No, He Survived!

So ever since Husband's friend introduced us to the awesomeness of Red Shirt Guy (the link takes you to a succinct recap of his rise to geeky awesomeness), we've been listening to this auto-tune tribute pretty much constantly. And when we're not listening to it, we're taking turns saying, "Isn't Falstad dead?" To which the other replies, "No, he survived!"

I'm not sure I can fully explain just why this whole thing makes me happy but I'm going to try. Basically what it comes down to is that I see this as a reminder of how much story matters to people, how much they can care about fictional characters--even the less important ones. Sure, this is World of Warcraft we're talking about not a novel, but it's still storytelling. And storytelling takes many forms.

(And that's a fact I take comfort in when people freak out about ebooks.)

I also like how everyone conducted themselves. Red Shirt Guy could have been some jerk who delights in picking things apart just for the joy of pointing out someone else's honest mistake. Instead, he's a fan who sincerely wants to know what happened to a character he presumably liked.

The game guys on the panel could have been defensive or dismissed the question. Instead, they thanked Red Shirt Guy and told him they'd fix that continuity error. Not only do they own up to their mistakes (hey, we all make them, but sometimes it's tough to admit that especially after a lot of hard work!!), they also showed that they appreciate their fans. They even found a way to make Red Shirt Guy immortal! (Read the short article I linked to, above, to find out how.)

Plus, you can't beat the incredibly hopeful feeling you get when, in the auto-tune tribute, Red Shirt Guy exclaims, "No, he survived! He survived! He survived!"

Here's hoping it cheers you up as much as it did me.