#fyi the astronauts space ship is powered by magical runes; the warlock has a bionic prothesis created by Savanna Tech. and SCAD students;

[haich-slash-cee]

The exception (for me) is if the character is coming back to life. That's pretty whumpy.

And specifically, I think the best audience experience is when (during the initial read/watch) we can tell that the character may die but is very probably coming back to life. (I mean maybe a re-read/watch with new info could net some new whumperflies, but idk.)

Anyway, if I am reading or watching a story and I have to assume a character death is an actual character death... :( Well this is just sad, cancel the whumperflies (as people have said in the notes).

Examples:

Actual death is appropriate for the genre, tone, setting: the story has a realistic setting where dead characters stay dead; or the story is just very grim; or it is one of those horror stories where everyone really could just die including the main character.

Or the story is a one-shot, limited narrative - a standalone movie or book or story or even a short story. (You don't know what those short stories are going to pull. True wildcards. Maybe the story ends with the main narrator about to be eaten by giant snails.)

Or, the character dying is a side character: I could assume that's permanent in the narrative. (Again, wildcard, who knows what fates await side characters, sorry red shirts (tangental fun link)).

I should say, separately - while an actual character death may not be so fun and whumpy anymore (for me), it may have turned into Pathos and Catharsis instead. And I enjoy a good cry. We're on an adjacent narrative payoff, I can still appreciate it. It's like ordering fish soup and ending up with roast shrimp and I enjoy eating roast shrimp too.

But - what if the narrative, genre, format, etc makes it probable that this is a case of the character coming back to life?

Examples:

Format/meta: This is a TV show, it's mid-season, and the main character appears to die. No, we can't actually have the main character dead here - this character is coming back to life at some point.

Speculative Fiction: Listen, people sometimes come back to life in scifi or fantasy or horror. It just happens. This is one reason why spec-fic is fun. (*note: the side character death wildcard rule could still apply.)

Cape comics (Marvel, DC, superhero comics) where a franchise character has died: HAHAHA just wait a few floppies. (Unless it's one of those one-shot limited series which are a bit grim. In which case, this character may actually be dead, sorry.)

A book that is not only speculative fiction, but really going out of its way in the narrative to show that the character will probably be coming back to life: ie, we (the audience) are being actively told by that the space astronauts are racing to deliver the Dragon's Heart Crystal (which brings even the dead to life) to the main warlock character, who is dying, because this character sacrificed themselves to stop a wicked undead-plantation-owner-ghost from destroying Savanna, GA and all the residents in the city.

Also there are two more books in that series and the main warlock character's name is in each title.

With those frameworks above... Time for me to sit back and see what kind of not-death the narrative is going to pull off. Primed and ready. Read for some whump or hurt/comfort, even. Maybe the death and revival are going to be especially wretched and painful for my favorite main character >;) Perhaps other character will be very worried and there will be feelings and emotions >:D And characters will take care of each other and things will be vulnerable hohoho >:)

Don’t know if this is an unpopular opinion or whatever but if the whump leads to death then it isn’t whump anymore