I keep getting attached to characters . . .

. . . who I know full well will get killed off for shock value, plot reasons, and/or a cheap joke. I just read the "Kitten" arc of Sluggy Freelance, and I found that I couldn't keep reading after Fay's death. I don't even know why I liked her—she got what, four lines?—but somehow, the realization that her entire fictional universe was stacked against her, combined with some aspect of her personality that I still haven't figured out on a conscious level, got me rooting for her against her inevitable fate. This has happened to me over and over, and a lot of my own attempts at writing have been ways of putting an Expy of a doomed character in a starring role—proving that they can handle the part, that they're not flat or meaningless. (And yes, I kill off characters, but not cheaply, and I've let them survive plenty of stories where the cliche would be to have them die horribly.)

This post would be too self-focused if I left it at that, so: has anyone else grown attached to a doomed character?

This is why some people argue that death does not quality make.

My immediate family is made entirely of Doctor Who fans, myself included. I'm the Spoiler Hound of the group, and as such the only one who wasn't shocked and disappointed when Rory Williams had been temporarily retgone'd.

edited 17th May '11 3:07:44 AM by FuschlatzOReilly

Keiichi and friends in Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni. Well, in earlier arcs, at least. The arcs where the population of Hinamizawa dies really hit me.

Also, Len and Rin in "Prisoner" and "Paper Airplane". I watched that series once. NEVER AGAIN.

edited 17th May '11 4:39:10 AM by TsundeRay

Yeah. I seemed to have a nack for it with FMA. My favorite character would always be the next one to die...

I noramlly can see who dies easily. But when I don't...it's beautiful. At least, I know my jaw dropped on the floor is. :P

Happened to me way too many times in Homestuck: Dad, Tavros, Bro, Nepeta, Equius...

Regarding Doctor Who, I was completely caught off-guard by Rory's death in "Cold Blood". That was quite a shock for me. Of course, at this point, killing Rory has gotten really old.

Really? Only seen it twice...

Homestuck is oddly something it's never happened with. Well I was attached, but I've never been terribly emotionally invested. It's just impossible to take that seriously and yet impossible to not take at least somewhat seriously. It still means I haven't cried or gone "NUUU D:" yet though. Well I went "NUUU D:" all of once.

Thing that hit me the most wasn't a death oddly. It was when Kanaya saw Vriska kiss Tavros. That almost made me cry. My heart dropped and I felt like shit for a bit. Now if that character dies then...hmm. That might hit me hard enough to get me crying. She's my favorite character.

Ah well...

OTHER EXAMPLES. The dude I call The Girly Boy from The Outlaw Josey Wales. I liked him. A lot. He died early on but he was cool and I didn't want him to. I cried.

"I'm as pert as a rutting buck!"

I will miss you Girly Boy...I will miss you...

edited 17th May '11 7:49:00 PM by Aondeug

If you got attached to them before they died, it's probably because the writer waas skilled and was able to make a character who successfully did their job in the story.

Shinji. Not Ikari, Kido. MAJOR SPOILERS

^^ I dunno. This seems to happen most for me when the doomed characters are more likeable and/or interesting than the characters who're guaranteed to survive. Case in point: Battle Royale, where the two characters I successfully predicted would be the sole survivors have both been described on this wiki as bland Mary Sues, and the character I liked the most (an insane self-proclaimed "space warrior") died within two pages of her introduction and served no purpose besides dark comedy.

edited 18th May '11 8:40:18 PM by feotakahari

Chief from Goblins just had to be the one to die, didn't he. He was my favourite of the adventuring party.

Although, pretty much all the Goblins protagonists are likable. Even Minmax.

Characters die. It's just a fact of fiction. I would much rather a beloved character perish, than for them to be resurrected and have their death (and life) be cheapened.

Depends. I think Superman's resurrection deepened his character. Same goes to Batman...Especially Batman's.

Mullets do not equal character depth.

Actually, come to think of it, comic books are a major offender when it comes to cheap death and resurrection. Is it the fact that they're a serial medium?

edited 18th May '11 11:42:02 PM by EnglishIvy

Well, maybe it was the meta level at which the death was playing with (The whole "the replace of the superman will never match the real hero" thing)

Actually, it's only superhero comic books. And it's mostly because death is a cheap way to obtain drama and the publishers have millions and millions of ways of escaping death.

Personally, when it's well written and with no bullshit (Like Batman's. Which never pretended you to believe he was going to stay dead) they work. Some don't even work under that assumption (Barry Allen comes to mind)

It really depends on the writer.

'If you follow any story to its real conclusion, you always get the same thing. Regret. Pain. Loss. That's why I like superhero books. Month after month, they just keep going, so no matter what terrible things happen, you know there'll always be another chance for wrongs to be righted. It's like, without a last act, these stories never get to become tragedies. I guess that's why they call 'em comics.'

This one tends to get attached to the characters, and hates it when the characters she grows attached to die. That is one of the main reasons this one always seeks out spoilers before reading/watching*/playing anything. Once she learns which characters are going to die and at which moment, she is able to "switch off" any attachment and empathy for them. A few episodes before their demise such character becomes just a "dead man walking" for her and she stops paying any attention to them.

Ned Fucking Stark. Also, that bodyguard of his, Jory. Seriously, what in fuck's name was that, Jaime Lannister?!

I always get attached to characters that get killed too. D: I usually never expect it either, but hence the "shock value". Ugh. It gets me every time. It's just that sometimes, I relate to them a whole lot more than the main character, because they are more human (even showing how inevitably mortal they are).

It really is sad. :<

I feel this way alot. while I still like "Ice and Fire" most likely due to the butt load of characters, but The Walking Dead and Downton Abbey have been ruined for me.

I also get annoyed when people complain about characters returning, there are really good stories out there that are void of the characters risking their lives.

Attached to fictional characters?

Trust me, it's worse when you're roleplaying or something. I was kind of shocked at Pathfinder when I felt like I'd been punched in the gut by my animal companion's death (I was playing a druid).

I apparently did this to other people in a roleplay, where my character unexpectedly committed an act of self-sacrifice.

edited 10th Feb '13 7:44:40 PM by Matues