Archive of Our Own ^beta

This is the official AO3 collection for hoodie_time@LJ, and we're basically operating on the same guidelines and requirements as the LJ community, which is. That means: we're all about Dean-centric H/C. If you want to know more about how we define the genre and what kind of fanwork qualifies, please read the FAQ and the rules, both linked in the profile of this collection. If you'd like to be added as a member, please send an email to the mod account first. If you fail to do that, your membership request will not be approved.

And just to emphasize it, because we love ~every sort of fanwork: this collection isn't exclusive to fic. Every kind of media that can be posted to AO3 is also welcome here.

In conclusion: have fun, play nice, share your work, and most of all: HURT DEAN.

How do you define h/c, and what if you aren’t sure if your fanwork is h/c-y enough or contains enough hurt!Dean? And what types of h/c do you accept, anyway?

How do you define the h/c genre here?

A classic Dean-centric h/c fanwork would be one where a certain percentage of the fanwork is spent on sick!, hurt! or emotionally hurt! Dean, and a certain percentage is spent on Dean being comforted by another character.

But there is a whole h/c spectrum, and different people have different interpretations of h/c and what fits within that spectrum. (Here’s one definition, from Fanlore.) On that understanding, h/c is defined quite broadly here. Your fanworks can fit the dark, horror, schmoop, fluff, or comedy, etc. genres, and contain much more hurt than comfort or vice versa. There is no pre-defined amount of necessary hurt or comfort.

What types of Dean-centric h/c are accepted here?

All of them! Dean does not have to be physically hurt/sick. Physical or mental illnesses, injuries, emotional or psychological trauma and issues, and more would all be very much welcome and accepted. Yes, all kinds of supernaturally-altered!Dean (such as a curse or spell resulting in de-ageification, etc.) are also game. De-aged!Dean, for example, would be the "hurt."

How much hurt!, sick!, emotionally or otherwise hurt! Dean is enough?

Hurt!, sick!, emotionally or otherwise hurt! Dean should play a fairly large part in any fanwork or rec posted here.

Whatever genres it belongs to and whether Dean has a cold or a massive head wound, if the Dean hurt and/or comfort is only a small or minimal part of a larger fanwork, or the Dean hurt and/or comfort is not the main focus or one of the main focuses of your fanwork, it might not be the best fit here.

For example, a casefic with a strong focus on the case but also a lot of background hurt!Dean would work great. But if Dean is sick for one chapter only in a ten chapter fic, you could for sure post that particular chapter here, but the fic as a whole wouldn’t fit.

Since this is a Dean-centric collection, does it matter who’s POV the story/whatever is told from? Does it have to be Dean?

No, and no. All character POVs are awesome here.

What about h/c for other characters in my Dean-centric h/c fanwork?

To answer perhaps our most common question, fanworks that include h/c for characters other than Dean are accepted here, however as this is a Dean-centric h/c collection, these fanworks should include more Dean-centric h/c than they do h/c for any other character. We realize this is subjective, but please keep it in mind and use your judgment. This doesn’t encompass everything, of course, but to clarify –

Some examples of scenarios where characters are hurt other than Dean, and what fits/what doesn’t:

NO. Hospitalized!Sam and Dean with a broken arm.

YES. Hospitalized!Dean and Sam with a broken arm.

NO. The main Dean angst or hurt in a story comes from Dean angsting over or caretaking for a psychologically/mentally ill/hurt Sam (or whoever.) This scenario is technically Dean angst, but the h/c is more focused towards the other character for the purposes of this collection.

YES. Sam (or whoever) angsting over or caretaking for a psychologically/mentally ill/hurt Dean. There is angst for the other character here, but the h/c is more focused towards Dean for the purposes of this collection.

How do you decide these things?

As it says above, these guidelines are to keep the collection content-specific, and are not a reflection of the mods’ personal tastes. Any fanworks in question will be reviewed on a case-to-case basis and should get a fair shot between us; we try to get two mod opinions on all such issues when possible. Fanworks deemed not fitting will be deleted after letting the poster know.

A final note:

In conclusion, if you think your fanwork (or recs) are borderline in any of the above ways, please contact a mod for a second opinion before posting. We review postings as often as we can, so it's better to check first than to post and hope for the best.

1. This is a Dean-centric hurt/comfort collection, so Dean should be the one in the hurt/comforted role. Additionally, this hurt/illness/other should play a fairly large part in any fanwork or rec posted here. What types of Dean-centric h/c are accepted here? All of them! Dean does not have to be physically hurt/sick. Physical or mental illnesses, injuries, emotional or psychological trauma and issues, and more would all be loved and accepted. Yes, all kinds of supernaturally-altered!Dean (such as a curse or spell resulting in de-ageification, etc.) are also game. De-aged!Dean, for example, would be the "hurt."

2. Gen, het, wincest and other slash pairings are all very welcome. No RPF, though - this collection is for Supernatural 'verse fanworks only.

3. To answer perhaps our most common question, fanworks that include h/c for characters other than Dean are accepted here, however as this is a Dean-centric h/c collection, these fanworks should include more Dean-centric h/c than they do h/c for any other character. We realize this is subjective, but please keep it in mind and use your judgment.

For further clarification/examples, see our FAQ.

And if you think your fanworks/recs are borderline on this issue, please contact a mod for a second opinion before posting.