Welcome back! 🙂

Oh man… I was the same. Hurt/comfort were a huge draw for me for some reason, as were “first time” fics, and though I’ve moved away from that for the most part now, I certainly won’t deny I used to enjoy them a little more than I should.

I’m not sure what level of hurt/comfort you’re into, I certainly know of a few fics that gravitate toward 90% hurt and 10% crying about when the comfort will show up… but for a more balanced look, if you don’t mind a threeway romance between Yusuke/Hiei/Kurama, there is a fic I’ve read a few times that I liked called Balm of Gilead, from the author Blossomwitch.

I’m on mobile so apologies, I must paste the link whole; https://m.fanfiction.net/s/2888969/1/Balm-of-Gilead

What amuses me is that even Blossomwitch claims Kurama angst is “generic.”

It really gets me thinking what it is about fandom and people in general that we love picking one or two characters in media to torture mercilessly… sure, other characters get some pain thrown their way, but it seems most fandoms I’ve been in have one or two favorites (for example, Marvel and Bucky).

Of course, it isn’t the fans’ doing only, as the characters chosen are often ones who already suffered a lot. The blood Piñata Kurama becomes fuel for torture fetishists, as well as people who simply like comfort fics. Both sides of the spectrum agree though, Kurama is the best subject.

Is it because he’s pretty and seeing pretty people crying is fun or satisfying in some way? Or is it some sick instinct within us, that, seeing someone in fiction suffer, if we ourselves suffer, we project ourselves onto them? We then hurt them, push them to their limits, and see what happens. Whether they recover or not, it’s cathartic, I think. Either you get to see them come back and think “if they can return from that, I can return from my own pain.” Or “at least I don’t suffer as much as this character does.”

Either way, hurt/comfort, no matter which end of the spectrum you gravitate towards, is fascinating. And I think many of these characters being male and dealing with say, sexual assault (let’s face it, half — if not more — of the hurt/comfort fics bout Kurama include it) while the fandom is mostly female also contributes to this phenomena; because there is a layer of separation there. People take out their anxieties on these characters, such as fears concerning sexual violence, and the girlier they appear without actually being female — being like the reader/writer— , the better.

At least, that’s a thought that has occurred to me often…

Anyway if you’re a sicko like me and like the further ends of the hurt genre… hit me up. I’ve got a few horrible fic recs that I am ashamed that I’ve read… recently…. ehem.

– Mod Lola, who is apparently a psychopath sometimes