Today is May 18, which means that today is Celeste's birthday! Happy Birthday, Celeste!
We're keeping up the trend of character birthday posts, and the next person on the list after Amber is Celeste. So, let's talk about her for bit.
Celeste Labelle was bon on May 18, 1982, to Genevieve and Olivier Labelle. As of today in 2024, she would be turning 42 years old. In 2004, when Fragmented takes place, Celeste would be 22. Her zodiac sign is Taurus.
Celeste has an older brother, Claude, and a younger sister, Sophie. It's also mentioned that Jolie, one of Sarina's friends, is Celeste's cousin. And…you might be picking up that she has more family mentioned than most other characters in the novel.
I would have liked to showcase more of the familial relationships, but it didn't really take priority because of what was happening in the story. In reality, people that live in small towns are pretty tight knit and there are lots of families with complicated ties and relationships. Unfortunately, as Fragmented got longer, I realized I didn't have time to flesh out characters that weren't as important to the story.
But this post is about Celeste, so let's give her a bit more focus.
Celeste was probably one of the most difficult characters for me to write.
There isn't a lot of room in most stories for characters who are weak, shy, or hold back. They don't tend to drive a story, so it's understandable that they don't get featured often. Unless, of course, the point of the story is for them to grow and change and "become a better person".
In reality, it's hard for people to change. IRL character arcs are ultra rare. It almost never happens outside of people going through something life changing.
So, Celeste is just Celeste. She fades into the background and she's not a strong character. She gets scared and uncomfortable and doesn't like confrontation. Her perspective chapters are rare and when we get them, she's usually talking to Sarina.
Fragmented is, in a lot of ways, a story about weakness and vulnerability. Rion, who is the closest thing to a protagonist in the novel, has been saved from bullying and even physically carried home within the story so far. So, I think Celeste has a place here and it's okay if she's not a driving force. She can just be herself.
I guess I like weak characters. lmao
So…next birthday on the list is Danny. And if you've been paying attention to the novel dates, you'll know what day his birthday falls on.
See you then!
Or see you sooner. Honestly, I should be blogging more often than I am.