As a writer - I'm finding it very hard to come up with a way for Peter to comfort Neal that works with what I know of him. I got as far as a pat on the shoulder in my fic "Not There Yet" but anything more than that just wouldn't have worked for Peter. Though he does do a good job with Elizabeth in the final - hugging her - but then it's his wife.
Also I have to admit as much as I agree Neal is the resident damsel in distress I also see him as being very independent and weary of asking anyone for help. He's going to resist being comforted no matter what the situation is. Plus he's also got Mozzie and June - and it really annoys me when people leave them out of fics where Peter and Elizabeth are comforting Neal as if they're the only ones who can.
As a reader - I've got the same pet peeves as you - OOC behavior and cute pet names for any fandom. Anything that feels like people are regressing the characters to 5 year olds who get their feelings hurt over every little slight. Yeah sometimes people are harsh with each other and sometimes feelings are hurt but crying over it or running away and hiding from the big meany just seems over the top and OOC for a LOT of characters.
In White Collar I'm finding it annoying when people write everyone else using El as Elizabeth's name - That is PETER's nickname for his wife as far as I can tell - no one else uses it. Yeah Moz used it once but that's Moz. We haven't heard Neal use it at all and I doubt he ever would. Also I hate seeing it spelled any other way than "El".
Another White Collar pet peeve that really worried me was a few people writing Peter and Hughes wanting Neal to carry a gun... one story went as far as threatening to send him back to jail if he didn't get a permit... Do people not realize that a) Neal is a convicted felon and b) he's not actually free? There's no f'ing way he'd ever he allowed to carry a gun even if he wanted to! No one is going to force him to carry one, let alone anyone in law enforcement.
Also I'm worried about stories that seem to be edging towards bashing Peter for being mean to Neal for keeping him on a short leash ... again - convicted felon and not actually a free man. I only read one or two stories like that so I'm not too worried but still the path towards character bashing is an easy one...
no subject
Also I have to admit as much as I agree Neal is the resident damsel in distress I also see him as being very independent and weary of asking anyone for help. He's going to resist being comforted no matter what the situation is. Plus he's also got Mozzie and June - and it really annoys me when people leave them out of fics where Peter and Elizabeth are comforting Neal as if they're the only ones who can.
As a reader - I've got the same pet peeves as you - OOC behavior and cute pet names for any fandom. Anything that feels like people are regressing the characters to 5 year olds who get their feelings hurt over every little slight. Yeah sometimes people are harsh with each other and sometimes feelings are hurt but crying over it or running away and hiding from the big meany just seems over the top and OOC for a LOT of characters.
In White Collar I'm finding it annoying when people write everyone else using El as Elizabeth's name - That is PETER's nickname for his wife as far as I can tell - no one else uses it. Yeah Moz used it once but that's Moz. We haven't heard Neal use it at all and I doubt he ever would. Also I hate seeing it spelled any other way than "El".
Another White Collar pet peeve that really worried me was a few people writing Peter and Hughes wanting Neal to carry a gun... one story went as far as threatening to send him back to jail if he didn't get a permit... Do people not realize that a) Neal is a convicted felon and b) he's not actually free? There's no f'ing way he'd ever he allowed to carry a gun even if he wanted to! No one is going to force him to carry one, let alone anyone in law enforcement.
Also I'm worried about stories that seem to be edging towards bashing Peter for being mean to Neal for keeping him on a short leash ... again - convicted felon and not actually a free man. I only read one or two stories like that so I'm not too worried but still the path towards character bashing is an easy one...