I saw a post wondering why people write whump and it got me to thinking why I originally was fascinated by any whumpy content as a child.
I think for me, it was an escapist way to validate my emotional pain. Growing up, I felt awful and anxious and terrified all the time, but because I wasn't being beaten or physically neglected or abused in a way that was obviously visible to others, it didn't feel real. It didn't feel like I was "allowed" to have those awful twisted-up feelings. And when I tried to talk about them to anyone, I was always dismissed -- there's nothing to be scared of, there's nothing to cry about, what's wrong with you?
Watching characters go through awful things and imagining myself going through those awful things was cathartic. If I were caught in a snowstorm and dying of hypothermia, or rushed into emergency surgery from a burst appendix, or abducted by aliens, or kidnapped and tortured -- then these awful feelings inside me would make sense. I'd be "allowed" to feel sad and scared.
There's also the intoxicating allure of helplessness. When you're parentified as a child, it feels like everything falls on your shoulders. You're ten years old and responsible for keeping your parents happy and their marriage together on top of perfect grades and perfect behavior. Wouldn't it be nice if you were put in a situation where you didn't have to do anything? Wouldn't it be nice in an awful way to be laid up in a hospital bed with some horrible disease or tied to a chair awaiting rescue or hypnotized into a trance?
Like the only way I could imagine resting my anxious brain was being kidnapped or mind controlled!
And then if the whump includes comfort, that's even better, because not only was it totally valid for you to feel awful, other people are actually trying to make you feel better! They bring you blankets and hot drinks and medicine instead of telling you you're being dramatic and to suck it up.
So for me, that's a lot of why whump can be so comforting.
