Morrigan wrote:

As I perceive it, the real focus in h-c is upon the relationship(s) between the other character(s) and the one who is hurt. Any marked change or growth occurs in the comforter's perspective of the one who is hurt.

This is certainly one way of playing it, and it's what comes through in those h/c stories of yours that I've read. However, as I recall from discussions on TOL relating to your 'The Bargaining Chip', that wasn't the way most B7 fans/writers understood the genre.

By forcing the comforter (and sometimes other background characters) to reflect upon the character who has been hurt, ... In other words, h-c can be a bit of a soapbox for the author.

This confused me... Why should anyone need to postulate injury to climb up on a soapbox...? I might be misunderstanding but I don't see the need to stab X in the lung to get Y to appreciate them. Tried and tested substitutes short of lung-stabbing include X threatening to disappear (to satellites) &c....

Tavia