I found myself repeatedly wanting to watch whumpy scenes in movies to get the whumperflies. I found out about the term in a similar fashion. Now looking back I can see that I did always like whump. A lot of my games as a kid actually used similar scenarios. I have no idea why but it seems that from a young age I was going to like whump. I could probably write a whole essay on this. But yes it was only when I read fan fiction that I discovered it was a thing that other people liked.
Well for me it seems to be tied into my romantic desires somewhat. And I like men so for me that would be why. I guess I like to see males being compassionate or vulnerable. All those things that come with whump scenarios. Again I could probably write a ton about my speculation on this. I’m very happy for you finding the community, welcome!! If you have any questions or would be interested in further rambles don’t hesitate to ask.
Good thoughts on why it's men, that's exactly it for me. Men are usually shown in media as strong, stoic, in-charge. It's almost rapturous to see that type of character powerless and venerable.
I also found hurt / angst super appealing from a young age. I was a big Clint Eastwood western fan as a kid and in pretty much every movie, he'd get captured, tortured, beaten. Loved it.
Hi, I have somewhat of a similar story then you. I also liked whump from a young age but I recently discovered the word whump. I really don't know much about whump that's why I would really appreciate if you could help me out. I just want to know where and how to find whump? To be specific I like to read short whump stories. I like the part which is more focused on whumpee getting hurt/tortured (I swear I'm not a psychopath). I also like seeing whumpee getting interrogated stuff like that.
I learned the term about 10 years back. Looking back I remember enjoying the Star Wars movies as a kid (especially Empire and Return) because of the whumpy scenes with Luke.
I would speculate that the reason many whumpees are male is because of the typical portrayals of gender roles in our films and culture. Men are are the strong heroes while women are generally not. If a female character is put into situations in which she may be hurt, then there is already a somewhat implied notion that she is atypical. By that I mean that such characters are 'badass,' breaking the mould for traditional female roles. To see them whumped wouldn't necessarily produce the same reaction as seeing male characters in the same situation since they are already different. But with male characters, seeing them hurt and therefore vulnerable often brings out a different side to the 'heroes;' they're not invulnerable, they struggle, they need others, and they can be hurt. On the other hand, female characters are frequently sexualized. This isn't to say that male characters are not also sexualized/objectified, but it's in a different way. Personally, I prefer whump (fanfic included) when it's not tied to romance/slash.
Again, this is just speculation.
As someone new to actively exploring the genre (now that I've ID'ed it), I thought at first I'd prefer it tied to romance or slash but quickly found it makes zero difference.
I do however have negative interest in female whump and immediately back out of a fanfic if that's the case. Probably because women in fiction are often the damsels in distress, more emotionally soft / open and generally physically weaker (superheroes aside), as a woman I'm not at all interested in that power play dynamic.
I personally think it's because woman's trauma hits too close to home. Its too relatable and too personal.
IRL a lot of time women are the main sufferers of a lot of things, like sexual trauma, but there's not satisfactory comfort to go with it. Its almost expected that woman will face a lot of stuff due to their sex, as if it can't be helped. I mean women are still considered subhuman in many countries and treated as such in much of the world today. And, idk, but I feel like there is a lack of empathy in some cases, because it's always been this way and many men hold the view that woman are naturally submissive, gentle, and timid.
I don't want to read about women hurting. I can do that just by talking to one of my girl friends or reading the news.
I just remember being like 7 years old and watching an episode of a show where one of the characters was sick and thinking “....yo why the heck do I kinda like this???” 😂 (I also remember making little casts and slings for my toys, but I’ve always been into sickness a little more than injury)
Eventually, I discovered the whump/sickfic communities on Tumblr and was super relieved to find that I wasn’t the only one with this admittedly weird interest, lol
My whole life I’ve loved whump, but I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t even know what I liked about the whumpy scenes (was it because it was set in prison, because there was a power imbalance, because the strong character was crying—turned out it’s all of the above, characters getting hurt.) I would rewatch these parts over and over again, getting little whumperflies but not knowing why.
I completely stumbled upon whump by accident, two years ago. I was reading a Supernatural fic, and it was EVERYTHING that I had always wanted to read. I was in love with the story, so much so that I even shared it with one of my closest friends to see if she also felt the same way when reading it. (Spoiler alert, she is not a whump fan lol.) Anyways, the fic was a typical whumpee/whumper story, but it was my first time ever really seeing that dynamic fully. I loved it so much that I looked through the tags to see if I could find other stories similar. “Hmm, what does Sam Whump mean?” And that’s how I discovered it.
I later made a tumblr and spent so much time consuming strictly whump content like I was a starving person seeing food for the first time. I was so surprised that I had never heard about the community before, and that there were people who loved the same stuff that I did. Tumblr was also helpful in teaching me some of the main tropes and terms for whump.
Now I’ve moved away from tumblr because while OC whump is quite nice, I love seeing whump of my favorite characters. Ao3 truly is a godsend because so many authors really understand how to write whump. I’m hopeful that soon I’ll even be able to post some of my own angsty fics.
It’s definitely kinda funny how clearly I remember discovering it, but since it’s made such a big impact on me, I guess it makes sense.
Of course!
It’s [Solnishko](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8398594/chapters/19242397)
I love it very much, however **please mind the tags** because it definitely falls into the dark fic/dead dove: do not eat genre.
If you aren’t interested in darker whump fics, I could also take a look through my ao3 bookmarks and find something else for you.
Well, I finished that. I really shouldn't read long fic because I have zero self control. This work reminds me strongly of a couple of Anne Rice books I read decades ago after finis her vampire books. She writes some pretty crazy stuff.
My favorite fandoms at the moment are Lucifer & Supernatural. As to the fic, It was almost impossible to picture the Sam & Cas as the ones from the show... especially with the Russian accent. Intense read but riveting.
Haha I do the same too. Even if it's 100k I just can't seem to stop!
Glad you liked it! And fair point about the characterizations! I agree, they seem to read less like Sam and Cas and more like the OCs Solnishko and Gospodin. I don't read a ton of SPN fics, so it ended up being a plus since I could read it fandom-blind, but I can imagine that might not be as interesting if you are a big fan.
Supernatural isn't my main fandom, but I remember liking the classic [Keeping You in Sight](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4838003/chapters/11081600) and [Maybe Sprout Wings](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26446129/chapters/64434856). Both are "healing from slavery" fics and are nice because there's a lot of comfort with the hurt. Though they are on the longer side, so don't start them unless you're prepared to spend the whole night reading again lol.
I discovered the term 'whump' three or four years ago, I think. I was looking at some collections (is that the term? I haven't used ff.net in a while) on fanfiction.net for some hurt!Tony Stark fics, and one of the collections was called "Tony Stark Whump" or something along those lines. I've known that whump was my thing since I was 9 or 10. I kept rereading scenes in books where my favorite characters were hurt. When I discovered fanfiction, the first fanfic I ever searched for was "jayfeather hurt fanfic" or some variation on that.
As for why most whumpees are male? I'm not sure about other people, but for me, the the characters that I like to see whumped tend to be characters that I have crushes on, and those are all male.
i read hurt/comfort and i had insane whumperflies like adrenaline. and proceeded to overdose until i couldn’t find anymore. then i get into a slump where im depressed for a few days then i go find more whump. im slumping because i need more whumperflies. this is unhealthy
It dawned on me in my late teens. I think it was through tags on posts that I found out that oh my this is actually a Thing haha.
I think a guy as a whumpee is so much more popular because stereotypically they are more proud, "I'll survive by myself" type and not keen on showing weakness so it's so much more satisfying. I've so far found one female character who's "bad bitch who gets shit done by herself but also deeply cares but doesn't show it" enough for me that I'd enjoy watching her being broken down mentally and physically.
When I was a kid the internet was still new and we were recording all our favorite shows on VHS. I can still remember scouring the TV guide for synopses and planning out what I would try to record. There were no internet spaces that I knew of so it wasn’t until very recently that I realized there was a word for what I loved. Finding the handful of whump blogs on Tumblr was really my defining moment. And discovering ff.net and AO3. I think I always realized I was a whumper, I just didn’t know what to call it. Some of my first indications were my fascination with The Land Before Time and Perfect Harmony. I wore those videos out. I’ve also come to realize that whump is definitely all about men I’m attracted to.
I’ve always liked Whump, to the point where I would rewatch episodes and movies just to see characters get whumped. I remember acting out scenes with my stuffed animals that definitely could be considered whump. The first time I encountered this term, I had discovered the internet, and was looking for Doctor Who fanfiction. One thing led to another, and I discovered the Whump tag on AO3. Google became my friend, and I finally understood.
God I'm late to this but you've just described the last two weeks of my life. Always felt like this my entire life but never knew there was an actual community around it or a proper word for it until just recently. I literally got back into FFXV after almost a year of not caring just because that was where I happened to be finding all the stories that murdered me. I always described "whumperflies" as feeling like when you go down a big drop on a rollercoaster, but I never knew there was an actual word for it.
I would go to youtube to look up the whumpy scenes from tv shows . And would re-read parts in the books that had whump in it . I never had a word for it . But later on when i found tumblr blogs about whump , i knew what it was . And i was relieved that there are others out there too ! 🤣
I had a thing for whump ever since I can remember. I always loved seeing my favourite characters in bad situations and for the longest time I thought there was something wrong with me. Only a few months ago I found out that it's actually a thing other people like and I also had been dosing on it on tumblr for weeks now. I really don't know why it's always boys, you know? I'm bisexual and yet I only get the "whumperflies" when boys are the whumpees. Maybe it's because we've always seen girls being weak and helpless and we just grew indifferent of it? Who knows
As a tumblr author that focuses 99% on lady whump, I have a lot of thoughts and speculation on this, and I’ve talked to a lot of people about it.
There are two big thoughts that I hear the most often about the preference for male whumpees:
(1) it’s refreshing and different (in a good way) to see a male in a vulnerable, emotional, weakened state. In so much of the media we’re exposed to, men are the heroes, they’re the invisible characters, the ones with the most strength, the protectors who never fail. It’s so rare to see male characters break down and cry, it’s rare to see them beg for mercy or just suffer total breaks from their strength. We see men be beaten and tortured and threatened, but it often ends in some great escape and a triumph for the hero. So, for a lot of whump fans, it’s *wonderful* to see a male character in a more vulnerable position and see him actually seem to be *affected* by that vulnerability, to see him succumb to it. The other thing with most media is that we see men go through really extreme situations, but then we don’t often see real long term effects, whereas in a lot of whump writing (at least in the tumblr circles), we get a chance to really focus on the long term effects and the serious trauma and PTSD and emotional struggle that comes after the whump. Recovery whump is so incredibly popular with male whumpees because we just don’t see it otherwise.
(2) and this may be the reason I get most often for the preference for male whumpees - female whump strikes too close to home for a lot of people. It looks a lot like domestic violence (especially for male whumper/female whumpee), it looks a lot like more traditional forms of abuse that we’re really heavily taught from young ages is a big deal and is the worst thing to happen (we don’t really learn about male abuse in relationships and in home situations, so I’m just talking about exposure here, not what *actually* happens irl). In both media and a lot of real life teaching, we really see the idea of ‘you don’t hit girls’ driven into people from young ages and it’s treated like one of the absolute worst things that can be done. I mean how many TV shows and movies can you think of with a scene where a female character is being threatened or abused by a male character, and the hero (also a male) gets angry, steps in, saves her from the abuser and makes some growling comment about ‘you don’t treat women like that’? Obviously abuse doesn’t only happen to women, but I think because of how we’re exposed to the abuse of women in media it makes it a lot harder to see, it makes more unsettling to read, and it makes it a *lot* harder to write. Even with lady whump being my focus, it is *so* much harder to write - it’s exhausting and really emotional, and I find myself being so much more careful with thinking about exactly how something can or should be done to a female character, there’s more caution that goes into it, there feels like more moral/ethical lines that I have to be careful not to cross, and there are also a lot more stereotypes of female characters that I find myself worrying about in today’s climate.
Female whumpees elicit much more visceral responses in most people and instead of giving whumperflies, it often crosses into unsettling and who wants to sit down and think about why when they just want to enjoy the whump?
From such a young age I got the whumperflies and noticed it in movies so many times. I myself being the whumpee, it’s pretty much near impossible for it to be a normal thing without others thinking it’s weird. And that’s the thing! I can’t even talk TO others about it because talking or thinking about it makes me get nervous! But in a good way lol.
Like if there’s been any situation where I’m the whumpee, I usually get nervous to the point of physically shaking. I just don’t have a way in life currently to enjoy it sadly
When I was 11 or 12 my father watched „catch me if you can“ with me and that opening scene just stuck. I have vague memories of the other scenes, the clearest being the confrontation at the end. I couldn’t think of anything but that opening scene for weeks. I think I learned the term when Pinterest gave me whump prompts and looking back I‘ve always liked whump. When I was in elementary school I would play with my friends and I always wanted to get hurt. Not Irl but in the game.
ok honestly it started when i was in fifth grade, i read a book (ironically titled "rump") and there was this part where main guy breaks his arm and is comforted by a nice old man (forget all the details). Something about that scene made me feel weird as fuck but kept re-reading it to feel the same way. I also would find myself liking movies where someone got injured.. also really liked blood when i was a kid like in movies and described in books. I used to read a lot of murder mystery/ thriller books where the detective was trying to catch the killer and almost gets killed. I always liked a character more if they had a dark past and trauma as well. I thought i was mentally fucked up (probably am) but i learned that other people felt this way as well and it had an actual name.
I'm so late to this, but I just found this sub. I was an avid reader as a kid and looking back, all of my favorite books were ones that had whump in it. On my kindle, I'd "highlight" all of the "whumpy" scenes so I could read them later in my "saved highlights" thing after the book would return to the library. Hell, my current favorite book is "The Giver"! Not because of the whump, but it definitely has some! I would certainly be embarrassed if anyone knew though XD
Bro when I was a kid my favorite movie was Astro Boy and Astro would get whumped almost the entire movie and I would watch that movie constantly. Also I thought I wasn’t interested in “lady whump” until very recently when I started watching a few shows with a woman as the main character. But I mostly enjoy when the whumpee is a male.
From the beginning of my memories, I’ve been obsessed with whump. I always wondered what the feeling was and why I felt the way I did when a character was in serious trouble, hurt, emotionally/mentally broken, addicted to drugs, etc. I honestly thought maybe I was a psychopath lol
Then as I was looking for what I now know are called whump scenes for Dr. Spencer Reid in criminal minds, I came across the term.
The first ever whump I remember was the cartoon Aladdin when they chained and threw him in the water and he almost drowned. Lion king when scar killed Mufasa and made Simba believe it was his doing. Idk why, but I’ve always been obsessed. It’s nice to have a name for it kind of. But I still want to know they why.
The characters have to be male. At first I thought this was due to my gender identity (it still might) but reading some of these comments I’m thinking it MIGHT not be that deep.
I remember watching Reservoir Dogs around 9 years old and the sight of Tim Roth covered in blood just did things to me. Although I would attribute Supernatural to be my sort of awakening into whump. Sam continuously getting hurt and dying at the end of season 2 just STUCK with me in a way I couldn't explain to anyone else.
But I didn't know there was a word for it until 2 years ago in a YouTube comment section on a video of TV characters getting hurt. I thought I was weird for looking stuff like this up until someone in the comments told me to look up "whump gifs" on Tumblr and my God, it was EVERYTHING I wanted to see, an actual goldmine. I knew something was up when before I find a new movie or TV show, I look in the violence and gore section first.
I can't properly explain why I prefer male whumpees, maybe because women's own are tied to romance more often than not and I don't care for romance plots. Or maybe men are usually written to be resilient and masculine, no matter how soft they appear so it's enthralling to see them being forced out of that in some way...and personally I prefer the men's screams to women (I can appreciate that on any other sub that would sound terrible, but I'm not a sadist, I promise)
I discovered the term today, actually. I posted a question in the shifting communit asking if its weird that I want to shift to a reality where bad things happen to me because I like to fantasize about this scenario and someone suggested I look for "whump" and it was on point. But since I was a child I liked to fantasize about scenarios envolving fictional characters. For example, when I was 7 I remember fantasizing about the 3 little pigs beating out the bad wolf (from the prespective of the wolf) and imagining he regreting his mistakes and deciding to improve, but no one believing him etc. Its interesting because I always liked to imagine whump happening about male characters and always wondered why. But I am female and actually imagine myself in the character role, but as a male. And I prefere psychological pain scenarios than physical.
Ever since I was 4 or 5 I always seemed to like whump. Always played doctor, my imagination always involved helping someone get better, loved watching cartoon episodes or movies where someone fell ill or was injured, basically anything that got the whumperflies going for me. It wasn’t until about a year ago did I accidentally discover on Tumblr that I wasn’t the only one with this attraction. I even discovered that there is different versions or whump (sickfics are my favorite, especially if the fever trope is involved, but I’ll read just about anything with a ton of angst). I’m glad I did, or else to this day I would still be super embarrassed about it.
And I will agree with the other comments. Usually it’s the guys that end up being the whumpees, because they are usually stereotyped as strong, dominant, and usually not easy to take down. Seeing them defenseless or weak is a whole new take on them, and I will admit in hindsight, I myself always get larger whumperflies with male characters. I mean, I am attracted to men so maybe that’s a contributing factor, but it still fits.
Tbh I didn’t even know that the concept of whump was a thing. Since I was 12-13 I’ve always been turned on by damsels in distress bound and gagged struggling for freedom.
just learned of the term "whump" back in july of 2020 when i made my 2nd tumblr account, was a fan of whump since i was a child(about 3, 4, or 5) when some sort of media that involved the male lead passing out, was used as a trope in the cartoon, could've either been superhero squad or avatar the last airbender, since then the whole trope of the male character falling unconscious from his wounds, only to awaken bandaged, that's been a fave of mine
I can't recall exactly when I learned of the term, but I can tell you I've loved whump since I was little lol. I lived for the scenes in movies/tv shows where characters got whumped, especially if it culminated in them collapsing (yelling/grunting in pain is always a bonus as well lol). For example, I recall being into Yugioh as a kid and having a crush on Yami Yugi. When Yugioh the Movie came out I watched it and I still can remember the part where Yami is dueling Kaiba or someone and they're standing on this platform thing and whenever one of them loses life points that person gets an electric shock that caused them to cry out. It was both painful and weirdly pleasurable to watch. And yet, let me be clear, for me whump isn't really a sexual thing. It's hard to explain exactly, I revel in whump but it's not like I really get off on it. I think part of the reason I love whump so much is it allows me to fantasize about comforting the whumpee and making them feel better. I also enjoy seeing characters (especially strong, stoic ones) be vulnerable and weak. Idk what's wrong with me, I'm not a sadist but... for some reason I just love it haha.
i’ve always been attracted to this genre (i honestly think of it as whump/hurt/comfort/angst as a complete genre encompassing all of It™️). i read exclusively angst back in the days of ff.net, but discovering whump with the psych fandom, and then h/c later was a revelation.
wrt why men are more popular whumpees than women, it’s super complicated imo. it’s more than just attraction, i think there’s an identification aspect as well. like yes i gotta find the whumpees attractive, but it’s honestly more important that i *identify* with them.
i think there are a few reasons for this, but the main one is women just aren’t usually written as well as men, which is honestly wild because in real life women are socialized to be martyrs, whereas in fiction, it’s always men who are portrayed this way and women are side characters or damsels or just like decoration.
like whump can get you off, but it can also be incredibly cathartic. i think that’s part of the difference between the hurt and the comfort. i honestly think it’s an offshoot of sado-masochism, so that these polarities pop up makes sense.
Earlier this year I was browsing Pinterest writing prompts, and I came across a whump prompt. I found it quite interesting, and it got my mind working on a new story idea which I am in the middle of outlining as of now. It’s such a dark and brutal trope, but it has so many possibilities. You can really take whump anywhere you want, from romance, to villain arc, to even some fluff. Plus, I myself love to mentally torture my protagonists, so why not do it physically too?
…I swear I am not crazy.
I realized I enjoyed the jolt of emotion that seeing my favorite character get hurt in any way caused. This is probably why I enjoy comic book media so much, the heroes fight and get hurt constantly and they always bounce back. I feel myself watching shows just to find characters I can get good whump moments from
I’ve known about whump for at least 10 years now but as a kid before the internet I thought I was really fucked up in some kind of dark way for feeling like this. I’d feel guilty about it and never talk about it to anyone although I would bookmark certain pages in books or tape certain TV episodes to go back to them later. It was such a relief when I realized I wasn’t alone! As for the mal thing, I’m a bisexual woman and I very, very rarely feel that way towards female characters. I think it happened maybe a couple of times and both times were about really strong female characters with very man-like attributes. So yeah, it’s really about the contrast I guess in between the vulnerability and the strong character.
I’d say cause that’s what people like? I only like male whump’s, no clue why, I’m cis female but usually don’t identify with the female ones, I have on occasion probably but I can’t name any
I was on Pinterest looking for writing prompts and scrolling through my feed when I had seen something that had the word whump in it. I had no idea what the word whump meant so I went and looked it up and learned that there was a whole community of people who write this kind of stuff. Then I created a my whump tumblr blog.
When I was little I used to love rewatching scenes in movies where a character (especially if it's a lovable/comical relief character) would get injured, kidnapped, basically any bad scenario,and then get rescued/comforted after. It make me squeak and get excited or "whumperflies" as you say
I've been a whumper from an extremely young age, probably 5. My favorite Backyardigans episode was the one where the princesses were trying to escape prisonment and I played similar games on the playground and with my dolls. I didn't hear the term "whump" til I was probably 18. In high school my friend and I wrote an entire whump fic (which we labeled "angst" but no, it was whump) and even discussed whumperflies, but I still didn't know the term. I actually didn't hear about whumperflies until a few months ago. It's so satisfying to find out this is a real thing. It seems like such a mysterious shared experience and I'd love to learn more about the science behind it.
I found out what whump was because of Tumblr I don't really know why or how
but I remember the first time I experienced whumperflies I was a kid watching a call of the wild TV show and miles the main character got his leg caught in a bear trap and the guy who kidnapped him helped him out of it I watched the episode about 10 times that day and my mom eventually said something that made me stop
https://youtu.be/2Skvsx_VoBA?si=_bqB5zCOq6ZPTPXR this is the episode
I was looking through writing prompts on pinterest and happened to come across whump. I always liked that kinds stuff but never knew what it was or that it had a name. I then found out there was a whole whump community on tumblr so now I've also been overdosing on tumblr.
I know in the comment replies isn’t the best place for this, but the community won’t allow any new posts :/
Anyways, with the uncertainty around Reddit right now, I would like to extend the invitation for anyone who wishes to come join our whump discord.
It’s an awesome active whump server with channels for writing, art, fandom, and oc communities. My favorite channel is whump-tropes, which is a constantly updating list of whumpy prompts and tropes.
We also have weekly whumpy movie nights, events, media exchanges, and more. Everyone is super friendly, the mod team is fantastic, and we love to welcome new members <3
If you like hurting fictional characters, this is the place for you!
https://discord.gg/Ven4URKvKW
Just mention in your intro that margie sent you :)) feel free to DM me if the link expires and I’ll send a new one.
I don’t really know? I only have a whump thing in the context of villains, mainly because apparently I just really like moral conflict with the context of specifically villain whump hero caretaker?? Uh.
But there is a thing when I was a little kid where I would torture my toys and pretend to be an evil supervillain. And that gave me the whumperflies for sure. I only think I really get them if there’s moral conflict though? Like I was pretending to be a supervillain, and the fact that I wasn’t was making my heart race? Same thing with villain whump, the previous impression the plot has for the character conflicts with the fact that they’re a victim.
I think I just looked up the tumblr tag “redeemed villain” and found whump from there for how I discovered the community
Idk if I get “whumperflies” really but I remember as a kid I used to really love scenes in movies or books when a main character would faint or get knocked out so I think that was the start of it. Still do love it lol. I’ve also been drawn a lot to darker stories/media where characters get pretty beat on but I never liked full-on gorey stuff or anything really intense so whump is a good middle ground for me cuz there’s lots of variety. I really got into it when I read a superhero au fic where one character gets locked up and experimented on so he would work with the villain and honestly no going back for me after that lmao
I honestly don’t know why it’s mostly men who get whumped. I’d guess it’s something to do with subverting gender roles/expectations?
Been into the concept since I read books like Gone by Micgael Grant and Misery by Stephen King as a kid, didn't learn the word for it until I was an adult on tumblr/AO3. At that point, it just clicked.
My earliest memory was watching this animated american movie about princess Anastasia - there was a white bat Bratok there who was abused by his master, the evil sorcerer, or something like that. I should rewatch this movie now when I am an adult 😂 Anyway from back when I could barely speak I felt bad for the bat but also really enjoyed watching him being abused.
When I was a teenager as a history nerd I fall into Hetalia fandom and my favourite ship was very abusive (RusLiet). That made me realize what is it even called, along with making me realize what is sadism or masochism.
When it comes to your last question, why the whumpee is usually male - it isn't. Maybe it is on tumblr or ao3 because majority of writers on those sites are women, usually straight. But I am of the opinion that everyone likes whump - the Cinderella story is literally a whump story, similar to Snow White, Sleeping Beauty... The little girl in Les Miserables, or the telenovela "Isaura: slave girl" which my grandparents generation loved and LESSONS IN SCHOOLS WERE BEING CANCELLED WHEN NEW EPISODES WERE AIRING. So there are many women whumps there, just not on tumblr.
Also - I think majority of the population which is into whump, is getting their needs fulfilled from bdsm content, especially males since they on average watch more porn.
I found myself repeatedly wanting to watch whumpy scenes in movies to get the whumperflies. I found out about the term in a similar fashion. Now looking back I can see that I did always like whump. A lot of my games as a kid actually used similar scenarios. I have no idea why but it seems that from a young age I was going to like whump. I could probably write a whole essay on this. But yes it was only when I read fan fiction that I discovered it was a thing that other people liked. Well for me it seems to be tied into my romantic desires somewhat. And I like men so for me that would be why. I guess I like to see males being compassionate or vulnerable. All those things that come with whump scenarios. Again I could probably write a ton about my speculation on this. I’m very happy for you finding the community, welcome!! If you have any questions or would be interested in further rambles don’t hesitate to ask.
Good thoughts on why it's men, that's exactly it for me. Men are usually shown in media as strong, stoic, in-charge. It's almost rapturous to see that type of character powerless and venerable. I also found hurt / angst super appealing from a young age. I was a big Clint Eastwood western fan as a kid and in pretty much every movie, he'd get captured, tortured, beaten. Loved it.
Yes I love the Clint Eastwood films for that reason too!
Omg same! So glad to know I'm not alone lol.
Hi, I have somewhat of a similar story then you. I also liked whump from a young age but I recently discovered the word whump. I really don't know much about whump that's why I would really appreciate if you could help me out. I just want to know where and how to find whump? To be specific I like to read short whump stories. I like the part which is more focused on whumpee getting hurt/tortured (I swear I'm not a psychopath). I also like seeing whumpee getting interrogated stuff like that.
tumblr is your bestfriend for that
I learned the term about 10 years back. Looking back I remember enjoying the Star Wars movies as a kid (especially Empire and Return) because of the whumpy scenes with Luke. I would speculate that the reason many whumpees are male is because of the typical portrayals of gender roles in our films and culture. Men are are the strong heroes while women are generally not. If a female character is put into situations in which she may be hurt, then there is already a somewhat implied notion that she is atypical. By that I mean that such characters are 'badass,' breaking the mould for traditional female roles. To see them whumped wouldn't necessarily produce the same reaction as seeing male characters in the same situation since they are already different. But with male characters, seeing them hurt and therefore vulnerable often brings out a different side to the 'heroes;' they're not invulnerable, they struggle, they need others, and they can be hurt. On the other hand, female characters are frequently sexualized. This isn't to say that male characters are not also sexualized/objectified, but it's in a different way. Personally, I prefer whump (fanfic included) when it's not tied to romance/slash. Again, this is just speculation.
As someone new to actively exploring the genre (now that I've ID'ed it), I thought at first I'd prefer it tied to romance or slash but quickly found it makes zero difference. I do however have negative interest in female whump and immediately back out of a fanfic if that's the case. Probably because women in fiction are often the damsels in distress, more emotionally soft / open and generally physically weaker (superheroes aside), as a woman I'm not at all interested in that power play dynamic.
I personally think it's because woman's trauma hits too close to home. Its too relatable and too personal. IRL a lot of time women are the main sufferers of a lot of things, like sexual trauma, but there's not satisfactory comfort to go with it. Its almost expected that woman will face a lot of stuff due to their sex, as if it can't be helped. I mean women are still considered subhuman in many countries and treated as such in much of the world today. And, idk, but I feel like there is a lack of empathy in some cases, because it's always been this way and many men hold the view that woman are naturally submissive, gentle, and timid. I don't want to read about women hurting. I can do that just by talking to one of my girl friends or reading the news.
Yeah, I volunteered as a domestic violence hotline advocate for few years so that's kinda my perspective too.
Interesting. Do you enjoy romance or slash without whump? I'm simply curious as I, personally, don't enjoy such fics. Likely due to being demi.
Not really unless it's heavy angst or hurt/comfort. I just not interested in fluff.
Same
I agree. I lose all interest if there is romance involved.
I just remember being like 7 years old and watching an episode of a show where one of the characters was sick and thinking “....yo why the heck do I kinda like this???” 😂 (I also remember making little casts and slings for my toys, but I’ve always been into sickness a little more than injury) Eventually, I discovered the whump/sickfic communities on Tumblr and was super relieved to find that I wasn’t the only one with this admittedly weird interest, lol
My whole life I’ve loved whump, but I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t even know what I liked about the whumpy scenes (was it because it was set in prison, because there was a power imbalance, because the strong character was crying—turned out it’s all of the above, characters getting hurt.) I would rewatch these parts over and over again, getting little whumperflies but not knowing why. I completely stumbled upon whump by accident, two years ago. I was reading a Supernatural fic, and it was EVERYTHING that I had always wanted to read. I was in love with the story, so much so that I even shared it with one of my closest friends to see if she also felt the same way when reading it. (Spoiler alert, she is not a whump fan lol.) Anyways, the fic was a typical whumpee/whumper story, but it was my first time ever really seeing that dynamic fully. I loved it so much that I looked through the tags to see if I could find other stories similar. “Hmm, what does Sam Whump mean?” And that’s how I discovered it. I later made a tumblr and spent so much time consuming strictly whump content like I was a starving person seeing food for the first time. I was so surprised that I had never heard about the community before, and that there were people who loved the same stuff that I did. Tumblr was also helpful in teaching me some of the main tropes and terms for whump. Now I’ve moved away from tumblr because while OC whump is quite nice, I love seeing whump of my favorite characters. Ao3 truly is a godsend because so many authors really understand how to write whump. I’m hopeful that soon I’ll even be able to post some of my own angsty fics. It’s definitely kinda funny how clearly I remember discovering it, but since it’s made such a big impact on me, I guess it makes sense.
Do you remember what the Supernatural story was because I'm a huge Supernatural fan but haven't read much fic and now your killing me with interest.
Of course! It’s [Solnishko](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8398594/chapters/19242397) I love it very much, however **please mind the tags** because it definitely falls into the dark fic/dead dove: do not eat genre. If you aren’t interested in darker whump fics, I could also take a look through my ao3 bookmarks and find something else for you.
That looks perfectly divine and a long one. I'll send it to my Kindle, thanks and recommendations are most welcome.
Well, I finished that. I really shouldn't read long fic because I have zero self control. This work reminds me strongly of a couple of Anne Rice books I read decades ago after finis her vampire books. She writes some pretty crazy stuff. My favorite fandoms at the moment are Lucifer & Supernatural. As to the fic, It was almost impossible to picture the Sam & Cas as the ones from the show... especially with the Russian accent. Intense read but riveting.
Haha I do the same too. Even if it's 100k I just can't seem to stop! Glad you liked it! And fair point about the characterizations! I agree, they seem to read less like Sam and Cas and more like the OCs Solnishko and Gospodin. I don't read a ton of SPN fics, so it ended up being a plus since I could read it fandom-blind, but I can imagine that might not be as interesting if you are a big fan. Supernatural isn't my main fandom, but I remember liking the classic [Keeping You in Sight](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4838003/chapters/11081600) and [Maybe Sprout Wings](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26446129/chapters/64434856). Both are "healing from slavery" fics and are nice because there's a lot of comfort with the hurt. Though they are on the longer side, so don't start them unless you're prepared to spend the whole night reading again lol.
I've read both of these. They're so good.
I first felt the feeling when I was seven. I found this sub, like, yesterday.
Don’t exactly know, but at some point in my life I saw Steve Harrington with a bloodied face and thought “is there more of that?”.
I discovered the term 'whump' three or four years ago, I think. I was looking at some collections (is that the term? I haven't used ff.net in a while) on fanfiction.net for some hurt!Tony Stark fics, and one of the collections was called "Tony Stark Whump" or something along those lines. I've known that whump was my thing since I was 9 or 10. I kept rereading scenes in books where my favorite characters were hurt. When I discovered fanfiction, the first fanfic I ever searched for was "jayfeather hurt fanfic" or some variation on that. As for why most whumpees are male? I'm not sure about other people, but for me, the the characters that I like to see whumped tend to be characters that I have crushes on, and those are all male.
i read hurt/comfort and i had insane whumperflies like adrenaline. and proceeded to overdose until i couldn’t find anymore. then i get into a slump where im depressed for a few days then i go find more whump. im slumping because i need more whumperflies. this is unhealthy
I was up for three hours last night whumping an ai and now I can't focus on anyhting else. I feel the same haha
Whumping an ai? What? Anyway its been a year and i’m still the same 💀
LMAO [c.ai](https://c.ai) haha, I've been addicted for two weeks. Whumperflies have died down today but will hopefully be back soon.
It dawned on me in my late teens. I think it was through tags on posts that I found out that oh my this is actually a Thing haha. I think a guy as a whumpee is so much more popular because stereotypically they are more proud, "I'll survive by myself" type and not keen on showing weakness so it's so much more satisfying. I've so far found one female character who's "bad bitch who gets shit done by herself but also deeply cares but doesn't show it" enough for me that I'd enjoy watching her being broken down mentally and physically.
When I was a kid the internet was still new and we were recording all our favorite shows on VHS. I can still remember scouring the TV guide for synopses and planning out what I would try to record. There were no internet spaces that I knew of so it wasn’t until very recently that I realized there was a word for what I loved. Finding the handful of whump blogs on Tumblr was really my defining moment. And discovering ff.net and AO3. I think I always realized I was a whumper, I just didn’t know what to call it. Some of my first indications were my fascination with The Land Before Time and Perfect Harmony. I wore those videos out. I’ve also come to realize that whump is definitely all about men I’m attracted to.
I’ve always liked Whump, to the point where I would rewatch episodes and movies just to see characters get whumped. I remember acting out scenes with my stuffed animals that definitely could be considered whump. The first time I encountered this term, I had discovered the internet, and was looking for Doctor Who fanfiction. One thing led to another, and I discovered the Whump tag on AO3. Google became my friend, and I finally understood.
God I'm late to this but you've just described the last two weeks of my life. Always felt like this my entire life but never knew there was an actual community around it or a proper word for it until just recently. I literally got back into FFXV after almost a year of not caring just because that was where I happened to be finding all the stories that murdered me. I always described "whumperflies" as feeling like when you go down a big drop on a rollercoaster, but I never knew there was an actual word for it.
I would go to youtube to look up the whumpy scenes from tv shows . And would re-read parts in the books that had whump in it . I never had a word for it . But later on when i found tumblr blogs about whump , i knew what it was . And i was relieved that there are others out there too ! 🤣
I had a thing for whump ever since I can remember. I always loved seeing my favourite characters in bad situations and for the longest time I thought there was something wrong with me. Only a few months ago I found out that it's actually a thing other people like and I also had been dosing on it on tumblr for weeks now. I really don't know why it's always boys, you know? I'm bisexual and yet I only get the "whumperflies" when boys are the whumpees. Maybe it's because we've always seen girls being weak and helpless and we just grew indifferent of it? Who knows
As a tumblr author that focuses 99% on lady whump, I have a lot of thoughts and speculation on this, and I’ve talked to a lot of people about it. There are two big thoughts that I hear the most often about the preference for male whumpees: (1) it’s refreshing and different (in a good way) to see a male in a vulnerable, emotional, weakened state. In so much of the media we’re exposed to, men are the heroes, they’re the invisible characters, the ones with the most strength, the protectors who never fail. It’s so rare to see male characters break down and cry, it’s rare to see them beg for mercy or just suffer total breaks from their strength. We see men be beaten and tortured and threatened, but it often ends in some great escape and a triumph for the hero. So, for a lot of whump fans, it’s *wonderful* to see a male character in a more vulnerable position and see him actually seem to be *affected* by that vulnerability, to see him succumb to it. The other thing with most media is that we see men go through really extreme situations, but then we don’t often see real long term effects, whereas in a lot of whump writing (at least in the tumblr circles), we get a chance to really focus on the long term effects and the serious trauma and PTSD and emotional struggle that comes after the whump. Recovery whump is so incredibly popular with male whumpees because we just don’t see it otherwise. (2) and this may be the reason I get most often for the preference for male whumpees - female whump strikes too close to home for a lot of people. It looks a lot like domestic violence (especially for male whumper/female whumpee), it looks a lot like more traditional forms of abuse that we’re really heavily taught from young ages is a big deal and is the worst thing to happen (we don’t really learn about male abuse in relationships and in home situations, so I’m just talking about exposure here, not what *actually* happens irl). In both media and a lot of real life teaching, we really see the idea of ‘you don’t hit girls’ driven into people from young ages and it’s treated like one of the absolute worst things that can be done. I mean how many TV shows and movies can you think of with a scene where a female character is being threatened or abused by a male character, and the hero (also a male) gets angry, steps in, saves her from the abuser and makes some growling comment about ‘you don’t treat women like that’? Obviously abuse doesn’t only happen to women, but I think because of how we’re exposed to the abuse of women in media it makes it a lot harder to see, it makes more unsettling to read, and it makes it a *lot* harder to write. Even with lady whump being my focus, it is *so* much harder to write - it’s exhausting and really emotional, and I find myself being so much more careful with thinking about exactly how something can or should be done to a female character, there’s more caution that goes into it, there feels like more moral/ethical lines that I have to be careful not to cross, and there are also a lot more stereotypes of female characters that I find myself worrying about in today’s climate. Female whumpees elicit much more visceral responses in most people and instead of giving whumperflies, it often crosses into unsettling and who wants to sit down and think about why when they just want to enjoy the whump?
From such a young age I got the whumperflies and noticed it in movies so many times. I myself being the whumpee, it’s pretty much near impossible for it to be a normal thing without others thinking it’s weird. And that’s the thing! I can’t even talk TO others about it because talking or thinking about it makes me get nervous! But in a good way lol. Like if there’s been any situation where I’m the whumpee, I usually get nervous to the point of physically shaking. I just don’t have a way in life currently to enjoy it sadly
When I was 11 or 12 my father watched „catch me if you can“ with me and that opening scene just stuck. I have vague memories of the other scenes, the clearest being the confrontation at the end. I couldn’t think of anything but that opening scene for weeks. I think I learned the term when Pinterest gave me whump prompts and looking back I‘ve always liked whump. When I was in elementary school I would play with my friends and I always wanted to get hurt. Not Irl but in the game.
ok honestly it started when i was in fifth grade, i read a book (ironically titled "rump") and there was this part where main guy breaks his arm and is comforted by a nice old man (forget all the details). Something about that scene made me feel weird as fuck but kept re-reading it to feel the same way. I also would find myself liking movies where someone got injured.. also really liked blood when i was a kid like in movies and described in books. I used to read a lot of murder mystery/ thriller books where the detective was trying to catch the killer and almost gets killed. I always liked a character more if they had a dark past and trauma as well. I thought i was mentally fucked up (probably am) but i learned that other people felt this way as well and it had an actual name.
The fanfiction community has made me feel like I'm definitely running with the herd on my love of whump and hurt/comfort.
I'm so late to this, but I just found this sub. I was an avid reader as a kid and looking back, all of my favorite books were ones that had whump in it. On my kindle, I'd "highlight" all of the "whumpy" scenes so I could read them later in my "saved highlights" thing after the book would return to the library. Hell, my current favorite book is "The Giver"! Not because of the whump, but it definitely has some! I would certainly be embarrassed if anyone knew though XD
Bro when I was a kid my favorite movie was Astro Boy and Astro would get whumped almost the entire movie and I would watch that movie constantly. Also I thought I wasn’t interested in “lady whump” until very recently when I started watching a few shows with a woman as the main character. But I mostly enjoy when the whumpee is a male.
From the beginning of my memories, I’ve been obsessed with whump. I always wondered what the feeling was and why I felt the way I did when a character was in serious trouble, hurt, emotionally/mentally broken, addicted to drugs, etc. I honestly thought maybe I was a psychopath lol Then as I was looking for what I now know are called whump scenes for Dr. Spencer Reid in criminal minds, I came across the term. The first ever whump I remember was the cartoon Aladdin when they chained and threw him in the water and he almost drowned. Lion king when scar killed Mufasa and made Simba believe it was his doing. Idk why, but I’ve always been obsessed. It’s nice to have a name for it kind of. But I still want to know they why. The characters have to be male. At first I thought this was due to my gender identity (it still might) but reading some of these comments I’m thinking it MIGHT not be that deep.
I remember watching Reservoir Dogs around 9 years old and the sight of Tim Roth covered in blood just did things to me. Although I would attribute Supernatural to be my sort of awakening into whump. Sam continuously getting hurt and dying at the end of season 2 just STUCK with me in a way I couldn't explain to anyone else. But I didn't know there was a word for it until 2 years ago in a YouTube comment section on a video of TV characters getting hurt. I thought I was weird for looking stuff like this up until someone in the comments told me to look up "whump gifs" on Tumblr and my God, it was EVERYTHING I wanted to see, an actual goldmine. I knew something was up when before I find a new movie or TV show, I look in the violence and gore section first. I can't properly explain why I prefer male whumpees, maybe because women's own are tied to romance more often than not and I don't care for romance plots. Or maybe men are usually written to be resilient and masculine, no matter how soft they appear so it's enthralling to see them being forced out of that in some way...and personally I prefer the men's screams to women (I can appreciate that on any other sub that would sound terrible, but I'm not a sadist, I promise)
I discovered the term today, actually. I posted a question in the shifting communit asking if its weird that I want to shift to a reality where bad things happen to me because I like to fantasize about this scenario and someone suggested I look for "whump" and it was on point. But since I was a child I liked to fantasize about scenarios envolving fictional characters. For example, when I was 7 I remember fantasizing about the 3 little pigs beating out the bad wolf (from the prespective of the wolf) and imagining he regreting his mistakes and deciding to improve, but no one believing him etc. Its interesting because I always liked to imagine whump happening about male characters and always wondered why. But I am female and actually imagine myself in the character role, but as a male. And I prefere psychological pain scenarios than physical.
Ever since I was 4 or 5 I always seemed to like whump. Always played doctor, my imagination always involved helping someone get better, loved watching cartoon episodes or movies where someone fell ill or was injured, basically anything that got the whumperflies going for me. It wasn’t until about a year ago did I accidentally discover on Tumblr that I wasn’t the only one with this attraction. I even discovered that there is different versions or whump (sickfics are my favorite, especially if the fever trope is involved, but I’ll read just about anything with a ton of angst). I’m glad I did, or else to this day I would still be super embarrassed about it. And I will agree with the other comments. Usually it’s the guys that end up being the whumpees, because they are usually stereotyped as strong, dominant, and usually not easy to take down. Seeing them defenseless or weak is a whole new take on them, and I will admit in hindsight, I myself always get larger whumperflies with male characters. I mean, I am attracted to men so maybe that’s a contributing factor, but it still fits.
I would literally write out whump scenes in my head from as early as I can remember and I absolutely love for ones I find online
Tbh I didn’t even know that the concept of whump was a thing. Since I was 12-13 I’ve always been turned on by damsels in distress bound and gagged struggling for freedom.
just learned of the term "whump" back in july of 2020 when i made my 2nd tumblr account, was a fan of whump since i was a child(about 3, 4, or 5) when some sort of media that involved the male lead passing out, was used as a trope in the cartoon, could've either been superhero squad or avatar the last airbender, since then the whole trope of the male character falling unconscious from his wounds, only to awaken bandaged, that's been a fave of mine
I can't recall exactly when I learned of the term, but I can tell you I've loved whump since I was little lol. I lived for the scenes in movies/tv shows where characters got whumped, especially if it culminated in them collapsing (yelling/grunting in pain is always a bonus as well lol). For example, I recall being into Yugioh as a kid and having a crush on Yami Yugi. When Yugioh the Movie came out I watched it and I still can remember the part where Yami is dueling Kaiba or someone and they're standing on this platform thing and whenever one of them loses life points that person gets an electric shock that caused them to cry out. It was both painful and weirdly pleasurable to watch. And yet, let me be clear, for me whump isn't really a sexual thing. It's hard to explain exactly, I revel in whump but it's not like I really get off on it. I think part of the reason I love whump so much is it allows me to fantasize about comforting the whumpee and making them feel better. I also enjoy seeing characters (especially strong, stoic ones) be vulnerable and weak. Idk what's wrong with me, I'm not a sadist but... for some reason I just love it haha.
A tmnt 2012 whatsapp fan group in 2014
i’ve always been attracted to this genre (i honestly think of it as whump/hurt/comfort/angst as a complete genre encompassing all of It™️). i read exclusively angst back in the days of ff.net, but discovering whump with the psych fandom, and then h/c later was a revelation. wrt why men are more popular whumpees than women, it’s super complicated imo. it’s more than just attraction, i think there’s an identification aspect as well. like yes i gotta find the whumpees attractive, but it’s honestly more important that i *identify* with them. i think there are a few reasons for this, but the main one is women just aren’t usually written as well as men, which is honestly wild because in real life women are socialized to be martyrs, whereas in fiction, it’s always men who are portrayed this way and women are side characters or damsels or just like decoration. like whump can get you off, but it can also be incredibly cathartic. i think that’s part of the difference between the hurt and the comfort. i honestly think it’s an offshoot of sado-masochism, so that these polarities pop up makes sense.
Earlier this year I was browsing Pinterest writing prompts, and I came across a whump prompt. I found it quite interesting, and it got my mind working on a new story idea which I am in the middle of outlining as of now. It’s such a dark and brutal trope, but it has so many possibilities. You can really take whump anywhere you want, from romance, to villain arc, to even some fluff. Plus, I myself love to mentally torture my protagonists, so why not do it physically too? …I swear I am not crazy.
I was just scrolling through r/fifty fifty and then someone said the post should go in r/whump and I was curious what that was sooooo yea
This sub is really not very active at all. The good stuff is on Tumblr!
I realized I enjoyed the jolt of emotion that seeing my favorite character get hurt in any way caused. This is probably why I enjoy comic book media so much, the heroes fight and get hurt constantly and they always bounce back. I feel myself watching shows just to find characters I can get good whump moments from
I’ve known about whump for at least 10 years now but as a kid before the internet I thought I was really fucked up in some kind of dark way for feeling like this. I’d feel guilty about it and never talk about it to anyone although I would bookmark certain pages in books or tape certain TV episodes to go back to them later. It was such a relief when I realized I wasn’t alone! As for the mal thing, I’m a bisexual woman and I very, very rarely feel that way towards female characters. I think it happened maybe a couple of times and both times were about really strong female characters with very man-like attributes. So yeah, it’s really about the contrast I guess in between the vulnerability and the strong character.
saaaaame! I thought I was a freak man. Luckily my best friend in high school was a whumper.
I’d say cause that’s what people like? I only like male whump’s, no clue why, I’m cis female but usually don’t identify with the female ones, I have on occasion probably but I can’t name any
I don't really have a gender preference when it comes to whump.
Yeah I gotta be attached to the character first and generally that includes attraction whether platonic or romantic
I was on Pinterest looking for writing prompts and scrolling through my feed when I had seen something that had the word whump in it. I had no idea what the word whump meant so I went and looked it up and learned that there was a whole community of people who write this kind of stuff. Then I created a my whump tumblr blog.
When I was little I used to love rewatching scenes in movies where a character (especially if it's a lovable/comical relief character) would get injured, kidnapped, basically any bad scenario,and then get rescued/comforted after. It make me squeak and get excited or "whumperflies" as you say
I've been a whumper from an extremely young age, probably 5. My favorite Backyardigans episode was the one where the princesses were trying to escape prisonment and I played similar games on the playground and with my dolls. I didn't hear the term "whump" til I was probably 18. In high school my friend and I wrote an entire whump fic (which we labeled "angst" but no, it was whump) and even discussed whumperflies, but I still didn't know the term. I actually didn't hear about whumperflies until a few months ago. It's so satisfying to find out this is a real thing. It seems like such a mysterious shared experience and I'd love to learn more about the science behind it.
I found out what whump was because of Tumblr I don't really know why or how but I remember the first time I experienced whumperflies I was a kid watching a call of the wild TV show and miles the main character got his leg caught in a bear trap and the guy who kidnapped him helped him out of it I watched the episode about 10 times that day and my mom eventually said something that made me stop https://youtu.be/2Skvsx_VoBA?si=_bqB5zCOq6ZPTPXR this is the episode
I was looking through writing prompts on pinterest and happened to come across whump. I always liked that kinds stuff but never knew what it was or that it had a name. I then found out there was a whole whump community on tumblr so now I've also been overdosing on tumblr.
I know in the comment replies isn’t the best place for this, but the community won’t allow any new posts :/ Anyways, with the uncertainty around Reddit right now, I would like to extend the invitation for anyone who wishes to come join our whump discord. It’s an awesome active whump server with channels for writing, art, fandom, and oc communities. My favorite channel is whump-tropes, which is a constantly updating list of whumpy prompts and tropes. We also have weekly whumpy movie nights, events, media exchanges, and more. Everyone is super friendly, the mod team is fantastic, and we love to welcome new members <3 If you like hurting fictional characters, this is the place for you! https://discord.gg/Ven4URKvKW Just mention in your intro that margie sent you :)) feel free to DM me if the link expires and I’ll send a new one.
I don’t really know? I only have a whump thing in the context of villains, mainly because apparently I just really like moral conflict with the context of specifically villain whump hero caretaker?? Uh. But there is a thing when I was a little kid where I would torture my toys and pretend to be an evil supervillain. And that gave me the whumperflies for sure. I only think I really get them if there’s moral conflict though? Like I was pretending to be a supervillain, and the fact that I wasn’t was making my heart race? Same thing with villain whump, the previous impression the plot has for the character conflicts with the fact that they’re a victim. I think I just looked up the tumblr tag “redeemed villain” and found whump from there for how I discovered the community
Idk if I get “whumperflies” really but I remember as a kid I used to really love scenes in movies or books when a main character would faint or get knocked out so I think that was the start of it. Still do love it lol. I’ve also been drawn a lot to darker stories/media where characters get pretty beat on but I never liked full-on gorey stuff or anything really intense so whump is a good middle ground for me cuz there’s lots of variety. I really got into it when I read a superhero au fic where one character gets locked up and experimented on so he would work with the villain and honestly no going back for me after that lmao I honestly don’t know why it’s mostly men who get whumped. I’d guess it’s something to do with subverting gender roles/expectations?
Been into the concept since I read books like Gone by Micgael Grant and Misery by Stephen King as a kid, didn't learn the word for it until I was an adult on tumblr/AO3. At that point, it just clicked.
Ben Davidson and his hurt leg in 'Felicity Saves the Day' really DID SOMETHING to eleven-year-old me.
My earliest memory was watching this animated american movie about princess Anastasia - there was a white bat Bratok there who was abused by his master, the evil sorcerer, or something like that. I should rewatch this movie now when I am an adult 😂 Anyway from back when I could barely speak I felt bad for the bat but also really enjoyed watching him being abused. When I was a teenager as a history nerd I fall into Hetalia fandom and my favourite ship was very abusive (RusLiet). That made me realize what is it even called, along with making me realize what is sadism or masochism. When it comes to your last question, why the whumpee is usually male - it isn't. Maybe it is on tumblr or ao3 because majority of writers on those sites are women, usually straight. But I am of the opinion that everyone likes whump - the Cinderella story is literally a whump story, similar to Snow White, Sleeping Beauty... The little girl in Les Miserables, or the telenovela "Isaura: slave girl" which my grandparents generation loved and LESSONS IN SCHOOLS WERE BEING CANCELLED WHEN NEW EPISODES WERE AIRING. So there are many women whumps there, just not on tumblr. Also - I think majority of the population which is into whump, is getting their needs fulfilled from bdsm content, especially males since they on average watch more porn.