softmarsh - Tumblr blog

[softmarsh]

hiiiiiii y'all... hoping to come out with some new family tree stuff soon along with a post about a super duper cool privilege you earn if you become a leader of the VPC (it's like their version of 9 lives and it's kinda NOT super duper cool i'm sorry. i lied. i only know how to make these cats miserable)

[softmarsh]

VERNAL POOLS FUNERAL & BURIAL TRADITIONS

being a young colony, the VPC does not yet have a highly-developed religion and pantheon. because of this, they’ve not yet formed a defined method of vigil, but a tradition for funeral processions and burial is starting to strengthen.

cw for frank talk of death and animal death

VIGIL

upon a colonymate's death, their body is laid in the middle of the current camp for mourning

the cat’s family is to groom their body, weaving trinkets and other accessories into their pelt. they can utilize flowers, other plants, or feathers to hide any evidence of what killed them, or other unsightly wounds

their mentor/pupil, family, friends, and other cats close to the deceased are invited to sleep with them for the last time

at sunrise, a procession of the colony, led primarily by the deceased’s mentor/pupil and family, starts its way to the burial mound

the deceased is then buried atop the mound

the body is also buried with a bundle containing various grave goods, traditionally including a carved totem of their patron god, a feather of their family bird, and notable personal items of the deceased, such as accessories, games, or their favorite food

if there is no body for the deceased, their family bird is wrapped in a blanket of spanish moss (tillandsia usneoides) and is used instead. it is still weaved with momentos and given a burial bundle

this process also applies if a cat has gone missing and is assumed dead as well

BURIAL MOUNDS:

as you might’ve noticed, the VPC does not use a standard graveyard to home the dead. instead, they create a burial mound

each cat who dies during the reign of the current leading pair is buried together in the same mound

the leading pair is the last to be buried on each mound, for a new one is created with each new leading pair

the mounds are located between the two camps. they are visited every time the colony migrates between camps

at the moment, the colony is currently on its fourth burial mound, as estuary mangrovemumble and herbalist gatorchomp are its fourth leading pair. they will be buried atop it once they pass

[softmarsh]

HELP i just realized that i put down 'lorelle' for both aspen's aunt and jordan and night's mother... UGH!!!! anyway. aspen's aunt is the actual lorelle! jordan and night's mother is actually named eleanor... but i really don't like giving rogues only human names :( so dominic and eleanor will likely get a rename. also maybe cloud's grandparents and aspen's family for the bajillionth time. idk! i'll keep y'all updated :)

howdy y’all! yes, i am working on posts—i’ve just been simply cursed with perfectionism since my birth like maleficent and aurora. for now, i shall share two family trees i’ve been drafting for different families in the yellowstone colonies.

the placeholder names of “fem” or “masc” are merely to denote the cat’s gender; they’ve yet to be properly named!

solid lines denote biological relationships, and dashed lines signify adoptive ones

the arrow above hawk’s name is to show there’s more family on his side of the tree! i just. couldn’t fit it all within my notes app argh 🙈

the numbers to the right of the tree are there to show the approximate age each cat would be at at the start of the story, if everyone listed was, hypothetically, still alive

names for some cats are subject to change! i’ve yet to compile an accurate, complete list of all geographically valid names for the yellowstone colonies, so some may be ecologically inaccurate

[softmarsh]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I WANTED TO WORK ON STUFF TONIGHT BUT I LEFT MY IPAD AT SCHOOL AND I KEEP ALL MY WORK ON IT 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭. anyway. i have three posts waiting to be transcribed :3c yes one of them is the naming system stuff and i really wanna get that out for future reference but once i open its draft on tumblr my body is immediately exhausted and confused and doesn't wanna do it. so i might type it up and see if just starting on a blank page will make me feel better. so yeah

[softmarsh]

howdy y'all! i'm fine <3 thankfully the worst damage in my area was just small branches and debris breaking off trees and littering the streets :P i took a walk in the storm and saw a frog of some sort!! unfortunately i'm not super familiar with the amphibians in my area so idk what species it was but!! it was real cute...

anyway! i currently wanna pour all my efforts into devising proper naming systems for each colony. bc i'm an indecisive wreck though, i've found myself mulling over the values and social organization of each clan and how these things would influence their naming systems. i wish i had more connections in the wc/wc-inspired worldbuilding community so i could ask for opinions but! alas... it is what it is u_u

[softmarsh]

nvm... currently find myself researching different forms of government to most accurately describe the functionings of each colony !! AAAAHHHHH !!

[softmarsh]

my power might be knocked out by tropical storm/hurricane idalia within the next few days, so don't expect a lot of activity from me! i am hoping that i'll be able to work some more on these silly kitties while i'm MIA though, considering my internet access will be limited and prevent me from going down rabbitholes of various other unrelated hyperfixations :P

stay tuned!

[softmarsh]

eugh... i need to figure out how perchance works so i can make a generator for valid YC and VPC names bc it's so exhausting to scroll through the ramshackle lists i've made for valid prefixes and suffixes, hand stitching two parts together until they sound good for some bg kitter that appears in a current character's history once

[softmarsh]

RESOURCES

to try and cut down on the dozens of websites i have open across my laptop, tablet, and phone for citations, i've made this post to serve as a list of resources i use for the geographical and ecological sides of worldbuilding! although it may seem rather bareboned in some areas, more sources will be added as i amass them. you can also consider this a bibliography of sorts, but if you would like direct sources for specific posts (eg. the seasons posts), i will gladly offer them upon request!

GENERAL SOURCES

species lists for all properties managed by the NPS

national park service website

national park service inaturalist project

YELLOWSTONE SOURCES

yellowstone national park website

animals of yellowstone (NPS)

plants of yellowstone (NPS)

science and research of yellowstone (NPS)

yellowstone photo collection (NPS)

yellowstone winter ecology (NPS)

yellowstone national park biodiversity (inaturalist)

insects of yellowstone (MSU)

yellowstone national park (wikipedia)

yellowstone national park category (wikipedia)

interactive redirectional map (wikipedia)

outline of yellowstone national park (wikipedia)

yellowstone fires of 1988 (wikipedia)

history of wolves in yellowstone (wikipedia)

EVERGLADES SOURCES

everglades national park website

animals of the everglades (NPS)

plants of the everglades (NPS)

science and research of the everglades (NPS)

everglades national park biodiversity (inaturalist)

everglades national park (wikipedia)

everglades national park category (wikipedia)

geography and ecology of the everglades (wikipedia)

hurricane andrew (wikipedia)

burmese pythons in florida (wikipedia)

UNRELATED RESOURCES

warriors and anti-indigenous writing

[softmarsh]

HELLO????? NO WAY THIS IS REAL????? no fucking way the national park service has an official website where you can search for a complete species list for every property under their administration? not just parks, but also historic sites, monuments, trails, preserves- everything! the lists have mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, crustaceans, gastropods, arachnids, insects, other invertebrates, vascular plants, non-vascular plants, fungi, protozoa, chromista, and bacteria????? it even lists each species' cladistic order, family, taxonomic rank, common name(s), nativeness, and abundance

i'm losing my fucking mind over this rn HOLY SHIT

[softmarsh]

howdy y’all! yes, i am working on posts—i’ve just been simply cursed with perfectionism since my birth like maleficent and aurora. for now, i shall share two family trees i’ve been drafting for different families in the yellowstone colonies.

the placeholder names of “fem” or “masc” are merely to denote the cat’s gender; they’ve yet to be properly named!

solid lines denote biological relationships, and dashed lines signify adoptive ones

the arrow above hawk’s name is to show there’s more family on his side of the tree! i just. couldn’t fit it all within my notes app argh 🙈

the numbers to the right of the tree are there to show the approximate age each cat would be at at the start of the story, if everyone listed was, hypothetically, still alive

names for some cats are subject to change! i’ve yet to compile an accurate, complete list of all geographically valid names for the yellowstone colonies, so some may be ecologically inaccurate

[softmarsh]

VERNAL POOLS SEASONS

located in southwestern florida, the everglades is a mixture of flooded grasslands and subtropical broadleaf forests. although deciduous, the ecosystem is too far south to experience snow and winter chills, and any color changes of leaves are minimal. due to their tropical monsoon climate, the ecoregion only experiences two seasons: the dry season, and the wet season.

conjuring up their own names for the seasons, the everglades cats look to environmental factors such as changing water levels to determine which season it is!

SUNSEASON

the shorter of the two seasons, and seen as the start of the new year, is sunseason. named for the arid, dusty environment the land becomes due to the scorch of the sun, sunseason lasts from december to april. sign of it are:

dry conditions, with low humidity but cooler temperatures

clear skies and minimal rain

migratory birds nesting, laying eggs, and caring for their fledglings

low biting insect and mosquito populations

and frequent human activity

STORMSEASON

the longer, and more miserable of the two seasons, is stormseason. it is called so for its constant humid, rainy conditions. the wet season lasts from may to november, and is marked by:

wet conditions, with hot temperatures and high humidity

sudden, short-lived storms with intense rainfall

high biting insect populations and large mosquito swarms

hurricanes!

and infrequent human activity

[softmarsh]

YELLOWSTONE COLONIES SEASONS

let’s start off with something nice and simple: seasons!

yellowstone national park is a sprawling landscape located in the temperate coniferous forest biome, which is marked by warm summers and cool winters. being temperate, the land does cycle through four seasons—but, they’re not clearly defined by deciduous forest standards of 3-month-long springs, summers, autumns, and winters. additionally, because the dominant tree type is evergreens, observing the changes of the leaves is not a reliable indicator of the season.

because of this, the yellowstone cats have developed their own names, lengths, and identifiers for their seasons, where they look to animal behaviors to determine the current one!

THE BLOOM

the bloom is the equivalent of early spring, with march being the only month of this season. it is named after how the land wakens from its winter slumber, ‘blooming’ into a flourishing land of plenty once more. the most common indicators of the arrival of the bloom are:

the appearance of mountain bluebirds, western meadowlarks, ospreys, and american robins

the emergence of grizzly bears from hibernation

and humans snowplowing the park's interior roads

THE THAW

the second season is called the thaw, which equates to late spring and the entirety of summer. its duration is april to august, and it is called the thaw as it is the season when animal activity really kicks up. winter fully sheds its grip on the environment, and the cats do not yet have to prepare for the next freeze. it is marked by:

APRIL

the appearance of ruby-crowned kinglets and wilson's snipes

the emergence of black bears, marmots, ground squirrels, and chorus frogs from hibernation

bison calving

bison and elk returning to higher elevations, with elk dropping and regrowing their antlers

growth of buttercups, shooting stars, and pasqueflowers

and an increase in human visitors and cars on the road

MAY & JUNE

elk, moose, pronghorn, and bighorn sheep calving

wolf pups emerging from their dens

cutthroat trout starting to spawn

ruffed grouse starting to drum

growth of glacier lilies and bitterroot

water levels rising due to snowmelt

and humans fishing in the rivers

JULY & AUGUST

bison rut

water levels dropping

wildfires are more prone to occur

and a greater increase in human visitors and cars on the road

THE FEAST

the feast is the most important season, being their autumn before winter. taking place from september to october, the third season is named for how animals prepare for hibernation by becoming hyperphagic and stocking up on food! the traditional indicators of the start of this season are:

elk rut

animals preparing for hibernation

deciduous trees entering fall colors

snow accumulating at higher elevations

and a decrease in human visitors and cars on the road

THE FREEZE

the final season is called the freeze, which is appropriately named for being the colonies’ winter! grueling and arduous, the freeze tends to be the most challenging season to survive through, especially if one inadequately prepared during the feast. it spans november to february, and is signified by:

bighorn sheep rut

bison and elk migrating to lower elevations

mule and whitetail deer shedding and regrowing their antlers

coyotes and foxes snow diving

snow accumulating at lower elevations

and a greater decrease in human visitors and cars on the road

[softmarsh]

INTRODUCTION

howdy, i’m reuben! i’m a bigender (any/prns) artist, writer, and professional annoyance from florida. this is a sideblog of my main, @rewenxx, where i’ll be world-building and developing the culture of my warriors-inspired battle cat colonies!

combining my love of fantasy, cats, and national parks, i’ve decided to develop my own stories revolving around the political drama and interpersonal relationships of my feline characters. the purpose of this blog will simply be tracking and defining the culture of these feline colonies in a (hopefully) organized fashion. i can’t guarantee it’ll be as neat as i’m aiming for, but trying to take it seriously with posts and tags is definitely a much better format than rambling for hours with two of my close friends!

BOUNDARIES

interactions of any kind are always welcome! idm like spam, constant questions, reblogs, etc.

taking light inspiration from cultural aspects is okay, as long as you don't steal my complete original ideas and try to pass them off as yours

also, notify me of your work! i'm fine w/ pings, and i'd love to support you in your endeavors and see your creative processes ‘:3c

taking inspiration from anything character-related is strictly prohibited, as they are all personal things! i will not hesitate to block you anywhere i can if i catch you stealing

in general, don’t be weird about anything :P they’re just cats…

CONTENT

at the moment, i have two main focuses: the yellowstone colonies (YC; ZFC & LWC), which take place in a setting inspired by yellowstone national park; and the vernal pools colony (VPC), which is set in an everglades national park-inspired world. their settings are the main inspirations for their cultures, so everything must align with the ecology of the area!

posts will be best found and organized by tags relating to their respective cultures and topics, and as i flesh out my catto worlds, i will compile masterposts for easier access. below are some quicklinks to help you navigate the blog. at the moment, they’re rather bare, but i hope to fill them up as time goes along!

resources

yellowstone colonies masterpost

everglades colony masterpost

character summaries

my toyhouse!

have fun perusing the town now, pardner!

last updated DEC 07 23

[softmarsh]

yet another battle cats worldbuilding blog emerges from the earth like wildflowers after winter