Dear Writer - Hurt/Comfort Ex 2021

[simplecoffee]

(Letter is complete as of March 23!)

Hi there! Thank you so much for creating for me! Hurt/comfort is my very soul in fandom (as my ao3 and tumblr will attest). <3 All my requests are for fic this year, but I am always super open to art treats if you feel so inclined. :D

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So, the thing I love most in fanfic is taking canon character dynamics and just...making them More. Taking them further, exploring their natural progression, in either a gen or a shippy way. Most of my requests this year are ship-oriented, so most of my rambling below will be too, but rest assured where I've requested an & pairing in addition to the / one, I will love the gen version just as much. 💛

I've arranged my requests by fandom and pairing: for each request, each tag in the cloud can be taken as a prompt on its own, or you can read the tags for that request as a whole and get a pretty solid idea of the general vibe for that pairing that I adore. I'm going to ramble a bit in this letter about some individual tags that catch my fancy, but I do love all the tags very much, so I'm pretty much guaranteed to love whichever one(s) you choose, regardless of whether or not I mention it separately here. 💛

Here are the navigation links for the sections below!

> Likes & DNWs

> Mission: Impossible (Movies)
• Ethan/Hunley, Ethan/Hunley/Luther, Ethan/Hunley & Jane/Zhen (hurt Ethan); Ethan/Hunley (both hurt)
• Ethan/Luther, Ethan/Luther & Jane, Ethan & Present-Day IMF Team, Ethan & Original 1996 IMF Team (hurt Ethan)
• Ethan/Max (hurt Ethan)

> The Hunt for Red October (1990)
• Jack/Ramius, Jack/Mancuso, Jack/Ramius/Mancuso (hurt Jack)
• Jack/Mancuso, Ramius/Mancuso, Jack/Ramius/Mancuso (hurt Mancuso); Jack/Ramius/Mancuso (Jack and Mancuso hurt)

> The Fugitive (1993)
• Sam/Richard (hurt Sam); Sam/Richard (hurt Richard)

> The Shadow (1994)
• Margo/Lamont (hurt Lamont)

> Top Gun (1986)
• Ice/Mav (hurt Mav)

> War of the Worlds (2005)
• Ray/OMC, Ray/OFC, Ray & Original Character(s) (hurt Ray)

My general likes:

Hurt tropes: fevers, headaches, migraines, exhaustion, respiratory illnesses, illness messing with a character's grip on reality, combat/mission injuries, scars, old injuries acting up, touch starvation, sensory deprivation / sensory overload, characters not believing they deserve comfort or being surprised to receive comfort, hurting characters choking up at moments when they really need to speak (eg. leader unable to tell their worried team they're fine, submissive unable to safeword), stoic characters breaking down when faced with comfort, subdrop, anything exploring the fallout of canon trauma

Comfort tropes: carrying, cuddling, hair stroking/petting/brushing, massage/finding pressure points to ease pain, characters wrapping smaller characters in their arms, another character wrapping the ill/injured character in soft blankets/clothes/their own jackets (especially jackets that are too big for them or markedly not their colour/style!), clothes sharing in general, sweater paws and too-big clothes, gentle dom/mes, keeping characters warm, aftercare, forehead kisses, hands and touch

In general, I will love every h/c scenario (within the tags) there is - whether or not you'd like to put it in a larger context, plot or no plot, casefic, fluff fic, getting together fic, established relationship, wherever you'd like to take it, I'm game. If you feel inclined toward higher ratings, I adore heavy petting and smut with feelings - when it comes to sensuality, I love emphasis on sensation and emotion.

I'm also very open to unconventional narrative styles or framing devices, such as outsider POV, outsider POV contrasted with canon characters' POV, epistolary fic, framing devices such as mission reports, medical reports, audio transcripts/debrief transcripts, text messages or post-its between characters, news articles, official documentation, and similar!

Sexual likes:
D/s overtones. Service subs. Subs With Issues. Praise kink. Hands, fingers, touch; touch starvation. Finger-sucking. Aftercare. Tenderness, especially if the person receiving it isn't expecting it, isn't used to it, and it breaks them just a little.
Marking, intentional or no - bruising with lips or teeth; hiding the bruises under clothing. Suit kink. Wrists bound or held down. Honour bondage. Careful sex / making out when one partner is hurt or ill and feverish (fever sex is, uh, a Thing of mine). Or rough, desperate, life-affirming sex / making out.
There are some fandoms where I love the sex a lot rougher; see the sections under Collateral and Top Gun. (Also, to an extent, Edge of Tomorrow.)

Art likes:
Realistic and sketchy styles, bold lines and rich colours/textures, bold accent colours, creative lighting choices, noir-style art especially for action canons, minimalist styles/silhouettes, characters captured in unaware moments as though they're being photographed without realizing it, art that captures the vibe of canon without necessarily capturing the style of canon; angsty hurt/comfort or warm, gentle, casually intimate moments
Kisses of all descriptions, especially on the forehead, hands, or collarbone. Characters undressing their injured/sick partners or taking off their glasses, if they wear them (eg. Hunley, Mancuso, Ethan in MI 1). Sick/hurt characters with their hair messed up, perhaps hiding their faces in other characters' chests or shoulders. Smaller characters getting carried bridal style when they're not feeling well, maybe clinging to the character carrying them if they're not unconscious. Just hands in general, especially if they're scratched or hurt and being taken care of. :D
(I'm vaguely not-okay with pink or green as a dominant/background colour, but I love...well, basically every other colour there is. :D)

General DNWs:
• Mundane/depowered/setting change AUs
• Bleak, hopeless endings (as long as there's hope, bittersweet endings are fine!)
• Unrequested crossovers and fusions
• Ethan/Benji, Ethan/Ilsa, Ethan/Brandt
• Any mention of Mission Impossible 2 canon
• Any mention of US Marshals canon
• Death of requested characters (even if they died in canon. Alan Hunley Is Alive That's My Story And I'm Sticking To It)
• Non-canonical death of non-requested characters
• Terminal illness
• Any mention of coronavirus or medical quarantine/medical lockdown situations (trapped together, etc. is a-okay)
• Permanent injury (exceptions: War of the Worlds, and Jack Ryan's canonical past injury in The Hunt for Red October)
• Infected wounds
• Gastrointestinal illness (nausea/vomiting is okay but not as a focus of the work, and not as a result of GI illness - so character getting nauseous or throwing up from a migraine or just severe pain in general, yes; character getting nauseous or throwing up as a result of a severe anxiety attack or PTSD episode, yes; character suffering anything related to food poisoning or GI bugs or overeating and similar, no)
• Pregnancy, menstruation
• Hurt/comfort-verse
• Marijuana use or mention of it in any capacity (other intoxicants a-okay)
• Infidelity (for Red October, I'd prefer that Jack and Cathy were never married, and amiably co-parent Sally but are not together any more)

Sexual DNWs:
• Noncon or dubcon, except where noted (see War of the Worlds and Top Gun sections)
• humiliation as a kink, except where noted (see War of the Worlds and Top Gun sections)
• pain play for Mission: Impossible and Red October (a-okay for all other fandoms)
• gags of any kind (hand over mouth is okay for dubcon/noncon prompts, but I would like it to trigger the character on the receiving end and for there to be some emotional fallout of it)
• anal, dirty talk, spanking, ageplay, scat, watersports, rimming, emeto, A/B/O, d/s-verse, mommy/daddy kink, maledom/femsub


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Mission: Impossible (Movies)

Ethan/Hunley, Ethan & Hunley (hurt Ethan)
Ethan/Hunley (both hurt)
Tags: Handler comforting hurt/sick agent • A & B have to cancel planned date because A's ill/injured. B comforts and makes evening romantic. • Body worship focusing on the scars and aftermath of trauma • Character A Indirectly Responsible For Character B's Injuries • Fever sex • Careful Sex Because One Partner Is Injured/Ill • Characters have to stop making out because sick/injured partner starts feeling worse • Aftermath of Torture - Confusion/Delirium • Aftermath of Torture - Tortured character's superiors ensure their torturers are brought to justice • Aftermath of Torture - Wound Cleaning • Altered States - Delirium • Altered States - Fever • A's unrequited pining found to be requited while B helps them recover from serious injury • Caring for character's injured hands • Driving with a mildly sick/injured character in the passenger seat • Sick/hurt character lulled to sleep by car/train/aircraft engine noise • Mutual pining during slow recovery from near-fatal injury • Sick/hurt character sleeping in the back seat of a car • hurt/sick while travelling on public transport • Kissing Pain Lines From Around A Character's Eyes
hesitation to tell the stories behind scars • Carrying sick/hurt/exhausted character to bed • Catching injured character as they faint or lose balance • Character A comes to B's rescue then passes out due to sustained injuries/exhaustion once B is safe • Character A Confesses Feelings Because They Think Character B is Unconscious • Character A drapes their jacket over B's shoulders • Character A falls asleep on B's shoulder • Character A falls asleep on B's shoulder; B gently moves A to rest on lap instead • Character A realizes their love for character B when B is hurt/sick • Character Cradling Sick Character's Head In Their Lap • Character feels so bad they have to sit down on the floor/ground • B sees formal A voluntarily wearing casual clothes for 1st time while A is sick/injured • Character usually never complains; mild complaint from them shows they feel really bad • Character wearing a scarf because their throat hurts • Character who went through a severe physical ordeal and ended up injured falls ill during recovery • Character who's usually the most grounded one is so sick/hurt that they wake up visibly disoriented • Character's headache is bad enough to be evident to other characters • Checking For Fever With A Gentle Touch That Lingers • Love confession to/from sick/hurt character who is out of it • Making injured/sick character the little spoon • Massaging a sick character's temples • Medical Reports/Records • Migraine Aura Symptoms • Character considers their car/a car to be a safe comforting place • nausea due to intense pain • Old Injuries Acting Up • Quiet comfort after stressful hurt • Resting a cool hand against a character's warm face • Rubbing a character's hands for comfort • running fingers through hair in a calming way • Sharing a bed with hurt character while mutually pining • Sick character admits to/can't hide signs of past trauma • Sick/hurt character forgets they are undercover • Sick/hurt character has to travel on a plane • Sick/hurt character steals or borrows clothes from comforter • Sick/Hurt Submissive Character • Sick/Hurt Dominant Character • Back rubs to alleviate coughing • back rubs to ease a headache • Character rubbing other character's hair dry • Slow dancing with a sick partner

I love Ethan, I love Hunley, and I love Hunley's arc from formidable foe to intense idealist to 'Ethan do not even think about losing confidence in yourself I Did It All Because Of You'. :D Hunley spent most of Rogue Nation trying to chase Ethan down, but by the airport scene in Fallout he's clearly at least a little bit in love with him, and it's rather low-key and delightful. They're so different but so complementary! Hunley's so vocal, and Ethan so quiet but equally intense! Ethan's such a ray of sunshine that he apparently converted Hunley from a cynic to an idealist by deciding to trust him! Hunley heaps praise and reassurance on Ethan, while Ethan looks as though he's in physical pain from being told he's worth believing in! Ethan calls Hunley 'sir' and it somehow means all the things! And as always, Ethan is canonically pretty damn touch-starved and might tear up on receiving unexpected physical affection, especially if he's otherwise hurting and overwhelmed. I love how deeply Hunley seems to care for Ethan now, how soft they are with each other in Fallout, and I'd love to see how their dynamic evolves once they get together (or, indeed, how it changes between Rogue Nation and Fallout if they got together between the two films, and that was why Fallout had them so gentle with each other.)

As always, the tag cloud is a great representation of the Vibe I'm going for with these two. I have some particular themes in mind:


H/c in the agent-handler dynamic

Ethan and Hunley clearly get each other now, as of Fallout, where before Rogue Nation they'd presumably only heard of each other by reputation. I'd love to read about how they got there - how they got to know each other and came to care for each other, how they developed the trust and affection and unspoken intimacy there clearly is between them. Did they spend nights in Hunley's office, discussing strategy or fielding calls together? Did they have to get used to each other the hard way - in a field setting when a mission went south? How do they get to know each other personally against the backdrop of their professional trust in each other? In particular, how does Hunley come to understand what kind of comfort Ethan needs when he's vulnerable, and how does Ethan come to trust Hunley with that vulnerability? How do they get together, and how does their dynamic change once they do? How does Hunley look after Ethan when he comes home from a mission hurt or sick, perhaps just when it's mild and exhausting, or perhaps when it's bad enough to be alarming - when he's feeling bad enough to be not all there, or just isn't able to hold himself together as well as he usually does? As Ethan's handler, would Hunley be the person Ethan calls for emergency extraction from a solo mission gone wrong - Hunley the one to hear please, sir, I'm sick and alone, bring me home? Would Hunley learn to pick up on subtle signs that Ethan isn't feeling okay, even if Ethan doesn't tell him outright? Would Hunley be the one to hide Ethan in his office and let him get some rest, away from the other government/agency brass who want to interrogate him while he's medically unfit?

Relatedly: is Ethan the one who first chooses to seek out comfort from Hunley when he needs it (and Hunley is flattered but also worried about him, and proves he's worth his trust)? Or are the circumstances such that Hunley's the only one around when Ethan really needs looking after (and steps up to provide)? Does Hunley perhaps end up on a mission with Ethan, and have to look after him in a situation where he's hurt or sick and they have to be in crisis mode getting the objective accomplished before time runs out? Does Ethan get hurt protecting Hunley, in such a situation (and is that how Hunley realizes his feelings are requited)? Do they get trapped together somewhere while Ethan is hurt? I would love any and all exploration of their personal relationship developing right alongside their professional one.

(I'm super open to any of these scenarios taken as either get-together or established relationship.)


Quiet h/c and physical intimacy

I picked out a lot of tags that could lend themselves to quiet, intimate situations, because I really feel the warmth and softness between these two. I'd love to see Ethan seeking Hunley out when he's hurting and needs some tenderness, Hunley so distressed when Ethan's ill or in pain and so badly wanting to help him feel better. How does Hunley cope when Ethan comes home from a mission sick or hurt, not badly enough to need a hospital but definitely badly enough that he could do with a lot of comfort? (How does he cope with knowing that Ethan's gone without help or comfort so often for so many years?) How does he find ways to show Ethan how much he loves and appreciates him? How long does it take for him to learn to read Ethan well enough to figure out when he's really badly hurt or sick and when he's mostly-okay, and the states in between? We know Ethan trusted him professionally at once; how long does it take him to trust him personally, enough to cling to him like he does to Luther, enough to let himself be held? (When is the first time Hunley carries him?)

I'd love to see these two giving each other lots of gentle, comforting touch when they need it - holding hands, holding each other, spooning, hair stroking, back rubs, you name it I will adore it. Relatedly, I'd also love to read about them just being chill together in each other's space, like cats, without necessarily even having to say much, just finding comfort in the other being there. This is what all the kind of 'being calm in a car/vehicle' oriented tags are getting at - perhaps Hunley driving while Ethan sleeps off an injury/illness in the passenger seat, finally able to rest, or Hunley picking Ethan up from a mission at the airport or train/subway station - generally planes/cars/vehicles as liminal spaces where people whose lives are hectic and sometimes painful can finally breathe and ground themselves and get to be soft, perhaps together.

I also love domesticity for this Getting To Be Quiet Together vibe, especially with Ethan generally being Small (at 5'7" to Hunley's 6)', and with how he seems to Like To Be Warm. He could fit nicely under Hunley's chin while hugging him, or have his head cradled against his shoulder. Or stand on tiptoe to kiss him, even. Or be small and warm when wearing clothes that belong to him. What do their days off together look like, in the aftermath of a mission where Ethan got hurt (or got sick, or just ended up deeply exhausted and generally needs some recovery from)? Who's clingier? Who spoons the other? Who wakes up first? Who learns to make coffee so they can bring the other some? (*whispers* that one's Hunley, Ethan canonically has Opinions about the quality of safehouse coffee)


H/c combined with tackling systemic issues that caused the hurt

This is particularly geared towards the 'aftermath of torture' tags in the cloud, but it could apply to any situation in which something went wrong on a mission, that Hunley, as the IMF Secretary, can change or take steps toward fixing. I'd very much love to see Hunley tackling both the immediate issue of making sure Ethan's okay, and a systemic issue that got him hurt/sick in the first place (did an extraction protocol fail? did a safe house turn out not so secure? did the CIA let the IMF down and leave Ethan to take the fall?), and then essentially taking Ethan home and continuing to look after him while he recovers.

Torture, in this context, could definitely be taken to include sensory deprivation and/or sensory overstimulation as well as more traditional forms of pain. I'd be down to see the contrast between Ethan dealing with having been tortured (as a matter-of-fact field agent who is trained for this, but is still hurting and traumatized), and Hunley as a longtime strategy/general desk job oriented person dealing with someone this close to him, whom he's this fond of, going through this horrific thing that's a recognized risk of field work. Hunley being the first person Ethan sees after villainous organization du jour tries their damnedest to break him, Ethan just kind of being like 'yeah, whatever, I didn't tell them anything' and wanting to be done with it and clearly exhausted and in pain; Hunley holding him gently wondering where he can even touch him that won't hurt, maybe agreeing to look him over and dress his wounds so he doesn't have to go through the ordeal of going to medical when he's already so stressed - maybe determining he's too hurt not to go to medical, but going there with him and staying by his side, then taking him home after.

Relatedly, I'd also love to see Hunley dealing with the fact that he's indirectly responsible for some of the times Ethan's been hurt - injuries he sustained when on the run from the CIA during that six-month timeskip in Rogue Nation. Perhaps Ethan even has some visible scars from that time. Has Ethan already thought about this? Does it matter to him at all? Have other people hurt him who eventually regretted it, changed their ways, or is Hunley the exception? Is Hunley horrified at how badly he misread Ethan, someone he eventually came to love? How do they both deal with this and come to an understanding? I could see Hunley being rather self-loathing about this, since he seems to have examined his ideals and thoughts somewhat on his decision to become the IMF Secretary, and Ethan knowing he might have lots of feelings about it so being reluctant to tell him where those scars came from until Hunley coaxes the story out of him (maybe with kisses).


H/c and sexual intimacy

Gentle Touch, but More! I am all about the romantic and sexual intimacy between these two, whether it's softer or on the kinkier side. I read them as intense when it comes to kissing and sex - I feel like they're all about the touch and contact and texture and taking it slow, which really lends itself to both 'making out because it's comforting to the one of them who's hurt' vibes, and 'making out because they need to reassure each other that they're there and real and okay' vibes. I also love shades of d/s with Ethan as the sub to Hunley's gentle dom. Relevant tags, among others: "fever sex", because fevers can heighten sensation and generally make things a lot more shivery and pleasurable, Hunley making sure Ethan's okay and not too sick to go on and spoiling him thoroughly and kissing him senseless; "Shibari/bondage on a sick character", for similar reasons but even more heat and shivery sensations, Ethan delighting in letting Hunley tie him in knots or just tie his wrists with something soft and luxurious like satin sheets or ribbon, and then undo him later; "Characters have to stop having sex because sick/injured partner starts feeling worse" - maybe Ethan really does want to go on but would rather curl up and try to feel better, so Hunley pulls him gently into his arms and makes a fuss of him instead of making out.


Ethan and Hunley recovering together post-Fallout

There are also some tags in the list that refer to the few months post-Fallout in particular, when both Ethan and Hunley are badly hurt - as mentioned, please assume that Hunley survived his injury; my heart can't take his death! Among those tags are: "Comforter Taking Off The Comfortee's Glasses" (Hunley is the one who wears reading glasses, but I do love this the other way round too if you'd like to read this as a comeback of Ethan's Spy Tech Glasses from MI 1); "Both hurt/sick and trying to take care of the other"; "First kiss after almost dying", though Ethan almost dies pretty often so this could apply elsewhere too, heh; "B sees formal A voluntarily wearing casual clothes for 1st time while A is sick/injured" - Hunley is A in this case, since he's always dressed formally in canon, and I bet Ethan would have Some Feelings about seeing Hunley dishevelled or more casual; "Helping hurt character to dress/undress" and "Character rubbing other character's hair dry", for them just quietly recovering together and doing their best to help each other, especially when one of them is doing a little better than the other that day, and can offer them some extra care and sweetness.


Ethan/Luther/Hunley

We don't get to see Luther and Hunley interact much, and we know that Luther's fiercely protective of Ethan and therefore can't stand Hunley in Rogue Nation, but we do see in Fallout that Hunley deeply adores Ethan, which I think could have won Luther over to his side. These are three very quiet, kind people with a fair amount of self-worth issues between them - though Hunley is professionally Loud and skilled at the political and administrative side of intelligence work, my reading of him as a person is based on the deep affection he shows Ethan in Fallout - and so I'd love to see them all slowly getting used to having not just one, but two people who love them so much. I'd love to see them getting used to working together, the process of Hunley earning Luther's trust as Secretary (since he had Ethan's immediately, but the others weren't so keen), and Luther's feelings toward Hunley going from 'you adore Ethan, so I approve of you' to 'huh, I think I'm fond of you as a person actually'.

In addition to all the other lovely tags, which could of course also be applicable to the threesome, there's a specific tag I'd love for Ethan/Hunley/Luther - "Characters A and B take care of hurt/ill Character C whom they both love". Luther and Hunley may not see eye to eye on everything - indeed, it was Hunley's relentless pursuit of Ethan as a fugitive in Rogue Nation that made Luther distrust him deeply at first - but Hunley admitted he was wrong and clearly adores Ethan in Fallout, so it's not inconceivable that Ethan's general ray-of-sunshine-ness brought them together, and certainly not a stretch that they'd both look after him as best they can when he needs it.


Ethan/Hunley & Jane(/Zhen)

Jane and Ethan don't know each other as deeply as Luther and Ethan do, but Jane is very similar to Ethan in a lot of ways - she's deeply principled, a fantastic field agent, has suffered a great deal of trauma and pain, and is very used to going it alone with little to no support. She is younger and less experienced than Ethan, though, and tends to be hotheaded and fierce - much like him when he was younger, actually - and so it makes sense that canonically, Ethan is a bit of a mentor figure for her, and the only person she's allowed to see her vulnerable, to try and help her grieve for the loved ones she's lost. I don't think that Jane would have agreed to work for the CIA in Rogue Nation - I think she'd have resigned instead, like Luther did, and returned once the IMF was reinstated under Hunley's leadership - and I think she'd be skeptical of Hunley as the Secretary not only because she's loyal to Ethan, but also because his six months chasing Ethan make her doubt that Hunley cares enough about his field agents to ensure their safety. I'd love to see how she deals with that, what advice Ethan gives her if she asks him for support, and how Hunley shows her that he really does care - about the IMF, about saving the world, and about Ethan too.

For the tag where Jane and Ethan are both hurt, I'd love to see the two of them looking after each other in the field when they're both miserably hurt or sick - maybe on a mission or after it - or maybe Jane having to patch Ethan up, neither saying much but both grateful they don't have to face this moment alone. Ethan is canonically super concerned about the wellbeing of his team on missions, so I'd love to see the difference between Jane's trust in him and her skepticism of Hunley - as well as the difference between Ethan's concern for Jane, to the point where he might try to hide his own injuries from her, and his willingness to be vulnerable with Hunley. Perhaps Jane has to help Ethan get by when he's hurt or sick behind enemy lines, and then they both crash afterward. I'd especially love to see them returning from a mission, with Jane getting to see how much Ethan trusts Hunley - how gentle and kind Hunley is while looking after him - and that that's what changes her mind about him and convinces her he's trustworthy, and so she lets him make sure she's okay, too.

I'd also love Ethan/Hunley and Jane/Zhen, with Hunley and Zhen looking after their respective idiots (while bonding over them being idiots). I have some Jane/Zhen thoughts here, if you'd like to look. 💛


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Ethan/Luther, Ethan & Present-Day IMF Team, Ethan & Original 1996 IMF Team (hurt Ethan)

Tags: Sick/hurt character is indispensable on a mission; team looks after them while they get things done • Character pretends to be fine in front of others; is openly vulnerable with caretaker • Hiding injuries from onlookers but comforter knows • Inexperienced comforter calls third party for advice • Character who's usually the most grounded one is so sick/hurt that they wake up visibly disoriented • Crew Worried About Their Sick/Hurt Captain • Crew worried and scared on seeing their sick/hurt captain so vulnerable • Crew Worried About Their Youngest Member Who Is Sick/Hurt • Comforter drapes their coat over hurt character's shoulders • Comforter taking off comfortee's glasses • Worried third party calls sick/hurt character's significant other • Hurt/sick character hides their own condition to allow less hurt/sick character to be treated • concealing illness/injury at formal social event • Coughing • Stoic character feels so bad they ask for comfort • Touch-Starved - Only seeks out touch from one trusted person • Migraine Aura Symptoms • Headaches & Migraines • Sick character admits to/can't hide signs of past trauma • What To Do When The Indestructible One Gets Hurt •
Fighting to protect someone while injured yourself • Gently coaxing out-of-it sick/hurt character back to bed • Forehead Kisses • Heat packs or cold packs for a hurting character • Character feels so bad they have to sit down on the floor/ground • Huddling for warmth while one is feverish • Huddling for warmth while one is injured • hurt character still being the protective one • Hurt/sick character needs to be carried • Keeping Sick Characters Warm • Kissing Pain Lines From Around A Character's Eyes • loss of voice • Making injured/sick character the little spoon • Overworking • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD • Rubbing a character's hands for comfort • Sick/hurt character forgets they are undercover • Sick/hurt character steals or borrows clothes from comforter • There's only enough medication for one of us; give it to them instead of me • Comforting over the phone/radio •


I combined my Ethan/Luther request with my Ethan & IMF Team request because this time round, I'm especially here for Ethan-Luther intimacy in the context of mission fic with the rest of the present-day team. (I count as members of the present-day IMF team, your choice of any or all of: Luther, Jane, Benji, Brandt, Zhen, Declan. I do kinda think Hunley counts, but he wouldn't be physically with them in field situations, so I'm cool with mileage varying on him! I'd love for him to be tangentially there if you're feeling it, though. 💛)

I'm focusing on romantic intimacy when I speak of the Ethan-Luther dynamic for most of these prompts, but please bear in mind that I am super, super here for gen intimacy too, in case you want to go that route! I would just love mission fic with an emphasis on Ethan and Luther, and how the team views them in the context of an ongoing or just-completed mission.


The team is used to Ethan looking after them; is shaken when the tables turn

Ethan's canonically very protective of the team, taking his role as leader extremely seriously. In both Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation, he's deeply reluctant to show any kind of vulnerability before the younger members of the team, instead checking up on all of them to make sure they're okay; Luther is the only one who gets to see him hurting. With that in mind, most of the tags here are focused on circumstance forcing his hand - situations where Ethan can't hide how bad he's feeling, because he has to make sure they finish the mission, or because they're all cooped up together in a space where there's no stopping everyone noticing he's not doing okay, or because he's just feeling that bad and can't push through it like he would something more minor.

Luther knows Ethan best, and knows how to look after him best (more on that below), but I'm also here for the younger team members' various reactions to Ethan being visibly not okay, especially for their various different ways of trying to look after him. Does someone bring him tea when he's coughing while giving orders and making plans? Does someone wrap their jacket around him? Gently shove him into a chair when he looks like he's going to fall? Does someone stitch him up when he gets badly wounded, or turn the lights down when he's sick or in pain? Does someone try clumsily to look after him and prove they're Generally Not Very Good At It? How do they deal, among themselves, with the one they all look to for direction, the one who hovers over them with concern, feeling bad enough that all pretence of not feeling bad wears away? (Perhaps they've seen him injured or unwell before, but not as bad as this. Perhaps they've seen him hurt before, but never seen him fading in and out, or dealing with flashbacks or trauma responses.) How does Ethan himself cope with having to be vulnerable in front of the team? Does he try his best to hide it even when he can't? Does he apologize for not being able to function at 100%? If he's so messed up that he was barely conscious, or in and out, in front of the team, does he have a crisis about it when he's feeling better later? Is he surprised when the team tries to look after him? Does he have Emotions about their attempts to help, feeling loved even if they don't always succeed?


The team watches Luther look after Ethan on a mission / generally realizes Luther and Ethan are deeply fond of each other

How do I love Ethan and Luther's adoration for each other? Let me count the ways. ("What's up, baby?" "Hey, man.")

These two have known each other since MI: 1, and they've been so deeply fond of each other and loyal to each other ever since. Luther calls Ethan 'baby' twice! He's also the only one apart from Julia, Ethan's canon wife (now ex), who gets to see Ethan truly vulnerable and take care of him when he is; for everyone else in the team, Ethan does his best to be stoic and strong and not reveal much when he's a mess, but Luther's been around long enough to see right through him, and romantic or not, Ethan clearly loves him enough not to mind. I'm pretty sure Luther is the only one of the current team to have seen Ethan cry, and he's canonically the only one to have had Ethan literally cling to him like a lifeline.

I'm here for all the love and tenderness between Ethan and Luther that's built up over the years - especially in a romantic way, but platonic is so good too. I'd love to see the other team members, or even Hunley, realize that Ethan feels responsible for the team and never lets himself be truly vulnerable with them, but can lean into Luther or steal his jacket or just meet his eyes and be immediately, intimately understood. Maybe he even lets Luther look after him in front of the others, if he's feeling really awful, or maybe Luther needs to convince him to take it easy for a bit, and takes care of him in private so he can pretend to be less hurt than he is in front of the team. Maybe tell me about one of the team calling Luther for advice on how to help Ethan when he's hurt. Maybe just tell me about all the little moments of trust and comfort over the years, about Ethan knowing Luther's favourite colours and videogames and Luther knowing how Ethan likes his coffee and just how often they've been holed up in safe houses together with Ethan injured or sick, waiting in each other's arms till the coast was clear to get moving and get on home. About Luther being the only person who can ground Ethan when he's so sick or hurt that he barely remembers the mission or who he's supposed to be playing, the only person who can touch him without him flinching or feverishly trying to reach for a weapon afterwards. Or about Luther having been there for Ethan after the miserable, exhausting missions he's been on in canon (say, after Ghost Protocol or Rogue Nation or Fallout, or even all the way back after MI: 1). Luther knowing Ethan gets migraines a few times a year ever since he had a bomb implanted in his head for a while in MI: III, because he was there with Julia to help him through the immediate aftermath, and knows his tells when he's hurting even if he's trying to hide it from the rest of the team. Ethan letting Luther do little things for him like help him on with a jacket or wash and rub his hair dry, because he trusts him and it feels nice. The team slowly realizing just how much the two of them mean to each other.


Ethan and the Original Team, before things went to hell in MI: 1

I really love Ethan's dynamic with his original team, and I'm fascinated by how different it is from his dynamic with the current one. We're used to seeing him in the role of stoic team leader now, but in MI: 1, he started out as essentially the baby of the team - he and Jack Harmon were the team's youngest, with Ethan as point man being the one more likely to get hurt, and Jim and Claire Phelps, Sarah and Hannah were all more experienced in the field than him. That makes for a super interesting dynamic, especially with them all as softly at ease with each other, as fond of each other, as they looked. I'm very here for Sarah and Hannah looking after Ethan in a safe house, or Jim and Claire fussing over him and making sure he's comfortable in Claire's getaway car of the week, or Jack working tech on a mission and keeping an eye on him while he's laid up hurt or sick and unable to help. I'd also really love to see Ethan's memories of these good times, cast in the light of hindsight after MI: 1, possibly as he recovers from MI: 1 (from his injuries as well as from losing his team whom he loved so much), possibly while he and Luther are recovering together and forming a new loving and affectionate dynamic in the aftermath.


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Ethan/Max (hurt Ethan)

Tags: Accidentally revealing trauma • Sick/Hurt Submissive Character • Sick character admits to/can't hide signs of past trauma • Protectiveness - Character A guards character B while B is injured • B sees formal A voluntarily wearing casual clothes for 1st time while A is sick/injured • concealing illness/injury at formal social event • A is self-conscious about their scars; B touches them for comfort and affection • Subdrop • Character Should Safeword But Doesn't • Bronchitis/Pneumonia • Altered States - Delirium • Back rubs to alleviate coughing • back rubs to ease a headache • Back rubs/hair stroking to help a character sleep • Careful Sex Because One Partner Is Injured/Ill • Caring for character's injured hands • Character A drapes their jacket over B's shoulders • Character A has been crying and tries to hide it but Character B still notices it • Collapsing on character's doorstep • Character Cradling Sick Character's Head In Their Lap •
Catching injured character as they faint or lose balance • Character doesn't realize how badly they're hurt until they collapse • Character doesn't realize they've been injured • Character feels so bad they have to sit down on the floor/ground • Character is reluctant to eat because they are exhausted/in pain • Character isn't used to being loved and shown tenderness/affection • Character pretends to be fine in front of others; is openly vulnerable with caretaker • character pushes themselves too hard and relapses • Character rubbing other character's hair dry • Character used to suffering alone is gratefully surprised to receive comfort • Character usually never complains; mild complaint from them shows they feel really bad • Character wearing a scarf because their throat hurts • Character who went through a severe physical ordeal and ended up injured falls ill during recovery • Character with high pain tolerance is in too much pain to hide it • Characters have to stop making out because sick/injured partner starts feeling worse • Checking For Fever With A Gentle Touch That Lingers • Comfort after a mission gone sideways • Comforter spoiling the comfortee with lots of physical affection • Comforter taking off comfortee's glasses • Dizziness • Driven to tears by physical pain • Falling Asleep As A Sign Of Trust • Finally breaking down the moment they're shown the smallest amount of comfort/compassion/care • Forehead Kisses • Hair Brushing • Kissing Pain Lines From Around A Character's Eyes • Gently coaxing out-of-it sick/hurt character back to bed


These two were flirting so hard from the very moment they met, Max was so very domme and Ethan so very subby and eager, and it was fully mutual and consensual - they may be rivals in an uneasy allyship, but they like and respect each other so damn much; they both play completely fair at all times, clearly enjoy their banter, and look like they'd be all over each other should circumstance permit. So my prompt here is...let circumstance permit.

There's a sort of deep affection between these two that goes beyond their fiery sexual tension. When Max and Ethan met, Ethan was at his shakiest and most vulnerable; he'd just lost his whole found family in one night, and been framed for their deaths when he tried to call for help. He put up a damn good front for Max - he had to, playing the high-stakes cloak-and-dagger spy game he was forced to play - but it's not unreasonable to figure she might realize there's something else beneath the surface. Not unreasonable to figure an experienced domme could tell what he needs, and that she might want to give.

Max is a whole lot taller than Ethan as well as being much older, which I find all kinds of lovely; she also lives a super luxurious high-society life. I imagine she also has fine taste in clothes and jewellery and would take them off a partner with some attention, and appreciate the same being done for her, especially at her direction. Ethan is the kind to be similarly attuned to detail, and (especially when as young as he is around the time of MI:1) he is also the kind to be breathlessly eager to please and to be Good. He's also shaken up and miserably touch-starved, and might tear up on receiving unexpected physical affection, so make of that what you will.

Maybe Ethan lets Max take him to bed during MI:1, or maybe they run into each other afterwards by chance, and pick up their recent acquaintance right where it left off. Maybe Max takes him out to dinner or the opera or something equally opulent and befitting her position in high society, and spoils him rotten for the night; what's Max's belongs to Max, and nobody gets to touch him but her. Especially if he's fresh from a mission and hurt or ill, but still so very eager to suit up and take her arm and be the best damn service sub for her. Maybe she'll keep him protectively close at her side all evening, gently clean blood off his injured face and hands with her handkerchief, make sure to let him know how very good he's being, and then bind his wrists or cover his eyes with his own necktie in the bedroom later.

...Or maybe they just fall into bed, and it just so happens that Max is completely in control, as Max is wont to be. And Max, good at being gentle but firm, can tell when a sub is hurting, or when they want to safeword but don't, or when they want to keep going but are too injured or sick to make it much further, and she breaks the scene to give Ethan the comfort he needs, even if she may never know what caused the hurt.

Basically I am 100% Here for Max Giving Ethan A Whole Lotta Love And Praise In Luxurious Surroundings. And for that love and praise and gentleness just...kinda destroying him, and maybe even making him cry, because he needs it so badly. (Max knows that, too.)


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The Hunt for Red October (1990)

Jack/Ramius, Jack/Mancuso, Jack/Ramius/Mancuso (hurt Jack)


Tags: Canon Physical Disability • Day-to-day dealing with chronic pain • Day to day living with a partner who deals with chronic pain • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD • Fear of Flying • Fever • Huddling for warmth while one is feverish • Huddling for warmth while one is injured • Comforter spoiling the comfortee with lots of physical affection • Sick/Hurt Submissive Character • Character Cradling Sick Character's Head In Their Lap • Coughing • Back rubs for back pain • Back rubs to alleviate coughing • Back rubs/hair stroking to help a character sleep • Heat packs or cold packs for a hurting character • Gently coaxing out-of-it sick/hurt character back to bed • Hair Brushing • hesitation to tell the stories behind scars • A is self-conscious about their scars; B touches them for comfort and affection •
Hiding injuries from onlookers but comforter knows • mobility impairment • Holding hands with sick/injured character • Keeping a sick/hurt character still and quiet in a dark room • Keeping Sick Characters Warm • Kissing Pain Lines From Around A Character's Eyes • Lingering Weakness After Illness • Love confession to/from sick/hurt character who is out of it • Making injured/sick character the little spoon • Old Injuries Acting Up • Quiet comfort after stressful hurt • Rubbing a character's hands for comfort • running fingers through hair in a calming way • Resting a cool hand against a character's warm face • Fever sex • Shibari on a sick character • Seeing character hurting prompts unexpected feelings • Sharing a bed with hurt character while mutually pining • Hurt Character Clinging to Comforter


This Jack Ryan is such a sweet nerd, and I love his dynamics with both Ramius and Mancuso so much. He's clearly a scholar, aware of strategy and history/politics and knows which hunches to play, but he's equally clearly anything but a field agent and knows exactly Fuck All about field operations - which delightful combination, along with how deeply idealistic he is, how perseverant and keen to believe the best of everyone at all times he is, lends itself to Ramius and/or Mancuso (as older men who've seen battle from the frontlines and feel responsible for the crews they command) being instinctively protective of him - especially when he's hurt.

A lot of the tags I've chosen here relate to Jack's canonical traumatic backstory - his lingering PTSD and likely chronic pain from the spinal injury that ended his career as a Marine. "Day-to-day dealing with chronic pain", "canon physical disability", "Back rubs for back pain", "Wheelchairs & Mobility Issues" - I'd love to see how Jack deals with the fallout of his past injury in the present day, how Mancuso and/or Ramius help him with it, how good or bad he is at asking for help; perhaps even immediately after the film, on the Red October or at a safe house in Maine, they realize he's not doing so great and do their best to help. Perhaps he only gets up the courage to talk about the pain with Ramius and/or Mancuso once they get together, or perhaps circumstances get dire enough to force them to get involved to help. Perhaps over the years it gets the point where Jack has to use a cane or eventually a wheelchair to ease the strain on his back, and has to get through all the issues and insecurities that come with that, with his partner(s)' help. (Hey, perhaps he even gets into public life, and eventually gets to be President while unashamedly queer and disabled, with Mancuso and/or Ramius proudly at his side.) Another thing I'd love to read about is Jack's fear of flying, perhaps even nightmares or feverish flashbacks to the chopper crash, and his partner(s) helping him cope.

There are, of course, some other general h/c tags, and I feel like a lot of them focus on tenderness - Jack is such a sunbeam of positivity, and deserves a lot of gentleness in his life; Mancuso and Ramius are both lovely people, who are already becoming fond of this nerd, and as such would be perfect to give him it. Do they realize he's working too hard while sick and gently coax him away from his books? Do they stay by his side to brush or pet his hair and keep him warm when he isn't feeling well? Do they spoil him with hot showers and hot water bottles when the weather gets cold and damp and makes his old injuries act up? Are they furious at the higher-ups when he gets sent on another dangerous field assignment, flings himself headlong into danger and gets shot or otherwise badly hurt? Do they hold him close and comfort him over a few drinks after a miserable debrief with the CIA brass? Do they very gently tie him up and order him to sit still while they make sure he's okay, and drive him wild with want before they finally, deeply kiss him?


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Jack/Mancuso, Ramius/Mancuso, Jack/Ramius/Mancuso (hurt Mancuso)
Jack/Ramius/Mancuso (Jack & Mancuso hurt)

Tags: A is self-conscious about their scars; B touches them for comfort and affection • Sick/Hurt Dominant Character • Accidentally revealing trauma • A & B have to cancel planned date because A's ill/injured. B comforts and makes evening romantic. • affection starved • aftermath of near death experience • Altered States - Fever • Altered States - Character is out of it due to pain • Holding hands with sick/injured character • Resting a cool hand against a character's warm face • Rubbing a character's hands for comfort • Caring for character's injured hands • Comforter taking off comfortee's glasses • B sees formal A voluntarily wearing casual clothes for 1st time while A is sick/injured • Back rubs to alleviate coughing • Back rubs for head/shoulder pain • Shoulder Injuries • Wrist Injuries • Character's headache is bad enough to be evident to other characters • BAMF character A is hurt and is still a BAMF; character B provides comfort anyway
Body worship focusing on the scars and aftermath of trauma • Broken Bones • Bronchitis/Pneumonia • Careful Sex Because One Partner Is Injured/Ill • Carrying sick/hurt/exhausted character to bed • Catching injured character as they faint or lose balance • Character A Confesses Feelings Because They Think Character B is Unconscious • Character A drapes their jacket over B's shoulders • Character A holds Character B as they fall asleep after bad day • Character A realizes their love for character B when B is hurt/sick • Character Cradling Sick Character's Head In Their Lap • Character doesn't realize how badly they're hurt until they collapse • Character feels comforted by wearing loved one's clothes • Character goes quiet when they're feeling unwell • Character usually never complains; mild complaint from them shows they feel really bad • Character wearing a scarf because their throat hurts • Character who usually takes care of others is the one taken care of • Character who's usually the most grounded one is so sick/hurt that they wake up visibly disoriented • Characters A and B take care of hurt/ill Character C whom they both love • Characters have to stop making out because sick/injured partner starts feeling worse • Comfort after a mission gone sideways • Checking For Fever With A Gentle Touch That Lingers • Comforter drapes their coat over hurt character's shoulders • concealing illness/injury at formal social event • Crew Worried About Their Sick/Hurt Captain • Dizziness • Downplaying an Injury • Falling Asleep As A Sign Of Trust • Fever sex • Gently coaxing out-of-it sick/hurt character back to bed • Kissing Pain Lines From Around A Character's Eyes •


Bart Mancuso, how I love him. He's never really mentioned much when people talk about the film - Jack and Ramius being the protagonists, of course - but Mancuso is so compelling and fascinating when you look a little closer. I'm particularly struck by his command style - how very soft-spoken he is, how he gives his orders in such a low voice that it's nearly a whisper, and how all of his crew immediately leaps to obey. How very rational and fair-minded he is at all times, following Jonesy's hunch to track the Red October, treating Jack with respect and making sure he gets a towel and some dry clothes even when he thinks he's out of his mind. How much his crew hangs on his every word, how concerned they are for him when he doesn't get as much sleep as he should. And, of course, his glasses and how he constantly has them either in his hand or in his mouth. (He also has rather nice hands - so does Jack, for that matter, but Mancuso's are onscreen up close a lot and it is a treat.)

So, I love Mancuso, and I love the idea that he might eventually fall in love with Jack or Ramius or both. He has a strong mutual respect with each of them, a protective tendency that would surface delightfully with Jack, a sort of intense quiet knowledge of Submarine And Seafaring Things that he and Ramius could bond over, and in general he could give them lots of love and gentleness and receive lots of love and gentleness from them in turn.

So, pretty much all these tags are chosen with one intention: to Give Bart Mancuso A Lot Of Tenderness And Love. He seems the kind of person to not say much (or anything) if he's not feeling okay, whether it's on board the Dallas so as not to worry the crew, or in a friendship or relationship because he doesn't like asking for attention despite sometimes really needing it, or even refusing to complain when he's really obviously not okay because that's just the kind of person he is, just quiet and gentle even when he's hurting.

Some of the tags would lend themselves to h/c scenarios onboard the Dallas ("Crew Worrying About Their Sick/Hurt Captain", "Combat Injury", "Character doesn't realize they've been injured", "Character hides their illness until they faint and everybody panics", "Worried third party calls sick/hurt character's significant other") - with Mancuso staying at his post despite feeling increasingly awful, and Watson, Thompson and/or Jonesy slowly realizing the captain is Not Okay and maybe having to convince him to get to medical, or maybe waiting till the serious military situation they're facing is over so he'll have no excuse not to get himself treated - eventually calling his partner(s), Jack and/or Ramius, to let them know he's not okay, and so they can comfort him over the phone. Perhaps it's near shore leave and he can go home to them for some rest and TLC, or perhaps things get bad enough that they have to get him to a hospital onshore for a while to heal up, and Jack and/or Ramius camp out there till he's well enough to come home.

Other tags are less dramatic, but no less wonderful, and most are focused on physical touch, affection and intimacy. "Comforter drapes their coat over hurt character's shoulders" or "Comforter Taking Off The Comfortee's Glasses" for Jack or Ramius gently making sure he's comfortable; "Hurt character stealing clothes from comforter", because both Jack and Ramius are taller and somewhat wider of shoulder than Mancuso is and like to wear warm clothes; "Sick/hurt at formal social event" for having to soldier through a navy get-together (or political event, if Jack's a senator or the President) while feeling less than well, and getting some comfort afterwards; "Combat Injury" and "PTSD" for older injuries or memories surfacing at inconvenient times, and Mancuso perhaps being able to tell his partner(s) about it or them being able to read him even though he tends not to show his suffering on his face; "Massaging Another Character's Hands" for, possibly, issues with arthritis or similar as he gets older, or maybe even just to keep his hands warm when he feels the cold; "Sick/hurt dominant character" for Jack and/or Ramius being in the submissive role for gentle d/s purposes, and obeying Bart's instructions/orders even when he's feeling under the weather.


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The Fugitive (1993)

Sam/Richard (hurt Sam)
Sam/Richard (hurt Richard)


Tags: Warming A Sick Character's Hands • Washing and brushing hair matted with blood • A framed for a crime they didn't commit; B determined to prove their innocence • Old Injuries Acting Up • Altered States - Fever • Character A realizes their love for character B when B is hurt/sick • Trapped Together While One Is Injured • Tracing Scars • There's only enough medication for one of us; give it to them instead of me • Taking off a sick character's glasses • Massaging a sick character's temples • Character rubbing other character's hair dry • Slow dancing with a sick partner • Stopping a meeting/conference call to care for sick colleague • Stoic character feels so bad they ask for comfort • Sick/hurt character falls asleep on comforter • Shoulder Injuries • Wrist Injuries • Love confession to/from sick/hurt character who is out of it • Keeping Sick Characters Warm •
Typically stoic character breaks down and admits how ill they feel • Seeing character hurting prompts unexpected feelings • Kissing Pain Lines From Around A Character's Eyes • Injury on Top of Old Injuries • Hurt/sick character hides their own condition to allow less hurt/sick character to be treated • Ordered to leave commanding officer behind • Hurt character is used to having to tend to their own wounds • hesitation to tell the stories behind scars • Heat packs or cold packs for a hurting character • Helping hurt character to dress/undress • Frantically Feeling For Breath Or Pulse • First kiss after almost dying • Fighting to protect someone while injured yourself • Falling Asleep As A Sign Of Trust • Drugged Confessions of Past Trauma • Driving with a mildly sick/injured character in the passenger seat • Crew Worried About Their Sick/Hurt Captain • Crew worried and scared on seeing their sick/hurt captain so vulnerable • Delirious character asking for the one they're pining for • Comforting over the phone/radio • Comforter spoiling the comfortee with lots of physical affection • Comforter stunned by how much comfortee trusts them • Caring for character's injured hands


I love Sam and Richard an enormous amount, both for how similar they are (extremely competent but kinda nerdy and awkward, intense and brooding but given to communicating via mild sarcasm) and for the differences between them (Richard being an anxious bean while Sam is dramatic™). I'd love to read about them in an h/c situation while getting to know each other and falling in love post The Fugitive, or about them in an h/c situation after they've got together.

I would love either Sam or Richard as the hurt one, with the other looking after him. Sam being a gruff and affectionate caretaker, as he is in canon, would be lovely, as would Richard getting to be the caretaker for a change and using his medical expertise to look after Sam, whether in little ways or larger ones.


A role reversal from the film, with Richard as caretaker and Sam as the one taken care of

A lot of these tags are geared toward casefic, with Sam getting hurt on an operation and the marshals' ("the kids") being the first reaction to it - the ones where they're a "crew worried about their sick/hurt captain" or they're "ordered to leave their commanding officer behind" - and Richard getting to take care of Sam after the event has gone down, perhaps at home, perhaps at Chicago Memorial if Sam is particularly badly hurt. Some could be taken as casefic with Richard happening to be along for the ride - for instance, "fighting to protect someone while injured yourself", "frantically feeling for breath/pulse" - and again, Richard needing to care for Sam during and after the fact. I'm generally very here for Sam, as a stoic protective team leader type, having a hard time being the vulnerable one, but eventually letting Richard (and his medical expertise) coax him into being cared for. I'd also be down for a more dramatic situation with a field injury, where Sam has a brush with death, and nearly losing him prompts Richard to realize his feelings for him.

I would also be very down for an even more specific role reversal - namely, one where Sam's accused of (or framed for) something he didn't do, and Richard has to help prove he's innocent, perhaps realizing their feelings for each other along the way.


Quiet intimacy/learning to trust each other/h/c after having learned to trust each other

The rest of the tags are not specific to who's hurt, and could go either way. They're mostly geared towards trust and intimacy, and Sam and Richard quietly looking after each other. Both probably have some old injuries, some past traumas they've been through that surface on occasion (we know Richard's; what are Sam's?), and I would love to see their particular kind of intimacy and caretaking, whether it's just the two of them together, or whether the kids or Richard's doctor friends get to see some of it too.


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The Shadow (1994)

Margo/Lamont (hurt Lamont)


Tags: A & B have to cancel planned date because A's ill/injured. B comforts and makes evening romantic. • A is self-conscious about their scars; B touches them for comfort and affection • Telepathic injury • telepathy used in pain control/management • Telepathic Connection Used To Provide Comfort • Loss of Control of Superpower/Magic - Due to Illness • Loss of Control of Superpower/Magic - Due to Emotional Distress • Medical Consequences of Overusing Superpowers • Medical Consequences of Suppressing Superpowers • Accidentally revealing trauma • affection starved • Masochistic sub asks for more pain than they really want • Subdrop • Sensory Overload • Sensory Deprivation • After-effects of magical torture on the mind • Altered States - Delirium • Altered States - Fever • Altered States - Character is out of it due to pain • Back rubs/hair stroking to help a character sleep •
Bronchitis/Pneumonia • Careful Sex Because One Partner Is Injured/Ill • Caring for character's injured hands • Shibari on a sick character • Character A drapes their jacket over B's shoulders • Character A has been crying and tries to hide it but Character B still notices it • Character A pushes self to the utmost; worried B tells them to please take it easy • character A overhears sth that makes A think character B doesn't want/like A anymore (A is wrong) • Character Cradling Sick Character's Head In Their Lap • Character doesn't realize how badly they're hurt until they collapse • Character expects to be punished but is unexpectedly comforted instead • Character is reluctant to eat because they are exhausted/in pain • Character is Exhausted From Overwork • Character isn't used to being loved and shown tenderness/affection • Character pretends to be fine in front of others; is openly vulnerable with caretaker • Character rubbing other character's hair dry • Character Should Safeword But Doesn't • Character used to suffering alone is gratefully surprised to receive comfort • Wrist Injuries • Worried third party calls sick/hurt character's significant other • Washing and brushing hair matted with blood •


I'd love some h/c focused on Lamont, with Margo being able to read his thoughts and taking none of his self-loathing/self-sacrificial bullshit. This canon begs for a delightful mix of vigilante h/c tropes and psychic superpowers h/c tropes and I am weak.

I love that in canon, the Margo/Lamont relationship is both beautifully soft and founded in the very basic tenets of consent: Margo is among the only people Lamont's mind-influencing powers don't work on, and therefore by definition she is at his side solely because she wants to be. This messes with Lamont's head a great deal, since he's an enormous disaster sub with a ton of guilt and self-worth issues and doesn't remotely believe he deserves to be loved.

I'd love to see something that picks up after the film, with established Lamont/Margo dealing with the hazards of the vigilante business - perhaps Margo finding an injured Lamont collapsed on her doorstep and having to look after him, perhaps her hearing his mind call out from miles away when he's hurting or miserable, perhaps them having to find ways to keep up their Socialite Personas for the public, such as Margo sneaking Lamont out of a party with clear We're Going To Make Out signals while he's really staggering from a gunshot wound. All the Noir Detective and Noir Vigilante and Noir Caretaking tropes! I will eat all the tropes up with a spoon!

I'd also love some exploration of the Shadow superpowers and how they work (and how they can go wrong) - perhaps with Lamont losing control of them when he's unconscious while hurt or ill, resulting in things breaking, flying around the room, people accidentally getting mind-controlled into doing odd things, maybe someone getting mildly injured, and Lamont being overwhelmed with guilt and hiding himself away when he's losing control for years until Margo realizes she's the only one who can help. I'd also love to see the effects of Lamont sometimes overusing his powers and working himself to exhaustion - perhaps it gives him migraines or gets him sick, leaving him shaky for a few days afterward, or exhausts him to the point of burnout, and this too has been going on for years before Margo walks into his life and realizes he's a whole idiot who can't sustain this way of working forever. Perhaps his occasional bouts of overusing-powers-sickness have been mistaken as hangovers or other debauchery by his uncle/butler/etc, and he's done nothing to disabuse them of the notion because it suits him for them to assume he's an empty-headed layabout. (Perhaps someone finds him in a gutter one morning too deeply unconscious to make it home, and it makes the tabloids and his uncle gives him a Stern Talking-To that he has to pretend he's taking to heart, while Margo knows the real reason and worries and shows up to domme him into letting her look after him.)

Speaking of Margo domming Lamont into letting her look after him, that's the exact dynamic for them that I love. Margo is super assertive, knows exactly what she wants at all times, is very very sexual and horny on main, and she's also very generous with comfort when Lamont needs it. Lamont, meanwhile, is all haunted and racked with guilt for his past, and afraid he'll hurt her, and also kind of awkward and embarrassed by her boldness; embarrassed to be wanted as much as she wants him. I'd love to see her taking him in hand and showing him how to let go of his guilt and nervousness and place his trust in her - him all reverent and worshipful, her patiently finding out what he needs (even if it's a long-term project, and even if what he needs is pain or bondage - perhaps especially if it is!), and maybe her giving him lots of praise and aftercare as a reward for being good for her. I also think Lamont might, in his self-flagellating way, sometimes go too far in asking for pain, and Margo might have to figure out when those times are, take care of him and reassure him, and figure out how to help him stop doing that.

D/s or no, I love the idea of Margo putting Lamont in shibari while he's sick, perhaps because they've found it helps keep his powers or power-induced sickness/headaches/burnout in check, perhaps as a simple exercise in comforting touch. I love the idea of Lamont just...not being able to deal with tenderness and being loved, especially so when he's ill or hurt, and Margo having to kiss away tears of sensory overstimulation/general overwhelmedness. Lamont just being very used to curling up and riding out illness/injury alone, and Margo refusing to let him do that and giving him lots of gentle touch and kisses, is such a soft spot for me, as is the fact that she can read his mind and hear his distress from miles away, so he literally cannot hide any kind of suffering from her.


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Top Gun (1986)

Maverick/Iceman (hurt Mav)


Tags: Subdrop • Pain Play & Aftermath • kink(s) as coping mechanism • edgeplay due to thin line between kink and trigger • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD • Character A hurts Character B (at their request) during sex but Character A immediately regrets it • Enemies to Lovers - A gets in trouble or injured protecting B; which makes B see A in a new light • A accused of crimes; only B believes they're innocent • A mistakenly thinks B is only comforting them on orders from superiors • Comforter started out trying to manipulate comfortee but now they're not so sure • character A overhears sth that makes A think character B doesn't want/like A anymore (A is wrong) • Comfortee overhears Comforter's friends talking negatively about them • A is hurt protecting B; B is emotionally devastated while trying to comfort A • A is too uncertain of their place in B's life to directly ask for direly needed help • Absence of Team Loner/Odd Person Out/Black Sheep Noticed Too Late - Bad Thing Happens to Absentee • Accidentally revealing trauma • Provoked into revealing trauma • Survivor Guilt • A tried to sacrifice life for B but survived. B & injured A deal with emotional & physical fallout • Character manages to injure arch-foe and realizes they don’t actually want to hurt them •
Altered States - Character is out of it due to pain • Altered States - Delirium • Altered States - Drugs (Nonconsensual) • Altered States - Fever • Angry Broken Outbursts Resulting in Desperate Embraces • A's unrequited pining found to be requited while B helps them recover from serious injury • attempted self-sacrifice is thwarted by people who do not agree character is expendable • Back rubs for head/shoulder pain • Back rubs to alleviate coughing • Back rubs/hair stroking to help a character sleep • BDSM Scene Gone Wrong; Aftercare Given by Someone Else • Careful Sex Because One Partner Is Injured/Ill • Carrying sick/hurt/exhausted character to bed • Casual/Unromantic Sex Leads to Unwanted Feelings • Catching injured character as they faint or lose balance • Character A Confesses Feelings Because They Think Character B is Unconscious • Character A has been crying and tries to hide it but Character B still notices it • Character A realizes their love for character B when B is hurt/sick • Character A says hurtful things in anger and Character B takes them to heart • Character A thinks they are unworthy of Character B • Character believes comforter is taking care of them for practical or selfish reasons • Character Believes They're an Unimportant Hookup • Character expected to die but didn't and has no idea how to live anymore. Other helps & comforts. • Character is unfamiliar with being in a healthy relationship due to past abuse • Character Should Safeword But Doesn't • Character usually whines about minor hurt/sickness; is quiet because this time it's really bad • Washing and brushing hair matted with blood


As always, masochistic sub!Mav is the vibe for this request! This time, the vibe is also 'please give Mav a lot of gentle touch and pets, even if gentleness confuses him and takes time for him to get used to'. Also Mav being like 'I thought you hated me', and Ice being like *already taking off clothes* 'god Mav you're so fucking stupid.' (Mav is so fucking stupid, you guys.)

I'm very down for a setting any time from during or after TG1, up to and including the present day. (I love what little we've seen of present-day Mav, how quiet and sad he is, and I really hope Ice is there to comfort him.)

I'm all about Mav's sadness and self-worth issues, and how very bad he is at dealing with them, especially in TG1 canon. He constantly seeks out both sexual engagement and arguments/physical fights, so it's not too much of a stretch to figure he might do both at once - seeking out partners who could hurt him, with varying degrees of actually being turned on by the pain vs. accepting the pain because he thinks he deserves it. I'm also very much here for Ice being kind of horrified at how willing Mav is to be hurt, and teaching him a little about what he should expect from a good dom with regard to boundaries and aftercare. (Perhaps Ice realizes this after they get together, or perhaps he finds Mav already hurt while they're sparring, and manages to get the truth about Charlie or a random hookup out of him.)

Mav seems to not know where his sexual/masochistic boundaries lie, what's healthy and what's not, even possibly what his own consent is and what's not, which lends itself to a very particularly Mav kind of suffering: "Masochistic sub asks for more pain than they really want" because he believes he deserves more pain, even when it stops being fun and starts to really hurt; "Character Should Safeword But Doesn't" - either because Mav finds himself suddenly too near tears or in too much pain to be able to talk at all, or because he convinces himself he'd be a bad sub or not ~man enough~ if he asked to stop; "edgeplay due to thin line between kink and trigger" - could be any kink, but I particularly love the idea of Mav being super eager to try being humiliated until it turns out it actively triggers him and he chokes up too much to safeword; "Kink(s) as coping mechanisms" because of course; "Pain Play & Aftermath" because it's possible he might be too used to patching himself up alone and receiving grudging or inadequate aftercare; "Accidentally hurting partner more than intended during consensual rough sex" - maybe Mav tries to laugh it off, maybe he even thinks Ice meant to hurt him that much, but Ice sets him right and patches him up and helps him understand that he should only ever get to be hurt as much as he wants to be.

I'm very down to see Ice's conflicting emotions here: everyone in Top Gun is such a mess, even though Mav's more of a mess than most, and I don't doubt Ice has issues of his own. Ice giving in to Mav's desire to be hurt, and then immediately regretting it because he can't deal with Mav being hurt, would be so great, as would Ice just generally struggling with realizing Mav's constant provocativeness is a result of his wanting to be hurt. I'd love a scenario where Ice giving Mav affection is a result of Ice needing to give, rather than Ice realizing Mav needs it - kind of an 'I literally cannot deal with seeing you hurting any more, come here and be hugged for my sake even if you don't want it' situation - and Mav, who's so wound up a gentle touch could break him, likes Ice enough to go along with it even though yeah, it does absolutely break him.

I'm also all about the incredible enemies-to-lovers (or enemies-to-friends-to-lovers) sexual tension between Mav and Ice, the antagonistic sparks that sometimes clear to show us they Really Do Like And Respect Each Other, Actually. Pretty much my favourite Mav/Ice-pre-getting-together dynamic is 'good at sex, Bad At Dealing With Feelings, Terrible Disasters at realizing or admitting they actually love each other', so a lot of these tags reflect that tense interplay between their rivalry, their affection, and Mav's lack of belief that Ice might actually care about him. "A is too uncertain of their place in B's life to directly ask for direly needed help"; "A mistakenly thinks B is only comforting them on orders from superiors"; "Character Believes They're an Unimportant Hookup"; "Character A says hurtful things in anger and Character B takes them to heart"; perhaps even "Leaving someone for their own good", for the version where Mav decides Ice would be better off without him and walks away breaking Ice's heart, and Ice has to figure out what's in his stupid head this time and get him back. Some are about Ice's side of this same dynamic, growing from being annoyed by Mav to fond of him and deeply concerned about him: "Character manages to injure arch-foe and realizes they don’t actually want to hurt them"; "Comforter started out trying to manipulate comfortee but now they're not so sure"; "Near Death Experience Makes Unaffected Character Realize They Love the Victim"; "A confesses feelings because they think B is unconscious". Perhaps Mav realizes Ice really cares because Ice looks after him when he doesn't have to; perhaps Ice realizes Mav really cares when he does something stupid and surprisingly selfless, like getting hurt protecting him, or taking the blame for something Ice or Slider did, or acting out and drawing attention to himself so they can get away with something not entirely by the book.

There are also some tags that speak to Mav's general headspace, both at the time of TG1 and now, in the trailers for TG2. He's got some serious self-worth issues that are evident even outside of the bedroom, and definitely has some PTSD going on in the aftermath of Goose's death; when we last see him in TG1, he's still just barely getting over the grief and shock. I'd love to see something exploring the echoes of that in his life afterwards, because he canonically seems to have had no meaningful emotional support from either Charlie or his friends (let alone external support like professional help). So, PTSD, nightmares, Mav crying in his sleep, asking for Goose when he's too sick to remember Goose is dead, blaming himself for what he went through, being ashamed of needing help/comfort, going quiet when he's hurting, generally not caring about his own wellbeing and not believing he's worthy of comfort - perhaps even overhearing Ice's friends talking shit about him, and taking every word to heart. I'd love to see how Ice helps him deal with these things, perhaps forced to by Mav getting hurt or falling ill - perhaps he gets a call from a civilian or other officer when Mav's in a bad way, or perhaps he is the worried third party calling Mav's significant other while Mav is dating Charlie, and he gets a glimpse of how Charlie is sometimes less than sympathetic when Mav is not okay.

As for the "former abusive relationship" tag - I am very okay with past Mav/Charlie with a focus on that not having been a great relationship for Mav, and possibly on past dub/noncon with Charlie having sexually violated Mav, who may or may not realize/be in denial that that's what went down. Charlie's not a bad person, but she does have a manipulative streak that demonstrably wasn't good for Mav, who's honest to a fault and very vulnerable to manipulation; she's also a little selfish, and I don't think she loved Mav enough to realize when that was hurting him. (Just in case this line of thought takes your fancy, here are some thoughts about Charlie and Ice, and how their respective relationship and dominance styles work with Mav, and here are some thoughts about Charlie and Mav's relationship incompatibility leading to her essentially sexually assaulting him.

At any point from TG1 to present day, I'm also down for just low-key h/c between these two - anything from Mav showing up hurt on Ice's doorstep, not having known where else to go, to Ice helping Mav recover from a serious injury, to Mav falling out of favour with the brass for some reason and Ice taking a principled stand in support of him, to Ice just looking after Mav in general; everything is wonderful, especially if it means Mav gets to spend some cute domestic time with Ice, and gets a lot of love and pets from him when he's hurting.


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War of the Worlds (2005)
Ray Ferrier/OMC, Ray Ferrier/OFC, Ray Ferrier & Original Character(s) (hurt Ray)


Tags: Altered States - Alcohol • Altered States - Hallucinations • Altered States - Character is out of it due to pain • Altered States - Drugs (Recreational) • Altered States - Drugs (Nonconsensual) • Altered States - Fever • Apocalypse - Shared trauma triggers after an apocalyptic event • Apocalypse - Survivors find comfort with each other • attempted self-sacrifice is thwarted by people who do not agree character is expendable • kink(s) as coping mechanism • Masochistic sub asks for more pain than they really want • edgeplay due to thin line between kink and trigger • Bronchitis/Pneumonia • unexpected tenderness • Back rubs to alleviate coughing • Impaled through the hand • Impaled through the arm • Character sustains injury as an innocent bystander to a violent situation • Character sustains injury while trying to help defuse a violent situation • Caring for character's injured hands •
Body worship focusing on the scars and aftermath of trauma • Feverish Confessions • Shibari on a sick character • Careful Sex Because One Partner Is Injured/Ill • Fever sex • Character A drapes their jacket over B's shoulders • Character A hurts Character B (at their request) during sex but Character A immediately regrets it • Character being protected isn't used to being cared about • Character Believes They're an Unimportant Hookup • Character blames self for what they went through • Character considers their car/a car to be a safe comforting place • Character Cradling Sick Character's Head In Their Lap • Character doesn't care about their own wellbeing • Character doesn't realize how badly they're hurt until they collapse • Character expected to die but didn't and has no idea how to live anymore. Other helps & comforts. • Character feels so bad they have to sit down on the floor/ground • Character is Exhausted From Overwork • Character is reluctant to eat because they are exhausted/in pain • Character ordered to rest tries to work anyway • Character Should Safeword But Doesn't • Character used to suffering alone is gratefully surprised to receive comfort • Character who thinks they aren't well-liked is shown evidence that other people like them • Character who went through a severe physical ordeal and ended up injured falls ill during recovery • Permanent Injury • Fever Hallucinations • Coming To Terms With Life Changing Permanent Injury • Day-to-day dealing with chronic pain • Slow recovery from life changing injury • Washing and brushing hair matted with blood • Wrist Injuries

I enjoy Ray as a character, and I have feelings about what he lived through, and the fact that while the kids have a support system in their mom's family, Ray clearly doesn't fit in there, and seems to have no one who really cares that he's okay. For that reason, a lot of these tags lend themselves to 'comfort from strangers' situations, and a lot lend themselves to 'building community with fellow survivors' situations as well.

I am here for an exploration of Ray's headspace after the film, for him to get some serious comfort after all the horrors he went through, and perhaps an exploration of shared trauma and how it affects people, communities and relationships. Ray has a lot to deal with, and no one to listen - I think he might leave his ex-wife's place after the film in search of someplace he felt more at ease, and end up helping fellow survivors with their relief efforts, and find a partner there. I'd be delighted to read this taking the form of 'finding a cute romantic partner who's also been through terrible things and can help Ray feel less alone', but I'm also aware that trauma survivors seeking out relationships so soon after what they went through can end pretty badly, and I'm definitely down to read that too.

Ray is an exception to my permanent injuries DNW, and I have some permanent injury focused tags and prompts for him.


Ray falls apart.

Whether at Mary Ann's house, or otherwise. I'm eternally frustrated by the fact that no one even invited him in for a glass of water after the absolute hell he's just been through. I'm here for Ray doing his best to keep going, possibly not even realizing how exhausted or hurt or sick he is until the kids are safe, at which point his body completely gives out on him.

Maybe Mary Ann doesn't want him around and he doesn't particularly want to impose on her family, but he blacks out literally right there on their doorstep and has to be hauled inside, and there's immensely awkward caretaking while he's very out of it, embarrassed that they're the ones who have to look after him but too messed up to try and leave. (Maybe he does try to leave and not bother them any more, and promptly passes out another time and has to be hauled back in again. Maybe he succeeds in leaving and gets caught in the rain or cold and gets even sicker. Maybe he finds himself crying in secret, or has to explain away the tears to Mary Ann's husband or a stranger.)

Speaking of strangers, I'm also here for Ray getting comfort from someone else - in fact, comfort from a stranger is more likely to be genuine comfort that really helps him. Maybe he passes out in a train on the way home and wakes up in hospital. Maybe, in the longer term, he starts to process all the awful things he's been through and bond with other survivors - does he even have a home to go back to, after Brooklyn was pretty much destroyed? Does the government put survivors and displaced folk up while deciding how to compensate them for the losses they've faced, so does Ray hole up with other people who've suffered, generally try to help out as much as he can with volunteering and relief work, and the people he finds along the way look after him when he crashes? Does he try to help with the rebuilding efforts, possibly while in no shape to do so, and crash on the job? Is he surprised that people care enough about him to make sure he's okay? I'm not opposed to him finding a cute romantic partner (of whatever gender!) who's also been through terrible things and can help him feel less alone, but I'm also very taken with the thought of this small community of traumatized people coming together to help one of their own when he needs it, and him kind of wondering why they'd even notice him or care about him. That's one of the potential scenarios I'm getting at with the illness, injury, nightmare and PTSD-related tags - something happening to Ray, and a stranger, or the community of strangers he ended up a part of, helping him even when he doesn't want to be a bother and doesn't know why they'd care.

My reading of Ray is that he generally didn't see many people outside of work, and that he's the kind of person who does his utmost to help in any situation that needs it but keeps to himself a lot outside of that, so I'm very here for even the slightest bit of comfort, offered hand or kind word sort of breaking him into several pieces.


Ray falls apart, tries to cope through substances.

Ray has...a lot to deal with, and no one to even listen let alone help. A lot of the altered states tags could be fever or illness related or PTSD related, and I'm super here for that, for someone getting to see how messed up Ray really is, and choosing to stay and look after him instead of leaving him to fend for himself. I'm also here for him trying to deal with the pain by getting as drunk as he can, or accepting a pill that someone gives him, possibly not knowing what he's getting into. (To clarify, I'm not looking for an addiction plotline here, more like a 'very tired, slightly clueless, trying anything once' situation. Though I can see Ray drinking every day, I would rather not see him binge drinking every day.) Also kind of here for someone slipping him something in a drink, either with malicious intent or with benevolent intent (getting him to lighten up or have some fun for once, hoping to stop the nightmares, etc) and that not ending well whatsoever.

Here for someone - as above, a stranger or partner or someone from a community Ray's ended up in - being with him while he's in that messed up altered state, perhaps talking him down from a bad trip or flashback or some kind of delirium, or holding him while he spills sad confessions and talks without a filter, without being able to stop himself talking, about everything that hurts. Very here for all the comfort.


Ray falls apart, tries to cope through ill-advised sex with strangers.

The Above, But More. This is what the sex/BDSM tags are getting at. I'm here for Ray kind of both trying to seek out physical contact, and trying to seek out physical pain to drown out all the mental and emotional pain, and getting those wires so crossed and knotted that he ends up not really knowing which is which. Maybe, because so many people are hurting and everyone deals in different ways, he finds an abundance of people willing to hurt him, and finds that it kind of gets him off, or finds that it's easier to get off to pain than to gentleness he feels he doesn't deserve. Maybe some of these partners aren't in the best of mental places either, and end up hurting him more than he wanted, or he and said partners both kinda forget what safe and sane mean because they have no barometer for it any more, and maybe aftercare kind of isn't a thing and Ray drops hard more than once. Maybe the drop and the pain are the only way he can manage to let himself cry. (Maybe he finally happens to find someone who is really into the aftercare, and it changes his life. Very here for gentleness breaking Ray into pieces here, too.)


Ray tries his best to hold it together, even if he doesn't always succeed, but then additional terrible things happen post-apocalypse to set him back/make him crumble.

These are plot tags for Additional Angst And Pain that could add on to any of the above thoughts to make the darkness even darker, or make for a dark fic on their own. Thunderstorms, for instance, are probably going to be a major trauma trigger not just for Ray but for everyone else who survived the tripods moving through their area; I could see Ray huddling with a fellow traumatized survivor or a bunch of them, one or several of them shaking or crying, just trying to comfort one another as best they can while they weather the storm. Similarly, a broken down car in the middle of nowhere would be an eerie parallel to what Ray experienced in the film - maybe he's alone this time and doesn't deal with it well, or maybe he's with a few other people who are compassionate and help him deal, and he manages to veer back into thinking of cars as places of shelter and comfort. Perhaps either of these is even a trapped with someone in need of medical care situation, with Ray hurt or sick and unable to hide it when in close quarters to others, and the storm being too intense for anyone to try and get him help until it passes.

Relatedly, permanent injury prompts

Violence is also not unlikely in a survivor camp or just in general in a post-apocalypse scenario, and I could see Ray either stepping in to try and defuse things and getting hurt because of it, or just happening to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and be the kind of quiet, awkward, perceived-as-weird person that those looking for violence like to target. The tags for this situation involve impalement or near-impalement - possibly because Ray was being inconvenient for someone who wanted to steal something or hurt someone else and had to be got out of the way, and he ends up being pinned to a surface through the wrist or hand. For both of these I'm interested both in the trauma of the situation itself and in the (likely very long-term) healing afterwards - whether Ray ends up just weaker in that arm, or whether he ends up with chronic pain, and/or ends up losing the use of a hand entirely, I want to see the healing process and someone, or multiple someones, looking after Ray while he's badly hurt and in serious shock on top of everything else they've all been through, and then continuing to look after him as he starts to go through the long process of healing and adjusting to the long-term fallout of the injury.

I didn't get to add a Solitary Confinement tag, but in this particular situation, I would be down for exploring the possibility of it. Perhaps Ray is held as responsible by law enforcement for the violent incident as the actual instigators, and is put in a cell while he's hurt, and possibly someone who witnessed the incident or just someone from the survivor camp makes it their mission to get him freed and then help him heal up afterwards.

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