#<- For the mousefolk part

[octahedral-chaos]

I'm still absolutely loving Asterism Borealis so far!

I kinda want to hear more info about the intelligent species in this world. (What is their culture and customs like? What do they specialize in? Do they get along with the other species? Stuff like that).

If They is dead (since this is post canon), then who imprisoned Sonnet? Was it an elder who got upset with them, or is it something much more sinister...

Also, not to intrude personally, but have you started drafting it? (It's okay if you haven't! I'm just curious.)

Glad you love it! Unfortunately I'm still drafting stuff, but I might actually write the first chapter today.

For intelligent species, there's a few of them. There's humans, they pretty much remain almost unchanged from our world's history... just a tad bit more peaceful in modern times.

There's the several subspecies of elves, who are basically humanoid ungulates (Thought they were going to be in the same family as humans, didn't you? /pos) that are descendants of Chalicotheres. They're the only surviving member of that family AND they look very much like humans, except with pointy ears, hooves and maybe a short tail. They're a bit uncanny looking, resulting in them getting quite a bit of mistreatment from humans during the 1300s to 1900s, but they ended up getting rights during the 1940s, when the International Court of Sapient Species was established.

Due to this, elves are pretty much THE allies in this setting. They don't understand why humans judge each other so much, so they try to help the underdogs in any way they could. There's several subspecies, which are Boreal, Woodlands, Pairie, Desert and Dwarf, going from North to South. They live in Eurasia, America and Africa during the Early years, but now with international travel being a thing, they live everywhere.

Then there's the mousefolk, who are literally 3-4 feet tall rodent people, and they usually appear similar to jerboas, although there are some exceptions across ethnic groups. They are pretty much nomadic and live in deserts, but European colonisers were pretty terrible to them too. But! They're still a proud species who love music and theatre.

There's also harpies (Derived Non-Avian dinosaurs that are somewhat closely related to Dromaeosaurus), centaurs (Some kind of close relative to elves, perhaps? Or maybe they're a weird type of Pterosaur?), fairies (Basically moth/ butterfly people. Literally looks like anthromorphic moths), merfolk (Derived from a species of fish similar to Epaulette sharks!), orcs (Similar to elves in that they came from an ungulate ancestor, most likely pigs or Entelodontidae) and Cynocephalus (Mesonychids!), but they're all background races and I may or may not try to expand on them later.

Oh and there's the starfolks... but we know some things about them...

Sonnet is actually much, MUCH older than you think. In starfolk terminology, there's three distinct "Age ranges" of starfolks: Third generation, Second generation and First generation, in the order of oldest to youngest. Sonnet is a Third Generation starfolk, meaning that they're around the same age as Edda and Aven, if not slightly younger. They were around when TOFA still existed. And they did get punished by Them due to the accidental killing of their fellow starfolk.

[crewofthegoldrush]

a dragon a pigeon natalie dormer and pikachu get some freakin sleep

she/her for all*

[markrosewater]

Hi Mark, I'm a big fan of Bloomburrow's Planeswalkers' Guide. It was great to get so much info about the plane and its inhabitants!

I loved one part of it so much, I made this Tumblr account so I could ask this question: May I please request a card for Lily of Valley, the mousefolk who saved Valley from the Calamity Beasts in the distant past?

I'll pass the request along.

[smolghostbot]

GT July: Intimidate (1)

Can We Stop And Rewind?

Decided to do two entries today, both snippets from Patchwork Melody: Spring, Patch and Melody's first meeting story. This is the lower-intensity one, the other (posting in a bit) is very whump.

Context: Melody has brought Patch inside to help them with a sprained arm, but they both have very different ideas of what's going on.

Word Count: 800

Character bios in my pinned post

CWs for accidental ableism (discussed and apologized for) and mentions of kidnapping (a genuine misunderstanding). Also some swearing on Mel's part but if that bothers you this is not the blog for you.

========

Suddenly, their giant captor stood up and walked away. The sprite instantly became terrified. Were they getting something to punish them for their silence? Were they finally dropping the nice facade?

Eventually, the human came back to the table with a large book. Placing it down gently, so as not to scare the tiny creature with a loud thump, they began to flip through the book.

"Okay… pointed ears say an elf, but your ears aren't really very… elven. Maybe you're a mousefolk? But you have no tail… or if you do, it's a tiny one hidden under that little robe of yours… I did find you outside of my house, and your outfit looks a bit ragged… uh, no offense, of course. Maybe you're a brownie? I have some milk in the fridge, would that get you to talk?"

They could only look at the human with a confused look. What was she going on about?

"... No wings, so you probably aren't a fairy… unless you lost your wings. Did you ever have wings, little thing?"

The confused sprite only shook their head in a slow "no".

"OK… well, I probably… uh… should have gone for something more professional than a D&D guidebook… I think I still have my old college textbooks around here somewhere… gods knows those things are way too expensive to chuck…"

The human left, and took several more books off the shelf after a few minutes of looking around. She flipped through each book, taking what felt like forever, muttering to herself as she went.

"We're miles from the nearest forest… you clearly aren't invisible… Definitely don't look human… Those clothes don't look at all suitable for living in water… it's… maybe technically nighttime? But you weren't leaving a gift… unless… you were actually planting seeds! Is this backpack full of seeds?"

The small sprite instantly went into a panic as the human looked over to their backpack, frantically shaking their head in a no, and praying that the human didn't try to dig into the bag. They already had to fix it up after… the last human they met. Luckily, this human seems to have had no plans on that and continued digging through the books, becoming more frustrated over time.

Eventually, they seem to have hit their limit, and threw their head back in agitation before speaking in a more aggressive tone than they had previously. "Ugh! Why won't you just say anything!?"

-

Melody noticed a knocking noise on the plastic container her little "guest" was in, and saw the mysterious little thing clearly trying to get her attention. As she looked over at him, she saw him frantically motioning with his hands over his neck, in an X shape. His mouth was moving, as if speaking in an exaggerated way, as if to make it easier for her to see that no sound was coming out of his mouth. He clearly looked scared, probably threatened by her voice raising. Her eyes lit up in both realization and embarrassment.

"Oh my gods. You aren't just being silent to be difficult… you can't actually speak, can you?" As he nodded a yes, Mel lowered her head into her hands in shame.

"Shit, I'm such a dick. That's what your little hand motions were, oh my gods you were signing! My dumb ass was sitting here thinking you were trying to cast spells or something, ugh, I'm such an idiot! Maybe not everything about this situation is silly and fantastical, Mel, maybe he's just mute and you're being insensitive like always."

Their head raised and their face shifted into a goofy expression as they began to cheer with a clearly sarcastic voice, "Yeah Mel, yeah, woo, get upset at a mute guy for not speaking, like a COMPLETE ASSHOLE, hell yeah, casual ableism, woo!!"

The human hung her head in embarrassment again before continuing to berate herself, putting her head in her hands.

"Ugh… I swear, I didn't know, if I had known I would never… I'm not some, like, prick, I swear. Oh my gods, I'm so stupid. Way to make a first impression, at least I know you can't hex me or whatever because I would be so cursed right now for sure."

If the sprite could communicate at the moment, and wasn't still terrified of this human, they'd have some strong words about how kidnapping is also not a good first impression. However, they have no intent on insulting their captor, despite the clear look of regret already on the human's face. They remain still, waiting for the human to compose themself.

[follypersist]

obviously this is a joke but if you read Kafka's Josephine the Songstress: or, the Mousefolk this style of writing is intentionally part of the charm. What makes someone worthy of being singled out for description? What happens during that act of describing them as an individual, even if the description could just as well apply to anyone in the population and it doesn't substantively tell you anything at all about the person or their quality? What difference is there between that act and the core of art, or fiction? As soon as you say "he", or "she", have you extrapolated them from a person to a simulacrum that we call character?

He was as tall as he was tall, and his eyes were the color they were. To describe his hair one would say that he had some. His face had all the features you'd expect, and none of the ones you wouldn't. "There he is," people would often say of him, but only when he was there. And they were right.

[poisonhemloc]

hello new dnd character concept, hopefully i get to play you one day rather than send you to the “i like the concept but we’re not playing anything that you could be in“ like the rakshasa bard and the orc twin beastmaster

[natalieironside]

Part of me wants to just start putting mousefolk in everything now purely out of spite

[picrews-for-rpgs]

Tagging Guide

I created this blog to make it easier to find picrews with specific features (e.g. horns, tusks) for the purpose of making D&D (and other TTRPG) characters.

After some thought I have decided to tag fantasy features rather than fantasy races.

This is slightly more efficient because some features (e.g. pointed ears) apply to many races.

Here is a list of fantasy-specific tags I'll be using, along with an example of some races with those features.

Animal features (fauns, firbolgs, catgirls)

Aquatic features (gills, scales, fins etc.)

Fangs (vampires, werewolves)

Horns (tieflings, satyrs, fauns)

Pointed Ears (elves, halflings, gnomes)

Tail (tieflings, catgirls)

Tusks (orcs, half-orcs)

Unnatural skintones (genasi, tieflings)

Wings (fairies, aasimar)

Here is a non-exhaustive list of general (not fantasy-specific) tags I'll be using

Afrocentric features (decent afrocentric options for hair etc)

Animal Companion

Body hair

Disability Aids

Facial hair

Heterochromia (each eye a different colour)

Historical (more than 3 historical/not obviously modern clothing options)

Masc (suitable for creating male and masculine characters)

Muscular

Plus sized (larger body types)

Skin details (scars, freckles, vitiligo, beauty marks, birthmarks and more)

Recommendations

Changelings - Part 1

Dwarves - Part 1 - Part 2

Eladrin - Part 1

Fairies - Part 1

Goliaths - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 2.5

Gorgons (Medusa) - Part 1

Mousefolk - Part 1 - Part 2

Orcs/Half-Orcs - Part 1

Vampires - Part 1 - Part 2

Yuan-Ti - Part 1

Additional Note

Please do let me know if there are specific classes/races/genres/themes you'd like recommendations for!

[solomontoaster]

Okay, so the winner of the mini painting poll is...

...and I had a full list of 10 options ready to go, but then Mel Brooks, my beloved, went and released "History of the World Part II" just in time for Purim and so I had to change things up. I have a whole swath of Jewish Vibe minis that I left off the first poll entirely, because I've been holding them back as I develop the campaign I got them for, but I've added a few in here. Now vote your heart out for these...

[dnd5a]

Patch 3.0 - Supreme Verdict Part 2: Races & Feats

The patch is finally upon us. It’s taken 7-months and gruelling suffering, but here we are. For the sake of our collective sanity, the patch notes will be split into multiple parts.

Most changes made are opt-in for pre-existing characters meaning that you may choose whether or not to apply them to characters already in-play. (Created, but not-yet-played characters do not count as pre-existing characters)

Otherwise, changes will apply to all characters created in future

RACES

Rework - Aarakocra Now split into three subraces: Eaglin, Owlin, and Vulturin. Owlin incorporated from Strixhaven: Curriculum of Chaos

Rework - Bugbear Long Arms replaced with Brute Strength, granting 1d4 weapon damage proficiency bonus times per short or long rest

New - Bullywug Noble frog lads

Buff - Centaur Centaur are now Large creatures

Rework - Dragonborn Reworked to work similar to those shown in Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons

New - Gnoll Wild hyena dudes

Buff - Goliath Added cold damage back. Stone’s Endurance now scales with your level.

Buff - Minotaur Minotaur are now Large creatures

Rework - Mousefolk Minor ability adjustments. Nimble Dodge removed.

New - Shardmind Psychic rock people.

SPECIAL LINEAGES

Special character races exclusive to certain campaign settings. Lineages override another race, allowing one to become a Human Dhampir, or a Dwarf Lycan, etc.

The Dhampir, Hexblood, and Reborn come from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft, while the Lycan comes from my book Van Richten’s Pocketbook Ravenloft.

Expect one more lineage, the Shade, in Patch 3.1

New - Special Lineage: Dhampir Vampire dudes

New - Special Lineage: Hexblood Children of hags, just much less gross

New - Special Lineage: Lycan Werewolves, but not broken

New - Special Lineage: Reborn Imagine getting reborn as a robot, a zombie, or a scarecrow, or whatever...

FEATS

New - Hardy: Grants benefits to Endurance checks and advantage on checked against a forced march

New - Pack Tactician: Grants benefits to moving towards creatures, improves flanking, and prevents you and your allies from being flanked

[jupesoupiter]

OMG YES !!! well first thought is you could be a wizard BECAUSE they have a spell called find familiar where you get.a little guy to be your magic companion, and you could have your little clown mouse guy be your familiar. OR if you wanted to be the little mouse guy!! you could be a mousefolk or even a wererat. And if you want to lean into the clown part you could be a bard then or be like a sad bard kind of like johann from theadventurezone. maybe college of creation:0 because they’re a lot about like dance and poetry kinds of performance!!

hi trrinketttt my friend trinekt how are you:D

- @jupesoupiter

MY FRIEND JUPITER MY GUY ❤️❤️❤️ i am so well i am playing mc and also trying to finish up an ask game atm:] just sipping on pepsi 2:D i am in such a lovely mood w lovely music n so so so well wbu<3

[theriverpersonshadow]

Lamia Drama (Part 2)

See previous post for warnings and general info.

Credit for the lamia species (or at least the specific species, not lamia in general) goes to @vex-bittys

Keith decides to give this new girl a chance and introduces another lamia! DnD shall come whether Hux likes it or not. Coral boy is jealous.

< PREV | NEXT >

           Keith and Hux had just been talking DnD with each other when a girl with short, wavy blonde hair walked into the back. Keith’s flickering tongue caught the taste of sweat, dirt, and a variety of plants. Real plants, not like the fake trees, though he could identify some of the smells as the foliage they could keep here. His soul leaped in his chest, he could feel it immediately, they were meant to be.

           … According to who? Or what? Some bred in biological imperitive? It was just there to make him easier to adopt, right? But it felt real…

           No.

           He wasn’t going to leave Hux and the others behind. The woman didn’t seem to have even noticed anyways, so maybe he was just imagining it. Heck, he probably was. Then again, if anything was going to seduce him – something he felt was pretty impossible, he’d just never been interested – it’d probably be someone bringing their own books and homemade fucking cookies. Yes please. They smelled like chocolate and peanut butter – questionably healthy at best, but he’d take it!

           … He should probably answer the question, huh?

           “Yeah, nice to meet ya. Name’s Keith, I’m the DM,” Keith said, slithering down to her level.

           “So, you think you have what it takes to play with the big boys?” Hux said. “Heh. How’d you even find out about that?”

           “There was a sign,” the woman said. “My friends are busy with college stuff right now – I’m on break, doing work in a greenhouse and all – but my evenings are totally free. Kinda have to leave early though, have to be up before the sun. I love the job, but that part sucks.”

           Keith chuckled, “I feel you there.” He’d stay snuggled in a nesting mound half the day if you let him. What? Blankets are soft, and it’s not like he had to leave to read things. Beds and blankets make reading better if anything. Prime coziness.

           “I think you should look somewhere else,” Hux said. “We go until, like, two in the morning sometimes.”

           Before Keith could stop himself, he found himself saying, “Eh, we can end early for a little while. Or hey, maybe have a side campaign with you or something.”

           “What?!” Hux said, standing high as he could on his tail with his arms thrown out. “Dude! We’re halfway through Pipsqueak’s character arc or whatever! Can’t just push him aside…”

Pipsqueak was Trousle’s (a bitty Papython) mousefolk bard; he’d been looking for pieces of the Worldsong, a song that, once played, was supposed to give the musician power over all things. Pipsqueak had managed to get half of it and was facing down with Caterwaul, the Tabaxi bard, who had the other half. It was looking like Pipsqueak was questioning whether the song should be played by any. However it played out was going to be awesome, though it might or might not be the end of the campaign depending on how Trousle played it.

           Since when did Hux care so much about that though? He wasn’t exactly a roleplayer type…

           “I mean, if you guys are full or in the middle of something, I can just… not?” the woman said.

           “Nah, don’t mind Hux. It’s alright, uh… What’s your name?”

           “Oh! My bad. Call me Alex. You said it’s, uh… Key?”

           “Keith,” Hux said, unimpressed.

           “I am the actual worst at names,” Alex said, sighing.

           “Eh, it happens. But I bet we can work something out.”

           “We don’t need to work things out,” Hux grumbled, curling into a ball on the floor and sulking, hiding his skeleton half under a ball of black and red scales.

           Keith rolled his eyes. Hux never liked change and didn’t seem too fond of people. He was tolerant of the people running the place, but no one else. That said, it was no excuse to be a dick. “Hux, be nice. Sorry about him, he’ll warm up to ya. Why don’t I take you to meet the others? We can work something out. Not like we’re going anywhere…” And that was fine by him. Home was here with his own batch of misfits. “Get Liam, will ya Hux?”

           “Ugh, why do I have to?”

           “ ‘Cause you can never find Trousle.”

           “Why don’t I go looking for Oozy?”

           “I’ll bet you a week’s snacks that Oozy’s in his hammock.”

           Hux huffed and crossed his arms with an adorable blush on his face, flustered. He was, apparently, not willing to take that bet. As much as Keith liked to stay curled up all cozy, he had nothing on Oozy. It wouldn’t be the first time they had to carry him in the hammock to DnD night. Hecking cornies.

           “Thought so,” Keith said, chuckling. “I’ll go get Nikolai. Hope you don’t mind kiddos, Lex.”

           “Is Nikolai a kid?”

           “Nope,” Keith said. “Follow me.” He slithered past the jungle of fake plants, real plants, and various toys and hiding holes that made up the dim room he liked to call the “Chilling Room.” It was a little cool in here, but mostly he called it that ‘cause this area tended to be more quiet, lacking the toys and people-chairs that littered the rest of the back. Sometimes you just need a place to be a Snake and stalk your friends for a little while, or somewhere to just hide in a hole and listen to the same song until it was playing through your dreams in utter bliss. That second one seemed unique to him.

           “… I’m not gonna remember any of these names,” Alex whispered to herself. She stopped to pull some dead foliage from some of the plants, fingers working fast with practice. For a moment she paused then put a leaf in her mouth. “Stevia leaves the weirdest after taste. Not bad though. Also, why do you have stevia?”

           “Is that what that is? I think the Honeybos like to chew on it.”

           “Is that why they’re Honeybos? ‘Cause they’re full of sweet?”

           “I mean, maybe! Never bitten into one.”

           “Not even licked one?” Pause. “That’s a weird thing to ask, huh?”

           “I mean, I smell with that y’know. But some of them do smell kinda sweet.” He had the oddest urge to nibble a snake now. Logically he knew they were not just little slithering sweets, but a little voice in the back of his head whispered but what if they do taste like honey buns?

           Keith really hoped that voice wasn’t Alex’s. That’s just a weird thing to think. Even weirder if you aren’t a snake. “Do you stick a lot of random stuff in your mouth?”

           Alex kinda went quiet, staring at the floor, and Keith tried to stifle a laugh, stopping in his tracks to look at her behind him. “Oh my god. You have, haven’t you? What’s the weirdest thing?”

           “Probably either crickets, an agar plate – one of those things they grow bacteria on – or my salt lamp.”

           “Can confirm, those are salty.”

           “You too?”

           “Nope. But Trousle dared Liam to once and he swallowed the whole thing. We had to pull it out by the chord.”

           “That… That’s both amazing and dangerous.”

           Keith nodded, “Yep. Never dare a Mamba to do something unless you want to face the consequences.” Looking around, he brought out his phone and showed some pictures of Liam – a full sized Mamba – with light streaming from his mouth and tail as Hux and Nikolai (a King) tried desperately to pull the lamp out. Trousle was on the table, shouting encouragement but too small to actually help. “That’s why we’re not allowed to have salt lamps anymore.”

           Alex was snorting as she laughed, hand over her mouth and eyes crinkled behind glasses. “Oh my goodness. Reminds me of when I caught a baby rabbit and found out they can scream. I almost dropped it.”

           “Oh no!”

           “It tried to escape! But I caught it midair. And then it just stared at me, judging. Relatedly, gardening gloves have multiple uses. One of them is bunny catching. They have claws and will kick the shit out of you.”

           He’s tempted to mention that’s why he just eats them, but gets the feeling that won’t go over well. Since when does he care? He’s a snake, she should know this. It’s natural.

           “You like cute? C’mon,” Keith said. It was a short slither to the very back room. Alex stopped, staring at the “Staff Only” sign, but Keith gently tugged her through, “It’s fine.” The door opened up to a humid room with multiple little lamps scattered over eggs and newborns. The nursery. They were greeted with a variety of hisses and chirps from little baby snakes and a much louder hiss from Nikolai. The King’s hood flared upon seeing the stranger and he stood as tall as he could, clutching three squirming baby Pygmy (full sized, but still so small) to his chest protectively.

           Alex froze up, face going blank as she stared at the sight of King’s hood and fangs, venom dripping from them. Maybe Keith should’ve warned Nikolai first, but better late than never?

           “Alex, this is Nikolai. The most broody bastard you’ll ever meet. Nikolai, Alex. She wants to play DnD. And probably to also hold some kiddos, but who am I to judge?”

           Nikolai narrowed his eyes, somehow keeping hold of the Pygmy as all three attempted to go in different directions, unfazed by one of them trying to put his hands in Nikolai’s eyesockets. “Keith. We need to talk.”

[invisiblefoxfire]

Beasts and Brethren: The Mousefolk

Beasts and Brethren: The Mousefolk

Rarely more than three quarters of a meter tall, the mousefolk are among the smallest folk in the world. For the most part, they live peaceful lives in small, egalitarian farming villages. Their houses are formed primarily below the ground. Only the top half-meter or so of wooden walls stick up above the surface with openings for ventilation, and their roofs are made of straw. The impression a…

[crimniko]

"Demon Slayer" Finn the Prince of Walmond II

Here is my baby from a one-shot my boyfriend DM-d. I had to come up with him within a day so it was really hsctic and the drawing had to be made quick. But here he is! My mousefolk rogue swashbuckler, who is a charlatan, calls himself a proud prince noble and rides the shoulders of his compatriots while stabbing with rapiers.

Funny how he was part of a horror one shot :'D but it was great and I love this character. He was heavily inspired by Chronicles of Narnia.

Finn is owned by me only me!, (my son)

[nightmariann]

My favorite part of our mousefolk d&d campaign right now is how feral the child pc is and that it’s one tiny baby and 4 dads. She is a feral baby and we got a storybook from a bookshop while looking for someone and take turns reading her bedtime stories, we just started picking random stories but our DM just said they’d write some up based on lore.

[kingforevermore]

meta on Evan’s feelings towards Mausinger, his father Leonhard, the coup, and Ding Dong Dell

read more cause length (3,000+ words sweats) and images. Mentions of prejudice and murder. 

I like to think that Evan didn’t know his father’s consul/ministers very well. One, he was a child, there was no reason for him to know them yet. He was probably only in the beginning stages of learning of what duties would be needed of him as king. Getting lessons on Politics and History through Aranella and perhaps his father when King Leohard could spare the time. The only time he really interacted with the ministers was at formal events. He knew them on a surface level but didn’t know them personally.

That all being said, he had no idea how close his father and Mausinger really were. He knew Mausinger as a smart man, that held a very important position, one who would occasionally stop by to say hello during his lessons and offer a book or two for reading. His father would mention what a man Mausinger was, but Evan didn’t know what that meant really. 

Cut to this conversation, we can clearly see that Evan just doesn’t know what to think. If he had known Mausinger as a close friend of his father he wouldn’t have needed to question such things. 

Keep in mind that Evan himself is a mix of two different species, human and grimalkin. There is absolutely no way Evan would think his father would shun someone of another species because the fact that Evan exists proves that he wanted species to be closer within Ding Dong Dell. Humans and Grimalkin had a better past and no bitter rivalry yes, but no King before had even thought of having a child who would be half blooded. ( a personal headcanon I’ll explain on a later post ) Evan’s birth meant that times were changing in Ding Dong Dell. Evan had been told this by his father himself. 

Evan had always thought it would be because he would be king one day, the first half blooded king of Ding Dong Dell, but that’s not the case. He even admits that he didn’t even once think of the people’s thoughts or feelings. He had assumed they would accept him as they had accepted his father. In short, he realizes how spoiled he was. 

He wants to get to know the Mausinger that his father knew. That the people know. Because maybe if he could understand what they thought of him, he could start forming his own opinion outside of ‘indifferent’ and ‘murderer’. 

After learning at what Mausinger had done to the grimalkin in Ding Dong Dell, of course Evan is furious. His image of Mausinger just getting more and more sour by the moment. This man who he barely knew, who killed his father, killed his governess, tried to kill him, and then took his kingdom -- he has every single reason to hate Mausinger at this point. 

He mentions a ruler being above ‘petty vengeance’, yet his first thought is to have Mausinger removed. It’s the worst possible punishment Evan can think of besides death. He isn’t a ruler who would wish death on someone else, he isn’t that kind of person - he’s a CHILD. And it’s clear here that he’s still just a little bit spoiled. He is thinking too narrowly, but no one can really blame him. 

Not to mention, if he’s never thought about the people’s thoughts and feelings - has he thought about the thoughts and feelings of mousekind? This scene could be taken as him showing prejudice himself, because he IS spoiled and he IS naive and all he’s seen from the people so far are the grimalkin suffering and the mice gloating about it. His first REAL trip into Dong Dong Dell showed him this and it overtakes him for a moment. 

Roland then asks him if his father was a poor judge of character - and Evan can’t answer him. He can’t answer him because he truly doesn’t know. He didn’t know why his father had decided to trust Mausinger. He didn’t know why his father had decided to trust any of his Ministers. He knew his father as a good king, a good father. But he didn’t know how his father’s mind worked, how he made decisions as king, how HARD it was to make decisions as king. King Leonhard was likely trying to spare Evan the burden until he truly started training to take over the throne - but it was a double edged sword. Evan is a child and still naive - I’m going to keep saying that because it’s true. His naivety can be a good quality but in this case it’s a bad one. 

He has no idea how his father really was as a king. He wanted to ask around about hsi father aswell to try and get a better understanding of him aswell. This entire trip to Ding Dong Dell was about discovery - and Rolan just rubbing salt in his wounds on how well he didn’t know his father really stung - because he felt as if he had learned nothing but awful things from both sides. This wasn’t the Ding Dong Dell he loved. It was different, it had changed so drastically, and what child likes change? Not to mention it snapped Evan out of his haze and he realizes his words must have sounded, overthrow the mouse king and everything will be fine? That’s exactly he sort of thing his father wouldn’t want him to think or say. 

He runs out and runs into Ratja, a handmaiden who worked for his father, and the handmaidens at least Evan knew better than his father’s Ministers. These women took care of him on a normal basis, so he knew he could trust her if nothing else. 

Ratja is able to tell her a part of what his father felt about Mausinger, and mousekind as a whole. He had wanted to bridge the two kinds together, going as far to hire mousefolk to work as handmaidens and soldiers, going as far as to make Mausinger his most trusted minister. This is the first time he has seen Mausinger in a truly positive light, and it’s coming from a second hand account about what his father felt about the man. 

It seems even Mausinger himself didn’t know his father’s true feelings. Ratja is persistently saying that King Leonhard wanted the two species to get along desperately. This is where Evan’s feelings towards Mausinger start to change slightly but they don’t REALLY shift until he has a chance to read his father’s diary. 

With this passage, Evan realized how much pent up anger he had for Mausinger. A burning hatred for the man who took his father away from him, who robbed Ding Dong Dell of peace it could have had - of a truce between species it could have had. He hates Mausinger so much he starts to cry. 

But he’s also crying because he realizes how much he didn’t know his father, how much he didn’t trust his father. He hadn’t realized how much he had missed his father until he was reading words written by his father’s hand. 

Becoming the King of Evermore and pushing through making the treaty and helping other kingdoms had made Evan put a lot of his own feelings on hold. He thought that’s what would make him a good king - being able to push through and help others at the cost of himself. But after Broadleaf, and his growth there about not letting Zip sacrifice his life, he slowly realizes that it shouldn’t be like that. He shouldn’t be putting himself down to help others. He needs to understand them, listen  to them, stand side by side with them. And just like that - most of his hatred melts away. He wants, he needs to talk to Mausinger. He needs to make him understand. 

Evan doesn’t even want to fight Mausinger. The man who killed his father, took his kingdom -- none of that matters anymore. At this point he’s just wishing for Mausinger to talk with him as one ruler to another - as the ruler he became and the ruler his father trusted more than anyone else. This wasn’t about a former king and the one who overthrew him - Evan realized it never was that. 

He learns to trust his father and his father’s word. He knows truly now what his father wanted - for cat and mouse to live together - work together. Evan for a split second believes in the man that his father trusted, not the man he grew to knew as an evil murderer. 

Thus he gets the chance to see Mausinger’s real self. Seeing Mausinger cry as he read King Leonhard’s diary solidified what Evan had already thought. Mausinger was a man who was taken advantage of, controlled, tainted - and none by his own or even King Leonhard’s doing. He was doubtful, insecure - but not a bad leader or ruler. Evan now knew this. King Leonhard had known this. 

Hearing his father talk like this right in front of him hurt. It hurt more than Evan will ever care to admit. His father was saying that he would entrust the kingdom to a man who killed him - over his own son. 

Evan tries not to let it bother him, because he knows the truth now. He knows that not only is Mausinger the one that can bring the change his father truly wanted - but was simply a better ruler. He still saw Evan as a child - Evan doesn’t even get the chance to tell him everything he’s accomplished as a King. Evan feels robbed of this chance and he’s angry about it - he’s angry that his father didn’t even say a word to him. Only a look of acknowledgement.

But these’s feelings are feeling, because he’s overwhelmed that he finally understands, he finally sees his father and Mausinger as they really were. Two great men, who trusted eachother wholeheartedly. 

I like to think Mausinger and Evan had a few conversations after this. Small, awkward, but enough to build back the bridge that had been burned to the ground. They tell eachother of people in their kingdoms, Evan tells Mausinger of those who have decided to move to Evermore and Mausinger keeps Evan up to date on those who stayed and who Evan was close to - like the handmaidens. And of course, Mausinger always escorts Evan to Nella’s grave - but he never goes near it. He doesn’t feel like he has the right to yet - and Evan is grateful for it. 

Because well -- It’s a long process. I don’t like how the game makes it seem like Evan gets over everything right after the story in Ding Dong Dell is completed. ( The story of the whole game moves a bit too quickly but that’s besides the point here ). Yes big bad plot stuff gets in the way but for the sake of this blog everything is pretty spaced out. There’s time, if only a little more than the game offers. There’s time and they take advantage of it. And it continues until after the main story as well. 

I would like to also mention that Evan even admits before the final battle that he had thoughts of revenge. This small, naive, child had thoughts of revenge. He wanted to bring those responsible for everything that had happened to justice.  Not only for his father’s death, but for Aranella. With his father it had been a slow death, something of a sickness - while he was sad it didn’t have the same punch as someone literally giving their life for him. Aranella would have lived if it not been for Mausinger’s plan, for Evan’s naivety, for her own vows to protect Evan.

He was using everything that happened in the coup - but especially Aranella’s death - as an excuse not to trust Mausinger. 

But it’s clear Mausinger wants to mend their relationship just as much as Evan does later on. He knows this, he knows this but still- Evan still flinches at times when he speaks in a harsher or louder tone, Evan doesn’t like being around the mouse guards all that much, he still stands a few feet farther than necessary away - but he’s healing. He’s healing and Mausinger understands this.

We learn more about the coup, Mausinger, and those around him during one od the DLCs and I absolutely loved it. This part below is such a great scene. He’s finally trusting Mausinger as a King, as a Ruler, and as a Person. 

He also says this aloud not just for Mausinger but for himself aswell. He was clearly upset by things he had learned, but he finally realizes that he needs to stop looking at the past in such a negative light. He has learned so much, even through the deaths of others - and he needs to stop feeling sorry for it. They both need to look ahead towards a future that those who are no longer there wanted for their kingdom. 

They can’t just wish the past didn’t happen, they can’t just drown in that sorrow. Looking ahead is their only option. I don’t think Evan will ever trust Mausinger the way his father did, nor does he really want to. He’s not his father, both Mausinger and Evan himself have come to realize this. 

There is a part of him that will always be angry, he thinks. A dark side of him that remembers everything that ever happened. But as stated above, he has to remember what happened, he has to learn from the past and move towards a brighter future. He will never be angry enough to think about revenge. He sees Mausinger now as an ally and as the one who will truly bring his father’s dream to life. If anything his anger fuels his passion for a peaceful tomorrow - so the two of them don’t have to suffer anymore, so no one will have to suffer as they have.  Evan and Mausinger are kindred spirits, whether they admit to it or not. 

There is a part of him that will always be upset with his father, for trusting someone over his own son to rule the kingdom. For not telling him such important details of his life. But he knwos now that he wouldn’t have understood it even if he had been told at the time. Back then he was still spoiled and didn’t have his own experiences as king to help him digest it all. It’s easier for him to forgive his father than it is to forgive Mausinger, but both still take time. 

Change came to Ding Dong Dell because of a new king, but it wasn’t Evan. It was, and will continue to be, Mausinger. Evan is slowing accepting this.

Now as far as Ding Dong Dell itself is concerned, Evan still has mixed feelings on it. As time goes on, I believe he no longer thinks of it as ‘his’ kingdom. Even while ruling Evermore, he referred to Ding Dong Dell as his home, his kingdom, his birthright. It isn’t until after Evermore becomes as big as seen in the post final battle cutscene that he truly feels like Evermore is his own kingdom, moreso than Ding Dong Dell ever could be. He’s proud of what he has built with others, and it’s something eh doesn’t think he would have ever felt in Ding Dong Dell. The satification of literally building something from the ground up. He helped cut the wood, bring the tools, magically hold things in place - the Kingdom of Evermore was literally built on its King’s and first few citizen’s blood, sweat, and tears. That’s something he could have never said for Ding Dong Dell.

He still thinks on the kingdom fondly, moreso after the main game’s story and his slow building relationship with Mausinger. He never saw Ding Dong Dell for what it truly was, but Mausinger can. So he grows to accept the fact that it is no longer ‘his’ kingdom. It will always be the place of his birth, a place of memories - some full of love, while others full of pain. But It was never ‘his’ to begin with, really. 

However the people of Ding Dong Dell are what’s really important to him now. The Legacy of the Kingdom, the history of its struggle, those are important to remember but it’s the people who he learned by walking the streets, interacting, actually listening - it’s the people of Ding Dong Dell he will always cherish. 

In the high higgdley questline we learn more about Aranella and what really was going on leading up to the coup, and from her faith the High Higgledy of Faith is born. Though Aranella makes it a point to mention that it wasn’t just her faith in Evan - it was all of the people’s of Ding Dong Dell - and his faith in them. 

Evan asks ‘do you really think so?’ because he wasn’t sure if all the people of Ding Dong Dell really trusted him. Yes he had helped the Kingdom by snapping Mausinger out of his hatred and saving the kingdom from a realmwrecker, but after all that he didnt’ think he had done enough to truly earn everyone’s fatih in him.This moment proves him wrong and at the very least, Evan has an undying love for the people of Ding Dong Dell. The Citizens who believe in him so much even though he is no longer their king.

It is one of the reasons he constantly encourages Mausinger and reminds him of his duty - because he wants the people to live in peace and harmony. He knows Mausinger is the change that Ding Dong Dell needs, and so he’s willing to step back and truth in Mausinger and the people of ding dong dell to do what is right.