#why we like whump

[whumpty-dumpty]

"The average whumper"

I was reading through the #whump poll tag and noticed some of the options were chosen by an overwhelming majority of the whump community.

So from that data I constructed the average whumper as per the whump community!😄:

The average whumper...:

...is between 21-30 years old

...is aro/ ace

...is neurodivergent

...lives in North America

...likes cheese

...is Imagening whump scenarios before sleep (and plays the whumpee in this scenarios)

...'s favourite (whump)colour is red

...starts liking whump before the age of ten

...'s favourite media to consume whump in is fanfiction

...doesn't reveal their fondness for whump to family/ friends

The average whumper's favourite kind of whump...:

...is hurt/ comfort

...is physical whump

The average whumper's favourite kind of whumpee...:

...is human

...is strong/ confident

...defiant

...is morally gray

...gets stabbed in the stomach

...has scars on their back

...has a bloody nose

The average whumper's favourite caretaker...:

...is male

...says "it's okay, I got you!"

...is good

The average whumper's favourite tropes are...:

...knifes (in all variations and sizes apparently)

...feeling the forehead for fever

...hidden injuries

...broken ribs

...bleeding

...infected wound

...bloody knuckles

...changing bandages

...beatings

...whimpering

...old scars

...severe fever

...stabbings

The average whumper's least favourite tropes are...:

...no follow up/ care after injury

...painless magical healing

...death

Let me know, if you can find yourself in this description!😁

Most surprising find from my "research": The whump community reeeeally loves stabbings And knifes. (not that I wouldn't; of couse I do). But if there's a knife mentioned in a poll, it WILL have the most votes!)😄

#whump #whump community #the average whumper #whump polls #this is just a little bit of fun of course #😀 #please dont take this all too seriously! #why we like whump

[aceofwhump]

Hi!

I have a question for you about the whump community, which you may admittedly be ill-equipped to answer, but I hope you can at least point me in the right direction for answers.

But in general, is loving characters being whumped a sexual thing? Sort of like bdsm, but they're fictional characters so it's okay that they're "actually hurt"? Or is something else the attraction? Im especially curious/confused since this doesn't seem to be hurt/comfort since the focus mostly seems to be on the hurt itself.

No judgement at all btw... I hope this isn't coming off as judgemental. And no judgement regardless of how you answer, but I've seen this kind of community a lot over the years and I truly am just very very curious.

Thanks! And have a great day!

Hiya! Thank you for asking so nicely. I'd be happy to answer your questions. I know this community looks strange and confusing from the outside but I promise we're all really nice and open minded people. So let me see if I can give you some answers!

So the whump community is made of up of people who enjoy the genre of fiction called whump in which characters goes through painful situations or experience pain either physically, emotionally, or mentally.

For some people yes it is a sexual thing. It is not that way for me so I can really speak about it but some people definitely enjoy whump in a sexual way. Nothing wrong with that. Then there's people like me who don't equate whump and sexual feelings at all. A great many if us (myself included) are asexual. There's actually a LOT of different reasons why we all like whump. I actually made a big post about this at some point. Let me just link that here. I highly suggest giving it a read as I go into the many many reasons why someone might enjoy whump. This article is also really good as you've got opinions and perspectives from a lot of different people in the community. And here's the link to my tag full of posts talking about why we like whump.

In my opinion (and this does vary within the community) things like hurt/comfort and angst are under the umbrella term of whump. Because whump can be just angst. It can include comfort but it doesn't have to. Personally I consider hurt/comfort really just another term for whump. Some people see them as two separate things. Some see whump as strictly just hurt and a lot of it with no comfort and h/c is the softer hurt followed by comfort and angst is just emotional hurt. I've always viewed whump as the umbrella term and h/c and angst are just subgenres of it. But we all differ a little on the definitions and that's fine. Basically, I say if you consider it whump, then its whump.

So yeah! It's a very diverse group with all kinds of reasons why we like this genre of fiction. I hope I was able to answer your question! If you have anymore just let me know :)

#whump #whump community #why we like whump #mod replies #ask #anon

[herbs-and-poultices]

A wonderful thing about the caretaking aspect of hurt/comfort: it gives characters besides our strong and courageous protagonist, and traits besides physical prowess, bravery, and stoicism, the opportunity for recognition and importance in a narrative.

A dedicated caretaker such as medic- or healer-type character can have some independence from the typical hierarchy of a group centered around strength, discipline, and toughness. They can treat the lowest-ranking member or the disparaged ‘weakling’ or ‘newbie’ with dignity and compassion, they can give orders to the leader and expect them to be obeyed. They can be accepted, respected, and valued for a completely different knowledge base and skill set than the rest of the group.

And a ‘regular’ character who steps into the caretaker role may have some freedom to break from the norms and values they typically subscribe to. They can put aside their bravado, show their softer side. They may be required to call upon traits they don’t normally display, utilize skills that aren’t normally valued. 

Hurt/comfort can humanize the whumpee, and show that even a strong, tough, brave character can be vulnerable and can need help. And it can also elevate the caretaker and give human characters and traits a chance to be needed.

#whump meta #why we like whump #caretaking

[straight-to-the-pain]

Your post about why you like torture resonated with me a whole lot, and I wanted to share a similar thought I've had in case you or anyone else out there can relate.

So much of life is, like you say, having to actively show up for your own suffering. I sometimes think about it like I am both a prisoner and my own prison guard - trapped in my own body, but pushing myself through life because I have to, because there is nothing else I can do but keep going. It's exhausting, but if I stop I will die, and the guard in me will not let that happen.

So there's some escapism (ha) in imagining someone else taking over as the guard. Someone else forcing me to suffer. I am still miserable, but I'm not doing double duty. I'm not forcing myself through the pain anymore, someone else is. I'm going to suffer either way, and this spares me the exhaustion of having to actively force myself into the things that hurt.

(And I absolutely get what you mean about characters who get hurt not being passive, I'm not saying they are. It's more about.. not being the active cause of your own suffering, I guess. I hope this makes sense.)

Yeah absolutely, I think there’s so much of life where we have to make ourselves suffer to live, to have money to eat and pay rent and get an education so you can earn said money and especially being disabled it’s so hard, all the time, in various little ways and you don’t really get anyone seeing that or acknowledging it in the mainstream.

There’s some freedom to just knowing that something bad is happening to you and you don’t have to do anything, you can’t do anything except try to take it and endure it as best as you can and just deal with it.

And I think that’s still being an active character, by enduring something, by withstanding it, but you don’t have to be the one doing it to yourself. You can point the blame at an external source and feel vindicated in that

#whump meta #asks answered #why we like whump

[justwhumpythings]

Just thinking on the appeal of whump, and I'm guessing part of both that and the popularity of yaoi are because the straight malesub material out there is almost always made for and by straight men. In most of the mainstream stuff the camera/description is focused entirely on the woman, and if we see the man at all he's usually portrayed as being as weak and wimpy as the dominatrix tells him he is, which... frankly isn't appealing, to me at least, and I presume other male-attracted dominant/sadistic people want to dom people they actually find attractive. Whump is usually inflicted on strong heroic men who are nevertheless overwhelmed, and who are allowed to be weak temporarily but aren't portrayed as total losers. I don't know, just a thought.

That's a really interesting idea!

#submission #whump #meta #why we like whump

[withdrawingramen]

I just wanted to ask what your therapist's first reaction was when you mentioned whump? also if ur comfortable sharing, why are you in therapy? you dont HAVE to answer!! hope you're having a good day!! I'm sorry if this is rude but I'm just genuinely curious

hi anon! thanks for making my inbox a little less gloomy. Don't worry about being rude, I take no offense to your question. as to how my therapist responded, i'd be lying if i said she took it completely normally. she was obviously confused when i mentioned it since she says she hasn't come across such a case before in her years of practice. honestly, her reaction was warranted. She isn't a bad therapist to me. I'm assuming you came from my poll reblog, and as I mentioned there we discussed that it was a coping mechanism. The conclusion is a very common argument, whump is cathartic, we like when we see people struggling in possibly the same scenarios as us say mental-health wise and we like the caretaking aspect as it makes us feel less alone and validated. For me, personally, I write whump because it showcases willpower, strength and realism in regards mental health, and just human suffering in general. She (therapist) acknowledges this and says as long as it does not hinder me. It's a good way of releasing pent up anger. I don't share why I'm in therapy mainly because this is not that type of blog and I see no need to. I don't have any other blog regarding that and this is my only one. But since you've asked, a brief explanation is that i grew up in a very unstable and abusive household and was only able to get out post-covid ish, which was in the end of 2021. I'll be turning 19 this year, and although I've been in therapy for very long I still haven't truly gotten very far on healing. Now that I'm safe, I'm on that path and whump is very useful as an outlet. Hope I could answer your question and that your day goes great too.

#not whump #silv talks #why we like whump #anon asks

[flowercrowngods]

why must i think of prisoners Ranger!Steve and Bard!Eddie so constantly and why must they be so tender and why hhhh

Steve’s whole body is made of pain, and has been for the past few days. His feet are aching and raw from trying to keep up as they were bound to horses and dragged along. His skin is chafed and bleeding where the unforgiving rocks have managed to destroy his clothes after one too many falls, and every smallest of cuts feels like his body is nothing more than a pulsating mess. 

Worst of all, though, is the dizziness. He doesn’t know if his head is still bleeding or if the wetness he can feel running down his temple is his body’s testament to the unfamiliar heat, but it wouldn’t make a difference anyway. 

There’s only pain. And nausea. His eyes are open but he needs a second to understand what he’s seeing — and what he’s seeing is a ceiling made of sand coloured stone. Distantly, he hears a door clanging shut, but that might just as well be a memory. 

He’s going to throw up. Tough luck when you don’t even know where up is. 

A groan leaves his mouth as he tries to take a deep breath and fails miserably. Instead, he can add two broken ribs to the list of misery. 

Gods above — whichever of them are listening — he’s tired. But he fears that if he closes his eyes, he might not open them anymore for the sheer release that would bring. He can’t sleep, can’t rest, not when— 

“Easy now,” a gentle voice interrupts his less than coherent thoughts and just moments later, a tender hand is combing through his blood-crusted hair. “You shouldn’t move, my friend. There’s nowhere to move to anymore.” 

Steve frowns, his brain trying and failing to provide any information at this point. The hits to his head must have been worse than he thought if his short term memory refuses to work with him anymore. 

“We have reached Capital City,” the voice continues and Steve has to blink the fog away to make out its owner. When he does, it must show in his eyes, for the worry in Theodore Munson’s eyes makes way to the briefest of smiles before returning even stronger than before. “Do you not recall?”

Steve just stares up at him. That’s all his wrecked body and mind allow him to do right now. That’s all they want to do when gentle hands comb through his hair and chase away some of the pain. 

It is then that reality slowly comes back to him and he realises where he is. Where they are. What is at stake if they fail any more, if they decide to torture information on Elanor and William out of them — out of him. He’s not sure how much he can take. They have been held prisoner for weeks. Steve has been hurting for even longer.

Shame rises in him and he has the urge to apologise to Jim, to explain, but moving his head to the side, he sees that his old master isn’t any better off. He appears to be sleeping, his face bruised, and a teary-eyed Maxine is wiping blood away from his face with a piece of her cloak. 

Steve blinks once, twice, and takes in the man who practically raised him, watches the steady rise and fall of his chest and listens, beyond the pulsing rush of his own blood, that his lungs are not rattling. Shame makes way to satisfaction when he sees that none of their party has taken as many hits, kicks and punches as himself. His distractions have worked, then. 

That’s good. Now if only they didn’t make him so nauseous. So tired. So…

“Don’t fall asleep, Steven,” Eddie demands, and the world tilts slightly, which makes everything worse until… soft. It’s softer now. 

Eddie has moved him so his head is resting in his lap now. 

“You don’t look too good, Ranger. Sleep is dangerous in your state, no matter how badly you might need it. Give it a few hours, please.” 

A beat passes where Steve tries to process the words that are just too many. Since when does Eddie talk with him so much? 

“Lies,” he says after a while and with greater effort than should be necessary.

“Lies?” 

“I look very good. You just can’t see it under all the blood and the bruises.” He tries to crack a smile, but even the huffed breath jolts his head too much. 

Eddie does him the favour of a brief chuckle, and Steve feels better for it. Lighter. Light is good, he finds. Maybe all he has to focus on is Eddie and his hands working out the clumps of dirt and blood from his hair, maybe all he has to to is make him smile and the world will be a bit less painful. 

His world narrows down to all the ways Eddie is close to him and it does keep him occupied, but it also gets his mind wandering, the adrenaline of the past days wearing off. 

“Keep doing that and I will fall asleep,” he says after another beat of silence. Fall asleep and dream. Dream of what this could mean. Dream of smiles that make me feel lighter. 

“Keep doing what?” Eddie asks, and Steve senses a trick to just keep him talking, no matter how slurred his speech is. He needs a moment to remember what he said.

“This,” he says eventually, and Eddie only hums. Finding words is hard. He tries. And tries again. “Being gentle.” 

Another smile, and Steve wants to close his eyes to keep it there to hold on to. “I’m afraid I can’t do that, my friend.” 

“Can’t not be gentle?” He’s losing force on the consonants. The pain is getting stronger, his nerve endings more frayed and his vision blurry. This is familiar. He gives himself another quarter of an hour at most before he will lose his consciousness, no matter how hard he tries to stay here. With Eddie and his wavering smile. 

“Not with my friends, no.” 

This time it’s Steve who smiles at the word friends. He likes to be Eddie’s friend. The man, as it turns out, is admirable, he’s strong, he’s wise when he wants to be and gentle with young Maxine. He’s kind, he’s quick-witted and patient, and his hands are impossibly soft. 

“I know you said not to sleep, and I’m not normally one to deny a well-respected bard’s command, but…” He swallows. Words are hard. He’s not sure they come out as planned, but he perseveres. “I’m afraid I have to prove to you now just how stubborn the Queen’s Rangers can be.” 

Another hum from above him and Steve opens his eyes he hadn’t even noticed closing. The world is fading, but still Eddie is at its centre. 

“I’ll be here when you wake up, then, stubborn Ranger.” 

Will you smile at me still? Steve wonders. 

“Always,” Eddie says, but before Steve has time to wonder if someone else has said something, darkness has swallowed him whole.

#steddie fic #steddie #also steve and hop are soft in this one honestly just ask me to post the whole 4.6k thing and i will but it doesn't have a beginning or end #we just vibing like fr it's just steve whump and everyone being gentle on him and also some humour for kindness #no taglist for this bc it isn't even a thing but man i keep thinking about them why must all my aus be so weird and niche?

[bandtrees]

ONE: ok guys here’s an arc about mob, in his growth as a person, being confronted with an ideology he’s unfamiliar with, and he has to learn from it but also understand why it’s unhealthy and bad to properly grow from it and choose kindness in the end, albeit in a more nuanced way than before, and this will make mob more able to confront later problems in the season that can’t be solved with mere kindness and require a deep understanding of loneliness and solitude, something he hasn’t had much room to speak on until now. To express mob being shown this villain’s ideology we have a sequence where we see how mogami views the world and by extension how he sees mob, by putting mob in the kind of sad fucked up world he thinks exists, but mob will overcome it with the knowledge that in the real world he has people he cares about and that even the people who make the world bad sometimes can change and nobody is a static evil and kindness and courage when you’re going through hardship goes a long way. despite the darkness this is ultimately a very uplifting experience for him and a show that life is always more than its darkest moments, and also how picking yourself up instead of wallowing in your own suffering and trauma is hard but a very courageous act and what makes mob stronger than mogami

mp100 fans with tunnel vision: Oh so mob was tortured for six months and is sad? He’s literally so sad and traumatized and nobody is talking about this?

#babbles #mp100 #decided to nab an old discord message for Post Purposes #BC i love mogami arc but god the Fandom Mogami Arc™️ where it’s all just #Evil Mogami Sad Mob Whump Look How Sad Why Aren’t We Talking About This!!! #makes me SEE RED. MY GOD #fandoms when characters experience trauma and get takeaways from it that aren’t looking into the camera to go #Wow That Was So Sad I Am Traumatized And Sad Now #I Am So Sad And Must Acknowledge My Trauma By Suffering And Never Growing #and of course coming back to one of my biggest fandom pet peeves which is viewing characters exclusively as People #like mob is so so so dear to me he’s one of my top ccs i care about him so so much #but he’s not a real child being bullied who needs like. counseling. his trauma served a purpose in the story and #dwelling on it was not that purpose!

[befuddled-calico-whump]

Riot Kings, page 147

prev next

(would he have gone through with it? Yes.)

#accidentally darkened the lines in the middle panel when i was coloring (bucket) #but i like the effect #anyways its been a blast driving these two apart (justifiably) #riotkings #whump comic #whump art #angst #tw bruising #comic #the link is an AU where jin and nabi's mission is delayed. wes would've gotten to the cell the day after they found Mel #which is why he's full on unconscious there :)

[whumpshaped]

also not to be a robotfucker on main but do u ever think about how all the little sex toys we made feel soooo good and how itd be so cool to have a little robot partner. and how that could turn so fucking whumpy so quickly. do u ever think abt robot noncon. no? just me? ok

#im just saying those things r precise and Powerful #i just love robots bro #the whole idea of 'we made this thing thats literally better than us in 95% of areas and if it turned against us thatd be devastating' #not even irl but like scifi definitely lol #its sooo hot #its like basically the other side of having a monster bf #except w the monster bf ur like oh yea this is my monster bf i am taking a very clear risk here #and w the robot ur like ah yes this is my robot gf i will never assume a single bad thing and her bc she was programmed to be perfect :) #why would she ever maul me like ur monster bf thats so silly :) #yes i know shes even stronger than him whats ur point shes never gonna do it haha #anyway #whump #citrus scale #nonhuman whumper

[avirxy]

Five headcanons for the Arcane Blight au

1. Once Jim fully becomes a troll, due to the amulet, it’s permanent, he won’t be able to change back, there’s nothing on earth that could undo the curse. That’s exactly why he’s been warned so many times against using it to its fullest abilities.

2. Mary hasn’t told anyone, because they’d probably take it from her, but the longer she keeps the Shadowstaff close the clearer the whispers become, leading her, encouraging. She also has barely any experience dealing with grief, especially of this magnitude, so if this can make her feel a smidge better what’s the harm?

3. Aja’s lost pretty much every scrap of motivation she ever had, with her aunts and Krel though she’s eventually coaxed to meet with a therapist, Mandy is very familiar with everything going on in Arcadia and magic so none of what Aja could tell her would seem outlandish. It takes a few sessions to get words from Aja, and she slowly begins to open up and inch toward a better state of mind, but she’ll never be the same again, the grief won’t ever leave her entirely.

4. Darci and Toby often find comfort in the quiet together, they’ll sit in the graveyard or if Morgana isn’t home they’ll go to Claire’s room, someone has to keep it tidy after all. It’s gotten so terribly dusty from not being lived in, that’s alright though, they’ll keep it clean for her.

5. After Eli is released from the hospital, in much better condition than when he arrived the other four steer clear, not out malice or uncaring but because he’s quite literally unnerving to be around. He’s got this twitchy glint in his fully exposed eye, always watching, always listening. Still under the spell.

6. The infamous pit, like Lazarus, Arthur was talking about is under his manor in a crypt like structure, after Merlin was killed he raided the wizards workshop and combined a bunch of the elixirs into the natural pool, it bubbles and froths black liquid, anyone, dead or alive, thrown in there comes out extremely wrong.

7. In chapter 40 the ‘I don’t—‘ that Claire never finished wasn’t I don’t want to die, it was ‘I don’t, want to be brought back’ more than anything she didn’t want to be a puppet and if that meant staying gone she was okay with the possibility, after all she thought she was going to see Enrique and her parents again.

#not sure why I decided on inexplicable violence and whump today but here we are #also the came back wrong trope would so be utilized if you know who came back #like the little preferences at first then bigger things that just completely make her a different person but what’s really left #after two revivals #also love the idea that she just forever haunts the narrative never to be forgotten #trollhunters #tales of arcadia #toa #jim lake jr #toby domzalski #mary wang #darci scott #asks #arcane blight #au

[aro-culture-is]

Aro culture is not quite understanding why you're so into dating simulators when the idea of dating in real life grosses you out

.

#Anonymous #aro culture is #aro #aromantic #actually aro #actually aromantic #ask #mod axel #something something fiction allows us to consider things that we would never do #and that's a satisfying experience #like why do ppl like writing and reading whump fic - especially around their fav characters or ones they project on? #it let's us project ideas and fantasies into a form that's digestible without having to experience it

[aceofwhump]

Hey do you know why do we love "whump". I searched it but i cant found. It isnt such a sexual thing. Yeah when we watch this scenes and we feel good but what kind of feeling is it? İs it sadizm? I love faintings but it isnt in sadizm right? I dont know...

Hi there nonny! There's a ton of different reasons why we like whump and it differs from person from person and all reasons are totally valid. Take a peek at my tag #why we like whump for a ton of varying posts about this exact topic. I also suggest starting with this post of mine that I wrote last year in which I talk about the variety of reasons one could like whump. Hopefully that helps but if not and you wanna talk more feel free to send me another message!

#mod replies #ask #why we like whump

[herbs-and-poultices]

“The hurt/comfort syndrome is attractive in another way, especially in heroic ST fiction. lt deals with the dichotomy between strength and vulnerability, two sides of the same coin. Each of the ST characters are unusually strong people, yet they are flesh and blood beings, and vulnerable to suffering.

“One can be an ersatz hero in a ”get-em” story. There are few opportunities for personal heroism in our own century. Therefore the qualities we’d like to exhibit — courage, loyalty, integrity, intelligence — are personified by McCoy, Kirk, Spock and cohorts. The reader, vicariously sharing their adventures and perils, also feels heroic. In this way, we can gain the self­ esteem and fulfillment of heroism without taking personal risks or facing actual danger. This is escape in one of its simplest forms.

“Gayle Feyrer expressed the idea succinctly: ‘…Within the worlds of fantasy and fiction, you can experience (often incredibly deeply) anything and everything and yet you are always protected.’”

From Wince Magazine - To Slay Or Not To Slay?

#why we like whump #whump meta #about me

[justwhumpythings]

Just put into words that the main thing that makes a character super whumpable to me is that they're pure of heart, I'm such a sap lol.

(A certain amount of soft/fearfulness is also required I think, because some sort of noble strong knight would just be ehh)

#this also explains why whumping dt's phileas fogg came so easily to me 😅 #dm me i'm just rambling #personal #about me #whump #we now return to your (ir)regularly scheduled whump blogging #damn maybe i like scared whumpees because they show me that you can fear things and still endure them with inner strength #eep lol #ok i'm stopping now

[straight-to-the-pain]

I love you angry characters, defiant and stoic and hysterical all at once, fighting and cursing and crying and pleading all at once, I love you surviving by any means necessary, I love you spite and bitterness and futile hope, I love you characters who break in ways that aren’t useful, who can’t be moulded into anything useful but instead become more of a nuisance to the people hurting them, I love you characters who win even if winning leaves them with nothing, I love you characters who only drive their tormentors to anger and frustration, I love you revenge, I love you slow and frantic unravelling, I love you chaotic, flawed humanity

#whump #tropes and prompts #defiance #I needed this honestly #someone asked why we like stoic characters but it’s so much more than that for me #it’s about the catharsis #it’s about being allowed to be angry #my stuff