Huddling for Warmth
| Tropes and genres | |
|---|---|
| Synonym(s) | sharing body heat, hypothermia!fic, blanket!fic |
| Related tropes/genres | Sharing a Bed, H/C |
| See also | Cave Story |
| Related articles on Fanlore. | |
Huddling for warmth or blanket fic is a trope that is generally found in both het and slash pairing-oriented fanfiction, and occasionally in some gen Hurt/Comfort.[1] In fic with a sexual element, it is mainly used in order to maneuver two characters into a first time encounter. In gen fic, it is utilized to show closeness between characters.
The advantages of putting your OTP into a "huddling for warmth" scenario are legion. The two characters are trapped in one place with no distractions, alone, and so their attention is focused entirely on each other. The tone of the story can range from fluffy to angsty. The main problem facing the characters may be as trivial as a motel room with a broken heater, or as serious as incipient hypothermia compounded by serious injury (edging the trope into H/C territory where one partner must care for the other while he or she is completely vulnerable). Characters may be forced to share a sleeping bag or blanket, or even take off all their clothes and snuggle naked.
An example from a 2006 Stargate Atlantis fic:
"Er ... this isn't what it looks like."Caldwell's expression was faintly amused. "It looks like you're trying to warm up a hypothermic team member with your body heat."
"Oh. Well, then, I guess it is what it looks like."[2]
One popular version of the archetypical "sharing body heat" story gets the characters into close physical proximity, and then cuts to the next morning, when they're all warmed up, relaxed, and naked... which of course leads to sex. Or the two characters may have sex as soon as they take their clothes off-- after all, what better way to warm up?[3] In another variation, the character who is more affected by the cold may go into shock and babble deliriously, revealing their secret attraction to their partner.
From a fic prompt for 'Het Fic 2007':
Two (or more) characters trapped in a blizzard. Its so cold that falling asleep uncovered will undoubtedly cause hypothermia. One blanket. Endless Possibilities.[4]
See also Snowed In on TV Tropes.
In Canon
Occasionally this trope occurs in original media. It can be gen, as in the Due South episode where Fraser and RayV are trapped in an industrial meat freezer and tragically do not cuddle for warmth, or in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Shuttlepod One" where Malcolm Reed and Trip Tucker are trapped in a freezing shuttle and convinced that Enterprise has been destroyed. It may be het with plausible deniability as when Jack and Sam were trapped in an ice cave on Stargate: SG-1 and, as always, refused to talk about their feelings. Or it may actually lead to an OTP hooking up, as in The Saint movie,[5] when Simon (Val Kimmer) falls into an icy river and Emma (Elisabeth Shue) must strip both their clothes off and cuddle with him in order to save his life.
Fanworks Examples
- An Instant's Width of Warmth Disclosed, a Sam/Dean story by luzdeestrellas, recced as follows by esorlecahr: Is there anything better than cuddling-to-ward-off hypothermia followed by sweet first-time sex? [6]
- The Big Freeze by strangeandcharm, a Supernatural Dean/Castiel story. Dean and Castiel get locked in a freezer. H/C ensues. Because there is no such thing as too much hypothermia!fic.
- A Little Fire to Warm, a Merlin Merlin/Arthur story by janne_d. Summary: Arthur gets very cold and Merlin has to warm him up (with naked snuggling).
- An Unnecessary Freezing of Water, a Merlin/Arthur story by Shine. Merlin and Arthur sharing body heat in a snowstorm after Merlin saves Arthur from a frozen river.
- Fire and Ice by ELG: I have always wanted to write a Daniel-falls-into-a-freezing-river-and-Jack-has-to-stop-him-getting-hypothermia story and this is it.
- Some shared body heat for the Clichéathon, rated PG by sid, a Jack/Daniel story that gives the scenario a slightly less serious treatment. "You know, you could just turn the thermostat up." "What fun would that be?"
- The Second Law of Thermodynamics by entangled_now, a Sherlock story: In which there's no heating and there's a dead owl in Sherlock's bed. The sequels include cuddling as well, but without the excuse of hypothermia.
- all I wanted was a white knight (I got a prince instead) (Merlin) combines the tropes of sharing a bed with sharing body heat because here Arthur makes Merlin warm his bed.
- Compassion by Charlotte Frost (Starsky and Hutch): "'Hang on, Hutch.' Such a gentle whisper. 'I'm gettin' into the sleeping bag with you. Gonna warm you up... Okay, here we go. Gonna be a tight fit, but it's all gonna be okay.'"
- Grail by Martha (Sentinel): "'Like this. Come on.' He put a hand on his shoulder and coaxed him down. With a groan, Blair let Jim tuck him into the sleeping bag. Then Jim quickly stripped off his own wet clothes, gathered them up with Sandburg's, and pitched them all outside the tent."
- In Another Lifetime: 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' by Kala Lane-Kent: A Superman II AU in which Lois and Clark, posing as a married couple, find themselves trapped in a snowstorm. Lois/Clark
External Links
References
- ^ Whimsy-chan, Comment on kat-lair's post 'Embrace the Cliché Project' The Blanket Scenario is the old classic sharing body heat scenario--two (or more) characters are stranded in a snowstorm with minimal shelter and only one blanket to get them through the night. Oh noez! Whatever will they do? D: Posted July 30, 2007. Last accessed October 17, 2010.
- ^ Sholio, The Killing Frost Chapter 1, a Stargate: Atlantis fanfic Posted July 22, 2006. Last accessed October 17, 2010
- ^ Cards_slash, day fifteen: back in the day CA and CB end up somewhere very cold, wet and nearly dead from hypothermia (or exposure.) They stumble upon a blanket (sometimes in a cabin!fic) and strip off their clothes. Whichever is the more lustful of the pair, CA or CB then discovers that if they have sex they will warm up much faster. Posted September 16, 2010. Last accessed October 17, 2010.
- ^ Nuinzilien, fic prompt for 'Het Fic 2007'. Last accessed October 17, 2010
- ^ The Saint Wikipedia Article
- ^ esorlecahr, Supernatural Recs Last accessed October 17, 2010.
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