I love tigers. They’re always my favorite at the zoo with red pandas coming in second. So, I’m well aware of how endangered they are. Only 3,900 left in the wild with breeding programs trying to fix that. 3 subspecies are extinct too. Tigers are killed for the following reasons:
Habitat destruction
Reduced food supply
Poaching
In other words, it’s humans again. Should I even point that out? I think it’s pretty well-established that most, if not all, endangered species are in their position because of what we do.
Now, how many tiger species are there? 9 subspecies with 3 of those being extinct. Though, there is debate on if it’s 2, 6, 8, or 9. Let’s go with the bigger number for more pictures.
Bengal Tiger
Amur/Siberian Tiger
South China Tiger
Indochinese Tiger
Malayan tiger
Sumatran Tiger
Extinct- Javan Tiger
Extinct- Caspian Tiger
Extinct- Bali Tiger
And that’s the 9 subspecies. There are also white tigers, but they’re mutations from Amur or Bengal tigers. Now, a video:
(Oops. Set it for 8 PM. At least I now get to add that I woke up this morning with severe lower back pain. So much for the goals that depend on getting stuff done over the weekend. Maybe I’ll have better luck tomorrow unless I can pain med, heating pad, and walk this agony off.)
First, that line is something I’ve been tempted to yell all week. Just over so many plans and ideas getting blasted by outside forces. Needless to say, this week went about as smoothly as skiing down an erupting volcano.
So, I had Tuesday off for the Lunar New Year, which was cool. It was also a shock to my system and left me unsure of the day. Going into work on Monday is normal, but then I get to sleep in and I’m back to work on Wednesday. To be fair, I didn’t really sleep in because I wanted to stay on my normal schedule. The only downside is that my alarm going off made me groggily start getting ready for work. I was halfway down the stairs in nice clothes before I remembered I had off. I preceded to do . . . stuff. I can’t remember what happened that day.
Truth be told, I can’t remember a lot of what happened this week. I know I got all but 5 of the April posts ready. I didn’t get any writing done, but I did get through everything for my online course. No printing of the book for editing, but I’ll try that today. Finally got my laptop and the printer to acknowledge each other’s existence. Helped my son with a ton of homework, which is normal. So, the week was a whole bunch of minor events and this weekend won’t be much different.
Seriously, the biggest thing I have planned is buying a pair of black dress pants. I can’t figure out where my old pair went, so nothing matches my blazer. My bigger plan is to get the last 2 rival teams of Phi Beta done or at least mostly done. Each one requires a reputation, 6 members, and a general reason to be in each of the 6 books. After that, I can design the support team to some extent. I noticed that I’m not doing detailed character bios for anyone outside of the main team and the recurring villains. Might not be a bad thing here. Anyway, that’s the weekend plan.
Oh, and laundry. Need to do that.
I might try to finish the April posts as well. Try to get as much off my plate as possible since I don’t know if things will slow down, speed up, or remain chaotic. Personal situations are raising their heads and I’m not sure what to do about them. Feeling helpless and frustrated at some points. I need a period of time when I’m able to really relax instead of simply recover. Those really aren’t the same. Recovering means I’m healing enough to continue, but that takes effort. Relaxing is not enjoying my time and not thinking about recovering. Guess it’ll happen eventually.
All of my books have been turned back to $2.99 except for Beginning of a Hero, Ichabod Brooks & the City of Beasts, Bestiary of Blatherhorn Vale, Catalysts, and Hopeteller. As I look at those short stories and experiments, I’m reminded of the stuff I posted on this blog too. There are 2 free ‘Bedlam’ books, which signified the death of that series. I also posted the ‘Raven Series’ for 4 years during October. That was my experimental horror series that I can’t tell if it succeeded or not. I keep wondering if I should do anything with ‘Raven’ though. Is there any way to bring people back to that series to give it a look or should I just leave that alone?
Nothing else is really going on. Watched an anime called ‘Legend of the Legendary Heroes’ because it had an odd title and a fun first episode. It was fantasy and I thought it would be a big adventure tale. Instead, it got taken over by politics, dark machinations, and a lore that didn’t keep my interest for very long. So, I’m going to rewatch ‘Merlin’ until a new season of ‘Disenchantment’ starts up. Won’t finish either by next weekend, which is Super Bowl and family visiting.
So, goals of the week since I can’t remember anything else I want to talk about.
Finish the ‘Phi Beta’ rivals.
Print ‘Slumberlord Chronicles: Darwin & the Fate Bracelet’.
Buy pants.
Finish the April posts. No topic ideas for May though.
Watch ‘Merlin’.
Big meeting for my son.
Order new manga since I have that Amazon giftcard burning a hole in my pocket and it almost got used when I ordered something on behalf of a family member. (Thanks, L.Marie.)
What do you want? Oh yeah, welcome to Merlin’s Pizzeria. Nobody with that name works here, but it gets people inside. Every slice does somethin’ different and we’re not held responsible for what you do afterwards. Place your order. Fine . . . Here’s the menu:
Cheese– Regular slice . . . You eat it and don’t starve to death.
Pepperoni– Now you can make your skin heat enough to melt plastic.
Sausage– Transform into pieces that can move separately.
Green Peppers– Immunity to telepathy; Side-effect is you’re boring for the day.
Black Olives– Ability to summon demons (They don’t like you either.)
Mushrooms– Instantly grow to the size of a four-story house.
Meatballs– Flatten anything between your hands.
Broccoli– Gas attack . . . Not a power, but a digestion issue.
Vodka Sauce– Perfectly read body language of others, but unable to be silent about it.
Buffalo Chicken– Spit fiery feathers, but it’s murder on the sinuses.
BBQ Chicken– Transform into a tasty sauce monsters.
Pineapple– Gain ability to ignore all criticism because you clearly don’t give a fuck.
Jelly Beans– Transport back to 1987 with various ninja abilities.
Extra Cheese– Still no powers, but double the defense against starvation.
Anchovies– Expel salt from your pores at various speeds.
Ham– Grow twisty tail and can eat just about anything.
Bacon– Super strength and an extreme case of laziness.
Spinach– A visit from the FBI.
Feta Cheese– Ability to leap 100 feet, but only straight up.
Onions– Can shed your skin to remove surface imperfections, but new skin is sensitive.
Banana Peppers– Large maw grows on stomach with either sharp teeth or kissy lips.
Jalapenos– Laser beams can be emitted from any orifice and it will burn.
Sicilian– Can dodge anything with super speed sidesteps.
Deep Dish– Breathe underwater, but you lose the ability to swim. (What you get for ordering that in New York.)
When you think of magic in fiction, you tend to think of fireballs, flight, and all of the flashy spells used in fantasy. Not surprising since these are the spells that people want to see in these stories. Yet, there could be a use for the simpler tricks that we have in reality as well as weaker spells that you would learn as a novice. Writers will overlook them because they are limited or ‘lame’, but including them in a character’s repertoire can open up some opportunities. How?
Never underestimate the ‘sleight of hand’ skill or spells. We associate this ability to have something appear or disappear from the hand with thieves and bards, but it can be used by others. A spell version can be used to distract or confuse an enemy. One trick could be hiding the physical components of a spell or ritual to stop a person from knowing what is going on. Just sit back and think about the situations that one may need to do this common trick and you’ll come up with some interesting scenes.
Many minor spells are used to create tiny cosmetic changes like altering hair color, adjusting height, or adding a scar. Obviously, these can help with disguises, but you run the risk of people seeing through the illusions. Is there another use? Yes, because you can have a character use these on unsuspecting targets. For example, change the hair color of a noblewoman and add a mark to her face, which can result in her not getting into a party. This can cause a big enough racket that the characters can sneak in or she’ll throw her invitation away for them to claim.
Card tricks are another good way to distract or make money through gambling. A third option is that a character can use these to infiltrate a group. Funny thing is how many people enjoy card tricks. They either want to be entertained or are determined to figure out how it’s done. Both situations mean a character can use it to get attention and possibly make some friends.
Levitation is a big spell that is the first step towards flight for many casters. It always goes to heavy things and never returns or shows the smaller uses. This can be considering a magic trick if you levitate a small item and have it move around the room. Again, we see distractions or entertainment, but there’s more. A caster can levitate money from a pouch or a saddle to make sure it isn’t properly secured by the rider. Release your inner imp and think of causing mischief.
Happy Groundhog Day!
A classic is pulling a line of scarves out of a sleeve, mouth, or somewhere. Not much beyond distractions here unless you get really creative. The scarves could be needed for disguises or decorations. Another option is that they can get tangled with people or things since the line is so long. The point here is that you do need to think and put some work into making some magic tricks work.
Keep in mind that these tricks typically fall under the illusion category. This means, a target needs to believe that what they are seeing is happening. Once they realize it’s a trick, they have a higher chance of breaking the illusion. This is why characters who use these need to either do it stealthily or put on a grand performance. There really isn’t any middle ground when actual magic is involved.
I was surprised when I ran into people who had never heard of ‘Plot Armor’. It’s been around for a while and gets tossed about the Internet fairly often. It shows up a lot when it comes to action adventure, superhero, horror, fantasy, and science fiction stories. Maybe crime dramas too. If you haven’t heard of it then you have probably seen it in action without realizing it. So, what is it?
Plot Armor– A character, typically main protagonist, is protected from harm and death due to being essential to the plot. They don’t have any magical items or special skills to avoid these death-defying scenarios. It’s simply that they’re needed for the story to keep going.
Is this a bad thing? No because you can destroy a story by wiping out a main character. If the story is about a hero finding an herb to save their mother then you need to keep them alive to finish that quest. That is unless the point of the story is that they fail and the author is trying to make a dark point about helping others. Beyond that, one tends to keep the characters safe instead of offing them on whims. Well, that’s how it should normally go in my opinion.
Yes, I know there’s a trend of murdering characters like a serial killer and gleefully enjoying the shocking gasps of the audience. Although, even those stories have plot armor characters. Think of any one of them and you’ll notice that there are a handful of heroes and villains who always seem to survive. It doesn’t matter if the odds were against them because they get out either on or off page. This is another aspect of plot armor in which a character in peril will survive regardless of the situation. If it’s too dire then it happens out of sight with no explanation.
This is what makes plot armor so difficult and gives it a negative context. Readers and authors look at it as lazy. Either that you’re too afraid to kill a character or not good enough to come up with a real survival plan. The hero simply makes it out alive and that’s it. Both accusations can be unfair though:
First, an author knows if a death will ruin the story while others might not realize the issue. A reader could have a favorite who isn’t the main one, so they aren’t invested in the one whose existence keeps the story together. Plot armor is almost necessary here unless you keep the hero out of danger, but then they don’t grow. So, it becomes a double-edged sword in this scenario. The events help explain development, but their survival can be seen as stretched.
Second issue is the lack of a real survival plan. This can be true, but it can also be a misunderstanding, especially if the hero is rescued by a third party. The author may see this as a great introduction or return of the rescuer while a reader sees it as Deus Ex Machina level plot armor. The hero should be dead, but this timely interference saved them. For this, I would recommend being careful with how you get characters out of situations. Either make them work for survival or foreshadow that they’re about to get help.
Plot armor seems to appear unconsciously. An author rarely sets out to keep their heroes safe from harm and failure. Those who do mistake such things for being awesome or think a few ‘arrogant events’ will cover it. Here is where you can really see the plot armor come about because these heroes tend to be surrounded by other characters who suffer losses and die. In this way, an author may make up for the inability to punish the hero by overdoing it with the supporting cast. You really see the plot armor glistening in this scenario, which is why one needs to be more subtle.
Subtlety with plot armor is fairly easy. The character can survive everything, but they can still suffer failures and fall back a bit. Scars are acceptable results for mistakes, which makes the hero appear more realistic than a pure ideal. Failure also means they get to do the very human activity of picking themselves back up and continuing forward. Plot armor doesn’t have be shining and unblemished. It can be dented and scuffed by the end of the adventure, which I think would make it more acceptable.
Have you ever heard of plot armor? What do you think of it?
Legends of Windemere 