Armand’s book-canon suicide attempt and it’s Louis who looks after him in the aftermath? For another post-S2 idea: the vampires angry about Daniel's book come after both Louis and Armand (he was part of the interview too, after all), and/or they're mostly after Louis but Armand hangs around to make sure he can step in and protect him if anything happens. And Armand getting hurt during one of these skirmishes is what brings them back together...
Hurt Louis
TAGS: "are you feeling any better?", "Please don't leave.", "Stay with me.", Aftermath & Comfort For Canon Hurt, Aftermath of unsuccessful suicide attempt, Altered States - Too Delirious To Know What's Going On, Altered States – withdrawal, Angry Broken Outbursts Resulting in Desperate Embraces, Back rubs/hair stroking to help a character sleep, Bathing together as comfort, Bathing weakened/injured character, Carrying A Sick/Hurt/Exhausted Character To Bed, Character A attempts suicide; character B finds & stops them in time & helps them recover, Character A discovers Character B self-harming and helps to talk them down and treat them afterward, Character A gently wipes away character B's tears, Character A has mental health issues (suicide;self harm) and other characters take care of them, Character A is delirious and calls for B even though B is right there, Character A must talk Character B through bad drug trip, Character Cradling Hurt Character's Head In Their Lap, Character pressing into caretaker's arms for comfort when feeling worse, Comforting a Hurt Character by Indulging Them in a Way That Reveals You Really Know Them, Comforting cuddling and snuggling, Crying from pain turns to crying from unexpected comfort, Curled up in caretaker's arms while halfway unconscious due to pain/illness/injury, Drug Addiction, Entering a room to find sick/hurt character asleep on the couch, First kiss after almost dying, Forehead Kisses for comfort, Gentle caretaking of sick/hurt character leads to gentle making out (initiated by hurt character), A hiding injury because they don't want to seem weak, Holding someone while they cry, Hurt/Sick Character is soothed by Comforter's Voice, Kissing away tears, Mutual pining during slow recovery from near-fatal injury, A pretends to fall asleep on B to get tenderness without having to talk, Substance Abuse, Telepathic Connection Used To Provide Comfort, Unhealthy coping mechanisms – drugs, Vampire hurt by sunlight
With Louis as the hurt party, I especially get of on like…him needing Armand and wanting Armand’s comfort and presence, despite maybe wishing he didn’t. Almost like a feelings realization thing, where having to be vulnerable leads to clinginess and to realization/acknowledgement that you no, you in fact don’t want to do this without your partner. (And, of course, Armand obliging with lots of comfort and tenderness.)
Louis is really self-destructive, particularly in the SF era, but not only. I think from what we see in Dubai it’s reasonable to gather that he still struggles with depression and possibly bouts of self-harm. In the 2x5 fight, it’s so obvious how exhausted Armand is – Louis is going through an intense phase of substance abuse, maybe even addiction. That’s gonna be rough for everyone involved, especially since these guys don’t have access to therapy and probably normal rehab, and not even any kind of support network outside of each other. I’d love to read about them managing best they can – Armand doing his best with few resources, both practical and emotional, and Louis spiraling but also always running home to take refuge in his lover at the end of the day/when things actually get way bad.
Both Hurt
TAGS: A Bond is Cemented or Repaired Through Nursing an Injury, Characters A and B both suffer after breakup but their friends help them get back together, characters currently on the outs or in a fight having to take care of each other or work together, I hurt you and you hurt me and now we have to find some way forward together, Romantic Reconciliation After Canon Break-Up, Addiction - Relapse
Here, what I was thinking about is some kind of post-S2 getting back together fic! Whereas in the other requests I had a firmer idea of who I wanted to be more of the hurt party, with these scenarios I’m a little more agnostic on who gets into some kind of “physical” trouble, if any – whether that’s an adaptation of Armand’s book-canon suicide attempt or Louis finding himself relapsing into active self-harm or drugs, or one or both of them getting attacked by someone/something – and I want to see them both suffering from the break-up. I think it’s an accepted given that Armand will suffer emotionally because he was the one who was left, but I loveee fics where, even though Louis does the leaving and he’s (understandably) angry, he finds himself desperately missing Armand and being unable to fill that hole in his life. I’m up for whatever scenario you feel like writing that fits any one of these tags, as longs as it ends with the boys ending up together again or well on the road to that.
Vampire Chronicles Series - Anne Rice
Fandom-specific DNWs
- Armand/Daniel Molloy
- interpretations of Armand/Louis as never being in love or their relationship as being primarily about Lestat.
- Minors-under-16/adults DNW is waived for Marius/Armand. Mentions/discussions of Armand's CSA backstory also fine, just no graphic scenes, please.
- Don't mind/ignore the "horror" DNW to the extent that this canon and its tropes can be said to be part of that genre. Really, mentions or non-graphic depictions of anything canon-typical is fine. I just don't want like....lengthy, very graphic depictions/descriptions of gruesome wounds or something.
Armand/Sybelle (hurt Armand)
TAGS: "Please don't leave.", "Stay with me.", "Who did this to you?", accepting injury to protect someone, Aftermath & Comfort For Canon Hurt, Aftermath of unsuccessful suicide attempt, Back rubs/hair stroking to help a character sleep, Back rubs/hair stroking to help a sick/hurt character sleep, Battle - Waiting & worrying for lover to return from dangerous battles, Bedsharing while one of the characters is injured, Bedside Vigils, Char A accidentally reveals tragic backstory to B while out of it from illness or injury, Character A comes to B's rescue then passes out due to sustained injuries/exhaustion once B is safe, Character A gently wipes away character B's tears, Character Cradling Hurt Character's Head In Their Lap, Character isn't used to being loved and shown tenderness/affection, Characters heal together, Climbing into bed with injured character to comfort them, Comforting cuddling and snuggling, Distress due to an imminent separation from the other character, Female character protective toward physically or emotionally hurt man, Forehead Kisses for comfort, Helping hurt character to dress/undress, Hurt by overusing powers/magic, Hurt/Sick Character is soothed by Comforter's Voice, Injury takes longer to heal than the character anticipated, Kissing away tears, Love confession to/from sick/hurt character who is out of it, Mutual pining during slow recovery from near-fatal injury, Mutual Protectiveness, poison (magical), Poison (slow-acting and insidious), Poison which prevents usual healing methods from working, A sends B away to protect them. B does not want to leave A in danger., Tender hair and eyelid kisses as comfort leading to first kiss on the lips, Tenderness, This fandom is small; I consent to any hurt/comfort scenario you think I'd like, Vampire hurt by sunlight
Ahhh but they're so soft, I love them!! Yes, I ship them a lot. After Armand/Louis, this is probably my favorite ship. Fandom stop infantilising Sybelle challenge. Anyway. This really is such a tiny ship that I'm serious about that "consent to any h/c scenario you think I'd like" tag. I also admit to not being full of concrete ideas. I really adored the whole thing in TVA where Sybelle (and Benji) find Armand after his suicide attempt and take care of him, the tenderness in that whole thing, the way Sybelle can tell it’s hurting Armand to keep up the glamour he’s using to not scare them off and she tells him to stop doing it because she doesn’t want him to hurt himself anymore… Just aghhh the whole thing. How comforted he by just listening to her play… So yea, I was definitely thinking of that and wanting more of that as I was picking some of these tags, because his recovery period was quite short in the book. Which, made sense for the needs of the book, but feel free to stretch that timeline some to allow for h/c opportunities!
Otherwise, really any vampire shenanigans you want to put them into at any point of time. I have not read the Prince Lestat trilogy or most of the later TVC books, tbh, but if there are events there that feel like good set up here, feel free to use them – just fyi that I won’t necessarily automatically know what you’re referencing and might need a tad of context, depending lol. Also just up for Armand being able to share his trauma with Sybelle at some point and getting love and comfort from her and them being sweet with each other.
Also! Totally optional obviously, but if you're also show fan, I would totally love an intra-universe cross-over with either show!Armand in the bookverse or Sybelle in the showverse.
