Hurt/Comfort fanfiction is deeper than you’d think
Hurt/Comfort, aka H/C, is a genre of fanfiction where a character gets hurt — either physically, mentally, or emotionally — and is comforted and/or taken care of by one or more other characters.
It pretty much does what it says on the tin.
Whump is a sub-genre where a character is continually being injured/having really bad luck, piled on and/or emphasised gratuitously for the ‘oh no! I must hug this precious bean!’ effect by the fic author, and pretty common in H/C, as you might expect.
I’m a fan of H/C — especially when the fic author manages to somehow make it so that it’s not too melodramatic
It’s often trash. But it’s the good trash. The self-care kind of trash.
And we all need that from time to time.
Plus, y’know what? H/C also has good life lessons:
- it’s OK to ask for help
- having problems is not a moral or character weakness
- taking care of yourself is important
- even heroes need a helping hand
- minimising your problems doesn’t make them go away
…I could go on, but I think you get my point. H/C might be trash, but it’s not just trash. #DeeperThanYouThink