Discussion Main / OutOfTheClosetIntoTheFire

I think there are a few issues with some of the examples. I consider this trope to be when a character is outed as gay and soon after dies/something happens that prevents a gay relationship, because the author is either trying to imply that homosexuality is bad, or they're trying to be progressive/realistic by having a gay character but they're uncomfortable writing an actual gay relationship. So I suppose my main thing with some of the examples is that a character needs to be 'gay' before they die, and that if there are other characters that are in gay relationships after this characters death then 'gayness' was not the reason behind their death.

Here are a few examples that I'm not entirely sure fit the trope:

• Your Highness gets extra special mention for Boremont, who reveals his love for Fabious, as Fabious is stabbing him. (As the character is 'coming out' during his death not before, this seems more like a Dying Declaration of Love.)
• In Insurgent, Lynn comes out of the closet whilst being fatally wounded. (Same as above)
• Águila Roja: Soledad is a lesbian (or perhaps bisexual, it's never stated) and gets judged by The Spanish Inquisition when Herna'n outs her. Though Lucrecia welcomes her back for her loyalty after her punishments. (This is just homophobia. Soledad is not killed, and after she's outed nothing about her changes, she doesn't become any less gay than she was before).
• As Santana comes out on Glee she is disowned by her grandmother and begins to be mocked by classmates, to the point of depression and rape threats. (This is homophobia, Santana is still a gay main character after this happens (and even gets married to a woman)).
• In Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire General Arcadius dies saving the life of the title character in the first episode of the show after finding the love of his life and his true nature in prison. However his lover has become a series regular. (May be an example, may not be since his gay lover becomes a mainstay. I'm not familiar with the work so I don't know whether Bruce is 'obviously' gay, or whether after Arcadius's death his character becomes gay in name only).
• In The Orion Conspiracy, Devlin discovers that his dead son Danny was gay. Devlin was surprised, because he and Danny had been so distant from each other that Devlin simply did not have a clue. He also finds out that Kaufmann is gay and that he was Danny's boyfriend. Kaufmann and Devlin get into a shouting match, because Kaufmann thinks Devlin disapproves of the relationship. Devlin, on his part, feels that he would not have held that against Danny. Sadly, Kaufmann is found dead and disemboweled shortly afterwards. Devlin finds out later that Captain Shannon killed Danny and Kaufmann. Why? Because Shannon blames Devlin for the death of Shannon's wife, and so he murdered Danny for revenge. Shannon killed Kaufmann to frame Devlin. Naturally, Shannon is planning to kill Devlin. (Seems more like Homophobic Hate Crime as it was a dead character revealed to have been gay)
• Mass Effect 2 has Nef, who naturally dies a horrible death as a result of her attraction to Morinth. She's dead before Shepard has even heard of her, because Shepard's already hunting Morinth by that time. (She's a dead character revealed to be gay, and it seems like her being gay wasn't that central to her death as Morinth has killed lots of people through sex, both male and female - including a male PC if you choose to romance her).
• Although not explicitly stated to be gay, Eli Wilkerson from State of Decay is one half of an implied male-on-male couple. After your first encounter with him he catches the Black Fever out of nowhere and dies. (Eli never 'came out')