Hurt/Comfort Exchange Letter 2021
Mar. 15th, 2021 09:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
linndechirDear Hurt/Comfort Exchange writer,
Thank you for writing for me and having a look at this letter. I've got some general likes and dislikes listed - those are the important parts, really. They're followed by a list of kinks I like, should you feel inclined to write porn and some hurt/comfort-specific preferences. The fandom sections have a general note on my ships and then the tropes I've requested - I've added an explanation when I thought I should specify what I had in mind, but many freeforms are pretty unambiguous imo. This letter is mostly focused on the freeforms I requested, but I've requested all of these fandoms in previous exchanges, just in case you want some more general prompts/ideas, too.
As a general rule, I like both darker, angstier fic and more light-hearted stories, although neither completely conflictless fluff nor completely bleak darkfic without a ray of hope are quite my thing. I'm always happy about porn, but it's not a must. I like shorter fics and plotty longfic. The fandoms are listed alphabetically, and the length/number of requested tags doesn't mean I want some fandoms more than others, just that I had more ideas for some.
Of course I don't expect you to, but if several of the freeforms I've requested for any given ship appeal to you, I'd absolutely love to see them combined in one fic. No need to stick with just one if you don't want to. Same goes for my general likes - there are lots of freeforms in the tag set I didn't specifically request because they're in my general likes anyway and I'd read them for any ship, so feel free to mix and match as much as you like.
I use the same name on AO3 and tumblr as here.
Do Not Wants:
* I'm fine with mentions of characters' past relationships with OCs (and obviously with things like random OC couples in casefic or mentioning people's parents). However, I don't want these ships to play a central role: a character thinking back of how they tried out this kink before with some guy they hooked up with five years ago, or briefly thinking that they used to date this guy who hated it when they did X? Totally fine. A character spending half the fic thinking about or interacting with their ex? Not something I'm interested in.
Canon-specific: I'm fine with mentions of past canon relationships that were (almost) over before canon started (like Jim/Neil and Adam/Megan for Deus Ex or Joseph/his wife for Far Cry 5). For Cyberpunk, brief mentions of Johnny's relationships with Alt or Rogue are fine, but I don't want them to play a huge role or have Johnny pine for them the whole fic. If I've requested several ships in a fandom, I'm fine with them appearing in the same fic.
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Things I like to read about:
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Kinks I like to read about:
Specific hurt/comfort preferences:
I like hurt/comfort for injuries (battle- or torture-related, just please no serious eye/hand injuries (unless they're canon); painful and dangerous injuries are fine but I'd like them to heal again and not leave any permanent damage beyond scars or things like "my knee aches sometimes when it's cold"), exhaustion (especially stubborn, determined characters with a job to do pushing themselves to the brink of physical collapse), addiction/withdrawal, mental/psychological trauma (war-related, torture or rape, guilt over not managing to save somebody or similar, losing someone they care about ...) and other kinds of angst (internalised homophobia, shame about their desires or any other weaknesses they think they have, failures etc.). I don't like sickfic, whether it's serious illnesses or just a cold.
In general, I'm a huge fan of stoic badasses continuing to be badass even after they were hurt, pushing themselves harder and being bad at accepting comfort. Depending on their personality, I like them dealing with their pain with a stiff upper lip, simple denial because they're totally fiiiine, lashing out in anger, humour, whatever fits. I like self-sacrifice and accepting pain or guilt so somebody else doesn't have to. I like it when both characters are badass in their own way and trying to support and help each other in whatever ways the other one might be able to accept.
Some freeforms from the tag set I loved - while I didn't specifically request all of these, feel free to sprinkle them all over anything you write for any fandom:
Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
Alexios/Brasidas (either or both hurt)
I mostly have protagonist!Alexios in mind for this. I love his sense of humour, I love how cheerful and arrogant he is at times, I love that he likes to help people but will still tell them they're ridiculous dicks afterwards. I played him as fairly pro-Sparta and genuinely wanting to return home, which I think goes rather well with this ship anyway. I love his banter and his immediate connection with Brasidas (that warehouse fight! *heart eyes*), I love how much they just get each other and trust each other - even though Alexios really has reason enough to mistrust just about anyone he runs into. And since it's absolutely tragic the game didn't let us romance Brasidas, that's clearly what fic is for. :D As for Brasidas, I love how smart and cunning he is, how he thinks outside the box while still being a ruthless fighter when the situation calls for it, and how much he genuinely and openly cares about people who are important to him.
I'm up for setting this at any point during the game - around their first meetings in Korinth, when Alexios is in Sparta, or when they're working together later on - or post-game in a verse in which Brasidas didn't die. Because I'm in denial about that and damn historical accuracy. ;)
While I usually DNW unrequested ships, I'm fine with mentions of 1) Alexios's male canon hookups, 2) Brasidas being married (or widowed) because it's just unlikely that he wouldn't be, although I'd see that more as a practical arrangement than a marriage of love, 3) any erastes/eromenos-style relationships Brasidas might have been in, whether it's him currently having someone under his wing or still being good friends with the guy who, er, "mentored" him years ago. However, I wouldn't want any of those relationships to be more meaningful to them than each other, if that makes sense.
Requested tropes:
Unfortunately I forgot to nominate this amazing freeform from last year, but if you want to, feel free to write this instead of the things I technically requested:
Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
Male Eivor/Sigurd Styrbjornson (hurt Sigurd)
Note: I'm fine with Sigurd's arm loss coming up, no need to retcon it (though I also wouldn't mind an AU in which he doesn't get his arm chopped off). But I'd prefer if he learnt how to fight again with his left hand and generally regained his strength, rather than him just feeling helpless and weak forever. I'm more interested in the whole recovery part for that rather than just the hurt and the suffering itself.
So anyway, this is the part where nobody is surprised that I came out of Valhalla shipping the two brothers who are SUPER INTENSE about each other. They love each other so much - Eivor is so utterly devoted to Sigurd and willing to move mountains for him, and Sigurd trusts Eivor so completely and relies on him and happily leaves him in charge and wants to rule together with him (well, at least until he gets his mind fucked with by Fulke and Basim). They obviously don't care about anyone else in their lives half as much as they do about each other, and it's glorious.
I also just generally really love Eivor - his poetic side, that he's a total badass, that he gets drunk and high all the time, that he's charismatic and could be a leader in his own right but he just really doesn't want to, he wants Sigurd back. I'm quite attached to him being blond, bearded and long-haired - you don't have to mention it in any way, of course, but I'd prefer if you didn't directly contradict it because that might throw me out of the fic for a moment. :) And I love Sigurd's ambition, I love that he's charismatic but also really full of himself, I love that he's kind of a dick, but apparently just immediately adored his new brother.
I don't like Eivor becoming jarl in Sigurd's place in the end. That's the only thing Sigurd ever wanted! So I'd much rather have Eivor refuse if Sigurd offers, or Sigurd doesn't offer, or Eivor initially accepts as a temporary solution, but then makes sure to give the job back to Sigurd once he's feeling better.
I also really don't care for the Isu and the modern storyline. If it gets mentioned, I'll live, but I'd rather not get a fic that focuses much on it. I am totally okay with "Norse mythology is real" AUs in which they just have divine visions or something like that.
I'm happy to read underage for this ship (down to about 15 for Eivor), though I think my prompts in this exchange mostly make sense for post-canon fic. And they're very much brothers, adopted or not, so I'm all for leaning into the incest angle. I'm totally fine with mentions of any of Eivor's male canon hookups (and of Sigurd having slept with various other people in his life) as long as none of them are particularly romantic. I'm fine with Sigurd and Randvi still being married or not (not like they seem to care all that much about each other) and with Randvi's unrequited thing for Eivor, but I'm not interested in Eivor returning her feelings.
If you want more general prompts, see this letter.
Requested tropes:
Cyberpunk 2077
Oh God, this game. This game has eaten my brain. I love it so much. I adore the setting - the lore, the feeling of Night City, the politics, the absolute dystopian hellscape it is, the cars and the music and the ads and the media. I love that it manages to be simultaneously depressing and dark, utterly garish and hilarious, and genuinely emotionally touching in so many places. I love how real the characters feel, and I love how beautifully depressing and bittersweet the story is.
I went for Streetkid!V in my first playthrough because it works really well for the story in my opinion, and also for his relationship with Johnny. Ambitious, wanting to make something of himself, kinda trashy and obnoxious (I blame the horrible clothes I put him in for that), but not really a bad guy at heart. But don't feel like you have to write him that way if that doesn't work for you. I think Corpo!V could also be very interesting for Takemura/V (though less so when Johnny is involved). I'm just not particularly into the Nomad background. And in general, for player characters, I'd prefer the characterisation mostly focused on what's actually canon in the game rather than extensive headcanons about their background/past/history.
Other than that, I love Johnny so much - this narcissistic, charismatic, self-centred piece of shit who realised way too late that he actually cares about some people in his life. He's so angry and messed up about the world and just raging helplessly at it. I love that he's not even remotely a good or a nice person. Same with Kerry - he's not a bad guy, but he's kind of a self-centred douchebag, too, and I love him for it. These two just have so many issues and that's what makes them fun. With Takemura, I love that he's quite affable and likeable ... he's just Lawful as fuck and devoted to a horrible system - and I have such a soft spot for the lawful, dutiful types.
Note: Despite my usual "serious illness and character death" DNW, I'm mostly fine with it to a canonical extent here. So mentions (or even detailed explorations) of the fact that V is dying, and all the ways in which the Relic is hurting him, are fine. Anything relating to that that I've specifically prompted is fine. The fact that Johnny is technically dead (and that Kerry mourned him for decades) is also fine. I'd just prefer a fic that isn't exclusively focused on death and dying and nothing else (and please no non-canonical deaths or extra illnesses).
Johnny Silverhand/Kerry Eurodyne (either or both hurt)
Aaaaaah, they're so messed up about each other! I love that it's been fifty years and Kerry is still not over Johnny. Fifty years and he still wonders what Johnny would think of him, fifty years and his eyes still light up like that when he realises that Johnny is back. Fifty years and he immediately recognises Johnny playing the guitar, and he's so angry at him, but he also missed him so much. And I love that their relationship isn't really as one-sided as it appears at first - Johnny doesn't like admitting he cares about anyone, but he clearly does care about Kerry. In the present, but also in the past - considering he tried to stop him from leaving the band several times. He wanted Kerry around, for all his bitching about Kerry just being the "second fiddle" in his life and not as amazing as him and whatnot.
I love how completely messed up their relationship is - it's very "can't live with you, can't live without you". They're crazy about each other, but also awful to each other half the time. I'm mostly looking for a messy amour fou sort of thing, rather than for something fluffy (though I don't mind them being happy together, at least at times). I love them being kind of obsessive about each other and horrible to anyone else the other one sleeps with (I don't need them to be exclusive, especially not if you write something set in the past) and manipulative and half the time they argue and half the time they adore each other. Give me all the fucked up rockerboy love.
I would happily read fic set in the past as well as fic set during the game when Johnny is stuck in male V's body and V occasionally lets Johnny out to play. I'm also good with some kind of handwavey post-canon AU in which Johnny and V continue to share a body, just without dying (I love the endings being what they are, but continued bodysharing is my favourite scenario for fic, tbh). Or even a handwavey AU in which Johnny somehow gets a new body and he and V both get to live (I'd prefer Johnny's new body actually looking/sounding like himself).
(Don't feel like you have to, but since canon never gives us their exact ages and Johnny looks a good deal older than Kerry in the flashbacks, I really love the idea of them meeting when Kerry is 16-18 and Johnny is in his late 20s (underage is totally fine), and Kerry crushes hard on this cool, slightly older guy and Johnny enjoys the hell out of the attention (while also falling for him) ... I think it really works well for their relationship. But if you prefer writing them as being the same age, that's fine, too.)
If you want more general prompts, see this letter.
Requested tropes:
Johnny Silverhand/Male V (either or both hurt)
I adore Johnny and V's relationship - how antagonistic it starts, how they slowly grow closer (and become more similar to each other), that amazing forced intimacy of sharing a body and sharing all their memories and thoughts and emotions. The fact that they become so close, to the point of being willing to sacrifice themselves for each other. I really enjoy them being in the same body - whether it's set during canon or in a handwavey AU long-term solution where Johnny and V have to share a body forever and they're sleeping with each other (possibly while also dating Kerry, both of them) and it's messy and complicated, but still works somehow. But I'm also interested in a post-canon verse in which they somehow got separate bodies, but still stick around each other because they have a hard time being apart (I'd prefer if Johnny's new body looked/sounded like himself).
I didn't specifically request it this time, but I'm always up for Johnny/Kerry/V, if that's a direction you want to go in (I have some more general prompts for that in this letter).
Requested tropes:
Goro Takemura/Male V (hurt Takemura)
Oh, Takemura. How is he so hot? And so weirdly adorable? You know, for a lawful neutral/evil corpo loyalist who's devoted to an evil bastard? I really love how he has both moments of being perfectly formal and polite, and moments of being a rude, angry dick (especially at V). I love his constant complaints about Night City and food. I love him talking about cats, I love that he cooks, and I really love how quickly his relationship with V goes from genuine disdain to much more light-hearted, friendly banter. They form such a great connection with each other so very quickly.
Like I said above, I like Streetkid!V and I like that it makes them both come from very similar backgrounds that they both were driven and determined to escape, but they went about it in very, very different ways and ended up with very different worldviews. It makes for really fascinating contrasts and conflicts between them - lawful, serious corpo bodyguard and trashy streetkid with no taste is just a fun dynamic. But I'd also be up for a Corpo!V who shares Takemura's worldview at least in part, and they're both in the same position of having been cast out by the corporation they dedicated their lives to (and maybe they'd both like to find a way to go back).
But for this, too, I'm very happy with AUs for the ending in which not everything goes for shit - as much as I like that for canon, I like happier scenarios for fic. I'd also love for V and Takemura to reconcile after their, er, breakup, to put it mildly - maybe Takemura gets kicked out by Arasaka post-canon and doesn't really have anywhere else to go. Or maybe he's angry at V for fucking with Arasaka, maybe even wants to kill him, but for whatever reasons they have to work together or figure out their differences. I think most of my prompts work best for that kind of post-canon set-up. I also love Johnny still being around (possibly still in V's body for good), if you want to include him.
I really enjoy the big age difference between them - V who's still fairly young and just starting out in life with all these big dreams and plans (before he started dying, that is), whereas Takemura has pretty much achieved everything he wanted to achieve, he had success and respect before his life went to shit.
While I never really object to switching, I'm very much into Takemura topping V. They can mix things up sometimes! I just don't want exclusively bottom!Takemura because him topping V is just too hot.
If you want more general prompts, see this letter.
Requested tropes:
Deus Ex
Adam Jensen/Jim Miller (either or both hurt)
Note: I've played Human Revolution and Mankind Divided and I've read Black Light. I don't mind spoilers for any of the other games or comics or whatever else there is, but I'd prefer not to get a fic that requires me to be familiar with those parts of canon.
Adam's injuries prior to getting his augs are obviously exempt from my "no permanent injuries" DNW. However, I don't want anyone else to get their limbs ripped off or the like, and I don't want Adam's augs to get permanently disabled or destroyed.
I love Adam so much: that he's a genuinely good guy who wants to help people, that he's snarky and cheeky and irreverent, that (at least post-augs) he's pretty withdrawn and emotionally unavailable and has all these walls built around himself (and I really want someone to get past them). I like angst and suffering and Adam is a well of suffering, and I enjoy it while simultaneously wanting nice things to happen to him (after lots of beautiful suffering). As for Miller, I love that he has a temper and is impatient and often isn't particularly nice, but underneath that gruffness he cares about doing the right thing and he cares about his men. I also adore Pritchard and ship both Adam/Pritchard and Adam/Pritchard/Miller, so if you feel like including him, go for it. I'd also be happy to see any other TF29 or SI characters appear in the story. I'd especially love to see Sarif and Miller meet.
Requested tropes:
Far Cry 5
Joseph Seed/Jacob Seed/John Seed (hurt Jacob or hurt John)
Note: I'd be just as happy to read about Jacob or John hurting with just one of the other two taking care of him, in any possible combination. No need to have all three appear in the fic (although I would of course enjoy that just as much). I'd just ask that you didn't go out of your way to explicitly tell me that they're totally not into the third brother, because I like to imagine that all three of them being together is at least a possibility. :)
I love everything about these three evil bastards. Villainous loyalty kink, devotion, each having their own personal brand of evilness, fucked up tragic backstories, religious weirdness, starting a cult together, murdering and torturing people together, those very different relationships they have with each other - these three really have it all. It's like someone tailor-made them for me. And I love how absolutely batshit insane all three of them are in their own way, completely obsessive and ruthless about it, and I'd really love to see how they all feel about each other's respective batshit insanity, I mean, er, dedication to doing the right thing. ;)
A lot of these prompts would work well for pre-canon fic set around the time when they were reunited and all struggling with the various horrible experiences they've been through, but since they stay incredibly messed up, I'd be just as happy with fic set later on, in the years they spent in Montana before canon or even in a post-canon AU in which they don't die (but are maybe stuck in a bunker for a few years and still have to deal with all their trauma).
If you want more general prompts, see this letter.
Requested tropes:
Also, there wasn't really a fitting tag for this, but I'm 100% here for Jacob having all kinds of issues about food, disordered eating etc. thanks to his whole "almost starving to death and then having to eat a guy to survive" trauma. If you want to write about that, or just work it into any other fic somewhere, I'm here for that; no worries about squicking me.
Mass Effect
Male Shepard/Garrus Vakarian, Male Shepard/James Vega (hurt Shepard)
I adore Shepard's relationship with both Garrus and James so much: that undying loyalty, will-follow-you-to-the-end-of-the-galaxy friendship he has with Garrus, and how much renegade Shepard enables Garrus's darker impulses and how much they just get each other; and that more complicated relationship with James, the fact that James massively hero-worshipped Shepard before meeting him, and then babysat him for six months when Shepard was at his lowest, and then in ME3 he really feels like one of the people who keep Shepard grounded, who are aware that he's human and that this war is taking a toll on him, that his hero is fallible.
I strongly prefer renegade Shepard (who is nicer to his companions/friends) - ruthless and efficient, the end justifies the means, snarky and intimidating, willing to do whatever needs to be done, no matter the cost to himself or to others. Should it come up, I really prefer him sabotaging the genophage cure for that reason because Shepard having to kill two of his friends to do what he thinks is right is such a horrifically great moment in the games. I picked the Spacer/Ruthless backgrounds and vanguard as his class, but I'm not fixated on that, if you want to use something else. Ending-wise, I think for fic a handwavey "the Crucible destroyed the Reapers without destroying the geth, and Shepard is alive" works best. I'd also be super interested in a variation of the Control ending, though, in which Shepard doesn't die while uploading part of himself into a God-AI, simply because the mindfuck of co-existing with an all-powerful AI version of yourself must be incredible. In general, I love stoic and/or angry suffering, so feel free to whump Shepard hard as long as there's a happy-ish ending. Honestly, I think all my requests are "please whump Shepard".
I'm very attached to his default looks and name, so please no custom Shepards. I love pretty much all the other companions and am happy to read about them. My other faves are Zaeed, Legion, Miranda, Jack, Cortez, Mordin, Javik, Joker, Grunt, Samara, Traynor.
Requested tropes:
And that's it! I hope that something in this letter works for you, a prompt you find interesting or a trope you enjoy writing. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with, no matter which fandom we matched on! :D
Thank you!
linndechir
Thank you for writing for me and having a look at this letter. I've got some general likes and dislikes listed - those are the important parts, really. They're followed by a list of kinks I like, should you feel inclined to write porn and some hurt/comfort-specific preferences. The fandom sections have a general note on my ships and then the tropes I've requested - I've added an explanation when I thought I should specify what I had in mind, but many freeforms are pretty unambiguous imo. This letter is mostly focused on the freeforms I requested, but I've requested all of these fandoms in previous exchanges, just in case you want some more general prompts/ideas, too.
As a general rule, I like both darker, angstier fic and more light-hearted stories, although neither completely conflictless fluff nor completely bleak darkfic without a ray of hope are quite my thing. I'm always happy about porn, but it's not a must. I like shorter fics and plotty longfic. The fandoms are listed alphabetically, and the length/number of requested tags doesn't mean I want some fandoms more than others, just that I had more ideas for some.
Of course I don't expect you to, but if several of the freeforms I've requested for any given ship appeal to you, I'd absolutely love to see them combined in one fic. No need to stick with just one if you don't want to. Same goes for my general likes - there are lots of freeforms in the tag set I didn't specifically request because they're in my general likes anyway and I'd read them for any ship, so feel free to mix and match as much as you like.
I use the same name on AO3 and tumblr as here.
Do Not Wants:
- character death of characters I like (random side characters or antagonists dying is fine)
- serious illnesses, permanent injuries (blood and wounds that will heal again are fine)
- completely tragic/bleak endings
- animal death/cruelty
- genderbend of any kind, mpreg, A/B/O, characters being werewolves/vampires/anything than what they are in canon
- non-canon gender identities/sexual orientations (e.g. writing characters as trans or asexual), except for writing characters as gay or bi
- unrequested ships (including canon ships) *
- unrequested crossovers or fusions
- complete AUs (canon divergence is fine, but no high school AUs, coffee shop AUs, in space AUs, groundhog day AUs etc.)
- unnecessary epithets, please use characters' names/pronouns unless their name isn't known to the POV character (or unless the characters think of each other by e.g. their title rather than their name)
- 1st and 2nd person fic
- for porn: detailed kink negotiation, safewords for scenes that don't involve consent play (and even then I'm not really into safewords); scat, watersports, coming in pants, crossdressing, feminisation, infantilisation (daddy kink and calling characters "boy" is fine; characters behaving like or being treated like actual children is not my thing)
* I'm fine with mentions of characters' past relationships with OCs (and obviously with things like random OC couples in casefic or mentioning people's parents). However, I don't want these ships to play a central role: a character thinking back of how they tried out this kink before with some guy they hooked up with five years ago, or briefly thinking that they used to date this guy who hated it when they did X? Totally fine. A character spending half the fic thinking about or interacting with their ex? Not something I'm interested in.
Canon-specific: I'm fine with mentions of past canon relationships that were (almost) over before canon started (like Jim/Neil and Adam/Megan for Deus Ex or Joseph/his wife for Far Cry 5). For Cyberpunk, brief mentions of Johnny's relationships with Alt or Rogue are fine, but I don't want them to play a huge role or have Johnny pine for them the whole fic. If I've requested several ships in a fandom, I'm fine with them appearing in the same fic.
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Things I like to read about:
- first time/getting together: slow burn, pining, UST finally getting resolved, but also antagonistic hate sex or casual hookups that are only later followed by feelings (emotional pining while already having sex is great)
- developing relationships: relationship conflicts after the characters got together, trying to figure out how to make things work, some things maybe not working at first, temporary breakups, basically anything that doesn't assume that first time sex -> perfect relationship
- porn, especially porn with feelings/porn that says something about their relationship (see list below for kinks I like)
- enemies to lovers, partners to lovers
- reluctant allies grudgingly starting to like each other
- non-verbal expressions of affection, unusual romantic gestures that fit the characters
- familiarity, intimacy, characters getting to know each other better (their habits, their hangups etc.)
- pre-canon/background stories, first meetings/first impressions (especially if we didn't see those in canon)
- post-canon fic
- canon divergence
- casefic
- moral dilemmas, characters having to question/go against their principles, situations in which there is no clear right or wrong
- loyalty, devotion, trust, but also trust/commitment issues
- obsessive, codependent, complicated relationships
- unhealthy relationships that should be a trainwreck, but work for the characters involved
- obsessive/intense family relationships
- us-against-the-world
- villains in love, bad guys who would literally burn down the rest of the world for each other, horrible people being sweet to each other and awful to everyone else
- jealousy, possessiveness
- age differences
- misunderstandings (as long as there's a good reason for them)
- competence, characters being smart and skilled and good at what they do; characters with different skill sets complementing each other
- hurt/comfort (after injuries/exhaustion, not so much with illness)
- angst: self-doubts, guilt, shame, internalised homophobia, nightmares, fears, self-destructive tendencies, alcohol abuse ...
- period-typical attitudes towards sex, sexuality, class, morality, religion etc. (I obviously don't expect 100% historical accuracy, but I like reading about characters from different societies having different values and principles from our own - this also applies to fictional societies)
- infidelity (not between my requested ships, but one half of my ship cheating on their previous partner with the other half of my ship)
- meaningful name uses (e.g. characters who always call each other by their last name or title switching to using first names)
- outside POVs, different POVs than in canon (more "usual" POVs are great, too)
- sleep-related themes: waking each other from nightmares, falling asleep on each other's shoulder etc.
- soulbonds (but no soulmates, please)
- undercover as enemies (or undercover as a couple) - as long as the set-up fits the setting/characters
- I like darker elements (violence, murder, noncon/dubcon, manipulation, depression, whatever fits your plot and isn't on my DNW list), but I'd prefer a happy or semi-happy ending. Feel free to make me bawl my eyes out, but please cheer me up again afterwards.
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Kinks I like to read about:
- anal, blowjobs, fingering, intercrural, frottage, rimming & felching are all great
- asphyxiation/choking/breathplay (this is my kink holy grail that makes everything else hotter to me; even just throat-touching without choking is great)
- switching
- biting, bruising, marking; possessive sex
- rough/angry sex, hate sex, fighting/sparring leading to sex, adrenaline-fuelled post-battle and "thank fuck we/you're alive" sex
- dressed sex, dressed/naked, clothes kink (suits, uniforms, gloves, boots; shirt with rolled up sleeves + waistcoat etc.), neat characters being dishevelled for once, casual characters cleaning up nicely
- D/s (I prefer casually developing kink to minutely negotiated, formalised BDSM; if anything under-negotiated kink is a plus for me)
- kink discovery/exploration
- strength kink; body worship; men's body hair (on chest, arms, thighs, butt; not so much on back and shoulders)
- stubble/beard burn
- hand kink; fisting; finger sucking
- large/thick cocks (not absurdly huge, but bigger than average); size kink
- bondage: leather cuffs, ropes, restraints, chains, collars
- face slapping, spanking, flogging, riding crops
- gun play, knife play, blood play
- consent play
- dirty talk (both the praising and the humiliating/condescending kind), voice/accent kink
- praise kink
- banter, teasing
- hard, desperate kissing with lots of biting
- barebacking (including the ill-advised, unplanned, unnegotiated we-really-shouldn't-have-done-that-but-it-was-so-hot kind - I'm not into serious STD scares, though; if there is an "oh fuck, what did we just do?" aftermath, please have both characters be certain that they're clean)
- come play (licking come off fingers/skin, felching, feeding each other come, kissing after blowjobs/felching ...)
- come as lube, spit as lube (including the top spitting on the bottom's ass), blood as lube (preferably blood from battle wounds or knifeplay cuts or the like)
- messiness (sweat, come play, dishevelled hair/clothes)
- overstimulation; characters being overwhelmed, begging for more, becoming speechless ...
- shaving (face or body), especially with straight razors/knives
- sex on tables, against walls, on the floor, on a chair, in the shower ... (sex in beds is great, too)
- masturbation/fantasising about the other before getting together
- incest kink (i.e. characters who are related kinking on it - calling each other father/brother/son etc. in bed, fucking in front of mirrors because they get off on their physical similarities ...)
- competence kink, admiration
- kneeling, hand kissing, physical expressions of loyalty/fealty
- scars and their history
- oral fixation (while smoking, drinking, talking ...)
- sharing cigarettes, clothes, food ...
- shame in sexual desires (whether about being attracted to another man at all, being attracted to this specific person for whatever reason, wanting to bottom, wanting to suck dick, wanting to hurt their partner, wanting to be hurt by their partner ...)
Specific hurt/comfort preferences:
I like hurt/comfort for injuries (battle- or torture-related, just please no serious eye/hand injuries (unless they're canon); painful and dangerous injuries are fine but I'd like them to heal again and not leave any permanent damage beyond scars or things like "my knee aches sometimes when it's cold"), exhaustion (especially stubborn, determined characters with a job to do pushing themselves to the brink of physical collapse), addiction/withdrawal, mental/psychological trauma (war-related, torture or rape, guilt over not managing to save somebody or similar, losing someone they care about ...) and other kinds of angst (internalised homophobia, shame about their desires or any other weaknesses they think they have, failures etc.). I don't like sickfic, whether it's serious illnesses or just a cold.
In general, I'm a huge fan of stoic badasses continuing to be badass even after they were hurt, pushing themselves harder and being bad at accepting comfort. Depending on their personality, I like them dealing with their pain with a stiff upper lip, simple denial because they're totally fiiiine, lashing out in anger, humour, whatever fits. I like self-sacrifice and accepting pain or guilt so somebody else doesn't have to. I like it when both characters are badass in their own way and trying to support and help each other in whatever ways the other one might be able to accept.
Some freeforms from the tag set I loved - while I didn't specifically request all of these, feel free to sprinkle them all over anything you write for any fandom:
- accepting injury to protect someone
- Badass in Distress
- Carrying sick/hurt/exhausted character to bed
- Catching injured character as they faint or lose balance
- Character A attempts to sacrifice themself for B; B gets very upset
- Character A doesn't know their own strength and hurts B by mistake
- Character A falls asleep on B's shoulder; B gently moves A to rest on lap instead
- Character A comes to B's rescue then passes out due to sustained injuries/exhaustion once B is safe
- Character A gently bathes hurt B (turns sexual)
- Character doesn't realize how badly they're hurt until they collapse
- Character feels comforted by wearing loved one's clothes
- Character is ashamed of needing help/comfort
- Character is Injured while Protecting Another
- Character used to suffering alone is gratefully surprised to receive comfort
- Character with high pain tolerance is in too much pain to hide it
- Character who is clearly not fine insists they are fine
- Character(s) ashamed of their sexual desires
- Enduring Pain to Protect Another
- Fighting to protect someone while injured yourself
- Helping hurt character to dress/undress
- Hurt character hides their hurt out of pride
- hurt character still being the protective one
- unexpected tenderness
- Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
- Waking up from nightmares while sharing a bed
- Washing hurt character's hair
Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
Alexios/Brasidas (either or both hurt)
I mostly have protagonist!Alexios in mind for this. I love his sense of humour, I love how cheerful and arrogant he is at times, I love that he likes to help people but will still tell them they're ridiculous dicks afterwards. I played him as fairly pro-Sparta and genuinely wanting to return home, which I think goes rather well with this ship anyway. I love his banter and his immediate connection with Brasidas (that warehouse fight! *heart eyes*), I love how much they just get each other and trust each other - even though Alexios really has reason enough to mistrust just about anyone he runs into. And since it's absolutely tragic the game didn't let us romance Brasidas, that's clearly what fic is for. :D As for Brasidas, I love how smart and cunning he is, how he thinks outside the box while still being a ruthless fighter when the situation calls for it, and how much he genuinely and openly cares about people who are important to him.
I'm up for setting this at any point during the game - around their first meetings in Korinth, when Alexios is in Sparta, or when they're working together later on - or post-game in a verse in which Brasidas didn't die. Because I'm in denial about that and damn historical accuracy. ;)
While I usually DNW unrequested ships, I'm fine with mentions of 1) Alexios's male canon hookups, 2) Brasidas being married (or widowed) because it's just unlikely that he wouldn't be, although I'd see that more as a practical arrangement than a marriage of love, 3) any erastes/eromenos-style relationships Brasidas might have been in, whether it's him currently having someone under his wing or still being good friends with the guy who, er, "mentored" him years ago. However, I wouldn't want any of those relationships to be more meaningful to them than each other, if that makes sense.
Requested tropes:
- A rescues B from the underworld or afterlife: would prefer actual Greek mythology for this than what happened in canon (yes, I've received awesome fic for this before, but I never get tired of it :D) - I'd also be up for Brasidas being the one to rescue Alexios
- Gods messing with character for their amusement: for this too I'd prefer actual Greek mythology; I'd mostly love to see Alexios as Zeus' son - and being a demi-god in Greek mythology rarely goes well for anyone involved; I'd love anything from something more light-hearted like Aphrodite-related sex pollen to something more serious like Hera being out to get him
- Soulbonding is the only way for A to save severely injured B's life
Unfortunately I forgot to nominate this amazing freeform from last year, but if you want to, feel free to write this instead of the things I technically requested:
- A makes a deal with a devil or deity to save B's life: saving Brasidas is the obvious choice, but I'd also love poor mortal Brasidas making a deal to save Alexios after Alexios somehow got himself (almost) killed; for this too I'd prefer actual Greek gods to Isu-related things
Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
Male Eivor/Sigurd Styrbjornson (hurt Sigurd)
Note: I'm fine with Sigurd's arm loss coming up, no need to retcon it (though I also wouldn't mind an AU in which he doesn't get his arm chopped off). But I'd prefer if he learnt how to fight again with his left hand and generally regained his strength, rather than him just feeling helpless and weak forever. I'm more interested in the whole recovery part for that rather than just the hurt and the suffering itself.
So anyway, this is the part where nobody is surprised that I came out of Valhalla shipping the two brothers who are SUPER INTENSE about each other. They love each other so much - Eivor is so utterly devoted to Sigurd and willing to move mountains for him, and Sigurd trusts Eivor so completely and relies on him and happily leaves him in charge and wants to rule together with him (well, at least until he gets his mind fucked with by Fulke and Basim). They obviously don't care about anyone else in their lives half as much as they do about each other, and it's glorious.
I also just generally really love Eivor - his poetic side, that he's a total badass, that he gets drunk and high all the time, that he's charismatic and could be a leader in his own right but he just really doesn't want to, he wants Sigurd back. I'm quite attached to him being blond, bearded and long-haired - you don't have to mention it in any way, of course, but I'd prefer if you didn't directly contradict it because that might throw me out of the fic for a moment. :) And I love Sigurd's ambition, I love that he's charismatic but also really full of himself, I love that he's kind of a dick, but apparently just immediately adored his new brother.
I don't like Eivor becoming jarl in Sigurd's place in the end. That's the only thing Sigurd ever wanted! So I'd much rather have Eivor refuse if Sigurd offers, or Sigurd doesn't offer, or Eivor initially accepts as a temporary solution, but then makes sure to give the job back to Sigurd once he's feeling better.
I also really don't care for the Isu and the modern storyline. If it gets mentioned, I'll live, but I'd rather not get a fic that focuses much on it. I am totally okay with "Norse mythology is real" AUs in which they just have divine visions or something like that.
I'm happy to read underage for this ship (down to about 15 for Eivor), though I think my prompts in this exchange mostly make sense for post-canon fic. And they're very much brothers, adopted or not, so I'm all for leaning into the incest angle. I'm totally fine with mentions of any of Eivor's male canon hookups (and of Sigurd having slept with various other people in his life) as long as none of them are particularly romantic. I'm fine with Sigurd and Randvi still being married or not (not like they seem to care all that much about each other) and with Randvi's unrequited thing for Eivor, but I'm not interested in Eivor returning her feelings.
If you want more general prompts, see this letter.
Requested tropes:
- Accidental Drug Use: consider this my general tag for Eivor's weird mushroom thing - Eivor accidentally getting high around Sigurd and saying things he didn't mean to? Sigurd accidentally getting into Eivor's magic mushroom stash without knowing what it is, and finally somehow confronting all the awful shit that has happened to him?
- Character has to learn new way of fighting following injury: sparring together, going raiding together, just anything about Sigurd recovering his strength and getting back on his feet and also people respecting him again
- Characters live together while one recovers from hurt: by which I mean Sigurd moving into Eivor's room after he and Randvi split, and there's bed-sharing and all that while Sigurd gets back on his feet
- entering dream/nightmare to help the dreamer: they both have their weird visions - maybe Sigurd needs to get better in his head before he can get better in the real world? maybe he has awful nightmares he can't get past until Eivor helps him?
- Soulbonding is the only way for A to save severely injured B's life: probably around the time when Eivor rescues Sigurd, or maybe afterwards because Sigurd lost the will to live; could happen accidentally (some weird divine/Isu power Eivor didn't know he had) or on purpose after Eivor set out to find a way to save him (maybe Valka helped?)
Cyberpunk 2077
Oh God, this game. This game has eaten my brain. I love it so much. I adore the setting - the lore, the feeling of Night City, the politics, the absolute dystopian hellscape it is, the cars and the music and the ads and the media. I love that it manages to be simultaneously depressing and dark, utterly garish and hilarious, and genuinely emotionally touching in so many places. I love how real the characters feel, and I love how beautifully depressing and bittersweet the story is.
I went for Streetkid!V in my first playthrough because it works really well for the story in my opinion, and also for his relationship with Johnny. Ambitious, wanting to make something of himself, kinda trashy and obnoxious (I blame the horrible clothes I put him in for that), but not really a bad guy at heart. But don't feel like you have to write him that way if that doesn't work for you. I think Corpo!V could also be very interesting for Takemura/V (though less so when Johnny is involved). I'm just not particularly into the Nomad background. And in general, for player characters, I'd prefer the characterisation mostly focused on what's actually canon in the game rather than extensive headcanons about their background/past/history.
Other than that, I love Johnny so much - this narcissistic, charismatic, self-centred piece of shit who realised way too late that he actually cares about some people in his life. He's so angry and messed up about the world and just raging helplessly at it. I love that he's not even remotely a good or a nice person. Same with Kerry - he's not a bad guy, but he's kind of a self-centred douchebag, too, and I love him for it. These two just have so many issues and that's what makes them fun. With Takemura, I love that he's quite affable and likeable ... he's just Lawful as fuck and devoted to a horrible system - and I have such a soft spot for the lawful, dutiful types.
Note: Despite my usual "serious illness and character death" DNW, I'm mostly fine with it to a canonical extent here. So mentions (or even detailed explorations) of the fact that V is dying, and all the ways in which the Relic is hurting him, are fine. Anything relating to that that I've specifically prompted is fine. The fact that Johnny is technically dead (and that Kerry mourned him for decades) is also fine. I'd just prefer a fic that isn't exclusively focused on death and dying and nothing else (and please no non-canonical deaths or extra illnesses).
Johnny Silverhand/Kerry Eurodyne (either or both hurt)
Aaaaaah, they're so messed up about each other! I love that it's been fifty years and Kerry is still not over Johnny. Fifty years and he still wonders what Johnny would think of him, fifty years and his eyes still light up like that when he realises that Johnny is back. Fifty years and he immediately recognises Johnny playing the guitar, and he's so angry at him, but he also missed him so much. And I love that their relationship isn't really as one-sided as it appears at first - Johnny doesn't like admitting he cares about anyone, but he clearly does care about Kerry. In the present, but also in the past - considering he tried to stop him from leaving the band several times. He wanted Kerry around, for all his bitching about Kerry just being the "second fiddle" in his life and not as amazing as him and whatnot.
I love how completely messed up their relationship is - it's very "can't live with you, can't live without you". They're crazy about each other, but also awful to each other half the time. I'm mostly looking for a messy amour fou sort of thing, rather than for something fluffy (though I don't mind them being happy together, at least at times). I love them being kind of obsessive about each other and horrible to anyone else the other one sleeps with (I don't need them to be exclusive, especially not if you write something set in the past) and manipulative and half the time they argue and half the time they adore each other. Give me all the fucked up rockerboy love.
I would happily read fic set in the past as well as fic set during the game when Johnny is stuck in male V's body and V occasionally lets Johnny out to play. I'm also good with some kind of handwavey post-canon AU in which Johnny and V continue to share a body, just without dying (I love the endings being what they are, but continued bodysharing is my favourite scenario for fic, tbh). Or even a handwavey AU in which Johnny somehow gets a new body and he and V both get to live (I'd prefer Johnny's new body actually looking/sounding like himself).
(Don't feel like you have to, but since canon never gives us their exact ages and Johnny looks a good deal older than Kerry in the flashbacks, I really love the idea of them meeting when Kerry is 16-18 and Johnny is in his late 20s (underage is totally fine), and Kerry crushes hard on this cool, slightly older guy and Johnny enjoys the hell out of the attention (while also falling for him) ... I think it really works well for their relationship. But if you prefer writing them as being the same age, that's fine, too.)
If you want more general prompts, see this letter.
Requested tropes:
- Character A cheers hurt character B up by hurting someone else: they're both such dicks, I'm sure they enjoy it when the other one is mean to other people
- Character A kills their abusive partner; panics and calls character B for help: Kerry strikes me as exactly the kind of guy who occasionally gets himself shitty boyfriends who are really bad for him (because they started out possessive and dangerous in a ~sexy way, and then he has regrets) - maybe one time things escalate, Kerry shoots the guy in self-defence and then freaks out because he does not usually do shit like that
- Character A mourned B but then B comes back to life/wasn't actually dead: could be Johnny returning to life during the canon timeline, could be post-canon fic in which Kerry already resigned himself to losing Johnny a second time, but Johnny survives
- Character A ruins B's other relationships so B has to turn to them for comfort: pretty sure they both do this, sabotaging each other's relationships
- Character A saves B from their abusive partner: similar to the prompt above, but with Johnny finding out Kerry's current input is a piece of shit and putting his foot down (possibly with a side of "No One Is Allowed to Hurt You Except Me")
- Character feels comforted by wearing loved one's clothes
- Character has nightmare about their trauma: mostly thinking Johnny and his war-related PTSD for this one
- Characters keep hurting each other but refuse to break up
- Characters know exactly how to hurt each other emotionally
- Estranged Characters - Injured A shows Up on B's doorstep Saying "I didn't know where else to go": whether this is Johnny during the last couple of years between the Samurai break-up and his death, or something post-canon
- No One Is Allowed to Hurt You Except Me
- unexpected tenderness: they're assholes to each other a lot, but in between they can be genuinely sweet? could also be in the years between the band break-up and Johnny's death or during/after canon, when Kerry expects Johnny to go back to being an asshole, but Johnny is slightly less awful than he used to be
- Waking up from nightmares while sharing a bed: I could see them sharing a bed early on, when they had basically no money and maybe shared a room or flat somewhere ... which could lead to war-related PTSD nightmares on Johnny's part and Kerry comforting him (I'd also be up for Johnny telling Kerry about how he lost his arm, and maybe he's never actually talked about that to anyone else)
Johnny Silverhand/Male V (either or both hurt)
I adore Johnny and V's relationship - how antagonistic it starts, how they slowly grow closer (and become more similar to each other), that amazing forced intimacy of sharing a body and sharing all their memories and thoughts and emotions. The fact that they become so close, to the point of being willing to sacrifice themselves for each other. I really enjoy them being in the same body - whether it's set during canon or in a handwavey AU long-term solution where Johnny and V have to share a body forever and they're sleeping with each other (possibly while also dating Kerry, both of them) and it's messy and complicated, but still works somehow. But I'm also interested in a post-canon verse in which they somehow got separate bodies, but still stick around each other because they have a hard time being apart (I'd prefer if Johnny's new body looked/sounded like himself).
I didn't specifically request it this time, but I'm always up for Johnny/Kerry/V, if that's a direction you want to go in (I have some more general prompts for that in this letter).
Requested tropes:
- Character A mourned B but then B comes back to life/wasn't actually dead: I was thinking some kind of post-canon scenario in which one of them thinks the other is dead - maybe one of the canon endings (Johnny or V keeping the body) or maybe they had a plan to continue body-sharing but it didn't work apparently ... until it does, or the other one comes back somehow (feel free to do as much plot-handwaving as you like)
- Character has nightmare about their trauma: either of them, and they both share those nightmares
- Character feels comforted by wearing loved one's clothes: V feeling better in Johnny's clothes?
- Characters know exactly how to hurt each other emotionally: they do know each other's every secret after all
- coughing up blood: I like Johnny fretting when V does this in canon
- Character resigned to their death survives; doesn't know how to cope: was thinking a 'verse in which the bodysharing continues and instead of dying, Johnny now lives in V's body for good
- Seeing character hurting prompts unexpected feelings
- Sex to forget horrible situation for a short time: during canon - V is dying, Johnny is stuck in his body, they can't find a good solution, and weird bodysharing sex is one of the few things that can distract them
- Soul bond means A can feel B's pain even when B is trying to hide it: I'm pretty sure sharing a brain is similar enough to a soulbond for this ;)
- Technically awful attempts at comfort are actually very comforting: either of them being kind of bad at comforting!
- Touch-Starved: was mostly thinking Johnny after fifty years as an engram in Mikoshi, but both are good
- unexpected tenderness: after their rocky beginnings, I like them slowly starting to care more about each other and reach out to try and help when the other one is hurting
Goro Takemura/Male V (hurt Takemura)
Oh, Takemura. How is he so hot? And so weirdly adorable? You know, for a lawful neutral/evil corpo loyalist who's devoted to an evil bastard? I really love how he has both moments of being perfectly formal and polite, and moments of being a rude, angry dick (especially at V). I love his constant complaints about Night City and food. I love him talking about cats, I love that he cooks, and I really love how quickly his relationship with V goes from genuine disdain to much more light-hearted, friendly banter. They form such a great connection with each other so very quickly.
Like I said above, I like Streetkid!V and I like that it makes them both come from very similar backgrounds that they both were driven and determined to escape, but they went about it in very, very different ways and ended up with very different worldviews. It makes for really fascinating contrasts and conflicts between them - lawful, serious corpo bodyguard and trashy streetkid with no taste is just a fun dynamic. But I'd also be up for a Corpo!V who shares Takemura's worldview at least in part, and they're both in the same position of having been cast out by the corporation they dedicated their lives to (and maybe they'd both like to find a way to go back).
But for this, too, I'm very happy with AUs for the ending in which not everything goes for shit - as much as I like that for canon, I like happier scenarios for fic. I'd also love for V and Takemura to reconcile after their, er, breakup, to put it mildly - maybe Takemura gets kicked out by Arasaka post-canon and doesn't really have anywhere else to go. Or maybe he's angry at V for fucking with Arasaka, maybe even wants to kill him, but for whatever reasons they have to work together or figure out their differences. I think most of my prompts work best for that kind of post-canon set-up. I also love Johnny still being around (possibly still in V's body for good), if you want to include him.
I really enjoy the big age difference between them - V who's still fairly young and just starting out in life with all these big dreams and plans (before he started dying, that is), whereas Takemura has pretty much achieved everything he wanted to achieve, he had success and respect before his life went to shit.
While I never really object to switching, I'm very much into Takemura topping V. They can mix things up sometimes! I just don't want exclusively bottom!Takemura because him topping V is just too hot.
If you want more general prompts, see this letter.
Requested tropes:
- Character A nurses character B back to health after B nearly killed A: V refusing to kill Takemura when Takemura comes after him and instead nursing him back to health while Takemura has a lot of VERY conflicted emotions
- Character expected to die but didn't and has no idea how to live anymore. Other helps & comforts.
- Character loses everything and can only turn to enemy for help: for a given value of enemy, but Takemura after getting kicked out by Arasaka?
- Estranged Characters - Injured A shows Up on B's doorstep Saying "I didn't know where else to go": maybe Arasaka wanted to kill Takemura instead of kicking him out because he knows too much, and he barely escapes with his life and turns to V for help
- Loyal character loses object of their devotion; doesn't know what to do with their life now: after spending his lifetime serving Arasaka, it must be incredibly hard for Takemura to figure out what else he might want
- Loyal character loses object of their devotion; fixates on someone new: bonus for Takemura basically playing V's bodyguard (while still snarking at him) and getting all protective
- Washing hurt character's hair
Deus Ex
Adam Jensen/Jim Miller (either or both hurt)
Note: I've played Human Revolution and Mankind Divided and I've read Black Light. I don't mind spoilers for any of the other games or comics or whatever else there is, but I'd prefer not to get a fic that requires me to be familiar with those parts of canon.
Adam's injuries prior to getting his augs are obviously exempt from my "no permanent injuries" DNW. However, I don't want anyone else to get their limbs ripped off or the like, and I don't want Adam's augs to get permanently disabled or destroyed.
I love Adam so much: that he's a genuinely good guy who wants to help people, that he's snarky and cheeky and irreverent, that (at least post-augs) he's pretty withdrawn and emotionally unavailable and has all these walls built around himself (and I really want someone to get past them). I like angst and suffering and Adam is a well of suffering, and I enjoy it while simultaneously wanting nice things to happen to him (after lots of beautiful suffering). As for Miller, I love that he has a temper and is impatient and often isn't particularly nice, but underneath that gruffness he cares about doing the right thing and he cares about his men. I also adore Pritchard and ship both Adam/Pritchard and Adam/Pritchard/Miller, so if you feel like including him, go for it. I'd also be happy to see any other TF29 or SI characters appear in the story. I'd especially love to see Sarif and Miller meet.
Requested tropes:
- Cheating characters feel guilty about infidelity; comfort each other: in an AU in which Jim is still trying to patch things up with Neil
- Forced to have sex to maintain cover; both characters think they took advantage
- Pretending to Betray Someone to Save them: whether related to one of the undercover prompts or to Illuminati-scheming? Mostly thinking Jim pretending to sell out Adam (to get information or access or whatever) and Adam actually thinks Jim is seriously betraying him /o\
- Touch-Starved
Far Cry 5
Joseph Seed/Jacob Seed/John Seed (hurt Jacob or hurt John)
Note: I'd be just as happy to read about Jacob or John hurting with just one of the other two taking care of him, in any possible combination. No need to have all three appear in the fic (although I would of course enjoy that just as much). I'd just ask that you didn't go out of your way to explicitly tell me that they're totally not into the third brother, because I like to imagine that all three of them being together is at least a possibility. :)
I love everything about these three evil bastards. Villainous loyalty kink, devotion, each having their own personal brand of evilness, fucked up tragic backstories, religious weirdness, starting a cult together, murdering and torturing people together, those very different relationships they have with each other - these three really have it all. It's like someone tailor-made them for me. And I love how absolutely batshit insane all three of them are in their own way, completely obsessive and ruthless about it, and I'd really love to see how they all feel about each other's respective batshit insanity, I mean, er, dedication to doing the right thing. ;)
A lot of these prompts would work well for pre-canon fic set around the time when they were reunited and all struggling with the various horrible experiences they've been through, but since they stay incredibly messed up, I'd be just as happy with fic set later on, in the years they spent in Montana before canon or even in a post-canon AU in which they don't die (but are maybe stuck in a bunker for a few years and still have to deal with all their trauma).
If you want more general prompts, see this letter.
Requested tropes:
- Body worship focusing on the scars and aftermath of trauma: whether that's the scars from John's childhood abuse or Jacob's war injuries (and I'm always here for some body worship for those voluntarily inflicted scars John has, too)
- Character A cheers hurt character B up by hurting someone else: John especially would probably enjoy that, but I can see Jacob appreciating it too, especially if it's one or both of his brothers going all Righteous Vengeance on whoever hurt him
- Character feels comforted by wearing loved one's clothes
- Character has nightmare about their trauma
- Character is ashamed of needing help/comfort: John who thinks he should be over the pain from his past life; Jacob who thinks every bit of vulnerability is weakness and he shouldn't have weaknesses, since it's his job to be his brothers' protector
- Character isn't used to being loved and shown tenderness/affection: also works for both of them - neither of them had a lot of tenderness and love in their life
- Characters A and B take care of hurt/ill Character C whom they both love
- Drug Withdrawal: John right after his brother(s) find him is the obvious choice, but I would also be up for Jacob maybe having an alcohol or drug problem around the time when he's living on the street/in shelters and Joseph (with or without John) finds him
- Past Child Abuse: I love them still being messed up by that, John more by his adopted parents and their whole fucked up "beating the sin out of him" thing, Jacob probably mostly by his biological father and trying to take on all the beatings to keep his brothers safe
- Protective character A fails to keep B from getting hurt: I was mostly thinking Jacob still angsting about the fact that he couldn't protect his brothers when they were young, that they were taken away from him and he couldn't do anything to stop that - but if you want something set during or shortly before canon and one of them gets hurt then, I'd love that, too!
- Sick/injured recovering addict refuses pain relief for fear of relapsing: John would probably be terrified of relapsing, but like with the prompt above, I'd be up for Jacob having some past addiction too (or maybe just refusing pain meds because he thinks that would make him weak)
- Touch-Starved: both of them
- Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms: whether those unhealthy coping mechanisms are sex, John's whole tattoo/scarification thing, Jacob training himself to the point of exhaustion ...
- Waking up from nightmares while sharing a bed
Also, there wasn't really a fitting tag for this, but I'm 100% here for Jacob having all kinds of issues about food, disordered eating etc. thanks to his whole "almost starving to death and then having to eat a guy to survive" trauma. If you want to write about that, or just work it into any other fic somewhere, I'm here for that; no worries about squicking me.
Mass Effect
Male Shepard/Garrus Vakarian, Male Shepard/James Vega (hurt Shepard)
I adore Shepard's relationship with both Garrus and James so much: that undying loyalty, will-follow-you-to-the-end-of-the-galaxy friendship he has with Garrus, and how much renegade Shepard enables Garrus's darker impulses and how much they just get each other; and that more complicated relationship with James, the fact that James massively hero-worshipped Shepard before meeting him, and then babysat him for six months when Shepard was at his lowest, and then in ME3 he really feels like one of the people who keep Shepard grounded, who are aware that he's human and that this war is taking a toll on him, that his hero is fallible.
I strongly prefer renegade Shepard (who is nicer to his companions/friends) - ruthless and efficient, the end justifies the means, snarky and intimidating, willing to do whatever needs to be done, no matter the cost to himself or to others. Should it come up, I really prefer him sabotaging the genophage cure for that reason because Shepard having to kill two of his friends to do what he thinks is right is such a horrifically great moment in the games. I picked the Spacer/Ruthless backgrounds and vanguard as his class, but I'm not fixated on that, if you want to use something else. Ending-wise, I think for fic a handwavey "the Crucible destroyed the Reapers without destroying the geth, and Shepard is alive" works best. I'd also be super interested in a variation of the Control ending, though, in which Shepard doesn't die while uploading part of himself into a God-AI, simply because the mindfuck of co-existing with an all-powerful AI version of yourself must be incredible. In general, I love stoic and/or angry suffering, so feel free to whump Shepard hard as long as there's a happy-ish ending. Honestly, I think all my requests are "please whump Shepard".
I'm very attached to his default looks and name, so please no custom Shepards. I love pretty much all the other companions and am happy to read about them. My other faves are Zaeed, Legion, Miranda, Jack, Cortez, Mordin, Javik, Joker, Grunt, Samara, Traynor.
Requested tropes:
- Character doesn't realize how badly they're hurt until they collapse
- Character is extremely bad-tempered about comfort
- Character raped as part of military training: whether N7 or Spectre, I just want him to be really messed up about it (and pretending he isn't)
- Character resigned to their death survives; doesn't know how to cope: feels like Shepard spends most of ME3 being ready to die - I'd love to see him having no idea how to live anymore once the war is over (and he's suddenly this galaxy-wide messiah figure)
- Coping through past rape through sex: whether it was rape as part of military training or getting captured and raped by bad guys of your choice (I especially like Shepard "allowing" himself to be raped to save his friends/lover from the same fate)
- Doing Bad Things So Others Don't Have To
- Soldier having trouble readjusting after the war
And that's it! I hope that something in this letter works for you, a prompt you find interesting or a trope you enjoy writing. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with, no matter which fandom we matched on! :D
Thank you!
linndechir
