Character death and other fic warnings

[lynsangelic1]

(I'd like to preface this by stressing that it's completely unrelated to any fics I may or may not be working on at this present moment)


Ages ago I'm sure someone commented on a fic I'd written saying that I should've put 'Character Death' as a warning because, funnily enough it involved the death of a character in it.  The whole review was a bit harsh because he clearly hated it and just stopped by to tell me so (Fair enough, I'm not sure how I feel about it now as well but I do remember his drive by was on Christmas Eve- asshat).

I don't really care about the negative bordering on offensiveness of it (he asked me what was the 'lesbian viewpoint on men'?  Wtf?  I speak for a 'lesbian collective' all of a sudden?) but for some reason the 'Character Death' part came into my head just this second.  Personally, I think putting a 'warning' for Character death is no more, no less than a spoiler.  And pretty pointless as well.  Where's the dramatic tension and emotional shock if you knew from the bloody beginning?

Surely there's some difference of impact between a chaptered fic and a one shot when it comes to this.  If I knew from the beginning of a chaptered fic that one of the main characters was going to die I'd feel a little disappointed that it couldn't have just unfolded within the scope of the story.  It weakens the payoff when it finally happens because you're like "Oh, it's all right, I knew that was going to happen."  If it was a one shot then who the Hell cares?  It's more often than not the climatic result of the story or the main source of tension/emotion/drama throughout.

So why put 'Character Death' warnings?  I understand and support squick type warnings because there are obviously readers who wish to avoid beastiality/anal/incest/BDSM all together in life, no problems.  I do think that it's only fair.

But to warn the reader of events or plot points?  I put it to you that this is, indeed, bullshit.

I can't remember reading a fic which warned me of character death (I surely have, but cannot remember).  Mostly because I'm thinking 'What did you tell me that for?' and scrolling down.  I have read plenty non-warned fics in which beloved characters died and I'm pleased to report that I am still standing.

The day authors start putting 'warning: Character Death' on the cover of their novels I'm gonna be really worried.  I wonder if JKR would've sold less books if she explicitly told people in interviews before : "Look, I'm offing Ron, Hagrid, Flitwick, and Lucius.  Just to warn you.  Just in case.  So if any of them are your favourite characters, you might just not want to bother with it.  If you don't, I understand.  Because at least I warned you first."

When I was but a sad Buffy obsessed teenager I wrote loads of very crap B/A fics instead of drinking and whoring on the streets like many of my classmates.  I'm sure I killed each one of them off loads of times.  Y'know, just for fun.  And with no warning.  No one ever bitch slapped me then for not telling them the ending up front (probably because they were awful, people just grimaced and passed by).

Is the death of a fictional character - which in the case of fanfiction wasn't even yours in the first place - such an offensive act that it must be censored via warning to those sensitive souls or those who couldn't bear the thought of their fictional hero/heroine dying?  Fanfiction gives us licence (albeit slightly illegally) to do whatever the fuck we please.  We can make Harry a dancing fairy with a coke problem, a rubber fetish and suffer an untimely death if you so wish.  Although whether anyone would like to read it is another matter - but the point is *that* is what you want to write.  Surely readers have the same right to look at this fic and think 'Harry the coked up, rubber clad fairy! Boy, that's right up my street' and thus read on to the finish where they discover Harry's death as part of an unfolding narrative, not because the author's too scared of offending those so easily offended.  (*cough* By the non-canon death of a fictional character *cough* pussies *cough*)

M'Laud, the prosecution rests.

Comments

[redbeargrl.livejournal.com]

Ummmm, I believe in the Joss Whedon approach to character death.

Make the readers love the character and then off the bugger just for the hell of it. As he said," Don't give them want the want, give them what they need."

But then I'm a sick old Bear.

xxoo
J

[lynsangelic1.livejournal.com]

Ah, the Whedon approach to character death. An excellent school of thought. There's no way that Seeing Red would've had the total impact it had on me if it had been prefaced with a warning 'This episode contains Character Death'. However, perhaps I wouldn't have lost two long, sad weeks in mourning for Tara.

However, when they showed a promo for The Gift on Sky, they ended it with Buffy's freaking tombstone. The ep was shot to Hell as I knew it was coming. So yeah. Down with Character Death warnings.

[redbeargrl.livejournal.com]

"However, perhaps I wouldn't have lost two long, sad weeks in mourning for Tara."

Only two weeks? Shit! What a piker! I am STILL in mourning and shall probably stay that way for the rest of my un-natural life.!

Re The Gift. I would have much rather seen Dawn do the high dive.

[lynsangelic1.livejournal.com]

So would've I but she did eventually win me round re: chloroforming Xander in Chosen and handing the reigns to Amanda in Potential.

But yes, a whiny little bitch she was in season 5.

And I just learned to bottle my anguish over Tara getting canned. It'll cause me many problems later in life, I'm sure

[redbeargrl.livejournal.com]

"And I just learned to bottle my anguish over Tara getting canned. It'll cause me many problems later in life, I'm sure."

::cough::

It may have done....But now I understand why you do so love the angsty bits.

[lynsangelic1.livejournal.com]

I'll be on the death bed angsting it up. Although, to be fair, that's a pretty angsty situation from the get go.

[redbeargrl.livejournal.com]

Perhaps it might be, but somehow I think when my time comes I will be looking forward to the adventure.
The trouble is...I'm not much of a believer in the conventional view of the afterlife.

I hope Gandalf got it right.

xxoo
J

[lash-larue.livejournal.com]

I certainly agree about the warnings, one reason I usually post only on my page. You take your chances there.

Especially, as you point out, character death.

HOWEVER...

I JKR had said that she was going to off Ron, I would STILL be buying copies of the book. Git.

L

[lynsangelic1.livejournal.com]

LMAO!

I would've bought four. Canon Ron can be such an arse sometimes, whether he's bitching at Harry for being involuntarily famous or sulking at Hermione because she's not shagging him behind the Quidditch pitch.

But if she'd done that everything wouldn't have been smiley happy extended wonderful families at the end, now would it?

[lash-larue.livejournal.com]

Canon? We don't need no steenking canon!

[zee014.livejournal.com]

Character death warnings? *boo hiss*

Possibly the dumbest thing I've ever heard of. Only total pansies would think of shit like this. If they can't fucking handle a fictional character's death than maybe they should stick to coloring books or Cosmo. I'm pretty sure there's no character deaths in those babies.

Kill 'em all I say! THEN tell me you did it afterwards. That doesn't make any sense but that's the way it should be.

I like when you rant about stupid people. It's fun. If you ever started up a mob, I'd join. And just in case, can we bring our own torches? I'm only asking because I have a super sweet torch and I hardly ever get to bust it out and use the mo fo. Which is so wrong. So wrong.

[lash-larue.livejournal.com]

"I'm only asking because I have a super sweet torch and I hardly ever get to bust it out and use the mo fo. Which is so wrong. So wrong."

By God I love the way you think.

L

[zee014.livejournal.com]

I'm friending you because people that like how I think are typically my friends.

Hi! I'm Brittany. It's a pleasure.