Behind the Scenes

Whump Tropes

Lately, I've been diving into the genre of whump to find inspiration. I used to be a primary whump writer before I started writing more story and character driven plots. Though all my stories have a healthy dose of whump in them, they're not the focus anymore. For example, it's not "this character gets shot. What happens?". It's more like "this character gets shot while on a mission. How does that affect the plot?"

I blame this latest fixation on my psychology classes. Old time mental "treatments" and asylums are morbidly fascinating and a treasure trove for whump prompts.

Without further ado, my favorite whump tropes, overly specific and in alphabetical order because I'm procrastinating said biopsychology homework:

(Also just throwing in a quick content warning just in case. I'm not going to be too detailed though. This is meant to be writing inspiration. Also, I'M NOT SADISTIC I'M JUST A WRITER).

~The Tropes~

Amputation: losing a limb. But only in Star Wars or another universe where cybernetic limbs work as well as flesh, if not better. I care more about the cool cybernetic aftermath over the actual losing of the limb. I also like seeing how a character copes with it and learns to accept this new limb. Maybe it malfunctions or gets damaged, causing pain and discomfort. When Bucky Barnes' arm was damaged fighting John Walker or when Luke's cybernetic hand was shot is chef kiss. 

Arena Fight: forced to fight in an arena against other gladiators. Maybe the character doesn't kill and doesn't want to hurt their opponents, but they have to fight in self-defense. They fight day after day, gradually wearing them down till they're no longer confident they can win the next day. Maybe they're forced to fight their best friend and they have to make it look good or one is brainwashed.

Back-to-Back: two characters are restrained back-to-back. Captor prevents escape by restraining their two captives together. Usually, they're sitting in chairs with the backs touching and one long rope tying them to each other. They could also be sitting on the floor with their bare backs against each other and their hands cuffed or tied together. Maybe forego the rope or chains around their chests and just tie four wrists together in a complicated way to discourage escape, such as a rope with elaborate knots or handcuffs with the links twisted together or sharing a pair of shackles with one one clamped around one's wrist and the other around the second's opposite wrist. It's kind of funny when they try to maneuver to escape or when one is punched and their head smacks into the back of the other's head. Alternatively, a tree or pillar is between them and their arms are tied or chained together around it.

Bounty: a character has a price on their head. Because of the bounty on them, this character can't go into civilization without disguise, and even then it's risky. Their face is on wanted posters everywhere. They can't see their friends or family. They're forced to live on the run as bounty hunters pursue them. Maybe they get caught and are turned over for money. Han Solo can attest that it's a heavy burden living with a price on your head.

Brace Yourself: bracing against something steady for support. Feeling a sudden bout of dizziness from blood loss, pain, poisoning, or emotion, a character extends a hand and braces themselves against a wall, table, door, railing, or another person until the dizziness passes or they collect themselves enough to continue. Maybe they leave a bloody handprint behind. It's a somewhat subtle way of telling the reader or viewer, "hey, something's wrong with your favorite protagonist".

Brainwashed: psychologically tricked into believing a lie. There are numerous ways to brainwash a character for many reasons. Sometimes, it's a bit overdone or a lazy plot device. I only really like it if it's temporary. It can be done though magic, technology, drugs, etc. Maybe the enemy brainwashes them into joining their side or killing their friend. Maybe they're a sleeper agent.