Suicide in Fanworks

This page is about suicide in fanworks. For the phenomenon of faking one's own death online, see Pseuicide.

Tropes and genres
Related tropes/genres	Issuefic, Deathfic
Related articles on Fanlore.

Suicide in fan works can run the gamut from a deep and thorough exploration of the subject and what can cause the desire to end one's life, to a cheap excuse for drama or shock value.

One other use is the heroic suicide, usually in action-oriented fandoms. This is when a character defiantly ends their own life rather than see a loved one subjected to a sadistic choice, or rather than falling into the enemy's hands.

Suicide can be a trigger for some fans and is often, though not always, warned for.

As Portrayed in Fanworks

Suicide as a shipping plot device

Many shippers will use suicide or suicide attempts for their shipping agenda. In the latter case, one half of their OTP will find the other about to off themselves and save them by confessing their love, or at least talking them down and hugging them without the use of a love confession. In the former case, unrequited love will lead a character to end their life, thinking they'd rather die than live without someone's love. The object of their affections will find out and feel guilty for either never noticing that person loved them, or for choosing another person as their significant other.

A lesser known example is when one half of a couple dies tragically and their lover will kill themselves to be with them again.

Fandom Specific

In Star Trek: TOS

From Boldly Writing, Joan Verba comments about what she saw as a prevalence of stories about suicide in Star Trek: TOS., citing an example in the zine Vault of Tomorrow #8:

Among the stories was 'In the Silence of the Sea-Wind Dawn' by Lynn Syck and Laurel Ridener, which was notable because it was representative of a type of story in Star Trek fanzines. Here, Kirk dies; afterward, Spock and McCoy commit suicide. Other fanzine stories repeated this basic plot of Spock dying, and Kirk committing suicide, or vice versa. Between [the movies] Star Trek II and Star Trek III, stories in which Kirk attempted suicide after the death of Spock abounded. I never found, nor was included in, any discussions of why writers wrote this sort of story or why readers wanted to read them, but there certainly were a lot of them around over the years.

In Stargate Atlantis

The characters most often portrayed as suicidal in Stargate Atlantis stories are probably Rodney McKay and John Sheppard. Contributing factors are certain canon events and episodes, John's depiction as being a suicidal risk-taker in canon and fanon, and fanon about John and Rodney's respective unhappy childhoods. Two particular Stargate Atlantis episodes have inspired several stories that refer to suicide. Trinity, in which Rodney blows up 5/6ths of a solar system and (for a while) loses John's friendship, led not just to multiple stories in which Rodney attempts to or commits suicide, but gave rise to an entire genre of stories known as the Post-Trinity Phenomenon. The episode Doppelganger, in which an alien entity takes John Sheppard's shape in other people's dreams and not only harms others but persuades expedition psychologist Kate Heightmeyer to commit suicide, led to multiple stories in which the effects of her death are noted, including some in which John contemplates or attempts to commit suicide.

Stargate: Atlantis Example Stories

• Charting the Motion of Planets by Dasha, McKay/Sheppard. Rodney attempts suicide by allergen when he is captured in hopes of preventing his captors using him against Atlantis.
• Side Effects by jane elliot, McKay/Sheppard. Rodney attempts suicide after the side effects of mpreg and Trinity combine to make him miserable.
• Trinity's Fall by lavvyan, McKay/Sheppard. Post-Trinity Phenomenon story in which Rodney attempts suicide.
• Of Duty, Atonement, and Redemption by SGC Gategirl, gen. Post-Trinity Phenomenon story in which Rodney is suicidal.
• Thirty Six by Cassie Jamie, McKay/Sheppard. Another Post-Trinity Phenomenon story in which Rodney attempts suicide.
• {could use some post-Doppelganger examples}
• Machinery of Night by lilac way, McKay/Sheppard. An Ancient device makes John suicidal.
• The Hard Prayer by rheanna, McKay/Sheppard. Almost-no-survivors apocafic in which John is sliding towards suicide until he meets Rodney.
• The World That We Live In (No, We Can't Go Back) by kyuuketsukirui, gen. Earth-based AU story in which young John decides to permanently stay with his dead friend Rodney.

Other Fandoms

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.

• Blue Lips by Marginaliana. Harry Potter. Darkfic in which a disturbed Harry commits suicide after the defeat of Voldemort (2006)
• Tell Beauty How She Blasteth by Tree and Leaf. Lord Peter Wimsey. Well-regarded dark AU to Strong Poison, which ends with Peter's suicide (2006)
• Blaise by Alchemia. Harry Potter. Transfic in which Blaise Zabini, the main character, kills himself/herself. Fic is hosted, as restricted content, on Intertexius.com.
• Many Cardcaptor Sakura fics featuring the Tomoyo/Sakura pairing will have Tomoyo, heartbroken over knowing Sakura will never return her feelings, killing herself rather than living with that loneliness. Examples of this include Arigatou by Riesz Fenrir and Starry Starry Night by Amazoness Duo.

External Links

• Suicide tag at Archive of Our Own
• (Attempted) suicide stories in Harry Potter fandom, a thematic list