#fire messages

[dayscrazed]

"If you are reading this, this is the first Fire-Message that has been sent with success. It has been written by Grace Blackthorn and invented by Christopher Lightwood."

Chain of Thorns, page 650

[books-and-draws-eclectic]

SPOILERS FOR CHAIN OF THORNS

ChoT pg 775, Will and fire messages <333

He (James) held a stack of charred paper in his hand. "I have just," he said, by way of greeting, "received a seventh fire-message from my father." He shuffled through the pages. "In this one, he says they are running late and they are ten minutes away. In this one, they are nine minutes away. In this one, they are eight minutes away. In this one ..."

"They are seven minutes away?" Matthew guessed.

James shook his head. "No, in this one he wants to know if we have enough mustard."

[scorpusmalfoy]

hey jo! i miss you on here you ever coming back?

oh my god im 2 years late but whoever u are, u just made my day :,) but to answer ur question, im rlly not sure, i might in the future when i have more time as im graduating in a couple months (time rlly flies) but if anyone sees this i’d love to reconnect (or just become friends!!), hmu in dms <3 much love

[largemandrill]

I made another one

[pigeon-princess]

How many eyes does Lord Bloodraven have? A thousand eyes, and one. 

[jonsawilldanceanon]

Lack of Morals ~ Lack of Vows

[yashley]

It’s about this time, another voice pushes into your head, like a bat out of hell. 

[ajihaew]

the monitor just isn't functioning properly.

[thegoodmorningman]

It's only one rule, man. It's not that hard.

[irlplasticlamb]

courtesy is a lady’s armor.

prints + merch + commission info

[pointlessjey]

Snow golem and fire wolf

[dayscrazed]

Chain of Thorns, page 190:

Christopher: "And I shall send a bevy of my new fire-messages to everyone coming to the meeting."

James: "No! We can just send runners."

Christopher: "And fire-messages."

James: "All right. I shall notify the runners. And the fire brigade."

[wodania]

Anyways I think more people should realize that plus sized Targs are a thing that makes perfect sense within the world of asoiaf. Not only do we have multiple canon cases of plus sized Targs that aren’t just Aegon the Unworthy (Aegon II, Viserys, Rhaenyra, Helaena, Daeron II) but the royal family would have more access to food and luxuries. It’s not bad for a person to be plus sized, like it’s not evil, it’s perfectly normal and as much a part of their appearance as hair colour or fashion taste. I feel like people took “Targs look otherworldly and beautiful” and twisted it into “they only ever look like what we as modern biased viewers view as beautiful,” which ends up going completely against their descriptions in the books. Plus sized woman with a aquiline nose becomes skinny woman with a button nose. Be better people. BE BETTER!!!

[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.

[starmocha]

Xavier: dress warmly

Zayne: nope

Rafayel: 🔥😁

Sylus: you won

[crazydaymycrazyway]

Yerim: Sometimes I remember that Yoohyun checks Yoojin's phone. He's so childish

Yerim: And then I remember that conflict and war is crucial for our evolution

Yerim: *takes Yoojin's phone and sends multiple lovey cringy messages with heart symbols to Sung Hyunjae*

Yerim: Let it begin 😏