opalmatrix | Dear Hurt/Comfort Exchange Author (2025) (Reply)

I'm so grateful that you're writing me some hurt/comfort - it's just about my favorite kind of fanfic! Here 's a big stack of optional details about what I like and don't like in a story, plus some prompts for the fandoms.

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
- senses of smell and touch and memories attached to them
- warm and oversized bathrobes/dressing gowns or sweaters/jerseys
- someone's profile silhouetted against the light
- impulsive acts of valor (especially on behalf of the weak or an underdog)
- drops of water clinging to hair and/or skin
- leaning comfortably against a friend or lover; feeling them chuckle or speak
- romantic partners who are both competent
- whispered admissions of love or forgiveness
- finding in a fight that one's ally feels like a protective wall
- family-of-choice, nakama, or True Companions
- cynics with secretly soft hearts
- In-jokes among family members or close friends
- shopping or low-tension planning scenes, where people are working together to pick things out
- caper-type operations: crazy elaborate plans that work out well in the end, especially if parts of them are silly/funny

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).

Fandoms and Prompts

Books of the Raksura - Martha Wells

Moon (Raksura) & Frost (Raksura) & Bitter (Raksura) & Thorn ( Raksura) (hurt Moon)

This series has explorations of family and friends that are completely my jam.

Frost, the little queen from Sky Copper, is both protective and possessive of Moon to a ridiculous degree. In canon, she's too young to act on her protective instincts. I'd love some future fic where she and her siblings are closer to adult size and end up rescuing and caring for Moon until a proper rescue party can find them.

The Goblin Emperor Series - Katherine Addison

I love how this series remains cozy even in the face of assassination and ghouls. I'm a sucker for details of custom, food, and clothing.

Deret Beshelar & Cala Athmaza (hurt Cala)

Deret's not a cuddly person, to say the least. Cala, on the other hand, is a walking, talking beating heart. I'd love a situation where Deret has to do his best to comfort and care for his ill/injured partner.

Iäna Pel-Thenhior & Thara Celehar (both hurt)

These two have such a slooow burn going. I'd love to have them in a situation where both ae wrecked up and have to do their best to care for each other. This could be the aftermath of an actual disaster (even gods help then, an airship disaster) or something more domestic (for example, an epidemic of something like flu). In the latter case, Nebeno would want to help her son, but that might not work out well (please don't kill her, though).

The Locked Tomb

I love the warped domesticity and childish viewpoint of the horrors in Nona.

Nona (Locked Tomb Series) & Hot Sauce (hurt Hot Sauce)

Hot Sauce is so damn tough. If a space could be carved out to let her be vulnerable, what would happen? Maybe she and Nona get trapped together somewhere during one of the frequent disasters in the city?

Saiyuki (Anime & Manga)

Hakkai and Gojyo are my bulletproof OTP. I love putting them through the wringer and ending up contentedly in each others' arms again at the end.

Cho Hakkai/Sha Gojyo (both hurt)

Any timeline, any point within canon and after. They work out really well in AUs also.

Witch King - Martha Wells

Kai is the latest incarnation of the patented Wells snarky, self-destructive protagonist. They're all just my jam. I love the family of choice that's still forming in this series.

Dahin Stargard & Kaiisteron (Witch King) (hurt Kaiisteron)

Dahin is a helluva mess. The contrast between the sweet, confused kid we see in the past timeline and the bitter, smart-mouthed broken bird we encounter in the ruins of the palace near the end of the present timeline is painful. Tell me something that happened to Dahin in the years between, something where he ends up having to care for Kai, perhaps after Kai rescues him.

Alliance/Union - C.J. Cherryh

Meg Kady & Sal Aboujib (hurt Meg)

Hellburner is my favorite C.J. Cherryh book, and that's saying a lot, because I love most of her books. The found family that is the Hellburner core crew will always live in my heart.

There's an excellent canon scenario for this exchange that's barely mentioned, between Heavy Time and Hellburner. When "the girls" arrive on station, Ben tries to get Sal to explain to him why she and Meg decided to take the Fleet offer. Sal explains to him that the Shepherds were making life hell for Meg after her emergency shift piloting the Hamilton and her arm injury. Tell me more about that, how Sal helps injured Meg deal with the Shepherds being jerks, as well as the departure of Dek and Ben.

Signy Mallory/Jurgen Graff/Di Janz (hurt Signy)

We first meet Graff in Hellburner, and that's where I fell in love with him: not romantically, but as someone with whom I identified. He really cares about people, but he understands the military situation as well. When I realized that yes, this was Signy Mallory's exec officer from Downbelow Station, my heart grew several sizes. In Downbelow, Signy thinks about that fact that when she's feeling good about things, she has sexytimes with Di Janz (the Marine commander on Norway), with Graff, or whomever. I'm not the only one who's decided that means a Signy, Graff, and Di thruple.

Signy is so much in charge and so possessive of her troops. I'd like to see the picture flipped: Signy is rescued and cared for by her two old friends/lovers.