Hurt/Comfort Bingo Card 6-10-13

[ysabetwordsmith]

Below is my first card for the 2013 hc_bingo fest.  (See my second card.)  This fest encourages the creation of boundary-pushing material that explores what happens when things go horribly wrong and people actually care about each other. Remember, things always go wrong; what matters is how you deal with that. Some of the content may be NSFW. Read the FAQ and rules first. The signup post is here.

I thought this might be an effective way to attract some new readers. It's also useful for developing some of my more danger-prone series.  

If you'd like to sponsor a particular square, especially if you have an idea for what character, series, or situation it would fit -- talk to me and we'll work something out.  This is a good opportunity for those of you with favorites that don't always mesh well with the themes of my monthly projects.  I'll still post some of the fills for free, because I'm using this to attract new readers; but if it brings in money, that means I can do more of it.  That's part of why I'm crossing some of the bingo prompts with other projects, such as the Poetry Fishbowl.

Underlined prompts have been filled.
B: five poems
I: five poems
N: one story, four poems
G: five poems
O: five poems

love spell / potion gone wrong	drowning	waterboarding	corporal punishment	robots / androids
forced to participate in illegal / hurtful activity	loss of possessions	electrocution	taking care of somebody	prostitution
hazing	combat	WILD CARD	deadline / time bomb	apocalypse
whipping / flogging	abuse	orphans	rape / non-con	rejection
counseling	experiments by evil scientists	sexual extortion	parting ways	extortion

Comments

Distractions

[(Anonymous)]

I'm supposed to be editing, but this makes me wanna play with fic. The "Love is for Children" 'verse story I've been working on is Uncle Phil/Steve corporal punishment. I twisted my brain into all sorts of pretzels debating whether cp would work in your 'verse. The reader in me with a serious 'thing' for discipline spanking really wished it would. The writer, on the other hand, values characterization and established 'verse "cannon". Tony, Bruce, Clint, Natka, and Betty were all obviously out of the question. Steve, on the other hand, reads more as neglect and bullying than physical abuse, and he comes from a time where corporal punishment was common. It was, in fact, still legal in the military through about 1944. Whether I can actually make it work remains to be seen.

Re: Distractions

[draggon_flye.livejournal.com]

Thought I was logged in there...

Re: Distractions

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> I'm supposed to be editing, but this makes me wanna play with fic. <<

Go for it!

>> The "Love is for Children" 'verse story I've been working on is Uncle Phil/Steve corporal punishment. I twisted my brain into all sorts of pretzels debating whether cp would work in your 'verse. <<

That's interesting.

>> The reader in me with a serious 'thing' for discipline spanking really wished it would. <<

"Write what you want to read" is generally a good rule.

>> The writer, on the other hand, values characterization and established 'verse "cannon". <<

This is important too. I tend to look for overlaps and try to imagine how something might work.

>>Tony, Bruce, Clint, Natka, and Betty were all obviously out of the question.<<

Definitely, because they are abuse survivors. I'd rule out Bucky due to his violation from HYDRA and Department X; while it's not exactly the same, his nerves are raw meat right now.

>> Steve, on the other hand, reads more as neglect and bullying than physical abuse, and he comes from a time where corporal punishment was common. It was, in fact, still legal in the military through about 1944. <<

Yes, if it's going to be anyone, it could only be Steve. Insofar as I know the Marvel canon, he was never abused by anyone he trusted, only harmed by enemies. That can make a big difference. And while bullying does cause trauma for some people, it doesn't for everyone, and it obviously didn't for Steve. He didn't feel helpless, just frustrated and angry. I think what Steve focuses on is more a matter of power imbalance and immorality rather than the physical actions. That's important for your purposes.

>> Whether I can actually make it work remains to be seen. <<

I asked myself what would convince Phil to provide corporal punishment. The rationale that leapt to mind is: if someone needed it. Now, that might come in the form of a lesson, if Phil felt that was the most effective mnemonic. But that tends to wash out when children grow out of the toddler stage. A two-year-old can't understand "don't run into the road because a car could kill you" but can understand one brisk swat on the butt. An older child can process an explanation for a rule.

This leads to another aspect of need: when someone feels that they have done wrong and their brain gets trapped in a blame-loop. The right kind of physical pain can break the cycle with expiation and forgiveness. (This is a popular theme in disciplinary spankings; I don't know if it's part of your kink or not.) Now Phil does not seem to me like someone inclined to spank freely; he has all kinds of other ideas for educational purposes. But he won't leave someone suffering, and we know he tolerates some requirement for pain because he grudgingly permits Clint's self-harm under certain circumstances. Steve definitely seems like the kind of person who could tangle himself up in blame and not be able to get out, whose mindset would be receptive to corporal punishment as a resolution. I think, if nothing else helped, Phil would be willing to accommodate Steve's need for punishment rather than just let him stew indefinitely.

We are then left with the puzzle of what would create that kind of tangle in Steve's mind. It would have to be something significant, not trivial -- but also not so major as to take it outside the realm of what a spanking would reasonably cover. In this series I use childhood imagery a great deal, not just in the ageplay scenes, but in the mature scenes too. I look for things that are touchstones of childhood, things that connect with that energy. The offense wouldn't necessarily need to occur during a game night, but it's likely to involve a teammate. Steve is particularly sensitive to hurting other people, so it might be an incident of rough handling or hurt feelings. There have been some great moments of tension between characters in this series; I think I'd enjoy seeing what another author would do with this.

Let me know what if anything you come up with. I'd like to link it as "inspired by" my work, whether it winds up feeling like canon or AU to me. AU is okay; let your story take its own shape.

Re: Distractions

[draggon_flye.livejournal.com]

This is pretty much exactly what my thoughts about the characters and how they would work were. What started in my brain as discipline has looped away into more of a catharsis-type thing that is 'staged' with elements of typical childhood discipline. Anything else just didn't fit. Steve isn't the type to need to be reined in and even if he were, Uncle Phil has far too many other tools in the toolbox. Steve does however strike me as one who could get stuck in a guilt loop and need a way to 'pay' for his perceived guilt to put it behind him.

I will get it done eventually. The first scene is done. This actually helps. I'm an awful lot like Bruce in terms of perfectionism and fear of failure. "Permission" of a sort helps convince the terrified kid part of me that it's really ok.

Re: Distractions

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> This is pretty much exactly what my thoughts about the characters and how they would work were. <<

Yay!

>> What started in my brain as discipline has looped away into more of a catharsis-type thing that is 'staged' with elements of typical childhood discipline. <<

To be fair, things can be both. I have seen this in some folks I know. There are kinkyfolk who use corporal punishment for personal growth as well as bedsport.

>> Anything else just didn't fit. Steve isn't the type to need to be reined in and even if he were, Uncle Phil has far too many other tools in the toolbox. <<

True.

>> Steve does however strike me as one who could get stuck in a guilt loop and need a way to 'pay' for his perceived guilt to put it behind him. <<

Steve is among the healthiest of the Avengers, because most of the bad shit that happened to him came from clear enemies, not family or allies. He can bounce back from that. But he has this extremely strong, extremely arbitrary imprint about Duty -- you can see it in the way he believed that only military service counted as doing his part, back when he could barely breathe on his own. So there are things in Steve's head that can hurt him.

>> I will get it done eventually. The first scene is done. <<

Yay! That makes me happy.

>> This actually helps. <<

*hugs* I'm happy to hear that.

>> I'm an awful lot like Bruce in terms of perfectionism and fear of failure. "Permission" of a sort helps convince the terrified kid part of me that it's really ok. <<

Writing is okay. It doesn't even have to be for serious, it can be just for fun or self-expression or whatever you want. Writing for practice is okay, if you want to try out a new technique or idea. If it doesn't work great, that's not a problem.

I happen to be a professional writer an editor but that's not for everyone. All the other kinds and reasons of writing are fine too. I like encouraging people.

Building on something I've written in fanfic is fine. I don't claim to have any control when I'm already playing with someone else's characters, beyond the basics of "don't alter what I've written or pretend you wrote it." Heck, you should see some of the cool extras my fans have made based on my original work. I like the interaction.

Re: Distractions

[shadynaiad.livejournal.com]

I feel kind of weird jumping into this conversation, but if you get this written, I'd like to read it. Your interests are relevant to my interests. :)

Re: Distractions

[draggon_flye.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :-) Like I said, it's partly written. It will eventually get done. I'm just a very slow writer. I'm thrilled there is interest.

Re: Distractions

[ysabetwordsmith]

Definite interest.

Re: Distractions

[dialecticdreamer]

If you finish this, please post it? Corporal punishment tends to squick me, BUT, I like your logic and reasonable limits so far, and I would LOVE, LOVE, /LOVE/ to read your characterizations.

Take all the time you need with it-- by the time you post it, it'll be a bright new penny to catch my attention all over again!

Re: Distractions

[ysabetwordsmith]

I like it when my readers start talking with each other!

[(Anonymous)]

Where can I find the fills to read them?