A good book, film, TV show, or video game will work itself into your life and make an impact, somehow.
Well-written and developed characters feel like your best friends. You know them inside and out. The loss of one of those characters can create grief within you. That grief can last a lifetime. It can teach you, but it can also really pain you at the most unexpected moments.
u/Bradcastle76 asked:
Which fictional character's death have you not gotten over?
Here were some of those answers.
Warning: spoilers ahead.
A Poor Sacrifice
Jorge from Halo Reach
He sacrificed himself by blowing up the Covenant super carrier, thinking his actions saved Reach.
Then moments later the whole Covenant armarda appears out of slip space to eventually burn the planet he loved to much to glass.
The Final Frontier
Data. I was handling it okay, then his brother started singing a halting and broken version of "Blue Skies" and I was just crushed.
It came out 20 years ago... Is it still a spoiler?
The Land In My Own Time
Guess I'm getting too old.
Littlefoots Mom. Probably the saddest kids movie death ever. It was WAY too much. I felt like I lost my own Mom that day.
My 2.5yo son cries when this scene hits (and the one where Littlefoot sees what he thinks is her shadow).
We've begun to fast forward when those two scenes come up.
Hell... I tear up myself too
See You, Space Cowboy
Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop. To this day I still can't help but get choked up when it finishes panning up into the sky from him bleeding out on the stairs, and in the last frames of the show you see his star briefly shine brighter than all the others, then fade away into nothing. "You're gonna carry that weight."
Combined with Mai Yamane belting her heart out singing Yoko Kanno's 'Blue' and ending softly on the lyrics "Everything is clearer now, life is just a dream you know, that's never ending. I'm ascending..." It may very well be the most powerful scene of any show I've seen, anime or otherwise.
Here's the full clip but again it's major spoilers and honestly doesn't hit the same if you haven't seen Spike's journey up until here and understood the tragic senselessness of his death.
Our Collective First Trauma
Please come down Charlotte. There must be something I can do.
No Wilbur. Don't you know what you've already done? You made me your friend. And in doing so you made a spider beautiful to everyone in that barn.
I didn't do anything Charlotte. You did it all.
No. My webs were no miracle, Wilbur. I was only describing what I saw. The miracle is you.
The Most Realistic
Brooks from the Shawshank redemption
Dear fellas,
I can't believe how fast things move on the outside. I saw an automobile once when I was a kid, but now they're everywhere. The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry. The parole board got me into this halfway house called "The Brewer" and a job bagging groceries at the Foodway. It's hard work and I try to keep up, but my hands hurt most of the time. I don't think the store manager likes me very much. Sometimes after work, I go to the park and feed the birds. I keep thinking Jake might just show up and say hello, but he never does. I hope wherever he is, he's doin' okay and makin' new friends. I have trouble sleepin' at night. I have bad dreams like I'm falling. I wake up scared. Sometimes it takes me a while to remember where I am. Maybe I should get me a gun and rob the Foodway so they'd send me home. I could shoot the manager while I was at it, sort of like a bonus. I guess I'm too old for that sort of nonsense any more. I don't like it here. I'm tired of being afraid all the time. I've decided not to stay. I doubt they'll kick up any fuss. Not for an old crook like me.
P.S: Tell Heywood I'm sorry I put a knife to his throat.
No hard feelings.
Brooks.
Remember Me
Grandma Coco from the Disney Movie Coco. That film got me weeping from start to end.
I was fine through Coco right up until the end and then I was just sobbing for a looooong time even after the credits rolled.
Don't Leave Me, Come Back
Kelsier from the Mistborn trilogy. He was my favorite character and I really did not expect his death. I was waiting for him to come back, because I really could not believe that he was indeed dead. I wanted to continue the trilogy after the first book, but missed Kelsier too much. A few years later I finally finished the second and third book and have to say, they were great, even without him! Brandon Sanderson just did a really good job with this series.
Through The Veil
Sirius Black.
He lived in an abusive household for almost 17 years, then fought dark wizards for a few years, then put in Azkaban ( without a trial, and accusing him of associating with his abusive family he ran away from and killing the family he ran towards) and tormented with dementors for 12 years, 1 year of reliving his worst memories and then Bam! Dies. He deserved a good life.
RIP Mako
Lu Ten, Uncle Irohs Son. Avatar the last Airbender.
While we didn't see his death first hand, I felt like I was mourning a son of my own when Iron sang that song. Still tears me up.