by Mayv 'SpearBourne' Amaia

Created on: June 26, 2010   Last Updated: July 04, 2011

Whump is a term in the world of fan fiction which refers to the physical, psychological, or emotional abuse of a beloved character or group of characters.

Outside of fan fiction, the word whump has been in use since the end of the nineteenth century. It is imitative in origin and refers to a sound, similar to a thud or a whack. Use of the term 'whump' in fan fiction can be traced back to autumn of 1999, when two Stargate: SG1 fans began to use it. In the Stargate fandom, whump originally referred to stories, either in canon or in fan fiction, in which the character, Daniel Jackson, was harmed in some way.

Use of the terms whump and whumpage soon spread to other fandoms and can now be found in many online forums.

Interestingly, it would seem that the more fan fiction writers and readers love a character, the more they enjoy seeing him or her be tormented. As K Langly observed in Star Trek fan magazine Contact, issue # 4, there is a masochistic streak in each of us that likes seeing our heroes suffer.

Whump can also be used as a verb denoting such torment in fan fiction stories, as in "He's in for a good deal of whumping in this story."

Whumpage, as a genre of fan fiction, overlaps with that of Hurt/Comfort, or H/C. H/C, however, has a tendency to become more romantic or even erotic in nature when dealing with the comfort aspect of the story, whereas whump places more emphasis on the tortured character's strength and endurance. There is not as much focus on romantic overtones in whump fic.

Whumpage also overlaps somewhat with darkfic, as both types of stories deal with disturbing subject matter. It should be remembered, though, that darkfic covers a far broader scope than does whump.

Whumping should not be confused with character bashing, even though both genres of fan fiction deal with a character, or group of characters, being subjected to some form of torture, torment, or abuse. True character bashing stems from a genuine dislike of the character, as evidenced by his or her portrayal as stupid or clumsy and being subjected to ridicule or humiliation.

Whumping, on the other hand, implies that the character is deeply cherished and adored. Indeed, the degree to which a character is tortured may be proportionate to how much a fan fiction writer cares about that character.

Sources:

http://fanlore.org/wiki/Whump#Whumping

http://www.fanhistory.com/wiki/Whumping

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fan_fiction_ter ms#Other_subgenres

http://www.whump.com/moreLikeThis/2009/09/26/all-of- the-hurt-none-of-the-comfort/

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