Endings are so final. It's odd. Death in fiction. The death of a story.
I had a good two weeks. Finally finished a really long chapter after two months of editing it, read a lot, watched some good shows, and finally finished Cyberpunk 2077. And in all of the media I consumed, there was one constant. Death.
It's an interesting sensation to spend so much time reading about a character, to see their highs, their lows, their greatest victories, and in some cases their inevitable demises.
Of note, the two series I've finished/media I've consumed this month were The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee and Chainsaw Man by Tatsuki Fujimoto. Both were different in media type, series length, characters, story, world, disposition, and more, but they were united in death.
As a new writer, I'm still figuring out how to treat character deaths. Are they grand spectacles filled with brave fulfilling speeches or are they sudden and unexpected ends? Do those around them mourn? Or is the world my characters live in, callous and indifferent?
Like all things in life, I'm sure the truth is somewhere in between but I'm glad for the experience to have read these stories. I'm sure in the weeks to come I'll do a post, one for each series, in greater depth, but for now, I'd just like to sit in the worlds both authors created, mourn some fallen fictional friends, celebrate their fictional lives, and enjoy the lingering afterglow both authors left in my mind's eye.
Anyways, that's all I've got for this post. I highly recommend both the Jade Bone Saga and Chainsaw Man (if you're okay with violent, R-rated content), and I hope you all have a great next two weeks.
Sincerely,
Josh Acocella
Comments