#Bones Gives Advice

[bonefall]

"How big should a Clan territory be?"

For the dozens of people who have asked this over the last couple of years!

This question comes in a lot of forms; "How big are the Clan territories?" "How much space does one Clan need?" "How much land should I give my Clans to exist in?" The answer is a bit complicated, and depends on the type of land, what you're going for exactly, the setting, so on.

But, broadly, there's TWO particular factors at play here; How anthropomorphic you're portraying your warriors, and how productive the land is.

Factor 1: The Anthro Scale

I'm starting with this one because it could you the simpler answer. The Erins write Clan cats like humans in cat bodies, with massive social units and communal living. Realistic feral cats don't act like Clan cats. They are only semi-social, due to domestication.

See, a Clan cat will "share" territory between all of its members, and some Clans have canonically hit populations of over 50 individuals. Real feral colonies consist of "overlapping circles" of somewhere between 2 - 15 cats, most of them related females.

This is relevant because, even in densely populated areas with as much food as they can eat, truly feral colonies will have about 2 cats per 5 acres, capping out at about 15 members. Queens will hang out together and raise their kittens communally, but they will hunt and patrol in their own "circle." These boundaries are violently enforced against outside cats, especially if it's too crowded.

(Toms have circles 5x as big as a queen's, overlapping several territories. They're also considerably less social.)

So, if you wanted to incorporate some cat behavior into your Clan's mindset about how big their territory should be, while still being willing to sacrifice a bit of "realism" for groups over 15-ish members, simply take Clan population and multiply it by 2.5 acres.

30 cats = 75 acres. That's a little under 57 football fields, if you're American, or 50 football fields, if you're European.

Extra reading: How realistic cat territories work. Contains the numbers I'm referencing.

It's also very important to know; feral cat density is completely tied to food availability, the big numbers numbers are for cats whose needs are met. Cats are solitary hunters, and when they feel like they have to work for their food, they become VERY territorial. The density of cats in rural areas can be as low as 1 molly per 15 acres, even lower for toms, and they will leave if hunting is not easy.

THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD NOT FEED FERAL CATS. Please GOD they are SO invasive, please do not give colonies food, they still hunt when they're full so you just end up concentrating a ton of predators in one place. They are not warriors with a law against disrespecting food, they are just kitty cats with silly kitty instincts

I have a suspicion that most of the people who are asking the question aren't really looking for a "realistic cat" answer, though. We LOVE our big cat Clans with their complicated politics around here. You're probably wondering how much land you need to feed your population!

Factor 2: Land Productivity

The exact amount of space is going to vary a lot, because it's more about productivity of the land to sustain a prey population than it is raw size. Remember what we learned back in Warrior Bites: Dietary Needs; a 30-cat Clan will need approximately 3 pounds of meat (10,500 calories) per day, which is about 2 rabbits, or 105 mice.

Here's some visual examples of what I mean. This one (1) acre homestead...

Has 20 patches of high-value crops, plus an orchard, AND livestock pens. This territory alone could attract enough crows, mice, rats, rabbits, and sparrows to feed all those cats daily. That's not even counting the humans themselves, who may be friendly enough to the colony to toss them kibble occasionally.

(this is why cats domesticated themselves. Even without the free food from the humans, farms are extremely productive hunting grounds.)

Meanwhile, the Edmonton Mall, which is a whopping five (5) acres...

Would be utterly barren. Best food you're going to get out of this wasteland is the leftovers humans toss out, and maybe the rats and pigeons that scavenge as well. It's 5x the space, and yet, infinitely harder to feed the same amount of cats.

So, the most helpful bit of advice I'm gonna give you is this; DON'T ask yourself "how big should this territory be?" You're starting with the wrong question. Start with a real location, and think about how you'd find 3 pounds of meat a day in that area.

It will be a LOT easier to think about the logistics in those terms, and this will lead you to the waaay more productive (and fun) worldbuilding questions. Such as;

"Where would the good hunting spots be?"

"What kinds of animals would they be eating? What sorts of beasts can threaten them, here?"

"How many of these animals would my 30 cat Clan need to hunt a day to equal about 3 pounds?"

"Where would these animals be getting THEIR food?"

"Is there enough habitat in the area for the prey to breed and nest? If not, is there more land beyond the territory that the prey is coming from?"

"Where would infrastructure like dens, walls, and dirtplaces go? What would these be made of?"

"Are there any neat spots for the cats to casually hang out on?"

"What would make for a super cool arena for my climactic narrative boss fights?"

"Does this area have unique stage hazards that my cats would have to learn to deal with?"

"Which sorts of plants and herbs would they encounter?"

If your Clan is tool-using, like BB!Clans are, then you can ask even more advanced questions. Like, where you'd find kindle for fire, what objects you can use as crafting materials, and what might make for unique trade goods.

Think about other things related to your Clan's biome-- in a tundra or desert, there will be less for prey to eat, so the territory will be large to cope with the low density. If there's a major body of water, they might have a constant supply of aquatic prey from upstream. Hunting grounds might change based on the seasons.

Also remember not to underestimate how fast small animals breed, and how many of them there can be in one area. Even using low estimates, 1 female mouse has 6 pups, 7 x 6 = 42, 42 x 6 = 252, 252 x 6 = 1,452. It takes only 4 months for mouse population growth to get exponentially ridiculous.

Finally, remember that prey can vary. A well run Clan would be able to generally understand when they've been overhunting one particular species, and start shifting gears to lift the "pressure" off that population.

(In my cultural expansions series, this management task is assigned to one of the new roles-- the Head of Hunting.)

[bonebabbles]

OH I THINK I CAN EXPLAIN THIS

Context: I am not aro or ace but I live with a family member who is aroace. This is based on differences between us, so personal anecdotes.

When I'm in romantic love with someone, I really am thinking about COURTING them. I imagine bringing them things, doing stuff for them, I want to cuddle them, in joy of the way they feel how I do and basking in how they make me feel. There's like a magnetism, and the environment/activity is making that pull stronger.

Romantic love is an emotion that's hard to describe, warm and light on the top of my heart, upper back (thoracic spine), and a little in my upper arms. There really are pleasurable "butterflies" in my stomach, too, like a fluttering that matches the heartbeat. But it can PHYSICALLY hurt when the interest gets upset, like the soft, warm feeling suddenly gets sharp and cold.

Like a cloud freezing into a block of ice

(When I was in a bad relationship, it felt like near-constant guilt because the negative version of that feeling would tug, like a shackle, whenever I thought about my personal needs and any "interests" they didn't approve of. Being a full person felt like disappointing them.)

Point being, romantic love's like anything else. There's good and bad.

So anyway, a "Romantic Situation" is like... just going somewhere so you can feel that feeling mutually. "Alone Together," dates to romantic locations (subjective; I find hikes romantic and my partner does not), staying in late, eating nice food together.

When my aroace family member wants to hang out with a friend it's like... it's hard to describe how it's different, but it's more about the act of showing that friend they care, the FOCUS they can put on them as a person through their shared interests, and the good time they're sharing.

It's more like how I do a game or movie night with my buddies to enjoy a thing and each other's presences. We're making memories that contain each other.

There's overlap. You should ALSO like your lover as a friend. I hate the way Platonic vs Romantic interest is framed like romantic interest is a "stronger version" because GOD it's not. It's a DIFFERENT one.

My family member has no point of reference between romantic and platonic interest, because they only feel the platonic type. Doing the romantic things was just "something they did" for their partners, an expected part of a relationship. Not something they DISLIKED but very obviously just social expectations for what "domestic partners are supposed to do."

Literally like engaging in things they're just Okay about, to please a best friend.

For example, when I go to a fancy restaurant with my lover, it's about them, and it's about Us. On this emotion I am feeling for them, doing something we enjoy, the atmosphere making us feel a way. When family member went on a date it was about the pasta. And the date too because they're fun to be with! But mostly the pasta.

(This is also an older family member who only learned there was a name for their feelings because I came out as queer. I could talk about them all day but that's off topic)

Anyway, hope this helps. And RE: this is my/our own personal experience, no two queer people are the same, asexuality is a spectrum/umbrella

When you look up the differences between platonic and romantic love, one of the . The things. Is "imagining romantic situations with them" and just. The. H!???1??! I DONT KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!!!

[saguaroooo]

[siriuslyobsessedwithfiction]

I hope one day YA fantasy and dystopia authors will realize just because the target audience are teenagers, it's not necessary to dumb down the concept and every aspect of war and its consequences. Yes, war is an unimaginable horror and you cannot write the gruesome and psychologically scarring details in YA, but it still should be treated as a horror and not something glorious or easily fixed. The characters cannot fight in a war in one book and be just fine in the next. You can make light of the situation without making it out to be a light situation. It's actually harmful and sends the wrong message.

If they're worried about the readers not liking it, may I remind you The Hunger Games trilogy didn't shy away from showing what war is and it's still considered one of the best YA books to this day. Harry Potter, which is considered a children's book, portrayed a corrupt government, silent overtaking of power, disappearings and mass panic fairly well.

Teenagers and young adults might not be ready for adult books, but if authors choose to write a heavy topic such as war in YA books, they should deliver it well, even if it's vague, rather than prettify the image and distort the facts.

It's insulting, even. We know what war is. We see it on the news. We see it on the internet even if we don't want to see it. Some of our loved ones have experienced it. Sometimes it's like the authors forget their books are read by people from all around the world.

"It's supposed to be an escape from the real world"- well then, give the book a happy ending. Or abandon writing war altogether and embrace the whimsy.

[swimminginyokohamasrivers]

He comes in through the front door. His wrist is bent in a not so normal kinda way.

Hi papa. Uhm.

He holds up his wrist.

Yeah-

// @wherenightmeetsdawn

....Oh! That's broken-

[trek-tracks]

Bone on Bone? I think I read that Star Trek TOS/AOS crossover fic

[defrostedvertebrae]

rejecting my diagnosies and just vibe with "idk man i'm just built like that" >>>

[abelllia]

Transcript:

[From MAG 92]

Elias (Statement): -if I leave a letter here, in your institute, you might find it, you might be able to save me. I have no other hope. I have no other hope. Please, Jonah, if you have any compassion within your heart, you will not leave me in this place. Your loyal servant, Barnabas.

Elias: Jonah Magnus did leave him in that place, Jon. He got the letter, oh yes, and was on good terms with Mordechai Lukas. He could have interceded, perhaps even saved him, but he did not. And it was not out of malice, or because he lacked affection for Barnabas Bennett: he retrieved those bones sadly enough when the time came. Bones that you can still find in my office, if you know where to look.

No, it was because he was curious. Because he had to know, to watch and see it all.That’s what this place is, Jon, never forget it. You may believe yourself to have friends, to have confidantes, but in the end, all they are is something for you to watch, to know, and ultimately to discard.

[From MAG 159]

Jon: Martin. He’s gone, Martin. He – he’s gone. 

Martin: His only wish was to die alone.

Jon: Tough. Now – listen to me, Martin. Listen.

Martin: Hello, Jon.

Jon: Listen, I know you think you want to be here, I know you think it’s safer, and well – well, maybe it is. But we need you. I need you.

Martin: No, you don’t. Not really. Everyone’s alone, but we all survive.

Jon: I don’t just want to survive!

Martin: I’m sorry.

Jon: Martin. Martin, look at me. Look at me and tell me what you see.

Martin: I see…

I see you, Jon.

I see you.

Jon: Martin.

Martin: I… I was on my own. I was all on my own.

Jon: Not anymore. Come on. Let’s go home.

Martin: How?

Jon: Don’t worry. I know the way.

[CLICK]

End Transcript

Going insane about this for a multitude of reasons

[silvertiefling]

maybe every day we let grief in, we’ll also let a little bit of it out, and eventually we’ll be able to breathe again.

THE AGONY OF UNMADE DECISIONS // @harpershigh

" HAVE YOU BEEN READIN' self help books again, old lady? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard- the only way to get rid of grief is murder EVERYONE knows that-"

[barrel-crow-n]

Nikolai: Don’t preach to me about romance, Tolya. I had a three-way in a hot-air balloon.

[bonefall]

Hey, what makes a character a 'plot device but not a character'? And how do you not do that? I'm trying to do it on purpose but also I need to still make them interesting because it's on purpose, yknow?

A good skill to pick up is to learn to criticise criticism itself. A "plot device" is simply a thing that moves the plot along, it's a neutral literary analysis term! Usually, when people are angry that "a character has been used as a plot device," it doesn't mean they hate plot devices. It means they're gesturing at something deeper.

Runningwind and Bumble are equally plot devices in their deaths. They are both killed by the antagonist to escalate political tension. Runningwind is rarely "accused" of just being a plot device, and yet, we're talking about Bumble for the same thing.

So, why?

Well, Runningwind is just a background character, but in life, he was a part of the community. He was characterized as impatient but responsible. Yet, he wasn't SO important that he died with a bunch of unresolved plot threads.

He is mostly an extension of the entity of ThunderClan. His killing by Tigerstar, and the fear and paranoia that settles on the group after this, feel like a progression of the story insteas of something forced.

Bumble, on the other hand...

Is hated immediately by Gray Wing, when she's established as Turtle Tail's friend. Bumble's abuse at Tom the Wifebeater's hands invites even MORE investment. The rejection is shocking and upsetting. There's a story there about our main characters being imperfect; jealous, bigoted, and judgemental.

But, she is simply killed off. Everything they set up for this character is gone with little personalized fanfare. It's not a tragedy with a lesson about cruelty, or something anyone regrets.

It's just... plot. Gray Wing whinging that no one will like his shitty brother now that his body count is 2.

More than that, in the discussion of women in particular, "Fridging" was coined to give a name to the way women characters often don't get their stories told at all. There is a CULTURAL trend of female characters facing disproportionate violence, for the sake of advancing male plots.

Bumble has a lot going for her. Petal had a lot going for her. Turtle Tail had a lot going for her. Bright Stream had a lot going for her. When they died, they took their potential with them.

It's not always wrong to kill off a character of high potential, mind you. In Gurren Lagann, Kamina's death is sudden and shocking, leaving a massive hole in the hearts of the cast that never heals. Grappling with that loss, but also letting his memory fuel them, is a major theme of that story.

All that to say... there's no formula for avoiding it. You've gotta identify what the deeper issue is, in your specific narrative.

I can't say for certain what that will look like for your story, but here's some things I keep in mind;

When you make characters who exist to die, make sure they're people before you axe them.

Ask yourself; what about them does the cast miss?

If they just miss them because they were (pre-existing relationship), go back to the drawing board.

Fluttering Bird as an example. Who was she? Dead sister. Why do they miss her? Dead sister. No traits until after her death.

Runningwind was short-tempered and helpful. Kamina was a valuable leader who made people believe in a brighter future. Swiftpaw was fiesty and desperate to prove himself. The better characterized, the more profound the loss usually is.

If this is a female character who is dying just to serve the plot, be aware of cultural bias and tropes. How is the gender ratio looking in your cast? Is this happening disproportionately with your girls?

Note how Quiet Rain's litter had both a boy and a girl, but the girl was chosen to be "weaker" and wither away.

And how most of the time in DOTC, whenever a man had to be upset, a girl would get killed for it.

If you ever feel like the character on the chopping block is NOT a full character, ask yourself why it needs to be a character at all. You don't need to spend narrative time building out someone when a literal object of high value might suffice.

"My sister died when I swore to protect her and I can't face my family" = Old. Tired. Ive seen this.

"I lost my heirloom sword when I swore to protect it and I can't face my family." = Fascinating. Why was the sword so valuable? Will they really not take you back? How did you lose it?

When you do kill off "high value" characters, try to make sure you're not leaving too many plot threads hanging. Or at least make a point of how they will never get closure.

[grishaverse-chaos]

shit I remembered this too late to add to the post I was replying to, but: people (and by "people" I mean darkl!ng stans and nikolai antis) will call nikolai an example of the White Saviour trope, and they're kind of half right in that he is a SUBVERSION of the trope

so yes, he's initially presented as that archetype - a member of the majority group, who sympathises with the minority group and uses his institutional power to improve the lives of that group

(of course, this is subverted right off the bat because he is CONSTANTLY offering to share his institutional power with Grisha: proposing to Alina, creating the Triumvirate, even the Nolniki to an extent)

but the trope is FULLY subverted at the end of RoW, when he literally addresses the question of whether he is the right person to "save" Ravka, and decides to literally GIVE all his institutional power to a Suli Grisha woman (Zoya)

[cryptic-rainfall]

I've been hemming and hawing over this big impulse purchase for months now. I keep going back & forth, will I use a sewing machine enough to justify its purchase, do I even have space for a sewing machine, will I get the time/energy to even do anything with the sewing machine or will it just take up space and be a waste of money. It's been like this for months. And just today I realized two things:

1) I've done so much research and internal debate and even measuring the space in my closet. It's been months since I first considered actually getting a sewing machine. This is no longer an impulse purchase. This is a well deliberated purchase.

2) I am tearing myself apart over a purchase that would be less than $150. People who make less than me can blink that much money away and not be negatively affected at all. They wouldn't even notice. This is not a big purchase, it's a medium purchase at best. I should just get the damn sewing machine.

[lanternlightss]

don’t have the energy for it rn, but god i want to write something with loop and siffrin, because i. have been thinking about how loop reacts to siffrin coming back to talk to them repeatedly

they’re the one who asks and keeps insisting for company, yet when siffrin comes back twice, thrice during the same loop, they’re—baffled? don’t you have anything better to do, stardust? go on, talk to the others, you might’ve missed a little something!~

just thinking about. the specific conversation of:

“my, with how often you come to see lil ol’ me, i might begin to think you see me as a friend!”

“…yes? would that be so bad?”

and loop… grows quiet. lost, for words.

[tchaikovskaya]

fr why cant yall just recognize when you are not the intended audience for A Post and keep scrollin lmao

[jinanreona]

@wishkept sent:

"A question for you, Kingscholar." Malleus tucks a hand under his chin, tipping his head to the side as he studies his fellow dorm head. "What advice would you be willing to give in regards to earning a woman's romantic affection?"

He gives a disinterested hum at the other's voice, only half listening as he continues in his solo game of chess. It's only when the other's query sinks in that emerald eyes settle on the fae, the lion doing little to conceal his amusement. Malleus Draconia asking for romantic advice? He had to wonder if the world was ending or was the other so infatuated with this 'lady' that he's desperate enough to ask Leona of all people for help.

"...Advice huh?" The curl of his lips in a mocking smirk is hint enough that Malleus may not hear the advice he wants, Leona giving the other little time to respond to the rhetorical question as he continues, "I could write you an entire book and I doubt it'd be any help to you, lizard. You're 'bout as smooth as that goop the bat makes~"

Of course that didn't mean he wasn't curious who had caught the fae's attention. It wasn't like the guy frequently had a partner to parade around. "So who is it? Someone from the island or back home?" Or is she even real? He was tempted to say as much, but held his tongue for now. It was best not to push the other's buttons too much lest the fae storm off at his teasing.