#coral and bone

[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.

[bluebutlikenotalways]

Laddies we got an Au

Long post below the cut and some disturbing imagery, so be advised.

So it takes place after Pearl sunk Abalone and his fleeting. This time however her sisters actually stuck around to check on her after everything and actually managed to help her open up…some how.

Though her heart wasn’t stained black she will never be the same.

However she was able to build up the strength to talk to Lord Oyster again. She never fully forgave him for giving away her pearl, but he was there after the attacks to take care of the pirates who had somehow managed to avoid dying to take them to justice. This showed the mermaids that some cookies could be trusted. Because of this Pearl became a guardian for The House of Oyster and oh boy did that do wonders for their reputation!

With her making peace with all her pain she didn’t fully become Black Pearl and is kinda grey(-ish purple) I need to work on her design a bit more obviously, but she followed a lot closer to Crimson and takes her job as a protector seriously enough. Some may wonder if she enjoys a good fight more than defending her friends.

Also her sister and Frilled Jellyfish have her tokens to try and brighten her up some.

Through all this Lord Oyster swore he would redeem himself to his moon (she asked him not to call her that anymore lol) So he dedicated a good chunk of resources to trying to locate her pearl! This mission was passed down through the generations until finally…

Oyster Cookie had finally gotten a big lead and was able to send one of the best captains and his crew out to try and recover it.

Unfortunately they ran into a slight problem.

The sea the pearl was said to be found in was rough and could capsize a ship twice their size. Caviar wanted to go alone, but with a crew as stubborn as he they braved it together as one! (Candy Diver died in a different accident and Caviar still managed to find them and bring them aboard because he’s just that good at sniffing out crew mates.)

Alas it wasn’t just a storm.

It was a trap.

A band of pirates forged a letter hoping Oyster herself would show up so they could get a nice tidy ransom, but when a harder than nails crew showed up in their place they were far from pleased.

The Salty Shark crew hold their ground well, but being outnumbered four to one never seems to end in your favour.

Caviar was the last to go down and was thrown overboard to his watery grave like the rest of his crew. After The Silent’s crew was demolished completely the pirates set out to “commandeer” her, but immediately things started to go wrong for them. Things went so wrong that at least two were killed on their scramble to get off the boat while many more met their soggy fates as they threw themselves overboard in preference to whatever was on their with them.

Guess what movie franchise this is based on :D

As the legend says the captain pulled himself up out of the deep that night and sails his waters of the Duskgloom searching for his crew to bring them safely aboard and finally leave that damned place. However the captain’s kindness runs short with strangers who cross his path, especially those who fly the skull and crossbones.

The Silent is still under his full command and all orders are carried out will full efficiency.

Now Oyster wanted the return of her pearl to be a surprise with a big celebration after, but when the captain never returned and those she sent to look for him disappeared she had few other choices than to send her most capable guard.

[ghostiezone]

I'm living in simpler times (when they had to put on a fashion show for a sidequest and the goody two shoes paladin came out in the most emo outfit ever for no reason and stuck with it for 3 episodes)

[vgwater]

[ilexlio]

I love these noodley bois

[thebonerr]

my curio cabinet :3

[whimsilica]

Assorted Phantomarine theories and thoughts

I wonder if the reason Cheth doesn't have Shoshana's soul to summon as sea ghost is that, either due to her "half breed" status, as Cheline so kindly put it, or to her having been "loved into immortality", is that her soul went wherever the souls of the dead gods are (If the dead gods have souls at all, that is)

Cheth and Cheline handshakememe.jpg: Hating Shoshana

...If we can trust Cheline's word, I wonder if two of the reasons she hates Shoshana so much are that

1) Shoshana helped with the deicide, also against whoever her divine parent actually was

2) She got to be remembered, whereas the other deities have been wiped from memory save in phrases such as "gods above and below", although their names aren't in use anymore

.....How much of the villainization of Cheth is Cheline comitting crimes in his name, and how much is human revisionism (Cheline would never betray them, after all)

...............Phantomarine is the bones of one of the dead gods, isn't it

...How the FUCK are the clergy rationalizing that the AQUIfers (with water being Cheth's domain) help with seabite. How. (Also how the fuck are the seabitten supposed to trust the aquifers if they're supposed to fear water.) (....Graduation requirement: be so afraid of water you won't even touch the aquifers)

(Wonder if that's how at least some Lodestars got the idea)

There's more thoughts about how Vanna is currently apparently alive and the Fata Morgana are corpses puppeteered by Cheline and likely killed by her and the reason they're silent is because she fucking hates talking to humans and they're her way of relieving stress, but I can't formulate them out of the pudding that is my brain rn

[nightmarearian]

smth quick & experimental

[screensland]

Alina Starkov & Nikolai Lantsov — Shadow & Bone, S02.

[littleevil0ne1]

A coral snake inspired by tattoo designs

[buffetlicious]

Located in Sembawang’s Victory 8 is a hidden gem of a café - Common Chefs Bistro. I have been there a couple of times and this trip is to try their Duroc Pork Chop at the suggestion of my colleague. Since it was late afternoon and the sun pretty strong, I ordered the Iced Cappuccino (S$6++) while waiting for the main course to be served.

The Duroc Pork Chop (S$18++) arrived on a bed of red coral lettuces with a side of fries. Taking a slice, the pork boasts superior marbling and increased intramuscular fat to lend itself to a naturally juicer more tender product. The meat is sweet and creamy with hints of nuttiness. The tangy balsamic vinaigrette dressing on the lettuces served to balance out the richness of this protein cut. It was a good recommendation and I enjoyed every bite to the end.

To end the meal, a slice of Tiramisu Cake (S$6.90++) to “pick me up”. A decent sweet treat minus the ladyfingers (savoiardi) dipped in coffee and the hint of alcohol.

PS - As of August 27, 2023, Common Chefs Bistro has officially ceased operations. It is always sad to see a business you patronized closed but let’s hope they will open a new outlet somewhere else in the foreseeable future.

[fortunaestalta]

[incorrectshantaequotes]

Coral Siren: Just because something is theoretically impossible doesn't mean it's not possible!

Harmony: ...I believe that is exactly what it means, actually.

[earnedmagic]

some of the fungi we saw on our new year’s eve hike

[life-series-school-blog]

Flight snippets (Some of this are incorrect quotes) these are cannon but not at the same time. I made these a long time ago when I was on vacation and forgot to post it.

—

Crystal: if there’s any spirits with us, show your selves!

#%Heya.#%

Crystal: AH-

—

Whisper: Don’t worry, I have a few knives up my sleeve.

Coral: I think you mean cards.

Whisper, pulling knives out of their sleeves: No, I do not.

—

Velvet: my boyfriend would never leave me! He loves me more than anything!

Rancher feeding pandas: eh? Who’s velvet?

—

Scar: I turned out perfectly fine!

Scott: Scar, this morning you thought a ghost made your toast

Scar: I DIDN’T PUT THE BREAD IN! YOU DIDN’T PUT THE BREAD IN!!!

—

Bone gets down on one knee

Dahlia: oh my gods, it’s finally happening!

Bone ties his shoelace

Dahlia tearing up: he finally stopped wearing freaking crocs!

—

Velvet: making cookies for my love, I stir and mix!

Claw: making cookies for your love, you stir and mix.

—

Ship: Boat was banned from the chicken shack, so we had to go out of town to get some.

Boat: Well, they shouldn’t say “all you can eat” if they don’t mean it.

Ship: Boat, you ate a chair.

—

%#This is a mistake#%

enthusiastically: ^A mistake we're going to laugh about one day!^

#%But not today#%

still enthusiastic: ^Oh, no. Today's going to be a mess^

[waterlogged-detective]

Rough draft for my drownie girl btw