The Feels Are Real

[MorganaLeFay]

I am doing this one RP where one of my characters died, and now everyone that used to be around her are really depressed and angry (she killed herself to protect them). But now my character is a ghost, floating around and watching her husband, child and brother deal with the grief from her death.


Every post I read feels like someone is stabbing me in the heart.


It hurts.


I cry everytime.

 

[The Gunrunner]

 

[MorganaLeFay]

 

[Face Nemesis]

I've never formally killed off a character, although I've had plans to do so in the past. I don't quite know how I'd get away with it without feeling bad, but it can also help to develop some characters a bit more, I think. The characters affected by the loss will eventually recover, and it might change them in some way. I think that deaths can have an interesting impact on roleplays when implemented properly.

 

[Grin]

[QUOTE="Ilani the Archer]Every post I read feels like someone is stabbing me in the heart.
It hurts.


I cry everytime.

[/QUOTE]Oh, the feels...
I get a similar feeling when I watch the end of The Iron Giant, the ending for Bioshock Infinite, and many, many other works of fiction where a beloved character dies in a poignant and/or tragic way. I also read about how J.K. Rowling cried when she killed off Dumbledore.


It only stands to reason that a well-written character close to the creator's heart will evoke such a strong emotional response. Which is why I don't feel bad about feeling bad when I'm forced to engineer a beloved character's death.

 

[MorganaLeFay]

You just made me feel a bit better. Not much, but a bit.

 

[Huor Spinks]

I once had a character killed of in a tabletop RPG game. I was in shock for the entire night I think. It was so unexpected. And on his first mission too! And by a really unlucky roll at that too.


I wasn't really heartbroken, but I felt angry and helpless with myself. They're just characters, but they're your characters and you were the one that created them, so if anything happens to them, it feels like a little part of you died somehow.

 

[Sibylline Oracle]

My apologies if this thread's only meant to be a way to make you feel better, but I thought I'd respond to the poll question:


Yes, and somewhat frequently. It's not to say I don't develop a rapport with my characters, but I know they're always ready to be used in any other RP I can find for them. Yeah, it can suck to drop said character's relationships, but I know that I, the player, will stay friends with the other players - and maybe even get to RP with them again in a different setting.


So it's never a big loss for me, and the drama it can produce could immerse me even more in the story!

 

[MorganaLeFay]

I just like hearing what you guys have to say about this.

 

[Tiny Dancer]

I've killed off a few, and had some die in battle that was after many hours of writing well into the morning light. There are some characters that tend to be special to us, and its perfectly normal to shed a tear or two. They are after all your creation, a part of your writings. They help live out the dreams and magic that sometimes just does not exist in the real world. Ask anyone that has a well loved story book where the favorite dies, and they will be sure to tell you that it moved them to tears, or pulled hard on the heart strings.


Word of advice. It does get easier, the more that you create and you will find a joy to see them fulfill stories, before coming to their end. I find it helps, to pick a theme song for characters that I love, as a way to remember them, when they are no longer in a story.

 

[MorganaLeFay]

I cried reading that. Freaking emotions... wtf you doin?

 

[Harmiko]

I've never killed off my characters however i've planned to do so quite a few times, the roleplay died before that point mostly out of my at times quite late responses. I think it could be quite useful at times but then again i haven't tried it yet.

 

[MorganaLeFay]

As the RP progresses, (we've done quite a few time skips) I do like the added tension it adds to the character's relationships. My characters husband and son get into a lot of fights over how she would have wanted things to be done, and her brother feels really guilty about her death because he couldn't save her.

 

[BELL]

I have one main character I use for a lot of my role plays, all his friends die or get left behind.

 

[MorganaLeFay]

That sounds depressing.

 

[BELL]

His backstory's pretty messed up, and as I roleplay more and more, it gets more and more sad.

 

[MorganaLeFay]

xD I do that too.

 

[BELL]

He also has this curse thing he got way back. He doesn't die, but his "Devil's Luck" seems to do terrible things to his life and makes his friends die and stuff. And every time whoever he gets attached to says something along the lines of "I/we'll be fine." Then they aren't fine.

 

[MorganaLeFay]

All my characters seem to get themselves in trouble trying to help somebody else.

 

[Tiny Dancer]

The saddest story I ever did was when a girl just missed getting in a car, that crashed - killing all her friends and her boyfriend. Leaving her behind to try and understand why she was still alive. Now that was a hard write.


This was the inspiration.


[media]



[/media]

 

[MorganaLeFay]

(TAT) WHY WOULD YOU POST SOMETHING LIKE THAT???

 

[Tiny Dancer]

Because it was about how she became the girl that everyone knew. Explained her past. Her inability to connect with people, for fear of losing them. It was a backstory, but still one that was made to make people think and feel for this girl.

 

[BELL]

To make everyone cry. Why else?

 

[BELL]

Also backstories. Those are important.

 

[BELL]

Some quotes:


"Oh, looks like captain's dead." -Before he had opened up to a crew and it seemed his captain's neck had broken.


"Yeah, It can always be worse. If your friends are all dying beside you and everything you love's been destroyed, it can still be worse." -Talking to a friend