Definition?

[ithildin]

I have lots of really smart people on my f'list, and smart people who read lots and lots of fanfic. So I'm pretty sure more than one of you can help me out here.

What exactly is hurt/comfort fic? I see the term a lot, and I kinds sorta thought I knew what it was, but now, I have a feeling I don't. I'm not even sure if I've ever read any.

Yes, that's the burning object of my curiosity today [g]

Comments

[ekaterinn.livejournal.com]

I sometimes binge on h/c stories; they're my fannish guilty pleasure because a lot of it is fetishized and not that well-written.

But I did read one lately that was oh so nicely crafted - lots of hurt without being overwrought and the comfort was realistic (i.e., character A had issues with sex and when he and character B first attempted sex, it didn't go that well instead of being all magical healing and shit.) I was going around for days smiling because of that story.