*sigh* People shouldnt refer to characters dying as them being killed off. Theres a big difference between killing a character, having that character die, and killing them off. Killing a character off is when a bad fanfiction writer goes on a rampage killing all their most hated characters in the most ridiculous and painful ways they can think of. Killing off characters are deaths devoid of emotion, save for maniacal glee. A character dying on a show or book doing /what they are meant to do and would not rather die doing anything else/ is not killing that character off. That is that character dying, and for those who say it wasnt there time, well, its never /anyones/ time, is it? Feel free to protest the death of a favorite character all you want. But dont diminish their existence and the emotional impact their death had on you by saying that they were just killed off. So many of my favorite characters who are now dead have been accused of being killed off, and you know what? That really pisses me off. No. They were not killed off in a fit of rage on the writers part. They were not killed off because the audience liked them. They were not killed because the audience /didnt/ like them. They werent killed off because they were gay, they were not killed off because they were women, they were not killed off because they were men, they were not killed off because they were a minority, or because the writer got bored with them. They died, and they died meaningfully, they died senselessly, they died tragically, they died violently. They died fighting for what they believed for, and they died before they even got the chance to fight. They died after the fight was over, and they died to end the fight. A bullet to the heart not even meant for them. Glimpsed almost too fast to comprehend, the slash of a sword from shoulder to hip, the slightest spray of blood, and then fade to black. The descent into a storm whose drag is nothing more than the build up a life time of pain and hurt and fear. A hemorrhage from a threat thought removed, flowers still waiting patiently in their vase to be seen, a gift that will forever await the receiver who will never find them. Flames and heat searing the body and bones and blood into nothingness, while a life just saved is guarded only by the actions of a man who didnt want anyone else to be hurt, closing the lid on another empty casket. Horror in the flash of a knife, staining the snow red even as golden light the color of betrayal splits the sky apart before tears even have the chance to be shed at the shock of what has just happened, and another world dances just beyond the shadow of the northern lights. The shattering of a silver glowing man, and the realization that only comes later, after the shocked tears and disbelief have faded, when the mind finally has time to go back, and realize with horror that screams through the veins /exactly/ what had happened. A little boy huddling against the side of a polar bear, clutching a dead fish to his chest as his eyes slowly lose what little light had remained in them after his soul was torn away by those who should have been protecting him. The vain hope that its just a dream, shattered by the horror reflected in the eyes of the warrior who had never before showed so much horror and desperation. They died, all of them. More than can be counted, they died. And every time, their death had meaning. It had emotion. It had impact, /it mattered/. Some people criticize the waste of a character arc that was Hermione Grangers death at the hands of a mountain troll. Some people claim that Tara Maclay died because Joss Wheadon was homophobic. Some people say that Ianto Jones died a worthless death that did nothing for the world. Some say that Tony Makarios was born to die. Some say that Kara Thraces spiral into oblivion was over dramatized and unwarranted. Some say that such a pointless death was unbefitting of someone so immersed in the supernatural as was Joyce 5 Seconds of Summers. Except... What meaning would danger have if no one were to suffer for it? How would the gravity of the situation be realized if no one is made to understand it? How is death to be conquered if it is not portrayed as it truly is? Death waits for no one, and cares not for character arcs. What world could a person such as Tara Maclay be born in, to be treated just like everyone else, to be wonderful, brave, afraid, flawed, wrong, perfect, and /human/? Could such a world ever be driven by strife and rage written by words of ignorance and prejudice? In a world written by homophobia, would Tara Maclay ever even exist? Would there be any reason to mourn her? Not all soldiers die in the final moments of the war. Not all die in the beginning. Ianto Jones fell after the beginning, and before the end, but his efforts were not in vain, and they were NOT worthless. Imagine the world without Tony Makarios. Imagine the connection that would be missing, the true horror of what had been happening, gone. Impossible to be understood. Imagine the Holocaust without its survivors. Imagine it without those who died after the gates were thrown, and rescuers poured in, offering comfort and aid they had no idea would be fatal. Next time a character you love dies, think carefully of the words you choose to describe them. Our deaths are the last moments we have in this world. Dont make them meaningless. savecarsonbeckett/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/pdearticle.jpg
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 06:14:22 +0000
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