opalmatrix | Dear Hurt/Comfort Exchange Author

Thank you so much for writing me Hurt/Comfort - one of my favorite tropes ever! Here are a lot of optional details about what I like and don't like in a story, followed by my musings on what I like about my requested fandoms and what I might like in a story.

Preferences

I Don't Like:

Sickly-sweet, coy, cutesy romantic stuff (anything in the "tee-hee-hee, is he looking at me?" category is definitely out)
Extensive use of epithets, or epithets that don't match the character POV (no one should think of his or her long-time lover as "the green-eyed man," for example): these will throw me right out of a story (for more about epithets, see this)
Characters acting out of character, especially if the purpose is to force them into a relationship (doubly bad if that relationship is romantic or sexual)
By-the-numbers, every-action-described sex (a/k/a Ikea Erotica - link goes to TVTropes). Note that actual sex is fine (I love me some sexy stories) — just don't like it when the descriptions turn into a set of exact stage directions.
Mpreg, rape, forced sex (including sex pollen and fuck-or-die), hatesex. Dubcon is OK, especially the sort when the reluctant partner really wants the other person but is just not quite feeling ready yet or doesn't think se wants it in this particular way but gets off on it anyway.
Humiliation or betrayal (without a damn good plot reason) of a character by a friend or lover
A/B/O and related kinks/tropes, incest (unless canon), scat/watersports/emetophilia, tentacles, non-human genitalia.

I Like:

Strong characterization (including character-appropriate dialog: no earthy, uneducated characters using $100 words)
Positive emotional payoffs that are well-earned
Passions that are strong without being mushy/fluffy
Moments of realization — satori
Friendships - although I am a romantic person, not every relationship must be romantic (I do like the trope of friends becoming lovers, however)
Wry and even dark humor in the course of a more serious story
And I like any of the following "cool bits":
- hurt-comfort (well, DUH!)
- being cozy indoors when it's rainy or snowing
- kissing the inside of the elbow or the base of the throat
- drops of water clinging to hair and/or skin
- leaning comfortably against a friend or lover; feeling them chuckle or speak
- whispered admissions of love or forgiveness
- brushing long hair or riffling fingers through short hair
- romantic partners who are both competent
- someone gradually waking and smiling when they realize their beloved is there
- a stronger partner submitting willingly to the desires of a weaker one
- water sounds: rain, a brook, waves
- family-of-choice, nakama, or True Companions
- cynics with secretly soft hearts
- In-jokes among family members or close friends
- shopping or planning scenes, where people are working together to pick things out

I'm quite content with both straight and gay relationships. I do tend to ship the canon relationships, unless it's a character who has had no clear relationships shown in the story. I'm not comfortable with sexual relationships shown in children under the age of, say, 14 or so, and even then it's better in context (teens with other teens or in a societal setting where girls expect to marry by 16-18 anyway).

The Fandoms

Alliance-Union - C. J. Cherryh

I'm a huge CJC fan, and Alliance-Union is my favorite of her settings. Hellburner is my very favorite book in this setting, but Cyteen is close behind.

Dek and Ben have a very special, dysfunctional relationship. To some extent, Dek is Ben's Morality Pet, and Ben is Dek's (canon) Sanity Anchor. I don't ship them, but if that's your preference, go for it, as long as this doesn't leave Meg and Sal out in the cold or fridged): I love them too, and nominations just didn't work out this year. I love the close found-family relationship these four have, and the unsentimental ways they express it, snark and all.

I love Ari II and her two azi. Florian is actually my favorite out of the three of them, for his emotional intelligence, but I also have a soft spot for Catlin, the good soldier, so often out of her depth with flux states. You could go slightly AU with a disaster scene that never happened during the canon time period while they're still kids, or carry things forward a little from Regenesis.

Grant and Justin are just one huge ball of hurt/comfort, aren't they? It would be easy to create a side scene in canon for them, or, as above, you could carry the storyline forward a bit. The two of them are always a choice target for anyone hoping to get at Ari II.

Note About the Additional (Trope) Tags in the Signup: The Hellburner crew is in a very different situation from the various Cyteen characters, so don't try to force a tag that doesn't seem to fit. For example, "Character is too traumatized by medical authority to go to therapy" is a perfect fit for Justin, but not so good for any of the Hellburner crew.

Books of the Raksura - Martha Wells

Moon/Jade/Chime is so very sweet, and yet sometimes prickly. Any combination of them taking care of each other, from Jade's pregnancy woes to battle injuries, would be great.

I love Lithe, who is so sweet and intense and opposite of what a Fell should be. I'd love to see her in action without the support of a court around her, caring for and even defending Malachite or Pearl. With Pearl there is the added tension of Pearl's (reasonable) dislike of Fell.

There would be a poignant role-reversal if Lither got hurt and Shade would have to figure out how to take care of her and rescue both of them.

Pearl having to depend on Moon would be tense in a very tasty way.

Finally, Moon having to rescue/care for Stone, who has saved and soothed Moon so many times. Please don't have Stone die!

Chronicles of the Kencyrath - P. C. Hodgell

I love Jame's wry and dark sense of humor, and I love the prickly relationship she has with Brier. Nightshade is also very intriguing, and imagining interactions between Brier and Shade, both inclined to be intensely loyal and yet both having to question that loyalty, appeals very much. It would also be lovely to see Tori "step up to the plate" in caring for Jame or his friend Grimly.

Note About the Additional (Trope) Tags in the Signup: The various pairs are in different situations, of course. Shade and Brier, as soldiers of two opposing houses, are going to have tropes about being enemies, which Jame+Tori or Tori+Grimly will not. For example, "Caring for someone who should be your enemy" is a good fit for Shade+Brier, but not for Tori+Grimly: so don't try to force a tag that doesn't seem to fit.