what is whump in fanfiction

Whump is a term used in fanfiction to describe stories in which characters from the source material are put into physically and/or mentally painful situations. It is related to the category Hurt/Comfort, but they are not always the same. The term has expanded somewhat since its coining to also include instances of such moments which appear in the source material’s canon. The fic description will usually include the label “. Whump involves taking a canon character and placing them in physically painful or psychologically-damaging scenarios. Often this character is a fan favorite and may sometimes be referred to as a woobie. The term whump is believed to have originated in the Stargate SG-1 fandom. Whump is a genre of fan fiction in which a character endures injury, torture, or other forms of physical and mental suffering. It can make or break relationships, act as the catalyst for a friendship or a romance which might never have otherwise gotten up the oomph; it can permanently change a character (for better or worse!) and completely alter the course of the story in a way no other plot point could.