#edit: I think I fixed the buggyness issue

[faytelumos]

What settings or vibes do you find yourself coming back to and writing again and again? If you'd like, please provide receipts.

A setting that I repeat in almost every story I've posted so far is one of the character's home. Maybe it's partially because this provides a good excuse for only having two characters in a scene, which helps in the nameless writing I do. But the fact that I so often couple this with the resident being vulnerable while the guest is taking care of them, and that this kind of scene comes so easily and frequently to me, shows that I do have an affinity for this setup.

Over and over again I'm attracted to these hurt/comfort scenes where the characters are stripped of their power in their own homes. Though the vibe of the scene changes between soft-spoken and ugly breakdown and mama bear and things between, the configuration is so often derivative of that template:

Character A is vulnerable, and character B enters their home to help.

Examples and further details:

There was a trio of story bites I did with a specific focus on Vulnerability. I wanted to make scenarios where character A was completely and utterly at the whim of character B, and character B chose to be gentle and trustworthy.

In It's Cold Outside…, Villain nearly died and is still physically incapable of defending themselves (and barely able to talk) when Hero sits down to take care of them. For the entire piece, Villain is sitting on the floor wrapped up in a blanket, and Hero is moving around their house doing things to help. Villain is defensive and uncomfortable because they're completely at Hero's whim, in Hero's house, on Hero's terms. But as the piece goes on, Villain begins to shed their temper and their skepticism and is able to trust that Hero won't hurt them.

---

"Feeling better?" Hero uttered. Villain glared up at them, pulling the blanket tighter around their shoulders. They considered saying something nasty for a moment.

"My toes are killing me," they mumbled instead. Hero nodded.

"Would you [like me to] check on them?" Villain looked over Hero's face as if there could be a secret motive. But they nodded, leaning back, and Hero carefully helped them set aside the hot chocolate and open up the blanket.

---

The next piece I did, Open Wounds, was an attempt to max out this feeling of helplessness and vulnerability. Hero was injured by a more powerful character than either one present in the scene, and has summoned Villain into their home for the first time because they can't get out of the tub by themself.

---

"I can't get up," they whispered, their voice watery.

Villain stared. Hero had summoned them into their home, completely defenseless, even immobile and naked. They were perfectly and completely harmless. It couldn't possibly be any easier to end them.

There were tears brimming in Hero's eyes. Their arms were covered in goosebumps and they were shivering subtly. They were blushing across their whole face, across their ears, down their neck.

---

This piece really lingers in the feeling of quiet and vulnerability. Villain takes a long time to make sure Hero is dry, during which time the two are speaking in hushed tones. But Hero's been trusting Villain the whole time, injured and naked as they are, and it becomes clear that Villain doesn't intend on betraying that trust.

---

Villain kept quiet, gritting their teeth as they carefully cupped and patted down the length of Hero's arm. Once they were both dry, Villain started patting their chest. "I'm sorry," Hero breathed.

"Shut up," Villain said gently. Hero huffed a soft laugh as Villain quietly gave up on any illusions of modesty.

"I'm lucky you're a good person," Hero whispered. Villain glanced up at their face, but despite the tense amusement, Hero's eyes were still closed. Villain looked back down and patted Hero's stomach.

---

The third piece in this trio, Ol' Ben, is about Hero trusting Villain, not with their own life, but with the life of Hero's small, elderly dog. The dog's care has become complex in his old age, and leaving him behind, especially with a self-proclaimed troublemaker, is not easy for Hero. Once again, Villain, who has most of the power in this situation, chooses to be kind and gentle.

---

"Just… be gentle with him," Hero said. "He's just a little old man, and he's deaf and half-blind, and he gets confused." They picked him up carefully, holding him by the ribs and smoothly laying him with his back along their arm, a hand cradling his back end. They looked sad again. Soft.

"I'll be patient and kind," Villain promised. Hero rubbed Benny's tummy, looking at Villain with pleading eyes.

"He's almost sixteen," Hero whispered. "Just, please—"

"Hero," Villain uttered, softly reaching out to pet Benny's head. He moved his head around to sniff Villain's hand, then looked again to Hero. "I might be a troublemaker sometimes," Villain said, "but I'm never a monster. I'll keep Ben safe and happy. I swear it."

---

Besides plain vulnerability, I like to write about the struggles of handling complex emotions, and the difficulty with letting others in to help. Many of my hurt/comfort pieces feature at least one character being pushy in order to get around the other character's emotional defenses.

Open Late is probably the second best example of this. This story breaks the pattern in that it does not take place in either character's home, but in a 24 hour diner. Both Hero and Sidekick are still reeling from a bloody accident, and Hero is succumbing to the grief and loss while Sidekick attempts to hold him together. She tells him what to do and uses a lot of firm physical contact to comfort and direct him.

---

The diner door chimed in the almost empty night, footsteps shuffling loudly in through the door. The host's booth was empty, and Sidekick didn't wait for anyone to appear. She adjusted her hold on Hero to keep him tight to her side, keeping his head almost forcibly on her shoulder, and walked them to a nearby booth. She nudged him in first, and he numbly fumbled for the seat, stumbling in between the cushion and the table, and she tugged at his cape to keep it from choking him when he sat. She scooted in immediately after him and nudged him in deeper. He pressed himself into the wall, hands already coming up to his blood- and tear-streaked face, and she moved the sauces and shakers and sugars away so Hero had open table in front of him before sitting hard against him, firmly squeezing him between her and the wall.

---

I think this piece more than any other so far focuses on one character helping the other through negative emotions. Hero and Sidekick are both actively processing a traumatic scene in their own ways, and Sidekick comforts, distracts, and cares for Hero as he breaks down over the lives they lost.

Breaking up (Is Hard Enough) is another example where a character uses stubbornness to care for another. After a somewhat long-term relationship ends a week into February, Hero attempts to spend Valentine's Day alone. Sidekick's response to the situation is to come into Hero's apartment, like it or not, and have a movie night. While the actual confrontation with the negative emotions is minimal, Sidekick does at least acknowledge the Hero isn't doing well before attempting to distract them with a fun evening.

Of all of the pieces I've done so far, I think Rescue exemplifies the pushy caretaker the most. Hero is injured and barely has any food in their apartment, and when they repeatedly challenge Villain (who has broken into their apartment with groceries), Villain laughs at them, physically forces them to sit down, and scolds them. This caretaker isn't doing anything gently, and even when they wipe away Hero's tears, they're being threatening and fierce.

---

"I, you can't fool me," Hero tried weakly. "I'm, you can't just buy me with food." Villain laughed, throwing their head back slightly as they did.

---

Even after moving out, her new home does not provide a sense of emotional security. She leaves the first new place almost immediately and ends up staying with friends. But when she is attacked in the middle of the night in this third home, neither her nor her friends can quite settle down and relax.

---

Yamez had pulled himself up close to my right side, resting his head on my shoulder, his arm over me. Ohrik lay along my other side, holding my hand gently, Shohm wrapped around him with an arm over me. None of them seemed to be sleeping. Yamez was still trembling, and I hugged him tighter to my side. He clung to me, but said nothing.

Despite their presence, despite their arms around me, their closeness and affection, I couldn't feel safe.  Not when moments ago I had been dragged from the cot and beaten without disturbing any of them.

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Thank you for reading my extremely long analysis.  I don't think this practice of using the home as an emotional stage is particularly revolutionary or original, but it's clearly something that haunts me.