#The elder's den is also going to be larger in general. 2 elders with one of them being prematurely blinded is NOT enough

[bonefall]

Monsterslayer of Thunderclan my beloved!!!!! reread Dawn yesterday and came to this point where everyone is somehow ok with the elders being left alone to die. ew. But i actually thought of your bulldozer speckletail idea and thought of a concept for it: In order to defend the other elders (+ maybe dying mudfur) from the impending monsters, she sacrifices herself by ferociously fighting the monster (pulling the driver down so that he yanks the steeringwheel away, crashing into a rock or tree). Maybe it buys the others more time, more likely it's in vain. BUT. She had the death of a True Warrior and ascends to starclan in the form of a shooting star, the very same one that shows the clans the way to their new home

so thank you for creating this absolute woman moment idea!!!

LET 👏THE👏 CATS👏ATTACK👏CARS

The elders being left behind is so weird!! They say, "Oh we can't make a journey like that and we don't like change" but, uhhh?? We've established that elders are supposed to be these respected clanmates, a Clan defines itself on taking care of the injured, sick, and old, and they just... accept the idea of leaving the 'weak' cats behind.

"Thanks for not slowing us down grandma. Byee."

TNP is what really made the elder's den a punishment and I feel like it started here, with this decision. So to hell with it! NO elders are getting left behind. If there's any stragglers, it'll be capable warriors.

(I was originally going to have BloodClan absorb any stragglers but I've slowly moved away from that version tbh)

Speckletail becoming the shooting star is a pretty metal idea, but she's already had a really hardcore exit and I don't want to give her ALL the great roles! We'll see though, that's a really good suggestion, so thank you!

[obsessivevoidkitten]

Sacrificed to a Dragon

  Yandere Male Half-Dragon x Gender Neutral Reader (CW: Half-dragon monster man, smut, rut cycles, a really shitty village community, dub-con, general yandere behavior) Word Count 1.3k (Once again tumblr is not allowing me to reply to a request directly with the fic as a reply to it in my blog’s inbox the request this fic is for is as follows:  “Hi! I could ask for a scenario of a female reader x yandere male half dragon? The reader is left in the dragon's cave as a sacrifice, she thinks she can get free if she tries to get along with him, but unfortunately she arrives at the time when he just happened to be in heat and was looking for a mate to breed.” Sorry that this request is gender neutral rather than female and also that it took nearly 2 months for me to finally start it! But... it's finished and it was free and I hope you like it!)   You lived in a peaceful idyllic village in a lush valley situated between large mountains. Resources were plentiful, and you were far away from any wars or strife.   Sure you wanted a bit more excitement, but all in all things were pretty damn good. Little did you know you were about to get more excitement than you knew what to do with.   One day an obsidian scaled half-dragon male, easily 9ft. tall, entered the peaceful valley and began harassing your village. Stealing livestock and crops sometimes even smashing a house or other building for seemingly no reason other than boredom.   Your community was at its wits’ end, finally the elders of your village gathered the town to discuss a solution.   It was decided after much debate that based on the old stories of dragons that they would try to offer it what food they could spare, some valuables, and a human to eat or do with as it wished and hope that it would be appeased.   It was decided without much debate at all that you should be the sacrifice. You were not too old to make a bad meal, and you had no living family in the village so no one would have to mourn you.   You were marched up to the dragon’s cave where he made his lair and made to carry a sack of gold and a basket of fruits and vegetables. You were shoved forward.   You knew there was no going back your village had abandoned you here to die, but maybe if you were super nice and helpful the dragon would allow you to leave.     The dragon was slumbering in the center of his den, lying peacefully on a large simple bed he had made stuffed with feathers and straw. His dark scales in stark contrast with his porcelain skin. You moved past him nervously, shuddering at the sight of his sharp claws, pointed teeth, and pointy horns, and entered the room you were looking for, the kitchen.   You set about cooking an amazing pork roast with a side of baked potatoes, carrots, and rolls. All food you had brought as part of his offering.   The mighty dragon arose from his nap to the smell of mouth watering food and a lot of confusion. He went into his kitchen to discover a tiny human daring to infiltrate his lair.   “And just what do you think you’re doing??” He growled menacingly at you. You shuddered as he entered the room, he was much larger up close and now that he was not curled up asleep you could see more details. He had a long slender tail, and hard shiny black scales covered him from the waste down, they also encased is arms, and framed his face. His eyes were a very pale yellow, almost white, and the pupils were similar to a cats.   “Uh, well, the village made me come here as a sacrifice. I thought maybe you’d like to wake up to food!” You control your nerves and hand him a tray full of food, averting your gaze as you hand it to him, unable to look him in the eyes.   “Hmmm… well I don’t detect any poison… not that it would work anyway…” He took the tray in one hand and grabbed your arm in the other, pulling you into his main den were he sat you beside him.   “So… what’s your name little human? I cannot just call you “mate” all the time, you probably cannot pronounce my full name, just call me Wrathyn.” The dragon hybrid took a few bites of food. “Wow this is really good!”   “I’m (Y/N)… wait, what? Did you uh, say mate??”   “Yeah, I mean that’s why you are here right? You came into my den without fear and made us food. I think you will be a good mate (Y/N)” Wrathyn went back to his food as he draped one of his large wings over you protectively.   Uh-oh, you had hoped he would let you go, you had not expected he would want you to be his partner. You definitely weren’t about to correct him though for fear he might hurt you.   “I guess I have to stop attacking your village now. That’s okay I guess, it was mostly out of from boredom and frustration from my rut cycle. But now you’re here so that won’t be a problem... Here you should eat too.” The large dragon male held his fork full of food to your mouth and once more you were too scared to tell him no so you opened your mouth and let him feed you a portion of the plate until he decided you had enough.   Wrathyn was surprisingly sweet for a large dragon hybrid that had been terrorizing your village. Maybe he really did just need a mate. You still feared him and would rather be home, but maybe it wouldn’t be sooooo terrible being here.   He came back from putting the dishes away and picked you up suddenly. Sensing your nervousness he nuzzled into your neck to calm you down.   “Don’t worry (Y/N), I won’t hurt ya! But like I said earlier, I am in rut so I really need to slide in you already~” You were pretty terrified, but honestly, what could you do. You would not fare well if you angered the owner of those pointed teeth and razor sharp claws, so you took a deep breath and tried to calm down.   Wrathyn used a single claw to slice your clothing away with ease, his large slimy cock now prodded against your hole. It looked so strange, protruding from a genital slit that you had not seen previously, it was large, pink, and moist with a tapered tip.   As scared as you were you had to admit you were pretty aroused. Being held by a muscular dragon hybrid over his inhumane cock was more thrilling than terrifying. You just hoped he would not ram it in, you were much smaller than he was.

  Luckily, he had no intention of causing you harm. His tip leaked a generous amount of precum which made his already moist member extremely slippery. That combined with the tip being so tapered made it exceedingly easy for him to slide right on in.   Wrathyn still held you in his muscular arms, one hand on your soft ass and the other supporting your back as he impaled you easily. The strong dragon moved your entire body in sync with his thrusts, pulling you down a bit on his cock with every forward movement of his hips.   He reached depths inside you far deeper than any human lover could ever hope to, and leaking out more warm slick precum all the while as he did it. It just felt so oily, warm, and lewd inside you, increasing your arousal greatly.   You started grinding your hips into him instinctually chasing your orgasm. The dragon kissed you deeply, his tongue slipping past your lips and invading your mouth. Suddenly making love like this isn’t enough for you anymore. And right on cue, as if reading your thoughts, he pinned you into a mating press.   Wrathyn began pounding into you much faster and harder, his base and primal need to mate during his rut partially taking over his rational mind. He ghosted his sharp teeth over your neck as he relentlessly dove his dick into you. The knowledge he could use those sharp teeth to end you so easily made you feel so week and vulnerable and there was something strangely titillating about it.   He came inside you deeply, unleashing a torrent of his seed into you that was much warmer than normal human cum, the sensation of being filled so completely took you over your own edge and your entire body shook as you came. You panted and went limp with exhaustion as he peppered your face and neck with a barrage of small kisses.   His cock neither left you or softened.   “So, (Y/N), ready for round two?”   Maybe being a dragon’s mate was not as easy as you had begun to think it would be...

[mallowstep]

i literally havent been able to stop thinking about the wbcd thing, its so needed in the series. how do you decide which cats die when? do you weigh eventual offspring when deciding, like thornkit/claw eventually having four kits while lynxkit obviously having none? will "important" canonical deaths like swiftpaw, brindleface, etc count towards the death count for the season, or will those types of things be bonus deaths?

figured i'd answer this b4 i went to bed!

i need to scrub the wbcd posts from my queue and rewrite them up to a higher standard, but i'm going to keep the outcomes the same. i've gotten the hang of things now.

anyway, this is all done in one notebook, and the way i do it for wbcd is a little Special. (i've done similar things for fan-ish clans to make sure the numbers work out. they do, generally. sometimes you have bad luck.)

but wbcd doesn't account for moving to the elders' den, increased death rates because of moving to the elders' den, and i don't think i was doing double rolls (i'll explain) last time i queued the posts.

(it's a bit of a mess rn is why i need to scrub and rewrite. or maybe start a(nother) sideblog for it? just for my own sanity?)

anyway.

i've done this out a few times, and i've decided writing shit out by hand is best. maybe i just have no restraint and overcomplicate shit when i start typing, and someone else could make it work.

so first up, determining leader lives: i literally knock off 2/book. if i'm doing something for a fanclan, i generate numbers the same way i do for litters, a normal distribution with mean 2 and standard deviation 4. N(2, 16) if you want to be fancy. i've considered lowering the standard deviation, but i like the swingy-ness of it. (i also permit "gaining" lives to account for this. it's a little hokey, but it makes leaders live for the Right amount of time.)

deputies have a 1/10 chance of dying every season. all of my numbers, here, are estimations based on my initial calculations, then smoothed out to a number that easily goes into 100. again, i do wbcd in batches, and my methodology has changed slightly, so it's possible i was still not rolling for deputies.

seers/medicine cats (seer = 4 letters, and i'm writing by hand, also it fits the Aesthetics of the idea) have a 1/20 chance in dying. i don't usually bother rolling for them, though, because their deaths uh. don't matter? bc wbcd follows canon timeline, i can kill them for drama as needed.

as for warriors, they have a 1/25 chance in dying every season. i believe i calculated the odds for 1/10 living to 40 seasons and 1/3 living to 40 seasons, and then found a number that was easy to remember in between. because i don't track elders in wbcd, no one ever actually retires, but when i do this for other things, i give elders 1/10 chance of dying. just to make sure they don't stack up.

but! wbcd is special because i don't just roll and move on. what i do is, i roll for every warrior, and then i shuffle deaths. did whitestorm die, but i need him to live long enough to be firestar's deputy? well, XYZ is right there not doing anything, why not kill them instead?

and so on.

there's certainly a bit of favouritism going on: when i decided to kill barley, it Hurt me a Lot. but it needed to be done.

the factors that go into my decision are about what their death does to the future. killing whitestorm before he becomes firestar's deputy is frustrating to the plot in ways i didn't want to deal with. killing darkstripe early does nothing.

so non-canon characters (i don't want to say ocs, bc it's more lynxkit, ravenpaw & barley, etc) have a higher risk of dying, because their deaths, well, by their nature their deaths Cannot change the plot.

but that's not the same as offspring. see, blossomfall and thornclaw's kits are very, very, very minor. stemleaf is the only one who matters, and i can easily work around that.

so important canonical deaths do count in the seasonal tally, because the numbers are supposed to be high for drama. the only exception to this is that i rolled really well for the season of the great battle, so i ended up using my litter size generator for an extra number of deaths. i'd do this again for a time when there was that kind of Big Event Death if i rolled "too well."

now, you didn't ask about this, but i want to be thorough: how do i do kits and apprentices?

okay, apprentices are my favourite part, because they're the only group that has dynamic odds. uh, i'm going to say seasons, but what i mean is, when i'm on my leafbare page, i then roll to see who lives through newleaf, and i call that the newleaf roll. i know it's confusing, that's just the convention i started with.

so anyway, seasonal odds of death for apprentices

newleaf: 0/1 greenleaf: 1/10 leaffall: 1/5 leafbare: 1/10

if you recall my overall apprentice odds, this might seem odd, but you have to remember that "leaffall" really means "1 out of 5 apprentices dies every greenleaf."

i've considered flipping this, but for reasons i'll explain in kits, having the newleaf "palette cleanser" means that the warmer months aren't as brutal as they seem.

so for kits: when there's a litter born in a season, i don't do anything. if there are multiple, i try to space them out. there's not like. a reason for this, other than helping me keep the numbers straight.

for seasons with no litters, i generate a litter size and pick a queen who's "free."

the litter size generated is N(3, 9), or mean 3, standard deviation 3. negative numbers mean nothing here, and there's a fair amount of Large Litters. it would be realistic to split those up, but that takes a Lot of time and bookkeeping.

anyway, generated litters usually have no father, because you know. keeping things moving here. i pick a free queen, which basically means:

the queen whose next canon litter and last litter in wbcd are furthest away.

this is a balancing act, and i usually favour not giving a couple an early litter before their first canon litter. but if, say, willowpelt needs to have a litter in two seasons, even if she could have two litters back to back, i don't like doing that.

so i might find someone who has had their last canon litter and give them an extra one, or someone who's a while away from their next litter.

for generated litters, i give them an extra roll. because i disregard negatives, litter sizes trend larger than intended, so an extra first roll keeps them down. all rolls for kits are 1/5 odds of death.

but if i roll a 5, i circle the bullet point, and roll twice next season. this is because 4/5 * 4/5 is 0.64, which is more than my ideal survival rate of 0.50. add in another 4/5, for the bonus roll, and you drop to 0.512. the occasional extra rolls sends some kits down to 0.40 survival rating.

one day, i will figure out what those odds are to see if my numbers are still accurate, but having played this scenario out pretty far, i think it works.

i also employ the double roll for apprentices. hence having no rolls in leafbare means i can sort of. stop anything from cycling over.

if u have more questions about the mechanics/my process behind this, let me know. i hope i explained everything clearly, but it's all basically scribbled in a single notebook that i actually need to dig out so i can fix things.

thanks for asking! i'll be out with more wbcd content soon.

[bloombloomdoom-blog]

THE SEQUEL OF THE HAWKLEAF AU: PART 1

1. Hollykit, Lionkit, and Jaykit are born moons after Leafpool and Hawkfrost's wedding. Hollykit is brownish ginger and white (she gets it from her great auntie Princess), Jaykit is light brown and white, and Lionkit is a brown tabby like his dad. Jaykit is born blind like in canon except he isn't forced into the medicine cat role (because that's shitty and implies something ablestic). Hawkfrost stays in the nursery with Leafpool and when she can go on patrols again, he stays in the nursery to watch their kits. Jaykit starts using his powers at 4 moons, in which he hears about a prophecy Bramblestar and Goldenflower discuss about in a dream.

2. Speaking of powers, Jay has his mind reading and dream walking powers as well as telepathy. Lion has 9 lives and powerful strength. Holly has strong hearing, smell, and sight. There is no fourth cat. Also, the purpose of their powers is not to defeat the dark forest because the dark forest isn't as powerful in this universe, but to protect the clans as guardians from an inevitable doom they will face in the near future.

3. When they become apprentices: Hollypaw gets Brightheart as a mentor, Jaypaw gets Cloudtail as a mentor, and Lionpaw gets Birchfall as a mentor. While they train, they, as well as other cats, start noticing strange smells and monsters appear in the woods. Cats start to disappear and Whitewing is one of them.

4. This causes a forced gathering, in which all but half of Riverclan and Windclan appears. It is learned here that cats are being captured and taken as kittypets by twolegs destroying the forest. Jaypaw manages to learn that Whitewing was taken by a twoleg and suffered the same fate through his mind reading powers and Hollypaw learns this too but through her hearing abilities. The three are shocked and discuss this alone while traveling back to Thunderclan camp. They all eventually agree on sneaking out into the forest and saving Whitewing from the twolegs.

5. They sneak out while everyone in camp is asleep and make it to this small twoleg den and see a large black dog sleeping in the fenced backyard. They all agree on Lionpaw going in and running into the flap on the door through the backyard.

6. He manages to quietly get in by climbing through the fence and sneaking into the den through the flap. There he sees Whitewing and the Riverclan medicine cat apprentice Willowpaw in a cage together, and they both beg Lionpaw to help and he ends up opening the cage by listening to Jaypaw's telepathy and breaking the lock on it by biting it. The twoleg sees him and they all flee outside. However, the dog sees them and manages to break lose and chase them. The dog almost gets Whitewing by the tail and Lionpaw tackles onto its large head and rips its floppy ear off and nearly clawing its eye out, in which the dog falls and they all end up getting away.

7. They all get back and when Hawkfrost, Sorreltail (the deputy in which I forgot to mention), Bramblestar, and Leafpool ask what happens and where they were, they explained everything. Bramblestar's memory of the prophecy starts to piece the puzzle pieces together and learns that his nephews and niece are the three. He speaks to them privately in his den about the powers they have and how he knows.

8. Hawkfrost and Leafpool praise their children on their bravery but warns them not to run away like that again. They all talk about what happened and then go to their dens and sleep.

9. The next day, Lionpaw brags about how he wounded the dog the other night to Cinderpaw, Honeypaw, Poppypaw, and Berrypaw. Hollypaw lectures her brother about keeping the powers secret and he retorts by saying that the other clans should know they're being protected in such bad times. This fires up into a full blown argument between the two and when they ask Jaypaw to take a side, he just walks away and into the forest to get away from the stress. He ends up finding a stick with faint glowing scratches and marks on it. He grabs it and walks back to camp.

10. During this, Brightheart is training Hollypaw to climb trees to find and catch prey with Brackenfur helping. When Brackenfur tries to jump off a branch to show Hollypaw how to fly down onto prey as an example, he smashes his face into a larger branch and falls into 3 more, breaking them and his bones. He immediately gets carried to the medicine cat's den, where he dies from blunt force trauma. Hollypaw is mentally scarred by this and refuses to climb trees as a unit or even train as a warrior. She stays in the medicine cat den for a few days where she gets to talk to Squirrelflight more and stay with her parents, who comfort her. She eventually gets talked into training again a few days later. She tells her mentor and parents that she wants to be the best for them.

11. A week later, more trees start to disappear along with cats from other clans and eventually, Windclan is driven out of their territory and is forced to stay with Thunderclan. Another forced gathering happens and they all agree on leaving the forest in general seeing that most prey is gone along with trees and vegetation.

12. Before the trip starts, Lionpaw, Jaypaw, and Hollypaw earn their warrior names. Lionpaw is named Lionflame, Hollypaw is named Hollyberry, and Jaypaw is named Jaywing. They all have their final vigil at the camp and head off to a new place to live in the morning.

13. During the trip, many cats grow sick and starving, with all the elders dying by sickness. There is also a huge scuffle with strong rogues in which Lionflame kills one by pinning it down and tearing the back of its neck open. Bramblestar scolds him for killing the cat which starts a huge argument between the two family members. Jaywing snaps at them and tells them to cooperate and keep moving.

14. Leafpool gets severely sick from hunger halfway into the trip which causes Hawkfrost to panic. Jaywing uses his powers to find some prey in which he guides Hollyberry and Shrewtail down into this snowy path which leads to a forest area where plump mice are found. As they hunt, Jaywing warns the two that they all shouldn't stay for long in which Hollyberry doesn't listen and tells him that everything will be okay, and that Leafpool and many other cats needs these mice to survive.

15. Right as they begin to head back, a huge pack of badgers chase them down. While Shrewtail turns around and begins to fight them off, Hollyberry is caught by the neck and is ripped apart and killed by the badgers. Jaywing screams and cries as he is knocked out by one of the badgers while a patrol of cats come in and fight off the badgers.

Part 2 will be coming soon...

[shadowphoenixrider]

Getting a Room (1/2)

(Nothing to really say about this, except to tag my usual, wonderful ladies: @galleywinter, @sigurdjarlson, @highpriestessbriyanna, @fer8girl and @elfgirl931! Hope you enjoy it!)

“The Hammer of Khaz’goroth.” Khadgar breathed as Mayla Highmountain placed the Pillar of Creation on the pedestal, set aside by the Council in the Chamber of the Guardian. “You say your people have protected this artifact for generations?”

“Yes, until Dargrul’s theft and the death of my father.” Mayla replied. “If not for the skill of your champions, I doubt we would have gotten it back.”

She turned to look at the group of five Horde champions behind her. Draggka, the troll hunter, smiled and bowed her head respectfully to the chieftain, even as she rubbed her raptor Spike’s head, and glanced at her compatriots. Harnaka, the orc shaman, stood on her left, a purple bruise swelling one orange eye shut, and by her side was Cayeli, a blood elf monk who still somehow managed to look poised and immaculate despite the group’s rough adventure and the bruises forming on the glimpses of tanned skin. Standing at Draggka’s right was the contrast of the diminutive goblin priest Tinkerspring; whose personality more than made up the deficit, and the much larger form of the Sunwalker Aiyaona, whose smile was the smallest and most shy of the group, although her eyes told an altogether brighter story.

“When you first set foot upon our shores,” Mayla spoke, “I prayed to the spirits, asking if you could be trusted. By helping to reunite our tribes, you have proven yourselves true friends to our people.” The tauren looked back to the Hammer, now hovering in magical stasis. “For us, the Hammer has always been a symbol of unity, a reminder of our proud history. But in your hands, it will serve a greater purpose.” She looked back to the group. “On behalf of the tribes of Highmountain, I entrust the Hammer to you and your allies. May it strike true at the hearts of the enemy.”

Mayla paused a moment, her ears flicking. “The spirits whisper that our fates are intertwined. My people stand ready to aid you in the war against the Legion.”

Khadgar bowed.

“We are honour to have your support, High Chieftain,” he said, voice soft but strong. “We will guard the Hammer with our lives.”

Mayla’s head tilted forward in a bare hint of a nod.

“I have no doubt of that.” She replied.

“If no-one minds,” Aiyaona suddenly piped up. “Would I be allowed to accompany Mayla back to Highmountain? I-I know she has her own guards, but the Legion...” She trailed off, her brief boldness retreating under everyone’s gaze.

“I would be grateful for your company, Aiyaona.” A slight smile graced the High Chieftain’s lips. “We best return to Highmountain now, in any case.”

“Of course.” The Sunwalker nodded, glancing to her friends. “See you soon.”

“See ya soon, Aiya.” Draggka smiled. “Safe travels.”

The two tauren took their leave, starting a low conversation in Taur’ahe just before they stepped onto the teleporter, and were gone in a flash of magic. Khadgar looked to the rest of the group, one silver eyebrow arched quizzically.

“Aiya’s glad to be among tauren that don’t see her as coming from a tribe of traitors.” Harnaka explained, going to rub at her swollen eye before Cayeli swatted her hand away.

Draggka nodded.

“I don’t be blamin’ her. I not seen her dat happy in a long time. ‘Sides, she be better placed den us to be understanding dem better.”

“Certainly.” Khadgar agreed, glancing to the Pillar of Creation. “One down, four to go.” He grinned widely, one that reached his eyes and made them gleam. “Excellent work, all of you.”

“Tanks.” Draggka grinned back. “Though it be mainly Aiya an’ Tink who got us through dat.”

“Aw, shucks!” Tinkerspring waved her hand in feigned embarrassment, whilst her grin just as wide as Khadgar’s. “But you were fine. Those two, on the other hand...” She pointed at Harnaka and Cayeli.

“It’s not our fault we have to fight in close quarters.” The blood elf huffed, folding her arms. “We have to take it as it comes, not sit around a million miles away and throw pointy sticks at them.” A smirk danced on her lips as Draggka gasped dramatically, eyes wide. “Also let me remind you what your raptor does, whilst you’re out there on your own.”

“Yeah, but he’s actually smart enough to get out of the way of rocks and magma flying in his direction.” The priest commented, before her voice dropped to a serious tone. “You were very lucky Harnie took that blow for you. It could’ve gotten super messy.”

Cayeli glanced to the orc, who smiled broadly at her, despite her obvious wound.

“Yeah. Thank you, Harnie.” The monk smiled back, albeit more shyly.

“No problem.” Harnaka replied, patting her shoulder as gently as the muscled warrior could. “I’d do it again, any time.”

“Ah, hopefully not.” Draggka interrupted. “Tink might not appreciate scraping ya offa da floor all da time.”

“Mana doesn’t grow on trees, you animals.” The goblin sniffed. “And before you say anything, I’ve still got to buy vials to make those potions! Money has to go into them at some point!”

Khadgar chuckled deeply, clearly amused by their banter. Fondness was written all over his face, although Draggka could have swore that...there was a sadness in his eyes...

“I’d prefer all of you to stay alive,” he said. “I’d like not to lose any of the champions that aided me on Draenor.” He looked between them. “Anyway, what were your next moves? As I understand it, you’ve all joined various class orders, and some of you have moved up in the world?”

“Most of us.” Cayeli sighed. “Aiya and I didn’t, though in her case I think it was for the best. I don’t think she would have coped with becoming Highlord of the Silver Hand.”

“You wanted to be Grandmaster of the Order of the Broken Temple?” Tinkerspring asked, raising a surprised eyebrow. “I thought you were averse to power?”

“Well, it would have been nice.” The blood elf admitted. “I can’t deny it. But Chiuza, the draenei who is the Grandmaster, she outclasses me.” She shrugged. “So I haven’t got any problems with her being in charge. Honestly.”

“It’s alright, Cay.” Harnaka smiled fondly, patting her gently on the shoulder again, pulling her slightly closer. “You’ll always be the Grandmaster in my eyes.” The elf’s cheeks seemed to flush red.

“High praise from the new Farseer.” Khadgar spoke, his eyes dropping to the Doomhammer at her side. Draggka noticed, to her surprise, that there was a wary light in his pale blue eyes, and slight tension tightening in his back. “Go’el stepped down?”

“Yeah.” Harnaka glanced at the hammer. “I don’t...exactly feel competent enough to wield it. I mean, I know it responded to me, but...Go’el...I don’t think I could even begin to fill his shoes.”

“Harnie, you’ll be fine.” Cayeli smiled at her, green eyes flickering and the flush completely vanished. “You’re not leading the Horde or anything. Besides, if you can’t fill his shoes, don’t!” She giggled musically. “Why do you think I’m a monk, and not an arcanist like my parents?”

“You’re missing out, you know.” Khadgar said to her, a smile playing on his lips. “But you’re right. You must forge your own path where you can, not just follow others blindly, hoping to live up to them.” A flash of morose sadness flickered across his face, so quick Draggka knew she could have missed it if she’d blinked. The apprentice follows the master, she noted silently.

“Says the wizard who tried to get himself trapped on Draenor a second time.” Tinkerspring smirked, leaning on her staff.

“In my defence, High Priest,” Khadgar grinned widely, “I have closed the Dark Portal twice before. I know what I’m doing!”

“Ya said dat before ya nearly blew me up.” Draggka reminded him, Spike chuffing softly.

“For an archmage, you do tend to be a danger to yourself and others.” Cayeli agreed, folding her arms and raising one long red eyebrow.

“That’s how mages are, Cay.” Tinkerspring interrupted Khadgar as he opened his mouth. “You know how my brother is? Imagine him, but bigger, less green, old as shit, and you get the Old Man here.” The goblin grinned madly as the young-old mage narrowed his eyes at her.

“I’ll remember that.” Khadgar said. “I still don’t know how or why the Conclave chose you as their leader. Did you pay them off?”

“Wow, you’re going there? Wow.” The goblin gasped, laying a hand over her breast. “Honestly though, I don’t know either. That Faol guy seemed pretty convinced about it, though.”

The elder mage blinked.

“Faol? As in...Alonsus...Faol?” He asked, voice faint and disbelieving.

“Yeah, that was his name. He was an old bishop of the Light or something.” Tinkerspring frowned. “Why?”

There was a pause.

“Nothing.” Khadgar shook his head. “Nothing that should concern you. Just the musings of an old man.” He smiled, looking for the world as if he truly was unbothered, but the hunter wasn’t entirely convinced. “Anyway, I’ve kept you champions long enough. I’m sure you all have important things to be getting on with, and I’d be loathe to keep you from them.” He grinned widely. “Especially if that involves fighting the Legion.”

“Don’t worry Archmage, even if we don’t, those demon hunters will do more than their fair share.” Cayeli commented, the others nodding.

“Are you sure we can trust them?” Harnaka asked, glancing between monk and mage. “I mean, they were working with Illidan, and he wasn’t exactly being a good influence on Outland, right?” She looked to Khadgar, who nodded.

“That is true, but the enemy of our enemy is our friend, and in this case, their blades are greatly appreciated.” Khadgar said. “There are few as adept in fighting the Legion as they are, after all. And they seem trustworthy enough.”

He looked to the Hammer, and then back to them, smiling. “Anyhow, well done, champions. Once I have discovered clues to the locations of the other Pillars of Creation, I will let you know, and I’m sure you’ll bring them safely back.” His smile was warm, almost fatherly. “Perhaps the Highmountain  tauren can help you? They know this land better than us. We’ll see. Either way, good hunting, my friends. Keep yourselves safe.”

“We will.” Tinkerspring grinned. “And if they don’t, I’ll at least be around to scrape them up off the floor.”

“We not be that bad, surely?” Draggka grinned at her friend.

“You’re not.” The priest replied, gesturing. “They are.”

Cayeli gasped offendedly.

“How about you do the punching next time, Tinkerbell?” She said haughtily. “We’ll see how easy you find it.”

“Shouldn’t be too hard, I’m very short.” The goblin grinned widely, especially as the monk narrowed her eyes.

“Let’s not be starting a fight here.” Draggka chuckled, glancing the archmage and the tendrils of magic that were starting to drift around his fingers. “Not unless ya wanna end up sheep.”

“It’s alright, Cay.” Harnaka smiled, hip-checking her friend and almost knocking her over. “I’ll protect you and keep you safe, even if Tink won’t.”

The elf’s annoyance faded, and she smiled back at the orc.

“Thank you, Harnaka. You’re...a good friend.”

The orc’s smile widened, her pale orange eyes brighting.

“C’mon, we should get our armour repaired.” She gestured. “You never know when the next scrap is going to happen.”

The other nodded, starting to make a move before Khadgar cleared his throat.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I’d like to take up some of the Huntmaster’s time. I have a matter of scouting reports to discuss with her.” He glanced to Draggka, a flash of mischief passing through his eyes for a split second.

The other women glanced to one another, before a grin that stretched from ear to ear appeared on Tinkerspring’s face, and she ushered the others off.

“We’ll catch up later Draggka!” She said brightly, flashing a wink at the pair before she addressed the others. “Lemme heal that eye up for you when we’re waiting. Maybe next time you’ll be a bit more careful!” Any potential response was swallowed as they stepped onto the teleporter, vanishing in a flash of magic.

As soon as they were alone, Draggka felt Khadgar’s hand slide around her waist.

“You were quiet for a while there.” He murmured softly, eyes warm with adoration. “Everything alright?”

“Yeah, everyting be fine.” She smiled back at him. “Dey can be a little loud. I don’t mind. We be good friends, and I wouldn’t be trading dem.”

“No.” Khadgar looked back to the Hammer, smiling. “Certainly not. You are all champions of impeccable skill, and we are lucky to have you protecting Azeroth. And you are lucky to have their friendship.”

The troll nodded, absently petting Spike as he brushed by her.

“Yeah.” She looked back to her lover and raised an eyebrow. “So, what be dese ‘scouting reports’ ya want to be talkin’ to me about?”

“Nothing of the sort.” Khadgar grinned mischievously. “I was hoping to spend some time with you before circumstances call you away again.” His grin cooled to a shy smile. “Also I was hoping to show you...show you my quarters,” he said softly, his cheeks flushing red like a schoolboy with a crush. “I, I was thinking it’d be a good place for you to, to relax, w-without anyone seeing us, or, or, bothering you.”

Draggka smiled at his stuttering, feeling her face heat.

“Dat...I like da sound of dat,” she said, her hand brushing over the one on her hip as it slid away. “I guess ya gonna teleport us dere?”

“Of course.” Khadgar replied, lifting his hands as magic swirled around him, filling his eyes with purple-white light. “Wouldn’t want anyone catching us. Come close.”

Spike came to Draggka’s side as the mage spoke, the spell completing moments after. When it had deposited them inside the Violet Citadel, and onto a soft, plush rug, she opened her eyes to take her new surroundings. She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, but it definitely wasn’t this.

The apartment was bigger than she’d imagined, and quite finely furnished, feeling warm and...homely, in a similar way the insides of the keep in Frostwall had felt. Except this felt softer, as if war was barely a distant thought to its resident; comfort was a much higher priority. It had the dark purple tones of the Kirin Tor in some places, but most of it had been replaced in deep reds and darker colours to match. The only Kirin Tor eyes she could glimpse were on discarded correspondence stuffed into corners, or under piles of books scattered about the room.

The room they were currently in had to be what humans called the ‘living room’, carpeted with soft rugs and lined with shelves that held books and other various artifacts, some nicely stacked, others less so. It was windowless, but lit well by lamps hanging from the ceiling, as well from the natural light leaking in from the other rooms. There was a large, red cushioned couch that took up a good portion of the room, a table in front of it, and a pair of equally plush chairs towards a corner of the room. They were positioned by one of the magical fireplaces Dalaran was known for, that produced no smoke (or if they did, the mages found a way to capture and store it somehow).

It was a foreign place to the troll, but she felt very relaxed and secure here. Maybe it was Khadgar that soothed her, or the knowledge that it was his home; either way, she knew she would be as settled here as she was in Frostwall.

“So,” Khadgar cleared his throat, a slight bashful flush alighting his face, “shall I show you around? Or do you just want to sit and rest? I mean, I can always do it later, if you wish? T-The showing around, I mean.”

Draggka glanced down to Spike, who was already wandering from her side, sniffing the air and looking around with intent curiosity, and she chuckled.

“Tink ya better show me around before Spike does.” She grinned, nodding to her companion. Khadgar followed her gaze, and chuckled.

“So I see. Alright then.”

Left off of the living room was Khadgar’s study, which heaved with even more books and magical artifacts and papers of all sorts, like a slightly larger, less tightly packed version of his tower in Draenor. The study window looked out onto the main city of Dalaran, visible from his desk, the wood covered in ink stains. Right off of the living room was the kitchen; small, and with a suspiciously well stocked pantry off to the side. It was clean, though Draggka noted some neglected washing up in the sink, and that the room hadn’t really seen much use recently. She silently vowed to put an end to that, if Khadgar didn’t mind her using it.

The bedroom was north of the living room, and contained a generous double bed that made Draggka smirk; the archmage had blushed and stuttered that all the Council members had big beds for luxury, so they could sprawl if needed, and it wasn’t for consorts and mistresses, honest. There was a generous amount of windows here, one looking over the city and the other looking out at the sky behind the Violet Citadel. A door situated in the far non-Dalaran corner of the room led to the washroom, almost hidden by said wardrobe.

Many books were also scattered about here, as well as it being as equally plush as the room south of it, only this also contained a wardrobe and chests of drawers that made the room look more domestic than the others. It reminded the hunter that it was Khadgar’s refuge, not just the house base of the Leader of the Kirin Tor.

“Nice place ya have here.” Draggka said, when the wizard was finished showing her around. “I like it.”

“You do?” Khadgar’s blue eyes seemed to spark with joy. “I’m glad. I was hoping, well,” he blushed brightly as he led her back to the living room, Spike trotting past his legs to further explore the apartment. “W-Well, that you’d, p-perhaps...”

“Perhaps...?” She prompted.

“...Perhaps...you’d like to stay here? L-Like a second home. I-If you want it.” The archmage glanced away, his blush starting to rival the colour of the couch, and creeping up to his ears. “I-I mean, I know it’s not really your thing, city life, a-and I know Trueshot Lodge is more suited to hunter like yourself, but-”

His stammering was silenced by her gentle finger on his lips.

“Khadgar,” she said, smiling warmly, “I’d love to.”

He blinked.

“You, you would?” When she nodded, he beamed, seeming to lose almost three quarters of his age in seconds. “That’s wonderful! I’ll set you up with a key and make space for your stuff and-” He stopped, frowning. “Bugger. I hadn’t thought how I’m going to move your stuff into here. And I need to-”

“Khadgar, it be fine!” Draggka laughed, grabbing his hands. “It be fine. I don’t be havin’ much to my name, and it already be in da bank or carried wit me anyway, though I were makin’ a place in da Lodge for myself. But I don’t need to be movin’ in all at once. If ya make me a space, I can be leavin’ tings here over time.  Den no-one will be seeing anyting dat makes dem suspicious. No need fer a rush. Da world not be ending ‘cos I don’t be having my stuff here, right?”

Khadgar nodded slowly, absorbing her words.

“Yes...yes, you’re right, my dear. So long as we have each other, materials are, well, immaterial.” He smiled. “Now, sit. Do you want anything to drink? A tea, wine, water?”

“No, I be fine, tanks.” Draggka smiled back, waving the request off. “I just be needing to be getting da weight off my feet.”

“Understandable, what with you going through Deathwing’s old lair in bare feet.” The mage said pointedly as the troll settled onto the couch with a sigh, placing her unstrung bow, quiver and pack to the side.

“It not be like I be standin’ on lava or anyting.” Draggka replied, tucking her feet up under herself, as Khadgar sat beside her. “We trolls be used to it.”

“Somehow.” He commented dryly. A pause. “So. Huntmaster of the Unseen Path.”

“Yeah.”

The mage grinned.

“So? That’s incredible. People are finally realizing that you’re one of, if not the greatest hunter Azeroth has ever seen,” he said. “I’d say that’s an achievement.”

Draggka smiled lopsidedly, a slight flush under her fur.

“Just because dey decided to make me da leader because I be having Allera’s bow don’t make me da best hunter ever. Afta all, dere be other hunters working to get other, legendary weapons to fight against da Legion. I not be special. Just lucky.”

“I disagree with you not being special.” Khadgar replied. “You’re certainly special, in your skill, your personality, just being you. After all, no-one has stolen my heart before.” He grinned at her, eyes twinkling. “But okay, maybe I was exaggerating a bit. Slightly.” His grin cooled to a smile, and he stretched an arm to rest over the couch behind her. “But the last I heard, after you were taken to Trueshot Lodge and made leader of the Unseen Path, you were contacted by one of the Highmountain tauren there. Tell me about what happened, and how you got the Hammer?”

Draggka smiled, leaning into him.

“Sure. So, afta I were inducted into da Unseen Path, and Ohn’ahra appeared in da sky...”

(Next)

[siberianspirits]

Quick Explanation and Wolf Rank Key - UnderSedge

(Sorry about all the repeating. This same bit is on my WattPad if you check it out.. *cough* "SiberianSpirit" *cough* Shamless Plug) I don't think I've mentioned yet that UnderSedge is made of mostly wolves, and foxes.. So there you go!

I just want to say up front, that although I love writing about animals, I'm not an expert on them. So this is not terribly accurate, to real life, or to the original UnderTale story line.

I'm also not really 100% certain on in this universe. Things are constantly changing, so I hope that doesn't bother you to much. That being said, I hope you keep an open mind and enjoy anyways!

This is the Wolf Rank structure I'm following... and I totally stole it from: 

http://powerfulwolvespack.wikifoundry-mobile.com/m/page/All+Wolf+Ranks

So I owe a HUGE thank you to the creator of that website.

High Rankings:

Alpha (1-2) - Usually there are two within a pack, although sometimes there is only one. There can only be one of each gender holding this position. They are normally the active mating pair. They are dominant over all the rest of the pack, and what they say should be considered law. They take an interest in what goes on in their pack, and if they've been away for any length of time look to the Beta to learn of what went on. (Leaders)

Beta (1-2) - There may be one or two in a pack, one of each gender. They may or may not be mates and are second in command. When neither alphas are around, they take charge. As it is the responsibility that falls to them. The Beta is there in order to test the Alpha in skirmishes which are never truly serious and results in little to no damage of either creature. Although there may come a time when the challange is serious. (Second in Command)

Gamma (1-2) - Those holding this position are usually, if not always, the oldest and wisest of the pack. Through their stories and their phrases, they pass on to the others within the pack their wisdom. They delight in telling stories to pups, though sometimes what they tell is just legend. However, still each story usually has some sort of moral to it. At one time they may have been the Alpha. Although, the current Alphas may put others here should it seem right to them. There is usually only one or two who fill this position and normally only one of each gender. Especially if they were a prior Alpha pair. Those who hold this position are much respected and loved by the rest of the pack. (Elders)

Delta (1-4) - They are the messangers of the pack. They go between, and among the Allies then sometimes even the Axis. They risk their own lives by doing so, but it is their duty and they must make sure that those who need to know are told. Sometimes they work in conjunction with the Upsilon. Those who seek this position must be agile, patient and have an even temperment while speaking with other packs. (Messengers)

Epsilon (1-2) - They are the Gaurdians of the pack. Their job is to ward off intruders and are responsible for the safety and wellbeing of the pack. They should have at one time been either an Zeta, Eta or Iota for they will need the skills of peace and fighting. Though they should only resort to violence should peaceful persuasion fail. (Guardians)

Zeta (1-3) - The war general of the pack. They take direct orders from the Alpha in case of a war. The Alpha may be the one to declare war, but the Zeta leads the army and plans the plans for war. They also train new recruits for positions such as Eta. Eta being more likely to take his or her place in future. Normally there is only a single Zeta, but if the populace is high there can be as many as three. (War General)

Eta (2-8) - There are at least two in a pack. The Eta are the warriors of the pack. They are led by the Zeta or the Epsilon during skirmishes and wars. Although they will take orders from the Alpha or other higher ranks if given, but the Alpha's above all. (Warriors)

Theta (1) - They are the lead medics within the pack, therefore it is they that the Iota aspire to be. (Lead Medic)

Iota (1-2) - They are the medics of the pack, knowledgable in herbology. They have vast knowledge upon what plants and other natural resources will help cure and heal others. (Medics)

Kappa (1-2) - They are the lead hunters in the pack. Normally there is only one, though sometimes there are two depending upon how large the pack is. They lead the packs hunts when the Alpha tells them to. They make sure that the entire pack is well fed and will not starve. They oversee as well, that the pack will have a well balanced diet. (Lead Hunters)

Lambda (Unlimited) - They are the hunters of the pack. They follow the Alpha or the Kappa in the hunts. Those who hold this position are loyal and quick to follow orders. They have stealth and agility on their side and together are able to take down larger prey. (Hunters)

Mid Rankings:

Mu (1) - They are the peace keeper of the pack, using mediation between those who're angry with one another. The Alpha may take a Mu with them to speak with another pack over starting a peace treaty. They make sure that no serious fights break out within their own pack. They may at times also work with the Delta, Zeta or Upsilon. (Peace Keeper)

Nu (1-6) - They are the sentries of the pack. Their duty is to keep track of natural resources, finding dens and areas of abundant food for the pack. They also must keep watch of the pack making sure to call the Epsilon, Delta, Lambda or Upsilon. (Sentries)

Xi (1-2) - Their main duty is to keep an eye on their resources such as water supplies and potential den areas. They may at times even assist the hunters. Should an unwelcome visitor infiltrate the packs territory they are able to call upon the Gaurdians/Epsilon. (Resource Watchers)

Omicron (1) - The Omicron is usually the lead Pi and oversee to it that each one is taking care of the rest of the packs problems in a way that wont harm anyone. They are those who with permission from the Alpha may choose who will become a Pi. (Top Therapist)

Pi (1-4) - The Pi are therapists within the pack. Often the other members will come to them to confide in, because it is the duty of the Pi to keep such confidences confidential and try and help those who come to them by giving them advice and advising them on what might be best for them. Although they are not always right, but should be able to help out and be a good listener. It is also advised that they themselves do not make judgements of others. (Therapists)

Rho (1-2) - The Rho are secretaries to the Pi, making sure that they have breaks in between appointments. They also are the ones that those seeking the therapist must come to in order to make an appointment so things do not become to chaotic if everyone wishes to speak with the Pi. (Secretaries)

Sigma (1-2) - The Sigma are the Tutors of the pack. They know much about each thing. They often work with the Phi in order to teach the pups as well as the subordinates and others who might need a bit more knowledge within the pack. (Tutors)

Tau (1) - The Tau is the lead Scout/Upsilon. They give orders to the Upsilon on whom to spy upon or what packs to look at. They are also known as the best of the Upsilon and only those who've proven themselves may be promoted from Upsilon to this position. However their direct orders come from the Alphas. (Lead Scout)

Upsilon (1-4) - The Upsilon are the scouts or spies of the pack. They go into other pack territories in order to find out what's going on. Afterwards they report back to the Alpha and tell them about all that they have seen, even should it just be that pups have been born. They will also report to the Zeta if they were asked to find wolves of their own for battle, or they report to the Alpha pair. (Scouts/Spies)

Lower Rankings

Phi (1) - They are the pup sitters of the pack and delight in teaching the young that which they will need in the future. However if a pup gets lost or hurt they are hold accountable should the pup have been under their care at that time. (Pup-sitter)

Chi (1) - They are the jester of the pack. They help to make others laugh when things get stressful. (Jester)

Psi (Unlimited) - These are the subordinates of the pack. Usually new memebers or yearling wolves start here and must prove themselves before they are given a better ranking. However they need to be careful and achieve a higher ranking least they become the Omega. (Subordinate)

Omega (1-5) - They are the scape goats of a pack. Often they are picked on by the other wolves and are last to eat. Sometimes things may become so bad that they might even up and leave the pack, though there are those who remain to stick it out. (Lowest Rank)

Pup:

Pups - They are the young usually born into the pack under the age of one. Depending upon morality and the attitude of a pack as well as the food that is available, the number of pups in any pack may vary

[theveryworstthing]

Downtrodden Answers: Lots O’ Bugs Edition

here are a bunch of answers for the staggering pile of downtrodden questions that have built up.

god, there are so many. this isn’t even a fraction of them. more coming soon.

@terminallytwisted

they’re uncommon to rare since they have such small clutches of eggs (for insects) and they’re not really the best parasites around. in fact, without breeding programs they would all be gone by now. like awful bug pandas.

there are specific breeders tasked with recreating ideal habitats and situations for the best results. these people train under other veteran breeders for years before they have the documentation and references to start managing their own clutches. of course, if you have a Walking Worm and the guy down the street has a Walking Worm you can breed them but the failure rate is high without a breeder’s counsel and if things aren’t handled correctly the worms can get defensive and aggressive. they’re intelligent social creatures and trying to mate them with a worm they don’t like or in a place they feel unsafe might get that other worm’s dick ripped off and you accidentally stepped on. not a good look. not worth the items or money saved on that counseling fee.

if your worms do manage to impregnate each other and lay clutches, congrats! no one lost a limb this time! you may now sell or trade those eggs to the highest bidder because those are some precious precious babies.

yup. they usually really excel at one or the other but there are shady places where you want to keep your pet close and most boat bodied worms get lonely if their owners are up on land for too long :(

@bleatingbico

there’s no really ‘taming’ snails. they just kind of do what they want. some people have them as pets though, and their mucus can be harvested for different healing and cosmetic uses.  rabbits don’t really breed them because their populations can get out of hand fast.

what do you think Wolves that never turn look like?

@sinezona

that’s such a cute idea! i decree it cannon. its probably more of a dark green though since it has to have as much contrast with the paper as possible for better low light reading. that or mixed in with glow in the dark liquids. as for newspapers, they’re not daily but there is an island-wide paper distributed by the postal workers covering general island news, predator sightings, deaths, that sort of thing. local news is covered by guilds who collect interesting findings and goings on in the surrounding area and then send what are essentially anchor rabbits to individual warrens to report them to the gathered crowds. these reports may also come by radio if the radio signals work there (owls do a number on radio signals).

@fignan

there are mines on the island, usually connected to special tunnels that connect to different warrens so that large groups of workers can get to work safely. what metalworkers do really depends on if its an area with other metalworkers present of if they’re the only one for miles. more crafters means more specialization. less means you���re kind of thrust into being the jack of all trades unless you order from other metalworkers. you might have to do this anyway though if you’re like great at cups but royally suck at daggers. in a wolf attack people will use your janky daggers but they’ll also come back and try to beat your ass with their remaining limbs. better to just get in contact with an outside source.

jesus.

1:yes

2: i’m totally using the bog iron idea thank you, also digging is more for home expansion/ underground transportation. its mostly done by hand with some shovel work to remove excess dirt and a few other tools to smooth walls and floors. mining is more intense and careful work. digging is about hollowing out the area, mining is actually searching for stuff. the two sometimes collide if interesting deposits are found while constructing burrows or warrens but rabbits try to keep mining operations away from their homes and water supplies just in case of disaster.

3: fungi, greens, squash, cabbages, bell peppers, seaweed, kiwi, coconuts, melons, peaches, almonds, and wheat. there are many more and there’s a lot of variety on the island between areas or just warrens. crops might also depend on how close to the Center you are. you can get a peach as big as a watermelon if your farm is far enough inland. they are prone to both dropping on unlucky people and producing the finest jams known to sapient life. you can barely taste the murder.

4: a lot of plant fibers like cotton and various woven items made of shed rabbit fur and the found pelts of larger creatures. rabbits like to use spider silk for durable items as well as sturdy wings and carapaces of certain bugs. it is important to note that many rabbits think wearing things from bugs commonly classified as pets is super gross unless its from your actual pet as a remembrance item. you’re not going to make any friends in a Walking Worm skin suit.

5: rabbits make 99% of their day to day items. they like mainland rice and a few other food items but if they import anything its usually luxury items like furniture or machines that were never commonly used on the island like cameras. when you can talk to the dead, keeping pictures around seems a lot less important. rabbits have really warmed up to photos though. despite the occasional flubbs like the shine of strange eyes hovering above nests of sleeping kits and shadowy figures sitting in on a family portraits, cameras are getting popular among those that can afford them.

6: rabbits have been obsessed with textiles since the dawn of their civilization. you know they know their way around a loom.

@crackingdrywall

warrens have a pretty tribal/family atmosphere. there is usually an ‘elder’ or ‘elders’ which are akin to the head of the warren who try to keep everyone from shanking each other, and then there are leaders for different facets of warren life. classically these were mated couples but these days its just two people who work well together and essentially act as managers for their specific responsibilities. its always two just in case something happens to someone and the next qualified person doesn’t have time to settle into the position, and its become more common for these managers to be comprised of one seasoned older person and one enterprising younger person. the common positions for management are:

kitchen (they handle food inventory, cooking, and food farming)

medicine (medical and rescue services, only led by midwives and doctors)

spiritual (priests and doctors who focus more on mental illness)

communication (necromancers, postal workers, journalists)

home (they handle the building, cleaning and upkeep of the warren. gotta make sure that the cranky old people are happy and that the bugs aren’t pooping everywhere)

entertainment (they handle the books, games, festivals, ect. diversions from the Bad Times)

and guards (the peeps who prevent the other peeps from being eaten by horror monsters)

of course these positions change and expand depending on what size your warren is, what the age demographic is, what the area is like, what predators are in that area, what the death rate is like, if you specialize in crafting or trading for certain things, if you’re made of family groups or guild workers who’ll just be there for parts of the year, if you’re a secret street fighting ring, ect. there’s a lot to keep in mind.

also those position names are boring and will probably be revised later but the fact that they’re basically just what they say they are is so Rabbit i don’t know if i should change it.

@joysweeper

not really. vultures are hard to catch and kind of gross to eat so they don’t have any real natural predators on the island. i mean, things only got after rabbits because they’re delicious and they can catch them. and some things, like foxes, won’t even bother with that if there are enough bugs and berries around.

there are still plenty of creatures that will fuck them up if they DO get caught but they can usually avoid them. its why they keep their meals short and don’t bring their children down to eat.

@balaur-of-four-toes

i really Feel that comic.

and those other creature thoughts are spot on. the fennecs would be a little bigger though. maybe the size of a real life wolf since Downtrodden foxes and rabbits are equivalent in scale to real life foxes and rabbits.

maybe when i’m done with the island and the mainland and the holy city, we can go to some far off places and meet some other weird talking critters.

i’m not sure if i answered this one but i have talked about house boats. as for pure underwater dens, there is a huge system of hot springs and fresh water underground rivers that rabbits take advantage of. a lot of rabbits like to make their homes near them. there are also the seaside glass caves where the tides and general proximity to the ocean can lead to warrens or burrows surrounded by cliff side waterfalls or aquarium-like glass walls.

@stanzicapparatireplayers

see above friendo :)

wellllll. you’re half right about what went down.

rabbits sort of used it to their advantage when they could. see, they have very little sexual dismorphia just like the mainlanders, and since the mainlanders were used to using social and visual cues to pick out the minute differences in reproductive roles they could call a rabbit maybe 60% of the time if they’re alone with them. but the fact that rabbits don’t really follow a super strict design template for body shape and height and they don’t have larger boobs unless they’re pregnant, currently nursing, or the mother of a bunch of kits, make a group of rabbits look like ten million different species with no discernible gender to the mainlander eye. at least in the olden days. so, the rabbits would use gendered pronouns to go places and exhibit behaviors that were seen as contrary to their gender roles. and the mainlanders would be so relived that they had a gender to go on that they didn’t really question it for quite a while. of course, then there were a few scandals over revealed homosexual relationships, obscenity charges slapped on people in places they shouldn’t be, ect, and the mainland got very strict about your gender matching your reproductive role. most rabbits stepped in line but the paranoia was already there. it was only ten years ago that most jobs required full body physicals before hiring rabbits.

it was kind of a sucky thing!

@adeterminedloser

they’ve had enough of my shit and i can’t blame them.

and the idea was very simple to me. life is hard. its weird and scary and awesome and everything is always changing. there are so many things that go wrong and so much danger. life is hard to control, even if that life is a little bean sprout.

meanwhile, death is pretty chill. you’re already dead dude! what more is gonna happen to you?

it also plays off something my mom and grandmothers told me about ghosts when i was little so i wouldn’t be scared.

you’ve got way more to fear from the living than the dead.

[aion-rsa]

Search Party Season 3 and The Trial of the Millennial

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The following contains spoilers for every season of Search Party.

On December 17, 2017, the second season of TBS’s mystery comedy Search Party concluded with a full steam of momentum. Dory Sief (Alia Shawkat) had just committed a murder to cover up an accidental murder from season 1, and then is promptly arrested (for the first murder that is). As Dory is ushered into the back of a squad car while still wearing a shapely red dress from the night’s festivities, the future looks pretty bleak for her. For the show, however, the future couldn’t have looked brighter.

Then that future of Search Party never arrived. At least not immediately.

Search Party was created by Sarah-Violet Bliss, Charles Rogers, and Michael Showalter. The show premiered on TBS in 2016 with a thrilling first season that depicted a quarter of Brooklyn millennials who decide to investigate the disappearance of one of their old acquaintances, Chantal Witherbottom. After the quest for Chantal ends in an unfortunate bit of murder, the gang spends season 2 dealing with tremendous guilt and paranoia. TBS renewed the show for season 3 in 2018 but then the creators confronted an issue more insidious than any millennial murder mystery: corporate decision-making. 

TBS, a WarnerMedia company, found itself subjected to the whims of its parent organization’s ongoing corporate consolidation. The arrival of streaming service HBO Max meant that TBS and other Warner properties like DC Universe had series with built-in fanbases that could help launch the new streamer…whenever it might arrive. Ultimately Search Party season 3 and an already-ordered season 4 were put into a holding pattern.

“I think that season three was wrapped in November, 2018. I don’t know, it’s crazy,” Rogers says.

Finally, three years later, Search Party has made its exclusive home at the newly-released HBO Max. The first two seasons of the show were available to stream there at launch and season 3 just arrived on June 25. Search Party season 3 finds Dory and Drew on trial for their crimes, while Elliot (John Early) and Portia (Meredith Hagner) deal with the fallout. We spoke with Bliss and Rogers about crafting the “courtroom drama” season of Search Party, the move to HBO Max, and what’s in store for the already-filmed fourth season. 

DEN OF GEEK: When you guys first sat down to write season one of Search Party, was this season in your minds at all? Or is it something that just developed naturally over the course of writing for three seasons?

SARAH-VIOLET BLISS: We definitely didn’t have the full idea from day one. It evolved as we were writing. We always paint ourselves into a corner and then are like, “We’ll figure that out later.” As we were writing we knew that eventually we would have a trials phase, and we thought that would be like season four. But then we realized it had naturally become season three. So it’s just got to be season three. We don’t have a master plan. It comes as it comes. And the show is what it wants to be, as they often say.

When you realized that you were going to be going the trial and courtroom route, how did you go about tackling that? Did you research similar, media-saturated real life cases? Did you go to pop culture for any inspiration? 

SVB: Yes. We did all of those things that you just mentioned. We had a lot of inspiration from real life. Dateline and American Crime Story were huge inspirations for us. Amanda Knox, Bling Ring, and My Cousin Vinny too. We watched My Cousin Vinny in the writer’s room. We had a lawyer on hand that we talked to to make sure that everything that we were doing was something that could happen, which apparently a lot happened. We talked about The Staircase a lot. All of that good stuff.

A fascinating part of the season is that it seems like the obvious route would be for them to just claim self-defense. But for some reason that’s not enough for Dory. What went into the characterization of Dory this year? Because it feels like the show reveals a side of her that had only been bubbling below the surface before.

CHARLES ROGERS: We had kind of like loose grip on how we wanted to chart Dory’s journey since the beginning. In the first season she starts off a lot more sweet and innocent. Then what we found with the ending of the first season is that… the mystery at the helm of the first season wasn’t there. There was no mystery in this mystery. So then when we were writing the second season, it was like, “Well, what does it mean for someone to have such a vivid inner life that they need to make that outlet for them?” And we felt like denial was at the crux of Dory’s character.

When we decided that it became a little bit easier to figure out how to pivot her for all of these different situations, because we always want to make sure that we’re saying something interesting about the way that people navigate avoidance and denial. Dory is this figure that we explore that with. In the third season it was like, “Okay. Well, this is a person who won’t own any of the past. How do you take a stand on that, and make it an act of choice for a main character?” She becomes more and more unrecognizable as the Dory that you knew in the third season, but in doing so we wanted to add some layers that hopefully feel implicit in previous seasons and also strangely inevitable that she would end up becoming this person. 

For fans of the show it’s been quite a long wait for season three. I have to imagine that you guys have felt the intensity of this wait as well. When was season three wrapped? 

CR: I think that season three was wrapped in November, 2018. I don’t know, it’s crazy. It’s really crazy. 

What was it like to go through that? Was it a question of all this corporate consolidation with HBO Max coming out? How was it explained to you?

SVB:  Yeah. We didn’t know what HBO Max was going to be. So they were like, “Well, we’re going to have a really cool streaming service, but we’re not telling you what it is, just as we’re not telling what the rest of the world is. But it’s going to be great. And We’re going to give you a season four. So that’s exciting.” And so we’re like, “Okay, great!” 

What’s been the weirdest part of it is going back and knowing that people haven’t seen season three, and then doing season four and forgetting what is a spoiler for season three and what is a spoiler for season four. There’s so much to catch people up on when I’m trying to emotionally grapple with the stuff that I’m going through in season four on set or whatever. And then the world has changed so much, so that’s a lot to cope with.

Have you finished filming season four as well?

SVB: We have.

CR: Yeah. We finished right before COVID struck. Well, COVID had struck, right before the quarantine. We’re editing it right now. We’re doing press for season three and editing season four. It’s kind of hard to keep track of in our minds.

It’s funny, you mention the ways in which the world has changed since season two. And there’s obviously the extreme  ways that we’re going through now. But I think one of the underrated aspects is the change in how society views millennials. Speaking as a millennial myself, it seems like in the span of, what – three, four years we’ve gone from the kid generation, to somehow being elder statesmen to Gen Z now. Is that something that you feel as well in writing the show?

CR: Yeah, yeah. There’s a moment in the third season where Michaela Watkins’s character, who’s the prosecutor, wants to make a sticking point about them being privileged millennials. And her assistant is like, “Well, no one’s really talking about millennials anymore just so you know.”  I think that we cringe at trying to make Search Party be this overtly millennial thing, because I feel like that conversation is becoming more and more of the past. Time goes on. At this point now I only hear Sprint and Pinkberry talk about millennials. It’s interesting because I agree with you, we became adults really fast. And I think that the conversation about millennials overstayed its welcome so long that it’s jarring how old we are. Because we were talking as though we were young for so long. 

I think to us, we always treated all of the character traits that were a big part of the satire as narcissism, entitlement, and privilege. The things that we feel are very much at the forefront of American society today, and the stuff that is deserving of being slandered. But that’s just always been to us the hallmarks of a type of person. I think that other people put on millennial to do a little bit more marketing with it, which is totally understandable. That’s the way people understand things is through these generational hooks. 

At the same time the nature of the show has changed. As the seasons go, it’s just becoming more reflected in our world. Especially within (season) three – like lying, and unreliable authority figures in a corrupt justice system. The bigger, larger satire this season feels relevant to what’s happening now. The millennial vibes that happen feel like they’re just a part of the larger world at this point because we’re all adults now.

This being “the courtroom season”, it feels like it presented a lot of interesting casting opportunities. Everyone in the legal realm from Michaela Watkins, to Louie Anderson, to Shalita Grant works out really well. What was it like to gather together that cast of the legal world?

SVB: It was great. Luckily Michaela and Louie were already fans of the show. So reaching out to them was easy, other than figuring out schedules. Then finding Shalita was a real challenge. We auditioned a million people. Because it was so fun to write that role we thought it was going to be easy to cast and it turned out it wasn’t easy to cast. When we did find Shalita we were like, (EDITOR’S NOTE: Sarah-Violet adopts an angelic, rapturous tone) “There she is!” She really blew us away and was so wonderful to work with. 

It’s so great when all of them made their characters so much better than they were already written. They were so fun. Iit was also so fun filming them because the way that we did it, we had all these extras in those seats and so it was like filming a play because all the extras would watch. And after they had these huge monologues they would clap. It gave a great energy into the performances because they were putting on a play.

When did you know that you wanted to have a rift in the group this season? Poor Portia is outcast, Elliot is getting married, and Dory and Drew are fighting for their lives. 

CR: We thought about a few different ways that the trial could go, and who would be testifying. In the early days of breaking the season, it was really about trying to figure out what would be the most dynamic thing to do for the audience. We worried that if all of them were in court all the time, you would get fatigued by the lack of outside freedom in storylines. Also Elliot’s wedding was set up at the beginning of last season with the proposal. There were just things in motion that were like, “Well, we know that Elliot and Portia are the icing on the cake of the show.” It made sense for them to be like out and about. 

We also didn’t want it to be unrealistic in that there would be no problems between them. We really wanted it to feel like what would happen if a group of friends were all completely at odds? It was important to have little like touchstone moments where they would come back together as a group, or have to be in the same place as a group like at the wedding. And with what happens at the wedding, they’re all put on the same team again against danger. 

Speaking of danger, at what point in development did the stalker character come into play? And how does he affect the show going forward?

CR: Yeah. It greatly affects the show. (laughs) It greatly affects the show. Every season we’ll chart out the big picture arc for the season. And some of those things change and some end up staying all the way through to the end of making it. The stalker was something that we thought of in the very beginning. Immediately it was like, “And then there’s your season four.” We knew how it set it up. We also knew that the ending could be this interesting “win and lose” at the same time. We gave ourselves an instant structure for the season. In a lot of ways, I think, season three was our easiest writing experience we’ve had on Search Party because we had a beginning, middle, and end to begin with, and then everything else was just pieces that we needed to move around. Then season four, I’ve been saying this, but it’s the darkest, funniest, and most extreme season. And there’s some very exciting castings in it.

The post Search Party Season 3 and The Trial of the Millennial appeared first on Den of Geek.

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