Writing character deaths

[Ember]

Hi all! So the other day, I was thinking about roleplaying (as usual haha), and had to wonder... have any of you guys ever killed off one of your own characters on a site before? What was writing that post or thread like? How did it make you feel? And if you haven't written such a post yet, how do you think it might make you feel? Would there be any part of it you'd look forward to (or not look forward to)?

It's something I've never done but would LOVE to do someday, mostly because it would challenge me. I consider myself a hobbyist writer, and putting emotion into my posts is a constant struggle. Maybe Somerset will finally give me the opportunity to write such a scene. Who knows. xD

Feel free to post your thoughts here!

[Deleted]

I have written several deaths (although I don't make a habit of plotting deaths) and I gotta say... I bawled like a freaking baby every single time somebody got offed. :< And then for like a week afterwards, every time I thought about them I'd tear up. Haha!

They were plots that I felt extremely strongly about, and I wrote them all with the same partner, so we had a lot of history going for our characters. It was totally fun though. Like yeah I was miserable and she was miserable and it was gut-wrenching but that's also part of the joy of writing, when you connect so strongly to a character (or characters) that their pain becomes your own.

Idk I loved it. And then, OF COURSE, after they die I'd start thinking up more plots for them, which is one of the downsides of bumping somebody off. D; It's definitely not for everyone, but I think you should try it at least once!

[daemitra]

I killed off quite a few charries on another site and its heartbreaking because you get so attached to your babies ;-;
Although, it can be fun to see other characters react to it and it can be fun writing it as in giving them whatever ending you want whether it be gruesome or happy like meeting loved ones in the afterlife and such

[Ray]

It's been a long time since I've RPed enough for my characters to live a life longer than a month IC, but ages ago a site that I co-owned had a plot which culminated in the son killing his mother (my character) and his father (other co-owner's character). :') It was kinda heartbreaking but also kinda awesome at the same time cause everybody involved with the plot (maybe like.. two of us plus three or four other dedicated members) had stuck around for nearly a year and we somehow all stuck with it til the end without disappearing to other sites. That part was probably the most amazing thing in and of itself. And of course, the fact that we were all little fifteen year olds writing evil underworld wolf murder plots. :>

[Ember]

@maru
Aaah I totally know what you mean—about feeling your character’s pain and all. I’ve been roleplaying with the same partner for the past several years, and while we’ve never killed our characters (they’re mostly immortal, lol), they’ve been brought close to death before. And yeah, we’re both miserable in those instances, but man. Those are the best scenes to plot out! xD

daemitra
I can only imagine how heartbreaking it is. ;o; And yeah! That’s one thing that really appeals to me about writing a character to their death—deciding how they go out, whether it’s peacefully or something less pleasant, what’s the last meaningful thing they do, if they can change how they’ll be remembered at the last minute, etc. There’s so much to control and figure out, and it’s simultaneously exciting and a bit overwhelming, haha.

Ray
SAAAME about the longer than a month thing. Dx Sites I’ve been on lately have either closed or just been a poor fit for me and my roleplaying style, and both those issues make it nearly impossible to cultivate meaningful character relationships, which are necessary for creating memorable plots.

That is SUPER awesome though about your past site. I can only imagine how amazing and emotional it must have been, to have something of that caliber happen to your and others’ characters! (And on a side note—a friend and I totally had a group of underworld canine characters as a kid. xD So I find it really fascinating you did too, haha.)