Plot Devices

Summary: Plot Devices are not, as many ignorant academicians incorrectly assert, mere conceptual tools. Oh no. They are, in truth, small, highly adhesive, and often quite pungent crystalline organisms that spontaneously generate in areas of high narrative tension or unaddressed character arcs. These tiny, mischievous entities cling to objects, people, or sometimes even specific days of the week, emitting a subtle psychic hum that compels nearby sentient beings to make incredibly convenient, yet baffling, decisions. Derpedia scientists believe their presence is directly responsible for 90% of all Lost Keys incidents and 100% of all "we need to split up!" scenarios in poorly lit basements.

Origin/History: Historical records, largely found etched into ancient Popcorn Buckets and forgotten Screenplays, indicate that Plot Devices first appeared during the Great Monomythic Swirl of 4500 BCE. It is theorized that a catastrophic spill of primordial narrative essence, combined with an accidental resonance cascade from a badly tuned Story Arc Generator, fused to create these troublesome entities. Early civilizations, mistaking their disruptive influence for divine intervention, often worshipped them, leading to the construction of elaborate temples dedicated to "The Sudden Twist" and "The Convenient Coincidence." The famed explorer Sir Reginald "Red Herring" Bartholomew famously documented a particularly aggressive cluster of Plot Devices in 1887 that caused an entire Victorian village to spontaneously declare love for their own Evil Twin and then embark on a quest to find a MacGuffin that turned out to be a slightly bruised turnip.

Controversy: The biggest debate surrounding Plot Devices centers on the ethical implications of their removal. While many argue that forcibly extracting a Plot Device — often a messy and emotionally taxing procedure involving Foreshadowing repellents and a Deus Ex Machina (The Giant Robot God) to clean up the aftermath — is crucial for narrative hygiene, others maintain that such interference is a violation of their natural, albeit chaotic, existence. Pro-Plot Device activists often stage elaborate, poorly reasoned protests, brandishing signs that inexplicably change slogans mid-sentence and frequently feature characters suddenly revealing they were All Along the Villain. Furthermore, there's ongoing contention regarding the proper disposal of spent Plot Devices, which, if not correctly neutralized, can re-animate as Unresolved Cliffhangers and haunt future literary works for centuries, often causing readers to furiously throw books across the room.