Warn for character death. There. I said it.

Meta
Title:	Warn for character death. There. I said it.
Creator:	Gabrielleabelle
Date(s):	June 27, 2009
Medium:	Posted to LiveJournal
Fandom:	Pan-Fandom (with some references to BtVS)
Topic:	Depression, triggers, warnings
External Links:	on livejournal, archive capture
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Warn for character death. There. I said it. is a meta essay from gabreilleabelle's LiveJournal. The essay was written in response to a wider debate about content warnings across fandom on LiveJournal. The essay garnered 79 comments, many of which included further meta discussion about defining darkfic and the best method for warning, particularly in borderline cases, like Vampire AUs.

The essay is divided into three parts: triggers..., I'm not asking for..., and My policy....

Excerpts

"I have no triggers. Not in the strictest definition. Not in the way triggers are being discussed now. There are things which may send me into a depressive episode, which is...something quite different, I think. I don't want to conflate my experiences with triggers, because I think they're substantially distinct and incomparable. [snipped]
Character death, suicide, self-injury, non-con have all, in the past, caused some problems with depressive episodes for me. I don't feel comfortable coming from the viewpoint of triggers because...I have none. But I will talk from the viewpoint of a depression sufferer who is vulnerable to depressive episodes."

"If I run across unexpected character death or something along those lines, yes, I may very well go to a bad place (my generic term to clue my friends in that I'm having some issues).[snipped]

It likely will last a day or two and then I'll move past it. It's just something that happens when you deal with depression. Yes, even when on medication. As a person with chronic depression, you learn to live with it.

But I will resent the hell out of an author for it."

"Going back to my rational place, I understand that warning for character death can be spoilery. I can understand other readers not wanting to be spoiled. That's fine.

Please, though. Please, give me one good reason why an author cannot make a highlightable warning label so that the spoiler-allergic can avoid the warning and I can avoid the fic. Because I'm really having a damn hard time thinking of one so I can give non-warning authors the benefit of the doubt."

"I'm not asking authors to read my mind or warn for every little thing. Because, honestly? There are other things in fanfic that could send me into a depressive episode. Hell, general, mind-numbing angst could send me into a depressive episode. I have school issues, so something involving school could be a problem for me.

Guess what? I don't expect you to know that. I don't expect you to warn for that. Because I know that's impossible for you to know.

However, the big things...the things listed above...those aren't as seemingly arbitrary. They can affect a large number of people and...well...they're a little obvious."

Reactions

[rebcake]
"I've been keeping out of the warnings chat, because I feel like people are pretty good about it, so no complaints. I agree with you, though. I've only been blindsided once by character death, and I was seriously bummed out for a day (or more). I really thought the story was going to have a happy ending, and I'm still pissed it didn't. Tsk.

However, I don't feel the need for warnings if it's a canon death, because I'm already used to the idea. Buffy dives off a tower? Yup. Spike in a blazing column of light? Okay. Jenny, Joyce, or Tara, taken from us too soon? Well, if you must." [snippped]

[gabrielleabelle]
[snipped] "Canon deaths don't bother me because...they're known quantities. If I'm reading a fic set around The Body, I know that Joyce's death is a possibility. Ditto with Jenny, Tara, or Spike. It's the SURPRISE! deaths that get to me."

[Elisi]
"Can I ask something re the warning for character death? I have a fic (which is still very much a WIP and unposted and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future), and I'm thinking of putting this in the story header (or whatever it's called):

The story chronicles Angel, Spike and Illyria’s attempt at taking down W&H. Can it be done? And if so, what will the price be? (That’s all the warning I’m going to give you, OK? Don’t yell at me later. Also see quote below.)

SPIKE: What do you think all this means for that Shanshu bugaboo? If we make it through this, does one of us get to be a real boy? ANGEL: Who you kidding? We're not gonna make it through. ‘Not Fade Away’

Would you consider that enough warning if one (or both) of them were to die? My thinking is that throughout they know that they're dealing with something extremely dangerous that's killed all their friends, and they almost take it for granted that they won't survive, so the aspect of character death is sort of built-in to the premise of the story...

What do you think? I'm genuinely curious, because it's something I've wondered about a lot."

[gabrielleabelle]
"Hmmm...I can only talk from my point of view (and this is a wholly self-centered post). Personally, I've found that, going into a fic, even one that calls itself a "darkfic" or whatnot, there's an expectation that the characters will come out okay...or at least alive. So typically, just being warned for general darkness or danger wouldn't clue me in that someone is actually gonna die (because I tend to think that the fic standard is to not kill main characters...I might have a skewed perspective on this, though).

However, stating "That’s all the warning I’m going to give you, OK? Don’t yell at me later." is something that would clue me in. Because that would be a signal that this fic might be an exception to that expectation, and I might be safer passing it on by.

So, yeah, I'd skip it. Which, I think, means it would be sufficient warning. :)"

[deird1]
"Huh. I'd generally assume that "darkfic" means at least half the characters aren't going to make it..."

[gabrielleabelle]
"Obviously, my point of view isn't universal. :)

"darkfic" indicates to me that the fic will be dark, potentially angsty, perhaps some psychological torment. The term "darkfic", I think, establishes the tone of the fic. And a fic can be dark in tone with no one being killed (hell, I've read oodles of such fics). Hell, in my fic, Influence, it's a dark fic with all sorts of character angst and such, but nobody's gonna die in it.

YMMV"

[starbrow]
"Interesting - I also have depression (clinical and going on three or four years now with no end in sight) and I love character death stories, especially ones where the whole story builds up to the death and fucks with my head in the process.

I've often wondered why, but I think it's cathartic - it takes me out of my own thoughts about myself. It's a release of sorts, almost in the same way that self-harm used to be for me (I don't do that anymore either).

Still, though, writing this type of story, I would (and have) absolutely warn for it. If I'm writing a story that involves character death, I probably intend for my readers to be a bit upset at the end and maybe a little shocked or requiring a few tissues - but not triggered, not sent into a depressive episode or harmed in any way that doesn't disappear after they click on to the next story or get up to get a glass of water.

Ultimately, my aim is to uplift rather than depress, using a heroic character death to do so. Pretty much every story I've ever written that involves character death has the character sacrificing themselves for the Good of the Universe, or if their death seems senseless at the time, it has Very Important Ramifications for the future of the world. I don't think I've ever written or would write the type of story where someone is depressed and commits suicide, although there are a few suicides among my stories.

But I can't really fathom why anyone would just not care that they could potentially be harming their readers by not warning. I've seen a lot of "Why should I care about strangers on the internet who don't even send me feedback?" which I find just really cynical and sad - why shouldn't people care about harming other human beings? If someone stepped on a stranger's foot they'd apologise and try to avoid doing so in future surely?"

[gabrielleabelle]
"I do sometimes enjoy reading character death stories. But I like to know what I'm getting into so I can steel myself up for it. And there are times when I want to avoid those fics. So warnings...very essential for me.

If I'm writing a story that involves character death, I probably intend for my readers to be a bit upset at the end and maybe a little shocked or requiring a few tissues - but not triggered, not sent into a depressive episode or harmed in any way that doesn't disappear after they click on to the next story or get up to get a glass of water.

Yep. I've written a story with character death and, while I want it to be nice and angsty and affecting, I don't want to actually harm anybody. I warned for it.

But I can't really fathom why anyone would just not care that they could potentially be harming their readers by not warning. I've seen a lot of "Why should I care about strangers on the internet who don't even send me feedback?"

Yeah, I've seen that and it just stuns me. I think I have such a radically different approach to writing and sharing my writing that there's no point even arguing with the people who have that view."

[briarwood]
"I do warn for character death, so this isn't me defending why I don't. I just thought I'd answer your question about the highlightable spoilers thing. See, I have a very good reason, if a personal one, why I don't use that convention and wish others wouldn't do it.

Because I have this habit I've tried and failed to break: when I'm reading stuff on a screen, I highlight the text I'm reading. It just makes it easier. So far from hiding spoilers from me, that method is like putting a big blinking light over them to me."