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My projects have not moved forward at all except for planning for DecaSystem Tech and maybe a little of Star Spirit but mostly I've just been sitting around watching Kamen Rider Ryuki and succumbing to depression.

Not much is happening other than the Omniverse Awards coming up in August.

Sometimes I remember when I used to have self-confidence and shit like that before becoming a completely insecure wreck.

Good times.

Lesson 15: Killing Off Characters

Oh boy get ready for "CaT's Controversial Opinions" time even though these aren't really opinions so much as blatant writing facts that people like ignoring for the sake of being edgy pieces of-

Okay, back on topic.

So, killing off characters. Let's face it, we've all had some of our favorite characters die on us at one point or another, and it usually brings forth a certain question to mind: was this a good idea?

Now, killing off characters the audience cares about is admittedly somewhat uncommon for various reasons, the most common being "Plot Armor" that keeps the character safe simply because they're needed to complete the story. That's not necessarily a bad thing on its own, but its overuse and cliche nature has lead to a contrarian movement of people who think that, if killing off no characters is bad, then killing off all your characters must be good!

I'm here to point out that no, killing everyone with contrived plot points is just as dumb and lazy as keeping everyone alive with contrived plot points. Being unique doesn't make it quality.

The main thing to remember when writing your characters at any time, but especially when you're considering axing them off, is that characters are narrative tools, and should be treated as such in a practical sense. If you still need a tool for a specific job, then you should keep that tool around, but if your tool has no purpose in your project other than taking up space, it should be removed from your inventory.

Now, removing a character from your inventory doesn't always mean killing them off; it may just mean putting them to the side for now and bringing them back later if you decide you need them. You don't need to keep tabs on all your characters all the time, so this course of action isn't really a stretch. A character should only out and out die if it serves the story.

Death is an extremely impactful event, both in real life and in fiction; you should never just kill off anyone more important than a background character and act like nothing is going to change because of it. Something should always come of killing off a character if you want it to be seen as more than just Edgy Snowflake signaling. Whether it be the development of another character, the progression of the story, or even just a contribution to the themes of the narrative, you should always have a reason for someone to die other than "I was told this would make my story edgy and mature".

All in all, just use common sense. Death being an easy way to make your story dark does not make it exempt from normal rules about telling a competent story.



Art Corner

Me IRL= Me IRL

By ChromastoneandTabby

If you've ever wondered what I look like in real life, this is a close approximation.

If you're wondering what's up with the right hand it's this thing I do while I walk where I tuck my thumb between my index and middle fingers while having my hands in a fist. Not for throwing punches because you'd break your fingers but it keeps the blood from pooling up in your hands while you're swinging your arms for an extended period. It's also apparently the equivalent of flipping someone off in some countries, so there's that.

The hoodie was custom-made for my old Scout troop, Troop 1789. It's been about six-seven years since I got it, but it still fits and it's held up pretty well. Stardust
 * -|Stardust=

By ChromastoneandTabby

An alien for my upcoming series DecaSystem Tech. He has the ability to teleport through starlight and create/manipulate "Stardust", which is actually thousands of tiny meteor shards that can screw you up if you're not careful.

There was a Ben 10 panel at San Diego Comic Con this past Saturday, but nobody in attendance cared enough to leak any of the info from it.

So

De nada

Well, that's it for this Sunday, folks. I hope you enjoyed the fifty-ninth issue of The CaT Gazette, and I'll see you next week! Feedback and support are appreciated!