One way an author can really piss me off

[profbutters]

Probably dangerous to post this so soon before I'm doing an interview about my own stuff, but it was on my mind.

I just hate gratuitous, cheap tears.

For some reason, when I was a kid, a kid's story just wasn't a kid's story if it didn't have an animal dying in it. I even was given one as a gift.  It was called Moki, and it involved a little Native

Comments

[peasant007]

I kind of feel the same way, actually. It's one of the reasons why I don't let my Sim pets die. When the Pet Reaper comes for them, it's just heartbreaking. Even in my legacy, Zane has given everyone the Kibbles of Life or whatever it is so Thaddeus doesn't come to collect the pets (and now none of my families own pets because they're a pain in the butt).

For a moment I thought I panicked and thought, "Oh shit! I have a bad habit of doing this!" based off of the recent things that happened in my story. Then I had to re-read and realize that you're talking about animals. *whew* But, just to clarify: when I kill off a character, there is a reason, and it's not ENTIRELY meant to pull at the heartstrings (if it does, BONUS!). There's a rhyme and a reason to all the heartless things I do *nods*

[profbutters]

See, you are a good example of NON-gratuitous story suffering. I've honestly never thought, "oh, Ang is just making Zane suffer for the heck of it." There's always a reason. I might be sad about it, but not annoyed. I don't feel manipulated.

[toastsims]

Wanna know a secret? The biggest reason I never got Pets was I couldn't stand the idea of watching a sim pet die. Ever. T_T Animal death is A Thing for me and therefore it never matters whether it's narratively justified or not. Will always haet moast.

[profbutters]

Me, too! I've never even seen a Sim Pet die. All you have to do is feed them Kibble of Life until they explode, though, and then you never have to. But, yeah, unnecessary.

[katmiesterk8]

Oh God how I HATE gratuitous animal death! If an animal's gotta die, let it be for a GOOD, SENSIBLE reason. That being said I have no problems with my simanimals dying *shrugs*. I just like to think that they go to doggy/kitty heaven; it makes it easier for me.

[docnerd]

I think most adults dislike the gratuitous tears, no matter the reason. It smacks of crass manipulation, and who likes being manipulated? If an animal dies to further the plot (Ori/Barley, Hedwig, Artax in Neverending Story), that's a very different thing than going for a cheap tug on the heartstrings. I don't even think that's a very thin line to walk.

I haven't had any pets die since the Gen 4 rebuild. I sell them to family members when they've bred. It keeps everyone happy!

[katrisims]

I know what you mean. *nods* Character death is necessary sometimes, and it can be painful - but that's okay, because it's necessary. But killing characters for the sake of killing characters (be it human or animal)? Not cool.