Hurt/Comfort Exchange
Mar. 6th, 2019 10:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aurillyThank you for offering one of these! I like to leave a lot of info for those who want it, but please don’t feel boxed in by the prompts. You can twist them around, or do just a little bit of one, or even ignore them entirely to write your own idea with a general like or two thrown in. As long as you’re having fun, I’m sure I’ll love it!
General Notes
• As long as my ship unambiguously gets together, and has a happy/hopeful ending, don't worry about how well your fic fits whichever tag we matched on or if there’s “enough” of the tag.
• Tragic patient/selfless nursemaid is fine, but I actually prefer other kinds of hurt/comfort dynamics, including: tough love; distracted from angst for so long that you forget it was weighing you down; jollied or manipulated into better spirits; secret self-sacrificial gestures of love or loyalty; comforter facilitates self-help instead of giving direct help; stoic comforter is moving heaven and earth to help hurtee without hurtee knowing (until hurtee finds out); sex that is forced upon them or initiated out of boredom, isolation, or desperation ends up unlocking real feelings and helping; self-absorbed/self-serving character ends up accidentally providing exactly the comfort the hurtee needs; comforter undertakes dangerous missions out of loyalty; pep talks; both hurt and comforters together...
Do Not Wants
— fusions, alternate setting AUs, goofy crack
— romantic pairings other than the ones specifically requested; poly or threesomes
— Things That Upset Me: major character death (but dying in non-final time loop iterations is totally fine!); the afterlife; bleak endings; shovel talks; my ship permanently breaks up; 'it was all a dream' endings
— Schmoopiness: plotless fluff; non-canonical pet names or terms of endearment; people saying "I love you" verbatim
— Sex & Relationship-Related: D/s dynamics; soulmates; yentas and matchmakers; pregnancy; adultery; characters written as ace, aro, or demi; gender identity headcanons
— Writing Things: 1st & 2nd person POV; phonetically spelled dialogue (my brain genuinely struggles to process it)
Things I Always Love
• Devoted Friends & Family: odd couples; enjoying one another's company; laughing at one another; fond exasperation; loyalty; quietly self-sacrificial gestures
• Adventures & Journeys: vacations gone awry; fish out of water; exploring new territory; daring rescues or escapes; espionage
• Competence & Resourcefulness: complementary skill sets; badassery; laughing in the face of danger, tragedy, or absurdity; the pen is mightier than the sword; but swords are more fun
• Friends to Lovers: I like many variations, including, a) friends with benefits or sex before feelings that becomes more; b) fics that start after the first kiss/declaration and focus on how they navigate the relationship transition in the days or weeks that follow, c) adventures that cause people to realize they have more than platonic feelings and decide to make a move.
• Sexy Times: I'd be thrilled to get higher-rated fic. I've listed out some general likes HERE; for all ships, not just the ones listed there. There's a more egregiously detailed version HERE (but honestly, the other one is enough).
Notes on Certain Tropes
Forced Proximity:
Captured or stranded or on missions together, etc. You can handwave the set-up! What I’m here for is how these tropes push relationships forward and help the characters learn new things about each other--both delightful and irritating--while working together. Huddling in search of warmth or comfort, starting to lose hope that they’ll ever get out of here, stoically trying to make the best of it, quiet gestures of loyalty or love, discovering each others’ skills, UST and longing… Two people who were either friends before but needed an extra push to become more, or else people who probably wouldn’t have become friends without being pushed together like this.
Marriage Tropes:
Similar to Forced Proximity. I don’t need you to spend a lot of time on the set-up (handwave away!), but I do need there to be a real reason for these tropes; I dislike “fake dating” for quotidian social scenarios. You can include the wedding day (and wedding night!) or start it afterwards to focus on how they slowly fall for each other and get together for real. Do they not realize the other has wanted it from the start? Or is it a slow growing affection on both sides that turns into love? Are there rituals or expectations that force them to have sex on their wedding night? Or do they get to it on their own schedule? If they’re pretending to be in love before they’re actually in love (or before they’ve confessed that they were never pretending), what kind of angst does that create?
Time Loops/Groundhog Day:
I love individual journeys of self-discovery, as well as self-help adventures in which people learn life lessons, overcome some baggage, figure out priorities, etc. This trope is amazing for all that! I don't really care how/why it starts or stops; feel free to handwave or leave things unexplained. I also don’t care which of the requested characters is in the loop (or maybe both!). Depending on whether it would be in-character for the character at hand, I enjoy a variety of reactions and loop iterations—from wacky, to “give no fucks”, to suicidal, to darkest timeline, to erroneously thinking it’s over, etc. Or you could focus more the aftermath, as the character transitions back to normal with the memories of all the other ways it could have gone. This trope gets a little creepy for me when it’s solely focused on making someone fall in love with you, or where character B is treated simply as character A's oblivious reward. However, as long as the loop person has other goals/projects, I'll be ecstatic. Or maybe find a way for the non-loop person to have agency?
Externally Driven Sex Tropes:
Sex pollen, ‘forced to do it’ type tropes, etc. No established romantic relationship or pre-arranged consent, please! I like these tropes when they have to get through this awkward/awful situation together, not knowing that their feelings are requited. Or maybe the experience leads one or both to realize they want more. Doing it out of angsty loyalty or secret longing or bloody-minded practicality, or because they were forced to. Thinking the other person would never want it otherwise, guilt about enjoying it, trying to keep it clinical to hide their true feelings and failing horribly, intense desperation on the part of the sex pollened one (especially if they're usually reserved), one unknowingly giving the other all kinds of incorrect signals, unnecessary apologies afterwards... that sort of thing. But I definitely need the reveal that they were both into it even if they never would have chosen for it to happen this way! You can focus on the day of the event, or even start after it to focus on how they navigate the resulting awkwardness and get together.
Magical Curing Kisses
I’m most interested in characters working through angst and uncertainty in the aftermath of the kissing. So feel free to skip over the set-up or the details of the curse (but you can definitely include the kisser’s heartbroken devastation during the kissee’s illness or curse or whatever, if you want; that's always yummy). For example, maybe the kisser leaves before the kissee wakes up/gets uncursed and doesn’t immediately realize what happened? Or maybe the kissee erroneously thinks someone else's kiss cured them (and maybe is disappointed, because they've been pining for the kisser)? What if the kisser tries to cover up or deny what really happened—due to embarrassment about their feelings, or internalized homophobia, or assumptions that feelings are not requited, or because he’s an aloof badass who wants to be immune to feelings, or is nauseated by this cheesy concept, or...? Did the kisser even know the extent of his or her feelings before the kissing worked like this? Did they mean to try to give true love’s kiss, or was it an accident? Is it actually a true love’s kiss, or is there some more scientific cure that coincidentally worked at the same time, and they realize only after the drama of thinking there was a real true love’s kiss has gotten them together? Whatever you pick, they MUST figure out the truth by the end!!!!
Lymond Chronicles
• Francis/Christian (hurt Francis)
• Francis/Christian (hurt Christian)
• Francis/Christian (both hurt)
I yearn for a canon divergence AU about Francis and Christian unambiguously getting together and being okay after the first book. “The Game of Kings” is far and away my favorite, so I'm fine ignoring the later ones. Francis is so much more insouciant and FUN in it, while still being deliciously anguished and badass. And they have so much fun together. I love their secret visits and correspondence and music. They conspire so dangerously, but at the same time, she's the only person he seems to relax around. I love how her blindness never stops her from being ridiculously capable. I love the way he understands how she wants to be treated, and quietly helps her get what she wants out of life. I love the way she is largely over his shit and keeps up with his erudite banter. I love their equal amounts of self-sacrificing love for one another.
This is one of my ultimate lifelong OTPs, so I need them to be unquestionably endgame and have a happy ending. Instead of bashing or hurting Tom, please pretend their engagement amicably ends/ended, or the pairing never existed at all. No hints of other future Francis pairings, please. However, as long as he's over it, it’s okay to reference past Francis/Lady Lennox. Canon ships that don't involve Francis or Christian are fine to include in the background.
I requested all time loops here; see above for general notes on the tropel. I know this is hard mode, but I would very much prefer something that isn't all about fixing her death. Meaning, I don’t want the loop to just be that day over and over and either of them trying to fix it. Anything else!! What about a post-Game of Kings story that simply assumes a divergence where she recovered before the start of the fic, or was never injured at all, or they were together during her recovery, or…? Or something set before that day that results in a divergence where her accident never even comes up? Or maybe the loops are different lengths and fixing that day is just a tiny part of the story? Lots of longing and denial and cleverness and OTT angst would be great.
Psmith
• Psmith/Mike (hurt Psmith)
• Psmith/Mike (hurt Mike)
• Psmith/Mike (both) – not in the tagset, but this would be good, too!
Friends to lovers, please! Just... anything where they're unambiguously together by the end. The odd coupling of Mike’s everyman pragmatism and Psmith’s dialogue is endlessly delightful to me. I love their loyalty and what self-sacrificing heroes they both are, while also being total little shits. I love even more how they nobly try to hide their sacrifices and suffering. You can set it at Sedleigh, Cambridge, the Bank days, or a canon divergence. Whatever!
It would most likely have to be a secret relationship, per the time period. While longing and guilty hesitation are lovely (and a touch of quietly understood, low-key forbiddenness does add a certain frisson), I’d prefer to avoid anguished coming outs or serious discussion of social issues. Other kinds of angst are fine, though (ex. pining, war horrors, boarding school bullies, backstory abuse, etc.) as long as it turns out okay by the end and retains a sense of humor.
— Whump with a Happy Ending: Stoic woobies... yum. Maybe something traumatizing happens or has happened to Psmith, who hides his pain behind his effervescent mask... but Mike eventually figures it out and works to make it all better. Or something terrible happens to Mike, and Psmith goes above and beyond to get revenge and/or set things right while trying to help him move past it. Bonus points if they stoically try to keep their efforts secret, even as it hurts them, and the other eventually finds out, or it turns out he knew all along…
— Time Loops and Sleeping Curse Kiss: see notes in general section
—Superpowers: Mike might be more hilariously aghast, but I don’t actually care which of them gets it or how/why it happens, so feel free to skip that or leave it unexplained. It would just be fun to see how they react, in a world where having superpowers is not supposed to be a thing. What kind of angst or hurt or confusion does the power cause? How does the other help him through it? What uses do they find for the power? How does this premise help them get together? Any superpower would be great, from traditional ones to something super random and seemingly useless.
— WWI: Fighting together, captured together, espionage missions, winning a key battle through impertinent ragging, Mike the accidental war hero, keeping one another warm in their trench, left for dead by their division, making out in a bombed out Belgian village, the desperation of war causing them to reveal long-secret pining, Psmith goes behind enemy lines to rescue Mike, bad guys forcing them to do things or torturing them…
— Self-Indulgent Slavery Prompt: This could be done as a Narnia or Game of Thrones crossover, or you could even create a dystopian slavery AU within the otherwise canonical Wodehouse world... Anyway, to take Narnia as an example, Psmith and Mike blunder through a portal into the Lone Islands (I don’t care how; you could even skip over that part), and are captured and sold into slavery. All the whump, hurt/comfort, and loyalty, please! Does Psmith secretly take Mike's beatings and/or sex duties to spare him? Or vice versa? Or are they forced to watch one another be abused? Does all this trauma get them to finally act on their feelings? Or does Psmith arrange things so that life as slaves is actually pretty good, no rape or beatings? Are they rescued by the canon emancipators? Get revenge on their master(s)? Or do they organize a Socialist revolution, so that by the time Caspian or Danaerys or whoever arrive, they find the masters already overthrown and Psmith in charge, with Mike as his confidential secretary and advisor? Some wholly other direction you want to take this? Lots of OCs are (obviously) welcome. No body modification, permanent damage, or branding, please, but beyond that, set your id free.
MCU
• Bucky/Loki (hurt Bucky)
• Bucky/Loki (hurt Loki)
• Bucky/Loki (both hurt) – not in tagset, but also welcome!
They are my two favorite MCU characters and will be my OTP forever, I don’t caaaaaaare. They would be amazing together, an entertainingly snarky, angsty and badass odd couple. As long as they come to genuinely care about one another and unambiguously get together (with actual makeouts, please, or more!), I will be pleased with anything, even if they start out prickly or wary.
Even before Infinity War, I loved extreme canon divergences or pretending disparate points in their timelines lined up. Ex. post-TWS+pre-Thor1, or mid-Ragnarok+Bucky escaped Hydra earlier and in some totally different way, or... You get the idea. As long as they retain the backgrounds and character beats established in the first few minutes of their first films, you can ignore any/all parts of later canon. I don't actually care about the logistics of the divergence; feel free to start after the divergence and/or after they become friends, handwaving the changes to canon.
Fandom-specific DNWs: 1) Infinity War. It didn't happen and will never happen. 2) A scene or two in a larger fic is fine, but I’m not into stories where Loki spends most of it in Jotun form or shapeshifted into someone else, or where Bucky spends most of it brainwashed or pathetic. 3) Steve and/or Bucky ever having more than platonic feelings for each other (I like to keep my Bucky ships separate; however, it’s fine if Loki erroneously thinks Steve/Bucky is a thing, or Bucky erroneously thinks Loki/anyone is a thing). 4) I have a pet peeve about Bucky (and Steve) saying "ain't". Can they please speak as properly as they do in the films? Cursing is fine, though. 5) No Darcy or Sharon, and nothing from the TV shows, as I'm not familiar with them.
— Forced Proximity, Sex Pollen, and Marriage Tropes: see general section
— Magic Kissing: See write up in general section. For this, I’m fine if Loki erroneously thinks Steve woke Bucky up, and has angst about it before it all works out for a Bucky/Loki happy ending.
— Magic Rituals: I have a weakness for magic rituals where people have to cut and bleed all over each other and/or have sex, and it’s overwhelming, and they need comfort afterwards. Is it private, or does the magic require witnesses? Are they trying to pretend it’s simply clinical, but something gives them away? Some other take?
**The prompts below are all premise ideas to get you started in case you’re stuck on how to get them in the same place; however, I’m more than fine assuming these premises and starting later so you can focus on the shippy stuff. Or come up with your own!
— The Convergence left wounded Loki stranded on Earth, to be found and taken in by post-TWS Bucky. What do they bond and bicker about day to day? Can Loki help Bucky's memories or triggers? Do they have adventures together?
— Loki coming to Earth for some reason between WWII and TWS and somehow rescuing the Winter Soldier. What do they do once Bucky's lucid again? Is Loki stuck here, and they shack up together?
— Post-TWS or post-CW Steve asks Thor if Bucky can hide out on Asgard, where Loki is living as himself, not as Odin. Bucky's impression of the place and characters? Using Brooklyn street smarts to help royalty with a problem? Undertaking missions together for Frigga? Is Loki still prisoner, and Bucky keeps visiting?
—A divergence where Loki and Bucky were handwavily forgiven and helped out the Avengers, going on missions and stuff, either on Earth or in space? Or they have to get married to prevent one or both from being extradited for their crimes? Or pretend to be together for a mission?
— Bucky and Loki somehow met (and hooked up?) before or during WWII. However, what I'm actually interested in is what happens when they meet again later on. When/how does their reunion happen? What with the brainwashing, amnesia, Thanos-bidding, etc, it could be so angsty followed by such tender comfort, and possibly have identity porn. Yum. You can include the flashbacks, or just handwavily mention the backstory in passing to focus on the present-day.
General Notes
• As long as my ship unambiguously gets together, and has a happy/hopeful ending, don't worry about how well your fic fits whichever tag we matched on or if there’s “enough” of the tag.
• Tragic patient/selfless nursemaid is fine, but I actually prefer other kinds of hurt/comfort dynamics, including: tough love; distracted from angst for so long that you forget it was weighing you down; jollied or manipulated into better spirits; secret self-sacrificial gestures of love or loyalty; comforter facilitates self-help instead of giving direct help; stoic comforter is moving heaven and earth to help hurtee without hurtee knowing (until hurtee finds out); sex that is forced upon them or initiated out of boredom, isolation, or desperation ends up unlocking real feelings and helping; self-absorbed/self-serving character ends up accidentally providing exactly the comfort the hurtee needs; comforter undertakes dangerous missions out of loyalty; pep talks; both hurt and comforters together...
Do Not Wants
— fusions, alternate setting AUs, goofy crack
— romantic pairings other than the ones specifically requested; poly or threesomes
— Things That Upset Me: major character death (but dying in non-final time loop iterations is totally fine!); the afterlife; bleak endings; shovel talks; my ship permanently breaks up; 'it was all a dream' endings
— Schmoopiness: plotless fluff; non-canonical pet names or terms of endearment; people saying "I love you" verbatim
— Sex & Relationship-Related: D/s dynamics; soulmates; yentas and matchmakers; pregnancy; adultery; characters written as ace, aro, or demi; gender identity headcanons
— Writing Things: 1st & 2nd person POV; phonetically spelled dialogue (my brain genuinely struggles to process it)
Things I Always Love
• Devoted Friends & Family: odd couples; enjoying one another's company; laughing at one another; fond exasperation; loyalty; quietly self-sacrificial gestures
• Adventures & Journeys: vacations gone awry; fish out of water; exploring new territory; daring rescues or escapes; espionage
• Competence & Resourcefulness: complementary skill sets; badassery; laughing in the face of danger, tragedy, or absurdity; the pen is mightier than the sword; but swords are more fun
• Friends to Lovers: I like many variations, including, a) friends with benefits or sex before feelings that becomes more; b) fics that start after the first kiss/declaration and focus on how they navigate the relationship transition in the days or weeks that follow, c) adventures that cause people to realize they have more than platonic feelings and decide to make a move.
• Sexy Times: I'd be thrilled to get higher-rated fic. I've listed out some general likes HERE; for all ships, not just the ones listed there. There's a more egregiously detailed version HERE (but honestly, the other one is enough).
Notes on Certain Tropes
Forced Proximity:
Captured or stranded or on missions together, etc. You can handwave the set-up! What I’m here for is how these tropes push relationships forward and help the characters learn new things about each other--both delightful and irritating--while working together. Huddling in search of warmth or comfort, starting to lose hope that they’ll ever get out of here, stoically trying to make the best of it, quiet gestures of loyalty or love, discovering each others’ skills, UST and longing… Two people who were either friends before but needed an extra push to become more, or else people who probably wouldn’t have become friends without being pushed together like this.
Marriage Tropes:
Similar to Forced Proximity. I don’t need you to spend a lot of time on the set-up (handwave away!), but I do need there to be a real reason for these tropes; I dislike “fake dating” for quotidian social scenarios. You can include the wedding day (and wedding night!) or start it afterwards to focus on how they slowly fall for each other and get together for real. Do they not realize the other has wanted it from the start? Or is it a slow growing affection on both sides that turns into love? Are there rituals or expectations that force them to have sex on their wedding night? Or do they get to it on their own schedule? If they’re pretending to be in love before they’re actually in love (or before they’ve confessed that they were never pretending), what kind of angst does that create?
Time Loops/Groundhog Day:
I love individual journeys of self-discovery, as well as self-help adventures in which people learn life lessons, overcome some baggage, figure out priorities, etc. This trope is amazing for all that! I don't really care how/why it starts or stops; feel free to handwave or leave things unexplained. I also don’t care which of the requested characters is in the loop (or maybe both!). Depending on whether it would be in-character for the character at hand, I enjoy a variety of reactions and loop iterations—from wacky, to “give no fucks”, to suicidal, to darkest timeline, to erroneously thinking it’s over, etc. Or you could focus more the aftermath, as the character transitions back to normal with the memories of all the other ways it could have gone. This trope gets a little creepy for me when it’s solely focused on making someone fall in love with you, or where character B is treated simply as character A's oblivious reward. However, as long as the loop person has other goals/projects, I'll be ecstatic. Or maybe find a way for the non-loop person to have agency?
Externally Driven Sex Tropes:
Sex pollen, ‘forced to do it’ type tropes, etc. No established romantic relationship or pre-arranged consent, please! I like these tropes when they have to get through this awkward/awful situation together, not knowing that their feelings are requited. Or maybe the experience leads one or both to realize they want more. Doing it out of angsty loyalty or secret longing or bloody-minded practicality, or because they were forced to. Thinking the other person would never want it otherwise, guilt about enjoying it, trying to keep it clinical to hide their true feelings and failing horribly, intense desperation on the part of the sex pollened one (especially if they're usually reserved), one unknowingly giving the other all kinds of incorrect signals, unnecessary apologies afterwards... that sort of thing. But I definitely need the reveal that they were both into it even if they never would have chosen for it to happen this way! You can focus on the day of the event, or even start after it to focus on how they navigate the resulting awkwardness and get together.
Magical Curing Kisses
I’m most interested in characters working through angst and uncertainty in the aftermath of the kissing. So feel free to skip over the set-up or the details of the curse (but you can definitely include the kisser’s heartbroken devastation during the kissee’s illness or curse or whatever, if you want; that's always yummy). For example, maybe the kisser leaves before the kissee wakes up/gets uncursed and doesn’t immediately realize what happened? Or maybe the kissee erroneously thinks someone else's kiss cured them (and maybe is disappointed, because they've been pining for the kisser)? What if the kisser tries to cover up or deny what really happened—due to embarrassment about their feelings, or internalized homophobia, or assumptions that feelings are not requited, or because he’s an aloof badass who wants to be immune to feelings, or is nauseated by this cheesy concept, or...? Did the kisser even know the extent of his or her feelings before the kissing worked like this? Did they mean to try to give true love’s kiss, or was it an accident? Is it actually a true love’s kiss, or is there some more scientific cure that coincidentally worked at the same time, and they realize only after the drama of thinking there was a real true love’s kiss has gotten them together? Whatever you pick, they MUST figure out the truth by the end!!!!
Lymond Chronicles
• Francis/Christian (hurt Francis)
• Francis/Christian (hurt Christian)
• Francis/Christian (both hurt)
I yearn for a canon divergence AU about Francis and Christian unambiguously getting together and being okay after the first book. “The Game of Kings” is far and away my favorite, so I'm fine ignoring the later ones. Francis is so much more insouciant and FUN in it, while still being deliciously anguished and badass. And they have so much fun together. I love their secret visits and correspondence and music. They conspire so dangerously, but at the same time, she's the only person he seems to relax around. I love how her blindness never stops her from being ridiculously capable. I love the way he understands how she wants to be treated, and quietly helps her get what she wants out of life. I love the way she is largely over his shit and keeps up with his erudite banter. I love their equal amounts of self-sacrificing love for one another.
This is one of my ultimate lifelong OTPs, so I need them to be unquestionably endgame and have a happy ending. Instead of bashing or hurting Tom, please pretend their engagement amicably ends/ended, or the pairing never existed at all. No hints of other future Francis pairings, please. However, as long as he's over it, it’s okay to reference past Francis/Lady Lennox. Canon ships that don't involve Francis or Christian are fine to include in the background.
I requested all time loops here; see above for general notes on the tropel. I know this is hard mode, but I would very much prefer something that isn't all about fixing her death. Meaning, I don’t want the loop to just be that day over and over and either of them trying to fix it. Anything else!! What about a post-Game of Kings story that simply assumes a divergence where she recovered before the start of the fic, or was never injured at all, or they were together during her recovery, or…? Or something set before that day that results in a divergence where her accident never even comes up? Or maybe the loops are different lengths and fixing that day is just a tiny part of the story? Lots of longing and denial and cleverness and OTT angst would be great.
Psmith
• Psmith/Mike (hurt Psmith)
• Psmith/Mike (hurt Mike)
• Psmith/Mike (both) – not in the tagset, but this would be good, too!
Friends to lovers, please! Just... anything where they're unambiguously together by the end. The odd coupling of Mike’s everyman pragmatism and Psmith’s dialogue is endlessly delightful to me. I love their loyalty and what self-sacrificing heroes they both are, while also being total little shits. I love even more how they nobly try to hide their sacrifices and suffering. You can set it at Sedleigh, Cambridge, the Bank days, or a canon divergence. Whatever!
It would most likely have to be a secret relationship, per the time period. While longing and guilty hesitation are lovely (and a touch of quietly understood, low-key forbiddenness does add a certain frisson), I’d prefer to avoid anguished coming outs or serious discussion of social issues. Other kinds of angst are fine, though (ex. pining, war horrors, boarding school bullies, backstory abuse, etc.) as long as it turns out okay by the end and retains a sense of humor.
— Whump with a Happy Ending: Stoic woobies... yum. Maybe something traumatizing happens or has happened to Psmith, who hides his pain behind his effervescent mask... but Mike eventually figures it out and works to make it all better. Or something terrible happens to Mike, and Psmith goes above and beyond to get revenge and/or set things right while trying to help him move past it. Bonus points if they stoically try to keep their efforts secret, even as it hurts them, and the other eventually finds out, or it turns out he knew all along…
— Time Loops and Sleeping Curse Kiss: see notes in general section
—Superpowers: Mike might be more hilariously aghast, but I don’t actually care which of them gets it or how/why it happens, so feel free to skip that or leave it unexplained. It would just be fun to see how they react, in a world where having superpowers is not supposed to be a thing. What kind of angst or hurt or confusion does the power cause? How does the other help him through it? What uses do they find for the power? How does this premise help them get together? Any superpower would be great, from traditional ones to something super random and seemingly useless.
— WWI: Fighting together, captured together, espionage missions, winning a key battle through impertinent ragging, Mike the accidental war hero, keeping one another warm in their trench, left for dead by their division, making out in a bombed out Belgian village, the desperation of war causing them to reveal long-secret pining, Psmith goes behind enemy lines to rescue Mike, bad guys forcing them to do things or torturing them…
— Self-Indulgent Slavery Prompt: This could be done as a Narnia or Game of Thrones crossover, or you could even create a dystopian slavery AU within the otherwise canonical Wodehouse world... Anyway, to take Narnia as an example, Psmith and Mike blunder through a portal into the Lone Islands (I don’t care how; you could even skip over that part), and are captured and sold into slavery. All the whump, hurt/comfort, and loyalty, please! Does Psmith secretly take Mike's beatings and/or sex duties to spare him? Or vice versa? Or are they forced to watch one another be abused? Does all this trauma get them to finally act on their feelings? Or does Psmith arrange things so that life as slaves is actually pretty good, no rape or beatings? Are they rescued by the canon emancipators? Get revenge on their master(s)? Or do they organize a Socialist revolution, so that by the time Caspian or Danaerys or whoever arrive, they find the masters already overthrown and Psmith in charge, with Mike as his confidential secretary and advisor? Some wholly other direction you want to take this? Lots of OCs are (obviously) welcome. No body modification, permanent damage, or branding, please, but beyond that, set your id free.
MCU
• Bucky/Loki (hurt Bucky)
• Bucky/Loki (hurt Loki)
• Bucky/Loki (both hurt) – not in tagset, but also welcome!
They are my two favorite MCU characters and will be my OTP forever, I don’t caaaaaaare. They would be amazing together, an entertainingly snarky, angsty and badass odd couple. As long as they come to genuinely care about one another and unambiguously get together (with actual makeouts, please, or more!), I will be pleased with anything, even if they start out prickly or wary.
Even before Infinity War, I loved extreme canon divergences or pretending disparate points in their timelines lined up. Ex. post-TWS+pre-Thor1, or mid-Ragnarok+Bucky escaped Hydra earlier and in some totally different way, or... You get the idea. As long as they retain the backgrounds and character beats established in the first few minutes of their first films, you can ignore any/all parts of later canon. I don't actually care about the logistics of the divergence; feel free to start after the divergence and/or after they become friends, handwaving the changes to canon.
Fandom-specific DNWs: 1) Infinity War. It didn't happen and will never happen. 2) A scene or two in a larger fic is fine, but I’m not into stories where Loki spends most of it in Jotun form or shapeshifted into someone else, or where Bucky spends most of it brainwashed or pathetic. 3) Steve and/or Bucky ever having more than platonic feelings for each other (I like to keep my Bucky ships separate; however, it’s fine if Loki erroneously thinks Steve/Bucky is a thing, or Bucky erroneously thinks Loki/anyone is a thing). 4) I have a pet peeve about Bucky (and Steve) saying "ain't". Can they please speak as properly as they do in the films? Cursing is fine, though. 5) No Darcy or Sharon, and nothing from the TV shows, as I'm not familiar with them.
— Forced Proximity, Sex Pollen, and Marriage Tropes: see general section
— Magic Kissing: See write up in general section. For this, I’m fine if Loki erroneously thinks Steve woke Bucky up, and has angst about it before it all works out for a Bucky/Loki happy ending.
— Magic Rituals: I have a weakness for magic rituals where people have to cut and bleed all over each other and/or have sex, and it’s overwhelming, and they need comfort afterwards. Is it private, or does the magic require witnesses? Are they trying to pretend it’s simply clinical, but something gives them away? Some other take?
**The prompts below are all premise ideas to get you started in case you’re stuck on how to get them in the same place; however, I’m more than fine assuming these premises and starting later so you can focus on the shippy stuff. Or come up with your own!
— The Convergence left wounded Loki stranded on Earth, to be found and taken in by post-TWS Bucky. What do they bond and bicker about day to day? Can Loki help Bucky's memories or triggers? Do they have adventures together?
— Loki coming to Earth for some reason between WWII and TWS and somehow rescuing the Winter Soldier. What do they do once Bucky's lucid again? Is Loki stuck here, and they shack up together?
— Post-TWS or post-CW Steve asks Thor if Bucky can hide out on Asgard, where Loki is living as himself, not as Odin. Bucky's impression of the place and characters? Using Brooklyn street smarts to help royalty with a problem? Undertaking missions together for Frigga? Is Loki still prisoner, and Bucky keeps visiting?
—A divergence where Loki and Bucky were handwavily forgiven and helped out the Avengers, going on missions and stuff, either on Earth or in space? Or they have to get married to prevent one or both from being extradited for their crimes? Or pretend to be together for a mission?
— Bucky and Loki somehow met (and hooked up?) before or during WWII. However, what I'm actually interested in is what happens when they meet again later on. When/how does their reunion happen? What with the brainwashing, amnesia, Thanos-bidding, etc, it could be so angsty followed by such tender comfort, and possibly have identity porn. Yum. You can include the flashbacks, or just handwavily mention the backstory in passing to focus on the present-day.