#basil e crouch

[the-love-warlock]

from The Dark Side of the Moon by Basil E. Crouch

[wooliguns]

1. basil & pinecones

Tighnari glances at the apple-shaped clock perched atop his cluttered workstation, the hour hand dragging itself toward closing time with the lazy resolve of someone who’s earned their rest. The soft tick-tick folds into the ambient thrum of the flower shop, where even silence has a scent; sweet, green, a teensy bit medicinal. He breathes through his nose, fingertips grazing the viridescent yarn that binds his weathered notebook. The texture, chummy and frayed at the edges, keeps him trussed. From a chipped ceramic cup nearby, he selects a Montblanc pen, his one indulgence, and, with purposeful strokes, begins crossing out the day’s deliveries like ceremonies in a secular prayer.

12 bouquets of Violetgrass. ✓ 10 bouquets of Sweet Flower. ✓ 5 boxes of Cecilia. 18 bouquets of Sumeru Roses. ✓ 2 pots of Dendrobium. ✓ 3 baskets of Sakura Bloom. ✓ 7 bouquets of Glaze Lily. 9 pots of Snapdragon. 6 baskets of Windwheel Aster. ✓

He pauses, pen suspended, tapping the cap against his chin. The remaining orders aren’t urgent. Doorstep drop-offs queued for tomorrow. They can wait. Everything, for now, is intact.

And yet, a tug, subtle but persistent, one of which is a mental itch that doesn’t announce itself but crouches in the back of the mind, waiting. He nudges the computer mouse, and the monitor blinks awake with irradiance. Emails. Right. The guilt-trap that is the inbox. A dozen unread. Maybe more.

With a clean snap of his notebook, he swivels toward the screen. A moment’s shilly-shallying before diving in, the cursor hovers. He skims the greetings, sidesteps the passive-aggressive ‘just checking in’s, and zeroes in on what matters: delivery confirmations, invoice receipts, late payments that aren’t his problem…yet. Copy. Paste. Archive. Tomorrow’s pile. Poof.

“Alright, boss, that’s the last batch,” comes Kazuha’s voice from behind the display: soft-spoken, smooth-edged man, like wind threading through half-closed blinds. Kaedehara Kazuha.

Tighnari lifts his gaze. His assistant, maroon sleeves rolled to the elbow, is arranging a pyramid of sunshine-yellow pots on the chestnut shelves near the front, methodically. A faint sheen glistens on his brow (proof of a long day), but he wipes it away with the back of his hand and folds his lime-green apron over one arm. One seamless motion. There’s no need for instructions. The kid runs like clockwork, each gesture relaxed but scrupulous. He’s already moved to the hand-off counter, calculator in hand, tallying up the day’s earnings like he’s closing out a meditation.

Tighnari returns to his screen, absently tucking a stray strand of hair behind his ear, squeezing a stress ball in his other hand, not because he’s stressed, but because it helps him pretend he’s unwinding. His eyes skim over tabs until they land on a certain name.

Stumble.

The tab sits there rather innocently, as if it hasn’t been mocking him all week. A dating site, yeah. Something he signed up for during a midafternoon lull, more out of boredom than loneliness, though maybe it’s hard to tell the difference when the clock hands start to blur and the flowers stop smelling like anything new… Unlimited Wi-Fi makes anything seem like a good idea. That day, he downloaded three e-books and created a profile. Balanced choices, he tells himself.

With a click, the screen floods with Stumble’s jarring color scheme: raven black, daffodil yellow. A handful of messages wait in the inbox, most of which he’s already decided he’ll never respond to. But one thread pulls at him. One conversation he hasn’t archived.

A single letter: C.

No photo of a dog. No skydiving selfie. Solely a profile picture that raises every red flag and, somehow, keeps him interested anyway: Cyno. As in the Cyno. The wildly famous, inexplicably charming musical phenomenon that Collei—his other assistant—plays at top volume whenever she thinks he’s not listening. Which is always. And Tighnari can’t help but ask himself the obvious: who uses their own face as a dating profile picture? Either the real Cyno is deeply reckless, or someone out there is staging a very specific, low-effort catfish.

And yet, against better judgment, curiosity got the better of him. He played along. For science. And everyone knows his love for science.

At first, the conversations were a loop of dead air and polite exchanges, a string of low-stakes observations:

“Just took the trash out.”“Went for a run today. You?”“Too full. Regretting breakfast.”

Breakfast, errands, weather. They were talks you forget five minutes after typing. But then, without warning, a pattern emerged. Morning check-ins, nightcap messages, running commentary on nothing at all that, oddly, felt more sincere than most of the flattery he usually got.

They spoke daily, like it were scheduled. And slowly, the absurdity of the profile faded into the background. Tighnari found himself waiting for C’s replies, not actively, but in that way where silence feels too loud when it’s missing. He never pushed for a real name, a phone call, not even a photo that wasn’t blatantly stolen. He didn’t need to. Something was refreshing in the anonymity, see, the mutual pretending. As well as the safety of knowing this probably led nowhere.

Be that as it may, the idea scratches at him. Cyno… It would be laughable if it weren’t so peculiarly plausible. The timing of the responses, the occasional dry humor that matches the musician’s stage persona a little too well. It’s stupid. He knows it’s stupid.

But he still checks the tab every evening. Types out his replies, edits them once, twice, deletes half, then rewrites. Feels that strange tickle in his chest when the message ping appears, for whatever reason.

…Looking back, it’s sometime after the first week that Tighnari realizes C isn’t half bad, especially once the jokes start. Ironic, shadily gauged, sometimes foolish, but funny in a way that creeps up on him. More than once, he catches himself grinning at the screen mid-shift, or letting out a short, startled laugh while elbow-deep in an order. Eventually, he stops replying to the others entirely, letting their conversations go cold. C is the only one who holds his attention.

And now, a month in, it’s drill: he opens Stumble, skips every new message without a second look, and goes straight to the thread with the user sporting Cyno’s face. The very same Cyno—the Mahamatra—pianist of The Generals, chart-dominating band and national obsession.

Tighnari isn’t a fan, not personally, but he might as well be by proxy. Thanks to Collei, their music plays on a near-daily loop at Anise and Lemongrass. Every album, every single, every remix. He knows them all. He’s memorized lyrics without meaning to. And to be fair, the songs are good. Hm. Okay, so. More than good. Catchy, haunting, sometimes too pretty to ignore. He finds himself humming them under his breath when he’s cleaning the counters or labeling stock.

Their vocalist, Venti (stage name Barbatos), has a voice that drapes over a melody like silk soaked in wine. Collei swears he’s the best singer alive. Tighnari doesn’t argue. He never minds when she turns the stereo up or launches into a spontaneous band trivia session. He’s gotten used to it. He even listens. More than that, he retains what she says, catalogues it with the same mental accuracy he applies to plant varieties and animal diets.

Right, so. There are four members: Cyno, Xiao, Venti, and Kunikuzushi. Onstage, they go by Mahamatra, Alatus, Barbatos, and Scaramouche. Names that sound more like gods than musicians. According to Collei, only ‘real fans’ know both identities. Everyone else just calls them “that one band with four hot guys,” and leaves it at that.

He remembers the day she cornered him and Kazuha behind the register, phone in hand, glowing with the zeal of a disciple about to preach.

“This is Mahamatra,” she said, shoving the phone between them. A candid shot of Cyno, all sharp angles and bored eyes. “But everyone calls him Cyno. He’s second most popular after Barbatos, obviously—he’s the singer! Just turned twenty-five. He likes—”

Kazuha, reserved as he is, nodded politely and slipped away before she could finish the sentence.

Tighnari stayed. Listened. Asked a few questions to be gallant. In truth, he was thinking about toast. Raspberry jam. A quiet apartment. Silence. But it was slow that day, the shop almost devoid, and the sun already leaning west. So he let her talk, right to the end of her monologue, which included an enthusiastic breakdown of every band member’s role: Mahamatra on piano, Alatus shredding the lead guitar, Scaramouche behind the drums, Barbatos singing and playing the lyre. (Seriously, someone needs to set Collei up with a fan club or something.)

The information sticks, despite his best efforts.

A notification pings.

C: Feel so tired. How’s work? A lot of earnings for the shop today, I hope? Take care, T.

There it is again—that letter. T. Short, simple, almost intimate, though neither of them would admit it.

Tighnari smirks, faintly. That nickname came from one of their earlier back-and-forths, during the sarcasm-laced phase of their rapport. C had insisted on only being called C. Tighnari, the contrarian, had decided turnabout was fair play. “Then you can call me T,” he’d said. And so it stuck. A ceasefire of anonymity.

They know bits and pieces about each other. Enough to feel friendly, but never too much. Tighnari’s confessed he runs a flower shop, mentioned he has two assistants, but never shared names or daily activity photos. C, in return, keeps things vague. Some days are busy. Others aren’t. No job titles. No locations. Just lazy chatter about nothing in particular.

Their messages are discreet, directionless. Safe.

And somehow, that makes them easier to return to.

T: Hello, C. Work’s fine, thanks for asking. My assistant’s still crunching numbers, so I don’t know the earnings yet. You mentioned being tired. Maybe put the phone down and rest? C: But I just picked it up. Literally. We did a lot of work today. Plus, I wanna talk to my T. How’s your day?

My T? Tighnari arches a brow, lips twitching. Flattery, eh? As if that would work on him. Still, the line earns a suppressed snort, making him bite back a grin, in case either of his assistants happens to glance his way.

T: Fine. Exhausting, but fun. Lots of walk-ins. My assistants goofed around so much I somehow got dragged into it.

He remembers it clearly. Collei had turned lunch into chaos by smearing icing across Kazuha’s cheek. Retaliation was immediate. A full-fledged frosting skirmish erupted in the span of seconds. Tighnari, stepping in to defuse things, had ended up with a dollop of buttercream right on his nose. Collei had issued a laugh-soaked apology that barely qualified as sincere. Kazuha, unfazed, had simply chuckled, then—

Offered to lick it off.

Tighnari declined. Firmly. He’s many things, but reckless with attraction? No, thank you. Falling for someone like Kazuha, with that face and those eyes, would be ruinous.

C: What did they do this time? T: Food fight. It was awful. C: That sounds fun, actually. Who started it? T: Ah, the one who won’t shut up about your band.

He hits send with a soundless laugh. It’s funnier when you pretend. He knows C isn’t the real Mahamatra, but it’s still entertaining to keep up the act.

There’s a pause. C has seen the message but doesn’t reply right away.

C: Oh, our band… The Degenerates. Well, I didn’t know one of your assistants listens to our songs.

So he wants to play the game? Tighnari doesn’t mind. He leans back in his chair and types.

T: She does. She’s crazy about your band. C: I see. What about you? T: What about me? C: Do you also listen to our songs? T: Meh… not really. Though I do listen to them against my will. My assistant blasts them on slow days. C: Oh. Haha. Guess we’re not your cup of tea. T: Wouldn’t say that. Some of your songs are good. C: Ah… That’s kind of you. Thanks. So what type of music do you like? T: Don’t mention it. Lol. I guess I like the old stuff. Ever heard of Enya? C: Enya? No. Never heard of them. Maybe I’ll look them up. Are they a band? T: Not really. More like a one-woman band. C: Ah, a solo artist. T: Precisely.

Tighnari bites the inside of his cheek, fingers hovering. He considers stopping there, but something nags at him. He exhales and adds one more.

T: By the way, just to be clear. I don’t actually think you’re the real Mahamatra. I was joking earlier. But since you’ve got his profile pic and go by “C,” I figured it fit.

C doesn’t reply right away. When the message finally comes through, it’s short.

C: Oh. Okay. No problem, T :)

A loud thud snaps him out of the screen. Kazuha is suddenly leaning over the marble counter, eyes catching the gold of the overhead lightbulbs, slip of paper in hand. “Heya, boss. I’m done.”

“Oh? Alright.” Tighnari takes the sheet, still half in the digital conversation. But the numbers bring him back. Brows rise. They didn’t just meet the goal—they surpassed it. “We’re good to go,” he says, folding the paper with placid satisfaction.

“Oh, brother. It’s started raining,” Collei calls from the back, stepping into view with a mud-streaked towel over her shoulder. Her cheeks are speckled with soil, she must’ve been elbows-deep in potting mix.

Tighnari glances toward the front window. Rain taps softly against the glass, steady and soothing. His shoulders relax. He’s always liked the rain.

With a low exhale, he logs out of the computer, powers it down, and mentally pushes tomorrow’s email backlog to where it belongs: tomorrow. “Let’s get moving, you two.”

“Aight, boss.”

They always call him that, even when they don’t have to. He stopped correcting them months ago.

The closing regimen is smooth, almost wordless. Kazuha takes out the garbage. Collei sweeps. Tighnari counts the day’s earnings, locks the cashbox in the safe, then tucks the shop key into his satchel. Same key both his assistants carry, for when they beat him to opening up.

Soon, they’re standing under the front awning, watching the rain curtain the street. It’s peaceful, in that transitional way evening rain always is.

“Actually, my roommate’s picking me up,” Kazuha murmurs, thumbs busy on his phone.

Collei’s already rambling in a call, reeling off the shop’s address. Tighnari looks over.

“Are you sure you don’t want a ride? It’s not a bother.”

She waves him off. “Nah, I’m good, boss. I called a cab. You go home and rest.”

She flashes him a grin so warm it feels like summer trying to break through the gray sky.

He doesn’t press it. His sweater’s already soaked at the sleeves, rain pattering cold against his skin. The idea of home, warm and dry and soft, bends in his chest like a promise. He sighs. It’s almost involuntary.

Once Collei climbs into her cab and waves goodbye, he turns just in time to see Kazuha stepping below a salmon-colored umbrella held by his roommate, Heizou.

“Take care, boss!” Kazuha calls, flashing a lazy peace sign before disappearing down the street.

“You too. See you tomorrow.”

And just like that, Tighnari is alone. Not lonely. Just… quieter now.

He adjusts the strap on his satchel and heads into the rain, letting the world mute itself around him.

He crosses the street and climbs into his pastel jade Beetle, shaking his head to flick the rain off clinging to his hair before reaching for the ignition. The heater kicks in with a low groan. Warm air sputters to life, fogging the windshield in slothful twirls. His tawny satchel lands with a thump on the passenger seat. Buckling in, he peeks at the rearview mirror once (just once) before easing away from the curb and into the mist-slick street, eager to outrun the cold clinging to his sleeves.

Home isn’t close. That’s by design.

Tighnari chose distance on purpose: a one-story cottage near the city’s skirt, brushing the line where suburbs start thinning into farmland. Almost countryside, not quite, but close enough that morning air smells like moisture instead of exhaust. The house is small, low to the ground, built from rubble and cobblestone. It used to be a ruin—barely a shell—but he rebuilt it brick by brick, scraping together the money, calling in every favor, doing half the work himself. He could’ve picked something turnkey, something sleek and staged, with polished floors and ready-made charm. But that was never the dream.

The first time he saw it, it looked like it had grown straight out of the earth. Lopsided. Charming. More fantasy than function. Instead of building upward or modernizing it to death, he asked the workers to dig. Lower the floor. Preserve the crooked roof. Keep the magic.

Now, a short set of cemented stairs leads down to a circular front door tucked into the slope, giving the illusion that the cottage has burrowed into the hill like it’s hiding from the world.

It’s perfect. Exactly what he wanted.

Every time he returns, the sight of it makes something in him unclench.

He’s always imagined a life like this, surrounded by leaves and quiet. A place where he could grow his own herbs, dry spices in the sun, and scatter greenery across every available surface. Maybe even vanish into some real forest someday, go off-grid, build a garden from scratch, let time soften him into the soil.

Yeah, sure. ‘Pretentious.’ He’s heard that before. He’ll wear it like a badge. Because honestly? The air is cleaner out here. His animals are healthier. The wind sounds like wind, not traffic howling through concrete. And if that makes him cliché, well—he’s fine with that.

One day, maybe, he’ll leave the city behind for good.

But for now, his little patch of the world stands out. It’s smaller than the modern houses around it. Stranger. And he’s definitely the only one bold enough in the neighborhood to keep a goat in the yard.

He pulls into the gravel driveway and cuts the engine. The Beetle squares with a soft creak. Rain still falls steadily, drumming on the roof as he steps out and shuts the door with gentleness that keeps the old thing from rattling. Up the stone path, past the white wooden fence, and down the steps to the door. He unlocks it, switches the hanging porch lights on, and descends into his own quiet.

Inside, the house is a compact maze of deliberate choices.

The bedroom is barely big enough to fit the thrifted wardrobe, the single bed piled with a mismatched blanket, and a tiny wooden desk buried under scrapbooks and half-finished notes. The bathroom is functional but beloved, featuring his pride and joy: a sage-green clawfoot tub that took two months to find and three grown men to carry inside. There’s a proper toilet. A comprehensible sink. The rest is a blend of humidity and eucalyptus oil.

The living space is simple; just a couch, some shelving, a tiny corner table, and across from it, a ‘dirty kitchen,’ more workbench than cooking space. No TV. He doesn’t see the point. There’s nothing on that he wants to watch.

His garden, however, is another story.

Both front and back yards are untamed, barely contained catastrophes. Ferns tangle with climbing beans, mint spills over the path, and sunflowers lean like they’re drunk off daylight. It’s also where his unofficial zoo lives: two stray cats, one floppy-eared dog, a pair of rabbits who refuse to stay in their pen, and, of course, Saffron—the goat. She’s almost aggressively unbothered, spending her days chewing grass and judging everyone.

Inside, the house is just as lively.

A glass aquarium sits in the foreroom, lit by soft blue LEDs, where guppies flit through floating plants like living confetti. Near the hall, a cobalt birdcage houses two Senegal parrots that are loud, nosy, and far too clever. They start talking the second they sense movement.

Kazuha and Collei visited once. They’d taken one long look around and muttered something under their breath as they stepped inside. “It’s oozing cottagecore.”

He’d looked that up later and nearly choked on his tea. Alright. Fine. Guilty as charged.

But so what?

Smiling at the memory, he plugs in the WiFi router beside the shoe rack, waits for the connection to hum back to life.

Almost instantly, his phone vibrates in his pocket. Notifications spill across the screen. One in particular stands out.

C.

Still smiling, he drops onto the worn sofa, thumb hovering over the message thread. The rain continues outside, invariable and soothing, as he opens the chat.

C: Oh no, it rained. Hope you got home safe, T. T: Just got in, actually. Thanks, C. Now go to sleep. We workaholics need rest too. C: Hmm. Depends. Are you going to sleep early? T: Why do you need to know that? C: Because if you are, I won’t have a reason to stay up. No one to talk to. T: Really? Don’t you have other friends? C: I do… There are three. But we live together, so I don’t need to talk to them. Besides, they’re not as interesting as you.

Well then.

T: Is that so? How come?

Tighnari sends the message as he toes his shoes off by the door, placing them neatly on the rack. He pads into the kitchen, fills the kettle, and sets it to boil. As it buzzes to life, he rifles through the cupboards for his favorite tea, which is something floral and calming. He grabs a cup, adds a spoonful of sugar, and drops in the bag as the water starts to whir.

His phone vibrates again. A long message. He scrolls.

C: Well, for one, two of them are dating, so that’s self-explanatory. They spend 24/7 doting on each other. It’s sickening. Like, in a cartoonish, hand-holding-through-every-hallway kind of way. And the third one? Addicted to online games. The moment we’re off work, he disappears into his room like he’s got side quests to complete. So yeah. A house full of boring guys. Lol. Don’t get me wrong, they’re cool when they want to be, but mostly we just exist in the same space.

Tighnari settles into his usual seat at the table, warm mug in hand, and types back.

T: Sounds a bit dull, yeah. But I can be boring too, you know. C: Nah. You’re not. From what you’ve told me, you’re far from it. You’ve got a house full of animals. I wouldn’t be surprised if you once helped a horse give birth. Then there’s the flower shop. You’re a florist and your own boss. That’s impressive. Plus, you’ve got two cool coworkers and you’re basically the god of plants. Where’s the boring in that?

Tighnari chuckles into his tea.

T: You give me too much credit, C. C: Just calling it like I see it. T: If I tell you I’m heading to bed early, will you finally sleep? C: Yesn’t… T: C… I swear to god… C: :( C: Okay. YES :( T: Then I’m going to sleep, just so you will too. C: Wow. Are you trying to get rid of me? :/ Should I cry now? T: Nope. I just want you to have energy tomorrow, dumdum. Don’t you jog in the mornings? C: Ugh. I do. Fine then. T: Haha. There you go. Goodnight, C. C: Bleh. Goodnight, T.

Tighnari shakes his head, still chuckling as he finishes the last of his tea. He sets the cup aside, stretches once, and rises to his feet.

Bathroom first. He turns on the faucet, letting the tub fill with steaming water. While it runs, he makes his nightly rounds: wet food for the cats, kibble for the dog, a handful of celery for the rabbits, and a pinch of flakes for the guppies. Outside, he checks on Saffron, who’s lounging next to a patch of Padisarah like she owns the spot. He strokes her chin (affectionately) and snorts when she tries to lick his hand.

Back inside, the tub is nearly full. He undresses, eases into the warmth, and lets the water work its way into every sore joint and overworked muscle. Shampoo, rinse, soak. The ache in his spine starts to ebb, replaced by that rare, floating quietude that only comes at the end of a long day done well.

Once clean, he dries off, throws on fresh clothes, and ambles toward the bedroom. No appetite for dinner. Just exhaustion, thick and pleasant. He slips underneath the covers and exhales as the mattress cradles his body. It’s warm. It’s soft. It’s perfect.

Just as he’s about to let go, his phone buzzes again. One more notification.

C: So, I might’ve looked up Enya… and wow. Thank you. Her voice is magic. I’ve definitely heard one of those songs before. Anyway, this is perfect sleep music. Night.

Tighnari huffs a quiet laugh. Enya and The Generals. Worlds apart if you ask him.

He locks the screen, places the phone on the nightstand, and closes his eyes.

Sleep takes him easily.

**

The next morning, Tighnari moves through his routine on autopilot: teeth brushed, face washed, hair quickly tied back. He scrolls through his notifications with one hand while the other nurses a mug of hot chocolate. It’s all the usual promos, shipping alerts, and a few messages from Collei about the shop’s inventory. Then one catches his eye.

C, 4:03 AM.

He squints, because what?

The message is simple.

C: Good morning. Off to work now.

Tighnari spills hot chocolate across his sweater, almost. He sets the mug down, toast half-eaten and forgotten on the plate, and purely gawks at the screen.

They were up that early? They had work at 4 in the damn morning?

He thumbs a quick reply.

T: Good morning to you too. Wow, talk about refusing to sleep early when you knew you had to be up at ass o’clock.

Sent.

He shakes his head, smirking as he demolishes breakfast, then moves on. Water for the guppies. Treats for the cats. Brekkie purées for the dog. The parrots start gossiping the second he walks by, one of them whistling like it’s trying to get his attention. He whistles back.

With pets fed and cleaned up after, he grabs his keys, wallet, and phone, which now is fully charged, and heads out.

The door locks with a constructive click behind him. Same praxis, different day. Every step feels like motor learning: unlock the Beetle, toss the bag in the backseat, start the engine, pull out slow.

As he rolls down the driveway, his phone whirs in the cupholder. A reply.

C: In my defense, I had no idea we needed to get up early. It was a last-minute thing. Take care on your way to work.

Tighnari snorts, twisting the wipers on as condensation fogs the windshield.

T: Excuses. T: And thanks, I guess. Will do.

**

By the time Tighnari pulls into the lot behind Anise and Lemongrass, the morning sun has hardly warmed the pavement. Kazuha stands outside, hose in hand, watering the rows of perennials with laggard, willful sweeps. Beside him, Heizou—his ever-lazy but weirdly competent roommate—nonchalantly tips a teal watering can toward a row of violet silk star hibiscus, yawning between pours.

“Morning, boss,” Kazuha grouses, voice still thick with sleep. His ruby eyes are a bit swollen, cheeks pink with that just-woke-up flush he somehow manages to make look aesthetic.

Heizou lifts a hand, mid-yawn. “Hey, Tighnari.”

“Morning, guys,” Tighnari replies, slipping past them with a small smile. He shrugs off his satchel and sets it behind the counter. “Where’s Collei?”

“At the back,” Heizou mutters, eyes still half-lidded.

Right on cue, Collei pops her head out from the stockroom door. “Over here! Good morning, boss!”

“Ah, morning.” Tighnari hums. “So what’s on the agenda today?”

He knows full well (he always knows, to be fair), but asking keeps the tempo of the shop alive. Kazuha answers while straightening up the till area, transporting sticky notes into a neat little grid.

One note in particular catches Tighnari’s eye. Kazuha’s elegant handwriting, no doubt: Smile, it’s another beautiful day! Don’t let it win and beat you at being more beautiful :p

Tighnari pans the note up, reads it twice, and casts a flat look toward Kazuha.

Kazuha only smirks.

With a sigh, Tighnari boots up the computer and begins his usual email triage. Out of the corner of his eye, his phone screen blinks on the counter. C. Of course.

He doesn’t reach for it. Not yet. He opens the browser and logs into Stumble from the desktop. Easier to type, easier to read. Easier to pretend he’s not checking for someone in particular.

Moments later, Collei flips the sign to OPEN, and their first customer of the day steps in. Kokomi.

“I need fifteen Small Lampgrass, five Qingxin flowers, and five lilac Sumeru Roses,” she says in that soft, level tone of hers, brushing a pastel strand behind her ear. “They’re for a friend.”

Collei flutters at her side like a helpful butterfly, guiding her through the shelves while Kazuha gets to work preparing the basket. He selects a few ribbons—moon-gold, lavender, blush—and begins decorating the arrangement with the quiet artistry of someone who refuses to half-ass anything. Yep, Kazuha for you.

When Kokomi circles back to the counter, she selects a greeting card from the spinner. Fuchsia, etched with crescent moons and tiny gold stars.

Tighnari picks it up, marker in hand, twirling it once between his fingers. “What should I write?”

Kokomi smiles, enough to make her eyes gleam. “Just: How’s it been? I’ve missed you. Love, Kokomi.”

He nods, writing it carefully, neatly. It comes out just right.

“I know what you’re about to ask,” she says slyly, arms folded.

Tighnari blinks. “But I didn’t—”

She cuts him off with a raised hand. “I’ll say it anyway. It’s for Lumine.”

Ah. Lumine. One half of that unstoppable twin duo who are always bouncing between countries, cities, continents at that.

“She was gone for months,” Kokomi conveys, her tone more casual than her slightly pink cheeks suggest. “Just got back from a trip. Figured I’d surprise her.”

“Where was she this time?”

“Out of town. Somewhere remote. I don’t even ask anymore. She and Aether are always chasing something, you know?” She huffs, a little too soft for true annoyance.

“I’m sure she’ll love it.”

“She better,” Kokomi says, shrugging, but she remains at the counter for a couple more beats before taking the basket and card, nodding her goodbye.

By forenoon, the shop is thriving. Customers filter in and out. A few bouquet requests, some seedling inquiries, one guy asking if they sell Venus flytraps (they don’t, not anymore). Once the morning rush begins to die down, Tighnari finally decides to deal with the email backlog. Too many online orders. He sends Kazuha out for deliveries before the list swells further. Heizou tags along—no classes today, apparently—offering a shrug and a smirk as he follows Kazuha out the door.

When Tighnari returns to the computer, something tugs at the edge of his focus.

C. Right. He still hasn’t checked the message.

He clicks over.

…Six new ones.

C: Just got off work. We didn’t do much. Signed a couple of things, then got let off to wander on our own again. C: I’m back at the condo alone. The lovebirds took off somewhere, didn’t even say where. And to think one of them’s my best friend. C: Officially abandoned. The grumpy one left to buy something for his mom’s birthday… I’m so bored, T. C: T, you there? C: T? How’s work? C: You must be busy. Oh well.

T: Hey, C, sorry for not replying right away. Opened the shop at eight and got caught up with work, but I’ve got some free time now. Sent one of my assistants to deliver some bouquets in the city. The other one's still here just in case customers walk in. T: Sounds like you’ve got a lot of time on your hands. Why’s your job schedule so weird?

C: There you areee. Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I might’ve missed your chats. Haha. Sorry, that probably sounds weird since we don’t even know each other in person. But you’re the only one I really talk to these days, and, well… you already know that. C: Oh yeah, about my job, it’s kind of a mess. My manager only calls me in when they need me. Some days I’m there all day, some days I’m out in an hour. It’s not worth getting into. You don’t need to know more than that. :D

Tighnari doesn’t immediately process the second message. The first one hits too fast. And way too hard. A casual line—might’ve missed your chats—but it makes his stomach do irrational stuff. Nausea? No. Nerves? Unlikely.

Maybe I’m just hungry.

He clears his throat and calls out, “Uh, Collei?”

“Yes, boss?” Her voice floats back from the shelves, where she’s rearranging floral foam and dusting pots.

“Do you mind grabbing us lunch?”

She perks up instantly. “Sure! Anything you fancy?”

“Surprise me. Grab something for all three of us—Kazuha won’t care.”

“Okay! Should I head out now? Who’s on the floor?”

Tighnari glances at the time. “Yeah, go. Kazuha should be back any minute.”

“Alrighty! As you wish, boss.” She unfastens her apron and tosses it over the counter, skipping out with her customary enthusiasm.

With the shop quiet again, he turns back to the computer.

T: Didn’t expect that, but thanks. You’re thoughtful, C. You’re the only one I really talk to these days too. Tried entertaining other chats here, but none of them stood out. Except you. T: And don’t worry. I won’t pry. Instead, I’ll suggest a distraction. How about a movie? C: Okay. Got any recs?

Ah, easy.

T: Have you seen The Water Horse? C: Nope. What’s it about? T: Maybe you should put it on and find out.

A beat passes.

C: Alright. This better be good, T. I trust your taste. T: You do? C: Of course. You’re awesome. T: Haha. Flattery. C: Is it working? T: It is. C: Then I win.

That you did.

The front door swings open with a chime, a gust of crisp air trailing behind it. Tighnari’s head jerks at the sound.

Kazuha steps in, his posture relaxed, hair tied into a neater ponytail than before, like he ran a hand through it a few times and accidentally styled it perfectly. A few streaks of crimson in his fringe catch the light as he shakes off the breeze. “I’m back, boss,” he says, brushing a few leaves off his jacket.

“That was fast. Where’s Heizou?”

“Dropped him off at our place. Said something came up.” He shrugs. “But I think he’ll be back later.”

Tighnari nods. “I asked Collei to grab lunch for us. Hope you’re okay with her picking.”

Kazuha waves it off. “You know me. I’ll eat anything. Hand me garbage, I’ll eat it—straight from your palm and all.”

Tighnari chuckles, shaking his head. “You have no standards.”

“None whatsoever,” Kazuha says, proud.

Before Tighnari can reply, the bell over the door chimes again. A second customer steps in. Atmosphere displaces—not perilously, just enough to draw attention. He glances toward the entrance.

A man.

Not especially tall, but something about him pulls the eye. Presence. Maybe it’s the way he walks, or the sunglasses. Aviators, indoors. The dark red hoodie and matching joggers are unassuming, almost bland, but the shoes are not. They’re flashy. Expensive. They gleam a little too brightly under the shop lights.

Weird combo. Overdressed from the ankles down, underdressed everywhere else.

“Afternoon! Welcome to Anise and Lemongrass,” Kazuha greets, fluid and polite. “What can I help you with, sir?”

The man scratches the back of his neck. “Uh… I don’t really know. Maybe something that smells… good?”

“Right this way.” Kazuha gives him a calm smile and gestures toward a nearby shelf lined with their bestselling bouquets and scent-focused arrangements.

Tighnari watches them for a moment. The man doesn’t take off his sunglasses. Doesn’t look around much either. There’s an unease in his shoulders that doesn’t quite complement the soft-shop vibe. Not threatening, just… curiously alert.

Eventually, Tighnari forces himself to look away. There’s no real reason to fixate. Customers are customers. Eccentricity isn’t a crime.

He turns back to his screen.

Right. C.

Still waiting.

And now, he has something to say.

C: This movie is very nice, T. As expected of you. T: I see you’re enjoying yourself. Not so bad, is it? C: The movie? Yeah. It’s cute.

Cute?

That’s new.

In all the weeks they’ve been talking, through sleepless nights, quiet mornings, fragmented workdays, Tighnari has never seen C use that word. Not once. C isn’t a cute person. They’re cryptic, witty, slightly ridiculous when it suits them. But cute? That feels like a word pried out of a different version of them. A more unguarded one.

He replies.

T: No, I meant being by yourself. I, for one, prefer it. C: Oh. Yeah, you’re right. I never thought of that. I’m so used to being surrounded by people. Especially with my line of work. T: See, that’s the thing. With both our jobs, yours too, apparently, being around people becomes the default. Noise, chatter, constant movement. You forget what silence feels like. So when it happens, when it’s real and no one’s tugging at you for something? That kind of quiet is rare. You should lean into it. Let it settle. C: Ah… Yeah, okay. I’ll take your advice. Thanks, T. T: You’re welcome, C.

Tighnari leans back in his chair, arms stretched lazily over his head, the dull crack of his joints lost beneath the shop’s ambient hush. The air’s calm. He likes this hour, the lull between midday uproar and the afternoon trickle, where only the drone of flowers and the rustle of inventory exist. It’s just him, Kazuha, and the man still browsing by the scent shelf.

Still wearing those sunglasses.

Tighnari narrows his eyes. That’s odd. Maybe it’s nothing, and they’re light-sensitive. It happens, right? But the longer he watches, the more something doesn’t sit right. It’s how the guy acquits himself—shoulders hunched, posture pulled inward, supposing he’s performing unpretentious but failing to hit the mark. It’s not just odd. It’s intentional. Like he’s hiding.

But from who?

Tighnari doesn’t get to finish the thought because something happens. Subtle, but immediate.

Discomfort tightens the space between Kazuha and the customer. Tighnari’s gaze snaps back to his assistant, who now stands stiffly, arms crossed, facial expression scribbled but visibly drawn inward. Defensive. Guarded. He doesn’t do guarded.

And the man across from him?

Oh.

The realization clicks with almost comedic clarity. Seriously?

Tighnari’s brows lift. Is he flirting with Kazuha? In his shop?

Before he can intervene, the door bursts open again and Collei barrels in, her cheeks flushed, hair windblown, grocery bags rustling in her arms.

“Sorry I took so long, boss!” she announces, breathless. “There was some commotion on the way, but I got us rice and meat!”

Tighnari exhales, rolling his shoulders once, resetting. “No problem. Leave it in the back. We’ll take a break soon.”

She disappears with a nod, leaving him standing in the middle of the shop, blinking away whatever tension had started to root in his spine.

He flips the OPEN sign to CLOSED and returns to the counter just as Kazuha approaches, arms full of the customer’s final selection: Glaze Lilies, wrapped in soft, gradient paper with a splash of white eucalyptus tucked inside.

“Hey,” Tighnari murmurs, voice low. “You okay?”

Kazuha doesn’t look up. He just nods, busy with the bouquet’s final touches.

Sure, Tighnari thinks. Totally okay. Definitely not bothered.

But he lets it go.

The customer approaches, still silent behind those ridiculous sunglasses. It’s not until they’re directly across the counter that they finally speak.

“How long have you had this shop?”

It’s such a strange question that Tighnari momentarily blinks, almost expecting something more… relevant.

“A year and a few months,” he answers, tone slow and careful. Then, with a tilt of his head, “Why do you ask? Like what you see?”

The man doesn’t answer—not directly. Their gaze flits once more. Back to Kazuha, who pretends not to notice. Probably.

The silence stretches. It’s the kind that’s trying to be off-the-cuff but flounders under its own weight. Tighnari recognizes it instantly. He’s seen this kind of behavior before. The prolonged glances. The faux nonchalance. The complete and utter failure at being subtle.

Yeah. He gets it.

Kazuha, for once, isn’t volleying back with his wonted dry wit or amused smirks. He’s quiet. Eyes down. Slight flinch in his posture when attention lands on him rigorously.

The customer hums thoughtfully. “Yeah, actually. I might just… come back.”

There’s teeth in those words. Not a compliment, not even a vague promise. It’s marked. Territorial, almost.

Tighnari lifts his chin a bit, meeting the lenses square on. His pronouncement doesn’t waver, but his voice softens, gliding a warning under the surface.

“That would be great,” he says, pleasant as sunshine through thorns. “We’d love to have you back.” Then, in one fluid motion, he slides a greeting card across the counter, spinning a marker between his fingers as if he has all the time in the world. “What should I write on the card?”

The man blinks, caught off-guard. “Huh?”

“For the bouquet,” Tighnari clarifies. “Do you want to add a note?”

The man sputters, lips parting, closing, then parting again. Even with those tinted glasses, Tighnari can see the flush blooming up the guy’s neck. “Eh? Is—is that required?”

“Not at all,” Tighnari relays smoothly. “But if you’d like something written, I’d be happy to do it for you. So?”

The customer rubs the back of their neck, fingers fidgeting with the hem of their hoodie. “O-oh, um. Just write… ‘Way to go, Mom,’ I guess…”

Tighnari doesn’t comment. Just writes. But as he looks up, he catches the man’s eyes again, still fixed on Kazuha, lingering longer than they should.

He clears his throat, sharp enough to cut through whatever gaze is happening.

“Anything else?”

The guy jumps, caught again. “Oh—no. No, that’s great. Thanks. How much?”

“Ten thousand mora.”

The man pulls out a wallet. Tighnari blinks. The leather is sleek, pristine, lavish. A thing no one buys unless they care who’s watching.

He places a hundred thousand mora on the counter.

“Keep the change.”

Tighnari stares. What the fuck.

“Uh… You sure? That’s… excessive.”

The customer waves a hand like it’s pocket change. “Yeah, yeah. Call it a tip. Thanks for the great bouquet by…” They glance left.

Of course.

“Kazuha,” Tighnari supplies flatly.

Kazuha, mid-reach, flinches at the name drop.

The man repeats it like they’re tasting it. “Kazuha. Right. I’ll remember that.”

Kazuha hands over the bouquet, toneless. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

“Mhm.”

The customer turns and walks out without another word, but just before the door shuts, they look back.

Tighnari watches them leave, his mind already sorting pieces, drawing lines that may or may not connect.

Something about that interaction didn’t just feel…strange. It felt orchestrated.

On instinct, he flips open his browser and types: The Generals band members.

A list loads. Headshots, stage names, real names, interviews, red carpet shots. Flashbulbs and curated charisma.

Then his eyes land on one photo in particular.

His heart skips. Only once.

The sunglasses. The posture. The voice.

His stomach drops. Then he turns, throat parched.

“Hey, Kazuha.”

A beat.

“Yes, boss?”

Tighnari doesn't say a word at first. He raises a finger and crooks it, beckoning Kazuha toward the counter. His other hand hovers near the monitor, angled enough for them to see. The screen flashes with a paused webpage—biographical info, press shots, and a headline so jocosely polished it almost feels fake.

“This is them, isn’t it?” he mutters, lowly, leveled not with accusation but with the mass of confirmation he doesn’t want to be right about.

Kazuha’s brows knit together, not immediately following. “Who’s them?” His voice sounds cautious. “You mean… the customer just now?”

Tighnari nods. Short. Terse.

Kazuha squints at the screen, appearing unsure. But then his eyes widen, a few seconds too late.

“You already had a feeling about them,” he mutters, “and looked them up?”

Another nod. No sarcasm. No smugness. Just grim certainty.

Kazuha exhales, slow and shallow, then leans in. His gaze lands on the image frozen on the screen—professional lighting, stage makeup, the slight tilt of a smirk that suggests the subject knows exactly how good the camera loves him. His dark hair is tousled in an artfully intentional mess. His eyes, jagged, calculating, are mostly hidden in the picture, framed by aviator sunglasses similar to those the man wore inside the shop.

It doesn’t take long.

Kazuha’s fingers twitch at his side. Then, absentmindedly, he pinches his bottom lip between his thumb and forefinger, a nervous tell he probably doesn’t even realize he’s doing.

His eyes dart between the screen and memory. The image. The real thing.

When he finally pulls away, he meets Tighnari’s gaze. And, they don’t need to say anything, not really.

Because they’re wearing the same demeanor.

Consternation.

“…Scaramouche?” Kazuha punctuates, the name landing between them like a puzzle piece that suddenly fits.

Tighnari doesn’t bat an eye.

“Yeah,” he deadpans. “Scaramouche.”

Of course, it had to be him. One of the four stars of The Generals. The drummer. The so-called wildcard of the group. The one Collei called chaotic evil with red eyeliner. The same one who, apparently, thought wearing a hoodie and sunglasses was enough to not get recognized while flirting with Kazuha in broad daylight, in a flower shop, of all damn places.

Tighnari leans back in his chair and scrubs a hand down his face.

He sighs, suffering and long.

“…I knew those shoes were too clean.”

[greekstar]

Warrior cat name Ideas Prefixes - A-Z A Acorn Adder Amber Ant Apple Arch Arrow Aspen Ash Asher Alder Amber B Badger Bark Beech Bellow Birch Berry Bird Black Blizzard Brave Breeze Bright Brown Bell Bug Beetle Bluebell Blue Bounce Brindle Brush Bush Buzzard Buzz Bee Bumble Bass Basil Bubble Brine Beaver Bison (I feel like this only goes good with ‘horn’ or Bisonpelt/fur.) Bat Bone Butterfly Burdock Broken Bramble Bracken Bay Brisk Blossom Briar Boil Branch Bud C Cloud Cloudy Crystal Cold Cricket Cliff Cardinal Crying Cougar Coyote Cobweb Chick Cow Cave Cheetah Carrot Coral Cactus Claw Cedar Cherry Cinder Clover Copper Creek Crooked Crouch Crow D Dew Dewy Duck Dusty Dust Dune Down Dagger Dodge Dolphin Daisy Doe Dapple Dappled Dark Dawn Dead Dove Drift Dusk E Eagle Ebony Echo Egg Eel Ember F Fallen Fallow Fawn Feather Fennel Fern Ferret Finch Fire Flame Fleet Flint Flower Flow Fly Fox Freckle Frog Frost Furze Fuzzy Foal Falling Fall G Gale Gust Golden Gold Goose Gorse Gorge Grass Gray Green Grass Goldfish Guppy Ghost H Hail Half Hare Hawk Hay Hoot Hazel Heather Heavy Hollow Holly Honey Honeycomb Hummingbird Horse Happy Hornet Hound Heron I Ice Ivy J Jagged Jay Joy Jaguar Jackdaw Jump Juniper K Kestrel Kink Koi L Lake Larch Leaf Lark Leopard Lichen Lightning Lily Lion Little Lizard Log Long Lost Loud Low Lynx M Maggot Mallow Maple Marsh Meadow Milk Minnow Mint Mist Misty Mole Moon Morning Moss Mossy Moth Mottle Mouse Mouth Mud Mumble Mink Muddy Moonlight Mountain Mushroom Monkey N Nettle Needle Nut Newt Night Nimble O Oak Oat Odd Olive One Otter Owl Orange Ocean Orca Opal P Pale Perch Pool Pike Peak Prickle Pounce Pine Petal Petal Pebble Pear Patch Pirate(kittypet or loner) Polar Peach Panda Pond Pigeon Plum Q Quail Quick R Rabbit Rain Ragged Rat Rattle Root Raspberry Reed Red Robin Rock Rose Rowan Rubble Running Rushing Rush Russet Rust Rye Raven Raccoon Rustle Rattlesnake Ravine Rapid S Sage Short Sheep Sedge Shrew Slate Slow Snail Sneeze Sorrel Soot Spider Spruce Sun Sunny Swallow Shallow Shade Sharp Scorch Sand Sandy Sky Silver Smoke Snake Soft Snow Sparrow Speckle Splash Spotted Squirrel Stalking Stalk Stalker Starling Stone Storm Stumpy Stump Sweet Swift Shred Sloe Shell Seed Shimmer Shimmering Skunk Spirit Squid Shy Sound Summer Sapphire Spiraling Spiral Shark Saturn T Tall Talon Tooth Timber Tiger Twig Tumble Thorn Thistle Thrush Tawny Tangle Ting Trout Torn Toad Tiny V Vine Vixen Void Vole W Wasp Weasel Web Weed Wet Whisker White Whale Wild Willow Wind Wolf Winter Wisteria Whisper Whispering Water Wave Waver Whisper Watermelon Whistle Wood Y Yellow

Yew

Yarrow- suggested

You guys DONT WANNA KNOW how LONG this took. I’m crying. And I might’ve missed some so feel free to send me messages in chat to request me editing it and putting it in some (not like messaging but the. Chat in this post lol.)

@cryptidclaw I also did this for our Au to help us with renaming.

I will get to suffixes soon I promise.

[moths-wc-aus]

my personal prefix list

A

Acanthus, Aconite, Acorn, Adder, Agate, Albatross, Alder, Algae, Alligator, Allium, Aloe, Alpine, Alyssum, Amaranth, Amaryllis, Amber, Anemone, Ant, Apple, Ash, Ashen, Asp, Aspen, Asphodel, Aster, Atlas, Auburn, Avocet, Azalea, Azure

B

Badger, Barberry, Bark, Barley, Basil, Bass, Bat, Bay, Bayberry, Beach, Bean, Bear, Beaver, Bee, Beech, Beetle, Berry, Betony, Billow, Birch, Bird, Bittern, Black, Blackberry, Blackbird, Blaze, Blazing, Bliss, Blister, Blizzard, Bloom, Blooming, Blossom, Blotch, Blotched, Blue, Bluebell, Blueberry, Bluebird, Boar, Bog, Bolt, Bone, Borage, Boulder, Bounce, Bowfin, Bracken, Bramble, Branch, Brass, Brave, Bream, Breeze, Briar, Bright, Brindle, Bristle, Broken, Bronze, Brook, Broom, Brown, Brush, Bubble, Buck, Bug, Bull, Bullfrog, Bumble, Burdock, Burn, Burnet, Burning, Burnt, Burr, Bush, Buttercup, Butterfly, Buzz, Buzzard

C

Calm, Canary, Cardinal, Carp, Cave, Cavern, Cedar, Chaffinch, Char, Charred, Chasing, Cherry, Chervil, Chestnut, Chick, Chickadee, Chicken, Chipmunk, Chirp, Chive, Chrysalis, Cicada, Cinder, Cinnamon, Clay, Clear, Cliff, Cloud, Clouded, Cloudy, Clover, Coal, Cobalt, Cobweb, Cold, Comet, Comfrey, Condor, Conifer, Copper, Cormorant, Cornflower, Corvid, Cotton, Cougar, Cove, Cow, Coyote, Crab, Crane, Crawfish, Crayfish, Cream, Creek, Creeping, Cricket, Crimson, Crocodile, Crooked, Crouch, Crow, Cuckoo, Curlew, Cygnet, Cypress

D

Daffodil, Daisy, Dancing, Dandelion, Dapple, Dappled, Dark, Dawn, Day, Dazzle, Deer, Dew, Doe, Dog, Dove, Dream, Drift, Drifting, Drizzle, Duck, Dune, Dusk, Dust, Dusty

E

Eagle, Ebony, Echo, Eddy, Eel, Egg, Egret, Eider, Elder, Elk, Elm, Ember, Ermine, Evening, Eventide, Ewe

F

Faith, Falcon, Fallen, Falling, Fallow, Fawn, Feather, Fen, Fennel,  Fern, Ferret, Fidget, Field, Fin, Finch, Fire, Firefly, Fish, Flake, Flame, Flare, Flash, Flax, Flea, Fleet, Flicker, Flight, Flint, Flood, Flounder, Flower, Flurry, Flutter, Fly, Flying, Foam, Fog, Forest, Fox, Foxglove, Freckle, Freckled, Freezing, Fritillary, Frog, Frost, Frozen, Fruit

G

Gale, Gardenia, Garlic, Garter, Gator, Gentle, Ginger, Glade, Gleaming, Glimmer, Glowing, Gloom, Goat, Golden, Goldfish, Goose, Gopher, Gorge, Gorse, Gosling, Grass, Gravel, Green, Grey, Grouse, Grove, Gull, Guppy, Gust

H

Hackberry, Haddock, Hail, Half, Hare, Harrier, Haven, Hawk, Hawthorn, Hay, Haze, Hazel, Heath, Heather, Heavy, Hedge, Hemlock, Hen, Heron, Herring, Hickory, Hidden, Hill, Hive, Hollow, Holly, Honey, Hop, Hope, Horizon, Hornet, Hound, Hush, Hyacinth, Hyssop

I

Ibis, Ice, Icy, Indigo, Iris, Ivory, Ivy

J

Jackdaw, Jagged, Jaguar, Jasmine, Jay, Jump, Jumping, Juniper

K

Kelp, Kestrel, Kindle, Kink, Kite, Knotweed, Koi

L

Lake, Lamb, Larch, Lark, Larkspur, Laurel, Lavender, Leaf, Leaping, Leech, Leek, Lemming, Leopard, Lichen, Light, Lightning, Lily, Lion, Linden, Little, Lizard, Lobelia, Locust, Long, Loon, Lost, Lotus, Loud, Lupine, Lynx

M

Mackerel, Magnolia, Magpie,  Mallard, Mallow, Mantis, Maple, Marble, Marbled, Marigold, Marmot, Marrow, Marsh, Marten, Mayflower, Meadow, Mellow, Merlin, Midge, Milkweed, Mink, Minnow, Mint, Mire, Mist, Mistle, Misty, Mole, Monarch, Moon, Moor, Moorhen, Moose, Morning, Mosquito, Moss, Mossy, Moth, Mottle, Mottled, Mountain, Mouse, Mud, Muddy, Mulberry, Mumble, Murky, Mushroom, Myrtle

N

Needle, Nettle, Newt, Night, Nut, Nuthatch

O

Oak, Oat, Ocean, Oleander, Olive, Orchid, Oriole, Osprey, Otter, Owl, Oyster

P

Pale, Pansy, Panther, Parsley, Parsnip, Partridge, Passerine, Patch, Pea, Peach, Pear, Pearl, Pebble, Peeper, Pelican, Peony, Pepper, Perch, Peregrine, Periwinkle, Petal, Petrel, Petunia, Pheasant, Pickerel, Pigeon, Pike, Pine, Pink, Pipit, Pitch, Plover, Plum, Poison, Pollen, Pond, Pool, Poplar, Poppy, Possom, Posy, Pounce, Prickle, Primrose, Puddle, Puffin, Pumpkin, Purple

Q

Quail, Quick, Quiet

R

Rabbit, Raccoon, Ragged, Ragweed, Rain, Raining, Ram, Raspberry, Rat, Raven, Red, Reed, Ribbon, Ridge, Ripple, Rising, River, Robin, Rock, Rocky, Rook, Rooster, Root, Rose, Rosemary, Rowan, Rubble, Rue, Rumble, Running, Rush, Rushing, Russet, Rust, Rusty, Rye

S

Sable, Sage, Salamander, Salmon, Salvia, Sand, Sandwort, Sandy, Sap, Scarlet, Scorch, Scorched, Scorching, Scratch, Screech, Sea, Seal, Sedge, Seed, Senna, Serval, Shade, Shadow, Shale, Sharp, Shatter, Sheep, Shell, Shimmer, Shining, Shiver, Shore, Shrew, Shrike, Shrub, Shy, Silent, Silk, Silver, Singe, Singing, Skip, Skunk, Sky, Slate, Sleek, Sleeping, Sleepy, Sleet, Slight, Slip, Sloe, Slug, Sly, Small, Smoke, Smudge, Snag, Snail, Snake, Snap, Sneeze, Snow, Snowy, Soaring, Soft, Song, Soot, Sorrel, Spark, Sparrow, Speckle, Speckled, Spider, Splash, Splinter, Splotch, Spot, Spotted, Spring, Spruce, Squirrel, Stag, Starling, Stem, Stoat, Stone, Stork, Storm, Stormy, Strawberry, Stream, Strike, Striped, Sugar, Sun, Sunflower, Sunny, Swallow, Swamp, Swan, Sweet, Swift, Swirl, Sycamore

T

Tabby, Tall,  Talon, Tanager, Tangle, Tansy, Tawny, Teasel, Tempest, Tern, Thicket, Thistle, Thorn, Thrush, Thunder, Thyme, Tide, Tiger, Timber, Tiny, Toad, Topple, Torrent, Tortoise, Tree, Trout, Tulip, Tumble, Turkey, Turtle, Twig, Twilight, Twist, Twisted, Twitch

U

Umber, Ursinia

V

Valley, Velvet, Venom, Vervain, Vetch, Vine, Violet, Viper, Vixen, Vole, Vulture

W

Walnut, Wandering, Warble, Warbler, Wasp, Weasel, Web, Weed, Wet, Whirl, Whisker, Whisper, Whispering, Whistle, White, Whorl, Wild, Willow, Wind, Windy, Wish, Wisp, Wolf, Wood, Wool, Wooly, Worm, Wren

Y

Yarrow, Yellow, Yew

[dreaming-of-assclass]

🌸Happy Spring! Can you do Nagikae for 🐰Bunnies🐰 for the Spring prompts! Thank you! Happy Spring again and Happy 1 year Anniversary! 🌸

Hello!! Aww that’s such a cute combo! Hope you enjoy and thank you!! 💕 This is when they're young adults btw <3

Nagisa x Kayano: Bunnies

"Hey, I'm back!" Nagisa called lightly, stepping into the apartment. He awkwardly re-positioned the bag handle under his elbow to properly close the door. "Sorry, it took longer than expected! The line was crazy long."

He dropped the bag before crouching to slip off his shoes. "But I know you really love the powdered pastries, so I made sure to get lots!" He smiled to himself, already imagining the way Akari's eyes would light up once she saw.

He picked up the bag and made a step towards their living room. "Hellooooo~" He sang. "Where are you?"

Except there was no response. The apartment was eerily silent, save for a sudden rustling sound that made him tense. "Akari?"

He put the bag down as quiet as he could before making his way to the living room. His feet glided effortlessly along their carpet, still a trained reflex from the days in Class E. The hairs on the back of Nagisa's neck stood up at the thought that there was some danger lurking in their home.

"Akari!" He repeated in a hush whisper before turning the corner. He mentally prepared himself for some terrible sight, his body on complete edge.

Nagisa's jaw dropped as he stopped his tracks. The sight in his living room was the complete opposite of whatever nightmare he'd imagined.

Unexpected? Yes. Dangerous? Nope. Ridiculous? Absolutely.

There in the middle of their lovely carpet (that he'd just gotten shampooed) was Akari sprawled out on her stomach. And in front of her were two fluffy bunnies. Bunnies.

A large cage sat to the side by the couch as the two bunnies were flopped over in front of her, munching on what he assumed to be lettuce. One of them was slightly bigger than the other and had a light brown and caramel color to it. The other had bigger ears and was pure white.

And of course, Akari was completely hypnotized by their two fluffy visitors. Her eyes were transfixed on them with a smile on her face. Nagisa would've found it adorable if he wasn't totally confused.

He cleared his throat loudly, finally earning her attention. Akari snapped up, surprised. "Oh, hey! You're back!"

Nagisa nearly rolled his eyes. "I see we have company."

She sat up sheepishly, still near the bunnies. "Heh. Yeah..."

"I literally was gone for twenty-five minutes to go to the bakery. Why are there bunnies in our living room?"

Akari ran a hand through her waves. "Well, ah, my co-star texted me and said she had an emergency. She had to leave for a sudden weekend trip in Kyoto, because of family stuff, and she didn't have anyone to watch these guys." She gestured to the two creatures, who were blissfully enjoying their vegetables.

"So of course, like the good samaritan I am," Akari continued, ignoring his scoff. "I offered to let them stay here."

Nagisa sighed. "That's nice and all but I wish you let me know or something."

"I'm sorry." Akari's face fell and she stood to approach him, before wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "It all just kind of happened really fast, and I got excited..."

His lips turned up as he returned the embrace. "It's alright. I guess it'll be good practice for when we have our future house."

She laughed. "Our future family consisting of three dogs, two cats, three snakes...and some bunnies?"

"Exactly!" He grinned before releasing her. "So...will you introduce me to our guests?"

"Sure!" She tugged him to join her at the floor so they were both crouched by the bunnies. They were smaller than they appeared at first glance. They had really cute pink noses and their eyes lifted up to him in curiosity.

Nagisa was starting to understand by Akari immediately agreed to host them.

"This is Minnie," she said, gesturing to the brown-colored one that reminded Nagisa of lattes with its coloring. "She's a girl and she is 4 years old."

Akari took his hand before gently guiding it to pet Minnie's back. Her fur felt incredibly soft and the way her head tilted in his direction was way too cute.

"Aww," Nagisa cooed. "She's so cute."

"And this little guy here is Yoshi," Akari continued, gently brushing her fingers along the white bunny's head. "He is 3 years old."

Nagisa copied her motions and melted. Yoshi reminded him of snow, or like a little piece of cloud. "He's adorable."

"Right?" Akari grinned beside him.

"Your co-star brought their food and bowls and stuff right?"

"Yep, they have everything they need for the weekend," Akari affirmed. "I gave them a little bit of some veggies as a snack, though."

She paused to pet Minnie. "They love Romaine lettuce. And I haven't given it yet but apparently, bunnies really like basil and bok choy too."

"Really?" Nagisa was already up and rooting through their fridge. "Found some basil!"

Akari couldn't help but laugh, endeared by his enthusiasm. "I'm so glad you're happy now."

"Well, we'll be living with bunny fur in the carpet for a while," he joked, cutting small pieces of basil. "But they really are too cute."

"Weren't we gonna use that basil for pasta tonight?"

"It's fine, you can just throw any old leaves in there and it'll taste the same."

"Nagisa, no-"

[hailsfromthevoid]

Warrior Cats List of Prefixes and Suffixes

Sources for all these names are from the books and comics, retired games, the username / warrior name generator, and official media sites. Names coming from outside the books and comics themselves will have a source explanation tag attached.

I’ve also included alternate verbs and fan created names that could very well exist in the Warriors universe. They’ve been marked with “+” at the end. Emojis indicating which clans have used which name have been added as well, in case anyone cares about that. ¯\(ツ)/¯

[⚡] ThunderClan [🌳] SkyClan [🌪️] WindClan [🌊] RiverClan [👥] ShadowClan [🐾] means said name isn't part of the traditional naming system and originated from outside the clans in some way (like an outsider keeping their birth name upon joining a clan.)

Last updated for Star on January 6th, 2025.

─── ⋆༺𓆪  Prefixes  𓆩༻⋆ ───────────────────

[ A ] Acorn 🌪️🌳👥 Adder ⚡🌪️ Alder ⚡🌳 Amber ⚡👥 Ant 🌪️👥 Apple ⚡🌪️🌊👥 Arc 🌊 Arch / Arched+ 👥 Ash / Ashy / Ashen+ ⚡🌪️👥 (( latter from a names prompt on Instagram )) Aspen 🌪️🌊 Auburn+

[ B ] Badger 👥 Bark / Barked+ 🌪️ Barley+ Basil+ Bat 👥 (( from Vicky's facebook / the Su Susann fiasco )) Bay ⚡ Bear (( from an article on the website )) Beaver+ Bee ⚡🌳👥 Beech ⚡🌳🌊👥 Beetle 🌳🌊 Bella 🐾 Berry ⚡🌊👥 Big 🐾 Billy 🐾 Birch ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 Bird ⚡🌳🌊 Black 🌪️🌊👥 Blaze / Blazing+ 👥 Blizzard 👥 Blood+ / Bloody+ Bloom / Blooming+ ⚡👥 Blossom / Blossoming+ ⚡🌳👥 Bound 🐾 (( from StormClan ancestry in the Wildcats )) Blue ⚡🌪️ Bluebell 👥 Bone (( from a names prompt on Instagram )) Boulder 🌪️👥 Bounce / Bouncing+ / Bouncy+ 🌳 Bracken ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 Bramble ⚡🌊 Branch 🌪️ Brave 🌳 Breeze / Breezy+ 🌪️🌊👥 Briar ⚡ Bright ⚡🌳🌊👥 Brindle / Brindled+ ⚡🌪️🌊👥 Brisk+ Bristle / Bristled+ / Bristling+ ⚡🌪️ Broken 👥 Brook 🌪️ Brown 👥 Brush 🌪️ Bubble / Bubbling 🌪️👥 (( former from a names prompt on Instagram )) Bug 🐾 Bumble / Bumbling+ ⚡ Bunny (( from a names prompt on Instagram )) Bush+ / Bushy+ Buttercup (( from a names prompt on Instagram )) Butterfly (( from a names prompt on Instagram )) Burn+ / Burning+ / Burnt+ Burr+ Buzzard 🌪️🌳

[ C ] Carp (( from Vicky's facebook / the Su Susann fiasco )) Cedar 🌊👥 Cherry ⚡🌪️🌳 Chestnut ⚡ Chill+ / Chilled+ / Chilly+ Chirp / Chirping+ (( from a names prompt on Instagram )) Chive 🌪️ Cinder ⚡👥 Cinnamon 👥 Claw / Clawed+ 👥 Clear 🌳 Cloud / Cloudy / Clouded+ ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 (( latter from a names prompt on Instagram )) Clover 🌪️🌳👥 Coal+ Cobweb+ Cone 🌳👥 Copper 🌊 Cotton+ Crackle+ Crag+ Cranberry (( from Vicky's facebook / the Su Susann fiasco )) Crawl+ / Crawling+ Cream+ / Creamy+ Creek 🌳 Cricket ⚡ Croak / Croaked + / Croaking+ 🌊 (( also from a names prompt on Instagram )) Crooked / Crook+ 🌊 Crouch / Crouched+ / Crouching+ 🌪️ Crow 🌪️👥 Crunch+ / Crunched+ / Crunchy+ Crush+ / Crushed+ Curl / Curly / Curled+ 🌳🌊 Cypress 🌊

[ D ] Daisy ⚡🌪️ Daffodil+ Dancing+ Dandelion ⚡ Dangling / Dangle+ / Dangled+ 👥 Dapple / Dappled / Dappling+ ⚡🌊👥 Dark ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 Dash / Dashing+ 🌳👥 (( from Vicky's facebook / the Su Susann fiasco )) Dawn ⚡🌪️🌊👥 Day+ Dead 🌪️ Deer ⚡👥 Dew / Dewy+ ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 Dirt+ / Dirty+ Doe ⚡🌪️ Dot+ / Dotted+ / Dotty+ Dove ⚡🌪️🌊👥 Down 🌪️ Dragonfly 🌊 (( from Vicky's facebook / the Su Susann fiasco )) Drift / Drifting+ 👥 Drizzle / Drizzling+ 🌊 (( also from Vicky's facebook / the Su Susann fiasco )) Duck 🌊 Dusk 🌳🌊👥 Dust / Dusty+ ⚡🌪️👥

[ E ] Eagle ⚡🌪️👥 Ebony 🌳 Echo / Echoed+ / Echoing+ 🌳🌊 Eel 🌊 Egg 🐾 Elder ⚡ Elk+ Elm+ Ember / Embering+ ⚡🌪️🌳🌊

[ F ] Falcon (( from a names prompt on Instagram )) Fallen / Falling 🌳 Fallow ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 Fang (( from a names prompt on Instagram )) Fawn 🌳 Feather / Feathered+ ⚡🌪️🌊👥 Fennel 🌳 Fern ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 Ferret 👥 Fidget / Fidgeting+ / Fidgety+ 🌳 Fierce+ Fin ⚡🌳 Finch ⚡🌪️🌊👥 Fint (( from the username / warrior name generator )) Fir 👥 Fircone 🌳 (( from a names prompt on Instagram )) Fire / Fiery+ ⚡🌳 Fish+ / Fishy+ Flail / Flailing+ 🌪️ Flame / Flaming+ ⚡🌪️👥 Flare+ / Flared+ / Flaring+ Flash / Flashing+ ⚡ Flax 🌳👥 Fleck / Flecked+ (( from a names prompt on Instagram )) Fleet 🐾 Flicker / Flick+ ⚡ Flight (( from a names prompt on Instagram )) Flint 👥 Flip / Flipped+ / Flipping+ ⚡ Foam+ / Foaming+ / Foamy+ Float / Floating+ 🌊 Flow+ / Flowing+ Flower / Flowered+ / Flowering+ ⚡🌳👥 Fluff / Fluffy+ 🌪️ Flurry (( from a names prompt on Instagram )) Flutter / Fluttering+ 🌪️ Fly / Flying+ ⚡🌪️🌳 Fog / Fogged+ / Foggy+ 🌊👥 Fox ⚡🌊👥 Freckle / Freckled+ ⚡🌳🌊👥 Freeze+ / Freezing+ Fringe / Fringed+ 🌳👥 Frog 🌊👥 Frond 🌳👥 Frost / Frosted+ / Frosty+ ⚡🌳🌊👥 Frozen+ Furl+ / Furled+ Furze 🌪️ Fuzzy / Fuzz+ ⚡

[ G ] Gale ⚡🌪️ Gar (( from an article on the website )) Ginger+ Glade (( suggested in Squirrelflight's Hope )) Glow+ / Glowing+ Glitter+ / Glittering+ Gold / Golden ⚡ (( former from a names prompt on Instagram )) Goose ⚡ Gorse ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 Grass / Grassy+ 🌪️🌳🌊👥 Gravel / Gravelly+ 🌳 Gray ⚡🌪️🌊👥 Green ⚡🌊 Grouse+ Growl+ / Growling+ Gull 🌳👥

[ H ] Hail 🌊 Half ⚡ Hare ⚡🌪️🌊👥 Harry 🌳 Harvey 🌳 Hatch / Hatched+ / Hatching+ 🌳 Haven 🌊👥 Hawk 🌪️🌳🌊👥 Hay 🌊 Hazel ⚡🌪️🌳 Heath (( from an article on the website )) Heather 🌪️ Heavy 🌊 Heron ⚡🌊 Hickory 🌪️ Hill 🌪️ Hollow 🌊👥 Holly ⚡🌪️👥 Honey ⚡🌪️🌳 Honeydew+ Hook+ / Hooked+ Hoot 🌪️ Hop / Hopping+ 🌪️🌳👥 Hope 👥 Horn+ / Horned+ Hornet (( from a names prompt on Instagram )) Hound 🌪️👥 Howl+ / Howling+ Hunch / Hunched+ 🌳 (( suggested in SkyClan's Destiny )) Hunt / Hunter+ 🐾 (( from StormClan ancestry in the Wildcats )) Hutch+ Husk+

[ I ] Ice / Iced+ / Icy+ ⚡🌊👥 Icicle (( from a names prompt on Instagram )) Ivory+ Ivy ⚡🌊👥

[ J ] Jackdaw 👥 (( also from a names prompt on Instagram )) Jagged / Jag+ 🌪️🌳👥 Jay ⚡🌊 Jump / Jumping+ 👥 Juniper ⚡🌳👥

[ K ] Kestrel ⚡🌪️ Kindle+ Kink / Kinked+ 🌊👥 Kite 🌳🌊 Kit (( from the username / warrior name generator ))

[ L ] Lake 🌊👥 Lap+ / Lapping+ Larch ⚡ Lark ⚡🌪️ Lavender 👥 Leaf / Leafy+ ⚡🌪️🌳 Leap / Leaping+ 🐾 (( from StormClan ancestry in the Wildcats )) Leopard ⚡🌊 Lichen 🌳 Light 👥 Lightning ⚡ 🌳 🌊 Lily ⚡🌪️🌊👥 Lion ⚡👥 Little ⚡👥 Lit+ Lizard ⚡🌊👥 Log 👥 Long ⚡ Lost ⚡ Loud 🌊 Low+ Lynx ⚡

[ M ] Maggot 👥 Magpie+ Mallow ⚡🌊👥 (( ThunderClan from Vicky's facebook / the Su Susann fiasco )) Maple ⚡🌳 Marigold 👥 Marsh / Marshy+ 🌊👥 Marten (( from a names prompt on Instagram )) Meadow 🌪️🌊 Mellow+ / Mellowed+ Melt+ / Melted+ / Melting+ Midge 🌪️ Midnight+ Milk / Milky+ ⚡🌪️🌊 Milkweed+ Mink+ Minnow 🌊👥 Mint / Minty+ 🌳🌊👥 Mist / Misty ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 Mistle ⚡🌳 Mite+ Mold+ / Moldy+ Mole ⚡🌊👥 Monkey 🐾 Moon ⚡🌳 Morning ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 Moss / Mossy ⚡🌊👥 Moth 🌪️🌳🌊 👥 Mottle / Mottled+ 🌳 Mouse ⚡🌳👥 Mouth+ Mud / Muddy 🌪️🌊👥 Mumble / Mumbling+ ⚡ Murk+ / Murky+ Mush+ / Mushy+ Muzzle / Muzzled+ (( from the username / warrior name generator )) Myrtle ⚡

[ N ] Nectar 🌳 Needle 🌳👥 Nettle ⚡🌳🌊👥 Newt 👥 Night ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 Nut / Nutty+ 👥 Nutmeg+

[ O ] Oak ⚡🌳🌊👥 Oat ⚡🌪️🌊 Odd 🌳 Olive 👥 One ⚡🌪️🌳 Otter 🌊 Owl ⚡🌪️ 🌳 🌊👥

[ P ] Pale 🌪️🌳👥 Parsley 🌳 Parsnip+ Patch / Patched+ ⚡🌳 Paw (( from the username / warrior name generator )) Peak (( from the username / warrior name generator; also a names prompt on Instagram )) Pear ⚡ Pebble 🌪️🌳🌊👥 Pepper+ / Peppered+ Perch 🌊 Petal ⚡🌳🌊 Pigeon 🌪️🌳 Pike 🌊 Pine ⚡🌊👥 Pink ⚡ 🌳 Piper+ Plum ⚡🌪️🌳 Pod 🌊👥 Pollen+ Pool / Pooling+ 👥 Poppy ⚡🌳 Pop+ / Popping+ Pounce / Pouncing+ 🌊👥 Prickle / Prickled+ / Prickly+ ⚡🌪️🌊 Primrose 🌊 Proud+ Prowl 🐾 (( from StormClan ancestry in the Wildcats )) Puddle ⚡🌳👥 Pumpkin+ Purdy 🐾 (( also from the username / warrior name generator )) Purr / Purring+ / Purry+ 🐾 (( from StormClan ancestry in the Wildcats ))

[ Q ] Quail 🌪️🌳 Quick 🌪️🌳👥 Quiet 👥 Quill+ Quiver+ / Quivering+

[ R ] Rabbit ⚡🌪️🌳 Ragged 👥 Rain ⚡🌳🌊👥 Raindrop+ Rainswept 👥 Rapid 🌊 Raspberry (( from an article on the website )) Rat ⚡🌳👥 Rattle+ / Rattled+ / Rattling+ Raven ⚡👥 Red ⚡🌪️🌳👥 Reed 🌪️🌳🌊 Ridge 🌳 Riley 🐾 Ripple / Rippled+ 🌊👥 Risen+ / Rising+ River 🌊 Roach+ Robin ⚡🌪️🌳🌊 Rock / Rocky ⚡🌪️🌳 (( latter from the username / warrior name generator )) Rook ⚡🌳 Root Rose / Rosy+ ⚡ Rough (( from a names prompt on Instagram )) Rowan ⚡🌳👥 Rubble 🌳👥 Rumble+ / Rumbling+ Rue (( from a names prompt on Instagram )) Running / Runner ⚡🌪️👥 (( latter from the username / warrior name generator )) Rush / Rushing+ 🌪️🌊 Russet 👥 Rustle / Rustling+ 🌪️ Rust+ / Rusted+ / Rusty+ Rye 🌪️

[ S ] Sage 🌳👥 Salmon (( from an article on the website )) Sand / Sandy ⚡🌪️🌳 Scar+ / Scarred+ Scarlet (( from an article on the website )) Scatter+ / Scattering+ Scorch / Scorched+ 🌳👥 Scratch+ / Scratched+ Sedge 🌪️🌊👥 Seed ⚡ Shade / Shaded+ 🌊👥 Shadow 👥 Sharp 🌳 Shattered / Shatter+ / Shattering+ 🌊 👥 Sheep 🌪️ Shell ⚡🌊 Shimmer / Shimmering+ 🌊 Shine / Shining / Shiny+ ⚡🌳 Shire+ Shivering / Shiver+ ⚡ Short 🌳 Shred / Shredded+ Shrew ⚡🌪️🌳👥 Shy 🌊 Silky / Silk 🌪️ Silver 🌪️🌊👥 Skink+ Skip+ / Skipping+ Skitter+ / Skittering+ Skunk ⚡ (( from Vicky's facebook / the Su Susann fiasco )) Sky 🌳🌊 Slash+ / Slashed+ Slate 🌪️👥 Sleek / Sleeked+ ⚡🌳👥 Sleet (( from a names prompt on Instagram )) Slight 🌪️ Slime+ / Slimed+ / Slimy+ Slip+ / Slipping+ Sloe 🌊👥 Sludge+ / Sludged+ Slurry+ Small ⚡🌪️ Smoke / Smoked+ / Smoking+ / Smoky+ 🌪️👥 Smudge / Smudged+ (( from a names prompt on Instagram )) Snag+ / Snagged+ Snail ⚡🌳 Snake 🌳🌊👥 Snap / Snapped+ / Snapping+ ⚡ Sneeze / Sneezy+ 🌊👥 Snip / Snipped+ 🌳 Snook 🐾 Snout (( from the username / warrior name generator )) Snow / Snowy / Snowing+ ⚡🌳🌊👥 (( latter from a names prompt on Instagram )) Snowdrop+ Snowfall+ Snowflake+ Soft 🌊 Song ⚡🌪️ Soot ⚡ Sorrel ⚡🌪️ Spark / Sparked+ / Sparking+ ⚡ Sparkle+ / Sparkling+ Sparrow 🌳🌊👥 Speckle / Speckled+ ⚡🌪️ Speck / Specked+ (( from the username / warrior name generator )) Spider ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 Spike / Spiked+ / Spiky+ 🌊👥 Spire 👥 Splash / Splashed+ / Splashing+ 🌊👥 Splinter / Splintered+ / Splintering+ (( from a names prompt on Instagram )) Spot / Spotted / Spotty+ ⚡🌪️🌳👥 Spring 🐾 (( from StormClan ancestry in the Wildcats; also the username / warrior name generator )) Spruce 👥 Squash / Squashed+ (( from an article on the website )) Squirrel ⚡🌳 Stag ⚡🌪️ Stalk 🐾 (( from StormClan ancestry in the Wildcats )) Star 🌳 (( also from the username / warrior name generator )) Starling 🌳👥 Stem ⚡ Step / Stepping+ (( from the username / warrior name generator )) Stick+ / Sticky+ Sting+ / Stinging+ Stoat 🌳👥 Stone / Stoned+ / Stony+ ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 Stork 🌪️ Storm / Stormy ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 (( latter from a names prompt on Instagram )) Stream 👥 Stretch 🌪️ Strike / Striked+ / Striking+ ⚡🌳👥 Stripe / Striped+ ⚡🌪️ Strong+ Stumpy / Stump+ 👥 Sun / Sunny ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 Swallow 🌪️🌳🌊 Swamp / Swampy+ 👥 Swan 🌊 Sweet / Sweetened+ ⚡ Swift ⚡🌪️ Swirl+ / Swirling+ / Swirly+

[ T ] Tadpole (( from a names prompt on Instagram )) Tail (( from the username / warrior name generator )) Tall 🌪️👥 Talon 🌊👥 Tangle / Tangled+ 🌳🌊👥 Tansy 🌪️🌳 Tawny ⚡🌪️🌳👥 Teal+ Tear+ / Teared+ / Tearing+ Thick+ Thicket (( from a names prompt on Instagram )) Thistle ⚡🌪️ Thorn / Thorny+ ⚡🌳 Thrift ⚡ Thrush ⚡🌪️ Thunder / Thundering+ ⚡ Tiger ⚡👥 Timber 🌊 Tiny 🌳 Toad ⚡👥 Toe (( from the username / warrior name generator )) Tooth / Toothed+ / Toothy+ (( from the username / warrior name generator )) Torn 🌪️ Tree 🌳 (( also from a names prompt on Instagram )) Trout 🌊 Tuft (( from the username / warrior name generator )) Tulip ⚡ Tumble / Tumbling+ 🌊 Turtle 🌳👥 Twig / Twigged+ ⚡🌳 Twist / Twisted+ / Twisting+ / Twisty+ (( from a names prompt on Instagram ))

[ U ] None yet...

[ V ] Vine ⚡ Violet ⚡🌳👥 Viper+ Vixen 🌊 Vole 🌊👥

[ W ] Waffle 🐾 Wander / Wandering+ (( from the Warriors Adventure Game )) Warble / Warbled+ / Warbling+ (( from a names prompt on Instagram )) Wasp 🌳👥 Water / Watering+ 🌊 (( from Vicky's facebook / the Su Susann fiasco )) Wave / Waving+ 🌊 Weasel 🌪️🌳👥 Web / Webbed+ 🌪️🌳 Weed ⚡ Weeping+ / Weepy+ Wet 👥 Whisker / Whiskered+ 🌪️ Whisper / Whispering+ 👥 Whistle / Whistling+ 🌪️ White ⚡🌪️🌊👥 Whorl / Whorled+ 🌳👥 Wild 🌊👥 Willow ⚡🌪️🌊 Wind / Windy+ ⚡🌪️👥 Wing / Winged+ (( from the username / warrior name generator )) Wish / Wishing+ 👥 Wisp+ / Wispy+ Wolf 🌪️👥 Wood / Woody+ 🌪️🌊 Woolly / Wool+ 🌪️ Wren 🌪️🌳

[ X ] None yet...

[ Y ] Yarrow 🌳👥 Yellow / Yellowing+ ⚡👥 Yew ⚡ Yowl+ / Yowling+

[ Z ] None yet...

─── ⋆༺𓆪  Suffixes  𓆩༻⋆ ───────────────────

[ A ] -ant+ -apple+ [ B ] -bark 🌪️👥 -beak+ -beam ⚡👥 -bear+ -bee 🌊 -belly 🌊👥 -berry ⚡🌪️🌊👥 -bird ⚡🌪️🌳👥 -bite 🌊👥 (( from an article on the website )) -blaze ⚡ -blink 🐾 (( from StormClan ancestry in the Wildcats )) -blood+ -brook 🌪️ -bloom ⚡ -blossom ⚡ -bound 🐾 (( from StormClan ancestry in the Wildcats )) -bracken+ -branch ⚡🌳👥 -breath (( from Consult StarClan for Your Warrior Name game )) -breeze ⚡🌪️🌊👥 -briar ⚡ -bright 🌊 -brook 🌳 -burr 👥 -burrow ⚡ -bush ⚡ [ C ] -charm 🌪️ (( from Vicky's facebook / the Su Susann fiasco )) -claw / claws+ ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 -cliff (( from an article on the website )) -cloud / clouds+ ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 -crackle+ -crawl 🌳 -creek 🌊 -cry 👥 -curl 🌪️ [ D ] -dapple ⚡🌳 -dash (( suggested in Squirrelflight's Hope )) -dawn ⚡🌪️🌊 -drizzle+ -drop+ -dusk 🌊 -dust 🌊 [ E ] -ear / ears+ ⚡🌪️👥 -eater 🐾 -eye / eyes ⚡🌳👥 [ F ] -face ⚡🌪️👥 -falcon+ -fall ⚡🌪️🌳🌊 -fang ⚡🌳🌊👥 -fawn+ -feather ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 -fern ⚡🌳 -field (( from an article on the website )) -fin 👥 (( from Enter the Clans' preview of Yellowfang's Secret )) -fire ⚡🌳👥 -fish 🌊 -flake 🌳 -flame 👥 -flare+ -flight ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 -flood+ -flow+ -flower ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 -fluff+ -flutter+ -fly+ -foam+ -fog+ -foot ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 -fox (( from an article on the website )) -frog+ -frost ⚡🌊👥 -fur ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 [ G ] -gaze+ -glade+ -glow 🌳 -gorse 🌪️ -grouse+ -growl 🐾 (( from StormClan ancestry in the Wildcats )) [ H ] -hail+ -hare+ -hawk ⚡ -haze 🌪️ -head (( from Consult StarClan for Your Warrior Name game )) -heart ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 -hoot+ -horse+ -howl+ [ I ] -ice 🌊 👥 -icicle+ -ivy+ [ J ] -jaw 🌊 -jump (( from the username / warrior name generator )) [ K ] -kit ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 [ L ] -lake (( from the username / warrior name generator )) -leaf / leaves+ ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 -leap ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 -leg / legs ⚡ (( latter from Consult StarClan for Your Warrior Name game )) -light ⚡🌊👥 -lightning+ -lily+ -log (( from the username / warrior name generator )) [ M ] -marsh (( from the username / warrior name generator )) -mask 🌳👥 -maw -meadow (( from the username / warrior name generator )) -mew+ -mink+ -minnow 🌪️ -mist 🌳🌊 -mistle (( from the username / warrior name generator )) -mite+ -mole (( from the username / warrior name generator )) -moon ⚡🌳 -morning 🌊👥 (( from an article on the website )) -moss+ -moth (( from the username / warrior name generator ))* -mouse 🌪️ -murk+ -muzzle 🌪️👥 [ N ] -needle 🌊 -nettle (( from the username / warrior name generator )) -nose ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 [ O ] -otter+ -owl+ [ P ] -pad 🌊 -patch (( suggested in Thunder and Shadow; also from the username / warrior name generator )) -path ((  from Consult StarClan for Your Warrior Name game )) -paw / paws ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 -peak 🌪️ 🌳 👥 -pebble (( from the username / warrior name generator )) -pelt ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 -perch (( from the username / warrior name generator )) -petal ⚡🌳👥 -pike (( from the username / warrior name generator )) -pine+ -pod (( from the username / warrior name generator )) -pool ⚡🌳🌊 -poppy 👥 -pounce ⚡ -prowl+ -puddle 🌪️ -purr 🐾 (( from StormClan ancestry in the Wildcats )) [ Q ] -quail+ -quill+ [ R ] -rabbit (( from the username / warrior name generator )) -rain+ -rattle+ -raven (( from the username / warrior name generator )) -red (( from the username / warrior name generator )) -reed+ -ripple 🌪️🌊👥 -rise+ -river 🌊👥 (( from an article on the website )) -roach (( from the username / warrior name generator )) -roar+ -robin+ -rock+ -roll 🐾 (( from StormClan ancestry in the Wildcats )) -root+ -rose ⚡ -rubble+ -rumble+ -runner 🌪️👥 -rush+ -rustle+ -rye (( from the username / warrior name generator )) [ S ] -sage (( from the username / warrior name generator )) -sayer (( from Consult StarClan for Your Warrior Name game )) -scar 🌳👥 -scatter+ -scratch 🌳 -scree+ / screech+ -seed 🌳 -seeker+ -shade ⚡🌳👥 -shadow 🌳🌊👥 -shatter+ -shell ⚡ -shimmer 🌊 -shine ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 -sight 👥 -skip 👥 -sky 🌳🌊👥 -slash 🐾 (( from StormClan ancestry in the Wildcats )) -slate (( from the username / warrior name generator )) -sleek 🐾 (( from Stormclan ancestry in the Wildcats )) -slime 🌊👥 -slip 🌪️ -sludge 🌊👥 -snag+ -smoke 🌊 -snout 🌊 -snow 🌳 -song ⚡🌪️🌳🌊 -soot (( from the username / warrior name generator )) -soul+ -spark 🌊👥 (( from an article on the website )) -speck / speckle ⚡👥 -spirit 🌳 -spit+ -splash 🌪️🌳🌊 -spot / spots ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 -spring 🌪️🌳🌊👥 -squeak+ -stalk / stalker 🌪️ (( latter from Consult StarClan for Your Warrior Name game )) -star ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 -stare+ -stem 🌳🌊👥 -step ⚡🌳🌊👥 -stipe+ -sting 🌳 -stomp+ -stone ⚡🌳👥 -storm ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 -stream 🌪️🌊👥 -stretch 🐾 (( from StormClan ancestry in the Wildcats )) -strike 🌪️ -stripe ⚡🌪️🌊👥 -sun (( from the username / warrior name generator )) -swimmer+ -swipe+ -swirl+ -swoop 🌳👥 [ T ] -tail ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 -talon ⚡👥 -thistle 👥 -thorn 🌳🌊 -throat 👥 -toe ⚡ -tooth / teeth ⚡🌳🌊👥🐾 -tree+ -trot+ -tuft ⚡🌊👥 -tumble+ -twist+ [ U ] None yet... [ V ] -vine+ -vole+ [ W ] -walk+ / walker+ -watcher 🌳 -water 🌳🌊👥 -wave+ -weed+ -weep+ -whisker / whiskers+ ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 -whisper 👥 -whistle 🐾 -willow 🌳👥 -wind ⚡👥 -wing ⚡🌪️🌳🌊👥 -wish ⚡🌳 -wisp+ -wolf+ [ X ] None yet... [ Y ] -yarrow+ -yew+ [ Z ] None yet...

[aliveandfullofjoy]

Oscar Trivia 2019

My favorite mess of the year!

Highly acclaimed film Bohemian Rhapsody (62% on Rotten Tomatoes, 49% on Metacritic) is the first film to be nominated for Best Picture with a Metascore under 50 since Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011).

The obvious one: Black Panther is the first superhero movie and the first movie based on a comic book to be nominated for Best Picture. Even still, The Dark Knight is the most nominated superhero movie in Oscar history, with eight to Panther’s seven.

Best Popular Oscar whom? Three of this year’s Best Picture nominees are currently in the top twenty highest grossing films of 2018: Black Panther, A Star is Born, and Bohemian Rhapsody. All have grossed over $200 million.

This is the first time since 1976 that more than one director is nominated in Best Director for a foreign-language film*. Last time, it was Ingmar Bergman (Face to Face) and Lina Wertmüller (Seven Beauties). This time, it’s Alfonso Cuarón (Roma) and Pawel Pawlikowski (Cold War). If either of them win, it will be the first time ever that a non-English language film wins Best Director. (*A note: it is possible to include 2006 in this distinction, as both Alejandro González Iñárritu [Babel] and Clint Eastwood [Letters from Iwo Jima] were nominated in Director, and both films featured significant stretches in languages that are not English. However, they both also feature significant portions in English; Roma and Cold War do not.)

Spike Lee and Barry Jenkins have become the first African-American artists to be nominated for writing more than once. 

Netflix had a major breakthrough year with the multiple nominations for Roma and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. It goes without saying, but Roma is Netflix’s first Best Picture nomination.

Willem Dafoe (At Eternity’s Gate) and Olivia Colman (The Favourite) have become the third pair of actors to win the Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival and to go on to receive Oscar nominations. The other two were Fredric March (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) and Helen Hayes (The Sin of Madelon Claudet), both of whom won in 1932, and Sam Jaffe (The Asphalt Jungle) and Eleanor Parker (Caged) in 1950.  

This is the third time that costume designer Sandy Powell (The Favourite and Mary Poppins Returns) has been double-nominated in a single year. The other two times: 1998 (Shakespeare in Love, which won, and Velvet Goldmine) and 2015 (Carol and Cinderella).

Streisand weeps: Lady Gaga is now the second person in history to be nominated for acting and songwriting in the same year, both for A Star is Born. Last year, Mary J. Blige became the first person to receive this distinction. 

Hannah Beachler (Black Panther) has become the first black person nominated for Production Design.

Producer Dede Gardner (Vice) received her sixth Best Picture nomination this morning, tying Eric Fellner and Stanley Kramer as the fourth most nominated producer in Oscar history. She is the second most nominated woman, after Kathleen Kennedy with eight Best Picture nominations (though unlike Kennedy, Gardner has won before).

Roma has now tied with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) as the most nominated foreign language movie in Oscar history -- they both received ten nominations. Crouching Tiger came awfully close to winning Best Picture only to falter at the last minute to a crowdpleaser (Gladiator); will history repeat itself this year? 

Roma producer Gabriela Rodríguez is the first Latina nominated in Best Picture. 

Peter Ramsey (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) is the first black person nominated in Animated Feature. 

“Shallow” (A Star is Born) and “All the Stars” (Black Panther) are the first songs since “Lose Yourself” (2002) to receive nominations from the Academy for Best Song and the Grammys for Song of the Year and Record of the Year. 

With his surprise nomination for At Eternity’s Gate, Willem Dafoe is the second person to be nominated for playing Vincent Van Gogh, following in the footsteps of Kirk Douglas in 1956′s Lust for Life. 

Mirai is the first Animated Feature nominee from Japan to not be produced by Studio Ghibli.

While 2018′s A Star is Born is the fourth remake of that particular story, it is only the second one to get a Best Picture nomination (the other was the very first, from 1937). Cooper’s Star also received the same number of nominations as Wellman’s 1937 film with a total of eight. The 1954 film received six, winning none, and the 1976 film received four, and won for Best Song (a good omen for Gaga?). Bad news for Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, and Sam Elliott, though: between the 26 total nominations for all four Star is Born films, they have only won three, and none have ever been for its actors. 

Yalitza Aparicio (Roma) is the second Mexican actress to receive a Best Actress nomination; the first was Salma Hayek (Frida, 2002). Aparicio is also the first ever indigenous actor to receive an acting nomination.

Marina de Tavira is now the first person nominated for Supporting Actress for an entirely foreign language film since Valentina Cortese in Day for Night (1974). She is only the second one ever.

Her power! Each time Emma Stone has been nominated for an Oscar, her film has led the nomination count: Birdman (9), La La Land (14), and now The Favourite (10).

Amy Adams received her sixth nomination for playing Lynne Cheney in Vice. With this nomination, she is now tied with Cate Blanchett as the second-most nominated actress of the 21st century so far. She is the second-most nominated living actress that has never won (trailing only behind Best Actress frontrunner Glenn Close, who received her seventh nomination today). If she loses this year (and if Close wins), she will join Thelma Ritter and Deborah Kerr as most nominated actresses in history without a win. Meanwhile, if Glenn Close (The Wife) loses Best Actress, she will be the most nominated actress in history without a win.

Christian Bale is the second actor to be nominated for playing a Vice President. The only other is James Whitmore, who was nominated for playing Harry S. Truman in Give ‘Em Hell, Harry! (1975). 

Similarly, Vice’s George W. Bush, Sam Rockwell, is the latest to be nominated for playing a U.S. President. He joins Whitmore’s Truman, Raymond Massey’s Lincoln (Abe Lincoln in Illinois, 1940), Anthony Hopkins’ John Quincy Adams (Amistad, 1997) and Nixon (Nixon, 1995), Alexander Knox’s Woodrow Wilson (Wilson, 1944), Frank Langella’s Nixon (Frost/Nixon, 2008), and Daniel Day-Lewis’s Lincoln (2012). Rockwell’s Bush and Hopkins’ Adams are the only presidents nominated in supporting. 

Amy Adams and Christian Bale have co-starred together three times and were both nominated for all three: Vice (2018), American Hustle (2013), and The Fighter (2010). 

Three of the nominated directors -- Cuarón, Pawlikowski, and Lanthimos -- directed previous nominees for Foreign Language Film: Cuarón’s Y Tu Mamá También (2002), Pawlikowski’s winner Ida (2014), and Lanthimos’s Dogtooth (2009). 

All eight of the Best Picture nominees come from different distributors: Black Panther from Disney, BlacKkKlansman from Focus Features, Bohemian Rhapsody from 20th Century Fox, The Favourite from Fox Searchlight, Green Book from Universal, Roma from Netflix, A Star is Born from Warner Bros., and Vice from Annapurna. 

Don’t quote me on this yet, but I think Kendrick Lamar (songwriter for “All the Stars” from Black Panther) has become the second person to receive a Pulitzer Prize and an Oscar nomination in the same year (Lamar won the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his album DAMN.). The only other, that I can tell, is Lin-Manuel Miranda in 2016, who was nominated for “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana and won the Pulitzer for the musical Hamilton. 

Pre-curse-ors: Bradley Cooper is the thirteenth director in the last twenty years to be snubbed by the Academy after winning the National Board of Review Award for Best Director.

Mary Poppins Returns marks the first time a Rob Marshall-directed movie musical failed to receive an acting nomination. Sorry, Emily.

The Favourite is now the most nominated Irish film of all-time.

While Green Book marks Viggo Mortensen’s third nomination, it’s the first time he’s not his film’s sole nomination: both Eastern Promises (2007) and Captain Fantastic (2016) were totally shut down outside of his performance. Coincidentally, it’s also the first time Mortensen is nominated for a performance in which he does not have to show his penis.

With its single nomination for Solo: A Star Wars Story, the Star Wars stat holds true: every single Star Wars film has gotten at least one nomination.

If you count the semi-biographical characters from Roma played by Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira, a staggering fifteen of the twenty roles nominated are based on real people.

Roma is the first foreign language Best Picture nominee since Amour in 2012. If it wins, it will be the first foreign language film to do so. It will also be Mexico’s first victory in the Foreign Language Film category.

Rami Malek is the second actor with Egyptian heritage to be nominated at the Oscars. The first was Omar Sharif in 1962 for Lawrence of Arabia.

Richard E. Grant is the fifth actor born in Africa to be nominated for an Oscar, following Basil Rathbone, Omar Sharif, Djimon Hounsou, and Barkhad Abdi. Grant is Swazi-British. 

This is the third year in a row to have at least one Best Picture nominee centered on an LGBTQ+ character: 2016 had Moonlight, 2017 had Call Me by Your Name, and 2018 has Bohemian Rhapsody and The Favourite.

[hermanwatts]

Men are From Cimmeria, Women are From Earthsea

There has been round of blog posts in the wake of an interview I had at Jared Trueheart’s Legends of Men blog. That interview spurred a response by Jason Ray Carney who disputes that sword and sorcery is man’s fiction. Daniel Davis joined in at his Brain Leakage blog. Jason Ray responded to that. Go read these posts. Jason said that Jared, Daniel, and I were hysterical. You are not subjective when you are the object of comment. Comment if you find where any of us were “hysterical.” Jason states that sword and sorcery is “gender neutral.”

Gender neutrality: Are we talking androgyny, hermaphrodites, eunuchs, or neuters?

Sword and sorcery got its start in Weird Tales magazine with a few stories in its competitors Strange Tales and Strange Stories. I have already written on female readers of Weird Tales push back against Robert E. Howard once the Conan series got rolling. E. Hoffmann Price wrote later in Amra that Conan saved Weird Tales more than once.

Farnsworth Wright knew his readers.

Let us look at some random issues of Weird Tales. September 1932– twelve stories and one poem. Two stories by women and one poem. October 1935– nine stories, three poems; one story by a woman. March 1938– 10 stories, two poems; one story by a woman. So, the average female percentage as writer is around 10%.

Now to the letters section, “The Eyrie,” to get an idea of female readership. August 1932– 12 letters, all from men. March 1934– 3 out of 19 letters by women. September 1938– 3 out of 23 letters by women. So, female readership of Weird Tales hovered somewhere around 12-15%. This is probably a higher percentage than the science fiction magazines of the period.

Weird Tales used Margaret Brundage as the almost exclusive cover artist from 1933-1936. Most of her paintings have nubile, beautiful young women in various stages of undress. Editor Farnsworth Wright who was notoriously nervous about not alienating readers had no problem with art that would be considered offensive today. He must have had an idea of gender breakdown of readers.

The case of C. L. Moore is used as a battle cry as a True Cross for Amazon equality crusaders. I first read about Jirel and C. L. Moore from Avon’s Reader’s Guide to Fantasy in the early 80s. Ace Books did a mass market paperback collection in November 1982. I remember distinctly buying it along with two Fritz Leiber paperbacks in mid-May 1983. Back then, you could go to the local B. Dalton or Waldenbooks and get the paperback Conans, Elric, Fafhrd & the Gray Mouser, Kane, some Brak, David C. Smith, and even the Timescape Clark Ashton Smith. I tore in Jirel of Joiry finding “Black God’s Kiss” on the slow side. “Black God’s Shadow” even slower and then just bogging down and scanning through the stories. This past winter, I sat down and reread in detail and it was not a pleasant experience. Moore’s prose is painfully slow and overwritten. Her narrative also had a habit of turning into word salad at crucial scenes.

“Around the dark image a mist was swirling. It was tenuous and real by turns, but gradually she began to make out a ring of figures–girls’ figures, more unreal than a vision–dancing girls who circled the crouching statue with flying fee and tossing hair–girls who turned to Jirel her own face in in as many moods as there were girls. Jirel laughing, Jirel weeping, Jirel convulsed with fury, Jirel honey-sweet, Jirel convulsed with fury, a riot of flashing limbs, a chaos of tears and mirth and all humanity’s moods. The air danced with them in shimmering waves, so that the land was blurred behind them and the image seemed to shiver within itself.”

W.T.F?

There is one scene at the beginning of “Jirel Meets Magic” where Jirel handles a sword. That is it. She deals with adversaries as a vehicle using supernatural third parties. When you look at the plots of the stories, “Black God’s Kiss” is a captivity/kidnapping narrative. It is The Sheik with hallucinogenic passages. “Black God’s Shadow” is the second half of a romance arc. As a friend of mine said, Jirel was treated rough by Guillaume and she liked it. “Jirel Meets Magic” is Alice in Wonderland. “The Dark Land” is another captivity story. “Hellsgarde” is a haunted house story. Moore did not seem comfortable writing scenes of physical combat as I could find only one brief scene with no carnage depicted, just Jirel flailing around with her sword.

There have been three mass market and one trade paperback printings of the Jirel stories, each over a decade apart.  That puts her a notch ahead of reprints of Norvell Page’s “Prester John” series. If Jirel is such an iconic series, why hasn’t the book been in continuously in print? People like the idea of Jirel, many just don’t like reading Jirel.

I was thinking of Moore’s influence through the Jirel series. The only thing that came to mind were two stories by Tanith Lee in the Amazons! Anthologies featuring “Jaisel” that read like homages to Moore. C. L. Moore’s writing style would change. Some stories reprinted in the collection Judgement Night are listed under Moore’s name instead of “Lawrence O’Donnell.” “Paradise Street,” “Heir Apparent,” and her novel Doomsday Morning are written in a stripped-down hard-boiled manner.

CL. Moore was a gracious and lovely lady from what anyone who met her has told me. One friend did tell that in the late 1970s at a science fiction convention, she laughed at the idea she was some sort of feminist icon.

If you add up the writers of sword and sorcery in the 1930s- Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, H. Warner Munn, Nictzin Dyalhis, Clifford Ball, David H. Keller, Seabury Quinn, Henry Kuttner, Lloyd Arthur Eshbach, Fritz Leiber, Norvell Page, and C. L. Moore, you come up with a little under 10% female participation rate, a percentage that equals that of Weird Tales and a little under the readership.

There is a type of story found mainly in Planet Stories that is not technically sword and sorcery but has the attitude of it. Poul Anderson’s “Virgin of Valkarion” is Exhibit A. Leigh Brackett was a writer for Planet Stories in the 1940s with a few stories in the 1950s. Her writing style is a cross between Edgar Rice Burroughs and Dashiell Hammett. It is an interesting case of gender ventriloquism. Brackett wrote in a faux-masculine style most of the time. Every now and then the mask would slip as in “All the Colors of the Rainbow.” I can remember sending a Leigh Brackett book to a friend of mine. He returned it unimpressed. He pointed out a fight scene where Brackett had two guys rolling around in the dirt and the emphasis was on how they were getting their clothes dirty instead of physical damage. I can remember the first Brackett I ever read was “The Secret of Sinharat” and being disappointed at the rather tame ending. I was expecting Eric John Stark (aka N’Chaka) was pile up the bodies at the climax. The follow up “People of the Talisman” was more blood and thunder. That was the story that was rewritten by Brackett’s husband, Edmond Hamilton and expanded by 40%. I need to compare the texts someday.

If we look at writers of sword and super-science for Planet Stories, the list includes: Gardner F. Fox, Bryce Walton, Emmett McDowell, Ross Rocklynne, Basil Wells, Erik Fennel, Alfred Coppel, Stanley Mullen, Poul Anderson, and Leigh Brackett. Again, the female participation rate is around 10%.

There were a few sword and sorcery stories that filtered out in the 1950s with E. E. “Doc” Smith, John Brunner, L. Sprague de Camp, and of course Jack Vance. The 1960s gave us Roger Zelazny, John Jakes, Michael Moorcock, Lin Carter, Gardner F. Fox, Ben Haas as “Richard Meade” and “Quinn Reade.” You did have Jane Gaskell’s “Atlan” books shoe horned into the genre. Those are Perils of Pauline type books featuring Cija. They are not very good but always seemed to have great covers whether by Frank Frazetta, Jeff Jones, Boris Vallejo, or James Gurney.

Leigh Brackett could have written a bona fide sword and sorcery story with an antediluvian setting and supernatural elements. Editors would have snapped up anything she wrote. She didn’t but she at least gave us the excellent Skaith trilogy which had its share of physical action.

Sword and sorcery spread out into popular culture starting around 1966 with the paperback books and the Warren magazines. You could buy Frank Frazetta posters at a lot of record stores. Bands like Nazareth were using sword and sorcery imaging on their record album sleeves.

Ted White became editor of Fantastic Stories in 1969. The magazine was a grab-bag of different types of stories. Sword and sorcery did have an increasing presence. White tapped into all sorts of artists talent and you had very traditional sword and sorcery type covers by Jeff Jones, Esteban Maroto, Doug Beekman, and especially Steve Fabian who painted idealized female bodies. Ted White must have known who was buying the magazine.

Ted White knew his readers.

In the middle 1970s, you had the next great female talent, Tanith Lee. I have written on her sword and sorcery when she died. She was unique. I prefer her stories to her novels, but her novels are preferable to much other out there.

Not Sword and Sorcery

Lee showed up in the original sword and sorcery anthologies of the late 1970s. Swords Against Darkness ran for five volumes 1977-1979. It had a total of 57 stories, seven stories and one poem by females for a participation rate of 14%. Heroic Fantasy (D.A.W. Books, 1979) had 17 entries (including some non-fiction pieces), two were by female for a participation rate of 11.7%. Tanith Lee was present in five out of six of those anthologies.

Jessica Amanda Salmonson edited to Amazons! Anthologies (1979 and 1982). Technically, they are not sword and sorcery but amazon anthologies. She was able to invert the 10% number that keeps popping up. Amazons II had 12 stories, three by men so the ratio rose to 25%. Salmonson probably took the series as far as she could though she edited two more anthologies for Ace (Heroic Fantasy).

Marion Zimmer Bradley edited the Sword and Sorceress anthology for D.A.W. Books. It has all the appearance of continuing the idea of Salmonson’s Amazons! But with an in-house writer. The books were not so much sword and sorcery but fantasy of all sorts with a feminist orientation. The first volume had 15 stories, six by men for a 40% participation rate. That would shrink in subsequent volumes. It has a type of fiction that I call “femizon” which split off into its own genre the same way Glen Cook did with military fantasy around the same time.

One last example. My favorite sword and sorcery anthology of the past 10 years is Rogue Blades’ Entertainment’s Return of the Sword. The stories were by amateurs and small press people. It has heart and sincerity. 21 stories by 22 authors, one female for a 4.5% participation rate.

Not Sword and Sorcery

A personal observation: I have known two women personally that like reading Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories. One is mid-50s, the other around 60. One is a pharmacist, the other a nurse that runs a hospital operating room. So, just like the authors, the XX chromosome readers are on the rare side. I think most women are not particularly interested in reading fiction with lots of scenes of intense physical action.

I will give an anecdote that forms opinions. About 15-16 years ago, my office manager’s high school aged daughter read The Lord of the Rings. I thought I would build on that. I lent her one of L. Sprague de Camp’s sword and sorcery anthologies, either Sword & Sorcery or The Spell of Seven. Either of those books are excellent introductions to the genre. She did not like the book as she has problems with the vocabulary. She was constantly going to the dictionary to look up the meaning of words. If you want your kid to score high on the English potion of the S.A.T test, have them read sword and sorcery fiction. Then I lent her Poul Anderson’s The Broken Sword. She did not like that at all. It really upset her. Sword and sorcery is not going to pass through the feminine filter of a good portion of the fairer sex.

This came to me this week. A good portion of women like horror especially that more in the Gothic fiction end of the spectrum. Horror light if you will. There might have been an opportunity for a clever editor to sell sword and sorcery disguised as gothic romance to women readers. Phyllis Whitney did have a story in Weird Tales in the 1930s.

Here is a writing exercise of high school or college students. Have them start with a scene of traveler in the woods looking for shelter and finding a manor or castle. See how the story breaks down between the sexes.

So to wrap this up. My friend, the late Steve Tompkins used a phrase “the exception that proves the rule.” Crunching some numbers swerves that way. The history of sword and sorcery has had a few female outliers who wrote in the genre but the 10-12% rule appears consistent for decades.

Where’s the Sword and Sorcery?

Sword and sorcery fiction may not be totally male, but it skews heavily in the XY chromosome end of the spectrum. Women were not excluded but participation was also for the most not much beyond token entries. I think gender skewed, not gender neutral is a better way to describe the genre. I think editors like Don Wollheim, E. F. Benson, Larry Shaw, and Roy Torgeson were quite happy to pick up a few female readers along the way, but they knew which side their bread was buttered on when publishing sword and sorcery. If the genre is gender neutral, why did the incoming female editors such as Betsy Wollheim at D.A.W. Books and Susan Allison at Ace Books pretty much kill off publishing sword and sorcery? Wouldn’t all the female readers keep it going?  I was there, there was a K-T event in 1985. A few books that were already probably slated made it into the later 1980s, but the genre was decapitated. David Gemmell adapted by writing 300 page + novels with an ensemble cast and lost of domestic goings on but the efficient 60,000 word novel featuring one hero was gone.

This is an example our modern society’s obsession with equalitarianism. De-gendering the genre strikes me as post-modernism. It is also risible. A few weeks ago, an endocrinologist was telling me about hormone supplementation for trans-gendering. The men upon getting estrogen become emotional and weepy. The women getting testosterone develop a sense of humor and are generally less depressed.

I can sympathize with Jason Ray Carney. He teaches at a college. If he were outed that he is interested in what is perceived as masculine fiction, outside of a few sane colleges like Hillsdale or Grove City, he would be hauled up against a tribunal by the commissars for Wrong Think.

Gender Neutral

Men are From Cimmeria, Women are From Earthsea published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/