Rape Recovery
| Tropes and genres | |
|---|---|
| Related tropes/genres | rapefic, noncon, hurt/comfort, partner rape |
| Related articles on Fanlore. | |
Rape Recovery stories are a hurt/comfort scenario in which a character recovers from having been raped.
As "rape recovery" the story had very literal interpretation of physical injury, but over time, the structure of the story and its focus on emotional catharsis has been applied to many other traumas, such as death, soulbond trauma, mind wipes/mind control, and other trust-related injuries. Unlike the kind of rapefic that is built around a non-con kink and eroticizes rape, the rape description in rape recovery stories are often (though not always) less graphic.
Usually the raped character recovers with the help of another character or characters. These stories can be gen friendship fic or slash, but are less often het romance, and then less often still with the woman as victim. (at least I think? e.g. I vaguely recall the existence of Mulder/Scully in which Mulder had been raped, but I don't think I've read one with Scully as victim)
Rape recovery stories are sometimes criticized as unrealistic, especially when the character's problems are solved by magical healing cock, or when, in partner rape stories, the raped partner forgives the other partner seemingly without a qualm. For others, these stories represent a safe way to deal with very strong emotions stemming from their own experiences.
Examples
- Cartography by Touch and History of Maps by Rageprufrock (SGA, raped John Sheppard)
- Being an Anchor by Lanning Cook in Sports Night
- Gravity's Angel by Anonymous (The Professionals)
- Adaptable to Change by Arsenic (Bandom)
- taken by the sea by notamagnet (Hockey RPF)
- Hollow Your Bones Like a Bird's by scifigrl47 (Post 'The Avengers'; the Clint/Coulson pairing. This recovery story structure and emotional catharsis to deal with both the fact that Loki took over Clint's mind as well as recover from Coulson's death.)