Whumpuary Day 2
Jan. 2nd, 2025 10:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
here_be_becwhumpuary day 2: how did you find the whump community?
very good question! i can't remember the specifics, but i know that i've been into whump as a genre my entire life, long before i knew that there was a word for it.
when i was a kid i would take the same batman comics out of the library every week because i knew they were the ones where he was having a rough time, and read the same fantasy novels over and over because they had darker themes than others. small bec always felt a little out of place, enjoying violence over romance in his stories, gore and horror over happy endings, and so on. i didn't know anyone who was into darker fiction, and didn't ever voice my opinions to anyone, even though i'd probably have found people who shared my experiences if i had done.
so, it wasn't until i started engaging with fandom online that i learned that there were other people like me out there. i don't think i learned the term 'whump' until relatively recently, probably in the past few years, but i did see more people happily and openly talking about dark content and bad AU endings on tumblr and RP forums, and that in turn made me feel happier to acknowledge the part of me that didn't necessarily fit into the social norm as i knew it.
since 2023 i have been writing for various whump prompt challenges, which have been my main way of interacting with the whump community as a whole, and have very much embraced my love of it! it doesn't feel like something shameful anymore, and instead has become a source of unapologetic joy.
i appreciate blogs dedicated to whump, and challenges like this one that help to promote creativity within the genre! it's fun stuff.
very good question! i can't remember the specifics, but i know that i've been into whump as a genre my entire life, long before i knew that there was a word for it.
when i was a kid i would take the same batman comics out of the library every week because i knew they were the ones where he was having a rough time, and read the same fantasy novels over and over because they had darker themes than others. small bec always felt a little out of place, enjoying violence over romance in his stories, gore and horror over happy endings, and so on. i didn't know anyone who was into darker fiction, and didn't ever voice my opinions to anyone, even though i'd probably have found people who shared my experiences if i had done.
so, it wasn't until i started engaging with fandom online that i learned that there were other people like me out there. i don't think i learned the term 'whump' until relatively recently, probably in the past few years, but i did see more people happily and openly talking about dark content and bad AU endings on tumblr and RP forums, and that in turn made me feel happier to acknowledge the part of me that didn't necessarily fit into the social norm as i knew it.
since 2023 i have been writing for various whump prompt challenges, which have been my main way of interacting with the whump community as a whole, and have very much embraced my love of it! it doesn't feel like something shameful anymore, and instead has become a source of unapologetic joy.
i appreciate blogs dedicated to whump, and challenges like this one that help to promote creativity within the genre! it's fun stuff.