Sick Fics — Fanfiction That Says It’s OK To Not Be OK

Cee R.
2 min readAug 31, 2021
A laptop, blanket, and cushion on a sofa. The photo is black-and-white/grayscale because artsy *nods sagely*
Photo by Dillon Shook on Unsplash

I admit it — I love sick fics

…Well, most of ’em — some are too graphic or too sappy for yours truly but *shrugs* every genre/subgenre/trope/whatever is varied in the execution.

Sick fics, or sickfics, are pieces of fanfiction where an ill character is looked after by one or more other characters, usually in a comforting way.

Why do I love sick fics?

Well, you know I never have one reason for anything, but one of the primary reasons is that they’re excellent self-care.

There are many, many times in my life where I’ve felt sub-par.

To be honest, I think the last time I felt 100% ok — mentally and physically, at the same time — for a period of more than two weeks, was when I was thirteen or fourteen. That’s over a decade ago.

And the world? It’s not so kind to people who are ‘always ill.’

So, yeah, it gives me the warm fuzzies to be presented with a character I care about — and relate to, because I relate to pretty much every character in some way (damn you empathy!) — being looked after when they’re not OK.

Because a large portion of my life has been spent…

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Cee R.

Writer, poet, (book) blogger @ dorareads.co.uk , Queer, weird, & a tad peculiar. Bookish rebel. Welsh as a tractor on the M4. Buy me a coffee @ ko-fi.com/ceearr